The Let's Play Archive

Super Robot Wars W

by Brunom1

Part 149: Post-mission 41 Intermission (Includes Unit Analysis #17 - "Angsty" Edition) and Mission 42 - Prologue

Well, that was a simple mission but we’re about to enter one of my favorites in the game.
First things first, though; here are your top aces:



Gai is, once again, closing in on Kazuma after his rampage with Kouji. He may yet have a chance at the 1st place.


BP Upgrades:



Muu is all about ranged attacks, so his points are heavily inclined towards Shooting, while adding in some Evasion and Accuracy to boost his survivability.



Murrue is a ship captain, nothing else to be said. Shooting, Defense and Accuracy are her game.



Now, Youko is more of a mixed bag: she focuses more on ranged attacks but can handle melee attacks somewhat well.
As such, we’ll give her a bit of everything: melee, shooting (more on this than everything else), evasion and accuracy.
Her Birdman is 90% ranged oriented (it does have a Melee attack when in Humanoid form) but, maybe, we can get her something better in the future.



Kira is a beast across the board and while the Freedom Gundam focuses on Shooting, he does have enough melee prowess that it warrants a bit of a boost (not much).
With that said, he takes a bit of Melee, a LOT of Shooting and a wee bit more Evasion and Accuracy.



Finally, Orgun has, at last, joined our party after getting teased throughout most of the game.
He’s very much like a Tekkaman, so we’ll build him like one: little bit of Melee, a good bunch of Shooting and a wee bit of Evasion and Skill.


Skill Parts:


Gai Shishioh takes another Support Defense+1 and takes his total to L4, the maximum.



While Mike takes the Support Request+1, getting his total to L2.


Unit Upgrades:


Now, this here is very important if you’re looking to save some good bit of cash: we’ll spend all of our current money and get the Freedom Gundam some nice boosts in everything he needs.

If you're interested, it should be done NOW or else it you’ll lose your chance to save some hundred thousand bucks.


Unit Parts:


Seeing how Kira is all about ranged attacks, he takes an All Range Radar (オールレンジレーダー) to boost his attacks’ range by 2 and an Apogee Motor for the extra movement (for when we get him Hit & Away).


Now, we got a handful of new units in our group. Let’s take a look at a couple of them for today, starting with Kira and the Freedom Gundam:




I know most people don’t care much for Kira (I know I don’t) but it needs to be said: Kira is a goddamn monster and the Freedom is one of the best units in the game.

Right out of the box, the Freedom sports huge mobility, movement and powerful (though expensive), long-range attacks; it also sports a crapload of features to further boost its power:


On the weapons front, the Freedom is packed with powerful and long range weapons but is, as expected, lacking in Melee attacks which can lower its usefulness when mooks start to swarm him (though, he’ll still do nice damage due to his many boosts to Melee stat).

The Neutron Jammer Canceller compensates a bit for the high EN cost of his Balaena and Hi-MAT Full Burst attacks (respectively, 30 and 50 EN) but not enough that you can shoot it with abandon – it’ll probably stick an EN Chip or Megachip on him later to further decrease the EN consumption.


Before anything else, here are Kira’s Spirit Commands:
Now, for the part that sends Kira up to the top of our pilot ranks: his Skills.
The big ones are Coordinator and SEED; SEED status works just like the Zero System in that it gives a flat +10 to all his status (which would put him on par with Heero) but Coordinator further boosts his totals:
All this adds up and it means that, at 150 Morale, Kira will have +21 to Melee, Shooting, Defense and Skill, and +24 Evasion and Accuracy (even more if he takes Break Morale Limit) which is absurd – so much so that there’s only one other pilot in the game that can rival his totals (we’ll get to that soon enough).

Conclusion: even if you don’t like him, seriously consider using Kira and the Freedom Gundam; it’s a complete powerhouse that can only get stronger if you slap an EN Chip and Hit & Away at it (and there are even some other tricks that we’ll get later).
At max morale, his stats will be so high that he’ll be tearing ass throughout the battlefield while avoiding every single hit except from, maybe, a heavily Prevail’d boss.
Use him without prejudice.



Now that I’m done writing my essay on the Freedom, let’s take a quick look at the Archangel (I’ll keep it shorter, I promise!).





The Archangel is a ship that could best be described as inconsistent – there are some bits that it does better than the Nadesico but some that are worse.
Positive things, first: It’s bulkier than the Nadesico and has a much wider variety of weapons (thank god), allowing it to jump into the fray and fire back with several ammo-based attacks.
Now, the bad: Laminated Armor only reduces Beam-Type weapons, unlike the Distortion field and, most important, Murrue is one of the worst battleship captain in the game (more on that in a bit).



Quickly, now, here are Murrue’s Pilot Skills:
And, respectively, her Spirit Commands, along with her new sub-pilot: Arnold Newman.
Murrue’s Skills are alright, though limited, and her Spirit Commands offer a nice coverage (not support-oriented, mind) but the glaring issues are shown with her own stats when compared to other captains of the game.
Ruri (with the IFS bonuses), Shihomi and Bless all had/have WAY better stats than her – she’s not as abysmal as Yurika but she’s tied with Professor in most stats, losing out on Defense, meaning that if you want to hit something and handle incoming fire, you’ll probably need to use Strike and Iron Wall.

Conclusion: Despite Murrue’s flaws, the Archangel remains a decent choice as a ship with its very bulky build and solid weapon variety. Mind you, if you want a support-oriented ship, you’d be better off choosing something else but if you want a ship that can work as a back-row attacker, it can do that job decently.

Now, finally, let’s move on with the show:




Somewhere in Orb, Heero is reporting to a "mysterious acquaintance" about the failure of Operation Spit Break, which he feels will only lead the Zaft/Earth conflict to get even fiercer.
The acquaintance agrees, expecting the hawkish Patrick Zala to ascend to the supreme government position sooner rather than later; she also expects the peace talks with Siegel Klein to fail, even with Malchio's assistance, and tells Heero that this kind of pain and suffering is needed any time the world is about to change.



She thinks that this time, the "Ocean" must be put out in full, but Heero reminds her that this "world" about to change is made up of individual people
No matter what anyone does, no ruler can dominate the people all the way down to their heart; in short, her and her brother's plans aren't likely to go the way they want so long as there are people of principle to oppose them.
Heero speaks not of Uzumi, whose methods he disagrees with.
In fact, the reason he chose to stay with this acquaintance is because both he and Relena sought to oppose the rule of Uzumi.
The woman asks if Heero, the warrior whose namesake once fought to free the colonies, is leaving; he is, and he asks Rondo Mina Sahaku to take good care of Relena until they meet again.
Heero hangs up, telling Wufei that the Feds are sure to attack Orb next.



Wufei suggests he let them, as a way to show Uzumi the full extent of his mistake, and Seina notes that more blood will be spilt in the process.
What other option is there, Wufei asks, amidst all this chaos in the world?
Heero certainly doesn't seem inclined to leave things that way, but Seina asks him if he's so firm in his resolve that he'd even leave the Queen in the castle of the Sahaku.
He tells her that Relena is sure to find an answer for herself; he's merely a step ahead in acting on his; Seina for her part plans to stay here and see the final result of the Asuha/Sakahu throwdown, though Heero tells her to her face that he doubts she'll make it.
He adds that Wufei should well know who gets hurt any time the world is reborn - and he shouldn't be able to sit idly while it happens, either.



Kazuma reports that Taiga has returned to Orbit Base to figure out what the heck to do next.
The rest of us, at Balzac's recommendation, are laying low in Orb.
Balzac has left the military to act as D-Boy's backup, though D-Boy is seemingly at death's door after the last battle; Aki says that an apparatus that may save his life is supposed to arrive at Orb any day now, but the Earth/Plant war gets worse every day we wait.
This includes the use of a new Zaft weapon called Gungnir, apparently in retaliation for the Cyclops incident; it's basically an EMP generator, and the Federation soldiers it's immobilized have been mercilessly slaughtered.
One wonders how the heck anyone will be left to fend off the Radam or Sol Lords...



Balzac is ordering the dragons around, making room for the guests we're about to receive.
As they grumble about all the heavy lifting, they also note that something about Balzac has changed: the arrogant edge in his voice has gone.
When Yumi asks, Balzac says he can’t promise her a 100% chance that the guest can cure D-Boy, but according to Liger the guest is bringing the results of research stretching all the way back to the Lizard War.
Akane also asks what Balzac has been doing and he explains that he was held responsible for the loss of his platoon, and demoted from the elite rear echelon posts to the very front lines.



He actually didn't mind the lifestyle, dangerous though it was, and even met a precious companion there - a woman.
Said woman nearly got killed in a Radam raid, but D-Boy managed to intervene and save her (back when he was missing, in the time-skip); Balzac, feeling he owed D-Boy one, has been running around trying to help ever since at the behest of Noal and Milly, and Freeman.



Speaking of the devil, they all arrive and Freeman goes straight to business: having read all Aki's reports about the situation, he cuts short the reunion and makes haste to D-Boy's side to try to stave off certain death.



At Uzumi’s office, Ruri relates how Admiral Misumaru has arranged for the Archangel to be transferred to Neo-Wärter, but Murrue is far from at ease.
She's busy wondering what the hell she's been fighting for all this time, which Uzumi thinks their tactics are only natural given the way the Federation came together after the last Revolutionary War.
Treize's legacy was not a terribly peaceful one, even though it nominally valued all peoples and countries of the world equally; the flaw in the system was letting individual egos and agendas take root, under the name "Blue Cosmos".
This hateful anti-Coordinator group has been pulling strings for some time, and are sure to extend their evil grasp towards Orb in short order.



When that happens, Uzumi would rather see the blood of his people spilled than see them pressed into service in the Federation army.
He's sure that Orb will live on so long as the people retain their ideals, even if it ceases to exist as an official nation; likely this means our people will get dragged into a losing battle, but Uzumi doesn't want the Archangel nor Neo-Wärter among them.
Instead, he tells Murrue that her crew needs to harden their resolve for a tough battle ahead - they've got very little time to do it.



As Uzumi and Ruri leave, Murrue asks Muu why he returned to the Archangel, and he gives her a kiss as his answer; she says she hates Mobile Armor pilots but he says that, with the Strike, he’s now a Mobile Suit pilot!
Their little moment is briefly interrupted by Ruri, who returns for a forgotten item and apologizes for not better reading their mood...



Kira learns of Cagalli's meeting with Athrun in Orb, and of his tears at the thought of killing his best friend.
Kira tells her that neither of them had a choice, having each had a close friend killed moments before; Kira has no regrets, and tells Cagalli that he plans to go on fighting in the Freedom in order to protect what's precious to him.
Speaking of which, Erika is very interested in taking a gander at Zaft’s new MS Prototype but Kira promised the one who gave him the mech not to let anyone but him touch it.
That would be Lacus Klein, one of the many fighting to end this war as soon as possible; Erika won't insist, vowing instead to concentrate on fixing the Buster Gundam the Archangel crew recovered from Zaft.
The pilot, presumably a Zaft Coordinator, is being held aboard the Archangel, but Erika suggests Cagalli concentrate on mastering her new Rouge Gundam instead of him.



Lowe is glad to see Kira's himself again, and gladder yet when he bumps into Gai Murakumo, whom he had no idea was in Orb.
Gai, however, was looking for Lowe: he has a little present for him from Malchio, and a request for the gifted gearhead.
He needs his help to apply his intended modifications at the Blue Frame; Lowe is amused that the great mercenary needs help from the “humble" Junk Guild but is more than happy to assist.



Michi, Freeman and Aki (and a worried Yumi) gather around to examine D-Boy’s data, whose ill effects seem to be from his premature separation from the Radam Tek system.
Like Miyuki, D-Boy's body is starting to degenerate.
This explains why he lost to Dead the first time and making his special training with Yumi that much more astonishing; even with all that, he kept going to fulfill his duty to defeat the Radam.



As D-Boy regains consciousness, Freeman explains that what they're doing will stabilize him only if he never assumes Tekkaman form again
The moment he does so, the degeneration will accelerate and end his life in short order.
Natasha, David and Yumi ask him to leave the battle against the Radam to them but he does not stay calm - he won't let anyone else but him kill his friends and brothers, Shinya and Kengo, as they’re his responsibility.
The others hadn't heard that, and D-Boy says it's precisely because they're his family (and best friends) that he feels obligated to do them in - it's the best he can do for them now.



Tomoru, also in attendance, demands to know D-boy’s input, as the silver Tekkaman he's seen in his dreams, about what is happening to him or why he was chosen by Orgun to fight (Noal is not amused at this guy pestering D-Boy while he’s sick).
D-Boy tells Orgun's chosen that Orgun came all this way to Earth because it holds something the Eviluders lost long ago; it was for the sake of that something that he fought and died on our side, and to further his legacy, D-Boy tells Tomoru to fight in Orgun's stead.
Tomoru is far from convinced, but D-Boy is sure that whatever was so important to Orgun must have been important to Tomoru too if Orgun chose him.
Tomoru storms out upon hearing this, saying he never asked to receive his insane task, but Noal assures Kazuma that Tomoru will surely come around when the time is right.
Much like D-Boy himself, it would seem.





We don't get much time to reflect as we get alerted that Orb is under attack, and Freeman asks us all to go face whoever it is while he continues the treatment.
Balzac and Noal get to team up with both eager to try out some combined tactics of two Sol Tekkamen (Yeah…I don’t think so).
D-Boy is frustrated beyond words that he can't help; for his part, he doesn't care if he burns his life out so long as he manages to take out the enemy Tekkamen first.
Freeman tells D-Boy that the only way he can go on fighting is to seize the hope that lies at the end of despair - meaning there is a way.
Research has shown that the Tek System is capable of evolving under stress, such as on the battlefield - this probably acted as a counter to the Zondar’s Mechanization.



Freeman has learned that when the time and conditions are right, Tekkamen are capable of explosive evolutionary leaps forward: "Blasterization".
Of course, D-Boy is very willing to give it a try and tells Freeman to set the whole thing up quickly; however, Freeman warns that while this total bodily revision would stop D-Boy's degeneration too, he will have to go through hell and back in the process...

We’ve a lot of troops launching as events(Kira, Lowe, Blade, Orgun) which gives us a very small number of deployments for voting time.

As always Kazuma has dibs on one, which leaves you guys with 6 Slots to choose among the units below (Nope, I’m still not using Noal or Balzac!):
Voting will remain open until Wednesday and make sure to bold out your votes.

See you all then!