Toggle Background Color
Update 8 - Sushi Dipped in WEAKSAUCE!
Welcome back to Sushi Strikers, last time we were carrying out our decoy mission for the SLF and had just defeated a group of imperial soldiers known as the 'Hunter Division'. Afterwards we ran into Archie, a Shrine Grove local, who begged Musashi to come liberate his hometown. While this went against our orders to draw the imperial forces away from the grove, Musashi agreed to help Archie in his time of need. Today we go from being decoy to being on the frontlines!
♪ BGM: Republic ♫
Before we hop right in, let's check in on our newest sushi sprite, Inazo.
Looks like the game automatically added our fox friend to the 'Reserve Sprites' section. I think the best way to describe these slots is to think of the item Exp Share from the Pokemon games where EXP can be given to an inactive sushi sprite. However said sprite can't be used on a team and be in the reserve slot at the same time, so it's really meant for sprites you want to level that you don't plan to use for a while.
But we don't wanna keep Inazo on the side-lines. Let's take them out for a spin! Sorry Elekan, but you'll have to take a backseat for a few rounds.
Anyways, onward to the Grove!
Video: Battle - Kojiro 2: Kojiro's Revenge
Ah great, I recognize that silhouette. Time to welcome back 'ya boy'.
♪ BGM: Kojiro's Theme ♫
: Looks good on me, doesn't it? I'm officially an Imperial Army recuit now.
You're officially twice the loser now.
: The nerve of this guy...
: You're one to talk. Did you seriously join the SLF?
: Heck yeah I did! I'm gonna bring sushi to the whole wide world!
Welcome the whole wide world of www,gimmesushi,slf
: What a rube. That Franklin sure got his hooks in you, huh?
: I'm hoping I can be the one to nab Jinrai for the Emperor. I'd be his right-hand man!
Kojiro, I don't think you realize that I've thrashed nearly a dozen soldiers who have years more experience at sushi striking than you do.
: Get a grip, dumb-dumb! Why fight for the Empire when they're hoarding all the sushi?!
: Have it your way. I'll show you the power you get for joining up with the winning side!
: Check out Hakkan, the extra-special sushi sprite they hooked me up with.
Do you even know how to stack 8 plates consistently?
♪ BGM: Preparing for a Battle ♫
Star Objectives
- Win with 35% or more HP.
- Link 11 or more plates and win.
- Eat 150 or fewer plates and win.
Hakkan, the green turtle sushi sprite, is a very special sprite as it's the first sprite that has a constant special ability. As soon as the battle starts, the ability goes active and stay up throughout the fight. Hakkan is also the first in a small selection of sushi sprites that we cannot pledge to. (More than likely for mechanical reasons.)
Also, looks like Kojiro got himself a lane gear, not that it'll help him be any better at sushi striking.
♪ BGM: Battle VS Kojiro ♫
So now we have to focus on making stacks of at least 8 plates if we want to penetrate that wall. Anything less will just ping against it like so:
This is more than likely the reason why Kojiro only has 3600 HP, as I assume the developers wanted to ease players into this kinds of stages. It's a good thing I brought Inazo along.
Now while the minimum to hit is 8 plates, you might wanna stack more than just 8 as plate breaking is thing Kojiro can do.
Speaking of, just as I thought, Kojiro is barely able to land hits. He's got maybe a ~50% chance to actually get a stack of 8 going. How sad. I almost feel bad for beating up on the twerp. Then again he pretty much deserves it.
♪ BGM: Won a Match♫
Ah, the Ino-Ace raw power which increases your final score by 8%! I'm gonna make use of it mostly off-screen as it can help with getting Rainbow S Ranks.
♪ BGM: Kojiro's Theme ♫
: Don't think I'll forget this! You're gonna be sorry the next time I see you!
: WAAAAAH! [Kojiro exits]
: [...]
Hopefully it won't be too soon before we have to deal him again.
You got a Little Gear!
: It moves a little slower than your Sushi Striker Gear. It's good to train with.
And yet, Kojiro still couldn't stack 8 plates 50% of the time.
: Huh. Well, maybe I'll hold on to it in case he wants it back the next time we meet.
♪ BGM: Republic ♫
You know, I've never used the Little gear before, so let's give it a spin!
While I'm at it, let's swap out our favorite sushi for horse mackerel.
Video: Battle - Striker Grisli
♪ BGM: Kodiak ♫
: It's you! The jerks who kidnapped Franklin!
Is it really kidnapping if you kidnap an adult? Ain't it more like abduct?
: Do I know this kid? Why's she up in our business?
: QUIT CALLING ME "KID"!
: Now you're getting it.
: WEAKSAUCE!
: Then again...this might be the perfect chance to stretch my muscles.
Unlike the stretching I was already doing.
: Haw! A REAL sushi striker never passes up the chance for a little exercise!
: You're just getting warmed up! You don't stand a chance against the real pros.
Every time I see these dudes, they make me think of those gross internet ads with the guys that inject that corn syrup or whatever to make their muscles look huge.
♪ BGM: Preparing for a Battle ♫
Star Objectives
- Win in 105 or fewer seconds.
- Make 3 or more glowing plates and win.
- Win with 20% or more HP.
Ooh, Kodiak's men carry a Gnomzo, the...gnome sushi sprite, it has a nasty ability of Plate Downgrade which lowers all the colors of incoming plates by 1 color. (Basically Red -> Dark Blue -> Green -> etc.)
♪ BGM: Battle VS Kodiak Forces ♫
And the eager beaver uses Plate Downgrade right off the bat.
The effects aren't that bad outside of sushi jubilee. The sushi on the plates doesn't change, just the color of the plates.
The Little Gear actually feels pretty good to use surprisingly. It's a nice medium between having no lane gear and the default one. Prefect for strikers that are not yet used to maintaining a lane gear.
♪ BGM: Won a Match♫
♪ BGM: Kodiak ♫
Whoa! That guy really was made out of corn syrup!
: WHAT A WEAK STUNT!
A weak stunt dipped in weak sauce!
: That weasel Masa! Talk about a bait and swtich!
: Looks like I got frustrations to work out elsewhere. You guys slam this kid for me.
Great, more meatheads.
This is about the point in the game where stages no longer have both an opening and closing cutscene, so we can start plowing through the boring guys quicker. Seriously if you haven't been doing so, I strongly recommend you watch the videos to see the gameplay in action; cause I really don't see any benefit to both you reading and me writing out a play by play of every fight.
Oh, also I swapped out Penzo with Elekan.
Video: Battle - Saboteur Black
Star Objectives
- Start 2 or more sushi jubilees and win.
- Make a 2-hit combo and win.
- Eat 195 or fewer plates and win.
Nothing of note on the prep screen so let's jump straight into the fight.
♪ BGM: Battle VS Kodiak Forces ♫
Capsules items make a return in this stage but this time we have a new item to grab.
Skill charger works similarly to jubilee charger. It instantly fills one of your sprites skill bars; though which one it charges is random as far as I know. The great part is that you can keep grabbing these bad boys to keep an endless stream of skills going, which makes this fight go by quick. Like for real, this fight only last about a minute and a half.
♪ BGM: Won a Match♫
I dunno if any artists read this thread, but if I could get some fanart of swole Musashi; that'd be great.
♪ BGM: Musashi's Theme ♫
Dang imperial litter bugs!
: I recognize this. It's a Training Black Belt.
You got a Training Black Belt!
: Neat! What's it for?
: Well, if you set it as your prepared item, you max HP is halved in battle.
: WHAT?! Why would I want to do that?
: True, it does put you at a severe handicap.
: But if you can win regardless, you'll earn 1.5 times your overall score.
Sounds like the perfect way to earn Rainbow S ranks!
: I take it back! That sounds great!
: Indeed. With higher scores comes more EXP, better results, and increased rank.
: Any stage you complete while wearing this will be marked with a black belt insignia.
That's important. Remember this for later.
: If you're ready for an intense challenge, put on that belt.
We should probably wash it first. Just saying. Against my better judgment of putting on used clothing, we equip the belt.
♪ BGM: Republic ♫
Now we can go back to the previous stages and turn this:
Into this:
Which I'm probably gonna spend some off-screen time S-ranking and three starring old stages, so when we come back we'll tango with the rest of Kodiak's men.
New Sushi Sprites
#017: Gnomzo
Secret: Its protective hat is ever vigilant.
Skill: Plate Downgrade - Lowers the quality of sushi flowing out of opponent's shrine by one plate color!