Part 89: Shooting Star - Archimedes - Part 1

Shooting Star - Archimedes





And now the final Side Story, starring extella's only original Servant. He is of course the famous Greek mathematician and all-around genius who lived from around 287 BC to 212 (a fairly long lifetime for the era), when he was killed by a Roman soldier during the Siege of Syracuse. He is one of the founders of calculus and geometry, and worked his entire life on proving various mathematical and geometric theorems. One of his chief achievements in life was applying mathematical principles to real life situations and forces, such as describing the force that makes a lever work (his famous "Give me a place to stand on, and I will move the Earth."), work on hydrostatics, and a number of inventions, including Archimedes' screw (an invention used to move water from lower-lying sources to higher-elevation irrigation ditches, a device still used today).

As for the man himself, not a whole lot is known. While his inventions were widely used in the ancient world, not many of his original writings survived and many of his works were thought lost forever until 1906, when a Dutch professor visiting Constantinople discovered the Archimedes Palimpsest, which was a 10th century work that contained a number of works, including many of Archimedes' writings. He may have studied in Egypt at some point in life, but other than that, very few personal details. Supposedly Cicero found his tomb, but today it's yet another thing about the man we simply don't know. Apparently a pretty reclusive guy, real Archimedes and the man as seen in this game both generally consider them separate from the vicissitudes of life and want to focus only their work. However, he was put in charge of Syracuse's defenses, but all his genius couldn't stop the Roman invasion and he met his end in the course of the Second Punic War with his beloved Syracuse having bet on the eventual losing side, Carthage.



I thought about doing another test drive stage, but in Archy's case, not really necessary. His third stage is really short and a lot of it is similar to a normal stage, just on a much smaller scale. Also, his first stage spoils something we haven't seen in the main story, so if you want to finish the story first, you can just come back after finishing the main story for the skinny on what Archimedes was up to before the plot of this game really started. That's correct, Archimedes' is the only Side Story that has relevance to the main story, and describes how a few things happened. Well, let's get started.








Archimedes stage 1

It means "Tear of heaven" or thereabouts in Latin.

The remnants of the Velber that came to Earth 14,000 years ago to harvest the existence of its life and prehistoric civilizations. The Ark of the Stars, one of the fangs bared at the Moon... Both the physical aspect and SE.RA.PH. Originally, the Moon Cell isolated you into the Zero Dark, where you remained untouchable, but... To think you would appear before me. Do you grow presumptuous? You're playing a dangerous game by inviting me in, Umbral Star. I, Archimedes of Syracuse, am the sole Servant entrusted to SE.RA.PH's systems. I am human, but my knowledge is beyond mankind. I am an engineer who wields the true hidden power of numerals. And now, it is I who maintains the Moon.



No other Servant has the capacity... But I, I would be able to analyze you. Even if you're a god beyond human knowledge, I can handle you if I know how you work. I will take you apart and learn. You're not so special. ...Eventually, the Moon Cell will choose a champion to rule SE.RA.PH with the Royal Authority. A Sovereign, you might say. The Sovereign will move to destroy you. So, I will move before even then. ...I will become the hand that guides them, the Sovereign's aide. Now...Lachryma Caelum, Ark of the Stars. Reveal your secrets to me. I will analyze all you have to offer.


It's not typical armor, but a sturdy, exterior wall. An anti-fortress Noble Phantasm couldn't even damage it. A path leading inside? Is that an invitation...? ...How quaint. I'll have to accept.



What...? The path was blocked by tentacles? Does it want a display of my power? Is that it? Should I rush through...?



The method here is pretty simple. Velber II (which is just Archy's nickname for the Umbral Star fragment that burrowed into the Moon Cell) has a tentacle-based defense mechanism, and you have to kill enough of the larger tentacles in order to open the pathway inside. So it gives us a bit of a time to introduce Archimedes. As you might expect, given he's basically a system admin with no particular reputation for great combat prowess, he's not a super awesome character battle-wise, certainly not compared to our last Side Story, but he does have some neat tricks. You see that mirror-ish thing floating behind him? By pressing L1 + T, he'll create up to 3 of those behind him, and each one alters his T attack. With no mirrors, he just fires a weak beam in front of him. With one mirror, he fires a spreadshot laser that still doesn't do much damage but it does help him project some damage at range. 2 mirrors, he deploys them across from each, and a ball of light bounces between them for some distance. It can hit a target multiple times. And finally, 3 mirrors creates a powerful triangle of damage in front of him, that can additionally help him control crowds and single targets.



S T is his bread and butter. He'll fling one of the mirrors at his side in front of him like someone flicking a yo-yo upwards, dragging an enemy into the air with continuous damage or doing damage to an enemy in the air (almost always a Plant).



His aerial T attack is pretty good, actually. He'll dive down by rotating those mirrors at his side rotating in a circle really fast, and move forward with damage being dealt as long as the rotation is going (you can't control it at all, it just goes in the direction Archimedes was facing when he slammed down). It should be noted that nothing Archimedes does is particularly damaging, so it's really more a matter of playing him effectively.



His S S T is a curious attack where he'll bring out a giant scale and...move the scales up and down, doing minor AoE damage? It's hard to describe exactly what's happening here.



His EM is also pretty neat. He'll deploy four crane-like contraptions that all fold inward to slam down on a group of enemies.



S S S T will bring out this strange turbine-like attack. After a few moments of dealing pretty good damage in front of him, he'll fire both in away from him, dealing damage a long way away from him. If non-powered up Servants get caught in this, they get taken for quite a ride.

After you've taken out all the Aggressor tentacles...







Yes, you'll go flying into Velber II's core. Those partitions in front of him do really heavy damage. If I got hit by one with my current health, I'd almost certainly get KO'd. Luckily, you can of course press S to attack, which destroys any number of partitions in range. For a lot of the checkpoints you can just fly to a non-obstructed part, but the best way to handle this is to stay near the bottom of the screen not moving, until you have to destroy something your way. Flying around a lot is a good way to get you hurt.



Of course, there's no dodging around that. The hitbox on your attack, but you can't attack very quickly. You'll only really get one shot to take out a partition, if you miss, well, y'know.

The crushing weight of this mana...! I'm going the right way. The core is near.





The core is totally helpless and doesn't have a lot of health, so don't sweat it.



For being helpless, they award a TON of experience.



There are two cores?! The other needs to be dealt with for further analysis.



A trick from the defense system...? I see, you will not accept my presence so easily, then? The same tactic will be futile. I should change paths. I need to enter from a different location. Then I can suppress the second core.



On the other side, the method of getting in is the same, just with added generic Aggressors alongside the all-important tentacles. You only have to destroy the large tentacles when they show up, everyone else is just there to try and stop you. Don't let them.



This is the ping-pong mirror move.



Things are going smoothly. The path is open... Say your farewells, Ark. I've come to take your heart.



For the second infiltration, the doors come much faster, in groups. The strategy is still the same, just gotta pay a bit more attention and be ready to destroy partitions in a row with perfect accuracy. Also, you can't use a Moon Drive to mitigate damage. Pressing L2 won't do anything.



O, Umbral Star! I, Archimedes, will discern your power!














This light...?! I'll be ripped apart if I stay here...! But...I have no way out. There's no path to return to. I will die here as I lived, seeking knowledge. I freely accept my fate. Umbral Star...realize the truth!



These emotions... I see that even I have such primitive feelings, uncontrollable by logic or reason. Most humans fear that which is unlike themselves, ultimately rejecting it, but I...I crave that which is new and different, and reject the mundane. I understand your workings now. And the more I understand, the more I find myself compelled to learn even more. At the same time... I see the failings of my kind, the inadequacies, and I am ashamed for us all. Even... Even though this being has evolved along a different path than ours, its journey down that path has been frought with purpose. Whereas we humans have always ricocheted through history in random chaos. ...And so, only one logical conclusion stands: I have deepened my understanding of myself and the world by accepting the Umbral Star. I had thought only numbers and equations...only the work of my own hands and mind would ever bend to my will. But... It's elementary... Even the world is only a tool for me. A tool I can indeed bend to my every whim. In the past I had found joy in numbers. That was my pride. ...Unfortunately, however, I can no longer say that's the case. ...Well, I suppose one could say I've found a new source of joy...

Seems like trouble...