Super Network Wars Omega: Suikoden Pilipinas (also known as just Super Network Wars) is an ongoing Massive Multiplayer Crossover-type Fan Fic written by MoonlightBomber, with some of the earlier chapters written by an acquaintance of his. It's written bilingually — in English and Filipino, in the style of an RPG.
Matthew Luke Laonglaan and Hyacinth Monterola are just typical Childhood Friends — until they realize that they are being sucked into an adventure that will determine the fate of the Philippines, which has just recovered from a devastating war against an Eldritch Abomination who disguised as a human.
The bulk of the adventure rests in the two forming the 108 Stars of Destiny, consisting of several personae from different places and dimensions — and from it, an army (named the Nueva Liga Filipina) which will stop the Eldritch Abomination from wreaking havoc to the Philippines once more.
And their adventure began from just a simple ratings game involving two major Philippine TV networks, ABS-CBN and GMA, which turned into a full-fledged literal war (hence the title).
Think equal parts Suikoden, Final Fantasy, and Super Robot Wars — with a large cast from different works and Real Life, as well as some Original Generation characters, thrown in for good measure.
The story starts in an Alternate History version of the Philippines, in the year 2006.
Currently has 61 chapters (known as "episodes") and six "sidequests". The fic can be read here.
There is also a Visual Novel prequel to Super Network Wars titled Gravure: A Super Network Wars Prelude, which details Matthew Luke and Hyacinth's childhood experiences before they are thrust into this epic adventure. The game can be downloaded here.
Another prequel to Super Network Wars, To Heart: After Remembering the Memories, focuses on the characters from To Heart teaming up with four teen stars (Hero Angeles and Sandara Park being two of them, and who both reappear in Super Network Wars as two of the Stars of Destiny alongside many of the To Heart characters) against an evil politician. The RPG Maker XP-made game can be downloaded here.
A work-in-progress character sheet can be found here.
Super Network Wars uses the following tropes.
- Actor Allusion: Several voice actor jokes spring up in this story — Katie taking up Shana's power, Kyon transforming into Kamen Rider Strike in a radio commercial, and several characters voiced by Yuri Lowenthal being summoned to defeat many Magdalo soldiers.
- Air-Vent Passageway: Some members of the Nueva Liga Filipina have to crawl through this in order to stop the poisons from being administered into the food of the VIPs at the 12th ASEAN Summit, in Episode 27.
- Another Dimension: There are several dimensions brought up in this story — the Advent Void, where Kris Aquino was sent to after her second defeat; a Dream Land where the Blessed Beings and other Spirit Advisors actually communicate with Matthew Luke and Hyacinth; and a dimension where Jeremy was sent to after he was beaten up by Wendy.
- Attack of the 50-Foot Whatever: The Brutalizer, which was summoned by a third party (in the form of a possession spell at first) to mess up the ABS-CBN vs. GMA mecha showdown.
- Battle Couple: Matthew Luke and Hyacinth, which reinforces their Childhood Friends status.
- Beach Episode: Episode 46.
- Bears Are Bad News: Nene Tamayo encounters one in her debut episode, and a boss in episode 36 is an evil polar bear.
- Breaking the Fourth Wall: Done a few times throughout the story.
- Bullet Hell: Used as a Humongous Mecha Combination Attack to finish off The Brutalizer and end the ABS-CBN vs. GMA mecha showdown without either party (and even innocent bystanders) getting hurt entirely (save from a Heroic Suicide Attack from Gozon and Abrera, who didn't want their spirits to be abused after they have realized the error of their ways).
- By the Power of Grayskull!: So far, we have...Matthew Luke: Protagonist Change!Hyacinth: Heroine Change!Hero: Transform into Mysterio!Sandara: Transform into Sohee!Joseph: Transform into Black Gladiator!Angel: Haaaahhhh...Jeremy: QCPD, Emergency!
- Combination Attack: Characters who are related mostly from the series they hail from (though there are other types of relations) have "cooperative attacks".
- Combining Mecha: There are several combined Humongous Mecha, like the Synaesthesia Megazord (the Ren'ai Rangers' first mech), the Tempest Sarimanok (a combination of the Destiny Gundam, Voltes V, Zettai Muteki Raijin-Oh, and an orbital attack satellite), and the Rainbow Serpent (a combination of the GMA transmission tower, several nuclear missiles, and the souls of Gozon and Abrera).
- Creator Provincialism: Goes without saying. Written by a Filipino living in the Philippines, and centered on that country's broadcast networks and personalities.
- Defeat Means Friendship: Happens twice.
- Before Setsumi joins the Nueva Liga Filipina, she has to prove Matthew Luke and Hyacinth's worth in battle.
- And Nene Tamayo has to defeat Forte Stollen in a duel before she can join the Angel Brigade.
- Does This Remind You of Anything?: The opening episode of the third Story Arc, episode 31, features a plastic surgery operation that sounds like you-know-what. It's also a Shout-Out to the first Ar tonelico game.
- In a villainous version, DJ Mo and his three subordinates fused to form the Inquisitor Orphnoch.
- In another villainous version, Wendy Valdez and Bruce Quebral fused to form the Meltigemini Emperoress.
- Gratuitous Foreign Language Title: Besides English and Filipino, the episode titles are written in several other languages.
- Gratuitous Japanese: This is a result of the N3 Collective erecting a "sub-only globe" that forces more than half of the Philippine population to speak Japanese (and having subtitles displayed in English, Filipino, and every other Philippine dialect, making this a supernatural aversion of Reality Has No Subtitles).
- Hate Plague: Sandara suffers from this at first, and Hero accuses Joseph of administering one to her. As the story progresses further, the Big Bad Eldritch Abomination turns out to be a concentrated version of this, born from all the negative energy generated throughout Philippine history.
- In a biological version, the members of the Magdalo Group, as well as other people who oppose President Arroyo voluntarily have their bodies injected with a concoction composed of Orphnoch DNA, Las Plagas, and Makamou DNA in order to amplify their anger and hatred that will be needed to put Arroyo to her knees.
- Hollywood Hacking: The new Robot Maid by Kurusugawa Electronics, HMX-14 Chenelyn, was manipulated by a communist hacker and was then used against her predecessors, Multi and Serio (and the company itself).
- Home Base: Balay Kapatiran ("house of the brotherhood"), the headquarters of the Nueva Liga Filipina.
- Hopeless Boss Fight: Several times in the story. Early examples include Michael V., Genjo Sanzo, and Angel Locsin versus Wilma Galvante; and the Nueva Liga Filipina versus the pirates and, later on, DJ Mo Twister.
- Media Watchdog: The Movie & Television Review Classification Board (the Philippine equivalent of the FCC). It was manipulated by Gozon and Abrera to ensure that anime with even the tiniest bit of objectionable content will never air on TV.
- Nonstandard Game Over: If Matthew Luke loses the duel against Kira in episode 48, he will be killed off by Kira. A week after, Hyacinth announces the dissolving of the Nueva Liga Filipina during Matt's burial, and the fate of the Philippines will be fatally uncertain.
- Oh, Crap!: When Gozon and Abrera realize they're on the receiving end of two Gundams.
- Original Generation: Matthew Luke and Hyacinth, among others.
- Power Creep, Power Seep: Some characters didn't fight in the works they came from — however, due to being sent to the Philippines as a part of the Nueva Liga Filipina, they suddenly know how to fight.
- Powered by a Forsaken Child: The souls of Gozon and Abrera power the Rainbow Serpent.
- Ranger: The Super Sentai / Power Rangers-inspired team, the Ren'ai Rangers, has a team of these. Notable in that the team's six members are all Visual Novel characters.
- The Rival: There are several duos of rivals in this story. In the preliminary chapters, we have Hero and Henry, Hero and Joseph, and Korina and Mel.
- Screwed by the Network: Episode 3 marks the start of the axing of Maria Watches Over Us on ABS-CBN (which also happened in Real Life). This made the anime's characters (especially Sachiko and Yumi, who are later drafted into the Nueva Liga Filipina) very concerned about their job security at ABS-CBN.
- Shout-Out: Lots and lots.
- Sibling Rivalry: Hero and Henry Angeles. At first, Hero blames his older brother Henry for his missed opportunity to dub Voltes V alongside his love, Sandara Park. This rivalry later turns into a Cain and Abel situation, with Henry taking the Cain role.
- The Siege: In episode 53, Balay Kapatiran is invaded by the combined forces of several people who are against President Arroyo and are led by Lt. Trillanes. Since Balay Kapatiran is built out of Matthew Luke and Hyacinth's houses, the childhood friends must defend their base at all costs.
- Storming the Castle: Several times. Places include the offices of Magic 89.9, the ABC-5 compound, Kris Aquino's Shadow Palace (formerly the Metropolitan Theater in Manila), and the Magdalo-occupied Manila Peninsula hotel.
- Stuff Blowing Up: Most major villains get blown up after their defeat, as a major Homage to Tokusatsu in general.
- Tactical Rock–Paper–Scissors: Like in the Suikoden series, duels use this system.
- Take That!: There are innumerable "take that"s directed at several things, like Philippine politics and the All Anime Is Naughty Tentacles stereotype. Basically, if the author feels like doing a "take that", he will do so in any form, even nominating a personality as a villain.
- Episode 58, in particular, is a huge satiric "take that" against those who fetishize Japanese culture.
- Transformation Sequence: Some characters can transform Henshin Hero style (early examples include Matthew Luke, Hyacinth, the Ren'ai Rangers, Hero, Sandara, and Joseph), and thus this trope is applied.
- Troll: In episode 53, the Nueva Liga Filipina's official blog is swamped with these. Due to Reverie's handy advice on IP tracking, the Magdalo Group is found out to be the main source of those trolls.
- Unusual Chapter Numbers: The very first episode of Super Network Wars is numbered zero. Plus, an insert episode which strives to explain the background behind the sending of some of the characters to the Philippines (which is numbered 1.5) was originally published after episode 37.
- Virtual Soundtrack: Some chapters have cues to play a specific song (usually in dungeon exploration parts).
- Virtual Training Simulation: Multi and Serio undergo this in their debut episode.
- What Is This, X?: Matthew Luke scratches his head due to the fact that the Magdalo Group has taken pages from Contra (the fortified entrance of the Manila Peninsula), Doom (the usage of colored keycards to unlock doors), and Wolfenstein 3-D (two German-speaking Magdalo soldiers).
- Your Soul Is Mine!: Trillanes backstabs his allies, Teofisto Guingona and Brig. Gen. Danilo Lim, by sucking their souls dry.
