Robot 101 is essential curriculum - Let's Play Super Robot Wars L

Since everyone important is pretty much upgraded to 50% and we still have two other missions, plus the finale, I figured we could do what we did in MX and pick our favorite unit to make HUGE. I’ll be recording the Macross F finale today, saving the cash earned in that mission and 38 to spend on whoever wins.

Feel free to pick your one favorite unit from any of these:

  • Rushbird, Straybird
    
  • Mazinkaiser, True Great Mazinger
    
  • Linebarrel, Vardant
    
  • Iczer-1, 2, 3
    
  • Alto, Ozma, Luca, Michel, Brera's Valkyrie
    
  • Kenji, Jeeg
    
  • Destiny or Legend Gundam
    
  • Godannar, Blade Gainer
    
  • Dancouga Nova
    
  • EVA-01, 02
    
  • Wing Zero
    
  • Combattler, Voltes
    
  • Gaiking
    

The vote should remain open until it’s time to run mission 40, which should be around Tuesday at most? Make that Sunday. I’m rushing through this so I can get my 魂イイィィィ on immediately.

Make sure you bold out your vote. If you prefer, feel free to post your vote on any of mission 38’s youtube videos as well - I’ll count them.

Gaiking Za Gureato

Edit: Oh, an update. Whoops.

So the Quarter’s new attacks are actually really fucking powerful, it can breach 7000 at max upgrades and the only other things that do that require partner bonuses, combined units, or combination attacks.

53192 damage, seems legit.

After tallying the votes on all threads, Daiya managed to snag victory over Iczer-1 by a single vote.

Remember this day as the moment we gave a kid unlimited power.

Click to see the mission!


And Daiya’s managed to both catch up and gain a rather sizeable lead over Ichitaka in the last mission – the Vajra really didn’t like him. Still won’t cover the 70-kill gap that separates him and Rey, but 2nd place is 1st place to those who’ve been earning kills legit for the entire game!


We’re saving our money today, so it’s straight to the deployments. Alto and Brera are deploying as event units, so here’s how we’re going:
Dancouga/Hilde
Daiya/Deceive
Kouichi/Quatre
Lee/Norza
Kenji/Kyo
Jeeg/Micchi
Shinji/Rey
Kouji/Sawatari
Tetsuya/Canaria
Kira/Athrun
Iczer-3/Soubi
Goh/Yanma
Eida/Anna
Iczer-1/Iczer-2
Ozma/Luca
Ichitaka/Miu
Voltes/Combattler
Yuu/Heero
Shinn/Yulianne
Michel/Cagalli
Ken/Lou

Let’s get to it.

: Kneel before me! I am she whose power rivals God, she who rules over fate itself!
: “Rivals God”?!
: I now share a direct connection with the Vajra Queen… and her command is absolute among her spawn. In other words, the Vajra will do anything I say.
: And it is all thanks to you, Ranka… You’ve my deepest gratitude.
: …!
: What’s that supposed to mean?!
: Grace O’Connor saw that Ranka’s song could communicate with the Vajra, so she analyzed it and used the result of that research to decode the Vajra Network’s protocols.
: Hmhmhm… Her abilities were essential towards realizing my theory.
: You… you used Ranka for something like that?!
: I did, yes. But I’ve no further need for her song now that I’ve established my connection with the Queen…
: Go forth, Vajra – my eyes, my ears, my hands and feet… My mighty talons!

: I won’t let you have this your way, Grace…! Tabi no hajimari wa… ♪
: I’ll help, Sheryl! Kisetsu ga yabukete… ♪

: Aaaah!
: Ranka!
: The Vajra aren’t listening to them…?!
: I told you: the Queen’s command – that is, my command – is absolute. It won’t be undone by a couple of girls’ wailing!

: So you’re not even going to consider how they feel and just force them to obey you?! Can’t you see how terrible that is?!
: “Terrible”…? You’re telling me to consider the feelings of creatures that have never shown any semblance of having such things…?
: Oh, please! These are brainless, emotionless, hivemind creatures that communicate via bacteria! You’ve absolutely no grasp on the Vajra’s true magnificence… just like Ranka’s mother, Ranche!
: Their magnificence…? Does that have something to do with that theory you mentioned?
: My research, yes… To establish a galaxy-spanning mental network for all of mankind, centered around Fold Quartz and cybernetic implants.
: And with the Vajra, my dream can be made a reality… a superdimensional network where the minds of every person can communicate and interface with one another instantly!
: Once humanity has achieved this, it’ll rise to its pinnacle as a species! It’ll be reborn as a unified entity, and I’ll use the Vajra to destroy anyone who refuses conversion!
: … That’s the stupidest thing I’ve heard all week. How did you figure this “pinnacle as a species” deal was ever a good idea?
: What did you say…?!

: So everyone would hear any thoughts I had? Oh, no, no, I’m going to pass on that! I wouldn’t want folks to know when I’m going “Ooh, that guy’s hot”!
: Humanity might have set off into space, but that didn’t change our nature as humans. We find love, marry one another, have children and pass on our songs and our culture. Feelings take root and are relayed to others…
: That’s what it means to live… mundane things like that. We don’t want or need your “superdimensional network”!
: Your approach is too much like Central’s! And, worst of all, I really don’t like how you think you’re the only one in this world who’s just!
: I didn’t expect philistines like you to understand my grand designs! After them, my Vajra!

: Drop your princess at the Macross, Alto! We’ll reorganize while you’re doing that!
: Y-Yeah, I’m on it!

: Sheryl!
: Ranka…! Thank goodness you’re safe. Things would’ve been way too dull without my rival.
: Ahahaha, I guess so.
: How’s that, Sheryl? Promise made, promise kept.
: Oh, yes, you… Do you have any idea how worried you had me…?
: Yeah, sorry about that. I mean it.
: Sniff So long as we’re clear, that’s fine…
: Sheryl, are you crying…?
: Shush, you! Now get back out there! I’m extending my moratorium on hearing you out – consider that your punishment!
: … Alright, I’m off!
: (I still need to sing…! I need to stay alive… and sing…!)
: Sheryl…


Mission 39 – Journey’s End

: (Don’t let me down yet, good-luck charm…! You helped me save Ranka, you can get us through this…!)
: I trust everyone understands what’s at stake? Failure here would mean the Vajra bearing down not just on this world, but in all parallel ones as well…!
: We cannot allow her to fan the flames of war across the universe again!
: Damn straight. And so we gotta take the fight to her!
: All units, engage!


Take out Grace, don’t lose any ships, Alto or Brera. This one’s pretty much a repeat of the previous mission, only you’ve more Vajra and Grace is a far stronger boss than the Galaxy. Same strategies apply, though: be liberal with your Confuse casts (especially in the first rounds), spread out command auras and don’t be afraid to pop Strikes since the buggers are still very dodgy.
Do make sure to keep an eye on your Supers and ships, because the Vajra have pretty long range and they can rain death upon an unprotected unit – until you get their numbers down some, always be ready to cast Iron Wall and a couple of heals.


Vajra Queen (Grace O’Connor)
Pilot Skills:
Break Morale Limit
Commander L4
Prevail L9
Attack Combo L3
Mech Features:
Dimensional Fault
10% HP Regen
30% EN Regen

Pretty much a straight upgrade to the Battle Galaxy, the Vajra Queen has more of everything and 200k HP. Grace’s stats are pretty high but, thanks to her not seeing fit to buy Ignore Size Difference, her aim will take a hit against our guys – if you’re running Confuse, even your supers will have a not-insignificant chance to dodge.
In truth, what you really should watch out for is her MAPW with strikes with the same AoE as Canaria’s. That means if you’re sending some of your frailer guys down below, take the time to count where the safe zones are. Her strongest attack also has a lengthy 3-9 range, so be especially mindful with your ships.
That Dimensional Fault is something we’ll see in a bit – just be mindful that it’s a barrier and that combo attacks bypass it. But even with it and that Prevail, 200k is still easily doable in one round for our folks.


VF-27 Lucifer-γ (Brera Stern)
Pilot Skills:
Shoot Don
Sword Cut
Shield Defense
Counter
Hit & Away
Ignore Size Difference
Support Attack L1
Support Defense L1
Attack Combo L1
Spirit Commands:
Accelerate
Sense
Snipe
Confuse
Soul
Squad Bonus: 25% chance to dodge attacks, Mobility +15, Movement +1

You might not like Brera as a character (I don’t!), but there’s no denying that he is one of the strongest Reals in the game. First and foremost, he’s pretty much unhittable combining the Valkyries’ natural evasiveness wit S ranks in Air and Space, and a flat 25% chance to outright dodge. Secondly, his weapons are strong as no-one’s business, long range (and he comes with Hit & Away, you see that Kira/Heero?!) and, better yet, they’re all ammo based and have plenty of shots.
As a pilot, Brera already comes loaded with everything he needs, except B-Save, and his stats are appropriately high where it matters. Objectively, there’s no reason not to field him and he might just get even better soon enough.

Regardless, let’s start heading south. Like I said, don’t worry about spending your SP (you’ll get a refill soon).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZUKgDuZ_GaE
And we’ll see more of Brera’s tricks as we go along.


Hrrmm.

: With but a single command from me the Vajra will immediately swarm across the entire universe.
: I don’t care what happens to me… And while I still don’t know how much power the EVA has, I will make sure that my friends and the people of Earth are kept safe from you!


HA!


Once the enemy’s down to 23…

: Urgh, there’s just no end to them!
: Our ammo stores won’t last forever in this. The situation’s looking bleak.
: Our forces can’t handle a war of attrition against these things…!
: What about Ranka and Sheryl? Are their songs doing anything?
: They’re still singing as best they can, but…
: The Queen’s massively strong Fold Waves have built a rock-solid network across the entire star system…!
: So their voices just aren’t enough to overpower the Queen’s commands…?!

Beep, beep!

: This is…Sheryl’s vitals are going critical?! She can’t take any more of this…!
: What?!
: Hrk… Sorry… Ranka, Alto…

Collapse.

: Sheryl! You have to hang in there! I can’t do this by myself…!
: And, at the end of the day, this is all the vaunted “power of song” amounts to. The legend of Minmay, of Fire Bomber… All of those were nothing but illusions.
: No… is there really nothing we can do…?
: Don’t give up.
: She’s right – you can’t!
: Lacus! …Um, there’re two Lacus…?
: Her name is Meer; she acted as my stand-in for quite a while. I believe you two met at Diokia.
: No, I was just an imposter… But the emotions I wanted others to feel were real – what I carried within my heart was real. And, so, I wanted to sing despite everything…!
: You also feel the same way, don’t you, Ranka? Then you can’t lose hope!
: Meer…
: Our voices will support your own, so go and sing. Let all here listen to your heart…!
: We all managed to understand one another before, so I know you can get through to the Vajra as well, Ranka!
: Okay, brother. And thank you, Lacus, Meer. I… I’ll keep singing!

: That’s… some Vajra stopped attacking!
: Ranka’s Fold Waves are growing to rival that of the Vajra Queen…
: Ranka, your song is…
: Stand up, Sheryl.
: Ranka… It’s over for me. There’s nothing left…
: I poured everything I had into that song… but I couldn’t do anything…
: You idiot!

Slap!

: …!
: Think! How do you figure I managed to fly as high as I did?! It’s because you were there to help me!
: And the same goes to Alto – you also gave him the strength he needed to fly!

: What… My body, my head… the pain is gone?
: The light of the Fold Waves are…
: Grace said that the V-Type Infection is caused by the intestinal bacteria that support the Vajra mental network…
: You helped the Vajra realize that you’re not their enemies, so they stopped attacking your body. They’re trying to coexist…
: Alto…
: Sheryl, you said that if you had any way you could be useful, then you wanted to be fighting with us…!
: And we’re all still here, fighting together! So, please… come on, Sheryl! You…
: You are both my wings!!
: Let’s all fly together again, Sheryl!
: Ranka, Alto… thank you…!

: Let’s get to it, then! One duet between the Galactic Fairy and the Superdimensional Cinderella, just for the Vajra!
: Make this one the show of your lives, you two!
: Of course – who do you think I am? Come on, Ranka!
: Ready, Sheryl!
: LISTEN TO OUR SONG!!


:siren:

: The Queen’s protocols aren’t working?! Their songs are that powerful…?!
: Still… it’s all pointless!

: Captain, incoming!
: Hrm!
: …!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zyhxBYOJs4U

: Th-They…!
: The Vajra protected us?!
: Our song got through to them…! They saw how we felt…!
: Thank you… thank you so much!
: What garbage! I am your Queen, Vajra! Obey my command!

: They’re still coming.
: But it all boils down to Grace O’Connor. She’s fused with the Vajra Queen, so if we can take her out…
: Then we could to set the Vajra free, yes!
: That is to say, our target should only be the Vajra Queen… or, rather, that woman herself!
: You heard it, people. It’s been a long road getting here, but it all comes down to this…
: To all warriors who stand on this battlefield, all those who bear pride upon their wings: forward!
: Here goes! Charging Love Heart!
: Come on, Klan! We’ll win this and pry open the way to our future!
: Aye, aye! Just don’t fall behind!
: Let’s go, Skull 4.
: Yeah!


Patience, people. I need the cash to max out our favorite unit, so those other Vajras have to go. You might notice that big 0 popping by Grace, however.

: Our attack didn’t connect…?!

Beep, beep!

: That’s… a dimensional fault?!
: You mean those Fold Faults we heard about? She’s using that as a barrier?!
: I did say that the Queen’s power rivals that of God, no?
: Kch…! Can none of our weapons get through that?!
: Damn it, and we gotta find a way around that barrier if we wanna take her down…!
: Isn’t there any way to neutralize it…?
: (Oh, no… we need to do something or our future – Alto’s future – will be taken from us…!)
: (More, Sheryl…! Put more of your soul into that song! I’m sure this is nowhere near the best you’ve to offer…!)
: (Because… because you’re Sheryl Nome!)
: (I can’t let this be the end! We need to win or I’ll never be able to tell him everything I feel!)

: Pyui!

: …! The… The Vajra are neutralizing the dimensional fault…!
: Impossible! Why are you opposing me?! The Queen’s orders should be absolute…!
: You still don’t get it, Grace? It’s because the Vajra do have feelings!
: We’ve confirmation that the dimensional fault has been weakened! We should be able to attack the Queen now!
: The Vajra are putting their lives on the line to give us an opening! Focus fire on the Vajra Queen!
: Let’s do this, everyone!
: We can’t waste this chance!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RLLuthY9RTg
19 missions later, I can finally show the DK for this attack.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vs-PO_0Wixc
Also this one, 27 missions later.


The girls are still singing, with the songs changing every turn.


Oh, you.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7FS6NiEUFZE
Goh takes a decent-ish hit from this, but everyone else dodges.


But in two turns, the remaining Vajra are all gone and we can finally focus on Grace.


:siren: :siren:

: Power over destiny itself is something no human should have!
: Which is why I’ve abandoned my human form… or, better put, why I had to abandon it.
: You mean your conversion to a fully mechanical body? But you’re still human, like any of us!
: Not anymore, now that I’ve attained the power of the Vajra!
: Wrong! Whether they’ve power or not, humans are always still human! And that applies to you!

: You need only look at it objectively and you’ll see what the love you feel truly is: electrical impulses bouncing about your synapses. It’s as simple as that.
: What I’m doing is creating a network around that… so there’s nothing to be afraid of, you see.
: … But there are always some things that humans have to protect.
: I’ll set humanity free – they won’t need to concern themselves with such trifles.
: You can’t. They’ll always be there – within people – even if we cannot see them.
: And those who understand that have a duty to fight for all that is worth fighting for!

: Hey, granny! Don’t you see how much your control is hurting those little bugs?!
: Even without my control, they’d still be bound to the Vajra Queen. One way or another they’d fight you, so this makes no difference, don’t you think?
: Wrong! Ranka’s managed to befriend the Vajra!
: Purely an illusion born of the Fold Waves in her voice. The Vajra hold no such feelings…!
: I’ve seen plenty of animals and you know what I felt in them? A heart filled with kindness!
: And I feel the exact same thing coming from the Vajra!

: I confess I was somewhat worried when I was first informed of the Cthulhu. I thought I’d need to revise my plans…
: But, thanks to your group defeating all of their monsters and weapons, things have actually turned out quite simple. Much appreciated.
: Now the Cthulhu should only have non-combatants left in their ranks…
: Are you thinking of forcing your cybernetic implants on them too?!
: Of course. My plan is to accomplish that which not even the Protoculture could in all of its 500000 years of history: to unify the galaxy.
: Grace O’Connor… I cannot turn the other cheek to your insanity!

: I hope you didn’t expect me to forget how you were the one forcing Brera to do all that stuff!
: But once our minds are part of my network, human bodies will simply be terminals meant for physical actions, concurrently belonging to every person.
: And you seriously don’t see how bad that is?! There’d be no individual freedom is this world you’re preaching!

: Were you the one behind the attack at Mihoshi?!
: No, that was not part of my plan…
: I’d wager some Vajra eggs had been laid and incubated in secret. Once they established a link with Ranka’s psyche, they ran amuck.
: What… are you suggesting Ranka wanted all that destruction to happen…?
: Hmm… I wouldn’t go so far as to say she consciously wanted it, but the fact is that the girl’s surging emotions did affect the Vajra.
: The Vajra are feared as very unpredictable creatures… and I’ll use their threat to fuel the unification of the galaxy!
: What you were supposed to have done was help protect mankind from that very threat!
: But, instead, you were blinded by their massive power and wanted it make it your own! Something like that could never benefit humanity!

: Even you are completely powerless before the Vajra. Surrender…!
: The paparazzi are gonna go wild over this: manager to the stars signs up as manager to a horde of crazy bugs…
: Not exactly, Juzo. We just gotta take her out, and things with the Vajra might just take a turn for the better.
: Here we go, Combattler! We’ll keep galactic peace safe from that lady!

: Mechanical gods, born again from ancient times… and Kouji Kabuto, pilot of the Devil that destroyed them all.
: Were you willing, I would’ve easily allowed you to join Brera as my enforcer. Truly a shame.
: “Were you willing”? Them’s some fine words when you were just yelling about how you were either going to force people to obey and kill those who didn’t!
: You’re just another wannabe dictator and Kouji Kabuto’s always ready to run those into the dirt!

: What a surprise to find that you’re such a rotten person, O’Connor.
: Had I known you were like this, I’d never have taken my eyes off you at that Idol Contest – or even back at that movie shoot.
: But you couldn’t, which shows how limited humans are while they remain bound to their physical bodies!
: And so it falls on me to guide humanity to greater heights! I’ll make this a magnificent world!
: Hmph… I don’t think so. It’s your yearnings as a scientist that fuel your plans… and there’s something dark at the core of it all!
: I’d never believe anything you say before you find a way to fix that!

: Why do you stand against me…?! With this power at my disposal, all of humanity could come to share and unite their minds! We could be freed from strife, hunger and from our physical limitations!
: Because I couldn’t really play my haggling mind-games if things got like that.
: Because there’s no greater feeling that searching and finding the one you love.
: Because it wouldn’t feel right to have other folks help me set things straight with my old man. I wanna talk to him mano a mano after how long that’s gone on for.
: Because while I don’t like always having to watch my back, I really don’t like the idea of everyone getting courtside seats to all of my private thoughts.
: … And there you have it. Team D is 100% against your plan – the bad outweighs the good thrice over.
: Why… Why can’t you see how magnificent it’d all be!
: Listen, if you like the sound of that, more power to you. But where we draw the line is when you decide to start imposing your dream on everyone else!
: We’ve all got stuff we want to do and you’re not stopping us. And we’ll start by bringing peace back to this world!

: This world you’re trying to create sounds as boring as watching paint dry. There’d be no thrills and excitement there!
: Once you’re connected to my network, you’d be together with your beloved regardless of the distance between you. Surely that world also meets your desired standards.
: Sorry, but I like understanding folks with my fists, not with some crazy brain-mixing tech thing. It feels way more satisfying that way, see!

: Vajra Queen, dead ahead…
: I can see what a tender-hearted boy you are… but I assure you the world that awaits will not be one that saddens you.
: A blade will strike down those who oppose the conversion of mankind, yes, but it will not be wielded by pilots like you. It’ll be the Vajra who do so.
: It is not just us, pilots, who bear scars in our hearts. Every human has them, and those can never be erased…
: Oh, don’t worry. Whatever pain you might feel can be easily erased once you’re part of my network. Any unpleasant emotions can just be exchanged.
: I refuse to accept any world that shows such disregard to human emotions. Grace O’Connor… I’ll kill you…!


“Target IDed: Vajra Queen.”

: How did you feel when you lost your parents? Were you sad? In pain?
: But those emotions don’t need to hold any sway over you. Just allow me to free you from your human flesh!
: Hey, keep your nose outta folks’ private life! Mr. Ishigami did that, sure, but he never went too far and it was always to help us! You? You’re just being a creep!
: I’ve often heard that people grow by facing and overcoming their sorrows. Doing away with that and making everyone happy all the time would just be detrimental to humanity!
: This impudent puppet…! Your emotions are all fabrications! You’re no different from the bugs!
: Alright, listen here, you…! You and your rotten standards got absolutely no right to deny Alice’s life!

: Why do you insist on doing something like this?!
: Scientific curiosity has pushed humanity into making tremendous evolutionary jumps in this word as well…
: You were born from that same curiosity, Kira Yamato, the Super Coordinator. Surely you can see that.
: “To go the farthest, to climb the highest”… it’s for that reason that you hijacked the Vajra’s network?!
: …That’s right. What I want is to realize my theory and to lead humanity to its pinnacle!
: Then what do you have to say about the turmoil I feel inside your heart?!

: So you’ve been tricking us since forever, eh?!
: Only because you are so easily tricked. How many times has that happened to you? And I’m sure it’ll happen again and again.
: Zip it! I can be tricked a hundred billion times, that’s not making me stop believing in people!
: Doubting everyone you meet is no way to live your life!

: You’re still alive, Michel Blanc…
: Lucky me, huh? FYI, I don’t want you calling me “Michel” anymore, thanks.
: You said your entire body was cybernetic, right? Did you do some hacking to look into my sister and my friends’ lives?
: I did, and it yielded so much useful intel.
: You’re sick…!

: Do you honestly think your lone Valkyrie can stand up to the Queen? Imbecile.
: Maybe, maybe not, but when it comes to defending the two most important ladies in my life, I’ll always give 100%!
: You sound like a teenager. Someone with your age ought to be smarter than that.
: Sorry, but I’m no grown-up. I’m just a brute trying to do what’s right!

: Step forward, worms… The Macross embodies your hope and I’ll tear it to bits with the Queen’s power!
: We’re going in, crew! Our target’s Grace O’Connor!
: Aye, aye!


Jeffrey: “We are here to turn your ambitions to dust, Grace O’Connor!”

: Ranche’s bloodline never stops being a bother, does it?!
: I won’t let you use Ranka for your schemes again! And I’ll never go back to being your puppet!
: Sadly, I don’t need you or the girl any more. I’ve the Vajra and their power to serve as my sword and shield!

: This is the end of the road for you, Grace O’Connor!
: Foolish boy… how easily you lose control to fleeting emotions. Of course you’d reject what I’m doing.
: But your youthful zeal will eventually be sullied by the muck of reality, smothered by the common men!
: Even if that happened, we’d never give up hope…! Rather, hope is what we give to ourselves and to others, and you’re not taking it away!


Alto: “I’m not about to be sacrificed for your plans!”

: The Vajra Queen’s stopped moving!
: Why don’t you understand…?! I represent the pinnacle of human evolution!
: “Evolution”?! All you’re doing is preying on the Vajra!
: Indeed, inching closer and closer to one’s pinnacle is a facet of an ideal evolution.
: But you have no right forcing that evolution onto others!
: Plus, while your superdimensional network may sound good on paper, it’s easy to see that it’d result in a world where you stand at the top of said network.
: Every system needs an administrator… the Vajra themselves could never be controlled without the Queen’s own network!
: Do you understand what I’m saying? If the Queen dies here, the Vajra will be leaderless and will go berserk.
: What, so you first jack the Queen and now you’re threatening us to let you stay there?!
: … No, it’ll be fine. Grace has fused herself with the Queen’s head!
: Aim there, Alto! The Vajra’s heart isn’t in their head, but in their venter!
: That’s where they sing from!
: I see…! Then if we just destroy the head, we can finish this without killing the Queen…!
: Now the tides turn in our favor… It all comes down to you, Alto Saotome!
: Show us all how well you dance!
: I’ll cover you, Alto!
: … Alright!
: Go, Alto!
: Seal the deal and make it a good one!
: The future of the galaxy!
: And our hopes!
: Everything is in your hands!
: HERE I GO!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SqEb9VGE72E
Alto: “Brera!”
Brera: “I’m on it. Come on, Alto!”
Alto: “Haaaaah!” > “ATTACK!” > “Now, Brera!”
Brera: “Grace O’Connor… I’ve realized something while I was connected to you.” > “That, wherever they are, humans are always alone!” > “But!”
Alto: “It’s because we are alone!” > “That we can… LOVE ANOTHER!!”

: …

: …

: The Vajra… are pulling back…
: And, now, our long battle with them is finally over…
: (Thank you, everyone… It’s only because of you that we can now live like this…)
: (Goodbye… Grace…)

: It’s beautiful…
: So this is the Vajra’s homeworld…
: That’s a really pretty planet the little bugs call home.
: And the Frontier people might have to make this their home as well.
: Really, Luca?
: Courtesy of Mishima’s crazy plan. The Fleet’s energy reserves are pretty much spent, so it’s too risky to try and go elsewhere.
: Of course, that’s assuming the Vajra will let us stay.
: I’m sure it’ll be fine. Ai-kun and me managed to understand how each other felt.
: Pyui!
: How the Vajra feel, huh…
: Right. It’s not quite like ours, but the Vajra do have feelings of their own.
: But they couldn’t understand why humans live separated from one another, why we’re always acting differently. But I could communicate through Fold Waves, so they tried to “save” me from these unfamiliar humans.
: That’s the reason why they kept fighting us…? A misunderstanding?
: How very ironic. While we were focused on the combat itself, they were just trying to save a perceived friend.
: They say dogs never forget those that are kind to them, and that it shows that they’ve far purer souls than humans. Guess that also applies to the Vajra.
: But that changed when they felt Sheryl singing. She wasn’t me, and so they realized that humans are different from each other…
: They realized that we’re beings that need to actively convey our feelings in order to understand one another.
: In a way, this was a repeat of our encounter with the Zentradi. Two different civilizations finding one another, clashing due to the wide gap between us…
: But we can bridge that gap, no? Just like our ancestors did.
: That all depends on what we do.
: Brera Stern… so Ranka’s real brother had lost his memories and was enslaved by Grace…
: I guess that means I’m being relieved from my post.
: How can you say that, brother?!
: Ozma Lee, you are Ranka’s real brother.
: Brera…
: I’ve only known Ranka when she was a small child, and over these past few months. I’ve none of the past you’ve shared with her… and I don’t know how to make pineapple cake.
: And I’m sure she’d really miss you if you left her life like that…
: Right, you can’t go, brother…!
: Her brother over the years, her real brother, her soul brother… whichever one of these you are, it doesn’t change the family ties between you.
: Unless you’re suddenly bothered by this, I see no reason for you to say “no”.
: You’re right… Ranka…
: Oh, brother…!

Later on…

: Hey, Ranka.
: Ah, Nagisa… I’m so sorry for worrying you like that.
: It wasn’t just her, you know. There were a ton of people who were worried.
: Huh? Um… are you Nagisa’s sister?
: Ahahah… I knew you’d say that…
: I’m also Nagisa – Nagisa Kanou.
: Oh, so you were the one who was kidnapped when I was down on Earth!
: I’m glad to see you’re okay! But… if I may ask, how are you related to Nagisa?
: It’s a bit of a long story, so we’ll have to save that for later. Blah… having that mental network would actually be pretty handy right about now. Then we wouldn’t need to explain anything.
: Now, now, don’t try to take the easy way out. Besides, it’ll be pretty fun to tell her all your stories, right?
: Speaking of, there’s something I don’t get. The Vajra are creatures that don’t need to communicate with words, right? Then just what was that song of yours to them, Ranka?
: It was a love song.
: A love song?
: My mother taught it to me when I was a kid and I never forgot it.
: See, every tens of thousands… or every tens of millions of years, even, the Vajra meet with a flock from another galaxy. That song is their mating call to them.
: “Aimo, Aimo”… it means “my darling, my darling”.
: A love song played once every tens of millions of years… How romantic.
: Sheryl, look!
: … Ah, here comes that idiot.

Thruster noise.

: (The sky… this is what Ranka and Sheryl made possible for us. A real sky, awash with freedom…!)

Below…

: There he goes… I don’t think I’ve ever seen him fly that way…
: Maybe you two should go after him? You are both his wings, after all.
: …!!
: I-I’m sure that idiot didn’t mean it that way!
: Sure, sure, we can go with that. Becaa~aause if that was a real confession… hoo, boy.
: Well, keep at it, you two! Patience is a virtue – especially for you girls!
: I’m telling you, you got it all wrong!

: Um, Sheryl…
: Hm?
: I’m not about to lose to you. Not in singing, not in love!
: …!! Hahah, I’ll take you up on that challenge!

Up above…

: … Is that Ranka and Sheryl?
: Thanks… both of you!

Jeeeet!

: Sheryl…
: This is where it all begins…!
: Aimo… Aimo… ♪


Some time later, back at the Quarter, Kentarou reports that while things are far from perfect with the Fleet, the new provisional government is keeping it all running. Birler confirms that they’ll be immigrating into the Vajra homeworld – their investigation has shown that the place is completely suited to support human life.
Now it’s just a matter of letting things settle down with the Fleet and the immigration can begin in earnest. Of course, they’ll first need to carefully negotiate with the Vajra, but Birler is confident. Things are finally starting to look up.
But never mind that for now: Lam’s receiving an emergency Fold transmission from the Dannar Base.


It’s Kiriko, but her message is coming in too broken up: “……Earth is……They……. All bases……destroyed…….requesting… immediate help……….”
The message cuts out right then, but we got that part about bases being destroyed. How? Central’s gone, all other major enemy factions as also dealt with; we didn’t spend that much time away from Earth, either. Plus, Earth was still being covered by the SDF, the Katou Organization and all the other groups.
Speculation won’t get us anywhere, though, so Murrue asks Misato that we need to get back there immediately. Misato’s loathe to pull Jeffrey away from here after they’ve finally found a new home, but the captain was going to give us a ride back anyway. The Quarter’s already been charging up energy for a Fold back to Earth, and it should be ready soon.
As Jeffrey commands his crew to psyche themselves up and prepare for their return voyage, Yuu sees the writing on the wall: “Bases all across Earth destroyed… can it be…?”

“She’s just a human. Humans are only human.”

Also, interesting thing that this game briefly brings up in a few conversations, which isn’t elaborated on outside side material and the movies (due to vastly different events) - “Grace O’Connor” is a prisoner inside her own body. Between installing her cybernetics and the start of the show, the leaders of the Galaxy Fleet took control of her body from her, leaving her incapable of doing anything of her own volition. In the show this is only briefly alluded to in the finale, but it is very canon.

Oh yeah, and have to love that GC tier “welp, we finally finished killing this big bad series villain. Now we can go home and rela-FUCK everything is on fire!” ending. Be ready for the beginning of the Nintendo Handheld team’s fetish of handing an upgrade at the end of the second to last stage of the game.

Click to see the mission!


Two missions left to go, so let’s not waste time. Rey continues to crush the competition, nearly a full 100 kills ahead of the competition, but what you might notice is that Jesus decided to bump off Ichitaka out of 3rd place. I haven’t been abusing his MAPW anywhere near as much as Rey’s but I guess I did enough.


And you wanted Daiya to become HUGE, so here it is. On top of having stats to rival ships and Real robots, and enough firepower to reduce several nations into a smoldering crater, Gaiking the Great’s Squad Bonus has been buffed once again: +250 Armor, +25 mobility, 2000 barrier, +2 movement.
Daiya straight-up can no longer be killed.


Finally, as you might expect, Ichitaka and Yuu are deploying as event units, so we adjust accordingly:
Dancouga/Hilde
Daiya/Deceive
Kouichi/Quatre
Lee/Norza
Kenji/Kyo
Jeeg/Micchi
Rey/Cagalli (we’re back on land, and the upcoming enemies have a lot of fliers)
Kouji/Sawatari
Tetsuya/Canaria
Kira/Athrun
Iczer-3/Soubi
Goh/Yanma
Eida/Anna
Iczer-1/Iczer-2
Ozma/Luca
Heero/Michel
Voltes/Combattler
Alto/Brera
Shinn/Yulianne
Asuka/Lou
Shinji/Dearka

Off we go.

: De-Fold and Warp Out successful. All LOTUS vessels are confirmed present.
: No abnormalities with any of our ships. The Flag’s navigation systems are all green as well.
: And… no signs of hostiles?

Looks around the trashed map.

: What… what the hell happened here…?!
: It’s… awful…
: The whole area’s destroyed… There’re no signs of people, either.
: Can we establish contact with any of our facilities…?!
: We’re trying the Dannar Base, Build Base, and all science institutes – no one’s answering us!
: No one at all…?! You don’t mean…!
: We need to assess the situation on the double. I can’t even imagine how much damage’s been done across the globe.
: Satellite communications are down, though. The regular comm channels are being jammed as well…
: So the enemy first cut off all intelligence networks and then moved to conquer all relevant locations in one fell swoop…? But how could anyone…
: It’s not that impossible, you know.
: What…?
: Think back to Kiriyama’s coup of Japan. All it took was enough planning and he managed to take over the entire country rather quickly.
: But this one was an assault on a global scale. No one should be able to—

Alarm!

: We’re detecting a unit on high-speed approach! IDed as… GreAT’s!

: That unit… HL-1?!
: That’s correct, Ichitaka Nagumo.
: Wait, if you’re here… Was your group the one behind all this destruction?!
: Who else but we could have done it?
: But this isn’t something you could’ve pulled off easily. Mind telling us what kind of trick you used?
: It was nothing special, really. As you may know, GreAT is a manufacturer and distributor of all kinds of electronics for the entire world…
: All it took was causing all those to shut down simultaneously. That’s it.
: I get it now…! Then the reason Prof. Grife scrapped those upgrade plans for Alice using GreAT-made components…!
: Was because he noticed those parts were faulty, and realized GreAT couldn’t be trusted…!
: I am not privy to such matters. But, regardless, all major Earth nations, as well as the PLANTs, are already under our control.
: Did you raze those nations to the ground, like you did this city…?!
: How many innocent people did you kill…?!
: I ask that you calm down. You may find it hard to believe, but civilian casualties were almost nil.
: But Central is already defeated. Control of your Earth should have returned to the hands of the United Nations Government.
: Yet, here you are still attacking our world. What reason do you have for doing this?
: Before you have your answer, I have something to show you.

Beep.

: …
: What the…?!
: …
: …
: F-Father! Ms. Relena!
: …
: And they are not the only ones. Prof. Kiriko Aoi, Prof. Senjiro Shiba… all of Earth’s top scientific minds are squarely in our hands.
: …
: That’s… Professor!
: You! What did you do to them?!

Bloop.

: Please, do not worry. They’re all simply asleep… for now, at least.
: …?! Who the hell are you?!
: Why, I’m certain Hisataka Katou told you all about me.
: Then, you’re…!
: I never had the pleasure of meeting most of you, so allow me to introduce myself. I am Ludo Gloria, president of the New United Nations Government…
: Though, in this world, perhaps my claim to fame is as GreAT’s founder.
: True, I remember reading about you in “Men’s Business Monthly”.
: And with introductions out of the way, let us return to your previous question, Col. Katsuragi. The reason why we’re still attacking despite Central’s defeat is quite simple: I want this Earth.
: Wha— Then it’s the same damn thing as that bucket of bolts?!
: Not quite, little Satoru Yamashita. My ultimate goal is world peace… mind you, by that, I mean the world I’m from.
: While Central wanted this world to sate its thirst for expansionism, I need it to help my resource-starved people.
: And is that the reason why you were nowhere to be seen during Central’s offensive?
: Not quite. If I simply wanted to make this world my own, I could have simply kept cooperating with Central. No, I actually had faith – faith that you would be capable of destroying Central!
: You had faith in us…? What are you getting at?!
: Oh, I see how it is…!
: He’s just like Mr. Birler, who’d cooperated with Grace and Leon for a while, despite his motives being completely different from theirs…!
: Very good. Even if various groups share an objective, it’s impossible for their motives to fully match one another. I’d wager that’s the same with you, no?
: So substantial revisions were then made to the plan – our own plan, not a joint one with them.
: What I’m getting from this, then, is that you saw things were going south for Central, so you decided to ditch your old allies.
: I never thought of Central as an “ally” to begin with. Though we had a cease-fire in place and exchanged technology with them, it was always meant as a temporary measure.
: “Temporary”?! But weren’t you the one who rose to power with those peace-talks with Central?!
: That was only possible because Central itself deemed they were much more likely to bolster their collective growth by exploiting humans, rather than carrying on a war of attrition with us.
: In truth, said “cease-fire” included several lopsided deals, like us having to look the other way to the Machina-Humans’ trespasses into our territory – not that the people were privy to that, of course.
: Central agreed to back our version of the story in return… but, really, it was only a matter of time before the hostilities resumed.
: So your political power was built on lying to your people? Now you’re a real piece of work.
: Dreadful business, I know. But, still, I am very much interested in establishing friendly relations with your group.
: As you saw, the professors are all safe, so I hope you’ll take that as a proof that I’m speaking the truth.
: … Get to the point. What are your demands?
: I’m glad you’re quick on the take. First things first, I’d like for us to have a nice, peaceful chat.
: I’ll be waiting for you at the Dannar Base. We’ll even hand the professors over once you’ve arrived – the sooner you do, the better, of course. Now, if you’ll excuse me…

Beep.

: Message has been delivered. We hope you’ll choose wisely, LOTUS.

: GreAT’s unit has left the airspace…
: …
: “Dreadful business, I know”… You’ve got a lotta nerve using that word…

Looks at the wrecked city.

: Is this what someone looking to “establish friendly relations” does…?! If this isn’t “dreadful”, then what is?!


Back at the Flag, Anna wonders what Gloria could be up to with this invitation; Mira and Athrun smell an obvious trap, but the guy has hostages, so we’ll just have to play along. Thankfully, not ALL of our allies have been captured and Sally manages to get in touch – she’s doing fine, and had to cobble up a comm device that could bypass the jamming and reach us.
Regardless, she confirms what we already feared: GreAT’s taken over nearly all military installations throughout the world, and while there are pockets of resistance, things aren’t looking good. Yagyuu still can’t believe they pulled off something like this. Even with them being able to shut down all electronics, how did they manage to deploy all those forces as quickly as they did?
Sally says GreAT has access to a warp device, so it wasn’t difficult for them to take advantage of the myriad bases’ failing defenses and walk right in. No one was in any condition to stop their blitz.


Kaji calls in and also relays the intel he’s available: GreAT has positioned those same red units we fought before in various strategic locations across the world. Misato’s surprised to hear from Kaji, but, no, she wasn’t worried – she’s too busy to worry about him. But he assures her that the intel’s legit: he personally came face-to-face with one of the GreAT units.
That takes Misato aback somewhat, but Kaji assures her that he’s well. And she shouldn’t look so uneasy, lest it affect Shinji and the others. Whatever the case, Yuu sees that GreAT’s mass-produced the unit we saw at Orb and Daedalus Base, and Kenichi’s expecting a tough fight if those have been deployed throughout the planet.
Worse, as Kaji relates, all countries are pretty much focused on trying to safeguard whatever they have left and can’t send troops to assist – we’re on our own, and he apologizes for not being able to help. But it’s fine and Misato asks him and Sally to stay safe.

As the call ends, Yuu approaches Misato: it’s very likely that the warp device GreAT’s using was created by Prof. Grife. As we heard before, those guys are using Grife’s brain as a tool to develop their own forces, and Haruno says it was theorized that the Dimensional Converter installed on the Rushbird and Straybird could’ve served as a basis for a warp device; the professor never went ahead with that since, one, he didn’t have the budget for it and, two, he didn’t care for the sponsors’ plans for the device.
Of course, GreAT had the budget and their Boazan brainwave scanner made convincing Grife a nonissue. And that brings us to the problem at hand, as GreAT now has all the greatest minds of Earth at their disposal. Yuu fears they’ll eventually get brain scanned as well, and the longer we take, the stronger our enemy will grow.
Plus, once GreAT figures the captives have served their purpose, they’ll likely be disposed of. We need to hurry, not just for our own sake, but for theirs as well.


Mission 40 – The Wings of Time

: Come on, come on… show yourself…!

: Welcome, my friends. I knew you’d accept my invitation.
: Yeah, here we are! Now hand over the professors!
: Patience. Before any of that, I’d like to extend my gratitude to all of you: the data we attained from you was exceedingly helpful in our conquest of Earth.
: HL-1, show it to them, if you would.
: Yes, sir… Fire!

: What the…! That was one of those Dimension Eater bombs?!
: Not exactly, it was miniaturized… that was an MDE Warhead…!
: And that is not all. We also have this.

Photon Beam Noise!

: What…! That was the Mazinger’s…!
: Your technology, and the tremendous effort you’ve put into perfecting and mastering it, is truly a sight to behold.
: So you not only analyzed our tech, you can now use it as your own…?!
: Didn’t your mom teach you that if you don’t give up, your dreams will all come true? And I have certainly never given up.
: I’ve believed in myself, I’ve always persisted, and, now, my dream is about to come true.
: Oh, drop the window dressing. What it all comes down to is that your “dream” is taking over the world, isn’t it?
: You’re free to look at it like that, if you like. But I think a group like yours, so unrelenting and dedicated, can understand where I’m coming from.
: But what about the common masses, those who do nothing but rely on your protection and savor the sweet fruits of your labor? Do those people deserve having guardians such as you? They know nothing of duty and obligation, always coasting on the peace you earned with your blood…
: So your point is: “we’re both hardworking sorts, so you should join me”. Are you actually serious?
: Do you find it strange? I’d like to think that I only amounted to a capable statesman because I understood the importance of belief and hard work.
: But what did all this rampant mobocracy, dominated by its shortsightedness, ever give you? War. Even now something as mundane as the correctness of genetic manipulation cleaved society in half, pitting man against man – twice.
: But that’s…!
: … Don’t, Shinn. We can’t deny the history of our conflict…
: But I value hardworking men and women like you quite a lot!
: While things may be a bit topsy-turvy right now, I’m confident I’ll create a peaceful society in due time. In fact, it’s already happening on the other world.
: Or can you stick out your chests and declare that, yes, the people would be happier if the old status quo was simply restored? Can you say that that is better for society than being ruled by me…?
: Without a shred of doubt!
: What…?

: If you let someone rule the world, who’ll be there to stop him when he makes a mistake? And, as a matter of fact, you’re already completely mistaken!
: Do you seriously think everybody is wrong, except you? You look too old to be acting like such a huge baby.
: I’ve been wrong more times than I can count… but I managed get back on the right track because I had friends around to stop and correct me!
: And when things got tough, they were always there to help me make it through.
: Ludo Gloria… do you have people like that? People whom you trust with all your heart?
: Everyone makes mistakes, and that’s fine. Because we can only appreciate what’s right when we’ve personally worked to find it.
: And that’s how people grow, from the day they’re born ‘til the day they die!
: Like the Chairman and Grace, you’re in way too much of a hurry to push society into being “perfect”, into reaching the “pinnacle” of its evolution!
: What humanity needs is time! And so long as people never lose the bonds they share with each other, there’s no way we won’t find a bright future waiting down the road!
: I suppose our negotiations have broken down… how unfortunate. Still, I am truly grateful to you all, so…

: He did have an ambush waiting for us.
: Consider this a small token of my gratitude. I hope it’s to your liking.
: And now I bid you farewell, my friends of LOTUS…

Bloop.

: Enemy data matched… Several non-GreAT units identified.

Looks ahead.

: Windams… and those are equipped with nuclear weapons…!
: And they’ve even got some Ghosts. At least they’re not Ghost V-9s.
: I think it’s fair to say that what we have here is a showcase of everything they studied over past battles.
: Hah, but they’re not beating us with just these…!
: We’re already old hands at being outnumbered, after all…!
: Misato, what about the hostages?!
: I’ve just sent a rescue party after them! Let the pros handle that while you focus on bringing down the enemy forces!
: Take care of my grandfather and the others, please…!
: The EVA has its A.T. Field because it’s meant to protect others… I’m sure of it! And I’ll make sure both Earth and everyone in it stays safe!
: Ichitaka, all meters are in the green – no problems at all!
: We’re winning this…! We’ll beat that guy and yank Earth right out his hands!


Destroy everything, don’t lose your ships, Rushbird or Straybird. We’re back again in the Dannar Base map but, thankfully, the enemies are pretty much all around solid ground – no need to worry about the goddamn water. That said, there are a lot of trees and cliffs, so your land-bound units will certainly take longer to get places.
As the scene told us, you’re staring down at a mob of myriad Earth-made mooks: Windams, Destroys, Jinrais, Ghosts, Fat Boys and the usual GreAT units. Honestly, this isn’t really hard so long as you prioritize a few things: other than the Strike Valleys, pay special attention to the Destroys due to their powerful attacks, so you’ll want to get them quick or they’ll build up the morale to MAPW.
The new Nuclear Windams… honestly, I didn’t see them do anything different. Maybe it takes a bunch of morale for them to use said nukes, but they’re all front and center, so you’ll likely kill them first.
All in all, you’ve done this song and dance several times before, so get to it. Do make sure to kill everything and save your SP by the time you take out HL-1, though, yes? Being able to rain valored attacks (and MAPWs, especially) will make things a lot simpler for you.


Any problems you might have, just throw Daiya at it until it goes away.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5lunEl230U
Heey, I finally had room for one of the SEED Flunkies! By the by, while Dearka’s best attack is tagged as the shotgun, this is actually the Hyper Impulse Long-Range Sniper Rifle and I’ve no idea why they didn’t use that name.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y2F3BSSjsdE
And, also, here’s the DK for the other one of Jeffrey’s new tricks.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ikhYLee4mdA
And after seeing it used in events twice, I FINALLY remember to get the DK of the last of Mode-C’s attacks on camera! :toot:
It’s pretty hard for a bot to look intimidating when it’s glowing in neon pink, I have to say.


Back to the drawing board with your bot!
FYI, I’d advise taking an extra turn if necessary and making sure you’ve all your units hanging by the Dannar Base before you down HL-1.

: You might be able to use our tech, but if you think that means you can make good use of it, think again!
: The effort it took to master those isn’t something you can copy that easily!
: True, we can’t install those in the Imperial Valley just yet. But it is only a matter of time. Just a bit longer and both myself and the Imperial Valley will receive the necessary upgrades.
: Then we’ll just have to take you down before that happens…! You’re not using the professors’ smarts for evil – not on our watch!


Ichitaka: “We’re not about to get dunked on by a puppet like you!”

: We’ve finally made it…!
: If we can successfully rescue the captives, all that’ll remain is a frontal assault at GreAT.
: And you presume things will simply go according to your plans? There is no “potential” left in you – at all.
: Now that’s a very mechanical prognosis. And I’ll be happy let the bonds built between us prove you wrong…!


Haruno: “Her AI is the same as mine…”
Yuu: “But at the end of the day, she’s just a puppet. You’re nothing like her!”

: You truly are strong. But both my unit and I have made plenty of advancements since our battle at Daedalus Base.

: That’s… a D-S.O.I.L.?! No, wait, these readings are different…!
: As you might have expected, a machine like me wasn’t compatible with the principles behind Factors. That being said, nanomachines work just fine and we finally perfected our faulty emergency repair system.
: You sure did your homework, I’ll give you that… But on the flip side, the way you brag about tech you stole really grinds my gears.
: Then let me show you something that’s wholly original.

: Our experiment at Orb may have failed, but let’s see how it performs this time.

HL-1 starts zipping all around our people!

: It’s what they used against me…!
: And your previous tactic will not work again. There’s no way for you to stop the D-Converter.

Zips around some more!

: Enemy unit’s temperature is rising…! Space-time distortions detected!
: It’s just like that time…!
: Damn it, and they already analyzed the trick we used before, so we can’t go with it…!
: Kosuke, there anything we can do here?!
: Give me a minute! I’m looking into it!

Zip, zip, zip, zip.

: Our estimates say we’ve about 180 seconds before her engine goes critical and explodes…!
: Now what?! Alice, you got any ideas? You always do!
: I-I’m sorry… I can’t think of anything that’d work!
: … Haruno, are you confident in your ability to control the Dimensional Converter?
: If I’ve your support, I believe I could maintain as much as thrice our current output.
: Thrice, with my support… but if we’ve them as well…
: What are you thinking, Yuu…?!
: Ichitaka, link our units’ Dimensional Converters together! If we use the Straybird’s wings and the Rushbird’s Dimensional Converter in tandem, we might have a shot at this!
: But controlling both Converters running simultaneously is impossible! You, yourself, came to that conclusion!
: And if we fail, we’ll destroy this entire region!
: Haruno, the two of us can manage up to thrice our regular output. But with those two… with Ichitaka and Alice…
: I believe that we can pull it off. We can control both Converters at the same time and manage an output over five times stronger! Think you can do it, Ichitaka?!
: Doesn’t matter what I think. If we don’t make it work, we and the professors are all dead… So we’re just gonna have to pull it off!
: B-But…!
: And ya know what, Alice, I think we’ll be alright. We worked really hard to get here, so have faith in me… in us!
: We’ll take everything we learned ‘til today – from Yamashita, Miu, Goh, Shizuru, Tetsuya and Noin – and bash her upside the head with it!
: …! Okay. I’ll show her all I’ve gained throughout this… every last drop!

Zip, zip, zip, zip.

: 60 seconds!
: Gonna have to ad lib this, then! HERE GOOOOES!


:siren: :siren:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1uEBDOg6mUw
Yuu: “Ichitaka, the Straybird’s wings are yours!”
Haruno: “We will manage both Dimensional Converters flawlessly!”
Alice: “This is it… Now we draw upon everything we’ve learned through these battles!”
Ichitaka: “Wh-Whoa…! That’s a lotta power…!” > “Alright… Let’s do this, Alice!”
Alice: “Diverting all energy to the Rushbird’s defense and propulsion systems!” > “Control… established!”
Ichitaka: “And… there! I’ve got it too!”
HL-1: “Master Gloria… Forgive…me…”

: We… we did it! Yuu, we did it!
: Yeah… this win’s all on you…!
: Data link terminated… Receiving combat data.
: …?! This signal is!

: Gah, they called the ones they spread across the world over?!
: And the pilots are all…
#3: Combat data received. Moving to eliminate targets.
#2: Combat data received. Moving to eliminate targets.
#1: Ours is a flawless squadron, comprised of wholly uniform soldiers. No strategy is beyond our capacity.
#1: Whereas your motley crew and your slapdash approach to combat are mired in the chaos of emotions and individuality. You cannot win.
: Yeah, we’ll see about that! It’s because we are so different that we can boost each other to do better and better!
: For all you’ve learned, there’s something essential that you just don’t seem to get!
: It’s the reason why Central failed…
: And why Big Gold could not prevail against us…!
: It’s something that comes with being human, and we’re about to give you an eyeful of it!
: The rescue team should have all the professors safe shortly! Bring your souls together and fight on, everyone!
: Aye, aye! Come on, people!


And this is why I told you to save as much SP as can be. You might expect the MP HL-1s and Imperial Valleys to be watered-down versions, but you would be WRONG. All twelve are all exact copies of the original and can be just as deadly, especially if you leave the all running prevail.
We’re not going to give them a chance to do that, though: low morale means they can’t use their long range weapon, so we’ll draw them closer, straight into Kira and Rey’s AoE and blast away. If you took your time before killing HL-1 and brought your guys closer, you’ll be in good position to throw everything and the kitchen sink at them, allowing you to kill them all in one round.
If you can’t, just take out as many as can be done and finish off the rest. They still don’t have MAPWs, at the very least.


But we do.


They spread out enough that Kira couldn’t blast all of them, but he could still tag half of the squads.
After that, it’s straight clean-up – you may now go all-out with your SP.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o60shomLtko
Oh, and it took me until now to remember that I never showed the DK of the Iczelio Boomer.


And we’re done.

: Alright, I think that was the last of them!
: And we also have confirmation that the captives inside Dannar Base have been rescued. Everyone is safe!
: Thank goodness mom and the others are alright…
: Whew… That’s the end of that, at least for now.
: Professor! PROFESSOR!! Do you hear us?!
: Hrm… Ichitaka…?
: Yeah, it’s me! And Alice, Yuu and Haruno, too! We’ve been fighting as part of LOTUS, a UN force, and—
: Gch… LOTUS…?
: Oh , damn it all…! Who’s in charge there?! Get me in touch with your captains! Hurry!
: What’s going on?!
: We need to escape right now! This whole area’s about to get blown to kingdom come!
: What…?!

: The HL Platoon was beaten… Very well done, LOTUS. That being said, it’s exactly how I expected things to play out.
: Your defeat was sealed the second you assembled on that spot. And now you and everything within dozens of kilometers will all become very familiar with concept of “scorched-earth policy”… courtesy of my ultra-long range artillery.


:siren: :aaaaa: :siren: :aaaaa:

We’ll see this attack later, since it cuts out plenty here!


“Hmhmm… I believe a reward is in order for defeating HL-1.


“Though I truly regret having to do this…”


“Oh, unwavering warriors who defended this world from so, so many invaders…”


“I now grant you eternal rest…!”


“Take them, Galtdeus!!”

: This is… we’ve an enormous energy reading at satellite orbit!
: What?!
: All units, emergency retreat!
: There’s not enough time! Incoming!
: …!

: Farewell, Guardians of Earth…!

Mode Archonis unfortunately started a new trend. UX and BX both have second-to-last-scenario upgrades, although UX’s is nowhere near as bad as L or BX’s.

Click to see the mission!


Here we are again, upgrading the obvious ghosts of our incinerated people. Hopefully our upgrades will pass on as Sally, Mari (and Kaworu?), the International Dannar team, Garis and the Darius droids, and the Queen Fuji charge the moon to kick Gloria’s ass.
Now, despite Kira’s boost, Daiya has a pretty solid stake on the 2nd place (1st place for non-cheaters), so Jesus might be stuck in 3rd. Tragic.


Final round of upgrades: Jeeg was brought up to 50% (Squad Bonus: Accuracy +15, Melee weapons’ power +200) and the rest was used to buff Ichitaka as much as could be done. He’s nowhere near maxed out but that extra armor means enemies will have a real hard time doing lasting damage through Miu’s Barrier and the Laplace Wall.


No event units for the finale, but we do have 22 slots which is room enough for pretty much everyone important:
Dancouga/Hilde
Daiya/Deceive
Kouichi/Quatre
Lee/Norza
Kenji/Kyo
Jeeg/Micchi
Shinji/Rey
Kouji/Sawatari
Tetsuya/Canaria
Kira/Athrun
Iczer-3/Soubi
Goh/Yanma
Eida/Anna
Iczer-1/Iczer-2
Ozma/Luca
Heero/Yuu
Voltes/Combattler
Alto/Brera
Shinn/Yulianne
Asuka/Lou
Ichitaka/Miu
Eternal (In hindsight, I should’ve deployed Rei and someone else, but I only realized it was 22 slots, not 21, when I was recording, so I just picked whatever.)

Save the world, Queen Fuji!

: And so end the Guardians of Earth…
: Time and again they were an unrelenting shield against invaders; they were agents of justice… always the embodiment of hope for the weak.
: And that is precisely why news of their destruction should quickly sap the morale of any nations still fighting out there.
: There’s nothing quite as fragile as the hearts of people who’ve lost their anchors.
: Hah, you’re damn wrong. Even when they’re waist-deep in despair, the people can still pull themselves right back up…!
: What…?! That voice is…!

: Crooks like you won’t be running amuck while we’ve got something to say about it!
: LOTUS, the Champions of Justice, have arrived!
: Wh-What…?! How are you still alive after being on the receiving end of the Galtdeus artillery?!
: …! Wait, you didn’t…!
: Guess the other shoe just dropped. The Rushbird absorbed all the energy of your attack with the Laplace Wall…
: And the Straybird used all that energy to engage its Imaginary Road and warp us all the way to the surface of the moon.
: You absorbed all of that attack…?! Impossible!
: Yes, it’s possible! Ad libbing things is our specialty, you know!
: And using the Dimensional Converter as a warp device was my grandfather’s idea from the start.
: ‘Course, that was some real heavy lifting for the Rushbird, but it’s still got more than enough power to beat you up!
: Hrm, you stubborn pests…!
: And another thing. You were talking about how the people would quickly submit without us, right?
: I did. The people can only live by clinging to something else. With that something gone, they are helpless…
: Not at all. Because so long as justice is alive, there’ll always be those ready to stand up and fight. And those people will eventually end you!
: Right. You might even beat us today, but you can never snuff out the people’s spirit!
: That said, it doesn’t mean we’re leaving this mess for folks to sort out later!
: Yeah, absolutely… After what you did to Earth, we’d never be able to rest easy if we didn’t beat you into the dirt ourselves!
: … Hmph, the gall. Do you honestly think you’ve a shot at defeating me face-to-face?
: The Galtdeus is a mobile fortress, designed with the single purpose of facing and destroying Central.
: It is the fruit of all of Prof. Grife’s genius, and GreAT’s know-how and hard work… It personifies power, and I’m certain you can appreciate its majesty.
: Hmph… You call something you made by probing other peoples’ heads the fruit of your “hard work”? Don’t be ridiculous!
: To each their own, I suppose. But all this that I’ve accomplished… it most certainly is the crystallization of all my hard work!

: Blah, and here come all those mooks. I’m so sick of fighting these…
: But whatever the might throw at us, we can’t let ourselves be beaten…!
: You all know what’s at stake here, people. The enemy has quite the force waiting for us, but defeat is absolutely not an option…
: So my order for you is just this… take him down! I believe in all of you…!
: … Mission accepted…!
: We’ll whoop his butt and keep Earth’s future – our future – safe!
: The people of our world must be seriously dense to pick this guy as President!
: We can’t really give them crap since we chose Mishima. The politicians always keep their real selves way out of sight from the common folk.
: Ludo Gloria! Your defeat is what will really signal a new dawn for our Earth!
: This is it – the last battle of LOTUS! HERE WE GOOOO!


Mission 41 – The Light of Hope


Destroy the Galtdeus, don’t lose a ship. Last mission was the dry run – now’s the real deal. You’ve got a ton of mooks, MP Imperial Valleys and HL-1s, and Gloria ready to snipe down everyone on approach.
How easy this mission goes depends on the answer to this question: how many Confuse casters do you have? All in all, I’ve six which is actually more than what I think would be necessary to make this real smooth.
The reason I say that is because not only do the HLs have that high accuracy, the large amount of enemies makes evasion decay a real problem if they decide to gang up on people. Resource management, especially your SP, is essential to drop Gloria as soon as the game allows you (hint, hint).

Same priorities as always: take out the Strike Valleys ASAP lest they debuff your armor and, if there’s a Destroy by where you’ll be running people, take it out to avoid random MAPWs. You’ll want to spread your group in two wings, each going up the east and west sides of the crater and converging at Gloria because, as you might expect, he has a big MAPW he can use.
I find that the Imperial Valleys are more trouble than they’re worth and, with Confuse, there’s a decent enough chance your guys will be able to dodge them. Again, if they’re not directly in your way, consider ignoring them to conserve resources.


Galtdeus (Ludo Gloria)
Pilot Skills:
Counter
Break Morale Limit
Guard
Double Movement
Commander L4
Prevail L9
Support Attack L3
Attack Combo L3
Mech Features:
10% HP Regen
30% EN Regen

Gloria IS the toughest boss in the game by a mile, packing a full 300k HP, massive stats across the board, S ranks and a ton of range and firepower. Prevail L9 on top of Guard and a 3L size means damage will quickly start to drop against him – especially if you don’t use Size-Ignoring attacks like combos and whatnot. Yulianne’s Armor Down will be tremendously helpful in wrecking him in one round.
As I mentioned above, Gloria is more than equipped to snipe you down and his strongest attack, Revolution Cannon, has a reach of 3-9 and hits like a jet-propelled truck. Don’t let him get a clean him with it, or else. On the flip side, if you can close the distance, things become a lot better as he can only use his second weakest attack at point-blank.

Actually getting close to him is the catch, though, because Gloria has gone to Dvorak’s School of MAPW: a 4x4 AoE that he can set anywhere in a 2-8 range and it won’t even hit his own guys. Oh, and it also has a +30 accuracy modifier. THIS is why you’ll want to have Confuse up as often as you can, or at least have Daunt/Exhaust casts ready to push his morale back under 130 (Gloria has exceptional morale gains, though).
Oh, and you should know that Gloria doesn’t subscribe to the oft-seen trend of double moving bosses never using MAPWs back-to-back. He absolutely will tag you twice in a round – he’ll tag the same group twice – and that’s a recipe for dead stuff, especially with the mooks running interference. With Confuse up and a few command auras, though, it’s not too bad, but you’ll still want to keep your guys as spread out as can be on approach.
Don’t rush this because Gloria has some surprises, but don’t take things too slow that you’ll run dry. Keep a steady pace and, once your morale’s good, send someone to just tag the Galtdeus with whatever and trigger the plot.


Oh, and like in so many SRWs, this stage gets a unique map BGM.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=06lfTgBAOaw
And, hey, a Nuclear Windam finally managed to last long enough to put those guns to use!
It actually hurts a ton, as you can see.


And here he comes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J32D82FQDy4


As I said, just tag Gloria with whatever.

: With Central’s defeat, our Earth is finally coming together. I can do the same for this one as well, you know. Given the opportunity, I’ll unite all nations of this planet.
: Is defeating me truly what’s just? Oh, but I suppose this kind of questioning will always be too much for mere soldiers like you…!
: Hah, it’s always the worst folks who go around yelling of how in the right they are. And then they turn around and stomp all over everyone else to get what they want!
: The justice you brandish is as empty as your words. You’ve nowhere the sort of resolve Treize Khushrenada and Hisataka Katou had.
: And even nameless soldiers can still see the truth. The people were caught in the crossfire of your offensive, and the moment you accepted that, you became… evil.
: So prepare yourself! We won’t hesitate you put an end to you!
: For all your merits, you are hollow inside. The pain you’ll now feel is your just deserts for all those you’ve crushed underfoot!
: Final target IDed… Moving to destroy…!


Heero: “Ludo Gloria, not everything will be going according to your plans!”
Gloria: “Heero Yui… that’s the name of a legendary leader of this world, no? But I’m afraid I’ll be claiming that title as my own now!”

: Hmhmhm… Oh, how wonderful my Galtdeus is. No attacks can harm it, you see.
: Our weapons are having no effect…?!
: That’s… It’s using a dimensional seam as a barrier! It’s the same principle as a Fold Fault…!
: I told you: the Galtdeus personifies power, so it cannot be anything but indestructible!
: It had to rise above even the SDF-1 Macross, or it would be unable to win the people’s hearts and minds! And with that in mind, I made it so…!
: Emi, Rachel, we gotta do something or this’ll go just like when we fought the Glain-Neidr!
: We’re on it! Emi, you got a fix on where that barrier’s energy flow is coming from?!
: I do! It’s originating from…

: From these coordinates! I’m sending them to you right now!
: Huh? But there’s nothing…
: Look closer, Iczer-3! They’re not good enough to trick our eyes!
: Ummm… Ah! Found them!

: There they are…!
: So we need to destroy those and the Galtdeus’ barrier will disappear. Simple enough.
: And unlike those Spheres, it looks like we can attack those just fine. In that case…
: Right, we just have to fire everything we have and wreck them!
: Your targets are the enemy’s flying fortresses! Save dealing with President Gloria for after they’re down!
: Alright, now the way to go is 100% clear…
: But it would be rude to keep “His Excellency” waiting. Let’s wrap this up quick!
: Hmhmm, we’ll see about that…


And here’s why I told you not to bumrush Gloria. Before you can damage him, you must first destroy all 6 of these Core Fortresses and each one has 50k HP. Good news is they have no important skills to watch out for, being just big blobs of HP.
Still, that’s still another 300k HP you’ll need to wear down and Gloria will keep on pelting you with MAPWs while you run around wrecking the things. Keep running Confuse, spread your folks as best you can and see if you can’t take them out in two turns at most.


If you’ve been stocking SP, feel free to pop a Valor or two here to speed up the process.


Rey and Shinji just couldn’t move close enough with a single Zeal cast, but I’ll take four out of six.


Their 2L size cuts the damage a bit, but 12k on each one will help.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jt2JeN1Xglk
The Core Fortresses come with a very special attack involving all GreAT mooks… which still counts as an energy attack! :v:


And that’s the last of them!

Power dooooown.

: We’ve confirmed all fortresses have gone silent!
: That should also have done away with the Galtdeus’ barrier!
: Well, well, you’re putting up quite the fight… but I’d expect no less from the Guardians of Earth. However, I still have a few tricks up my sleeve.

: Giant missiles…?!
: These are my divine thunderbolts – the Conquest Bombs – and they’re set to make a beeline for the PLANTs!
: You’re going to destroy the PLANTs?!
: All I want is Earth and all its resources. Agricultural colonies, I could be talked into keeping around, but residential ones? I don’t need those at all.
: But, really, the people of this Earth aren’t high on my list of priorities right now.
: How can you say that…?! There’s nothing more precious than life!
: So what will it be, young Champions of Justice? You can’t simply turn the other cheek and let those set out to the PLANTs, can you? We both know that.
: You understand that you’d be going along with my plan, but you cannot help yourselves. You simply MUST divert some of your forces to deal with it. And that is the greatest weakness of Champions of Justice.
: … Psh, talk about veneer falling off.
: So now you’re using the lives of everyone as a shield… For all your attitude, you’re no different from a random thug.
: You’d best watch your tongue! I’ll have you know that my Conquest Bombs also have more than enough firepower to reduce your units to piles of slag!
: And there’s the choice of the day: if you wish to save the PLANTs, then feel more than welcome to stop my bombs with your own bodies. Of course, if you do that, I’m afraid there won’t be much left of you to try and stop me.
: Death by willingly flinging themselves at an obvious trap… a suitable end for you Champions of Justice, I say…!
: Bah, listen to you… What’s gonna happen is that we’ll protect the PLANTs and take you down! Real CHAMPIONS OF JUSTICE can always manage to do both!
: And real Champions of Justice will never lose to anyone when it’s time to fight and defend others!
: Stay strong, everyone! I know you can pull through this!


Remember Mission 7 (Retreat Route)? It’s just like that. Gloria’s 6 Conquest Bombs will set off to the southern edge of the map and, if one gets there, you lose. But there are two problems with that plan: one, there’s quite the long distance for them to cover (might take 3-4 turns for one to reach the goal – more than enough to drop Gloria) and, two…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U4yY_Yu2HCw
The Bombs not only have rather piddly HP, they still have only one attack: blowing up. Like Logos’ nukes, whether the hit connects, you dodge or, say, use Invincible/Iron Wall, they kill themselves regardless.
A shame that Gloria’s plan never accounted for us having spirit commands. Whoops!

Mind you, after the Conquest Bombs start to spawn, when the enemies are reduced below 20…

: Enemy reinforcements!
: Hrm, and they just don’t stop coming…!
: This really shouldn’t come as any surprise – I just have to recall the forces I’d deployed across Earth.
: You may be so very powerful, but the line that separates victory and defeat is determined by the size of one’s army – or lack thereof.
: Maybe, but you still can’t summon all the forces you’ve deployed on Earth at once… isn’t that right?
: …!
: Meyrin, have you ran the numbers on how many mobile weapons he can warp in?
: Yes. According to intel provided by Prof. Grife, the warp device can only transport about 30 units per jump.
: Then the total number of troops he has isn’t a problem. We’ll destroy each wave as they come in.
: And as he’s forced to pull more and more forces out of Earth, it’ll give the people still fighting a chance regroup and attack.
: Surrender while you still can. Your plans are all falling apart.
: Get ready to face the music, Ludo Gloria!
: We’ll make you apologize to the Professor and everyone on Earth!
: Silence! SILENCE!! How could I ever be beaten by insects like you?!
: You may be this Earth’s guardians, but I’m its conqueror! Nothing but victory awaits me!
: Come! Let the full power of the Galtdeus – the power that’ll rule over a new world –carve into your souls! And then prostrate yourselves at my feet!

And if you kill all bombs…

: All of the enemy missiles are confirmed destroyed!
: Your ace in the whole has been destroyed, Mr. President… What will you do now?
: Then I suppose you force my hand… I wanted to use these to persuade the people of the surface into playing nice, but…

: H-He has more?!
: It’ll be alright, Naoto! He can bring out as many of these as he wants, we’re still keeping the PLANTs safe!

As it turns out, Gloria has unlimited reinforcements the second you take out his Core Fortresses. When you get rid of the things, then, that’s your cue to drop everything and bash the Galtdeus into submission.
Ideally you’d have killed all but one fortress in a turn, taking out the last one with a ship or something and sending everyone after Gloria immediately as the endless respawns begin. If you don’t, however, that’s fine: pop Confuse, let the bombs run off, spread out as much as you can to minimize the threat of MAPWs and wrap things up in the next turn.

Before we get the ball rolling, here are the other attacks of the Galtdeus:

: I feel what lies in your heart… a cold flame that nobody would ever truly embrace…
: I can certainly see the logic behind banding together, uniting your strength… but what it all comes down to is that that’s a weakling’s train of thought.
: And it amounts to absolutely nothing when faced with one truly mighty person!
: That’s where you are wrong. What you are is a lone man, wallowing in the power he’s earned…!
: But we’re not alone! I got a bit of everyone’s flame burning hot inside my heart…!
: And you say the power that has “amounts to nothing”? Let’s put that to the test and see who gets burned!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WYSTn1c2My0
Gloria vs. Daiya: “You saved the Darius, the surface, and next you mean to save the world? Think you can actually pull that one off?”

: And the Voltes V sets itself before me… though I’m afraid your claim as the mightiest of all is ancient history.
: You see, I’ve amassed tech from all the Boazans you defeated and finally created a weapon to surpass even your unit!
: Our parents made the Voltes and if you think you’re wrecking it that easy, you’re in for a reality check!
: You talk a good talk, but, at the end of the day, you don’t give a damn about anyone but yourself!
: And we’re not about to let ourselves be beaten by someone like that! Come and feel the power of the Voltes for yourself!

: My Galtdeus was built to rise above and beyond any of Earth’s weapons!
: You’ve absolutely not winning this one. Just lay down your weapons, nice and easy.
: You’ve got to be kidding. My father poured his soul into building the Combattler…
: And it ain’t getting trounced by this gold POS you had to force people to make for you!
: All that data ya got from us is already way outdated! Now grit your teeth and I’ll prove it to you, Ludo Gloria!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzZ-9dHuxkQ
And here’s Gloria’s strongest weapon in full.
Gloria vs Voltes: “Voltes V… things might’ve turned out quite different in our world had you made it back from Planet Boazan.”
Vs. Combattler: “You cannot combine unless all five of your brainwaves are in sync? Do you honestly think you can best me with that faulty system?”


:siren: Now we can go! L doesn’t have a JAM Project song, so I asked around and this was recommended! :siren:

: Your ambitions are about to come to a screeching halt, Gloria! And I, Tetsuya Tsurugi, am here to make that happen!
: Ah, the hero who’s defended Earth time after time… A shame that I must turn that pride and iron will to crumbs.
: I’d hoped that you would take up the mantle as a guardian of my world… but it doesn’t look like you’re willing to hear me out.
: Of course not – there’s nothing left for me to say to you. But if you insist, I’ll have to let my fists get my point across!

: Having a man like you in the front lines is a boon to your whole team. Your very presence bolsters everyone’s morale…
: You’re not an opponent to underestimate. I’ll turn you to ashes with the full might of the Galtdeus…!
: Hah, talk me up all you like, that won’t make me less pissed off at you!
: Step up, Ludo Gloria! Throw whatever you want at me, Kouji Kabuto always finds a way to bring home the gold!


Gloria vs Kouji: “Ah, the Devil Emperor; that’s quite the fitting opponent. Let us ante up the fate of the world, then! Come!”
Vs. Tetsuya: “I can appreciate your determination, but if you’ll bear your blade against me, I’m left with no choice!”


Ah, sorry. All these Projects confuse me – here’s the actual song!
:siren: :siren:

: War does nothing but spread sorrow and hatred, and I’ll bring an end to it today!
: Indeed, it’ll end – at the moment this world falls squarely under my rule, that is!
: The way you look at the PLANTs like they’re nothing is no different from how the old Earth government treated us!
: And I’m not letting you call the shots with our world’s destiny! Earth is our home, so keep your hands off it!


Gloria vs. Shinn: “You do understand that I’m offering the world free of war that you so desire, yes?”

: Here’s a bit of wisdom for you, boy: justice does not equal victory. Rather, it’s the victors who determine what justice is.
: Good to hear! Guess our justice was the real deal all along, huh, Emi?
: Right, Kouichi! After all, victory will be ours… because we’re true Champions of Justice!


Gloria vs. Kouichi: “Champions of Justice, hm…? Then I suppose I’ll simply educate this world on how pointless it is to ramble about justice.”

: Come on, Goh! Let’s take that guy out in a hurry and put an end to all this fighting!
: Yeah! We’ll show him how strong the bonds between a husband and wife are!
: How the mighty hero of the War of Giants has fallen… What use is something like a bond between man and woman in the battlefield?
: All that time you spent spying on us and you didn’t learn jack, I see…
: I’ve Anna, and all my friends, here by my side! You might not realize the strength that comes from the bonds we share, but I can easily showcase it for you!


Gloria vs. Goh: “I’ll give you ample proof that that the power of ‘love’ and ‘bonds’ is worthless in battle!”

: I don’t feel anything in your heart – not a person you care about, or an ideal you pursue… What a sad man you are…
: Everyone here has been fighting for something or someone. But all you’re doing is fueled just by your thirst for glory…
: I’m fighting for my people, thank you very much. Under my rule, our two worlds will complement each other’s deficiencies, and then prosperity will be ours.
: We’d share with you our advanced technology, and you’d share with us your abundant resources. Whatever is wrong with that picture, I ask of you?
: The fact you don’t mean anything you say! If you’re so good, then why’s your heart so empty?!
: Silence! How dare an android – a man-made automaton – talk about anyone’s heart?!
: The Nagisas were always so kind to everyone – androids or not…!
: And that’s your main problem, old man! You don’t know how to be kind to others, and that’s why your heart’s empty!

: I’m afraid Earth has no place for your kind, Warrior of the Cthulhu. Why not surrender and I’ll show you to the door?
: Do you think the Cthulhu still want to invade Earth? They’re not like you!
: I do regret having to do any invasion.
: What I truly want is nothing more than to bring the peoples of both Earths together under the rule of one king.
: If you claim to truly have what it takes to be king, then you’d best stop with your empty rhetoric!
: You have no pride as a warrior. Rather, you grasp so desperately at any power and political influence you can get your hands on… pathetic.
: Ludo Gloria… In the name of all those I hold dear, I’ll make sure Earth stays far out of your reach…!


Gloria vs. Iczer-3: “I’ve no use for an ignorant Iczer kid. Stand down or I’ll have to make you!”
Vs. Iczer-1: “You vagrants dare get in the way of my conquest of Earth…? You don’t know your place, I see!”

: I’ve quite the hefty reward waiting – join me and it is yours…! I’ll give you five times what you make in a year!
: Your intel’s very outdated, guy. We haven’t been fighting for a paycheck for a long while now.
: You won’t make mine and Team D’s hearts waver by tempting us with that!
: Why…? You were all a bunch of unassuming civilians, so why are you so scrupulous now?!
: I might not look like it, but I’m a one-man kind of woman. Now, as for contracts, maybe you can convince me?
: Do you want me to cry? Because you’re making me cry right now…
: Dude, she’s just giving him the run-around.
: You really are a bunch of idiots. But in a very good way, thankfully.
: And we kind of came too far to turn back on it, right? Besides, this is really, really exciting.
: Time to bring him into the supernova that is the Dancouga – that which has transcended the beasts and the gods themselves!
: Let’s go wild!


Gloria vs Aoi: “You’ve transcended the beasts, men and the gods themselves… but you’ll find it impossible to transcend me!”

: Why are you set on doing this?! I’m sure there were other ways you could’ve brought happiness to you world!
: We tried, all the way until our resources ran dry. That was when I learned of the existence of this world.
: And ruling two worlds… Now that was an accomplishment that would measure up to my talents and dedication!
: This man is…! Kira, we don’t have a choice here!
: I know, Athrun! He has to be stopped…! We can’t let our world head down the wrong direction again!


Gloria vs. Kira: “A world ruled by me… that is the world I hope for!”

: He’s emanating an enormous amount of energy. That said…!
: Right. A man without the strength that comes from the heart will not bring us down!
: The strength of the heart, hm…? I’ll concede that it has proven its usefulness. But can something as fickle as that help you overcome the titanic gulf between our units?!
: Those who say that will always wind up regretting how ignorant they were!
: Kenji, Hiroshi! Now is the time to bring out the full power of your Bronze Bells!
: Aye, aye, grams!
: Get over here, ya crummy President! The Steel God’s packing all our hearts and you’re gonna get a mouthful of what they give us!


Gloria vs. Kenji: “I doubt a dimwit like you could understand anything, even if I tried to explain it.”

: Why are you starting a war with other humans?! We even managed to understand each other with the Vajra!
: The worthless masses are worse than even a swarm of bugs. That is why they must be lead…!
: No one here ever asked to be “lead” by you! You should just be happy being President of your own world!
: Oh, but I cannot simply give up on my dream! Only those who believe they can go the distance can overcome their limits and reach beyond!
: Bite me! Do you seriously think it’s alright to prey on others just to fulfill your dream?!
: Those who lack the capacity to grasp my noble designs ought to simply step back and contend themselves observing my rise to supremacy!
: Just give me a while and I’ll bring that planet you found into my fold as well!
: You hear that, princess? We better stop him or he’s going to annex our Frontier too.
: Alright, that does it… I can’t let him get out of here in one piece!
: Ranka, Sheryl…! This guy would close off the sky itself, and I swear it on the wings you gave me that I’ll run him into the ground!


Gloria vs. Alto: “You’ve my thanks for settling things with the Vajra. Now I only need to worry about stamping out the worthless masses!”

: Target in sight… We won’t let you bring sorrow to anyone else…!
: The God created by Man… Still, if it cannot unleash its true power, then it’s no cause for concern!
: Whatever they had in mind when they were making the EVA, I’ll be using its power to protect everyone else!
: Well, look at him, all manly and grown up. I can’t well get left in the dust, though…! Here we go, #02!


Gloria vs. Shinji: “The EVA and its A.T. Field… How effective will that be against the Galtdeus, I wonder?”

: I won’t let you go on using my grandfather’s creations for evil.
: I hoped you had learned where you stand in all this. Will you fly off in a panic once I defeat you again?
: Yuu’s far stronger than he was before, Gloria. Your data is in dire need of a revision.
: I got a lesson in humility from someone. You won’t be besting me anymore!
: Let’s go, Haruno. You, me, the Straybird… and LOTUS!
: Ready as always…!

: Not even in my wildest dreams did I think the unit we found with Prof. Grife would become such a nuisance…!
: To think I, of all people, would gloss over the huge “potential” it had.
: Maybe you kidnapped the professor and did the stuff you did because it was the only way to keep your people safe from Central… But!
: What you’re doing today is 100% inexcusable!
: Yeah, and I’m not gonna…! Not as part of LOTUS, and not an individual!
: Then come and try your hand! I, Ludo Gloria, will not be bested by a mere brat!
: I don’t need your permission, “prez”! Here we go, Alice! We’ll bring out everything we learned ‘til now and blast him straight off our Earth!
: Ready when you are, Ichitaka! No problems at all!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQVoBWlFOPY
Yuu vs Gloria:

  • “I won’t forgive you for using my grandfather’s intellect for evil!”
  • Yuu: ”Here’s your due for toying with us!” > Haruno: “This is your end, Ludo Gloria!”
  • Gloria vs. Yuu: “Are you watching, Prof. Grife? I’m about to send your dear family spiraling into the afterlife!”/ “Perhaps you and the power that bested the Imperial Valley can actually amount to “potential”… but prevailing against me is well beyond you!”

Ichitaka vs. Gloria:

  • Alice: “How dare you use the professor’s mind for evil!” > Ichitaka: “I’ll never forgive you… not as a member of LOTUS or as another human!”
  • Ichitaka: “President or not, I’ve had it up to here with you looking down on everyone else!” > Alice: “But we will put a stop to that today!”
  • When counterattacking – Ichitaka: “President, schmesident! You’re just a big time crook, pure and simple!” > Alice: “Hit him back, Ichitaka! I won’t show him any mercy either!”
  • Gloria vs. Ichitaka: “Watching you grow was especially delightful, Ichitaka. But I’m afraid you surpassed by expectations far too much.” / “Are you watching, Prof. Grife? What we have here is a showdown between your two masterpieces!”

: Did we get him…?!
: Severe damage confirmed to his engine… That mobile fortress is finished.
: Hrgh… Why…? While you’ve been fighting for what you think is right, the people have been doing nothing but daydream about peace…
: How can you justify risking your lives for a bunch like that…?!
: Because that’s our duty as pilots – and there isn’t anyone here who’d turn his or her back on it…!
: You do understand that while the masses may be grateful today, they’ll soon forget all you‘ve done, right?
: This was never about getting props from others. Everything I did was because I wanted to keep everyone’s smiles safe…!
: How long will that philosophy last, I wonder? I tried serving the people once – I believed that was the “duty” of those blessed with talent…
: I willingly offered myself as a subject in nanomachine research. I ignored all the risks that came from parleying with Central and personally saw it done.
: But the people are an insatiable lot. They want peace, they want wealth, they want more equality, they want more liberties… They want more and more and more…
: But you still can’t let yourself be broken by that! You gotta stay your path and carry on, no matter how tough it is! That… That’s what justice is about!
: “Justice”… what a bunch of hot air. How did you ever defeat me…?
: Because we’ve got all our friends here with us. And we can help each other, and turn that “hot air” into something real.
: But not you, President Gloria… And that’s how you shot yourself in the foot. As determined as you might’ve been, you wound up sabotaging your own work.
: Is that so…? I used to have friends – comrades… but I killed the man I used to be… I’d turned my back on everything…
: Would things have been different…? Could I have held onto my old ideals if I hadn’t forsaken the bonds I had…?
: I hope… you won’t end up like me…

: It’s over… it’s really over.
: Yes, it is. But we still have things to do.
: Much of the world is in tatters… We’ll need to bring some courage and hope to all those weary people…
: We must also reach out to the PLANTs and the dwellers of the parallel universe, and work to establish peace between us.
: A Champion of Justice’s work is never done, eh?
: Hmhmm. But this battle isn’t just ours – it’s one that involves all those who call the Earth Sphere their home…
: In that case, we’ve plenty of groundwork to put into place! Chop-chop, everyone! Let’s head home!
: Yeah, let’s head home… the Earth is waiting for us!


:siren: :siren:

: It is a difficult moment we find ourselves in. But it is also a major opportunity for every person to extend a friendly hand to another.
: We and the PLANTs swear that we will spare no efforts in helping restore the scars left on Earth from the parallel universe’s offensive…
: And while it will be a gradual process, we will very soon be initiating diplomatic talks with the other Earth. But there is no need to view them with suspicion – may I remind you of our alliance with the Frontier Fleet, and their help in defending our world.
: Naturals, Coordinators, Implanted humans, Zentradi… society has so many different facets. But now is the moment where we must work together and rise above the walls between us.
: It will be a long and difficult road until peace is truly upon us, but that is a voyage we must all strive to see fulfilled. And that is why…

: Lacus and Relena’s declaration is being received quite favorably across the world, it seems.
: I want to believe that a wish for peace has found its way into the hearts of every person… It’s that light that gives us hope…
: It might be a small flicker right now, that light is one we must always keep safe… And I’ll keep on doing so by Lacus’ side.
: What about you, Athrun? Are you staying in Orb?
: I am and, this time, I’ll do everything I can to help Cagalli restore it. Guess we won’t be seeing each other for a while again…
: I’ll be keeping your FAITH badge, though. Can’t let you walking around with a free pass to do whatever!
: Psh, you gotta learn how to open up, man. You know you don’t need to do that to get him to visit the PLANTs.

: So you’re really staying in Orb, Shinn?
: Yeah. I want Stella to take some time to rest now that she’s finally free from the battlefield.
: Yay! I can stay with you!
: But you need some time off too, you know. You’ve got plenty of you want to do, like visiting your family’s grave, right?
: Hm, you’re right…
: Then how about I come with? I’ve got just enough vacation hours piled up, and it’d do me good to put my feet up now that things are calm again.
: Heey, Luna! I’m not staying here to play around, you know!
: I’m kidding, I’m kidding… Still, do you think I can join you when you’re bringing flowers to the memorial?
: Luna…
: But when you’ve wrapped everything up here, you better come back to the PLANTs pronto, alright? And make sure you bring Stella along, too.
: We’ll all be waiting… so don’t forget where your home is.
: Of course not…! After all, that’s the home the Chairman left in our care…

: The terrorists planning to attack the ceremony have mostly been captured.
: I’ve taken the rest of them. Everything’s secured in a 3km radius.
: Whew… I’m glad the world’s at peace, but it looks like Relena’s no less of a target than she was before.
: … It doesn’t matter. I’ll eliminate any obstacles that get in her way…
: Oh, what an intense prince we have here. But maybe that’s just the ticket when you’re tagging along with that girl.
: Still, wouldn’t it be nice to see some payoff from all the fighting you did?
: No, we’re content in just snuffing out any sparks of war, like we’ve always done. Hope has already found its way on the peoples’ hearts… there’s no need us to fly our Gundams anymore.

: The world’s taken its first step towards peace, but things are hardly calm just yet. Would you be willing to carry on fighting at our side?
: I’m super okay with that! I can handle anything if Shizuru with me!
: Easy there, cowboy.
: You can count on us, Lady! We’ve been watching over Earth all this time, so why not stick with it, right?
: We’ll have other bad eggs turn up eventually, and I’ll be ready to shut them down for as long I’m alive…!
: But I’d like to ask: where’re Goh and the others? I didn’t see them outside…
: Ah, don’t worry. They’re back at the Dannar Base, helping with the reconstruction.

: Haah… carrying all this stuff is pretty tiring business even with the Dannar…
: Goh, watch how you’re setting those down! There’s no room for the other container! Move them about 10cm to the side!
: And just how do you expect the Godannar to handle something as precise as that?!
: Now’s not the time to start grumbling! We’re short on both workers and equipment, you know! Come on, just a bit to the right!
: Ah! Here’s the container I was looking for!
: Brother! We need your help over here!
: Gaaah, shut up! Shut up! Shut up!
: Goh Saruwatari… so he also gets like that when there’s no enemy to fight…
: Hard to believe that that’s the hero from the War of Giants and one of LOTUS’ members, huh?
: Meow?
: Hmhmhm, I’ll say. Still, a world that has no need for heroes is always preferable to the alternative. So I hope we’ll be seeing Goh as antsy as that for a long time.

: Treason, terrorism… the list goes on. By rights, you would likely all be sentenced to life in prison or worse.
: And I’m sure you understood that you’d eventually have to pay for the crimes you committed.
: But it’s also true that you and your comrades helped save this world… So, taking your contributions into account, the powers that be are extending you an extra-legal pardon.
: We really appreciate that.
: But, there’s a string attached: you’ll be joining an intelligence agency suitable for people in your situation.
: An intelligence agency…?
: Do you mean…
: While LOTUS has been dismissed, the Preventers are still an arm of the UN and we’re always understaffed.
: That kind of work suits me just fine, but… is that really alright?
: If you were willing to die for your cause, why not try a new life for yourselves?
: … And we won’t even ask you to wear a mask.
: Hah, so even Preventer Wind has a sense of humor… I’d wager not even Hisataka Katou could have imagined this.

: … Good day, Ikari.
: Good day… Hm? Why is your hand covered in band-aids?
: Prof. Akagi put them there.
: That’s not what I… How did you get hurt? Are you okay?
: It’s a secret… I’ll tell you later.
: (I feel this warmth inside whenever I’m with Ikari… I want him to feel the same way with me…)
: (I want him to feel that way with the Cmdr., too, and to get along with him, so…)
: … Ikari, I’m thinking of putting together a small dinner party later. If you want, you can…
: Ayanami…

*Later on…

: Ah, here you are, Shinji!
: Kouichi?! And the JUDA team too… Why are you all here…?
: Work, as luck would have it. JUDA’s opened this new resort to help people in trouble relax, so we’re telling folks about the place.
: Feel free to stop by whenever, Shinji – and bring Asuka and Rei along when you do. Kouichi and Yajima got their own little shop there.
: Not to blow my own horn, but I make a pretty mean yakisoba. I bet it’ll totally one-up your usual lunchbox, Shinji!
: This isn’t a competition, ya dumdum!

Punch!

: Ooow, cut it out!
: He’s right, sis. Our Factor powers are gone, so…
: If you go at him like you did before, he’ll actually die this time.
: You really lost your powers…?
: But for a bunch of regular kids, you still look like you’ve got some fighting spirit in you.
: Hell, yeah! I might not be able to fly the Linebarrel anymore, but I’m still a CHAMPION OF JUSTICE!
: Yeah, we’re still signed up as JUDA’s Special Forces.
: Our battles now are just making sure everyone has a smile on their faces.
: Hahah, that’s actually well said. But, if you’ll excuse me, I’m late for practice, so…

Off she goes.

: Ah, found him! You there, Shinji’s friend! There’s someone looking for you.
: Yeah, it was… um… a girl with long, black hair I think?
: Oh, crap! I forgot I’d promised to meet up with Emi…!

And he runs.

: He just can’t sit still…

: (Was I… actually laughing back there…?)
: (Huh… I guess I can laugh now…)

: I’m so, so sorry, Emi! I ran into Shinji and we just started talking…!
: It’s fine, I’m not angry… Honestly, I knew this was going to happen.
: After all, you wouldn’t be my dear Kouichi if you didn’t forget what you were doing the second anything piqued your interest.
: “My dear Kouichi”…? Isn’t that what you called me back during the fight with Central?
: Heh… I’m kinda embarrassed to hear that again.
: Are you? Then, how about… “My Kouichi”?
: Whuh…?! But, um, that’s… Emi, I…!
: Come now, if I’m calling you like that, the best you could do is answer in kind!
: M-M-My d-d-d…
: “My dear Emi”.
: I know, I know! B-But, I…!
: Hahahah… You’re despicable!

Full disclaimer: this was originally one of THOSE scenes, where the characters go “Oh, stop calling me by my surname and use my first name” – obviously not gonna fly with me using everyone’s first names throughout all this. Worse, they even paired it with Emi dropping the honorific, which would’ve forced me to change things regardless.
Combing the entire LP to rewrite all names as surnames is not happening, so I had to switch a few things to make it work and still keep most of the scene intact and true to the original. Nice of them to drop this on me during the epilogue! :eng99:

: This was quite the busy day, all things considered…
: JUDA’s resort, huh…? Maybe I should call Misato and see if she wants to come with us?
: If they can get a day off, we could also ask Kaji and Ritsuko too…
: Well, darn. I finally get to Japan and I don’t even get a chance to shine… Sucks for you, too, don’t it?
: Wah?! W-Who are?!
: Just a very special girl passing by. I’ll be seeing you later, little puppy!
: H-Huuh…?

: Good luck, Kenjiii!
: You’ve got us working as your pit babes, so you better win this or there’ll be Hell to pay!
: Kenji vs. Kyo… Who do you think’ll come out on top, captain?
: I wonder… There might be a bit of a dark horse running this one.

Vrooomm!

: I’m gonna put you in your place today, Kyo!
: Try, but don’t expect me to make it easy!

Vrooomm!

: Much as I hate raining on you boys’ parade, I’m afraid this cup belongs to me!
: Aoiiii?!
: Open up those peepers and take a look at how I work with my Magnum! (This is a reference to “Bakusō Kyōdai Let’s & Go!”, where Aoi’s VA voiced Go Seiba.)

Vrooomm!

: That’s quite the close race… Did you know Aoi’s an F-1 racer and a three-time champion, Sakuya?
: Yeah, I looked her up after I heard she was also a top model.
: Guess you and her both have your share of secrets.
: Not like I ever went out of my way to hide anything, though… Oh, Johnny! Isn’t it time for Eida’s show?
: Relax, I didn’t forget. Here, I brought my notebook…

: We’re coming live from the Reconstruction Charity Concert! Today’s attractions are Eida Rossa, every teenager’s favorite singer, and…
: Lacus Clyne’s old body double, now a rising star after her shocking reveal: Meer Campbell!

: Isabelle’s been getting a ton of work lately. And Eida’s even more popular than she was before, huh?
: I’ll say… Just the other day, I had to put together a scrapbook from a “Men’s Popstars Monthly” she starred in and it was a pain.
: Johnny… she’s your girlfriend. You better learn how to make do with little stuff like that.

: I’m so happy that we can sing together again, Meer!
: Oh, no, no! I’m still just an amateur! I don’t deserve—
: Please, that’s doesn’t matter at all! I know you took a lot of flak after publically announcing that you were Lacus’ double…
: But here you are, singing your own songs with your head held high. You’re a wonderful artist, Meer, and I mean it!
: Thank you, Eida…! And if I can bring just a bit of joy to those that are suffering, then I’m ready to sing my heart out on stage!
: Ditto… Though I wish we could also have Sheryl and Ranka here with us.
: Hm, I know… The Macross Quarter should be just about ready to leave, right?

: We can use the Vajra’s ability to head back to our original universe?
: Yup. From what Ranka said, they apparently can even warp their own planet over there.
: It’s not easy leaving this world behind, but the UN and the new president of our New United Nations Government will start diplomatic talks in due time…
: So we might just be able to see them again. Still, as the SMS, we must now return to our original mission.

: You’re really going, huh… Tsk, it’s gonna get real lonely around here.
: Decades have passed since we left, but home is still home… we all want to find the way back to our Earth.
: Speaking of, how’re things with that New United Nations Government?
: The moderate faction’s regained their power and have appointed a new president. From what we’ve heard, they’re officially working on sending peace ambassadors to this side.
: That’s good to hear!
: On the flip side, I heard the other world has this Anti-Unification League bunch?
ji: And it’ll also fall on us to help find a solution to that.
: Moreover, it seems the Warp Route between Earth and Planet Boazan had stabilized and both planets are already interacting with one another. Things will be quite busy in the near future.
: It’s all good, dad! I’m ready to do whatever to keep peace going!
: And, Alto, I know this ain’t none of my business, but don’t you think you gotta hurry up and make up your mind already?
: He’s right. A man can’t be all willy-nilly like that.
: This might not be a serious matter for you, but it sure is for the girls.
: Hrm, it’s not easy hearing that from you… Now you’re making me feel like scum.
: But they’re absolutely right. Don’t go at this the way someone did.
: Yeesh, Klan… I came through and said the words, didn’t I?
: Yeah – once! I wanna hear you say it for the rest of your life! Consider it payback for your past behavior!
: We might be at this for a while, then, because I’ve absolutely no intention of dying anytime soon.
: I know, which is precisely the point!

: We’re receiving a call from Nanase at Island 1. Patching it through.
: Nanase?!
: Is everyone alright?! You’ve no idea how shocked I was when I heard that you all were all fighting to protect us. I thought it was just the ZAFT and Voltes teams…
: What about your injuries, Nanase? Are you feeling better already?
: Luca… thank you. Yes, I’m all better. The hospital finally discharged me today, even.
: Oh, that’s great news! We can all go to school together again, then!
: We should totally get together and just kick back, Nanase!
: Of course. I’m already counting the minutes for you guys to come over to this planet!
: And the Iczers will be coming with us to the Frontier Fleet, too, right?
: Yes. Talks were had and the Cthulhu people will also be making the Vajra planet their home.
: Iczer-3 was always so friendly with the Vajra, huh? Now that I think about it, could you understand what they were feeling?
: Hmm… I can’t understand them like you can, more like I can kinda tell when they were mad, happy and stuff.
: …?
: Ah? What I said annoyed you, Mr. Bug? Sorry! You know I love you, little cutie!
: He’s not “Mr. Bug”! He’s Ai-kun and he’s our friend!
: Pyui!
: Strange… how come Iczer-3’s the only one who can tell what the Vajra and animals are feeling?
: I suppose it’s because empathy like hers will be essential to the Cthulhu from this moment onwards.
: Perhaps Iczer-3’s actual struggle will be to bring kindness to all corners of the universe… and that’s a struggle without end.
: Indeed, she’s a failure as a warrior… But without people like those, the universe could never be free from war.
: We all have a long road ahead of us… but we must carry onwards if we’re to atone for our people’s sins.
: Iczer-1… as I mentioned before, the Cthulhu now need you to succeed Sir Violet as our leader.
: Are you certain about this, Gray? I am an android, not a purebred Cthulhu.
: But your heart is no different from ours, no? That makes you a person, Iczer-1.
: I would also be willing to follow you, my sister.
: Thank you, Nagisa, Iczer-2…
: You’ll be a very busy woman now, huh, Iczer-1? Promise me you won’t push yourself too hard… huh?
: Ahahah… I told myself I wouldn’t cry, but I guess that’s not happening…
: Nagisa… though our paths might diverge, the bond between us is eternal. We will always be partners…
: I know… Thank you for everything, Iczer-1… but this won’t be goodbye…!
: Indeed…!

: So the arks with the Darian people will be leaving with the Quarter?
: Though our destinations will be different, we figured it’d be simpler logistics to load both our cargoes at the same time.
: Naoto, damn good work while I was down for the count.
: And now you and Daiya can slow down and rest for a bit, yes? (She’s just called “Daiya’s Mom”)
: I dunno… Mom, Dad… there’s something I learned from all this.
: What is it, Daiya?
: It’s really difficult to put together a peaceful world… And that peace only exists because we’ve got folks trying their hardest to life good, and no one even knows they’re there.
: Those people are still going at it, so I don’t think I can just stand around doing nothing.
: You really are an eager beaver, huh?
: I took it from dad, I think. Hahahah!

: We’ll take care of the surface, so you and the Daiku Maryu make sure you keep the Darius arks nice and safe!
: You needn’t even ask us that!
: The Daichi and Tenku Maryus’ll also be accompanying us. I doubt any creature could give us pause.
: Puria, I think if you’ve time to fuss over others, then you could spend it becoming a bit more feminine. (Daimon)
: Get off my back, old man!
: Daiya, whatever happens, know that you’ll always be the 47th crewmember of the Daiku Maryu.
: Lulu… If you ever run into any trouble, you can hit me up whenever, alright? Even if you’re halfway across the universe, I’ll come running. And that’s a promise!
: Daiya…!

: It’s almost time to say goodbye to our friends of Earth, Ranka. Let’s go and give them something to remember us by!
: Okay! Thank you so much for all you’ve done for us, everyone! We’ll never forget you!
: Now, for one last time, listen to our song!

Cheers!

And following the credit sequence…

: I’m here, professor! You said you had something you wanted to show me?
: Hmhmm. With my underground lab fully restored and the insurance money coming in, I’ve started working on something huge.
: So I figured I’d let you have a look-see at the blueprints before it’s put together.
: Ooh, nice. Give me something to wet my appetite, huh? Though I can’t really make a lot of sense from any of this.
: … But you got me curious now. Can you tell me what you’re putting together?
: Heheheh… Open up your ears and prepare to be blown away! I’m building a carrier for the Rushbird and Straybird!
: You serious, professor?!
: JUDA HQ had that Flag holed up inside it, right? I can’t let them one-up me like that!
: Oh, boy… looks like things will be getting busy in the underground again.
: But it’s been ages since you worked there, so I see no problems at all with that!
: I suppose I do appreciate the challenge of helping him. Haruno, we’ll need you and Alice to welcome eventual visitors, alright?
: But I thought my AI wasn’t suited for household tasks.
: Maybe not, but I want you to try regardless. I’m sure anything Alice can do, you can as well, and vice-versa.
: Haruno, what do you say when a visitor arrives?
: Target sighted. Engaging.
: What?! No! No engaging!

: But, professor, what’re you making this carrier for? The world’s already at peace.
: I figured even if there’re no enemies around, it’d work as a symbol of hope for the people. But mostly I’m making it because I felt like it!
: Still, this baby will be quite something. I just have to get the energy flow running proper, and it’ll even be able to head on over to the Highly Probable World.
: Then we could see our friends again?!
: Sure, sure. I want everyone to get a good night’s sleep today – work begins tomorrow!
: Oof…

: (And, so, life went back to normal. Things aren’t the same as they were before, but we’ve the whole future to look forward to.)
: (And if you ask me, I hope these peaceful days will go on forever…!)


[i]And, boom, another SRW down.
All in all, I had fun doing L, even if it’s nowhere close to being my favorite. The series list was nice (bring the Iczers back, Banpresto!), the BGMs and graphics were great and I enjoyed plenty of moments throughout – yes, even Frontier (the finale’s good). Only major gripes I have are the Iczer-3 bosses getting bushwhacked by the plot and, like in MX, the originals’ lack of relevance for pretty much the whole thing. I giggled too hard at SEELE being no-sold to chalk that up as a demerit.
As always, I have to extend my gratitude to Hokuto, TheMajinZenki and Caphi for their ever-present support, insight and willingness to hear me rant about the game deciding be cute and blindside me (whatthefucklinebarrelsthisisbull!).

I’ll be taking a quick gander over this to scan for any typos that went under the radar, but if anyone finds any, do post about it or send me a message. When that’s done, it’s straight to the archives.
And as I’ve made note during the course of this, UX is slated as the next one. When will it be? Depends on how quickly I can get everything set up and running smoothly, but I’ll try to play Santa and start it soon. In the meantime, you folks go practicing your TAMASHIIII voice.

Thanks for reading![/i]

And, bam, the SRW UX Let’s Play is up over here.

Well, that was a nice ending. Although I’m leery now, as a lot of the Evangelion ending events in the ending were the build-up to the Bardiel appearance, and that means L-verse has a lot of bullshit to potentially go through…

@moderators

Alright, I’ve given this a general look-over and, barring some typos passing under the radar, everything looks good. Requesting that this be added to the Completed Let’s Plays archive.