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Music: Voyage To Tomorrow (Hitoshi Sakimoto)
Chapter 13: Destruction 0
I’ve decided we will, in fact, be playing on Intense, because this game is very easy and I want to make it slightly more interesting.
The kaiju are going to try to burrow underground to attack the terminal. If they get that far, then the Sentinels won’t be enough to stop them.
This is the only way we can stop them. We cannot allow even a single one through. If they manage to get past our defense squad, then our battle really will be over. We need to balance our priority between defense and directly neutralizing the invasion force.
You guys just hang back and watch me kick their shit in.
But we can predict the kinds of Deimos we’ll be seeing in the oncoming waves. We should probably build our offensive ream based on what we know they’ll be up against.
So, here’s the Team Organization screen, where we pick the pilots who will be on offense. We can have a maximum of six members on offense. Everyone else will be on defense and automatically use their one defensive skill. We should, as mentioned earlier, pick our squad based on the enemy type detailed in this menu. Here, it’s looking like we’ve got a lot of ground-based enemies, so we should prioritize 1st-gen Sentinels for melee. I only pick Ogata, though, because it’s only the first stage and I know I won’t need a second.
As you can see, the team is broken up into the four generations, with 1st-gen being melee, 2nd-gen being all-rounders, 3rd-gen being long-range, and 4th-gen being flight support.
Also, note that Okino is missing from this screen. Interesting.
The starting party looks decent, but I replace Shu with Yuki. Not just for the obvious reasons, but because her Leg Spike will be useful against anything with a lot of HP. From there, I hit “Deploy”.
Oh, there’s Okino. Where are you, buddy?
Don’t “easy there” me, I’m trying to lead the charge…
I just want to go over something before the battle kicks off.
…What, a refit? Right now?
Sort of. This is one of the meta-systems we managed to analyze. Basically, we can use those Meta-Chips you earn in battle. With those, we can make some serious improvements to our armaments, and the Sentinels themselves. You might even be able to make some brand-new armaments on the fly…
That’s amazing, Okino…! Why didn’t you tell me sooner?
Well, I haven’t even tested it yet. I didn’t have a way to confirm it. But hey, no time like the present. So let’s give it a try.
I hope we don’t break it…
Let’s unlock Demolisher Blade for Hijiyama.
And it’s now equipped. As you can see, we only have six slots for “Gear.”
Um… I’m still not sure if I get it…
Yeah, maybe this shit will make sense once I actually get to punch somethin’.
Yeah… Let’s get going.
Actually, we’re not going to go just yet. We should review some of the individual details of these Sentinels and upgrade them.
First up, the Meta-System upgrades. From here, we can unlock new Meta-Skills, upgrade the terminal to let us use more Meta-Skills, increase multipliers for our score and Meta-Chips, and increase the level of the Meta-System itself to unlock more gear for each pilot. We can increase the Meta-System Level up to 10.
We’re going to upgrade the Meta-Sytem to level 3.
Sentinel No. 10: Nenji Ogata. First-generation. Defensive Skill: Anti-Ground Multi-Lock Missiles
Starting Gear:
- Rush Attack (POW 800x4, WT 3s) (A fierce double-fisted barrage. Attacks ground kaiju several times.)
- Leap Attack (POW 450, WT 3s) (Leaps toward target area and impacts ground kaiju with a shockwave.)
- Demolisher Blade (POW 80x36, WT 4s, Armor Piercing) (Arm-mounted excavator that slices through ground kaiju in front. Heavy damage. Ignores armor.)
Additional Gear:
- Anti-Air Defensive Flares (POW 10, WT 4s, Lasts 20s) (Spreads numerous flares in the air, obstructing aerial kaiju and missiles.)
- Tackle (POW 500, WT 4s, Requires Meta-System Level 2) (Charges toward target area, knocking away ground kaiju in Sentinel’s path.)
- EMP Attractor (POW 110, WT 3s, Effect 10s, Requires Meta-System Level 2) (An electromagnetic pulse shot halts movement, drops aerial kaiju, and distracts kaiju.)
- Defense Mode (WT 0s, Effect 20s, Requires Meta-System Level 3) (Shifts into Defense Mode. Move speed drops to 1/3 but durability quadruples.)
- Limiter Removal (WT 0s, Effect 15s, Requires Meta-System Level 4) (Removes Sentinel limiter. Durability drops to 1/3, but Attack and Speed doubles.)
- Anti-Ground Multi-Lock Missiles (POW 220x12, WT 6s, Requires Meta-System Level 6) (Unleashes a random barrage of missiles toward ground kaiju within target area.)
- Hyper Condenser (Passive, increases Demolisher Blade EP cost from 150 to 300, Requires Meta-System Level 7) (A modified condenser extends the Demolisher Blade’s range and number of attacks.)
Nenji is basically the top dog of the 1st-generation pilots, and it’s all thanks to his Hyper Condenser, which turns his Demolisher Blade into a buzzsaw that shreds everything in a 270 degree arc in front of him. He’s got some other decent stuff too, but I tend to stick with stuff like EMP Attractor to bring fliers down to him and Tackle to get take care of enemies while moving. I’ve never used Limiter Removal because the attached risk makes me nervous, but I’ve seen it used to great effect by others. I’ve also never used his Anti-Ground Multi-Lock Missiles, because that just feels like missing the point.
In terms of upgrades for him, we give him Tackle, and then upgrade some of his gear to +2 (the maximum is +8).
- Rush Attack +2 (Number of Attacks +0 to +1, Setup Movement +0 to +50)
- Demolisher Blade +2 (Number of Attacks +0 to +4, POW +0 to +6)
- Tackle +2 (Setup Movement +0 to +120, POW +0 to +80)
“Setup Movement” is how far the Sentinel can move while attacking.
Sentinel No. 12: Takatoshi Hijiyama. First-generation. Defensive Skill: EMP Attractor
Starting Gear:
- Rush Attack
- Leap Attack
- Tackle
Additional Gear:
- Demolisher Blade
- Anti-Air Defensive Flares
- EMP Attractor (Requires Meta-System Level 2)
- EMP Surrounding (POW 400, WT 3s, Effect 10s, Requires Meta-System Level 3) (A Sentinel-localized electromagnetic field halts movement, drops aerial kaiju, and distracts kaiju.)
- Defense Mode (Requires Meta-System Level 3)
- Limiter Removal (Requires Meta-System Level 4)
- Counter (POW 400, Requires Meta-System Level 5) (When attacked, immediately counterattacks all ground kaiju near the Sentinel.)
- Composite Ceramic Armor (Passive, Requires Meta-System Level 7) (Immune to attacks dealing 500 damage or less, due to special composite armor.)
Hijiyama isn’t quite as useful as Ogata as a pure damage dealer, but having Counter and Composite Ceramic Armor gives him a powerful niche, especially with EMP Surrounding. He can run into hordes, drop them all, and get out unscathed.
As mentioned earlier, we already gave him Demolisher Blade.
- Demolisher Blade +1 (Number of Attacks +0 to +2, POW +0 to +3)
Sentinel No. 11: Ei Sekigahara. First-generation. Defensive Skill: Anti-Air Flares
Starting Gear:
- Rush Attack
- Demolisher Blade
- Anti-Air Defensive Flares
Additional Gear:
- Leap Attack
- EMP Attractor (Requires Meta-System Level 2)
- Tackle (Requires Meta-System Level 2)
- EMP Surrounding (Requires Meta-System Level 3)
- Limiter Removal (Requires Meta-System Level 4)
- Forced Cooling Device (Passive, Requires Meta-System Level 4) (WT recovery speed increases by 30% due to a powerful cooling device)
- Anti-Ground Multi-Lock Missiles) (Requires Meta-System Level 6)
Ei doesn’t have as strong an identity as the other 1st-generation pilots (probably because he lost his), but Forced Cooling Device is really great and means he can take actions incredibly frequently.
Sentinel No. 13: Juro Kurabe. 2nd-generation. Defensive Skill: Multi Rocket Launchers
Starting Gear:
- Heavy Knuckles (POW 1700x2, WT 5s) (Attacks a ground kaiju 2 times with the Sentinel’s giant fists.)
- Arm-Mounted Machine Cannons (POW 40x33, WT 7s) (Attacks kaiju within target area in front of the Sentinel with machine cannons.)
- Multi Rocket Launchers (POW 150x8, WT 7s) (Fires multiple rockets into target area).
Additional Gear:
- Sentry Gun (HP 3000, POW 900x10, WT 8s) (Places a small railgun at target area. Autofires on kaiju.)
- Guardian (HP 2000, WT 7s, Requires Meta-System Level 3) (Places a Guardian at target area. Acts as a decoy, distracting kaiju.)
- Jammer Rocket Launchers (POW 100x2, WT 6s, Effect 15s, Requires Meta-System Level 5) (Fires rockets into target area. Decreases move speed by 25% and durability by 50%.)
- Anti-Ground Piercing Rocket Launchers (POW 300x4, WT 6s, Armor Piercing, Requires Meta-System Level 5) (Fires piercing rockets at ground kaiju within target area.
- Guardian Avenger (HP 1500, POW 3000, WT 7s, Requires Meta-System Level 7) (Places a Guardian at target area. Acts as a decoy, and violently explodes when destroyed.)
- Plasma Arc Fusion Cutter (POW 220x50, WT 8s, Effect 15s, Armor Piercing, Requires Meta-System Level 10) (Welding tool deals heavy damage to a ground kaiju. Ignores armor and slows movement.)
Juro has some really great options here! Jammer Rocket Launchers in particular are really interesting, being weak on their own but also reducing enemy speed and durability. It’s almost a shame the 2nd-gens are mostly just good for Sentry spam!
Also worth noting that 2nd-generation models are versatile but sloooooow, with long wait times after their moves. They tend to hang in the back and not engage the enemy directly, which is why it’s so weird that their big unlock at the end is the fucking plasma cutter I’ve never once used because it requires you to get up close.
For Juro, we unlock the Sentry Gun armament and increase its level to +2.
- Sentry Gun +2 (Lock-on Distance +0 to +60, POW +0 to +100)
Sentinel No. 15: Iori Fuyusaka. 2nd-generation. Defensive Skill: Jammer Rocket Launchers
Starting Gear:
- Arm-Mounted Machine Cannons
- Multi Rocket Launchers
- Sentry Gun
Additional Gear:
- Heavy Knuckles
- Guardian (Requires Meta-System Level 3)
- Repair Emitter (HP 2000, WT 7s, Lasts 8s, Requires Meta-System Level 4) (Places an emitter at target area. Recovers HP of nearby allies, up to a maximum of 40% HP.)
- Shield Emitter (HP 2000, WT 7s, Lasts 8s, Requires Meta-System Level 4) (Places an emitter at target area. Shields nearby allies)
- Jammer Rocket Launchers (Requires Meta-System Level 5)
- Plasma Arc Fusion Cutter (Required Meta-System Level 10)
Iori is really good at support due to her Repair Emitter and Shield Emitter. She also has Jammer Rocket Launchers to help take down tough foes. But, again, we’re going to be prioritizing Sentry Guns.
Upgrades:
- Sentry Gun +1 (Lock-on Distance +0 to +30, POW +0 to +50)
Sentinel No. 14: Ryoko Shinonome. 2nd-generation. Defensive Skill: Arm-Mounted Machine Cannons
Starting Gear:
- Heavy Knuckles
- Multi Rocket Launchers
- Guardian
Additional Gear:
- Arm-Mounted Machine Cannons
- Sentry Gun
- Shield Emitter (Requires Meta-System Level 4)
- Anti-Ground Piercing Rocket Launchers (Requires Meta-System Level 5)
- Guardian Avenger (Requires Meta-System Level 7)
- Hyper Condenser (Passive, increases Sentry Gun EP cost from 250 to 400, Requires Meta-System Level 7) (A modified condenser allows for 2 Sentry Guns placed.)
- Plasma Arc Fusion Cutter (Requires Meta-System Level 10)
Ryoko is really, really good. She lacks Jammer Rocket Launchers, so you might want to back her up with another 2nd-generation pilot, but her Hyper Condenser is amazing and she’s a good balance of Iori’s support and Juro’s attack focus. If you’re confused as to why that Hyper Condenser is so good, the description is a little misleading. It sounds like it lets you put down a second Sentry Gun after you already have one… but no. The cap on number of sentries is honestly absurdly high and I never once hit it. What it actually does is let you place two Sentry Guns at once. It’s great.
Sentinel No. 17: Natsuno Minami. 3rd-generation. Defensive Skill: 6 Multi-Launching Rapid Cannons
Starting Gear:
- 6 Multi-Launching Rapid Cannons (POW 115x12, WT 6s) (Attacks kaiju within target area in front of the Sentinel with heavy-calibur rounds.)
- Main Battery Heavy Railgun (POW 1750, WT 6s) (Fires a large round directly forward at high speed, through electromagnetic induction.)
- EMP Stunner (POW 5, WT 8s, Effect 6s) (A Sentinel-localized electromagnetic field halts movement and drops aerial kaiju.)
Additional Gear:
- Long-Range Missiles (POW 110x6, WT 6s) (Attacks kaiju within target area with long-range missiles.)
- Stun Knuckles (POW 800, WT 3s, Effect 10s) (Attacks ground kaiju with fist-mounted electromagnetic battering rams, halting their movement.)
- Anti-Air Bombardment (POW 120x12, WT 4s, Requires Meta-System Level 2) (Attacks aerial kaiju within target area in front of the Sentinel with anti-air bombardment.)
- Homing Missile (POW 2000, WT 6s, Requires Meta-System Level 3) (Fires a highly potent homing missile at a target kaiju.)
- Forced Cooling Device (Requires Meta-System Level 4)
- Anti-Ground Hunter Missile (POW 2800, WT 8s, Armor Piercing, Requires Meta-System Level 6) (Fires a highly potent anti-ground long-ranged missile. Hits ground kaiju, ignoring armor.)
- Missile Rain (POW 18x150, WT 6s, Requires Meta-System Level 8) (Rains down countless missiles in a wide area in front of the Sentinel.)
Natsuno lacks Super Large Missile, so she’s unfortunately she’s the least powerful member of the already-situational 3rd-generation pilots. However, that’s not to say she’s not useful. Forced Cooling Device is, again, great, and almost everything she has is useful in some capacity. Except Stun Knuckles. I’ll have to post a gif of Missile Rain at some point, it’s nuts.
For Natsuno, we unlock and equip Long-Range Missiles.
Sentinel No. 19: Keitaro Miura. 3rd-generation. Defensive Skill: Main Battery Heavy Railgun
Starting Gear:
- 6 Multi-Launching Rapid Cannons
- Main Battery Heavy Railgun
- Long-Range Missiles
Additional Gear:
- Stun Knuckles
- Anti-Air Bombardment (Requires Meta-System Level 2)
- EMP Stunner (Requires Meta-System Level 3)
- Main Battery Mega Railgun (POW 3700, WT 6s, Requires Meta-System Level 4) (Fires a large round directly forward at high speed, through focused electromagnetic induction.)
- Anti-Ground Hunter Missile (Requires Meta-System Level 6)
- Missile Rain (Requires Meta-System Level 8)
- Super Large Missile (POW 5800, WT 12s, Requires Meta-System Level 10) (Fires off a powerful missile at a long distance. Can decimate a wide area.)
First things first: Super Large Missile is the strongest single attack in the game, hitting a huge area for massive damage. Miura has that and Missile Rain, making him a serious force all on his own. His unique skill is Main Battery Mega Railgun, which does absurd damage.
Sentinel No. 16: Tomi Kisaragi. 3rd-generation. Defensive Skill: Long-Range Missiles
Starting Gear:
- 6 Multi-Launching Rapid Cannons
- Long-Range Missiles
- EMP Stunner
Additional Gear:
- Stun Knuckles
- Main Battery Heavy Railgun
- Homing Missile (Requires Meta-System Level 3)
- Anti-Ground Hunter Missile (Requires Meta-System Level 6)
- Hyper Condenser (Passive, increases Main Battery Heavy Railgun EP cost from 150 to 250, Requires Meta-System Level 7) (A modified condenser allows for 2 consecutive railgun shots.)
- Missile Rain (Requires Meta-System Level 8)
- Super Large Missile (Requires Meta-System Level 10)
Tomi is powerful, but the only thing she can do that Miura can’t is fire off two consecutive railgun shots thanks to her Hyper Condenser… and that Hyper Condenser is the least useful one in the game, unfortunately. The way I tend to use railguns (fire into mass of enemies), I generally don’t have a need to fire a second time, and even if I do, Miura’s Mega Railgun is already more than twice as powerful as Tomi’s Heavy Railgun. Super Large Missile continues to be amazing, though.
Sentinel No. 23: Megumi Yakushiji. 4th-generation. Defensive Skill: Repair Drones
Starting Gear:
- Arm-Mounted Pulse Lasers (Pow 50x16, WT 5s, Armor Piercing) (Fires laser beams at kaiju within target area in front of Sentinel. Ignores armor.)
- Shield Matrix (WT 6s, Effect 6s) (Places shields on allies within target area, nullifying attacks from kaiju.)
- Flare Torpedo (POW 50, WT 6s, Lasts 10s, Effect 5s) (Deploys a mine at target area. Upon detecting kaiju, it explodes, overheating them.)
Additional Gear:
- Multi-Lock Missiles (POW 45x35, WT 4s, Effect 6s) (Fires a random barrage of missiles at kaiju within target area, slowing their movement.)
- Forced Cooling Device (Requires Meta-System Level 4)
- Shield Repair (WT 6s, Effect 6s, Requires Meta-System Level 5) (Places a shield and recovers 30% HP of an ally.)
- Gravity Missiles (WT 6s, Lasts 6s, Requires Meta-System Level 6) (Fires missiles into target area. Gravitic forces pull kaiju towards the impact zone.)
- Hyper Condenser (Passive, increases Interceptors EP cost from 250 to 400, Requires Meta-System Level 7) (A modified condenser allows for 4 more Interceptor units.)
- Interceptors (4 Units, HP 100, POW 25x16, WT 7s, Armor Piercing, Requires Meta-System Level 7) (Releases a swarm of drones that autofire on kaiju. Ignores armor.)
Megumi is actually really useful on support! Shield Matrix and Shield Repair are both great for defending, Gravity Missiles to pull enemies to a central location for easy disposal works wonders, and she’s got a Hyper Condenser to increase the number of Interceptors she can spawn at once! She’s even got a Forced Cooling Device!
Interceptors are amazing, by the way. The small damage and HP may make them seem weak, but they’re legitimately kind of crazy.
Sentinel No. 21: Yuki Takamiya. 4th-generation. Defensive Skill: Multi-Lock Missiles
Starting Gear:
- Arm-Mounted Pulse Lasers
- Multi-Lock Missiles
- Leg Spike (POW 900x2, WT 4s, Armor Piercing, Effect 6s)
Additional Gear:
- Arm-Mounted Convergent Lasers (POW 260 x4, WT 6s, Armor Piercing) (Fires convergent laser beams directly forward from Sentinel. Ignores armor.)
- Shield Matrix (Requires Meta-System Level 3)
- Flare Torpedo (Requires Meta-System Level 5)
- Counter (Passive, Requires Meta-System Level 5)
- Composite Ceramic Armor (Passive, Requires Meta-System Level 7)
- Interceptors (Requires Meta-System Level 7)
LEG! SPIKE! LEG! SPIKE! LEG! SPIKE!
But for real though, Leg Spike plus Composite Ceramic Armor makes Yuki an absolute beast.
Upgrades:
- Leg Spike +2 (POW +0 to +260, Setup Movement +0 to +70)
Sentinel No. 22: Renya Gouto. 4th-generation. Defensive Skill: Arm-Mounted Convergent Lasers
Starting Gear:
- Arm-Mounted Pulse Lasers
- Flare Torpedo
- Multi-Lock Missiles
Additional Gear:
- Arm-Mounted Convergent Lasers
- Leg Spike (Requires Meta-System Level 2)
- Shield Matrix (Requires Meta-System Level 3)
- Gravity Missiles (Requires Meta-System Level 6)
- Hyper Condenser (Requires Meta-System Level 7)
- Hyper Condenser (Passive, increases Interceptors EP cost from 250 to 400, Requires Meta-System Level 7) (A modified condenser allows for 4 more Interceptor units.)
Gouto and Megumi just have the same Hyper Condenser, but it’s really good so whatever. Gouto’s pretty much just the Interceptors guy. Interceptors all day every day.
- Multi-Lock Missiles +2 (Number Fired +0 to +6, POW +2 to +4)
Sentinel No. 20: Shu Amiguchi. 4th-generation. Defensive Skill: Shield Matrix
Starting Gear:
- Arm-Mounted Pulse Lasers
- Multi-Lock Missiles
- Shield Matrix
Additional Gear:
- Arm-Mounted Convergent Lasers
- Leg Spike (Requires Meta-System Level 2)
- Floating Mine (POW 250x3, WT 5s, Effect 7s, Requires Meta-System Level 4) (Sentinel moves to target area and deploys kaiju-sensitive mines. Overheats kaiju on detonation.)
- Flare Torpedo (Requires Meta-System Level 5)
- Shield Matrix (Requires Meta-System Level 6)
- Interceptors (Requires Meta-System Level 7)
Shu’s unique skill is Floating Mine, which I have never once used. Uhhhh… that’s it?
There’s a couple other ways pilots are differentiated. One of them is in skills, which are not unlocked yet because everyone’s at Level 1.
We also can’t access whatever the hell this is yet.
Well, that’s all the preparation we need. Next time, we’ll actually head into the first stage.