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Chapter 4.3 - Harmonia Has No Fear Wake up, hero boy. You've got a loooong day ahead of you.   : "Where am I?"Hugo props himself up, and takes a quick look around. I'm not sure how much time has passed since our run-in with the Masked Man at the hideaway, but being unclear on that is probably intended. The whole transition is actually very jarring and disorienting, which is pretty effective in this instance.  Joe is there to greet us immediately, and walks over to our little fire god, who's still a bit out of sorts. : "How can this be? I thought... I escaped from the cave where the Flame Champion was lying and..." : "You fainted, that's all. And you gave us quite a scare! Sana said it could have been because you used your True Rune power... You look exhausted!" Hugo slides to the edge of the bed and sits up properly. As always, pointing it out because it's a good animation. : "I think I remember something... but it's all fuzzy."He doesn't really reminisce for long, though, as there seems to be a bit of a ruckus happening somewhere off-screen.  : "Quite a bit, actually. There's a broad representation of clans out there. Let's see, there's the Karaya Clan, the Lizard Clan, and the ironheads, along with Harmonian mercenaries..." Let's see if we can't fix that, shall we? : "Why are they all here?": "Chief Lucia and Salome, one of the Zexen ironheads, agreed that the conflict was the responsibility of the Harmonian army. Even if it's true, no one will believe it. Especially not the Lizards. Their chief was murdered, you know. They won't be easy to placate." : "................"16. Joe looks to the ground, understanding but disappointed. : "But still..." Joe looks up a bit, impressed. His little duckling is maturing a bit. Also, it's a little blurry because the party menu was about to pop up, as Joe muscles his way into our party at the end of the scene.  Let's see if we can get an idea of what's going on outside.  They must have been arguing really loudly if we could hear them from inside when they're up the hill.   : "We really saw you, with our own eyes! Are you telling us to trust an ironhead's tale before we trust our own eyes?" : "We're doing exactly what the Harmonian army wants us to do. Fight amongst ourselves, so we're too disorganized to fight them!" Cold as ice.  : "We all need our own land to survive. Do you want to hand yours over to Harmonia?" : "The Harmonian army has not invaded for decades. They're afraid of us because we held them back with our hero, the Flame Champion!!"Except, he's dead now.  Deep breaths.  As he approaches, both sides make way for Hugo.  : "Hugo...": "Mom." : "We can never lose now that we have the new Flame Champion with us! Neither Harmonia nor Zexen can defeat us!": "................"16 again.  : "Hear me now! I am the bearer of the True Fire Rune. It's in my right hand. I have taken over the rune left by the hero Iroh, and his spirit as well!"He hesitates. : "I really wanted to be a hero. A powerful one, too!! And I wanted to promise to never repeat the events of that night when I lost my friend Lulu."  : "................" : "You were supposed to be our enemy! But now... after everything that's happened... I think I understand."He hesitates again.  : "And I'm sure the Flame Champion Iroh felt the same way too." : "Harmonia has no fear of Grassland, and..."  Hugo and the others spin around to face the messenger. Whatever Hugo was about to say suddenly doesn't seem as important. : "What?": "Oh no! It's too late!": "Let's move!": "Everyone! Keep up!" The Grasslanders, ever quick to leap into battle, run off without giving their "allies," the Zexens, so much as a second glance.  : "Yes. Let's go." Percy and Salome run ahead, but Chris stops to have a few words with Hugo. : "Hugo, you are overestimating me. I am a knight, and I never hesitate to bloody my sword in battle. Yet... What you said just now rings true as well." She leaves to catch up with the others.  We've got the option of running around before we get to the battle (which we do by talking to Caesar), but there's not much to see.  Largely unnecessary, but I decided to at least put together a party before we rush off. Also, hey, Jimba is available.  Speaking of Jimba, the bastard still won't use his True Rune.  That's a pretty great Water Magic rank, though.  : "Yep!"Our strategist grins in response.  : "All right. I won't stop you, Flame Champion. But do be careful... this isn't going to be an easy battle, you know."Indeed.  I hope you like strategy battles, because there are quite a few coming up.  I like that victory condition. Nice and straight-forward.  Naturally, the Grasslanders are the first to pop up on the map. : "Oh! Oh!": "Dupa, let's not be careless.": "They've been frightened of us for dozens of years. We have no reason to fear them now!" Next, the enemy units show up.  : "That's a very sad army, if you can even call it an army!" And so it begins. I spread out my army as much as possible, so that we have plenty of room to retreat or forge ahead if we need to. As far as our units go, we've got Shiba, Dupa, Bazba, Lucia, and Beecham all in charge of their own units. They've all got standard mooks with them, as well. For the moment, our enemy has three generic units, with Yuber and Albert fronting the other two. They spread out as well on their turn.  At the beginning of our turn, we get a few new units popping up, those being Chris' and Salome's units. : "Follow Captain Chris!": "We thought you ran away.": "No such coward exists among our knights.": "Never mind that now. Just be sure not to have any accidents."Unlike the Grassland units, Chris and Salome come packing actual viable units in their ranks, with Chris having Borus, Roland, and Louis (in support), and Salome having Leo and Percival.  I slide some of my units back so that the spot Bazba was in became open, in hopes they would come to me.  And so they did. As Caesar said, this battle isn't easy. We're at a huge disadvantage just in terms of numbers -- all their units are full while none of ours are -- but the Harmonian soldiers are also well armed and armored. On top of that, most of these units are ones that we haven't actually had access to. I'm not sure if this happens to you guys too, but having units I'm not used to tends to throw me off because I feel like I don't know what they're capable of. A good example of this is when I try to play Fire Emblem on a friend's copy, and find myself going to my fallback units, who may or may not be as good as my versions.  Yeah, uh. This is gonna hurt.  We, on the other hand, aren't doing very well. Beecham is doing about half the damage the Harmonians are, and the generics are only hitting for about 30.  We're gonna be pretty cautious with this battle. Expect a lot of retreating, as well as a lot of our generics going down.  Like this: Yuber attacked Dupa, and there is no way I am staying to find out what fun things he wants to do to my lizards. As a point of reference, though, in a practice run he managed to take out Shiba's entire unit in just over a turn.   : "It's only to be expected. Those are our orders from the top."After the Harmonians end their turn, a few new faces pop up.  A few more retreats later, and I try my luck blocking Albert's unit with Salome's.  Percival actually proves to be an amazing unit in strategy battles. He won't use his water rune, which can be a problem, but he'll dodge often enough to dish out some real hurt on the enemy before things get too dicey.  We're still doing poo poo damage though.  Except Leo. He's doing well.  Some pretty good damage dealt, I decide to pull them back.  Leo takes some insignificant damage, and Percy dodges and parries absolutely everything, so the escape goes well.  You rear end in a top hat.  Yuber decides to attack Beecham, and I did not agree to this! They get away before anyone can go down, though. Our turn again.  : "I can see that."We get some reinforcements of our own. And about time, too. Hugo, aren't you supposed to be the main character?  I move all of my units up, and...  ... more Harmonian units pop up on the field. : "Yet the main Harmonian army should be able to muster even more units than this..." : "All forces, forward! We'll trample the barbarians like grass." This should be fun.  I decide not to take any chances here, but...  It doesn't help.  The Masked Bishop used Razor Leaf!   It was super effective.  Also, I have no idea what "combat stifled" does.  They get smacked around a bit more, but no more serious damage befalls them before they can get away.  Salome and Lucia pull back as well (with Salome's unit taking some pretty severe damage in the process), and Sasarai pulls another rune strike out of his rear end.  Team Hugo then gets caught in another attack from a generic unit.  Joe actually makes a pretty terrible unit in this battle specifically, since you don't get the opportunity to shuffle your units around and put him further back. Hallec can have some issues too, as you can see.  Hugo, on the other hand, is pretty great. He's still a little on the delicate side, since Fubar can't be brought into strategy battles, but he makes up for it by still having the ability to attack three times, which is even better in strategy battles than it is in normal battles.  Mua is pretty great. The tanky units tend to shine in strategy battles.  Arrrgh!   Hugo and Hallec attempt to end the battle before our duck can go down. (Also, Hallec proves that he, like Hugo, is worth bringing even if he is on the delicate side.  Joe goes down regardless.   Hugo and Hallec get revenge by going right for the leader.   That's what you get for touching the duck. Yuberrrrr.  A few more units retreat as well.  Yeah! Take that!     Yuber goes after Chris' unit.  Borus does pretty well, and no one goes down. And that is what is important.  We're being pushed back pretty far, though.  Albert's unit attacks Lucia's.  Holy poo poo.   Lucia is amazing.  Even her lackeys are doing pretty well for themselves.    And we take down Albert's unit!  Hugo decides to take his mother's lead when he gets attacked as well.     Like mother, like son. Still, that was maybe a little much for him, so I don't think we'll be doing that again this battle.  I continue to hold the line as best as we can, but these numbers are overwhelming. New Harmonian units keep popping in, though.  poo poo.  Again, I try to pull my unit back before they get murdered.  Again, I am not very lucky.  Wait, this is new.  Is that an army of centaurs.        Shiba and his companion go down in a single attack.  Oh, you fuckers! You're here now too? Where are our Harmonian mercenaries?  Lucia gets the gently caress out of there.  I use Dupa's heal to patch up Hugo and Mua a bit. I don't think they'll be taking out any units, but they make up one of the most competent units we've got.  They get attacked next turn, too. And holy poo poo, the healing paid off.   Hugo is absolutely determined not to get hit by anything.  And, with a little help from Mua --  The two of them take the unit down from full-health to dead all on their own. I'm so proud.  Still, things aren't looking too good.  Duke goes after Chris and her knights.  The mercs immediately start dog-piling on Borus.  He, Roland, and Chris team up to take down Elaine, but Borus isn't looking too hot.  Especially not now.  Roland's not what I would consider particularly hardy, either. This is especially dangerous given that Duke went berserk after Elaine fell.  So close.  But "so close" isn't enough.   Crap.  Sasarai and the Masked Bishop move in to breathe down our necks.   Someone on the Harmonian side needs to give Nic a promotion.  Lucia gets away before she can take too much damage, but both of her accompaniments are down.   The Bishop continues picking off our units. I can't wait 'til I get to use my Pale Gate Rune. : "How many are there?" After enough turns, our side starts to panic.  : "Alert! More Harmonian units are invading from the north and south!": "If more units come from those directions...": "Chief Dupa, Chief Lucia, retreat now! If not, you'll be blocked from both sides!": "Hmmm... We don't seem to have a choice.": "Give the signal! Retreat to the Duck Clan Village!": "We must retreat too!" Poof. : "Excellent. Pursue them."  I'd feel worse about this if it were possible to win that battle, though. Next time, we are pursued. yokaiy fucked around with this message at 17:40 on Jul 16, 2014 |
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Jul 16, 2014 16:34
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'Combat Stifled' is how the game indicates that Instant Death kicks in. 'twas the ID on Funeral Wind that killed the lizard. And while it wasn't in any of the screenshots, dollars to donuts that's what was making Open Gate (the first level spell on Pale Gate, the one with the centaurs) rip through the troops like that. Open Gate is really loving great in Army battles, and yes when we get one it'll be just as effective. SO yeah, that battle is completely unwinnable. You can go in with troops with maxed out skills at level 99 and great armor (and I have, because Chris 99 trick) and the troops spawn faster than you can realistically kill them and, while we didn't fight him enough to see it, Yuber will never go below half HP.
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Jul 16, 2014 17:12
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yokaiy posted:http://lpix.org/fileupload.php Yeah, what a jerk, asking you to upload a picture like that. The nerve of that site! 
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Jul 16, 2014 17:32
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Bufuman posted:Yeah, what a jerk, asking you to upload a picture like that. The nerve of that site!  Fixed it. I can't believe I didn't notice that when I was proof-reading.
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Jul 16, 2014 17:41
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... actually, now that I look at it harder. Yeah, they definitely ate instant death there. One of those great touches in the game, Open Gate has a slightly different animation for whether or not the ID kicks in. If the enemy is impaled with the spears like that, they've been instant-deathed. Otherwise they just get trampled for a hundred or so damage.
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Jul 16, 2014 18:33
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So is Hugo stuck in the body of a 16-year-old boy forever, or is True Fire smart enough to let its host finish growing up? edit: This being a JRPG, 16-year-old might be the optimal age.
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Jul 16, 2014 19:48
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PFlats posted:So is Hugo stuck in the body of a 16-year-old boy forever, or is True Fire smart enough to let its host finish growing up? That's a good question. I suppose if True Fire behaves anything like Soul Eater, using Ted as an example, Hugo is probably screwed.
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Jul 16, 2014 19:52
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yokaiy posted:
I love Suikoden strategy battles 
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Jul 16, 2014 20:36
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PFlats posted:So is Hugo stuck in the body of a 16-year-old boy forever, or is True Fire smart enough to let its host finish growing up? He's stuck looking like that forever to the best of my knowledge.
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Jul 16, 2014 21:13
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hanales posted:I love Suikoden strategy battles 3 has at best a mixed reputation when it comes to the strategy battles. The pivotal point tends to be that the troops it gives you are your actual little men, with whatever armor, weapons and runes you've put on them, and with an automated fighting system that doesn't use any active runes. This can be good if you habitually switch party makeup to try out new characters and don't mind buying new gear for the new guys whenever swapping. In that case you've got a bunch of well-equipped little pixel people, some of whom have skills that make them excellent in the strategy battles, and now you get to use them all at once! The stuff you did in the regular game really means something! Hooray! This can be bad if you've got your gang of 6 or just want to get through the plot quickly without sidequesting. Not being able to use runes will cripple some of the power characters you might be relying on normally and most of your little pixel people will be weak to useless! The stuff you did in the regular game is useless! Boo! I'm a terrible completionist and I thought the assorted abstractions for terrain, force disposition, runes, etc were sensible and clever so this is my favorite Suikoden battle system. That puts me in a pretty small minority, though.
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Jul 16, 2014 21:44
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I was never too big on Suik3's strategy system. Apparently I'm in the minority in that I really liked Suik2's, even though it was fairly tedious at times and the amazing soundtrack sometimes just decided not to play.
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Jul 16, 2014 21:55
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PFlats posted:So is Hugo stuck in the body of a 16-year-old boy forever, or is True Fire smart enough to let its host finish growing up? Sierra is stuck in the body of like a 15 year old. Although I'm not sure how much of that is the rune, and how much is the vampirism.
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Jul 16, 2014 21:59
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I think 1's are the best. Reason being that every strategy battle in every suikoden game is easy as hell, but 1's take the shortest amount of time, and require the least amount of effort. 5's are my least favorite because, despite being more technically complex, they are still incredibly easy, there's just way more button pressing and time consumed. edit: to know how how true runes handle adolescence, just look at Ted
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Jul 16, 2014 22:00
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Poque posted:I was never too big on Suik3's strategy system. Apparently I'm in the minority in that I really liked Suik2's, even though it was fairly tedious at times and the amazing soundtrack sometimes just decided not to play. I'm with you on this one. Suikoden 2's strategy battles are kind of busted, but conceptually it's the closest the series got to my ideal system, short of transplanting the battles from Dragon Force or something. It just needed some balance work and a bit more polish. If Suikoden 5 had stuck with turn-based I think they would've nailed it there.
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Jul 16, 2014 22:10
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If memory serves, Ted is ~9 or so when he gets the Soul Eater, but appears closer to 14 or 15 in both Suikoden and Suikoden IV. Although the plot in Suikoden IV is such that he might have technically 'lost' the rune and its immortality properties for a time, so it's hard to say. Still, he certainly didn't continue to age into full adulthood, so even if you could theoretically go through puberty with a True Rune Hugo's already old enough (14) that he'd probably just stop entirely.
CmdrKing fucked around with this message at 02:44 on Jul 17, 2014 |
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Jul 17, 2014 01:00
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Poque posted:I was never too big on Suik3's strategy system. Apparently I'm in the minority in that I really liked Suik2's, even though it was fairly tedious at times and the amazing soundtrack sometimes just decided not to play.
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Jul 17, 2014 02:31
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yes, they just didn't play because several programmers were actually corpses http://tcrf.net/Suikoden_II#Unused_Music
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Jul 17, 2014 02:35
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Delsaber posted:I'm with you on this one. Suikoden 2's strategy battles are kind of busted, but conceptually it's the closest the series got to my ideal system, short of transplanting the battles from Dragon Force or something. It just needed some balance work and a bit more polish. I agree with pretty much everything here. S2's war battles were nice, but way too luck-based (especially if you were trying to damage a unit like Luca or Kiba) and still fairly easy to break if you know what you're doing. Still, with a bit of work it might've been really great. Sadly, S2 was kinda rushed out the door, so it's one of many things that came close but didn't quite make greatness. S5's war battles were very nearly ideal, but the real time aspect made it a pain to manage everything. Several battles were made several times harder than they needed to be because you'd have to manage two or more fronts at once, which resulted in frequently getting your control marker yanked across the screen at best, and the player forgetting about a chunk of units until the enemy ran up and curbstomped them at worst.
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Jul 17, 2014 04:45
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I prefer when the unwinnable battles are technically winnable.  Well, S3 has plenty of those already, so I shouldn't really complain.Also, Lucia is amazing. RaspberryCommie posted:Series spoilers: Is it even the same Jeane in each game? One of them has pink hair and the one in S1 doesn't know how to attach multiple runes to a single person, they are totally different Delsaber posted:Also, potential series spoiler: if Kyril is still around and he hasn't turned into a full-on goat, I guess he'd be pretty old too. Imagine being stuck with that voice for all eternity. IV/Tactics take place 150 years before S1, so anyone surviving from there would be pushing 200 by now, yeah. Verant posted:
 
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Jul 17, 2014 17:10
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Benevolence!
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drat, that was pretty well overwhelming. Really conveys what's going on here. Remains to be seen whether the Grasslanders realized what was going on too late, or just almost too late.
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Jul 18, 2014 05:06
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Konami is streaming Suikoden on Twitch if anyone's into that.
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Aug 8, 2014 00:55
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Delsaber posted:Konami is streaming Suikoden on Twitch if anyone's into that. Wait, Konami acknowledged the existence of Suikoden? I thought all they did was pump out MGS games now.
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Aug 8, 2014 11:13
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Hunter Noventa posted:Wait, Konami acknowledged the existence of Suikoden? I thought all they did was pump out MGS games now.
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Aug 9, 2014 09:19
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Hunter Noventa posted:Wait, Konami acknowledged the existence of Suikoden? I thought all they did was pump out MGS games now. It was one guy with several lords of shadow posters around him who asked the question "What's the best place to power level in this game"
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Aug 9, 2014 09:31
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Chapter 4.3 - Harmonia Has No Fear - feat. Chris Good morning, Chris. And how are you this fine morning? : "Where am I?"Understandably confused, I see. Maybe your guest approaching from off-screen can help you out.   : "I am glad to see you. Oh yes -- we're in the house of the Chisha Clan Chief, Madame Sana. She has offered her home to us.": "Oh, I see, but how did I get here?": "Madame Sana said it was the power released by the rune in the cave that made you collapse. Something about exploiting the power of the True Rune..."True Runes aren't to be taken lightly, especially when wielded by someone as lovely at casting as Chris is.  She glances down at her right hand, though I don't know what she's hoping to see through those thick gloves. Louis is awed none-the-less. : "So this is how you carry what you call 'the True Fire Rune.' The rune once belonged to a man called the Flame Champion, I believe."I'm not sure if he's impressed or not that you hold True Runes in your hands the same as you do regular runes. : "Well, I assumed responsibility for the rune, but I don't--": "Don't doubt yourself, Lady Chris. Zexen was part of the Grassland before it became the Zexen Federation, so it's natural that you take responsibility for the rune.": "I'm still not convinced, but--" : "There's been quite a fuss since you left the castle. First an expedition to occupy Lake Castle, and then a talk with the Karaya Clan... Lord Salome did an extensive investigation at the time. Finally, we found out that the surprise attack by the Lizard Clan was a trap instigated by the Harmonian army."Talking can solve a great many problems. Or, at the very least, get you closer to solving a great many problems. We've already see that, while the talks were a start, they didn't help much in Hugo's version of things. I somehow feel that it will do even less in this version. : "The Harmonian army?... Then the masked man we encountered must have been--": "So now everyone's gathered outside -- Lord Salome, other Zexen Knights, the Karaya Clan, the Lizard Clan, and some mercenary friends of Lord Salome's." : "You can really help... what they're doing is human nature." Emotional conflict is heavy on both sides of this story, and it's exactly what Harmonia is banking on. They didn't become a military super power due only to the size of their army. They've been manipulating everything. And even with that out in the light, those manipulated have suffered too much to be able to just get over it.  Let's see how Chris plans on handling the situation. She's more mature and experienced than Hugo, so she might have that going for her, at least.  The scene is largely the same as it was before, but with some different camera angles. I know I've pointed out before that they do that for cutscenes, but I actually really enjoy it. Even though it's basically the same information, having it focus on the scene a bit differently depending on who you're playing as makes it a little less repetitive. It's just a small thing, but it's a nice bit of effort on the part of the developers. : "We really saw you, with our own eyes! Are you telling us to trust an ironhead's tale before we trust our own eyes?": "We're doing exactly what the Harmonian army wants us to do. Fight amongst ourselves, so we're too disorganized to fight them!" Take note of Hugo during this scene, especially in contrast with the other Grasslanders. : "We all need our own land to survive. Do you want to hand yours over to Harmonia?": "The Harmonian army has not invaded for decades. They're afraid of us because we held them back with our hero, the Flame Champion!!" Chris doesn't need to prepare herself like Hugo did. She strolls confidently right into the thick of the argument, and both groups step back to give her room. : "Lady Chris..." She struts straight up to Bazba and looks him dead in his creepy eyes. : "The True Fire Rune that he bore in his right hand is now in my right hand. I took over his spirit, too. What does this mean?"She addresses all of the Grasslanders, eying them sternly. : "That..."He's a bit taken aback, really.   She pauses for a beat.  : "But in battle, there are no apologies to be expected." She turns to Lucia, and kneels, lowering her head before the Karaya Chief. : "Lady Chris...": "But I will apologize for taking the lives of defenseless people." Salome is visibly distressed, but Chris just smiles, still not lifting her head. : "The Harmonian army will advance any minute. I have faith in your prediction, Salome. But in order to protect the Zexen Federation, we must collaborate with the Grasslands. In the face of these circumstances, the prestige of the Knights and the fame of my name do not matter. A hero's title is unimportant to me.": "Lady Chris...": "............."Her appeal to her potential allies are interrupted,  As the Harmonian army approaches.  : "What?": "Oh no! It's too late!": "Let's move!": "Everyone! Keep up!" All but Hugo run off to battle. He, however, approaches Chris slowly.     He turns and leaves to catch up with the others.   : "Milady, we should be off as well. I'm not sure what we can accomplish, but..."She picks herself back up, and her face goes back to it's normal, stern expression.   Not much to do right now, but we can run around town if we need to. We don't, really, so I'll just go ahead and talk to Salome to get this story rolling again.  : "We take our leave too!! Harmonia's plan is clear: they will occupy Zexen once they control the Grasslands.": "Yes, milady. Can you please give the orders for unit formation?" We're prompted to rearrange the battle units, if we desire. There's not much point to it in this battle, so I just leave it as-is. : "Shall we advance, then?" Yes, let's.  Same as before. Not much actually changes in strategy battles, so I'll be giving you highlights in the alternate versions.   : "Ace, don't joke around." : "Who's joking?!" First and foremost, we get Geddoe and his men for this battle instead of Hugo, which is interesting. I wonder who shows up in the Geddoe version -- Chris or Hugo?  In response, when Duke shows up, he has some words for our Cyclops thunder god. Naturally, Geddoe ignores him. : "At least we're here because we want to be. Not just to collect a pension, like you." : "Intentions are one thing, but what good are they if they don't bring profit?": "If Grassland is destroyed then there's no more need for a garrison. Do you see what I mean?" : "We're happy to hear you enjoy your work." So, let me talk about Geddoe as a unit. He's terrible. The game (and I) have made it pretty clear that the man is a caster, not a physical fighter. Yes, he has a sword, and yes, he is physically capable of cutting people. But he is a mage! He has a True Rune! Arguably the best True Rune in the series if you don't make him Flame Champion. And he is drat good at murdering things with it! So why, I ask, did the developers decide that he would never use magic in strategy battles? Because I really don't know how that makes any sense at all. People who use magic in strategy battles exist. The Masked Man is a shining example of it. It's not like they would have had to make some kind of weirdo exception to logic already in the game to let Geddoe cast some things. But I digress. Geddoe's incredibly mediocre in strategy battles, and is often too slow (or lazy) to actually run over and smack anything, but the rest of his unit is pretty great at picking up slack for him. Actually, now that I'm thinking about it, that kinda feels appropriate. Good job, devs. Works as intended, won't fix.  He can still zap things from afar using his on-map cast, at least.  Runes aren't as good on the map.  Speaking of runes. So, unlike the Lighting Rune, Fire Runes have a range of one circle, but damage all units in that circle. Everyone standing on Chisha's circle takes damage, with Dupa going down as a result. Also, the Masked Bishop has one now, somehow, and he's really good with it.  The Chris version, however...  Chris, why do you suck at magic.  Also worth noting, the background when we're fighting on the Chisha circle is in fact Chisha! That is really neat.  Anyway, we lose again. yokaiy fucked around with this message at 21:01 on Sep 7, 2014 |
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Aug 14, 2014 22:54
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Did anything change about that battle, aside from the rune on Chris?
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Aug 15, 2014 01:36
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We get Geddoe as a unit instead of Hugo, but other than that, not really. I'm thinking of refraining from showing off the strategy battle duplicates after this one, and just showing off whatever is different in them. Like, if there are any dialogue changes or anything. They're gonna go down pretty much the same no matter who we are.
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Aug 15, 2014 01:44
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yokaiy posted:We get Geddoe as a unit instead of Hugo, but other than that, not really. Yeah, I didn't really see the point in going into such detail a second time.
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Aug 15, 2014 02:01
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Bobbin Threadbare posted:Yeah, I didn't really see the point in going into such detail a second time.  Yeah, that seems fine. I kinda wanna complete the set, but after this one I'll go easy on the strategy battles unless there's something new worth showing off. e: That, or I'll edit out some from this update and just make them less detailed from now on. yokaiy fucked around with this message at 02:14 on Aug 15, 2014 |
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Aug 15, 2014 02:09
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Chris just walks up and says it how it is. That's why I love her. Then manga went and RUINED HER.
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Aug 15, 2014 03:02
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Awww, that was a nice little scene with Chris and Hugo there. Y'know, in retrospect, III's strategy battles weren't as annoying as I thought they were. Partially because I had to deal with IV's and V's afterwards, but regardless, it would've been nice to have a bit more freedom with III's battles sooner on rather than having things pretty much locked until Chapter 4. Or having a Star that would let you have mock battles kind of like those mushroom freaks in IV.
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Aug 15, 2014 03:09
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yokaiy posted:
How did you find my secret fanfiction?
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Aug 15, 2014 06:18
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I worry you might be over committing by doing all these variations as we go. This is the kind of thing that might be better presented as post-game content, for the sake of pacing. Just an errant thought, I obviously am not in a position to judge how that jives with your methodology.
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Aug 15, 2014 06:25
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Honestly this next little bit here is the worst of that: after Team Us gets their poo poo together, content is something like 90% identical beyond cosmetic changes until the final dungeon pretty much, so we can pretty much go long stretches without spending TOO much time in alternate universe land.
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Aug 15, 2014 06:42
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Captain Oblivious posted:I worry you might be over committing by doing all these variations as we go. This is the kind of thing that might be better presented as post-game content, for the sake of pacing. CmdrKing posted:Honestly this next little bit here is the worst of that: after Team Us gets their poo poo together, content is something like 90% identical beyond cosmetic changes until the final dungeon pretty much, so we can pretty much go long stretches without spending TOO much time in alternate universe land. I'm mostly just worried that if I don't do it as we go, I won't have the motivation to do it at the end. But yeah, I do really appreciate all this advice and stuff. This is my first LP, so figuring out my methodology is kinda still a thing that I'm doing, even a year later. I'll probably be able to handle it better if I lay off the more duplicate-y stuff, too. The reason that there was such a huge gap between last update and this one was completely unrelated to the LP, though -- real life just decided to be really busy.I think I'll start by reworking the post I just did so it doesn't have as much irrelevant poo poo, and then go from there. Also, happy Suikoden Day, guys. yokaiy fucked around with this message at 15:45 on Aug 15, 2014 |
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Aug 15, 2014 15:41
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yokaiy posted:I'm mostly just worried that if I don't do it as we go, I won't have the motivation to do it at the end. I for one think you're doing great, and will be sticking it out to the end. :-D
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Aug 21, 2014 01:23
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Finally done reading the entire thread, and just wanted to say thanks for LPing this, yokaiy! I played the game years ago, but it's the neat stuff that you point out that's making me fond of the game again. Also I forgot how much of a murder machine Geddoe was, so thanks for that: 
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Sep 7, 2014 11:16
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Subject Tangerine posted:Finally done reading the entire thread, and just wanted to say thanks for LPing this, yokaiy! I played the game years ago, but it's the neat stuff that you point out that's making me fond of the game again. Holy poo poo, that is absolutely fantastic! Thank you! It's going on the OP and it will be there forever.hanales posted:I for one think you're doing great, and will be sticking it out to the end. :-D I shortened the Chris version of the update so you guys don't have to read as much same-y strategy battle junk, and the Geddoe version will be coming momentarily! Thanks for waiting, as always, and I'm aiming for having the next actual update withing the next couple of days.
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Sep 7, 2014 21:05
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Chapter 4.3 - Harmonia Has No Fear - feat. Geddoe And finally, good morning Geddoe.  : "Wha?"As usual, he doesn't even feel like putting enough effort in to finish the word. I can't say I blame him, True Fire seems like it doesn't really care for it's user's health, so it probably worked him too hard. True Lightning seemed like it was a more understanding rune.   I'll never not show off good animations. Geddoe slides to the edge of the bed and sits up, shrugging off her concern. : "Yeah, whatever. What happened?" She takes a seat beside him. : "You fainted right after fighting the Bishop. The old woman, Sana, said it happened because you used the True Rune's power. Is that how it works?": "Could be."You have to take the advice of an old woman without a True Rune with a grain of salt. She may have been Iroh's lover, but she's still out of her depth when it comes to personal experience.  He glances at his hand. Once again, it is in a glove. With all the nice touches of the game, he coulda taken it off. Even IV managed that.  Sanady is actually a place, not a person. It's sometimes translated as Sanadia as well, and it is where Queen is from. Or, would be from, if it hadn't been conquered by Harmonia before she was born. It's still there, but it's not the same place it was before. And thus, we disprove that one popular theory that Queen is actually a certain somebody from Suikoden II, and good riddance to that fan theory anyway. There's a character in Suikogaiden that is from Sanadia as well. As for why she blames True Fire for it, I've only got my working theory. Sanadia was conquered after the Fire Bringer War ended, so I imagine that, in a huff after having to strike a truce with Grassland, they turned their eyes onto an easier target, and steamrolled over Sanadia practically overnight. It's indirect at best, but no canon reason is given as far as I know. : "............... What's all that noise outside?"Very smooth, Geddoe. That was actually in two different text boxes. : "Well, the Zexen Knights and the Karaya and Lizard Clans have all gathered here in this tiny village. The commotion was inevitable.": "You mean to say that Lord Salome is here too?": "Yep! He's trying to persuade everyone that Holy Harmonia orchestrated the battle, but it's not easy. Too much blood has already been spilled.": "It'll only get bloodier if we don't help. The land occupied by the Harmonian army...": "Geddoe, you don't have to tell me. I know better than anyone."   Zoom. Enhance.  Geddoe is laughing and smiling.   Queen jumps in our party, so I guess we should go tell those idiots what's what outside.  Get ready, assholes. Geddoe coming through.  Once again, we get a new version of this scene. The dialogue remains the same for now, but the camera angles are still different. I still appreciate that. : "We really saw you, with our own eyes! Are you telling us to trust an ironhead's tale before we trust our own eyes?": "We're doing exactly what the Harmonian army wants us to do. Fight amongst ourselves, so we're too disorganized to fight them!" : "And was that imaginary blood that spilled in Karaya Village?": "We all need our own land to survive. Do you want to hand yours over to Harmonia?" Funny you should mention that.  Geddoe walks straight into the middle of the argument.  Geddoe ignores him, and makes a bee-line to Bazba.  : "You, who the hell are you?" He looks around at the entire group, Grasslander and Zexen alike. : "The Harmonian army will be advancing any minute now. Why must you fight each other? Isn't there anyone here who can take over the spirit of Iroh, who protected this land?": "But still...": "Even so..." Dedicating the next part of his speech to Queen -- one of his own band, who has been hurt by Harmonia the most.  : "And I also know that it is hard to overcome hatred and sorrow, but we must guard what he as preserved...": "............." : "--they haven't forgotten their defeat by the Flame Champion. You don't know what happened to the countries, towns and villages that were occupied by Harmonia, so you are indifferent to their plight. How can you be so conceited?!! You don't have time for such arrogance. Don't you understand? Don't you care about your lands?": ".............": "............." What? No! We weren't done making everyone feel terrible!  : "Oh no! It's too late!": "Let's move!": "Everyone! Keep up!" The Grasslanders all run ahead, with Hugo in their midst.  : "Yes. Let's go." The Zexens follow.  : "They can't help it." You two. Well, let's get ready.  Our own group of misfits are down the hill, near Sana.  : "How can they be so uncooperative? Don't they know that the Flame Champion's successor is right here?": "Okay, we are going too.": "Aye-aye. I got it. Aila? What about you?" : "Me? Well, why not?"So she says, but she and Joker just go off somewhere else during this strategy battle.  We party-up as per usual.  And then there's that battle again. Things of note:  We get Chris instead of Hugo in this version. I'm not too surprised.  Also, we kick Duke's rear end without anyone on our side going down.  Yeah, you are kinda pathetic. In a way that makes me just wanna pat you on your head like a dog or something. You tried your best; maybe next time will be better.  Also, I learned that, unsurprisingly, if you are on your last circle of territory, you can't run away from battles.  Bam. Battle lost. See you next time, when we actually make some progress.
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Sep 7, 2014 21:25
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Hugo may be the most thematically satisfying choice but Geddoe has some real style in his team's interplay. Are they going to lose the spotlight in the main story now that things have merged?
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Sep 7, 2014 21:34
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