Part 7: Mission 2 - Special Training: Mach Drills! - Part 1
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And were back at the intermission menu, Yamashita leading as our top ace by only one kill. Well be fiddling with a couple of options today, so heres what each column does, top to bottom:
Pilot: Pilot Stats > Skill Parts > Reassign
Machine: Unit Stats > Unit Upgrades > Formation (Pair units up, but we cant do it yet)
System: Search > System (Options) > Data Save > Next Mission
Well start with the Skill Parts. Like in W, this game doesnt allow you to spend PP to buy skills you simply spend Skill Parts to teach them to your guys.
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Weve gained a handful over the past missions but I reckon nows a good time spend. The Rushbirdll always be a more melee-oriented bot, so well give Ichitaka one level of Infight (インファイト). This skill will slightly boost your melee weapons attack power and crit ratio for each level it gets (no movement increase, unfortunately).
Do keep in mind that skill growth in this game is a lot more limited than normal. Prevail will usually go up regularly but, at most, expect your other skills to only increase up to L2 naturally, if ever youll have to use Skill Parts to boost them further.
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And, finally, by the Unit Upgrade menu, you can do exactly what it says on the tin: spend our hard-earned cash to boost our mechs stats. Remember that L actively encourages you to pick favorites and sink your cash into them, as the Squad Bonuses increase as you get units to 50% and 100% upgrades.
Ichitakall always be around and up front, so I give him a boost to everything.
With that done, lets get to work.
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We open up at JUDAs hangar, with Goro Maki and Rachel Calvin marveling (OH MY GOD!) at the Rushbirds fine construction this is a work of art, made with the latest cybernetic tech. And it looks perfect, too, which shows the Japanese ARE the best at this sort of thing. Ichitaka points out that Grife isnt really Japanese and he might actually be American like Rachel.
Mind you, Alice argues that the professor pretty much stuck with the Japanese school of bot design, so she sees no problems at all with Rachels assessment. Whatever the case, Maki wants to give the thing a thorough look-over, though Rachel has other things in mind: specifically, Alice. Would it be alright to open her up and check what makes her tick?
Thats a scary thought to Ichitaka but Rachel says that, with Grife gone, the JUDA crew needs to know how Alice is built in order to pull any maintenance work that might be required. Alice, however, tells her not to worry as shes equipped with self-maintenance features.
Ah, really? Alrighty, then. (Tsk ), Rachel quietly grunts. Too bad for her, Ichitaka has good ears: Hey, I heard that! You wanted to tinker with her just for curiositys sake, didnt you?!
Well Im not NOT curious, Rachel quips.
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When Miu asks, Maki confirms that he also wasnt aware of any Prof. Grife and is very surprised that a seemingly nameless scientist could build something of this level. Hell, the cost of making it alone would be significant.
Rachel figures he mustve had some sponsor and Alice posits that we could potentially find some files on that inside the labs secret vault. Maybe those can give us some clue as to what happened with Grife? Unfortunately, Ishigami doesnt let Ichitaka head back to the lab to check around the building is under investigation and its looking like a certain group has it on lockdown.
Well, couldnt we use LOTUS UN authority to deal with that? Its not that simple as two giant robots did emerge from that building a full investigation is necessary and Ishigami isnt too keen on stepping on these toes.
Ichitakas worried that if we drag our feet on this then any potential cluesll disappear. We could even use a secret route to get in there, so no onell notice. Alice also asks him to please let them go and it works.
Aah, I cant say no when you ask me like that Alright, I guess Ill allow it, he says, though insists that Miu and Yamashita also accompany them. They can quickly summon their Machinas in a bind and, on foot, can play bodyguards to Ichitaka.
Hes surprised these two are strong enough to pull that off but, you know, Factors get super-strength.
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Ichitakas very grateful but Ishigami asks them to be very careful out there. The organization taking care of the labs lockdown isnt hostile but theyre also not friendly. He wont name them, only saying that we might eventually have to fight them.
He figures the folks with boots on the ground are likely just collaborators; its the ones on top of said organization that are the actual dangerous ones, so Ichitaka can at least rest easy there. And, finally, the world at large isnt aware of JUDAs activities and the Katou Organization, so Ichitaka cant tell anyone, alright? He promises and, with that, leaves with everyone.
Ishigami laughs that both Ichitaka and Kouichi are just brimming with that typical teenager energy. His thoughts are interrupted when Yui walks over: Izuna and Shizuna have called in, having just wrapped up their business with the Katou Organizations terrorist cell. Theyll be back in Japan soon.
Ishigamis glad to hear that. LOTUS is gaining more and more elite fighters, so it wont be long before we can take on even bigger threats to humanity. Of course, itd be better if such threats never showed up but
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Grifes home is like something straight out of a TV show, covered in the polices yellow tape. There are secret service types all over, the hangars pretty much buried under the rubble and the upper lab is all out in the open.
Were not getting in there via the main door, indeed, though Ichitaka didnt expect anything else. He beckons the team over to that secret entrance and though the powers out inside, Alices loaded with the buildings blueprint, so she can lead the way. Theyre off to the underground lab.
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The place is all sorts of messed up we might be too late, Yamashita sighs. Alice looks around but cant find the vault. Its possible someone took it. And, actually, its not just the vault thats missing: all of the computers have had their HDs yanked out. Ichitaka doesnt appreciate these guys burglarizing the lab but his attentions taken back to Alice as she cries out that somethings HORRIBLE.
What happened? Her maid programming is tingling and she really, really wants to clean this place up! Ah Well, dont worry. Were good for now, Ichitaka proclaims. More importantly, isnt there anything that managed to stay hidden from the looters?
Actually, yes: at Alices suggestion, they look around and find a painting of an angel. Is it a clue or something? Somewhat: the image was made via several nano-sized word strings layered on top of each other, all describing Grifes research.
You see, there was a time when they were testing out this nano-printer and, thus, needed a whole lot of characters to write around. The easiest choice was to use all of his research notes and whatnot, so this painting is pretty much a backup of everything Grife had around a year ago. Its lacking the stuff that happened since then, of course, but Alice figures itll still be useful.
Ichitakas blown away by the Professors foresight a perfect example of the classic I thought something like this could happen, so moment. Alice says that guy simply couldnt be arsed to use anything else in that experiment, but whatever. Theyve stayed here long enough, though, so Ichitaka moves to lead everyone out via another path.
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We make it out just fine, though Miu wants to leave quick were a tad too conspicuous carrying this big painting and have no idea what those agent types will do if they catch us. A voice nearby calls out to them and, after a quick yelp of surprise, Ichitaka sees that its Yajima and Risako.
Risakos curious about the friends with him and that big painting, though Ichitaka quickly changes the subject by asking that they are doing here. Well, they were worried for him, figuring hed be prowling about after Grifes disappearance.
That said, Yajima says its dangerous for Ichitaka to hang around here, what with the Armas and giant robot running amuck before. Plus, the folks locking down the house might tag him as a person of interest, so he oughta keep away.
Ichitaka slowly says hell, um, keep that in mind. And on the subject of missing people, did he see Kouichi? Risako looked everywhere and couldnt find him hes not home, either. Ichitaka nearly says too much but is stopped by Yamashita (confidential, remember?). Well, he agrees to keep an eye out for him, so Risako takes off with Yajima, wondering where Kouichi couldve run off to. Yajima, having seen what happened, only nods along.
After theyre gone, Ichitaka apologizes for his loose tongue. Still, Yamashita and Miu find it odd that Kouichi hasnt gone home. We can only hope that the Preventer pilot is doing a good job keeping an eye on him.
Still, Alice wants to get back to JUDA right away so we can get Grifes painting analyzed. Moreover, shell likely need to engage in combat again soon, so shes studying hard as a way to be useful there. As for Ichitaka, hed like some pilot training and Yamashita and Miu are more than willing to spar with him.
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Back at JUDA, Lady Une has put in another call to Ishigami. She apologizes for taking more of his time but Ishigami has a policy of never refusing calls from pretty ladies. Well, the problem is that they might have to speed up the process of assigning the Build Base team into LOTUS.
See, Blue Cosmos caught wind of the offworlders that showed up around the PLANTs and is advocating that they be dealt with as hostile aliens; this led to a plan to impound various countries mobile weapons, which is exactly what they both feared.
So now JUDA needs to hurry to get our partnership with Build Base set up quick. Ishigami swears to Une that his companys always ready to handle any unit and take care of anyone, from anywhere. And shes more than welcome to join them, mind. She thanks him for his dutifulness, though says her answer will have to be no regardless of how elegantly he makes the offer. Shot down.
Yui wishes hed act more responsibly, and is not amused by his quip of the wrinkles shell get for her constant nagging.
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Over by said Build Base, Tsubaki is trying to educate Kenji on the intricacies of managing his parts every part works differently, so Kenji needs to understand zzzzzzzzz. A loud yell later and Kenjis back up.
Tsubaki tells him that the Jama Kingdoms been getting progressively stronger and the only way for them to handle that is if he masters usage of the new parts. Thatll only happen with diligent study and training. Problem is that Kenji hates training, so hes taking off. Hell figure it all out on the fly when they get there!
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As he runs (not for the first time), Yagyuu (eyepatch) and Kouji see that things aint going too good here. Tsubaki fumes at Kenjis complete unwillingness to study even a little bit, and Sayaka has a laugh at how much alike he is to Koujis old self.
Indeed, Kouji feels like hes looking in a mirror and, actually, that might be good for us. Considering the similarities between him and Kenji, Kouji thinks he has a sure-fire way to convince him to sit down and study with gusto (itd even work on Boss).
What is it, then? Oh, it wont be any fun if he just said it. Boss wonders what hes up to, as Kouji walks up to Yagyuu and whispers something to her.
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Boss (big guy) doesnt like being left in the dark, though Nuke and Mucha (grin) figure this is just an excuse for him to get some alone-time with Yagyuu. Regardless, the captain finds the plan very amusing and agrees to it. Kouji cant wait to see it all unfold.
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Yagyuu calls over Mido and Saotome (crazy looking) to help go after Kenji and, when asked, say the three of them have a crucial part to play in this training lesson. Off they go, leaving Kouji behind to get grilled by Sayaka. What was he talking with Yagyuu about?
Didnt he say that it was to get Kenji training? Maybe but Sayaka certainly doesnt like the sight of him and her seemingly enjoying themselves so much. Kouji swears to her (and an outraged Boss) that its not like that theyll all have a big laugh once the training is over.
Tsubaki wonders if thisll fly but Kouji is 100% sure that not only will Kenji volunteer to train, hell be so very dedicated to it. Tsubaki and Sayaka find that hard to believe but Kouji tells them to trust him.
*Door opens!*
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*Kenji runs off.*
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Meanwhile, by the bases command room, Cmdr. Miwa is welcoming Une over its been a while since they met face-to-face. Une notices, however, that she doesnt see Prof. Shiba around.
Miwa apologizes and says he took leave for a moment though, inwardly, she wonders where he mightve run off to.
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Cut to the Jama Kingdoms HQ, Queen Himika rants at Ikima (stache), Amaso and Mimashi (two faces) for their inability to get Jeegs Bronze Bell. Mimashi swears that theyre trying their best but Amaso argues that the fault lies with the unwieldy Haniwa Phantoms.
You mean the Haniwa Phantoms Himika personally gifted to them? N-No, of course not its their fault for not making proper use! Sooorryyyy!
Well, Ikima wants to try again and asks for a new Haniwa; he has a plan and vows to succeed in stealing the Bronze Bell. He swears hes legit, so Himika decides to indulge him he better come back with news of Jeegs complete and utter destruction, though!
Amaso doesnt like the guy trying to take all the glory but Mimashi sighs that he IS the strongest of them. Amaso is still miffed, as failure would really tick Himika off.
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Special Training: Mach Drills!
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*Bang, bang!*
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*Bang, bang!*
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*Beep, boop!*
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*Blam!*
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*Beep, beep!*
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*Looks at Micchi mk. II*
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*Mido and Saotome tag in with Yagyuu.*
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Destroy everything, without losing Kenji or Kyo. The Haniwas are a bit beefier than the previous mooks we fought (some are twinned up, too) but keep your folks together and take things slow and youll be good.
And here are our new folks:
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Steel Jeeg (Kenji Kusanagi)
Pilot Skills:
Prevail L3
Spirit Commands:
Focus
Invincible
Mech Features:
Bronze Bell Power (銅鐸パワー) activates at 130 morale, damage dealt increases by 25%; damage taken decreases by 25%; accuracy and evasion increase by 25%.
Squad Bonus: Mobility +5, melee weapons power +100
Kenjis pretty amazing and that Bronze Bell is a big reason why once it activates, hell turn into one of your strongest guys. Jeegs S size means enemies will have a harder time than most hitting him (though Kenjis not the most evasive guy without the Bell running) and his best weapons all ignore size differences, so his damage wont suffer much.
Mind you, his weaker stuff the ones you might use against mooks dont ignore size, so thats something to keep in mind. Jeeg DOES like to chug through EN quickly, so hes a prime candidate for an E-Save part.
Finally, a handful of his tricks require having the Big Shooter around, so youll likely want to have Kyo and Tsubaki joining him in a twin unit.
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Mazinger Z (Kouji Kabuto)
Pilot Skills:
Sword Cut
Prevail L3
Spirit Commands:
Invincible
Guts
Strike
Mech Features:
Mazin Power (マジンパワー) activates at 130 morale, damage dealt up by 25%, damage taken down by 25%.
Squad Bonus: Armor +150, Mobility +5
The prototypical Super Robot pilot is pretty dang powerful. Notoriously bulky and hard-hitting, Koujis main weakness is that his range isnt too great on his better attacks. Other than that hes great and when Mazin Power activates, it takes a major screw-up to get him killled.
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Big Shooter (Kyo Misumi, Tsubaki Tamashiro)
Pilot Skills:
Prevail L1
Support Attack L1
Support Defense L1
Spirit Commands Kyo:
Focus
Accelerate
Spirit Commands Tsubaki:
Cheer
Scan
Mech Features:
Resupply Module
Squad Bonus: Money earned +10%, EN+50
Like I said, the main point of the Big Shooter is to support Jeeg and its built pretty much to do that. The EN bonus and resupply module will help cover Kenjis EN issues and its presence is needed for a lot of attacks.
Mind, Jeeg is stuck on the ground and the Big Shooter, obviously, isnt a tank youll want to either get Kenji airborne or get a land adaptor for this.
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Aphrodite A (Sayaka Yumi)
Pilot Skills:
Support Attack L1
Spirit Commands:
Trust
Bless
Mech Features:
Repair Module
Squad Bonus: Money earned +10%, mobility +5
Standard issue, classic support girl. The Aphrodite A is weak and fragile as hell and there are a ton of units that can do its job better.
Bless is your main reason for deploying Sayaka right now but, once other folks with it show up, shell likely get benched.
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Build Angel (Yagyuu Mitsuko)
Pilot Skills:
Prevail L1
Support Attack L1
Support Defense L1
Spirit Commands:
Accelerate
Alert
Mech Features:
Repair Module
Squad Bonus: 15% chance to dodge attacks, terrain rating in air and space set to A
Speaking of way better support units, Yagyuu is a great fit for a whole lot of people. Accelerate, repair, flying and the squad bonus (whichll get even better at 50%) all in one package is a great deal.
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Boss Borot (Boss, Nuke, Mucha)
Pilot Skills:
Prevail L1
Support Defense L1
Spirit Commands - Boss:
Guts
Faith (友情) fully restores targets HP.
Spirit Commands - Nuke:
Trust
Cheer
Spirit Commands - Mucha:
Scan
Accelerate
Mech Features:
Resupply Module
Squad Bonus: Melee weapons power +100, crit ratio +10%, land terrain rating set to A, debuff immunity
Also a better support unit: Boss! While he wont be kicking as much ass as he did in MX, Muchas accelerate and that, frankly, outrageous squad bonus means he can tag in with any melee-oriented unit.
He cant hit or survive well, of course, but thats what upgrades are for and, worst case scenario, the Borot always costs peanuts to repair.
One noteworthy bit, mind, is that all of its attacks carry the morale down debuff!
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So we finally move everyone forward and stand by.
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Enemy Phase!
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They do the same.
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Player Phase!
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The bigger Haniwas arent moving, mind, so well start with the Boya Kaengus up front; when you attack a twinned unit, you can order your team to focus fire on the main enemy unit, the sub or for each one to attack their respective target. Since were running solo, that last option isnt available.
Oh, and dont worry about Ikima.
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Yagyuu cant do decent-ish damage post-movement until she gets some morale, mind.
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Well have Kenji take care of that.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BR73F6IaxIY
The Mazinger Team is still trudging along.
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Enemy Phase!
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Blah.[/i]
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Try to attack Ikima and it does absolutely no damage! He gloats about their evil power nothing will work on him!
Well, Kyo suggests we leave him for later and focus on the other Haniwas for now. That said, Ikima doubts well be able to disregard his mighty unit with it bearing down on us.
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Kenjis getting pestered, but thats fine.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oTUoYzWv8hU
Little bit of damage wont bug him.
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Couple of Boya Kaengu do decide to go after Kyo.
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Kyos high Skill stat means he crits often, though the Big Shooter still isnt meant for damage.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-sCMppmFlaM
Oh, and Yagyuu gets attack from far enough that she can fire a better weapon.
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Player Phase!
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The JUDA crew finally arrives, Une requesting that we help clear out the Jama Kingdom attackers.
When Miu asks, Ichitaka is feeling rather confident; not only did she and Yamashita help with his training, hes also particularly pumped up to pull his weight with Jeeg and Mazinger right there. Alice herself has kind of rushed through her studies as a subpilot but shes already learned somewhat, so so there are mostly no problems! Kenjis not a whole lot impressed that our backup consists of only a handful of units but Kouji recognizes two of JUDAs Machinas and knows theyre good for it.
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Rather, there are THREE JUDA Machinas around as the twins Izuna (the one on the left) and Shizuna Endo. Izuna, ever polite, apologizes for the delay but Shizuna, the rough kansai type, scoffs that the star players are always the last ones to take to the field.
Kenji isnt paying attention, wondering instead The hells that flying hammer-looking thing? Shizuna heard that and she is not amused by the comparison shell find and box him some after this gets wrapped up!
Une reminds Kenji that theyre in the middle of a battle, so antagonizing their allies is a big no-no. What, when did he become the bad guy here? Yagyuu restores order, telling of the big Haniwas barrier and asking Ichitakas crew to assist with the nearby enemies.
As they move in, Izuna wants to provide support from the rear but Shizuna isnt having any of that weak-ass crap theyre getting in there and showing everyone how awesome they are!