Legs are just decoration! Let's Play Super Robot Taisen: Original Generation!

Alright, let's do this. The first update is going to be very short, since there's an important decision we have to make before the game starts. To make up for it, I included a brief history lession since most people probably don't know what the Super Robot Taisen series is:

Back in 1991, a company named Banpresto released a game named Super Robot Taisen (also called 'Super Robot Wars') for the good 'ol Gameboy. It was a turn-based RPG/Strategy game where you controlled mechs from the Gundam, Mazinger and Getter Robo series (no pilots.. yet). It got many, many sequels on many platforms and became very popular in Japan. Later games included many other mecha titles like Mazinkaiser, Neon Genesis Evangelion or Macross. It's basically like a professional crossover fanfiction. Starting with Super Robot Taisen 2 for the Famicom, Banpresto also included original characters not taken from other series into these games.. which leads us to the game this thread is about.

In 2002, Super Robot Taisen: Original Generation was released for the GBA. Unlike other Super Robot Taisen games, this one has no Gundams, Mazingkaisers or other Robots from mecha series, only characters and mechs made by Banpresto (a lot of them were introduced in this game and some reappeared in the 'real' games). The plot is similar to that of the other Super Robot Taisen games, taking elements from several games (series) and mixing them together. However, since there are no licensing costs associated with this game, it somehow defied all odds and made it to the USA in 2006.

One thing I should mention (which is going to crop up a lot, in the game as well as my ramblings) are Super and Real Robots. I'm just going to quote Wikipedia on this one:

Now that we have that out of the way, let's start up the game!







These are the guys who translated and published the game. You might have heard of them, I hear they're pretty popular in these parts.



And this is the company that made the game. According to Wikipedia, Banpresto has been partially owned by Bandai since 1989, until they were purchased by Namco-Bandai in 2006. Hm.. Coincidence?

(Expect to see more of that logo/mask much later into the game)



And we go straight to the title screen. Since music is such an important part of these games (and the soundtracks are pretty much always fantastic) I'm going to include some of the music played in each update. I'm going to take the music from the PS2 remake for now though, since I couldn't find the OST of the GBA version online.

”The Super Robot Wars”





Here's the important choice I mentioned. The first third of the game is completely different for each protagonist and some of the later missions are also different depending on which character you chose. There's also a pilot who only joins if we play as Kyosuke and some mecha can only be gotten on Ryusei's route.

Ryusei (meaning 'Shooting Star', according to the sequel) is our first possible choice. He's a Mecha Nerd (with a fierce love for Super Robots) who just happens to stumble into the cockpit of a prototype – of course it's not nearly as situational as it seems at first. He gets to pilot a Real Robot that can shoot swords made out of psychic energy (at least later on).



Protagonist #2. Kyosuke is very stoic, has a gambling addiction and is quite probably the luckiest person on Earth. Story wise, his route is less important than Ryusei's and the later parts of it aren't canon, although the differences are pretty minor. He gets to pilot a Super/Real Robot Hybrid that works like an oversized battering ram.

(You can probably tell which one I prefer)


Our options are:

- I choose one route and play it start to finish while pointing out the differences in the other route
- I play the two routes side by side (at least for the first half or so, since the second half is very similar in each route)

I'm probably going with the second one since the two routes take place (almost) simultaneously, but I'll let you guys decide.

End of Update #1

You know? I tried playing Kyosuke's route, and I got kind of bored of it.

Ryusei all the way!

I might join you via the PS2 remake

I tried playing as Ryusei and didn't get much farther than halfway. Kyousuke!

Though really, seeing them both side by side is the best answer.

I played the Kyosuke route for both the GBA and PS2 versions. So go for Ryusei if you don't do both.

I played through as Kyosuke and I've always wanted to see Ryusei's route but I'm not terribly interested in replaying this game.* So Ryusei get's my vote.

*Though I have been wanting to replay SWTOG2 lately.

I've only played through Ryusei's route but if you do both I'm looking forward to Kyosuke's.

Kyosuke's starts out good, then completely falls apart in the second half with terrible plot twists and badly shoving Kyosuke into plots he doesn't belong in. Plus Kyosuke is one of the most incredibly boring characters ever. Ryusei, on the other hand, has better music, his plot stays together in the second half, and gets actual character development. And he has a cooler robot. The only thing Kyosuke has going for him in terms of route-exclusive things is Kai, and you get the best robot for him on Ryusei's route, leaving a great character in a mass-produced Gespenst.

Oh, and Ryusei's route is canon to OG2. So yeah, Ryusei. He's better in just about every way.

Though if you want to be really dedicated, you could do both first halves, since the fight against the UCC actually happened and Not!Zeon is pretty cool. Not as cool as the DC, but still cool.

I wanted to post this update yesterday, but I ran into some.. technical complications (including switching the OS I'm writing this LP on). Anyway, I'm going to cover both routes for the first third of the game/until the routes merge and then I'm only going to cover Ryusei's route since it seems to be more popular and besides - it's canon.




We start off the game completely surrounded by enemies and heavily damaged. Luckily, we're not in control.

Daitetsu: ...And Giganscudo?

Sean: Surrounded by unknown enemies, Sir.
Daitetsu: Grrrrr...

Sean: We're outmatched, Sir. We should retreat.
Daitetsu: There must be something we can do...
Sean: These bug-like mechs are not of this world, Sir.



In a Sci-Fi setting? Inconceivable!

Sean: Most likely, considering their size and numbers.
Sean: Their carrier must be near. We're in grave danger, Sir.
Daitetsu: Just when we reached the outer rim of the solar system...



Sean: If Hiryu sustains any more damage...
Sean: We'll never make it back to Earth, or even Mars.



Daitetsu: (You'll pay for this!)

After the obligatory ominous prologue, the first mission/episode starts






Elzam: This is Doll 1. Initiating level 4 test sequence.



Elzam: Great! Thanks to Col. Kar-Wai, it's really been improved.
Elzam: She runs like a 2-year-old thoroughbred, now.

It should be noted that Elzam has a... slight obsession with horses.

UCC: Good to hear, Major. Commencing inspection.



Elzam: Yes, Sir! Initiating test...



Elzam: What the...
UCC: Unknown object approaching...
UCC: Bearing B-12-62! Doll 1, be advised!
Elzam: Confirmed. … Doesn't seem to be space debris.
UCC: There's no data on it. A real unidentified object!
Elzam: This is Doll 1. I'm going to make contact.



Elzam: If it's not one of ours or the Feds', we must identify it.



*The unidentified objects fly into Elzam's direction*

UCC: The UFO has increased its speed! It's going to ram into Doll 1!
Kirk: It's launching an attack?
UCC: Get out of there, Major!

Elzam: This is Doll 1. I'm switching to combat mode.
UCC: C-Combat mode!? You're not permitted to engage, Major!

An awfully smart thing to say, considering the UFO's are trying to ram him



UCC: But your Gespenst Mk II isn't equipped!
Elzam: This mech has arms, does it not?
UCC: Th-That's crazy! Dr. Hamil, stop him!



Kirk: We can finally exhibit the power of the Personal Troopers to the top brass.
UCC: What are you saying, Dr. Hamil?

And we're left in control. But before we trash those robots (which is ridiculously easy even without weapons, as Elzam is a great pilot), I'm going to explain some of the menus. When we select an unit, we have a selection between three options ("Attack" also appears if an enemy is in attack range). First off, I'm going to cover "Status".



In the upper row, information about the mecha this character is using is displayed. Some are self-explanatory (such as 'Armor'), others are not:


EN - "Energy". Used for movement in space, many weapons/attacks and Abilites.

Sup - will be explained later since it's only applicable if we have at least two units.

Mobility - determines how easily an unit is hit. The higher, the better.

Ability - these are either built into the mecha or can be activated by equipping Parts. Beam Coat reduces the damage by beam weapons but uses 5 EN every time it is activated.

Type - which terrain types the units was built for. Regardless of type, any unit (at least any unit we can use) can move in space, but EN is used for movement (1 EN per field)

Cost - how much the player has to pay for repair if the unit is destroyed

Air/Gnd/Wtr/Spc - shows how well the unit performs in different types of terrain.

Parts - can be equipped between missions. More on that later.

W Space - the amount of space availabe for equipping additional weapons.


Now onto 'Pilot Info':


Will - how it increases varies from pilot to pilot, but everyone can increase it by defeating enemies. Stronger attacks can often only be used if the pilot's 'Will' is high enough

Below 'Will' are the pilot's stats. Apart from Man (which makes it easier to get/prevent critical hits), they're pretty clear in what they do, I think.

Pilot Points are acquired by defeating enemies and can be used to upgrade the pilot between missions. Spirit Points are used to activate the Spirit commands, which I'll cover in a minute. Beat shows how many enemies the pilot has killed so far.

In the lower middle are the Pilot's skills, which are bought/upgraded using Spirits Points. Elzam already starts with five of them which means that he can only get one more. One of them is 'Genius, which increases his Hit and Evd stats. Below the skills are the pilot's terrain stats, which can also be upgraded.

Lastly, we have the 'Weapon Name' screen. The (P) next to the attack indicates that it can be used after the unit has moved. Hit shows the bonus to Hit rate this attack provides (+15 is pretty low), Critical does the same for the Critical rate and Rng tells us the attack range. If an attack uses Ammo, the remaining and maximum ammunition can also be checked on this screen. As can be seen on the bottom, weapons also perform differently depending on the terrain. Using a beam weapon underwater for example, is a bad idea.



Selecting 'Move' shows the units movement range. It's not enough to reach the enemy on our first turn, but we can fix that. Selecting 'Spirit brings us to another menu where can select the spirit commands (SC from now on since I'm lazy) availabe for this pilot. 'Focus' increases Hit/Evd rates by 30% for one turn (as shown), 'Accelerate' increases movement by 3 for one turn and 'Sense' increases the pilot's Hit rate to 100% for one turn and always makes the next enemy attack miss.

(Pilots automatically learn SCs when they reach a certain level)



Hitting A on an empty space makes another menu come up. For now, we're only interested in 'Mission'. Here we can see how we win/lose the mission as well as the requirement for this missions 'Battle Mastery'.

Battle Masteries are achieved by fulfilling extra conditions during missions. If the player gets most of them, the difficulty automatically changes to 'Hard' (it also changes back if you stop getting Battle Masteries). I think you can also change the difficulty to 'Easy' by getting none or only a few Masteries, but I've never done that. Apart from influencing the difficulty, getting (almost) all Battle Masteries unlocks the true ending. Since this is a LP I will be getting all of them.

The Battle Mastery for this stage can be suprisingly tricky, considering that this is the first stage. Since Elzam's Gespenst can only attack when it's directly next to the bugs, we have to position it carefully. "Within 4 turns" means 4 full turns (player phase + enemy phase).



Our enemies are complete wimps, thankfully. Even without using Focus, they only have a 1% chance of hitting Elzam.

(Enemy info can be accessed after you've faced them in battle at least once or by using a specific SC)



If we want to reach the enemies on our first turn (which is necessary if we want the Battle Mastery), we have to use Accelerate. After that we move next to one of the bugs and select our attack. Animations can be turned on/off with AnimWatch, but they can also be skipped by pressing B during the battle.



"Trombe!"

One of the neat things in this series is that there are a lot of pre-battle conversations and pilots say different things in battle, depending on the circumstances (most of the times it's just standart banter though).



On the enemies turn the bug attacks, allowing Elzam to finish him off. The 'Action' tab lets attacked units take different actions (one being a counter-attack), but for the time being we don't need it since the bugs can't hit Elzam anyway.



Defeating enemies puts money into the war chest and gives the pilot who finished it off EXP and Pilot Points. You also get EXP for damaging units, but its miniscule compared to kills.



On the next turn it's important that we move Elzam between the two enemies on the top, or otherwise we can't kill all bug within 4 turns.



Next turn, we check out the damaged bugs movement range and move accordingly, so that he has to move next to us to attack. If you remember the enemy info, their Ring Laser has a maximum range of 5 so he can't hit us from a distance.



Two bugs are defeated through counter-attacks and the last one falls on the fourth turn, earning us the Battle Mastery.



*Elzam rams into the bug*

UCC: What are you doing, Major?
Elzam: I'm going to capture this one alive.
UCC: What!?
Elzam: Dr. Bian needs to analyze it back at EOTI.

The game is going to throw a lot of acronyms at us, so try to keep track of them.

Elzam: A few years ago, the Hiryu lost contact near Pluto...



Elzam: And if this is the “visitor” Dr. Bian was talking about...
Elzam: The history of mankind is about to enter a new era.



Normally there are a lot of things to tinker around with on this screen, but the only thing we can access for now is 'Data'.



And we're done with the first mission of Ryusei's route! No Ryusei yet, at least until the next mission. But before that, we'll take a look at Kyosuke's route.

End of Update #2

Mooks beaten (literally): 4
Mooks captured: 1
Test runs crashed by UFOs: 1

Ah the Gespenst, one of my favorite looking mechs in the game, especially Major Kai's. I have to say though, when I see its skirt armor I always see the Cheshire cat...

If soulD doesn't mind, I'd be willing to write some posts about the backgrounds of all of these folks and general SRW history. Since Original Generation is basically a massive crossover of the original bits of previous SRW games, it would be like having someone explain the plots of all the anime in a regular SRW. Plus there are a bunch of refrences and things that just make more sense if you know where all of this is coming from. It would also probably be helpful to have some sort of glossary of terms and factions around, though all the politics really boils down to is "IT'S PRE-ONE YEAR WAR GUNDAM"

That'd be wonderful. I actually thought about making some sort of glossary myself and I'll start one once the terms and acronyms start piling up.

Before we start the second episode of Ryusei's route we'll take at Kyosuke's route. The prologue is the same we saw before, so we'll just skip it.




... of the 21st century, human life changed little over time.



... substances containing technology previously unknown to man. They called this new technology Extra-Over-Technology (EOT).



... Zoldark, the head of EOTI, reported to the EFG and the Earth Federation Army that an invasion by extraterrestrial beings was highly probable.



It's kind of refreshing to see the government take that sort of warning serious for once. Usually, we'd spend at least half of the game trying to convince them.






Hans: What is it?
Kyosuke: I saw the spec sheet. This mech, the Wildraubtier, becomes highly unstable when it transforms.

Wildraubtier means something along the lines of "wild predator" and Gespenst means "ghost". A lot of the mechs in this game have German names.

Kyosuke: It's not capable of handling a live-fire exercise.
Hans: Live fire? The tanks are only loaded with paint rounds.
Hans: At worst, you'll just have to clean the paint off your mech.



Kyosuke: No, Sir. I would risk my life to follow your orders.
Kyosuke: But, I'll have trouble evading enemy fire, so we won't get reliable data from the mech.
Kyosuke: Should we risk a valuable PT just for the sake of conducting some tests?
Hans: I make the decisions here, Kyosuke.
Kyosuke: But, didn't Gespenst Number 2 go missing because of unnecessary testing, Sir?
Hans: This test is necessary to improve the mech!



Kyosuke: (It's urgent we develop a powerful airborne PT, but...)
Hans: Now, report to the test area, Corporal!
Kyosuke: ...Roger that.

*Kyosuke leaves*

Hans: (I don't like him. Oh, well... He's piloting a defective mech; I'll be rid of him soon enough.)
Hans: (It's a small sacrifice to make to have Mao Industries beholden to me.) *smirk*

*rolleyes*





Crew: Target drones placed and ready to go.



Irm: Good. I'll collect the data now.
Kyosuke: Thank you, Lieutenant Irm.
Irm: The Wildraubtier is our first variable PT. Treat her well.
Irm: We don't want her to get wrecked while the Commander is away.
Kyosuke: Roger that.



Kyosuke: Yes, Sir.
Hans: (Paint rounds powerful enough to shoot you down!)

Insert villainous chuckle here.



And we're in control.



This mission's Battle Mastery is a lot easier than the last one since the enemies here go after Kyosuke and his mech actually has some ranged weapons.



Standing on certain tiles of the battlefield gives bonuses to health/energy regeneration and evasion/defence. We can't use them at the moment though, since flying units like the Wildraubtier FM aren't affected by terrain (at least not on Earth).



As his stats indicate, Kyosuke is a melee-oriented character. He doesn't really fit the Wildraubtier FM (which only has ranged weapons) but we don't have a choice at the moment.

Using Focus is recommended since the fighter jets have a decent chance of hitting Kyosuke if its not activated. The tanks on the other side are complete cannon fodder.



"Beowulf"



When using certain attacks (usually the stronger ones) many pilots get Phoenix Wright-style cut-ins like this one.



Kyosuke: Lieutenant Colonel Hans, this is Kyosuke, do you copy!?



Hans: Am I obligated to report such matters to you?
Irm: (You bastard!)

Kyosuke: What's going on!? No matter, I gotta survive this!



The rest of the mission is simple. Just move Kyosuke into range of the enemies and watch him make short work of them.



Killing the final enemy also leads to the first level up of the game and the first Battle Mastery of Kyosuke's route. In addition, Kyosuke learns another SC.



Irm: What!? If he transforms now...
Kyosuke: Why are the drones loaded with--
Hans: Do not question my order, Corporal!
Kyosuke: Yes, Sir. Commencing variable test.

Weren't you the one who said transformation would be "highly unstable"? Now would be a good time for some insubordination, Kyosuke.

Kyosuke: (That bastard set me up.)



Irm: Kyosuke, abort the mission and return to base!
Hans: You're exceeding your authority, Irm.
Irm: Don't give me that! You're trying to kill him!
Hans: Watch yourself, Lieutenant!



*The Wildraubtier starts flashing like mad*

Kyosuke: It won't finish transforming!



*... and blows up*

Irm: Kyosuke!!
Crew: Alert! The Wildraubtier went down in the ocean!
Hans: Alas, we've lost a fine pilot...
Hans: Mao Industries must be held accountable for this!

Hans couldn't get any more transparent if he tried.

Hans: Retrieve the unit and have it sent back to the Moon.
Irm: !



Irm: B-Bastard...!
Crew: Lieutenant Colonel!
Hans: What!? Didn't you hear my order? Retrieve that mech!



That part in the first update about Kyosuke being incredibly lucky? Not exaggerating. At all.



Hans: *groan* (The devil's luck...)
Hans: Well, I guess I'll just have to expel him from here.)
Kyosuke: ...I'm OK... I think I broke some ribs, though...

Kyosuke's definition of "OK" is a bit weird.



And we're done with Episode 1.. again. Next time, we continue with Ryusei's route and find out how video games can save your life (sort of).



End of Update #3

Mooks trashed: 4
Irreplaceable mechs blown up: 1
Explosions survived at point-blank range: 1

Incidentally, my ringtone for the past couple of years has been Trombe!. Because if whatever I'm doing before I get called has to get interrupted by something, it might as well be by Trombe!.

All right, guess I'll do my little history spiel now. I won't be introducing any characters, as most of the ones we've seen are either original or I'd like to introduce them later, when there's a bit more background to build on. I'd like to do this without spoilers if possible, even if this was all You Should Know This Already for Japanese fans. (which means we won't be talking about Kyosuke route much, since most people there are either original or do their plots much later)

So to get us started, I'll explain the games in the main series the first Original Generation mostly takes from. First thing to know is that there are basically three main continuous series and a bunch of one-shot titles in the SRW franchise. The main series are the Classic timeline, covering from SRW2 to 4 or F/Final plus two sidegames, the Alpha timeline, from Alpha to Alpha 3 plus a Gaiden, and the Original Generation timeline, starting here. OG1 actually came out with the later titles of the Alpha series, so there are a lot of crossover references. It gets darn wacky by Alpha 3, but we don't have to worry about that for now.

Another thing that's weird about Alpha is that it was originally meant to be a sort of AU continuation of the Classic timeline, featuring the next generation of Classic mechs, a few older Classic characters, and revisting the completely original Masoukishin stuff (I'll explain Masoukishin when we meet our first character from there). It was also a bit of a proto-OG, in that it threw in the SRX team from a few one-shot titles. They mostly dropped that when they came up with OG, but it makes explaining anything that came from the original Alpha complicated.

Back to Original Generation... The plot of OG1 is pretty much straight up SRW2 and a stripped down Alpha. The characters, on the other hand, are a mix from several games. Kyosuke, for instance, is from SRW Compact 2 for the Wonderswan, later remade for the PS2 as SRW Impact.

So what have we seen so far that's taken from earlier games? Well, the Prologue stage with the ship getting attacked by aliens is pretty much directly lifted from the Prologue stage of Alpha, with a minor difference. The one in Alpha originally starred the Exelion and Top Squadron from Gunbuster fighting the space monsters, and you got to play as Noriko, Kazumi, and Jung for a few turns until the Aerogators show up and you're forced to retreat. OG just substituted an original grizzled beardy captain and took out the space monsters. Ryusei route's first stage is technically original, but is part of the canon background of Alpha. Kyosuke's is entirely original. Also of note is that SE 179, when Meteor 3 crashed in OG, was when the One Year War was fought and the Macross crashed in Alpha. Both OG and Alpha take place in Space Era 187.

That's all for now. (I've still got to figure out a non-spoiler way of telling the history of the Gespenst) Hope you enjoyed the infodump.

That's some crazy backstory there. I had no idea the other games were connected other than Banpresto lifting all the original characters and mechs. And the mixing of mecha universes makes me dizzy with confusion.

One minor thing:
I believe flying units still get their HP and EN restored by restoration spaces, as there are some HP and EN restoration spaces that are only accessible by flying units (I might be able to test this sometime but I'm pretty sure they still get restored as otherwise these flying only spaces would be useless). I'm not sure if they receive the other bonuses but they probably don't.
________
HANDJOB VIDS

Updates will probably be a bit slow until I'm done with my exams in about a month, but I'll try to update 1-2 times per week. Just thought I'd let you know.





Kusuha: You've been saying that for the last 30 minutes!
Ryusei: This is a hard toy to find. It's a limited edition.
Kusuha: You're going to miss visiting hours at the hospital.
Ryusei: I know, I know. Just give me another minute.
Kushua: But, your mother is waiting for us.
Ryusei: Oh, alright.

Kusuha: You really love robots, don't you, Ryusei?
Ryusei: Yep! Especially Super Robots. All boys do.

"Robosexual" is how I'd describe Ryusei. There is probably some kind of bizarre fetish that covers this, but I'd rather not look it up.

Kusuha: Super Robots? You mean Personal... something or others?
Ryusei: No, no. Personal Troopers are military robots.
Ryusei: Super Robots are flashy. They look really cool.
Ryusei: They combine and transform. They've got awesome moves...
Kusuha: But, they're just robots after all, right?

Ryusei: Ugh. Why do I even bother? Girls just don't get it.
Kusuha: *giggle*
Ryusei: W-What's so funny?
Kusuha: You remind me of a little boy when you talk about robots.
Ryusei: Hmph. Well, my dream is to pilot one of them, someday.
Kusuha: Is that why you play that game, Burning PT?
Ryusei: Yep. It's got realistic controls and graphics! And--
Kusuha: You can tell me all about it later. Let's get going now.
Ryusei: Oh, alright.



Ryusei: How're you feeling, Ma?
Yukiko: Oh, I'm feeling much better these days.
Ryusei: Are you eating? You need your strength, you know.
Yukiko: *giggle* I can't tell which of you is the mother.
Yukiko: By the way, Ryu, how are your studies going?
Yukiko: Your grades determine if you'll be accepted or not.
Ryusei: I'm not planning on going to college, Ma.

Yukiko: What...?
Ryusei: I need to get a job to help pay your hospital bills.
Kusuha: Ryusei...
Yukiko: Why, thank you, Ryu. But I can't allow you to do that.
Ryusei: But...
Yukiko: You've got your whole life ahead of you, Ryu.
Yukiko: Take your time; find something only you can do.
Ryusei: (Something only I can do, hm?)

"Does playing videogames for 48 hours straight without passing out count?"

Yukiko: Decide your own future. You dad would say that too if he was still alive.
Ryusei: I got it, Ma.
Nurse: It's time for your checkup, Mrs. Date.
Yukiko: Ryu, didn't you have something to do after this?
Ryusei: Yeah. I better get going. I'll see you later, Ma.
Kusuha: Take care, Mrs. Date.



Ryusei: ...Close-combat arms... Knife and revolver...
Kusuha: What're you doing with your D-Con?
Ryusei: Huh? Oh, I'm synchronizing my data for the tournament.
Kusuha: You sure are determined to win.
Ryusei: You got that right! It's the Burning PT Nationals!
Ryusei: I'm gunning for Tenzan Nakajima; he won the prelim.
Kusuha: Never heard of him.

Ryusei: He's well known by gamers but I've never met him.
Kusuha: ...I see...
Kusuha: Hey, can we go to Odaiba next time instead of Akihabara?
Ryusei: Hm... On second thought, maybe long-range weapons...
Kusuha: (...)
Kusuha: Tch... You're not even paying attention to me...
Ryusei: Hm? Did you say something?
Kusuha: Oh, never mind. Good luck in the tournament.
Ryusei: Thanks. First prize gets a huge cash prize.
Ryusei: If I win, I can pay some of my mom's hospital bills.
Ryusei: Look at the time. C'mon, we gotta get going!
Kusuha: Hey... Ryusei, wait up!



Announcer: Ryusei Date is the Burning PT national champion!
Ryusei: Woohoo!
Kusuha: Congrats, Ryusei!



Crew: Link Modular: 0.22...



Ingram: Subject No. 55, Ryusei Date.
Ingram: (It may just be a coincidence, but it's in his blood...)

Announcer: How does it feel to be the champ, Ryusei?
Ryusei: Although I couldn't fight Tenzan, I still feel great!
Announcer: Speaking of which, he withdrew from the tournament.

Ingram: Aya, secure Ryusei Date after the tournament.
Aya: Yes, Major.

*Sirens start blaring*

Aya: What's going on!?
Crew: A squad of AGX-01 has crossed the 4th surveillance line!
Aya: What!?
Crew: Engaged with Scramble Squadron! Approaching vicinity!



Ingram: Continue to monitor No. 55, and prepare Type TT.
Aya: Roger that.
Crew: The AGX-01 has increased speed and entered the zone!
Aya: !



It's really annoying to get these

Announcer: And now, the presentation of the prize and trophy.
Ryusei: Hey, what's all that noise?



EFA: Missiles launched!



Kusuha: Aaaahhhh!

Crew: An AGX-01 has crashed into the tournament site!
Aya: What did you say?
Ingram: Let's test No. 55. Open the trailer cover and bring out the Type TT.
Aya: Major, you don't mean...
Ingram: Precisely.
Aya: But, he can't handle a PT in his first enemy encounter.
Ingram: Nonsense. The Type TT is perfect for this situation.
Aya: Y-Yes, Sir.



Ryusei: Ku-Kusuha, you OK?
Kusuha: Y-Yes...

"Just some broken ribs."

Ryusei: !!
Ryusei: Huh...!? ... A bug-like robot?
Kusuha: W-What IS that thing?
Ryusei: Well, it's not a fighter plane or a Personal Trooper.
Ryusei: Uh-oh... It's looking right at us! This isn't good!



Ryusei: Hey! A PT production model of the Gespenst Mk II!
Ryusei: W-What's it doing here? And why's it all by itself?
EFA: Strange... I wasn't aware of a PT being deployed here.
EFA: What!? An order to withdraw from this airspace?
EFA: All units, retreat! Leave the bugs to the Gespenst.



Ryusei: Somebody has to do something or we're all gonna die!
Kusuha: R-Ryusei...!
Ryusei: ...
Ryusei: You gotta get outta here, Kusuha!
Kusuha: What about you!?
Ryusei: Don't worry about me. Just go! I'll cover you.
Kusuha: What're you going to do? Wait, Ryusei! Ryusei!!
Ryusei: ...Maybe if I can draw their attention...



Ryusei: !
Ryusei: It's the same panel as the Burning PT console...
Ryusei: Why would an army weapon have the same panel as a game?



Ryusei: Fine! If the control systems's the same, I'LL do it!
Ryusei: I won't let you get away with this!

I bet Ryusei was waiting his whole life to be able to say that line.

Ryusei: Let's see... Balancer Panel, Fire Control, BM Select...
Ryusei: They're all the same as in the game!
Ryusei: Alright, Gespenst Mk II... Let's do this!

This Battle Mastery is much easier than the first one - just get yourself in position and let Ryusei attack the bugs. Don't worry, they get more interesting later on.



The Gespenst TT and Ryusei are weaker than Elzam and his Gespenst R, but the enemies are still wusses so Ryusei won't have any problems. Ryusei's stats are pretty balanced for now, but his Melee stat rises much faster than his Range stat in this game, if I remember correctly.



The buildings give some pretty good bonuses so we park the Gespenst TT on one of them and make sure that the Gespent's weapons can reach every enemy, since we only have 2 turns to beat them.



"Everywhere You Go"



Right now we get a lot of critical hits, since the bug's Man stat is very low. Also, one of the bugs actually manages to hit Ryusei.



At the start of the next turn we get another conversation:



Aya: Can't you tell?
Ryusei: What!?
Aya: Switch your combat mode to mid-range at once!
Ryusei: Who are YOU!?
Aya: Just switch! An amateur like you can't handle close combat!
Ryusei: Hey, you never know until you try!
Aya: What!?
Ryusei: Stop giving me orders, and start calling for backup!
Ryusei: You're a soldier, right? You're supposed to protect us!
Aya: I know that!



Our reward for killing the last bug is the first level up of Ryusei's route and another Battle Mastery.

Crew: Enemy annihilation confirmed!
Ingram: How's No. 55?
Crew: Brain wave disturbances, heart rate elevated... but he's OK.
Ingram: I'm quite pleased. He exceeded my expectations.
Ingram: Lockdown the area, and order a media blackout.

Seeing as the bugs crashed into the middle of a stadium while the Burning PT Nationals were being held there, I'd say that it's going to be pretty tough to keep the whole thing secret.

Crew: Yes, Sir!
Ingram: I will secure the Type TT and No. 55. The rest is up to you.
Aya: Yes, Major.



Ryusei: Wh-Who are you?
Ingram: The name's Ingram Prisken. I'm with the military.
Ryusei: Great. Now if you'll excuse me, I gotta find Kusuha!
Ingram: Kusuha... The girl you were with?
Ryusei: Yes! Do you know where she is!?
Ingram: Yes. She was rescued by the medics. She's fine.
Ryusei: Oh... That's good.
Ingram: Now, let's get down to business.
Ryusei: Business?
Ingram: Yes. I'd like you to come with me, Ryusei Date.
Ryusei: .....



Ingram: Yes. We're dismissing the charges on him for using the mech without permission.

"Besides, it's better than saying that some kid managed to hijack one of our mecha."

Ingram: And we're taking care of his mother's medical fees.
Aya: I see...
Ingram: (Keeping her under surveillance has finally paid off.)
Ingram: He'll be assigned to you.
Ingram: Train him as a test pilot, for now.
Aya: Roger that, Sir.
Ingram: He'll be arriving soon. See that he's welcomed.
Aya: Yes, Sir.



Soldier: Then, go get them and bring them back.
Ryusei: I'm here to meet with someone! Just give him a call!



Ryusei: Huh? Oh, yeah. Sorry.
Soldier: May I see your ID and pass?
Rai: .....
Soldier: Lieutenant Raidiese F. Branstein, Sir?

Every time I see his full name, I think of this.

Rai: Yes. I transferred here from Mao Industries today.
Soldier: Confirmed. You may enter, Lieutenant.
Ryusei: .....
Rai: Sorry, kid. No one can enter without and ID and a pass.

*Rai leaves*

Ryusei: Hey! Who was that blonde guy?
Ryusei: He was only wearing one glove! What a dork.



Ryusei: Huh?
Aya: I'm Captain Aya Kobayashi. I'm here to get you.
Ryusei: ! T-That voice... Are you...?
Aya: Yes. I spoke with you when you were in the Gespenst.
Ryusei: I thought so!
Aya: I'm sorry for... you know... yelling at you.

"And, you know, leaving you to fight those aliens on your own, even though you never piloted a mech outside of a video game."

Ryusei: .....
Aya: What's wrong?
Ryusei: ...I'm so lucky to have such a beautiful Captain.
Aya: *giggle* ...Well, I just enlisted, so you can call me Aya.

Ryusei: (Wow. She's really easy-going for an officer.)
Aya: In return, may I call you Ryu?
Ryusei: Sure. I look forward to working with you Cap-- Aya.
Aya: *giggle* Then, let's shake on it.
Ryusei: Huh?
Aya: Well, since we'll be teammates, we should shake on it.
Ryusei: (Teammates? Are we on a sports team or something?)
Aya: Well?
Ryusei: S-Sure...

*Screen flash*



Ryusei: What's up?
Aya: Oh, um... nothing. You just have very soft hands.
Ryusei: Really? No one's ever told me that before.
Aya: Well, never mind. C'mon. Let me show you around the base.



Ingram: Your father is the Commander-in-Chief of the UCC, Maier V. Branstein.
Ingram: Your brother, Elzam, a former Aggressor, helped to design the PT.
Ingram: And now he's a top pilot in the UCC. Very impressive.
Rai: With respect, Sir, I no longer serve the UCC, or my family.
Ingram: Is that so?
Rai: Major Ingram, may I ask you something?

Ingram: Of course. What is it?
Rai: Why have you called me here? You're aware of the accident.
Rai: And the condition of my left hand...
Ingram: Yes. However, I need your expertise for Project SRX.
Rai: .....
Ingram: Any other questions?
Rai: No, Sir. Now, if you'll excuse me...

*Rai leaves*

Ingram: .....
Ingram: ...I finally have enough test subjects.
Ingram: Now, I can begin.

Chances of him having some sort of ulterior motive? 99,99%.



End of Update #4

Mooks blasted: 4
Kids blackmailed into military service: 1

And with another update it's time for another episode of SRW History Theatre! Or whatever you want to call this.

First off, every original character with a theme in...I wanna say SRW4 and Alpha got vocal versions of their songs, plus a couple extra for upgrades to Alpha mechs that showed up in Alpha 3. Ryusei, being the main character of the SRX team story gets two versions of his theme, Everywhere You Go. If no one objects (as far as I know the CDs are out of print in Japan) I'll be uploading any vocals I have, starting with a pack of both versions, and a link the lyrics: normal version and Burning Version.

I'll do the big SRX Team history post after the next Ryusei route battle, since for right now I want to establish Alpha a bit more. The first thing to understand about Alpha was that it was one of the only games to use the archtype system, the other being SRW4 (okay, and F/Final, but that was a 4 remake). The basic idea of the archtype system is that you have eight portraits to go with male and female versions of four personalities. The four personalities are:

Hotblooded and loves justice (default super robot)
Wacky and flirtacious (default super robot)
Meek and slightly odd (default real robot)
Cool and nihilistic (default real robot)

Each hero would also have an SO of the opposite sex and personality type, hotblooded with meek and wacky with cool. They'd also each default have a kind of robot, though you could change that and have a hotblooded real main. The portraits all had a default personality, but you could change that as well.

Now, Ryusei isn't an archtype hero. No, that honour goes to his buddy just introduced, Kusuha! Kusuha was the Alpha meek and slightly odd female character, though her actual origins are...saved for the SRX Team history post. The most interesting thing about Kusuha is that she's basically the canon Alpha heroine, being the only one to go on to Alpha 2 and 3. I think there was a magazine poll or something. The other interesting thing is that while by the personality chart she's by default a real pilot, for Alpha she somehow got changed to being a super pilot. Whenever I talk about Alpha canon from now on, I'll be talking like Kusuha on the super route was the hero. For reference, here's Alpha Kusuha in her pilot suit chatting with Kouji Kabuto. I would've gotten them in their normal clothes, but ePSXe didn't want to play along.

Why is this important? Well, Ryusei route's second stage is somewhat thematically similar to the first stage from Alpha's super route. The basic plot of that stage is that Kusuha, her SO, and Kouji are all hanging out at school when Baron Ashura attacks, hoping to kill Kouji when he doesn't have his robot to even the score. (anyone who doesn't know anything about Mazinger Z, smile and nod) Just after Kouji runs off to take care of Ashura, a plane crashes into the school and Kusuha's SO is lost, presumed dead. Before she gets a chance to mourn, though, Kusuha sees a giant robot in the wreckage, calling to her. So of course she gets in and starts kicking mechabeast butt, because that's what you do when you find an abandoned giant robot. Kouji tries to tell her to stop, then remembers how he got into Mazinger Z and the stories of how the hero of the One Year War fell into the cockpit himself and shuts up

So the basic idea is the same, they just kicked Kusuha down from the starring role and didn't fake kill her. (oh, and Ryusei's robot isn't as cool) To be fair, as Kouji noticed, it's a common theme for pilots in these games. Still, I thought it was worth mentioning. And it gave me a chance to rant about Alpha and establish the archtype thing, so.

As a small aside, you can actually get the regular army to help out in the OG stage if you suck hard enough. Wait around enough turns and a certain named PC and a few normal grunts show up in mass-produced Gespensts to help bail you out. They'll generally show up faster if you didn't get the BM in the first stage, I think.

School work and Persona 3 is a dangerous combination, but something as silly as college won't stop me from reaching the top of Tartarus. Anyway, please excuse the late update. I was busy preparing for my exams. Twice.





Kyosuke: with the EFA North America Brigade, Sir.
Greg: At ease, pilot. I'm Commander Greg Pastral.
Greg: I heard what happened. Bad luck, huh?
Kyosuke: No, Sir. It was my fault.
Greg: I think it was the fault of the one who commanded you.
Greg: (...And sent you here. But that doesn't sound like Laker...)
Greg: (Most likely it was Hans Weber's doing.)

Seems like Hans' douchebaggery is a well-known fact.

Kyosuke: What is it, Sir?
Greg: Oh, nothing. Your assignment will be...



Greg: What is it? I told you I'd send him to you later.
Excellen: I just couldn't wait to check him out.
Greg: Well, there you go...
Kyosuke: (What's going on?)
Excellen: So, this is him, huh? Hmm...
Kyosuke: Sorry. Have I met you somewhere before...?
Excellen: Maybe. *giggle*
Kyosuke: (I can't remember where...)
Excellen: Very nice!
Kyosuke: ...?



Greg: ... Very well. Take good care of him.
Kyosuke: I'm sorry, Sir. I don't understand.
Greg: This is Lieutenant Excellen Browning.
Excellen: *giggle* Pleased to meet you, handsome.
Excellen: Oh, I almost forgot, the boss wants to "test" the new guy.

Those quotation marks don't sound very reasurring.

Greg: Again? OK. Just don't send him home crying, you hear?
Excellen: Yes, Sir. *giggle* This is gonna be fun.
Kyosuke: (...What's going on? Who is this Excellen, anyway?)





Kyosuke: So, he's the "boss"? I don't get it, Lieutenant.
Excellen: Stop calling be by my rank. That's lame.
Kyosuke: Lame? Then I'll call you Excellen. How's that?
Excellen: Oh, I like that! You're not so straight-laced after all.
Kyosuke: (...Straight-laced...?)



Sanger: Begin the exercise!



Kyosuke: ...I see. I got it.
Excellen: Kyosuke, I didn't have time to explain, but...
Sanger: Listen up! The target drones are loaded with live rounds. If you want to live, shoot them down!
Excellen: Woah, Boss, wait! Listen to...
Sanger: Enough! Fire at will!
Excellen: *sigh* Kyosuke, that's Major Sanger Zonvolt.
Kyosuke: So, he's the "boss". Well, I'm only concerned with the enemies in my way.
Excellen: Wow...
Kyosuke: I like the Gespenst...
Kyosuke: And that kind of guy... ...Here I come.



Excellen's mech can get destroyed without failing the mission, but I'm not sure if it's even possible to get get shot down on this mission.



Excellen is a typical sniper - lousy defense and pretty useless in close combat, but deadly at a distance. She even gets the Snipe SC later on. Hit&Away is perfect for this kind of pilot, as it allows a character to move after firing an attack, which wouldn't be possible normally. Support is another great skill that will be explained later on in this update.



Excellen is also the only one who learns the Daunt skill (reduces enemy will), if I remember correctly. It's pretty useless though, since it requires so much SP to use.



More Gespensts. Expect to see a lot of them, especially in Ryusei's route.



Now, let's take a look at some of the other menus.



'Unit's shows a list of all mechas that have been deployed in a mission, while 'Search' shows a list of all SC that are available at the moment and which pilots can use them.

At the beginning of the next turn:



Kyosuke: ..Sure.
Excellen: Was it your fault that test model went down?
Kyosuke: Well, it was defective. But I won't deny that I wasn't skilled enough to control it.
Excellen: Hm... You're just like the boss.
Sanger: More killing and less talking, you two!!
Kyosuke: ... I think I'm a bit more reasonable than that.
Excellen: I agree. ... Let's finish them off, shall we?



Kyosuke's Gespenst is moved to the buildings (using the movement boost from Accelerate) so that he can benefit from the bonuses.



See the "Sup Excellen" line on Kyosuke's side of the battle screen? When a pilot with the Support skill (like Excellen) stands next to another pilot, it will take the hit instead of the pilot that was targeted. However this only works a few times, depending on how much Support has been leveled up (the pilot gets one support attack/defense per level). Probably the best skill in the game next to SP Regeneration, at least in my opinion.

(Support can be temporarily turned off on the battle screen if you don't want to use it)



Excellen: What?
Kyosuke: Why are you holding back? What does the boss want from me?
Excellen: Well, he... Uh, I mean, I don't know. Just concentrate on your job at hand.
Kyosuke: .....
Sanger: (Kyosuke is better than I thought he'd be. He's smart and quick to adapt to new situations.)
Sanger: (Excellen was right after all.)
Sanger: (They'll be able to hand the ATX mechs, no problem.)



"Fallen White Angel"

(Excellen has the best battle dialogue in the game and I'll try to capture as much of it as I can. Also, since I still can't find the music of the GBA version online, I'll just include the version of the song that I think is the best from now on.)



In this case, charging right into the enemy is the best way to get the Battle Mastery, since the Gespents don't have long-range weapons.



Some mechs also get cut-ins for certain attacks, like this one.



The left screen shows why you should always use Focus if you can spare the SP. Nothing is as annoying as missing out on a crucial kill (and/or a Battle Mastery) because of a 10% chance.



Excellen: Good job! I thought it was going to be more difficult.
Kyosuke: That was about all me and my mech could handle.
Sanger: Excellent. Terminate the exercise.
Kyosuke: Roger, Major. Or is it boss?
Sanger: *smirk* Call me what you like.
Kyosuke: .....
Excellen: Just call him "Oyabun". That's Japanese for Boss.
Sanger: That will do just fine.
Kyosuke: (He can't be serious, can he?)

According to my highly reliable sources, Oyabun has a "slightly" different connotation.



Kyosuke: ...First, the report.
Excellen: Hey, here comes the boss.
Sanger: Good. You're both here.
Kyosuke: Major Sanger?



Kyosuke: (...He's not serious, is he?)
Sanger: Kyosuke, you'll test pilot Project ATX's prototype.
Kyosuke: What's Project ATX?
Sanger: The purpose of Project ATX is to develop mobile assault weapons here at Langley Base.
Kyosuke: Then, the mech I'll be piloting will be the prototype that takes the place of the Gespenst Mk II?
Sanger: Maybe...
Sanger: There are mechs from other departments that are being tested as well.
Excellen: Right! The boss's mech will blow you away. I promise!

"As long as they don't blow up again.."

Kyosuke: You don't need to promise me anything.
Kyosuke: So then, this project has multiple objectives, right?
Excellen: Wow! You're not only handsome, you're smart too!
Sanger: Your instincts serve you well, Kyosuke.
Sanger: Project ATX was initiated to protect the Earth from future threats.
Kyosuke: (He must have something to do with that organization...)
Sanger: But our top brass doesn't fully comprehend the severity of the situation, so we're training our troops to handle the impending crisis.
Kyosuke: .....
Excellen: Kyosuke, you're the last member of our team, number 4.
Kyosuke: Number 4?



Kyosuke: ATX Team...?
Sanger: That's the name of our unit. We are happy to have you.
Kyosuke: Likewise.
Excellen: If there's anything you want to know, just ask.
Excellen: So, do you want to start with my measurements?
Kyosuke: .....
Kyosuke: (Oh well... I don't know how this will turn out...)
Kyosuke: (But at least I won't be bored...)



We get our first parts after completing the mission. These can be equipped before and after missions, but we don't need them for now. Next up: Ryusei's route, Episode 2!


End of Update #5

Mooks blow into bits: 7
Pick-up lines completely ignored: 4

Hey I was looking for a game that might scratch my itch for Front Mission and this just might do it! Looking forward to the rest

and seeing if I can find a copy...

Well, since there's nothing I can really talk about in this update character story-wise without spoilers, I guess I'll try to do a non-spoilery version of Gespenst history.

A quick note on characters first: Kyosuke and Excellen are from Super Robot Wars Compact 2 for the Wonderswan, all three games of it. Kyosuke starred in Compact 2 Part 1, which took place on Earth, Excellen starred in Compact 2 Part 2, which took place in space, and they teamed up for Compact 2 Part 3, which also took place in space. All three Compact 2 games were later shoved into one game and remade for the PS2 as Super Robot Wars Impact, which I think is the longest SRW to date in terms of sheer number of stages. I've never played any of these games, as nothing I've ever heard about them makes them sound fun in any way. Here's a Youtube video of Compact 2 part 1. Note that animations are completely unskippable and the sprites don't really animate. This was standard for SRW until Alpha, and persisted for a bit past that as well, though by the time OG1 came out that style was totally dead. And good riddance. Sanger is from Super Robot Wars Alpha Gaiden. And we'll leave it at that for now, because his appearance in Alpha Gaiden has nothing to do with his appearance here until OG2.

All right, Gespensts! I love Gespies. The Gespenst is the basic Banpresto Original robot, and shows up in quite a few games. Most people will tell you that Gespensts were originally from SRW 4 for the SNES. These people are wrong! Gespensts first made their appearance in a regular turned based spin-off RPG called Hero Senki. Hero Senki starred Amuro from Gundam, Dan from Ultraseven, and Kotaro from Kamen Rider Black fighting to save their world an evil terrorist fellow. It's a pretty standard SNES RPG, cute, but the encounter rate is incredibly high. Here's the Gespenst's regular attack, which you might recognize as being basically the Jet Magnum. Also, back then the Gespenst was power armour. It's gotten a bit bigger since then.

A few years later, Gespensts showed up in SRW4. There the player started out in a black Gespenst Mk-I. On the super and the real route the Gespenst would have slightly different parameters, like the super Gespy having stronger weapons, but not being able to dodge as well. Stuff like that. The player actually used a black Gespenst Mk-I, which we won't be seeing in this LP. (it's a Kyosuke-route exclusive, sorry. Ryusei gets a different special Gespenst) The blue Gespenst MK-II whose mass-produced version we've just seen existed, but it was in the hands of a kill-stealing NPC. I'd show a video of what it looked like back then, but the only videos I can find of anything prior to about Alpha are the Nico equivalent to VLPs, which means that all the videos are at least half an hour long and mostly really boring. Just picture an SD Gespenst sliding around on the screen and you'll know what it looks like. The Gespenst was about the same in F/Final, the PSX remake of 4, except with slightly more colours. Oh, and it had some really nice artwork. F/Final was also where the regular attack in Hero Senki was upgraded to a final attack and named "Gespenst Punch!", a more direct precursor to the Jet Magnum. Only one character got it, though, the female super. The male super had a different finisher, and real pilots don't go for that sort of thing.

Also, back then the Gespensts could one-shot Angels. They...they can't do that anymore.

The blue Gespenst Mk-II then showed up in Alpha Gaiden, though in a very limited way. The Gespy was the very first PT there, which had been pretty much obsoleted by the time the games took place. (again, Alpha's thing about being an AU continuation of the Classic series) They only show up when the evil Titans steal most of the good mechs. The only video I can find of it there is on Nico and has a good chunk of the originals for Alpha Gaiden in it, including a kind of spoilery look at Sanger and...another character. And some mechs that will show up a bit later in the LP. Just stop watching after the second black screen with all the Moonrunes if you want to avoid spoilers. If you don't have a Nicovideo account, try here, but be warned, NSFW ads.

Gespensts then showed up again on the enemy's side in A. Saying any more would be...spoilery for OG2. Again. But they were the now standard blue MK-IIs, and were a continuation of Alpha's making the Gespensts into complete grunt units.

After OG Gespensts showed up again in Another Century's Episode 2, a 3d action game. I can't find any videos of it in action, but apparently it wasn't a very good mech. From one-shotting Angels to this...poor Gespy.

You left out the most recent sighting. Though I guess that's still technically in the OG series in the same sense that, say, Dirge of Cerberus is still technically a Final Fantasy game.

Eternal Frontier : Original Generation :: Dirge of Cerberus : Final Fantasy VII is a remarkably good analogy from what I can tell.

And yeah, I did forget that. My excuse is that my overwhelming apathy towards EF made it slip my mind. I think it's pretty hard to explain what Gespensts are doing there without spoiling OG2 as well. It is noteworthy that Gespies are back to power armour size.

I wonder if anyone besides the dedicated SRW fans are reading this thread

Considering how Dirge of Cerberus was middling fun compared to FF7's not-fun-at-all-ness, that comparison makes me want to play Endless Frontier.

Whew, quite some time since I last posted in this thread. But since most of the exams over over, I can finally update again.





Ryusei: Oh, there are others?
Aya: Yep. Like you, he'll be a test pilot in our project...



Ryusei: Hey! You're the dude from the gate!
Aya: I see you two have already met.
Rai: .....
Ryusei: Oh, well. I'm Ryusei Date. Nice to meet you, soldier.
Rai: What's your rank, kid?
Ryusei: Rank? Don't have one. I'm just me.
Aya: Ryu was specially commissioned. His rank is Master Sergeant.

"Specially commissioned" is a nice way of saying it...

Rai: He looks like a greenhorn. What is he, a civilian?
Aya: ...It's a long story. But, he's got the right stuff.
Rai: HIM...?



Ryusei: The Burning PT Nationals champ, that's who!
Rai: Never heard of ya.
Ryusei: What!? Y-You've got some nerve!
Rai: Listen, Ryusei, you're a third wheel, here.
Ryusei: W-What!? Just who do you think you are!?
Aya: Alright, you two, knock it off! You're not kids anymore!
Ryusei: Tch! My rival's a jerk, and the chick's a nag!
Ryusei: This is kind of cliche, isn't it?
Rai: Jerk?
Aya: Chick?
Ryusei: Oh, never mind. Hey, can I get into my PT now?



Aya: For now, you'll be studying the basics of piloting.
Ryusei: But, I know the basics. I fought in combat!
Aya: Piloting a mobile weapon isn't like driving a car, Ryu.
Aya: There are a lot of regulations for activating a PT.
Aya: And, the Type TT you piloted had a simplified cockpit...
Aya: You won't be able to pilot other models without training.

Now that I think about, making a PT with a simplified cockpit specifically for recruitment purposes seems silly. Or at least I can't think of another way to use a mech with an interface that resembles a video game.

Ryusei: I-I see...
Aya: Rai, you'll pilot the Schutzwald.
Rai: Isn't that a Gespenst-based artillery test model?
Aya: Yes it is. We have a recalibrated roll-out model.
Aya: Take a look at it later.
Rai: I will.



Aya: Rai was a famous ace pilot for the UCC.
Aya: The executives at Mao Industries were impressed with his skills and hired him as a test pilot.
Aya: On top of that, his family is...
Rai: ...Captain, please don't say anymore.
Aya: Oh, I'm sorry.
Ryusei: UUC, huh? Then you must be from the Space Colony.

Ryusei: ...No wonder you act like such a snob.
Rai: What did you just say?
Aya: Ryu! That's rude!
Ryusei: What? That's just how the folks in space are...
Ryusei: They think they're superior to us Earthlings.
Rai: Because we ARE superior to to primitive beings like YOU.
Ryusei: What!? Why you--
Aya: Knock it off, you two!

Rai: My apologies, Captain.
Ryusei: Ugh. Don't be such a brownnoser!
Aya: Anyways, Ryu, you'll be instructed on basic PT maneuvers.
Aya: When you're done, you'll move on to simulator training.
Ryu: Well, in that case, let's get started.



Ryu: I thought the Burning PT was awesome, but this...
Aya: The graphics and effects are quite realistic and will therefore affect your maneuvers.
Ryu: You mean, as real as you can get, right?
Aya: That's right, so don't forget what you've learned.
Ingram: Let's begin. Place the enemy units on the battlefield.
Crew: Roger.



Ingram: Yes. Now, are there any questions before we start?

Begin tutorial on equipment? Y/N

> Y

Ryusei: Can I equip my PT before a battle?
Ingram: You can equip compatible armaments before a battle.
Ryusei: Compatible armaments?
Ingram: Yes, mainly handheld weapons, such as gun and swords.
Ryusei: I see.
Ingram: However, like the twin beam cannons on Rai's Schutzwald...
Ingram: Built-in weapons cannot be shared or equipped.
Ryusei: Got it. I can't detach or equip some weapons.
Ingram: The number of equippable weapons also varies by mech.
Ingram: Know your mech and your mission, then choose your armaments.



Ingram: But, if you want them, select Weapon, then Equip.
Ingram: Then choose "Plasma Cutter," and equip it to your mech.
Ingram: It's up to you whether or not you equip your mech.
Ryusei: Yes, Sir!

Got Plasma Cutter.
Got M950 Machine Gun.
Got Split Missile.



Starting with this mission, we'll be able to use the Preparation menu before missions to upgrade mechs, use pilot points, etc. But there's no point in upgrading the mechs and weapons we have right now and we don't have enough pilot points to spend, so we go right into the battle.

Speaking of pilot points, I won't be spending any for now, since I'm saving them for a rather expensive skill that will make the endgame a lot less tedious.



Ingram: Do NOT break your formation! Destroy all targets!
Aya: Roger that, Major.
Ryusei: Heh! Tanks are no match for me!
Aya: Easy... Tanks have strong armor and powerful cannons.
Ryusei: Power doesn't matter if I don't get hit.
Rai: Just pay attention. One hit and you'll be dead.

This is typical case of Gameplay and Story Segregation. The tanks in this game are pathetically weak and no real threat, even at this stage of the game.

Ryusei: Whaddya mean? No one dies in simulation.
Ryusei: Plus, you can always hit reset when the game is over.
Rai: Hit reset!?

"By the way, does this thing have autosave?"



Aya: Wait, Ryu! Don't break the formation!
Ryusei: Relax! Just cover me!



This is another "Destroy all enemies" mission with a turn limit for the Battle Mastery. 4 turns are more than enough to beat the enemies, but make sure that Ryusei isn't hit by the first wave of enemies. If that happens, Ryusei gets all pissy and Ingram decides to make the enemies focus on Ryusei, which means that they will ignore Rai and Aya.

Anyway, let's take a look at Ryu's team-mates.



Aya's stats are slightly below average, but she has some good SCs, gets automatically deployed in many missions and becomes very important towards the end of Ryusei's route, so we'll be using her a lot.



The Bransteins are fantastic pilots and Rai is no exception. Like Excellen, he's cleary made for ranged battle and that's what we'll be using him for. Accelerate makes up for the lack of movement range of his mech(s) and Hit&Away makes it possible to use weapon that can only be used before movement without falling behind.