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Let's Play ~ Super Robot Wars: Original Generation


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Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to my second attempt at doing a Let's Play, after my first one that was aborted due to my inability to record sound files (and can no longer be found on the Internet). This will be a Let's Play, or After-Action Report, depending on where on the Internet you are most familiar with, of a little-known GBA game known as Super Robot Wars: Original Generation (which was, in the west, released as Super Robot Taisen instead for some apparent reason). It will be done in screenshot format much like those done by Something Awful, as the game is actually quite long, and my hard drive lacks the space necessary to store it all.

 

First of all though, what is Super Robot Wars?

 

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Super Robot Wars (or Super Robot Taisen in the west because you just gotta invest in the Japanese) is a series of tactical role-playing games (like Fire Emblem, except not backed by the money-making juggernaut known as Nintendo) by Banpresto (owned by another money-making giant in the form of Namco Bandai) focused around giant robots (with a few exceptions) murdering other giant robots (or aliens, plant-monsters, demons and et cetera) for an excuse plot that ranges from "actually pretty entertaining" to "I have no idea what is going on". With that in mind, you may be wondering, "why should I play this series to suit my robot needs if the plot consistency is trash?", and there is one simple and very good answer to all that.

 

It's a series of crossover games that features robots (with a few exceptions) of different franchises teaming up to fight evil. Or injustice. Or each other. It varies.

 

The most recent addition to the series, Super Robot Wars Z3.2 Tengoku-hen (which will never get a western release because of licensing issues) for example, uses material from 44 different 'series' (though some of them are part of the same franchise, such as the two Macross Frontier movies). We have included in the game, to name a few, Zambot 3, Gigantor/Tetsujin-28, Godmars, VOTOMS, Mobile Suit Gundam, Gunbuster, Macross, Mazinger Z, Full Metal Panic, Aquarion, Gurren Lagann and Code Geass.

 

Definitely a sight to behold.

 

 

It also has a habit of throwing waves upon waves of enemies at you.

 

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Source: Super Robot Wars J's fan translation

 

Due to licensing issues however, many of the games will never come over to the West, which brings me to my next point ...

 

What is this Original Generation game that you'll be playing?

 

As of writing, there have been three Super Robot Wars games that have been brought over to the west under the name of Super Robot Taisen. All three of them are part of the "Original Generation" branch of Banpresto's TRPGs, meaning that they make use of the numerous original characters that have popped up in the series instead of the intellectual property of other companies. This of course, meant that all three games (two tactical RPGs and one ... I actually have no idea what Endless Frontier is supposed to be) could cross over without too much difficulty.

 

Though hitting the shelves in 2006 when the GBA was in its twilight years and the NDS began its reign of handheld terror over video gamers everywhere didn't really help much in actually getting it to be a lasting presence in the western market.

 

The game being played here is the first one in the series, the aptly titled Super Robot Wars Original Generation.

 

Super_Robot_Taisen_-_Original_Generation

 

Great, now that's out of the way, what are you gonna do here?

 

Upon opening up the game, you'll be greeted with a simple-looking title screen:

 

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In the first OG game, you have a choice of two characters to play as. Each one provides a different story (though sharing a setting and possessing similarities), so the one you pick will be rather important to your experience of the game.

 

The two viewpoint characters of the game are:

 

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Nerdy High Schooler recruited into piloting giant robots for his government after coming second-place in a video game tournament and -

 

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-a sexy beefcake who is forever cursed with 90s hair even as games featuring him come out twenty years later.

 

For the purposes of this Let's Play, I'll be picking Kyosuke, as for one, I like his route better, and because I poked Krayzikk for help in decision-making and he immediately leapt to Mr. Beefcake (mostly because he doesn't like wacky Zeta Gundam lookalikes). But that won't be the last we'll see of Lil' Ryusei; if this thing gets up and running, I might even play his route after finishing this guy's!

 

Now, let's get this show on the road.

 

Table of Contents:

Kyosuke 01 - Broken Wings (1, 2)

Kyosuke 02 - A New Beginning (1, x)

Edited by Tyler St. Francis
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Kyosuke 01 - Broken Wings

 

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It is the year 179 S.E. Humanity has gone to space, and has managed to reach as far as Pluto. However ...

 

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The cursored blue thing is the human starship. Those red things are hostiles. Most of the game will also be played out like this.

 

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Captain Daitetsu (his college buddies call him Big Iron), a man of exquisite facial hair, wants to know what exactly is going on and how screwed his ship is against these weird things.

 

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His XO, another man with great facial hair, albeit with far lesser intensity, explains that they are definitely quite screwed.

 

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That's the other blue thing on the map. The horned one.

 

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Which means that the Giganscudo will be incapable of bailing them out of this horrible mess.

 

Daitetsu has only one thing to say to this.

 

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Sean: We're overmatched, Sir. We should retreat.

Daitetsu: There must be something we can do ...

Sean: These bug-like mechs are not of this world, Sir.

 

And in a stunning display of cognitive ability, Daitetsu states the most obvious conclusion gleaned from his XO's comments.

 

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Check out that expression of surprise.

 

Sean: Most likely, considering their size and numbers.

Sean: Their carrier must be near. We're in grave danger, Sir.

Daitetsu: Just when we reached the outer rim of the solar system ...

Sean: I know. I'm sorry, Sir. But we must retreat.

Sean: If Hiryu sustains any more damage ...

 

(Hiryu, of course, is the name of this fine space-faring vessel.)

 

Sean: We'll never make it back to Earth, or even Mars.

Daitetsu: Very well. Recover Giganscudo and pull back.

 

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And Captain Daitetsu vows that he will make the aliens pay for preventing him from exiting the Solar System.

 

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An opening crawl then begins, introducing us into the setting of the game.

 

Nearly two centuries ago, the human race advanced into space, ushering in the dawn of a new era - The Space Era.

 

Due to the destruction and turmoil caused by the meteors that struck Earth in the early years of the 21st century, human life changed little over time.

 

In 179 S.E., a third meteor, Meteor 3, struck the Earth near the Marquesas Islands in the South Pacific.

 

A research team dispatched by the Earth Federal Government (EFG) discovered that Meteor 3 consisted of substances containing technology previously unknown to man. They called this new technology Extra-Over Technology (EOT).

 

Further analyses were conducted by the EOT Investigative Committee (EOTI) under the strict supervision of the EOT Council.

 

Upon conclusion of the investigation, Dr. Bian Zoldark, the head of EOTI, reported to the EFG and the Earth Federation Army that an invasion by extraterrestrial beings was highly probable.

 

The EFG took the warning seriously, and the development of Personal Troopers, humanoid mobile units, began ...

 

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Upon finishing the spiel, we meet Hans, who has just completed his briefing for this new mech's test pilot.

 

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Said test pilot is none other than Kyosuke Nanbu, our protagonist 90s hair aficionado.

 

Hans: What is it?

Kyosuke: I saw the spec sheet. This mech, the Wildraubtier, becomes highly unstable when it transforms.

Kyosuke: It's not capable of handling a live-fire exercise.

Hans: Live fire? The tanks are only loaded with paint rounds.

Hans: At worst, you'll just have to clean the paint off your mech.

Kyosuke: Live fire isn't my only concern.

 

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Hans begins to show himself as a guy who doesn't really take backtalk well.

 

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Kyosuke immediately falls in line. He also might have added a bit of sweet-talking in there. And sarcasm. Nobody's really sure; the guy's got a real good poker face.

 

Kyosuke: But I'll have trouble evading enemy fire, so we won't get reliable data from the mech.

Kyosuke: Should we risk a valuable PT just for the sake of conducting some tests?

Hans: I make the decisions here, Kyosuke.

Kyosuke: But didn't Gespenst Number 2 go missing because of unnecessary testing, Sir?

 

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Hans brutally rips into Kyosuke for not being a patsy. Man, he's real intent on getting to test this mech.

 

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Kyosuke doesn't really have a good comeback lined up for that.

 

Kyosuke: (It's urgent we develop a powerful airborne PT, but ...)

Hans: Now report to the test area, Corporal!

 

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Kyosuke schools his expression into his famed poker face and immediately leaves.

 

Then we learn exactly why Hans wants to do the tests.

 

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Turns out that Hans is a bit of a unlikeable guy. Who knew?

 

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And so the episode officially begins!

 

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Two tanks and two fighters spawn. These will be our enemies for this first mission. In later ones, reinforcements may come. Here? We just gotta deal with these.

 

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Crew: Target drones placed and ready to go.

 

We meet generic crewmember. She will be the first of many generic crewmembers. One generic crewmember will ascend to side character status, but since this is Original Generation and not the PS2 compilation game (unavailable in the glorious English language), we will never encounter her.

 

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This is Irm. He's a cool guy.

 

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As Kyosuke, we are piloting this blue fighter thing, the prototype Personal Trooper that our boss was so insistent that we test.

 

Irm: Good, I'll collect the data now.

Kyosuke: Thank you, Lieutenant Irm.

Irm: The Wildraubtier is our first variable PT. Treat her well.

 

(too bad that doesn't apply to your relationships with women mister irmgard kazahara)

 

Irm: We don't want her to get wrecked while the Commander is away.

Kyosuke: Roger that.

 

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Hans comes up to reaffirm that yes, they're only paint rounds. Man, he seems a lot nicer now, telling his subordinates to have fun and all that. Must be feeling good that he's convinced Kyosuke to get in a possible death-trap in order to blackmail a company.

 

Kyosuke: Yes, Sir.

 

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Nah he's still being a jerk.

 

And so it is here, after the standard wall of dialogue that is endemic to Super Robot Wars, that we obtain control over Kyosuke and his mech. Seeing that this is our first update, I'll try and go through the basic parts of the game that might need explaining.

 

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This is the basic overview of Kyosuke and the Wildraubtier FM's stats. HP is self-explanatory, as is EN, which is used for energy-based attacks or punching. There'll be a lot of punching involved in this game, surprisingly. If a weapon uses ammo, I think (it's been a while) that they don't use energy, or at least not as much.

 

Kyosuke's level is also self-explanatory. Will is his morale: it'll affect his damage output, what attacks he can use, dodging, et cetera. It changes according to the situation at hand: he hits an enemy, will goes up. He dodges, will goes up. Gets hit? Will down. Misses? Will down. More will is good. Less will is bad.

 

Need is how much Exp is needed until next level up.

 

SP is his Spirit Points: they allow him to use certain Spirit Commands that can buff him or others. Different characters have different Spirit Commands, which make them either great characters or utterly horrid.

 

Beat is how many breads he's eaten in his life.

 

PP is his points that can be used to upgrade his stats.

 

Support is the amount of times he can perform attacking or defending support with another friendly unit. Not applicable here though.

 

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This is the menu. It tells you what turn you're on, the amount of dosh you have, what units you got, the mission parameters, quicksaves, options et cetera.

 

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These are the mission winning and losing conditions. Battle Mastery is sort of like getting everything right. Or something. I can't really explain it well, but suffice to say, if you get enough battle masteries, the difficulty of the game changes, and you also get extra bonuses and stuff.

 

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Upon selecting a unit, you get this. They should be self-explanatory.

 

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The spirit commands tab. See those numbers next to the names? That's the cost, which will be subtracted from our pool of Spirit Points. The currently highlighted spirit, Accel, does what the description says. The other accessible command, Focus, raises our Evasion and Accuracy by 30%. More commands are unlocked as Kyosuke levels up.

 

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And finally, the Wildraubtier FM's weapons. The "Hit" is their accuracy. Looks like I was right with ammo-using weapons not using energy. AA Missile, AG Missile and Aerial Bomb all use ammo. Beam Cannon uses energy. If it has a (P) after it, that means that the weapon can be used after moving.

 

The Will section there lays out the minimum Will needed to use the weapon.

 

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Onto the show. Check out that range of movement.

 

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Moving in for the attack ...

 

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This is what the pre-battle options look like. You can toggle animations with AnimWatch.

 

Before starting the fight, Kyosuke goes into some dialogue. This will happen from time to time.

 

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You see, Mao Industries, the company responsible for the construction of the Wildraubtier, is located on the Moon.

 

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Characters will always have a few spiffy battle quotes to say.

 

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The Beam Cannon hits for 2105. Not enough to destroy the AI-controlled tank, but it chunks quite a bit.

 

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The tank's return salvo does some damage, which isn't shown in this screenshot, but suffice to say the Wildraubtier loses about a seventh of its HP.

 

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Attacking also nets some experience.

 

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Upon noticing that he's being fired at with live rounds, Kyosuke is understandably worried. He doesn't want to go the way of Brandon Lee, after all.

 

Crew: You have an emergency call, Sir.

Hans: Disregard it. He should be able to handle this himself.

Irm: I wasn't aware the drones were loaded with live rounds!

Hans: Am I obligated to report such matters to you?

Irm: (You ######!)

 

As expected, Hans continues to be an unlikeable guy.

Edited by Tyler St. Francis
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I incredibly approve of this. I'll definitely be watching this pretty closely. And badgering you with tons of advice and commentary. :P Although I'm a bit disappointed that it isn't a full video LP.

 

Also, picking Kyosuke definitely makes the game a lot more interesting, because it averts the temptation to make the endgame "SRX curb-stomps everything."

 

Will you be going for all Battle Masteries (or at least as many is needed for the true final battle)?

 

~B~

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XtMDIQi.png

 

Kyosuke is confused. Here, the turn ends.

 

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The tank we hit before begins its attack. We're fortunately in range, so we can choose to Attack rather than simply to Defend or Evade, which are choices under the "Action" menu there. In Attack, we can also choose what weapons to counterattack with if more than one are available. I stick with the AA Missile.

 

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Kyosuke dodges and returns fire, taking out the tank. We get a lot more exp for that. And pilot points to buy skills and upgrade his stats.

 

The same occurrence repeats with the other tank, which isn't destroyed, unfortunately, but has a large chunk of health taken out. It also nets a snazzy cut-in.

 

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Check out that handsome visage.

 

One of the fighters, being less bulky than the tank, is taken out by a counterattack after Kyosuke dodges its fire. The other fighter however, hangs on by a shred.

 

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On the next turn, an AG Missile takes out the remaining tank ...

 

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... Leaving the final fighter to fall on the counterattack. Kyosuke dodged its fire as well.

 

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Upon victory, Kyosuke levels up to 5, learning the Assail spirit command.

 

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We also earn the Battle Mastery.


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And so something ominous immediately begins.
 
Hans: Corporal, let's begin the emergency variable test.
Irm: What?! If he transforms now ...
Kyosuke: Why are the drones loaded with--
Hans: Do not question my orders, Corporal!
Kyosuke: Yes, Sir. Commencing variable test.
Kyosuke: (That ###### set me up.)
 
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Irm protests this decision immediately.
 
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Keep being a bro Irm.
 
Hans: You're exceeding your authority, Irm.
Irm: Don't give me that! You're trying to kill him!
Hans: Watch yourself, Lieutenant!
Kyosuke: ... Whatever happens, happens!
 
Kyosuke flies the Wildraubtier over the water to the west and begins the transformation ...
 
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!!
 
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R.I.P. Corporal Kyosuke Nanbu, 157 - 179 S.E.
 
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The jerk strikes again!
 
Hans: Mao Industries must be held accountable for this!
Hans: Retrieve the unit and have it sent back to the Moon.
Irm: !
Hans: And tell your former partner, Ring, this was all Mao Industries' fault.
Irm: #-######!
 
Suddenly ...!
 
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Yes, yes he did. Quite a surprise, I must say.
 
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Irm immediately tries to contact Kyosuke to make sure that his pal is safe. Great guy, Irmgard.
 
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Our hero, fortunately, seems quite intact!
 
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Hans, evidently perturbed by this turn of events, moves immediately to transfer Kyosuke off his base. The man in question, however ...?
 
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He's definitely got Lady Luck on his side.
 
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Edited by Tyler St. Francis
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I incredibly approve of this. I'll definitely be watching this pretty closely. And badgering you with tons of advice and commentary. :P Although I'm a bit disappointed that it isn't a full video LP.

 

Also, picking Kyosuke definitely makes the game a lot more interesting, because it averts the temptation to make the endgame "SRX curb-stomps everything."

 

Will you be going for all Battle Masteries (or at least as many is needed for the true final battle)?

 

~B~

I'm a horrid video LPer. Trust me, this is a lot better for everybody.

 

And yeah, I'll be doing my best to go for all Battle Masteries, especially in order to get the true final battle. No point in playing in any other way, after all.

 

hubert

 

i cannot permit you to beat this game (again) before i beat it

This is why you should've told me to pick Ryusei. Then I wouldn't spoil for you.

 

Then again, you're already past von Branstein, so it'll take me a while to catch up. I need to take all these screenshots and upload and whatnot.

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I incredibly approve of this. I'll definitely be watching this pretty closely. And badgering you with tons of advice and commentary. :P Although I'm a bit disappointed that it isn't a full video LP.

 

Also, picking Kyosuke definitely makes the game a lot more interesting, because it averts the temptation to make the endgame "SRX curb-stomps everything."

 

Will you be going for all Battle Masteries (or at least as many is needed for the true final battle)?

 

~B~

I'm a horrid video LPer. Trust me, this is a lot better for everybody.

 

And yeah, I'll be doing my best to go for all Battle Masteries, especially in order to get the true final battle. No point in playing in any other way, after all.

 

I also realized just now that given the save-scumming-encouraging nature of the game (particularly for the trickier Battle Masteries involving evasion-heavy enemies or critting retreating bosses), a video LP could get very boring without lots of editing. For screenshots only, you can only screencap when things finally go right.

 

Anyway, I played OG1 only twice, once on each path, compared to my three complete playthroughs of OG2 (with one on extra-hard mode still in progress), so my memory of the game is fuzzier, especially Kyosuke's path. So it'll be more fun to watch this move along, knowing less exactly what happens per scenario.

 

Also, a fresh save file for SRW always sucks due to lack of SP Regen. That skill makes everything so much more fun on NG+, especially for the cool characters with 10 SP Focus, or 10 SP Sense. Why on earth was Sense removed in OG2? It was super useful, and when it was gone Kyosuke lost Fury to make room for both Strike and Alert in his SP commands. *grumble grumble*

 

Speaking of Spirit Commands, you also forgot to mention that bad Will gains can nerf an otherwise good character into (near) uselessness.

 

Can readers offer suggestions on your party choices, upgrades, and especially which mission branches to take?

 

~B~

Edited by Ballom
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I was thinking of doing an NG+, but I decided against it so Krayzikk could learn how reliable a fully-upgraded Split Missile could be by himself.

 

And yeah, I forgot about the bad will gains thing. Will is seriously important in this game (in J I needed that will for Fire Blaster).

 

If you want to give me suggestions, go ahead.

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I was thinking of doing an NG+, but I decided against it so Krayzikk could learn how reliable a fully-upgraded Split Missile could be by himself.

 

And yeah, I forgot about the bad will gains thing. Will is seriously important in this game (in J I needed that will for Fire Blaster).

 

If you want to give me suggestions, go ahead.

You actually upgrade Split Missile? Wow. Whatever works, I guess. Personally I'd dump all my funds into the units first, to get the Full Upgrade Bonuses, and only upgrade a unit's strongest attack, along with attacks that power combination attacks.

 

Of course, we all know the strongest attack comes from those Gatling Guns. Power up that 10 damage, all the way to ... 15!

 

I don't remember who exactly in the cast has bad Will gains per se, I just vaguely recall that some characters needed babying due to only getting Will from enemy kills, as opposed to on hitting an enemy or dodging or something similar (which explains why Ratsel rockets to 150 Will almost instantly). Of course, there's the Rouse Spirit Command end-game to help with this, especially on stages with few minions before a boss. And it means Garnet suddenly has a use at that point! The Drive SC is way rarer (Kai, Katina, and Sanger only maybe?), but neat for allowing a character to go for the kill with their strongest move on turn 1.

 

~B~

Edited by Ballom
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Kyosuke 02 - A New Beginning

 

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We start off where we left; the Intermission screen. It turns up every time an episode is finished, and from here we can mess around with our units, weapons, pilots and et cetera. It also lists how much dosh we have and our battle masteries, which determine our difficulty (currently on Normal). Since this is the first mission, and our unfortunate protagonist, Kyosuke Nanbu, is currently lacking in a mech due to it having exploded over the ocean, we can't actually do anything here except save and start the next episode.

 

So let's get started!

 

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Upon first starting the episode, we meet Greg at the North American Brigade Base. He's a man with a chiselled jawline and large eyebrows.

 

Also, South America doesn't seem to exist, with everything south of Panama having dissipated into thin air. I'm guessing that this isn't really a map, but a representation of all the territories under the jurisdiction of the NA Brigade.

 

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After his disastrous test in the last episode, we meet Kyosuke once again, now shiny and clean of injuries! He also got promoted several ranks to Lieutenant; man, it's not everyday that you jump so many pay grades in such a short period of time.

 

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Greg is our new boss. He runs the NA Brigade. Strange surname though, but likely one to have derived from "pastoral". Fitting.

 

Greg: I heard what happened. Bad luck, huh?

Kyosuke: No, Sir. It was my fault.

Greg: I think it was the fault of the one who commanded you.

Greg: (... And sent you here. But that doesn't sound like Laker ...)

Greg: (Most likely it was Hans Weber's doing.)

Kyosuke: What is it, Sir?

Greg: Oh, nothing. Your assignment will be ...

 

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Kyosuke and Greg are interrupted by the sudden intrusion of this orange-haired woman!

 

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Kyosuke is understandably confused by her presence, though you can't really tell from his eternal poker face.

 

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You'll understand soon, buddy. Soon.

 

Excellen: So, this is him, huh? Hm ...

Kyosuke: Sorry. Have I met you somewhere before ...?

Excellen: Maybe. *giggle*

Kyosuke: (I can't remember where ...)

Excellen: Very nice!

Kyosuke: ...?

 

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Such forwardness!

 

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Her word it seems, is enough to convince Commander Greg to allow Kyosuke into her ... clutches.

 

Greg: ... Very well. Take good care of him.

Kyosuke: I'm sorry, Sir. I don't understand.

 

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Also known as the woman whose every word will skirt the line of what's acceptable on BZPower.

 

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She enjoys flirting, flirting and ... flirting.

 

It's going to be a real long ride, Kyosuke.

 

Excellen: I almost forgot, the boss wants to "test" the new guy.

Greg: Again? OK. Just don't send him home crying, you hear?

Excellen: Yes, Sir. This is gonna be fun. *giggle*

Kyosuke: (...What's going on? Who is this Excellen, anyway?)

 

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Forward unto the breach!

 

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We're thrown straight into the battlefield upon beginning the episode. Here, we can see that Kyosuke is piloting a snazzy new machine, one that has a "II" stamped onto it. Excellen is also piloting a machine of similar make. The one a tile below Kyosuke's, to be exact.

 

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The mysterious "boss" is mentioned once again. He sounds like a real slave driver.

 

Kyosuke: So, he's the "boss"? I don't get it, Lieutenant.

Excellen: Stop calling me by my rank. That's lame.

Kyosuke: Lame? Then I'll call you Excellen. How's that?

Excellen: Oh, I like that! You're no so straight-laced after all.

 

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Get used to it Kyosuke. Get used to it.

 

Suddenly!

 

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Kyosuke: Hm ... What?!

Excellen: Uh-oh ...

 

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Four tanks and two fighters immediately spawn on the other side of the base!

 

How does Kyosuke respond to the suddenness of this exercise?

 

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He's ready to rumble.

 

Excellen: Kyosuke, I didn't have time to explain, but ...

Sanger: Listen up! The target drones are loaded with live rounds! If you want to live, shoot them down!

Excellen: Whoa, Boss, wait! Listen to ...

Sanger: Enough! Fire at will!

 

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Much like Kyosuke's previous superior, Hans Weber, Sanger Zonvolt (likely named after Eugen Sänger) is German and very intent on testing things (in his case, Kyosuke rather than a prototype transforming robot). Nobody can agree on how to spell his name either, with fans calling him one thing and the official translations calling him another. But we're sticking with Sanger.

 

Kyosuke: So he's the "boss". Well, I'm only concerned with the enemies in my way.

Excellen: Wow ...

Kyosuke: I like the Gespenst ...

Kyosuke: And that kind of guy ... Here I come.

Excellen: (He's gonna get along just fine with the boss ... and me.)

 

And so the mission begins! In this episode, we have control over both Kyosuke and Excellen in brand-spanking new mechs, known as the Gespenst Mk.II M, the mainstay of the Earth Federation Army. Grunt units. But before we check them out, here are the mission details!

 

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Simple enough, and pretty similar to the last mission's.

 

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This is Excellen. She has the skill "Hit & Away", which allows her to move after attacking. Most characters, if they attack, can no longer move elsewhere. She also has Support Lvl 1, allowing her to provided attacking and defending support to neighbouring units.

 

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This is the Gespenst. It's blue and has giant ears. It's nothing too special, with average stats all around (a bit worse in Water tiles though), but has a lot of space for weapons. Trust me, you can jam a lot of weapons on this thing.

 

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These are the Gespenst's attacks. I have Jet Magnum highlighted due to its Will requirements. As you can see, the pilot starts off with 100 Will; in order to use the Jet Magnum attack, we'll need to get that up to 110 through all sorts of activities like dodging and murdering things.

 

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Here are the spirit commands Excellen's got unlocked. Focus is one she shares with Kyosuke, but here we have Daunt, a pretty costly command that can be used to reduce the Will of enemies, and therefore make it easier for us to murder them. Great for bosses I guess, though personally I don't really use it.

 

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Anyway, I start off by hitting up the Accel command for Kyosuke, moving him closer to the seven enemies that need to be taken out. Excellen soon follows; due to her lack of Accel, she's a tile behind.

 

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Because I can't do anything else, I end the turn.

 

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One of the tanks immediately moves to attack Kyosuke.

 

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Kyosuke manages to dodge the shot and returns fire with a Split Missile. It isn't enough, however, to take out the tank.

 

The other enemy units aren't in range to attack him, so they end their turn, initiating a conversation between Kyosuke and Excellen.

 

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Kyosuke: ... Sure.

Excellen: Was it your fault that test model went down?

Kyosuke: Well, it was defective. But I won't deny that I wasn't skilled enough to control it.

Excellen: Hm ... You're just like the boss.

 

Sanger of course, interrupts their conversation again, showing his displeasure at all the chit-chatting.

 

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He demands bloodshed.

 

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And so off to the second turn we go!

 

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I buff Kyosuke with an Accel and Focus and throw him right between two of the tanks? Bit dangerous you may think, but it's setting up for my favourite attack in the entire franchise (disregarding, of course, a certain kick that isn't available as of yet).

 

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I fire the M95 Machine Gun at one of the fighters. It goes straight down.

 

Then I move Excellen closer to the enemy units and the turn ends.

 

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The tank that I counterattacked with a Split Missile earlier tries to take out Kyosuke, but his natural Counter skill kicks in and drives the tank down to 350 health with his machine gun. It's not enough to utterly destroy the unit, but it's pretty good, especially with his Gespenst dodging the attack from the tank.

 

And now here comes the fun part.

 

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Kyosuke's Will is high enough to use the Jet Magnum.

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The tank's shot hits, but it only does 10 points of damage, and Kyosuke begins his counterattack-

 

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-and it is glorious.

 

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For taking out that tank, Kyosuke earns us a nice heaping of cash and exp.

 

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Then the other tank next to him tries its luck.

 

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He doesn't even get to touch Kyosuke.

 

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The furthest tank is too far for Kyosuke to hit with the Jet Magnum.

 

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The counterattack is a crit, but the tank doesn't go down.

 

And with the start of Turn 3, another conversation between Excellen and Kyosuke occurs.

 

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Kyosuke: Why are you holding back? What does the boss want from me?

Excellen: Well, he ... Uh, I mean, I don't know. Just concentrate on your job at hand.

Kyosuke: ......

Sanger: (Kyosuke is better than I thought he'd be. He's smart and quick to adapt to new situations.)

Sanger: (Excellent was right after all.)

 

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Sanger thinks highly of us. Highly enough that new mecha may soon be available ...

 

Also, I forgot to mention earlier, but the type of tile units are situated on will provide certain buffs or debuffs to the mech that's sitting on it.

 

For example:

 

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The installation increases defence, health and energy dramatically, but reduces accuracy.

 

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This military base tile reduces accuracy.

 

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And this road does nothing.

 

Anyway, back to murdering the last four remaining enemy units.

 

I buff up Excellen with a Focus and send her in to deal with the upper fighter.

 

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She hits a critical and OHKOs that poor fighter. Not bad, Excellen. Not bad at all.

 

Next, I put a Focus on Kyosuke and move him next to the far-right tank.

 

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I don't go for the tank. Instead, the target will be the last fighter.

 

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The machine gun immediately takes it out, and I end the turn.

 

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Immediately, the furthest tank attacks Kyosuke.

 

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Not at all mate.

 

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Kyosuke returns fire. Down goes the tank.

 

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The final tank tries to avenge its fellows.

 

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It doesn't succeed.

 

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And with the fall of the final tank, the Battle Mastery is successfully obtained!

 

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Upon completing the mission, Kyosuke and Excellen engage in some small talk, and it turns out that Sanger is a lot less intense once he's off-duty!

 

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Kyosuke doesn't really know how to deal with that.

 

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Oh no Kyosuke, he is very, very serious about that.

 

Soon, the team heads back to base, leaving behind their giant robots for another day.

 

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Upon returning to base, Kyosuke immediately lets out a sigh of ... some emotion at least. You can't tell with the poker face. It's a real good one.

 

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Once again, Excellen continues to teeter on the line of propriety. No Excellen no.

 

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Kyosuke doesn't take any of that from her.

 

But any attempts at doing his reports is interrupted again by the appearance of Major Sanger Zonvolt!

 

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Actually Kyosuke ...

 

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He's "Honcho" now.

 

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And yes, he is still very, very serious.

 

Sanger: Kyosuke, you'll test pilot Project ATX's prototype.

Kyosuke: What's Project ATX?

Sanger: The purpose of Project ATX is to develop mobile assault weapons here at Langley Base.

Kyosuke: Then, the mech I'll be piloting will be the prototype that takes the place of the Gespenst MkII?

Sanger: Maybe ...

Sanger: There are mechs from other departments that are being tested as well.

Excellen: Right! The boss's mech will blow you away! I promise!

Kyosuke: You don't need to promise me anything.

Kyosuke: So then, this project has multiple objectives, right?

 

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Excellen continues to lay on the flirting.

 

Sanger: Your instincts serve you well, Kyosuke.

Sanger: Project ATX was initiated to protect the Earth from future threats.

Kyosuke: (He must have something to do with that organization ...)

Sanger: But our top brass doesn't fully comprehend the severity of the situation, so we're training our troops to handle the impending crisis.

Kyosuke: ......

Excellen: Kyosuke, you're the last member of our team, number 4.

Kyosuke: Number 4?

 

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And we finally learn the name of Kyosuke's new squad! Team ATX, consisting of Sanger, Excellen, our mystery member and the newcomer, Kyosuke!

 

Kyosuke: ATX Team ...?

Sanger: That's the name of our unit. We are happy to have you.

Kyosuke: Likewise.

Excellen: If there's anything you want to know, just ask.

 

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Here we go.

 

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Understandably, Kyosuke is left flabbergasted once again.

 

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He just decides to go with the flow and enjoy life with ATX the best he can. It'd definitely be good for him, for sure. Definitely.

 

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The scenario ends, and our reward is a Cartridge and Repair Kit!

 

These are consumable items that can be stored on mechs as parts. The former is used to refill ammo once, while the latter does the same for health.

 

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And here's the intermission screen! To cap off this update, I'll be going into detail about what you can actually do on this screen. Right now, we're highlighting the unit option, which splits into "Info" (which gives you unit information), "Customize" and "Parts". The second choice is where you can upgrade your mech, while the third is where you equip items and parts that have varying effects on your mech.

 

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Here's the upgrade screen. You can upgrade a unit's HP, EN, Mobility and Armor for a decent fee here, which is quite necessary if you want to keep progressing through the game without dying horribly to the hordes of enemies. I haven't decided on what to upgrade right now; going to leave that to the next update. Also, keep in mind that the maximum potential upgrade bars is pretty much exclusive to the Gespenst; other mechs don't have as much upgradeability.

 

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This is where parts are equipped. We have four slots to use. If I recall correctly, the Gespenst has the most of every other mech.

 

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Here we can equip or customize weapons!

 

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As we progress through the game, we'll end up obtaining new weapons (or scrubbing from old units) that we can equip to our mechs, though usually only if they're "real robots". Each unit has a limited amount of weapon space that can be used to equip weapons, which have different weapon sizes. For example, you can see currently that the M95 takes up 25 space, and the Gespenst has a total of 160 space, 40 of which is already in use. Currently, we don't have any extra weapons to equip.

 

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Upgrading weapons works the same way as upgrading a unit, though with less options. It's also a bit costly, as you can see from here.

 

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Finally, you can also mess around with a pilot's skills and stats from this menu!

 

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Stats can be increased by applying pilot points, which you gain from battles. Pilot points can also be used to buy skills, such as the highlighted SP Regenerate. It's real pricey though, so we can't really afford it right now. It's always good to have the right skills though.

 

Anyway, that's it for this update. In the next one, we'll be getting to know a bit more about the ATX Team and what they do!

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Saaaaanger! The manliest man in this game. I did not recall how many ways he wants to be called boss.

 

Also Excellen! Her dialogue is always great. Although I'd forgotten that she and Kyosuke didn't know each other at the start of OG1 because *mutter mutter* OG2 *mutter mutter* spoiler stuff.

 

Is the Gespenst kick actually available in OG1? I'd heard rumors about it, but I myself only unlocked it in the sequel.

 

Are you going to save up for SP Regen or just forget about it and go for cheaper skills?

 

~B~

Edited by Ballom
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I of course have purchased SP Regen by now. It's crucial.

 

No I haven't. I spend my pilot points too easily.

 

Anyway, I bet those new mechs fly pretty far, y'know? No one faster rushing in.

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On this eve, the thirtieth anniversary of that first colony, many are left to wonder; is the world fast approaching a breaking point?

 

 

  Breaking Point: An OTC Mecha RPG

 

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