Part 1: Prologue/Mission #1: Worker's Comp

The opening FMV. The first part will almost make sense in about....fifty hours of gameplay.



This is going to shock you guys, but this Squaresoft game kind of has a borderline incoherent plot. I figured I'd get that out of the way now.



Okinawa Ocean City is the world's largest man-made island, built to support international trade.



The 5.9 km-wide city is twice the size of Yokohama Harbor and supports international trade, business, entertainment, and the everyday life of its residents.



This must be Chekov's Paid Advertisement



Which pans out to reveal...



That the ad was on the side of truck!



And above that truck flies a helicopter!



Metric system, eh? I want someone to create a future where the Imperial system makes a comeback.



The truck and the helicopter seem to both be heading to this military base.



And, in contravention of all gaming conventions, a helicopter lands safely without exploding.



Memory Check!....OK
System Check!....OK
Body/Arm/Leg.....OK



Our first Wanzer's eye view.

: System check completed. Load the pilot data into the system.
: Roger. I'm loading the pilot data now.



It appears our protagonist needs a name. By convention, I am forced to turn to the corrupt and unreliable process known as democracy.

Give this man a first name (max. 12 characters) and a last name (max. 12 characters.)

e: In a stunning display of restraint, unseen in the history of this forum, the thread overwhelmingly chose the default name, Kazuki Takemura

Mission #1: Worker's Comp



I'll leave this name for now, but we'll hold a run-off after this update is over.

: Load confirmed. The final test for the SHUNYO will now commence. We're ready on our side. Kazuki, activate the wanzer.
By the way, I was actually able to find a game script for this game, after my last LP, you have no idea how great that is.
: Activated.
: Activation confirmed. First, we'll check movement. Move to the designated area.
: Roger that.



The box is locked....the lights are on....



Our ATAC Wanzer



: You destination is here.
The game then highlights a square below the platform.
: Roger.
A thrilling movement tutorial begins. In this game, you have a number of AP to use for moving, attacking, and counter-attacking. It starts out at 14 and goes up depending on how many enemy parts you destroy to a maximum of 30. Moving one square costs 1 AP. Pilots regenerate 12 AP a turn, which will be mildly irritating in fifty missions.

: Target location reached. We'll check the weapons now. That wanzer's left arm is equipped with a shotgun. You can also fight hand-to-hand with the knuckles on the right arm.



: I need both ranged and close combat data. Use both weapons to attack the wanzer. Auto-pilot is not set on combat mode, so you're safe.
This seems like a rather inefficient way to test weapons, but fine. At the moment, the Shunyo we're testing has two weapons, a shotgun and a fist. The shotgun costs 3 AP to use to attack, and 6 to counter-attack. It has a range of three and will do some damage to every part of the enemy Wanzer. The fist is a melee weapon. It has a range of 1 and an AP cost of 1, it does massive damage to one part of a Wanzer, but any counter-attack with a ranged weapon will happen first.



As you can see, the shotgun's damage is divided up into twelve shots, which are allocated between the parts of the enemy Wanzer.



This is the real Ultragunner.



And now we have to attack him with a melee weapon to move things along.



That's right, we just punched off his arm. No, I don't know how that worked, either.



One more punch and the drone is dead.

: Good. That should do it...



: Hold on a minute. I want you to set it to combat mode and continue the test.
: Combat mode?
:I got orders to obtain data that resembles real combat.
: If you need real combat data, get it after delivery. That test pilot is one of ours.
:Yeah, I know. We might purchase this model based on this data.
: But still...
: I'll do it.
:Hey, Angst! You know what you're getting into?
: I'll be fine! This wanzer's better than any JDF model.
: I appreciate it. Well, you've gone this far; might as well go the full nine yards.
:...Fine. Angst, be careful.
: Roger!



: It's older, but it's using real bullets. You can quit anytime.
Yep, in most games, this sort of shit only happens with the simulation goes horribly wrong, but here, they're intentionally sending an armed Wanzer at us.



We'll get to know the Jinyo rather well later on, but for now, it's enough to know that it can't do much damage.



Not with those weapons, at least.



And down it goes.



You get graded at the end of the each mission. Do you want to know what the reward for receiving all Platinum medals is? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Making the entire medal system completely meaningless.

: Good job, Angst. The test's over. You're done.
: Copy that!



You get these screens between missions. At the moment, all we can do is save.



: It's a good wanzer. Great performance, I must say.
: Yes. It's our finest yet.
: Hey, Dr. Koike, Yokosuka Base wants these shipped right away. Anything you can do to help?
Looks like Angst knows his ABCs: Always Be Closing...
: I called a cargo helicopter. We'll deliver 2 new wanzers for now.
: Hi!
: Hey, Kazuki. Impressive, as always.
: Yes. You adapt to new models quickly.
: Thanks. You did great, too. You were under a tight deadline.
:It's a chance for us to be involved in the Japanese Defense Force. Receiving a part of the national defense budget would be great.
: That wanzer is an assault type. Isn't it aggressive for a purely defensive army?
Hey! The best defense is a good offense!
: Maybe they're gonna start a war.
: Ryogo!?
Meet Ryogo, he's Angst's best friend, who Angst appears to despise with every fiber of his being.
: That would never happen. Japan would never start a war.
: At least on the surface.
: We've been sending out forces more often. There have been more civil wars within the OCU since Alordesh.
This is reference to Front Mission 2. Alordesh is the future version of Bangladesh.
: Like when we sent out our wanzer teams a few years back?
: Back when we had no decent wanzers, and got wiped out?
: We learned from that experience. But our military policy remains purely defensive.
: Yeah, it's not like there'll ever be a war in Japan.



And now we get a choice of people to talk to. I'll be editing out these screens most of the time to streamline things a bit.

: I can't even imagine a war in Japan.
: Hey, Ryogo. What are you doing here!? I though you were working in Yokosuka.
: What do you mean, "what am I doing here?" I'm here to deliver some construction wanzers.
:There's a major construction project in Ocean City. Ryogo is delivering the wanzers for it.
: Anyone can do that. Why you!?
: The boss trusts me, dude.
: You begged and pleaded, right?
: Hey, how did you know?
: Why don't you take your job more seriously?
In fairness to the Angst McRage crowd, the main character is a very angry man.
: I'm not listening! I can't let you have fun in Okinawa by yourself.
: I'm here on business!
: Kazuki will accompany me to Yokosuka Base for wanzer delivery. It'll be around midnight when the cargo is ready. Get some rest until then.
: Workin' late again, Kazuki? You workaholic.
: You have work to do, Ryogo. Take the wanzers to the site.
: Alright, alright. Hey, come with me.
: Why should I?
: Because we're buddies! Come to the residential construction zone with me.

Okay, this leads us to another choice. There are currently two things to vote on:

Name

Vote for either

A. Angst McRage

B. Senor Goodtimes

C. Kazuki Takemura

Then vote for

A. Should we stay

B. Should we go

Vote!