Part 25: Update XXV - You never believe it's a "miracle"...

Update XXV - You never believe it's a "miracle"...

Video: Chapter 8 Objective
Music: Hunter Base


This contains 10,000 times more energy than normal Force Metal!

But that means...

It would take a ton of Force Metal to make this. And only one place has that much metal. The Force Metal Refinement Plant.





If we find out what this stuff is, it may give us insight into what the Rebellion is up to. Thank you, X. We would never have come this far without your hard work.



Central Tower has been cleared out, yet the Central Key is nowhere to be seen. They really don't want anyone getting through that door, do they?



Although we do find a Reverse Thunder. The Reverse series of FMs goes a step beyond the Resists and gives full absorption for that element. The catch is that there's only one of each type in the entire game, no enemies drop them, no shops stock them, and you can't refine more with the FMG.



Just what I was afraid of... The Rebellion had something terrible planned for Force Metal after all.



I think I can understand its potential. Supra—Force Metal is dangerous! We must not allow it to fall into the wrong hands! Why is it that there are always those, like the leaders of the Rebellion... Who use technology to evil ends? I'm sure Supra—Force Metal could be put to good use, if given the chance.



When the enemy is that dumb, it makes you want to let down your guard. And that’s risky! But those are the types that always seem to cause the most trouble. I just hope he doesn't end up being a major pain. Was that stuff Cadre Botos ran off with called Supra-Force Metal? Did you see how his energy went off the charts as soon as he equipped it? If they mass—produced that stuff, we'd really have our work cut out for us. And what’s more, if another Maverick got a hold of that stuff, that would be big trouble, too! We've got to disable their Supra-Force Metal production capability for good!



Who would've thought that one little bit of Supra—Force Metal could make you so strong? If there are small Supra-Force Metal chunks, could there be big ones, too? Hmm... I'd rather not imagine that. Just how strong would an enemy be when equipped with a giant piece? Nah, I doubt that kind of Supra-Force Metal exists. Definitely not.



First, he’s scampering around, trying to flee, then he drops his treasure? He's obviously plotting something. Let’s take the sucker on! Hmph! Snatching up Supra—Force Metal, and whatever else they please! I won't stop until that Epsilon is kneeling on the ground begging for mercy!



Music: Recapture Hope


The Erosion is so high that a turns Reploids into Mavericks the instant it is equipped! You are special-type Reploids, so you may be able to handle it... But I wouldn’t risk it if I were you!

I do find it a bit strange how Botos' bit of Supra-Force Metal just vanishes afterwards. It would have been a nice touch if you got to keep it and it gives something like +20 to all stats for a sky high Erosion cost. Tie together the narrative and gameplay, you know?



I thought that the facility was no longer in operation... But it's possible that the Supra—Force Metal was refined there.



People claim to have spotted him... I don't know the details, though. You should ask in the city.

Game, I swear to god if Spider turns out to be alive all along and shows up this chapter...



I can fully understand why Chief R ordered an investigation of the Melda Ore Plant. We haven’t confirmed whether the Melda Ore Plant's still refining Force Metal, but it's the only location where Supra—Force Metal refinement is possible.



And I managed to get hold of some information! I gave the info to Nana, so she should be reporting it to you after analysis is complete!



Err... Hah hah... What to do now? I know! Equipping Force Metal should do the trick!



Otherwise, you'll be frozen stiff out there!



And totally freezing! You'd better protect yourself from the cold. I hate the cold. I hope I can skip out on this next mission.



I’m not sure if the plant is still in operation, but it's worth checking out.



I sure would be interested in hearing what kind of ability it possesses.





Everybody is trying so hard... for the memory of Spider! Everybody is just as sad as you are. That's why they’re working so hard!





Music: Central Tower


One especially pure and dense type is called Supra—Force Metal. A very small piece of it was discovered by accident. As the story goes, the Rebellion conducted research on it and developed a means of refining it.



But it was all way over my head. What's the good of knowing about Supra-Force Metal, anyway?



They even know about Supra—Force Metal! Supra—Force Metal was developed by the Rebellion. I bet you didn’t know that! What?! You did?! Well, shoot...



Even we don’t have information on Supra-Force Metal. Better find out all we can, for the sake of our friends.



At this point, the majority of new stock is just straight upgrades. At the very least, we have the Limit Buster for X and the Beast Killer for Axl. The Beast Killer is another gun that gets bonus damage against certain enemies, while the Limit Buster has a chance of leaving the target with 1 LE. While that sounds like a downside, in practice this means that any time it goes off will instead open up a Final Strike, which can kill and will get you bonus FME and some extra WE for X.

For Sub Weapons, we have the Twin Tomahawk, Twin Thunder, and Hunter Missile, all of which we've seen.



The FM shop sells slightly better stat boosters, plus Water Resists.



He was just as handsome as ever! And today I said hi to him. Oh, Spider... You’re just wonderful...

Okay, false alarm, it was just a woman tripping balls.



Did his injuries heal? I know they were quite serious. He must be having a hard time. Tell him I hope he gets better soon!



She was in love with Spider, and when she heard about his death, the shock caused a bug in her thinking circuitry. I can't bear to mention his name... It would be too harsh on her...

Funnily enough, the Day of Sigma OVA included with Maverick Hunter X states that one of the original causes of Mavericks (before Zero was found and everything went to hell) is a short-circuit in the electronic brain. This means that Spider's death hit that girl so hard she technically went Maverick.



She cared for him so... If only they could meet again. Many of us Reploids look the same. It'll be awfully hard for her when she meets a Reploid with the same body type.

Mass production always creeps me out in these kinds of settings. Imagine getting 'born', only to be told that you have 100 identical siblings because of a contract sold to the lowest bidder.

On the plus side, it gives the developers an in-universe reason to only use a handful of character models for all these NPCs.



The Chapter 1-4 vending machine has been completely cleared out, and it even updates the appearance and text to match!



Meanwhile, the GC vending machine's text has bugged out.



All four series on this have been bought, so we'll have to wait for more to appear.



Could it really be the real thing? Supra-Force Metal is that special stuff developed by the Rebellion, right?! But if it is the real thing... Hmm... I might be kinda interested... Wouldn’t you be, too? No?



That’s the stuff that you can equip to boost your abilities, right?! Sweet, dude! Of course I want some! Sell it to me now! If I had myself some Supra—Force Metal, I wouldn't need anything else!



That’s incredible! I'd love to get some of that! Hey, how much would you sell it for? Of course I accept! A bit pricey, but how can I pass it up?!



I'm talking the real deal, buddy. It ain’t gonna be cheap, but I could set aside a bit for you. Wait, you’re from the Government, aren’t you? I don't deal with the feds, pal...



I'm making sure he doesn't try anything over here. You'd better be careful consumers, or you’ll end up wasting your Zenny.



A female Reploid with some fried memory circuits made a dumb comment, and it spread across town like wildfire. I guess it shows how much people wish Spider would come back to us.



Everyone was all excited about the news, but could it really be true? Maybe he wasn’t dead in the first place? Spider was super-strong. It wouldn't be too surprising if he popped up again.

Game...



Down below is the machinery used to keep New Hope running. If this breaks down, everyone'll be in big trouble. It’s my job to keep it going. Pretty big responsibility, huh?



At some point I hit 500 battles, which unlocked a new scarf color.

There's one more color after this, but that'll probably be the last thing we get in the LP.



At least we have some more bling.





Before heading to the next dungeon, I want to finish clearing out the desert so I never have to return again. Thank god there are maps of this place online.



Near the northwest corner, next to the invisible wall, is a disabled Mega Tortoise.



So we just have to head about 30 feet southeast for a Mini Battery.

Yes, that's twice this dungeon puts a disabled Mechaniloid and the item needed in the same place, forcing you to backtrack.



Grab the Tortoise.



And one last token a bit east from the 20% tower.



I made a stop at Botos' arena, to see if any loot showed up, but found nothing.



But it does let me take a closer look at his console, which has some piano keys, a microphone, and sheet music. Considering his combo attacks had a musical theme to them, this is a cute touch!



Save points kick you directly back to the base, rather than sending you to the Teleport Center.



Enough time has passed to cycle deployments, which gets us some nice stuff from Vanallia.

The Bait is a special Sub Weapon, and I'll wait till next time to go over it.

It also has yet another Super Absorber, further invalidating the laser puzzles. This is probably becoming a dead horse at this point, but seriously, fuck those laser puzzles.













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