The Let's Play Archive

Super Robot Wars Z

by Brunom1, Dr. Pepper, Caphi

Part 175: Mission 43 - Destiny and Freedom - Part 2


We find Diana and Midgard still en route to Side 7 and she asks why he’s brought her over to these parts.
He says it’s all so she can fulfill her duty as Queen of the Moon but she knows better and demands he tell her what he's getting in return for selling her to the Federation. Midgard’s rather impressed with her cunning and she asks if this is being done on Agrippa Maintainer or Gym Ghingnham's orders.
Midgard won't say, but notes that the person who wants her has assured him that the Moon will be allowed self-governance and independence – all that’s needed to secure it all is for Diana to become Queen of this entire world.
Diana seems to have an idea of who it is and wonders just what that man could be planning. No time to think, as Midgard sees their escorts approaching.



It’s Sarah and Reccoa (!) and Midgard welcomes them as Scirocco’s envoys. Sarah’s been given command of this mission and doesn’t appreciate when Reccoa reminds her that they’re to see this ship safely to its destination.
Inwardly, Sarah wonders why Scirocco would assign this ex-AEUG to work under her while Reccoa remembers how the guy rescued her after she was shot down and promised to show her the world. She’s found herself attracted to his words-- or, rather, to this man who needed her and, thus, she’ll fight in his name.
She’ll get her chance soon because their troops detect an incoming ship and it’s unlikely to be friendly!




Sarah and Midgard quickly tag “Zaft”’s Eternal and Harry’s Gold SUMO while we also spot the ship carrying Diana.
Waltfeld had hoped to pick up Kira before staging the rescue, but that ain't going to happen now. Lacus addresses all the bad guys, saying she won't permit them to use Diana for their own selfish ends and demands they release her.
Midgard doesn’t appreciate her lip and asks if this is Zaft speaking but, no, Lacus says they’re simply people who are concerned for the future of their world. Sarah quickly sics her troops on us and it falls Harry and Waltfeld to clear the path.
Harry’s eager to finally get this rescue done and, since they’re shorthanded, Waltfeld tells Dacosta to support Lacus on the bridge while he’s out in the field. Lacus and all others swore to do everything they can to help the world and first order of business is getting Diana to safety.
So, our main objective is to immobilize their carrier and Harry’s already yelling: “Just you wait, Midgard! By the name of the Royal Guard, I will lay judgment upon you!”




Mission Objective: Salamis Custom shot down.
Mission Failure: Harry or the Eternal shot down.
Skill Point: Destroy all units within 5 turns, the Salamis Custom last.
Now for the stage proper, this skill point isn’t easy but it’s certainly not THAT hard. The main issue is that your units are so limited, so you can’t afford to hang back with the Eternal and Waltfeld and they aren’t exactly the bulkiest guys around.
Harry’s by far your best unit so have him lead the charge; none of the enemies (barring the ship) have too much HP and defenses, so it’s all a matter of spreading your units a bit, luring the enemies closer and making sure you don’t lose anyone.

Thankfully, Waltfeld doesn’t suck AS BADLY as he did before:



Gaia Gundam (Andrew Waltfeld)
Pilot Skills:
Features:

He’s got actual pilot skills…but, then, he ditched his leader bonus because…???
Either way, that Prevail L5 is an absolute necessity since he’s not the dodgiest guy around and you NEED to use him offensively to maximize your kills. At the very least this other Gaia (where did it come from?!) is a pretty decent mech and the Griphon 2 packs an OK punch.
Keep him close to Lacus and have him take off whatever survives Harry’s onslaught.



Eternal (Lacus Clyne)
Pilot Skills:
Spirit Commands:
Squad Leader Bonus: Any adjacent friendly units gain +10% attack power
Lacus’ Voice Actress: Rie Tanaka (other known works: Mitsuru Kirijo in Persona stuff, Tomoe Marguerite in My-Otome and many others)

Remember W? It’s like that: The Eternal’s not as flimsy as the Glomar but it’s certainly not meant to be in the front lines (as a pilot, Lacus is right down there with Shaia). That said, you don’t deploy the Eternal to see any combat, you do because Lacus is there.
She is, again, one of THE best supporters in the game packing SP Regen, Bless, Cheer and, eventually, Hope which is pretty much perfect. SEED allows her some extra accuracy to snipe with but be very careful when she’s anywhere close to an enemy because she and the ship have crap for defenses.
You’ll eventually need to deploy her for reasons but, right now, she doesn’t bring anything super impressive as a unit.


Nothing’s in range yet, so everyone starts moving forward.



Enemy Phase!



Here they come.



: Blast you, Midgard! You’re planning on selling Her Majesty to the Federation?!
: I'll not suffer such a disgraceful act! Prepare yourself, treacherous worms!












Good, good.





Waltfeld gets jumped by two to other Marasais and already eats some damage…

Everything else, other than Sarah, Reccoa and the Salamis starts coming over.



Player Phase!



Dacosta soon detects an unknown unit approaching at high-speed – Federation reinforcements?


I’m having an Alpha Gaiden flashbaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAH!!





: What MS is THAT?!
: It’s been far too long, Harry Ord! Ever the inept novice, I see!
: Gym Ghingnham?! What are you doing here?!
: I’ve taken to the field to gain experience with this Turn X… and to eradicate some scurrying rats.
: The general's here…?!
: Midgard! The likes of you have no right to use Diana Soreil!
: And I, Gym Ghingnham, eldest son of House Ghingnham, have a duty to defend the Queen of the Moon!
: Gym Ghingnham…!
: Lt. Harry, who is he?!
: Gym Ghingnham, head of House Ghingnham which rules the warrior class… commander of the Moon’s fleets.
: Then, he’s also here to rescue Diana?
: …
: Aye and you may leave now. My Turn X and I are more than capable of dispatching this lot.
: Talk about haughty... and what’s with that anachronistic “samurai” shtick?
: He’s a man who lives for nothing but combat. We cannot leave Her Majesty’s rescue to someone like that!
: Hmph...so you refuse…
: Then, I shall act freely! I ought to demonstrate my Turn X’s magnificence to Diana as well!
: Gym Ghingnham… you’ve tapped into the Moon’s Mountain Cycles…?!
: Mind you, I’m also rather inexperienced! I beg your pardon if any unfortunate “accidents” happen!
: W-what?! Diana’s in here with me! Is he going to attack us both…?!
: To battle, Turn X! Now we unleash all our strength!!

… I love and hate this guy.

Getting Gym killed is a losing condition but, honestly, it’d take a VERY unlucky RNG run for that to happen. Take a look at this:


Turn X (Gym Ghingnham)
Pilot Skills:
Spirit Commands:
Features:
Gym’s Squad Leader Bonus: Accuracy and Critical Hit Rate +30%
Gym’s Voice Actor: Glorious Takehito Koyasu

This guy’s a goddamn monster of a pilot with an incredibly powerful mech. Gym will effortlessly cut a bloody swath through this battle and he’ll be pretty much untouchable when Perfection comes online (especially with an S rating in Space).
I don’t think I need to tell you that he ain’t sticking around, so it’s unadvisable to let him hog all experience but we can’t really afford such care if we’re going to get that Skill Point.
I’ll be having him make a beeline towards the Salamis Custom since a Soul’d hit from him will take away about 90%+ of the ship’s HP.



So, let’s take the guy out for a spin and this weakened Marasai’s the only target in range.



: War is exhilarating indeed! Far better than hunting aliens, for it is in it that human emotions shine!
: Enjoy to your heart's content, Turn X! Our age is just about to begin!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h5RYAC1Jxlc
Subtitles are available in Ghingnham-vision.








Still moving ahead, Harry starts working on a Gabthley while Lacus and Waltfeld deal with the Marasais out in the back.



Enemy Phase!





5 more kills, one for Gym and two for our other men. Waltfeld eats an unlucky hit and is near death…

Destroy enough units and the plot kicks in.





Yzak and his men show up soon and he’s surprised the "terrorists" he’s pursuing turn out to be using the Eternal – how dare they steal “Lacus’” ship?!
His subordinate sees that our group is engaging the Federation but, since their mission is to destroy us, Yzak tells them to ignore them. Things aren’t looking good but Gym is having a blast with even more prey to hunt – this thrill is what fighting other humans is all about!
Dacosta detects something else approaching, though.



It’s Kira in the Strike and Yzak sure doesn’t like that old wound being poked at.
That said, he appreciates the terrorists bringing these bad memories back as it gives him a chance to truly bury them! Zaft starts blasting the Strike but Kira doesn’t stop and makes it to the Eternal before the thing gets totaled.
Lacus asks Dacosta to take command of the bridge for a second – she’s off to grant Kira some new strength.




Both Kira and Lacus are very glad to see each other but there’s no time for pleasantries now.
Lacus shows him to his new unit and, with it, Kira knows he can fight as he should. He thanks both the Strike and Freedom for bringing him this far and promises he won’t forget the struggles he faced with them.
Lacus can see the spirit within him and now, having been given new power by her, Kira sets out with a promise to return soon – and, then, they can get back to their dear friends.





After some quick technobabble, Kira gets the new ZGMF-X20A Strike Freedom’s OS set-up and launches.
Yzak’s a bit surprised at this different Freedom showing up and Waltfeld is quick to tell Kira to keep Zaft at bay while the rest of us rescue Diana. Yzak’s now more than a bit pissed with this parade of pain-in-the-asses from his past and wonders how much they have to torment him before they’re satisfied?!
Gym is hardly impressed, though, wondering what use some pacifistic pup can be in battle. We’ll see, as Kira charges into the fray.



Oh, it’s still their turn but this Marasai makes the objectively bad decision of attacking Kira.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jyj057Fu284
That’s some very nice damage.

Zaft, Sarah and Reccoa are coming over but no one’s in range.



Player Phase!

Alright, let’s go over some more stuff now that the plot’s settled down for a sec.



Strike Freedom Gundam (Kira Yamato)
Kira’s finally returned to take this proper place as our Lord and Savior. A huge upgrade to everything the Freedom had, it also adds a VPS Armor for extra survivability, a post-movement TRI and a targetable MAPW for good mook-hunting skills along with a powerful ALL attack as his best move.
Its major deficiencies come from the high EN consumption it has (which isn’t really covered by the 10% EN Regen) and low amount of post-movement attacks. Still, buy him EN Save and Hit & Away and you’ll be very well served.
It doesn’t quite make Kira the absurd powerhouse he was in W but it’s still excellent.

As Waltfeld said, Kira’s job is to keep Zaft at bay and he’s MORE than capable of taking them all out especially since Rand players have a chance to upgrade Kira and the Freedom. Setsuko players will only have had a chance to upgrade Harry but it shouldn’t be too bad.

Mind, might as well do this while you’re at it:

Secret Alert!
Aside from the BIG secret, there’s another SEED Destiny secret both characters can get and it’s easy enough that you might as well go for it. Yzak’s piddly GOUF is no match for the Strike Freedom.


Finally, Reccoa and Sarah got, respectively, the Palace Athene and Bolinoak Sammahn from Scirocco. Not much to be said about these that hasn’t already been said of any other Gundam mini-bosses.
Sarah’s a bit dodgier thanks to her Jamming Module but, other than that, they’ll fall easily against Harry and Gym.



Let’s just set Kira over here and watch the fireworks that’ll come.












Not enough for a kill but still good.





Lacus, Waltfeld and Gym each pick a nearby target to destroy.



Meanwhile, Harry’s reached Reccoa.



: Scirocco needs me... and I'll live up to his expectations!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sO8AsrfipIo
And there’s her new cut-in…switching to the Titans is an even worse decision when it sets you against HARRY ORD.



Enemy Phase!









Moving along, Gym and Harry get attacked by one weakened ZAKU each and deal with them. Kira gets jumped by four others and they’re also destroyed.



This one Gabthley got clever and attacked Lacus from afar.














But she actually connects with a 40% hit!



This pushes her SEED into activating.



Damn it, Waltfeld…you better dodge this!



: Master Paptimus assigned this mission to me! I will not fail!


Thanks…



And here comes Yzak.



: So that's the new version of the Freedom? I have to fight this bastard again?!
: He's strong... but I think I've had this fight before!
: Here we go, you dirty terrorist! I won't let you steal that mech again!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pvq65TB1Vl0
Well, I guess we both got lucky with the RNG.



Player Phase!



Yzak will get destroyed soon enough but, more importantly, I can drop this MAPW to weaken his mooks and Sarah!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XTHTR3Rc_5s
Excellent.



Gym continues his trek towards the ship and we might as well have him finish Sarah off and show his best non-TRI attack.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6quVQOBYNTs
Gym vs. Newtypes #1: “Ah, another symbol of the Black History! Show me all of your Newtype powers!”



Sarah isn’t happy that she couldn’t carry out the mission Scirocco gave her and promises to make us pay for this.



Reccoa’s been very weak after failing to attack Harry on her turn. Easy pickings for Waltfeld.










There we go.



She’s unable to continue and forced to pull back but, inwardly, she wonders what plans Scirocco had for Diana.





Lacus and Harry perform cleanup duty on a GOUF and Gabthley.



Enemy Phase!





Yzak, stop being such a prick!
At least the last GOUF died against Lacus…




Player Phase!

Fine, we can take him out quickly. Let’s get some extra attacks in for flavor before sending Gym and Harry to take out the Salamis Custom.



: Very good! Your wild and daring stance is worthy of facing myself and the Turn X!
: The hell? Don't you realize this is a battle, not a spar?!
: I consider all battle to be a contest of skill!
: You are privileged to behold the arts of House Ghingnham, perfected over 2,500 years!










Tomokazu Seki did record special lines for Yzak and, of course, one is against Gym (he didn’t say it but…): “Show me that “Shining Finger” of yours!”



: That mech's one of the Diana Counter's Royal Guard's!
: You are skilled, but none will rout me before Her Majesty’s eyes!
: You're just a terrorist now! You're the one dragging this world down!















: That ship belongs to Lacus Clyne! I can't have it in the hands of you terrorists!
: The Eternal must not sink, not yet.
: We must go to show the people the truth.





https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_gPG8F0XOs
Behold the new Beamspam of peace!



Yzak realizes all too late that these aren’t mere terrorists; regardless, he promises to these wielders of the Eternal and Freedom that he WILL hunt them down for this!
This classic display of jogs Kira’s memory and he starts remembering Yzak, one of Athrun’s old friends.

Waltfeld was too far away to attack but he did have lines against the guy:

: You stinking terrorist! Using one of the stolen Second Stages against us?!
: Well, ain't that a shame. You're good, see, but you get tunnel vision when you're mad.
: Wait...didn't I meet a guy like that in the desert during in the last war?


Just a small hit from Harry to set things up and off goes Gym to end the mission.
























Midgard realizes there’s no way for him to escape being killed by Gym and, just as Harry approaches to rescue Diana, steps out of the ship in a Zaku to take responsibility for what he’s done.
Gym’s slightly surprised with this last-minute display of loyalty to Diana – he thought Midgard would’ve dared him to destroy the Salamis with the Queen still on board. Regardless, Harry’s quick to take him on his offer and dole out suitable punishment, obliterating the Zaku.
Even Waltfeld’s impressed with his sacrifice to safeguard the Queen’s life and while all troops are dealt with, there’s still the matter of Ghingnham.
Harry says the battle’s over and tells him to return to the Moon – or does he actually intend on striking against Diana herself? Gym sniffs that the whole mess with Midgard has ruined his appetite but, as leader of House Ghingnham, he demands Harry hand Diana over.



Harry isn't having it, but Diana quiets his objections, slowly agreeing to return to the moon to bring it all to light – the truth of the Black History.
She knows this foolish war will beckon a similar calamity to occur again if it continues and hopes to warn humanity of what’ll happen by disclosing everything about it. To do this, she means to access D.O.M.E. and Gym confesses to be VERY interested in this era of conflict that was the Black History.
He's willing to take her safely to the Moon if she really means to reveal it all and, as Diana prepares to leave, she asks Harry to take a message to Kihel. Thankfully, she’s still aboard the Eternal and, thus, Diana entrusts her wishes to her and orders Harry to keep Kihel safe.



Finally, while she’s only watched Lacus for a brief time, she's come to believe in the power of her songs of peace.
Gym isn’t buying it, though, as regardless of how much she speaks of “peace”, her words will simply bring more conflict – hers are songs of battle! Lacus tells him to speak whatever he wants as she’s also ready to weather the storm.
Gym promises to remember this “Songstress of War” and leaves with Diana to unearth the truth of the Black History.
Just then a message comes in from Kai Shiden: Blex, head of the AEUG, has been assassinated! Kai wants to meet up with them to give details and Waltfeld can easily see how problematic the sudden death of the AEUG’s leader could be – there’s a real possibility that they could break down with this.
Lacus knows that her band has to hurry if they want Diana's ideals of peace to take root. Even if doubt remains in their minds, they must forge ahead.



Waltfeld’s very relieved they and Kira managed to meet up when they did and he would’ve arrived sooner if not for a maintenance error in the booster he used to reach orbit in Cagalli's borrowed Strike Rouge.
He tells Waltfeld that the Archangel is now safely moored at a secret dock in Orb that Uzumi's followers had prepared in secret. Kisaka was looking into Zaft’s activities in Gibraltar to figure out what Durandal’s after and managed to rescue Athrun after he was shot down – he’s also being brought to Orb.
Seems like Athrun was wounded and while Waltfeld is sure that the kid won't die this easily, he’s impressed Zaft has someone good enough to take him down. Also interesting is space itself, which is now bathed in a constant aurora effect due to the overall dimensional instability.
That's another consequence of the Second Break, along with the heightened alien activity coming from their lunar base after the Rivalry Zones weakened. Furthermore, right after the Second Break, an enormous asteroid appeared on the dark side of the moon and Dacosta informs it could be an alien fortress.

Lacus means to hurry to the surface and divulge the truth, in the hopes of uniting mankind against these major threats and both Kihel and Harry also stand ready to help.
What worries Waltfeld most is the news of Blex' death: even before, the AEUG was wary of cooperating with Zaft but now that they’ve lost their leader, it’s possible they’ll be completely absorbed by them. Full details will have to wait until the meeting with Kai, after which point Lacus and Kira will head to Earth.



Harry and Kira meet up again and get to formally introduce each other, with Harry thanking him for his help just now.
That said, Harry’s a bit curious of what he’s seen of the kid’s unusual fighting style in both today and their other battle way back when.

: Why do you avoid hitting your enemies’ cockpits?
: Huh…
: I do not mean to say that you MUST kill other pilots but the way you fight is far too unnatural.
: I don’t know what led you to this but it’ll eventually lead to your – and your allies’ – death.
: …
: Is it guilt…or, maybe, benevolence…?
: Regardless, I’ll be honest: if you’re going to face the challenges ahead with that level of commitment, I ask that you stand down.
: !
: Do not misunderstand me, mind. I’m saying this purely for your own good.
: Let these half-measures lead you in battle and you, too, will be destroyed by them. So I ask that you stop fighting before it comes to that.
: But you… don’t you feel anything for the lives of those you’ve killed in battle? Can you justify killing Queen Diana’s kidnapper as all being “your mission”?
: I will not answer that… but I’ll tell you this in turn: right or wrong, you do what you must.
: “Do what you must”…?
: I learned that from young Camille Bidan of ZEUTH.
: Though I hate to admit it, his words cleared away my own doubts.
: I’m the Captain of Her Majesty’s Royal Guard and, for her, I shall withstand any pain or disgrace – not just because it’s my mission but because it’s what I believe is right.
: What you believe in…
: Some measure of doubt is good, lest you fall into blind obedience. But going on as you have will prove fatal.
: What are you saying, then? That I should throw my doubt away and just fight unfeeling, as machine?
: Do that and you’d just be killing your own heart. What I want is for you to find the answer that lies beyond your doubt.
: The answer beyond the doubt…
: (But, to me, that’s…)
: Kira…



Location: Lunar Surface – Skull Moon Base



Gagarn’s friend has arrived and Hugi Zeravire, master of the Genocidron System, introduces himself as a perfect life-form.
Gattler silently scoffs at the guy’s braggadocio but both he and Vega knows he’s not to be underestimated with the powerful Zeravire on his side. Along Hugi is Lufira, his sister, and her silent act makes Butcher quip of what a pretty doll she is (Hugi doesn’t like that but stays quiet).
When Butcher asks for a quick rundown of what brought him over to Earth, Hugi summarizes it as: show the incomplete lifeforms how foolish they are and grant unity, relief and eternity to those suffering. That’s all too complicated for Butcher but what matters to him is that Hugi wants the Earthlings dead, so that’s cool.
As Butcher welcomes him to Skull Moon, Hugi says that destruction is fate: he's but an agent of it. Indeed, what but fate could have led him to such a dimensionally unstable star system as this?
Gagarn figures, with the addition of Hugi’s troops as well as his own, they’re now more than well-equipped to get their invasion of Earth back on track.



Leets and Jeela demands to know why he’s not calling for a search and rescue party for Teral – they’re sure he’s still alive.
If he is, Gagarn says he’s to return by his own power as would befit the former commander of the Eldar troops. Leets does not appreciate him leaving Teral to die, attacks and is readily gunned down by Gagarn.

: Baring your fangs at the commander of the Eldar? Fool.
: L-Leets…!
: An amusing display, Mr. Gagarn. Perhaps this impertinent woman should be next?
: Be my guest. Consider it your “welcome aboard” gift.
: Ah…aah…
: Ohohoho! But just blasting her is hardly any fun…how about a little game? 100 points for hitting her head, 50 for the stomach, 20 for the legs and 200 for her breasts.
: (What is wrong with these people…?! Not even I would kill an underling for sport!)
: (They might well destroy Earth before my people even get to settle in it if we allow them to take charge of the invasion…)
: (There’s no more time to be selective with our methods...!)
: What’s the matter, Commandant Gattler? Does the Eldar’s sense of humor not suit your fancy?
: We’ve more important things to do than indulge in games.
: With the addition of these new forces, we should move to conquer Earth in one fell swoop.
: Now you’re talking! So, what’s the plan? Have our troops carpet-bomb the whole dang thing?
: No, I’d like us to start with this plan I devised.
: A plan from Aldebaron’s own commandant? Do tell.
: It’s called “Operation Earth Flood”…!
: “Earth Flood”…?!
: Ohohoho… that sounds like a blast…



Location: Japan – San Germain Castle




: Leele...you still won’t open your eyes... Mizuki’s gone and now both Eina and Runa are dead…
: I’ll follow right behind them... I’ll sever this foolish life with my own hands…
: After all that’s happened, you’re just going to run from your fate?
: Raven…
: If so, then I’ll just take off this mask...


: …
: Ayaka…
: I didn’t inherit that mask for someone like this!
: Tell me, what exactly have you been fighting for?!
: It’s for all of you and for your planet, Earth…to stop it from sharing the fate of my world…
: Sieg!

*Slap!*

: Ah…!
: “For Earth and for us”…sure, that’s right. But there was more to it.
: You started this fight. So you needed to end it yourself!
: I…
: You can stay here, quivering, but I’m going out to take my place on the battlefield!
: …
: …Forgive me, Ayaka.
: Sandman…
: Whatever fate awaits me, it was never an option to face away from it…
: Sandman…
: Thank you, Ayaka… now, let’s return to our battlefield!
: I’ll fight, conquer fate and free my soul!