Let's Play Zoids Legacy! Chapter 5A

It's that time again. Or possibly even every time at once...


... well, now that I'm functional again, seems like those pricks took off Northeast. AWAY!



Oh hey, a stiff on the ground. Five points, Aelita.
Or I could not run over a corpse. Go check him.
*Sigh* Yes ma'am. Hey, blondie, you alive?



Yes, yes you are.



Like it vanishing into thin air?



That's useful. Remember anything? No?



... screw it, there's a town not far from here, you can rest there.
Didn't know you cared, Wyll.
Gotta try and look good in front of you somehow.



Sure, whatever.



What.



That 'experiment'?


Oh. This works out SO well every time.



I have been known to pilot a Zoid, but everyone seems to like calling me a Warrior.



You ARE joking.
You keep him smiling, I'll call the authorities.




This choice gives you a free Zoid (Shield Liger or Zaber Fang Old), and the data of the one you don't pick. We went with Zaber Fang here.
Note that the main character has 10 bonus levels in both Tiger and Liger types, so the choice is mostly dependent on whether you like guns or fixed weapons.




They don't make 'em like they used to.
Raven was here, Zaber Fangs are hardcore.



Yes...?





Enough about 'Zaber Fang Old'...



... urgh, I guess.


Well, you could ask Aelita; she used to have boo-
*glare*
... I'm teasing, and I love you just as you are.
Damnit, Ascher, stick to your job.



This is your fault.
It really is. You with the guys who jacked Juno?



Great. Let me just get my Raynos and -



Damnit. Smart bandits.



"Smart bandits", you said?



... what are you muttering, Aelita?



Summon. Bigger. Fish.



... are you a wizard.
That's a bit of a downgrade from 'my goddess', Ascher.
Get your mind back on the job.


You mean 'do you'? And yeah, we've been over this.




That's saying a mouthful.



Nope. Aelita and I aren't from around here.







Funny, what's to stop me just TAKING your Zoid and -



Holy shit is that an Organoid.



... bullshit.



I don't like that stutter.



And I think it wants to eat me.



Yeah, for *dinner*...




Oh, that's fine. Wyll doesn't have any.
.... 
...what, I'm not allowed to tease back?
That wasn't funny. And also wwwwhy is there someone in the cockpit of that Zoid.
Do you know how hard it is to BREATHE when you're UNDERGROUND in a Zaber Fang for DAYS!?
Oh, goodie. Now my life can take on the aspect of a personal hell.
What's with him?
Vaped him. One pass.









These should be automatically familiar to everyone who watched Chaotic Century, being the beefier mainstays of the Republic and Imperial forces respectively (a step up from Command Wolves and Rev Raptors).
Shield Liger is pretty much a melee machine with a shield, while the Zaber Fang is a very fast gunboat with thick armor.
There's a secondary reason for acquiring the Zaber Fang Old here - those of you who have been grinding in the East Sea Caves may actually already have the parts to create a Shield Liger, whereas Zaber Fangs require Zoidcore ZNs, which are harder to come by than the H1 (which you can retrieve off any Republic Zoid in the East Sea Caves, except the Gun Sniper, which drops H2s).




Oh for fuck's sake.
Wyll... he's our shot.
You better do it.
Die.



This is in the weapon shop...



Entirely possible.



This is in the item shop.



That'd be Sandstorm.



Running theory is they don't exist.



Aw, that was sweet.
... fogey palmed my wallet!
I'm... Aelita, let's just pretend we don't know him.
Deep breaths... think of the dress he'll be wearing before long...



Then why don't they take *five steps outside* and brawl with wild Zoids?



Sigh...




... so Haruka's is green and white, huh?
Yep.
H-hey! You shut the fuck up.



Breaking news!



Best guess? Tribbles be all crawlin' through vents.



Not much of one, given what's going on behind the scenes.



Screech! Do that again and I'll have Haruka mindf-
- he's having a filter installed between his brain and his mouth next week.
OR, I could engage the one the game's provided for us.



This is your first chance to play with Pulse. Depending on your answer, his color changes, which affects the skills he acquires that come into play when he fuses with you. From top to bottom -





White, Pulse's default growth, emphasizes HP recovery on Organoid fusion and defense. While the extra kick in the pants is great for prolonged battles, more of a focus is placed on recovering HP than extending maximum HP - essentially meaning once Pulse gains a Correction Factor of +100% HP, the rest is wasted. And with the lack of prolonged battles if you're doing it right, the other options look a lot more tempting.
Red emphasizes attack power and defense, a fair choice for aggressive players but a bit lacking the way the critical hit system works - ironically, that gains favor with Blue, which focuses on speed and sensor accuracy. Finally, Black (which we can't influence majorly yet) focuses on attack power and speed, with the caveat that it can force Berserks at high levels - not something we want to deal with given Wyll's predominantly shooty tactics.
And so we're going Blue for the SR/Hit bonuses, meaning once Pulse fuses with a Zoid, it'll be guaranteed first or near-first in the turn order and critical or near-critical hits with every attack.



Not bad...



Well, I-
Mindfuck you.
- literally, I know, I know... spoilsport... Aelita, stop laughing!
I... yawned and swallowed a moth...
Liar...



'Pet'?
'Unsual'?




We went with the blue again.
Note the default to White if we'd have gone that route - the tiebreaker mechanic in place prioritizes higher-up colors, so you've pretty much got to work towards a Blue or Black majority.



And so is your grammar.



So basically you don't care as long as battles trundle along.



Yessssss. Sign me up!
This should be good.



This guy might have been difficult, had the Zaber Fang Old not been equipped with Beam Needle, HEAVY PARTICLE CANNON, had it's defense maxed, GEP maxed, and all it's fixed weapons maxed out. Splattered on turn two.




Aw come the fuck on.



In the way of my victory is where!




... should I?
Do it.
*ahem* STATE YOUR POSITION AND INTENTIONS BEFORE THE MIGHTY ZOD.




THE MIGHTY ZOD CARES NOT FOR YOUR EXCUSES.



And neither does the Judge, apparently.
Spoilsport.




.. what's a "BLOX"?
[[REDACTED]]
DON'T DO THAT.



Mind on the job, Doc.




... if mind control is involved, shit is gonna get SO real.
Great. More time travel bullshit...



This? This is smalltime.




So...
What you're saying is...
... it's all YOUR fault we're stuck here.
What the fuck were you DOING, anyway?




This is going to end up with something Frankenzoidy, I'm sure.



'Thru'? Really? *Really*, Doc?
Physics, not English.






You...
Stupid...
... motherfucker.




WHAT.
Two words: Clock Up.




You mean Pulse.



So you've given me a timebomb shaped like a panther.
...
...
That's fucking awesome.




That, on the other hand, is NOT.



He just owned up to it...



You fucked it in the ass! That's what!



It's called causality, plebian.





Got it memorized?



Fun stuff.
Eternal interminable, indeterminate causality is 'fun stuff' to you?
It is when you're exploiting Odine's Model of Compressed Time to relax between shifts at a Cybertronian Burger King.
Wait WHAT?
NOTHING!



Nope, none of your existential crap. Besides, even if that's the case, these two ladies make this the best non-existence ever.
You really think that'll work on - stop blushing, Aelita.
He sneak-attacked me!




Looks like you're really up shit creek.




Idiot hero.
Got a point though. Time-space warps work up a hell of an appetite.






Party GET.






These will be your weapons of choice for a long while, unless you've been grinding as hard as we have. Basically, BLOX Zoids aren't amazing on their own, but... well, that hidden power is a main part of the plot, so you'll see.
Aside from our currently-pilotless Nightwise being the centerpiece of some interesting support tactics, but we're a ways from actually having all the pieces for 'em.
Where IS Blue Unicorn's fourth, anyway? Game won't let you field your own drone Zoids...



Cool.
That aside, Zan has Liger, Wolf, and Gojulas type level-boosters, making him a prime candidate for a Shield Liger if you made one (which we did); Albane, with his natural ranged boosters, works well in a backrowed Black Rhimos (we still have ours leftover from Bit using it) weighed down with big guns; and Tita somewhat suffers the misfortune of having no boosters and being a 'mere' level 6, plus she has the horrible "Easy Target" 'skill', which increases the likelihood of her suffering Freeze.
On the other hand, she gets bonuses to accuracy with bullet and laser weapons, making her a good pick if you picked up a Gunsniper - or better yet, a Snipe Master, as we have. Unenlagia is good, but bringing out its full potential isn't worth the effort.



Here's how the team looked at the end of the day.

Now then, to go forth and kick ass!

TODAY'S BONUS: OUTTAKE



And THIS is why we cut Zeru's dialogue.