Cathartic Video Game Levels #4

I'm surprised it took me this long to think of this one, since I've been playing it over and over lately.

One of the nice things about Phantom Dust is the Simulator, which lets you replay any level you've already beaten at any time. Generally, this comes in handy because each time you beat a level, you'll receive a skill, so perhaps you get some extra copies of a skill you like, or one you hadn't gotten yet for free, and some money, which can go towards buying more skills or Arsenals. Having already beaten the game, and collected all the skills, that doesn't interest me much. 

Still, I've been playing the mission "Desire to Meet" repeatedly lately, because I just really enjoy it. The mission's set in the Palace battleground (it's actually what's left of a mall), which is a good all-purpose setting. There are two stories, some cover, some destructible terrain, and the sightlines are such that short, medium, and long range attacks are all readily usable. What's nice about the mission is the simplicity of it. There's one enemy, so I don't have to split my focus trying to be aware of where multiple opponents are. I'm not saddled with a partner, so I don't have to rush to their defense, or make sure they don't kill themselves attacking recklessly. It's me against the "red head". It always uses the same Arsenal, so I know which skills to expect, but it'll unleash them at some unexpected moments, so I still have to stay on my toes. 

Still, the fact I generally know what to expect means I can devise certain strategies to go with my skills. I can use Paralyze Barrier to protect myself when it attacks, which freezes it in place for 3 seconds. Then I can run up next to it and use Photon Wave to knock it for a loop while it's helpless. Or I can wait until red head's on the walkway above and try to blast said walkway out from under it. 

There's always my Diabolical Trick Arsenal, where I don't even attack directly. Both the defenses I carry erase skills, I have an attack that can reduce its Level, forcing it to grab more Aura Particles, and Diabolical Trick erases skill capsules that it hasn't picked up yet. Once it's out of those, it's health will drop steadily until it dies. I like using that because most of my Arsenals are just variations on beating it up until it dies, while this is a more indirect approach. 

No posts for the next couple of days, because I'm going to visit a friend. Have a nice weekend.