Leibniz (assigned the alias "The Nomad Berserker") is a major antagonist in Blaster Master Zero 2 and supporting character in Blaster Master Zero 3. They are the pilot of NORA MA-07 Garuda. Their support droid (named Lucia) was lost during events before the game and they are not seen with a support lifeform of any sort. Their tagline is "Demon of the Interplanetary Battlefield" in Blaster Master Zero 2, and "Demon on the Sidelines" in Blaster Master Zero 3.
Leibniz wears dark-blue-black armor, with purple highlights around their chest, shoulders, head, and legs. Their face is covered by a mask with glowing purple eyes that allows their long grey-silver hair to hang down from behind their head. An energy blade extends from their right arm, which is their main hand for launching attacks. Their off-arm tends to be the defensive one that deploys the Vector Reflector.
Attached to a rope around their neck is a choker, like the ones support droids wear. Close examination reveals great similarities to the one Eve wears.
Near the end of Blaster Master Zero 3’s True Ending, Leibniz is revealed to have a feminine appearance with long, flowing hair and green eyes. On the right eye they have a beauty mark and a scar. They seem to wear a headpiece resembling the ears of an animal, similar to the kind support droids wear.
Personality[]
Leibniz's behavior before the fall of Area G is unknown. By the time the game begins, Leibniz is already fairly broken as a person. They express a great disdain for support droids, referring to them as "dolls" and "puppets", even questioning Jason for holding sentiment for a "defective" such as Eve.
Despite their abrasiveness, Leibniz slightly reveals a fragile interior in Area Ω, when Elfie's appearance (and the revelation that she is no more than a spirit) peels away some layers to reveal a man who hasn't really come to terms with the loss of their partner.
In Blaster Master Zero 3, Leibniz is no longer hostile to other MA pilots and their support droids after coming to terms with the loss of their partner Lucia and is more helpful. Despite this, they are, in Jason's words, "still the same old jerk" as their attitude is still the same; this is best shown when there are no more conversations to talk about, they are kicking Jason in his chair.
As Leibniz spends more time with Jason, they start to become more friendly with him and Jason in turn starts to be more comfortable around them. In the Bad Ending, the two become permanent partners. In the True Ending, their friendship with Jason went so far that they were willing to start a war with the other MA pilots against Kane and the Sophia Force to protect Jason's and Eve's unborn babies.
Plot Role[]
Pre-game[]
Leibniz was once an inhabitant of Area G, piloting Garuda alongside their support droid Lucia. Some time before Blaster Master Zero 2, mutants attacked their home planet, turning it into the planet-sized mutant Planade-G. Lucia became a casualty of battle (though whether this was during or after Planade-G's conception is unspecified), leaving only her collar as a memento. Broken and dispirited, Leibniz wanders the cosmos, attacking anything they come across, be it mutants or even other MA pilots. It is unknown how exactly Leibniz can keep a top of the line MA like Garuda in such good condition despite the loss of their support droid, but it is presumed that they either had the tech savvy to begin with or developed it over the course of their wanderings.
Some time before Jason and Eve land on Planet Stranga, Leibniz flies by and attacks Kanna. While the pilot of Eir manages to fend them off, the encounter ends with Kanna developing the logic of "other MA pilots equals enemies", and she attacks the Gaia-SOPHIA on sight.
Leibniz first shows up in Area D, where they blindside G-Sophia and forces a landing on an unmapped planetoid. Their appearance is marked by them calling Jason an odd one for "clinging" to Eve despite her mutant infection, calling her a "defective doll" and antagonizing Jason. Upon Garuda suffering major damage, Eve will hack Garuda's OS for Planetoid G-1's location, but Leibniz quickly locks her out. They then retreat to Planetoid D-2, lying in wait for the Earthling pilot.
Leibniz next appears on Planetoid G-1, talking about how much he's heard about Jason and mockingly proclaiming "Now you've come all the way out here, to save Area G..." Before their on-foot rematch on Planetoid G-3, they reveal small portions of their backstory, how Planade-G destroyed their home, and how they will break everything Jason has out of some misguided idea of it'd be better for them to take it than to let Planade-G devour it.
Leibniz's next appearance varies depending on whether or not the player has all the Emblems.
Bad Ending[]
Out in space around after Sophia's dimensional tunnel flings the G-Sophia crew across Area Ω, Leibniz intercepts a fragmented distress call from Earth, asking Jason to help against a mutant invasion, but soon cuts out to static. They muse to themself about how alike they and Jason are, now that Jason is also without his partner or his home planet. Their mocking laughter and subsequent silence are the last things witnessed as the game fades back to the title screen.
True Ending[]
Leibniz finds a lone Eve, vulnerable and perfect for scrapping, until they are suddenly interrupted by the appearance of Elfie and Andreia. Shaken by Elfie's revelations (and some of her words cutting deep), they reveal the purpose of the Emblems to Eve, then flies off, stating they have business to attend to.
During the fight with Drolrevo, as Eve starts to lose hope, a transmission comes in from the other MA pilots and their support droids. The other MA teams tell Eve that Leibniz stopped by each of their planets to tell them the G-SOPHIA crew needed their help, and how to use Emblems.
After the ending, where Jason and Eve gaze upon planet Sophia, Leibniz appears in an epilogue. Earth is transmitting a distress call to G-Sophia, but this time it comes through loud and clear. Gazing over the Earth, Leibniz ponders on how none of the protagonists have noticed Earth's plight. They considers the prospect of going to their aid and being "the big hero this time around" in hopes of further pushing Jason's buttons. With a "Let's go...Lucia..." Garuda rockets towards Earth.
During the beginning of Blaster Master Zero 3, Leibniz heads to Planet Sophia on Garuda after saving Earth only to be shot down by the Sophia Force. With Garuda down, the Sophia Force took it to be scrapped, but not before Leibniz escapes with Garuda’s HOMING LASER.
After escaping from the SF, they find Gaia-SOPHIA SV and Jason. They tell him that they installed Garuda’s HOMING LASER while trying to hijack Gaia-SOPHIA SV, as well as trying to pick a fight with Jason. Jason tells them he knows that they were the one who called the other MA Pilots to help Eve and the one who saved Earth in his absence. With Jason refuses to fight them, Leibniz decides to stick around to watch him "suffer." With both of them on the run from the SF and Eve missing, Jason lets them stay as he looks for Eve. Only after Jason receives a garbled transmission from Eve does he realize that she is missing.
After Jason defeats Dual Kirkal, he finds Eve's DNA, which confuses everyone as Eve is a gynoid. With no clear answer they decide to contact Kane Gardner. When they contact Kane, he is shocked to hear that Leibniz is with Jason and they have Eve's DNA. Kane has no idea about Eve's DNA and tells them to find his wife, Jennifer, at the NORA Satellite Zone. The only way for them to get to NORA is from the Mass Driver Facility, as the SF will just shoot them down if they try to fly.
At the Mass Driver Facility, the G-SOPHIA SV crew needs to obtain a disguise Tag from Adminator Z-21 to use the supply cannon to reach NORA undetected.
At NORA, Jennifer then discovers that Eve has become a mutant. Jennifer then tells Jason that Sophinium, the "supposed cure for Eve" he came to Planet Sophia for, can't cure Eve's mutation and he starts to lose hope. Leibniz reminds Jason about Planet Stranga, the one place that is immune to the mutants, might have the cure. This helps Jason back on his feet. Leibniz complains about going back to Planet Stranga as they have bad memories about it.
On their way to Stranga, a mutant Mantipede is interfering with the dimensional tunnel. Before they can continue to Stranga, Leibniz asks Jason if he’ll kill Eve, should she truly be a mutant. This upsets Jason, but he tells Leibniz he'll save Eve before that happens.
When they arrive Planet Stranga, they notice the Planet has changed. After locating the EIR crew, Kanna, Kenwood, and Yacopu, they team up to find the Nu-Nasae Herb. Kanna, still remembering being attacked by Leibniz, has forgiven them. As the two Metal Attackers search for the Nu-Nasae Herb, EIR keeps running in to traps, which annoys Leibniz. When they finally find the Nu-Nasae Herb, G-SOPHIA SV has to protect both the Herb and the EIR crew from the Metal Cerbeboss. The Metal Cerbeboss acutely impresses Leibniz. Before they leave Stranga, Leibniz notices and tells Jason something is wrong with his voice.
Back at NORA, Jason gives Jennifer the Nu-Nasae Herb, hoping for a cure. Leibniz tells Jason not to be too optimistic, which Kane agrees with. Kane tells them that Eve is located at the Forbidden Sector. Jennifer gives Jason the Counter-Barrier and the Elemental Blaster afterwards.
On the way to the Forbidden Sector, Leibniz tells Jason that his voice has changed again. As the G-SOPHIA SV crew heads deeper into the Forbidden Sector, Jennifer informs everyone that Eve has become the Mutant Queen and the mutants are protecting her. Leibniz asks Jason if everything they did for Eve was all for nothing, but Jennifer assures everyone that there is still a chance to save Eve.
When G-SOPHIA SV crew finds Eve, they are shocked to see that Planade-G is still alive as a the Mutant Core, Bloodstained Planade-G. This enrages Leibniz, needing to be calmed down by Jason. Bloodstained Planade-G, backed into a corner, escapes into Super Dimensional Space with Eve. Before the G-SOPHIA SV crew can follow, G-SOPHIA SV breaks down from all the fighting, and Leibniz stays behind due to their armor not made for Super Dimensional Space. If talked to again, Leibniz will tell Jason ''...Don't go dying now, Jason...'' only to claim it was a lie.
Jason frees Eve by finishing Bloodstained Planade-G off with the Elemental Blaster. To everyone's surprise, Jennifer tells them all that Eve is still the Mutant Queen. Kane can't let Eve live as the Mutant Queen, so he prepares to destroy Eve with the SF. Leibniz, realizing that Eve doesn't want to be cured, tells everyone to ask Eve why. Eve tells everyone that if she dies, the mutants will go on a uncontrollable rampage and that she will send them all along with herself to Super Dimensional Space forever. Kane agrees with Eve and makes a deal with her to end the war with mutants. Jason, refusing let Eve go, has to make a choice.
This choice will determine Jason, Leibniz, and Eve's fate.
Bad Ending[]
Jason couldn't reach Eve and was forced to let her go. Afterward, Kane was able to clear the misunderstanding the Sophia Force had of Jason and Leibniz. Several years later, Planet Sophia has decided formed an interstellar union with the other planets starting with ones that were part of the MA Project. Leading this operation is the Sophia Force. During this time both Jason and Leibniz returned to Sophia to help with negotiations. Well the rest of the SF still don’t trust the two, Kane vouch for the two. With Jason and Leibniz help Earth agrees join the Union.
True Ending[]
If Jason does reach Eve, Jason promises her that he will find a way to reunite one day. Afterwards, Kane was able to clear the misunderstanding the Sophia Force had with Jason and Leibniz. It's unknown if the two join the Sophia Force in this ending. Sometime later, Leibniz was able to retrieve the upgraded Rising Garuda from NORA and heads for Earth.
Rising Garuda, facing down Sophia III. Note Leibniz's first and only appearance unmasked to the player.
After Kane and SOPHIA THE 3RD NORA MA-01 "Metal Attacker" get through Gonbei, Eir, and Atom, despite the odds, is confronted by Rising Garuda. Leibniz refuses to tell Kane what he and the other MA Teams were protecting, and claims that they will protect it with all they have. Leibniz is then at last shown unmasked to the player.
Both MA Pilots, refusing to back down, prepare to fight. However, just like the others, Leibniz is no match for Kane and is forced to retreat.
With Leibniz out of the way, Kane goes to battle Jason. Before a victor can be decided, Eve reveals that everyone was protecting Jason and Eve's twin babies, Roddy and Elfie. Jason and Eve, knowing that they can never live in normal space, gave up on having children until Leibniz convinced them and said they will take care of them. Everything that has happened was all Leibniz’s idea as they were the one who called the other MA Teams to help stop Kane.
Off-screen, Leibniz returns to pick up Roddy and Elfie. They tell Jason and Eve that if they couldn’t find a way to live in normal space, they will tell them they were both dead. With this, they took the newborn twins to Earth to start their new life.
Post-Blaster Master Zero 3[]
WARNING
The Hostility Of NONCANON INFORMATION
This article contains information that has not yet been officially incorporated into any Blaster Master game. As such, any information within should not be considered to be strictly true.
Five years after the events of Blaster Master Zero 3, Roddy and Elfie are still shown to be in the care of Leibniz. They have apparently become quite a caring parent, as they are shown going to great lengths to celebrate their 5th birthday. It is implied that they have kept Roddy and Elfie's origins a secret from them during this time, but at last seem ready to divulge the truth.
In addition, the cover art for the Blaster Master Zero 3 original soundtrack depicts Leibniz with a new design, accompanying a now-adult Roddy and Elfie. For the first time, their support animal, Jao, appears alongside them.
Boss Strategy[]
“
Eve: Data analysis complete- His name is "Leibniz".
Jason: Leibniz... He's definitely not looking for a fair fight...!
Eve: None of your Gun Levels seem very effective... Try to focus on BLAST COUNTERS!
Jason: Yeah... But it seems he's looking to counter my attacks as well. If we just counter each other... Running out of CP will cost me.
Eve: In that case, use your ABSORBER on his attacks to recover CP!”
— "Leibniz" Eve Chat (Planetoid D-2 fight)
After initially accosting Jason with Garuda upon Gaia-SOPHIA's first approach to Area D, Leibniz is initially fought in person on Planetoid D-2 and later returns for a rematch on Planetoid G-3. Their boss arena is surprisingly wide for a top-down boss, and he has no qualms about using as much of it as necessary to dispatch the Earthling pilot.
Leibniz's first attack is typically an evasive whirling dash (similar to a properly timed Reflex Striker) to the rear of Jason's previous facing direction before shocking them with a three block-long energy whip. Counter frames pop up just before the whip comes out; Reflex Striker, which is Leibniz's weakness during this attack, is the safer option due to not running right into the whip on execution.
During the rematch on Planetoid G-3, Leibniz pulls out their whip much faster and must be countered with more precise timing; in addition, upon a successful Reflex Striker counter, they will whirl around up to 3 more times in an attempt to catch Jason off-guard. Countering all four whip attempts with R-Striker is required to trigger the boss's weakness.
The melee strike is usually followed by Leibniz withdrawing before throwing an energy chakram. As it is evaded, Leibniz will whirl to its outside and reflect it back towards Jason. At lower HP levels, he'll attempt more and more reflections. The chakram itself can be nulled by Jason's own Absorber and turned into a sizable CP nugget.
During the rematch on Planetoid G-3, Leibniz's weakness to a Vector Reflector reflection during this attack can be exploited to open them up for a counter-attack.
Finally, taking position on either the left or right side of the room, Leibniz will deploy the Vector Reflector, trapping any shots fired at them in a whirlwind for five seconds before redirecting them at Jason. Leibniz is himself invincible during execution (not even entering the field and breaking out the Whip counteracts this), but allows a narrow counter window when dispelling the barrier which is best suited for Shift-Up Attacker, the boss's weakness during this move.
During their rematch on Planetoid G-3, Leibniz will interrupt the cycle at critical levels by calling in a Remote Blast from Garuda. This has a particularly narrow evade window, consisting of either a narrow horizontal or vertical bar in the middle of the screen. Avoid dragging the fight into the corners late.
Leibniz is not weak to, nor can they be stunned by, any of the Blaster Rifle's Gun Levels. As well, the boss is immune to catching fire, but is vulnerable to being shocked and frozen; the ice-element status effect in particular makes it easier for Jason to land sub-weapon hits.
Upon initial defeat, Leibniz will question Jason's motives for not killing either them or their defective Support Droid before surrendering the Vector Reflector to round out the Blast Counter options. Defeating them a second time reveals Area G's planet on the Space Map via acquisition of the Planet ??? Map, granting access to the Planade-G fight.
Related Quotes[]
“
Jason: He's definitely capable of performing a Blast Counter.
Eve: ...... He said that he couldn't protect his planet, or "her"... That choker he has... It must have belonged to his support droid...
Jason: She must have been very near and dear to him. Just like you are to me, Eve. He keeps calling you a "broken doll," but... I think that he is the one...who is truly broken...”
— "Leibniz" Eve Chat (Planetoid G-3 Refight)
Trivia[]
Like Kenwood, Leibniz is one of few characters introduced in Blaster Master Zero 2 to be not a reference to a past Sunsoft game, apparently because Inti Creates felt it was "wrong" to base such an antagonistic character after Sunsoft.
Although Leibniz is not based on a past Sunsoft game they were based on a scrapped design for Jason in Blaster Master Zero.
They are named after the German philosopher Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz. According to the design documents, Leibniz was chosen as a name that has "a strong impact", as well as for another "secret" reason.
Leibniz seems to have had blonde hair prior to the loss of Lucia, as evidenced by a photo in the 5th anniversary wallpaper, as well as a New Year's wallpaper. Additionally, Leibniz's BMZ3 character art has brief hints of blonde, and when Leibniz's face is revealed, their hair briefly flashes blonde. Whether the change in color was due to extreme stress or a deliberate change from Leibniz is unclear.
Leibniz is ultimately nonbinary, with director Satoru Nishizawa stating that "[Leibniz] is an alien, so ... they don't have a set 'gender'." However, Leibniz's gender has historically been a strong source of debate and confusion.
For all of Blaster Master Zero 2, and almost all of Blaster Master Zero 3, Leibniz's face is never shown.
Their waist and neck are noticeably slender; Yuji Natsume remarked this was a conscious design choice to "disguise [Leibniz's] gender".
When finally seen in Blaster Master Zero 3, Leibniz's face and hair were perceived by many fans to be distinctly feminine.
In the original Japanese, a language where one's speaking style is highly indicative of gender identity, Leibniz is portrayed to have a highly androgynous way of speaking. They refer to themself with ボク (boku), a pronoun with a slightly masculine lean.
In the physical Blaster Master Zero Trilogy, Leibniz is voiced by Shouta Aoi. Aoi himself is male, but at the same time, renowned for his ability to portray characters of any gender. Leibniz's voice itself is largely androgynous.
As seen in the Related Quotes section, Leibniz is referred to by Jason and Eve in Blaster Master Zero 2 with masculine pronouns.
In earlier scrapped concepts, Leibniz was designed to be explicitly male, and in the English translation of the Blaster Master Zero 2 design docs, is consistently referred to as "he".
When asked about Leibniz's gender in an interview with ShadowrockZX, Inti Creates localization director Matt Papa replied ambiguously, asking "what do you think?"
Gallery[]
Leibniz's design documents, part 1.
Leibniz's design documents, part 2.
Leibniz's design documents, part 3.
Leibniz's design documents, part 4.
Leibniz's final concept, featuring Yuji Natsume's notes (translation unofficial).
