Pulsing in at the final wavehole takes us to lab module #2 (what happened to #1?) and it's in really bad shape. Most of the hull has been broken open and ripped apart, leaving it completely exposed to the vacuum of space. Following the path of twisted metal and piping we reach a raised platform made of waves, where a voice allows us to ascend because we're apparently no match for him. Seated on a throne is the FM King, Cepheus
◊ (another constellation, and the father of Andromeda in Greek myth).
Well no wonder we haven't seen him until now. Even with that cape I doubt anyone would be able to take him seriously, looking like he does.
Cepheus commends Omega for being the first warrior to reach him, something that not even the AM-ians were able to do. Geo asks him to stop the invasion of Earth, but it seems that the king is absolutely paranoid and thinks that Peace's attempts to contact Planet FM were acts of aggressive. This is apparently nothing new for him, as Omega says, and then he reveals that Cepheus was wrong just now, for he is actually an AM-ian himself. To the surprised Geo he says that yes, he actually does know what it's like to lose what's important to you, and he doesn't want to see Earth end up like Planet AM. Cepheus exclaims that there's no way to stop him and summons Andromeda finally. Andromeda's only purpose is to devour waves and EM beings (though the anime showed that it's just as capable of dealing physical damage to a planet as well) and it happens to look more like a skull than a chained-maiden. It seems to be a reference to both the constellation by way of Cepheus as well as the Andromeda Galaxy. So, it's up to Megaman to take down a giant Planet Eater.
Andromeda
◊
HP: 2500
Element: Normal
Attacks:
- Meteor Shower – A meteor falls on one of Geo's panels for 40 damage.
- Giga Missile – Two missiles fly down random columns for 80 damage.
- Big Bang Eater – Andromeda bites down on the entire field for 200 damage.
Uh oh, even the final boss has been affected by the three-move-limit. This...really takes away a lot of its bite, since the only attack it has that deals significant damage is very telegraphed and blocking is the only way to dodge. I suppose Meteor Shower can force you into one of the missiles' paths, but I have just over 1000 HP right now, so 80 damage isn't going to bother me much.
As for movement, like Duo and Nebula Gray before it the back two columns don't exist as they're taken up by the colossal weapon. However unlike those two Battle Network final bosses, Geo can still step on those missing panels when he's using a Mega Attack to reach. Andromeda itself just drifts back in forth, but occasionally it'll sink low and out of attack range for a few moments.
So, Andromeda's really not all that it's cracked up to be. However, once you knock off half of its health it pulls out a classic final boss maneuver that up until now the network Megaman games have failed to implement: transforming.
Andromeda
◊
HP: ~1250
Element: Normal
Attacks:
- Meteor Shower – Three meteors fall on random panels on Geo's row for 40 damage per hit.
- Giga Missile – Three missiles fly down each column for 80 damage.
- Big Bang Crush – Andromeda smashes the entire field with its fists for 200 damage.
- Nebula Blazer – Andromeda fires a massive laser from one of its palms that covers two adjacent columns for 80 damage.
This isn't all that much better, honestly. Okay, the attacks come more frequently, but they're still pretty unimpressive and weak for the most part. Aside from an additional attack the biggest change is that now Andromeda has a weak point, the glowing green orb. Half the time it will be covered by a shield, though breaking attacks like Brave Sword will cleave right through it and since Andromeda no longer moves it's not difficult to hit it anymore. Sooo, despite all the grandstanding I'm not very impressed with this battle.
The beatdown looks to have been enough to knock Andromeda back down to its skull form, but it's still managing to hold on, and Cepheus orders it to attack again. But since it just got pummeled, with an unearthly wail Andromeda attacks indiscriminately and tries to suck the king into it's maw, leaving Cepheus in the very undignified position of having to hold on to the edge of the platform for dear life. Geo, aided by the memories, specters, what-have-you of his new friends and father, manages to finish off the monster with a Charge Shot.
Alone, Cepheus cannot fathom why he'd been spared. Omega says that while he did want revenge against the king, his time on Earth has given him a “new, optimistic outlook on life”, not to mention that without his warriors or Andromeda, he's essentially powerless. Cepheus starts musing on his life story, apparently fraught with danger since from the moment of his birth people were plotting to delete him and usurp his throne. He admits that it's made his life nothing but loneliness, as what's the point of trusting people if they're just going to turn on you? In fact, this is what led to the attack on Planet AM, and it was actually Gemini that prodded him into going through with it. And the same thing happened with Earth too.
Geo says that he won't finish off Cepheus because his father truly wanted to forge a peaceful bond with Planet FM, so if he did he's be betraying what he stood for. Instead, he says that he'll forgive the king on the condition that he becomes his friend. So here Geo gives a short filibuster on how he's learned that genuine friends and relationships brighten one's life and expands your world (this game came out a few years before The World Ends with You, if you're curious), and Omega seals the deal by convincing Cepheus that Geo doesn't mean him any harm since hey, if he can destroy Andromeda, why would he lie? Not sure I quite follow that train of logic, but what the hey, it works.
The king promises to make amends by changing the FM-ians' society and by rebuilding Planet AM. A voice says that they will offer their assistance and the three Satellite Admins appear, now finally unshadowed. Leo Kingdom reveals that not all of the AM-ians are gone. Just as they took refuge on Earth others escaped Andromeda's fury and are hiding out on other planets. Cepheus pledges to never lose his new, trusting heart, and he and the three Admins bid farewell and leave for parts unknown, Omega electing to stay behind because he wants to stick around on Earth, and anyway if he left, Geo wouldn't be able to get home.
Having saved the Earth and catalyzed the reformation of Planet FM's society it's time for Geo and Omega to head home. And for some reason Peace is starting to break apart. Because of this Geo finds that he's unable to use the wavehole to get back to Dream Island, so he instead takes refuge in a small side-capsule connected to the service module. Apparently Kelvin somehow showed him how a capsule's control panel was laid out, so he's able to figure out how to detach the capsule from the disintegrating space station. Once free he receives a faint transmission over his Transer from Boreal checking in on what's going on out in space as his friends try crowding around the mic. Geo reports that things are okay and that the capsule's on autopilot set to return to Earth, but then Murphy's Law strikes and the capsule is thrown off course due to a programming error. Geo and Omega are thus left stranded, lost in space just as his father is.
What this is leading up to is a scene of Boreal having Geo's friends back on Earth gather at Vista Point, attempting to copy Kelvin's beacon plan by using their Brotherbands to send a signal to Geo that he can follow. Pat's doubtful that he can help as they're not Brothers, but Boreal assures him that bonds are deeper than the Brotherband registry. So everyone holds up their Transer (or guitar in Sonia's case), releasing a beam of light into the night sky that carries their hopes of seeing their friend return safely, as Boreal would no doubt put it.
Back in space Geo's having a dream of his father telling him that he can't give up on seeing his home and friends again. When he wakes up and tells Omega about it, Omega says that you never know, maybe Kelvin really did drop by. At this Geo's Transer starts beeping and starts receiving the signal from Earth as a thin beam of light. He realizes that everyone's been looking for him, and says that it's time for them to go home.
So cue the staff roll. As the credits scroll Geo's escape capsule is shown following the beam of light until it reaches the Earth at the end of the sequence. While the credits are going on, images of the FM-ians as well as Andromeda and the crest of Dragon Sky scroll past, superimposed over their namesake constellations. Once they end Geo narrates that afterward he had to be hospitalized for a few weeks (stellar radiation, no doubt), and the final scene picks up to show everyone meeting in front of his house on the morning of his first day back to school, even Sonia despite not going to Echo Elementary. Hope's none the wiser regarding her son's exploits, so Boreal must have covered up Geo's trip into space somehow. Everyone's relieved that he's safe, Geo gets a bit sentimental, and the kids all depart once they hear the school bell ring. Once they're gone Boreal comments that Geo's like a different person now, and while Copper admits that he still wants to interrogate him on some things (he still doesn't know Megaman's true identity) he says he'll let things slide this time. Hope, finally, addresses her absent husband, glad that Geo finally has friends and has started to take after him.
Lastly, Omega and Lyra are on the house's roof, talking about what they're going to do next. Lyra notes that they're aliens that live inside the hearts of lonely humans, but Geo and Sonia aren't lonely anymore. Omega says that despite that, they're going to be sticking around, as there's bound to be new discoveries and adventures in store for the future.
And that brings us to the end of Star Force 1's story. The Star Force series has postgame content much like Battle Network did, so that will be where we're going next. Appropriately enough it looks like this blog's going to have the same number of chapters as Battle Network 1's did.
Soundtrack
- Vs. Andromeda
- Rather alien.
- The Place You Must Return To
- And just like the first Battle Network game's credit music this track is a softer arrangement of the game's main theme.
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