Super Robot Wars MX Part #48 - Mission 29 - Hades, Sortie at Dawn

Part 48: Mission 29 - Hades, Sortie at Dawn - Part 1

This update is for the PS2 version of this stage. In MXP, it was split in two which you can find HERE (29), HERE (30, part 1) and HERE (30, part 2).

After these missions and done, we'll be back in common ground until further notice.

: It appears the Tekkoryu have entered the final stage of their plan.

: That’s far too soon.

: Hm, now was not the time for it. Not yet.

: That man is likely at fault for this…

: The deterrent may not be capable of impeding what comes next. Worst case scenario, even we will be affected.

: They’re a necessary force for the future, though… we cannot afford to lose them now.

: … We are left with no choice but to revise some of the schedule, then.

: Do you mean we’ll let him do as he pleases?

: That man is familiar with some of the project. Were he to join Bähbem’s side, it’d be problematic.

: That is not an issue. His wish is to open the doors to the Underworld by his own hands… It is far too different from what Bähbem desires.

: So, rather, you’re implying he is more similar to us?

: Indeed. And, regardless, his wish will be fulfilled… Even if he was against, it still would happen.

Location: Last Guardian Base

Oki’s just gotten a call about three Hakke Robos headed towards Japan, which means the Omzack of Thunder has finally been completed; the one said to have power comparable to the Zeorymer’s. It seems the Haudragon intend to challenge us to one final battle with this.
One thing to note, however: the Federation’s just rescinded the Zeorymer’s transfer to the ranks of the Magnate Ten. The bot will once again be operating under Oki’s command. The plan right now is for the Magnate Ten to coordinate with the Federation to intercept the Hakke Robos, while the Zeorymer goes and destroys the Haudragon’s stronghold. Miku confirms and, slowly, sets out to inform… him.
Inwardly, Oki realizes that the brass is planning on having Last Guardian take the fall for this.

: Please… launch the Zeorymer.

: Launch and do what, exactly?

: …Urk… this battle is pointless…

: Why? Didn’t you steal the Zeorymer in order to stop the Haudragon whenever they started their rampage?

: Hah! Do you take me as someone so altruistic? Someone like those Magnate Ten, willing to fight even at the risk of life and limb?

: !

: My theft of the Zeorymer was insurance, pure and simple.

: Insurance…?

: Indeed. To make sure that I’d take the throne of Hades…!

: …!

: Hmph… your body certainly doesn’t strike me as being made of growing memory silicon. And your AI is quite impressive, so dramatic and clever…

: But you’re still just a puppet.

: And you’re the one who made it all, weren’t you?!

: Correct. Even back then, I expected to be assassinated whether I stayed with the Haudragon or fled.

: They wanted to take the Zeorymer and the Dimensional Coupling System from me, you see. All so they could salvage the “God” that lies in the world beyond the doors.

: (“God”… beyond the doors?)

: So I went and took several steps to secure my return from the dead. So many pieces of trash were grown… yourself included.

: Stop that!

*Slap!*

: Aah! Hrm…

: I destroyed the Haudragon’s stronghold when I escaped, but I expected them to eventually return and resume the Hades Project.

: And in both the Haudragon and Japan, where I fled to, I left some of my own blood. Hmhmhmhm…

: …

: Haudragon and Federation… whichever one is victorious, a clone of mine will remain. Do you understand now why I won't sortie?

: I've no problem with ascending the throne of Hades after the Hakkeshu have plowed the land clean; after the old men who tried to use me, the people of the Black Moon… after every single person has been driven into the Underworld!

: …

: Hmhmhm… and even if I was beaten by the Hakkeshu, that would mean that my other self would ascend the throne of Hades…!

: What a wonderful game this is, no? A battle of me against me, with the world at stake!

: You mean the clone you left with the Haudragon… ?!

: But that’s nothing a… puppet like you… needs to concern yourself with…!

: Urgh?! Kch…rrgh…!

: Masa… to…?

: Don’t touch me!

: ?!

: Curses… my head…!

*Door opens.

: Masato… rather, Masaki Kihara.

: What is it, Oki…?

: I am here to once again request your cooperation in the name of the Japanese government…

*

: Launch the Zeorymer.

: … And if I say “no”?

: Then I’d be forced to apply some mind control, much as I’d rather not.

: … Would you kill me again, Oki?

: !

: Fifteen years ago, I’d just escaped from the Haudragon and you gunned me down – after taking the Zeorymer and the zygote I’d registered as the pilot, of course.

: Exactly as I knew you would.

: …

: You found Miku in the Zeorymer’s cockpit and assigned some foster parents to raise my zygote. Though you never realized that what you sought, the core of the Zeorymer – the Dimensional Coupling System – was Miku herself.

: …

: And, after all that, you formed Last Guardian. Were you hoping to eventually take the Zeorymer for yourself and fulfill your own agenda? How childish. In your quest to control the Zeorymer, you resurrected the man you killed in order to do just that.

: …

: Hm…hmhmhm… Very well done, indeed, Oki.

: What are you going to do, Kihara…?

: I've changed my mind... I’ll destroy those Haudragon in order to secure the throne of ruler of the Underworld…!

Mission 29 – Hades, Sortie at Dawn

Saiga’s making a beeline for Mount Fuji, after the Zeorymer, and Gisou wants to know what he’s playing at. He jokingly asks if the big guy’s scared of the bot, but still explains his reasoning: the Zeorymer has its Dimensional Coupling System back after the last battle but despite the fact that the Tekkoryu are acting, it’s nowhere to be seen.
Thus, Saiga thinks something must be up or, maybe, the bot could be getting an upgrade as they speak. In that case, isn’t it best to get rid of it before that happens? Besides, they can lay waste to Japan at any time.

Gisou isn’t taking it, remembering that the Empress told them not to mess with the Zeorymer anymore. Will Saiga act against that? Rockfell, however, concedes that there's logic to Saiga's words: while the Zeorymer still exists, there is no victory for them. So she also figures the better choice is to head to Mount Fuji and close the book on this.
Gisou grunts at her agreeing with Saiga but will go where she will. Shouldn’t they relay this to the Empress, though? Nah, let’s not give her cause to be mad at those who’ll defeat Heaven. It’s obvious to Gisou that Saiga’s up to something… but he’s got more pressing matters to worry about.

Us! As Bright orders everyone to stop the Hakkeshu’s assault on Japan, Hugo tells Aqua that his body’s already doing fine. More important is that this is the Garmraid Blaze’s first battle and he tells Aqua not to lower her guard just because she needn’t focus so much on managing their output.
Aqua huffs that she’s well aware – she is a proper pilot now, after all. If the situation calls for long-range combat, she’s ready to tag in.
Gisou knew his group would need to dispatch us sooner or later and leads the charge with Rockfell… Saiga, however, tells them to wait. The Zeorymer seems to be elsewhere – it’s possible the thing is headed straight for Tekkoryu Castle. What, so he wants to just wait and see? Sounds to Gisou like he’s the one who’s scared – Saiga can sit there but he’s going!
Rockfell watches on as Saiga laughs inwardly: “Heheheh… good, Gisou. That’s the way.”

The Dendoh’s an event deployment and losing it means a game over, so keep an eye out. The Hakkeshu are waaaaaaaay the fuck back, so it’ll be a while before we reach them.

Everyone sets onward.

Enemy Phase!

Gisou starts moving… but no one else does.

Why isn’t Rockfell joining on his offensive? She doesn’t answer, further bothering Gisou.
Everything’s coming up Saiga and now he just needs to wait for the Zeorymer to arrive – if it doesn’t, Gisou will make for a good distraction to our people while he heads for Mount Fuji.

Player Phase!

Torres pings something on approach and in comes… something. Its name tag says it’s called Ragou and Ginga and Hokuto figure it’s some Gulfer RoBeast.
Whatever the thing is, the mere sight of it sends our Data Weapons berserk: the Unicorn, Leo and Dragon all rush out the Gear Commanders to attack it! Maria can sense the hostility they’re emanating, so there’s clearly something between Ragou and them.
Saiga has no idea what’s going on but having more stuff attacking the Magnate Ten only helps him. Now to wait some more to see if the Zeorymer will come.

Mission Objective: Destroy all enemies
Mission Failure: Dendoh, any of the Data Weapons or any mothership destroyed.
OK, so this is a bit more dangerous. The Data Weapons aren’t particularly hardy and they’ll actively jump into the fray, so you’ll want to keep a very close eye on them.
Ragou will only defend on our turn and, on his, he seems to prioritize the Dendoh. Have Hokuto’s Iron Wall at the ready.

Ragou
Pilot Skills:

Double Movement
Mech Features:

10% HP Regen

Debuff Immunity

Ragou’s a pretty nasty beast: for one, it’s level 41 which places it some 8-16-ish levels above our folks. Those extra levels give it quite a lot of strong stats all around (except for Range, which it doesn’t use) so it can hit rather hard. Double movement, of course, will multiply your pain. S ranks in air and space give it a nice boost to evasion, too.
That HP regen and debuff immunity, plus the fact that it always defends, means you’ll need to throw everything and the kitchen sink to kill it in decently speedy fashion.

We’ll just start with a little bit.

: !

: What’s wrong, Fuunsaiki?!

: …

: Fuunsaiki’s afraid… this beast is that strong?!

Strong and hardy.

Time for the Garmraid Blaze’s first attack!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1iw6boD5F18
Its rocket punch has got an even bigger bite now!

And, of course, the upgrades come with new BGMs:

This is the Garmraid’s wonderfully engrish title.

And this is the Cerberus Ignite’s.

Some people don’t like the Blaze’s theme but I never had a problem with it – it feels appropriately Super Robot. Mind, I would be lying if I said I didn’t think the Cerberus’ is the better BGM. Not by much, in my opinion, but it is what it is.
On the flip side, the Garmraid Blaze is still dozens of times cooler then the Cerberus Ignite so it balances out… I’ll post a video of its attacks later, after we’ve seen the Blaze’s tricks.

And do note that if you miss Burning Red and want to use it again, you just need to enter the option menu and set the BGM selection to check the Pilot’s theme instead of the Unit’s. Hugo’s theme is still his default one, so switching that selector will bring it back.

And I forgot to take pictures of the status screen for the new bots but, screw it, we’ll take a quick look anyway:

The Garmraid’s finally a whole lot bulkier than it was before. On top of the overall stat boost, both it and the Cerberus gain a new TE Sphere barrier, which activates at 120 morale and blocks 1500 damage from all attacks. That’s a lot of mitigation for a Super Robot.
Hugo’s G form is pretty much a direct upgrade to the original Garmraid, adding some much needed range to its repertoire: 1-5 is much more manageable, though said attacks do chug a decent amount of EN. With that new barrier, you can be a lot more liberal when it comes to throwing him right into the fray.
Finally, the Blaze is also powerful as FUCK: the only attack we have right now that’s slightly stronger than Hugo’s Execution Raid is Double God Finger. Aqua’s Trinity Dead End already beats Triple Mazinger Blade and Double Mega Launcher.

Aqua also gets her own theme now and it’s pretty bumpin’!

The Garmraid’s S form is the exact opposite, focusing on range but also being considerably hardier due the Rouga being used as a shield. And you know how the Shield + Barrier combo can get ridiculous. Aqua’s weapons are a wee bit weaker than Hugo’s but they make up for it with some of the best reach in the game (she’ll REALLY want Hit & Away, mind, because only the Fang Knuckle is post-movement).
One unfortunate thing, however, is that only a single weapon of the Garmraid S is actually tagged as being ranged and not melee-ranged (her third best). This is a problem because, if you remember what I said back at the start of this, melee-ranged attacks count as melee when considering skills like Infight and Gunfight… which means her natural Gunfight is essentially useless outside of that one attack.
If it worked properly, she’d likely outdamage Hugo with enough skill levels.

The respective Cerberus Ignite forms follow the same pattern, which is why I argued that buying Hugo Hit & Away at the start could be a bit wasteful: his upgrade is pretty much all about post-movement attacks.
Both Cerberus forms tie with our top tier Gundams as some of the dodgiest units around, though they, of course, are severely weaker than the Garmraid. In fact, the ZZ’s Full Power High Mega Cannon is stronger than either version, but the Cerberus is still a very reliable Real. Its attacks ain’t too expensive, either.

Back to work now.

: This guy’s a whole lot different from the other RoBeasts!

: We’ll be in trouble if we let this drag on, Ginga! Let’s win this in a hurry!

: Alright, you got it!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=soV7m98ZrSw
Ragou’s lucky Ginga doesn’t have Fury yet.

But let’s not waste any more resources on this thing. Everyone else just moves closer.

Enemy Phase!

In come more Gulfer, and Ginga wonders if they’re here to pick up Ragou. Regardless, we’ll just get rid of them as well.
Their appearance makes things a bit more troublesome in Saiga’s eyes but they’ll certainly serve to keep our group pinned.

Here comes Ragou, wasting both its attacks against an Iron Wall’d Dendoh.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8FHQ3NnQH4

The entirety of the Faitas and Orbiton groups decided to gang up on Domon, losing some 70-80% of their HP in exchange.

Ohoho.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yG8Mk35ItTM
Even bigger chainsaws!

The basic Gulfers decided to go after the Unicorn Drill.

I don’t like anything about this. First, the Unicorn takes some not insignificant damage from each attack and, two, it oneshots enemies that could’ve been money and exp.

Player Phase!

: (I suppose there’s no point in waiting here anymore – time to set out for Mount Fuji…)

: Going somewhere, Saiga?

: Mount Fuji, you know that.

: You’ll leave us behind and go by yourself? What in blazes are you up to?

: Hmph. I’ve no reason to—

: Hold on, you two!

: Hmhmhmhm…

: The Zeorymer!

: What is this…?! Wasn’t it supposed to have gone after the Haudragon’s HQ?

: More important than that is which Masato is at its controls…!

: Hahahah… I have been waiting for you, Zeorymer.

: So, the last of the Hakkeshu have banded together… but it is still impossible for you to defeat Heaven.

: Silence, Masato Akitsu! You’ll die here and now!

: ?!

: Saiga… what are you doing?!

: Hmhmhm… hahahah…

: Kch…urgh…! What… is…?!

: Masato Akitsu… I have a proposal for you.

: What…?

: The Omzack’s Proton Thunder is the only force that can oppose the Zeorymer…

: Hrrmm… And…?

: And, if one looks at that from a different angle, it means that nothing in this world could stop us if the two of us worked together…!

: Saiga!!

*Gisou runs back, towards Saiga.*

: You’re scheming to betray the Empress, you snake?!

: What of it? Your Mountain and its basic missiles is but a mere pebble face the Omzack. Surely you can see that.

: …!

: What’s up with them…?

: A split between them, maybe?

: Uck…urgh…!

: Very well… I’ll take this as an opportunity to show how committed I am, Masato Akitsu!

: Saiga!

: Hrm! Is that?!

: It is the Burrston of the Mountain’s ace in the hole: nuclear weapons that will, with a mere shot, reduce this entire region to cinders!

: What will you do now, Saiga? I will not hesitate to face death in order to crush your ambitions!

: To Hell with you, Gisou! Proton Thunder!

: SHOOT!!

*Rockfell moves after Gisou.*

: Gisou, stop! If you’d attack Saiga, then you’ll have to go through me!

: !!

: He is the one you love? That man?! He’s simply using you!

: That matters not…! (Is there a hidden clause that says the women Reccoa’s actress voices always make terrible choices in men?)

: Rockfell… I…!

: (Kch… grraaargh… uurk…!)

: Hahahahaha! Cat got your tongue, Gisou?

: (Urgh… kch… argh…!!)

: I love you too, Rockfell. And I’ll say it as many times as necessary! I love you. HAHAHAHAHAHA!!

: ENOOOUGH! ENOUGH! ENOOOOOUGH!!

: !!

: ?!

: “Love”…?! Are you kidding me?! The lot of you are genetically engineered clones, born of the same embryo! You’re not even brothers and sisters – you’re the same person!

: And I am your God, your Creator… Hades!

: !!

: … And what difference does that make? Even if you were the one who created us… that does not change the life I’ve led.

: And in the emptiness of my life, I met Saiga, admired him as a warrior and eventually loved him! All of it of my own free will!

: And I will not allow you to deny that love!

: All of that was just your programming at work…!

Well, we’re in a bit of a pickle here. The three Hakkeshu are now pissed at their evil creator and our team’s still far away.

Or not, as Masaki has outright given himself boss stats to further drive the point that he’s the biggest bad guy here.
Though his morale is still baseline compared to the others’, he can hold the line just fine.

Let’s go build some morale before we pile on Ragou.

We’ve plenty of mooks ripe for killing.

Ayato takes a bonus to Prevail along the way.

I didn’t realize yet that Shinji had been equipped with the Magoroku E-Sword after he was rescued from the Dolem. Else I would’ve had him take two kills to build morale…

I need to pay more attention!

Still, he learns Valor… at a lower level than all the Toei pilots! The hell?

Oh, and here’s Aqua’s range. Impressive, no?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVttSjQ_Pbc
Attagirl.

Asuka, Light, Kaine and Judau wrap up the remaining mooks.

Next turn, we go on.

Enemy Phase!

The Data Weapons are already piling on Ragou.

Even defending, the thing’s surprisingly dodgy thanks to those terrain ratings. I reckon the reason it always defends is that, otherwise, it would likely oneshot any eager Data Weapon that tried to be clever.

Masaki’s getting to work and the Hakkeshu, of course, attack him right back.

: Damned fool…! You still fail to grasp your situation!

: Silence! Whoever you actually are, I will not allow my heart to be denied!

: You filth! There is absolutely no forgiveness for how you toyed with us!

: “Forgiveness”? You’re quite impudent for someone standing before his own Creator!

: Even if you did create us, all that will be water under a bridge once you’re dead!

: You dare bare your fangs at your Creator? See now the size of your idiocy, Hakke!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_zYk5wt6EiI
George’s evil cousin.

And Ragou’s still bashing its head against Dendoh.

Player Phase!

Now we go. Pop Valor and maximize your support attacks to get it down under 30% quickly.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SO3LyL9Ax-M
And we gave Hugo a drill because why not?

Here we go.

: …

: Huh?! It’s—!

: !!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uDvPH2eJNnY

: L-Leo!

: Unicorn!

: ?!?!?!?!?!

: !?!?!?!?!

: What’s wrong, Leo?!

: Oh, no… was that…?!

: …

*Ragou flies away.*

: It ran…?!

: Cpt. Hoshino, please recover the Unicorn Drill and Leo Circle! But don’t let Omoikane—

: Access them in any way, yes?

: Right!

: Understood. Harry, once the Unicorn and Leo have been recovered, have them undergo a thorough scan and prepare an emergency vaccine.

: Roger!

*The two Data Weapons are pulled back.*

: Wh-what happened?!

: I’ll explain later – focus on doing something about the remaining enemies!

Now for the Hakkeshu. With Fuunsaiki giving him a lift, Domon can barely make it to Rockfell.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FSanVAKs4mY
And, hey, Masaki is cooperative enough to support us even as an NPC… or maybe he just wants to be the one to kill.
Bringing either of the Hakkes past a certain point (thought it was 30% but it obviously isn’t)…

: Kch… rrgh…! It’s time for me to… finish this… Hakkes!

: !!

: Saiga… I—

: Ro-Rockfell…!

: Now stop… resisting! You’ll all… share her miserable fate!!

: Curse you… Masaki…!

: You’ll pay for this, Zeorymer!!

: Haah… haah… you dare defy… your Creator…?!

: HAAAAAAAH!!

: You… You!!

*Saiga and Gisou both move in after the Zeorymer*

: U-urgh…hrrmm!!

: GWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!!

: Wh-What just happened!?

: Urk…aah…

: Masato… Masato…!

: I… I…!

: Masato… it’s really you…?!

: No… I’m…!

*The Zeorymer retreats*

: … Torres, what’s the status on the enemy?

: The Gulfer and Haudragon are gone… as is the Zeorymer.

: I see.

: Cpt. Bright, the Data Weapons are in poor condition. We should return to GEAR HQ with haste.

: Hm, alright.

I’d planned on showing off Rockfell and Gisou’s signature moves but, since they’re MAPWs, the AI won’t use them until it can target at least two units (which is why Domon was sent there). That idea went out the window when the plot kicked in sooner than expected, though.
Still, there are videos showcasing the stuff. The Hakke Robos are in order of appearance.

Notable goodies today: a Wolf’s Crest (starting morale +10), Starlight Shrine Talisman (debuff immunity) and a Repair Kit.

Back at the Spiral Castle, the Gulfer have just finished busting their asses to get Ragou leashed. They had to sacrifice a few RoBeasts to be used as bait for the thing, though Giga Absolute asks the Castle if he could put a call in with the Emperor and ask why he sent Ragou to Earth.
No, the Castle isn’t crazy to question the Emperor’s decisions… much less when the big man phones in to ask how Ragou’s doing. It’s… very energetic, the Castle stammers. The Emperor figures it’s because it hasn’t been outside for a while; just leave the thing to acclimate for now as it’ll be very useful against the Dendoh.
Giga Gurumei meekly asks when they can send it back – they haven’t a lot of food available for the beastie. The Emperor disagrees, figuring there are plenty of useless goons that can serve quite nicely... including three incompetent commanders who’ve yet to produce any results.

As the Gigas collectively gulp, Absolute lets out a dry laugh at the Emperor’s “joke”… though whether it remains a joke or not is up to them. Finally, the Emperor tells them not to let his pet get hurt and signs off.
The Castle ponders what happened in the previous battle, witnessing the power the Emperor himself had sealed within Ragou – something never meant to be unleashed. Yet, the creature itself went and broke that seal anyway and said power now courses through its fangs. What is it, then? And what will happen to the Data Weapons? The Castle seems worried…