Part 4: The World, You Say...?

Chapter 3: The World, You Say...?


Oh, we're here. Fancy that.


So we just waltz on into town.
: Stop right where you are!
: Huh?


: Money? Food? Whatever it is, we're willing to negotiate, as long as you promis not to harm the villagers!
: Uh, what's up with this guy?
: He seems to think we're raiding the village or something.
: Yeah, looks like it. Better tell him about Miss Fossil!
Okay, for the love of god Fritz. Marie looks 12. Enough with this "Fossil" crap.
: Good idea.


: Please tell Constable Ox of the Unicorns that Marie sent us!
: I'm Constable Ox, but I wasn't told anything about this! Are you really friends of Marie's?
I had him pegged more as a Larry, but we'll run with this.
: You bet! We even have a letter from her! We need your help. Please let us inside the village!
: Hmm. A letter from Marie, eh? Very well, I'll grant you access. However, you have to leave your Mobile Suits outside the village.
: No problem!
: I'll be waiting for you at the Unicorn Base. Bring the letter with you!


First things first! I need healing items, and lots of them!


And this conveniently-named guy tells us some interesting information.
: Professor Gould, who lives in the Mansion up the hill, knows more about them. You should ask him for more information!
I'll keep that in mind.


: Sorry for scaring everyone with the Mobile Suits.
: Now, let's see this letter of Marie's.
Handed over <Marie's Introduction>!
: Hmm... If Marie's estimates are true, things are far worse than I thought. This has the potential to be even worse than the Great Fall!
: We could really use your help.
: I understand what you're asking, but tell me this... Why are two youngsters like you so hell-bent on fighting?
"Well, we have these two giant robots and it just seemed like a good idea at the time." vv


: We're looking for the Mobile Suits that attacked the place.
: I see... Very well, We'll do what we can to help you.
: Thanks, Constable!
: You know, some Mobile Suits have been spotted in the ruins in the southeast. I don't know if they're the ones you're looking for, but you may want to check it out.
: The ruins in the southeast? Are they from before the Great Fall?
: No, it's actually a spaceship that came down after the Great Fall. We call it the Moon Ark.
: This is the only lead we've got! I say we check it out!
So I guess in true JRPG tradition, "We'll help you out" really means, "The village drunk says he saw something. Check it out." Well, at least I can think of another JRPG tradition. It's lootin' time!


Damnit. If only a certain "Master of Unlocking" was still around. Okay, I guess I'll go to that mansion then...


My God, this is the worst guard dog I've ever seen.


"What!? How do you know my name old man!?"
: Ah, just as I thought. Marie told me about you. She and I are research colleagues, you see... We often have discussions on Mobile Suits and debate wold history... By the way, there's something I want you to have. Please think of it as a gift from me.
You received a <Database Disc>!
Well, well. Looks like our friend Marie gets around. The database disc adds an option to the main menu that acts as a beastary of the enemy suits we fight.


"That gift sucked. You suck. I'm taking your treasure."
I'll explain what ECAPs are when they come into play.


Our business in town finished for now, we head off to the Moon Ark.


: I wouldn't be surprised if this place was crawling with Mobile Suits...
: Hey! I'm getting an energy reading!
: Come on Fritz! We're going in!


Inside the base we see plenty of these. These are unavoidable, inescapable battles. I guess the .000000001% chance we could waltz through an entire dungeon without a single random encounter was too high for the developers, because these are scattered about everywhere. They tend to be only slightly tougher than the regular random encounters.


Case in point. Magella Tanks. Only slightly stronger than the Type-61s we've been fighting.


This dungeon is actually really boring. It only serves as an introductory course to the game mechanics, so we end up just seeing a lot of this. Hey, at least Cheeto got himself a gun.


Hell, look at this place. It's the same room and hallway map used over and over.


Damnit. We'll need some Hacking Tools to open these boxes.


"DAMNIT, I KNOW THERE'S TREASURE BACK THERE."


This here is kinda like the yellow battle from before, but significantly tougher. I'll be calling these Sub-Bosses.


"I wonder if this has On Demand..."


: Yeah! It's one of the Mobile Suits that attacked the orphanage!
: Wait, what are you doing!?
Cheeto, really... What are the odds this particular mass-produced Mobile Suit was one of the two at your orphanage?


Hell, knowing this game, pretty damn high.
: You! You were there that day! You killed my friends... You killed Miss Natalie!
: Miss Natalie? What're you talking about, kid?
: Your Mobile Suit says it all! You attacked the orphanage!
: The orphanage? So you must be that kid we let get away!


: Yeah, I remember now! You were crying your eyes out, running all over the place!
: I'm gonna make you pay! If it's the last thing I do!!!
: Heh. Take your best shot, kid!


SUB-BOSS BATTLE: ZAKU II
: He was with that black Mobile Suit! The one who killed Miss Natalie and the others!
: What!?
: I'm not letting this one get away! I don't care what it takes!
: Right! Let's get him!


Alright then, time to explain the EN gage. As you can see below Cheeto and Fritz's HP/TP, they have a meter called EN. They start each battle with 2 EN, and recover 2 EN at the beginning of each turn. Different weapons require different levels of EN. The most common for normal weapons is 1, while more powerful weapons can require 2 or 3. EN is also used for Boost attacks. Cheeto doesn't have a melee weapon yet so I can't show off his only Boost attack at the moment. I'll show it off and explain Boost attacks as a whole next update. Also of note is we can keep tabs of our enemies' EN levels up on the top right. This is incredibly useful for boss battles, because it allows you to prepare yourself when a boss is planning on annihilating you with a super attack


Sub-Boss battles tend to be pretty tough. They have a lot of HP and fairly strong attacks. Granted, this falls on the side of easy because it's the first one. Remember what I said about that difficulty curve earlier?


Although this poor bastard was no match for the new toy I picked up off of those Magellas earlier.


: This means nothing... The world... The world... will... still be his...
: You mean the guy in the black Mobile Suit? Answer me! Where can we find him!?
: You think you can take him on? A little kid like you?
: I don't care how strong he is! I'm taking him down!


: His name... is Vladi Zarth! He's gonna rule the world! Go ahead... see what you can do!


And with that little hint he dies in a huge explosion.


: Rule the world...?
: Look! Over there! There's someone on the ground!


On the ground, for starters.


There you go.
: A girl! What's she doing here? C'mon, Fritz!


: She's out cold!
: She's still alive!



: Did she just say, "destroy the world"!? What does that mean?
: Whatever! We've gotta get her out of here! Come on! Marie will know what to do!



Next time: Defend the fort!

BONUS CONTENT!
The mysterious girl - I'm not so sure about this destroying the world business though.

Timeline dickery!

"Though archaeological research has unearthed overwhelming evidence the the Universal Century was fact and not fiction, many researchers continue to assert that it never really happened. Universal Century researchers are divided into two camps, the believers and the non-believers. Their fierce debates continue to this day."
So here's how it goes: the Great Fall came along and destroyed civilization after the Universal Century. The UC suits in this game only go up to Char's Counterattack, so that means the Great Fall happened shortly after UC 0093. So, that crater in Australia is from the colony drop from Mobile Suit Gundam, and the other damage peppered around the world was caused by the Great Fall. Simple, yes?
 No, not even close. This game complicates it dramatically by throwing in Gundam Wing and G-Gundam suits. We'll get to that in a week or so... 

MSopedia
I figured I'll keep tabs on bosses and sub-bosses in this section too.

MS-06 Zaku II
Mobile Suit Gundam - Principality of Zeon
The successor of the Zaku I. This serves as the Zeon's cannon fodder with only one goal: making the Gundam look more powerful by falling to it in waves. It has become incredibly popular in Japanese pop culture.