...Well, that is certainly a map preview. What the hell am I supposed to work with here?
One thing's for sure, this map is going to be the bomb.
Really picking up in the middle of conversation, are we? I suppose that is to be expected of Cyrus. Anyway, what we are talking about is what Isabella was like before we found her.
And that explains the "special interest" in the military. She was intended as less of a human and more of an advisor, using real facts and figures in order to shape what her advice would take. No wonder she wound up "better" at the job than Lin. She breathes the kind of intel she has to gather manually.
Will decides that Isabella now has a personality to call her own. Bold words, but certainly not ones without merit. She has expressed wants for herself- largely Will-centric ones, but wants nonetheless.
That's... basically Will's main goal here. And admittedly, it's a pretty important goal even if he were still commander. Just different reasons here.
Good question. Cyrus could just as easily be walking Will into a trap.
Although given Will has surrendered his main ways to be a threat, I don't know if Will being in a trap would be all that problematic.
Cyrus has decided, once again, to take the path of asking a completely unrelated question in a hope of answering the one asked. One can only wonder what Caulder thought this clone was doing for him.
It's certainly going over Will's head.
Cyrus, as the sort of person who has a whole assembly line of people "just like him" to point at and ask why he's different from them, is much more in tune with the nature/nurture debate than any other character around.
Which is a bit of a problem for the characters who don't have to define themselves by what they're not.
Well, that explains why Cyrus is male in comparison to the other three.
Now, why Caulder is creating female clones at all goes relatively unexplained. Perhaps he just wanted some father/daughter bonding, the way he treats them as identities in their own right and not extensions of himself. It's noteworthy that, while all four of Tabitha, Penny, Cyrus, and Lutaria are all described as "clones of Caulder", Caulder never calls them himself, only by their assigned names.
If he doesn't want to see it, he's not going to see it. He's a terrible scientist.
There's actually a camera cutaway here, but the location banner and background are completely unchanged.
Caulder has an army of clones and he still prefers computers to do his manual labour. Then again, given his clones have enough agency to have demands, I'm sure there would be an expectation they would be paid.
To be fair, if I was Caulder, I would also not trust myself.
Fortunately for our purposes, computers are easier to fool than humans. You simply tell them what they want to hear and they won't think too hard about whether that's what they're meant to see.
Will starting to realise that, if there is a time to spring the trap, now is it.
Surprisingly enough, there is a surprise encounter with soldiers that Will wasn't expecting. Even more so, they're friendly.
For an expert in espionage, you suck at lying. Humour game's on point, though.
Lin decided she didn't want to leave Will to his death, and brought along a small force of units in case of a fight scene.
Hopefully Tasha and Gage can handle everyone else while she's gone.
Crucially, it's also all we get. No production this time. Just like old times.
Will maintains that half-suicidal "I want to be the only one to die" mentality.
Lin dismantles any logical basis for his argument in ten seconds' worth of sentences- Will is not responsible for these people, and they are all willing to risk their lives for Isabella's.
Even Lin seems to have some personal motivation, given she's dug up her smiling portrait.
Will continues to try and weasel his way out of backup.
Cyrus manages to say something relevant to the conversation, for once- pointing out to Will that companions that will take his side unquestioningly are a luxury he should not take for granted.
Unfortunately, Cyrus hurries them off before Will can actually express that he's learned that lesson. More's the pity.
With that conversation over, we get a chance for Tabitha and Isabella to try and engage on... well, some level. It sure won't be Isabella's, given Tabitha's penchants for her father's attention.
Tabitha, finally, actually manages to say something genuinely cruel. It's about time that particular character trait escaped nominal status. With that said, though, this could just as easily be explained by Tabitha's particularly unusual childhood shaping her definition of normal, just as all past lines of dialogue could.
It's just far less comforting to think of that when nothing's stopping Tabitha backing it up this time.
I dunno, I think not rising to the bait is a pretty admirable character trait.
Isabella, for her part, has decided the way she's going to deal with this is to try and appeal to Tabitha's sense of familial connection.
The fact that Tabitha has embraced the nature of the family as clones shows she probably killed that part of herself a long time ago.
Tabitha implies that the lack of connection between herself and Isabella is a "reality" of the word, choosing to ignore that, like everything else that seems to come out of Caulder's ideology, it only comes to the surface because Caulder is anything but an impartial observer.
In addition to not winning her an ally, attempting to appeal to Tabitha's sense of family puts in work to attack her moral framework.
...You know, I think I'm with Isabella on this one. Cloning process might've cooked you a little too hard there.
Tabitha is actually using this as a genuine exposition bomb, and not continuing to torture a metaphor in what might have passed as introspective.
...You know, that does explain quite a lot about how this family turned out. The whole 'unique' nature of each of Caulder's children implies that they're the first of the batch, with all their backups being used for experiments and so on, but having this Tabitha kill "the original" Lutaria and that she could be replaced easily explains why Tabitha and Penny are so happy to kill (they haven't fully learned that killing = death for non-clones) and why Cyrus is so apprehensive about his future (he's the one that cottoned on that it could happen to him).
Tabitha remains much more cruel here, but I think that reflection on how Lutaria and Isabella connect to her formative years helps throw her back into the realm of "this is the result of a very malignant childhood and not a personal choice."
One thing I do have to think about is- is this Lutaria one that Tabitha knew at all? Given how long it took Caulder to notice she was gone, perhaps Isabella is one of the backup Lutarias that hadn't been used yet.
This, of course, raises the question of what happened to the current Lutaria. I'm going to assume she somehow died again. Why is it always the Lutarias? Why haven't we accidentally killed Penny?
...Well, if that's how the other clones learned about right, wrong, and self-identity, no wonder they were so quick to adopt horrible worldviews- they were the first ones they heard, and they let it stick.
Tabitha decides to have some fun with the newly self-identified "nothing".
Problem is, Isabella is so busy defining herself by what she has been told she is that she doesn't have much in the way of insight.
Tabitha decides she has better things to be doing than trying to mess with Isabella's psychological state.
...If you wanted intelligent conversation, I don't think Penny was your sister of choice. She shares a brain cell with that bear of hers and I don't think they share it well.
We're letting Penny fly a plane? All of a sudden I want to be on the ground again.
Tabitha is of much the same mind. We probably have a spare Penny somewhere.
...Wait, they're flying the Great Owl to do what again? I'd assume "bomb us", but given we're not with "us" right now, what the Mayor thinks of this will have to wait.
She may not have absorbed the correct lessons from childhood, but she was definitely the best-grown clone.
Isabella apparently notices us making our boarding onto the Owl. Which makes it impressive Tabitha and Penny don't.
Tabitha did notice Isabella noticing Will, though.
And actually does make an effort to double check. Except not with her eyes, of course.
Penny also delegates the responsibility of asking who's in the room to someone else.
The fact that Cyrus's hacking of all the computers also works on Mr. Bear implies that Mr. Bear is, in fact, a computer. Which would explain a great deal, while also somehow implying that Penny is an iPad baby two years before the iPad's first release.
Tabitha refuses to dignify Penny with the notion that Mr. Bear is deserving of respect.
At least Tabitha doesn't treat Mr. Bear with more respect than she treats Isabella.
Yeah, I don't think that jacket is getting washed until Isabella's brain is. She's keeping that scent as long as possible.
And in this environment, that might actually be a fair while.
We then move on to Penny in the cockpit, alongisde this unnamed woman. This particular IDS Agent has earned herself a reputation equal to Fire Emblem legends like "3-13 Archer" and "Penta-Axe General", but this is mostly a dialogue thing. She is not implied to be involved with the mission's gameplay.
I'd say no one trusts Penny with the plane, but the takeoff is the most important part of the flight. Well, maybe second to landing.
Right. Hello, Penny! You've got quite the stowaway problem.
The IDS Agent starts off her claim to fame by having an entirely appropriate reaction to finding out your plane is filled with hostile tanks.
By fuselage, she means the main body of the plane. Every plane I've ever seen with bullet holes had none in the fuselage, I'm sure it's fine.
Penny has a surprisingly appropriate reaction to the fact that she was fooled.
Another one of the IDS Agent's good lines. Lin hooked us up with the good stuff, apparently.
Let's see what Penny's brought in, then.
There's this weird little panning shot of the Great Owl exterior from a different angle to usual. Probably just showing off.
Here's the battlefield. Thanks to Penny's lack of ability to fly, our formation is a complete and utter mess, and our job is to solve this problem.
This is, strangely, a Lin map, give the fact that this situation is not playing to Lin's strengths at all.
We have a particularly narrow map today, enough so that every single column of the grid is being represented in these two screenshots. The map width can also just barely fit on the screen, given that the margin of error in both these screenshots appears to be 2 squares in either direction.
But yeah, there is a red unit directly adjacent to a black unit all over the map, with no rhyme or reason of what is paired with what, and our first two turns are going to be spent scrabbling for a formation of any description.
There are two types of terrain on this map: 0-Defence "floor of the Great Owl", and four four-tile-long barricades barring passage to any traversal in the middle. This is an exercise in open field combat tactics.
Cyrus will be running the War Room, despite the fact that Lin's here. This might be funnier, though.
...Huh, we did leave him behind on the tarmac? I thought he came with us? He did say "follow me".
There are tanks on this plane, with room to move around, and that's what you question?
Getting bogged down in details is exactly what a war room is for!
...The real question is where Tabitha came from. Unlike Cyrus, she definitely is canonically not on board this plane.
Will maintains his job as the only person in this room who tries to act like this place makes sense.
Just outright saying this place isn't canon, got it.
And telling Will to completely ignore it. I wonder what the developer notes were when writing these things. Why did they decide to take the tack of making them like this in the first place?
Cyrus is correct about one thing here: This battle is won in the first turn. We need to figure out which black units need to be exploded and which red units need to end their turn out of harm's way- and only by correctly answering one question can the other be matched.
Cyrus makes a pertinent observation here, one that will help you significantly with your strategy- on an open-field map, indirects kinda suck. Unlearn your habits and don't prioritise them.
This is crucially important, because Penny will suicide her last tank to give herself the first turn. But also let material still be able to move and give the reinforcements a bloody nose.
Casually yeah, this is the only other Advance Wars mission with conventional reinforcements. It's balanced around them, though.
...I'm less certain what, in specific, this advice is meant to convey.
Hopefully, by this point, you've got good instincts.
Hopefully we see you again in something canon.
First order of business- this rocket will be one of those units we mostly ignore, because it's not aiming anywhere particularly important.
Just as long as we shoot this guy from the south, we're fine.
(The Mech can't escape the anti-tank.)
This is the kind of unit you strike first. Our War Tank will only be conceding first strike otherwise.
I like those numbers. But I think I want to check out other units first.
Starting with this direct attack.
Although I maybe should've considered having the arty shoot first, if I was ultimately going to shoot with it.
Remember how I said indirects suck on this map? Finding out what to do with mine isn't helping.
These tanks are going to cause their own issues, although I found a use for the anti-air. There aren't a lot of the units this guy likes fighting around here.
Denting the rocket is nice for keeping safe around it.
APC is playing defence for the rockets. I think I can make it pretty dangerous next turn.
This Mech really needs a dent, and the recon is the best unit to do it. I don't care about the yellow indicator.
Well, if we can, might as well.
Particularly since the AA is hardly good for these units.
This rocket needs to run away. Fortunately, that is an option.
Someone left Penny in charge of commanding tanks on a plane. This is not going to end well for most of these people.
This War Tank actually does quite a bit. A bit unfortunate, but we still have the other one.
That artillery isn't going to be good, but this just feels bad.
At least they're all ganging up on one unit.
Rocket getting dinked by a damaged tank. It should be fine to take some more shots later.
Oh no, not the Mech!
Seems like a perfect opportunity to land a few blows.
And finish units of our own.
Getting rid of this, mostly, because it's irritating.
Also just able to get rid of this.
These, too. Very nice of the Recon to manage that one.
Whoops. Turns out that the Rocket can't shoot either of the things next to it. Oh well, live and learn.
We have other ways of shooting at these two.
And at least Penny is no better off.
This side doesn't quite feel as good.
Still, I can pay them back in kind.
As promised from the tactics section, Penny is going to get more units. We will not, of course. Where would they come from?
The IDS Agent in peak "yes, I can do that, but..." mode.
Penny has absolutely no regard for the structural integrity of the plane.
...Hey, uh, should we?
One thing to keep in mind, that Cyrus brought up, is that Penny's units will appear as soon as her last unit has blown up, regardless of whose turn it is- or how far into our turn we are. As such, it is in our best interests to leave an indirect alive and position our units such that we can blow up the indirect with one unit and use the rest to handle the reinforcements.
You don't want to leave a tank as the only unit alive. Tanks can blow themselves up on Penny's turn. And you do not want reinforcements appearing on Penny's turn.
There we are, one indirect left.
Time for the next wave.
They just turn up like that.
Dangit, not quite. Oh well.
We can do a pretty solid job with the first volley because we came prepared.
This side? Not so much. But remember, they're rockets on open terrain.
They can be managed.
Although this opening formation can come off strangely.
I wish. This rocket isn't really doing much to carry its own weight here.
May as well have not shot at all.
Oof. I think this is just to avoid some heavy hits.
These two rockets do have targets, I just want them to not sting.
They did.
This side stung less.
She's insatiable.
Still, we're handling this.
I do have to think carefully about the next wave, though- what they do is throw the tanks on the opposite side for the second wave.
So I have some units leave the 2HP Rocket as the last unit.
Before moving the rest of my army over this side.
Slowly.
Joining seems like a good idea, if the low HP units aren't doing anything anyway.
I had hope. But Penny isn't leaving a unit in range of an arty.
Ah well, this one will do.
...Although it would be nice if the arty was in shooting range.
Good thing these rockets are!
...Because I think I need to defensive formation up here.
I'll let these guys come to me. They can't charge at me.
Although I do feel weird bundling up.
These are the last tanks, that anti-tank's days are numbered.
...This is an interesting formation for the rockets, though.
That shot's an obvious one.
The narrow corridors are making this interesting for the rockets.
Things are not going well for IDS.
Not that Penny is prepared to deal with that fact.
That's the tanks resolved.
And the rest is just setting up for round 2.
Funny place to hide a rocket truck.
I think I am going to spent an extra turn on setup, though.
There we go.
The final wave is two rockets- well, six in total, but no more tanks. You might remember these being the less threatening option.
Although this poor anti-air won't be getting much comfort from that.
Anyway, time to pick off all the machinery on this side of the field.
This one went down easy.
Hey, I had the chance, might as well.
Dangit. Oh well, I was more interested in winning.
Now to prepare to turn back around.
We do have some material here, but the good stuff is going to be playing catchup.
And of course, one of them got a shot off.
At least we had some damage we could do.
...Dammit, I thought that AA could avoid the rockets from there. Oh well, it's gone.
We've got plenty more where that came from.
Huh. Penny shot the other one. Well, that does technically make my job harder.
If she hadn't parked the damage rockets in my own rocket range.
And that is the end of Penny's supply of units.
Now then, to seize the really big unit.
...Not actually why we're here, but gonna make it really hard to get away if we don't.
Nifty, perfect technique. And didn't even get penalised for dawdling to manage the reinforcements. Probably baked that time in.
Air units typically have low Vision, so it'd make sense for Lin to avoid them mechanically. But I think that's a different thing. Not sure flying caused the problems here.
Numbers for comparison. That is a lot of rockets.
Also, if you were wondering how I got perfect technique. I don't think it's possible for that Mech to live anyway.
Anyway, time to have some conversations.
...Whoops. Maybe we shouldn't have shot giant cannons around in there.
...So where are we going to land if we do it now?
Clearly not a place Penny wants to be.
Unfortunately for her, it looks like the alternative is becoming a fireball.
...Oh right, we're here for Isabella. Let's get that sorted.
(To remind us all of the real problem, the background audio is an alarm.)
So our starting state is that Isabella is still fully convinced we don't want her around.
Which is not an opinion Will was informed of ahead of time.
We also have that to reckon with while we're here, too.
Will is also going to have to learn this one before he can compose a counterargument. Poor kid.
Fortunately, he's already got a good one lined up: Isabella has value to Will, and Tabitha's claim otherwise is not going to make it any less true.
I wonder if Caulder actually packed some spare Isabellas on this plane. Explains why it's so big.
And presumably, some Luterias found themselves in the trash heap. I wouldn't be surprised if there are some loose Pennies and Tabithas in there, too.
There's enough Luterias to make it clear no copy is safe.
Will, I think you're going to have to have an actual counterargument this time.
Oof, that's a heavy one. Isabella realising the fact that she didn't mourn the Luterias making her think she's a worse human being as a result. I wouldn't even call that a bad reason to doubt yourself.
But Will has other ideas.
Will's feelings for Isabella, and her role on the team, weren't made for Luteria. They were made for the girl in front of them. And that girl replied in kind.
It's not that Isabella has discarded that side of her.
It's just that she puts more value on her worth as a Luteria than as an Isabella right now.
Will believes differently.
...I'd complain about Lin not contributing her own friendship with Isabella, but a) most of that was non-canon anyway and b) she's almost definitely having more fun sitting back and munching popcorn. Just like every other time these two got slightly close to being romantic.
Isabella, for her part, is probably thinking mainly that her abandoning the Isabella part of her life is going to hurt Will, and knowing she's going to have to choose what she values.
And Will settles things by making it explicit that this is a choice she should be making. Is she really doing right by herself by taking Tabitha at her word just because she knew about Luteria ahead of time?
A human will always find itself making the decisions that extend its own lifespan. Most living things work that way.
...Will you dork.
This is your second reminder that the background music has been a blaring alarm.
You've been wanted all game. Will has based decisions on that.
And I think you knew that all along when you decided not to take off Will's old jacket.
That's Isabella back with us.
Now to go back to worrying about the plane.
We're starting from a height of about two kilometres. We're still well above most skyscrapers. For now.
Oh great. Penny's watching the world burn.
Time for Isabella to have a chat with one of the clones Caulder actually likes.
...Isabella also learning everything she knows about deescalation from Will. There's a reason Lin took over when it came to dealing with Greyfield and Caulder.
If nothing else, I'm not sure this girl understands the dictionary definitions of good and evil.
There goes one of those kilometres. We're probably starting to think about colliding with tall structures, had they not been destroyed by the meteors.
Someone probably should.
...We're the same "we're both clones", or we're the same "we're both learning about this whole good/evil thing right now"? Because I have questions about what you thought was going on when Greyfield was around.
...Given how long she's had it, I'd be concerned if that's actually Will's musk. I'd joke about laundry issues, but I think that sort of thing is agnostic to what side is currently looking after you.
Isabella managing to break this one the way Tabitha broke her. Although this was far less a morality thing and more a "she really is six, we need a speech for that age bracket."
At this rate, the next time you talk up, we're going to be at 0 feet.
This unnamed IDS agent has established herself as one of the best characters in this story even without a name by the sheer virtue of the contrast between Isabella and Penny's heart-to-heart chat and her completely reasonable reaction to being on a crashing plane.
It does say a lot that we're spending our time on board a crashing plane by trying to talk ethics to a six year old, though.
Anyway, back to Isabella trying to copy Will, but with a girl who doesn't have a basis in being a real human to call back to.
Being a good girl, to Penny, has taken the form of listening to her father.
Being a good girl, to Isabella, has taken the form of being helpful to her boyfriend and whatever kind of aunt Lin is.
...You know, I wouldn't be surprised if Caulder decided to take out all the parachutes. If Penny's word is worth going on, it sounds like he expected this to happen. Which is why he let the six year old fly it.
Maybe we shouldn't be trying to redeem villains while our lives are in danger.
...I'm sure there's nothing applicable about that sentence.
The best part is? Given what happened to the rest of our protagonists, I don't think we can say for sure whether Penny is dead or redeemed as a result of the game declaring there'll be no more battles with Penny here. Given some of the other recruitments we've gotten, "the game has run out of time for battles" is also a valid option.
Next time: Hopefully we get some more playtime with a Lazurian.
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