Part 32: Update XXXII - X... That look in your eyes makes me think you might be ready to face me.

Update XXXII - X... That look in your eyes makes me think you might be ready to face me.

Music: Ancient Fortress


Today, we kill Epsilon.



Not these Epsilons, the actual Epsilon.



We, the Elite Guards, shall destroy you even if we must sacrifice ourselves!



Although I won't turn down a challenger.



Hmm, what a fitting name.



This room has two separate hallways. Loot and a terminal to unlock the door are in each.



On the left, four Figure Tokens.



And by the terminal, a Super Absorber.



One down.



The other side is identical, right down to having another four tokens.



Although this side has a Treasure Token.



This terminal also has no item with it.



And with that, the way to Epsilon is open.



Just one more teleporter.





Two Tank Energy 100s plus a Gain Hyper.



This is it.

Video: Final Battle with the Rebellion
Music: Epsilon, First Movement




It’s game over!



So, the Maverick Hunters have arrived.



you're terribly wrong!

What?!

I do wonder what Spider did with that Supra-Force Metal, but eh, it was probably just an abandoned cliffhanger like X8.



Commander, can we get some Supra-Force Metal?

We have Supra-Force Metal at home.



we’ll use it in the warhead!





Music: The Rebellion's Ambition


Commander, please leave this to me. That rat, X...



You know, that line would work a lot better if X had his signature power copying trick in this. Instead, Axl is the one who gets new powers, and he hasn't picked up anything new since Incentas!



where would we be then?!



Or are you suggesting I would lose?

You alone carry the Rebellion Army torch!



you are the embodiment of our beliefs! Make the choice to live another day!













I have nothing to say. Fight!

Music: Executive Battle


Scarface comes in for round 2 with an extra 5000 LE and... not much else, honestly! Same move pool, almost identical stats, his entire purpose here is to try and drain some resources before you fight Epsilon.

And just to be a dick, he traded out the Tank Energy ∞ in his drop list at Central Tower to a basic Tank Energy 100 here. Don't be fooled by the two weapons in his new drop list either, both of those have a 10% drop rate, which I think makes Scarface the only boss in the game with sub-100% drops.

Last time, I had to deal with Ultimate Armor and Massimo both having S-type ATs.

This time, I have Absolute Zero.





It goes poorly for Scarface.



Three ATs and a Final Strike seal his fate.



I was weak...

Music: Grief - Sympathy - Pity - Pain I




And Epsilon didn't even try to escape, he just lets Scarface march to his death rather than trying to back up his most loyal officer. Man, what a dick!





I will not run from this fight. For I know that this bridge must be crossed to achieve our ideal.

What are your fucking ideals, Epsilon?

Is it just to make a Reploid nation? Is my baseless speculation that you want a monopoly on Force Metal on the mark? What?

All this talk about the Rebellion's 'vision' and 'ideals', yet outside of a quick chat with Scarface the game never really goes into what they want! Scarface talks big about using Supra-Force Metal for self-evolution, but then Epsilon goes right back to shoving it in a missile! This is a fucking JRPG, the home of villains vomiting a 20 minute monologue at you to spell out every single letter of their plans, and Epsilon can't even be bothered to actually tell you his deal in his first and final appearance since the beginning of the game!

A story-focused game, everyone!



At least his hand glows with an awesome power.





Kneel before the mighty Epsilon!

Music: Epsilon, First Movement


For the leader of the Rebellion, Epsilon's moveset is a tad slim. He has Power Virus to inflict status, but only Power Virus, nothing debilitating like Freeze, Berserk, or DOA. He has the full trio of Ultra Giga elements, but those all fall short of his other moves. He also has Fatal Attack for criticals. Beyond that, he has his two unique moves...



Metacrush, which drops the target's HP to 1.

And I'm sorry, but I can't see that animation as anything other than Epsilon farting at you, what the hell, art team!



And Nova Impact, which ignores Armor and Shield to deal between 1K and 1.4K damage to everyone, although barriers still halve it.

Epsilon also has a brand new AI that makes him stop using certain moves if anyone is in Hyper, cutting Power Virus and the three Ultra Gigas as long as someone is using it. This seems a bit strange, but it stops him from wasting a turn on Power Virus against immune enemies, and also makes him use his stronger moves more often if you break out the big guns.



The problem here, is that despite being knocked down to 1 LE, Zero is in no risk of dying. Epsilon isn't fast enough to double, and he has no adds that can try to snipe someone after Metacrush, so all you have to do to deal with him is toss a Life Gain 50 before his next turn, or an All Life Gain if he favors Nova Impact and someone drops below 1400 LE.

And on top of that, Bait works perfectly well on him, meaning you can use Stealth Mode Axl to completely ignore two-thirds of his moves!



With nothing in his drop list, you can clearly tell that Epsilon has a second form up his sleeve.



X takes a good chunk off right off the bat.



While Zero pushes him into Final Strike range before he can get a second action!





Music: Epsilon, Second Movement


Christ, even his second form is , the only thing that changed are his little shoulder bits popping off. Psyche had a better form change, for crying out loud!



Eject Epsilon, as he's now known, has a Build Hyper up for grabs.



He also picks up a barrier against all damage and 50% regen. This basically shuts down your offense, while letting him burn through your healing stocks with Metacrush. 10 hits will weaken the barrier, while 20 will disable it entirely and remove his regen.





Note that I said hits, not attacks, meaning the 100-hit Nova Strike kills his barrier before he can even act.

This isn't a 'hey look, Bisby's chumping bosses with the secret Hyper Modes'-moment like the other bosses, either, damn near everyone has some form of attack with a high hit count. X can use X Collider for 10 hits at 100%, Massimo gets 12 hits with Multistage, Marino can use Quicksilver to chain Scattered Flower for 6 hits each, Cinnamon has 5 hits with the Kitty Glove, Axl can use the Auto Bullets with a Hawkeye for 8 hits, and Zero can easily hit 20 on the spot by using two Heat Hazes with Command Arts.

...I guess if doing a no Hyper Mode challenge run and only use X, Massimo without Multistage, and Marino with no Gain WEs or Generators it would take a bit, but man this has been a letdown.



Anyways, Marino does her thing.



Oh, and Eject Epsilon only has Metacrush and Nova Impact, which makes this even more of a damage race, but Axl can still chump him just as much as before.



With his barrier taken down in seconds, Zero damn near kills him.



While X holds back a bit for a Final Strike.





Incredible...

He doesn't even get a defeat animation, he just plays his hit animation and stops halfway through!

Music: Boss Victory Jingle + Trajectory of Battle II




As always, Axl gets screwed out of anything new.

Music: The Rebellion's Ambition




Why create something as dangerous as the Supra-Force Metal missile?!



our ideas will be ignored.





What other options do we have?!


": Oh man, kicking every human out with no warning and attempting to steal an entire city got me labeled a terrorist, what could I have possibly done differently?"

I mean, you could always not forcibly evict all humans in Giga City as your first course of action. Or avoid hiring literal fucking sadists. Or vet your god damn captains so you don't get a guy only in it for himself in your highest ranks.

But no, play the victim card, I'm sure Aile and True Massimo appreciate it.





Music: Stops


He doesn't even get to die on screen, he just gets a fade to white.

RIP Epsilon, you showed up at the start to mess with X and Zero, made no appearances for the entire game, then died in the same room he reappeared in.

_{Yes, I did reference the same thing I said about Shadow's death, they both had the same amount of screentime anyways.}



Despite all their big talk the Rebellion Army's actions were still Maverick.





Music: Fight! X




Redips sure took his sweet time, we already finished the job!











Even at the end of everything, Massimo, Marino, and Cinnamon still don't get to show up.



You are to be commended, X.





A plane will arrive for you shortly.

Music: Memories of Gigantis


Next time: