text Why am I playing Super Robot Wars T? Who cares, let's play it and attempt some creative writing along with a bit of a guide! (currently: Chapter 44 complete, I hope I get what I'm aiming for)

[eclipse]

Once again, I'm doing the SRW thing.  Why?  Who knows.  But if my calculations are correct, I should finish before TWEWY comes out.

Unlike my last SRW, this one's story is a lot weaker.  In turn, the translation has been cleaned up significantly, almost every pilot is some sort of viable and the units have a lot more room for growth.  Plus CLAMP.

And lastly, there's some seriously hidden OP pilots.   See if you can draft those for me~!

Rules:

0. The priority is every single SR point, followed by the lowest turn count I can muster.
1. Once again, it's Our Hero and 23 other units.  We're drafting pilots because mechs don't have ace conversations.  Also, all battleships are free (otherwise this soft-locks the game if a certain someone isn't drafted).  Oh, and I'll need the protagonist's birthday and blood type.  Gender will be determined by how strong I think my team is, as one of the more difficult maps is tied to this (I think it's the hardest SR point in the game if you're not prepared).  You can draft "Other Protagonist" if you really want to!
2. Two pilots per person, so this doesn't take forever.
2a. You can specify a mech for a pilot (as long as they can actually pilot it), but don't be stupid about it.  I don't want to field a bunch of Jagens on endgame nor do I want a low-level Newtype in a mech that has a high Newtype requirement.  If it's "put a non-MC pilot in a MC's mech", and MC kicks the other pilot out due to plot reasons, I'll put non-MC in whatever robot I feel like for that map.
3. Non-drafted mechs can hurry their butts to a battleship and sit there.  In That One Map, a certain guy can also pick up something for me on the way to the battleship.  If they spawn in the middle of enemy phase, they can defend/evade attacks, THEN move it to the nearest battleship.
4. No battleship?  Everyone's free.  I may make an exception for Chapter 2 due to the SR point and the timing of everything on one of the variants.  Chapter 46 will also have a "free" portion, as it's a one-on-one fight despite the battleships being fielded (don't ask).  And if a specific pilot is mentioned in the victory conditions, I can use them to reach that victory condition (yes, this happens).  Lastly, one of the route splits has a preset team including a new battleship - whether I go that route or not heavily depends on who's drafted, and I may allow myself a freebie if I absolutely can't figure out the map otherwise (trust me, the preset team is BAD).
5. If someone gives me a unit with prerequisites (*cough*MASHY*cough*), I'll get the necessary kills to fulfill the conditions to get that unit (and maybe a point or two over just in case something went wrong on the wiki).  This will also hold if someone drafts me certain machines.
6. The Eagle Clause: If someone drafts Eagle, it means he's piloting FTO.  Otherwise, he stays in NSX.  Since battleships are free, Geo will take over if Eagle is unavailable.
7. I don't get to use combo attacks unless all members of said combo attack are drafted (whether they're fielded is another matter).  This ranges from "hey that's not too bad" to "wait that's five people?".
8. I'll TRY to remember to ping you guys when I hit your characters, but no guarantees!

The pilot database!

Edited May 8, 2021 by eclipse

[eclipse]

Pilot list:

0. Protagonist (1/30, A, Excellen Browning)
1. Spike Spiegel (Dayni)
2. Guy Shishioh (Excellen Browning)
3. Angela Balzac (Lightchao42)
4. Judau in his usual thing (my mom)
5. Domon Kasshu (via Discord)
6. Noriko Takaya (via PM)
7. Hikaru Shindou (via PM)
8. George de Sand (via a friend)
9. Joe Ryvalle (via a friend)
10. Ryoma Nagare (happy Mother's Day, mom!)
11. Van (Maof06)
12. Roux Louka (Excellen Browning)
13. Master Asia (Shadow Mir)
14. Kincade Nau (MagicCanonBalls)
15. Black Mightgaine (MagicCanonBalls)
16. Soldato-J (Excellen Browning)
17. Pricilla (Maof06)
18. Ray Lundgren (Maof06)
19. Char Aznable (Maof06)
20. GekiRyuJin (RNG)
21. Gyunei Guss (RNG)
22. Show Zama (RNG)
23. Shiro Kabuto (the RNG felt sorry for me)

Edited May 30, 2021 by eclipse

[Dayni]

It's the game with Cowboy Bebop!

Picking the Bebop because it's the only thing I've ever been familiar with in an SRW title.

[Excellen Browning]

I'll give you George de Sand. He seems like someone you'd like.

Birthday will be 1/30, bloodtype A. For earliest Soul, you see.

edit: actually, make that Guy Shishioh.

Edited May 8, 2021 by Excellen Browning

[Lightchao42]

Add Rei... wait, no Evangelion? Weird.

In that case, I pick Angela instead.

[eclipse]

10 hours ago, Dayni said:

It's the game with Cowboy Bebop!

Picking the Bebop because it's the only thing I've ever been familiar with in an SRW title.

Spike's a solid unit, and will be responsible for financing this runthrough.  Thanks!

8 hours ago, Excellen Browning said:

I'll give you George de Sand. He seems like someone you'd like.

Birthday will be 1/30, bloodtype A. For earliest Soul, you see.

edit: actually, make that Guy Shishioh.

The thing that both George and Guy have in common is that their EN is empty by the time I'm done with them.

Spoiler

I'm sorry, but George's MAP attack is just too glorious NOT to spam!

 

1 hour ago, Lightchao42 said:

Add Rei... wait, no Evangelion? Weird.

In that case, I pick Angela instead.

The sniper that can't be hit.  She amuses me to no end.  Thanks for a unit that's a lot of fun to use!

---

My mom insisted on Judau.  So we're getting Judau in ZZ.

[Dayni]

11 hours ago, eclipse said:

But if my calculations are correct, I should finish before TWEWY comes out.

Oh, guess I'm not the only one.

What are your impressions so far if you've not tried to avoid information?

4 minutes ago, eclipse said:

Spike's a solid unit, and will be responsible for financing this runthrough.  Thanks!

Is this the second time I recommend a money making choice? Interesting.

[eclipse]

Just now, Dayni said:

Oh, guess I'm not the only one.

What are your impressions so far if you've not tried to avoid information?

I'm gonna spoiler this for the sake of others!

Spoiler

I see reapers from other places.  This is gonna be good!  Hopefully someone can attempt to replace Joshua's snark role, but that's a hell of a pair of shoes to fill.

 

2 minutes ago, Dayni said:

Is this the second time I recommend a money making choice? Interesting.

Spike is straight funds - the higher his Morale, the more money he gets from kills.  It gets pretty ridiculous later in the game.  This is good, because customization is extremely expensive, and I need to pay attention to my weapons this time around!  Meanwhile, the CEOs split their focus between TaC and funds (the former's also important since part of the true ending requirements is maxing out TaC customization).

No one beats Vivian for TaC, though.  No one.

[Dayni]

8 minutes ago, eclipse said:

I'm gonna spoiler this for the sake of others!

  Reveal hidden contents

I see reapers from other places.  This is gonna be good!  Hopefully someone can attempt to replace Joshua's snark role, but that's a hell of a pair of shoes to fill.

 

Okay, so not avoiding info.

Just going to muse on it for a minute:

Spoiler

I do think there are plenty of gaps in what we know about the three year gap so far. For instance the pre-release info hasn't said a thing about Conductor or Composer currently, which could mean it's information that'll be held back from the player early on, as opposed to Kitaniji being the known Conductor by the end of Week 1. We have gotten confirmation that the Battle Royale the game is centred on was made by Shiba, at least publicly and he certainly likes the idea.

On the return of older characters, I mean there was the "Shiki is a reaper now" theory for a bit which is pretty much dead. I suspect aside from Neku (who might not even be Neku) and depending on what is going to him in the three years Joshua (who could be dead) we won't be getting anything beyond cameos for the other former players. We know Uzuki (suited up), Kariya and Coco return but no confirmation of Hanekoma, which could be a major element or fate might be in the three years as well.

As for other new elements, I don't want to say much on the time element that's been teased or if we get freedom to return to cleared parts of the game from before post game. Combat is hard to judge without seeing a person play it too sadly, we haven't gotten much continuous footage (though we did get Noise TRex).

With the other teams I think the most we got was from the girl from Shinjuku apparently targetting them specifically. But yeah, hopefully the new set of reapers allows for new dynamics among them and against the trio from the first game, wouldn't surprise me if they don't have a Beat from among the players and let these guys take centre stage, especially considering they came from there too.

19 minutes ago, eclipse said:

Spike is straight funds - the higher his Morale, the more money he gets from kills.  It gets pretty ridiculous later in the game.  This is good, because customization is extremely expensive, and I need to pay attention to my weapons this time around!  Meanwhile, the CEOs split their focus between TaC and funds (the former's also important since part of the true ending requirements is maxing out TaC customization).

No one beats Vivian for TaC, though.  No one.

Like is he hitting 5 or 6 digits per kill?

What does TaC mean? I presume that it affects particular functions and types of customisation, versus money-based customisation?

[eclipse]

1 minute ago, Dayni said:

Like is he hitting 5 or 6 digits per kill?

What does TaC mean? I presume that it affects particular functions and types of customisation, versus money-based customisation?

Depends on who he kills.  Grunts don't give that much, but some of the bosses do.  There's a supporter that ups the amount of funds dropped by enemies for a turn as well.  Combine that with Fortune and Spike can rake in money!

TaC is a different currency.  It's used for purchasing power parts, TaC customization (helpful bonuses for the entire team), and acquiring skills like Hit and Run.  This also drops from enemy kills, and several power parts up the amount you get per kill.  You can also get TaC from the CEOs and from selling power parts.  It's well worth it to have both currencies in good supply, because this game is all about money!

[Venger_06]

Van (GUNxSWORD)

[eclipse]

13 hours ago, Maof06 said:

Van (GUNxSWORD)

Oh man, he's hilarious.  He also winds up all alone on a couple of maps, so this is a huge help!

[Excellen Browning]

Since this isn't really moving, I'll just give you a second character. How about Roux Louka.

[Shadow Mir]

I woulda picked Spike, but he was already picked, so... you can has Domon Kasshu.

EDIT @ below: Bugger. That's about the few I actually know... Master Asia, then, I guess.

Edited May 14, 2021 by Shadow Mir

[Dayni]

2 hours ago, Shadow Mir said:

I woulda picked Spike, but he was already picked, so... you can has Domon Kasshu.

Apparently they've been picked too, looking at the full list up in the thread.

[MagicCanonBalls]

I am picking it blindly without looking at condition to recruit so I don't spoil myself (this game still in my wishlist)

1. Kincade Nau

2. Black Mightgaine

 

[eclipse]

On 5/13/2021 at 11:03 AM, Excellen Browning said:

Since this isn't really moving, I'll just give you a second character. How about Roux Louka.

She's one of the few off-characters that can pilot the high-level Newtype machines.  Plus she gets to do something cool in the story.  Thanks~!

On 5/13/2021 at 7:56 PM, Shadow Mir said:

I woulda picked Spike, but he was already picked, so... you can has Domon Kasshu.

EDIT @ below: Bugger. That's about the few I actually know... Master Asia, then, I guess.

Hey, it's a character with a secret requirement!  But since Domon's in the mix, getting him should be easy enough.  Plus he's hilarious.  Thanks!

On 5/14/2021 at 12:56 AM, MagicCanonBalls said:

I am picking it blindly without looking at condition to recruit so I don't spoil myself (this game still in my wishlist)

1. Kincade Nau

2. Black Mightgaine

 

Kincade's a cool guy (as in, I can shove into nearly anything and he'll be amazing), and Black Mightgaine's a non-main character.  Since there's some seriously OP characters within the side characters, I'm always glad to see them.  Thanks~!

[Excellen Browning]

I'll just give you Soldato-J

[eclipse]

On 5/19/2021 at 2:15 AM, Excellen Browning said:

I'll just give you Soldato-J

Ooh, thanks!  I'm going to enjoy the sheer amount of MAP attacks this team has.  Sorry, I've been kinda IRL busy, so I haven't had a chance to sit down and finish the current run (made it past the Final Split).

[eclipse]

I am literally on the last map of my current run.  Thus, I'm going to randomize the rest of the slots on Saturday (my time).  If anyone wants to chime in, now's the time to do so!

[Venger_06]

Pricilla, Ray Lundgren and Char Aznable.

I can pick more than one, can't I?

[eclipse]

5 hours ago, Maof06 said:

Pricilla, Ray Lundgren and Char Aznable.

I can pick more than one, can't I?

Eh, this topic was fairly dead for the most part, so I don't object!

Check and check!  Thank goodness Char is a default recruit (meaning that I don't have to get creative with other characters).

[eclipse]

Last four are being randomized!  They are:

- GekiRyuJin
- Gyunei Guss
- Show Zama
- Shiro Kabuto (I didn't rig this one, I swear)

With Gyunei, the following is now active:

1. Amuro gets every last kill on him.  And Char.  And Quess.
2. Judau gets kills on Haman and her gang whenever they show up.

Stupid secret stage requirements. ;/

I'll start writing up the Actual Gameplay in the next post.  Gotta figure out who gets recruited where first!

[eclipse]

Chapter 1 - 5/5

Spoiler

After the seas turned from red to blue, life went back to normal.  Those of us who were still in school picked up like we weren't fresh from a war, while the adults went back to more mundane jobs.  I still wasn't sure what to do with my life, but I was certain that continuing my education past high school would be useful.  Three years after that crazy interstellar adventure, I'm an ordinary, undecided college student.  For the most part, my name was kept out of the news, because I was a civilian and a minor.  I'm not sure who pulled the strings for that, but I'm grateful to them.  It means I don't need an alias, like a certain someone who I see quite often.  Unlike me, she has a major.  I don't know why she wants to be a teacher, but if she's happy, then that's all that matters.

What should've been a boring school year was shattered when SHE showed up at the door, bearing a suspiciously-familiar console, disc, and a sheaf of papers.  Hathaway's goal was to finish his Ph.D in four years or something, and Shinji had enough issues keeping up with his schoolwork, so it fell to me to make sense of this new game.  Apparently, it came from that massive data dump that Setsuna received when he first made contact with the ELS.  Why would an extraterrestrial species have a game, of all things?  Never mind the write-up.  Perhaps this "eclipse" was an alien as well?

Another knock at my door interrupted my thoughts.  So much for free time!

"YOU?!" I shouted.
"Got a problem with that?" came the cranky reply.
"I thought you were taking every last botany class!"
"The place I applied to doesn't have the classes I need, and they're booked solid for the next four years.  I transferred here for the necessary credits."  Without so much as another greeting, my new roommate plopped himself on the opposite bed.  "Besides, this place is pretty close to my mom's house.  I can get my laundry done there."
"Then why not live with her?" I asked tentatively.
"She wants me to have a typical college life, whatever that means."  So much for having a room to myself for the year.
"Can you take my laundry with you?"  I was greeted by a glare.
"I guess."  Even if he acted like a grouchy old man, my roommate was a softie at heart.
"Ah, thanks.  I was afraid I'd have to threaten you with this."  I waved the papers around.
"That was NINE that I ran into?!"  I nodded.  "Then those papers are--"
"Yeah.  A new game, courtesy of the ELS.  And a walkthrough, by your favorite author."
"WHY?!"

SR Point: Use all of Tyranado's weapons before the end of the stage.

Like V, this is an introduction to the protagonist.  Once the second half of the map begins, three other units show up.  Since there's no battleship, just wallop whoever's in range.  Every enemy save for the blue guys need someone in range of their weapons, or they'll move without firing.  Which is why my turn count is as high as it is.  I'm pretty sure this map is doable in four turns.  After the map concludes, two of the units leave.  Tetsuya's the permanent guy.  He's a Mazinger, which is why I'm not writing a lot of strategy here.

There's something fitting about starting this game right after the January 6 commission was shot down.  I hope private corporations don't have to use mobile weapons to keep themselves safe from extremists, since a certain political party doesn't want to investigate such things.

New unit:

Saizo - Comes with Rami as a copilot.  Her list will be constant no matter what, and she starts with Focus.  This will be used during this fight, since the hit rate against the spiders can be a little shaky.  As soon as possible, slap Hit and Run on him, as the majority of the Tyranado's attacks don't allow it to move first.  The early maps are painful, as the enemies with barriers troll the Tyranado hard, but as weapons/upgrades power up, it becomes less painful.  Overall it's a decent sniper.

Spoiler

"So this nonsense is from the ELS," Hathaway concluded.
"Apparently.  I guess that's their idea of a peace offering?"
"That's a declaration of war if I ever saw one," he growled.
"Uh, you might want to read this."  I handed the first page to my unhappy companion.
"Does her world never learn?"

Chapter 2 - 4/9

Spoiler

"Hello?"  All dorm rooms had a phone, but no one had bothered to call mine until now.
"Have you submitted the report for the last chapter?"  I had no idea who was on the other end, and it almost sounded like a prank call.
"The WHAT?!" I yelled.
"Nine failed to tell you about the reports.  We want to analyze the differences between the two games.  We'll need a summary of the story and characters, as well as any anomalies in the author's walkthrough."
"She, uh, mentioned that a political party wasn't interested in investigating an insurrection?  And who is 'we'?"
"My apologies.  This is Clouseau.  Mithril has taken an interest in the odd games."
"You're with Sosuke?"
"I was in the same unit as he was."
"Space cowboy?  What kind of ridiculous crap is this?!"  Hathaway's voice carried across the room.  Did he forget that I was on the phone?
"Space cowboy?  THAT space cowboy?"  Clouseau sounded excited.
"I'll let you talk to my friend.  He knows more about this than I do."  Before my roommate could object, I shoved the phone in his hands and started the next chapter.

SR Point: Ruri defeats an enemy with Support Attack (Does not count if unit is destroyed before Support Attack is used).

This point is a giant pain in the butt if you're going in blind.  But since this is the second time that I've seen this, I knew which way to have everyone's favorite space cowboy and protagonist go.  Once again, the barriers on the blue units can be irritating to deal with for the Tyranado.  Luckily, something bigger shows up temporarily.  Granted, Ruri's accuracy sucks without Attune, but that aura should help your other units.  I think 3 turns plus point is doable if Tetsuya doesn't get outranged like crazy here.

New unit:

Spike - Courtesy of @Dayni, who also gave me the idea for this chapter's "story".  Spike is the guy who you turn to for funds - the higher his morale, the more money he gets from kills.  His default weapons are questionable, and he wants Hit and Run just so that he's not stuck using his Autocannon.  He'll get more attacks, which helps to alleviate the issue somewhat.  He's small and relies on dodging to keep himself alive, but Persist is great for those times when Focus just won't cut it.  His damage will falter a bit towards the end, but his money-making skills should keep him relevant for a very long time.  Lastly, his dialogue is hilarious, and it's well worth it to take his route split for some more background on him.  Even if I don't like beef with bell peppers.  While Spike technically doesn't join up here, he's close enough that I can get away with an overview here (as he'll have to deal with the exact same issues when he joins up For Real).

Spoiler

"You owe me."
"The chapter wasn't that long!"  The next stage's intermission screen was displayed on screen.
"That guy would NOT shut up about Cowboy Bebop!  Said something about it being a retro anime series."
"Huh, that's odd.  Why would it show up in the game as a part of their reality, when the series is a piece of fiction over here?"
"The author thinks we're fictional characters."  We both fell silent.
"A bit of fiction on top of more fiction.  What is going on here?"  A frown answered my random thought.
"Don't know.  Don't want to know.  That woman is nothing but trouble."
"I have a report to write about this.  Mind getting dinner?  I'll pay for yours."  In response, I handed over enough money to pay for both meals with a bit of change left over.
"I'm trying to feel sorry for you, but I can't."  With that, my roommate left.  The money I had given him sat on his bed, untouched.
"If you say so."  I had a feeling that I'd have to buy him dinner once classes really kicked off.  Until then, I had a report to write.  I sighed and flipped my computer on.

 

Edited May 30, 2021 by eclipse

[Dayni]

Spiegel turned up in Chapter 2. Neat.

So, this is a sequel. Good to see you're still the absolute nightmare for Our Protagonist.

3 hours ago, eclipse said:

"Space cowboy?  THAT space cowboy?"  Clouseau sounded excited.

See: Me on seeing the first trailer.