Part 10: Info dump

Info dump

I'll include future information in the posts for the respective episodes first. Then I'm going to update this post with new information and spoilers as we progress.

-Important game mechanics.-

Critical hits.

A message at the bottom of the screen will let you know when you score a crit. But why?
Well, because it's important. A crit will not only do more damage but it will also refill your health, by a almost a quarter. This is very important during the foot sections, as pick-ups are relatively rare and death lurks around every corner. It also works during the mech sections but it's not that important there.

Scoring a crit isn't that simple. In general, hitting a centered headshot or the area where the heart would be gives you a chance to crit. This chance is then further influenced by what weapon you use. Each one has a different chance, and the values are not visible. Certain weapons are more reliable and you have to figure that out for yourself. It's not advisable to plan around crits, but when you're almost dead it's a good idea to try them.

Vehicle mode.

Your mech can transform into a hovercraft. This is mostly useful for crossing distances faster than on foot, but it can also give you a lot of agility if you want to dodge incoming fire. Mastering the fluid switch between the modes makes the game even faster and allows for some daring moves.

-Major characters-

- Sanjuro Makabe

The protagonist of the game. Sanjuro is a easy-going, somewhat sarcastic U.C.A soldier (ranked at Commander) with a serious disrespect for authority, which earns him the ire of his commanding officer Admiral Akkaraju. He is still recovering emotionally from the death of his brother Toshiro, his best friend Baku, and his lover Kura, although that doesn't stop him from having a relationship with Kura's sister, Kathryn.

He was orphaned at a young age and he and his brother Toshiro were brought into a U.C.A military academy, where he met Kura, Kathryn, their father, and Baku. Sanjuro had the gift of fine social skills, leading him to be well liked by his class-mates. He had a special "Love-Hate" relationship with Kura as a young man, the two constantly teased each other in what was actually primitive flirting which eventually turned into full blown love.

- Toshiro Makabe

Toshiro, being the elder son, was more deeply affected than his brother by the loss of their parents. He grew up a sullen, withdrawn child, more comfortable in his own highly active imagination than in the company of others. He always envied Sanjuro's popularity and rugged self-assurance, but he was most jealous of his brother's relationship with Kura Akkaraju, one of the admiral's twin daughters.

- Toshiro Makabe

It is revealed that Toshiro is in fact the Fallen leader, Gabriel. The attack during the covert missions was actually done by Cothenial, an alien super-being. After the attack, Toshiro was captured and taken over by the Cothenial, becoming her human avatar.

In an older design document for Shogo it is shown that Cothenial herself staged the attack to draw the team containing Toshiro to where she could manipulate him. He, like Ivan Isarevich, had a mind capable of handling Cothenial's orders and his emotional instability caused by his resentment and jealously of his brother's popularity made him easier to control. Cothenial took over Toshiro's mind with much more force than Isarevich, as her cause was more desperate and the Fallen needed a leader. She sent him against his friends, taking on Baku as his right hand man and leaving Kura to die, as her loyalty to Sanjuro made her useless as a pawn. Sanjuro was only allowed to escape to allow him to suffer through the emotional trauma caused by the event, in vengeance for the death of Ivan Isarevich.


- Baku Ogata

Baku was a scrawny underachiever who was often the target of bullies at the military orphanage Sanjuro and Toshiro attended. The brothers befriended him and they all became good friends. Baku has always loved Kura, Kathryn's sister, but her relationship with Sanjuro destroyed any chance he would ever have to tell her.

- Baku Ogata

Baku became Gabriel's right hand minion Uziel, and holds an insane hatred for Sanjuro. While this is rooted in his affections for Kura, Cothenial's mind control probably amplified his emotions and may has actually driven him insane. Kura describes him as such, but we'll never really know if this is true.

- Kathryn Akkaraju

The communications officer for the U.C.A.S.F Leviathan (listed as Lieutenant Commander), Kathryn is Sanjuro's primary radio contact as well as his girlfriend. She is responsible for giving Sanjuro most of his mission briefings and objectives over the radio. She seems more emotional and kind-hearted than her tougher, tomboyish sister, Kura. She, like Sanjuro, is described as someone who gets on the nerves of those of authority, but is too valuable to lose.

After the death of her mother in combat, she swore of violence. However to keep with her training, family history, and friends she entered the U.C.A as a communications officer. After the deaths of Toshiro, Baku, and Kura, she took comfort in Sanjuro as he did likewise. This comforting eventually grew into love.

- Kura Akkaraju

Sanjuro's previous girlfriend, Kura was killed during a covert mission several months before the events of the game. Rather then turn away from violence after her mothers death as did her sister, Kura grew even more interested in military life. She also blamed her father, who held back from attempting to save his wife to stick with his orders. Kura saw this as cowardice that lead to her mothers death.

From early in her military career, Kura earned tremendous praise for her unequaled marksmanship, tactical brilliance, and unwillingness to quit no matter how great the odds. Her spirited personality caught the watchful eye of Sanjuro, who quickly feel deeply in love with her. They were inseparable until her untimely death.

- Kura Akkaraju

While Cothenial took Toshiro to be her general and got Baku to be Toshiro's right hand man, Kura was left to die in her M.C.A. Her loyalty and love of Sanjuro would have made her hard to manipulate and thus made her useless. She didn't die however, as Hank Johnson found the wrecked M.C.A's of the U.C.A. strike team and found Kura unconscious. Hank took her to the geological research base where he was stationed and he and his wife attempted to nurse Kura back to health. She had no major physical injuries but Cothenial's mental powers had left her deeply afflicted.

While Hank and his wife where discussing who to tell to get her help, she regained consciousness and told them to reveal her continued life to no one. Even though they doubted her mental ability to decide on such matters, they honored her wishes. Over the next few months Kura overcame whatever demons where tormenting her and made various unexplained trips into Avernus, upon questioning Kura admitted that she was spying on the Fallen, to which Hank replied by demanding the she let him help her.

- Nathaniel Akkaraju

The leader of the U.C.A forces on Cronos, Commander of the flagship "Leviathan" and the father of Kathryn and Kura. The Admiral harbors a burning hatred for the Fallen, supposedly because of Kura's death at their hands. The Admiral's sense of duty and honor are legendary, which has earned him both respect and resentment. No one resented him more than Kura, who blamed him for her mother's death during a military crisis in the colony where they were stationed.

Nathaniel's refusal to abandon his post cost him the love of one daughter, but the respect of another, Kura's twin sister Kathryn, who believed that he did the right thing. Admiral Akkaraju's grief over his wife's demise hardened his outward demeanor, turning him from a proud father and noble officer into a cold, ruthless disciplinarian. He also blames Sanjuro for the loss of his daughter, and has never quite forgiven him.

He kind of goes nuts, close to the ending of the game, and wants to destroy the whole city of Avernus, the base of the Fallen, with the giant Kato cannon housed in the flagship. This is a direct violation of his orders and no one really knows why he wants to do it.

- Hank Johnson

Hank is a citizen of Cronus who assists Sanjuro through much of the game. He had always wished to enter the U.C.A military as a pilot and be a "hero", however he never got past the physical tests. This was due to an untreated genetic condition that robbed him of much of his endurance. Instead he married and worked as a geologic researcher (particularly geothermal studies) outside of Avernus for the Armacham Technology Corporation. He is a friend of Kura and helps Sanjuro under her directions as this is an opportunity for him to fulfill his desire to be a hero.

An older Shogo design document elaborates on how he found Kura and how he got involved in the Cronian Revolution. While working as a geological researcher he found the wrecked M.C.A's of a U.C.A strike team and found Kura unconscious in her M.C.A. Hank took her to the base where he was stationed and he and his wife attempted to nurse Kura back to health, where she suffered weird psychological afflictions. While Hank and his wife where discussing who to tell to get her help, she regained consciousness and told them to reveal her continued life to no one. Over the next few months Kura recovered and made various unexplained trips into Avernus, upon questioning Kura admitted that she was spying on the Fallen, to which Hank replied by demanding the she let him help her. There is no evidence against this information in the final product, though no mention of it per say.

He gets murdered close to the end of the game, by Ryo Ishikawa.

- Ryo Ishikawa

The acting head of Shogo Industries' Cronus division, son of Shogo Industries' president, Shinobu.

He is manipulating all sides in the conflict in an attempt to destroy the Fallen and all of the other factions so that he can exploit Cothenial. It's fair to call him the main antagonist, as Cothenial is motivated by self defense instead of being evil. He immediately saw the Cronian Revolution as a chance for Shogo to gain control of Kato mining. There were many groups with stakes on Cronus, such as Armacham and Andra, who Ryo considered only minor threats. However he knew that he would have to deal the the U.C.A, C.M.C and the Fallen.

After researching the situation on Cronus, Ryo met with Ivan Isarevich. There they made a pact where in exchange for lessening the amount of Kato mining, the Fallen's main objective, Shogo would become the sole distributor of the biological ore. Cothenial knew that Ryo would eventually betray the Fallen, and that his motives were only to make Kato more scarce to drive up the price, but she figured that the short term benefits justified the alliance. Shogo started to supply the Fallen with information, weapons, resources and technology, all without any other group suspecting anything. Ryo was even clever enough to make sure that Shogo got raided by the Fallen just as much as anybody else.

Ryo was furious when he heard that Isarevich had been assassinated and that the new leader broke their deal, so he found out who was responsible, Sanjuro, and plotted to make him suffer. Furthermore, he devised a plan to gain control of Kato by capturing Cothenial, and housing her in a stasis field generator on a space-based platform where they would test and exploit her.

Murders Hank Johnson.

- Gabriel

Current leader of The Fallen. Nothing is known about this mysterious person. He stepped up after the death of Ivan Isarevich and increased the activity and success of his forces greatly.

He is revealed to be Toshiro, under the mind control of Cothenial.

- Uziel

The right-hand man of Gabriel. He is as equally mysterious and carries a big fucking gun.

He turns out to be Baku, apparently driven insane by Cothenial's mind control

- Cothenial

A colossal underground creature that is actually the source of Kato. She was responsible for the creation of the Fallen and the possession of Toshiro and Baku.

An older Shogo design document elaborates more on Cothenial's past and activities during the Cronian Revolution. Ivan Isarevich, the Fallen leader, met with Ryo Ishikawa. There they made a pact where in exchange for lessening the amount of Kato mining, the Fallen's main objective, Shogo would become the sole distributor of the biological ore. Cothenial knew that Ryo would eventually betray the Fallen, and that his motives were only to make Kato more scarce to drive up the price, but she figured that the short term benefits justified the alliance. Shogo started to supply the Fallen with information, weapons, resources and technology, all without any other group suspecting anything. After Isarevich was assassinated, Gabriel then contacted Ryo and terminated the deal. Cothenial seems similar in design to The Ancient One, the final boss of Blood II: The Chosen.

-Minor characters-

- Ivan Isarevich

The former leader of the Fallen that was assassinated by Sanjuro, Toshiro, Baku and Kura. He was described as "an up and coming tyrant" by some, and after his death Gabriel took control of the Fallen.

In an older design document for Shogo Isarevich is described in more noble fashion as an environmentalist who was concerned that such a high rate of Kato mining would eventually lead to it running out. He was charismatic, respected and had a strong mind. Isarevich furiously campaigned to the C.M.C to lower the rate of mining to no avail. Eventually, he formed the Fallen and started terrorist attacks against the C.M.C and U.C.A during the Cronian revolution. It is unclear what exactly made him change so radical. When the C.M.C tried to declare Cronus independent and the Cronian Revolution started the Fallen were able to grow in strength, and displayed a surprisingly high state of equipment and technology.

He was the first avatar of Cothenial. She chose him as he was already opposing the Kato mining rate, was charismatic, smart and strong enough to handle the mind control. At first, Cothenial tried to have him succeed through political means and activism. But since these actions had been fruitless, she gave him the order to form the Fallen and commence terrorist attacks against the C.M.C.

- Lieutenant Dussault

A lieutenant serving with Sanjuro during a mission on Cronus in the first level. He orders Sanjuro and his unit to evacuate the planet before their air force will start to carpet bomb the operations area. He is referred to merely as "Shock Trooper" in the game's files and is probably named after Mike Dussault, the head engineer of the LithTech engine.

- Captain Evans

A drop ship pilot that evacuates Sanjuro's unit in the beginning of the game. Later he also flies the drop ship that brings Sanjuro back to Cronus. He is referred to merely as "pilot" in the game files, and is probably named after Israel Evans, the LithTech motion capture actor.

- Samantha Sternberg

A reoccurring villain that attacks Sanjuro at multiple points in the game. Nothing is known about her and she has no impact on the story in any form.

In the Shogo community, the general opinion was that she is a former girlfriend of Sanjuro. While this would fit in the scope of anime writing, there is zero evidence for that theory.

- Lieutenant Cloud

Commander of the U.C.A strike team, Carnivore, that infiltrated a communication complex. Luckily, it's the same one that Sanjuro needs to go to and he can take advantage of their position and support.

Dies a lonely death, while protecting an exit that Sanjuro doesn't even need. He's surprisingly calm about his demise, so let's remember him as a hero.

-Maurice and Toshi

Two friends of Hank that assist Sanjuro inside M.C.A's when he enters Maritropa. They are an early example of squad artificial intelligence in first-person shooters but suffer from the problem of somewhat limited responsiveness that plagued this technique during the nineties. This is shown by the player being able to easily outrun and lose them or, more notably in this case, them dying almost immediately after the level begins. In addition, they have been known to actually shoot Sanjuro if he happens to be in their line of fire. It should be noted however that the squad mates shown earlier in the game function better. If they do manage to survive long enough, they will also be eventually unable to follow Sanjuro due to level obstructions.

-Haddam Family

Sanjuro is stopped by an electric fence in the slums of Maritropa which is controlled by the Haddam family. Sanjuro talks to Mrs. Haddam and she offers to let him through if he finds her lost cat. If the player does this he has to go through an extra section, while the other option is to kill her and then defeat her husband before either forcefully destroying the electrical generator, or turning it off.

-Factions-

United Corporate Authority - U.C.A

A monolithic corporate and military conglomerate founded from by a succession of three companies (Shogo Industries, Andra Biomechanics, and Armacham Technology Corporation) to front space travel and exploration. The group soon took on a form of its own and became the dominant corporate and military power in the galaxy. It still remains in contact with its founding corporations, namely to take advantage of their products for their military such as the various Mobile Combat Armors. They joined the battle on Cronus after it became evident that the conflict would endanger their control over the planet and the Kato mining.

Shogo Industries

As a Japanese conglomerate, Shogo has interests ranging from technology to publishing to the manufacture of children's clothing. With the advent of mobile combat armors, Shogo decided to offer their own highly advanced line of giant mechanized suits.

Andra Biomechanics

A company that specializes in a variety of genetic engineering, cybernetic, and mechanical engineering interests, including the development of mobile combat armors and armaments.

Armacham Technology Corporation

Armacham got its start with the manufacture of commercial satellites and ground-based communication systems. Eventually, they would expand to encompass civilian and military vehicle manufacture, musical equipment, security systems and, predictably enough, mobile combat armors.

Cronian Mining Consortium - C.M.C

The governing body on Cronus. The C.M.C has long been eager for autonomy from the U.C.A and various corporate interests. The importance of Kato energy gives the C.M.C a powerful bargaining chip offset only by Cronus' military insignificance. The C.M.C bolstered it's military might in secret and declared independance when they felt ready. The resulting events are now called The Cronian Revolution.

The Fallen

A group of what appear to be religious fanatics. They formed an organized military even containing modern warfare equipment including mobile combat armor. Their members often refer to others as "Heretics" and shout in a strange tongue. They are very mysterious and led by Gabriel, an even more mysterious figure. Their only known goals are to stop the mining of Kato and to force all other factions to leave Cronus.

Stragglers

Stragglers are Kato miners affected from exposure to the element and thus have a damaged mental state and deranged personalities.

-Mobile combat armors-


The Shogo Akuma series 12 is a light, fast and highly maneuverable M.C.A designed for situations in which subtlety and speed are more important than durability. An excellent choice for pilots who prefer to run from trouble rather than dive headlong into it.


The Armacham Ordog Advanced Series 7 is a highly refined piece of engineering. With its sleek design and solid compromise between speed and toughness, it makes a formidable adversary to just about any opponent. While its vehicle mode has a faster maximum speed than the U.C.A Enforcer, it doesn't handle quite as well.


The Andra 25 Predator is their ultimate M.C.A and perfectly suited for combat missions. Combining tough armor with an intimidating design, the Predator is an incomparable war machine. Unfortunately, strength comes at the cost of speed and versatility.


The U.C.A Enforcer Mark VII is a hardy, well-rounded M.C.A that balances responsive movement with strong armor. Ideal for pilots who want a machine that is reliable in any situation.

-Human weapons-

Tanto knife

A simple melee weapon that is always available. Does not kill instantly and is better left unused.

Dual pistols

The starting weapons. While being decently fast and accurate the other weapons are much better. Still, you can use them all the way through the game as they won't lose their punch.


Submachine gun

With a high rate of fire, this was mostly favored by multiplayers. In single it's still a very nice weapon, if a bit inaccurate. The silencer does not appear to have an actual effect. Although it sometimes seems like enemies react a tad slower, but that is hard to verify.

Assault rifle

A kick-ass gun that's pixel accurate and strong, your main work-horse for the game. It also has a sniper mode which is totally overpowered and won't be used by me. During development they also wanted to add a grenade launcher but couldn't set it up right.

Shotgun

A real Fps shotty. That means that it doesn't have insane spread and does a huge amount of damage. If fires a bit slow, as you have to pump it after each shot. This is annoying, in a way, as the animation also plays when you switch to it from another weapon. So don't whip it out in the open.

TOW launcher

A rocket launcher. The only thing that I can say about it, is that it's likely to get you killed when used against other humans.

Kato grenade launcher

Fires a slow moving energy ball that bounces and will eventually explode. I personally think that this gun is a piece of shit and should never be used. You may notice that it looks very similar to the assault rifle, just with different colors. This is no coincidence as the devs planned it to be a secondary function of the assault rifle. But they couldn't get it to work, due to reasons which will get more obvious later.

Energy grenade launcher

A grenade launcher that shoots a blue energy ball that detonates on contact with opponents or walls, and provides a large amount of splash damage. It was originally intended to be the alternate firing mode for the assault rifle. But the idea was dropped along the way as the developers couldn't find a good way to include both grenade types as sub-functions of the rifle.

-Mobile combat armor weapons-

Melee

Each suit has a unique melee weapon. They only differ in look but not in performance. They are quite powerful and will kill other suits pretty fast. But it's not a good idea to use them against anything else as other things will explode in your face and deal a chunk of damage.

Pulse rifle

The starting weapon. It's pretty weak but has a high rate of fire and a bit of splash damage. But it quickly becomes obsolete.

Laser Cannon

Much like the Quake Railgun, it fires an instant laser beam that is perfectly accurate. Stays valuable throughout the whole game, but loses out to things that make explosions.

Spider

A launcher for the Spider Mines. They stick to every surface and enemies before exploding. The explosion is an instant kill, if near the center, and can go through thin walls or objects. It's extremely dangerous in the hands of enemies and the distinct sound of a flying mine should be the sign to get out. Interestingly, the delay for the explosion starts after the shot, not after it has hit. That cuts the effective range of this weapon by quite a bit. But it's still pretty useful, especially to clear nasty corner ambushes.

Bullgut

A rocket launcher that fires four shots per salvo. The rockets won't fly straight but that can be countered, as I've shown in the video. It's a very potent weapon that can cause a lot of damage in a short amount of time. But as it excels at closer ranges, you have to watch out to not blow yourself up.

Sniper Rifle

A very strong weapon. While it fires slow in the scope mode, the shots do way more damage and usually insta-kill when you go for the head. In normal mode it fires much more rapidly but also does less damage. Still, it's really accurate and perfect to stun-lock multiple enemies.

Juggernaut

Another railgun type weapon. It fires explosive shells that do a ton of damage but only have a very small splash radius. Just be on-target and things will die.

Shredder

Pretty much the Juggernaut on cocaine. It fires very fast, is pixel accurate and has as much damage as the Juggernaut. It uses its own ammo type though. Despite being my favorite weapon, this piece becomes very useful in the late stages of the game.

Red Riot

The BFG of Shogo. Comes with the expected delay before firing a fuck-all explosion that will do exactly that - Fuck all. Sadly, it's only present during this ending and you get very little ammo for it.


-Important elements-

Cronus

The planet 46CronusD lies in the nearly dead Cronus system. It is the where the precious ore Kato is to be found, and this is what lead to it to be colonized despite it's harsh environments. According to in-game information, the surface his hostile to human life.

Kato

The precious ore that is used to power star ship drives. It is what lead the mega corporations to build mining colonies on the planet Cronus where it is to be found. It is also used in a personal weapon and a giant star gun called the Kato Cannon that can cause major damage to planets and ships.

U.C.A.S.F Leviathan

The main command ship orbiting Cronus commanded by Admiral Akkaraju. Aside from military forces it also houses a Kato cannon.

Avernus

An underground city and the first major colony on Cronus. After an earthquake most of the inhabitants evacuated to Maritropa. However the city maintained a life of its own as ecological phenomena supplied electricity to the cities systems. The Fallen later used Avernus as a base of operations.

M.C.A

Abbreviation for mobile combat armor.

Old C.M.C Headquarters

A former installation of the C.M.C that is accessible through the Madison Tunnel, it was overrun by the Fallen and can be used as an entrance into their headquarters.

Coth

The Fallen use this word to refer to the planet Cronus. But it also seems to have a deeper meaning, as they often can be heard yelling "Coth, save me!"

Coth is only clearly brought up in the Regional Diagnostic part and in the prequel story. But you'll hear multiple Fallen soldiers scream this word in different contexts. As a tidbit, parts of their gibberish are from the same set of words that the cultists in "Blood" use.

As it turns out, this is an abbreviation of the Cothenial's name.

Maritropa

Another major city on Cronus. It became more populated after the Avernus earthquakes. The city has a strong class division, leading to large slums.

The Mecca

A nightclub in the slums of Maritropa where Sanjuro and Kura had agreed to met.