Topic: Plots to Make Fun Of: Seven of 'Em! -- Let's Play Saga Frontier! (Read 36093 times)

R^2 · « **Reply #80 on:** March 10, 2013, 04:55:18 PM »

Guess I'd better!

A little needless blather about how you have to be the REAL Dr. Leonard to commission a ship, and off we go.

In a ship that looks somewhat like a half-unfolded Swiss Army Knife.

All the random encounters are in side rooms, guarding treasure of varying quality. You can run straight to the end of HQ without a hitch.

There's a deactivated robot in a side corridor.

T260G: Must enter system, destroy virus and restart program. Wait while I complete task.
Gen: Can I help?
Leonard: It's possible. Just like I did. But, if something goes wrong while you're in the system, you won't be able to get back in your own body.
Gen: I can't let you go alone. I promised those kids I'd take care of you. Let's go together.
T260G: Understood. Starting task.

R^2 · « **Reply #81 on:** March 10, 2013, 05:02:02 PM »

T260G: They've created an interface which appears friendly to humans and monsters.

There are bugs in the system!

Virus always downloads the "Virus" ability, which unlocks Jammer and LogicBomb if you have a SecretBoard equipped. Virus disables CombatMastery and ShootingMastery, though, so you have a dedicated status-ailments-vs-mecs character if you go that route.

Defeating the viruses fixes the paths they were chewing on.

Eventually you get jumped by a whole bunch of bugs at once.

This plays out a bit like the VitalityRune battle against the slimes. Viruses block T260G's way to making Contact with the HQ Core. Defeat the Viruses and contact the Core to win.

Oddly, the Core itself attacks you with Elfshot and other weak attacks.

The viruses respawn irregularly, like the BigSlimes do in the VitalityRune fight. Hit 'em hard and hope they don't respawn in the way.

Contacting the core removes all the viruses from the cyberspace map.

There are a couple of puzzles in the way between the last fight and the end of cyberspace, though. Turn all panels green to proceed, in the stock "activating a panel switches its color and all adjacent panels' color" kind of game. Hit all four corners and then the solution for an easy win on the first level.

The second level randomizes itself when you arrive, so it can be a little trickier. There's no penalty for failure, though, so you can take as long as you need to bruteforce a solution.

R^2 · « **Reply #82 on:** March 10, 2013, 05:04:20 PM »

"Same reason cyberspace looks like a pastoral village, dumbfuck; none of this is real."

R^2 · « **Reply #83 on:** March 10, 2013, 05:10:34 PM »

"It's the same as a Cuuuuuuube...!"

Only it's not, because you actually learn what RB3 is. Well, mostly. You don't learn what it stands for in-game, you have to read those Japan-only supplementary materials to find what "RB" actually stands for. (It's "Region Buster".)

T260G: Initial models were destructible by conventional means. Third model's self-protection mechanism was vastly improved. T 260 was created to combat RB3's self-protection program.
Gen: A powerful weapon that will destroy all regions!?

T260 continues to provide exposition as you leave HQ.

T260G: ...counterattack program against all regions indiscriminately.
Gen: This is a nightmare...

I go ahead and loot the treasures on my way out, since the guards recognize me as a friendly and don't attack.

And by "treasure" I include "T260G's exclusive robot body".

Anyway, back to exposition:

Gen: Then, we should destroy this place!
T260G: Mission: destroy RB3 model.
Gen: All right. That's it! This is starting to sound like a sci-fi movie.

You know, like the ones with Captain Kirk.

Gen: Then what?
T260G: I will access RB3's motherboard and destroy it.
Gen: You make it sound so easy.

Yep, let's deuce out.

R^2 · « **Reply #84 on:** March 11, 2013, 03:25:49 PM »

Well, we've finally got our mission, so let's... digress and talk about Mec Bodies.

There are eight of them. There are also seven different mec characters, most of whom are those body types. We have four at the moment.

T260G's default body, the one that Taco built, is Type 1. All it has equipped is a Mecbody, for 10 defense, and has a base 5 in all stats. However, having seven open inventory slots on a mec is a really good thing -- it lets you customize the mec however you want. In T260G's scenario, Leonard gives her a memory chip that boosts her Intelligence, but if recruited in any other scenario, T260G is unchipped. Oh well.

The Type 2 body is anti-mec. Given the number of mec enemies and mec-exclusive dungeons in T260's scenario, it's no surprise you don't get a mec of this body type. When activated, the ECM system reduces accuracy of incoming missiles to 0 -- but I'm not sure what counts as a "missile" in this case because the BigDiggers always open their fights with the ECM system, followed by me shooting them repeatedly with Hyperion and HEAT Bazookas. The after the Bit System is launched, it will automatically attack foes at the end of each turn.

The Type 3 model is ZEKE's. It's fast, and has an Accelerator system to increase its speed further if you decide you need to for some reason. It comes equipped with a rail cannon and an AT Missile, which are so weak as to be nigh-useless.

The Type 4 body is a medical robot. The Medipack restores HP to non-mecs, so it's damned useless in this scenario with its all-mec party.

The Type 5 body is PzkwV's frame. He's slightly sturdier than other mecs, but has the fewest open equipment slots around his built-in rail cannon, AT Missile, and Micromissile batteries.

EngineerCar and Leonard are both Type 6. EngineerCar comes with a Vulcan machinegun and a RepairPack to restore mec's HP in battle. Leonard replaces the Vulcan cannon with a BeamSword, but keeps the RepairPack.

If you're ignoring the junk shop and gold ingot tricks, Type 7 Mecs are a pretty good choice. The Hammer they come with is a good midgame weapon, and their base stats are decent. No NPC mec comes with this body form, so only T260G can have it.

Type 8 is the Omega body we picked up at HQ. The V-Max system is its signature piece of gear, drastically increasing its stats in battle.

V-TECH JUST KICKED IN YO

Having V-Max active also unlocks Starlight Shower (high damage to all enemies) and CosmicRave (very high damage to one enemy).

CosmicRave is a series of flying tackles.

StarlightShower is a storm of those curvy lasers you get in anime sometimes.

Omega isn't all that useful, though. In short fights, it takes a turn to activate V-Max, which you could be spending beating things up. In long fights, V-Max wears off after five turns, which drops all your stats far below what they were to start with. So all in all, the best body is still good ol' Type 1 with good equipment.

R^2 · « **Reply #85 on:** March 11, 2013, 03:47:50 PM »

This again.

As predicted, the Region Buster comes out of sleep mode shortly after HQ is activated. (Supplementals: the nation that created HQ and another nation were at war for a long time. The other nation created the RB models, culminating in RB3. In response, HQ created the T line of ships -- of which T 260 is one.
Yep, that onboard AI talking to the captain was T260, the ship's computer. T260 is a "she" in the same way ships are always called "she".
Anyway, before RB3 could be activated, HQ was struck by a computer virus and shut down. With no enemy to fight, RB3 also shut down. I don't get it either.)

Anyway, RB3 is really big.

Really, really big.

There's some simple dungeon elements early on, followed shortly by... this long, featureless hallway.

You're attacked by a group of mecs from every rank enemies come in -- starting with the weakest SwordMecs, up to CancerMecs and DOBBYs, then on to some things we haven't seen yet like Skylabs and R&Rs, some of the most powerful enemies in the game.

It's actually a good grinding spot, because you can download info from powerful enemies without having to go fight hundreds of battles to make more powerful enemies spawn naturally.

At the end of the hallway, once you clear it of enemies (in my case, for the fifth time...)

...is the MecGod...

...whom ZEKE constantly keeps stunned or otherwise locked down with LogicBomb while everyone else combos PluralSlash and other heavy weaponry.

Yeah. If MecGod has any powerful attacks or noteworthy strategies, I missed them.

TigerProgram allows the use of the enemy-sweeping TigerRampage move, but only if you have an OctopusBoard equipped. And by this point, I have better things to do with my WP.

R^2 · « **Reply #86 on:** March 11, 2013, 03:53:04 PM »

T260G: Negative. Must enter RB3 and destroy it.
Gen: I thought we were already inside it.
T260G: RB3's original core is hidden here. Must locate and destroy it. Impossible to reach core from here.

...um?

T260G: Must enter its program. T 260 models were created for this purpose.
Gen: So, that was your lost mission.
T260G: Affirmative. Sir Gen, please evacuate. Estimate unavailable for damage incurred after core is destroyed.
Gen: You never learn, do you? Like I said at HQ, we are a team. We can't just abandon you here. Now let's get on with it.
T260G: Affirmative.

The cyberspace inside RB3's core (called "Doomsday Machine" by the game) is the interior of a cave. Those Matrix-style lumps of code soon transform into enemies, which you have to fight.

Ten fights later...

The cave gives way to a jungle.

Oh, hello. Apparently MecGod spawns as a random encounter here!

We thrash it soundly once again, earning another TigerProgram download.

Ten fights later...

...the jungle gives way to desert.

Ten fights later...

We find the virtual model for RB3's regeneration program.

R^2 · « **Reply #87 on:** March 11, 2013, 04:00:13 PM »

SaGa Frontier - T260G Final Battle Theme

BLARRGH!

The faux-natural virtual world gives way.

We find ourselves in a room full of monitors, our enemy in the center: the Genocide Heart.

Hey! Your mom's a virus!

I think you mean ICE, as in Intrusion Countermeasures Electronics. Not, like, frozen water.

We don't mess around.

Uh oh. This does not augur well.

Lasers fire from the Genocide Heart core, bounce off of the monitors back and forth...

...and explode in our collective face.

Good thing Mecs are so goshdarned sturdy. Carnage is why you want an all-mec party at this point -- it has a chance of instakilling or doing other nasty things to nonmec characters.

Virtual shift changes the background landscape, determining what attacks Genocide Heart will use for the next segment of the battle.

...hmm. A crumbling tower on an island, surrounded by a stormy sea. I WONDER WHAT ATTACK HE'LL USE HERE

CALLED IT

Bee tee dubs following Carnage with Maelstrom is a total dick move. EngineerCar and Leonard are on repair duty for pretty much the rest of the fight from here on out.

But T260G, PzkwV, and ZEKE do pretty well on the offensive.

Once enough damage is dealt, Genocide Heart ends the virtual shift.

...and a few monitors are out. That's progress.

R^2 · « **Reply #88 on:** March 11, 2013, 04:03:18 PM »

Yep.

pew pew pew pew pew pew pew pew pew pew

BOOM

There's a few turns of Genocide Heart doing (relatively) weak attacks so you can recover a little, but rather than have my three attackers just dick around and wait for it I keep on attacking, so I skip almost instantly to the next virtual shift.

Huh. Never seen him do that before. TimeEclipse does some damage and has a high chance of petrifying the target. Since the whole party is already made of metal, it loses the status chance -- but it's another fine reason to leave Gen and Mei-Ling on the sidelines.

Low-level light magic? Are you kidding me? (This did 6 damage to T260G.)

I'm not being so merciful.

R^2 · « **Reply #89 on:** March 11, 2013, 04:05:01 PM »

Brace yourselves, everybody!

Oh. It finally got around to running some ICE.

Bit late for that, though.

R^2 · « **Reply #90 on:** March 11, 2013, 04:07:16 PM »

Those programs you got runnin' in the background ain't lookin' so hot, chief.

PzkwV goes down, but at this point I switch Leonard and EngineerCar back to attacking anyway.

Fun fact: even the most combo-happy move won't initiate a combo if it reduces the enemy's HP to 0 by itself.

THERE'S ONLY ONE POOR BASTARD HERE WITH NO FUTURE

AND

IT'S

YOU

R^2 · « **Reply #91 on:** March 11, 2013, 04:10:38 PM »

Congratulations! You're dead. The end.

R^2 · « **Reply #92 on:** March 11, 2013, 04:15:35 PM »

There's a blip and the screen goes black. The observant -- those ready for the split-second window available to take a screencap of it -- will see a flash of Thyme's nightmarish closeup from the scenario intro.

T260G: ...making it impossible to retrieve other directives.
Gen: Didn't I tell you? I don't understand all that technical stuff.
T260G: I need to get back to Junk.
Gen: Now, why didn't you say that in the beginning?
T260G: You are not coming, Sir Gen?
Gen: I've got to get back to my own home region. Say hi to those kids for me.

If you transformed into any other form, T260 returns to Nakajima Robotics to get the Type 1 body back. Since I wasn't in any other form, it looks like she swung by just to say goodbye to Nakajima, ZEKE, and EngineerCar.

...

...beep.

Two down, five to go.

R^2 · « **Reply #93 on:** March 11, 2013, 04:22:58 PM »

Official art of T260G's cobbled-together scrap body, the secret best body.

Gen, being the scruffy drunken swordmaster samurai he is.

You darn kids.

Leonard, pre-murder.

d'awwwwww

Classic · « **Reply #94 on:** March 11, 2013, 06:23:56 PM »

I was more thinking SaGa-related masochism along the lines of Unlimited SaGa by the way. Even I don't want to touch the quagmire that is SaGa Frontier 2.

François · « **Reply #95 on:** March 11, 2013, 11:51:39 PM »

This idea that a bunch of robots semi-independently gathered together to fix a robot problem that threatens modern biological society despite existing in the margins of it is pretty compelling. Makes for more interesting sci-fi than whatever was going on with Emelia, in any case. I guess that's one more check in the "woulda been pretty rad if it had been more than one seventh of a game already bursting at the seams" column.

R^2 · « **Reply #96 on:** March 12, 2013, 03:37:27 AM »

Quote from: François on March 11, 2013, 11:51:39 PM

despite existing in the margins of it is pretty compelling.

Something I wished this scenario explored a little more is how mecs obviously have emotions and personalities -- T260G isn't a very good example of that, but ZEKE's brief introduction certainly is -- but they're still treated as inanimate objects and property. Gen assumes T260's idea for leaving Junk isn't out of gratitude, because mecs can't show gratitude. Cabellero's skeleton mook threatens a mec mook with dismantling if he doesn't do his job right (although Cabellero's men aren't supposed to by sympathetic, eh). Stuff like that.

It could be a compelling plot point, but a discussion about mec rights is not a discussion I want to have without actual mecs present.

Classic · « **Reply #97 on:** March 12, 2013, 09:21:03 AM »

We've been marginalizing bots for too long. They get maybe one or two posts before Thad "quarantines" and bans them!

R^2 · « **Reply #98 on:** March 12, 2013, 02:37:55 PM »

We've covered the way humans work in Emelia's campaign. We covered mecs about as thoroughly as possible in T260G's scenario. So now...

Saga Frontier - Trick
This music plays for pretty much the entire time you're in this region. It's perfectly fitting, but still gets kind of old.

At first I hated the dark atmosphere of Rootville. But eventually I got used to things, including the tyranny of Chateau Aiguille.

That's sorta-kinda "AY-gwee" according to Google Translate. It means "needles", but "thorns" would be a better translation.

There are many precious dresses up here in the attic. Every year, we design a suit of clothes for someone in the castle. We've worked on at least 10 outfits. My co-workers say they are for the young prince in the castle. They say this prince has been asleep for years.

A nice touch: Gina blushes at the thought.

R^2 · « **Reply #99 on:** March 12, 2013, 02:44:33 PM »

A slow panning shot up...

...to the parapets of Chateau Aiguille. See why it's called the Castle of Thorns?

The pan cuts out. There's a nightmarish image onscreen for a split-second, a scream, and...!

Asellus: Where am I? My shirt's torn...

heh heh heh

Green-haired person: My job is to report when you're awake.
Asellus: Report? To who, my aunt?
Green-haired person: You are still not aware of what really happened, huh?

Also unaware of proper grammar. It's "to whom", Asellus.

Green-haired person: You're in Facinaturu. This region is ruled

dramatic pause here

Green-haired person: by Orlouge.

Asellus: Then, on the way back... I got ran over by a... carriage.
Wait, why would there be a carriage in this day and age? Man, I must still be confused. What's wrong with me? Well, first I've got to find out where I am. Maybe I'm still dreaming!

And we're in control. I wasn't joking about that dramatic pause before, the text crawl actually stops for a second before printing "by Orlouge".

Oh, and that nightmarish image from before?

It flashes onscreen so you get barely a glimpse of it, but it's quite obviously the carriage that ran poor Asellus over.

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Author Topic: Plots to Make Fun Of: Seven of 'Em! -- Let's Play Saga Frontier! (Read 36093 times)