Click to see the mission!
And we’re back at the intermission menu, Yamashita leading as our top ace by only one kill. We’ll be fiddling with a couple of options today, so here’s what each column does, top to bottom:
Pilot: Pilot Stats > Skill Parts > Reassign
Machine: Unit Stats > Unit Upgrades > Formation (Pair units up, but we can’t do it yet)
System: Search > System (Options) > Data Save > Next Mission
We’ll start with the Skill Parts. Like in W, this game doesn’t allow you to spend PP to buy skills – you simply spend Skill Parts to teach them to your guys.
We’ve gained a handful over the past missions but I reckon now’s a good time spend. The Rushbird’ll always be a more melee-oriented bot, so we’ll give Ichitaka one level of Infight (インファイト). This skill will slightly boost your melee weapons’ attack power and crit ratio for each level it gets (no movement increase, unfortunately).
Do keep in mind that skill growth in this game is a lot more limited than normal. Prevail will usually go up regularly but, at most, expect your other skills to only increase up to L2 naturally, if ever – you’ll have to use Skill Parts to boost them further.
And, finally, by the Unit Upgrade menu, you can do exactly what it says on the tin: spend our hard-earned cash to boost our mechs’ stats. Remember that L actively encourages you to pick favorites and sink your cash into them, as the Squad Bonuses increase as you get units to 50% and 100% upgrades.
Ichitaka’ll always be around and up front, so I give him a boost to everything.
With that done, let’s get to work.
We open up at JUDA’s hangar, with Goro Maki and Rachel Calvin marveling (“OH MY GOD!”) at the Rushbird’s fine construction – this is a work of art, made with the latest cybernetic tech. And it looks perfect, too, which shows the Japanese ARE the best at this sort of thing. Ichitaka points out that Grife isn’t really Japanese and he might actually be American like Rachel.
Mind you, Alice argues that the professor pretty much stuck with the Japanese school of bot design, so she sees no problems at all with Rachel’s assessment. Whatever the case, Maki wants to give the thing a thorough look-over, though Rachel has other things in mind: specifically, Alice. Would it be alright to open her up and check what makes her tick?
That’s a scary thought to Ichitaka but Rachel says that, with Grife gone, the JUDA crew needs to know how Alice is built in order to pull any maintenance work that might be required. Alice, however, tells her not to worry as she’s equipped with self-maintenance features.
“Ah, really? Alrighty, then. (Tsk…),” Rachel quietly grunts. Too bad for her, Ichitaka has good ears: “Hey, I heard that! You wanted to tinker with her just for curiosity’s sake, didn’t you?!”
“Well… I’m not NOT curious,” Rachel quips.
When Miu asks, Maki confirms that he also wasn’t aware of any Prof. Grife and is very surprised that a seemingly nameless scientist could build something of this level. Hell, the cost of making it alone would be significant.
Rachel figures he must’ve had some sponsor and Alice posits that we could potentially find some files on that inside the lab’s secret vault. Maybe those can give us some clue as to what happened with Grife? Unfortunately, Ishigami doesn’t let Ichitaka head back to the lab to check around – the building is under investigation and it’s looking like a certain group has it on lockdown.
Well, couldn’t we use LOTUS’ UN authority to deal with that? It’s not that simple as two giant robots did emerge from that building – a full investigation is necessary and Ishigami isn’t too keen on stepping on these toes.
Ichitaka’s worried that if we drag our feet on this then any potential clues’ll disappear. We could even use a secret route to get in there, so no one’ll notice. Alice also asks him to please let them go… and it works.
“Aah, I can’t say no when you ask me like that… Alright, I guess I’ll allow it,” he says, though insists that Miu and Yamashita also accompany them. They can quickly summon their Machinas in a bind and, on foot, can play bodyguards to Ichitaka.
He’s surprised these two are strong enough to pull that off but, you know, Factors get super-strength.
Ichitaka’s very grateful but Ishigami asks them to be very careful out there. The organization taking care of the lab’s lockdown isn’t hostile but they’re also not friendly. He won’t name them, only saying that we might eventually have to fight them.
He figures the folks with boots on the ground are likely just collaborators; it’s the ones on top of said organization that are the actual dangerous ones, so Ichitaka can at least rest easy there. And, finally, the world at large isn’t aware of JUDA’s activities and the Katou Organization, so Ichitaka can’t tell anyone, alright? He promises and, with that, leaves with everyone.
Ishigami laughs that both Ichitaka and Kouichi are just brimming with that typical teenager energy. His thoughts are interrupted when Yui walks over: Izuna and Shizuna have called in, having just wrapped up their business with the Katou Organization’s terrorist cell. They’ll be back in Japan soon.
Ishigami’s glad to hear that. LOTUS is gaining more and more elite fighters, so it won’t be long before we can take on even bigger threats to humanity. Of course, it’d be better if such threats never showed up but…
Grife’s home is like something straight out of a TV show, covered in the police’s yellow tape. There are secret service types all over, the hangar’s pretty much buried under the rubble and the upper lab is all out in the open.
We’re not getting in there via the main door, indeed, though Ichitaka didn’t expect anything else. He beckons the team over to that secret entrance and though the power’s out inside, Alice’s loaded with the building’s blueprint, so she can lead the way. They’re off to the underground lab.
The place is all sorts of messed up – we might be too late, Yamashita sighs. Alice looks around but can’t find the vault. It’s possible someone took it. And, actually, it’s not just the vault that’s missing: all of the computers have had their HDs yanked out. Ichitaka doesn’t appreciate these guys burglarizing the lab but his attention’s taken back to Alice as she cries out that something’s HORRIBLE.
What happened? Her maid programming is tingling and she really, really wants to clean this place up! “Ah… Well, don’t worry. We’re good for now,” Ichitaka proclaims. More importantly, isn’t there anything that managed to stay hidden from the “looters”?
Actually, yes: at Alice’s suggestion, they look around and find a painting of an angel. Is it a clue or something? Somewhat: the image was made via several nano-sized word strings layered on top of each other, all describing Grife’s research.
You see, there was a time when they were testing out this nano-printer and, thus, needed a whole lot of characters to write around. The easiest choice was to use all of his research notes and whatnot, so this painting is pretty much a backup of everything Grife had around a year ago. It’s lacking the stuff that happened since then, of course, but Alice figures it’ll still be useful.
Ichitaka’s blown away by the Professor’s foresight – a perfect example of the classic “I thought something like this could happen, so…” moment. Alice says that guy simply couldn’t be arsed to use anything else in that experiment, but whatever. They’ve stayed here long enough, though, so Ichitaka moves to lead everyone out via another path.
We make it out just fine, though Miu wants to leave quick – we’re a tad too conspicuous carrying this big painting and have no idea what those agent types will do if they catch us. A voice nearby calls out to them and, after a quick yelp of surprise, Ichitaka sees that it’s Yajima and Risako.
Risako’s curious about the friends with him and that big painting, though Ichitaka quickly changes the subject by asking that they are doing here. Well, they were worried for him, figuring he’d be prowling about after Grife’s “disappearance”.
That said, Yajima says it’s dangerous for Ichitaka to hang around here, what with the Armas and giant robot running amuck before. Plus, the folks locking down the house might tag him as a person of interest, so he oughta keep away.
Ichitaka slowly says he’ll, um, keep that in mind. And on the subject of missing people, did he see Kouichi? Risako looked everywhere and couldn’t find him – he’s not home, either. Ichitaka nearly says too much but is stopped by Yamashita (confidential, remember?). Well, he agrees to keep an eye out for him, so Risako takes off with Yajima, wondering where Kouichi could’ve run off to. Yajima, having seen what happened, only nods along.
After they’re gone, Ichitaka apologizes for his loose tongue. Still, Yamashita and Miu find it odd that Kouichi hasn’t gone home. We can only hope that the Preventer pilot is doing a good job keeping an eye on him.
Still, Alice wants to get back to JUDA right away so we can get Grife’s painting analyzed. Moreover, she’ll likely need to engage in combat again soon, so she’s studying hard as a way to be useful there. As for Ichitaka, he’d like some pilot training and Yamashita and Miu are more than willing to spar with him.
Back at JUDA, Lady Une has put in another call to Ishigami. She apologizes for taking more of his time but Ishigami has a policy of never refusing calls from pretty ladies. Well, the problem is that they might have to speed up the process of assigning the Build Base team into LOTUS.
See, Blue Cosmos caught wind of the offworlders that showed up around the PLANTs and is advocating that they be dealt with as hostile aliens; this led to a plan to impound various countries’ mobile weapons, which is exactly what they both feared.
So now JUDA needs to hurry to get our partnership with Build Base set up quick. Ishigami swears to Une that his company’s always ready to handle any unit and take care of anyone, from anywhere. And she’s more than welcome to join them, mind. She thanks him for his dutifulness, though says her answer will have to be “no” – regardless of how elegantly he makes the offer. Shot down.
Yui wishes he’d act more responsibly, and is not amused by his quip of the wrinkles she’ll get for her constant nagging.
Over by said Build Base, Tsubaki is trying to educate Kenji on the intricacies of managing his parts – every part works differently, so Kenji needs to understand zzzzzzzzz. A loud yell later and Kenji’s back up.
Tsubaki tells him that the Jama Kingdom’s been getting progressively stronger and the only way for them to handle that is if he masters usage of the new parts. That’ll only happen with diligent study and training. Problem is that Kenji hates training, so he’s taking off. He’ll figure it all out on the fly when they get there!
As he runs (not for the first time), Yagyuu (eyepatch) and Kouji see that things ain’t going too good here. Tsubaki fumes at Kenji’s complete unwillingness to study even a little bit, and Sayaka has a laugh at how much alike he is to Kouji’s old self.
Indeed, Kouji feels like he’s looking in a mirror… and, actually, that might be good for us. Considering the similarities between him and Kenji, Kouji thinks he has a sure-fire way to convince him to sit down and study with gusto (it’d even work on Boss).
What is it, then? Oh, it won’t be any fun if he just said it. Boss wonders what he’s up to, as Kouji walks up to Yagyuu and whispers something to her.
Boss (big guy) doesn’t like being left in the dark, though Nuke and Mucha (grin) figure this is just an excuse for him to get some alone-time with Yagyuu. Regardless, the captain finds the plan very amusing and agrees to it. Kouji can’t wait to see it all unfold.
Yagyuu calls over Mido and Saotome (crazy looking) to help go after Kenji and, when asked, say the three of them have a crucial part to play in this training lesson. Off they go, leaving Kouji behind to get grilled by Sayaka. What was he talking with Yagyuu about?
Didn’t he say that it was to get Kenji training? Maybe but Sayaka certainly doesn’t like the sight of him and her seemingly enjoying themselves so much. Kouji swears to her (and an outraged Boss) that it’s not like that – they’ll all have a big laugh once the training is over.
Tsubaki wonders if this’ll fly but Kouji is 100% sure that not only will Kenji volunteer to train, he’ll be so very dedicated to it. Tsubaki and Sayaka find that hard to believe but Kouji tells them to trust him.
Door opens!
: Heeey! TSUBAKIIIIII!!
: Kenji? Why’re you in that much of a hurry?
: Haah… Haah… T-Training! Combination training! C’mon!
: Huh? But I thought you hated—
: Never mind that and let’s get to it right now! I’m off to the training grounds!
Kenji runs off.
: Hah, didn’t I tell ya?
: Y-Yeah…
: Well, let’s get going! We’re also gonna be helping out with that!
Meanwhile, by the base’s command room, Cmdr. Miwa is welcoming Une over – it’s been a while since they met face-to-face. Une notices, however, that she doesn’t see Prof. Shiba around.
Miwa apologizes and says he took leave for a moment… though, inwardly, she wonders where he might’ve run off to.
Cut to the Jama Kingdom’s HQ, Queen Himika rants at Ikima (stache), Amaso and Mimashi (two faces) for their inability to get Jeeg’s Bronze Bell. Mimashi swears that they’re trying their best but Amaso argues that the fault lies with the unwieldy Haniwa Phantoms.
You mean the Haniwa Phantoms Himika personally gifted to them? N-No, of course not – it’s their fault for not making proper use! Sooorryyyy!
Well, Ikima wants to try again and asks for a new Haniwa; he has a plan and vows to succeed in stealing the Bronze Bell. He swears he’s legit, so Himika decides to indulge him – he better come back with news of Jeeg’s complete and utter destruction, though!
Amaso doesn’t like the guy trying to take all the glory but Mimashi sighs that he IS the strongest of them. Amaso is still miffed, as failure would really tick Himika off.
Special Training: Mach Drills!
: Hey, Yagyuu! What you said before was legit, right?
: It was. I’ll stick to my word.
: Hell, yeah! Then I’m gonna ace this training session!
: Yo, Kenji, what kinda promise is that between you and the captain?
: Sorry, no time to talk! Let’s get this started lickety-split!
: He’s really fired up for this, huh?
: I wanna know what the promise was even more…
: Heheheh, now things are getting fun! We’ll toy with the idiot until he croaks!
: Sounds like fun, alright…!
: Are you ready, Kenji?
: Absolutely! I’m ready whenever!
: Tsubaki, Kyo, you heard him. Go and put him to work – and don’t hold back!
: OK!
: Then, Kenji, we’ll start your training by trying to shorten the time it takes for you to Build Up. While you’re very talented as a pilot, there’s still plenty of room to grow. Your reaction speed—
: Yo, no need to butter me up – let’s get going already, Kyo!
: A-Alright. He’s like a completely different person…
: Kenji, your parts are gonna be shot out at double the regular speed, so watch it!
: Heh! Easy-peasy!
: Oh, we’ll see about that…
: Begin!
: Roger! Jeeg Parts – shoot!
Bang, bang!
: BUILD! U—
: Suck on this!
: Rocket Puuuunch!!
: Wuh?!
: Whoa, whoa, whoa! The hell are ya attacking me for?!
: That’s also part of your training!
: There’d be no point to this if we didn’t make it resemble live combat as much as we could!
: Right, you’ll have to wade through the enemies’ attacks as you combine. I don’t need to tell you how important it is to hone that skill, right?
: Yeah, I know, I know!
: And, Kenji, make sure you don’t try combining with the Rocket Punch!
: Hah, like I’d ever screw up that bad!
: That’s a fine spirit – I’ll enjoy breaking it!
: Here goes! Jeeg Parts – shoot!
Bang, bang!
: Rocket! Puuuunch!
: Raaaaargh! BUILD UUUUUUP!!
: Uwaaah! That’s too damn fast…!
: Throwing in the towel already?
: N-No way in hell!
: Wow… I can’t remember ever seeing him this serious about training…
: Yeah, I’m gonna pull this off…! No retreat! No surrender! Not until Yagyuu lets me touch her boobies!
: Oh… So that’s how it is.
: That was what your promise was about? Kouji, what were you thinking?!
: Aahahah… Can’t argue with the results, though, right?
: Damn you, Kouji, that’s the kinda promise other men can only dream of!
: That little…! Aaargh, that’s IT! Jeeg Parts! Shoot! Shoot! SHOOT!
: Waah! Tsubaki, go easy with those!
: Shut it, pervert! Shoot! SHOOOT!!
: We’ve got your back, Tsubaki!
: This one’s broken beyond repair…
: So maybe we should just kill him and be done with it?
: Rocket Puuunch!
: Missiles – fire!
: Uwaawaaa! You guys are just toying with me, ain’t ya?!
: Damn it, but I ain’t losing this one! BOOOBIEEEEEES!!
: Haah, hooh…! There! I combined!
: The brat’s pervert drive pulled through!
: Yeah, how d’ya like them apples! And since I did my thing, now it’s time to pay up and lemme—
: No, your training isn’t over yet!
: Huuh?
: You’ll be training to combine with the Mach Drills next! Switch to them IF YOU CAN!
Beep, boop!
: Hold on! Something’s coming!
: What?!
: Wh-What is that thing…?
: It’s me!
: Pops?!
: What are you doing there, Professor?!
: Ohohoho… Because I heard what you were doing and it sounded fun. So why was only I left out of it? That’s just mean!
: “Left out”… what’re ya, twelve?!
: Professor, didn’t you have a visitor today?
: Never mind that right now. How could I even show my face to her if this training does not succeed?
: That’s fine and all but why are you in that Haniwa Phantom?
: This is a Haniwa I built especially to help you train! I call it Micchi mk. II!
: “Micchi”… as in Cmdr. Tamashiro’s old nickname?
: I don’t think grandma would be too happy with that…
: Hahah! Building this baby was easy as pie with my skills – shows how much I wanted to play… that is, wanted to help you train!
: So you’d best buckle up, Kenji, because the actual training starts right now! Defeat Micchi mk. II with the Mach Drills – you won’t be able to call this a success unless you do!
: Alrighty, then! I’ll take on any Micchies you’ve got – for boobies! Come on, Tsubaki!
: Kenji, you huge, stupid IDIOT! Take this, then! Mach Drills, set up! SHOOT!
Blam!
: Waaaaaaah!!
: W-Whoa, that’s fast!
: Tsubaki, don’t you think you should slow down for a first attempt?
: Quiet, you!
: Urgh, damn! And I was so close to touchdown…!
: BWAHAHAHA! You better wave goodbye to those boobies, kid! Sucks to be you!
: Again – I’mma get it right this time! Bring it!
Beep, beep!
: We’ve got a Haniwa Phantom on radar! It’s headed your way!
: Oops, sorry, Miwa! That’s my Haniwa, the Micchi mk. II! Isn’t it as pretty as you?
: No, it’s a much bigger group that’s incoming!
: Whaat?!
: All troops shift to high alert and get ready to engage. And, professor, please return to Build Base ASAP. Lady Une has been waiting for you all this time!
: Y-Yes, ma’am!
: Got blips on the radar! They’re here!
: Jeeg! Today’s the day I’ll claim your Bronze Bell as our own!
: Huh, Ikima’s showed up in person? They’re playing for keeps today, I guess.
: And you, Mazinger Z, will be accompanying Jeeg in its voyage to the underworld. However, before any of that…!
Looks at Micchi mk. II
: I will first reduce this disgusting sham of a Haniwa to dust!
: Wah?!
: Pops!
: I-I’m alright, but Micchi mk. II is…
: Ikima, you piece of crap! You’re wrecking my chances of getting some boobies! I’mma make you pay real good for this!!
: That’s the spirit, Kenji! And I’ll even throw you a little bone: if you manage to defeat him, I’ll consider your training a success!
: For real?! Alright! Keep watching, pops!
: We’ve already sent a request to JUDA for assistance. They’re on the way, so hold on until then.
: Roger that, grandma!
: That’s that, then. Sayaka, Boss, you guys handle repairing and resupplying, alright?
: We’re on it! And be careful, Kouji – it’s been a while since you piloted the Mazinger, so don’t do anything crazy!
: Build Angels, get in formation and follow my lead!
: Aye, aye!
Mido and Saotome tag in with Yagyuu.
: Get over there, Haniwas!
: Heheheh… We’ll see how long that confidence lasts…
Destroy everything, without losing Kenji or Kyo. The Haniwas are a bit beefier than the previous mooks we fought (some are twinned up, too) but keep your folks together and take things slow and you’ll be good.
And here are our new folks:
Steel Jeeg (Kenji Kusanagi)
Pilot Skills:
Prevail L3
Spirit Commands:
Focus
Invincible
Mech Features:
Bronze Bell Power (銅鐸パワー) – activates at 130 morale, damage dealt increases by 25%; damage taken decreases by 25%; accuracy and evasion increase by 25%.
Squad Bonus: Mobility +5, melee weapons’ power +100
Kenji’s pretty amazing and that Bronze Bell is a big reason why – once it activates, he’ll turn into one of your strongest guys. Jeeg’s S size means enemies will have a harder time than most hitting him (though Kenji’s not the most evasive guy without the Bell running) and his best weapons all ignore size differences, so his damage won’t suffer much.
Mind you, his weaker stuff – the one’s you might use against mooks – don’t ignore size, so that’s something to keep in mind. Jeeg DOES like to chug through EN quickly, so he’s a prime candidate for an E-Save part.
Finally, a handful of his tricks require having the Big Shooter around, so you’ll likely want to have Kyo and Tsubaki joining him in a twin unit.
Mazinger Z (Kouji Kabuto)
Pilot Skills:
Sword Cut
Prevail L3
Spirit Commands:
Invincible
Guts
Strike
Mech Features:
Mazin Power (マジンパワー) – activates at 130 morale, damage dealt up by 25%, damage taken down by 25%.
Squad Bonus: Armor +150, Mobility +5
The prototypical Super Robot pilot is pretty dang powerful. Notoriously bulky and hard-hitting, Kouji’s main weakness is that his range isn’t too great on his better attacks. Other than that he’s great and when Mazin Power activates, it takes a major screw-up to get him killled.
Big Shooter (Kyo Misumi, Tsubaki Tamashiro)
Pilot Skills:
Prevail L1
Support Attack L1
Support Defense L1
Spirit Commands – Kyo:
Focus
Accelerate
Spirit Commands – Tsubaki:
Cheer
Scan
Mech Features:
Resupply Module
Squad Bonus: Money earned +10%, EN+50
Like I said, the main point of the Big Shooter is to support Jeeg and it’s built pretty much to do that. The EN bonus and resupply module will help cover Kenji’s EN issues and its presence is needed for a lot of attacks.
Mind, Jeeg is stuck on the ground and the Big Shooter, obviously, isn’t a tank – you’ll want to either get Kenji airborne or get a land adaptor for this.
Aphrodite A (Sayaka Yumi)
Pilot Skills:
Support Attack L1
Spirit Commands:
Trust
Bless
Mech Features:
Repair Module
Squad Bonus: Money earned +10%, mobility +5
Standard issue, classic support girl. The Aphrodite A is weak and fragile as hell and there are a ton of units that can do its job better.
Bless is your main reason for deploying Sayaka right now but, once other folks with it show up, she’ll likely get benched.
Build Angel (Yagyuu Mitsuko)
Pilot Skills:
Prevail L1
Support Attack L1
Support Defense L1
Spirit Commands:
Accelerate
Alert
Mech Features:
Repair Module
Squad Bonus: 15% chance to dodge attacks, terrain rating in air and space set to A
Speaking of way better support units, Yagyuu is a great fit for a whole lot of people. Accelerate, repair, flying and the squad bonus (which’ll get even better at 50%) all in one package is a great deal.
Boss Borot (Boss, Nuke, Mucha)
Pilot Skills:
Prevail L1
Support Defense L1
Spirit Commands - Boss:
Guts
Faith (友情) – fully restores target’s HP.
Spirit Commands - Nuke:
Trust
Cheer
Spirit Commands - Mucha:
Scan
Accelerate
Mech Features:
Resupply Module
Squad Bonus: Melee weapons’ power +100, crit ratio +10%, land terrain rating set to A, debuff immunity
Also a better support unit: Boss! While he won’t be kicking as much ass as he did in MX, Mucha’s accelerate and that, frankly, outrageous squad bonus means he can tag in with any melee-oriented unit.
He can’t hit or survive well, of course, but that’s what upgrades are for and, worst case scenario, the Borot always costs peanuts to repair.
One noteworthy bit, mind, is that all of its attacks carry the morale down debuff!
So we finally move everyone forward and stand by.
Enemy Phase!
They do the same.
Player Phase!
The bigger Haniwas aren’t moving, mind, so we’ll start with the Boya Kaengus up front; when you attack a twinned unit, you can order your team to focus fire on the main enemy unit, the sub or for each one to attack their respective target. Since we’re running solo, that last option isn’t available.
Oh, and don’t worry about Ikima.
: That’s enough playing around for today, girls. Now we get serious!
: Aye, aye! We’ve got your back, captain!
: Let’s get in there and knock them off our skies!
Yagyuu can’t do decent-ish damage post-movement until she gets some morale, mind.
We’ll have Kenji take care of that.
: Think you can come here and mess up my good times, eh?! Y’all better get ready for some payback!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BR73F6IaxIY
The Mazinger Team is still trudging along.
Enemy Phase!
Blah.
: Today shall be the day where I present your Bronze Bell to Queen Himika, Jeeg!
: What’re you on all about with that “bell” business?! Start making sense, guy!
: All I’ll do is send you to your death, wallowing in ignorance!
Try to attack Ikima and it does absolutely no damage! He gloats about their evil power – nothing will work on him!
Well, Kyo suggests we leave him for later and focus on the other Haniwas for now. That said, Ikima doubts we’ll be able to disregard his mighty unit with it bearing down on us.
Kenji’s getting pestered, but that’s fine.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oTUoYzWv8hU
Little bit of damage won’t bug him.
Couple of Boya Kaengu do decide to go after Kyo.
: Ooh, Kenji, you little…! That was your motivation for training?! I swear, when I get my hands on you, I’ll…!
: I understand you’re angry, Tsubaki, but you have to calm down. There’s a battle to be fought.
: I know, I know! Damn it, this is all that pervert’s fault!
Kyo’s high Skill stat means he crits often, though the Big Shooter still isn’t meant for damage.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-sCMppmFlaM
Oh, and Yagyuu gets attack from far enough that she can fire a better weapon.
Player Phase!
The JUDA crew finally arrives, Une requesting that we help clear out the Jama Kingdom attackers.
When Miu asks, Ichitaka is feeling rather confident; not only did she and Yamashita help with his training, he’s also particularly pumped up to pull his weight with Jeeg and Mazinger right there. Alice herself has kind of rushed through her studies as a subpilot but she’s already learned somewhat, so “so there are mostly no problems!” Kenji’s not a whole lot impressed that our backup consists of only a handful of units but Kouji recognizes two of JUDA’s Machinas and knows they’re good for it.
Rather, there are THREE JUDA Machinas around as the twins Izuna (the one on the left) and Shizuna Endo. Izuna, ever polite, apologizes for the delay but Shizuna, the rough kansai type, scoffs that the star players are always the last ones to take to the field.
Kenji isn’t paying attention, wondering instead “The hell’s that flying hammer-looking thing?” Shizuna heard that and she is not amused by the comparison – she’ll find and box him some after this gets wrapped up!
Une reminds Kenji that they’re in the middle of a battle, so antagonizing their allies is a big no-no. What, when did he become the bad guy here? Yagyuu restores order, telling of the big Haniwa’s barrier and asking Ichitaka’s crew to assist with the nearby enemies.
As they move in, Izuna wants to provide support from the rear but Shizuna isn’t having any of that weak-ass crap – they’re getting in there and showing everyone how awesome they are!
Deceive (Shizuna Endo, Izuna Endo)
Pilot Skills:
Prevail L1
Support Defense L1
Spirit Commands – Shizuna:
Invincible
Luck
Spirit Commands – Izuna:
Trust
Focus
Mech Features:
Resupply Module
Squad Bonus: HP +500, Exp earned +10%, debuff immunity
Shizuna’s a bit of an odd support, seeing as how her main draw is that her Nerve Crack weapon reduces the target’s morale – give her some support attack parts and she could potentially hit an enemy with it five times in a single turn. Were this A Portable, that’d be huge. It’s not, though, so I’m not too sure how much use I could get out of the Deceive – time will tell.
At least the EN regen from the resupply module and her Nerve Crack Hand being post-movement could make her for a decent-ish squaddie to a short-range Super.
The JUDA team is too far away to attack, though, so our guys will need to hold on by themselves for another turn.
Eeeh, I think I prefer W’s version.
: My first actual battle with the Mazinger in who knows how long. You Haniwas’re gonna be helping me get back in the game!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MTMt81M9UP0
A classic.
Kenji sticks by his crew, taking out a weakened Boya Kaengu. Yagyuu and Kyo each start working on others.
Enemy Phase!
Oh and Ikima can reduce your SP, FYI…
A couple of Haniwas decide to take a detour to gun for the Factors.
They certainly hit harder than the Katou Armas.
Sayaka is hanging out back but that doesn’t stop one enemy for trying his hand.
: Tetsuya and Jun aren’t here right now, so I’ll have to fight my best to pick up the slack!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dwh8EHmt-Fg
Kouji seems to be a primary target as a bevy of stuff rushes him down (taking some not insignificant damage). Kenji does nab a handful of kills, as well… surviving with only 1000 HP!
Player Phase!
Only difference is that Kouji and Kenji can be easily healed, while all the Haniwas lost a good chunk of health in their venture. Now it’s just a matter of picking a target and killing it, so here’s the cliffs notes:
: You ready, Izuna? Can’t let any of those folks one-up us, so we’re gonna go ballistic here!
: “One-up”… but this isn’t a competition.
: Ah, ya big dumdum! Battles ARE a competition and whoever’s the bigger ace has got it made! So put your back into this!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_Rq8xiY88k
I’m rather disappointed that the hand didn’t follow up the throw with a big punch.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cl6kUDxB92g
And here’s the Build Angels’ strongest attack.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qmFriqcS6OU
The first of Kenji’s combined attacks with the Big Shooter. I question the efficiency of a bazooka that’s bigger than the user…
: You two ready to rock? We’re gonna put on a slick show for Tsubaki!
: What, did you give up on Sayaka, Boss?
: What’re you, stupid?! I’m gunning for them both now – one babe in each hand!
: Yeah, that’s why you’re the boss, Boss!
: Off we go, then! Ooryaaa!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B0__FPYFNKM
I confess that I was surprised that he oneshotted the thing!
Oh, this’ll be good.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4FBR5v7ngQ
There’s the Laplace Wall at work. Thanks for the free EN, Ikima!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dUO8b7ApEDA
Finally, the last mook – right in range for Yamashita’s strongest weapon.
: There’s only that thing left now…!
: Oh, what’s the matter? You’d best not get your hopes up simply because you’ve destroyed the other Haniwa Phantoms.
: Damn it…! Look at how giddy that prick is!
: Heheheheh… Indeed, there is absolutely no hope for any of you!
: Rrgh, I could wreck that sort of barrier as easy as one-two-three if I had the Kaiser right now!
: What, the Build Base’s got no secret weapons or whatever?!
: …There IS something that’d work.
: Really?! Out with it, then!
: Kenji’ll need to combine with the Mach Drills. Charge those with the energy of Jeeg’s Bronze Bell and it might work…
: The Mach Drills… those things that almost went and crushed my dreams?!
: That’s too risky! He didn’t even pull it off during training!
: No, I know he can do it.
: Kouji…?
: Go for it, Kenji! If you’re a real man, that is!
: Hah, that goes without saying, Kouji!
: Here I go! Do it, Tsubaki!
: …Well, alright. Mach Drills, set up! Shoot!
Blam, Blam!
: Waaaah?!
: It’s not working. He can’t react fast enough…!
: What the crap’re you doing?! Did you lose your balls or something?!
: We know you’re better than that, Kenji! You’re a real man, so you CAN pull through, can’t you!
: Y-Yagyuu… OK. Tsubaki, again!
: This is crazy, Kenji! Mess it up again and Jeeg won’t…
: Nah, I just realized something after Yagyuu said her piece. Send the drills over, Tsubaki!
: The only way to beat Ikima’ll be with the Mach Drills, so we need to take a chance with him.
: Kyo… OK. Make it work this time, Kenji!
: (Looking at the drills from the front, they kinda look like…)
: (Yeah, mine and all men’s favorite thing in the world! I just gotta visualize and my hands’ll do their part!)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dvIjko68n34
“I’m pulling it off this time, Tsubaki!”
“Mach Drills, set up! Shoot!”
“C’mere, my booby drills!”
“ALRIGHT! Here we go!”
“Ooooryaaa! Booby Drill ATTAAAAAACK!”
: Gwaaargh! I-It can’t be… he tore through the evil energy?!
: Hell, yeah! His barrier’s toast now!
: So cool… Jeeg really is the best!
: Should be no problem to take that guy out after that. Psyche yourselves up and let’s get to it!
Indeed, with only 8400 HP left, we can easily wrap this up.
: Annoying little bug! You’ll soon be but a smear on the floor!
: Well, none of us are nice enough to let you drop us that easy!
: Tsubaki, scan his Dai Kaengu for a weakness! That’s step #1!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TEffwTPVDTs
Off goes Ikima, promising to REMEMBER THIS. Of course, he’s already lost a couple of times, so Kenji suggests he start writing it all down.
Shizuna’s revised her opinion on Kenji slightly – he’s a complete idiot but decent enough in battle. Miwa calls in and summons everyone back to Build Base, including the JUDA crew. Lady Une’s waiting for them.
More important to Kenji, does all this mean his training was a success? Tsubaki slowly confirms, which means it’s time for Yagyuu to fulfill her end of the bargain!
Cut to the Jama Kingdom, Ikima is very apologetic for his screw up. Amaso sniffs at the poor showing despite all his huffing and puffing and requests that Himika let him go next.
Mamashi also wants in, but the queen quickly silences them all. She is NOT in the mood for their bickering. She sees in Jeeg and his allies enemies to be respected and knows they must take the Bronze Bell before our strength grows even further.
At Build Base, Miwa is welcoming our team and praising JUDA’s vaunted combat expertise. Yamashita puts his best “official” voice and salutes her in lieu of Reiji, their team leader. This is Une’s first time meeting with us and Ichitaka is rather nervous, stuttering a quick introduction.
Une, of course, has been briefed on him and Ichitaka promises to work hard as part of LOTUS. She appreciates his earnestness and turns to speak to the entire team: this last battle has further confirmed to her the importance of the LOTUS project. Kouji has heard of the team from Prof. Yumi, as the Photon Lab crew will also be joining.
Une knows that united strength is the way to stand up to any upcoming threats but every single member of our team is important individually – we couldn’t have prevailed today without Jeeg busting the enemy’s barrier.
Despite being the man of the hour, Kenji isn’t listening (daydreaming about boobies). Shizuna and Tsubaki aren’t amused by his grin. But, regardless, what Une expects from us is that we’ll be flexible enough to adapt to any and all situation, so she hopes we’ll keep up the good work.
A call comes in right then and it’s Prof. Yumi from his Orbital Space Station. Kouji eagerly asks if he’s finished his maintenance on the Mazinkaiser but, sadly, no – it’ll take longer. Guess he’ll have to make do with the Mazinger in the meantime.
But the reason Yumi called is that while he’s agreed to have the Mazinger Team join LOTUS, Tetsuya and Jun’s mechs are taking longer than expected to 100% ready for battle again. They’ll likely be delayed in their rendezvous with us.
Lady Une’s not too surprised, considering the difficult battles those two went through.
Tetsuya gets on the mic to tell Kouji and co to not slack off while out there – if he catches word that they’ve messed up somehow, he’ll personally come and whip them back into shape. Jun is nicer, though, only asking for them to hold the fort until the Great Mazinger and Venus are ready to go again. Kouji swears to do just that.
As the call ends, the Build Base and Mazinger teams are now officially under Une’s command as part of LOTUS. The base itself, explains Prof. Shiba, will carry on investigating whatever the Jama Kingdom is up to while providing prompt support to us.
Of special note to Miwa is that they’re still searching for a way to rescue thought-alive Hiroshi – the original Jeeg – from within the progressively shrinking Zone. That’s for another time, though, and Miwa suggests we go and rest after the last battle. Une does ask Ichitaka and Alice to come see her when they’ve the time, though.
Kenji doesn’t need rest, though, as it is now time to collect his reward! Yagyuu will stand by her word, so she asks him to come by the hangar. He does so immediately, leaving behind a fuming Tsubaki to wonder why Yagyuu made a promise like that in the first place.
Kouji invites her along to watch it all go down, eliciting an angry retort that this is, first and foremost, his fault for making this inane suggestion! Easy, now. Didn’t he say it’d be funny? She’ll see what he means.
By the hangar, Yagyuu isn’t really worried about staying true to her word. She tells Kenji to close his eyes and he’ll get some boobies right in his face. And he does so, Tsubaki and Boss glaring at him for his antics/luck, though Miu has absolutely no idea what’s going on and is incredibly confused.
Kenji’s faced is cradled in boobies and he’s as happy as can be – life is good. Or it was, for a second, before he starts feeling his head being crushed. What the hell? He opens his eyes and finds himself buried in Saotome’s very muscular cleavage and arms. The berserk fighter has no qualms in squishing him like a grape as Kenji protests that this wasn’t the deal!
“Oh? And when, exactly, did I say anything about it being my breasts?” Yagyuu chuckles. Kenji begs Tsubaki for help but, of course, he brought this on himself. Kouji wonders if Boss is still jealous – does he wanna take Kenji’s spot? Absolutely not.
Shizuna is feeling pretty good at the spectacle – it saved her the trouble of having to actually box him some – and Izuna has a laugh at how much livelier this group’s turning out to be.
As Kenji continues to suffer, Alice walks in, having just prepped a healthcare plan for everyone and… what are they doing? Effort being rewarded and all that, answers Yamashita.
Speaking of, Kouji’s been told that Ichitaka’s another trainee pilot – it’s tough business starting out but he tells him to hang in there. And if he’s ever not feeling up to it, he can always ask Saotome to “reward” him.
Ichitaka’s rather star-struck with THE Kouji Kabuto and stammers a very proper thank you. But he needn’t get hung up on formalities, of course, what with them being teammates now. Ichitaka gets that but Kouji is still a big name for him to deal with.
“Ichitaka, your heart rate is rising. Hmm, this symptom indicates… is it love?” Alice ponders, eliciting an energetic “NO WAY!” That’s a better attitude, Kouji says, and tells Ichitaka to talk to him the same he would Alice. Ichitaka tones it down a bit – still a bit too proper for Kouji’s tastes but he’ll get used to it. And what was that about a healthcare plan?
Well, as we all know, Alice’s primary job is as a maid, meaning she can also handle pretty much any health care needs we require. In exchange, she hopes folks would indulge her with some combat lessons. That’d be no problem for the Mazinger Team and Alice is quite grateful.
A nondescript amount of time later, Yamashita reminds Ichitaka and Alice that Une wanted them to stop by. Repairs on the Rushbird have finished just now and Alice has done examining our crew, so this seems as good a time as any. Yamashita asks him to be back in time for their training session, mind.
Back at the command room, Ichitaka’s disappointed to hear that they’ve found nothing on Grife or Yuu. Une says that Preventers are searching right now and they’ve even requested the other LOTUS-affiliated groups to help with that.
Ichitaka’s surprised they’d go to those lengths for him, but it’s not exactly for his benefit alone. Both of Grife’s units have quite a few distinctive features – the Straybird has been avoiding any and all detection, while the Rushbird seems capable of some dimensional interference. They can’t well disregard these units and their creator, right?
Wait, what was that about the Rushbird? Miwa relays a report from JUDA, saying that they mean the Input-Output energy devices in the bot’s hands; from what they’ve seen, the bot is interacting with another dimension(s?) when attacking and defending. Sounds dangerous but Shiba is sure the LOTUS mechanics can handle servicing the thing.
We won’t be hanging around here, mind, as LOTUS’ next destination will be the Dannar Base to join up with the locals and Nanbara Connection team. Une does tell Ichitaka to focus on improving himself instead of stressing over working with his idols. He does promise to do so, but, inwardly, is already giddy over the thought of meeting the Godannar and Combattler crew… he’s gonna have to work on that.
But not right now, as Build Base’s crew detects something: Mimetic Beasts, headed towards the Naruto Straits! Well, that’s a job for us so Une tells everyone to gear up and get ready to move. Seems like Ichitaka’s training session got replaced with some live combat. Is Alice ready to go? Yup, no problems at all, as she’s already finished processing data from the previous battle.
Elsewhere…
: (…Where are you, my partner…?)
: (The one who’ll synchronize and fight beside me… I know she’s somewhere in the blue planet…)
: (Nagisa… Kanou. My partner… I need you…)
: …Hey, Nagisa.
: Hm?
: Are you Nagisa Kanou?
: Get away from Nagisa!
: Wh-What’s going on?!
: Gyaaaaaaaaah!
: Goh, are you sure you’re ready for this? The four of us could—
: I know. But if I don’t fight, Anna’ll never…!
: Yo, what’s going on here? The radars are completely blank… Think the Mimetic Beasts are behind this?
: I cannot determine the cause but I’m detecting some abnormal EM Waves throughout the area. Our sensors won’t work in this environment.
: Watch where you’re walking, Hyouma. We don’t know if there are civs around here somewhere!
: I’m on it, Daisaku. I can manage that, no prob!
: And look over there, Hyouma! There are some different robots up there, not just the Mimetic Beasts!
: I’ve never seen anything like those before… and they’re not in our data banks, either.
: Ichitaka, I’m not detecting any fluctuations in your heart rate whatsoever. Do you not feel any anxiety… or, rather, love for the Godannar or Combattler?
: Dannar Base here! Exercise extreme caution: it’s very likely that Mimetic Beast is the source of the EM interference!
: They couldn’t, at least not thus far… I’d wager it’s evolved.
: And it sent the Godannar flying like it was nothing! This one’s gonna be real tough!
: I couldn’t help but overhear that. If you don’t mind, JUDA is ready to help her recover.
: I must say, I am impressed. (
: But you still have NO CHANCE IN HELL against my Chou Maryu Dvorak!
: The Chou Maryu… that thing’s a monster! (
: I-It can’t be… a Death Cross Point?! (
: What the hell… how can its flames trigger a Death Cross by themselves…?! (
: Damn, that’s a real major card she kept on her sleeve. (
: Psh. Now that ain’t something I’m gonna let happen, Chou Maryu or not! (
: However big the enemy we face, if all our hearts are united, then we 
: Daiya Tsuwabuki, I am no longer Proist’s puppet. If it takes my life to defeat her, then so be it! (
: I’m also ready to fight by your side. I’ve a debt to repay to Lee Jian-xing! (
: Sis! (
: My lady Proist, we’ve come to rescue you.
: Heh, what’s going on here? A buncha baddies ganging up on someone?
: The Darius have sent quite the feast over today – we’ve got both Demonic and Iron Beasts to pick from.
: So, how do you guys want your BBQ today? Medium rare or well done?
: Eeh, I’m gonna have to pass on undercooked Demon Beast, thanks.
: Come on, now, kids. Go and do your part as good ol’ champions of justice!
: Those are… ah, I get it! That LOTUS group Lulu talked about is finally open for business!
: These arms and legs got a whole lotta flame in them! You’ll be all set to go crazy after you’ve combined!
: Gaiking, parts 
: Hrm…? Where am I?
: Ah, I see you’ve awakened, Professor Grife.
: Come out, come out, wherever you are, Linebarrel!
: …
: You seem displeased, Wufei. You 
: Mind you, there is a second prey you’re luring today.
: The Dancouga.
: So that the Earth may be saved…
: Cmdr., give the order to carry on the offensive, please.
: Aaah!
: Over here, Risako! Hurry!
: That’s… Wufei?!
: …Emi.
: I’m here.
: Come, Linebarrel!
: Captain! We’ve numerous heat sources moving in on us!
: We’re on the same side! Why don’t you join LOTUS and we’ll fight for justice together?
: Hold on, now. Kouichi’s just a bit too hyped up with his newfound strength.
: The president’s right. All things said, he honestly just wants to protect the weak.
: And these readings show it’s got the same generator as the Dancouga? How is that possible…?
: Hmph…
: Judging by the data we’ve gathered, the Linebarrel’s regenerative abilities are a lot better than the other JUDA Machinas. Its output’s seemingly dropped since the start of the battle, but you should still be very careful!
: …You’re going too easy on him.
: The hesitation in your attacks is as clear as day.
: Yow, taking a closer look, this thing’s biiiig. (
: Of course it is – our people live in these. (
: The Minerva? That ship’s kind of light on crew size, I heard. (
: This is the Minerva speaking, we’re here to assist in the destruction of Junius Seven.
: Yzak…
: So this is Junius Seven, the abandoned agricultural colony…
: From what I’ve gathered, it’s something of a memorial of a tragedy from the old Great War.
: But we still need to break it down…!
: I can tell you myself.
: Well, if we just need to make some calibrations then this’ll be over easy.
: We’ve confirmation that the required amount of Meteor Breakers has been secured!
: All of the Meteor Breakers are under our control!
: We’ll put an end to your insane plan even if it takes our lives to do it!
: You’re all whelps who’ve forgotten their pride as Coordinators and I won’t suffer you interfering with our cause!
: Firing position, all clear! Tannhäuser engaged, targeting the dead center of the Mimetic Beast swarm!
: Party’s over, Mimetic Beasts!
: And we’ve come to back you up, Kabuto!
: Chairman Zala was brought down because his was the wrong path – why do you not see that? What we need now is—
: We’ve got the Darius, Mimetic Beasts and a bunch of other insane guys walking around!
: We 
: Roger. Macross Cannon – energy charge!
: OK, this should be enough footage. Not that we could have kept on monitoring for much longer, of course.
: Damn, this is real. What’s gonna happen to us and Earth now?
: Is… Is everyone going to die?
: Hey, Neo… ZAFT was trying to break Junius Seven, weren’t they? Shouldn’t we have helped them?
: Stand down, Nagumo. I think that’s enough insubordination for a day.
: My daughter died here! The world won’t change unless the colony falls and burns it!
: Tweet, tweet!
: … (
: (Things have gotten really hectic with the Alliance as well. Still, the least I can do is try and check what ZAFT’s new battleship can do.)
: This battle’s the Zamza-Zah’s showcase! I can’t let things get any worse!
: Haaaaaaah!!
: Yamashita, we’re getting ready to leave. I need your help with a few things.
: Their on-foot crew didn’t fly, so now they’re attacking with mobile weapons…? The underground bunker can’t take this for long.
: They’re coming after me, I think…
: But why now? (
: It’s not that strange, when you consider all the terrorist groups the world over. (
: Word around the grapevine is that those terrorists are laying low for now, though…! (
: These are the seeds of peace. You will not burn them away.
: Stealth disengaged. Shifting to combat mode.
: We’ve found one at last…!
: They self-destructed?!
