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[Seriyu]

Yer damn right.

[Seriyu]

Two more days. Get your vote in if you, well, have a vote.

Next mission will be introducing a new unit! One of the best defensive units in the game, to boot. But we'll go over that when we get there.

[EuchreJack]

Speaking of Combattler kicking ass, and in recognition of its achievements, I suggest that Combattler get the Energy Chip.

Matzinger would benefit from the Solar Panel, because it has enough armor for independent action and it has ammo weapons which gives its energy time to recharge.

Counter to Akito!  He can't take a hit, but should be better able to deal damage after our boosting of his weapons.  And boost his weapons.  He can team up with Ryoko, who also has the counter ability and loves the guy.  That should make her happy.

Strike could use an armor boost.  Bank my third upgrade option so we can invest in the new Robot, maybe (I have to see it first!).

[Seriyu]

Alrighty, starting up the update.

[Seriyu]

Alrighty, combattler V gets the energy chip, Mazinger gets the Solar Panel, Counter module to akito, along with better weapons, Strike, more armor. Check.

Had to take Chobham armor off of mazinger to get the Solar Panel on, and as such relocated it to Akito.

We're also starting this mission by swapping strike gundam to launcher strike pack. Gains a lot of long range attacks, and a pretty decent heavy attack to boot, but loses mobility and movement, without gaining much defensively. Typical sniper unit. Onward!





Sai:You were on the bridge, so you saw how things turned out. We were all fighting to the death, pushed right up against the wall.
Kuzzey:Yeah,the Nadesico, too. Still, Kira's behavior has me wondering.
Tolle:About what?
Kuzzey:I overheard Kira talkin' with that Lacus girl. It sounds like one of the enemy pilots is an old friend of his. Even worse, Kira said they used to be really close... ...Heck, he even told her that he didn't want to fight him!
The fact that this is even the beginning of reasonable concern is a testament to how much co-ordinator/human relations are fucked up right now.

Miriallia:No way...
Sai: ...Are you trying to suggest that Kira wasn't fighting seriously?
To be fair, he didn't do too horrible much last fight. But the Strike doesn't really stack up very well to our other robots in the Aile frame, so there's not so much he can do in that frame that isn't plinking away at random grunts.

Tolle:Eeegh... I can't eve imagine having to make that decision.
Miriallia:Kuzzey, make sure you don't mention this in front of Flay. If she found out, it would only make her do something she'd regret later, especially since she's still in shock.
Flay:(...A pilot from ZAFT is... his friend?!)
Well shit.

Meanwhile, on the bridge...




As poorly as super robot wars J handles the gundam SEED plot (It's basically played straight entirely through the game, which... isn't really what super robot wars fans hang around for), this is actually a really neat contrast. In the series, the Lacus situation comes off as a TERRIBLE HORRIBLE THING, and while it is BAD, the backlash from what amounts to about 5 teenagers yelling at military officials about being pushed into a corner and being forced to do something unsavory just comes as really jarring in the show. Meanwhile, in super robot wars J, you've got an entire other ship filled with super robot pilots that are very unhappy about this and actually have the weight to throw around to do something about it. It seems like a genuine situation, even if the Nadesico is largely being fairly unreasonable about it.

Natarle:We may have evaded danger for now, but all we've done is buy time. We still have to devise a solution to our predicament.
Murrue:Yes... I'm well aware.
Jun:That ZAFT ship is still following us... Our firepower will increase quite a bit if we choose to join up with the main fleet, though. What do you intend to do now, Capt. Ramius?
Natarle:You're an ex-Lieutenant from the UEFA in addition to being second in command of the Nadesico... Where's your Captain?
Jun:Well, you know... SHe's very busy right now, so I'm here in her stead.
Murrue:I wonder if that's because she hates us... ...Regardless, our only option right now is to join up with the 8th Fleet. I doubt your Captain has a wealth of options to consider, either.

The Nadesico and Archangel approach earth.








It doesn't carry very well through text obviously but if I recall he just grabbed Anna by the throat. Also he's from Tekkaman Blade.

Simone:Wha... What are you doing to Anna!? Release her, NOW!
Mysterious Boy:Don't move! Any sudden movements and she dies! Are you Radam or are you Earthlings?! Answer me!
Noal:"Radam"? What's that?
Mysterious Boy:The aliens. They fall upon the Earth even as we speak.
Noal:Radam, huh? Well, we've exchanged a greeting or two, yeah. I guess that means... Maybe you really ARE friends with 'em!
Aki:You fought with them, remember? After you lost conciousness, we recovered you and brought you aboard this ship.
Mysterious Boy:All right, so you aren't Radam... But I still can't trust you.
Aki:You helped us back there, didn't you? Please, stop this! Release Anna!
Mysterious Boy: ...Fine.
Anna: Oh, Simone!
Simone:It's all right, Anna. Honestly, though! I can't believe this guy!
Noal:So, who are you, freak? Seems like you understand our language pretty well. You from Earth?
Mysterious Boy:My appearance should answer that question for you.
Noal:Yeah, sure thing, pal. You were using some kinda powered suit to fight the aliens, though, weren't you? I don't remember ever seeing anything quite like that on Earth.
Mysterious Boy:...Trust me. I'm an Earthling.
Aki:We'll just have to believe you for now. So... what's your name? Where are you from?
Myaterious Boy: ...I can't remember. I've forgotten everything.
Elizabeth:What?!
Noal:Are you kiddin' me!?
Mysterious Boy:This is a military ship, right? You fight the Radam, correct?
Aki:Yes, we've been fighting with the aliens this whole time... The Radam, I mean. Currently, we're heading to the Moon while being pursued by ZAFT.
Mysterious Boy: The Moon? No. We must head to the Earth and combat the Radam. What we've seen so far is only the first wave. We have to beat them back before their true invasion begins... Ugh!
Elizabeth: You're still not fully recovered. If you're merely an Earthling, then there's no way you can do something that reckless in your condition. I'd advise you to rest a little longer.
Noal:For an Earthling, you sure know a lot about those aliens! There's also the matter of your transformation, and why you were fighting them in the first place... ...Could you tell us about that?
Mysterious Boy:I just want to defeat the Radam. That's all. Now let me go.
Aki:H-Hold on!
Mysterious Boy: Let go of me!
Aki:Eek!
Noal:You bastard!
Mysterious Boy:Out of the way! Ugh... Dammit...!

Time passes.

Noal:How's he doing?
Elizabeth:Fine. He only lost consciousness. It appears he overworked himself.
Simone:I wonder who he really is?
Noal:Whoever he is, he's a violent son of a bitch! Heh, yeah... ...I think I'm gonna call him "D-Boy" from now on.
Anna:Uh, D-Boy?
Noal:"Dangerous Boy"... Pretty genius-level material, if I do say so myself.
Noal is pretty great.

Meanwhile, on the bridge of the Nadesico.




Noal:Plus, he just said he can't remember a thing! Friggin' lame!
Yurika:There's not much we can do about him losing his memories, is there?
David:Captain, we don't even know if that part of his story is true.
Ryoko:Whatever. For now, if he says he's fighting those aliens, I'll buy it.
Yurika:So... That makes him ou friend!
Erina:Enough with the naivete, Captain.
Calvina:"Radam," huh? Does that mean he knows the true identity of the aliens? And their goals, too, perhaps?
Katia:We can't help but believe him.
Festenia:But it's ALSO totally possible that he doesn't know anything!
Prospector:We should ask for more details the next time he wakes up. ...If he doesn't decide to escape, that is.
Jun:By the way... Where are Koji and the others? Aren't they usually around here, scoping out the gossip?
Ruri:They've gone back to the Archangel. I wonder what they have in mind.

On the archangel...



Koji:Yo, Kira! Where you headin'?
Lacus:Oh, hello! Is there a reason you're not in uniform, everyone?
Kira:Why... Why are you all here?
Hyoma:We heard from Sai that you were acting strange...
Koji:...So uh, we figured you were planning to help the girl escape.
Kira:Please, let me go. I don't want anything to do with this.
Koji:We know. We think taking a little girl hostage is nothing to laugh at, either!
Hyoma:Seriously. What are you hanging around for? Hurry up! Don't let them catch you trying to escape!
Kira:Huh...?
Juzo:Taking a little girl hostage is bad guy behavior, plain and simple! I've got no reason to continue fighting for people who would do something like that, so we're gonna tag along. Goin' on the run all by yourselves'll probably be pretty dangerous, right?
Daisuke:We want to help you, too!
Koji:What's our status, Tenkawa?
Akito:We're in the clear, and ready to depart as soon as you are! Kira, hurry up!
Sai: The Strike is clear to launch.
Kira:Sai... I'm so-
Sai:No need to tell me. I know.
Miriallia:Kira, take care.
Lacus:Thank you very much, everyone. I'm sure we shall meet again!
Sai:I wonder about that...



Koji:Damn, we've been spotted! Let's go, guys!
Sai:Go on, Kira! But... be sure to come back.
Kira:Right... We'll only be a few minutes, Sai.
Hyoma:Just leave it to us! He'll come back even if we have to drag him. It's all well and good to return the girl, but they'll send mobile suits after us as soon as that's over with, I'm sure.
Murdoch:Bridge! Come in, bridge! The boys are takin' the little lady away!

And we end on that! Next time, a bit more Gundam Seed and we finally get back to introducing new units. Well. Unit.

[Seriyu]

Okay, updated the chapter listing in the OP, and also updated the topic title to showcase current series focus. The big allcaps SO MANY REINFORCEMENTS is still there so people that aren't specifically following the topic should still be able to find it easier. Lemme know if anyone has any issues with it!

[Seriyu]

Annnnnd starting up battle update. Will take a few days, mission is shorter then the last few if I remember right(but not really), etcetcetc

[Seriyu]

Update tomarrow probably.

EDIT: Incorrect. Update tomarrow definitely however.

[Seriyu]

Mazinger and Combattler's excellent adventure

Creuset: Hmm... They intend to use the girl as a shield, do they?
Yzak:Tch, those damn Naturals are playing dirty!
Dearka:All we can do is retreat. What a joke!
Athrun: ......
Murrue: Those boys took it upon themselves to do this...
Natarle:Ugh, this isn't happening! Kira! Kira Yamato! What are you trying to do?! Return at once!
Koji:*chuckle* A little late for that Lieutenant!
Akito:We don't approve of taking hostages!
Erina:What do you mean?! And what are you planning to do?!
Ruri:Strike, Aestivalis Tenkawa unit, Mazinger Z and Combattler V have deployed.
Kira:ZAFT ship, come in. Can you hear me? We are returning Lacus Clyne.
Athrun:(Kira? Why are you doing this...?)
Kira:Please send the pilot of the Aegis to retrieve her. Alone. If we detect any other units, I won't be able to guarantee her life.
Nicol:He requested you specifically, Athrun?
Dearka:Pffft. What are these idiots up to now? It's obviously a trap!
Athrun:...Please let me go, Commander.
Yzak:What the hell do you think you're doing, Athrun?!
Creuset:...Fine. Permission granted.
Athrun:You have my gratitude, sir.
Festenia:Hm... That's some serious guts they've got, right there! (Serious stupidity, too!)
*Ba dum pssh*

Calvina:I wonder what they think this is going to accomplish?
Ryoko:Ha! They're actually going to do it?
Hikaru:They're that set on doing the right thing, are they?
Akatsuki:My, there's nothing like youth, is there?
Erina:How dare they do something so selfish... What are you going to do, Captain?! We have to stop them, and quick!
Yurika:It's fine. I approve of what they're doing. There's no way I could have left things as they were.
Erina:What?! Captain, are you sure you understand what you're saying?!
Yurika:Taking that little girl hostage is sapping the crew of their will to fight! I'm only trying to counter the negative influence on morale!
Ruri:What are we going to do when the enemy attacks, though?
Miguel:Is this really all right, Commander?
Creuset:This has certainly metamorphosed into a prime opportunity. Their pilots are still quite young and inexperienced, so prepare to scramble. Also.... ready my CGUE.
Yeah, that'll go over well. Combattler is RIGHT THERE man. Haw.

Athrun:Athrun Zala, Aegis, launching.
The Aegis approaches the Strike.

Natarle:This is our only chance. Captain, attack! If we act now, we may at least be able to take the Aegis down!
Mu:But if we do that, we'll be engaged in a two-front battle!
This is kind've an odd statement, but I think he's referring to the fact that there are Radam and Jovian Lizards and they might attack while it's going down. Which could've happened in any other space mission, really. Maybe because they're near earth, and ZAFT has forces on earth that could support them? That might be it.

Natarle:Ugh...
Athrun:Kira...
Kira:......
Athrun:I want to confirm that it's really her.
Lacus:Good day, Athrun. It's been quite some time, hasn't it?
Athrun:...Confirmed. It's Lacus Clyne. Come on.
Lacus:Thank you, Kira... And everyone else, too.
Koji:*chuckle* Oh, it was nothing!
Athrun:Those Naturals... Kira, with the Strike's mobility you'd be able to escape easily! Why did you come out here? Tell me, Kira! Why do you continue to fight for the Federation?!
Kira:I don't want to fight you. My friends are on that ship. That's why I must protect it!
Athrun:I have no choice, then. Next time we fight, I'll have to shoot you down...
The Aegis heads back to their ship.

Kira:...Likewise, Athrun.
Hyoma:Seems like they really know each other...
Chizuru:Yes. It must be hard for Kira... and for Athrun, too.
Creuset:Athrun, is Lady Lacus in your care?
Athrun:Yes, Commander.
Creuset:I see. In that case...

Several GINNS, and three gundams appear in a semicircle surrounding the Strike. IT'S NOT THE END OF GUNDAM SEED AT ALLLLLL WAAAHAHAHA

Kira:Huh...?
Akito:What are they doing?! Those dirty, rotten bastards!
Calvina:Well, this was bound to happen...
That's a really good line, Hahaha. "Welp"

Festenia:Still, talk about underhanded!
Mu:Damn, I knew it was going to turn out like this!
Creuset:You should fall back, Athrun. Be thankful they chose to hand over the hostage. Let's sink them once and for all!
Athrun: Wait, Captain! Please!
Mu:Hold on, kids! I'm heading out!
Kira:Cdr. Flaga?!
Mu:You guys fell for their trick! Unless you're trying to tell me you EXPECTED this to happen?!
Kira: Ugh...
Juzo:Hey, they're not exactly leaving us much of a choice!
Hyoma:Yeah, let's take these guys out!
Murrue:We can't turn back now. Engage!
Natarle:Lohengrin, aligned!
Yurika:Ruri, activate the Field. Gravity Blast, standby!
Ruri:Roger. Gravity Blast, charging.
Lacus:Can you hear me, Cdr. Rau Le Creuset? Please, cease this engagement. Or do you intend to make this place a battlefield? As a representative of the Memorial Committee, I would advise against it.
Athrun:Lacus?
Creuset:(Tch... What's she talking about now?)
Lacus:I cannot allow this! Please, cease all fighting at once! Is that clear, Cdr. Creuset?
Creuset:(What a bothersome girl. Fair enough. All we can do now is leave them to the Jovian Lizards.) Understood, Lacus Clyne. All units, retreat.

The GINNS, gundams, and battleships retreat. I was messin with you, we're done with Gundam SEED for now. And more importantly, done with fighting entire maps filled with GINNs. Later gundam SEED missions are much better about variety.

Ruri:It appears ZAFT has retreated.
Juzo:No mistake this time. The little lady must have had a hand in this!
Koji:Ain't Lacus just great?
Akatsuki:A surprising turn of events... The girl, too, has defied expectations.
Murrue: ......
Mu:I dunno... Looks like we're safe for now, atl east. Come on back, kids! Seriously, though. That Princess was somethin' else.
Kira:Athrun...
Koji:Well, we returned the girl and there're no enemies around... May as well return to ship!

An alarm goes off on the Nadesico.

Erina:What?!
Yurika:Ruri, what's going on?
Ruri:Just a moment... Aliens approaching.

Several Radam appear on both sides of the map.

Murrue:The invaders...
Natarle:At a time like this?!
Mu:Damn. We'll have to take them down if we want to escape!
Kira:Those are.... The invaders?
Calvina:We'll have to assist them after all. Captain, I'm heading out!

Okay, we start this out by adjusting the Aestivalises to be closer to each other at the start of the fight, because I do really need to start doing that. No sense in not using those friendship bonuses, especially with how fragile the aesties are. They need all the evasion they can get.

TURN ONE!




 Akito is kinda stranded up in the center but this isn't as bad as it seems, as all units regain five energy a turn at least, leaving enough for movement, even if he runs out. We'll just have to avoid using energy attacks and stick to the rapid rifle or immediate knife. Anyway, we move everyone near the earth at the bottom up to the center and everyone in the center off to the side. Akito will stay put for now so he can move in formation with the rest of the Aesties, as it made it up to him in one turn, as seen here.
 

 
 Annnyway, Mazinger starts off the fight with a Rocket Punch, heavily damaging a Radam. We'll be moving him, combattler,a repair unit, the archangel, and the baybull to the right, and the rest to the left. Being supers they should be able to provide all the offense required to waste that side, but I'd rather be safe then sorry, because this mission signals the first arrival of a boss that is actually fairly dangerous to a super. We don't want them kicking around at a quarter health when he shows up. But we'll get to that later.
 
 ENEMY PHASE!
 
 The radam, with their low movement speed, meander up to the robots. A few get some hits off on Mazinger, and we shift to defense for him because he's already looking kinda worse for wear after 2 attacks, and he's in range of about 6. He's already at half health but the blue earth should be able to fix that up.
 
 TURN TWO!
 


 
 First things first, the Blue earth rushes up and heals Mazinger. Gaining Noal and Aki a level, Aki gained the Alert spirit. (100% evade for one attack) They're both at level 8 now. Combattler heads up and finishes a radam for Mazinger, and Mazinger follows up with a Breast Fire on another Radam.
 










 
 Didn't finish it off like I was hoping, but whatcha gonna do. Baybull and Archangel move up to support, but don't quite get in range. Meanwhile, on the left side, we'll be showing off the Strike Gundam's Launch frame. A long range artillery frame, this thing will.... frankly probably not see much use outside of space, because we have plenty of sniper units already, and Bellzelute does the job far better then Strike can. But on the bright side, it gets a 3300, 2-7 ranged attack right out of the gate with no will requirements. Not bad at all. Let's take a look.
 









 
 Laser Bazooka. Nice. The Bellzelute finishes Strike's target off for him with O Rifle N, and moves to a more appropriate position behind the lines of other, more suitably defensive robots. It's never really come up again because the Bellzelute has never been in close range again, since that first mission we got it in, but it does still only have about 3800 HP, and it's evasion is pretty bad. Eiji heads in and blasts a Radam with Lasered Rifle, cutting it in half. Buldy finishes it off.
 





 
 Meanwhile, Akatsuki, not having any relationship bonuses with anyone, moves up and plinks away at another radam. He manages to get hit in response, but luckily Radam don't hit hard AT ALL. Their danger comes from the status effects they inflict. Which luckily, did not happen. Hooray! Aphrodite A tries to finish it off for him, but fails, and gets conked in return. Oh well. Mu picks up the slack. The Nadesico coasts up and attacks a radam with missles. Ryoko moves in and finishes it, and Hikaru moves in and starts another Radam on the road to ruin with rapid rifle. (r r r r r r r r) Izumi moves in and shanks an entirely seperate radam with Immediate knife. Akito moves up and finishes off Hikaru's Radam with... well Rapid rifle. Whaddya want, they don't have enough will for distortion punch yet.
 





 
 Doesn't quite finish it off, but both of em are set up to be knocked over like bowling pins next turn.
 
 ENEMY PHASE!
 
 A radam on the left side, to the north of our forces, moves down and attacks Izumi with Tentacle. I went over this stuff last time, but it's been a while so I'll do it again: Tentacle lowers the movement rate of a robot. This is a bad thing for real robots, that tend to get banged up pretty easy. One solid hit with tentacle can sometimes result in the thing not having enough movement to pull back safely, leaving it with little HP with too many radam nearby. Luckily in this case, Izumi dodges, and counters the thing for about half it's HP. Izumi is a pretty nice offensive pilot, but can have a nasty habit of getting kicked around if she gets a couple of bad rolls. She gains a level, and nothing else. A radam tries its luck with the Nadesico, and gets wasted in return, boosting Kouji's will to 125, and activating Mazinpower (Boosts Mazingers attack power by 25%, on top of the will bonus already in effect). That should speed up the right side efforts. Another radam takes a swing at Izumi, and she follows up with distortion punch. It kills a radam from almost max HP. Pretty nice. Meanwhile, on the right side, Combattler uses his abilities of enemy attraction to get attacked by every single one of the opposing radam, killing one in the process, and crippling many others, and keeping Kouji safe to get repaired in the process. Well, one of them attacks Kouji, and he one shots it with rocket punch in response. Mazinpower at work, folks.
 
 TURN THREE!
 


 
 On the left side, Akito starts us off with Gekigan Flare, supported by Rapid Rifle from Ryoko. In other news, the Nadesico series, has a surprising amount of R sounds in it.
 
 Let's see how it goes. (Now is a good time to mention, sidebar videos related to SRWJ may possibly contain spoilers, so don't go clicking willy nilly if you're interested in the plots of these games. Fair warning.)
 























Nice. Aestivalises are really at their best supporting each other, I've been using them terribly up until now. Akito also gets a much needed level, he's only at six. I need to keep him up front for a while. Strike moves up and attacks a Radam with "Anti-Ship Vulcan Gun", with support from Izumi.
 








I managed to get the like, one frame where it still displays the GUI info for strike being hit, so yeah, Izumi didn't randomly take damage and lose movement there, it's just still hovering there.





 
 Excellent. Strike is having some defensive troubles, but luckily there's only one radam left on the left side, and it should be trivial to finish off. As a side note, the reason Izumi is so down about things sometimes is because, if I recall correctly, she's had something like, six husbands, all of which have died or been killed or something along those lines. Anyway, Sayaka moves up and repairs Akito, and Mu cuts a Radam's HP in half with wire-guided gunbarrels. I've just noticed Ryoko and Hikaru are also surprisingly low leveled, let's fix that. Yurika Cheers Ryoko (2x EXP from the next fight), and she heads up to finish off the one radam left.
 








 
 She gains a level, and reveals she has a unique animation for Distortion punch. Now, off to the right side! Archangel starts things out with a bang by finishing a Radam with Lohengrin.
 






 
 Bravo. Blue Earth repairs Mazinger again, and Baybull finally launches into the action.
 








 
 He gains a level out of it, revealing he's at level 6 too. Maybe it's not so much underleveled as underused. Akito still needs to get up there, because Akito has been decreed as important by the audiance. Not that I mind this, I like Akito. Anyway, Daisaku (Combattler V, remember) uses Guts and fully restores combattler's HP. Combattler meanders up to a radam and finishes it, WHEN SUDDENLY

Mysterious Boy:What?! They're here...!
Elizabeth:You've come to your senses, I see. No, stay in bed for now. You're still-
Mysterious Boy: It's him. He's coming.
Simone:Him? Who are you talking about?!
Anna:O-Oh...!
That's just a shocked noise, there's no hostage taking going on again.

Simone:Hey, hold up! What are you going to do?!
Mysterious Boy: I have to go out!
Uribatake:Hey, who IS that?! Someone's entered the airlock!
Ruri:Opening airlock.
Yurika:H-Hey, what are you doing?! You're going to die!
Mysterious Boy:I wonder... No... I can't die here! TEK SETTER!

Blade:TEKKAMAN BLADE!
Badass. Meet our new unit! We'll go over him when he gets into combat, because there's more plot to be had.

Aki:Is that...?
Noal:It's him, all right. He transformed again.

More radam appear, with a human figure at the center of the formation...

Natarle: Guh, there's more of them?



Tekkaman Dagger, from Tekkaman Blade

Blade:You're the one who's going to die, Tekkaman Dagger! I'm going to crush you and your ambitions! You can be sure of that!
Kouji:What's that?! Hey guys, another monster showed up!
Ruri:...A "Tekkaman"?
Noal:Hey, who the hell are you?! Answer me!
Blade:I have to fight them, and that's all there is to it. Don't get in my way!
Katia:"The enemy of my enemy is my friend," right?
Calvina:Agreed. Looks like we'll just have to help out. Captain, is that all right with you?
Yurika:Yeah! I'm not sure who he is, but if he isn't the enemy then it's all right by me! I'm counting on all of you to cooperate for the time being!
Mu:Hey, come on! Could someone PLEASE explain what's going on here?!
Murrue:Capt. Misumaru, what is that creature?
Yurika:He's some nameless monster guy we picked up right before entering Heliopolis. It looks like he's an enemy of the aliens!
Ruri:...Are you sure that's all, Captain?
Noal:Tch! Hey, just so you know, there's no way in hell we're trusting you. If you attack us, I'm shooting you down. I don't give a damn whose side you're on!
Blade:I'll fight as I must. You're free to do what you like. Come on, Dagger!
Dagger:Heh! Likewise, Blade! I'll kill you first, and polish off your friends for seconds!
Blade:Grrrahhhh!

All right! We've got a new unit, we're back in the swing of things. And we got a 70's superhero to supervillan trash talking segment, that's pretty great too. We unfortunatly cannot get blade to attack something on this turn, but nontheless we'll move our units up, to hopefully block the new reinforcements from interfering with our forces that are currently dealing with what's left of the right side. We definitely don't want dagger to mix it up with combattler and mazinger right now, for reasons that will become apparent on the enemy's turn. Mostly everyone moves up and to the right slightly, and buldy repairs akatsuki. Mazinger also wastes a radam. Onto the enemy turn, let's see what the new guy can do.

ENEMY PHASE!

First, the two radam on the right attack combattler, and get V lasered to death on the counter. So much for worrying about the right side. Northern radam move south, and one attacks Bellzelute, in what is probably the first time it's been attacked since the second mission of the game. It's also got a 62% chance to hit, we'll prolly have to pull Bellzelute back after this turn. I don't want dagger getting to Bellzelute, he'd tear it up. This radam is probably fine, though. Bellzelute takes a hit, taking off just under half it's health, and one shots the Radam on the counterattack, with O rifle N. We'll get buldy up there to repair it and move the defensive line up a bit, to keep them off Bellz. Calvina gets a level off that, gaining a level of potential in the process. Potential raises stats when HP is low, it's pretty much one of the best skills to have. A level in it, especially in a unit with such bad defensive stats, is great. The rest of the radam move down, and dagger stays put. Good.

TURN FOUR!




Alllllllllrighty. Let's take a look at blade.




The first thing you should notice on the top screen, is that blade has 120 mobility, unupgraded. 100 is the average. This is pretty nice, nothing to write home about, but with a good evasion score on the pilot (who is also tekkaman blade, this thing isn't a robot, it's like, an exoskeleton thing) it'll make dodging a hell of a lot easier. For reference, Strike, in launcher frame, has 90 mobility.Prolly has somewhere around 110 in aile. Maybe 100. He also has 1000 armor. Average armor.

BUT!

Take a look at that bottom screenshot, and take note of the size modifier. S. Small units are smaller then most units in the game, and as such get an evasion bonus, and a damage reduction. This combined with his 120 base mobility, and 134 base evade score, means that if we upgrade his mobility, he will be nigh impossible to hit while focused. This is what makes tekkaman blade good. He also has surprisingly decent attack power for a "real robot", although he needs to get more will before he can bust that out.

BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE!



Look at his special abilities (and ignore combine, the game is bad at foreshadowing). HP and EN regen S. Being mostly organic (yes, he's not piloting a robot so much as being a cyborg guy, it was actually kind've controversial if I recall) he regains about 5-10, maybe even 15% of his max HP and EN back every turn. This, on top of him being a dodgy little sucker means unless you kill him in one turn, he's probably gonna come back from whatever hits him. His spirits also include focus and wall, like Mu. So you can focus him and wall him like we did Mu in the previous mission and get similar results. He also has potential as a skill, but being a real robot with regeneration, and an exceptionally fragile one at that, he will probably never get to use it too much, although it's nice when it activates, rather then him just, ya know, dying. But enough blabber about stats and numbers, let's see this guy in action.



33% chance to be hit, with no upgrades. Very nice. A focus cast would drop that to 3%. VERY nice.

















Awesome animations for this guy, I highly reccomend checking out the video I post in the robot roll call for him when it goes up. Some of the best animation work in the game. I also really like his dialogue. Music is great too. I am a fan, to say the least. Anyway, Bellzelute finishes the thing off for him. And Katia gets a level off it. Kira attacks a radam, doesn't quite kill it, and gets hit in return, despite casting focus beforehand. Kira is not in a good way this mission, seriously. Nadesico takes an opportunity and MAP gravity blasts 3 radam.



It cripples 2, and kills one. Nice. Yurika gets a level and the "Daunt" spirit, which is very interesting. It lowers an enemy's will by 10. This obviously has the effect of lowering their stat bonus from the will, and possibly locking them out of their good attacks. It can be useful. Everyone else gets a level but no spirits. Eiji whacks a Radam and Aphrodite repairs Strike gundam, getting a level and a level of support attack in the process. Meanwhile, the Aestis smash up 4 radam, one each, and Hikaru gains a level off it. Also another level of support attack. Akatsuki doesn't manage a kill, but there kinda weren't any left after the carnage. The supers off to the right trudge up to the center as well, and Mazinger gets a repair from the blue earth on the way. Mu pulls up from behind. Things are lookin' good.

ENEMY PHASE!

All radam move south or attack, litterally nothing comes of it. They're all dodged or absorbed entirely by a field. Yawn. But dagger has moved south and attacked Tekkaman Blade! And.... huh.



That looks.... like bad odds. Luckily since Tekkaman Dagger is also a small unit, blade shouldn't be one shotted by him. I'm defending Tekkaman Blade to be safe.

Dagger:You won't escape, Tekkaman Blade! Die!
Blade:I won't lose! Not until I take down every last one of you!

He misses. Whew.

TURN FIVE!




All right. Tekkaman Dagger pretty much has all the same defensive aces that tekkaman blade has, and about 18k HP on top of it, because he's a boss. Luckily he also has all the offensive weakness. Accuracy is gonna be an issue. Dodging is also gonna be an issue. He will plink things to death, so we wanna approach this using an actual strategy, even if it's a fairly simple one, namely, we tear up all the remaining radam, get all the units clustered up around him and just try to stomp him out in one turn. Akatsuki and the Nadesico tear one up, the remaining aestivalises set up to the left of blade. Eiji and Blade manage to finish another one off, Eiji gets a level out of it, no new spirits or skills. Strike gundam is patched up by aphrodite and buldy, and he's pretty much back in perfect shape. Hopefully he'll do better this round. Buldy gains a level off it, nothin new. Bellzelute moves up to dagger and blasts a Radam with shot launcher on the way. Strike follows suit, and finishes off Bellzelute's radam for it. Now, the right side is left. With any luck Combattler and Mazinger will manage to finish off the two remaining radam and we can get started on dagger next turn. The archangel pulls up and attacks one of them, halving it. Baybull finishes it for them. Annnndddd mazinger finishes the final one with breast fire. Nice. On to the enemy phase.

ENEMY PHASE!

Thank you. Tekkaman dagger officially has his best move unlocked, R. Cosmo Bowgun. Blade can counter with his best attack, Voltekka. Let's take a look.











Nice. Incidentally, that attack there, Voltekka, in the (japanese) show, the voice actor for tekkaman blade managed to break THREE microphones in ONE recording session, presumably by screaming VOLTEKKAAAAAAAAAA into them too passionately or something. Crazy.

Another post like always.

[Seriyu]

TURN SIX!




Alright. This turn ends it. We start off with O Rifle A from Bellzelute. Even focused, we've only got a 65% chance to hit. Luckily he's down to 22%, so it's still decent odds.

Dagger:Out of my way, Earthlings! I'll easily dispose of you once I'm finished with him!
Calvina:So this is the alien commander? If so...!






















And of course the RNG laughs in my STUPID STUPID FACE for counting on it. Oh well, losing the "main charecter", unlike most TBS games, doesn't end the stage, at least in this case. Time to stop fucking around. Combattler V, Strike, Wall, Super EM spin. Gonna mess him up for what he just did.



























Take that you little asshole. Since the nadesico is a 2L size category, and has no accuracy boosting spirits, we just have Ruri scan him to lower his evasion, and leave them be. Meanwhile, good ole Eiji, takes a shot, and clearly displays his dodging and accuracy dominance amongst the rest of our crew.











He dodged. Been a while since I had a screenshot fail like this.

Not much damage, but whatcha gonna do, he's a real, and the same size category as dagger to boot. Next up, we focus and alert Kira, and see if he can't redeem himself. It certainly seems like he might at 76% accuracy.











He gets a level out of it. No new spiritual maguffins or statistical doodads. GOOD WORK! He is not QUITE DEAD, oddly enough. Let's see if Blade can't finish him off...







... LEAVING HIM WITH 85 HP. So much for a dramatic finish.

Akito, show him the door.

















He gains a level and a level of support defense. We also get like, seven parts/modules from him, jesus. He was just packed full of machinery for some reason.

Dagger:How can this be?! Arrrrrrrgh!

He retreats.

Murrue:Hm... It seems we were able to repel them, somehow.
Natarle:Yes, but what's that?
Ruri:Captain, we have detected a large force of Jovian Lizards approaching. We're surrounded.
Yurika: How many?
Ruri:Do you really want to know?
When it rains, it pours.

Yurika:Hmmmmm... Just give me a ballpark figure.
Ruri:A lot.
Mu:Must be why that son of a bitch let us go...
Natarle:What do you mean, Lieutenant?
Mu:We wasted too much time near a live Tulip during that last fight.
Murrue:Jovian Lizards and those alien monsters... This is going to be challenging, but we have to break their encirclement!

And we lose 5000 funds for Bellzelute's death. Could be worse, Tekkaman Blade's repair cost is like, 12k or something. Which makes sense, given that he's a, ya know, bizzare cyborg thing.

And that ends that.

[Seriyu]

No update today due to time constraints. Tomorrow for sure though.

[Korbac]

Oh yeah! Kick ass! 

[Seriyu]

Tekkaman Blade is indeed kickass. And Akito finally made a good showing. He's going places.

ANyway, update is being posted now!

[Seriyu]

Now for the EXCITING CONCLUSION



Yurika:It's going to be a real pain, but we're out of options.
Murrue:...Understood. We have only one other choice, then.
Yurika:Hmm?
Murrue: We have to make an atmospheric drop. Kira, Lt. Flaga, please return!
Erina:Wait, atmospheric re-entry is too dangerous...!
Yurika:Yeah, and won't there be more of those devilish invaders down there?
Murrue:We don't have time to discuss that!
Akatsuki:Indeed. The Jovian Lizards are too numerous to handle. A drop may be our only option.
Ruri:Gravitational wave detected from the enemy fleet. Gravity Blast, incoming.
Well, that decides it I suppose.

Yurika:Understood! Capt. Ramius, we're heading to Earth. All units, return to the ship immediately! The Archangel and the Nadesico will be re-entering the Earth's atmosphere!

An explosion rocks the ship...

David:Dammit, those Grados guys have us on the run again!
Roanne:And just when the Earth is right before our eyes, too...
Uribatake:Hurry up! We might take a real beating while we're in the stratosphere!
Blade:......
Ryoko:Hey, what's the matter with him? Why won't he change back?
Noal:Oh, geez... Hey, who are you?! Answer me!

A wave of energy passes through the local area

Sayaka:He changed back again...
Mysterious Boy:Ugghhh....
Aki:Hold on, D-Boy!
Mysterious Boy:H-Hey, give me some food...
Festenia:This isn't the time for a snack, Y'know!
Mysterious Boy:The Tekkaman System really eats up my body's energy reserves. My stomach is practically consuming itself.
Katia: Tekkaman... You said that during the last battle, too.
Calvina:Right.
Noal:So wait... Those robo-lookin' monster things are called Tekkaman, D-Boy?
Mysterious Boy:Yes.... Who's "D-Boy"?
Noal:That's your name! "Dangerous Boy," or D-Boy for short. It's a pain in the ass to not have a name to call you by, so tell us your real name if you don't like it!
And a pain in the ass to type out Mysterious Boy every time he talks to boot.

D-Boy:Not necessary. That name works for me.
Hyoma:Hey, that practically TELLS us he's lying, doesn't it?!
Juzo:Back off, Hyoma. Let's hear him out.
Noal:Who are you really, and what are those Radam things? And... Wwhat are those "Tekkamen," while you're at it? Can you at least tell us SOMETHING about them?
Akatsuki:You're an enemy of the Tekkaman, correct? Are they the Alien commanders? Who are they, really? And, of course, why did you choose to be our ally?
Koji:Man, I can't take this. If you're really an Earthling like you say you are, then say SOMETHING, for cryin' out loud!
D-boy:I'm an Earthling. It's just that I forgot everything else. I lost my memory, you know.
Ryoko:Huh? What are you talking about? You seriously expect us to buy that amnesiac BS?
Hikaru:Even a kid could tell a more convincing lie!
D-Boy: If I forgot everything, there's nothing I can do about it. All I remember is that I must battle the Radam as a Tekkaman. That's it.
Noal:You son of a bitch!
D-Boy:I only speak the truth.
Aki:Noal, if he forgot, then... there's nothing we can do.
Akito: If he really lost his memories, that is.
David:It does sound an awful lot like a lie, though...
Roanne:Yeah.

Another explosion

Uribatake:Hey, leave the interrogation for later! We're out of time!

On the bridge...

Yurika:How's the Field, Ruri?
Ruri:Still fine.
Calvina:Captain, report?
Yurika:We're entering the atmosphere from here. How's the Archangel?
Ruri:They're managing to follow us. The enemy fleet has stopped. It appears we were able to shake them off.
Prospector:Now the only problem is the invaders.
Minato:Entering stratosphere.

A brief plot reminder, as it was mentioned once, like five missions back, keep in mind the Radam at this point in time are so numerous they are more or less coating the stratosphere. Onward.

Ruri:Aliens confirmed. Are those the "Devils of the Stratosphere," Captain?
Yurika: Oh no, they're here...!
Erina:This isn't the time to crawl into the fetal position Captain.
Prospector:That said, there's no way we can protect the Archangel in this condition.

Another explosion hammers the ship.

Yurika:Y-You're right... Let's open a way through with a Gravity Blast. Ruri, you have the honors!
Ruri:We're unable to rapidly fire... Archangel is now under attack. They have missed their target landing point.
Yurika:Aim the Gravity Blast at a trajectory above the Archangel! Fire!
Erina:We've calculated the Archangel's landing point... It's Africa. The area is under ZAFT's sphere of influence, and there are also those purple alien woods to deal with. On top of that, it's a dangerous area full of Tulips. What are we going to do, Captain?
Prospector:Quite the conundrum...

Another explosion rattles the distortion field. The Radam aren't exactly being deterred by the thing.

Ruri:Field output dropping.
Yurika:Adjust course! Keep us in front of the Archangel!
Jun:Do you intend to take us with them to Africa, Yurika?!

They manage to reach the planet, around the center of Africa as mentioned.

Natarle:Transmission from the Nadesico. There are no enemies in their vicinity.
Murrue:I see. Please issue a damage report, Lieutenant.
Natarle:Roger.
Mu:Damn, what a nasty place to fall into. This is DEFINITELY going to be a problem for us. We're safe thanks to the Nadesico, at least, but getting out of here is probably gonna cripple us.
Murrue:It does look that way, yes...

Meanwhile, in the residential section of the Archangel

Tolle:I see. The pilot of the Aegis was his friend, huh?
Miriallia:Seems like it. I heard about it from Mr. Kabuto. Apparently he asked Kira to defect to ZAFT and he refused... ...Oh, hello, Flay. I didn't see you-
Flay:I heard you helped that Coordinator girl escape, Sai.
Sai:Yah, the Nadesico didn't seem to like taking her hostage, either. You okay, Flay? Want to get something to eat?
Flay:I'm fine. Hmm.... How's Kira?
Sai:He's over in the hangar. Seems like he's really suffering...
Flay:I see... (I can't leave things like this...)

On the ZAFT battleship, the Vesalius

Athrun:Are you all right, Lacus?
Lacus:Yes, I'm fine. I even met a friend of yours on that ship!
Haro:FEELIN' FINE!
Athrun: I see...
Lacus: Mr. Yamato was a very kindhearted person.
Haro:YOU ARE TOO!
Athrun:He's a fool. He doesn't have anything to do with the UEFA, but he did what he did anyway. He's only being used by the Naturals! Friend or not, that's just how it is.
Lacus:But he said he didn't want to fight you.
Athrun:I feel the same way, but he-!
Lacus:You always have such a stern callous look on your face, nowadays.
Athrun:...War doesn't leave much room for laughter, I've found.
Lacus:Ah, yes... It's been trying, hasn't it? I wonder... ...What are you really fighting against, Athrun?

And with that mysterious quote, we end this update.

MAKE YOUR UPGRADE VOTES! And as for modules and parts, notable things (IE things I want you to vote on, are...

DUSTPROOF = Land terrain rating becomes an S rank. S ranks are very important things because they both increase movement on that terrain (I believe), and also give a hefty defensive bonus in both evasion and defense. It also makes your weapons more effective on this terrain. So obviously select something that can't fly, or at the very least can operate well on the ground. Mazinger Z, and most super robots are decent choices for this, but it would hardly be wasted on a real robot, as long as it can land, again. If the unit CANNOT LAND, then it will be entirely wasted. It won't gain the ability to land. No battleships roaming the deserts like a land shark.

If you have any suggestions on the matter, or need help deciding lemme know.

Dustproof is really the only one you should vote on, but another part is a HIGH-EFFICIENCY OS, which raises the critical rate of all weapons of the unit it is equipped on by 20%. Not a bad part, but not exactly a game changer either.

In terms of modules, we've actually got a lot of important ones.

POTENTIAL +1 - Adds one level of potential. Potential is a VERY powerful skill. Even one level can make a decent difference. Works on pretty much anything that doesn't get routinely one shot, or doesn't completely shrug off every attack. Seems to me like it'd be good on an Aestivalis, due to that barrier of theirs.

NEXT UP, a very exciting part...

COMBO+1 - Now, what's a combo Ser, you may be asking. And I would not respond, as I likely cannot hear you from so far away. But I will answer anyway, as I am kind and psychic. Combo attacks (attacks with a little C next to them), usually are melee attacks, although there are some ranged combo attacks, can attack MORE THEN ONE ENEMY AT ONCE! It's pretty nice. The issue being that... ONE, combo attacks tend to be weaker then their non combo counterparts. IE a melee attack that can combo will have another "melee" attack that can't combo but hits harder. That's barely a downside. TWO, Combo attacks will only do full damage to the first enemy they hit. The rest recieve half damage. Not too bad either. THREE is the clincher. Enemies have to be adjacent to each other to combo into them. That's the main restriction.

With all that said, Combo 1 allows you to attack two enemies at once, presuming they're next to each other. It can pretty much go on anyone, I think all our units barring our battleships and blue earth have at least one combo attack. Obviously it'd do better on a bruiser like Mazinger or Combattler, but it has its uses on lighter robots. It definitely opens up a lot of offensive possibilities.

AND FINALLY...

Hit&Away - Lets a unit attack and then move. Handy on anything, mostly useful on snipers (which usually get the skill on their own anyway Bellzelute and I believe Buldy have it already for instance). I would suggest tekkaman blade, as voltekka positioning can be an issue, given all of his other attacks are melee range, and voltekka is something like 2-8 ranged.

So that's all of em. MAKE YOUR DECISIONS! I'll be back in a few days and we can get to the next mission, which introduces TWO NEW UNITS! One of them is the best ever and probably my favorite series in this show, it's great, eeeeeee, I'll finally have something to gush about like a proper nerd. They also both add some much needed heavy offense, Combattler won't need to carry the entire team when it comes to huge single hit damage anymore, although he will still probably be king of smashin up jerks.

[Seriyu]

Three/four more days until the next update! Votes if you want em etc.