Part 36: Yesterday's Enemies and Today's Enemies

Clarste and Hokuto went into overdrive and translated this chapter in like two days so I followed suit and got this update ready in a night.

It actually looks like two weeks is way too much time for two and a half three translators, so the update schedule is getting bumped to once a week at the least. I dunno, let's see if we can complete this game by the original end date!

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Sorry, the max I can get her without WP is 9700.



Anyway, I gave Letty the lion's share of the points from last chapter because I felt like it. Feel free to never vote for her again.

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Music: Border of Regular and Irregular Days

Full Text


Music: Border of Regular and Irregular Days

Full Text

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Music: Harmful Mystery

This is another old SRW song reference. Heartful Mechanic, to be precise. It has a higher quality version, and a recent official remix.



Who wants to be out in this weather? We should go home and play games indoors.

Hey...

Something sparkles nearby.

What's this? A cherry blossom petal?

Ooh! If cherry blossom petals are fluttering around, maybe spring is just around the corner.

Let's go look for our tiny little spring! Maybe we can find some shoots and buds if we dig through the snow.



Someone's coming!

It's pretty amazing that they can fly around in this cold.

Fairies, give me all the spring you have. If you don't, I will show no mercy.

Uh, what are you talking about?

Enough talk!

Youmu tries to cut the fairies down in a single charge.

Hey! What's the big idea?!

I told you. I'm taking all the spring that's here, an-

!



Thanks to executive order, I have Reimu again for this chapter. You'll see why I wanted her later.

Looks like this is where the petals are coming from.

Hey, isn't that...?

Reimu? And some friends.

Youmu! Is that you?

You know her? Who is she?

Youmu Konpaku, a gardener living in the underworld. She's a friend who helped us with the summer incident.

Long time no see, Youmu. What're you fighting fairies for?

Well, you see-

She came out of nowhere and rushed us! She was saying something about handing over spring!

We were just looking for little bits of spring!

And she's doing the same, which means...

You're also investigating the incident?

What incident?

Oh, come on. Don't play dumb. The long winter, duh!

!

This is a particularly dangerous incident. Knowing you, I figured you'd be acting on this, too. You'd be welcome to join us, if you like.

...

No. Please leave, all of you.

?!

Wait, what?

You don't need to do anything. This long winter will end soon enough. I'll be returning spring once I achieve my goal.

Wait, what are you talking about?!

You know something about this, don't you?

I only regret that I can't tell you more. Please, back off.

It'll take more than that to convince us to leave this alone.

Then I have no choice. I'll gather the spring here and pull back!





Continuing the theme, this time the map is a winter version of 5M.

This chapter has a pretty neat gimmick; Youmu is a NPC who's also after the grunts. She'll usually try to killsteal, so it's important to finish enemies off in one turn.



Much more importantly, she has another pair of Tengu's Clogs on. +1 Move is always nice, so I always try to shoot her down instead. The chapter's victory conditions make this a bit tough to do while snagging the bonus though.

Stuff to keep in mind:
1) If Youmu defeats more than two enemies, I fail. There are 21 enemies total, and I need to beat 18 for the bonus. I also need to keep one on the map so I can take out Youmu.
2) Youmu flees at 40% HP.
3) Youmu, being one of the few non-asshole characters, won't attack my party except in self-defense. This means she'll always head for enemies, even if they're far away.



4) Youmu's PS, Sword Arm, jacks her Parry rate at 130 Power. So Solid attribute attacks are a no-go.



Sunflower fairies are already bulky as is, but these ones have also landed to take advantage of the terrain. It's set up so you'll try and kill one with just one or two characters, fail, and then get kill stolen by Youmu.



I want to lure Youmu east so I can surround her with my main army.



And the easiest way to do that is to take advantage of the fact that Youmu moves after the enemy phase. If I defend against every enemy attack except one,



oh, uh, you just had to weaken that crow Reimu.



There we go. Now this fairy has the lowest HP on the map,



meaning Youmu goes right for the finish.

Hey! What's your problem?!

I already told you. I'm going to take all the spring you have!

Music: As Decisive As a Battlefield

This is probably my second favorite track in the game.



Even Youmu can't finish a landed sunflower fairy with just Reimu's assist. You really need three attacks, or a finisher.



It's also worth noting that Youmu isn't particularly dodgy, so it's entirely possible a fairy's counterattack might drop her low enough to flee.

Looks like she's ignoring us. No way around this, then.

Youmu, why...?



My units can't move fast enough to surround Youmu on turn 2, so I'll have to stall for another turn.



Fun Fact: the game can't display ????? HP for units on the player side of the battle screen. So if an enemy initiates an attacks Youmu, I can see her full HP.

What was her name? Youmu? She doesn't seem to be attacking our side at all.

...

Keep it together, Keine. I know you don't want to fight her. But if she knows something about this incident, we have to capture her.

Yeah. No whining, just... Hm?

Music: Brand New Wind



Sanae?!

Nice work, Momiji. Your nose is nothing to sniff at.

Don't treat me like a dog. That was clairvoyance.

Is that the shrine maiden that tried to steal the Hakurei Shrine?

What are all of you doing here?

As the Moriya Shrine's wind priestess, I thought I should try to help investigate this incident. Lady Yasaka is deeply troubled over this. I was hoping I might be able to assist.

First youkai extermination, now incident resolution? You're on fire.

That's right. I was a little worried about it at first, but Lady Moriya gave me the nudge I needed.

"Sanae, Shrine Maiden of the Mountain, Makes Her Incident Resolution Debut!" Yeah, that's a good headline. I should write that one down.

Try to keep it toned down. We're supposed to be here as Lady Kochiya's assigned guards.

I've heard they were overprotective of you. Seeing them sending tengu with you just confirms it.

Fine. If you wanna join up, you'd better keep up.

I'll do just that, thank you!

So, what's with the turbulent atmosphere?

That's the swordswoman who was among the humans over the summer. We met her.

Oh, I guess. Why are you fighting, again?

She seems to know something about this incident, so we're questioning her.

Oh, no! Are you sure you should be fighting among friends?

We can talk about that later, we can't let her get away.

I see you've reconciled with the other shrine maiden and Youkai Mountain.

That's all well and good, but I have my own duties to fulfill!

If you defeat Youmu before Sanae shows up, she'll just pull herself back to together and heal.



Back with gameplay, a particularly stupid fairy attacked Youmu on the enemy phase. This caused her to move away a bit, so now I need to stall another turn.



I also need to wipe out all of the enemies in the surrounding area so Youmu is only drawn to that crow nearby.

Music: Gale Winds! Whirlwind! Shameimaru!
_{Still can't believe this track isn't an arrange of Cybuster's theme.}



And that's something my new characters can help with.



Just like Nitori, Momiji starts with both flavors of support.



Unlike Nitori, Momiji doesn't suck. _{This was a different enemy, if you're wondering about the MP.}



There we go.

Hold it, Youmu!

Please don't interfere!

Nice try. You know something about this incident, don't you?

Why don't you stop keeping secrets and come out with it? It's for your own good.

Gh... If you refuse to back down, then you leave me no choice but to cross swords!



Youmu doesn't have the best of defenses, but she's very accurate. It's very helpful to have Reimu around to completely trump her.

Oh, and Youmu has a danmaku field that pumps her melee damage by 20%. So you really don't want to get hit.



I'll probably be finishing things off with Master Spark + Shanghai Doll. Since I don't have Shizuha around, though, I'll need to mess around with Letty and Luna's fields to boost Marisa's chances.

Reimu, please, don't interfere!

Oh, I'll interfere all I want. My intuition's telling me you're being pretty shady.

Ugh, I shouldn't have stayed here so long!



Doesn't matter what your blade can cut if you can't hit with it.



I have the fairies trigger some support attacks to further weaken Youmu. I'm getting pretty close to the limit,



which is Sakuya and Meiling's cue to get the bonus.



They did so.

So when exactly did that notorious shrine maiden become part of their group?

I'm kind of lost in this whole thing, actually. Why are you fighting with them? If you're their friend, surely talking should be your first option!

Unfortunately, talking isn't much of an option for me. And it's even less of one when facing an old foe!

I can't deny the past, but it's different now!



I think I can push it just a little more.



Sunny managed a hit, but Cirno wasn't as lucky.



Good thing she cast Grit.

Much like Aya, Youmu was totally redrawn for FMW2. Her new sprite is much spiffier.



Oh damn it, I don't have enough SP for Valor.

Guess I'll just cross my fingers and hope Alice crits.

Youmu, wait!

I will not! Marisa, please, leave me be!

Man, you're pretty slippery when we're on opposite sides!



This would be a lot easier if I had some WP pumped into Marisa.

Or if I upgraded her weapons instead of buffing Letty.

Youmu!

Ah, Alice. I figured you'd be with Marisa's group.

Something tells me we won't have time for a leisurely chat. What is your goal? And why does it have to involve fighting us?

If you're trying to appeal to my emotions, it won't work!





Tch, just as I expected.

...First things first, let's bind her.

Okay, you better tell us everything you know!

There's a couple different lines here if all enemies were defeated, but I wasn't going for that victory condition.

No matter how many times you ask, I will always refuse. I still haven't gathered nearly enough spring to accomplish my duty!

Your what?

I'll retreat for now. But if you continue to hinder my path... I won't hold back, even for all of you!

Youmu, wait!

Youmu...

There she goes...

I think it's safe to assume that she knows something.

In that case, our only option is to follow her and get it from her.

Um, would you mind explaining a bit to me before you go off anywhere? What is it that makes Youmu seem so suspicious?

Let's talk on the way. We don't have time to stand around explaining things.



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Lunatic is exactly the same thing, only things are more frustrating. I just blew right through it and ignored both the bonus and the item drop because some things just aren't worth it.

Gameplay-wise, PCB isn't going to get interesting again until chapter 31. So strap in for the long haul of jack shit.


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Yukariiii~.

Yes? What do you need so suddenly?

A nickname. You'll make it cute, won't you?

Ah, I see now. For something as important as this, I'll have to think deeply.

Yukaaaari, can't you give me a nice nickname?

Don't rush me.

*shaking in excitement*

...Okay, okay, I get it. Without any further ado... how about Yukko?

...

My, do you want another?

I'm very pleased! Its ordinary atmosphere is quite good if you ask me.

R-really? I suppose I have a good naming sense then?

...And an hour later, the entire subject of nicknames was completely forgotten.