Part 6: Update VI - I have no choice but to escape from here and head to the city below!

Update VI - I have no choice but to escape from here and head to the city below!

Video: Chapter 3 Objective
Music: Hunter Base


It looks like Chief R ditched that self-destruct button.



The base, huh... That's great, but what good does a base do us when there's just 3 of us?

Spider there are still a bunch of grunts here. Please don't be racist (design-ist?) against generic reploids.

You‘re quite right. But I have an idea. 30 miles northwest, there's an old Force Metal mine on Tianna island. Reploids at the mine who resisted the Rebellion Army are still trapped inside. It‘s essentially a POW camp.



they might join us?

Yes, and there‘s one girl we really need,



If we could rescue her, she could restore functionality at our base.



Today will be a chill update, just going around town talking to NPCs. I hope you all like words, because this will be the wordiest update to date!



Destination is currently set to: Tianna Camp. Go to Tianna Camp? >Yes/No

Not today. It seems a bit strange for the teleporter to be already set to the place we need to go, but at the same time Jango strikes me as the kind of guy to get a kick about using a Resistance teleporter to send Resistance troops to prison.

I see. Well, give me a holler when you‘re ready to go.



First, time to take a look around this room.



We find some spinning discs and this guy.



Everyone knows science needs spinning things. That's, like, a law in sci-fi.



The side doors are unlocked, now that things have settled down.



To the right, we find Command Mission's version of an inn.

Good night, then.



Wait, is the bed alive?



Looking over at Spider, his offensive and defensive stats are roughly on par with X. His, 'I can see you like you're in slow motion', quip also turns out to be very on the nose, his Speed is roughly 20 points higher than X.

Spider's weapons are also unique, in that they get bonus effects when used at 75% WE. His starting Diamond card boosts money drops on kill, Hearts is the other half of that and boosts EXP on kill. Clubs and Spades are more immediately useful in a fight, dealing two hits or hitting all enemies, respectively.

I find it a bit strange how Spider starts with a Diamond card for the fight against Jango. The entire gimmick goes completely unnoticed unless you happen to land the killing blow with Spider, while giving him a Club would give players a chance to figure out the trick mid-fight.



On the Force Metal side of things, Spider has a full four slots like X, but has less Immunity to go with it. He also has the exclusive FM Bluff, which gives him a free dodge every fight.



He also ditched the Fire weakness from his quick fight with X. I guess he just took a bath in gasoline before he went to work that morning. Counter Card has also vanished into the ether, never to be seen again.



To use the bed, face it and talk to him. Don‘t worry, he‘ll respond.

Oh god the bed is alive!



Run.



Let's purge this horrific information from our brains with a relaxing tour of every room of the tower that isn't that one.

Music: Recapture Hope


I'm going to see this hallway a lot over the course of this LP.



I will admit, I never actually did this on a casual playthrough. Anything the NPCs say here is just as new to me as it is to you.



But many of our friends remain captured. Next job is to save them! X, we hope we can count on you for help, too! We‘ve received reports that the Tianna Camp is full of traps. This will be no easy mission, but I‘m sure that you can handle it. Best of luck to you!



Nana is vital for the smooth operation of this base! She has control over pretty much all of the functions here. If the Rebellion realizes Nana‘s abilities, they‘re unlikely to harm her. I have a hunch that they‘re putting her to work somewhere in the camp. If you find her, please rescue her.

Or they could just kill her to deny us those same abilities. Putting her to work on their own systems is just begging for her to figure out a way to mess with them.



We'll take care of city security. We'll risk our own lives to protect our citizens, just like Massimo! Massimo is our hero, but nobody knows where he disappeared to. His policy of putting the lives of citizens ahead of his own has become the motto of our security forces. You can concentrate on your mission, and rest assured that we have things under control here.

This Massimo guy is a new name. We'll have to keep an ear out for him.



And that‘s were we, the Rescue Reploids, step in! No doubt they will be heavily damaged from their lengthy imprisonment. And it‘s our job to repair them! We won‘t allow a single life to be lost! The lives of many Resistance fighters depend on your success. I don‘t mean to put undue pressure on you, but try your best, that‘s all!



Heading down to the floor R was kept in.



It was at this point I remembered the storage room R denied me earlier.



Seriously, it would have taken all of 10 seconds to grab it, I would have had tons of time to make it to the button.



LOOT



...100 zenny.

100 fucking zenny.





There could be important intelligence hidden somewhere in here. It takes time to comb through the data. And we‘ve just gotten started. If I come across anything, I‘ll let you know right away. In the meantime, please be patient.

I talk to this lady on the way back, at least.

Based on R's reaction to the self-destruct, I think the Rebellion had it installed while they had control of the tower. Jango was probably so excited to finally use it that he just left anything that could be used against the Rebellion behind. This data, Spider, doesn't matter if everything goes up in two minutes.



Heading back after that incredibly anticlimactic detour.



And down another floor.



With some more people.



Thanks to the Resistance, New Hope has been liberated! Stop worrying!



Sometimes I wonder if I‘m really cut out for this work. I wish they‘d just tell me straight that I‘m no good!



There are also people relaxing in the side rooms now.

I think I need a break. I‘m switching to sleep mode. Could you leave me alone, please?

I wish I could go to sleep that easily.



With the base liberated, they need a ton of supplies all of a sudden. And when I say a ton, I mean it! It‘s more than you‘d ever believe! I like helping out and all, but man, I‘m just too darn tired to work!



More down, more ramps.



But since the Resistance liberated New Hope, I volunteered to help them out.



One last ramp.

Yes I am going to have to trek up and down this entire thing every chapter to get NPC dialogue, how could you tell?



But there‘s just way too much! How can I be expected to handle it all myself?!



Many soldiers were injured in the latest conflict... The healthy Reploids like myself have to work double-time to help all the ones who were damaged!



The tunnels we originally used to get in are still open, though random encounters are gone.



This door is still broken, too.



Heading back up.



All the way back up.

Music: Hunter Base


Up past the base, to the heliport.



The hallway still has this camera angle.



The heliport does this quick panning shot every time you come up here.



These are the last two people in the base.



(But she‘s awfully strong herself... How strong will I have to be to win her heart?) It may take some time, but trust me! It won‘t be TOO long.



(Otherwise, you‘ll get eaten alive!)

God they better both be Class 1 by the end of the game.

Also another mention of this Massimo character.



Finally leaving Central Tower and the tyranny of ramps.



The ship runs a regular route between here and South Square.

Party members will show up in the base, they'll either be in this hallway, the room with the save point, or the computer room with that goddamn creepy bed.



I must flee that monstrosity. Quick, to the city below!



Would you like to ride the Air Bus? >Yes/No

Then please step on. We‘ll be leaving in just a moment.



Music: Central Tower


With the door in the tunnels still broken, this Air Bus is the only way to get to and from town.



The city is much more lively, now that the Rebellion has been sent packing.



Now we can finally revitalize New Hope!



When I gaze at a clear sky like today‘s, all the talk of the Rebellion starts to feel irrelevant.



I‘m training to be strong like Massimo, but it isn‘t an easy task, let me tell you!

Massimo yet again. This guy must have been a major player here in Giga City. I wonder what happened to him?



You can't tell in a still image, but that conveyor belt is running.

Lockout-tagout exists for a reason, lady, even if you can get an arm replaced with a quick trip to a mechanic.



Past the door, some new things.



Such as these Figure Tokens.





The normal counterpart to the password machine we saw in Chapter 2, this machine takes tokens and gives a random figure from a chosen set. Each set is focused on a chapter, and has 6 figures each.



Five more to complete the series. Still plenty to go!

Unfortunately, figures still don't like PS2 emulation.



With the lockdown ended, the main shops are now open for business.

...man that is not a sentence I want to type here in 2021.





A new chapter means new stuff in stock. The Scope Buster trades in an element for overall higher stats and a small boost to accuracy and crit, but the next dungeon has a Water theme so I stick to my free Thunder Buster to exploit that.

On top of the bonus effect at 75% WE, each suit of card also has different stat priorities. Diamonds has middling offensive stats and lower defensive stats, but gives a sizable Speed boost, Clubs put everything into offense, and have extremely low defenses, Hearts has high defensive stats, and Spades is middle of the row on everything.

I buy Spider a Jack of Clubs so he has a bit more punch in fights.



One tab over, we have some new Sub Weapons. The Thunder Missile is, naturally, the Thunder version of the Fire Missile we got back at the Lagrano Ruins. The Rust Missile and Slime Missile are similarly counterparts to the Melt Missile, and reduce Power and Speed, respectively. The much cheaper Tomahawk hits a bit harder than a Micro Missile for the same WE cost, but takes a 25% accuracy cut in exchange.

The Tomahawk is bad and the other are way out of my price range, so I buy none of them.



Dude what is up with your smile. Seriously, I'm beginning to wonder if I should have stayed in bed.



A few new items. The Mega Thunder is a counterpart to the Mega Fire, and the Warm-up heals Freeze, which takes a unit out of the fight until it gets healed. Any attack on a Frozen unit breaks the status, but also deals extra damage.

I sell off my old Fire Buster and Melt Missile, and grab a few Warm-ups and Mega Thunders.





The general store holds outdated stock. Every time the shops update with a new chapter, the general store takes in all the stuff they no longer sell.





The Teleport Center here is a stage select. With it, we can go visit previous dungeons.



Places show up when the cursor is focused on them.

We're not revisiting the Ruins just yet, the only thing left is that locked door and we still haven't found the key for it.



Places we haven't been yet show up as purple bars.





For Force Metal, we have the Water Guard, WE +5, which boosts a character's starting WE, and Protect +1, which boosts both Armor and Shield.

Protect is pretty much a straight upgrade unless you're focusing on one defensive stat for some reason. It costs the exact same as an Armor and Shield combined (160 vs 80 and 80), has a combined Erosion cost (4 vs 2 and 2), and saves you a very limited FM slot.

I grab an Analyzer and give it to Spider.



As a blast from the past, we've made it to the plaza where X saw the public broadcast about himself.



A reploid kid?

A reploid kid?

How does that even work? Is it like Robots where they just constantly swap parts until they're 'fully grown'? Has Force Metal research advanced reploid technology to the point where they can make actual growing machines? Did the devs just want to put a few kids in town without examining the implications it brings about? The world may never know.



And should a kid's robodog still be equipped with weapons?



What? What am I doing here? Er, I, uh... There‘s this person I kinda like...



green armor.

Yet another mention of Massimo.

Music: Recapture Hope


This is back where the X8 Trial Key was found.



Heading all the way back to where we started Chapter 2, we find the place blocked off.



Hey, listen to this! I‘m just a trainee, and I finally got an assignment! It‘s my job to guard this room! And you can bet I'll be looking after this place like a hawk!♪ Sorry, X, but orders are orders. Can‘t let you through here.♪ Can you believe how responsible I am?

She's having fun guarding a room, at least. I don't think they ever explain why they blocked this room off.



Oh, and the floor below is also off limits. Why? Well, I‘m not exactly sure, but... Apparently a savagely strong prisoner is being held below.



You aren't my dad, I can go where I want!



This locked door, however, has much more say in the matter. Keep this in the back of your mind, because we aren't seeing what's behind this door or the mysterious prisoner for a long, long time.



Heading up, the barricade that forced us to go around the plaza last time has been removed.



Although the route to where we met Aile is also blocked off.



Don‘t try to go any farther. It‘s too dangerous inside.

Music: Central Tower


Just here and one more hallway and we're done.



I heard it was some kind of fight. You‘d think people would have the sense to control themselves during emergencies.

Yeah, who could possibly get into a fight here of all places?



Well, it‘s more work for me, but... It‘s proof that everybody‘s come back to New Hope.



Not all Resistance members are fighters. There are lots of other jobs that must be done as well, you know.



out of order when an emergency comes up! Of course, it‘d be best if we never needed it at all...

Oh hey, the alarm that made Spider run off after our fight. Thanks, lady!





When the security squad came, they‘d already split. I wonder if they‘re still lurking around here... And this after we finally got rid of the Rebellion!

Who knows? Those ruffians might even be right before your eyes.



I‘m a fan of Spider‘s... You know, Because he‘s so suave and cool and everything. He‘s just wonderful... I wish I could meet Spider, even if only once.



I‘m scared of heights, but I just can‘t help but take a peek... You know what I mean? What, you don't? Then just forget it. Let me do my peeking alone. Yeow! This really is high...



up in any of their silly games! If you‘re able to whoop their butts for us, then all the more power to you! I‘m rooting for you, all right? So go out and settle the score!



And with that, everyone has been talked to.



OK! It‘s up to you, X! Please save Nana the operator!



Next time: