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Post by satoh on Jul 20, 2013 13:27:59 GMT -5
Ok so, I started MML2 again recently and I noticed something...
There's a lot of sponsors on the Sulphur Bottom's stage... There's even more people there seemingly for publicity...
So here's my theory...
Bleucher is a dude who is charismatic and good at stretching a little money over a large area and making it look like a lot...like a roll of 1's wrapped in a 100.
What he did, in fact, is use his modest cash flow in an extravagant way, to lure big companies into sponsoring his expedition, meaning he didn't really pay for much of it at all. He spread some cash on public relations, and waited for everyone else to build his ship for him...
Now, this is all conjecture at this point, but lets look at the things we CAN ascertain about Bleucher... He's personable. People hang on his words and he puts on a good show... He's manipulative. He convinces Megaman and Co. to get the 4 keys for him with no real promise of reward... Barrell seems to recognize this in him as he comments multiple times on how Bleucher is getting them into things that aren't really even their business, and implies that this is a recurring theme.
Sometimes it seems like Barrell doesn't really care for Bleucher... but that could just be the tension of their expedition, rather than a distaste for him completely.
So, what do you think? Is Bleucher really a wealthy man, who spent vast riches on his pipe dream expedition, or did he get someone else to do it and make it seem like it was him? Or is he in fact very rich, and STILL got other people to fund his ship so he wouldn't have to?
Any thoughts? Possibilities I missed?
(It's worth noting that there's nothing inherently bad about it if he DID use other people's money to fund it... I mean, it's just how business works... In order to make money, you must find someone with money to take. Money is finite after all.)
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proudone
Miroc
Sokkoban sounds like a Reaverbot. Pushing boxes.
Posts: 54
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Post by proudone on Jul 20, 2013 22:18:31 GMT -5
Well they DID mention that he spent the 'last of his fortune' on building the Sulphur-Bottom. I agree that he probably didn't do it alone but he likely paid a huge chunk of it himself. I actually wonder if the logos you see at the beginning are sponsors at all. What if it's just meant as station branding? Isn't it just the KTOX TV logo and something illegible?
I think that it's a giant plot hole that he even bothers to get Rock and Roll to do his bidding. After all he has come to money by running a digger's business and therefore should have all the manpower and resources to get the keys on his own - and faster. It wouldn't be much of a game if all the work was done for you though. So Capcom's writers were probably in a bind and decided to... not... resolve it!? It's so easy to resolve though!
Make Von Bluecher tell Rock and Roll that he's so completely bankrupt that he can't afford further expeditions - and the game is on! To my knowledge he never tells them anything of the sort so they wouldn't know and I can see both of them objecting to the idea of not being funded by the rich guy.
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Post by Rockman Striker on Jul 21, 2013 13:20:03 GMT -5
If you talk to the man inside Bluecher's house he says this:
If he was a digger or if he used to hire them is not specified, but I bet for the second option, I mean, he doesn't look so rude and he has no mechanical prosthetics.
I've always thought those were his parents just because they're on his home, but probably he sold it to them once he got his ship built, after all, they refer to him by his full name and not by "our son"
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Post by satoh on Jul 21, 2013 21:48:21 GMT -5
On the subject of Bleucher's 'digging empire,' I suspect that he never went in a single ruin... He was Barrell's Roll basically.... (since they did work together) I suppose that opinion reinforces my original thought...
To me he still seems more like a con artist than a working stiff... Not to say he's evil, but rather his weapons are guile and bluffs while his armor is charisma. He's the type of guy who sells things before they're in stock, and uses the profits to get the things he sold.
A statistician... a stock broker... he doesn't get paid for things he's done, rather, he gets paid, and then does things. He doesn't seem like the sort to blow his entire worth on an iron whale.
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Post by BlastMandrill on Jul 28, 2013 6:32:41 GMT -5
Von Bleucher must have been pretty persuasive if that was the case. Why would anyone invest in creating a ship that would travel to an unknown place that has a history of leading diggers to their demise?
I don't know what he could've POSSIBLY said to investors to get them to invest in the creation of the Sulphur-Bottom and fund the expedition.
As for the four keys, I think Megaman and Roll were already self-motivated. After all, everything they have done so far was for finding the Mother Lode, so all Von Bleucher did was give them a lead (Which almost got everyone killed in the end).
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Post by Loken on Aug 13, 2013 1:49:57 GMT -5
This is an interesting thought. I wonder if the Sulpher Bottom itself isn't some what shoddly made. Built to look imposing but isn't all that well engineered. Tron did say that you couldn't fell the wind so it has to well made in that respect but it did get shot down pretty easily didn't it?
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Post by Kyle on Aug 13, 2013 13:41:20 GMT -5
This is an interesting thought. I wonder if the Sulpher Bottom itself isn't some what shoddly made. Built to look imposing but isn't all that well engineered. Tron did say that you couldn't fell the wind so it has to well made in that respect but it did get shot down pretty easily didn't it? That, or the Sulpher Bottom was only able to withstand conventional weaponry by Carbon standards. Geetz's weapons probably outclassed any current armour plating that the Carbons are capable of producing. There's also the fact that the Sulpher Bottom is an exploration vessel, not a warship. There are no known anti-air countermeasures (expect maybe those effin' Janfoden) that the Reaverbots have at their disposal, so even if they do inhabit the Forbidden Island (which they do), the Sulpher Bottom would be out of their reach. It's definitely too big to land, so I'd assume they'd be forced to use smaller airships in order to access the surface. Lastly, it probably took some inspiration from the Titanic. Enough said there.
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RyanLEO
Poh
At the Stripe Burger!
Posts: 415
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Post by RyanLEO on Aug 13, 2013 15:38:01 GMT -5
How was MegaMan even sure what that "white powder" was? I think Bleucher had his own way of bringing in cash. I thought it was more of just a luxury ship since it didn't have any weapons and they didn't even make it to the forbidden island, plus all the excessive fanciness.
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Post by Kyle on Aug 13, 2013 15:42:33 GMT -5
I thought it was more of just a luxury ship since it didn't have any weapons and they didn't even make it to the forbidden island, plus all the excessive fanciness. Gatz and Yuna deliberately sabotaged the Sulpher Bottom in order to prevent if from reaching the Forbidden Island and awakening Sera. It stands to reason to believe that they only did so because it was capable of beating the windy and stormy atmosphere. tl;dr "NOOOOO ENGIIIIIIIIINES!"
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Post by satoh on Aug 13, 2013 17:50:12 GMT -5
I thought it was more of just a luxury ship since it didn't have any weapons and they didn't even make it to the forbidden island, plus all the excessive fanciness. Gatz and Yuna deliberately sabotaged the Sulpher Bottom in order to prevent if from reaching the Forbidden Island and awakening Sera. It stands to reason to believe that they only did so because it was capable of beating the windy and stormy atmosphere. tl;dr "NOOOOO ENGIIIIIIIIINES!" Gatz didn't intend to bring the ship down. It was entirely accidental. Gatz shot the ship down when he was attacking the deck-mounted guns. Yuna even states that she doesn't want them harmed before Gatz begins his assault. Then the ship crashes and Gatz apologizes, seemingly surprised that it was so fragile.... Then again, people have hunted gigantic whales with ordinary harpoons for centuries... Considering the relative sizes and constructions... the iron whale was brought down by an ordinary laser harpoon... oddly fitting... The question is, WHY doesn't the ship crash again when Trigger is Fighting Geetz? Is Geetz just a wimp compared to Gatz? Is the ship built well and Gatz is a MONSTER, or is the ship built poorly and Geetz is a pushover?
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Post by Kyle on Aug 13, 2013 19:25:02 GMT -5
Hmm. Really? Well, sabotaged or not, they were still trying to keep people away from Forbidden Island. As for the Geetz battle, I'd assume the Sulpher Bottom held up because only the roof was being attacked. Gatz must have caused some structural damage during his assault, much like how Volnutt defeated the Gesellschaft in MML1.
Or... I don't know. I was going to say that maybe Capcom decided to phase out the "defensive battles" from MML2, but that'd be untrue. I can remember at least two instances where you need to defend something with its own health bar.
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Post by satoh on Aug 13, 2013 19:41:05 GMT -5
Hmm. Really? Well, sabotaged or not, they were still trying to keep people away from Forbidden Island. As for the Geetz battle, I'd assume the Sulpher Bottom held up because only the roof was being attacked. Gatz must have caused some structural damage during his assault, much like how Volnutt defeated the Gesellschaft in MML1. Or... I don't know. I was going to say that maybe Capcom decided to phase out the "defensive battles" from MML2, but that'd be untrue. I can remember at least two instances where you need to defend something with its own health bar. If you watch the opening, you'll see that Gatz only strafes along the roof and blows up two gun turrets. Then suddenly the engines explode and it goes down. Defensive battles DO suck though...so I'm glad I didn't have to worry about every shot I DIDN'T get hit with, causing me a game over...
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Post by Kyle on Aug 13, 2013 19:45:19 GMT -5
The destruction of those turrets cause internal explosions as well as external ones. It could've easily caused, say, a fire in Block 2.
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