Part 125: Episode CXXII: The Final Battle Against the Eternal Mid-Boss

Here's tomorrow's update early cuz I'm busy then.

Episode CXXII: The Final Battle Against the Eternal Mid-Boss

Music: Melkaba (Omen ~ Creid Remix)




So welcome to Merkava – god’s new starship. We’re not actually getting a proper dungeon here. We’re just floating down a shaft straight to the bosses. On the way down we see a fifty story tall hologram of the angels from the Nisan Cathedral. There is no real explanation as to why there is a holographic duplicate of religious iconography in some random central shaft. I guess Krelian just wanted to spruce up the place a bit.


Despite what that last slide in the Narration Zone™ suggested, Ramsus does NOT immediately pop out to pick a fight. We’re given time to switch out our party members, save, and most importantly...


...buy some equipment from Shopkeep Johnny. What in the world this guy is doing in the ark of god is anyone’s guess. Perhaps Shopkeep Johnny is a cousin of Big Joe. Whatever happened to that jerk anyway...?


Ah... Right...


This upcoming boss battle rush (come on, it’s Xenogears) is...kinda tough. Well, not really that hard. We just need to prep before the battle. Our party needs to be fully tuned up with their best gear available for their err...Gears. But more importantly, we need to have our accessories in order. Our characters should be wearing equipment that increases either Ether defense or response time. Holy Pendants are also quite nice for non-Fei characters.

Our Gears all need to prioritize having an Ether Defense increasing accessory (read: Ether Ar+3) or those that increase Response time. The former prioritized over the latter. The next boss has REALLY high evasion stats which makes increased response quite helpful. But we want to not die before getting hits in reliably. All Gears also MUST have a Frame HP accessory. Shopkeep Johnny sells Frame HP10-90. I find the sweet spot to be HP30. It’s the best HP restoration to Fuel use ratio for the upcoming fights in my experience.




When we are sufficiently kitted up, it’s just a matter of heading northward to go find Mister

Ramsus’ Gear pounds its fists together loudly for the duration of this scene...


"I... I... We're going to settle this now!!"
"Stop it, Ramsus! What reason is there to continue fighting me!? Who are you fighting for!? Why do you always have a bone to pick with me!? Tell me why!"
”I already told Lieutenant Van Houten my reason for hating you, Fei Fong Wong!”
“You...did...? When did that happen...?”
“...Nearly three weeks ago, when I assaulted Nisan.”
“Wha? She never mentioned any of that...”
“She... She didn’t...?”
“Think I woulda remembered her mentioning you attacking Nisan and spilling backstory...”
“...”
“...”
“Then let me elaborate!”
“Goddammit, Fei!”
“Idiot!”
“Ugh... Sorry guys. Hop over here. I packed some subs. NO Solarian meat...”
"It is all because of you... If only you hadn't come in and destroyed my prospects in life..."


“To be born as the superior being, above all humans... But then...”

FLASHBACK! I wonder how many flashbacks there have been so far in this game... It’s got to be a few dozen...


We come upon Krelian staring at the weird ass fetal Ramsus in the same Umbrella stasis tube he discussed his nanomachine virus contingency with Miang near the beginning of Disc 2.

Footsteps are heard from behind Krelian...


"...The previous one got too old."
"... And the name?"
"Karen... but individual names have no meaning to me."
"So... what brings you here?"
”Oh, the usual sinister back room dealings we have...”

Karen walks toward the Nanoreactor...


"Huh? Oh... Recognition code 0808191 - 'Ramses'. The Emperor's been told it's a prototype for an artificial 'Contact'."
"What's its status?"
"It has entered the so-called first growth stage. From now until the binding, its growth will be several times faster than that of an ordinary human. But its psychological development will be a little difficult to control... It is a replica... so that is to be expected."

Fetus Ramsus squirms a bit...

"It is moving... Can it hear us?"
"Yes... It already has a will of its own."
"Then... I have a better way... Let us dispose of it."
”...Yes. That is an...idea. So is turning my penis into a fire hydrant. I hope you have an explanation.”
"We do not need this... We have my child. My child will be 4 this year."

Fetal-Ramsus squirms again...

"Your having a child is... significant?"
"Yes... I checked it out... There is no mistake, it's a 'Contact'."
*nods* "What's its name?"
"My child's name is... 'Fei'. So... you understand what this means?"
”He shall have significant trouble coping with rhyming children’s taunts on the playground...?”
“Be serious.”
"A corresponding 'Antitype' is..."
"Yes... probably already born somewhere. ...The final one!"
*laughs* "Then... this thing is... worthless."
"Yes, totally useless."

Baby Ramsus squirms around wildly, obviously not pleased with this development...


“A love that's unattainable for you, no matter how hard you try to pursue it."




“I was destined to be the representative of god... having the might of the Emperor. I was destined to be the ultimate existence, having the power to exercise absolute control over all! But... I lost it all... because of you!!"
"M, my mother...? How... do you know her...? Ramsus...!"
”...Did you not listen to that story?!”
*munch* “I drifted in and out.”

Dominia appears out of nowhere in her Bladegash...


“Commander, if what you say is true, then that is even more of a reason not to fight! You were just used by Krelian and..."
"Silence!! You... even you... dare to censure me!? I saved you from nearly becoming a test subject and now you turn on me!?"
"You are mistaken! We are only thinking of your best interests..."
"Silence!! Ultimately, only I can help myself! I am the only one that can correct this!"




Welp. Thanks for nothing, Dominia.

Music: Knight of Fire


Time to take on Ramsus, who is now borrowing Krelian’s Amphysvena Omnigear. This fight is...kind of a pain. For one key reason you’ll immediately see:


Amphysvena begins the fight by immediately reducing the entire party’s HP to 1. This is, ya know, a bit problematic during boss battles.


To remedy this, everyone should flip on their Boosters and pop off a Frame HP. This will only restore most of our Gears’ health to around 6000-7000. But that’s all we need for this battle. Indeed, it works in our favor to be low on health.


Amphysvena’s other primary attack is a three hit combo which deals around 1500+ HP of damage. It also has the same Megaflare Ether attack that the last two Ramsus Gear fights had, but that too only does around 1500-2000 HP of damage to the whole party and I defeated him before he ever got a chance to use it.




Once everyone is out of the red HP wise, we’ll want to build everyone but Fei’s Attack Level to 3. Given our low health thanks to Wave #3, the chance of entering Hyper Mode is greatly increased. Fei should be popping on System Id mode shortly after he heals and wailing on Ramsus regularly. Though, it’s in our best interest only to use System Id once in this battle. We may not get a chance to heal between now and another battle and while it’s not fatal to have low Fuel, it is rather annoying.


Anyhow, Amphysvena has fairly shit defense. So System Id Weltall-2 and Andvari or Renmazuo in Hypermode (with Holy Pendants so it lasts for six rounds) is more than enough to take out our first foe in Merkava. There’s really no reason to fret too much about being on too low health or fuel, even knowing there’s another battle ahead.


Upon defeat, Ramsus’ Gear goes flying through a wall and explodes, opening a new path further into the complex.

The party enters the hole in the wall and ends up in Room 302. Waaah!






Well...that is ominous. I hope you folks LOVE exposition because holy shit we are getting a lot soon... Pack a bag lunch. We might be here for a while.









Music: Melkaba (Omen ~ Creid Remix)




Amphysvena Concept Art – Hey guy...you’ve got another tiny giant robot growing out your head... You might wanna let a doctor look at that...