Part 28: Mission 8 (Setsuko) - When The World Ends - Part 1
Setsuko Chapter 8 Part 1
Last time on Super Robot Wars Z, Kappei got an awesome new mech, oh some other people helped, but trust me it was all him. Plus a space colony is ready to crash into the earth. That's bad, so we're going go try and stop it.
Current Top Aces
1. Kappei - 15 Kills
2. Kouji - 13 Kills
3. Duke Fleed - 13 Kills
4. Denzel - 13 Kills
5. Setsuko - 12 Kills
Kappei's jumped up the ranks due to me feeding him those kills last mission.
Look at this. We have a lot of event squads next mission, with some new faces to boot! Plus some old ones we didn't really get to examine. First, let's look at our shiny new battleship.
Invincible Super Man Zambot 3
Heizaemon Jin - King Beal
Voiced by Ichiro Nagai
Gengoroh Jin - King Beal Subpilot
Voiced by Masaaki Okabe
Ichitaro Jin - King Beal Subpilot
Voiced by Akio Nojima
Skills:
* Prevail(Level 4) - As the character takes damage, hit rate, evasion, defense, and critical rate will increase.
* Support Attack(Level 2) - When Adjacent to an allied character before having attacked that turn, can perform a Support Attack after the ally attacks. The support attack will be slightly weaker then a regular attack.
* Commander(Level 2) - Allies in an area (denoted by yellow squares when highlighting the character) have an increased hit and evasion rate. The size of the area and bonus increases by level.
Spirit Commands(Heizaemon):
* Vigor(20) - The caster regains 30% of Max HP.
* Invincible(15) - The next attack that hits the caster will do 10 damage.
* Trust(30) - Restore 2500 HP to an ally.
Spirit Commands(Gengoroh):
*Accel(10) - The Caster's squad gains a one use +2 to movement.
Spirit Commands(Ichitaro):
* Scan(1) - Reveals an enemy squad's stats without having to fight them
Squad Leader Bonus
*Adjacent squad's gain a 40% attack boost when fighting Gaizock enemies.
The King Beal has a bit going for it. Heizaemon's innate Support Attack is a great force multiplier, and it's weapons are decently strong. Of course, it lacks any sort of post movement attack, which is annoying. Heizaemon's Squad Leader Bonus is incredibly situational, but when the situation comes up it's awesome. At bare minimum, bring out the King Beal whenever there are Gaizock enemies and bosses, that 40% bonus is really good. For comparison, a critical hit multiplies damage by 50%.
Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam: A New Translation
Bright Noa - Argama
Voiced by Hirotaka Suzuoki (Japanese), Dave Kelly (English)
Torres - Argama Subpilot
Voiced by Kenta Abe (Japanese), Roger Rhodes (English)
Saegusa - Argama Subpilot
Voiced by Kozo Shioya
Skills:
* Commander(Level 1) - Allies in an area (denoted by yellow squares when highlighting the character) have an increased hit and evasion rate. The size of the area and bonus increases by level.
* Support Attack(Level 1) - When adjacent to an allied character before having attacked that turn, can perform a Support Attack after the ally attacks. The support attack will be slightly weaker then a regular attack.
* Guard - At 130 Will the character will take 20% less damage
Spirit Commands(Bright):
* Accel(15) - The Caster's squad gains a one use +2 to movement.
* Strike(15) - The caster will have 100% Hit rate for that turn.
Spirit Commands(Torres):
* Scan(1) - Reveals an enemy squad's stats without having to fight them
* Trust(25) - Restore 2500 HP to an ally.
Spirit Commands(Saegusa):
* Vigor(20) - The caster regains 30% of Max HP.
Squad Leader Bonus
*Adjacent squads take 10% less damage
Like the Argama is another strong basic battleship. It takes hit, it shoots things, and Bright's Command skill buffs allies. One big weakness the Argama has though, is a complete lack of Post Movement attacks. That can be dealt with, of course, but it puts a limiter on his effectiveness right now.
Of course there's still more!
Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam: A New Translation
Kamille Bidan - RX-178 Gundam Mk-II
Voiced by Nobuo Tobita(Japanese), Jonathan Lachlan-Stewart(English)
Skills:
Newtype(Level 2) - Increases Hit and Evasion rates. The strength of the effect depends on the skill's level. Some weapons require this skill for use.
* Counter (Level 1) - On the enemy phase, will sometimes attack before the enemy. Activation rate is determined by the skill stat.
* Blocking - If the mech is equipped with a shield and/or sword, can use Sword Block and Shield Block. Sword Block will neutralize melee and missile attacks, while Shield Block will reduce damage taken. Activation rate is based off the skill stat.
Spirit Commands:
*Focus(15) - Increases hit and evasion rates by 30%
Squad Leader Bonus
*+10% Hit rate, +10% Counterattack damage
Kamille is a very good pilot. He's more of a ranged character but that's fine. He does well in ranged. Of note is that he's a Newtype, and as such has it's unique skill. This just flat out makes him better at dodging and hitting things then non Newtypes. The difference is small but as Kamille's level goes up it will be more and more noticeable. In terms of stats the Mk. II is a good unit for now. It'll get a few more stuff later, but by the end of the game it will probably just be squad filler. But that's for later, right now it's tied with the Impulse as the best Real we have.
Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam: A New Translation
Voiced by Shuichi Ikeda(Japanese), Tom Edwards(English)
Skills:
Newtype(Level 4) - Increases Hit and Evasion rates. The strength of the effect depends on the skill's level. Some weapons require this skill for use.
* Blocking - If the mech is equipped with a shield and/or sword, can use Sword Block and Shield Block. Sword Block will neutralize melee and missile attacks, while Shield Block will reduce damage taken. Activation rate is based off the skill stat.
* Commander(Level 2) - Allies in an area (denoted by yellow squares when highlighting the character) have an increased hit and evasion rate. The size of the area and bonus increases by level.
* Focused Attack - The damage penalty for performing ALL attacks on multiple units is reduced
Spirit Commands:
* Sense (20) - Casts both "Strike" and "Alert" on the character.
* Focus(15) - Increases hit and evasion rates by 30%
Squad Leader Bonus
*PLA Attacks do +20% more damage
Ooohhh boy. The Man with Too Many Names is good, really good. He's arguably one of the best Real pilots in the game. Buuut there's kind of a problem. He'll, by default, only be given average at best units. He's still great in them, but that's because he's just that awesome. One issue with him is that he's mildly contradictory in how you use him. His Squad Leader Bonus is fantastic, and leads you to want to just shoot away in Wide and Center formation. Yet he has innate Focused Attack, which isn't cheap, so you're kind of encouraged to spam ALL attacks with him. Either one works though, or both. I have plans for him this playthrough, and that's all I'll say.
Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam: A New Translation
Apolly Bay - RMS-099 Rick Dias
Voiced by Toru Ohkawa(Japanese), Scott Roberts(English)
Skills:
* Prevail(Level 1) - As the character takes damage, hit rate, evasion, defense, and critical rate will increase.
* Backup Attack - Platoon attacks do 20% more damage
* Blocking - If the mech is equipped with a shield and/or sword, can use Sword Block and Shield Block. Sword Block will neutralize melee and missile attacks, while Shield Block will reduce damage taken. Activation rate is based off the skill stat.
Spirit Commands:
* Trust(30) - Restore 2500 HP to an ally.
Squad Leader Bonus
*+10% Evasion rate
Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam: A New Translation
Roberto - RMS-099 Rick Dias
Voiced by Kozo Shioya(Japanese), Tommy James(English)
Skills:
* Support Attack(Level 1) - When Adjacent to an allied character before having attacked that turn, can perform a Support Attack after the ally attacks. The support attack will be slightly weaker then a regular attack.
* Cooperative Attack - Whenever the pilot performs a Support Attack, that attack will automatically be a critical hit.
* Blocking - If the mech is equipped with a shield and/or sword, can use Sword Block and Shield Block. Sword Block will neutralize melee and missile attacks, while Shield Block will reduce damage taken. Activation rate is based off the skill stat.
Spirit Commands
* Vigor(20) - The caster regains 30% of Max HP.
Squad Leader Bonus
+10% Hit Rate
These two guys are in identical units and serve one purpose and one purpose only. They are squad mates through and through. However, they're awesome squad mates. Their purpose in life is to latch themselves to Quattro and never leave.
Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam: A New Translation
Emma Sheen - MSA-003 Nemo
Voiced by Maya Okamoto(Japanese), Lisa Christie(English)
Skills:
* Blocking - If the mech is equipped with a shield and/or sword, can use Sword Block and Shield Block. Sword Block will neutralize melee and missile attacks, while Shield Block will reduce damage taken. Activation rate is based off the skill stat.
* Will +(Damaged) - Pilot gains 2 Will every time they are hit by an attack.
* Support Defend (Level 1) - If adjacent to an ally on the enemy phase, if an attack will hit the ally, the character will perform a Support Defense and the attack will hit the character at reduced damage instead. The number of times this can be performed depends on the skill's level.
Spirit Commands:
* Focus(15) - Increases hit and evasion rates by 30%
* Vigor(20) - The caster regains 30% of Max HP.
Squad Leader Bonus
*Blocking activation rate up 20%
Emma is... odd. She is, against all archetypes, a Real pilot that wants to get hit. This is facilitated by her Blocking skill, Squad Leader Bonus, Support Defense, and Vigor spirit command. Her main thing for the foreseeable future is to make sure Kamille doesn't kill himself by standing in front of him.
Oh and the Nemo sucks fyi.
Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam: A New Translation
Reccoa Londe - MSA-003 Nemo
Voiced by Masako Katsuki(Japanese), Meredith Taylor-Parry(English)
Skills:
* Blocking - If the mech is equipped with a shield and/or sword, can use Sword Block and Shield Block. Sword Block will neutralize melee and missile attacks, while Shield Block will reduce damage taken. Activation rate is based off the skill stat.
* Resolve - Pilot starts the stage with +5 Will
* Support Attack(Level 1) - When Adjacent to an allied character before having attacked that turn, can perform a Support Attack after the ally attacks. The support attack will be slightly weaker then a regular attack.
Spirit Commands:
* Scan(1) - Reveals an enemy squad's stats without having to fight them
Squad Leader Bonus
+10% Critical hit rate
Reccoa is not very exciting at the moment. Squad mate material basically. And she's stuck in the Nemo too. I can't wait to get better Mobile Suits.
And then I spend all my money to give everyone who hasn't gotten an upgrade one. I bring up the main pilots and battleships up to speed, while the guys who are going to be just squadmates this stage only got a point of accuracy.
Finally, I pass on that Booster to Shinn, and we're ready to finally move on to the actual stage!
Shinn is escaping from ORB with his sister, Mayu. She drops her phone, and he pauses to grab it as she runs ahead - and a stray shot from a mobile suit brings a building down on her before his eyes.
He wakes violently to find his nightmare has woken Ray, too, a full ten minutes before briefing. He's sorry he disturbed Ray's sleep, but... "It's not something I could forget if I tried."
The Minerva is already at the debris belt, from which Junius Seven is falling towards Earth. They're trying to figure out why, but like Sandman, Durandal suspects it's no accident. Camille knows exactly what happens when debris falls to Earth - the impact, the dust cloud, the tidal waves. Lunamaria thinks he must be a scientist to know that much, but the truth is worse: in their universe, this has already happened, so they know the effects firsthand. And there, too, it was done deliberately by human hands.
Shinn thinks this whole thing is dumb, but Cagalli is understandably horrified at the looming doom of the Earth. Durandal agrees with the princess (he's still calling her that), and pledges Plant's cooperation in dealing with this disaster. The Minerva is in the belt because it's intercepting the fall as we speak. Cagalli is glad she can do something, but what can they do?
There's only one thing that looks like it'll work: destroy the fragments before they reach Earth. It won't be easy - the biggest piece out there is still kilometers long. But Plant has mobilized a response squad, and the Argama crew has also offered Plant their help. Bright says they weren't going to get involved in this universe's political problems, but this time is different. This is too big to ignore.
The Alliance may not help, though. They aren't in all-out war with Planet - yet, but since their soldiers have hijacked Plant's prototypes, it's only a matter of time. On the other hand, if the Earth gets hit, it's their own skins at stake. They may not actively cooperate, but they'll probably make a move.
(Quattro and Camille seem to have thought something else about the possibility of a deliberate colony drop, but say nothing.)
Anyway, strategy. That squad sent from Plant, the Joule Squad, has been deployed ahead with asteroid-cracking machinery called Meteor Breakers. They'll be rendezvousing with them to carry out the wrecking. The pilots need to be ready to go.
Reccoa wonders what's bothering Camille, but Quattro is thinking the same thing he is. In their world, the colony drops were orchestrated by the Spacenoids. If the current colony drop is deliberate, the most likely group to be behind it would be this universe's equivalents of Spacenoids... right? Of course, there's no basis for this, and Quattro feels that they need more information before they jump to any conclusions.
But the other thing he feels is that they're in a unique position to deal with this, because they've seen it. The Minerva crew isn't - couldn't - grasp the gravity of a colony drop they way they can. He's assigning Camille to a squad with Emma and Reccoa; he does say that they need all the firepower they can get. Reccoa's a new pilot, but she's gone through training; Emma shouldn't have any objections to this one.
Meylin's sad that breaking up the colony will also vaporize the dead still within, but Ray reminds her that if that colony hits the Earth, those dead will be destroyed anyway, along with the planet.
"Does it really matter?" says Yolan, tactfully. "It's inevitable. Either way, Plant gets some junk cleaned out."
Cagalli explodes, of course, and Shinn snaps back. "He was just kidding, or can't you even tell?"
As they glare at each other, Camille frowns. "What do you want, alien?" Shinn turns on him. "If you have something to say, say it! Or is that not how it works in your universe?"
"Every universe is the same," responds Camille, quietly. "People pick stupid fights even when they're in real danger."
Athrun agrees, but now Shinn rounds on him. Athrun - sorry, "Alex Dino" - doesn't care what Shinn calls him, but if he's going to keep disrespecting Rep. Cagalli, he'd like to know why Shinn left Orb. If it's something foolish, he's going to have to rethink his own allegiance. Shinn can't stand hearing it called "foolish" and comes out with it: "The Athhas killed my family!"
"I believed in your country, in your little speeches, and it got them all killed at Onogoro! I don't trust you! I don't trust Orb! I can't trust your promises ever again! You attacked the Alliance in the name of justice for Orb, and... and I bet you never even thought about all the people who were killed by your words!"
Shinn storms out, and at this point, no one can blame him. Cagalli also goes back to her room - alone, without Alex.
Quattro has some words for Alex. He's surprised Alex isn't participating in the operation, since he could have sworn the boy was a talented pilot. He also says Shinn has a point. Sometimes you have to act, not talk about ideals and goals.
Alex leaves, and Quattro mutters, "he wants to accomplish something so much he left his own name behind." HMM.
Durandal wants to apologize to Quattro - for not stepping in himself with Alex ("someone who will fight to protect this world"), and for embroiling them in this danger. Once again, he will oversee this battle personally, though he suspects Cpt. Gladys still won't approve. But when it's over, he would like to hear stories of their universe.
The Captain calls him to the bridge, and as they leave, Quattro notices something about them: "a man and a woman..."
Speaking of the bridge, Arthur calls with an emergency report: the Joule squad is at Junius Seven, and it's under attack! This proves that some sinister hand is at work here...
Chapter 8: When The World Ends
The Joule Squad, captained by one Yzak Joule, is getting their shit kicked. It's a definite yes on the human interaction, since they've found the flare boosters attached to the rock. But with the Meteor Breaker equipped, they don't have much in the way of weaponry to defend themselves with.
Luckily, the Minerva arrives just in time to cover them while they fall back and focus on the breaking. But both Yzak and Ray noticed that their moves reveal them as Coordinators. So do their GINNs, and at that, not just Coordinators but former soldiers of ZAFT. "The scars from that war still haven't healed," murmurs Durandal.
The point is that we have to buy time for the Joule Squad to do their work, and in this case, that means keeping those terrorists behind the white line.
Emma and Reccoa seem okay in their suits. Reccoa is more worried about Camille after that row with Shinn. Camille says he'll be fine, and Reccoa quips that they're similar enough to become fast friends. "You know I hate jokes like that," grumbles Camille.
Quattro doesn't have to remind Camille how important this is, and gives him permission to use his machine's trump card if he has to.
Ohhh boy. This stage. This is the stage in which the game officially takes off the kid gloves. The Battle Mastery is to beat the stage in six turns. I'm going to need every one.
Turn One
The objective for the moment is to stop all these GINNs from crossing the white line, if even one gets past, it's game over. The Minerva is locked into place at the moment, but the rest of my units can move forward. Fortunately, the GINNs are fairly simple to blow up. They're all single units to Center Formation shreds them.
The ZAFT kids have each learned a new Spirit Command since we last saw them!
Shinn:
*Accel(15) - The Caster's squad gains a one use +2 to movement.
Rey:
*Snipe(20): The Caster gains +2 to weapon range. Does not effect weapons with a range of 1 or MAP attacks
Luna:
* Invincible(10) - The next attack that hits the caster will do 10 damage.
Accel is a fantastic Spirit Command, Snipe would be better if it effected the entire Squad, as it is it's a niche command. Luna getting Invincible is just amusing. She really doesn't want to be in a Real at all. Still handy, since she can cast it as a cushion in case her evasion fails
I move everybody up to meet these terrorists, and end my turn.
The terrorists will move down as far as possible. Some attack if they're in range, others will just keep moving forward.
So close Bright, you even did a crit. Still, this shows that the GINNs aren't so tough, the chief issue is swatting them down before they can get past you.
Lucky us, this one didn't move!
: They... they must be former ZAFT! But why are they doing this?
: Worry about it later, Lunamaria.
: But, Ray, they... they're trying to kill people, I...: Shinn, I can understand your anger. That is why we must fight, no matter who they are.: ...you're right, Ray. We've got to focus on stopping that fall...!
Shinn's in the Force Impulse right now, by the way. Since he needs to get moving a lot, this will be handy.
And so Emma begins her career as the only thing keeping Kamille alive. Because it sure as heck isn't the RNG letting a 30% hit rate sneak through.
Quattro on the other hand, continues to be awesome.
This process continues until they've all moved.
Turn 2
Soon, we have visitors: the ships known to ZAFT as Bogey One and Black.
And they start shooting! Neo's squad is, admittedly, here to stop the fall just like we are, but either way, both we and the terrorists are Coordinators, so they'll destroy us all! The Titans have no objections, since they get to fight the AEUG as well, but they're surprised - no, more like impressed - that the humans of this Earth would let the thing fall and sacrifice half the planet for an excuse to wage all-out war on the Coordinators (do they know something we don't?). Jamaican doesn't care, but if they can't get back home, then this is a chance to get on the Alliance's good side. Jerid doesn't care - "It's not our Earth anyway. And this is our chance to crush the AEUG!" Lila chides him, warning him of a feeling she has - like something's about to happen, but she doesn't know what.
They are, of course, not responding to Durandal's hails - and if they do nothing, it's certain to look like this whole thing was engineered by ZAFT itself. We have no choice but to engage the Alliance forces!
Emma is getting a firsthand lesson in the evil of the Titans, so consumed by their pride that they think only of settling a score even when the world is about to burn.
Shinn can't stand to see another war start, and he sure hates those aliens from another universe who are helping it to happen - and he doesn't believe that the aliens on his side really care about his Earth. Whatever. Quattro orders all our units to remain focused on the terrorists. Our goal here is still to stop the rock from dropping.
Complication one: The Titans and other sundry jerks have decided to jump in. They're a third side in this fight, and will attack both us and the terrorists.
Still, they're not a game over if they use their large movement range to cross that line. So they're a secondary target.
The one closest to the line just happens to be the one Bright reduced to near death. Let's finish that.
Good job there.
Team ZAFT handles this guy now.
Glad to see you're as reliable as ever Shinn.
Team AEUG moves forwards while finishing off this one.
Nemo's are really, really terrible.
Quattro show those new kids how a real squad does things.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=grOIIqjWhPg
Good job there, now to end my turn.
Oh that one's going to be annoying to deal with.
Shinn's hilariously hard to kill, in all honesty.
Late to the party - or, as Killer the Butcher puts it, "we're still in time for the party!" - are the Gaizock with their new Vegan minions. Butcher, again, marks his "prey" as our two white ships and their two black ships. You'll notice that this excludes the terrorists, and, indeed, the game considers the Gaizock forces "red," the same affiliation as the initial enemies. He proves it by firing all over the space.
: ZAFT pilots! We'll handle those aliens! Focus on those workers!: I said I'm not taking your orders!: Get over yourself! We're trying to stop that thing from falling to Earth, remember? You don't have experience fighting aliens, so we're the better choice!: But...: You can argue all you want afterwards! But for now, you need to stay focused!
: O-okay...: AEUG pilot, it looks like Shinn's convinced. We'll follow your strategy.
: Thanks!
: Well, you really are trying to stop it, so...: I'm sorry I doubted you.: Don't worry about it. Let's just finish this thing.: Can you... tell me your name?
: Camille. Camille Bidan. I'm Shinn Asuka. Let's do this together, Camille.: Yeah, Shinn.
Captain Gladys reminds us that our top priority is still those GINNs.
We interrupt this male bonding session to bring you back to stopping terrorists from dropping a city onto the planet.
That's kind of important.
Shinn, of course, doesn't really care much about the GINNs katana
as it completely fails to penetrate his Phase Shift armor. He then uses his own laser sword, because we're still in an anime.
The daggers begin moving, unlike the terrorists they have squads. Only pairs so far though.
They aren't much of a concern, especially since the Minerva can take a lot of punishment.
The Titans in their NotZakus are about as threatening. Really, the biggest threat of this stage is the time limit.
Normally I'd be a bit more annoyed by enemy infighting, but the less of them around the better.
Of course, they prove rather incompetent.
Lila immediately guns towards Kamille,
: Even if it's in another universe, how could you watch the Earth be destroyed?
: Are you really that oblivious?
Lousy shield defense.
And then the Gaizock move out, except for Butcher, who is happy to stay where he is.
To be Continued...