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Part 8: Bandit Busters

It's time to say goodbye to the Ninja Village, but not before we check up on a few people. First...

This guy. Turns out the crappy replacement chief was married, and his wife is giving him hell for what he did.

Maybe after he plants 5,000 more rows of ninja parsley, he'll learn his lesson.

Speaking of ninja chiefs...

Look who's all better!

He offers his gratitude for taking care of things in his stead.

That's it for this dark valley.

The sun returns as we leave Shinobi Country behind.

To the southwest is a sweet little boat dispenser, I mean fishing village.

VIDEO: The Fishing Village

A fishing village, eh? Mmm... what a lovely sea breeze!

Hey Sarge, I bet we can find ourselves a boat here!

I'll go ask someone! Hi, can I talk to you for a sec?

Tamama, already an expert at RPGs, accosts a villager for intel.

Huh? Ya wanna boat? I ain't got time for that! Now go on, get!

I ASKED NICE AND EVERYTHING! WHAT THE HELL!

Looks like Tamama's one of those "instant gratification" types.

Now now, Tamama, calm down...

We'll just have to ask someone else, then.

A suspicious atmosphere pervades the entire village.

This guy's the first to suspect Keroro and co. of ill intent, and he won't be the last.

This little girl's hungry, but isn't allowed to snack on the dried fish hanging right next to her.

A middle-aged lady talks about the Weakened status effect. It lowers your max CC to 1, locking you out of using Artes.

The Guardian store here only sells the Acguy, the first Guardian with the Aqua Resist skill, lowering damage taken from water magic. It also has Sneak, which makes enemies less likely to target the holder.

A man complains to his wife about having everything he fishes for taken away by bandits. His wife suggests he figure out a way to stop the bandits instead of complaining, but the guy's too hungry to do anything.

He's not the only one. The guy who grumped at Tamama earlier has to keep fishing, even if he gets none of it in the end.

Kids are starving, too.

This lady gives us her special Mackerel Miso recipe, which temporarily increases everyone's speed by 5%. She doesn't know when her next chance to make it will come around.

All the cats wandering around are probably hungry too. Let's be nice to one!

Three Mackerels later, this kitty gives us the G-Fighter Guardian. It has one skill, Quick II, which increases the holder's Speed by 10%.

The village has nothing special Keparrow-wise, with only Bandit Eyedrops and an Herb within our reach.

And this non-sparkly, non-Keparrow thing.

Got a Space Creature!

Gero?! Wha... what's this doing here?

Good question. Maybe it lives here?

That's a bit of a stretch. We're in a video game world, after all.

When we transferred here, this must've gotten sucked in as well.

Come to think of it... A while back, Private Tamama and I were gonna make a Space Okonomiyaki FX Special, but it got away from us.

This is what Keroro's talking about:

It's a critter that comes live in the box. It must be killed and eaten, before it kills and eats you. Aliens love this kinda stuff.

That must be the one, Sarge!

Gero... mystery solved, then. Let's get going, shall we?

Nothing left to do but see the village elder.

Let's see how we can help this poor--

OOH treasure! The bureau contains a Strength Tonic, which cures the Weakened status effect.

Now that we've stolen this old man's meds...

VIDEO: Meeting the Elder

Hmm... that's the 5th time this month... those rotten bandits just won't let up! No matter how much we fish, they just take it all away!

He dramatically airs his grievances above the heads of the entire party.

Ever since I became head of the village, it's been... oh, can I help you?

We'd like to borrow a boat!

Oh, a boat, is it? Then you must be travelers. But if we lent one out to strangers, that means one less boat for fishing... There's no telling what those bandits might do if we caught less.

Keroro gets a lightbulb.

...Gero? Lemme get this straight. Bust bandits equals boat get, right? Talk about your RPG cliches...

I feel like we've been here before.

Well don't say it out loud, Sergeant! You'll ruin the magic!

You seem pretty troubled, so why don't we help you out?

Oh! So you'll take care of those bandits for us!

After we defeat them, could you lend us one of your boats in exchange?

Lend you one? I'd gladly give it to you!

You'd give us our own boat? Wow, Mister, you're so generous!

I guess that's it, then. All right, platoon, let's go bag some bandits!

Another day, another village in trouble, another bad guy to beat on. The Keroro Platoon moves out.

There's an unexplored bit of land north of the Fishing Village.

A bridge! If we cross this, we can get back to the Hinata house and Agon's castle as easy as anything.

"Currently under repair." Typical.

Here's the Bandit Fortress right next to it, though.

VIDEO: Bandit Fortress

Gero? Now wait just a minute!

These bandits got some nice digs.

No one told me the bandits had a huge freakin' fortress!

Guess this won't be a cakewalk. So why don't we call up a helper?

A helper? Can we really do that? That's awesome, Kururu!

We can draw out the owner's spirit from special items during battle. It's a little something I like to call the Support System. Now fights'll be even easier.

So not only can Kururu hack the Legendary Armaments, he can turn sentimental items into summons.

Remember that Talisman we got from Oyuki?

Let's take it for a test run.

You got Oyuki's Support!

Roger that. I'll try it out right now!

A bandit is dumb enough to come check on the frogs loitering outside.

Kuuu-kuku... perfect. I can use this sucker to explain.

I won't repeat myself, so listen up.

Kururu explains the Support System, which is accessed during battle via the now-usable touch screen. It's pretty simple--touch the support panel to summon the character displayed at a small cost. We have a new meter to deplete, Battery or BT, and the number on the panel shows how much a given Support costs.

Outside of battle, assigned supports can be changed through a newly unlocked submenu. We only have one right now, and it's automatically equipped when the tutorial starts.

Summoning Oyuki lets her use a quick short-range attack, Holy Burst. Note that you want to summon her while close to the enemies in a real battle.

This game has a ton of summons. Some we'll get from characters we meet, others wait for us in chests, and the rest are hidden further still. They have all kinds of effects, short to prolonged attacks, and even healing.

You guys are gonna LOVE some of the later ones.

Inside, the path splits off in several directions.

Most are blocked by junk.

These bandits are really messy.

These are the same Grunts hanging around the overworld outside the fortress, along with their Ghastly Ghost buddy.

Ghosts of all types cause Weakened with their licking attacks. Very annoying.

Bandits have good treasure, right?

They must know it, because they've left us lots of Monster Boxes.

Tripped a treasure trap!

Each one comes with at least one Scary Specter and the pincer battle theme. Since it's a scripted battle, the cooking menu isn't available on the victory screen, either.

The only treasure you get from these is whatever merchant trash the monster drops.

The Dom Guardian only raises a couple stats by a small margin and has no skills. The Mobile Suit Gundam anime featured three particular Dom pilots, and Keroro likes naming his pets after one of them (Mash).

Another trapped box to mock my looting habit!

Bandit Pets are the first troublesome boar-type enemy.

First, they can send someone off-balance with a tusk swipe, and they don't flinch from attacks as easily as other enemies.

Second, they can charge...

...And knock out anyone they ram into, throwing them across the battlefield.

The red Zaku II Commander Type, or Char's Zaku Guardian, has little to offer except nostalgia for Keroro. It has just one skill, Strike, which increases attack power by 5%.

The Commander Type Zaku has a little crest on top. Keroro likes to put the same crest on things he owns, like his flying saucer.

The Land Combat Type GM Guardian has the Repair Up skill, which increases HP restored from healing Artes.

The first save spot appears halfway through the dungeon.

Bandit Bros join their Grunt counterparts in some battles, as well.

And that was the one where Tamama learned Chakra. It's a non-magical self-heal for 15%, and benefits from the Repair Up skill.

It's good for a quick boost.

This item, as far as I can tell, is Shinken Red's Lion Disk from Samurai Sentai Shinkenger, or Power Rangers Samurai.

The disk's a weapon for Kururu. Not the plastic sword on the right, leave that for the seven-year-olds to fight over. Equipping it makes his attacks and non-elemental Artes do fire damage.

Too bad it sucks compared to a J-pop CD!

There's Curry Spice lying around to feed Kururu's Curry Bread addiction.

At the second save point, after much backtracking, the place is as looted as it's gonna get. All that remains is our plot-related task.

Bandit Fortress Keparrow:
Stone Heal (cures petrification, which we fortunately won't encounter until later)
Curry Spice
Cleansing Chalice
Mega Battery (now useful; restores BT by 30%)

Waiting ahead...

...Is a pro-wrestler cyborg.

VIDEO: Bustin' Up the Bandit Boss

The hell're you doin', just waltzin' in here? Ya know who yer messin' with? The bandit boss, that's who!

You've made those fishermen suffer long enough!

Prepare to be punished!

The Bandit Boss brings a Bandit Bro and his pet along for the ride.

The boss winds up for his favorite attack....

...And launches a cannonball from his arm. It hits characters across the room, knocking them out.

Then I remembered I had BR stored up. You can't get KOed in Blazing Rise mode.

He's weak to water. Guess what I kept spamming!

Guess what the boss kept spamming.

It's not all hopeless, though. If you're not caught in the wind-up, which does rapid damage, you can guard the cannonball he shoots after, and avoid the KO.

If you know that much, the Bandit Boss is no big deal. His lackeys go down quickly, so most of the fight is just whittling him down.

I give up! I surrender! I won't rob the Fishing Village anymore! I'll go straight and do honest work, so please!

You don't plan to go back on your word, by any chance?

No, I swear I won't! And I'll return everything I stole!

If you're working that hard to mend your ways, then we'll let you go.

Now the villagers can live in peace.

Then let's go back and get our boat!

This isn't our first iteration of the Return Circle--if you go back inside the Trick Mansion, there's one in the boss room.

Both do the same thing.

It's the only way to exit dungeons swiftly.

Anyone else wonder how Oyuki's doing? I do!

Whitesnow Village is still in disrepair.

I guess it'll take some time for Oyuki to patch things up.

What'll I do...

What's the matter, Oyuki? Is something worrying you?

You seem kinda down. Are you hungry or something?

Dororo! And everyone else, too! What brings you here today?

Nevermind us. Oyuki, is something troubling you?

Well... we've started rebuilding the village, but we just don't have enough materials. I'd like to go get them myself, but I have to stay here.

Then leave it to us.

Wha-! Dororo, who said you could make decisions for us?!

Huh? But Dororo, don't you need to continue your journey?

It won't hurt to spend a little time here.

So what materials do you need?

Um... 10 Monster Gummis, 6 Sticky Fluids, 9 Monster Claws, and 3 Monster Wings.

That's a lotta stuff. It'll take a while to get it all.

Sounds like a combat training opportunity to me. It'll give us a chance to improve our skills.

I wanna bust some heads!

Woah... you're all fired up about this... guess I've got no choice.

Count me in!

Well then, Oyuki, we're off to gather the materials.

I know it's an awful lot to get, but... I'd really appreciate it!

We already have most of the materials, just missing 2 Monster Claws. Incidentally, all the items needed to rebuild the village are cooking ingredients. Because... sticky stuff, plus claws and wings, makes... roofs?

Claws are usually dropped by wolf-type enemies, like this White Dingo. Whaddya know, the Monsterpedia is actually useful!

Using a Devil Bell makes this go by quicker.

Two battles later...

Wow...! You got everything for me! Thank you!

Dororo hands the items over.

I think this is enough for us to get by!

That's good to hear. We'll be off, then.

Ah, wait! It's not much, but... could you please take this?

I... Oyuki, I'm afraid I can't. I didn't gather those materials to get a reward.

But everyone here wanted to do something to thank you.

We built up this money little by little, but we'd like for you to have it.

I see. Even so, your gratitude is more than enough.

You should put that money toward the restoration of this village. I'd like for you to tell the other villagers the same.

Dororo... all right. I'll let them know.

Well, we've got to get going. Farewell, Oyuki.

Okay! You too, Dororo!

Dororo got the "Heart of Empathy" Codename!

One who understands another's feelings without words. A title for a caring person.

Though it doesn't come with a costume, Heart of Empathy is the first in a series of Partner Codenames. Each platoon member has one corresponding to his human BFF... or their stand-ins, at least. They give a little CC, but their main bonus is luck. If you need a boost for any reason, Partner Codenames are usually enough to elevate a character to Super or Ultra Lucky.

Now that we've secured Whitesnow Village's future and Oyuki's lasting friendship, I'd call this a good note to end on.

Artes/Skills learned this update:

Keroro
Spin Rush: Sends Keroro flying across the battlefield in a spin-attack. Can be risky with the delay at the end, but it looks flashy so WHO CARES!

Tamama
Chakra: A non-magical healing Arte. Tamama focuses his energy for a quick 15% self-heal.

Giroro
Shock Sphere: Shoots a ball of electricity that might paralyze an enemy. Always handy for limiting their attacks.

Venom Sphere: Same as before, but with poison. Might be good for later enemies, as Hard stacks on the monster HP.

Kururu
Venom Gusher: Earth-based magic that has a chance to poison the enemy.

Dororo
Suppression: Lowers an enemy's speed.

Next time... oh, wait a minute!