Nefarious - Part 16 - Sentry-Punching Princess
6The last step to reaching the good ending is right here in this video--though if you don't see this immediately after it goes live, it should be obvious because I had the Good Ending video scheduled for 30 minutes later. Or rather, I guess it's "steps" because you also have to defeat the good ending boss, but the last decision to make is right here.
The Doom Howitzer stage begins as usual...but not long into the conversation between Crow and Becky, the princesses (and prince) interject, saying that they've grown fond of Crow and keep going on adventures together, as they've found it pretty fun thus far. As Mayapple puts it, they're not asking him to stop being a villain, just to be their friend, and even villains have friends. Becky counters that Crow built this WMD, has gathered the princesses (and prince) needed, and that he can't have a change of heart this close to ruling the world.
You have to decide which party Crow sides with. To get the good ending, side with the royalty. (Siding with Becky will get you the same Doom Howitzer fight against Mack that leads to the bad ending.) This causes Becky to take matters into her own hands--she crushes Crow by dropping Maypple's crystal on him, then reveals that she legally made herself a princess, takes Mayapple's spot, and starts up the Doom Howitzer herself.
It's really not out of character for Crow to get second thoughts. As far as villains go, he actually is not as ruthless as he thinks he is. He treats his captives well (as can be seen when characters comment he used the Sovereign's cell for the first time ever when he put Mayapple in there); he participates in sports and racing events with the heroes, princesses, and other characters in the Human Kingdom; he played fair with Apoidea when getting the treasure even though he was in a position to take it all for himself; he listens to his minions and considers their suggestions (even if he mistreats some fo them sometimes); he appears to be nondiscriminatory in hiring minions; and he overall respects those who respect him. He's a villain because that's his family "trade," because he likes to feel like he's bad, and because heroes annoy him. (You see this further in the webcomic, where he is genuinely concerned when characters like Mayapple and Becky are endangered and he goes over to help them.)
With Crow out of commission, who is there to stop Becky? Why, Princess Mayapple of course! She apparently learned some over-the-shoulder carrying techniques from Crow, because now she carries Crow over her shoulder as she takes matters with the Doom Howitzer into her own hands. Then again, she may have a lot of physical strength, considering she annihilated Dr. Cackle's big machine with her bare hands.
Even with that strength, though, she's fighting an uphill battle. Where Hyper Mack failed, she has to succeed. Where Hyper Mack could freely fly around the screen and throw razor shockwave projectiles (sometimes hundreds of them onscreen at once), Mayapple can run, jump, and punch, though at least she controls the same as Crow without the grenades.
The battle against the Doom Howitzer plays out much like the battle using it, in three phases. The first phase is a stationary turret, the second phase has ot moving left and right, and the third phase has the head moving up into space and shooting lasers. (Apoidea is freed in the process and helps Mayapple fly around.) Becky apparently uses the superweapon better than Crow can, though, since she can aim that cannon in the first two phases and can shoot in directions other than straight down in the third.
To get past the first two phases, Mayapple needs to punch the police drones, which fly right to left in a neverending parade, such that they impact with the turret. If this sounds hard, that's because it is, since the drones don't necessarily go where you want them to go, Becky is rhythmically shooting at Mayapple, and you can fall off the ledges. When Becky starts moving, it becomes even more problematic because you have to aim where Becky will be, not where she currently is, AND she can now shoot at more angles, some of which are unavoidable. And when the battle goes up into space, you still have to punch the drones, but now they're tiny and hard to see. (And unlike the battle against Mack, you have to clear all three phases to win.) Becky can also fire the lasers in at least three different patterns, and while they have a warning, they're rather quick.
This is by far the hardest boss battle in this game, which is probably fitting since not only is it the only thing before the good ending (which is typically the hardest route in a video game), this is the only traditional hero vs. villain boss fight.
Somehow, though, I thought I failed more often than I actually did. I've shown you every failure I made. I guess it just takes a long time is all, since my approach is to be cautious and minimize risky moves.