[Mirrinus]

Let's Play Labyrinth of Touhou Plus Disk - Chapter 5

Spoiler

Adjusting the energy converter's capacity should increase the output limit by 5%...

So I was thinking, since we're going to be working together for a while, maybe we could talk and find out more about each other? I know you were involved with Kanako's industrialization project, but we've never had the chance to talk before. I'm Rin Kaenbyou, but you can call me Orin!

But would doing that cause greater chances of overheating? I still need to test the firing limit too...

Uh, hello? I'm trying to talk to you here. Hey, are you paying attention?

Maybe I should use a liquid coolant system in conjunction with the gaseous release system?

Wow, I know the others have told me you bad at talking with other people, but this is a little ridiculous, don't you think? Here, let me get your attention.

Wha-? Hey, give that back!

Good, finally ellicited a response from you. Now, look around. Where do you think we are?

Surrounded in darkness, a terrifying warmth radiating everywhere, flowers that symbolize death scattered across the floor...is this suppose to be hell?

Ha, I wish! Home was a lot cosier than this! Although, I do like the decor here. And the local wildlife does sort of remind me of home, I guess.

You're a strange one, aren't you?

Well, you're one to talk.

Is it just me, or have the monsters gotten noticably stronger here?

Not strong enough to kill any of us! How's a girl suppose to collect corpses at this rate?

Excuse me?

Well, you see, I'm a Kasha, so I'm suppose to collect corpses before cremation or something.

Well, I'm a Kappa, but you don't see me going around drowning people.

No, but I do see you drowning yourself in your gizmos often enough. Come on, let's see if we can get you to socialize some more!

Hold on. Let me blast these mobs first. Let's see...the extending arm mechanisms ought to do it. Alter the angles by five point eight degrees, then release the holding gears, then...

Ugh...you're harder to talk to than my mistress, and my mistress has that annoying habit of finishing people's sentences for them!

Sorry, I don't really get people...machines tend to make more sense to me.

Well, aren't you just the life of the party.

Oh, knock it off!

Anyway, let's get back on task here. There seem to be many passages blocked off by some sort of magical barrier, but it's a bit too dark to make it out.

What do you suppose that is? We may never know.

My scanners indicate that it's a magical mechanism being controlled by a series of switches held somewhere nearby.

Oh, way to ruin the mystery! You're no fun.

Isn't that was what we were suppose to do?

Something could still be said for dramatic tension, you know.

And you say I'm hard to understand?

Analysis complete. Scan indicates what we need to set the switch mechanism to. There are many other barriers, but we should be able to ascertain which frequency they are set to.

All right, all that's left is to find the switches, right? Shouldn't be that hard in this pitch black darkne- oh, who am I kidding!

Hold on, let me try out this new radar system I just installed.

How in the world do you do that? Where are you pulling all these things from?

Oh, I just make these things as the plot demands.

Huh. You really don't care about maintaining any sort of fantasy or drama, do you?

I prefer to think of myself as a very practical individual.

So, this whole mechanism depends on these silly little colored crystals?

They don't seemed to be marked. The different colors must be significant, but how can we know which frequency they are attuned to?

Can't we just try them all?

Right, like I have the time or patience for that.

Well, I apparently have the patience to put up with you, so...

Okay, can we drop this petty argument? I know you're a very sociable individual, and I'm not, but our differences shouldn't be taking center stage like this.

But...conflict is at the heart of any good story! How can we have an interesting tale without conflict between potential allies?

What? You mean you're just acting like this to make a good story?

Of course, silly! Like I would actually be that mean to you on purpose!

Well, uh, thanks, I guess. You're really weird, you know that?

Aw, thanks, I think you are too! Come here, give me a hug!

Uh, sure...hey, is it just me, or does it feel like it's getting a bit hotter here?

Well, I do have an abnormally high body temperature, but...

No, no, it's not that. It's...something else.

~ Nitori Kawashiro

~ Rin Kaenbyou

Can you believe it? I'm still alive. Sorry that this hasn't been a very high priority for me lately. Anyway, I'm about to leave on a week-long trip for med interviews, so I guess this is my last chance to get something up before I my trip.

Nitori was a low-tier character in 2.04, but in later version of the game, her best attack got a huge change in its damage formula, increasing its output by over 50%. Now she's a top-tier damage dealer, at least on the level of Shikieiki or Flandre, if not better. I knew she got buffed, but I had no idea just how much stronger she was until after starting Team Unappreciated. She's consistantly the best damage dealer for all my battles (except for one later Sigil Guardian boss where I intentionally never used her).

The conventional strategy around Orin used to be that she was good for fighting floor trash due to her strong multi-target attacks, but for bosses she wasn't very good. This is largely due to a misunderstanding over how composite attacks work. It's true that high DEF or MND targets can easily nullify composite damage, but the opposite is true for buffs that raise both ATK and MAG. Thanks to how composite damage formulas work, dual-stat buffs will skyrocket its damage tremendously compared to other attacks. Orin's Blazing Wheel not only has the best composite damage formula in the game, but it also has relatively low delay once you factor in Orin's excellent speed. In addition, Orin's MND growth is remarkably high, giving her good survivability against magic-based enemies and bosses, which are more common in the late game. Finally, while Cat's Walk was often regarded as completely worthless, for this boss battle I found its incredibly low delay invaluable for manipulating turn order and micromanaging my switches.

Speaking of this boss, the Flame Tyrant should be the easiest Plus Disk boss in the game. I say "should" because normally players would steamroll him by exploiting his huge weakness to paralysis. It's not hard to keep him para-locked for the entire battle, making the fight a joke. Someone dared me to fight him without resorting to paralysis, though, and I ended up discovering that this boss is seriously tough if allowed to attack. With a MAG stat nearly three times as high as the previous boss, its attacks do incredible damage even after equipping as much fire resistance gear as I can manage. This was one of the hardest Plus Disk battles I endured; only the 21F optional boss or the 30F bosses could hope to compare.