Super Robot Wars: Alpha Gaiden Part #243

Part 243: Mission part 2

The Neo Granzon is a most dangerous opponent. It's existing attacks recieve a massive power boost (Around 800~ or so), and it gains a new attack, the Degeneracy Cannon that's just as powerful as the Aurgelmir's Dogma Cannon. While the Degeneracy Cannon looks scary, the true threat will always be the Graviton Cannon.

Before I begin, I want to mention something about the bosses in Alpha Gaiden. No matter who the boss was, I always used the same sure-fire strategy; Exhaust the enemy of his EN/Ammo, and then use my strongest attacks until the enemy was dead. Even when they started coming out with EN and HP regeneration, it did little to change the overall strategy. They weren't threats so much as they were just piles of HP I had to chew through. Emperor Gore was the worst example of this, since not only did he have a massive amount of HP (85,000) but he would cast Guts and Guard every time his HP hit a certain amount. I was bored through the entire fight with him.

Some bosses, like with the Aurgelmir, will try to make up for this by having strong attacks that require no EN or ammo to keep you on your toes, but even then they were no trouble to take down since that just meant I had to use Alert more often.

This isn't a problem that stays with Alpha Giaden, since even the later games have bosses like this.

The Neo Granzon, however, turns that strategy against me, as seen here. After I saw Jamil go down, I had to move my less sturdy units out of the Graviton Cannon's range or else they would be shot down.

The Degeneracy Cannon gives even the Thrudgelmir trouble.

Now while I need to keep my squisher units out of the MAP attacks range, I still need my stronger units nearby to keep up their offensive.

Which is a bit of a problem because Shu has an amazing evasion rate.

Luckily, I managed to do enough damage for this to trigger before my turn ended. he casts Guts, Alert, Valor, and Spirit.

: That does add somewhat to my workload, but...

: Shaddup! Unless we beat you, our battle's never gonna end!! C'mon, guys!!

: yeah! We've got a lot to settle with you!!

: yeah!

: We swore to defend teh land Prof. Nanbara loved, so you're going down, Shu!!

Combattler uses up Shu's Alert and Valor, and I end the turn.

Don't fuck with the Graviton Cannon.

I'm busting out the Valor's earlier than I usually would, since I need to hit hard and fast before I get worn down by Graviton Cannon.

Despite what it looked like, MazinKaiser dodged the attack.

He casts Guts, Alert, Focus (+30% dodge and accuracy), Valor, and Spirit twice.

: I did enough of that when I assisted you in the last war. And I know this world is false. So, I'm trying to correct all of that.

: You've got no right to decide any of that!!

You may be wondering why I'm so scared of the Graviton Cannon. I manage to deal with it during the first fight with the Neo Granzon before the time-skip, right?

After all, it's ammo based, and only has three shots. Just wait it out and then charge right in.

Well, the answer should be simple. It's because, thanks to Replen, he will effectively never run out. Everytime he casts it, I'll have to wait for him to run out again, and then once his health is low enough, He'll cast it again. All it would do in the end is prolong the fight.

he casts Guts, Soul, Alert, Focus, Spirit Twice, Guard , and Replen.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining about Shu at all. In fact I think this is the best boss fight in the game BECAUSE of the MAP attack. It makes things interesting.

He casts Guts, Soul, Alert, Strike, Spirit Twice, Zeal, Guard, And Finally Replen.

This is the final casting, and the most dangerous. Zeal means he can and will fire off two MAP attacks.

In an attempt to mitigate the potential damage, I have Kosuke use Confuse to half Shu's accuracy before I use up his Alert and Soul buff and end the turn.

...It didn't really work out the way I had hoped. The only ones it missed was MazinKaiser, the DX, and Thrudgelmir. on both uses. Still, I didn't suffer any casualties.

Shu dies this turn.

It doesn't take long to bring him down.