Maidens of the Kaleidoscope
~Beyond the Border~ => Akyu's Arcade => Topic started by: FinnKaenbyou on July 05, 2010, 04:02:57 PM
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I feel like another LP. Do you feel like another LP? Because I do.
Since there's no way in hell I'm going to find ANYTHING that matches Magical Moerin in terms of ecchi, I'm going to admit momentary defeat on the h-game front and try something else. I had been intending to play one of the Negima RPGs for the GBA, but I couldn't find them so I'm gonna just stick with what I know.
On that note, let's play...
(http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm114/Roukanken/ZoE/1.jpg)
Zone of the Enders: The Fist of Mars for the GBA!
I'm intending to try and make this a little more serious than the Moerin run, considering that this game has a plot that we can read. Nonetheless, hopefully I'll throw a joke in here or there.
As for what to expect? Imagine Super Robot Wars with interplanetary racial issues. That's about the best description I can give.
Warning: There are a lot of words in this game, so at times expect me to paraphrase.
Anyway, let's begin the game. It opens with a scrolling monologue...
Most of the Earth's natural resources had finally been exhausted, and the tiny planet was unable to support the soaring population of humans. In 2045 mankind began to look beyond the Earth for solutions and built the first Earth-space track orbital elevator. The "Space Age" had officially begun, and countries all over the world dove into countless research projects and space development plans.
It was then that the human race created and discovered several new tools that would change life forever; the LEV, a pilot controlled interspace robot; the resource Metatron, excavated from the Jupiter moon, Callisto; and the Urenbeck Catapult, a device which, by manipulating space, enabled hyper-speed travel.
The discovery and invention of these so-called 'tools' expedited the progress of the space development project resulting in an exodus into space; in the span of a single century, more than 20 million people took up residences in colonies on the moon, Mars, and as far as Jupiter territory. The transition from Earth to space seemed to be going smoothly - however, new conflicts were just beginning to materialise.
Human beings left on Earth began to refer to these colonists as "Enders", a derogatory term for those "living at the end of civilisation", expressing their prejudiced attitudes toward non-Earth inhabitants. In response, these immigrants, who were subject to discrimination on top of living in harsh environments, bonded together in their bitterness against Earth...and tensions between the two groups would only be magnified as time passed.
In 2158, anger on the immigrant side culminated in the founding of BAHRAM, an anti-Earth military unit based in Vacilia County, Mars - and its subsequent clandestine invention of the Metatron "Orbital Frame", an entirely new type of LEV-like machine.
From there, it was one tragedy after another. The Deimos Incident. Anterior Intervention. The threat of orbital elevator destruction. Since the advent of BAHRAM and the Orbital Frame, the already precarious equilibrium keeping the peace between Earth and space was rapidly falling apart.
And in 2173, amidst the political turmoil, another ship filled with immigrants left Earth for the Zone of the Enders...
Don't you just love worlds where things really can't get much darker?
(http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm114/Roukanken/ZoE/2.jpg)
I get the feeling I don't want to know what happened to Bonapartes I and II.
PA: "Ladies and Gentlemen, we will be landing at Deimos Airport, Mars, 50 minutes later than scheduled."
Why are they called airports when there's, well, no air between the destinations? Isn't that why they invented the term spaceport?
(http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm114/Roukanken/ZoE/3.jpg)
"<<Sigh>> Almost there...Guess I'll get the luggage ready so the captain doesn't get mad at me again..."
Here's our protagonist, a young man by the name of Cage working as a simple flight attendant on the Bonaparte. His hair is blue for no obvious reason.
(http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm114/Roukanken/ZoE/4.jpg)
Uh-oh. Looks like someone is complaining about the in-flight meal.
(http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm114/Roukanken/ZoE/5.jpg)
I think this game's definition of 'scary' needs to be tweaked a little.
Cage: "I'm sorry, sir, I'm not sure I know what you're..."
*Grab*
Cage: "Ouch! Please let me go!"
(http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm114/Roukanken/ZoE/6.jpg)
So of course the blame gets pinned on Cage.
And...your immediate conclusion is to blame the staff? Well, in the whole racism argument I guess it makes sense.
(http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm114/Roukanken/ZoE/7.jpg)
I love when my mecha heroes have backbone and guts.
But apparently, fat man has proof that Cage robbed him!
(http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm114/Roukanken/ZoE/8.jpg)
Scary Guy: "...Yeah, I went through a lot to get it."
Cage: "Okay, you'd better not get that stole-"
Scary Guy: "Just a sec! This thing's got recordings from the National Space Force!"
(http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm114/Roukanken/ZoE/9.jpg)
Scary Guy: "That's right. You left, and my wallet was gone."
:objection!:
So Cage is basically pissing himself in fear at getting arrested for a crime he didn't commit, when...
(http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm114/Roukanken/ZoE/10.jpg)
God bless grey-haired Deus Ex Machinae.
Scary Guy: "How...Oh, I get it. You're in on this too, aren't you."
The man proceeds to get more and more pissed, and Grey Hair isn't too happy either. He also somehow knows the Scary Guy's name, which is Lewy. Our hero does about all he's good for and tries to act as mediator.
Cage: "Don't, Ares. I'm fine. I can handle this."
(http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm114/Roukanken/ZoE/11.jpg)
'...some fun. H-here, you can keep this.'
Lewy hands his Handy PC to Cage and proceeds to run for the hills.
(http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm114/Roukanken/ZoE/12.jpg)
Really, that's probably the third punk he's had to protect you from this week. You should just save yourself the trouble and buy a goddamn gun.
Cage: "Yeah. You know that guy?"
Ares: "...Nah."
Hmm.
Ares: "More importantly, why is it that you're always in some sort of trouble?"
(http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm114/Roukanken/ZoE/13.jpg)
'all.'
So not only is our hero incompetent, but he's also codependent. Excellent.
(http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm114/Roukanken/ZoE/14.jpg)
Cage: "I almost forgot. Come on, Ares, let's go!"
(http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm114/Roukanken/ZoE/15.jpg)
Hmmmm. Anyone else suspicious that Ares MIGHT just be a villain?
Cut back to outside the ship.
(http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm114/Roukanken/ZoE/16.jpg)
I ran out of hair gel, goddammit! This always happens when I do interplanetary flights!
Captain: "What, have you lost connection?"
Pilot: "Yes, sir. It was working fine just a minute ago."
Even in the future, nothing works right!
(http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm114/Roukanken/ZoE/17.jpg)
'with.'
(http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm114/Roukanken/ZoE/18.jpg)
Well, let's see. LEVs and Orbital Frames were discussed in the opening monologue...and this is a series about giant mecha. I'm gonna need to take some notes to figure this one out.
(http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm114/Roukanken/ZoE/19.jpg)
Pilot: "Sir, there's nothing coming through on the radar."
We really shouldn't have let the 70-year-old captain the vehicle just because he had a cool beard.
(http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm114/Roukanken/ZoE/20.jpg)
'debris-filled magnetic fields...'
Oh god, here we go with the rant again. Just because the radar didn't pick up a chunk of rock-
(http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm114/Roukanken/ZoE/21.jpg)
'radar...What the?!'
(http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm114/Roukanken/ZoE/22.jpg)
...Oop. Guess that was one fast rock.
So, what's our protagonist doing before the Bonaparte gets wrecked?
(http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm114/Roukanken/ZoE/23.jpg)
'there? No-one's supposed to be in here.'
Eyeing up his new toy. I love how the intruder is an afterthought to him. Shows how devoted he is to his work. Still, he ends up following her regardless.
(http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm114/Roukanken/ZoE/24.jpg)
Cage: "Excuse me, Miss, this is a restricted area. Please return to your room; we will be landing shortly."
Silence.
Cage: "Um...You're in there, right? Come on out."
Silence again.
Cage: "I guess I missed her..."
Somehow, Cage's inability to converse with members of the opposite sex doesn't surprise me in the least.
(http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm114/Roukanken/ZoE/25.jpg)
Oh, wait, there she is! And...she looks stoned out of her mind right now.
Cage: "Oh! H-Hello! What are you do-"
*crash*
(http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm114/Roukanken/ZoE/26.jpg)
There can't be an accident, can't there?! Not with Captain McCoolbeard on board!
(http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm114/Roukanken/ZoE/27.jpg)
'central deck. Security Compartmentalizing System Malfunction. Emergency state in First, Second, Third Residence Blocks, Cockpit. All systems lost. Lifesaving system stalled at Phase 3.'
Holy crap, it was a BIG fast rock.
(http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm114/Roukanken/ZoE/28.jpg)
Codependency strikes again! Tragically, Ares was unable to receive his call right now, but if he left a message after the beep he'd get right back.
(http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm114/Roukanken/ZoE/29.jpg)
Cage: "No! Why won't they open?
Hello!?! Somebody help!"
Well, it looks like our hero is...caged in.
YEEEEEEEEEEAH
(http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm114/Roukanken/ZoE/30.jpg)
Oh, and there was also a horrific accident that probably killed most of the passengers and crew. No biggie.
(http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm114/Roukanken/ZoE/31.jpg)
OK, this is starting to get just plain sad. Does Cage have an Ares pillowcase as well?
Cage: "I'm Cage. What's your name?"
(http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm114/Roukanken/ZoE/32.jpg)
Huh. Maybe this girl is the real protagonist and she just doesn't talk.
(http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm114/Roukanken/ZoE/33.jpg)
On this note, what language do they speak on Mars?
(http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm114/Roukanken/ZoE/34.jpg)
Cage: "???"
(http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm114/Roukanken/ZoE/35.jpg)
Cage: "Well, it's nice to meet you, Myona. Let's get some help."
But wait, you're still locked in. How the hell do you expect to get help right now?
(http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm114/Roukanken/ZoE/36.jpg)
Friendly, aren't you.
Myona: "...Time..."
Cage: "Huh?"
Myona: "...There's no...time..."
(http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm114/Roukanken/ZoE/37.jpg)
The ship gets rocked again, knocking them both around.
(http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm114/Roukanken/ZoE/38.jpg)
She may not look surprised, but apparently she is.
(http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm114/Roukanken/ZoE/39.jpg)
Oh, man. From all my notes earlier I was convinced that the secret cargo was a giant statue of Ares for Cage's birthday party.
(http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm114/Roukanken/ZoE/40.jpg)
'to save us...'
OK, so. Giant robot. Armed. Possibly primed to kill. What does our friend Myona do?
Why, she only WALKS RIGHT UP TO IT.
(http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm114/Roukanken/ZoE/41.jpg)
(http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm114/Roukanken/ZoE/42.jpg)
How many more punctuation marks can we use to display shock?!?!?!
Myona: "...board..."
Cage: "I'm going to get on that too?"
JESUS CHRIST, CAGE, THE ENTIRE SHIP IS PROBABLY GOING DOWN AND YOU'D RATHER NOT ESCAPE? JEEZ.
Myona: "Now...still...enough time..."
(http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm114/Roukanken/ZoE/43.jpg)
You also look like you've taken enough marijuana to kill a man.
Myona: "Must hurry...won't make it...like this...take this...person..."
(http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm114/Roukanken/ZoE/44.jpg)
Cage, I think that's the smartest thing you've said all day.
(http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm114/Roukanken/ZoE/45.jpg)
Looks like I'll have to leave you to die here. Sorry! ^_^
But she squeezes in, somehow, and...
(http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm114/Roukanken/ZoE/46.jpg)
Cage: "Whoooaaaaaa!!!"
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Scene 1 - On The Battle God's Palm
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Cut to the battle screen, and Cage and Myona are aboard the mystery LEV. Some of you may find this setup slightly familiar.
(http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm114/Roukanken/ZoE/47.jpg)
You'd better not be asleep now. You apparently know how to work this thing, and I've never used an LEV in my li-
(http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm114/Roukanken/ZoE/48.jpg)
Son of a bitch, she's asleep.
Fortunately Cage has apparently found an operating manual in the cockpit and breaks away from the Bonaparte (the other blue unit). Which...promptly explodes.
(http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm114/Roukanken/ZoE/49.jpg)
No shit, Sherlock.
(http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm114/Roukanken/ZoE/50.jpg)
Stupid LEV AI. Don't rub in that everyone Cage knows just got turned to space dust.
(http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm114/Roukanken/ZoE/51.jpg)
Nervous breakdown in 3...2...1...
AI: 'All Sequences Complete. Register Pilot, Please.'
(http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm114/Roukanken/ZoE/52.jpg)
Not my BFF Ares! And Captain McCoolbeeeeeeeeard!
(http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm114/Roukanken/ZoE/53.jpg)
'Complete. All Regular. Registration Complete.'
I'm not even going to ask how the machine somehow got hold of Cage's DNA without so much as touching him. I'm just not.
Cage continues to suffer a Heroic BSOD over the destruction of the Bonaparte, but the AI - or as it introduces itself, the Vessel Navigation System - tells him that there are apparently 42 survivors. How it knows this is beyond me. How these 42 people survived the vacuum of space is also beyond me.
Cage, being our hero, wants to rescue the survivors. And he would, if it weren't for...
(http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm114/Roukanken/ZoE/54.jpg)
'Engagement.'
Oh, so it wasn't a rock that destroyed the Bonaparte after all. What a coincidence.
(http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm114/Roukanken/ZoE/55.jpg)
(http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm114/Roukanken/ZoE/56.jpg)
Robot Devil? Because that's the coolest thing I can imagine right now.
AI: 'Will You Commence Attack?'
Cage: 'Yes...What do I do?'
AI: 'Acknowledged. Tactical AI Enabled.'
(http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm114/Roukanken/ZoE/57.jpg)
Now, after the setup is done, we're finally ready for combat. Anyone feeling deja vu from another well-known mecha game series, raise your hand.
Seriously, though, it was developed by the same company, so put your accusations of plagiarism to your side.
(http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm114/Roukanken/ZoE/58.jpg)
I've always been the sort of guy who can't be bothered fighting from a distance, so I go straight into melee range and throw out an attack.
(http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm114/Roukanken/ZoE/59.jpg)
Hmmmmmm. Anyone else think that silhouette looks familiar?
As an aside, the level's title, On The Battle God's Palm, makes a lot more sense when you remember that the Roman god of battle was Mars. What was he called in Greek mythology again? (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ares)
Anywho. Time to discuss ZOE's battle system. You'll see the typical damage, HP, hit rates and so on you usually see in the genre, but there's also a Time stat that probably doesn't ring a bell to most of you. This is part of ZOE's own original battle system - IAS, or the Interactive Action System. Basically, when IAS is on, hit rates mean nothing and the success/failure of an attack is determined by a short sequence.
(http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm114/Roukanken/ZoE/60.jpg)
This here is the IAS system. From when it starts, I have 8 seconds (now down to about 4 and a half)] to stop my target on top of the enemy that's flying around and press A. If the circle covers it in any way, it's a hit; otherwise it's a miss. If the crosshair hits the red dot in the centre, it's a critical.
The more powerful the enemy you're trying to hit, the smaller your target is and the less time you have. Obviously, the opposite holds true if the enemy is weak.
(http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm114/Roukanken/ZoE/61.jpg)
Attacking is easy enough for now. It IS only the first battle, so it's not hard to hit the Black Frame. Crits are hard, though.
(http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm114/Roukanken/ZoE/62.jpg)
After my attack, the Black Frame gets a shot. Again, I can turn off IAS at any time and trust my fate to the 45% hit percentage, but I have good reason to be comfortable.
(http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm114/Roukanken/ZoE/63.jpg)
Defense has you playing out the IAS in reverse - your enemy tries to get a lock on you by firing red circles, and your job is to stay the hell away from them. Stronger enemies fire larger targets and have to be avoided for longer.
Fortunately, dodging is much easier than attacking, to the point where it's possible to dodge more or less any attack in the game by moving around the screen in a circle. Yeah, there's a reason why this game isn't quite up there with SRW. But the story's good! Honest!
This sequence continues, with Cage hitting and the Black Frame missing repeatedly. Strangely, two attacks is enough to bring Cage to Level 2, suggesting he's finding this fight a lot harder than it actually is.
When he's one hit from death, Mr. Totally Not Obvious Silhouette starts talking.
(http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm114/Roukanken/ZoE/64.jpg)
Cage: "What? You're breaking up."
AI: 'Comm Disabled. Possibly Due To Resonant Interference. Origin Unknown.'
Convenient, huh? Note that Cage is happy to stop and talk with the guy he's been trying to kill for the last 5 minutes.
(http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm114/Roukanken/ZoE/65.jpg)
Don't destroy your hands, buddy! You need those to drive robots and play the piano!
(http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm114/Roukanken/ZoE/66.jpg)
Cage: "Evasive Action?! How??"
(http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm114/Roukanken/ZoE/67.jpg)
Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuu-
(http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm114/Roukanken/ZoE/68.jpg)
Oh wait, I didn't even have to do anything! Thank god for cutscenes.
AI: "Identical Enemy Sensed. Reroute Impossible."
(http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm114/Roukanken/ZoE/69.jpg)
OK, game. I get it. He's dependent on Ares and won't stand up for himself. Stop ramming this fact down my goddamn throat.
???: "...Failure is not an option...at least...no suffering..."
(http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm114/Roukanken/ZoE/70.jpg)
Wait, she's crying? And talking? Was she ever unconscious, or was she just faking it the whole time?
(http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm114/Roukanken/ZoE/71.jpg)
I Thought I Would Be Helpful By Telling You Twice That You Are Going To Die.
Well, looks like that's it. We're done, it's over, thanks for watching Let's Play Zone of the En-
(http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm114/Roukanken/ZoE/72.jpg)
That was...a convenient burst of heroism. But it means I get to survive the prologue, so I'm not complaining!
(http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm114/Roukanken/ZoE/73.jpg)
Just in case you needed more confirmation as to his identity.
Cage: "Noooooo!"
(http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm114/Roukanken/ZoE/74.jpg)
*shiny lights, automatic critical hit*
(http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm114/Roukanken/ZoE/75.jpg)
...What is this...I don't even...
???: "Heh. Looks like we're out of time..."
Comms are apparently back, but the Black Frame promptly disappears as more warning sounds emerge from the cockpit.
(http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm114/Roukanken/ZoE/76.jpg)
AI: "We Have Entered The Gravitational Field Of Mars. Approaching Atmosphere."
Cage: "Can't...can't anything be done?"
AI: "No."
Cage: "Are you always so direct?"
AI: "Would You Prefer A Vague Answer To Your Inquiry? It Won't Change The Facts, But..."
(http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm114/Roukanken/ZoE/77.jpg)
Cage breaks off the AI's attempt at humour by...what else? Squealing like a little girl as the LEV crashes into the atmosphere. And so the first chapter ends...
(http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm114/Roukanken/ZoE/78.jpg)
Looking back, I know that this was destiny just beginning to unfold. And it all stems from "Pharsti".)
That's the end of our first exciting installment of Let's Play Zone of the Enders: The Fist of Mars! Tune in next time, when we find out exactly how much of Cage survived re-entry.
(I'll continue this if there's enough interest.)
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This looks rather interesting, and your commentary is interesting too :3
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Hahaha. Fuck yeah, FoM. You are the best racial tension game ever.
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Oh, I remember this game. Also, the commentary is awesome, keep it up.
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Oddly enough, I was thinking about LPing this game too.
Strange minds think alike, eh?