Commander Gore

Commander Gore
Japanese Name	ゴア隊長
Romaji	Goa-taichō
First Appearance	Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey
Affiliation	U.N. Schwarzwelt Investigational Team
Alignment	Neutral
Team	Strike Team (temporarily)
Occupation	Schwarzwelt Investigation Team Commander
Rank	Commander
Ship	Red Sprite
Country	Ambiguous (see Profile)
Japanese VA	Unsho Ishizuka (Redux) Tesshō Genda (Drama CD)

Commander Gore is a character in Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey.

Appearances

• Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey: Major Character, Boss (Meta Race)
• Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey Redux: Major Character

Profile

Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey

The overall commander of the Schwarzwelt Investigation Team. He was originally a military officer serving a large country; the leadership abilities he displayed during his service earned him the top position on the team that now holds the fate of mankind. He commands the Red Sprite directly in addition to overseeing operations on the other three ships.

There is no information on his country of origin but when he greets the protagonist in the USA version, he says, "Another American, eh?" implying that he may also be American. 

Commander Gore would lead the crew in re-establishing vital functions of the Red Sprite and fending off the initial demons that would enter the ship. After the Demon Summoning Program was received, he would reluctantly allow the crew its use in order to defend the ship. Upon learning that a handful of the crew members were taken or fled from the demons in their initial attack, Gore would order the Strike Team out to recover their comrades. Afterward, upon receiving an SOS message from Jimenez, Commander Gore decides he will join the Strike Team due to the lack of ready and able personnel after the initial attacks.

Commander Gore would meet his end at the hands of Orias, the first boss of the game, in a battle at the crash site of the Blue Jet. After a few casualties are taken on the Strike Team he takes Orias on himself, doing enough damage to cause Orias to feign a retreat. In an underhanded move, Orias would sneak up behind Gore and fatally wound him while he is checking on the rest of the Strike Team members afterward. He succumbs to his injuries after Orias is defeated. In his last moments, he implores the protagonist to continue and succeed in their mission, for the sake of humanity.

Gore's first appearance after being revived

After his death, his body is taken back to the Red Sprite and stored in sickbay for the duration of Sector Bootes and Sector Carina, however upon arrival in Sector Delphinus, his body goes missing under unknown circumstances. Gore is later seen again, apparently possessed or resurrected by some spirit, his eyes glowing and dressed in a fine black suit. He reprimands the protagonist for mankind's part in polluting the Earth, stating that its will has been awakened, and that it seeks to take its revenge on mankind. Gore nearly engages the protagonist, but stops short upon sensing something, he then proceeds to leave the area.

He is later encountered in Sector Eridanus, as Ouroboros resuscitates herself. He bemoans humanity's inability to comprehend, on its own, the true glory of the demons, or equal their power.

He is encountered again in Sector Grus and desperately fights Mother Maya's control to regain control of himself.

In his last meeting with any of the crew, he contacts them as they arrive at Sector Horologium and bids them approach Mother Mem Aleph's lair in Horologium B9F. After a few words, they are shunted back to the Red Sprite, much to the joy of the crew. He accepts he is no longer alive, but animated by the power of the Schwarzwelt itself, revealing a bit of the crew's future, should they survive and escape. If the protagonist's Alignment is relatively close to Neutral, he then makes a series of alignment-locking questions to set up the final Sector and the final stretch of the journey; if the protagonist's Alignment is deep into Law or Chaos, he will skip the questions.

In the Chaos path, he proceeds to attack the Protagonist for desiring the Schwarzwelt to consume the world. After Gore is defeated, he laments that mankind's last hope is gone and that the demons will enslave all. The Red Sprite is then attacked by the half-demon Jimenez, who corrupts the minds of the crew members with a power similar to that of the Delphinus Parasite so that they will no longer oppose him, and also be free of the shackles of sanity and self-restraint.

In the Law path, he also engages the Protagonist for his wish of using the Schwarzwelt to convert the world to the Law paradise the angels and The Three Wise Men desire. Upon his defeat, he laments that mankind has been delivered into the hands of the angels who will render all no different than drones. The Red Sprite is attacked by the angel converted Zelenin, who obliterates the crewmen's minds with her song and makes them tools to serve the Lord.

In the Neutral path, he praises the crew for standing up with their beliefs and instead beams the information to destroy the Schwarzwelt to Arthur as well as empowering the protagonist with his "brilliance" before fading away, having completed his mission and set Humanity's defenders upon the right path to defeat both the demons and the angels. This information is used to complete the destruction of the dimension and the crisis on terms favorable to Humanity.

Strategy

Shortly after beginning the investigation of Sector Horologium, Gore returns to the Red Sprite and asks the protagonist a few questions that determines whether they are allied with humanity; if he deduces the protagonist does not have humanity's interests at heart, they fight. If the protagonist is devoutly lawful or chaotic, Gore will not bother with the questionnaire and engage the protagonist anyway. Only by being able to answer his questions in a neutral manner and being neutral aligned will the player avoid fighting Gore, and this will lock them into the Neutral ending of the game.

Gore uses physical and gun attacks (as well as Shadow Attack, which is essentially his version of Disaster Cycle), so protect your team appropriately. The Armor Vest is very useful for the protagonist since Gore cannot exploit its weakness. Rain Strike and Heaven Strike deal random-targeting gun and phys damage respectively. E.N.D. is randomly-targeting physical attack that can inflict fear. Self-Denial heals himself and raises his attack. His most powerful attack, Adaptation, does an immense amount of physical damage, and only targets the protagonist. However, he always telegraphs this with Charge, so when this happens, either have the protagonist guard (physical resistance, on top of having a good amount of health, will also be needed), or throw up a Tetrakarn/Attack Mirror to reflect the attack. Gore himself reflects physical and gun damage, so focus on magic-based demons, especially those who have access to Wind spells, to get as much Co-Op damage on him as possible.

The first time Gore hits 0HP, his Power Overflowing will trigger and restore 7500 HP, but fortunately this only happens once in the battle. This results in you needing to fight through an effective 15,000 HP - more than any other boss in this game barring Mem Aleph's two forms combined, and Lucifer's generals.

Stats

Race Alignment Level HP MP Strength 50 Magic 50 Vitality 40 Agility 45 Luck 48 Meta Neutral-Neutral 65 7,500 ∞ Attack Type Physical, 1~5 hits, Random enemies Reflect Reflect - - - Weak Null Null - Poison Paralyze Stone Strain Sleep Charm Mute Fear Bomb Rage - - - - - - - - - - List of Skills Rain Strike Heaven Strike Self-Denial E.N.D. Charge Silent Prayer Power Overflow Adaptation Shadow Attack

Gallery

Commander Gore as he appears in the Schwarzwelt Reminiscences book. Each print of the book has either the protagonist, Jimenez, Zelenin or Gore on the back cover, meaning getting a specific one was a 1/4 chance.