Part 24: Neo Arcadian Military
>>BONUS POST #2 INCOMING<<
“So you want to know about the Neo Arcadian Military?”
Though the Resistance base is about to be nuked shortly, I thought we’d take the time we’re preparing a ship for interception to educate a bit on the Neo Arcadian military structure, now that we’ve seen its generals and alluded to certain battalions in boss bios.
=Guardians=
SO. We’ll start with the guardians as a whole. I won’t get into specifics for each of em just yet, but here’s the overview for those who haven’t played the first game.
The guardians, from left to right, are as follows: “Fighting” Fefnir, “Sage” Harpuia, “Hidden” Phantom, and “Fairy” Leviathan. Together, they command the various branches of the Neo Arcadian military, with each battalion specializing in a certain function.
Previously, in Zero one, they were under the direct command of Copy X, the villainous replication of the original X created by Ciel, who also acted as supreme commander of Neo Arcadia. In the events of that game, however, both Phantom and Copy X were slain by Zero, leaving only the remaining 3 guardians and an enormous hole in the governing body.
Neo Arcadia dealt with this situation through two measures. Firstly, they disbanded Phantom’s division, redistributing his men amongst the 3 remaining forces. Secondly, they staged an elaborate cover-up of X’s death due to the vast sway and trust he inspired in the human populace, instead opting to instate Harpuia as leader behind the scenes. This brings us to the events of this game, with Harpuia and Co as the main antagonists to the resistance forces.
As for the history of the guardians, they were all created from X’s RoboDNA, hence why they all share his fashion sense. The thong+vest combo is IN these days. Just ask Zero! (Incidentally they were initially all gonna be blue to emphasize this but that got changed some time in development.)
There’s also some bullshit behind-the-scenes story about how they were originally meant to cultivate the land and repopulate the world up until the resistance was formed but just ignore that. The Zero supplemental materials can get kinda stupid sometimes, like with Ciel being genetically engineered.
=Battalions=
Neo arcadia’s forces are divided into 4 main units, with one having since disbanded. They even all have their own nifty little logo, with a main “Neo Arcadia” one also being present. I’ll go into each of them in order here.
Neo Arcadia: The only major human settlement remaining, with its governing body consisting of the (deceased) Copy X, the four Guardians and generals of the Neo Arcadian Military, and a judicial body headed by a group known as the “8 gentle judges”. They aren’t important as far as this game goes.
Scorched Earth Squadron/Jin’en Gundan: Neo Arcadia’s land based heavy forces, consisting of fire-elemental, agressive and hard-hitting foes, with Fefnir at the helm.
Known commanders: Anubis Necromancess III (zero 1), Phoenix Magnion (post-phantom)
Strong Air Battalion/Rekku Gundan: Under General Harpuia, the Rekku Gundan is NA’s primary air force, and contains swift, electrically-aligned foes. This is the one attempting to bomb resistance HQ.
Known commanders: Aztec Falcon (zero 1), Herculious Anchus (zero 1), Panter Flauclaws.
Cutting Shadow Squadron/Zan’ei Gundan: Special ops/intelligence unit, formerly under the command of Phantom. Since disbanded, contained members of every element, though Phantom himself was non-elemental. Former members tend to incorporate deception/camouflage and swift, precise movement into their battle plans.
Known commanders: Hanumachine (zero 1), Phoenix Magnion (former), Hyleg Ourobockle (former)
Deep Sea Squadron/Meikai Gundan: Naval/Maritime division, Headed by Leviathan. Primarily composed of units specializing in aqueous and/or sub-zero environments.
Known commanders: Blizzack Staggroff (zero 1), Poler Kamrous.
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Aaaaaaand that’s all the time we have. Preparing for launch!