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Schwartzcough posted:1/35 of the Soldiers? 
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Dec 5, 2011 07:26
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Got a triple update coming this week!Pesky Splinter posted:
Haha I considered recording the poem at first. You nailed down Price's style. Schwartzcough posted:1/35 of the Soldiers? God drat. Elentor fucked around with this message at 14:00 on Dec 5, 2011 |
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Dec 5, 2011 13:52
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Just exactly how many levels does that work on? I lost count at 5.
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Dec 5, 2011 14:36
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Can you break it down for the rest of us?
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Dec 5, 2011 18:06
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Ghost of Starman posted:Can you break it down for the rest of us? -It's a reference to an item in the game -It's a reference to Occupy Wall Street -Cloud was a SOLDIER and maybe there were precisely 34 others (discounting all those SOLDIER random battles) (thanks, Captain Bravo!) -That's it -No, really -Nothing to see here Friend Commuter fucked around with this message at 15:36 on Dec 8, 2011 |
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Dec 8, 2011 15:17
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You missed one! Avalanche has Cloud, Ex-Soldier. Going by the amount of Soldiers we've seen in the updates so far, it's concievable that there weren't more than about 35.
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Dec 8, 2011 15:27
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Captain Bravo posted:You missed one! Well, you can fight Soldier 2nds and 3rds in random battles. So, maybe there were 35 1sts?
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Dec 8, 2011 16:45
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AVALANCHE Probably only found 1/35 of it's original members after the plate collapsed. 
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Dec 9, 2011 16:24
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Cuchulain posted:AVALANCHE Probably only found 1/35 of it's original members after the plate collapsed. Too soon, man.
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Dec 9, 2011 17:40
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Chapter 39 - Vincent, Part II It's time for...  Spooky time!  Alright. We're now inside the very creepy mansion. This isn't the first time we come here, but last time the place was pretty contentless.  Imediately to the left we see this real-time rendered glowing object standing on the ground, so we check it.  It goes without saying it was writen by Hojo. Jesus Christ dude.  There are so many different levels of wrong on this.  So, basically, we have this optional (the game literally tells us so) side-quest to find a "Turk" who's locked in the basement. Sounds exciting.  This is the hints system. Each of the Dials give us a hint to solve the puzzle.  I didn't have the mansion memorized (I never actually got the layout of this place in my brain for some reason) so we're gonna explore it together. In the meanwhile, we're gonna talk a bit about last update, because we do have lots to talk about.  It's usually a huge shock when you first come to Nibelheim and find that the city... is still there. Most people (as pointed in this thread) never find out that the place has been rebuilt. Hojo's letter makes everything incredibly creepy, as the NPCs are just scientists doing their horrible horrible things while pretending to be townsfolk.  Moreover, we're hearing more and more about this "reunion". We saw some of these people in black capes. Do you remember something... familiar? Perhaps slightly related to the thread's title?.  That's right.  The "sick guy" at the slums has a tattoo. He's another one of these "Clones".  At this point we can start to link some things together. Let's play connect-the-dots, shall we?  These clones are obviously people who were created/fabricated by Hojo and co. Whatever was done worked as some sort of lobotomy. They're incredibly damaged and respond to Sephiroth.  And they all talk about this "Reunion", and that they must go to it. That's weird. In fact, that does remind me of something.  Our first hint. This is the "Place with most oxygen" (a bunch of plants). I didn't quite bring this out at the time, but it does seem awfully suspicious of something that happens at rather fairly regular intervals during the game.  I think I need to mention something - this is the hardest dungeon in the game by far up to now. This place can really screw you up if you're unprepared. I told you that this game played completely different the second time over, because of how much is lampshaded all the time. It's fairly hard to figure out the entirety of the plot the first time you play because there are so many things said and done. Almost every line is meaningful in some way.   I'll let you think a bit over the things I just said and linked. For now let's take a look at hint #2 and #3.   And not-so-hidden is the fourth option, which spares us the trouble of looking for it.  We know that something is wrong with Cloud. One too many things. Neither he nor Tifa can remember what happened years ago. Tifa is also hiding something. Right now we don't have enough information to infere what is going on, but everything points out to Hojo also knowing about it.  The ivory's short of tea and ray. It's worth mentioning that the piano can also be played.  There's one thing in common though. Hojo thinks that Cloud is being "called" as if "to go to some place". Reminds you of something?  This is where we start the third hint. Five steps left of the creek takes us here.  Then nine steps up and two steps left.  SCREEEWW YOUUU RANDOM BATTLES!  wait  what  oh Okay. Moving on. We find the last hint on the ground. It says (3) Right 59. Before we go down to the basement we're gonna finish the puzzle by going to the safe at the second floor and input the numbers.  WHAT CAN IT POSSIBLY BE? A boss? A Star Wars reference? A smaller safe inside?  I'd like to mention that inputing the numbers in the right order (you have to get to them and press the button, but you can't get move past them and you have a VERY limited amount of time) is one of the hardest challenges in this entire game.  I can't help but read this in the voice of the When Cheese Fails guys' Fail Stamp.  Once you get it right, a summon materia drops from the safe. Also, there's a boss fight.  Lost Number is by far the hardest boss in the game by the time you reach him, except maybe for Midgar Zolom, but the snake doesn't count officially as a boss. In an unprecedent act, I decided to show you how the boss fight should go traditionally, using only some basic moves. You'll also see how boring it is and why I do gimmick videos:  Lost Number has 7000 Health Points. His gimmick is that once you get him halfway down, he'll transform into one of his sides - if you the last hit before that point is a physical blow he'll become purple and deal only physical attacks (VERY strong attacks mind that) as well as be granted great resistance to normal hits. If you transform him with a magical attack he'll become red and only cast spells. His Spell-casting version is much weaker than his physical version. His normal attacks in Physical form can hit for 400 to 800, and his special attack can hit from 1200 to 2500 depending on your defenses and position. So yes, he can one-shot you even with Big Guard if your gear is not up to date.  Like many bosses, Lost Number is vulnerable to Stop. It's hard to stress how much Aeris trivializes fights, but you can see it for yourself. Between Aeris' 1-1 healing faster than bosses can damage you and 1-2 stopping a lot of hard enemies, there's really not much that can be done to kill you. BOSSES WHO HAVE DONE THEIR GIMMICK AGAINST US BEFORE WE TAUGHT THEM A LESSON IN HUMILITY: 0/14  Once we beat Lost Number we get [Cosmo Memory] from him. Cosmo Memory is Red XIII's Final Limit Break. 4-1 Limits are items that are acquired throughout the game, and you can only learn it once the character has all previous limits, and since we haven't learned all of Red's yet, you won't see it used anytime soon.  We also get [Odin]. Odin is an odd duck. The summon has two different effects depending on the enemy - it eithers deal damage to everyone, or insta-kill.  More importantly, we get the [Key to the Basement], which is our just reward for solving the puzzle.  We go further down the stairway of creepy. The clones outside said that Sephiroth was inside the mansion after all.  The door above was locked when we tried to enter during Cloud's dream, and is the door we can actually unlock now. But before that...   HOLY CRAP WE ACTUALLY CAUGHT HIM.    Cloud was the most irresponsible soldier.  Still disturbingly cryptic but it's a start. We're only now slowly unveiling what this game is about.  And here's something revealing for a change.  Cloud takes Sephiroth literally, but let's be honest here - he's trying to find out the truth we all, deep inside, know. Aeris is an Ancient. Her mother which we barely saw in a flashback was also an ancient, and they all look perfectly human. The ancients are simply humans who were hippie and attuned to the planet. Jenova is a blue woman with an eye-nipple and wings whose parts morph into horrible monsters. She's like the flesh version of Tetsuo the Iron Man.     Sephiroth literally stuns us by throwing a materia at us.   Then fly away.   Well thanks. [Destruct] is, for the most part, useless. It contains the DeBarrier and DeSpell magics which are pretty self-explanatory. It also contains Death on its last level, but Death is an attribute that rarely works in this game in any place we'd find its use relevant (this also applies to the Odin materia).  Well I think the last thing for us to do is opening the door. We earned the key. Let's see this Turk.  Oh no.  No.  Oh God no.  Please make it stop.  Why is there a vampire in a coffin.  Hahaha even Aeris can see through his goth crap.  Jesus Christ.   "I have nothing to say to strangers. Get out." "This mansion is the beginning of your nightmare."  Well, might as well spill the beans, I don't see this conversation going any further.      Now things are getting better.  Cloud takes a pause to explain to him.   This is worded poorly. He means he got to know he was created five years ago, not that he was created five years ago.   Oh for gently caress's sake.   "Hearing your stories, has added upon me yet another sin." Here, I'm not bullshiting you. He really say these things.  Sigh.  As a slightly amusing detail, his coffin closes itself automatically.  I'm not done pestering you. WE WANT NAMES.   There we go! Vincent Valentine is both a reference to Vincent Price (obviously) and to My Bloody Valentine, the terrible band that this game shamelessly promoted for no good reason.    And at long last, I knew our curiosity would pay for it. We now do have a name - Lucrecia, and it all makes slightly more sense now.   Hmm... wait a bit.  Wait.  He's being a little too dreamy about her. Vincent is a tall, pale guy with long straight hair who just happened to be into Sephiroth's mother.  He likes to brood, wear a cape and overall be very angsty with the world. He loves leather.  You know who else fits that bill?   Holy Mother of God      Hahahahahahah I love this poo poo.  Alright, that was a most sick iceburn.  The only way to continue is by leaving after finishing that sequence. He'll get up and talk to us.   I wonder...  How old is Vincent, and what cream does he use to look like he's forever 20.  More importantly, how did he stock that cream? Did he buy wholesale and store in that creepy room he was in? Is this part of his vampire persona?  I think Aeris is even snarkier than Yuffie. It's a very fun character to have for dialogue.  And with that, we welcome our newest member of the group:  Let's cut to the chase - Vincent is a horrible character. He's the second (out of two) optional character and, while he has a lot to add to the plot, he's nowhere as useful as Yuffie in combat.  Remember that weapon we found WAY back in Kalm? It's his Double growth gun. It's an amusingly calculated design choice, because you can't use it with any character. You can throw it, but since it's a Double growth weapon it has lower damage than usual, which puts it on par with the other weapons you have by the time you have Throw. Which puzzles you a lot because it ends up seeming like you missed a character.  Vincent is a strictly ranged character, given his guns preference. So in commemoration of having him in our party, let's change to something more thematic. Next Time: Bosses! Mazes! The most awful-looking mount in the world! Awesome music we've listened to in this chapter: Vincent's Theme - I think it should be mentioned, but this is Vincent's theme, The Nightmare Begins. It fits perfectly. Chapter 39 Bugs & Bytes Lost Number Before you complain that I didn't show Lost Number's Physical form, allow me to show you this, for your viewing pleasure:  This is what happens when you try being too gimmicky about it. I think a "defeat" video was the only way to showcase how strong this boss is in his physical form. For what is worth, I succeeded, but I decided to save the trick for a different boss. It's considerably more amusing. Also, did you pay attention to Lost Number's name? It's vague, but the "numbers" are the clones, suggesting that Lost Number is a sealed experiment that went bad. ???? That Enemy Skill we got is very, very weird. It deals the difference between the caster's (you) Max HP and current HP. Which means the lower your HP, the higher the damage. It has almost no MP cost (3) but as the name implies, it's extremely situational. Did you know that Amano worked on a Sandman novel with Neil Gaiman? 
Elentor fucked around with this message at 14:08 on Dec 17, 2011 |
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Dec 9, 2011 20:02
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The biggest problem with Vincent is his lovely limit breaks. Which is a shame, because I seem to remember one of them being a Frankenstein monster with chainsaw attached to its arm. EDIT: No wait, chainsaw guy and Frankenstein were seperate ones. Both were still cool-looking yet useless.
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Dec 9, 2011 20:25
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This limit break obsession will be the death of you kids.  Vincent has the 3rd highest magic in the game, behind Cloud and Aeris, and 2nd in MP to only Aeris, and he has an endgame weapon with 8 slots and 48 magic, which leads to some overall impressive numbers. Stick him in the back row, give him Sadness (it's thematic), give him Enemy Skill, and let him go to town. Sheesh. Then again about any character can do that. So does it really matter when magic is so blatantly overpowered? ???? is part of my favorite way to defeat one of the bonus bosses, if Elentor doesn't know what I'm talking about I'll try to get a video of it when the time comes.
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Dec 9, 2011 20:40
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Dauntasa posted:The biggest problem with Vincent is his lovely limit breaks. Which is a shame, because I seem to remember one of them being a Frankenstein monster with chainsaw attached to its arm. Even cooler was that his level 4 limit is the final boss from Final Fantasy 1.
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Dec 9, 2011 20:40
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Orange Fluffy Sheep posted:This limit break obsession will be the death of you kids. I have ???? planned to use on a future boss for great amusement, but to be fair I'm not sure what you're talking about. Care to PM me?
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Dec 9, 2011 20:45
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The animations of Vincent's limits are amusing to watch. Jason (remind you of something) spins his head around.
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Dec 9, 2011 20:50
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Orange Fluffy Sheep posted:This limit break obsession will be the death of you kids.
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Dec 9, 2011 20:50
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I remember Vincent's character being cool in the 90s. drat, now I feel old.  Considering how much his character explains sections of the plot, why is it, do you think, that he was made optional? Here's a pretty sweet Pink Floyd-esque remix of his theme. [e]: Elentor posted:Haha I considered recording the poem at first. Forgot to say thanks  -- No problem. VVV Pesky Splinter fucked around with this message at 01:43 on Dec 10, 2011 |
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Dec 9, 2011 21:05
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Pesky Splinter posted:Pink Floyd-esque remix of his theme. That's actually pretty cool. Thanks!
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Dec 9, 2011 21:16
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Yeah, I was going to chime in and say to make him a spellcaster. Of course, spellcasters aren't particularly viable until you get an upcoming enemy skill. Also, his weapons are long-range and he's got several high-accuracy guns which can actually make him a decent attacker, too with the Deathblow materia. So he's not terrible, and I'd say he probably ranks above a lot of the regular cast. As for that ???? Enemy Skill- I found a few good opportunities to use it on my last playthrough... and it always missed. It's a lovely enough spell as-is, and they go and give it either poor accuracy or some sort of flag that enemies can be immune to? Lame. Schwartzcough fucked around with this message at 23:14 on Dec 9, 2011 |
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Dec 9, 2011 21:32
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Vincent makes me think of Wakka from X in terms of combat ability. Thoroughly average but has a ranged weapon.
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Dec 9, 2011 21:56
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Brainamp posted:Vincent makes me think of Wakka from X in terms of combat ability. Thoroughly average but has a ranged weapon. I'm 99% sure Wakka had the best overdrive in the game. Pesky Splinter posted:I remember Vincent's character being cool in the 90s. drat, now I feel old. I do remember when this remix was uploaded. Talk about feeling old.
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Dec 9, 2011 23:10
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Luckily Vince's introduction is the worst of his gothy crap from what I remember. He definitely still has "brooding" as his favorite pasttime, but the moaning soliloquys don't become a habit. Unless you play Dirge of Cerberus, but I'm not sure how that's possible, since that game doesn't actually exist.
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Dec 9, 2011 23:50
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Elentor posted:I'm 99% sure Wakka had the best overdrive in the game. Rikku's overdrive basically breaks the entire game.
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Dec 9, 2011 23:54
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I'm a little surprised that nobody's mentioned that Vincent can fly. Or at least backflip in dramatic slow-motion when desired. But I always kinda liked Vincent. Yes, looking back he loses much of the lustre he had back in the day, but the benefit of hindsight adds to his contribution to the game's storyline. Of course, if we want to derail into some conspiracy theory territory, we could discuss Vincent's relationship to Sephiroth.
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Dec 10, 2011 00:17
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Waterbed posted:Rikku's overdrive basically breaks the entire game. Wakka's is pretty much the only way to take on the game's idiotic Arena bosses. He's unambiguously the best damage dealer once fully kitted out.
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Dec 10, 2011 00:24
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Schwartzcough posted:Yeah, I was going to chime in and say to make him a spellcaster. Of course, spellcasters aren't particularly viable until you get an upcoming enemy skill. We already have Beta and Aqualung. How is instantly ending random encounters not viable.  Besides, Cosmo Canyon sells Ethers. quote:As for that ???? Enemy Skill- I found a few good opportunities to use it on my last playthrough... and it always missed. It's a lovely enough spell as-is, and they go and give it either poor accuracy or some sort of flag that enemies can be immune to? Lame. ???? deals damage equal to HP lost. If your dudes have full HP it won't do anything.
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Dec 10, 2011 00:33
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Orange Fluffy Sheep posted:We already have Beta and Aqualung. How is instantly ending random encounters not viable. Use my precious Ethers?! Surely you're mad! I need to save them along with my Elixers and Megalixers and invicibility potions and whatnot for that boss that might be around the corner! Seriously, though, don't Ethers restore like 50 MP, and most good attack spells take nearly that much or significantly more for a single cast? As for ????, I WAS using it when my characters were nearly dead, and it was still missing.
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Dec 10, 2011 00:36
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Schwartzcough posted:Use my precious Ethers?! Surely you're mad! I need to save them along with my Elixers and Megalixers and invicibility potions and whatnot for that boss that might be around the corner! Seriously, though, don't Ethers restore like 50 MP, and most good attack spells take nearly that much or significantly more for a single cast? Aqualung costs 34 MP, deals more than enough to OHKO random encounters until halfway through disc 2, and is water elemental, which is very rarely resisted. Ethers restore 100 MP, and can be purchased in Cosmo Canyon. They're in infinite supply shortly after Mantra Magic loses its luster. quote:As for ????, I WAS using it when my characters were nearly dead, and it was still missing. code:
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Dec 10, 2011 00:53
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StrangeAeon posted:Of course, if we want to derail into some conspiracy theory territory, we could discuss Vincent's relationship to Sephiroth. Sephiroth totally got tips from Vincent on how to maintain perfect, long, flowing hair, and how to pose dramatically in front of flames. And flying, as you mentioned. And they were former roommates in the Shinra Mansion. They were total BFFs.
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Dec 10, 2011 00:54
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Wait, what, you think Vincent is Sephiroth's dad or something?
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Dec 10, 2011 00:56
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Elentor posted:I'm 99% sure Wakka had the best overdrive in the game. Oh certainly, but in straight-up combat they are the same. No outstanding stats besides accuracy which matters gently caress all beyond the early game.
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Dec 10, 2011 01:18
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Doc Uzuki posted:Wait, what, you think Vincent is Sephiroth's dad or something? You, sir, are in for a TREAT
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Dec 10, 2011 01:44
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I thought Vincent was one of the characters that suffered the most from the expanded universe crap. I found that for an optional character, he contributed a lot to the plot and as a 13 year old I thought he was totally awesome. Through Dirge of Cerberus (ugh) and Advent Children, he kind of became a parody of himself. The same thing happened to Cloud. They both went from being gothy-but-genuinely-badass to being lovely action movie heroes with DARK and TROUBLED PASTS.
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Dec 10, 2011 02:46
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Andante posted:I thought Vincent was one of the characters that suffered the most from the expanded universe crap. I found that for an optional character, he contributed a lot to the plot and as a 13 year old I thought he was totally awesome. It seems fitting to bring up this.
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Dec 10, 2011 02:52
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Gharbad the Weak posted:You, sir, are in for a TREAT But I've played this game. Don't tell me this is some DOC poo poo.
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Dec 10, 2011 03:01
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Doc Uzuki posted:But I've played this game. Don't tell me this is some DOC poo poo. As far as I can remember, DOC didn't mess with Sephiroth's backstory.
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Dec 10, 2011 03:47
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Doc Uzuki posted:But I've played this game. Don't tell me this is some DOC poo poo. No, not quite. You'll see what I mean later. Anyhow, Vincent. I got him to be a completionist, even though I never quite knew what to do with him party wise. His limit breaks are pretty cool, but there isn't really anything he does that someone else can't do better. Except whine, I guess.
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Dec 10, 2011 04:20
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His limits are cool until you use his and then the other 2 members of your party day and you just have to hope you win.
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Dec 10, 2011 04:34
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Dr. Dos posted:His limits are cool until you use his and then the other 2 members of your party day and you just have to hope you win. His limits are cool until you use one when fighting a boss that absorbs the element of his attack and you have no choice but to beat him to death and optionally revive him before he undoes everything you've done up to that point.
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Dec 10, 2011 04:46
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I think the scene where Seph throws the materia at Cloud rather amusing, with a satisfying THUMP to the body. Forget casting spells just make a ball and chain with materia as the ball!
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Dec 10, 2011 04:48
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