SRW @3 – Stage 3

Whew, another update!  I was stuck at home with nothing better to do.  Plus I’m all caught up with the main LP now.  Isn’t it great?  Now unfortunately, there’s not much new content in this stage as it is functionally the same as the Stage 3 of every other route, just from the point of view of the four different Originals.  Instead of covering a lot of the story, I will try and provide some tactical and gameplay commentary to liven things up a little.  Of course, the story is important too.

So, what's that coming out of the ES Window?

Look, Primevals! PRIMEVALS!!! OUR ENEMIES HIDE IN METAL BOXES, THE COWARDS! THE FOOLS! We...we should take away their metal boxes. And that's exactly what happens as GGG uses unique sound-based technology to create a beam of destruction that wipes out around half of them. Wait, sound? In space? Son, I am disappoint.

The bottom text on the screen is what we call the Battle Mastery or Skill Point. Basically, it's an additional challenge to complete. Doing these increases the game's difficulty level but will also give a bonus 5 Pilot Points to every pilot who participates in the battle, regardless of what they actually did. These generally boil down to "complete the mission in X turns", like so.

The closest Primeval is easily within striking distance of your team, so you can really take it down with whomever. For this task, I chose Kouji Kabuto's Mazinkaiser.

Mazinkaiser is an upgraded form of the original Mazinger Z. It actually started life in Super Robot Wars, believe it or not, created by Banpresto with Go Nagai's blessing. It was meant to be what happened if Mazinger Z were exposed to Getter Rays (the power source from Getter Robo). Go Nagai liked the idea so much that he eventually decided to steal it. Err...steal it back. Well it was never really stolen in the first place. Anyway, modern day Mazinkaiser is the pinnacle of Juzou Kabuto's research, so powerful that he had to seal it away...until now.

Of course that's not to say that the Primevals in this form are completely defenceless. However, there's a nasty little trick that can allow you to come out of this fight with surprisingly few scrapes. Always check the enemy's weapons, either with the Scan spirit or by launching probing attacks at them, and see if there's any blind spots in their most powerful moves. In this case, you can stand right next to one of the METAL BAWKSES and the Primeval will be unable to retaliate.

Be careful how many times you attack with a single squad at range. Your squad leaders are pretty tough but your squadmates may not be. The Primeval cannons are ALL attacks. Oh, even your Reals can take a few hits but just watch their health.

In addition to being larger and tougher than Real Robots, many Super Robots have the advantage of having multiple pilots that can all use their Spirit Commands to aid in the fight. Combattler V and Getter Robo are great examples, with multiple pilots that can cast things like Strike and Valour.

Here's another classic attack for all you Super Robot fans! It's Thunder Break! THUNDERRRRRRR BRREEEEAAAAK! Great Mazinger's a pretty regular fixture in Super Robot Wars. The main concern with Thunder Break is that it's pretty spendy on energy but is often very powerful and can sometimes be used in combination with the Space Thunder attack used by Grendizer (not appearing in this game).

If you ever decide you want to play Super Robot Wars for yourself, here's one set of characters you should learn to recognise on sight: Alert. I believe Flash is the literal translation, probably a reference to the Newtype Flash from the Gundam series (which often preceded incredible feats of evasion). It allows the user to auto-dodge the next attack used against them and is typically very cheap.

Ah, the 70s. They were simpler times.

That's Pagliaccio. My guess is the artists tried to make her pretty, in a disturbing sort of way. Well, they certainly succeeded in the disturbing part. She tends not to get involved personally but directs the actions of the Primevals from behind the scenes, mostly with vaguely cryptic probability values that don't actually mean anything.

Hah! I caught you! The Mouth Primeval pops up in a space left of the farthest point the J-Ark can move, when it first turns up. I moved left one column which reduced the amount I could go forward but you get the picture. So, now that it's caught in my trap, MEGA FUSION!!! Wait a second...why can't I do anything?

The J-Ark also has a blind-spot on most of its attacks. Other attacks require a lot of will to use and so very few of the King J-Der's attacks will be usable at this point. For fans of the show, the first attack is the ES Missiles, then the Anti-Neutron and Anti-Meson cannons, then the J-Quath.

He shoots his teeth as missiles, and wears a bedsheet. Ladies and Gentlemen, the Mouth Primeval!

I've covered a lot of the main attackers, but not really touched on the squad system much. The basic principle is that every other member in the squad will first do a basic attack for somewhere between 1000 and 3000 damage. Then the squad leader will use their attack. This is great for stacking on damage but unfortunately Primevals have this Zonder Barrier that prevents all damage below a certain amount. To break it, you need to use strong, sharp attacks.

Tactics-wise, there's not much else to say, so have some shots of Steel Jeeg using his Mach Drill attack. This is the classic Jeeg, not the remake, so some of his attacks look a little silly. The Mach Drills are surprisingly powerful given the mech's size (it does have an effect) and the actual strength of the attack.

Temperum! Mundus, infinitum, ledile!

But despite our heroes' best efforts they fail to capture the Primeval cores, which continue their descent towards the earth.

Will evil succeed?  Can good survive?  Find out next time on Super Robot Wars Alpha 3: To the End of the Galaxy!

SRW @3 – Stage 2

Welcome back, everyone!  I know it has been awhile and it may seem like my work ethic is slipping, but that is not the case at all.  In fact I have been working hard in order to bring my readers a slightly more interesting experience.  You see, I had another playthrough on the go and I decided to finish that so that I could access New Game+.  This opens up a variety of different options and makes it easier for me to get one of the more impressive secrets in the game, as well as giving me the resources to showcase more of your favorite units.  I am all about fair and balanced reporting.

The menu screen doesn't change that much from an ordinary game to New Game+. It does give me a cool-looking badge at the bottom to indicate that this is my second playthrough, and a hefty amount of money to play around with. When you start a second playthrough you get a percentage of the money you made over the entirety of the first game and your pilots get a percentage of the pilot points they received.

In fact, I have so much money available to me that I could do this!

Or even this! So, I did.

The boy on the left is Judau Ashta, the protagonist of Gundam ZZ. The girl on the right? If you've played OG2 you will recognise her immediately as Seolla Schweizer, one half of one of the most powerful Real-type tag teams in the game. Arado has gone missing for reasons unknown and Seolla is still searching for him. I think.

Yup. Still a tsundere.

However, our peaceful times are cut short as enemies appear! Judau sorties in his ZZ Gundam while Seolla goes out in the Wildfalken. But wait a second...Tauruses? Really?

Seolla has the Accelerate spirit, giving her superior mobility to almost everything at this point. The problem is when you let her get too far ahead for the rest of the team to support her.

In a squad with multiple units, it's best to use "ALL" attacks to do damage to as many different targets as possible. Keep in mind that they tend to do less individual damage than ordinary attacks and only the most powerful will take out a single squad in one shot. I come to depend on these a fair bit later on.

With her Split Missiles, Seolla can make short work of the enemies despite the fact that she's out there on her lonesome. She took a hit in return but otherwise, she's fine.

When enough enemies are killed, the cavalry arrives! Why do they choose now to arrive when you're doing so well? I'll tell you: I don't know. Seems suspicious. Well, that's what I would be saying normally but our cavalry is the Albion, accompanied by South Burning and Kou Uraki, the MEN OF DESTINY! Oh, and Kamille Bidan, who is just A MAN.

Not to be outdone, the enemy captain brings in cavalry of his own. And by cavalry, I mean nuclear missiles. Wait a second...

As if to make a bad situation worse, the Aerogators show up with designs on our ships as well! Fortunately, Londo Bell shows up once again to save the day.

Despite rushing in to help, the Ra Cailum still comes under attack from the rear and Seolla rushes off to defend it. With Cobray's help, she's able to fend off the enemy assault. So our goal for now is to deal with those missiles before they leave the operational area. Then we can get back to wiping out the enemy.

The Ra Cailum then turns its main cannons on the missile and...um...almost kills it. It may not seem impressive but normally a battleship's damage is about half of this. You would be right to think otherwise but giant capital ships don't have a terribly good damage output in Super Robot Wars. That's not to say they're useless, however.

As a general rule, it's better to attack enemy battleships up close as some of them have blind spots where their devastating main guns and ALL attacks won't reach. Point defences may be more accurate but they're not nearly as great a threat. What, the picture? I promise you that's a Range 1 attack. >.> <.<

MEANWHILE, SOMEWHERE THAT'S ACTUALLY THOUSANDS OF MILES AWAY. Meet your future lord and saviour. The boy who will one day be known as Jesus Yamato.

MEANWHILE, IN THE GREAT HALL OF THE JUSTICE LEAGUE! *ahem* In the aftermath of the previous battle, the Albion and Ra Cailum receive a transmission from the Gutsy Galaxy Guard (GGG) to assemble at Orbit Base. It seems they've received intel on an attack by interstellar invaders called the 31 Primevals and are setting an ambush. All spaceborne forces will be participating in this operation. Overseeing the resupply of the various battleships of this Grand Glorious Gathering is one Mikoto Utsugi.

May I present Kotarou Taiga, commander in chief of GGG and Eiphar Synapse, captain of the Albion. While the pilots take the time to intermingle with the already-arrived guests, Eiphar and Bright Noa are all business and continue to talk strategy. One of the items on the agenda is the newcomer, Cobray Gordon. Neither Bright nor Amuro trusts him at this point; he certainly picked a convenient time to show up and not only that, he was piloting a mech with a lot of unknown technology. The Werkbau is being kept under surveillance right now and Cobray must instead sortie with a mass-produced version of Amuro's Nu Gundam. If he wants to help, well...these are the same enemies that took down the famous King of Braves, GaoGaiGar, with little effort. Our heroes will need all the help they can get!

Join us next time, as we retread some old ground, but with some new friends this time ’round.  Please look forward to it.

The Rabbit Files (ver. @3) 1 – Amuro Ray

Here’s a little side material information to tide you guys over until the next update.  The purpose of the Rabbit Files is to introduce notable pilots in Super Robot Wars to people who have not necessarily seen the series’ in question.  In this update we’ll be looking at one of the more iconic pilots in mecha anime history: Amuro Ray.

Amuro is the protagonist of the first ever Mobile Suit Gundam.  He was born on Earth but emigrated to the Colonies early in his life.  His father was the scientist leading the project that produced the first Gundam, which Amuro eventually piloted to defend his home after it was attacked by the Principality of Zeon.  After this he was reluctantly dragged into the war between the colonies (the Principality of Zeon) and the Earth Federation and developed his now infamous rivalry with the Zeon ace Char Aznable, also known as the Red Comet.

Although Amuro started off pretty introverted and somewhat arrogant he slowly learns a lot about how war affects people besides him.  At this point in the Alpha timeline he has already been through the events of Zeta Gundam where he fought on Earth against an increasingly corrupt and oppressive Federation.  He’s pretty much a hero as far as I know, and held up as an ideal soldier and pilot by characters even from other series’.  Incidentally, Amuro could also be considered the quintessential Real Robot anime protagonist – an ordinary person who probably didn’t want to fight in the first place but who had the fight thrust upon him and was not only able to survive in the circumstances, but adapt and thrive.

In Alpha 3 Amuro pilots the Nu Gundam, a cutting edge mobile suit made specifically for him.  He originally piloted it in one of the Gundam movies, Char’s Counterattack.  I think that anyone who has even a remote interest in the Universal Century should check it out, if only for the pretty fight scenes and animation.  But I’ll save my fangasming over the designs in Char’s Counterattack for another time.  Or perhaps never.

Super Robot Wars @3 – Stage 1

Good evening.  Today we’re going to play a game that holds a dear place in my heart.  You may have been following the actual thread on Shrinemaiden and it is certainly an…ah…interesting take on the matter.  I am here to provide an alternative – we will cover one of the Real Robot routes of the game in a manner that is easy to read and will hopefully allow players to experience a little bit of the game for themselves.  No frills, no laces, no mess.  Just light and easy reading.  I hope.  Plus here we will hopefully be free from the image linking limitations of the forum.  I think this arrangement is agreeable for all of us.

Now, without further ado, let us begin.

This is our hero of the hour, Cobray Gordon. He's a mysterious stranger with no memory of his past. She's a sleek robot that looks like a cockroach! They fight crime!

Ah. Cheerful. We're marching on the Abyss. Who said Real Robots don't do anything heroic?

Something you don't see in the other route. Some mysterious personages. The one on the left is Spectra McCready. She's a commander for the main Original Character enemies, Ze Balmary Empire. You may know them as the Aerogators.

The rest of the opening cutscene is the same as it is for Touma's route. Londo Bell encounters the Excelion coming out of a cross gate but soon afterwards, Cobray shows up in his machine to investigate.

Oh dear...something dark and ominous is coming out of that cross gate. Don't go near it, Cobray! It's dangerous to go!

But our intrepid hero is here to investigate. He knows his duty and he will do it. Without delay he captures the mysterious unit and tows it away for investigation.

I KNEW I SHOULD HAVE CALLED IN SICK TODAY!!!

TELL MY SISTER I SAID...HELLO

Oh hey, we're okay. It seems like Cobray's mech has undergone a bit of an upgrade too. Pity the Aerogators had to show up when they did. They don't look too friendly...

Lucky for us, these puny Aerogator drones are no match for the Werkbau and its Gun Slaves. Unlike the attack drones you typically see in mecha anime, they use solid shots instead of lasers.

Once you take those three goons out, more of them show up. The beetle-like enemies are called Megillots and they serve as the advance scouts for the Aerogators. They're pretty pathetic actually, no match for the Federation's elite Londo Bell taskforce.

Touma's route has you hanging out with Gai Shishioh and the rest of GGG. On this route, you get the aid of the Ra Cailum. It's a rather powerful battleship early on and Bright Noa has a pretty high accuracy stat among captains. His point defences are more than enough for these piles of junk.

In the aftermath of the battle, Cobray and Bright take the opportunity to introduce themselves. Seems like our hero owes his life to the Federation and its ace pilot, Amuro Ray.

Meanwhile, it appears that all hands on board the Excelion are mysteriously alive. You see this scene in Touma's route too but it was glossed over. I'm sure they're just as confused as you are about the current state of affairs.

Here we have the intermission menu. You'll be seeing this quite a lot. The three pilots displayed on the screen are the top 3 aces of your team, based on number of kills. Why are Amuro and Bright my top aces, you ask? Well, after killing those initial Megillots I didn't move Cobray at all and just had Bright and Amuro kill all the reinforcements. The reason for this will become apparent much, much later in the game but the payoff is well worth it.

I think this is a good place to end for now.  See you next time.