Part 59: Mission 16 - Two, Enclosed - Part 2 (Includes Boss Analysis #4 - "Four Zondar Kings" Edition)
Ho-hum. We’ve some crazy shenanigans happening in Tokyo: the Zondar have taken over and set up a big fuck-off barrier while they get their Metal Plant going – once it’s done, the entire world will be mechanized.Thankfully, Kazuma and Blade (with some help from the pragmatic Tekkaman Evil), manage to disrupt Primada and Polonaise just enough to tell the rest of Wärter how to break the damn thing.
Now, all Four Machine Kings™ are present, determined to risk everything in order to see their plan come to fruition.
Alright, let’s begin this update by having Boss Analysis at what the four are packing:
They are all rather similar to each other: all have a decent amount of HP and Armor (Primada being the weakest, Penchinon being the bulkiest, Pizza is the stronger attacker and Polonaise is the average one).
They all come packing 1 medium-ranged (1-6 usually) attack and a MAP version that hits in front of them (Penchinon being the exception where he has 2 long-range attacks – the longest being 3-8 – and a target-able Area of Effect MAP) but they tend to be inaccurate.
Of course, as Zondars, they still have that 10% HP Regen but that only amounts to around 3.5k-ish per turn.
As for their Pilot Skills:
Nothing amazing, really.
They all have Prevail L2 (Pizza having L3) but Penchinon and Pizza have the added bonus of having, respectively, Hit & Away and Counter.
Conclusion: After such a build-up, this may actually be a bit underwhelming; the 4 Kings are spread out enough that you can deal with them one at a time and none of them can handle that kind of attention.
If they were close enough to each other it might’ve been a bit challenging but, as it is, they still cannot fill Gauron’s shoes.
A good thing to note is that your units enter this battle at 120 morale, so you don’t need to worry about managing kills. Nevertheless, Getter needs a lot of morale so Mike gets to work on him.
Stoner Sunshine DOES require 140 morale to use.
Up next, Ryouko is one of the few units that can get in range to attack something.
Not bad.
Izumi can get close enough to finish the job.
Heero deals some surprisingly high damage with his piddly Vulcans. I guess those gunfights are paying off.
Now, I’m gonna keep Blade attacking Primada to stop her from regening the damage she took before. I’m also moving Gai over to not only attract mooks away but to help out on her.
Enemy Phase!
See this here? Nearly all those nearby mooks are gonna go for the Valhawk but, unfortunately, they’re all gonna be too far away to be hit with Heat Edge Exploder and there’s only one round left of Beam Shot Launcher.
As such, unless specified, just assume that Kazuma dodged them all.
This Bushnell likes to be different and tries his hand at Blade…who does not appreciate the gesture.
A Garada is also feeling ballsy.
Atta(D)boy.
Now, closest to Penchinon’s group, this Mistral spots Golion. I wonder if Hikaru’s support defense will completely block out the damage…?
Nope. Still, it was a pretty small hit.
Heero’s friend comes over and decides to attack Mazinkaiser of all things.
KOOOOUSHIRYOKU BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAMUUUUUUUUUUU!
…Nope, still not Z2’s Beam (also, that was some pretty pathetic damage from the Savage – I didn’t even cast Iron Wall!).
A Serpent attacks from afar and takes a Giga Missile in return.
All these fights bump Kouji past 130 morale. I am now become death…
Finally, this Doublas thinks he’s so clever at sniping and forgets that Blade can still Crash Intrude his ass.
Polonaise makes use of his decent range to ram Gai as he goes after Primada…doing 21 damage past the point where it’d have been blocked by Protect Shade
Primada wastes her regenerated health by going after Blade.
And Penchinon decides that he’s the best target to attack as well even though he could’ve moved in closer to hit our less dodgy units.
Player Phase!
Kurz gets to deal with that Mistral that went for Golion.
Good, good.
More Rock N’ Roll for Getter.
Hayato then proceeds to obliterate Blade’s Doublas.
Like so.
Bushnells are always a prime-target for our crit-machines.
Good man.
Heero disappoints me and leaves a Birdman barely hanging on…
Still, that gets the Zero System going.
Akito gets the job of taking the weakened Serpent.
Are you kiddin’ me, boy?!
Goddamn it. Hikaru, get over there and clean up that mess!
Now, remember all those mooks on the left side that I said were making a beeline for Kazuma?
They’re close enough that Bless can MAP the shit out of four of them.
I could’ve used Fighting Spirit but I figure it’s best to save that for the bosses; as is, only the Birdman got dropped.
Golion finishes that Serpent if only to stop it from sniping at our nearby Supers.
Air Force mode doesn’t do much when all enemies like to attack from afar and you’re out of Beam Shot Launchers.
So, let’s have Kazuma switch to Cross Combat and get up close with a 3-way chain attack from the Mistral, to the Bushnell, to the Serpent.
Very good.
Ryouko weakens what, I think, is the last full-health mook on Penchinon’s side.
While at that, Izumi finishes off that Birdman that Heero failed to oneshot.
Kouji then sets out to show these kids how it’s done!
Hell, yeah!
Meanwhile, Gai has made it close enough to Primada to start slapping her around some.
: If these are the Zondar top officers, they must also be the leaders!: This must be the even greater foe Mamoru meant!
This time, though, he had Invincible cast.
Blade keeps the pain going.
We’ll deal with both her and Penchinon next turn.
Enemy Phase!
First things first, a Taurus goes for Kazuma (as expected) but this time I have ranged attacks ready.
WHAT!?
I’m just going to ignore that…at least this Savage had the decency to get critted and die in one go.
Also, that Serpent that Kazuma chained before has decided to go after Big Daddy.
Big mistake.
The weakened Bushnell and Mistral also attack and get wrecked.
Make good use of that last shot, kid…
Thank god.
Another Taurus breaks away but fails to consider that Golion’s (ridiculously named) Feet Missiles can hit him over there.
The RNG gods have taken the day to mess with Kazuma; nevertheless, a kill is a kill and the lowered-ish HP will trigger a slight Prevail boost.
Plus, a Doublas also takes a small hit but, since I’m trying to conserve EN, it was just a Vulcan attack.
This Bushnell decides to be clever.
That shit don’t fly with Gai!
Primada has gotten tired of Blade’s Lancer and decides to MAP both him and Kurz.
She shares a Ramming MAP attack with her husband and it looks hilarious to watch them roll over our guys like a bowling ball.
Nevertheless, its accuracy is no good and misses everyone (MAPs will always hit during the scene but can still miss afterwards).
Penchinon has been playing Advance Wars and knows the value of Artillery Fire.
It only hits Kaiser and the Nadesico for mild damage.
Player Phase!
Sousuke’s too far away to hit any of the bosses so we might as well have him finish off the Bushnell.
Sadly, without the Lambda Driver, there’s no awesome dynamic finish…
Due to that MAP attack, Primada hasn’t lost her regened HP so Kurz snipes at her.
This lets me show our first encounter with “Boss AI”: if a Zondar King is attacked outside of its range, it’ll actually defend/evade.
Mooks will just sit there and take it on the chin but bosses will actually take actions to survive.
Blade is close enough that she’ll take the brunt of his Voltekka. I’m saving the remainder of his SP but he dodges even without focus.
Time for the ol’ switcheroo.
Mike gets swapped for Sayaka so we can get Bless going on Heero (alongside a Cheer from Yurika).
With all that done, the first Zondar King falls to Wärter.
I’m still amazed at the fact that Heero flies to space only to drop back into the atmosphere.
Primada is worth two levels, a Servo Motor and a Counter.
: T-this is…! How could I be bested by such inferior robots…!
: Flee, Primada! Leave the rest to me!: Tch…!*Boom*
[/url]Penchinon is next and we’ll take the opportunity to nuke his aim to hell with some ninja awesomeness (remember to stay in his attack range or he’ll defend).
: Whreeeeeee! You've interfered with me for the last time, purple robot!
: I am only executing my mission.: Mission? A strangely pleasant-sounding word... in exchange, purple robot, I will destroy you personally!
Next, Kaiser gets in position to bring the pain.
: Putting a barrier over all of Tokyo? This is getting big!: Congratulations, you've surprised me! Your prize is me exterminating every one of you!
HA HA!
Next, it’s Getter 2’s turn with some Shin Getter Vision.
Good, good.
Seeing as how Penchinon is the bulkiest of the bunch, throwing Supers at him is the best way to be rid of him in one turn.
: Grr! Why are they trying to mechanize all humans?: Not knowing makes it even worse than Galra!
Halfway down. His Prevail is gonna start acting up to boost his defenses.
Might as well have Duo join in with an assist from Ryouko.
Duo gets a much-needed level and learns Fighting Spirit.
Might as well have Akito join in on the fun.
: These are the Zondar leaders? They're incredibly powerful!: But if we can't win this, it's over for everyone in Tokyo! We have to fight!
His damage is lacking, though, and I’m once again reminded of how much I miss Gai Daigouji.
Gai can also get close enough to smack him around some.
Ryouko and Izumi also bring him down a wee bit more.
[/url]His HP is low enough that Hikaru can take him down with the Melee-Version Formation Attack of the Nadesico girls (Hikaru also casts Lucky for extra cash)
Penchinon is worth two levels, a Booster and a Support Request +1.
: WHREEEEEEEEEE! Not yet…I still haven’t completed my mission!: I’m…I’m…!*Boom*
: Penchinon…despite you being my enemy, I respect that you were willing to sacrifice yourself for the sake of your mission…: However, no matter your wishes, we will not hand our Earth over to the Zondar…!
With that side clear, we turn our attention west-ward, where Kazuma is holding the line like a pro (when he’s not getting screwed by the RNG gods).
Nearby, Bless gets repaired by Sayaka.
Enemy Phase!
Kazuma gets rushed by a Mistral, a Doublas, a Taurus and this Garada.
Both the Garada and Mr. “I survive with 6 HP” get taken out.
That Doublas that got hit with the Valhawk’s Vulcan moves over to greener pastures and sets his sights on Kurz.
Greener pastures on SRW games are just different forms of pain, though.
Uh oh. Pizza has grown tired of waiting and decided to deal with this young’un.
: The Zondar bosses themselves! I guess we've lit a fire under their butt!: Why don't I just drop some gas on that and turn it into a barbecue!
I love how, after missing his attack, Pizza just sits there for a second giving you the evil eye.
Player Phase!
Seeing as how he seems to be having an off day, Akito will deal with that Doublas.
I knew you could do it.
And Kazuma takes down the other Doublas. I’m fairly certain that we’ll be seeing some changes in the Top Ace chart at the end of this mission.
Enemy Phase!
The last mook decides to suicide against Kazuma and I don’t really care to have someone else waste an attack to do it on our turn.
As our group has approached, Pizza sees an opportunity to use his MAP attack.
Meh. The Valstork can handle that kind of damage (everyone else dodged).
It was right now that I noticed that Polonaise hasn’t budged an inch since his rather poor attempt to attack Gai at the start of this update.
I guess he’s had an emotional breakdown seeing his wife blow up and is crying in his corner.
Player Phase!
Might as well Scan Pizza so that he doesn’t make any surprise dodges when his Prevail kicks in (even though his mobility is pretty crap).
Kurz, with an assist from Mao, does the opening salvo.
Pizza has the 2nd weakest defense, only ahead of Primada, so this won’t take long (even with his L3 Prevail).
Moving in closer, Mao nicks his health a lil bit more.
Time for Big Daddy to show his stuff. Fighting Spirit, Strike and Invincible are cast just to be a jerk to Pizza.
: Hmm... at that size, we may as well use ship-to-ship tactics.
: Then it's my turn to shine!
: This is serious, Akane. We have to defeat the Zondars to save everyone in Tokyo.
: Whoa. Looks like Shihomi's pissed off today.: I know, it's scary! You'd better be scared, Zondars!
Very good.
With Mao and Kurz right there, you could’ve probably seen this Uruz Strike coming.
: Indiscriminate destruction, dealing damage to civilian areas. You need to learn that there are rules even to war.
Blade will follow that up with a Voltekka shot.
Just a wee bit more…
The Three Angels are close enough to pull one for combined attack.
There. That’s perfect.
Gai gets a Cheer from Mihiro (sadly, Sayaka doesn’t have the SP to cast Bless again).
And we move in to finish him with HERU ANDO HEVUN (we’re not in range for Goldion Hammer)!
Fun fact: this is the normal version of the attack, without the core-yanking, but, if you look a few missions back, when I finished Pizza off in this fashion, Gai did pull out his core (I guess he’s just tired of the guy).
: Our battle ends today, cyborg!: You're right about that! You've brought out your big guns, so we'll give you all we've got!: You Zondars will never have the Earth!
Pizza is worth 3 levels, a Chobham Armor and an Infight +1.
Gai also learns Fighting Spirit.
: It can’t be that I’ve been defeated in a place like this…!: I cannot be beaten amidst the skies!!: Pizza! You are not the only one that has spent his life in the sky!!: Tch..!: You could never understand! The will to fight and to protect other people…such is our courage!!: Courage…Mechanization…I’m…the Red Planet…
: Red Planet…I remember hearing that word somewhere… Of course…!: I should also have protected…my mission…my…my name is…!*boom*
: Pizza…What were you trying to say…
Seeing as how Polonaise didn’t care enough to help his friends as they were being killed, we start moving in on him – starting with Kazuma.
Also Golion, who’s close enough to melee him.
Being the average one, his defense will not last him very long.
Shin Getter 1 is the last unit that can reach him but it’s enough for a Getter Beam.
: Come on, you Four Machine Kings! We'll meet the four of you with the three of us!
Not bad at all.
Enemy Phase!
One more MAP attack…sure.
It hits both supers for negligible damage.
Player Phase!
He’s regenerated a bit but it’s nothing we can’t handle now.
That takes away all the HP he got back on his turn and then some.
Kouji’s up next and Kazuma is close enough to assist.
I remember being intimidated by this mission my first time around but now I see what a breeze it is.
Normally Blade would be too far to hit but, thankfully, Pegas has Snipe.
Once again, Kurz attacks while assisted by Mao.
Followed up her own potshot.
This is my preferred method when using the Uruz squad against bosses: Kurz attacks with Mao while moving up with hit & away, Mao does an attack of her own and Sousuke moves near them both for an Uruz Strike.
An Uruz Strike will not be necessary, though. Let’s do the final bit of softening up the same way we started.
Boom. That’s right where I need it.
I still want the cash, so let’s finish him off with Shin Getter with Lucky and Gain cast.
However, after a previous convo in the thread, I’ve decided to change one thing, in honor of songs that SHOULD have been in SRW games but, for whatever reason, have not.
Beautiful.
Polonaise’s worth a level (ONLY ONE?!), a High Performance Radar and a Prevail +1.
: How…! It’s impossible – this can’t be the end of the battle…!*boom*
All the Zondar are confirmed destroyed and Gai asks about Mamoru; Shihomi is still receiving the signal from his tracking device, indicating he is near the Tokyo Tower.
Sousuke remembers Mamoru talking about his “bad feeling”; right then, as our people get in touch, the last transmission we hear from him is a terrified scream.
Gai charges into the tower after the boy and Bless orders both D-Boy and the Mithril mercenaries to follow inside and rescue him.
Beneath Tokyo Tower is a vast, hollowed-out cave but, despite being incommunicado, Mamoru’s signal is still transmitting.
As our people advance towards the signal’s location, a figure steps out of the shadows.
: You’ve come…: Pizza! You’re still alive!
: In that case, I’m gonna give the final blow! Let’s go!!: Wait! Don’t attack this man!!
: D-Boy…! He is a Zondarian and this is our chance to take him out for good!: Tekkaman…you feel sympathy towards me, your enemy…?: I cannot kill this man…he is on the verge of recovering his original memories and, because of that, I can’t bring myself to do it!!: What’s going on, D-Boy?: We’re the same…he is a man who was fully controlled by the Zondar to act as a vanguard.: What?!: Then, this guy…he was not born a Zondar…?: …: No less than an earthling that had his life transformed into a Tekkaman by the Radam; the Zondar did this to create an agent with which to mechanize other worlds across the stars.: You’re a Tekkaman who escaped the Radam’s control…it seems like our existence may share some similarities…: Pizza…*Ruuuumble*
: An earthquake…!: It’s different…! The hypo-center of the quake was located close to the surface!: It’s beginning…: What’s happening, Pizza?!: Hurry, cyborg…lest things move past the point of no return…