Part 148: Episode CXLII: Wind and Thunder

Episode CXLII: Wind and Thunder



Back to it in The Vessel of Yamato. Technically, lining up all the floors did unlock a few extra teleport points. These lead to the fourth and final Crucifix accessory in the game if you want the entire party to just nope out on status effects for the remaining... two bosses. And the last Seventh Key item in the game, if you want to just delete the... remaining two bosses. We're good. Both of those are just overkill by now. Plus, we still haven't used The Eternal Key...



We've now reached the peak of the Vessel and two familiar Mutant Ape faces are awaiting us at the ominous gate at the end of the area. Well, kind of familiar. I think Yuri and the gang have interacted with The Mutant Apes all of about ten minutes the entire game and maybe exchanged three sentences total. But...


Music: Flame of Strain to Blaze ~ Tension



Hien! Look! They finally showed up!
Finally! How long have has the master had us standing here?
We're in a construct of Japanese divine forces that warps time and space, Hien. I'm not quite sure...
That's a fair point, Raiden. It feels like ages, either way.



Hey, you all! Where the hell have you been?!
Yeah, sorry... We got... sidetracked...
Sidetracked from the master correcting the timeline and destroying this reality?! With what?!
<clenches fist> Obtaining manhood!
Beating up an idiot in a tomb.
Defeating an evil plant to get perfume ingredients and getting engaged.
You got engaged...?
<nods> Mhm.
Ditto!
WHAT?!
W-we'll discuss that later...
...WHAT?!
I sorted out a haunted house of my former student and reconnected with the soul of my dead daughter inhabiting my cute little puppet here.
...Are they just going to keep going like this, Hien?
I don't know...
I fought my mother and learned my true potential and the liberation of freedom from clothes.
...What?
Nice.
Awroo...? (Can we just get on with this...?)
He fought a weird old man in a fursuit.
Awroo! (They don't need to know that!)
......
Oh, my turn?
We weren't seriously asking! Just annoyed!
Just let them finish at this point.
Yeah, OK...
I fought my dad in my soul and obtained the power of a dark god. So yeah... we were all a little occupied.
It seems like they really were busy, Hien.
......
...Yeah. OK.
So...



Where's your master?
Behind us, on the field of Takamagahara.
Should I know what that means...?
It's the High Plain of Heaven. It is... a place where... how do I put this?
Humans probably shouldn't be messing around with?
...That works.
Uh-huh. Figured.
I suppose you won't let us by?
The Mutant Apes live and die along with the Master. If you want to fight him you'll have to get through us.



No problem.



<grunts>
<assumes fighting stance>




Music: Hardcore to the Brain ~ Mid Boss in Japan



The remaining two Mutant Apes have had a glow up becoming possessed by the Japanese gods of Wind and Thunder respectively. Hien has transmogrified into Fuujin, a Pillar Man from Jojo's Bizarre Adventure ass looking Wind elemental boss with 3540 HP.



Meanwhile, his partner Raiden has become Raijin, who looks like some shitty blinged-out Incredible Hulk knock-off from the '90s. He is an Earth elemental enemy with 3780 HP.



This pair actually does work as a team as far as this battle goes. They will immediately mount up for a Combo attack as soon as either of them gets a turn and then turtle down in a defensive stance to take reduced damage and prevent being knocked out of their combo position. Even if a particularly powerful blow knocks one of them out of position they'll cheat and automatically return to the Combo line-up as soon as the attack ends.





Their attack pattern here on in is exactly the same regardless of who gets the first turn. The first of the pair will do a physical attack string for 100-200 HP of damage. Raijin hits for slightly more damage. The only difference is Raijin inflicts Physical Defense Down while Fuujin inflicts Special Defense Down on their physical attack modifier. Honestly, it's preferable for Raijin to get in his licks, because...





The follow-up is the targeted character getting hit with Lightning Flash which hits a single character for 200-300 HP of damage. So in all, as long as we keep everyone above 400 or so HP we're pretty much fine for this fight.





The pair still have their stockpile of infinite grenades provided by Kato from when they weren't possessed by Japanese divinity and will use those if they have an extra turn before the partner combo can commence. This is an AOE attack but it only does around 150~ HP range of damage so ehh.







Of the pair, we're going to want to focus on Raijin. He's got a touch more health and is tankier than his companion. But we can clobber them to the best of effect. Especially, since The Great Question popped on Joachim. No, I didn't even use a GetItUp! item. It was just fortunate timing that all worked out here. And Question Joachim can still deal nearly 500 damage to even a guarding Raijin. He does to the tune of 1700 unguarded. The Great Question is obscenely powerful!



So, we wanted to get rid of Raijin first because apparently, he was hard carrying this team. Since, as soon as he's defeated... Fuujin's attacks start only doing 1 HP of damage a pop. If Fuujin is defeated first, Raijin gets greatly diminished in his abilities but not... to a complete joke degree like this.





After that, it's just the usual Combo tactics and a multi-national team kicking the shit out of a Japanese god avatar. As you do.


Music: Result ~ Victory





C'mon, Kurando. You couldn't even level up for the penultimate boss of the game? Shameful.

Music: ENDS



BARF!
I-I... can still... go... another...



BARF!



Welp! Hien and Raiden are fucking dead! So ends The Mutant Apes' illustrious career of... killing a few escaped demon dogs and getting their ass kicked and killed fairly easily the first time any of them go up against a real enemy of any measure. This Mutant Apes program was not a good financial investment for Imperial Japan in the long run... Anyway, if we touch that gate we run into...





...Uhh...



...Oh.

......

...Is?

Is that... good?





Technically, the final area is considered to be its own location and Asuka Stone Platform/The Vessel has a shit load of new Library entries. So let's get to it here.

Monsters:



Barely sentient creature born from a dragon scale. Wizards. Same morality.



California is lousy with these jerks.



Couldn't afford decent dentistry after immigrating. Tragic.



So stupid looking it makes your dick stop working right for three years. Fucked up.



Now are these different meters or is a cumulative thing one way or the other?



The Twitter of gods.



Overwhelming power has 856 HP.



Please don't share your fetishes in the Library descriptions.



"Slicing flesh into ribbons" translates to roughly 158 HP of damage.



He only wanted the god of thunder to straighten out his jacked-up back... His one wish.




Video: Episode 142 Highlight Reel







Fuujin Concept Art - I'm not a fan of the Vegeta hair turning into a tentacle facsimile.





Raijin Concept Art - Sure, he's missing ears. But his dentistry is the real issue.



Human Hien and Raiden - The boys chilling out moments before Yuri fused with a dark god and nuked Shanghai. And got resurrected as cyborgs to serve a weird Japanese army guy that really wanted to bone his superior officer.