MARREND'S PROFILE

When it comes to 4X games, I've played Endless Legend and Endless Space, and that's about my level of complexity when it comes to those kinds of games. However, my go-to for this genre is more likely going to be Master of Orion 2 - Battle at Antares.

Strategy/tactics, I think hands down, is going to be a Heroes of Might and Magic game. I largely prefer 2, but, 3 is certainly serviceable.

Action/adventure games are when things might get a little muddy. Like, I think I'm tending more towards "Musou" games (ie: Dynasty Warriors, or games like it) lately? I dunno. There is something about being able to take out sometimes literally thousands of mooks without batting an eye. I suppose it might be a "power fantasy" thing.

Role-playing games are probably the murkiest for me to understand what makes me gravitate toward one title over another. Tales of Arise was my latest RPG, and my basis for wanting it was to see what the hell was going on with the Tales series. Like, I emulated a translated SNES ROM of Tales of Phantasis back in the day, and dipped into the franchise again with the PS3 port of Tales of Symphonia. You could probably say the same thing about Final Fantasy 7 Remake; I wanted to know what was staying, and what was changing.

So, if I were to use that logic, the Resident Evil remakes that have been popping out of late (particularly RE4) would be something I could have interest in. Except... I don't? I dunno, I just think I would have more fun with the originals, and you know, having the ability to use CodeBreaker to make it less "survivor horror" to maybe just "horror". So sue me.

*Edit: I should be happier that Konami is remaking/remastering Suikoden and Suikoden 2, and putting them into a bundle for Steam. Those are some kick-ass games, and releasing them as a bundle makes a lot of marketing sense with the data transfer those games had on the PS1. However, like Capcom's remakes of the Resident Evil series, I just can't bring myself to actually want to get it for myself. I'd rather just play the PS1 originals, have easier access to "Stat Stones" by virtue of CodeBreaker use, and make the games just a little easier.

Oops! I forgot about updating this thread for May!

So, the nomination count goes up by 3, bringing our total nomination count to 21. This was the same amount of rise in 2022, and less than the amount of rise in 2021. Total-wise, it sure beats that of 2022, but, still very shy of 2021.

As for June, the expected amount of nominations for the month look like they could be 7 or 8, if you average together 2022 and 2021.

You are making no sense whatsoever.

Last time, the Elsa picked up even more unwanted cargo in the form of Ziggy and MOMO. Thankfully, they also want to go to Second Miltia. However, like last time, this chapter doesn't start it's focus on Shion, or even on the Elsa. It's on a completely different character entirely. And what do you know, it also starts with a cut-scene! Though, I think that's expected at this point.

An AGWS pilot waxes poetically for a moment, then makes a report that he isn't picking up anything. A bridge officer makes a comment about the poetry, calling the AGWS pilot "Little Master" in the process. A bit more fluff before getting back to the business at hand, except there really is nothing to pick up. Little Master expected some manner of residual matter to pick up, but, no dice. What are they trying to find? Well, you all recall that video feed of a planet disappearing during the offset of last chapter? Yeah, that planet is what they're looking for. So, you can imagine that there being literally nothing left of it coming at a surprise. Welp, off to the next thing, I guess.

That "next thing" happens to be tracking down the last known coordinates of the Federation fleet. Yes, the one that the Woglinde was a part of, in case there was any doubt. Cut to Margulis, taking to one of the members of the committee that sent Ziggy to fetch MOMO. So, this guy didn't actually expect Ziggy to be able to get her off the base, and apologizes for the trouble, and for the information leak concerning the route to their base. Margulis isn't terribly phased, saying that there will always be vermin, and that he'll leave the extermination of such up to him. Another call, this time from Cherenkov. He makes his own progress report, most of which Margulis already knew. Though, I'm not sure if his report that he's "secured" MOMO could be considered correct. That she's being taken to Second Miltia might not have been something Margulis knew with 100% accuracy. However, Margulis tells Cherenkov that all the variables have been taken into consideration, a plan has been executed according to those variables, and to follow his assigned duties. Whatever all that means. There's a bit more to the cut-scene, concerning an individual in white that claims MOMO as his own, and is a little creepy. No name-drops for this guy yet, but, he'll be showing up again.

Back to Little Master, whose vessel has now arrived at the remains of the Federation fleet. Little Master, and the aide from before, enter into what remains of the Woglinde, finding themselves in the storage hangar. Little Master picks up an energy signature indicative that the Zohar was stored here. They are soon ambushed by U-TIC mechs teleporting in from... I dunno where, doesn't matter. It's fight time!

So, this is one of the few instances in this game where it forces you to fight in an AGWS. The general strategy in regards to a AGWS fight is to guard, then use a "W-Act", spending 6 AP in the process, firing off the weapons in each hand. I don't know exactly how much damage an attack with one weapon would be, but, my guess is that a "W-Act" would deal a touch more than double damage. I'll note that the "W-Act" option is only available to AGWS with identical weapons in each of it's hands, and, of course, the aforementioned 6 AP.

The U-TIC take out whatever is left of the Woglinde, with Little Master scraping an escape in the nick of time. He asks for a situation report when arriving at the bridge. After the debrief comes a wave of attacks, which don't appear to do any significant damage as far as I can tell. Not that these guys are just going to sit and take it. They fire back..


...with a vengeance. This attack takes out most of the enemy fleet, with only the mothership remaining, setting course to flee. Little Master orders a ram into the thing, and preparations are made for this, and a boarding party.

Thankfully, Little Master has decided to to join in on the fun, and we get to play as him as he infiltrates the enemy vessel. Unfortunately, there are a number of options on the main menu that are straight-up disabled...


...because... reasons? I don't know. Either way, there's a save point nearby that we can use before moving on. Mary and Random Solder #65536 will automatically be piloting AGWS, whereas, "Jr." will start off on foot.

Before I go any further in this LP, I want to point out something interesting. It's pretty clear from the cut-scenes that Junior has a command position in the context of that vessel. Yet, has the game given us any context for who these guys are, or what this vessel is? No. None whatsoever. However, since it's all there in the manual, we know that Junior is, and I quote, "one of the directors of the Kukai Foundation". This doesn't give any context to the vessel he's in command of, but, at least gives some context as to who the hell these people are.

Anyway, this isn't as straight-forward as the other dungeons we've come across, but, not terrible either. I guess it's a bit of a lock-and-key puzzle. Naturally, the key that we need being on the other end of the ship from where the door that it's needed is at. There is a room in here...


...that will be of interest, well, a lot later. Behind the door we needed the key for is the bridge, and activating a console there triggers a boss AGWS fight, and after that is a cut-scene.

Aside from some stuff thrown at us thanks to the Department of Character development, Mary manages to hack the enemy mainframe, and hooks up a data transfer, even as said data is being deleted. The pair is set upon by an ambush party, that Junior takes out, but, at the cost of the data link being cut off prematurely. So they ultimately come up empty-handed. Welp. But, hey, at least Junior finally name-drops his ship, the Durandal, so, there is that.

Back to the Elsa, docking at a space colony for repairs. Cherenkov is missing, again, and Shion's looking for him. Hammer seems to think he's looking for a separate charter flight, since his destination isn't Second Miltia, like everybody else. Matthews becomes a talking head for the Department of Backstory, and explains that colonies like these weren't exactly treated well by the military, and trouble might find him. Sure enough, the next portion of the scene has some creepy-looking people staring at him. Back on the bridge of the Elsa, chaos suggests that they go find the wayward soldier, with Shion suggesting they could get Ziggy in on this.

Leaving the bridge triggers an e-mail, unlocking the Tech Attack, R-Drill, for KOS-MOS. I'm not entirely sure when next she'll be in the party, but, her maintenance lab is two rooms away from Ziggy's maintenance lab, so it's not really that big of a deal to talk to her as well. As it happens, while KOS-MOS asks if she could tag along, Shion declines the offer. No dice with MOMO either, though, the topic of having her tag along wasn't even brought up. I had to at least try.

I hit up the colony shop before moving on, and getting hit by plot. Or, at least Cherenkov is being hit. He lands face-down from the blow, and manages to get up halfway before seeing Hammer scamper off in the distance. Shion turns a corner, where stop. Hammer Time.


Now that this joke is out of my system, I can't say this Hammer is all bippin' n' boppin', or a hippin' and a hoppin'. He's more, well...


...disjointed than anything else. He manages to convince Shion and company to come with him, but, the scene in question is a lot different that when Hammer left it. For one, Cherenkov is decidedly absent. That, and there's four critically injured bodies on the ground. Hammer goes to fetch an ambulance, and the others stay behind for a bit. Back on the Elsa, after a bit of fast-forward, as MOMO attempts to provide some first aid. Cherenkov steadfastly refuses the treatment, saying he's fine. Ziggy tags MOMO to help with his maintenance, which triggers some additional fluff. Next up, we're elsewhere on the Elsa, following Cherenkov. He's not well at all, despite what he said earlier. He manages to apply a tranquilizer of some kind to help, but, we'll see if this goes anywhere.

Back to Shion, with all party members back together again. Well, KOS-MOS did acquire a new Tech Attack. Let's putz around in the environmental simulator, (which is how one revisits old dungeons in this series) for a while before moving on.

With the Elsa repaired, it continues on it's journey to Second Miltia. We cut to Cherenkov, who's having nightmares of people being turned into salt piles. Recall that he would be among such people, were it not for chaos' intervention. I don't know if it's just the game being technically in his POV, but, his right hand seems to be...


...phasing out. The tranquilizer jumps from his grasp, falling a number of feet from his position. He tries to pull himself together without the meds, getting another quick flashback of... him and the Zohar? I dunno, but, the game leaves him sprawled on the ground, and we go back to Shion, taking a snooze in KOS-MOS' maintenance lab on board the Elsa. A voice calls out to her in her dreams. It's everyone's favorite Elly wannabe! What she says makes no sense whatsoever...

Girl: Shion, it may already be too late.
Shion: Who are you? What do you mean too late? What's too late?
Girl: Ultimately, the choice is up to him. But, you. You may be able to understand him in his final moments. Indeed, that will bring him comfort.

...and Shion wakes. The ship shakes as if under attack. Oh, great. Now what? Shion rushes to the bridge. The report from KOS-MOS is that a force is affecting the ship from outside hyperspace. Should it persist, they would be dragged out of hyperspace. Which, guess what, is exactly what happens. What they see when they are pulled off the lane is a veritable swarm of Gnosis. Shion orders KOS-MOS to activate the ultra-wide-range Hibert Effect, and it goes off without a hitch. However, the Elsa is being pulled into one of the larger Gnosis, and the scene fades to black. When it fades back, the party finds themselves inside an enormous Gnosis, which KOS-MOS' database refers to as "Cathedral Ship".

The Elsa, itself, is elsewhere. KOS-MOS' sensors are picking up it's signal, and another signal similar to that of the Zohar that was once on the Woglinde. Meanwhile, Cherenkov is wandering the interior of this Gnosis in a daze. It must be quite the daze, as he's talking to himself about how Ariadne disappeared due to the Zohar. The cut scene goes for a little longer, showing us a vision of people wandering to and fro on a promenade. This is, probably, on the aforementioned Ariadne. They vanish as he moves into the crowd, and a door appears before him. He opens it, has another vision, and the scene moves to the Durandal.

There's an alert blaring on the bridge, and the source of that is from the quarantine hanger. So, I think this is the perfect opportunity to mention that there's multiples of these Zohar out there, and the Durandal has most of them. Well, it's more correct to say that they are Zohar emulators. The thing they are emulating lies on the original Milita, which, itself, is tucked away in a locked-off sector. Like, you can't get there via whatever UNM hyperspace columns that are currently active.

Anyway, Little Master wants to track this signal, and orders a gate-jump. The game cuts back to the party, ready to delve into this new dungeon. There's a handy-dandy save point right at the entrance, so we can take a brief breather before moving along.

The party moves maybe all of two rooms before getting hit with the next cut-scene. I'd call this scene another fluff scene, because it doesn't really go anywhere. Like, the party discusses the interior, finding random objects from Ariadne that have fused with the walls somehow. Also, another message from the little girl pushing Shion forward.

Back to Cherenkov. This cut-scene has been thoroughly sponsored by the Department of Character Backstory, as it largely discusses what all Cherenkov has been through before getting in with U-TIC. Suffice it to say, he has undergone extensive personality reconditioning due to violent behavior. None of which ever worked. Margulis found him after another violent outburst, haven taken out an entire battalion of soldiers by himself. He took the guy under his wing, though, he did so because he thought Cherenkov would be "useful".

Back to normal gameplay. This dungeon is a tad larger than the previous ones. Or maybe it just feels that way? Either way, I move the party forward, fighting Gnosis along the way, and hit up a mid-dungeon save. Beyond the save-point is a "mall", as the save-point labeled it. Personally speaking, it felt a bit more like a hospital, but, whatever. I loop around, take a different exit back outside, then eventually hit up the next cut-scene.

The party stands before another building that has a striking resemblance to the Zohar. The party discuses the possible importance of this building, if for no other reason than it's in the approximate center of the Gnosis. KOS-MOS has lost the Elsa's signal, but, the last known coordinates of the signal were a point 300 meters from their current position. Meanwhile, Cherenkov is having more flashbacks. These must've been some time after he's recruited, since Margulis states how his mission was a test of loyalty. After he comes out of the memory, visions of ghosts appear before him, and he drops, cowering from them, getting up only to run. Hrm.

Back to Shion an company, we're going inside this thing. Cut-scene? Nope, not yet. A bit more dungeon to go. There's a handy-dandy save-point in the tower, proper, so maybe there's more dungeon that I think. So, yeah, let's use that before doing something stupid.

The object of this tower is to release the seals on the elevator on each of the tower's three floors. Naturally, I worked from the bottom up, and when the elevator was freed, it gets send to the first floor. A little annoying, but not actually a huge setback either.

At the bottom floor the party comes across the Zohar, and a rather unhinged Cherenkov. Who's entire body is phasing out this time, admitting to being behind the disappearance behind Ariadne, despite how absolutely nobody prompted him to admit anything. As he raves, purple lights shoot into him, and the Zohar shines brightly, sucking him into it. Now thoroughly a Gnosis, he effectively becomes the next boss fight.

After defeating it, Shion a visions of Cherenkov's past where Margulis is mouthing off for the umpteenth time. Then, a quick series of flashes of previous events before landing on...


...the Beach of Oblivion with him. He's more choice words to share with our leading lady before the game jumps back to reality. The Gnosis formerly known as Cherenkov goes up in pyreflies, and the gravity of what they have done is starting to hit Shion. chaos does his best to cheer her up. When she finally stands up, the structural integrity of Cathedral Ship is not exactly stable. In fact, you could say that it's dissipating. With the artificial gravity no longer functional, the party floats. Then, MOMO points in a direction, and the Elsa comes from the quickly fading architecture.

This is not to say that they are safe after boarding the Elsa. Hell no. They are still swarmed by Gnosis. Matthews orders full speed ahead, and to shake 'em off. They get an assist from the Durandal, who has decided to drop by just in time. Junior orders all guns to create an escape path, and boy howdy, do they cut off some numbers! Except that's not quite good enough. A bulk are still chasing after the Elsa, and even the Durandal doesn't have enough firepower to take care of them all. Junior curses not resupplying earlier from the battle against U-TIC, but, that's not exactly going to help the situation.

Shion, Ziggy, chaos, and MOMO arrive at the bridge, and the assessment from Tony is that it's not going to be possible to shake them off. There's just too may of them, and they are faster.

Hammer picks up the activation of hatch # 17. H-hey, uh, guys? Where's KOS-MOS? Guess who's activated the hatch. This conversation is... interesting.

Shion: KOS-MOS! KOS-MOS!! What are you doing!? Get back here! There's too many of them for you to destroy! You're not equipped to handle that great a number!
KOS-MOS: Shion. Will feeling pain... make me complete?
Shion: What? I can't hear you!
Hammer: The air is too thin for her voice to carry!

Not only are her eyes blue during this sequence, but what she ends up doing is entirely unexpected, and completely awesome. She plays board wipe...


...and exterminates the Gnosistine fleet. Every. Single. Last. Gnosis. She seems to have absorbed them into her too, and doesn't seem all that worse for the wear, as she reverts back to red eyed mode. Here's the scene in full for your enjoyment.


While Matthews is breathing a sigh of relief, both Shion and Allen are like, what the hell? How does KOS-MOS have weaponry that not even we, who've worked on her since the beginning of her development, have any idea about? While Shion's in her own little world, wondering if this is the KOS-MOS that Kevin wished to design, the Durandal picks up the Zohar floating out in space.

Cut to Margulis and U-TIC. The report is that they lost Cherenkov's signal, and his last known coordinates coincide with a space-time anomaly. Marguils says nothing, letting Pelligri handle the situation. Cut to the bridge of the Durandal, this portion provided by a generous donation of the Department of Backstory conerning the Kukai Foundation. Even though there was already talk about the Kukai Foundation earlier. Either way, Shion introduces herself to Little Master, sometimes known as Gaigum Kukai Junior. Though, the game really likes to shorten this to Jr., and this will be his name in this LP going forward.

After the intros, Jr. gives an order to change plans, and return to the Foundation. The cut-scene continues with the Durandal gating in, with the camera panning to a side to reveal a mech. The owner of which we meet earlier, but, he'll come into play proper later. For now, there's an end-of-chapter save. What kinds of highjinks will the party run into between here and the Foundation? The best way to find out is to stay tuned to the Xenosaga Episode 1 LP!