Scenario 1 - Flight from Despair (click to view)
Upon starting a new game we are given three options:
- Beginner’s Mode (game is locked into Normal difficulty; additional money/TaC point rewards; no SR Points)
- Standard Mode (game starts at Normal difficulty; the difficulty increases if the player acquires SR Points)
- Guidance Mode (a single-scenario tutorial mission)
SR Points are a Big Deal™ in SRW games because of the following:
- Each SR Point is worth an immediate 10,000 money (used for upgrading our units).
- SR Points can cause the game difficulty to increase from Normal to Hard mode.
- SR Points are one of the game’s many point-based systems it uses for the unlocking of secret units, weapons and additional scenarios.
Since we want as many goodies as possible, we’ll be playing on Standard Mode.
Selecting Standard Mode takes us to the protagonist selection screen. The overall plot of the game remains the same regardless of choice. We’ll be choosing the female protagonist, partly because it helps to balance out the abundance of male robot pilots we’ll be encountering, partly because untrained newbies tend to make the best pilots, and partly because her uniform is ridiculous to look at.
We get to rename the protagonist (default: Chitose Kisaragi), and choose their birthday and blood type. The latter two choices are important because they determine what Spirit Commands our protagonist will have access to as they level up. (A list of these groupings can be found here.)
If you don’t have a specific preference in mind, it’s always a good idea to use 11/11 B – this is the birthday and blood type of SRW series producer Takanobu Terada, and it provides a unique list of Spirit Commands with slightly-reduced SP costs.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sTvKUT4NTlQ&width=690&height=380&rel=0
Our story begins in the year 2199 of the New Correct Century. In this universe, humanity has expanded into the far reaches of the solar system. Although it has had to survive many events and armed conflicts over the past two hundred years – such as Char’s Rebellion and the Jupiter War – humanity was looking to enter an era of relative peace.
But all that changed with the invasion of Gamillas. The militaristic alien armada appeared from the outskirts of Pluto, wiping out many space colonies and firing terraforming Planet Bombs at the Earth. With the planet in ruins, humanity is struggling to survive.
In the space surrounding Jupiter, the Earth Federation forces carry out the M Operation; as the Federation fights a losing battle, they stall for time as an escape pod containing “one of Earth’s last hopes” is expected to land on Mars.
Having stalled for enough time, Commander Juzo Okita orders the retreat of the remaining Federation forces. However, Captain Mamoru Kodai of the ship Yukikaze takes it upon himself to charge the enemy fleet, distracting them so that Okita may escape.
(Good luck, Commander Okita. Earth’s fate is in your hands.)
On the surface of Mars, Mamoru’s brother Susumu Kodai locates the escape pod. Its alien occupant did not survive the trip, but in her hands is a capsule…
Some time later, Ensign Soji Murakumo of the Lunar Defense Force makes a delivery from Earth’s moon to a research lab in Japan, which is received by Ensign Chitose Kisaragi. Before they can inspect the contents of the container labeled ERS-100, the Gamillans launch a surprise attack.
Kodai, as well as the remainder of Earth’s best military personnel, have been summoned to a military base close to Chitose’s lab. It is here that Commander Okita reveals the Earth Federation’s final plan:
The alien in the escape pod originated from the planet Iscandar, located 168,000 light-years from Earth. Having witnessed the Earth’s sad state of affairs, Iscandar (via the data capsule) has provided humanity with the means of travelling to Iscandar, where they can acquire the technology needed to heal their dying planet. To make this momentous voyage, humanity has retrofitted the sunken Japanese World War II battleship, the Yamato…
Kodai has concerns – concerns of his own inadequacies at being assigned as Tactical Officer onboard the Yamato, and concerns of working under the man that left his brother to his death. Nonetheless, he and the rest of the crew dedicate themselves to the cause.
As the Gamillans launch yet another attack as the Yamato prepares for liftoff, Chitose examines the damage to her research lab. It is here that she discovers the mobile weapon known as the VangRay. To defend the Yamato and the researchers, she takes action…
I have no choice. I have to give it a shot!
(The Federation base, at the bottom of a dried-up lakebed, is under attack!)
It’s not looking good. The base’s defense force has been wiped out!
Damn! Can’t we mobilize the Falcon?
Commander!
For now, we wait.
Are you sure?
Kodai, look! Some of the defense force is still alive!
(Enter the VangRay.)
What’s going on with that unit?
Wh-what is all of this? It’s impossible to control this thing! The cockpit looks sturdy enough to protect a pilot who’s not wearing a flight suit, but this still seems really dangerous! It has way too much power, and more weapons than anybody needs! Was this some sort of crazy prototype? Or a defective machine?
(The VangRay wobbles around for a bit…)
OK, it seems to have stabilized. Now I think I can get a handle of the controls. Now I just need to figure out what’s going on with the Firearms Control System! Huh, the FCS has been set to Auto. I think I can live with that!
Do you think it’s malfunctioning?
I can’t tell.
Let it take the front line! Focus on launching the ship!
Roger!
This machine even has its own repair apparatus. If things get crazy, I’ll bet I could activate it and somehow manage. Alright, Gamillans! I’m not letting you take anything else! We are eternally hopeful!
Thus begins the first scenario of the game. We’ll always have this handy screen popup at the beginning of any scenario, displaying the Victory, Defeat and SR Point Conditions. Most of the time these will come down to, respectively:
- Defeat all enemies.
- Don’t let any plot-relevant units and/or battleships be defeated.
- Complete the Victory Condition relatively fast.
In this case the SR Point Condition is a slight bit more complex; we have to use all of the VangRay’s weapons (three total) at least once each before the scenario ends.
Before we do anything, let’s take a closer look at our first unit, all shiny and new:
VangRay (Chitose Kisaragi)
Special Abilities:
- Shield (skill-based chance of Defending whenever attacked)
- Repair (unit can repair itself and adjacent allies)
Special Skills:
- Strong Luck (+20% extra money when defeating enemies)
- Potential (Accuracy/Evasion/Critical/Defense rises as HP decreases)
- Support Attack (can attack after an adjacent ally – damage is capped at 50% strength)
- Enhance Attack (all support attacks become critical hits)
Ace Bonus: +10% extra damage dealt; +1 Move
As befitting of the protagonist’s unit, the game gives you lots of incentives to use Chitose and the VangRay, such as earning extra money, Support Attacks, and the ability to Repair either itself of ally units. We’ll be looking at the latter two once we gather some ally units - this first scenario is a solo operation.
The VangRay is flight-capable and currently flying above the ground (you can tell by the little shadow underneath the unit). If we wanted, we could have it land on the ground - it has A-rank in both Air and Groud - but we’ll keep it flying for now. The enemy force consisting of four Gamillan spacecraft are due north of the VangRay (there is a compass in the top-right of the screen). Let’s take a peek at their stats:
On the whole, not very frightening. These Melanca spacecraft are equipped with machine guns and missiles; those can’t compare to the power of a real (super) robot!
Here’s how far the VangRay can travel with its Move value of 6. An advantage of flight is that you can fly over any obstacles (holes in the ground, enemy units). Flying costs 1 EN per moved space – pretty negligible, but something to keep track of for longer battles.
Upon moving closer to the enemy we are given the chance to attack. The VangRay only has the one post-movement attack – the Particle Cannon Senpu – so that’s what we’re using.
Here’s the final pre-battle menu. The VangRay, attacking first, has a 100% chance of hitting the enemy. If it survives, the enemy can counterattack with a 13% chance to hit Chitose. Oddly, the attack damages aren’t listed on this screen, so you’d have to go back a menu to double-check if needed.
Plot-relevant pilots usually have something to say once you confirm their first attacks of the scenario; I’ll be referring to such as sortie dialogue for this LP. Here’s Chitose’s sortie dialogue:
That was my first combat experience! I never thought I’d be a part of the battle for Earth! (Mom, Dad, Yu. Give me the strength to keep fighting!)
As the battle begins, we change from the prior 3D isometric view to the lovingly hand-crafted 2D spirtework that this series of games is known for. Throughout this LP I’ll be using attack showcase videos to showcase the attacks – it’d be a crime to not show off these beautifully-animated attacks!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J16AY_Eu86Y&width=690&height=380&rel=0
Our first attack is also our first critical hit! Enemy down.
At the end of any battle where our units successfully hit/destroy an enemy, this screen will pop up to show how much EXP the pilot earned. Defeating an enemy would award us much more EXP, in addition to money and TaC points. It takes a flat 500 EXP to go to the next level.
I did it! I can totally do this! I’m conquering my fear! I could even go into battle with this thing!
We’ve acted with all our available units (all one of them) but we have to manually end our turn by going into the Command menu and choosing to End Phase.
On the enemy’s phase, one of the attacks Chitose from a range she can’t counterattack from – the Positron Impact Turret Jinrai has the range, but Chitose needs at least 105 Focus to fire the thing.
Instead of attacking, we have the option to Defend (reduces any damage by 50%). We also have the option to Evade (decreases the enemy’s hit percentage, usually halving it).
Here’s a look at Chitose’s available Spirit Commands. Zero-in raises accuracy and evasion by 30% until the start of our next phase. Attune gives any one of our allied units 100% accuracy until the start of our next phase.
We cast Zero-in, and Chitose has a 0% chance to be hit. (Consecutively attacking a unit during a turn will gradually increase the attacker’s hit % against that enemy.)
The remaining Gamillan spacecraft move closer to the VangRay, with one of them attacking. At this point we have enough Focus to use the Jinrai, but remembering the SR Point condition we instead attack with the Railgun Gecko.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3lFF00czQo&width=690&height=380&rel=0
At the start of our second phase, the VangRay stays put so that it can use the Jinrai on a distant enemy. Beforehand, we have the robot land (to show off the game’s background variety) and cast Zero-in again (raising our accuracy from 79% to 100%).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5W5FSvOHY8&width=690&height=380&rel=0
The weapon is powerful enough to destroy this Melanca in a single hit, without needing a critical!
We’ve used all of the VangRay’s weapons, so we are immediately awarded the SR Point and a bonus 10,000 money. These also come with extra dialogue:
Though I wouldn’t say this machine is heavily armed. Saying that this weapon happens to have arms and legs is more accurate. I wonder if the people at the lab thought to leave this behind for anyone who got stranded? This isn’t just about the Yamato anymore. I have to protect this weapon too!
We end our second phase. On the enemy’s phase, they attempt to attack the VangRay again. For the one damaged spacecraft from earlier, we counterattack with the Senpu – its built-in Counter Weapon ability lets us strike first. The remaining enemies get a repeat performance of the Jinrai.
The enemies are all defeated; mission complete!
Whew, somehow I made it out of that alive. Time to survey the situation.
What’s the situation, Tokugawa?
We don’t have the power to start the-
Electricity, comin’ right up, old man! Sorry for the wait!
I thought we were going to fall short even if we used all the power in the Far East!
And yet, look!
-Earth Federation Forces Far East Headquarters-
The world pins its hopes on the Yamato, sir!
Engage wave motion engine!
Engaged! Connecting flywheel! Charge increasing! 90, 96, 100 – we’re at 120% energy capacity!
Wave motion engine cycles optimal! Here we go!
Interstellar ballistic munitions detected!
Time to reveal ourselves. Disengage cloaking!
(A giant battleship rises out of the ground!)
What just happened?
The ship was cloaked in order to avoid detection by the enemy.
This ship has cloaking capabilities? So that means the sunken battleship we saw-
Was this very ship. The Space Battleship Yamato! We’ll intercept the munitions and enemies! Prepare to fire main cannon!
Main cannon, prepare to fire!
Everyone get to your posts!
Time to leave. This is the Yamato, setting sail!
Departure! Yamato setting sail!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9gfKHMfDf-4&width=690&height=380&rel=0
No! The Yamato’s been hit!
That explosion was immense. It must have vaporized the entire ship.
You spoke too soon! The Yamato is intact!
We did it! We survived!
Kodai!
S-sir!
Well done.
Thank you, sir.
C’mon, give yourself a pat on the back!
We’ve got a long, long journey ahead of us. One unlike any mankind has undertaken. Don’t congratulate me just yet.
So it’s finally awoken. Godspeed, Yamato. You’re our beacon of hope.
Is this some kind of simplified directive? I mean, how am I supposed to follow this order?
(A docking bay on the Yamato opens its hatch.)
The hatch opened! Nowhere to go but onward, I guess. Let’s go, VangRay. I can do anything as long as I’ve got you.
We are embarking on a 168,000 light-year journey to Iscandar! Steel yourselves! The Yamato’s battle has just begun!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0r4Oq5VVrko&width=690&height=380&rel=0
Chitose and the VangRay have boarded the Space Battleship Yamato; Ensign Murakumo has also found his way aboard. But seeing as they weren’t originally on the roster, they are immediately detained by the Yamato’s security detail…
Next Update:
- We take a quick peek at the Intermission menu before beginning our second scenario.
- We learn how many enemy battleships Okita has sunk during his career.
- A certain Gundam-looking robot makes its long-awaited redebut to the SRW series.