A Technical Manual on the Gustaff Mk. II

[Fatman X. Jones]

Hey, guys. As some of you may have noticed, I put up a thread of my artwork. In the thread, I mentioned something I would post later, related to a pic there.

A Technical Manual on the Gustaff Mk. II, As Written By Its Pilot Charles 'Fatman' Swanson.

Enjoy this technical look at the Gustaff Mk. II and its weaponry. Additional info will come to light soon.

[Cere]

Neat. Always nice to see more fan creations so I don't understand why not many people seem to comment on them. In your manual, you used a lot of technical terms or fictional weapons that I can't really comment on. One thing that really stood out though was, "Boy, somebody really likes Gurren Lagann." :>

[Fatman X. Jones]

Yeah, it's kind of apparent I'm a Gurren Lagann fan, isn't it? Anyway, I'll take my time to explain a few things in the Manual.

First off, for those not yet introduced to Gurren Lagann, the concepts there are easy to understand.

Spiral Energy is basically the energy of willpower; the will to evolve, the will to survive, things like that. Any human can control Spiral Energy once they learn how to unlock its power. In a broader sense of the term 'human', you'd see Spiral Energy can be used by any being with helixed DNA, so long as they're sapient enough to control the power without being overwhelmed.

Spiral Energy looks visually like a green flame, almost plasma-like in form; it flows like water, dances like flames, blows like wind. Those who build up immense amounts of Spiral Energy manifest the flames in large amounts.

Lagann is a machine called a Ganmen, which is basically Japanese for 'giant face'. It's Exactly As It Says On The Tin; a mecha made of a giant face with arms and legs. They were originally built to fight the Anti-Spirals, the Big Bads of Gurren Lagann.

And now, a little explanation on the other terms used...

Interior Skeleton: Reactive Titanium/Vibranium combination metal framework

Armor: Depends on Armor Plating; Coated with mimetic polymetallic alloy for color changes

We all know what Titanium is, it's a very lightweight and sturdy metal. Vibranium is a metal from the Marvel universe, and is what makes up a majority of Captain America's shield. It's used as an energy dispersant in the Gustaff's skeleton. A 'mimetic polymetallic alloy' is basically a metal made of several different types, with the ability to change what it looks like.

The weapons explanation, now...

* Firebreaker: A sword bearing a striking similarity to Sol Badguy's Fireseal sword. Requires no energy to use.

Exactly What It Says On The Tin. It's a derivative of Sol Badguy's sword from the Guilty Gear fighting games.

* Itano Cluster: A rocket launcher that fires out clusters of mini-missiles that home in and change direction to target opponents.

This one's name came from a nickname for a Macross Missile Massacre, which is basically a bigass missile spam where the missiles curve and home in on their opponents.

* Tera Drill: A drill arm with the ability to expand the drill to ten times its normal size.

Another Gurren Lagann reference. In GL, the drill weapon used my the title mech is called a Giga Drill. Tera is a Metric System prefix, like Giga; Where a Giga is a Billion, Tera is a Trillion. It's larger.

* Magna Crusher: A bomb-launching arm; the explosives magnitize and draw in enemies before they detonate. The explosives can stick to walls and detonate in a number of ways; remotely, proximity, or timed.

Basically the same as the Crusher from MML2, but with a difference; this Crusher can stick to walls and ceilings, instead of just exploding on the floor. It also functions as a Mine of sorts, based on the Goldeneye 007 mines.

* Hyper Shell: Fires out a firecracker that spreads damage over a wide area. Cannot be fired while moving. Slows down movement.

Same as in MML2.

* Remote Charge: Releases a number of mini-sattelites that fire piercing lasers while closing in on enemies; when they are close, they explode.

Same as the Hunter Seeker, but with a different name.

* Shock Vulcan: Fires out rapid electrically-charged bullets that paralyze enemies. The bullets reflect off walls.

Essentially, an electrified Machine Buster/Machine Gun Arm. Name and concept was based on the Dual Vipers from Ratchet: Deadlocked, when equipped with the Shock mod.

* Bulldog: A shotgun weapon that deals spreading damage. Closer enemies take the brunt of the damage.

Based on a shotgun. Not much there.

* Suck Cannon: Fatman's favorite weapon. Sucks up money, energy cubes, and items to be collected. It also sucks in small enemies and crates and stores them in a hypercube; the enemies can then be fired out as live ammunition.

Based on both the Vacuum Arm from MML and the Suck Cannon from Ratchet & Clank games.

* Heavy Bouncer: Fatman's other favorite weapon. Fires out an explosive bomb that releases more powerful explosive bomblets; the bomb and bomblets bounce around before they detonate. Can be reflected off walls.

Also based on a R&C Weapon. Possesses the Reflector Arm's reflective qualities.

* Nitrogen Streamer: A small flamethrower-like weapon that spits out a stream of plasma-form liquid nitrogen. Freezes enemies.

Based on the Liquid Nitrogen Gun from R&C.

* Splitter Laser: The equivalent of Megaman's Shining Laser. Fires out a rapid bolt of piercing laser energy that can be precisely aimed and fired within a first-person view.

ANOTHER R&C-inspired weapon. Effectively based on the various sniper weapons in the game, but with the power of the Shining Laser behind it.

* Harbinger Shot: The Gustaff Mk. II's ultimate weapon. An upgrade to the Beacon Bomb launcher; Fires out mini-rockets that project targets on the ground, which activate large laser shots from an orbital satellite system.

The final R&C-based weapon, based on the most powerful weapon in Ratchet: Deadlocked. The Harbinger/Supernova is basically something that can kill every enemy onscreen. Just let that sink in.

All that's left to break down on the technical manual are the various armor upgrades; all they do is functionally reduce how much damage you take by 33% (Padded Plate), 55% (Mirror Plate), 75% (Linked Plate), and 90% (Aegius Plate).