The first Barabas thread

We all think Barabas is fat, lazy, slow and stupid, but i disagree with that. He used to be an elite striker, and those guys aren't fat, just extremely muscled. He's slow, but he makes up for it by being the strongest lad in the world... instead of having to deal 10 blows to kill someone like ninjas he has enough with one blow!

For him being stupid : not at all... he leads the attack on TCTF HQ, so until his death he's probably Muro's right hand man, who organizes all his boss's plans. Muro seems to be the brains, and Barabas the hands.

Barabas's only stupid act seems to be the fact that he didn't take off with the chopper in the end of level 6... even after his crushing defeat in the beginning of level 2 he still thought he could take Konoko.

It seems unlikely to me that Muro ordered Barabas to stay behind, even after it was clear he was no match to Konoko : why would Muro sacrifice his most important operative ? (of course, the same could be asked about Mukade)

arrogance is not stupidity, but alas, his downfall nonetheless. Twas foolish of him to stand and fight, when he knew that to fly was the proper course of action.



We got into the shakespeare section in school. Don't ask.

He just couldn't take being beaten by a woman and wanted revenge so badly, that he tried it again... but the problem for him was that Konoko was even stronger at that point.

He never stood any chance. Maybe he should've brought 2 valkyrie furies with him, like chicken-Muro.

I agree that they are not slow by themselves, and are probably weighed down by the armour than anything else. It would be rather scary to imagine them using the same moves without the burden of the armour, although perhaps they would have been easier to kill.

What was Barabas's role described as by the TCTF? Was he a Syndicate General or something? If the TCTF labels him as such then perhaps he does have some leadership skills here and planned enough Syndicate attacks to be 'rewarded' with such a level.

But from what we have seen in the game, it is rather hard to determine what his purpose was, and whether or not he took part in the planning or missions (before and during the game) or was just in the missions to intimidate and add difficulty for the opposing forces. Who knows, he might just be like a much more powerful Elite Striker and was chosen by Muro to be the right-hand man just for his strength and not-at-all appealing visage.

In fact, I am itching to say that he appeared in Level 3 and Level 6 just so he could fight Konoko -- the former being to stop or in the least slow Konoko down and the latter being to 'settle the score' -- and that the actual organising of Muro's plans were done by other senior Syndicate officers.

But then in Level 2, we were given a glimpse of Barabas in the introductory cutscene. At this point he does not know about Konoko until Muro mentioned this 'exceptional agent'. Therefore, we can say that his purpose there was not to fight Konoko. Then, what is he doing there? Perhaps there might be some truth in saying that Barabas organises and realises Muro's plans. Still, I have this feeling that Barabas was there just to act as a sort of bodyguard for Muro.

Or he was there to make the threat more real to the TCTF since both Barabas and Muro were there, and then they could set up this 'wild goose chase' more convincingly.

He did warn Konoko that his score with her has yet to be settled when he was first defeated. Barabas could be one that would not take defeat for an answer, and perhaps one who thinks that as long as he does not die, he will not give up. Perhaps that was the reason for that defeat or 'downfall' which Muro reminded him off.

But he could just be there to delay Konoko. Both levels seem to have Barabas serve a purpose: to make sure Konoko does not interrupt Muro's plans, or at least let it go on for a longer time before her intervention. And this assignment gave him the perfect opportunity to battle it out with Konoko again.

I agree, though, that it was especially stupid for Barabas to still think he stood a chance, especially after being weakened in the first battle with her. But sometimes the thought of saving one's dignity can rise above one's rational thinking.

Virumor's signature would be useful here.

WJTW

Well in the end of level 5 Muro tells his pet comguy "I want it. Tell Barabas to retrieve it for me" when talking about Shinatama, so to me this means that Barabas actively planned the assault on TCTF HQ.

Notice that in level 6 Muro doesn't appear anymore, unlike level 2 : i think this was because Muro was nearly caught by Konoko and even he must've become a bit less self-confident because of this...

Barabas was ordered to guard the gate of the Vago Biotech Complex against whatever TCTF troops would arrive. And he served that purpose well, until Konoko arrived...

Of course, Barabas didn't really have any other choice than fight. Notice Muro's threat "See that you are. You know the consequences of failure". But i'm sure Muro wouldn't really like it if Barabas fled from Konoko without even trying to kill her.

Hmm... yes. Barabas didn't go there of his own accord but because Muro wanted him to. As far as we know, the Syndicate had no other reason for assaulting the Headquarters other than to acquire Shinatama.

Although I believe Barabas led the troops, I do not know if he actually planned it. He just does not seem the type who would stand around a map and carefully plan everything. Barabas seems more like one who does the dirty work for Muro and work that requires brute strength. In other words, he executes Muro's plans rather than plans them. The planning could be left to Muro and the senior Syndicate personnel.

Although Muro was interested in acquiring Shinatama, I doubt the acquisition would be that important to require his presence and he probably trusted Barabas to get it done right. Besides, I believe he had plenty to do at that time and could be busy planning the final stages of his plans or on his way to some Atmosphere Processors, awaiting Barabas' 'bounty'.
Still, confident as he is, I don't think he will risk entering a TCTF Headquarters, as lightly guarded as it is.

Somehow I believe Barabas was stationed there to wait for Konoko's arrival (which the Syndicate probably expected); the troops that arrived were just killed to 'kill time' and they could have been easily despatched by the other strikers in the open area.

Indeed. But I doubt Muro expected Barabas to be able to defeat Konoko, though. Still, Muro probably expected Barabas to, at the very least, slow Konoko down to gain more time.

Anyway, when Konoko entered the area and Barabas's 'Let's get it on!' taunt. I wonder if he used the same taunt for every TCTF agent that enters.

WJTW

Maybe Muro was leading the attack on the atmospheric processor whilst Barabas was having fun at TCTF HQ.

Still, even if Muro or someone else planned the assault, i don't think they planned for Barabas to get killed by Konoko.

Well at that point Muro doesn't know anything about who the special agent really is. Or do you think he immediately realized it was his long lost sister and at that point he began his "masterplan" ?

The planners probably didn't, although Muro probably expected it since Barabas didn't get any improvements (and in fact should have been weaker after his first defeat by Konoko) and Konoko was getting stronger. Of course, this assumes Muro knew Konoko was a Chrysalite to begin with, although he probably suspected it already.

We cannot be sure whether he knew anything or not. We have asked ourselves many times when Muro began to know for sure that she was a Chrysalite (and his sister). He could have started suspecting very early in the game, saw the resemblance to himself and then became more certain when she defeated Barabas.

But whether or not he knew anything might not matter since he probably expected her to defeat Barabas anyway, just as before. And even if he had obtained a boss shield, he could still be weaker than before.

WJTW

He first sees her with his own eyes at the end of level 3... when he refuses to let the ComGuy "take her out" (like that would've worked... ). Why did he refuse this, i wonder. I think at that moment he decided to test her in the airport level, not to mention to confront her and see for himself how strong his "little sister" really is.

He probably did not want to waste any time since, like you have said, having the comguy attack Konoko would be next to useless anyway. Besides, Muro has plans to execute and a plane to catch.

Or it could even be because he was worried that by stopping, he would bring to himself harm. Sure, Konoko might not be able to do much harm at that stage, but he might not want to take any chances.

Or it could also be like you have said: he wanted to test how good this 'exceptional agent' really is...

WJTW

Hand to hand, yes. since they where in the van, though, I assume he meant to fire at her with some weapons in it, or turn around and try and run her over.

Looks like Muro, like any big brother, wanted to protect his little sister.... how cute.

Perhaps Muro found it a pity to waste such a good 'talent', or perhaps even wished to get her to join him. Who knows? Perhaps right after Barabas was defeated -- and he realised her potential -- he began thinking of ideas to get her to defect... hmm... do I smell another 'Muro and Konoko' thread coming up?

But it could be as I've said, that he was in a rush and could not waste time dealing with her. Everytime he had a chance to confront with Konoko(or rather, everytime Konoko had a chance to confront with Muro), he would choose to avoid such a confrontation, choosing to let his troops do the dirty work. So it could be that he was indeed hurrying and did not want to be bothered.

Or could he be afraid of Konoko? Well, not exactly afraid but just highly cautious. Even though he probably thought of himself as being more powerful but does not want to risk it.

Or it could just be that when he said that her 'potential is almost as great as mine', he didn't really mean it. No, he was not lying to her and underestimating her. Rather, deep inside him, he probably thought that she had exceeded everything he had done himself(*) but was just too darn proud to admit it.

Heh... quite true. This could be the other reason why he avoided any confrontations with Konoko.

(*) Like the way Konoko slaughtered entire buildings of Syndicate troops, something which even Muro might not have done before except perhaps during his overthrowing of the old Syndicate bosses.

WJTW

Didn't you save that thread ? Maybe it's a good idea to put it up on the forum.

Well i think Muro started the same way as Konoko, as an assassin/enforcer for some random Syndicate boss, so he prolly also went through a lot of killing missions like Konoko, because he took control of things himself.

It's a bit disappointing that there's no battle in level 4... it would've been better if there's was at least some battle, not until the death but just some punches and throws, and some exchanging of one-liners, before Muro continues his 'flight'.

Hmm... fast reply. I was editing my message and the next thing I know your reply was here.

As for the thread, we could start a new one. The old one was a bit messy, to be honest.

It could be. Still, Muro's appearance was sudden to the TCTF so it can be safe to assume that all the missions he had been in were closely guarded, with the witnesses probably all dead...

I was rather cool to see Muro saying that line when I played the demo. I also wished there would be a fight. It could be a good way to demonstrate and back his claim of superiority...

WJTW