#623 Virtual On (ARC) Bosses (2/2): Jaguarandi gameplay.
0Gameplay of the hidden penalty boss Jaguarandi in the arcade version of Sega's Cyber Troopers Virtual On: Operation Moongate.
So, now we reach one of the most unique bosses in existence. You see, Jaguarandi isn't something we've come across before. He's a penalty boss; a type of boss designed to punish the player for straying from the story of the game. When a player chooses a mech, they're supposed to continue with their same mech throughout the entire game. Jaguarandi however, in the story, is a bug which manifests itself when the player changes their mech after continuing. I suspect this was because certain mechs have advantages over one another, and this acted as an incentive for the player to keep trying with the same character, rather than face the wrath of Jaguarandi.
And oh man, it is wrath incarnate. Jaguarandi is a fucking beast. He was made playable in the Saturn port, as well as the SEGA Ages version, but from what I can tell he was toned down in the former. Here, however, he's in his full unbridled power, and it is glorious.
Like Z-Gradt, your vision is obscured a little when playing as him, but it isn't nearly as bad. Like Z-Gradt as well, that doesn't particularly matter as he can lay the smackdown in mere moments. His regular projectiles, if all of them hit, will take off about 60% of the opponent's health. His spreadshot laser, which covers a ludicrous range and distance, will take off about 50% of the opponent's health. He is balls-to-the-wall broken, and designed to piss you off with how bullshit powerful he is. But that's the point of a penalty boss, I suppose.
If a player fights him, and is forced to continue against him, he will actually take on different, weaker forms, implying that he's more of a coin-munching aspect to the game as opposed to really made for a legitimate challenge. That said, he is still defeatable in his first form, and many people have done it.
So Jaguarandi is pretty insanely powerful on the whole. He does have one disadvantage though, and that's the fact that he is slow. Very slow. When playing as him usually, that doesn't really matter, as he's pretty much a hovering tank. When you get to the fight against Z-Gradt however...well, good fucking luck. Beating Z-Gradt requires speed, quick-thinking, and good timing. None of which Jaguarandi reallly has. He also doesn't seem to have his usual damage output when fighting Z-Gradt, which is intriguing. At the very least, you get to see the bad ending which I lamented in the previous video, and see what a nuisance it truly is. But, c'est la vie. This is a pretty badass character in an already brilliant game, so there really isn't too much to complain about.
Next time, we look at a game with a rather unfortunate name.