Neon J.

*"As long as the flag of rhythm stands, I will keep on fighting!"*
―Neon J. to Bunk Bed Junction

**Neon J.** is the charter of the Metro Division and creator of 1010, acting as their manager. He is the true 5th boss in *No Straight Roads*.

## Appearance

Neon J. looks very similar to 1010, but unlike his troops he has a sonar screen for a head. He wears a red turtleneck within a white uniform, paired with white cape with a large fur collar. Neon J. wears several medals pinned to his chest, which he may have been awarded after returning home from the Border Wars.

## Personality

Neon J. has a militaristic, war-veteran-like attitude mixed with the charisma of a pop star. He views the actions of everything, including performances and music, within the lens of battle, and is genuinely confused when others don't see things this way as well, as shown when he demanded answers from Bunk Bed Junction as to what their intentions were and why they did not destroy his factory.

Although he prefers to let 1010 bask in the spotlight, Neon J. has a fairly vocal personality and seemingly enjoys talking about his war stories. He also is protective of his troops.

## Relationships

### 1010

1010 were created by Neon J., who also provides their voices. He treats 1010 like a navy crew, calling them troops, and rebuilding them whenever Mayday and Zuke destroy one or more of them.

### Bunk Bed Junction

When the duo finally engages 1010 in battle, Neon J. is primarily focused on maintaining the performance of the group. Once defeated, he resigns himself to being "finished off" and becomes confused when Mayday and Zuke refuse to do so. Neon J initially begins to express regrets over what he'd done in the name of NSR, but cuts himself short after he realizes Mayday and Zuke are walking away from his dramatic monologue. Indignant, he demands they explain what their goal is if not to destroy his factory and troops, but doesn't receive an answer from Bunk Bed Junction.

## Boss Battle

*"You mess with my troops, you mess with me! 1010 never surrenders! Deploy! Maintain Operation: Party All Niiiight!"*
―Neon J. to Bunk Bed Junction & 1010

### Phase 1

All 1010 androids will fire lasers in sync with the music with the final two shots, fired from Red and White, being parryable. The androids can be attacked at any time, and destroying one member will end the phase. In harder modes, the members will actually aim at Mayday and Zuke and the parry shots can be fired from anyone.

### Phase 2

Neon J. will now show up to deploy new androids of any destroyed band member at the end of a rotation, and any destroyed 1010 android will leave behind a transformable scrap pile.

After being cheered on by the audience, 1010 members will generate a shield around themselves, making them impervious to all but parry attacks. 1010's behavior will alternate between changing their positions and firing lasers at Zuke and Mayday (See audio queues below). After a few firing lines, they'll be ordered to take "to the skies" and come crashing down in a diagonal formation, temporarily losing their shields and leaving them open to melee attacks. They'll repeat the skydive once more in a zig-zag formation, and then move to stand at either edge of the airship. 1010 poses for their fans to recharge their shields, and the cycle repeats from the top. While 1010 poses, the camera is locked in a position and cannot be controlled. Neon J. will then redeploy any destroyed 1010 members, making him open to be damaged by ranged attacks or Mayday's transformables.

For reference, 1010 will be given the orders in this repeatable sequence with audio queues and formations:

* "Fire! 1,2,3,4!" --> "And jam~!" = Change positions (W Formation).
* "Mark targets!" -> "Load and shoot~!" = Shoot.
* "Fire! 1,2,3,4!" --> "And jam~!" = Change positions (V Formation).
* "Mark targets!" -> "Load and shoot~!" = Shoot.
* "Fire! 1,2,3,4!" --> "And jam~!" = Change positions (Backslash Formation).
* "Troops!" -> "to the skies~!" = Divebomb (Forward Slash Position).
* "Fire! 1,2,3,4!" --> "And jam~!" = Change positions (Y Formation).
* "Troops!" -> "to the skies~!" = Divebomb (Zig-zag Formation + Camera Lock).
* "Hold position!" -> "Check, fire~!" = Move to sides (Yellow and Blue left; White, Green, Red right)
* "Ready, routine Echo: Dance!" -> "Oh yeah~!" = Pose for the camera (Recharges sheilds)

NOTE: In harder difficulties, they may choose to do a different formation, such as a straight line. In any case, the order of commands is the same.

### Phase 3

After the flying factory takes enough damage, it melts down and disfigures the 1010 members, revealing their endoskin. This phase acts just like Phase 2, but orders might be switched up depending on the difficulty. Once all members complete a rotation of actions and pose for the camera, the audience becomes scared, causing any remaining 1010 androids to self-destruct due to the negative attention. This phase ends by itself.

### Phase 4

This phase consists of only Neon J. and his transformed factory, now sporting legs and flipped upside down. Its attacks will depend on what color the roulette stops at:

* Red: Neon J. will take out two Red androids with large sawblades and attempt to ram the players in a straight line. In harder difficulties, he aims straight for Mayday and Zuke.
* Yellow: Neon J. will send out a Yellow android that will strike the middle of the stage with a large splash radius. This leaves behind a small patch of Ammo Notes.
* Green: Neon J. will throw carpet bombs made from the Green android's hair in a small pattern. In harder difficulties, this attack covers the entire stage in a pattern. Each bomb leaves behind Ammo Notes short after the explosion. Sometimes this attack is purple and can be parried.
* Blue: Neon J. will do a spin attack with tonfas made from Blue androids, rotating the edge of the arena in a clockwise fashion, starting at the top-left.

There is no action to White, nor does the roulette ever stop at White. Neon J. is only open to ranged attacks, so shooting, parries and some Special Moves can hurt him.

## Story

### Past

As noted in his collectibles, Neon J. used to be someone who created small toy statues, and was noted for both his craftsmanship and resourcefulness. At some point, he enlisted in what he calls the "Border Wars," in which he served for many years. It is unknown whether or not he had been fully human at some point. Neon J. seemingly lost many people in the war, and when he came home he aimed to bring the people of Vinyl City a sense of safety and happiness. With this goal in mind, he created 1010, and eventually used their talents to be recruited into NSR.

### 1010 vs. Bunk Bed Junction

Neon J. first appears after one of the 1010 members is destroyed. He flies down on his factory and creates a new white android, regardless of which one was destroyed. He flies away again after, only reappearing to replace fallen 1010 robots. After his factory explodes, he is not seen again until crashing down after 1010 explodes. After defeating him, he goes on a long tangent about the war and how much he's changed, until he notices that Mayday and Zuke are walking away and not listening to him.

## Gallery

### Concept Art

Neon J's first sketch with pants and boots
### Screenshots

Neon J.'s Mecha vs. Bunk Bed JunctionA mural of 1010 and Neon J. that appears in Tatiana's office.SPOILERS: Neon J seen beside DJSSMia saluting Neon J. in the credits
### Christmas DLC

Neon J. in his Christmas skin.Neon J.'s Mecha in the Christmas DLC.Neon J. defeated in his Christmas version.A frozen mural of 1010 and Neon J. that appears in Tatiana's office.
## Trivia

* Neon J.'s name alludes to 1010. Neon is the atomic 10th Element on the Periodic Table and J is the 10th letter in the alphabet.
* The binary number 1010 is converted to decimal form as 10.
* Neon J's line of dialogue referencing the "All-Kill Protocol" is a reference to a K-pop slang term for a single or album that hits #1 on all 8 Korean charts.
* Neon J.'s organs were preserved in a robotic shell after his injuries in the war, which is why he is considered a cyborg. His voice actor has stated that he thinks 50% of Neon J. is still organic.
	+ His brain is squished inside his monitor, in additional notes.
* Neon J is a dancer. He was in the navy, but his true passion is dancing.
* Neon J was originally supposed to dance on top of his factory, and the factory was supposed to copy his moves. It didn't make it to the final cut of the game due to limited resources, but it was finally implemented in No Straight Roads: Encore Edition.
* Neon J's real name is yet to be found, or at least he doesn't have a real name.
* Neon J claims he was deployed in '68 despite only being in his 40s.
* The achievement gotten by defeating 1010 and Neon with a minimum rank of C is named "Robot Rocked", which is a reference to a song "Robot Rock" by Daft Punk.

## References

1. ↑ Gematsu article revealing original English dub cast
2. ↑ Jeux Video article (French)
3. ↑ NSR's Spanish dub reveal in Rock Rebellion trailer (Desconsolados, Spanish)
4. ↑ Ryuichi Kagehira voices Neon J in the Japanese dub of NSR (Twitter, Japanese)
5. ↑ https://www.twitch.tv/videos/773999889