The Let's Play Archive

Super Robot Wars W

by Brunom1

Part 127: Post-mission 36 Intermission (Includes Unit Analysis #15 - "My Love Letter to Astray Red Frame" Edition) and Mission 36.5 - Route Split

Time for another intermission, so let’s get right to it:



Being able to attack well underwater has helped Gai keep a steady approach to the nº1.


BP Upgrades:


Yow. Lowe really did carry us if he has this many points built up…either way, they’re spent towards making him an ever bigger beast: 5 points in Melee, 2 in Evasion.



Sommer spends his 4 points into his Melee, since he already has a rather decent Shooting stat.



Finally, Kazuma keeps his all-around build going: 1 point in Melee, 2 in Shooting, 1 in Defense.


Skill Parts:


As usual, Kazuma takes the BP+1.



Lowe takes an Infight+1 (bring his skill to L3) and a Support Request+1.



Gai (Shishioh) takes the Support Defend+1 (getting his total to L3).



As for Blade, he takes both Support Attack L1 (make use of his long range attacks) and Multicombo+1 (just because).



Finally, Sousuke also takes the last remaining Multicombo+1.


Unit Upgrades:


Vesna was lagging behind her peers, so I give her a boost on all that she needs: EN, Mobility and Weapons.



Sommer takes a boost to his weapons, just to even things out.



Hiver will be ever-so-useful with her massively powerful combination attack with Blade – as such, I give her a boost to EN, Mobility and Weapons.



Small bit of cash is belt giving the Nadesico some more survivability with extra HP and Armor.



While the remaining cash is spent giving Red Frame 2 points in HP and Armor…because…


Unit Parts:


Since nobody is using it, Deathscythe takes the Servo Motor for the extra +5 Mobility.



And considering that Gaofighgar isn’t leaving our team anytime soon (will you ever make that travesty happen?!), I figure he would do well to take the New Alloy Z for an even bigger boost to his HP and Armor.



With that in mind, I also exchange the Valstork’s Cobham Armor with a Hybrid Armor.


Now, there’s only one thing to do and it’s the final unit analysis of our newest additions to Neo-Wärter: Lowe and his Astray Red Frame!





The Red Frame just may be my favorite Real Robot of this game (though it’s got tough competition with the Blue Frame and Blade) though it is, regardless of your favorites, one of the more useful and power mechs available featuring high power weapons and good EN/Mobility.
Lowe’s stats are PERFECT for the Red Frame in that Lowe has a great Melee stat (getting beat by Gai Shishioh by a mere 2 points) and a huge amount of accuracy and evasion, meaning he can get sent into a pack of enemies and he will be able to cut things to shreds with little difficulty.



Mind you, it’s not without its shortcomings: the most glaring is his range, in that it has a very limited one. Its longest range attack is his Rifle which isn’t that great to begin with and gets further weakened by Lowe’s rather low Shooting stat.
Also, keep in mind that Lowe cannot use his melee attacks against airborne enemies (but that’s easily remedied with either an A-Adaptor or Flight Module).

Still, the Red Frame is not meant to attack from a distance; it’s meant to go into the fray and to cut things up with melee attacks and it does that well: Gerbera Straight only works at point-blank but it’s a free, high-crit, high power move that will remain useful for the rest of the game (though you cannot chain-attack with it, which is disappointing).



With all the boosts that we’ve given him, Lowe is sporting a respectable selection of Skills:
Do keep in mind that, unless he’s getting a Prevail boost, Lowe will rarely use his trigger-able Skills as his Skill Stat is rather lacking compared to others.
Infight is a perfect fit for him, though, as it’ll boost both his melee damage and critical ratio.


Finally, let’s take a look at both Spirit Lists for Lowe and 8. First is the main pilot:
And, now, the sub-pilot:
8’s list is obviously meant to support only Lowe but it’s good: Accel and Snipe do wonders to compensate for his small range.


Conclusion: Despite a few small rough edges, you’ll find in the Red Frame a unit that will serve you well throughout the entire game. If there’s a unit that benefits from the broken Size Modifiers, it’s this one and it allows him to cut through anything that comes his way with no penalty (Gerbera Straight doesn’t Ignore Size) – he’ll tear through special armors and barriers, just like he’ll tear through any mook that decides to get in his face (whilst spending next to no EN on his attacks).

The best thing is that the Red Frame will only get stronger and stronger as the game goes along and even though I may not care much for Gundam SEED, when I played this game before, I never once considered doing anything without deploying Lowe.



Also, I really, really, really like this dynamic finish!

Now that I’m done gushing over Lowe, let’s get down to business:





Mithril and GGG have pooled their resources and figured out that the Bionet agent has left the Mediterranean and headed for Orb.
Horis relates how this neutral nation opens its arms to anyone who isn't headed there for military purposes, and is believed to be where Bionet will hand over the captives to whoever is footing the bill.
Odds seem high that they're planning to send the girls to space using Orb's mass driver, but Renée points out they might also be trying to decoy us away from defending the UN meeting in Paris (Chasseur is still expecting Bionet to attack during the meeting).



Time to split up again: GGG will be going to Paris, to meet up with the Getter and Mazinger team, while everyone else will head to Orb.
Professor insists the Junkmen head to Orb because there’s an acquaintance she wants to see.



As we split up, it seems clear that Sousuke hasn't recovered yet – not necessarily because Sousuke loves Kaname that much, but because he feels himself a failure as an agent.
This reminds Duo a lot of Heero, and even if Kaname isn't Sousuke's beloved, he still cares about her a lot; Yumi wonders if there isn’t something D-Boy can say to him, as he did for her, but he says all we can do is offer our support to Sousuke.
Inwardly, Sousuke asks Kaname and Tessa to wait for him and promises that he’ll carry out his mission.



The handoff of the girls indeed happens in Orb and, while the buyer is glad to have both “cute angels”, he isn't entirely happy that Bionet tried to raise the price at the last minute.
Mr. Potassium raises the point that without the help of Mr. Iron (a.k.a. Gauron), Gimlet would never have managed to get so far; Gimlet, in turn, argues that a stingy person doesn’t often lead a very long life but Mr. Potassium doesn’t believe in such superstition.
And, if we’re talking superstitions, he cares much more for the one that says he can’t die as long as he has his long sideburns.



The two glare at each other for a while until Gimlet lets it go; this isn’t his problem anymore since he already got what he came here for.
Mr. Potassium reveals that they’ll be reselling the girls soon and in this very town – after raising the price a bit more to guarantee his group’s profit, of course; with that, Gimlet gets going and Mr. Potassium wishes him to have a great time in Paris.



Another route split which means we get another voting time!

As before, it’ll be a split for two episodes: GGG will be going to Paris while everyone else will head to Orb.

Voting will remain open until Tuesday, when I’ll post the prologue to the chosen route.

See you all then!