Part 46: Character Write-Up - Marino

Ah yes, Massimo's Action Trigger gets wacky as hell when it gets its upgrades. It 's wonderful. That said, we have a new party member so it's time to talk about her!

Marino

There's never any question about what she's here for, and that's to steal everything in the enemy's pockets faster than they can blink.

Weapon Type: Beam Knives (Combat), Beam Shuriken (Shot)
Starting WE: 32%
WE Gain per turn: 20%
Action Trigger: Emotional Reel - Roulette for various effects. More WE = Roulette spins slower, making it easier to stop on the effects you want. Additional effects are unlocked as Marino gains levels.
Action Trigger Effects: 3 - Icons or 3 non matching icons = 130% damage attack to one enemy as a 'dud' result, 3 Treasure Chests = 100% item steal, 3 Hearts = 3-hit Shot attack that heals Marino, 3 Boots = 200% damage attack to one enemy, 3 Grim Reapers(Level 20 unlock) = 250% damage attack with chance of instant kill, 3 Marino Icons(level 30 unlock) = 250% damage to all enemies
Elemental Resistances: None
Force Metal Slots: 3
Starting Immunity: 18
Hyper Mode: Quicksilver
Hyper Mode Benefits: LE +50%, Power +20%, Speed +200%, Takes 75% damage from Water elemental attacks
Hyper Mode Turns: 5

The proper Thief party member, Marino makes your life much easier in terms of getting your hands on cool stuff. Once you get good at Emotional Reel's timing, getting the "I'll Take That!" result for a guaranteed pilfering is really simple and will net you all sorts of goodies. Her coming with Get Zenny+ as a sub weapon is great since more money in the bank is always helpful, be it for buying more Gain WE + Force Metals or anything else you might have your eyes on. She's not going to win any damage records sadly, but most of her weapons get two hits per attack all the time so she can still contribute between Action Trigger thievery turns. Speaking of her Action Trigger, the wheels on it spin slower at higher WE amounts so it gets easier to line up what you want it to do. Her unique Fat Slicer Force Metal also gives her an extra 10% dodge rate - not quite as good as Spider's Bluff, but still worth keeping around until you really load up on some of the good Force Metals later on... assuming you keep using her in the frontline, anyway. Marino's Hyper Mode however is where she really shines - that 200% speed is no joke, eventually she reaches a point where the entire turn order is just back to back exclusively HER turns while it's going. She won't be soloing the boss mind you, but more likely robbing them blind and possibly using a Gain Hyper or two in order to prolong the Turbo Thievery as much as possible depending on how good the player is at Emotional Reel. Marino also has the distinction of being the only party member besides X who can deal both Combat and Shot damage, though for her it's dependent on her equipped weapon rather than her Hyper Mode.

The first few times I played this game, once I got Marino, I just shoved Massimo onto the bench and never looked back. Once you get the hang of her action trigger's timing, you can steal whatever you want, top off her health by ripping it out of the enemy, or just blast something with a single heavy attack. Coming with a free Hawkeye weapon also handily negates her handicap against flying enemies as a melee character, and at a paltry 5 WE cost it won't notably slow down her action trigger use in any big way in random encounters. She is however more on the fragile side given how she's undoubtedly the fastest party member, so if too many enemies take swings at her then Marino will definitely be in trouble. Fortunately her speed means that will rarely be a problem, and it lets her act as probably bar none the best item caddy in the game - especially if she's called in for stealing and you need to keep the rest of the party in top shape while you wait for her AT to recharge.