Um...okay.
We've entered the underground workings of Okinawa Ocean City. Emma informs us this is the heart of the city (or at least this block) and home to the power and sewage systems. It's also home to enemies on rails that attack us.
I had Emma focus the floating guys while attacking the wanzers near the start. Most of the mechs in the back like to punch, so they stay in the back and let you shoot them.
We realize that Midas is in front of us. It's in a column we can't reach unless we sink OOC. Midas is being used as a power source. Lukov would have no qualms about destroying the city to get to it, so we can't relax. Fortunately, we don't have to make that choice to ruin the city or not. The area begins to shake, and the camera cuts outside to see Okinawa tremble, with parts of her sinking into the sea. The team decides to split into two groups again. One group will lead the evacuation, and the other will get to the control center to buy them time and sink Midas to the bottom of the ocean. Ryoji volunteers again to lead the evac group and put your best characters in there. Or at least ones without piercing weapons.
The first battle is with Kazuki. We're on narrow pathways with platforms that move up and down to prevent passing. This wasn't too hard, but it sure was a slough. The mechs are standard junk, and the revived Jarod is weak when he's all alone. Li and Dennis would have fit in. Kazuki, Alisa, and Isau are in the control room. They try to turn off the self destruct sequence, but they somehow make it worse. Lukov planned for this. The attack group heads to the surface to aid in the evacuation. We know Lukov is near, and we're just gonna let the two of them be alone?
Ryoji is at the docks preparing to get the civilians out of here. But the DHZ is also panicking. No one told them this was supposed to happen. But they're in the way, so we attack them!
This might have been the toughest fight we've had in the game. It's largely because my team lineup sucked. The enemies specialize in p-defense, which Lin and Ruoji focus on. The first time I went into this, Marcus had two piercing fists as well. I hit up the shop to give him I attacks, and I tested out the laser weapon we got with the Hoshun a while back. It kinda sucked, but it worked. To make matters worse, there are two giant wanzers present that are launchers. I sprinted toward the guy on the far side of the map and beat him down before the tanks arrived. They were slowly whittled away, leaving the final gear alone. The guy in the middle never moved until I attacked. This sucked, and I save scummed. STOP FOCUSING THE LEGS!
We see a scene where Lukov attacks Alisa and Isau. He nearly kills dad but uses Alisa as bait. Kazuki arrives at the docks with everyone else just in time to get everyone off the sinking city. All the civs and the battle team are safe. Everyone except Alisa and dad. Kazuki wants to rush back, but Ryoji stops him. He has a plan. We see the rest of the city crumble, but the emergency shelter, which houses Midas and the Takamuras, raises to the sky.
Dennis rams one of the boats into the side of the room, and we break through. Lukov just gave a typical "I'm evil" speech about taking over the world before we got here, but who cares? Our party is here and prepares to finish this. But he's too strong, apparently. Suddenly, a new wanzer appeared behind Lukov to knock him off his feet. It's Isau! He's immediately evaporated by the Wyvern. Kazuki instantly feels love towards this dead guy and promises no mercy!
The hardest part of this fight are the four gears between Lukov and us. All four of them will launch missiles at Emma until she explodes. Meanwhile, Lukov shoots s weak laser at Ryoji. Your best bet is to punch them until they're ejected. Be careful, though, because they will enter your wanzer if you hijack theirs. Lukov himself is pretty pathetic, especially when you get close. If the enemy had spread out their damage, this wouldn't have been very hard, but they really hated Emma. I was emotionally done with this game, so I save scummed again. I don't care; Emma's too long. Lukov explodes after saying how weak humans are. Blah blah blah
So how do we get rid of Midas? Emma plans to remain here and detonate it, preventing anyone from ever discovering it again. Alisa, though, knows how to remotely blow it. We all return to the boat, but Kazuki notices his sister isn't there. Alisa didn't even bother hiding, idiot. She's right in the middle of the room! It turns out Alisa lied.
Our boat is already a ways away from the site, but the same scene we saw in the Philippines plays out behind us. Midas is activated, and Alisa is gone. She's sent us an email explaining her feelings, but what's done is done.
And now the epilogue.
The JDF blames the USN, who blames the DHZ. They deny it. Regardless, Japan believes the US, and they join forces. We know this because a guy I killed told us. We see a space shuttle launched from the Philippines head into space as a peace summit begins between JDF and USN. Mr. Sasaki is here. The shuttle returns to earth, and USN airplanes surround us. The cargo bay opens, and several purple wanzers jump out. Our party lands in front of the summit. This battle didn't need to happen.
Kazuki and Emma storm into the building on their mech even though they don't fit. They break up the treaty, and Emma tells everyone the truth once the chaos of their actions ends. Saski nearly blew up Kazuki. Does this make him the final boss?
A year later, Kaz and Emma are in Ravuni. This is where she and Alisa grew up. Emma talks about the fun she and her sister had as kids, and Kazuki foresees more fun with a new family. Once all this is done, of course. Whatever...
Credits role as images of war and propaganda play behind them. We see a breakdown of all our medals and get one final chance to save. If we boot that up, we can begin New Game Plus, but that's for...
...later.
This was a wet fart of an ending. It left too many questions, and I really hate the story. This whole thing was about saving Alisa, but she killed herself. So what was the point? Graphically, Front Mission 3 is gorgeous. The gameplay is solid, and the music is a bit "meh," but it's the story that tanks the game for me. I've heard Alisa's path is better (and shorter), so I plan on playing it. I'm not blogging about it, though. I'm just gonna enjoy it. I'll also save my final review until then. Emma's story gets a 37 out of 50. Their team left a lot to zeros, and the villains were kinda lame, save for an acceptable Lukov. Let's see if Ali is a superior human!
Saturday, January 28, 2023
Friday, January 27, 2023
To where it began.
The penultimate night?
Ryoji and Kazuki are back in Kumamoto. Both were successful in their missions. That only leaves one enemy group marching toward us. But we won't take them on. We have to use this opening to go after Lukov. We know he's in Okinawa Ocean City. We know this because the DHZ has invaded. In fact, before the NPC battle begins, one of their leaders asks for a ceasefire. They inform us the agreement between them and Lukov is over, and he was the mastermind behind this whole thing. So they decided to screw up Japan for the sake of an American, and now they're calling it off? Whatever... Isau greets us and joins the team as an NPC alongside Alisa. But how do we get to Okinawa? There's a new floating boat in the harbor!
It's an ambush! Despite killing her a week ago, Rosavia is here. She's leading two other mechs and two giant launchers that were submarines a moment ago. I went after the launchers first while getting my team together. I hit-and-ran against them left one (from the water) but grouped up on the right one. The three mechs weren't strong.
Overly optimistic music plays as the boat heads into the water. Our next destination is the bridge that connects OOC to the mainland. Why didn't we just land on the artificial island? The bridge is guarded, though, and the firepower looks pretty strong. Isou is with us in the boat, which can also function as a floating tank. Our dad goes mad because his son sucks, so he rams the enemy. He gets stuck on the road sign, but he did...something...
The two wanzers in the back are grenadiers. Make sure you take out the two wanzers and tanks before they get into range. These tanks are among the squishiest units I've seen. Dad's okay, but he and Alisa are hoofing it now. We reach the civilian area of the town, which is where Lukov is hiding Midas. Our final stop on this game is the same hangar we began in. Koike is here, and he helps us buy the last weapons in the game.
We find the entrance to the underground areas, and it's guarded. Put P-Defense on all your mechs, and this battle is a joke. Lukov is in Wyvern, Ramsus' gear from Xenogears. Jarod and another rando are also in massive wanzers, and you should kill them first. They're launchers, so... Spread out who gets the kill because they give over 1100 exp when you take one down. Yun maxed out her shotgun level here, so our destroyer is complete! Marcus opens the gate, and we descend down to Lukov. We'll end this battle...
...tomorrow!
Assuming my computer doesn't crash (or my Golden Eye night doesn't run long).
Ryoji and Kazuki are back in Kumamoto. Both were successful in their missions. That only leaves one enemy group marching toward us. But we won't take them on. We have to use this opening to go after Lukov. We know he's in Okinawa Ocean City. We know this because the DHZ has invaded. In fact, before the NPC battle begins, one of their leaders asks for a ceasefire. They inform us the agreement between them and Lukov is over, and he was the mastermind behind this whole thing. So they decided to screw up Japan for the sake of an American, and now they're calling it off? Whatever... Isau greets us and joins the team as an NPC alongside Alisa. But how do we get to Okinawa? There's a new floating boat in the harbor!
It's an ambush! Despite killing her a week ago, Rosavia is here. She's leading two other mechs and two giant launchers that were submarines a moment ago. I went after the launchers first while getting my team together. I hit-and-ran against them left one (from the water) but grouped up on the right one. The three mechs weren't strong.
Overly optimistic music plays as the boat heads into the water. Our next destination is the bridge that connects OOC to the mainland. Why didn't we just land on the artificial island? The bridge is guarded, though, and the firepower looks pretty strong. Isou is with us in the boat, which can also function as a floating tank. Our dad goes mad because his son sucks, so he rams the enemy. He gets stuck on the road sign, but he did...something...
The two wanzers in the back are grenadiers. Make sure you take out the two wanzers and tanks before they get into range. These tanks are among the squishiest units I've seen. Dad's okay, but he and Alisa are hoofing it now. We reach the civilian area of the town, which is where Lukov is hiding Midas. Our final stop on this game is the same hangar we began in. Koike is here, and he helps us buy the last weapons in the game.
We find the entrance to the underground areas, and it's guarded. Put P-Defense on all your mechs, and this battle is a joke. Lukov is in Wyvern, Ramsus' gear from Xenogears. Jarod and another rando are also in massive wanzers, and you should kill them first. They're launchers, so... Spread out who gets the kill because they give over 1100 exp when you take one down. Yun maxed out her shotgun level here, so our destroyer is complete! Marcus opens the gate, and we descend down to Lukov. We'll end this battle...
...tomorrow!
Assuming my computer doesn't crash (or my Golden Eye night doesn't run long).
Thursday, January 26, 2023
Too much volcano!
There's actually no volcano despite a battle at Aso.
We're wanted criminals on the run from the government backed version of the JDF. I forget what town we're in, but their shops have new weapons and backpacks. Good luck figuring out your weight and power distribution, but I spent the first thirty minutes tonight rearranging my wanzer parts. I think I have a good plan if my team ever figures out how to learn something, that is... Don't forget to equip the back four, too. After visiting yet another bar, we get word that the enemy is approaching. Alisa, though, sees something fishy. They might be landing by the sea at Nagahama. Our new boss sends recon to confirm it, but what if we intercepted that early raid?
We're in the middle of the docks and can go after one side or the other. I'd suggest going to the left because there are more launchers there. I didn't and killed the punchy guys first. The leader is also to the left, and he has Target Arm, which crippled Yun. Always give your support a restore part item.
We'll return to Kumamoto and learn the real fighting is about to begin. Trained soldiers suck, so we volunteer to split ourselves again to take on two of three groups coming for us. Ryoji volunteers as the Mount Aso leader, and Yun is automatically placed there too. I added Linny and Marcus, but Marcus was a mistake. The battle is against a number of tanks and a transport. The truck tried to flee, I think, but I didn't let it. Bring P defense as that's all the tanks use. They all have p def as well, which is why Marcus sucked.
The next battle at Omuta is against the guy we killed before. His backup consists of two tough mechs, two tanks, and three helicopters. Li has yet to learn anything, so he kinda sucks, and the USN duo has trash aim. Why do they always focus Kazuki? I save scummed so hard here because this was tough. The copters are launchers, and everything is aggressive. No one hangs back to wait. Try not climbing on the building? I cheated, so I don't have a strategy to give. Kuroi dies, for real this time, probably, and we get ready to return to base. Ryoji complained that the drawn out battle was pushing his group to their limits, so we're either helping in or getting ready for a final charge. We'll see...
...tomorrow!
We're almost done with Emma's route. Seven more fights...
We're wanted criminals on the run from the government backed version of the JDF. I forget what town we're in, but their shops have new weapons and backpacks. Good luck figuring out your weight and power distribution, but I spent the first thirty minutes tonight rearranging my wanzer parts. I think I have a good plan if my team ever figures out how to learn something, that is... Don't forget to equip the back four, too. After visiting yet another bar, we get word that the enemy is approaching. Alisa, though, sees something fishy. They might be landing by the sea at Nagahama. Our new boss sends recon to confirm it, but what if we intercepted that early raid?
We're in the middle of the docks and can go after one side or the other. I'd suggest going to the left because there are more launchers there. I didn't and killed the punchy guys first. The leader is also to the left, and he has Target Arm, which crippled Yun. Always give your support a restore part item.
We'll return to Kumamoto and learn the real fighting is about to begin. Trained soldiers suck, so we volunteer to split ourselves again to take on two of three groups coming for us. Ryoji volunteers as the Mount Aso leader, and Yun is automatically placed there too. I added Linny and Marcus, but Marcus was a mistake. The battle is against a number of tanks and a transport. The truck tried to flee, I think, but I didn't let it. Bring P defense as that's all the tanks use. They all have p def as well, which is why Marcus sucked.
The next battle at Omuta is against the guy we killed before. His backup consists of two tough mechs, two tanks, and three helicopters. Li has yet to learn anything, so he kinda sucks, and the USN duo has trash aim. Why do they always focus Kazuki? I save scummed so hard here because this was tough. The copters are launchers, and everything is aggressive. No one hangs back to wait. Try not climbing on the building? I cheated, so I don't have a strategy to give. Kuroi dies, for real this time, probably, and we get ready to return to base. Ryoji complained that the drawn out battle was pushing his group to their limits, so we're either helping in or getting ready for a final charge. We'll see...
...tomorrow!
We're almost done with Emma's route. Seven more fights...
Wednesday, January 25, 2023
Kazuki sucks
"We're Japanese. We'll be fine." We're also wanted fugitives in two countries, Ryoji. We won't be fine.
Yang is piloting us back to Japan, and they monitor their waters. We're, unsurprisingly, attacked at sea. We're stuck on a painfully tiny platform with only ten or so squares to stand on. Meanwhile, our opponents are boats and, eventually, helicopters. The main goal is to defend for nine turns. When you sink the three warships, two copters appear. I only took out one, so I don't know what happens after them. Bring range if you want to make the JDF rue attacking us, which I didn't do. For once, Yun was a mistake. Kazuki is also questionable. After those nine turns, we overhear our attackers saying they're out of time and retreat.
Suddenly, a massive warship comes into view, and our party doesn't think we have a shot at it. Fortunately, they open up communications and ask if there's a Kazuki Takamura on board...
We board the ship and meet dear old dad, Iaso Takamura. As you'd expect, Kazuki screams like an emo teenager. Alisa tries to control her brother as Emma introduces herself. Isao is calm and collected and the opposite of what our annoying MC has led us to believe. Rather than bring up any of our backstory, we ask about the current happenings. The gist is Lukov is still alive and working with the JDF. I skipped this scene last night, but Luk was in communication with someone in Japan, and dad tells us that someone is a man named Sasaki. He's the one who started the coup and used Isao as a scapegoat. What's truly important, though, is Lukov has Midas. We lost a copy, but there was another copy out there. The team arrives in Japan, but we won't stay long.
Partly because Kazuki is so whiney and partly because Isao is a high valued target, we're sent away with Isao's second-in-command. He also informs his allied battalions to disperse. As we arrive at our new base, we see a scene where Isao is arrested. We get word and consider freeing him, but going after Lukov is more important. There's a split that I probably skipped over, and I don't remember which route we took. Either way, we went to an allied base and got attacked.
We're surrounded, and I went after the group closest to the spawn tile on top of the building. Let them break down the fence, by the way. The only named guy is to the left of them, but no one is very strong. The ones I ignored stayed away and didn't even bother destroying the fence. I think I collected all but two mecha and got 25000 credits. A bit useless at this point, honestly. They know where we are, so we leave.
We met up with the group and got attacked again later. This is even easier. Try to go after the ones that seem further away. They're launchers and are annoying. Regardless of how, this is a sinch.
At this point, we can get access to the strongest wanzer via the Diablo Telphone thing. I gave most of the parts to Yun because I like my destroyer. But I'll see what she can do...
...tomorrow!
I hate how no one ever really dies. I hate even more the trope of a secret mcguffin...
Yang is piloting us back to Japan, and they monitor their waters. We're, unsurprisingly, attacked at sea. We're stuck on a painfully tiny platform with only ten or so squares to stand on. Meanwhile, our opponents are boats and, eventually, helicopters. The main goal is to defend for nine turns. When you sink the three warships, two copters appear. I only took out one, so I don't know what happens after them. Bring range if you want to make the JDF rue attacking us, which I didn't do. For once, Yun was a mistake. Kazuki is also questionable. After those nine turns, we overhear our attackers saying they're out of time and retreat.
Suddenly, a massive warship comes into view, and our party doesn't think we have a shot at it. Fortunately, they open up communications and ask if there's a Kazuki Takamura on board...
We board the ship and meet dear old dad, Iaso Takamura. As you'd expect, Kazuki screams like an emo teenager. Alisa tries to control her brother as Emma introduces herself. Isao is calm and collected and the opposite of what our annoying MC has led us to believe. Rather than bring up any of our backstory, we ask about the current happenings. The gist is Lukov is still alive and working with the JDF. I skipped this scene last night, but Luk was in communication with someone in Japan, and dad tells us that someone is a man named Sasaki. He's the one who started the coup and used Isao as a scapegoat. What's truly important, though, is Lukov has Midas. We lost a copy, but there was another copy out there. The team arrives in Japan, but we won't stay long.
Partly because Kazuki is so whiney and partly because Isao is a high valued target, we're sent away with Isao's second-in-command. He also informs his allied battalions to disperse. As we arrive at our new base, we see a scene where Isao is arrested. We get word and consider freeing him, but going after Lukov is more important. There's a split that I probably skipped over, and I don't remember which route we took. Either way, we went to an allied base and got attacked.
We're surrounded, and I went after the group closest to the spawn tile on top of the building. Let them break down the fence, by the way. The only named guy is to the left of them, but no one is very strong. The ones I ignored stayed away and didn't even bother destroying the fence. I think I collected all but two mecha and got 25000 credits. A bit useless at this point, honestly. They know where we are, so we leave.
We met up with the group and got attacked again later. This is even easier. Try to go after the ones that seem further away. They're launchers and are annoying. Regardless of how, this is a sinch.
At this point, we can get access to the strongest wanzer via the Diablo Telphone thing. I gave most of the parts to Yun because I like my destroyer. But I'll see what she can do...
...tomorrow!
I hate how no one ever really dies. I hate even more the trope of a secret mcguffin...
Tuesday, January 24, 2023
Going home
I'm sick, but I stopped at a terrible time, so I'm playing.
We can talk to our female relationships, but Bal's the one who drops the bomb. The parents that Emma escaped with are not her real parents. In fact, she (nor Alisa) have real parents. Both of them are actually Imaginary Numbers created by Bal for his desire to make the perfect human (and maybe bomb). Bal wants to take the girls elsewhere, but Kazuki refuses. Lukov makes his appearance felt by going rouge. Bal orders him to do something, but Lukov refuses. Instead, he calls Bal imperfect and splits away from his "father." A wanzer punches through the window, and Emma and Alisa are magically teleported into it. Lukov kidnaps the girls and tries to kill Bal. Bal gets away thanks to his bodyguard, Liu. Kazuki gives chase, but enemies show up, and a battle begins.
This area is narrow and hard to get through. We also don't have Emma. We'll be fighting out of a single hallway and into a room with walls in the middle. Three enemies will blow out three of those walls, but the closest guy won't. Just let that guy stay while two of the wall destroyers cone toward us from both sides. There's a third room, and no one in there wants to leave it until you enter it. These are the most passive guys in this game, and I suggest you let them be that. Liu shows up at some point, but he's a standard machine gun mech.
We hear that the rebels are getting their ass kicked by the DHZ, which means we're about to be their top target. Li tells us that Guan Liu (not Bal's backup) has a house in the nearby city of Buxi. While there, Yun hacks her way into learning where Lukov may have taken the women, and we give chase. As we leave, Dennis is informed that "plans have changed."
We arrive in time to see a car pull up to a ruined garage door. This used to be a nuclear missile base, and the area resembles it. Lukov exits from the base and talks to Bal, who's alongside Liu. Both men say similar things as before, but then Lukov calls out to more people. He's now in charge of the Imaginary Numbers, and the entire group begins bombing the two. Even DHZ leader, Chairman Jie, told him he sucked, so what a way to die? We oversee this and think it is too much. Lukov tells us he'll be waiting inside the base as we start a fight.
There are a lot of punchy guys and tanks. I found this fairly standard. I tried to unite my guys on the right. Stay away from the ramps to keep the tanks away.
Deeper in, Lukov is waiting. After we (the player) see him communicate with someone from Japan, he shows us (the characters) that Emma and Alisa are fine. Some other stuff is said, but let's jump into it.
There are more punchy guys here, and they're scarier than the machine gunners. They also seem resistant to impact damage for some reason. As is usual, don't advance too far. Lukov won't move from his starting point at all but do not rush him to end the battle. It turns out Liu (Bal's second) didn't die somehow. He's smoldering but has plenty of life. He finishes off Lukov by throwing him into a hole. He then decides to preserve Bal's honor by disposing of all Imaginary Numbers. That includes Emma and Alisa.
We have one turn to kill Liu or break his legs. This takes place immediately after killing Lukov, and our guys are in the same state and position as they were on that turn. Good luck!
Emma and Alisa are saved. Sorta. Alisa has just learned she's not a real person but an experiment/artificial creation. It's not really confirmed how INs are made. Emma convinces her she's not a puppet, and Kazuki affirms he only sees her as his sister. It works enough, and we all return to Buxi. Everyone heads to the bar to overhear how badly the rebels sucked dirt, but the real things of note are at the house. Dennis's "plans have changed" remark was an email from the USN. To make sure Midas doesn't resurface, he has to kill Emma. Marcus stayed back and asked Dennis what his plan was. We see a flashback to why Dennis and Wen'a friendship fell apart. It's because Dennis put his country first over morals and values. Our sniper is having a major dispute in his head, but he's made his decision. He comes to the bar and informs us of his orders. Everyone trusts him when he states he's on our side. With that behind us, we wonder how we're gonna get back to Japan. Li knows of a ship graveyard, and we head there.
There's an old man who hates us because he believes us to be military. He threatens us, but then he gets shot. The USN is here.
I went after the guys on the right first. We're against fists and rifles, so plan accordingly. Don't split up, though, because there's a bit of a barrier between the sides.
The old man lives, and he thanks us for saving his life. As thanks, he'll be our captain to get us back to Japan. He also has new upgrades, so make use of them before we sneak back to Japan, which I'll do...
...tomorrow!
I wonder how that coup went? I hear Kaz's dad was in charge of it.
We can talk to our female relationships, but Bal's the one who drops the bomb. The parents that Emma escaped with are not her real parents. In fact, she (nor Alisa) have real parents. Both of them are actually Imaginary Numbers created by Bal for his desire to make the perfect human (and maybe bomb). Bal wants to take the girls elsewhere, but Kazuki refuses. Lukov makes his appearance felt by going rouge. Bal orders him to do something, but Lukov refuses. Instead, he calls Bal imperfect and splits away from his "father." A wanzer punches through the window, and Emma and Alisa are magically teleported into it. Lukov kidnaps the girls and tries to kill Bal. Bal gets away thanks to his bodyguard, Liu. Kazuki gives chase, but enemies show up, and a battle begins.
This area is narrow and hard to get through. We also don't have Emma. We'll be fighting out of a single hallway and into a room with walls in the middle. Three enemies will blow out three of those walls, but the closest guy won't. Just let that guy stay while two of the wall destroyers cone toward us from both sides. There's a third room, and no one in there wants to leave it until you enter it. These are the most passive guys in this game, and I suggest you let them be that. Liu shows up at some point, but he's a standard machine gun mech.
We hear that the rebels are getting their ass kicked by the DHZ, which means we're about to be their top target. Li tells us that Guan Liu (not Bal's backup) has a house in the nearby city of Buxi. While there, Yun hacks her way into learning where Lukov may have taken the women, and we give chase. As we leave, Dennis is informed that "plans have changed."
We arrive in time to see a car pull up to a ruined garage door. This used to be a nuclear missile base, and the area resembles it. Lukov exits from the base and talks to Bal, who's alongside Liu. Both men say similar things as before, but then Lukov calls out to more people. He's now in charge of the Imaginary Numbers, and the entire group begins bombing the two. Even DHZ leader, Chairman Jie, told him he sucked, so what a way to die? We oversee this and think it is too much. Lukov tells us he'll be waiting inside the base as we start a fight.
There are a lot of punchy guys and tanks. I found this fairly standard. I tried to unite my guys on the right. Stay away from the ramps to keep the tanks away.
Deeper in, Lukov is waiting. After we (the player) see him communicate with someone from Japan, he shows us (the characters) that Emma and Alisa are fine. Some other stuff is said, but let's jump into it.
There are more punchy guys here, and they're scarier than the machine gunners. They also seem resistant to impact damage for some reason. As is usual, don't advance too far. Lukov won't move from his starting point at all but do not rush him to end the battle. It turns out Liu (Bal's second) didn't die somehow. He's smoldering but has plenty of life. He finishes off Lukov by throwing him into a hole. He then decides to preserve Bal's honor by disposing of all Imaginary Numbers. That includes Emma and Alisa.
We have one turn to kill Liu or break his legs. This takes place immediately after killing Lukov, and our guys are in the same state and position as they were on that turn. Good luck!
Emma and Alisa are saved. Sorta. Alisa has just learned she's not a real person but an experiment/artificial creation. It's not really confirmed how INs are made. Emma convinces her she's not a puppet, and Kazuki affirms he only sees her as his sister. It works enough, and we all return to Buxi. Everyone heads to the bar to overhear how badly the rebels sucked dirt, but the real things of note are at the house. Dennis's "plans have changed" remark was an email from the USN. To make sure Midas doesn't resurface, he has to kill Emma. Marcus stayed back and asked Dennis what his plan was. We see a flashback to why Dennis and Wen'a friendship fell apart. It's because Dennis put his country first over morals and values. Our sniper is having a major dispute in his head, but he's made his decision. He comes to the bar and informs us of his orders. Everyone trusts him when he states he's on our side. With that behind us, we wonder how we're gonna get back to Japan. Li knows of a ship graveyard, and we head there.
There's an old man who hates us because he believes us to be military. He threatens us, but then he gets shot. The USN is here.
I went after the guys on the right first. We're against fists and rifles, so plan accordingly. Don't split up, though, because there's a bit of a barrier between the sides.
The old man lives, and he thanks us for saving his life. As thanks, he'll be our captain to get us back to Japan. He also has new upgrades, so make use of them before we sneak back to Japan, which I'll do...
...tomorrow!
I wonder how that coup went? I hear Kaz's dad was in charge of it.
Monday, January 23, 2023
Heel turn
And the plot picks up, just like my temperature.
Kazuki and the team arrive in Nanjing. The fighting is about to begin, but the civilians are still going about their daily lives. Kazuki demands that Chang pull back, but he knows retreat means we can't take Shanghai. Luckily, a former DHZ soldier arrives with two helicopters to evacuate all the civs. Liang Hua and her scared friend are the real MVPs here. With an evac for the innocents, the battle begins.
If both helicopters are taken down, then we lose. There are only two wanzers that can properly harm them, so destroy the spider guys and their missiles. The four conventional mechs target you and interfere, while the assortment of people suck at aiming. It takes three or four turns until the two pull out, and this becomes a standard battle.
Kazuki bursts into the new HQ at Nanjing, but Chang is unamused. Sadly, even Kwang agrees with him. Ryoji tries to calm down his friend, but it doesn't work. I'm actually on Kaz' side with this one for the first time all game. We can head out to the city now for a few new wanzer weapons. The people at the bar are upset at the government because they tried to kill them, but nothing is here. Return to HQ for a random soldier to tell us Emma is in a pickle.
This fight isn't too bad. Emma and her crew aren't here, but we'll see them afterwards. The grenadier killed his own friend and barely harmed us, so I got lucky. Probably would have lost if he were a better shot. Emma and Kazuki have a reunion, and Kaz scolds her. She says why she got ambushed but defends her actions by knowing Kazuki would save her. We return to HQ, and Kaz is still angry. We get fired/quit, so we'll find our own way to Shanghai.
Emma had a new plan, and it worked! We casually stroll into the airport, but someone is waiting. It's Rudy and Becky. They have an accompaniment of tanks and two armored cars to launch missiles at us. I killed Becky (again) on round one, and Rudy retreated for the rest of the battle. This gave me free rein for Yun to destroy everything. Even climbing on the terminal couldn't save the Wukong leader from defeat. Honor eludes you today.
Dennis finds a railcar to take us to the embassy. He makes a sudden stop, angering Yun, because Real Numbers are here. Focus on one at a time and hope the launchers in the back don't shoot Kazuki to pieces. I keep placing him third on n the order, which I'm told is supposed to make him less likely to be attacked, but he's always the center of attention.
Kazuki punches his way into the embassy. It's starting to blow up for some reason, so Kazuki and Emma head upstairs on foot. They find Alisa, but Bal is here too. Sure would be a dick move if I called it a night here, huh...
...
...
...
I'm sick again!?
Kazuki and the team arrive in Nanjing. The fighting is about to begin, but the civilians are still going about their daily lives. Kazuki demands that Chang pull back, but he knows retreat means we can't take Shanghai. Luckily, a former DHZ soldier arrives with two helicopters to evacuate all the civs. Liang Hua and her scared friend are the real MVPs here. With an evac for the innocents, the battle begins.
If both helicopters are taken down, then we lose. There are only two wanzers that can properly harm them, so destroy the spider guys and their missiles. The four conventional mechs target you and interfere, while the assortment of people suck at aiming. It takes three or four turns until the two pull out, and this becomes a standard battle.
Kazuki bursts into the new HQ at Nanjing, but Chang is unamused. Sadly, even Kwang agrees with him. Ryoji tries to calm down his friend, but it doesn't work. I'm actually on Kaz' side with this one for the first time all game. We can head out to the city now for a few new wanzer weapons. The people at the bar are upset at the government because they tried to kill them, but nothing is here. Return to HQ for a random soldier to tell us Emma is in a pickle.
This fight isn't too bad. Emma and her crew aren't here, but we'll see them afterwards. The grenadier killed his own friend and barely harmed us, so I got lucky. Probably would have lost if he were a better shot. Emma and Kazuki have a reunion, and Kaz scolds her. She says why she got ambushed but defends her actions by knowing Kazuki would save her. We return to HQ, and Kaz is still angry. We get fired/quit, so we'll find our own way to Shanghai.
Emma had a new plan, and it worked! We casually stroll into the airport, but someone is waiting. It's Rudy and Becky. They have an accompaniment of tanks and two armored cars to launch missiles at us. I killed Becky (again) on round one, and Rudy retreated for the rest of the battle. This gave me free rein for Yun to destroy everything. Even climbing on the terminal couldn't save the Wukong leader from defeat. Honor eludes you today.
Dennis finds a railcar to take us to the embassy. He makes a sudden stop, angering Yun, because Real Numbers are here. Focus on one at a time and hope the launchers in the back don't shoot Kazuki to pieces. I keep placing him third on n the order, which I'm told is supposed to make him less likely to be attacked, but he's always the center of attention.
Kazuki punches his way into the embassy. It's starting to blow up for some reason, so Kazuki and Emma head upstairs on foot. They find Alisa, but Bal is here too. Sure would be a dick move if I called it a night here, huh...
...
...
...
I'm sick again!?
Sunday, January 22, 2023
Road to Nanjing
Why is this lake in the mountains?
We see the rebels setting up the inflatable wanzers, which still baffles me. We suddenly see a spy plane flying far too low to be effective. We have mobile cannons, so Chang calls on his men to shoot it down before it can report what we're doing. Does radio not exist in the future? Regardless, the plane crashes, and we make sure the pilots can't go home.
We're nearly fifty battles into the game, and this is the first humans only conflict. I've been thinking about how cool this would be for most of the game, but that was a mistake. There are no skills, and humans move so slowly. Try to gang up on one at a time. I like the idea of human fights, but this needs work. According to Kazuki, we totally didn't kill those guys we shot a bunch.
Everything is ready, so we begin our operation. We split into two groups. Kazuki will lead the raid on Nanjing via the river, and Emma's team is the distraction. Don't listen to Emma saying she's just gonna run away when the fighting begins, and bring a proper group for both teams.
We see a scene where the DHZ and two Wukong members have noticed the floaties. Rudolph and Rebecca feel like something is off and retreat back to town, much to Commander Xun's annoyance. But he ordered his troops to fire and shoots our decoys. The parade balloons fall over... Emma realizes she can make things easier for later if she takes out this group now!
This was dumb. There are three helicopters, but only two did anything. There are also three launchers, two people, and too many shields. This is a long and drawn out affair, and I really hate this group. In recent skirmishes, Emma's been missing a lot. This was no exception. Dennis and Linny usually hit the legs, a common occurrence in this game. Why do fifty percent of all shots hit the legs? It's a waste of a turn! To make matters worse, we're on precarious cliffs with little footing. There are no stage hazards, but movement can get cumbersome. I save scummed my way through this, and I don't care. Emma and Lin prepare to regroup with the others.
Kazuki and his group land peacefully in a park in Nanjing. As luck would have it, three members of Wukong are here as well as four tanks. Take out the tanks on our side of the overpass, then focus the nerd with the grenades.
En route to Nanjing, Emma finds potential reinforcements and attacks. I split up the group, but maybe I shouldn't have. Dennis died, and Linny barely did anything. I changed out his legs after this fight, which was a poor choice. I switched out Emma's as soon as I could but didn't notice Linny's until it was too late. I'd also suggest staying together. Emma and Lin speak more about getting to Kazuki, but, uh... we'll get to that...
...tomorrow!
Tragedy is gonna strike soon, won't it? Also, our transport called Emma "Kazuki's girlfriend," so fortune is gonna strike soon, won't it?
We see the rebels setting up the inflatable wanzers, which still baffles me. We suddenly see a spy plane flying far too low to be effective. We have mobile cannons, so Chang calls on his men to shoot it down before it can report what we're doing. Does radio not exist in the future? Regardless, the plane crashes, and we make sure the pilots can't go home.
We're nearly fifty battles into the game, and this is the first humans only conflict. I've been thinking about how cool this would be for most of the game, but that was a mistake. There are no skills, and humans move so slowly. Try to gang up on one at a time. I like the idea of human fights, but this needs work. According to Kazuki, we totally didn't kill those guys we shot a bunch.
Everything is ready, so we begin our operation. We split into two groups. Kazuki will lead the raid on Nanjing via the river, and Emma's team is the distraction. Don't listen to Emma saying she's just gonna run away when the fighting begins, and bring a proper group for both teams.
We see a scene where the DHZ and two Wukong members have noticed the floaties. Rudolph and Rebecca feel like something is off and retreat back to town, much to Commander Xun's annoyance. But he ordered his troops to fire and shoots our decoys. The parade balloons fall over... Emma realizes she can make things easier for later if she takes out this group now!
This was dumb. There are three helicopters, but only two did anything. There are also three launchers, two people, and too many shields. This is a long and drawn out affair, and I really hate this group. In recent skirmishes, Emma's been missing a lot. This was no exception. Dennis and Linny usually hit the legs, a common occurrence in this game. Why do fifty percent of all shots hit the legs? It's a waste of a turn! To make matters worse, we're on precarious cliffs with little footing. There are no stage hazards, but movement can get cumbersome. I save scummed my way through this, and I don't care. Emma and Lin prepare to regroup with the others.
Kazuki and his group land peacefully in a park in Nanjing. As luck would have it, three members of Wukong are here as well as four tanks. Take out the tanks on our side of the overpass, then focus the nerd with the grenades.
En route to Nanjing, Emma finds potential reinforcements and attacks. I split up the group, but maybe I shouldn't have. Dennis died, and Linny barely did anything. I changed out his legs after this fight, which was a poor choice. I switched out Emma's as soon as I could but didn't notice Linny's until it was too late. I'd also suggest staying together. Emma and Lin speak more about getting to Kazuki, but, uh... we'll get to that...
...tomorrow!
Tragedy is gonna strike soon, won't it? Also, our transport called Emma "Kazuki's girlfriend," so fortune is gonna strike soon, won't it?
Saturday, January 21, 2023
Raid on Wuhan
That's a bridge...
We've gotten through the lines and reached the depo. While the rebels are keeping everyone else busy, we've snuck around the mountain in the back. The DHZ notices us before we enter the base, so tonight's only fight happens!
Set your defense to fire resistance. All but the three weak cannons before us now are missile launchers, and it'll help a lot. It takes our two allies three turns to construct the single cell bridge to the wall of the castle/base. They're tanky enough to take all the fire from us, assuming you kill the cannons, and they'll exit the fight once their job is complete. From here, head down the railings and take out the wanzers. Get close because they lack any mid/close range power. The big guy in the back is a grenadier, so do what you want. In all, pretty easy.
The group will wait for Kwang, but Emma is hyper focused. Yun complains about needing a break before we march toward Shanghai, but Emma gets mad and walks off. With the rebels together, our next plan of attack. We're going to Shanghai!
We'll split into three groups. Two groups to divert the enemy forces makes sense, but this next part confuses me. I don't know how this'll work yet, but it sounds stupid. Emma's plan is to make a decoy group that's just inflatable wanzers and tanks near the lake. She expects the DHZ will waste time, giving us an opening. So the balloons will be replaced with real ones after the event; the third group. After telling us the plan, Emma leaves. Kazuki chases her down but heads to the shop to upgrade the mechs first.
When we find Emma, she's on edge. She's worried about Alisa to the point she's willing to sacrifice herself to save her. Kazuki is the calm one now and asks her what that would accomplish. If either dies, none of this will have meant anything. He calms Emma down, and the two share a tender moment before heading back to base. I liked the scene because it shows their roles from Taal Base have flipped. Kaz has become the veteran, while Emma has become a loving sister. Admittedly, Emma's change hasn't really been foreshadowed or explained, so maybe it sucks! Regardless, we'll see how this plan I don't understand works...
...tomorrow!
More importantly, I finally won my Smash group's Championship Title. I'm the last to win it, and we might be adding another to the group soon, so my victory would be harder. But ol' Sephiroth got a shiny, gold title because I'm the best! Now to defend it...
We've gotten through the lines and reached the depo. While the rebels are keeping everyone else busy, we've snuck around the mountain in the back. The DHZ notices us before we enter the base, so tonight's only fight happens!
Set your defense to fire resistance. All but the three weak cannons before us now are missile launchers, and it'll help a lot. It takes our two allies three turns to construct the single cell bridge to the wall of the castle/base. They're tanky enough to take all the fire from us, assuming you kill the cannons, and they'll exit the fight once their job is complete. From here, head down the railings and take out the wanzers. Get close because they lack any mid/close range power. The big guy in the back is a grenadier, so do what you want. In all, pretty easy.
The group will wait for Kwang, but Emma is hyper focused. Yun complains about needing a break before we march toward Shanghai, but Emma gets mad and walks off. With the rebels together, our next plan of attack. We're going to Shanghai!
We'll split into three groups. Two groups to divert the enemy forces makes sense, but this next part confuses me. I don't know how this'll work yet, but it sounds stupid. Emma's plan is to make a decoy group that's just inflatable wanzers and tanks near the lake. She expects the DHZ will waste time, giving us an opening. So the balloons will be replaced with real ones after the event; the third group. After telling us the plan, Emma leaves. Kazuki chases her down but heads to the shop to upgrade the mechs first.
When we find Emma, she's on edge. She's worried about Alisa to the point she's willing to sacrifice herself to save her. Kazuki is the calm one now and asks her what that would accomplish. If either dies, none of this will have meant anything. He calms Emma down, and the two share a tender moment before heading back to base. I liked the scene because it shows their roles from Taal Base have flipped. Kaz has become the veteran, while Emma has become a loving sister. Admittedly, Emma's change hasn't really been foreshadowed or explained, so maybe it sucks! Regardless, we'll see how this plan I don't understand works...
...tomorrow!
More importantly, I finally won my Smash group's Championship Title. I'm the last to win it, and we might be adding another to the group soon, so my victory would be harder. But ol' Sephiroth got a shiny, gold title because I'm the best! Now to defend it...
Friday, January 20, 2023
Raid on Tianlei
Lots of fighting tonight, and I'm a big fan of it!
Before we do anything fun, we need to find the blueprint password. Zhun's fiancé might have that code. We head down the road to the city and barge into Mai Lin's house. She's shocked because seven people are now in her house, and one of them is her lover, who's been presumed dead for five years. After a nice reunion, we start grilling the poor girl about her dead mother and her favorite holiday destination. Yun starts putting the information into the website, and, after a few tries, she finds the password. We now know how to beat the RAF's mobile base! Zhun comes with us but promises to return to his love in a week.
We safely make the long trip back to Guangzhou. We can talk to all of our party members for the first time before Kwong gives a less-than-rousing speech. Apparently, it goes well, though! The plan going forward is for the rebels to trap the giant tank in a canyon. It's strong and powerful but also slow and plodding. For some reason, we also split into two groups. Group one will blow away the first wave of defense. Group two goes into the depths to blow up the engine. Good thing we got eight people!
Dennis leads the first group, and I gave him all the people I've never used. I probably shouldn't have, though! Marcus is a terror! Li is fine, as was Linny. Dennis learned to aim, so this battle went surprisingly well. I didn't kill the extra two gunners, but I took out the first two and the Imaginary Numbers, who've been harassing us. Despite doing nothing, my usual group descends alone while Dennis and co. sit around, doing nothing the rest of the night.
We'll be engaging in three battles down here, and they're all the same: easy.
Battle one is against four anonymous wanzer pilots.
Battle two is against Lun and three anonymous wanzer pilots. We'll come to the engine after this, and Kazuki has to exit his mech to begin the self destruct sequence. My alarm bells started going off, but it went well! The countdown timer was far lower than Zhun expected, so we only have twenty five minutes to escape!
Or eleven turns. The leader of this tank wants to make sure we go down with this ship. Why he wouldn't prevent us from blowing it up, to begin with, was beyond me, but okay. Like all fights tonight, there are a lot of punchy wanders. I finished in seven turns, but aim for six if you want full points.
Kazuki has to hang back to activate the lift, but he jumps back on in time. They went for the dramatic, but I don't think it worked. We all manage to avoid the explosion and plan our next attack.
It's on Wuhan, the final defense before Shanghai. The rebels want us to do the dirty work, but they'll take on two other easier targets while we're taking on an army depo. We, the player, see a scene where China's soldiers want to run away. Their CO, who got his job because of nepotism, won't let them.
In the battle, the guy in charge is pathetically weak. It hits hard, though, so kill it before it gets to you. This also makes enemies more likely to give up. The only problem I had here was Kazuki has terrible resistance to status effects. Hell, even Yun got ejected once. A rebel helicopter flies in to finish our final preparations for this next event. I don't really get it, but we're building a bridge. Maybe it'll make sense...
...tomorrow!
I was worried about how many battles are left in the GameFAQs guide I reference. But plowing through five of them tonight might save those two points for game length, after all!
Before we do anything fun, we need to find the blueprint password. Zhun's fiancé might have that code. We head down the road to the city and barge into Mai Lin's house. She's shocked because seven people are now in her house, and one of them is her lover, who's been presumed dead for five years. After a nice reunion, we start grilling the poor girl about her dead mother and her favorite holiday destination. Yun starts putting the information into the website, and, after a few tries, she finds the password. We now know how to beat the RAF's mobile base! Zhun comes with us but promises to return to his love in a week.
We safely make the long trip back to Guangzhou. We can talk to all of our party members for the first time before Kwong gives a less-than-rousing speech. Apparently, it goes well, though! The plan going forward is for the rebels to trap the giant tank in a canyon. It's strong and powerful but also slow and plodding. For some reason, we also split into two groups. Group one will blow away the first wave of defense. Group two goes into the depths to blow up the engine. Good thing we got eight people!
Dennis leads the first group, and I gave him all the people I've never used. I probably shouldn't have, though! Marcus is a terror! Li is fine, as was Linny. Dennis learned to aim, so this battle went surprisingly well. I didn't kill the extra two gunners, but I took out the first two and the Imaginary Numbers, who've been harassing us. Despite doing nothing, my usual group descends alone while Dennis and co. sit around, doing nothing the rest of the night.
We'll be engaging in three battles down here, and they're all the same: easy.
Battle one is against four anonymous wanzer pilots.
Battle two is against Lun and three anonymous wanzer pilots. We'll come to the engine after this, and Kazuki has to exit his mech to begin the self destruct sequence. My alarm bells started going off, but it went well! The countdown timer was far lower than Zhun expected, so we only have twenty five minutes to escape!
Or eleven turns. The leader of this tank wants to make sure we go down with this ship. Why he wouldn't prevent us from blowing it up, to begin with, was beyond me, but okay. Like all fights tonight, there are a lot of punchy wanders. I finished in seven turns, but aim for six if you want full points.
Kazuki has to hang back to activate the lift, but he jumps back on in time. They went for the dramatic, but I don't think it worked. We all manage to avoid the explosion and plan our next attack.
It's on Wuhan, the final defense before Shanghai. The rebels want us to do the dirty work, but they'll take on two other easier targets while we're taking on an army depo. We, the player, see a scene where China's soldiers want to run away. Their CO, who got his job because of nepotism, won't let them.
In the battle, the guy in charge is pathetically weak. It hits hard, though, so kill it before it gets to you. This also makes enemies more likely to give up. The only problem I had here was Kazuki has terrible resistance to status effects. Hell, even Yun got ejected once. A rebel helicopter flies in to finish our final preparations for this next event. I don't really get it, but we're building a bridge. Maybe it'll make sense...
...tomorrow!
I was worried about how many battles are left in the GameFAQs guide I reference. But plowing through five of them tonight might save those two points for game length, after all!
Thursday, January 19, 2023
Gang's all here...crap.
But first, let's break up a family!
We manage to speak to Kwang, but he's more dedicated to his job. He's aware that Lixian saved him after a plane crash (that got zero national attention?), but our party thinks the trauma of everything gave him amnesia. He asks us to tell his sister he'll be late, and we return to Lixian. We ask her for more information, but she gets mad. She's furious that we might ruin this family, but we calm her down when we assure her we won't. Apparently, kids in China keep their birth certificates on them because Lixian found Kwang's, and it confirmed he's the rightful leader of DHZ. The boy returns to hear this and wonders about his life, running off to the bar to do so. Li is missing.
The two of them are in the bar, and Li tells him that he is the reason Kwang is an orphan. He's the one who shot down the plane on orders from the RAF. Kwang tells Li that he's a brave man. He could have kept this to himself, but he's facing his past without hesitation. The two return to Lixian's with a decision. Kwang will join the rebels and save this country from its civil war. Lixan is worried her family is gone again, but Kwang assures her they'll be together again. An orphan and his de jure kidnapper... Anyway, Kwang leaves her behind as we return to Guangzhou.
Kwang joins with the rebels and gives a moral boost to their supporters. Meanwhile, we get a call from someone. Li knows this person and takes charge of the conversation. A friend of his, Guan Lei, is looking for him. Guan is a USN spy and has information about DHZ. Li wants to go alone, but Kazuki doesn't let him. They'll gather their own intel while Li gets his.
Li meets with Guan and has a bit of a reunion with Guan's daughter, Ran Fong. It's her birthday! The two men step out because Guan believes he's about to be killed. The military wants him dead. Guan asks his friend to take care of Ran Fong if this happens, and we hear a gun go off. Guan Lei is dead, Li goes to save Ran Fong, and the DHZ gives chase. Li gets to Ran just before she's killed, and the two run off to a temple. Kazuki tries to get in touch with Li, but our loner wants us to stay away. The two Wukong mercs are here in case we show up. And guess who shows up!
This battle's dumb. We're against four people and the two Wukong. We can only place three people as Li is our fourth. He also lacks the ability to climb into a wanzer! When one of the Wukong dies, the other three members show up to annoy me. I took out Rebecca first, but I should have killed Rudolph, preferably from a distance. His mech has the skill arm bash that instantly destroys an enemy arm. Kazuki never fired his shotgun. And this skill can be used during a counter! One of the Wukong guys is a grenadier, so go after him. I had Li shoot the men, with Ryoji helping after we took out a wall. It's in this battle that I really start to notice that get ejected way too often.
Ran Fang is angry because her life is ruined. She's a child, so this is understandable. She's known what her father did for a living, but she never thought this could happen. Li promises to keep her safe, and she comes with us back to Guangzhou. She also gives us her birthday present, a necklace with a microchip in it.
Yun examines it and finds where the RAF's base is. It also contains blueprints, but her hacking skills aren't good enough to break through the security. She can find a list of personnel who built it, but only one man is still alive. Our only lead on his whereabouts is his hometown of Guiyang. As we leave, Dennis learns there's been a military coup in Japan. No one cares.
The bar in the city contains a drunk guy. The male bartender hits on Kazuki, and he handles it well enough for a Japanese game from 1999. Anyway, the drunk turns out to be our man. He quickly sobers up and takes us to his house. He informs us the government wants him dead, so he's hanging out in his hometown. They've killed everyone else associated with this things construction, but his boss saved him. He knew this would happen and wanted to see Zhuh marry his girlfriend. He's been so afraid, though, that he hasn't seen her in a long time. She was close to the bossman and has the password for the blueprints, but she doesn't know it. The only way to destroy our target is from the inside, so we need that password. Fortunately, she lives down the road!
En route, though, we have a strange scene. The three backup Wukong members are bullying a farm not. The farmer is annoying, but that's no reason to die. Ryoji considers leaving him, but Kazuki wants to save him.
This is another awful battle that's annoying because we suck at resisting status effects. Why can't our enemies be ejected! Linny dies instantly, so don't worry about him. Take out the scrubs near us before focusing the named guys. Kill the grenadier, the guy with four legs. There's only one true wanzer here, but he's not too good if you're in his face. All three of these nerds are support but can be deadly from range.
Linny is here on business, and he's selling his family wanzers: methane wanzers. They're farming equipment that runs on methane...crap. We meet his grandparents, and he joins the team. No one wants him, but he's here. His actual mech is more traditional, and I hear it's got good skills. But I look into it...
...tomorrow!
How do the Guan Lei scenes play out with Jose?
We manage to speak to Kwang, but he's more dedicated to his job. He's aware that Lixian saved him after a plane crash (that got zero national attention?), but our party thinks the trauma of everything gave him amnesia. He asks us to tell his sister he'll be late, and we return to Lixian. We ask her for more information, but she gets mad. She's furious that we might ruin this family, but we calm her down when we assure her we won't. Apparently, kids in China keep their birth certificates on them because Lixian found Kwang's, and it confirmed he's the rightful leader of DHZ. The boy returns to hear this and wonders about his life, running off to the bar to do so. Li is missing.
The two of them are in the bar, and Li tells him that he is the reason Kwang is an orphan. He's the one who shot down the plane on orders from the RAF. Kwang tells Li that he's a brave man. He could have kept this to himself, but he's facing his past without hesitation. The two return to Lixian's with a decision. Kwang will join the rebels and save this country from its civil war. Lixan is worried her family is gone again, but Kwang assures her they'll be together again. An orphan and his de jure kidnapper... Anyway, Kwang leaves her behind as we return to Guangzhou.
Kwang joins with the rebels and gives a moral boost to their supporters. Meanwhile, we get a call from someone. Li knows this person and takes charge of the conversation. A friend of his, Guan Lei, is looking for him. Guan is a USN spy and has information about DHZ. Li wants to go alone, but Kazuki doesn't let him. They'll gather their own intel while Li gets his.
Li meets with Guan and has a bit of a reunion with Guan's daughter, Ran Fong. It's her birthday! The two men step out because Guan believes he's about to be killed. The military wants him dead. Guan asks his friend to take care of Ran Fong if this happens, and we hear a gun go off. Guan Lei is dead, Li goes to save Ran Fong, and the DHZ gives chase. Li gets to Ran just before she's killed, and the two run off to a temple. Kazuki tries to get in touch with Li, but our loner wants us to stay away. The two Wukong mercs are here in case we show up. And guess who shows up!
This battle's dumb. We're against four people and the two Wukong. We can only place three people as Li is our fourth. He also lacks the ability to climb into a wanzer! When one of the Wukong dies, the other three members show up to annoy me. I took out Rebecca first, but I should have killed Rudolph, preferably from a distance. His mech has the skill arm bash that instantly destroys an enemy arm. Kazuki never fired his shotgun. And this skill can be used during a counter! One of the Wukong guys is a grenadier, so go after him. I had Li shoot the men, with Ryoji helping after we took out a wall. It's in this battle that I really start to notice that get ejected way too often.
Ran Fang is angry because her life is ruined. She's a child, so this is understandable. She's known what her father did for a living, but she never thought this could happen. Li promises to keep her safe, and she comes with us back to Guangzhou. She also gives us her birthday present, a necklace with a microchip in it.
Yun examines it and finds where the RAF's base is. It also contains blueprints, but her hacking skills aren't good enough to break through the security. She can find a list of personnel who built it, but only one man is still alive. Our only lead on his whereabouts is his hometown of Guiyang. As we leave, Dennis learns there's been a military coup in Japan. No one cares.
The bar in the city contains a drunk guy. The male bartender hits on Kazuki, and he handles it well enough for a Japanese game from 1999. Anyway, the drunk turns out to be our man. He quickly sobers up and takes us to his house. He informs us the government wants him dead, so he's hanging out in his hometown. They've killed everyone else associated with this things construction, but his boss saved him. He knew this would happen and wanted to see Zhuh marry his girlfriend. He's been so afraid, though, that he hasn't seen her in a long time. She was close to the bossman and has the password for the blueprints, but she doesn't know it. The only way to destroy our target is from the inside, so we need that password. Fortunately, she lives down the road!
En route, though, we have a strange scene. The three backup Wukong members are bullying a farm not. The farmer is annoying, but that's no reason to die. Ryoji considers leaving him, but Kazuki wants to save him.
This is another awful battle that's annoying because we suck at resisting status effects. Why can't our enemies be ejected! Linny dies instantly, so don't worry about him. Take out the scrubs near us before focusing the named guys. Kill the grenadier, the guy with four legs. There's only one true wanzer here, but he's not too good if you're in his face. All three of these nerds are support but can be deadly from range.
Linny is here on business, and he's selling his family wanzers: methane wanzers. They're farming equipment that runs on methane...crap. We meet his grandparents, and he joins the team. No one wants him, but he's here. His actual mech is more traditional, and I hear it's got good skills. But I look into it...
...tomorrow!
How do the Guan Lei scenes play out with Jose?
Wednesday, January 18, 2023
Lots of plot!
And it thickens.
We need to go back and forth between the HQ and the city. We'll be waiting on Dennis to talk to an old friend named Wei. Wei is a reporter who'll sacrifice his own life to get the full story on whatever he's chasing. This time, it's a possible lead on Lakov. This'll take us to a bar in a city a bit out of the way. Dennis and Wei once spent many a night here, but he'll take us to his house shortly after we arrive. And then we'll be kicked out. Dennis and Wei used to be very close friends, but something happened to split them. This trouble begins to boil, and Dennis leaves. The team follows him to the bar, where we overhear that an unknown assailant wants to kill Wei. We, minus Dennis, inform Wei of this information, and he's not surprised. It's the nature of his work. Wei, ignoring the danger, decides to go for a walk. He's quickly attacked, but a nearby Dennis shoots the DHZ agent. Because Wei now owes Dennis, we get the information. Both men suspect this is the last time they'll ever see each other.
It has something to do with a man named Bal and genetic engineering. Bal once worked at Orisa Lab before he became a DHZ ambassador. Emma looks like she knows something, but only the players realize it. There's no link to Lakov, but I doubt this is worthless information. Regardless, we all return to HQ.
Eventually, another branch informs us they have a strange person of interest. We head out to meet them, and Emma gets weird. He met a man named Ivan, and he's an escapee from Bal's new lab. We learn they created the Imaginary Number units here. IN are engineered soldiers who tend to not last long. Especially the failures like Serov from last night. Suddenly, the compound is attacked. Can you guess by who?
Jarad, who we met last night, and the girl who attacked Li, Rosavia, are Imaginary Numbers. They followed Ivan, a failed experiment, to dispose of him. Ivan fights back, and I don't think the game engine likes it. It makes for some cool fight moments, though, as he floats across the battlefield. Ivan refuses to die, but eventually goes mad and starts shootings randomly. Jarad sees this as a fine opportunity to kill Emma. But Ivan comes to his senses and jumps in front of the bullet. Now Emma starts to show her teeth as the battle begins.
Take out the units opposite of the INs. There's no need to take on the bosses first here, as they'll hang back. The scariest guys are the two launchers in the other corner. They know the Salvo skill, which allows them to launch all six of their rockets at us. This will totally devastate your wanzers. Ultimately, the two bosses aren't hard, and they're pretty passive. Afterwards, Emma is still mourning Ivan. She hears his dying words of hope, and we return to HQ. Why was she slave Leia posing before Ivan's wanzer?
Kazuki finds Emma at the bar thinking about Ivan. She's never met him, but she felt a strong connection between the two of them. After this, we'll get more information that links everything together. I don't remember how, but the group figures out that Lukov, Bal, and the Labs are all connected. Wanting to waste as much time as possible, we plan a raid on Shanghai. We'll attack through Wuhan because every other route is bad. We'll need to split into two groups now. We're the distractions, and the rebels are in charge of finding the RAF HQ.
We need to go to Yuping first, and we'll be attacked en route. Two members of the Wulong Mercenary group try to ambush us. They're easy, but reinforcements arrive when you kill one. The survivors leave, and we have to fight Hei Fong Liu. There's nothing special about him. He did attack our backup, so we retreat to figure out what happened.
We'll stop by the village of Zhenyuan because Emma and Yun are exhausted. Kazuki meets a woman named Lixian, and she lets us rest at her place. We get to know each other before we head out to the bar. Everyone really loves Lixian, so we let her know. We also get more information about her adopted brother, Kwang. He was the sole survivor of a plane crash, and this information makes Li uncomfortable. We head back to the bar for some reason and get more information about the crash. The then vice-chairman of DHZ was on that plane, which is why Li's squad blew it up. Then the crazy idea that Kwang was the vice-chairman's son is tossed about. He just so happens to be serving Marcus a beer, so we'll ask him about it...
...tomorrow!
Why was the second most powerful person in China on a commercial airline?
We need to go back and forth between the HQ and the city. We'll be waiting on Dennis to talk to an old friend named Wei. Wei is a reporter who'll sacrifice his own life to get the full story on whatever he's chasing. This time, it's a possible lead on Lakov. This'll take us to a bar in a city a bit out of the way. Dennis and Wei once spent many a night here, but he'll take us to his house shortly after we arrive. And then we'll be kicked out. Dennis and Wei used to be very close friends, but something happened to split them. This trouble begins to boil, and Dennis leaves. The team follows him to the bar, where we overhear that an unknown assailant wants to kill Wei. We, minus Dennis, inform Wei of this information, and he's not surprised. It's the nature of his work. Wei, ignoring the danger, decides to go for a walk. He's quickly attacked, but a nearby Dennis shoots the DHZ agent. Because Wei now owes Dennis, we get the information. Both men suspect this is the last time they'll ever see each other.
It has something to do with a man named Bal and genetic engineering. Bal once worked at Orisa Lab before he became a DHZ ambassador. Emma looks like she knows something, but only the players realize it. There's no link to Lakov, but I doubt this is worthless information. Regardless, we all return to HQ.
Eventually, another branch informs us they have a strange person of interest. We head out to meet them, and Emma gets weird. He met a man named Ivan, and he's an escapee from Bal's new lab. We learn they created the Imaginary Number units here. IN are engineered soldiers who tend to not last long. Especially the failures like Serov from last night. Suddenly, the compound is attacked. Can you guess by who?
Jarad, who we met last night, and the girl who attacked Li, Rosavia, are Imaginary Numbers. They followed Ivan, a failed experiment, to dispose of him. Ivan fights back, and I don't think the game engine likes it. It makes for some cool fight moments, though, as he floats across the battlefield. Ivan refuses to die, but eventually goes mad and starts shootings randomly. Jarad sees this as a fine opportunity to kill Emma. But Ivan comes to his senses and jumps in front of the bullet. Now Emma starts to show her teeth as the battle begins.
Take out the units opposite of the INs. There's no need to take on the bosses first here, as they'll hang back. The scariest guys are the two launchers in the other corner. They know the Salvo skill, which allows them to launch all six of their rockets at us. This will totally devastate your wanzers. Ultimately, the two bosses aren't hard, and they're pretty passive. Afterwards, Emma is still mourning Ivan. She hears his dying words of hope, and we return to HQ. Why was she slave Leia posing before Ivan's wanzer?
Kazuki finds Emma at the bar thinking about Ivan. She's never met him, but she felt a strong connection between the two of them. After this, we'll get more information that links everything together. I don't remember how, but the group figures out that Lukov, Bal, and the Labs are all connected. Wanting to waste as much time as possible, we plan a raid on Shanghai. We'll attack through Wuhan because every other route is bad. We'll need to split into two groups now. We're the distractions, and the rebels are in charge of finding the RAF HQ.
We need to go to Yuping first, and we'll be attacked en route. Two members of the Wulong Mercenary group try to ambush us. They're easy, but reinforcements arrive when you kill one. The survivors leave, and we have to fight Hei Fong Liu. There's nothing special about him. He did attack our backup, so we retreat to figure out what happened.
We'll stop by the village of Zhenyuan because Emma and Yun are exhausted. Kazuki meets a woman named Lixian, and she lets us rest at her place. We get to know each other before we head out to the bar. Everyone really loves Lixian, so we let her know. We also get more information about her adopted brother, Kwang. He was the sole survivor of a plane crash, and this information makes Li uncomfortable. We head back to the bar for some reason and get more information about the crash. The then vice-chairman of DHZ was on that plane, which is why Li's squad blew it up. Then the crazy idea that Kwang was the vice-chairman's son is tossed about. He just so happens to be serving Marcus a beer, so we'll ask him about it...
...tomorrow!
Why was the second most powerful person in China on a commercial airline?
Tuesday, January 17, 2023
Spank their panties...
Stop being ejected, Kazuki!
We haul Yun back to HQ after she may have set us up. Everyone else ponders our next move, but it's interrupted by Yun getting an email. It's a message from the DHZ bounty people who tell her to meet them at a certain place at 02500 hours. I thought this meant the future has longer days, but it just means time past midnight. Yun convinces everyone it's a friend of hers from Singapore who has information on Alisa. After a bit of back and forth, we head to the meeting place.
Yun is cagey as everyone wonders where her friend is. She thinks the plan to herself, and it shows she trusts the strength of her friends. She expects them to fight their way out of this after she gets paid. They get the idea pretty quickly that Yun set them up. If they haven't, they catch on instantly when a rival of Yun shows up. Woo is a guy... Anyway, it's a trap. The lady from the last battle shows up with more wanzers, but they're kinda weak. If Kazuki wasn't ejected twice, I wouldn't have had any problem. But he did, and he died, and he sucks.
Yun, out of her mech, is beating up Woo. He seems like a grown man, but a seventeen-year-old girl is easily handling him. She lets him go, and the rest of the team demands an explanation. Sadly, she doesn't give them any, so Kazuki backhands her. They keep fighting until Yun runs off.
We return to the HQ, and Ryoji is worried about Yun. Kazuki isn't, so Ryo heads out to the bar. Yun's there, being upset, and Ryoji smooths things over. He really is a good talker when he isn't being a pervert. They both return to HQ, Kazuki and Yun argue, and we learn more about our destroyer. Yun and her brother were raised by their aunt. I don't remember why, but she had to run away and has been living alone ever since. This heart-to-heart calms down Kazuki, and the group is back together.
Hiang returns to his home, so we'll be working with Lua from here on. Our first mission will be to connect with a small branch. They need supplies, so we'll be escorting another serviceman. This part didn't stay on my brain, but a nearby village is attacked after we met Old Yue. There's one guy holding off six Imaginary Numbers. We wonder if we should act because the loner is in RAF regalia, the same group Lan is a part of. Kazuki jumps right in, though, because he's a noble hero!
Li is kinda dumb, but he's effective while he's around. He can solo Rosavia, but he'll be nearly useless afterwards. Rather than hang back, he'll let himself be pummeled by the launchers. Those two have shields, so taking them down can take a moment. Ultimately, this is an easy battle.
We'll meet Xiang Mei Li, a former RAF member who became dissolutioned with the military. He was tasked to weed out rebels with indiscriminate killing. He wound up killing his own family, so he decided to leave and protect rural villages like this one. Kazuki asks him to join our group, but he's dedicated to this. A random dude, Hal, convinces him to go with us, so we're up to eight people now. We could have had Jose instead of Li had we climbed the hill back in Taal. They both focus on machine guns, but I'm growing attached to Ryoji, so I doubt I'll use Li (or Jose).
We return to Old Yue, but there's a surprise waiting for us. The scientist we met in Australia is here, and he's crazy. He's in a wanzer that he says is specially designed for him. I get Hammer from Xenogears vibes from this. He and his group are attacking the branch, so we stop him.
It's rare I focus the main boss, but you should do that here. Focus everything on Serov. Emma kept missing, so maybe aim her missiles toward the others. As the fight drags on, the target becomes enraged and eventually turns on his own men for the sake of more dead bodies. Blood for the blood god! This either happens after turn two or when you blow off an arm. The small fry spend their time blowing up trees to reach us, so let them.
After the battle, Serov tries to speak, but his comms are going. Some parts of words are heard, but our characters can't make them out. We try to ask further, but another RAF member blows him away. Old Yue is fine, so we return the Lua. We'll probably get our next orders...
...tomorrow!
There was also a scene that we, the players, saw between Lukov and Alisa. She's fine and waiting for us in a house somewhere.
We haul Yun back to HQ after she may have set us up. Everyone else ponders our next move, but it's interrupted by Yun getting an email. It's a message from the DHZ bounty people who tell her to meet them at a certain place at 02500 hours. I thought this meant the future has longer days, but it just means time past midnight. Yun convinces everyone it's a friend of hers from Singapore who has information on Alisa. After a bit of back and forth, we head to the meeting place.
Yun is cagey as everyone wonders where her friend is. She thinks the plan to herself, and it shows she trusts the strength of her friends. She expects them to fight their way out of this after she gets paid. They get the idea pretty quickly that Yun set them up. If they haven't, they catch on instantly when a rival of Yun shows up. Woo is a guy... Anyway, it's a trap. The lady from the last battle shows up with more wanzers, but they're kinda weak. If Kazuki wasn't ejected twice, I wouldn't have had any problem. But he did, and he died, and he sucks.
Yun, out of her mech, is beating up Woo. He seems like a grown man, but a seventeen-year-old girl is easily handling him. She lets him go, and the rest of the team demands an explanation. Sadly, she doesn't give them any, so Kazuki backhands her. They keep fighting until Yun runs off.
We return to the HQ, and Ryoji is worried about Yun. Kazuki isn't, so Ryo heads out to the bar. Yun's there, being upset, and Ryoji smooths things over. He really is a good talker when he isn't being a pervert. They both return to HQ, Kazuki and Yun argue, and we learn more about our destroyer. Yun and her brother were raised by their aunt. I don't remember why, but she had to run away and has been living alone ever since. This heart-to-heart calms down Kazuki, and the group is back together.
Hiang returns to his home, so we'll be working with Lua from here on. Our first mission will be to connect with a small branch. They need supplies, so we'll be escorting another serviceman. This part didn't stay on my brain, but a nearby village is attacked after we met Old Yue. There's one guy holding off six Imaginary Numbers. We wonder if we should act because the loner is in RAF regalia, the same group Lan is a part of. Kazuki jumps right in, though, because he's a noble hero!
Li is kinda dumb, but he's effective while he's around. He can solo Rosavia, but he'll be nearly useless afterwards. Rather than hang back, he'll let himself be pummeled by the launchers. Those two have shields, so taking them down can take a moment. Ultimately, this is an easy battle.
We'll meet Xiang Mei Li, a former RAF member who became dissolutioned with the military. He was tasked to weed out rebels with indiscriminate killing. He wound up killing his own family, so he decided to leave and protect rural villages like this one. Kazuki asks him to join our group, but he's dedicated to this. A random dude, Hal, convinces him to go with us, so we're up to eight people now. We could have had Jose instead of Li had we climbed the hill back in Taal. They both focus on machine guns, but I'm growing attached to Ryoji, so I doubt I'll use Li (or Jose).
We return to Old Yue, but there's a surprise waiting for us. The scientist we met in Australia is here, and he's crazy. He's in a wanzer that he says is specially designed for him. I get Hammer from Xenogears vibes from this. He and his group are attacking the branch, so we stop him.
It's rare I focus the main boss, but you should do that here. Focus everything on Serov. Emma kept missing, so maybe aim her missiles toward the others. As the fight drags on, the target becomes enraged and eventually turns on his own men for the sake of more dead bodies. Blood for the blood god! This either happens after turn two or when you blow off an arm. The small fry spend their time blowing up trees to reach us, so let them.
After the battle, Serov tries to speak, but his comms are going. Some parts of words are heard, but our characters can't make them out. We try to ask further, but another RAF member blows him away. Old Yue is fine, so we return the Lua. We'll probably get our next orders...
...tomorrow!
There was also a scene that we, the players, saw between Lukov and Alisa. She's fine and waiting for us in a house somewhere.
Monday, January 16, 2023
What ya doing, Yun?
Are we on the verge of character growth?
The only way to beat an inspection is to beat an inspection. We're against five wanzers and two autocannons. The cannons only reacted when I got close, so don't worry about them. Do try to avoid that corner, though. Our team is split up and joined by a guest on each side. The guests are snipers, but they're pretty good. Better than Hatti and friends. Probably better than Dennis... They're just as good at taking fire from us, too. The wanzers use shotguns, so stay further than three squares away. I didn't have too many problems, but I lost an ally when he went after a cannon from a downed position.
We're told the rig is safe, but there'll be more problems going forward. This is further proof this was the dumbest course of action. Back at the Hua Leon base, Chang believes we're on his side, and Huang agrees to help us find Alisa. But there's another condition: we're working for them until we have a lead. We trust these people to not screw us over with this deal and get to work in a moment. For now, though, we can visit Guangzhou. I spent a lot of time upgrading my wanzers and making sure Yun could use the new shotguns. This worked out well, and she's tankier now. Ryoji also has weird legs now, thanks to the Imaginary Number units, but he's better, too. There's a new computer here, so enjoy that sixth pellet. There are also two special comps, but I'll accept the middle ground between them. Still need new backpacks...
Head to the bar and save a girl from two drinks. Ryoji is hella creepy, so he'll hit on her right back. Marcus calls him out for it, which is good. This is Ling, a fellow rebel. We'll meet her back at the base, so let's do just that. Lua, Huang's second, will get a call. Their transport was attacked and is in dire need of backup. Ling's brother was assigned to that group, so she's worried. Finding a kindred spirit in Ling, Kazuki offers to go and save them. Ling joins us.
All we see is wreckage. Kazuki assures Ling her brother is fine. It falls on dead ears as she's already found her brother's mech. There's no time to mourn because the attackers are still around.
Two tanks, four people, and two grenade APCs. Take out the grenade guys first at all costs. Their attacks are too random to be allowed to live. At the very least, don't group your guys. Destroying three not-people will bring in two reinforcements. The leader, Xiao, condemns the Changli army's incompetence, but they did more than these two nerds did. With the unfortunate news, we return to the base.
After Ling excuses herself, Kazuki tries to console her, even though Huang didn't want him to. Ling and her brother had a terrible father. He was more interested in the DHZ army and abandoned his kids even after their mom died. This created a feeling of resentment between the two parties, which is why Ling is a rebel. Now that her brother is gone, she's alone. It's similar to Kazuki's relationship with his father and sister, so I think some cogs are turning in his head. Ling promises to remain strong.
Kazuki heads back to the group and notices Yun is gone. Ryoji says that's normal, but they want to find her anyway. We cut to Yun sitting in the bar ordering monkey brains. This is why Covid exists, China! She's upset that Kazuki hasn't paid her, and Yun needs money. She heads online and visits the DHZ site we got in the last battle. There's a post about illegal aliens and a reward for them. Yun assumes we're those aliens, and she calls the number to turn us in and get the reward. Kazuki and Ryoji show up and drag her back to HQ, so I'll see what this turns into...
...tomorrow!
We're halfway through the game now, so I hope we get some character side stuff. But, at the same time, it's starting to run long...
The only way to beat an inspection is to beat an inspection. We're against five wanzers and two autocannons. The cannons only reacted when I got close, so don't worry about them. Do try to avoid that corner, though. Our team is split up and joined by a guest on each side. The guests are snipers, but they're pretty good. Better than Hatti and friends. Probably better than Dennis... They're just as good at taking fire from us, too. The wanzers use shotguns, so stay further than three squares away. I didn't have too many problems, but I lost an ally when he went after a cannon from a downed position.
We're told the rig is safe, but there'll be more problems going forward. This is further proof this was the dumbest course of action. Back at the Hua Leon base, Chang believes we're on his side, and Huang agrees to help us find Alisa. But there's another condition: we're working for them until we have a lead. We trust these people to not screw us over with this deal and get to work in a moment. For now, though, we can visit Guangzhou. I spent a lot of time upgrading my wanzers and making sure Yun could use the new shotguns. This worked out well, and she's tankier now. Ryoji also has weird legs now, thanks to the Imaginary Number units, but he's better, too. There's a new computer here, so enjoy that sixth pellet. There are also two special comps, but I'll accept the middle ground between them. Still need new backpacks...
Head to the bar and save a girl from two drinks. Ryoji is hella creepy, so he'll hit on her right back. Marcus calls him out for it, which is good. This is Ling, a fellow rebel. We'll meet her back at the base, so let's do just that. Lua, Huang's second, will get a call. Their transport was attacked and is in dire need of backup. Ling's brother was assigned to that group, so she's worried. Finding a kindred spirit in Ling, Kazuki offers to go and save them. Ling joins us.
All we see is wreckage. Kazuki assures Ling her brother is fine. It falls on dead ears as she's already found her brother's mech. There's no time to mourn because the attackers are still around.
Two tanks, four people, and two grenade APCs. Take out the grenade guys first at all costs. Their attacks are too random to be allowed to live. At the very least, don't group your guys. Destroying three not-people will bring in two reinforcements. The leader, Xiao, condemns the Changli army's incompetence, but they did more than these two nerds did. With the unfortunate news, we return to the base.
After Ling excuses herself, Kazuki tries to console her, even though Huang didn't want him to. Ling and her brother had a terrible father. He was more interested in the DHZ army and abandoned his kids even after their mom died. This created a feeling of resentment between the two parties, which is why Ling is a rebel. Now that her brother is gone, she's alone. It's similar to Kazuki's relationship with his father and sister, so I think some cogs are turning in his head. Ling promises to remain strong.
Kazuki heads back to the group and notices Yun is gone. Ryoji says that's normal, but they want to find her anyway. We cut to Yun sitting in the bar ordering monkey brains. This is why Covid exists, China! She's upset that Kazuki hasn't paid her, and Yun needs money. She heads online and visits the DHZ site we got in the last battle. There's a post about illegal aliens and a reward for them. Yun assumes we're those aliens, and she calls the number to turn us in and get the reward. Kazuki and Ryoji show up and drag her back to HQ, so I'll see what this turns into...
...tomorrow!
We're halfway through the game now, so I hope we get some character side stuff. But, at the same time, it's starting to run long...
Sunday, January 15, 2023
Mr. Punchy
The token American arrives!
After being betrayed by the ambassador, we decide to get answers. Fortunately, a fellow USN commander already has him corned. We stroll up to the embassy, but we never get in. From behind us comes the inevitable ambush Kazuki knew was coming. Four helicopters fly over the buildings, but one is shot down by a nearby tank. The group wonders why a traitor would be with the ambush, but it's actually the USN commander who called us. The team ignores him, but he'll be a guest character in this battle.
We're against two punch wanzers, a tank, three people, and three helicopters. The tank uses the same tactics as Han, so do whatever. Grenades seem questionable. Even if our allied tank dies, the battle continues, but we are penalized. I didn't have any problems.
The commander is missing, and we worry about the ambassador. Then the embassy explodes! We've lost our lead, but the commander comes back in his own wanzer and has all the information we need about Lukov. He's heading to DHZ via the Futai Tunnel. We try to ditch the commander, but he's a charismatic man. His name is Marcus Armstrong, and he joins the team. He seems to be forming a mentorship role with Kazuki and Ryoji (especially), but we'll see how far that goes.
Between us and the tunnel is downtown Taipei. It's oddly empty, but another ambush hits us. There's a neat, new mech in this battle that looks like a four legged strider from Half Life 2. All three of them are launchers with machine guns for close range defense. They're accompanied by four basic tanks. Once we win, Kazuki wonders if what we're doing is right. Had we not come here, "these people" would still be alive. Either Marcus or Dennis reassures us that stopping Lukov will save more people than doing nothing.
At the start of the Futai Tunnel is another ambush. Ryoji feigns confidence until Marcus encourages him to fight alone. This stops our gung-ho friend, and Yun says something about having tactics. Marcus tells her he does think, but he does so in a strange way. Is Marcus a creep?
Anyway, let the two wanzers on the high ground make their way around to you. They both use shotguns, so don't stand next to the edge of the overpass.
Halfway through the tunnel is another fight. A train brings five wanzers with it. It also shoots missiles at us. Keep track of HP, and you'll be fine. Yun took more damage than I expected and blew up.
As expected, there's a battle at the end of the path. Yun takes note of the observation windows next to us. Futai Tunnel is the longest underwater tunnel in this world, and MISSILES BLOW THROUGH THE GLASS!!!
We're against a group called Imaginary Numbers, led by Griffin. There are only four of them, but their bodies have nearly 800 HP. Two of them spend the first two rounds taking out the handrails between us. Use this time to get sorta close and do damage with Emma's launcher. I only saw it once, but Griffin has a defense skill that negates any damage lower than sixty. This got spicy, but all my characters lived, and I got all three of the mechs. Emma informed us they fought like Lukov, so cogs are churning in my brain.
We'll leave the tunnel and meet up with a DHZ resistance group member named Kwong. Fighting against China makes him suspicious of everyone, so Kazuki gets mad. I kinda hate our MC. Dennis has ties to the Hua Leon leader, Huong, so Dennis convinces Kwong to take us to meet him. Reluctantly, he does. After an introduction, when Kaz gets mad at reasonable authority again, we can ask Dennis some questions. Dennis helped form the rebels by saving Huong a while back. Kazuki starts yelling again because the Hua Leon lack the resources to gather information to save Alisa. Huong gets a call informing him that their oil tank is being inspected. Rather than be noble or sane, he asks us to kill the inspectors. Just makes sense... The oil rig funds the group, unofficially, so legitimate people need to be taken care of. But we'll become the bad guys...
...tomorrow!
I haven't used Marcus, but I did upgrade his stuff. I should do some training.
After being betrayed by the ambassador, we decide to get answers. Fortunately, a fellow USN commander already has him corned. We stroll up to the embassy, but we never get in. From behind us comes the inevitable ambush Kazuki knew was coming. Four helicopters fly over the buildings, but one is shot down by a nearby tank. The group wonders why a traitor would be with the ambush, but it's actually the USN commander who called us. The team ignores him, but he'll be a guest character in this battle.
We're against two punch wanzers, a tank, three people, and three helicopters. The tank uses the same tactics as Han, so do whatever. Grenades seem questionable. Even if our allied tank dies, the battle continues, but we are penalized. I didn't have any problems.
The commander is missing, and we worry about the ambassador. Then the embassy explodes! We've lost our lead, but the commander comes back in his own wanzer and has all the information we need about Lukov. He's heading to DHZ via the Futai Tunnel. We try to ditch the commander, but he's a charismatic man. His name is Marcus Armstrong, and he joins the team. He seems to be forming a mentorship role with Kazuki and Ryoji (especially), but we'll see how far that goes.
Between us and the tunnel is downtown Taipei. It's oddly empty, but another ambush hits us. There's a neat, new mech in this battle that looks like a four legged strider from Half Life 2. All three of them are launchers with machine guns for close range defense. They're accompanied by four basic tanks. Once we win, Kazuki wonders if what we're doing is right. Had we not come here, "these people" would still be alive. Either Marcus or Dennis reassures us that stopping Lukov will save more people than doing nothing.
At the start of the Futai Tunnel is another ambush. Ryoji feigns confidence until Marcus encourages him to fight alone. This stops our gung-ho friend, and Yun says something about having tactics. Marcus tells her he does think, but he does so in a strange way. Is Marcus a creep?
Anyway, let the two wanzers on the high ground make their way around to you. They both use shotguns, so don't stand next to the edge of the overpass.
Halfway through the tunnel is another fight. A train brings five wanzers with it. It also shoots missiles at us. Keep track of HP, and you'll be fine. Yun took more damage than I expected and blew up.
As expected, there's a battle at the end of the path. Yun takes note of the observation windows next to us. Futai Tunnel is the longest underwater tunnel in this world, and MISSILES BLOW THROUGH THE GLASS!!!
We're against a group called Imaginary Numbers, led by Griffin. There are only four of them, but their bodies have nearly 800 HP. Two of them spend the first two rounds taking out the handrails between us. Use this time to get sorta close and do damage with Emma's launcher. I only saw it once, but Griffin has a defense skill that negates any damage lower than sixty. This got spicy, but all my characters lived, and I got all three of the mechs. Emma informed us they fought like Lukov, so cogs are churning in my brain.
We'll leave the tunnel and meet up with a DHZ resistance group member named Kwong. Fighting against China makes him suspicious of everyone, so Kazuki gets mad. I kinda hate our MC. Dennis has ties to the Hua Leon leader, Huong, so Dennis convinces Kwong to take us to meet him. Reluctantly, he does. After an introduction, when Kaz gets mad at reasonable authority again, we can ask Dennis some questions. Dennis helped form the rebels by saving Huong a while back. Kazuki starts yelling again because the Hua Leon lack the resources to gather information to save Alisa. Huong gets a call informing him that their oil tank is being inspected. Rather than be noble or sane, he asks us to kill the inspectors. Just makes sense... The oil rig funds the group, unofficially, so legitimate people need to be taken care of. But we'll become the bad guys...
...tomorrow!
I haven't used Marcus, but I did upgrade his stuff. I should do some training.
Saturday, January 14, 2023
Betrayer
We already killed that guy!
The team comes to a warehouse area looking for the turncoat, Lukov. The team is as sneaky as loud, giant robots can be. Suddenly, the lights turn on, and an ambush begins!
It's a pretty simple battle. Half of the enemies have decided to lock themselves behind a gate. We'll have to break it down, but our foes don't bother to bug us. The first wave is four tanks and a random dude. The second group had just three wanzers, one of which was a launcher.
Despite clearly losing the sneak attack advantage, the group takes an elevator down into the depths. They talk of our prey, and only Emma gives him any praise. When they reach the bottom, Lukav isn't there. Instead, it's Han from the rural village battle. He still wants that promotion, and we're the key to that. Lukov isn't here, only Han. Han sucks.
This battle was a sinch. The enemies are spread out, and the terrifying guy in the back is passive. Han's attack is random and seems to be the same as the submarine's payload from Taal Base. If, and I do mean if, it hits, the damage can turn the tide, but he can also kill his own friends. I wonder if he can kill himself?
The target isn't here, so we all assume the ambassador betrayed us. We're angry and want answers, so we return to base. We get a radio relay from, I assume, Charlie Force, the other group that we could have met up with last night. They're all wiped out except for this guy, and he just so happens to have the ambassador secured. Kazuki believes this could be a trap, but we can't save Alisa by sitting here. So we'll be ambushed again...
...tomorrow!
I played Smash Ultimate with friends tonight. I usually just skip updates when that happens, but I wanted to play Front Mission 3, so I squeezed an hour in.
The team comes to a warehouse area looking for the turncoat, Lukov. The team is as sneaky as loud, giant robots can be. Suddenly, the lights turn on, and an ambush begins!
It's a pretty simple battle. Half of the enemies have decided to lock themselves behind a gate. We'll have to break it down, but our foes don't bother to bug us. The first wave is four tanks and a random dude. The second group had just three wanzers, one of which was a launcher.
Despite clearly losing the sneak attack advantage, the group takes an elevator down into the depths. They talk of our prey, and only Emma gives him any praise. When they reach the bottom, Lukav isn't there. Instead, it's Han from the rural village battle. He still wants that promotion, and we're the key to that. Lukov isn't here, only Han. Han sucks.
This battle was a sinch. The enemies are spread out, and the terrifying guy in the back is passive. Han's attack is random and seems to be the same as the submarine's payload from Taal Base. If, and I do mean if, it hits, the damage can turn the tide, but he can also kill his own friends. I wonder if he can kill himself?
The target isn't here, so we all assume the ambassador betrayed us. We're angry and want answers, so we return to base. We get a radio relay from, I assume, Charlie Force, the other group that we could have met up with last night. They're all wiped out except for this guy, and he just so happens to have the ambassador secured. Kazuki believes this could be a trap, but we can't save Alisa by sitting here. So we'll be ambushed again...
...tomorrow!
I played Smash Ultimate with friends tonight. I usually just skip updates when that happens, but I wanted to play Front Mission 3, so I squeezed an hour in.
Friday, January 13, 2023
The aftermath
Purple Haze is dead. The city of Batangas is (apparently) wiped out. But at least Midas is gone! Good news, everyone!!!
Emma and Kazuki are back at Third Fleet before everyone else. Emma gives her bleak report to the captain, and she's as morose as you'd expect. He feels the same but reminds us that we completed the mission. Midas has been used, and only Emma knows how to create a new one. The threat is past. This news doesn't make her feel better. It's because of her that the city of Batangas is gone. The cutscene clearly showed the bomb detonate offshore, but I guess latent heat or something wiped it away. Emma goes to her room to be alone, and we hear that the submarine crew is back. But they're missing a few things...
Lukov, Alisa, and the unnamed scientists aren't here. They were never picked up after Kazuki saw them off. Everyone jumps to conclusions and assumes Lukov is a double agent. I think we know he went to DHZ territory, but it feels rushed. Either way, we need to capture him. Kazuki informs Emma of this event, and we get some backstory. Emma and Alisa are biological sisters. When Emma was young, her parents were killed. Alisa was adopted by the Takamuras, while she was saved by the USN. A cutscene plays, and we see Emma and her parents chased by a helicopter through a wasteland. The car the Klamsys were in flips, and the parents tell Emma to run just before the copter shoots the car. It chases Emma through the forest before being shot down by a USN wanzer. Now, Emma feels like her sister will never care for a murderer. Emma takes all the blame for Midas, but she wants to save her sister. We regroup with Ryoji, Yun, and Blindy back in the briefing room.
Lukov has killed the scientists. Alisa wasn't among the dead, so we suspect she's still alive. We'll be chasing him through Taiwan. We come up with a plan I don't fully understand, but it involves airdropping the wanzers into a war zone. I think we're officially declaring war on OCU, which means we'll be under the command of the nameless captain. Kazuki is enraged because he still has a problem with reasonable authority, but Emma calms him down. We see the wanzers drop into the outskirts of Taiping, and we'll need to fight our way in.
Battle one is at a dam. It's a sneak attack, and I think how fast we win will determine future fights. If we win in six rounds, reinforcements don't arrive. I managed to do it because Yun is a monster. She's duel wielding shotguns, and I taught her Duel Shot. This means she can fire both guns at the same time. That triggers pretty regularly, so expect this child to develop PTSD soon.
There's supposed to be a second diversionary attack squad nearby, but we've heard no word from them. We chose which path to take now: either check on Charlie squad or follow directives. I went the way I was supposed to.
Battle two is a simple fight along the river in a small forest. Yun finally speaks for the first time in a while.
Battle three is in a small village. If we win here, our base of operations can be formed. The first enemies we see can die in three turns, but reinforcements will always arrive when there's one man standing. They're a bit tougher, but that might be because they spawned on top of us. Han didn't get that promotion! From here, we'll make our way to Taipan and speak with the USN ambassador at a bar. He'll take us to our actual base and fill us in. Lukov is heading to DHZ territory, but there's resistance between several aspects of this plan. Namely the Chiongli army, who we suspect he's joining up with. We might be able to ambush him before that happens, though. We'll have a chance to visit the city and blow the 16000 credits I have on upgrades and new weapons. When you're done, return to the safe house. We'll try to get the jump, even though Kaz thinks this is a trap, on our former ally...
...tomorrow!
The wanzers I've been liberating tonight have some great skills associated with them. I've also decided we're the new Purple Haze unit. We've been running around in a not color coordinated mess for twelve hours, but we've finally got our look! Long live the Haze!
Emma and Kazuki are back at Third Fleet before everyone else. Emma gives her bleak report to the captain, and she's as morose as you'd expect. He feels the same but reminds us that we completed the mission. Midas has been used, and only Emma knows how to create a new one. The threat is past. This news doesn't make her feel better. It's because of her that the city of Batangas is gone. The cutscene clearly showed the bomb detonate offshore, but I guess latent heat or something wiped it away. Emma goes to her room to be alone, and we hear that the submarine crew is back. But they're missing a few things...
Lukov, Alisa, and the unnamed scientists aren't here. They were never picked up after Kazuki saw them off. Everyone jumps to conclusions and assumes Lukov is a double agent. I think we know he went to DHZ territory, but it feels rushed. Either way, we need to capture him. Kazuki informs Emma of this event, and we get some backstory. Emma and Alisa are biological sisters. When Emma was young, her parents were killed. Alisa was adopted by the Takamuras, while she was saved by the USN. A cutscene plays, and we see Emma and her parents chased by a helicopter through a wasteland. The car the Klamsys were in flips, and the parents tell Emma to run just before the copter shoots the car. It chases Emma through the forest before being shot down by a USN wanzer. Now, Emma feels like her sister will never care for a murderer. Emma takes all the blame for Midas, but she wants to save her sister. We regroup with Ryoji, Yun, and Blindy back in the briefing room.
Lukov has killed the scientists. Alisa wasn't among the dead, so we suspect she's still alive. We'll be chasing him through Taiwan. We come up with a plan I don't fully understand, but it involves airdropping the wanzers into a war zone. I think we're officially declaring war on OCU, which means we'll be under the command of the nameless captain. Kazuki is enraged because he still has a problem with reasonable authority, but Emma calms him down. We see the wanzers drop into the outskirts of Taiping, and we'll need to fight our way in.
Battle one is at a dam. It's a sneak attack, and I think how fast we win will determine future fights. If we win in six rounds, reinforcements don't arrive. I managed to do it because Yun is a monster. She's duel wielding shotguns, and I taught her Duel Shot. This means she can fire both guns at the same time. That triggers pretty regularly, so expect this child to develop PTSD soon.
There's supposed to be a second diversionary attack squad nearby, but we've heard no word from them. We chose which path to take now: either check on Charlie squad or follow directives. I went the way I was supposed to.
Battle two is a simple fight along the river in a small forest. Yun finally speaks for the first time in a while.
Battle three is in a small village. If we win here, our base of operations can be formed. The first enemies we see can die in three turns, but reinforcements will always arrive when there's one man standing. They're a bit tougher, but that might be because they spawned on top of us. Han didn't get that promotion! From here, we'll make our way to Taipan and speak with the USN ambassador at a bar. He'll take us to our actual base and fill us in. Lukov is heading to DHZ territory, but there's resistance between several aspects of this plan. Namely the Chiongli army, who we suspect he's joining up with. We might be able to ambush him before that happens, though. We'll have a chance to visit the city and blow the 16000 credits I have on upgrades and new weapons. When you're done, return to the safe house. We'll try to get the jump, even though Kaz thinks this is a trap, on our former ally...
...tomorrow!
The wanzers I've been liberating tonight have some great skills associated with them. I've also decided we're the new Purple Haze unit. We've been running around in a not color coordinated mess for twelve hours, but we've finally got our look! Long live the Haze!
Thursday, January 12, 2023
Mountain Raid
Dennis sucks more than the Packers did. I even overtrained him, teaching him Zoom II along the way, and he still misses at point blank. Worst sniper than when I played Sniper Elite. But before that...
Our team plans their attack on the mountain base of Taal Base. It's a natural defensive position as it was built into a mountain. But there are a few ways in. We can storm the front gate or enter through the top. This decision will vastly alter the game going forward, but I'll get to that later. I choose the front gate because I know there's a "monster" guarding it. Purple Haze runs as a third distraction, with the encroaching rebels being the primary. Team Emma and Purple Haze are launched out of the submarine like missiles, and we land perfectly in the middle of the base. Ryoji stumbles, so not all of us. Cindy and Ryoji have a fun little flirty conversation before we part ways.
Battle one is deceptively easy. It's a few tanks, two people, a wanzer, and a massive mech that takes up four squares. It looks like a space shuttle loading dock, so it's kinda cool. Despite the new threat, this is an easy battle because our submarine provides artillery fire between turns. It drops a salvo in a nine square area, doing decent damage. I targeted the monster and anyone else nearby every turn. We'll blast our way into the base from the hangar monster came out of. Kazuki is nearly lost in the fire because he's too eager to get in. He says nearly dying calmed him down, but I have my doubts.
Ar various points tonight, we'll cut to the base commander planning their counterattack. He'll trick a well known rebel by the name of Jose into fighting for his enemy. If he stops us, he'll go free.
The next fight has stage hazards. Watch out for the munition deposits, as they'll explode when struck. This does damage to everyone around them.
Battle three can be a wreck, and it's here where I started losing faith in ol' Dennis. We're against three wanzers, two aerial gun batteries, and a new special mech. One of the wanzers will stay back until you get too close, so let the others approach. The gun batteries have high evasion for some reason, and even Emma missed a shot. Dennis had a decent chance on them, but he missed every time. Even Zoom II didn't help. It caused us to take far more damage than we needed to, and Kazuki nearly died. I had to use two repair kits and a part reviver. Even then, he was down to punching at the end. Oddly enough, I didn't have any problems with the massive guy. He can only attack every other turn, and the laser doesn't even do that much damage. After the fight (or before), one of the Purple Haze guys, Lukav, catches up to us. Jose is wreaking shop of the group. Lukov's wanzer has lost an arm and won't last much longer. And the rebels are nearly here, so we need to hurry up!
Emma and Kazuki head into the next room on foot. It's where the scientists are held, and Alisa is with them. After Kazuki finally gets reprieve, the topic of Midas is brought up. Alisa is able to understand how it works, and she knows whoever built it sucks. This causes a fight between Alisa and Emma, but Emma backs down because our sister is correct. Midas is in the process of being moved, and we need to flee anyway. There's a way out via the port.
Battle four can go either way. We're joined by four useless people not in wanzers. They stand around, try to get in the way, and tank shots for us. The nameless scientists don't mean anything, but we need to keep Alisa and Lukov alive. Lukov suggests we flee without him, but Kazuki is finally turning into a hero and refuses to leave him. Take out the wanzers and tanks. On round five, we'll get some bad news from Purple Haze. Jose is winning. The scientists, Alisa, and Lukov board a ship to get to USN Fleet, and the party heads to help Purple Haze. Lukov asks why Kazuki didn't just abandon him, and we respond with, "because we're allies." Lukov says Kazuki is too soft.
Jose is standing over the ruined mech of Gastor from Purple Haze. Cindy and Joe are all that remain, but Cindy can't move. Joe is ready for another attack, but Jose is too strong. He apologizes as he kills Joe. We arrive just in time to see Cindy shot down. Ryoji becomes enraged and vows revenge.
This was not a fun battle. We're against two monsters, one helicopter, three wanzers, and Jose Estrada. Jose rushed us and died in two turns. He was glad to finally stop fighting. Those two rounds left us in a rough position, though. We're in range of monster fire, and the other three wanzers have us surrounded. And Dennis keeps missing! Seriously, screw Dennis. He's fired. Unfortunately, I had to rely on him. Kazuki and Ryoji got taken down, and Emma had her attack arm blown off. I had to save scum the hell out of this, but once I got down to the two monsters, Dennis used his range and managed to take both of them out. He decided to take out the legs first every time, but his final mission was a success.
We saw Midas loaded into a seaplane before the battle, so Emma and Kazuki go after it now while the others return to the fleet. They manage to catch up, and Enma promises to bring it down. She does nothing to do so... We cut to a beautifully rendered scene where the seaplane flies over the rebel naval fleet. Midas is dropped, and all hell breaks loose. A brilliantly bright light forms under the sea, and it functions like a laser cutter at first. The ships are cut into pieces, and even the plane is taken out. The lasers grow until they form a ball of light that even evaporates the water. This is the power of Midas. Midas was launched, Purple Haze is dead, but at least we have Alisa... We'll figure out what to do tomorrow.
Our team plans their attack on the mountain base of Taal Base. It's a natural defensive position as it was built into a mountain. But there are a few ways in. We can storm the front gate or enter through the top. This decision will vastly alter the game going forward, but I'll get to that later. I choose the front gate because I know there's a "monster" guarding it. Purple Haze runs as a third distraction, with the encroaching rebels being the primary. Team Emma and Purple Haze are launched out of the submarine like missiles, and we land perfectly in the middle of the base. Ryoji stumbles, so not all of us. Cindy and Ryoji have a fun little flirty conversation before we part ways.
Battle one is deceptively easy. It's a few tanks, two people, a wanzer, and a massive mech that takes up four squares. It looks like a space shuttle loading dock, so it's kinda cool. Despite the new threat, this is an easy battle because our submarine provides artillery fire between turns. It drops a salvo in a nine square area, doing decent damage. I targeted the monster and anyone else nearby every turn. We'll blast our way into the base from the hangar monster came out of. Kazuki is nearly lost in the fire because he's too eager to get in. He says nearly dying calmed him down, but I have my doubts.
Ar various points tonight, we'll cut to the base commander planning their counterattack. He'll trick a well known rebel by the name of Jose into fighting for his enemy. If he stops us, he'll go free.
The next fight has stage hazards. Watch out for the munition deposits, as they'll explode when struck. This does damage to everyone around them.
Battle three can be a wreck, and it's here where I started losing faith in ol' Dennis. We're against three wanzers, two aerial gun batteries, and a new special mech. One of the wanzers will stay back until you get too close, so let the others approach. The gun batteries have high evasion for some reason, and even Emma missed a shot. Dennis had a decent chance on them, but he missed every time. Even Zoom II didn't help. It caused us to take far more damage than we needed to, and Kazuki nearly died. I had to use two repair kits and a part reviver. Even then, he was down to punching at the end. Oddly enough, I didn't have any problems with the massive guy. He can only attack every other turn, and the laser doesn't even do that much damage. After the fight (or before), one of the Purple Haze guys, Lukav, catches up to us. Jose is wreaking shop of the group. Lukov's wanzer has lost an arm and won't last much longer. And the rebels are nearly here, so we need to hurry up!
Emma and Kazuki head into the next room on foot. It's where the scientists are held, and Alisa is with them. After Kazuki finally gets reprieve, the topic of Midas is brought up. Alisa is able to understand how it works, and she knows whoever built it sucks. This causes a fight between Alisa and Emma, but Emma backs down because our sister is correct. Midas is in the process of being moved, and we need to flee anyway. There's a way out via the port.
Battle four can go either way. We're joined by four useless people not in wanzers. They stand around, try to get in the way, and tank shots for us. The nameless scientists don't mean anything, but we need to keep Alisa and Lukov alive. Lukov suggests we flee without him, but Kazuki is finally turning into a hero and refuses to leave him. Take out the wanzers and tanks. On round five, we'll get some bad news from Purple Haze. Jose is winning. The scientists, Alisa, and Lukov board a ship to get to USN Fleet, and the party heads to help Purple Haze. Lukov asks why Kazuki didn't just abandon him, and we respond with, "because we're allies." Lukov says Kazuki is too soft.
Jose is standing over the ruined mech of Gastor from Purple Haze. Cindy and Joe are all that remain, but Cindy can't move. Joe is ready for another attack, but Jose is too strong. He apologizes as he kills Joe. We arrive just in time to see Cindy shot down. Ryoji becomes enraged and vows revenge.
This was not a fun battle. We're against two monsters, one helicopter, three wanzers, and Jose Estrada. Jose rushed us and died in two turns. He was glad to finally stop fighting. Those two rounds left us in a rough position, though. We're in range of monster fire, and the other three wanzers have us surrounded. And Dennis keeps missing! Seriously, screw Dennis. He's fired. Unfortunately, I had to rely on him. Kazuki and Ryoji got taken down, and Emma had her attack arm blown off. I had to save scum the hell out of this, but once I got down to the two monsters, Dennis used his range and managed to take both of them out. He decided to take out the legs first every time, but his final mission was a success.
We saw Midas loaded into a seaplane before the battle, so Emma and Kazuki go after it now while the others return to the fleet. They manage to catch up, and Enma promises to bring it down. She does nothing to do so... We cut to a beautifully rendered scene where the seaplane flies over the rebel naval fleet. Midas is dropped, and all hell breaks loose. A brilliantly bright light forms under the sea, and it functions like a laser cutter at first. The ships are cut into pieces, and even the plane is taken out. The lasers grow until they form a ball of light that even evaporates the water. This is the power of Midas. Midas was launched, Purple Haze is dead, but at least we have Alisa... We'll figure out what to do tomorrow.
Wednesday, January 11, 2023
Submarine Trip
What was the point of this sub? Also, akin to nothing, Saudi Arabia is a terrorist organization.
The team boards a submarine to sneak into Sumatra. It goes well, I guess, but we come upon a battlefield. Missiles are launched at speeds unseen, and I wish I could fire as fast as these guys. Several locals are fighting off OCU wanzers. OCU cargo is behind the guerrillas, which might be Midas. Obviously, we attack Australia.
We have three allies here, but they all kinda suck. It's possible they'll all die before round three. Meanwhile, there are seven OCUs who focus them. OCU hits hard and has several launchers, so be careful. Mechs can't walk through tiny puddles, so Kazuki and Ryoji have to walk around. Most of my team nearly died, but I managed to keep them alive. As far as I can tell, the cargo will be destroyed no matter what. The launcher unit on the far right will blow it up as his constituent plan.
We'll meet one of the guerrillas, Hatti. He and his force are definitely not bandits, but they do steal from OCU. Emma assures us that the cargo couldn't have been Midas, or we'd all be dead. As thanks for saving his life, Hatti takes us to Singapore.
Our new base is located in a ghost city to the south, and we head there first. The team remarks about Singapore before Hatti helps us again. He knows of a Seller, paid hackers. She's a child, but Moneymaker gets mad if you call her that. She's actually seventeen, so two years younger than us. She's at a bar, and we convince her to help us. For the low, low price of 6000 credits, Moneymaker will hack her way into the JDF database to find cargo routes that sync up with when we left Japan. Dennis reluctantly pays her with company money, and we get new mechanics for our mechanics.
Hatti's a bro and takes us to a wanzer mechanic. We learn about a new upgrade system, and we can buy new weapons as well! I don't know if they're better, but they do weigh us down more. I should look into it. After this, the party splits up. Hatti takes Dennis and Ryoji to the city, and Kazuki and Emma go on a nice quiet "date," with Ryuji'a blessing. They find a fountain and discuss Emma's past. She's pretty much following in her parents' footsteps by becoming a scientist. They worked on Midas but died several years ago. For reasons unsaid, she blames herself for losing Midas. The topic of Kazuki's family is brought up again, but he gets pushed back.
We cut to Moneymaker in her room, and the hacking is going well. She finds what she needs, but then a CGI scene happens where an airplane attacks something. Kazuki and Emma are asleep when Hatti runs in. He tells us Moneymaker was caught and thrown in jail. Kazuki wants to save her because it's our fault, and Emma feared she'd narc on us. We're already fugitives, so it seems like a questionable motive. Regardless, we storm the prison.
It's pretty easy. Accuracy is increased if the target is in the moving spotlight, but there are only two wanzers, three tanks, and two people. It's really barebones for a prison. It's even easier to free MM, and Kazuki quickly breaks her out. A wanzer somehow sneaks up on us and is about to crush the two of them, but Purple Haze saves the day.
We head to USN 3rd Fleet and get to see what MM learned. Firstly, she wasn't caught for hacking but for trespassing somewhere. Her name is also Yun Lai Fa. Her hacking discovered that two planes went to the Philippines. Getting there would start a world war that our fleet would lose. They have a ship that could destroy us. The captain wants to return to Midway, but Emma reminds him this could be our only chance at Midas. Purple Haze returns to remind him that the Philippines are embroiled in a civil war. Yun wants to steal some new stuff because she's the cute and quirky one in this game. But we'll figure out where we're going...
...tomorrow!
I've decided that I'm getting penalized for having too high of a weapon skill. Despite that, for some reason, my damage output is beneath par for the end-of-battle rankings. Rather than suck in both categories, I'm gonna raid the simulation. Yun can learn Double Shot! Also, her wanzer floats because, despite appearances, we are in the future!
The team boards a submarine to sneak into Sumatra. It goes well, I guess, but we come upon a battlefield. Missiles are launched at speeds unseen, and I wish I could fire as fast as these guys. Several locals are fighting off OCU wanzers. OCU cargo is behind the guerrillas, which might be Midas. Obviously, we attack Australia.
We have three allies here, but they all kinda suck. It's possible they'll all die before round three. Meanwhile, there are seven OCUs who focus them. OCU hits hard and has several launchers, so be careful. Mechs can't walk through tiny puddles, so Kazuki and Ryoji have to walk around. Most of my team nearly died, but I managed to keep them alive. As far as I can tell, the cargo will be destroyed no matter what. The launcher unit on the far right will blow it up as his constituent plan.
We'll meet one of the guerrillas, Hatti. He and his force are definitely not bandits, but they do steal from OCU. Emma assures us that the cargo couldn't have been Midas, or we'd all be dead. As thanks for saving his life, Hatti takes us to Singapore.
Our new base is located in a ghost city to the south, and we head there first. The team remarks about Singapore before Hatti helps us again. He knows of a Seller, paid hackers. She's a child, but Moneymaker gets mad if you call her that. She's actually seventeen, so two years younger than us. She's at a bar, and we convince her to help us. For the low, low price of 6000 credits, Moneymaker will hack her way into the JDF database to find cargo routes that sync up with when we left Japan. Dennis reluctantly pays her with company money, and we get new mechanics for our mechanics.
Hatti's a bro and takes us to a wanzer mechanic. We learn about a new upgrade system, and we can buy new weapons as well! I don't know if they're better, but they do weigh us down more. I should look into it. After this, the party splits up. Hatti takes Dennis and Ryoji to the city, and Kazuki and Emma go on a nice quiet "date," with Ryuji'a blessing. They find a fountain and discuss Emma's past. She's pretty much following in her parents' footsteps by becoming a scientist. They worked on Midas but died several years ago. For reasons unsaid, she blames herself for losing Midas. The topic of Kazuki's family is brought up again, but he gets pushed back.
We cut to Moneymaker in her room, and the hacking is going well. She finds what she needs, but then a CGI scene happens where an airplane attacks something. Kazuki and Emma are asleep when Hatti runs in. He tells us Moneymaker was caught and thrown in jail. Kazuki wants to save her because it's our fault, and Emma feared she'd narc on us. We're already fugitives, so it seems like a questionable motive. Regardless, we storm the prison.
It's pretty easy. Accuracy is increased if the target is in the moving spotlight, but there are only two wanzers, three tanks, and two people. It's really barebones for a prison. It's even easier to free MM, and Kazuki quickly breaks her out. A wanzer somehow sneaks up on us and is about to crush the two of them, but Purple Haze saves the day.
We head to USN 3rd Fleet and get to see what MM learned. Firstly, she wasn't caught for hacking but for trespassing somewhere. Her name is also Yun Lai Fa. Her hacking discovered that two planes went to the Philippines. Getting there would start a world war that our fleet would lose. They have a ship that could destroy us. The captain wants to return to Midway, but Emma reminds him this could be our only chance at Midas. Purple Haze returns to remind him that the Philippines are embroiled in a civil war. Yun wants to steal some new stuff because she's the cute and quirky one in this game. But we'll figure out where we're going...
...tomorrow!
I've decided that I'm getting penalized for having too high of a weapon skill. Despite that, for some reason, my damage output is beneath par for the end-of-battle rankings. Rather than suck in both categories, I'm gonna raid the simulation. Yun can learn Double Shot! Also, her wanzer floats because, despite appearances, we are in the future!
Tuesday, January 10, 2023
Plane trip
So long, Japan!
We're in Yokohama, and Ryoji has the idea we should go to Honmokoruta. I don't know why Ryoji has this plan, but it ended up being good. Eventually... Despite being in the civilian lorry, we're still found. We're in an even more populated area than before, but our enemies care even less. Two lorries block our path at a stop light, and several wanzers emerge from them. Before the fireworks, we (the player) see a scene where the commander of this group wants us alive.
I tried to blow up the enemy trucks, but they got away. It cost me a turn... I nearly got a new mech because this battle ended up being pretty easy. Afterwards, Emma realizes we're not being pursued by JDF, but she's unsure who they are.
We make our way to the port of that town only to be ambushed again. The boys think their escape route is blocked, but Emma says it's fine. One of the hanger doors begins to open, and a plane with foldable wings exits. This is a USN transport plane that's piloted by a man named Dennis. He's our way out, but we'll need to clear the area. The plane teleports to an elevator near the highway, but the elevator breaks down twice. Dennis states his disdain for Japanese construction, but he's of little consequence to all this. The four mechs before us put up some fight, and it got a bit rough. Good thing I bought shields! I managed to score a new wanzer that seems pretty okay. Sadly, another got away because my human pistols hit for more than eighteen damage. Twice tonight, I couldn't get two surrenders. That mechanic really should have been addressed better. Alternatively, I could have equipped the backpack that holds stuff, healed the dead enemy, and tried again. Before take off, Dennis tells us he thinks our pursuers were from Da Hang Zhong, whoever they are. Either way, the plane takes off without a hitch, and we land on a USN Fleet. The g forces on that landing...
The team meets Emma's commanding officer, and Kazuki yells at him. Our main character has a problem with reasonable authority. Fortunately, Ryoji calms him down using common sense. More importantly, we learn of Emma's mission. She was to retrieve something called a MIDAS. It was stolen by JDF from USN. Midas is a nuclear bomb that produces no radiation. It can be an energy source, but it's also too unstable, so I guess it's not cold fusion. USN believes the explosion at the base was from a copy of Midas, as the real deal would have been much larger. But where's that at? USN knows it was moved elsewhere, and Kazuki recalls a scene I skipped over. When we left the base, a helicopter flew overhead. With zero knowledge, everyone assumes that it carried Midas. It doesn't matter because Midas left Japan. For reasons I don't remember, we now think it's in Australia. Much of this information came from an elite task group known as Purple Haze, colleagues of Emma. They're run by a man who looks like Jimmy Hendrix. Ryoji gets into an argument with their female member, Cindy, because she's too butch. ...1999 was a year. After getting our new rooms and checking emails from friends and strangers, we head to Australia.
The Stanley Mountains are in the northern outback, and we're on a recon mission. We stumble upon a transport convoy, and Emma opts to attack it. Even Ryoji was confused. Dennis joins us for this battle, and he's a sniper. He also kinda sucks!
I went after the lorry because it made sense. That's what we're here to steal, right? Doing so left me wide open to enemy attacks. This battle nearly killed my guys, but I managed to keep everyone alive! New mechanics were brought up before the battle. We now get to choose who and where our characters spawn. It's very limited, mind you, but I'm all for it!
How you take on the transport changes the story. I stopped it and learned that it was filled with scientists. Most of them were scared and confused, but one guy was more interested in his research. The idea that Midas is now in Sumatra was brought up, so that's our next destination! Sumatra isn't in the middle east but in Indonesia, so I'll visit an area I've never been to in a video game...
...tomorrow!
I'm really enjoying this! It's not going to get a perfect score, far from it, but there's a lot of fun to be had here. I probably shouldn't have pushed this back. Final Fantasy VIII ruins everything!
We're in Yokohama, and Ryoji has the idea we should go to Honmokoruta. I don't know why Ryoji has this plan, but it ended up being good. Eventually... Despite being in the civilian lorry, we're still found. We're in an even more populated area than before, but our enemies care even less. Two lorries block our path at a stop light, and several wanzers emerge from them. Before the fireworks, we (the player) see a scene where the commander of this group wants us alive.
I tried to blow up the enemy trucks, but they got away. It cost me a turn... I nearly got a new mech because this battle ended up being pretty easy. Afterwards, Emma realizes we're not being pursued by JDF, but she's unsure who they are.
We make our way to the port of that town only to be ambushed again. The boys think their escape route is blocked, but Emma says it's fine. One of the hanger doors begins to open, and a plane with foldable wings exits. This is a USN transport plane that's piloted by a man named Dennis. He's our way out, but we'll need to clear the area. The plane teleports to an elevator near the highway, but the elevator breaks down twice. Dennis states his disdain for Japanese construction, but he's of little consequence to all this. The four mechs before us put up some fight, and it got a bit rough. Good thing I bought shields! I managed to score a new wanzer that seems pretty okay. Sadly, another got away because my human pistols hit for more than eighteen damage. Twice tonight, I couldn't get two surrenders. That mechanic really should have been addressed better. Alternatively, I could have equipped the backpack that holds stuff, healed the dead enemy, and tried again. Before take off, Dennis tells us he thinks our pursuers were from Da Hang Zhong, whoever they are. Either way, the plane takes off without a hitch, and we land on a USN Fleet. The g forces on that landing...
The team meets Emma's commanding officer, and Kazuki yells at him. Our main character has a problem with reasonable authority. Fortunately, Ryoji calms him down using common sense. More importantly, we learn of Emma's mission. She was to retrieve something called a MIDAS. It was stolen by JDF from USN. Midas is a nuclear bomb that produces no radiation. It can be an energy source, but it's also too unstable, so I guess it's not cold fusion. USN believes the explosion at the base was from a copy of Midas, as the real deal would have been much larger. But where's that at? USN knows it was moved elsewhere, and Kazuki recalls a scene I skipped over. When we left the base, a helicopter flew overhead. With zero knowledge, everyone assumes that it carried Midas. It doesn't matter because Midas left Japan. For reasons I don't remember, we now think it's in Australia. Much of this information came from an elite task group known as Purple Haze, colleagues of Emma. They're run by a man who looks like Jimmy Hendrix. Ryoji gets into an argument with their female member, Cindy, because she's too butch. ...1999 was a year. After getting our new rooms and checking emails from friends and strangers, we head to Australia.
The Stanley Mountains are in the northern outback, and we're on a recon mission. We stumble upon a transport convoy, and Emma opts to attack it. Even Ryoji was confused. Dennis joins us for this battle, and he's a sniper. He also kinda sucks!
I went after the lorry because it made sense. That's what we're here to steal, right? Doing so left me wide open to enemy attacks. This battle nearly killed my guys, but I managed to keep everyone alive! New mechanics were brought up before the battle. We now get to choose who and where our characters spawn. It's very limited, mind you, but I'm all for it!
How you take on the transport changes the story. I stopped it and learned that it was filled with scientists. Most of them were scared and confused, but one guy was more interested in his research. The idea that Midas is now in Sumatra was brought up, so that's our next destination! Sumatra isn't in the middle east but in Indonesia, so I'll visit an area I've never been to in a video game...
...tomorrow!
I'm really enjoying this! It's not going to get a perfect score, far from it, but there's a lot of fun to be had here. I probably shouldn't have pushed this back. Final Fantasy VIII ruins everything!
Monday, January 9, 2023
Road Trip
My football team sucks!
We need to escape the JDF military base, and our new friend, Emma, has a plan. To reach the front gate, we'll take the cargo lift. The goal is to stand on the six panels that are considered the lift, but we can also shoot our way out. I tried to rush there, but I ended up getting a 75 percent ranking on the end-of-mission briefing. I blame Emma's terrible movement. So, I tried again and killed everyone. I waited for the first group to enter our area and focused fired them. I then did the same with the two units, who acted as reinforcements. I got a 79 percent... Rad! Apparently, I'm not doing enough damage, so maybe I should punch with Kazuki more?
Kazuki, Ryoji, and Emma reach the surface, and security is oddly light. There's one mech and two mobile gun barracks. They call to ask for backup before the fight starts, and I'm sure it would have arrived. There's a barrier behind them that we'll need to take out. Emma calls for her own assistance, but I never see it. We can wait a few turns until Emma's group blows up the gate or just kill everyone. I got an 80 something? Emma sees a transport van across the street, and we all jump in to leave town. The JDF notices us and gives pursuit.
There's a police blockade on the main highway, but a JDF helicopter notices us. Despite the number of civilians around, they launch a missile at us, destroying the van. We felt like things were amiss and boarded our wanzers in time. There are two mechs and three helicopters. Kazuki and Ryoji went after the ground units while Emma launched at the birds. The two across the barrier advance once the copter closest to us is taken down. Before the battle, we have the first opportunity to adjust our wanzers. I had three extra bots from the first battle, and they have really great legs! I swapped them to the mechs my team was using.
Down the road is a tollbooth. We met our first named enemy, but he's not special. It's three vs. three, and two enemy units are launchers like Emma. I had no issue, but the game thinks I'm playing wrong regardless. After the battle, the team realizes they need to escape Yokohama. They also realize that walking around in giant mechs is probably terrible cover.
Fortunately, they see another van in the next fight. It's three generic mechs and a mobile gun barracks. We'll also subtly learn that we can blow up obstacles. We'll need to do so to get past the barriers. We'll abscond with the civilian semi and leave Yokoyama. Ryoji knows someone in Yokohama who's a mechanic, so he'd be a great place to lay low.
When we arrive, we learn the JDF knows who we are. We know this because we're wanted criminals. The mechanic believes we're innocent and offers to upgrade our wanzers. More importantly, Emma finally reveals herself. She is a member of the USN, the organization that runs Borth and South America based out of the United States. She's not a scientist, though, but a spy. That's all we learn now or at least all that I got out of it. She informs us she plans to return to her base, and Kazuki immediately opts to go with her. He hopes the best for Alisa and wants to save her from whatever made that giant hole. Which, may I remind you, he doesn't know if she's even involved in... Ryoji suggests we head out to another friend of his. I forget why, but I'll quickly be reminded...
...tomorrow!
I recolored my robots and renamed them to something I'll remember. Kazuki's is now Alisa, and Ryoji is Poon Slayer. I think they're fitting. Emma, a professional, kept her model name, whatever that was. She's also rocking two shields!
We need to escape the JDF military base, and our new friend, Emma, has a plan. To reach the front gate, we'll take the cargo lift. The goal is to stand on the six panels that are considered the lift, but we can also shoot our way out. I tried to rush there, but I ended up getting a 75 percent ranking on the end-of-mission briefing. I blame Emma's terrible movement. So, I tried again and killed everyone. I waited for the first group to enter our area and focused fired them. I then did the same with the two units, who acted as reinforcements. I got a 79 percent... Rad! Apparently, I'm not doing enough damage, so maybe I should punch with Kazuki more?
Kazuki, Ryoji, and Emma reach the surface, and security is oddly light. There's one mech and two mobile gun barracks. They call to ask for backup before the fight starts, and I'm sure it would have arrived. There's a barrier behind them that we'll need to take out. Emma calls for her own assistance, but I never see it. We can wait a few turns until Emma's group blows up the gate or just kill everyone. I got an 80 something? Emma sees a transport van across the street, and we all jump in to leave town. The JDF notices us and gives pursuit.
There's a police blockade on the main highway, but a JDF helicopter notices us. Despite the number of civilians around, they launch a missile at us, destroying the van. We felt like things were amiss and boarded our wanzers in time. There are two mechs and three helicopters. Kazuki and Ryoji went after the ground units while Emma launched at the birds. The two across the barrier advance once the copter closest to us is taken down. Before the battle, we have the first opportunity to adjust our wanzers. I had three extra bots from the first battle, and they have really great legs! I swapped them to the mechs my team was using.
Down the road is a tollbooth. We met our first named enemy, but he's not special. It's three vs. three, and two enemy units are launchers like Emma. I had no issue, but the game thinks I'm playing wrong regardless. After the battle, the team realizes they need to escape Yokohama. They also realize that walking around in giant mechs is probably terrible cover.
Fortunately, they see another van in the next fight. It's three generic mechs and a mobile gun barracks. We'll also subtly learn that we can blow up obstacles. We'll need to do so to get past the barriers. We'll abscond with the civilian semi and leave Yokoyama. Ryoji knows someone in Yokohama who's a mechanic, so he'd be a great place to lay low.
When we arrive, we learn the JDF knows who we are. We know this because we're wanted criminals. The mechanic believes we're innocent and offers to upgrade our wanzers. More importantly, Emma finally reveals herself. She is a member of the USN, the organization that runs Borth and South America based out of the United States. She's not a scientist, though, but a spy. That's all we learn now or at least all that I got out of it. She informs us she plans to return to her base, and Kazuki immediately opts to go with her. He hopes the best for Alisa and wants to save her from whatever made that giant hole. Which, may I remind you, he doesn't know if she's even involved in... Ryoji suggests we head out to another friend of his. I forget why, but I'll quickly be reminded...
...tomorrow!
I recolored my robots and renamed them to something I'll remember. Kazuki's is now Alisa, and Ryoji is Poon Slayer. I think they're fitting. Emma, a professional, kept her model name, whatever that was. She's also rocking two shields!
Saturday, January 7, 2023
New year, new mission!
I've been playing Pokémon since Christmas morning (FireRed and HeartGold), but it's time to leave childish things in the past and become an adult. And adults play tactical mech RPGs from 1999!
My first taste of Front Mission was from the Vagrant Story demo disk. I found it interesting and wanted to play it, but I never bought a copy. I also didn't make it a priority. I was in the midst of Xenogears and Gundam Wing hype, so giant robots would have been up my alley. As you'd expect, I have no memory of what happened in a tiny sample twenty years ago. I would eventually give the franchise a shot after high school, when I played the SNES game, but I'm sure you know how that went. I don't. That game was recently remastered, but I hear it sucks. It looks like it's awful. Rather than go that route, let's expand on this demo disk!
The long series of opening cinematics tells us a bit about the world. Two men speaking Russian (I think) are discussing a plan. It's not going anywhere as planned because the Japanese Defense Force is moving. But the power of children might change that... We cut to an army base, and something explodes. A mech escorts a package out of a building, but it's stopped by soldiers in their giant robots. Several planes fly overhead and drop purple lights onto the soldiers, letting the lone mech get into one of the planes. One of the army men manages to shoot the mech, knocking it over to reveal it's unmanned.
Several months later, we're in Okinawa Ocean City, a man made island in southern Japan that is a seeming utopia. After a helicopter lands, we see a boot up screen and meet our main character, Kazuki Takamura. He's a wanzer pilot and is testing out a new model. This is the tutorial level, and we learn the basics. It's an isometric, tactical battle system akin to Final Fantasy Tactics. This is now a fourth reason why I should have played Front Mission 3 sooner. A JDF engineer wants real combat stuff, so we get to fight some AI. I'd be shocked if it's possible to lose. Afterwards, Kazuki, the doctor (Koike), and the unnamed engineer are discussing how everything went. The topic of why Japan, a defensive nation even in the year 2120, is developing offensive weapons until Ryoji Kasama joins. He's a giant robot delivery man! He suggests that Japan might start a war with all the stuff going on in the world.
Much of this we can learn about on the internet, which is a gigantic area for world building. So much information about other countries, corporations, and governments is located on this interface and its terrible GUI. And it's so detailed. Maybe too much. I wrapped up the tutorial in five minutes, then took thirty digging through all this extra stuff. You can even visit Kazuki's school page to vote for the hottest girl. I accidentally voted for his sister...
But they all decide that Japan is a benevolent country and go about their way. Ryuji asks us to join him for a delivery, but we can turn it down. I didn't, but I should have. You see, Front Mission 3 has two story paths. And that switch is right here. I went on delivery with my best friend and saw the army overseeing housing construction. Both were unsure why, as this seems "beneath" the JDF. But we do his job and return to HQ. Ryuji has a surprise job, and that's to help us deliver the wanzers we tested in the tutorial. He's upset because he's a slacker, but he joins us to visit Yokohama. Kazuki's dad works here, but there's tension between them.
We land in Yokohama and begin to unload wanzers armed with live ammunition. Good thing, too, as an explosion rocks the army base. The defense guns rise to the surface and shoot down the helicopter that Koichi told to flee. Good job, doc! Kazuki convinces Ryuji to take out the guns before they take us out. It's only four guns with short range weapons, so there's little threat. Great defensive armaments, Japan! The base commander shows up to yell at us, and Kazuki yells back. Koike defuses the situation, and we're allowed to leave without being blown up by the army.
At the local offices of our company, Kazuki gets an email from his sister. Alica was in the base when it blew up. Rather than be calm and respond to the email, he wants to go to the base. Ryuji joins, but we're not allowed in. It turns out the army doesn't like civilians poking around classified areas. The two of them go to a bar and ask around. Nothing is helpful, but a strange woman passes us as we leave. This is Emir, a radiation scientist working for the US, an enemy nation. Emir, who wants to be called Emma, also wants to visit the base. Overlooking the clear trap, Kazuki offers to help Emma infiltrate because she has a plan. Ryoji thinks with his penis, so he's going to chase after the sexy Emma.
After Kazuki tries to blow their cover, Ryoji smoothly talks their way in. They're delivering wanzers to clean up the explosion mess. However, they "sneak" onto the base and head down an elevator. It's a long trip down, but they reach a worthwhile conclusion. It's an empty room! It is gigantic and has a hole in the sky, but I don't see the big deal. Kazuki and Ryoji do, though, and they finally realize Emma isn't who she says she is. Before we can learn anything more, we're attacked.
Kazuki relies on shotguns, Ryoji uses a machine gun, and Emma has a missile launcher. I haven't noticed any differences between the guns, but Emma has very high damage with very low ammo. The goal of combat is to destroy your opponent or take out the parts on their wanzer until they surrender. I got one to give up and now have an extra mech. This was another easy battle. I assume it's because I'm a genius! But the whole base is on alert! Fortunately, Emma has a stupid plan to escape: the front door. We'll see if it works...
...tomorrow!
I was planning on working with Alica, our adopted sister. Kazuki has a massive sister complex, so it seems right. Oh well. Now we're embroiled in a multi national arms race or something with an obvious spy. It sounds dumb, but I'm having fun. I expect to drop FM3, but I might be wrong!
Also, no. I'm not playing both scenarios. ...probably not.
My first taste of Front Mission was from the Vagrant Story demo disk. I found it interesting and wanted to play it, but I never bought a copy. I also didn't make it a priority. I was in the midst of Xenogears and Gundam Wing hype, so giant robots would have been up my alley. As you'd expect, I have no memory of what happened in a tiny sample twenty years ago. I would eventually give the franchise a shot after high school, when I played the SNES game, but I'm sure you know how that went. I don't. That game was recently remastered, but I hear it sucks. It looks like it's awful. Rather than go that route, let's expand on this demo disk!
The long series of opening cinematics tells us a bit about the world. Two men speaking Russian (I think) are discussing a plan. It's not going anywhere as planned because the Japanese Defense Force is moving. But the power of children might change that... We cut to an army base, and something explodes. A mech escorts a package out of a building, but it's stopped by soldiers in their giant robots. Several planes fly overhead and drop purple lights onto the soldiers, letting the lone mech get into one of the planes. One of the army men manages to shoot the mech, knocking it over to reveal it's unmanned.
Several months later, we're in Okinawa Ocean City, a man made island in southern Japan that is a seeming utopia. After a helicopter lands, we see a boot up screen and meet our main character, Kazuki Takamura. He's a wanzer pilot and is testing out a new model. This is the tutorial level, and we learn the basics. It's an isometric, tactical battle system akin to Final Fantasy Tactics. This is now a fourth reason why I should have played Front Mission 3 sooner. A JDF engineer wants real combat stuff, so we get to fight some AI. I'd be shocked if it's possible to lose. Afterwards, Kazuki, the doctor (Koike), and the unnamed engineer are discussing how everything went. The topic of why Japan, a defensive nation even in the year 2120, is developing offensive weapons until Ryoji Kasama joins. He's a giant robot delivery man! He suggests that Japan might start a war with all the stuff going on in the world.
Much of this we can learn about on the internet, which is a gigantic area for world building. So much information about other countries, corporations, and governments is located on this interface and its terrible GUI. And it's so detailed. Maybe too much. I wrapped up the tutorial in five minutes, then took thirty digging through all this extra stuff. You can even visit Kazuki's school page to vote for the hottest girl. I accidentally voted for his sister...
But they all decide that Japan is a benevolent country and go about their way. Ryuji asks us to join him for a delivery, but we can turn it down. I didn't, but I should have. You see, Front Mission 3 has two story paths. And that switch is right here. I went on delivery with my best friend and saw the army overseeing housing construction. Both were unsure why, as this seems "beneath" the JDF. But we do his job and return to HQ. Ryuji has a surprise job, and that's to help us deliver the wanzers we tested in the tutorial. He's upset because he's a slacker, but he joins us to visit Yokohama. Kazuki's dad works here, but there's tension between them.
We land in Yokohama and begin to unload wanzers armed with live ammunition. Good thing, too, as an explosion rocks the army base. The defense guns rise to the surface and shoot down the helicopter that Koichi told to flee. Good job, doc! Kazuki convinces Ryuji to take out the guns before they take us out. It's only four guns with short range weapons, so there's little threat. Great defensive armaments, Japan! The base commander shows up to yell at us, and Kazuki yells back. Koike defuses the situation, and we're allowed to leave without being blown up by the army.
At the local offices of our company, Kazuki gets an email from his sister. Alica was in the base when it blew up. Rather than be calm and respond to the email, he wants to go to the base. Ryuji joins, but we're not allowed in. It turns out the army doesn't like civilians poking around classified areas. The two of them go to a bar and ask around. Nothing is helpful, but a strange woman passes us as we leave. This is Emir, a radiation scientist working for the US, an enemy nation. Emir, who wants to be called Emma, also wants to visit the base. Overlooking the clear trap, Kazuki offers to help Emma infiltrate because she has a plan. Ryoji thinks with his penis, so he's going to chase after the sexy Emma.
After Kazuki tries to blow their cover, Ryoji smoothly talks their way in. They're delivering wanzers to clean up the explosion mess. However, they "sneak" onto the base and head down an elevator. It's a long trip down, but they reach a worthwhile conclusion. It's an empty room! It is gigantic and has a hole in the sky, but I don't see the big deal. Kazuki and Ryoji do, though, and they finally realize Emma isn't who she says she is. Before we can learn anything more, we're attacked.
Kazuki relies on shotguns, Ryoji uses a machine gun, and Emma has a missile launcher. I haven't noticed any differences between the guns, but Emma has very high damage with very low ammo. The goal of combat is to destroy your opponent or take out the parts on their wanzer until they surrender. I got one to give up and now have an extra mech. This was another easy battle. I assume it's because I'm a genius! But the whole base is on alert! Fortunately, Emma has a stupid plan to escape: the front door. We'll see if it works...
...tomorrow!
I was planning on working with Alica, our adopted sister. Kazuki has a massive sister complex, so it seems right. Oh well. Now we're embroiled in a multi national arms race or something with an obvious spy. It sounds dumb, but I'm having fun. I expect to drop FM3, but I might be wrong!
Also, no. I'm not playing both scenarios. ...probably not.
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