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Because it's amazing, I'm posting this in this LP, too. From the Lunar I+II art book. White Knight Leo, ladies and gentlemen...  ...was almost a motherfucking centaur.
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Mar 16, 2013 13:20
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Mazed posted:Because it's amazing, I'm posting this in this LP, too. From the Lunar I+II art book. I like how centaur Leo is the one that looks the most like the finished design. As you scroll down it looks perfectly normal and then boom! Horse.
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Mar 16, 2013 18:15
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Camel Pimp posted:I like how centaur Leo is the one that looks the most like the finished design. As you scroll down it looks perfectly normal and then boom! Horse. I know, right? It also looks like it could be some kind of majestic transformation. "Behold, infidels! My true form!"
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Mar 17, 2013 05:47
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"Hey, it worked for Shining Force!"
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Mar 17, 2013 11:48
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Okay, so... quick question for the thread. I'm trying to find music links for this game, but most it is the remake. Their scores are similar, but there are... slight differences. Sadly, though, youtube mostly has the remake, and the Sega-CD versions are generally crap sounding. And there are several tracks I can't find the original version of. So do you all think I should just use the PSX versions, not use the music at all, or try and record off the emulator (which I haven't tried yet; can't guarantee it'll be any good) or... something else?
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Mar 17, 2013 17:24
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My opinion: Music is better than no music, but not 100% required -- the LP does fine without it. If you can manage to record from the emulator, that'd be cool, but if it's a huge pain, either skip it, or only bother with the tracks that you feel are particularly awesome or noteworthy. For the blander stuff you can get away with linking the PSX ones if you want to link it at all.
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Mar 17, 2013 17:56
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I think as long as we get Leo's theme in some form, whatever is the easiest for you. As was said, the LP is good even without music links. No need to make things be so much of a hassle that it's not fun for you anymore, yeah? That said, I'd be fine with PSX links if that's the way you wanna go.
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Mar 17, 2013 18:30
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I don't care as much for Leo. There are better characters out there than the dim bulb. I forgot about Lunn being a Saint. I guess he does kick rear end in the name of the lord. Go with PSX versions if music is needed.
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Mar 17, 2013 22:46
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Chapter 8: When the Game Takes Off the Kiddy Gloves and Smacks You With Them Now that the gang's back together, we head north to the Illusion Woods Ronfar mentioned.   At first, there doesn't seem to be anything in the Illusion Woods, but if we poke around a bit...  We find a woodsman. Let's hope he's not missing an axe.   : C'mon... I don't have time for this! I know you know the way through the Illusion Woods. Tell me how to get through! : You're not getting one bit of information from me until you pay me back! I want another chance to win back my money, buster! : Geez, this guy's not too bright, is he? Hasn't he figured out Ronfar's dice are loaded?: Okay, but remember, you ask to play this round! We'll play odd and even. What do you call?: Uh... uh... uh... just a minute... let me think... uh... uh... uh...: C'mon, woodsman! I don't have all day! What is it, odd or even?: Uh... uh... uh... okay.. I'll... I'll bet odd! Look how surprised I am. I know you can't see my face, but I have a surprised face. : Ha! Even! Sorry buddy, it looks like I won.: Ouuuggg! I know you cheated me again somehow!What is "Ouuuggg?" And yes, I did directly transcript that from the game. : But, a deal's a deal. Here, I'll enchant you so that the paths show themselves...One screen flash later... : Whoa! I'll be a dirty...: Ha ha ha! Pretty impressive, huh? Without my special spell, the path I've cut through the woods is invisible! These tunnels will lead you through Illusion Woods with a minimum of fuss.Oh there will be a lot of fussing, but I'm getting ahead of myself. : ...and when you have time, remember, Ronfar... I want a rematch using my dice!: Uh... yeaaaah, right. Whatever you say, old dog. See ya around! The game actually has the hole there fade in and out, but the effect is honestly kind of lovely. In any case, let's skedaddle before-  Yes, that, exactly.   : I want a low-level search of every outhouse, dog-house, hen-house, tree-house, boat-house, birdhouse, road-house, and penthouse within a 20 mile radius. We're gonna get this girl and her cohorts!Okay, Agent K.    : When I catch up to you and that destroyer, there'll be hell to pay!     : No sign of the girl or the others, sir!Man, wouldn't The Fugitive be an entirely different movie if it has magical forest trails? ...maybe it did, I don't know, I've never seen the movie. : drat! I know they're around here somewhere! I will find them! All right, men! Back to the Destiny... double-speed! Bye losers! See you next when we need plot tension!  So the Illusion Woods. The Illusion Woods is composed of these brown tunnel areas connected to outside wooded areas. Monsters only show up in the tunnels.  All of the wooded areas have more than one exit, but more often than not they lead to the same place (which is definitely true for the one pictured). It makes the Illusion Woods seem more complicated than it really is; if you've got a decent sense of direction, you shouldn't get too badly lost.  Right next to the hole we entered from there's another one (it is a hole; I couldn't find a frame where the hole actually shows up) and a chest with a Star Light. Hoo boy, I'm gonna enjoy hoarding this! (I'm going to use it eventually, but it's a good idea but to still be in hoard mode.)  All right, from here you're going to want to hug around the bottom wall; there's a path in the middle leading north, but it'll just lead you to where you were.  And I ran into my first encounter. I remember these guys from the first game! These were some of the first enemies you ran into in Lunar 1; they were kinda tough, but nothing all that threatening. Well, okay, probably don't need to do anything more complicated than attack... Hm, Hiro can't kill one with both of his hits. That sucks. This is gonn-  Holy poo poo!  They killed Hiro in a single round. In a single. Round. This is going to be painful. Also, notice Lucia's still defending... even though her curse has been lifted.  Moreover, she really likes to run away. Yeah, thanks for that, Lucia, you're a peach.  Although the fact Lucia successfully ran away (Ronfar tried, but failed) is the only thing that prevented a party wipe. And that was the first fight of the dungeon. ...at least I didn't die.  Thankfully Calm Litany patches us pretty quickly, and at 7 MP, it's cheaper than casting Heal Litany twice. That first fight was a bit discouraging, but let's not dwell on our failures.  I also remember Golbins, but their King is new. Huh, I seem to recall David Bowie being taller. Golbins showed up much later, but they were saaaaaad enemies. I'm not too worried.  Hiro can't kill one of these things in a single round either?! You have got to be loving me.  And the King can heal his companions. At least Lucia's prepping up a spell. That will help us immensely-  You loving bitch. Sometimes when Lucia's doing her spell casting animation, she'll run away instead. That's a hell of a time to grow a sense of humor, Lucia.  But this battle is unsalvageable, so we're following her lead. And that was the second battle. At this point, I don't care if the only person standing is Lucia, I just want to win a battle!  Is there any enemy sprite they didn't recycle from the first game? Yeap, Hummingbyrds are from the first game. Anyway, I've learned my lesson, and I've decided Hiro needs to throw his boomerang like an Australian stereotype.  Despite my ragging on Hiro's magical abilities, Boomerang is not a bad spell to spam in this dungeon. It'll one-shot pretty much everything, and it costs less than Poe Sword. 1 MP less, but considering how much I'll be using it, that adds up. If you don't throw Hiro right in the thick of the enemies and take them out as quickly as you can, it's not too ba-  Oh right, I forgot to mention that the Goblins can summon buddies. As far as I can tell, the game does not tell you when they'll do that. When the Goblin are going to crit hit you they have the club out... but as far as I can see, that's the only tell they have. If I'm wrong, please correct me, but otherwise it seems like how often Golbins will call for reinforcements is entirely up to the Random Number Generationer God. Despite that setback, I'm still winning. Ronfar can one-shot the Golbins, so that actually helps a lot. Soon I have just the Hummingbyrds left. All right, I can do this!   OH YOU MUST THINK YOU'RE loving FUNNY, GOD. Actually, Hiro can survive about two hits from Ronfar, and there's only one enemy left. So one more Boomerang and I'll finally be victorious!  The rewards are good, at least. It is at this point something becomes very apparent to the player; Hiro is surprisingly fragile. He has over 20 less HP than Ronfar. As I've mentioned a bit, his default stats are kinda puny, although his equipment is good enough to overcome that. Moreover, Hiro levels rather slowly. And that isn't helped if he dies a lot on you. On the flip side, his Poe Sword is so stupidly powerful that it makes him your biggest source of damage. He is the glassiest cannon. This is a far cry from Lunar 1, where Alex is by far your best party member in both the original and remake version (although he's stupidly overpowered in the original). Moreover, Hiro is not like this in the remake; he's a standard, sturdy fighter.  After those unusually eventful three battles, we find ourselves outside. Now, each of these holes actually do lead to different areas. You want to go all the way to the north and find one tucked away.  Right here. Man that disappearing/reappearing thing really ruins screenshots. But away, beyond this hole here is-  A piece of armor I already have. But I only bought one for Hiro, so this one goes for Ronfar. Even if you bought two, you still want to pick this up, as it will sell for some okay cash. Anyway, there's another tree with a hole in it below this one, and the path through it is linear and has only has an herb. Along the way Hiro and Ronfar gained a level. And yes, even though they gained a level in the same battle, Hiro still needs 300 more EXP than Ronfar to reach the next level. And Hiro is two levels below Ronfar. Hiro does indeed level very, very slowly.  But also Ronfar got a new spell! Clean Magic cures status ailments. It's quite pricy at 13 MP, but if I need it, it's nice to have.  Moving on, we're outside again. Both of these trees lead to the same place.  This one has some money, though. The other one has a chest with a Purity Herb in it. Inside the trees, you'll want to go all the way left and then up. There's a treasure chest with some money along the way. And while I was going towards it, the strangest thing happened.  Lucia decided to actually cast a spell.  Plasma Shock is actually an area of effect spell, but there was one enemy left. Lunar 2 introduced area of effect spells; the original did not have them. While Lucia isn't quite the murderess she used to be, her spells are very effective; that did over 100 damage, which is around what Poe Sword does. So Lucia will occasionally decide to sling some magic, but never count on that to get your butt out of a bad situation. If I recall, in the remake if Lucia was close to the enemies she would almost always cast, so you could "force" her to cast if you engineered it. Here, though... I'm pretty sure it's random.  Moving outside again, these will also go to the same place.  However, the path inside splits four ways! The two on the left, of course, come from the same place, and the other two... lead to the same place.   Lucia decided to demo another spell for us. Thunder Blow is a single target spell, although it actually did less than the Plasma Shock. I wonder why... maybe one hit a elemental resistance or affinity? Unlike Lunar 1, elements do actually exist in this game... but they're still not that core, compared to most other RPGs.  Anyway, once you're outside again, head into this tree here. The tunnel inside is another straight shot. Then you're outside agai-   Wait, what is that music I hear?  It's a... carnival?    And there's a lady bustin' out some fancy moves.    : Wow! That was amazing! She's the most skillful dancer I've ever seen!  : Well thanks! Say, I haven't seen you here before. Are you visiting?And why do you sound like me? Ruby and Jean have the same voice actress, Jennifer Stigile. That's also the lady Working Designs got to sing pretty much all their songs. : Well, my name is Jean. Hee hee hee! And if you haven't figured out what I do in the troupe, I'm the star dancer! That's... unusually threatening, considering how friendly you just were. : Relax, we're just passing through. Let's get going, Hiro.We'd definitely want to clear off before Leo eventually finds us, but we could stand to chat. Besides, I wonder what these guys are doing here, of all places. And why they're still here.   : I hope that you'll be able to stay a while and enjoy these pleasant surroundings. We're trying to find a way to get past that giant thicket up ahead. Oh. That would be why. All right, looks like we'll be here a while. Camel Pimp fucked around with this message at 02:29 on Feb 19, 2014 |
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Mar 18, 2013 01:45
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I don't know if Lucia would cast magic in the remake if she is close enough at this point in time. She always ran and these fights can get long. and...  Jean
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Mar 18, 2013 05:28
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The muscle has arrived.
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Mar 18, 2013 08:37
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She dumps a defense buff on herself a couple times then runs away. Or just runs away if something gets close.
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Mar 18, 2013 23:28
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Camel Pimp posted:
 This is my favorite character. Jean loving rocks.
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Mar 20, 2013 06:24
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Complete still expects you to grind a little more than I would like, but goddamn is it nicer than the OG version. I don't think party wipes become a possibility until much later in Complete. Though it is nice to see Lucia is as reliable as ever! And Jean's pretty cool, I guess, but there's still a character we haven't met yet who I would consider the real 'muscle'.
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Mar 20, 2013 16:41
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I love how this game breaks the JRPG gender stereotypes wide open. The frilly, pretty girly girl is the heavy hitter, and the burly womanizing bad boy is the healer. Can you think of any other games where this is the case?
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Mar 20, 2013 17:07
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Crowetron posted:Complete still expects you to grind a little more than I would like, but goddamn is it nicer than the OG version. I don't think party wipes become a possibility until much later in Complete. Though it is nice to see Lucia is as reliable as ever! Well, you're playing the remake. They changed the Now Watch Jean Kill Everything spell into a heal in Complete. In this version you will get to see Death By Jean in full form. Jenner fucked around with this message at 17:15 on Mar 20, 2013 |
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Mar 20, 2013 17:13
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In my recent run of complete I had more trouble with the next 2 bosses than the entire rest of the game. And by "trouble" I mean Lucia finishing off the next one with the rest of the party dead and having maybe 2 people alive after the one after that.
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Mar 20, 2013 17:17
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Jenner posted:Well, you're playing the remake. They changed the Now Watch Jean Kill Everything spell into a heal in Complete. Jean's a monster, but you don't get to see it for a while, sadly.
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Mar 20, 2013 17:34
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Can't have the game end that quickly.
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Mar 20, 2013 20:02
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Chapter 9: Gypsies, Tramps, and Thieves Now that we're blocked by some mysterious vines, let's make friends with these carny folk and see what they know.   : We have no worries. We take life one day at a time. This path blockage is our only problem. ... Okay! So it's a big problem! As if you don't have problems!Not that much, apparently.  : Then step right up! I've got the best set of cards in the business. You'll love my friendly, quality service. I'm even endorsed by a former star of Miami Vice.But you can't see the future well enough to prevent your troupe from getting into this mess... and also, come on! That joke was dated when the game came out!  : They all want to come and weave their names in my chest hair.: Pshaw! That's nothing, sonny boy. I've had women tattoo my name all over their butts!: I'd tattoo Hiro's name on my butt!...let us forget this conversation ever happened, yes? Perhaps we could ask about this Jean lady. What's her deal? And how does she wear a skirt like that and not panty-shot people like crazy?   : We were on our way to the carnival in the Madoria Plains area. But we seem to be unable to exit from this part of the forest. We've just been stuck here practicing for a carnival we may never reach.: Is that was Jean was doing? Practicing? It was awfully good...: Oh, you saw Jean dancing? She's the best dancer we have. Whenever she creates a new dance step, she puts on a show for us. That's what she was doing earlier.Madoria Plains is the next world map area. It's actually right outside the Illusion Woods. Although looking at the map, they've still got a long way to go. Well, we already knew Jean was the star dancer here. Anything else? : I met Jean when she was a scared and lonely young lady. I've raised her as my own daughter since she was found. I think dancing is the only thing that keeps her from her dark secrets. I've grown quite attached to the girl... don't know what I'd do without her...Interesting... she seemed cheerful enough, but I guess we've got another case of angsty backstory. Will she get a melodramatic sepia flashback too?  : I know we'll win. Jean's the best!Despite her shady past, everyone here seems to love her. : I will admit that sometimes, I get a bit jealous of Jean's talent. Usually it's when people are gaga over her and ignoring me. I hate myself for it, but hey! I'm only human...Well, maybe there's a hint of jealousy.  : Before she came, I was the best dancer in our caravan! Then we had to go and rescue that stupid girl! When we found her she was just a poor urchin in torn karate rags! Hah! I wish she had never joined us. Then I would still be the best!More than a hint. Wait, karate rags?  : I don't think I could live with myself if anything ever happened to her... I remember the first day I saw Jean. She looked as if she was dead. Her clothes were torn and bloody. It was several days before she even had the strength to open her eyes. Jean has never told me what she ran away from, but I know it still haunts her. It was rumored that Jean used to be a trained assassin... But I just can't imagine dear Jean hurting a fly...Going to trained assassin to dancer... hell of a career move.   : Okay, so she's not my real sister, but we were raised together. One day, I want to grow up to be a strong karate fighter! I've asked Jean to teach me karate, but she always gets sad when I mention it. I wish I knew why she did that...Okay this is starting to get a little depressing. Let's move on to happier subjects.  : Ever since I first saw your flowing skirt rise in tempo to the music... I knew. I don't care that your past is shrouded in secrecy. I can live with your sins. I want to be with you, to hold you... to... to... rub warm goat's milk on your...Happier subjects, drat it! : Whew! Is it getting hot in here? I think it's getting hotter in here. You know, I think this Jean gal needs to be warned about this guy.: Warned? Why? Why would you have to warn Jean of the depth of my love?Because you say poo poo like-  Yeah, that. : Have you said this stuff to Jean's face? I bet she'd slap it!Consider what we've learned of her, I think she'd remove it. Not that I'd begrudge her for that.  : I just love to sing. It does something to my spirit, my soul... But the head of the Althena Cult doesn't allow any songs in his shrine! I thought that was strange, since the Althena of legend was known for her singing...That is indeed strange... Song was a major motif in the first game, as both the hero and the love interest were musicians. Hell, if you donated enough to the church they'd sing for you. For the church to forbid singing is pretty backward; it'd be like going to bible study and being forbidden from praying.  : But what is the purpose of song? I don't understand.Huh. It's clear that Lucia is like Althena in some important way, but doesn't seem to share her love of music. Or rather, probably doesn't know what music is.  What in the hell is that?   : It's called a magic arrow. It'll be one of our most popular attractions. : Attractions? Looks more like an accident waiting to happen to me!: Oh no! It's quite safe, I'm certain. I've got it all worked out on paper, and we've already sent monkeys up in it! Aside from a little brain swelling, they're fine. Besides, I think I've fixed the thing that caused that anyway...Oh yeah, I remember when the circus came to town and riding the space rockets. Seriously, what the hell?  : I don't think I've ever seen anything like this before. What is it?: Uh, hello Lucia? It's a bird. Just a dumb old bird. Sheesh!Let's poke it some more!  "Wiiillllbbuuurrr!" : Ruby, it can talk! It seems like it's frightened of something...: Oh man! It looks like it's going to freak out any minute now!...well that was odd. We've talking around enough. Let's go actually talk to the person we've been talking about.  : And this is the most rag-tag party I've ever seen... A weird flying creature, a lady in a strange red dress, and a card shark.: I'm not strange! Why don't you take a look at yourself!: I'll show you what I really want to be remembered for. It'll just take five minutes...Five minutes? Man... Ronfar's reputation as a lady's man really is unearned, isn't it? : ...What's wrong with my... dress?!: Hey, relax! I wasn't making fun of you! I was just making an observation...It was just kind of a bitchy observation. : Anyway, you're free to stay with us as long as you like."Because you can't go anywhere else." Jean actually has a lot to say, so we're going to continue talking to her. : Hiro, where are you and your companions headed? What? The Holy City of Pentagulia! Are you going to go see the Goddess? I thought that the Goddess was just a legend... I wonder if she really does exist?: Why do so many people doubt the existence of Althena? It is so very strange...And Lucia points out the thing most of us were thinking. In universe there is a perfectly good reason for skepticism, since Althena hasn't been around for like a thousand years. It's just that after the end of Lunar 1, where Althena was quite real (and scantily clad) it's really weird to hear people debate her existence. : We were passing through this forest, but were stopped by the thicket over there. I don't think there's a way around it. To make matters worse, we have heard a terrible noise coming from the woods. It sounds like a terrible monster... perhaps the one that made the thicket. Some of the performers are getting really scared.: Oh great! This is the part where she asks us to help her... Just watch... I know it's coming...Actually, she won't ask at all, but we can't leave either.  There actually is another way out of this place, although these guys can't see it because of the magic trees thing. So perhaps we can find the source of the problem... or find a way to run away from it. Either works for me.  I'm pretty sure Hiro and Ronfar could jump over that with little difficulty... hell, Lucia could probably do it! Oh, whatever, let's go back.  : I just know it's some sort of terrible monster...: I heard those voice, too. Come on Hiro! Let's find a way outta this place!: Hopefully... it's not too late...Right on cue, there's a loud growl. : Oh no! There it is again! I've gotta get outta here!: Ronfar, the sound seemed to be coming from the enchanted path in this tree! But these people can't see it because they don't have the woodsman spell.: If that creepy sound was coming from there, that monster has got to be somewhere nearby...Let's go get that mons-  Oh. Wow, that was fast.   Well crap.  I think it's pretty obvious, don't you? Although that (tiny) gap is still an issue... I guess we ask around again?  : If I didn't have diarrhea, I'd be able to show Jean my brave skill!: Um, yeah... right. Diarrhea. You should try anyway. Maybe you could immobilize the monster like one of those sticky-foam guns. It could be your secret weapon. Hehe... or better yet... your stinky weapon...... ...... ......... You are loving gross Ruby.  : Maybe then, I could find the monster and get back the kidnapped...: What did I say?! Looks like they need our help. Say Jean, the voices are coming from the hole in the eastern tree over there.: ...What hole?! I... I don't see any hole in the tree over there...???: That's because it has a magic spell on it. Only we can see it.: Hmmm... the magic must've been cast to keep outsiders from finding it. Show me this hole... perhaps with your help, we can defeat this... this... beast!: Of course! We should be able to make short work of this thing!And we have Jean! Before we take a look at her stats, I should mention that there is a fair bit more going on in the remake's version of this scene. Jean actually fights off the monster (doesn't prevent the people from being captured) and has to overcome her reluctance to fight. Here, though, she seems pretty gung-ho to get her buds back from the get-go. Also there is a bathhouse scene that's kind of dumb and it really doesn't add much.  Holy crap look at that HP! And she's only level five. And her attack power is equivocal to Hiro's, but she gets three of 'em! (Okay, it's only two by default, but her weapon gives her an extra attack.) Also has some stupid high speed and decent range. She's freaking awesome!  And she's going off with only her fan and a dress. That's strangely badass.  ...and this is her downside. Jean only has two skills are they're... not terrible, but not all that good. Now Butterfly Dance sounds good; it's an area of effect spell, and except for Lucia, we don't have one of those yet. Except it doesn't quite work that way. It hits one enemy, and the rest get inflicted with poison. Now at least it does do damage (which is better than the status spells in the first game), and it's an okay amount, but it's not great. Needle Step, her other ability, does damage and inflicts freeze on one target. It does slightly better damage, but no where near as much as Poe Sword, and it's a crippling 10 MP! Jean has a lot of MP, but that's still ludicrous.  Also her dance spells require leveling up! Joy. Unlike Hiro's Wind or Ronfar's Chance skillsets, we will want to level Jean's Dance skills. They do get a bit better, and furthermore, there is a skill she gets that we kind of need. Also, that's the only skillset she has. But we're still going to have a much easier time with another fighter along. So let's get to rescuing-  Oh right that. : Wait a minute... maybe there is a way. Sit tight!  That is both completely logical and kind of stupid at the same time. Past this point, there is a fair bit more of the dungeon to go. So we take our new companion for a spin.  Jean's fan has an interesting property in that it is a long range weapon. In the remake the user didn't have to move to use a long range weapon at all, but here Jean does have to get within a certain range. She is still insanely mobile. Because her attack power is roughly around Hiro's at the moment, she'll kill a Golbin in 2-3 hits. Since she gets three attacks, this does guarantee she'll kill one in a round without using MP. That's nice. Speaking of MP, let's test out some of her spells.  Sadly this doesn't kill the Goblin King, nor does it freeze it. But it, uh, looks cool?  The Butterfly Dance doesn't do the trick either, although the King was defending at the time. Once you're out of the passage and outside again, you'll want to enter the tree to the left.  Because you get a free update for Hiro's weapon! It doesn't make him drastically stronger, but a small boost is better than nothing! Anyway, go back outside and enter the tree to the far right to continue on.  Now this passage divides into two, and both do take you to different places. The one on the bottom, though, just goes to a unprofitable dead end, so just go straight right.  Along the way, we pick up some Spring Water. Spring Water cures Freeze. While Freeze can suck, it's questionable whether it's worth it to clog up your character's inventory with it. Eh, I'll keep it for now.  The next outdoor area is legit pretty confusing. There are four different trees you can enter, not counting the one you come from. The upper most two loop into each other and are a waste of time. To one to your immediate left is where you need to go.  The one in the middle here, though, is where you want to go.  Because we get a much-needed upgrade to Hiro's armor. This will definitely help with his survivability. Jean, however, cannot equip his old Scale Armor, and Ronfar already has one, so the old armor goes into the "to be sold" pile. Once we head back out and then to the left, we're on a straight shot to the end.  Which you might suspect is going to contain a boss. Hope you've been careful with your MP!  What the hell is- oh look, treasure!  Oh cockblocked again! Or... ovary blocked? Plantella is the first real boss of the game. The strategy is pretty simple; Hiro does Poe Sword (which he will do in every boss battle) Jean does Needle Step until her MP runs out, Ronfar heals, and you pray to the RNG God that Lucia casts.  Which she did in the first round!   Ooooh! In comparison, Hiro does about 100 damage with Poe Sword, and Jean does 60-70 with Needle Step. Plantella has 1450 HP, so that's not a bad chuck of damage from Lucia at all. Of course, she will proceed to be unhelpful for the rest of the battle.  Plantella responds with a pathetic bitch slap.  Now I think Plantella was preparing an attack called Bad Seed, but what ended up happening at the end of the round was...  Plantella transformed into a lady! Normally triggering the second phase of the fight takes a bit longer, but since Lucia helped us knock her out of this phase quicker, Plantella didn't end up using the Bad Seed attack at all.  In this phase, Plantella really likes to use vines to choke two party members at a time. And of course it when straight for the two girls. It did 46 damage to the both of them, which doesn't really put Jean in any danger. Sucks for Lucia, but I don't care about her.  No, Plantella will not turn into a different woman or Shigeru Miyamoto or something. Plantella turns pink when it's about to unleash Thorn Shower.  It's a party wide attack that does a little less than the vines. And if you notice, Lucia was prepping to do another spell. But she died before she could. Oh well. By and large this fight is not hard at all. All of her attacks will take at least three to kill Ronfar or Jean, so as long as you're healing up every round you will never be in danger. However, Plantella will 2-shot Hiro, and he's the one doing the damage. You're also probably going to run out of MP for Jean, at least if you blew her MP on random encounters like I did. I elected not to waste the Starlight and just have her attack, even though her attack did pretty much no damage. But there is one reason to be a bit paranoid... in this version, during long battles, turn order messes up sometimes. Characters that shouldn't go before others do. It's usually not drastic, Jean will always go first, but Ronfar is slow enough that it's worth being paranoid about it. Ronfar never went after Plantella after this fight, but I was so paranoid that he would that Jean wasted a lot her herbs just so Hiro would not die.  I almost came down to the wire with my MP, but I pulled through. And look at that reward! Hiro gained two levels.  And a new sword skill! Ronfar gained another two levels, and Jean gained four!  : ... Those dance steps I knew worked pretty good in combat. I don't think we could have taken that beast without it.Yes, without you Jean, that battle would have... taken about 2 or 3 more rounds. : Hey, and don't forget the power of my lucky dice, babe! I was rollin' thunder back there!In full disclosure, I actually did have Ronfar use his dice. Once. It raised my defense slightly. So... go Ronfar's dice, MVP of the battle. : Yeah, and I was rollin' my eyes, you arrogant boob. Now, what's odd about this picture is that Lucia has 9 HP, despite knocked out characters being restored to 1 HP. What happened? Well, you see, Lucia actually levels now, and she levels with Hiro. When he gains a level, so does Lucia. And that's why she doesn't actually need experience. Oh and treasure is an Herb. Whoopdie do. Fortunately, the exit behind Plantella is a shortcut back to the caravan, so no backtracking!  : All of the carnival members have returned safely. And the best part is that the thicket disappeared! The exit is now clear!: That's good news indeed! We were successful in part because I was able to modify my dance steps for combat... but... Giban, the time has come for me to...: Jean, what's the matter? You seem troubled, dear...: I've decided that I'm going to leave the carnival for a while. I've got to face some problems I've been running away from. I wish I could tell you more... just know it's something I must do.: Jean, I know your demons haunt you. If the time to face them has come, so be it! You'll never be at peace until you put an end to what's troubling you. Perhaps karate master Lunn in Meribia will help you through this.: ...: Jean, we've all done things in the past that we wish we could change. You've been given a chance at redemption. I pray that you do not waste it.: I don't know what to say...: Just tell me that you'll return in one piece. Now get out of here...And with that, Jean has decided to tag along for good. You think maybe we should tell her that we're being hounded by one of Althena's Guard? ...nah. Although Giban implored us to leave, let's say our goodbyes.  "I thought we were all dead meat back there, Wiiilllburrr!" : Why do you keep calling me that?!: I think it thinks it's a horse, of course.: Ronfar, that's ridiculous! Where'd you ever get that idea?I didn't think you could get a bird to eat peanut butter.  : What were you waiting for? The monster to eat me?: You seem a bit ungrateful for what we did, don't you? : I just love the whole underground cave thing. I wish I was still there.: Uh... I'm sorry... I think...?Hello requisite ungrateful jackasses.  : Yeah, just like you foretold that the end of the world was coming five years ago. And the time when you said that I was going to meet a handsome stranger...What, Face Tattoo and Mullet McDrunkard aren't good enough for ya? Picky picky...  : It would have been a travesty if a body like this were destroyed... Now all womankind will once again be able to shudder at the sight of perfection...: I'm thinking I should've let the monster eat you....the monster didn't take him. I looked over the footage. He actually has a line after the attack. You can't fool me mister...  : Jean... sweetheart, come to me so I can hold you close.: Excuse me? Do I know you? There must be some mistake.Nor did the monster take him. We could only wish.  : It starts out like this... 'Welcome to the jungle, we got weeds to tame/if they stoke your allergies well, it's the price you pay.' What do you think? I just made that part up! I'll work on the rest...: I can't put my ringer right on it, but that sounds awfully familiar...At this point, I don't know if I should show all the pop culture references in this game... there are so many!  : I need you to stay so you can teach me karate!: Don't worry, little brother, I'll be back soon to teach you what you need to know. But I won't teach you the aggressive karate of death, only the defensive moves. That's all you need to know to become a strong defender of our troupe.Oh c'mon, now that you mentioned it, Jean, what kid wouldn't want to learn "aggressive karate of death?" You could get a kid to want to learn algebra if you called it "algebra of death."  : ... But, you saved our caravan, and I owe you my deepest thanks. I've been jealous of your talent. I want that to change. Jean, I know we haven't been the best of friends, but I'd like to try.: Oh! That's so good to hear from you! I never wanted to be rivals anyway. From now on, we're nothing but the best of friends! : Jean, you know that you can always come with us... I know, you have to take care of your past. Just hurry back...: ...Thank you, Giban. Ain't that sweet.All right, we've dawdled long enough. Let's get this show on the road.  We are now in the Madoria Plains. Before we go, I'll end with everyone's current stats.   
Camel Pimp fucked around with this message at 07:02 on Feb 15, 2014 |
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Mar 22, 2013 22:03
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Ohhhh, Jean is indeed quite a bit different in this one. Im not sure if I like her moving around as much on the battlefield, but I suppose it makes it easier to hit her with calm litany and such. Though I love her spinning
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Mar 24, 2013 15:49
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Alkarl posted:Ohhhh, Jean is indeed quite a bit different in this one. Im not sure if I like her moving around as much on the battlefield, but I suppose it makes it easier to hit her with calm litany and such. Though I love her spinning Calm Litany is just an all-party spell; it doesn't care where the characters are. I've never got the whole "long range character doesn't move when attacking" thing. Especially for Jean. She must have one hell of a throwing arm.
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Mar 24, 2013 16:01
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Jenner posted:Well, you're playing the remake. They changed the Now Watch Jean Kill Everything spell into a heal in Complete. Are you positive about that? I've played the remake a few times, and Jean definitely doesn't have any healing spells.
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Mar 24, 2013 16:42
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The Happy Hyperbole posted:Are you positive about that? I've played the remake a few times, and Jean definitely doesn't have any healing spells. I presume it's actually Blue Dragon Vigor that's being referenced, which is +5 (I think? maybe +4) attacks/round in this version, and a full heal in Eternal Blue Complete. It's a great thing to give to Jean in this game. It's actually off an accessory though.
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Mar 24, 2013 16:46
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Camel Pimp posted:Calm Litany is just an all-party spell; it doesn't care where the characters are. Touche, for some reason I thought it was just an AoE in this version. Now I feel foolish! 
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Mar 24, 2013 17:23
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Well, that was...abrupt. Certainly so compared to the remake. "Hi, I'm Jean! I'm a showgirl with a tragic past as a professional badass killer. I'm going to join your party now so I can maybe work some of that out! Right, let's go.  "I hope Lunar NPCs never stop being complete loving goons. That seems to get better and better with each new place you visit.
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Mar 25, 2013 06:58
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Camel Pimp posted:Okay, so... quick question for the thread. I'm trying to find music links for this game, but most it is the remake. Their scores are similar, but there are... slight differences. Sadly, though, youtube mostly has the remake, and the Sega-CD versions are generally crap sounding. And there are several tracks I can't find the original version of. So do you all think I should just use the PSX versions, not use the music at all, or try and record off the emulator (which I haven't tried yet; can't guarantee it'll be any good) or... something else? Camel Pimp I found something for you. WARNING, CLICKING ON THAT LINK AND NOT BEING CAMEL PIMP WILL SPOIL YOU, DO NOT CLICK THAT LINK UNLESS YOU WANT SPOILERS.
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Mar 25, 2013 22:44
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Jenner posted:Camel Pimp I found something for you. Except that most of the links on that page are 404.
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Mar 25, 2013 23:00
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Oh man, they are! The names of the links are still spoilers. Man, here I thought I drudged something up. Really should have checked it first... Also:  that 404 page.Back to trying to find the original music for me. Edit: All these old Lunar Fansites are dead wastelands that haven't been updated since the early 2000's... 
Jenner fucked around with this message at 23:19 on Mar 25, 2013 |
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Mar 25, 2013 23:09
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The bathhouse scene isn't in this version? You mean I have to suffer it alone? Game Arts, why? 
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Mar 25, 2013 23:55
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Chapter 10: In The Hood Welcome back! Now that we're in a new area, it's time to explore around and get our bearings. Let's start by going north-  Oh. There's the town.   This is a cheery-sounding town! I'm liking this place already. At least compared to the hives of scum and villainy we've been to. And the caravan with the murderous plant lady wasn't much fun either.   : They come here to rest up and trade stories of the road.: I should warn you about the house to the east. The ghost manor is rumored to be haunted by a terrible force!: Ghost?! H... Hiro... let's steer clear of that place, o... okay?A haunted place, though, was in the first game! It was a haunted woods and not a house and... it wasn't all that scary or haunted, really. Unless the zombified corpse of the Pillsbury Dough-boy terrifies you- and, when I think about it, it should. Because that is terrifying.  Oh, that sounds kind of spooky. Maybe there will be an actual ghost adventure after all. Oh! Maybe we will be getting our wacked out version of Dragon Quest 5!   : Those flying girls are impossible! I couldn't even scratch them!Wait, what? Weren't we talking about ghosts? Where is my ghost adventure!?  : He went into the haunted manor to try to impress her. Idiot! Oh. This going to be a stupid ghost adventure. (As opposed to a stupid Ghost Adventures, which is a redundant sentence.)   : I met the Premier of the Magic Guild of Vane! When I grow up, I want to be in the magic guild. But it costs a lot, so I'm gonna start saving my money right now!...what. Vane is a location from the first game. As previously mentioned, it was a magical flying city that got destroyed. Before that, however, it was city where all the magicians learned how to wear fabulous capes (although the ones that joined your party didn't.) Your main character tried to join the guild, and although there were a multitude of reasons that fell through, none of them were monetary. They never asked for a single silver. That too seems to have changed. However, ghosts and mysterious people aren't the only little quirk of Takkar.  There are a ton of inns scattered about town. Such as-     : Since most of them were merchants, we knew a name like 'Bounteous Babe' would get their attention. So what do you say? Want to give our inn a try?: Well sugarplum, that's the closest thing to a direct invite I could hope for! What do you say, chief? Let's check it out...No. No we're not.   : We have the lowest-priced rooms in town, and since no one can pass the gate, they just stay here and wait this monster situation out.Wait, the gate is closed?   : There's been reports of monsters in the cave, so we've sealed it. As a priest of Althena, I cannot let you pass in good conscience. It's sealed until the monster situation is resolved.: C'mon! This is the only road that leads to Nota, and, ultimately, Pentagulia! Ya gotta let us pass, buddy!Why yes, yes it is. Well, at least Leo's not the one standing in our way this time.  : Villagers are afraid of all the monsters that have come to our village. But we of the Althena cult will destroy the monsters using Althena's power. If donations increase, Lord Leo will come and slay the monsters! Now then, will you donate?Although that may not remain true for long. Again, there is a sanctuary here, but since it's tucked up in the corner, it's easy to miss. But these dudes never have much to say. Onward!   : I don't know how the goddess can allow them to do that!: I'm sure she won't allow it for long...: ...Yes, I do believe all the bars have this theme. : Now they say that alcohol, song, and dance are off-limits to followers! Kevin Bacon, where are you when we need you?He's the Kevin Bacon we need, not the one we deserve... no, wait, I think I got that backwards.  : Where ya from? Nota? Dalton? Larpa?: My name is Lucia. I have come from the Blue Star.: Well then, you've come mighty far. Perhaps you'd like some Dutch Apple Pie?: We're on a group tour of the area! We'll be seein' ya...I kind of love how nonplussed this woman is when she sees some strange lady claim she's an alien. And man, I've got a really bad tendency to step on top of the NPC when I talk to them. : Ya know, your talk about the Blue Star reminded me of a legend I heard 'bout it. They say that long ago, our ancestors came from the Blue Star, courtesy of Althena. Don't know if it's true, but it's a mighty romantic notion...: What you speak is not legend, but history. It really happened long ago.: Now, how in the world would you know that? Oh I get it... you're pullin' my leg again! Ha ha ha! Good one... ya got me!It's almost as though claiming you're a space alien while wearing really weird clothes makes people tend to not believe you. Who'd have thunk? Also, if you look really carefully at that last screenshot you may see something.  Now who could that be?   : I am a messenger from the magic guild of Vane. We are recruiting new members. Would you like to join the guild? There's only a simple test, and an entrance fee.: Hey Hiro, that sounds like fun. Why don't we take the test?Does dank dark caves full of assholes and electric mushroom monsters sound fun to you? Does it? (Although is she being upfront about the test, which is an improvement, actually.) : Oh pooh! I forgot to tell you that we don't allow flying cats. I always forget that...Because it... comes up so often? : Well then, that's still okay since I'm not a cat.: ...but... you look like a cat with...: Hey sister, hate to break up the raging kitty debate, but we've got to get moving. We don't have time to take your test.: Ah, yes, but you cannot pass the gate to continue your quest anyway. Haven't you heard? The gate is sealed because of terrible monster attacks!: Then we'll tell the guard we can kill the monsters if he opens the gate.: Perhaps that plan will work, or maybe it won't. You can only try... in any event, I'll be around... : I mean... offering us a test to enter the magic guild, and then excluding me? What kind of attitude is that? Gimme a break! : ...Thank you Hiro that was very enlightening. At least we can start to figure out what the hell is going on here. The mysterious hooded figure is actually the leader of an ancient magic city doing a recruitment drive in BFE (BFL?) and there are ghosts. Maybe. Maybe we should seek some clarification.  Wait, what the gently caress are you-   Uh, okay. See you around? : What's wrong with that guy? He's acting like he's seen a ghost or something...I guess the party didn't actually see that? Huh. Whatever. That was weird.  Hey! Stop that!  : Oh no... I think she's after you now...  I think this hooded lady needs a hobby. Let's get out of here and give this weirdo someone else to stalk.  : If I did, the lives of all the villagers would be in danger.: But we can defeat the beasts if you just let us through!: I'm sorry, I don't have the authority to make that decision. Just be patient. He should be here soon...I guess that guy in the sanctuary wasn't bullshitting. : Uh, if Leo's coming, we'd better lay low... You again.  : Come with me and I'll share something very interesting......I don't have to climb into a van, do I?  : There's a haunted manor to the east of the village with a secret mountain pass. If you can get through the manor, the pass will take you to Nota. I'll be waiting outside the manor... don't keep me waiting... : Uh... didn't she say the manor was haunted? Maybe she was one of the spooks!: I sensed that she had an aura of strong magic about her...: Maybe we should take her advice and check it out.: Oh, this is just great! Some weird girl comes out of nowhere, and we're gonna take her advice and follow her through some spook house! This is just going to make my week!Hey, doing whatever strange women wanted you to do is what got us to where we are. Which isn't a ringing endorsement, now that I stop and think about it. So, we're not gonna just slaughter the monsters threatening the town like any good RPG hero. Instead we're traipsing through a haunted manor. Okay. Before we leave, let's at least check the stores.  Takkar is the first town in the game with a equipment shop separate from the item shop. And inside, there are two different clerks, one for armor and one for weapons. Let's check out weapons first.  Say, what's that? No one in my party can equip staffs... very odd. The top row is stuff we've already seen before, however next to the Water Staff there's a bow. It's an improvement for Ronfar's attack power, and he gets a long-range attack with it. Sold!  Again, the armor is mostly stuff we already have, with the only new thing being a Wisdom Robe for Ronfar. But it also has anti-sleep, which will be very, very nice to have. There's an item shop too, but again, nothing you haven't seen, and none of it worth buying. All right, I'm sick of Takkar. To the ghost manor!  : I just want you all to know that I'm against this!Concern duly noted and ignored. So, to the east, huh. Well, let's get ready for the jour-  Oh. Wow that was easy. Too easy, actually. We could just go there right now. Buuuut... there's actually something off even further right.  There's actually a rather large area here, and it's completely optional to go here. But you will want to. Besides, we haven't seen the new enemies of the Madoria Plains.  Both of these enemies were beginning game enemies in Lunar 1. Especially the Dung Beetles, which were some of the weakest enemies in the game. And while the Dung Beetles are hardier than you'd think in this game, they're still not that scary. No, it's the flytrappers. The one on the bottom, caught mid-way in its animation, is preparing to do its special attack. What is its special attack?  A gently caress-ton of damage. That's it. They also take a lot of hits to take down, so don't gently caress around with these things.  Or that will happen to you. Oops. It's still worth your while to come out here.   Because treasure! And weirdly threatening music!* *PSX version again! The treasure chests in the middle have a starlight, and two things of 1003 silver. Nice. On the ends, though, we have...  A very powerful healing item! Dover Nuts will be over-kill for some time, but it's nice to have one for a bad situation.  The Fresh Ring is the real treasure. It protects against Freeze, Poison, and Sleep. Very nice. Since Ronfar has Sleep protection for now, the ring goes to Hiro. Now that we've done that profitable detour, back to ghosts.  : Here, let me open the door to the manor... : But be warned. This manor is packed with powerful monsters. If you are not confident in your command of magic, you'd better not go in.Well, only one of our party members can really cast magic, and she's particularly choosy about when she decides to. I have a feeling, though, that this will be suspiciously tailored to our specific party.  : Now, all I have to do is get there ahead of them...  Clever girl.  We'll save the actual ghost adventure for next time. I have a feeling this may take a while. Camel Pimp fucked around with this message at 04:41 on May 9, 2014 |
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Mar 26, 2013 02:21
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Interesting, that little side-trip. I can't recall anything similar in the remake, but it's nice when RPGs do that -- throw you a nice, out-of-the-way spot of treasure that doesn't require committing to a gigantic dungeon crawl. It's probably become apparent by now, but our hooded friend is yet another awesome character. And another reason why Lunar games are still the best. Crowetron posted:The bathhouse scene isn't in this version? You mean I have to suffer it alone? Game Arts, why? Um, excuse me, unexpected encounters between love interests whilst bathing are an extremely important and critical component of character growth. 
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Mar 26, 2013 03:12
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You think they would build towns on those strangely barren mountains considering how many there are. How about plonking one in the middle of a big intersection surrounded by huge mountains that are perfect for hiding raiders? I would hoard magic points with the way they introduce new characters so soon.
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Mar 26, 2013 16:55
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Scalding Coffee posted:I would hoard magic points with the way they introduce new characters so soon. And you definitely should! I don't think I've properly established how insane the costs for leveling up magic gets. Oh I know I've mentioned it, but even I get surprised how quickly the cost shoots up.
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Mar 26, 2013 22:02
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He's really not kidding. Here's the costs.pre:Level 1: 0 Level 16: 10768 Level 2: 15 Level 17: 12661 Level 3: 26 Level 18: 14584 Level 4: 61 Level 19: 16514 Level 5: 133 Level 20: 18434 Level 6: 266 Level 21: 20340 Level 7: 494 Level 22: 22236 Level 8: 853 Level 23: 24131 Level 9: 1383 Level 24: 26041 Level 10: 2115 Level 25: 27986 Level 11: 3070 Level 26: 29989 Level 12: 4250 Level 27: 32071 Level 13: 5642 Level 28: 34258 Level 14: 7218 Level 29: 36574 Level 15: 8941 Level 30: 39043 Every character has one skill that levels up with magic XP, except for the mages who have two. Ronfar is one of those. Also, it costs 15 MXP per Hiro's level to save the game. edit: Also you don't get skills even CLOSE to every level; there's nothing between 1 and 8, for instance. New skills are gotten (or a skill upgrades) at 1, 8, 13, 14, 16, 18, 21, 23, 27, 28, 29 and 30. Prism fucked around with this message at 23:43 on Mar 26, 2013 |
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Mar 26, 2013 23:35
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Chapter 11: Coulrophobia The ghost manor is a very... interesting dungeon. I'm not even sure you could actually call it that, really. The manor has 3 floors, with the bottom two having two doors a piece, and one door on the very top. However, most of them are locked. There's only door we can go into at the moment.   : ...shriek... sharply...!: That sounded like... a.... g... g.... ghost!: Wind... wind... wind! Mark and remember.... whooooooooo!: W... w... w... what is he talking about? Let's get out of here!Ah, unless the ghostly voice starts telling us to kill our uncle, I think we'll be okay.  The manor doesn't have random battles as such. Instead, what happens is that each time you enter a room...   You get into a fixed encounter. Here we see the main gimmick of the whole dungeon. If we try to attack these things normally-  It does... star amount of damage. If we want to start doing a numerical amount, we have to do something special. The ghost did babble on about wind... and Hiro's useless magic set is called Wind magic. And this whole thing is supposed to be a magic test. And I am clearly already preparing to cast a wind spell.   What do ya know? It knocks the hood off, and now the attacks will do damage! There's not much more to this floor once you figure this out. The now unHooded Imps only have one major trick up their sleeve, and that's this:  They'll... pop their head off at you. The tell for this is when you see that trail behind them. This inflicts sleep, but half of my party is immune to that. There's no treasure and there's no other enemies than the Imps on this floor. Moreover, you have to go into every room and clear every one, even all the dead ends. It's not that interesting. I hope that no one is heartbroken if I skip to the end.  And here is the end.  I like to imagine that the ghostly voice just shouted "bang!" right there. : W... what was that?: It sounded like a door slamming open or shut.: D... do you think it was a... a... ghost?Who knows...? One thing thing about the ghost manor in this version is that because nothing respawns, you can go back to town and top off any time you want and never lose progress. I'd recommend healing up after every floor. This is all quite different from the remake. The PSX version really cuts down on this dungeon a lot; it's fair bit more traditional and straightforward. The enemies also respawn, so you also can't run out and heal whenever you want. After I top off, I head back to find that a door on the second floor is mysteriously open.  : Shutters? What shutters? Hello?! For a ghost, you sure are vague! Geez!Close the shutters? What could that mean? Well, let's find out what's on this floor.  Oh god what the hell is that.  Waaaiit a second. They're flying... and they're girls.... Some loser posted:
The way you defeat these things is a bit more oblique. And no, you don't use Boomerang. But "closing the shutters" doesn't refer to anything Hiro can do, nor Jean. Close the shutters... send them to sleep?   Bingo. However, one attack will wake them up, so you'll want to take them out quickly. By the way, if you forgot, when you press defend, you can't actually control where your character goes. And sometimes if they run across an enemy while they're defending, they'll attack it. Yeah. Guess what happened to me. Jean's Needle Step, thankfully, will take them out, and you can afford the cost. Aside from being invincible while awake, Susie Deaths also have some interesting attacks.  When the Susie Deaths have a straw out, they'll do... that. It drains MP. It drains about 3 or so, which isn't much on its own, but it can add up. Right there, though, it decided to target Lucia, who has none to drain. Good job.  Their other attack is just a run of the mill attack. So the Siouxsie Deaths aren't really any worse than the imps, just slightly more annoying.  Although that is kind of cute. Like the previous floor, there is no treasure, and nothing else of note. Now you actually aren't forced into a fight when you enter the room, you have to talk to the weird flying girls to trigger the fight, but again, you have to kill them all anyway. If you try to run past, you get teleported back to the start. And the ghost has more advice?  I don't even know.  Also, I realize now those are canopy beds, but that still looks weird as hell to me. Yeah, there is nothing else going on. Next!  : There it is again! Now that I think about it, it's probably not a ghost... They wouldn't be using a door... w... would they?Why can't ghosts use doors? If a door can be a ghost, ghosts can use doors! Don't be so quick to assume anything about doors or ghosts, Ruby. Anyway, after healing and coming back, it's time to take on the final leg.  : Feet? Salvation? It doesn't make any sense!Actually, this is the most straight-forward mysterious ghost voice has been. Anyway, what's our gimmick enemy this time?  what.  Oh, no, we're not fighting a wall. We're fighting... the bricks. That makes even less sense. The Knuckle Busters are probably the most interesting enemies in this whole manor. Like everything else, they're invincible until we do whatever special attack we need. But unlike the other two enemies, they won't do anything until we knock them out of their invincibility. We can't hurt them, but they can't hurt us.  You might have guessed that the key here is dancing. It doesn't matter which dance skill Jean uses. And while Jean's Butterfly Dance doesn't do direct damage to multiple targets, it does inflict poison on them, which the game counts for triggering their active state.  So unlike the other two floors, you can knock enemies out of invincibility in groups, rather than one at a time. And since Jean is the fastest character, I don't have to have my other characters sit around until they can finally hit the enemy. This means that unlike the previous floors, this is kind of fun and actually requires some thinking. This is a pretty good time to show off Hiro's new skill, actually.   Sybillium Sword is Hiro's first AOE Sword skill. (Sybillium was also the name of a skill Kyle got in the original game, but it was a different skill.) It's a steep 15 MP, but it does decent damage to a group. Unlike some of the later games, Lunar 2 doesn't actually tell you which enemy falls into your AOE, so while this looks like it hit all three enemies in the center, it only hit two. When you're aiming this skill, it seems like you can assume that anything below your target will get hit, but nothing above it. At least, that's what it seems like. As you might imagine, this whole thing is a bit MP intensive, especially if you're trying to be careful.  The rewards are decent, especially the MExp. Everything else here drops poo poo for experience. There's also only four of these encounters. This is by far the shortest and most straightforward floor. Even still, by the end I was pretty drained of MP. And I went back and topped off, because, as you might of guessed...   This boss. This loving boss. Welcome to the sound of my nightmares.  Every time I play this game, I keep forgetting about how much of a loving pain in the rear end this boss is. No, you don't have to use one specific attack to hurt 'em or anything. But, well... you see, he has this drum. He'll attack you with it.   And it inflicts Daze on you.  And he kept doing it! By the way, that brings Hiro down to the red. So this guy can 2-shot Hiro too. And inflict status ailments. It's certainly a good idea to have plenty of herbs on Jean. Ronfar can cure Daze with his Clean Magic (and, yes, he's preparing to cast it on Jean in this screenshot), but Hiro's still two steps from death. At least the Magic Tester decided to show some mercy and use his other attack, Trouble Bubble, instead.   That hits two characters and inflicts sleep. Since I've got two party members with immunity to sleep, that move isn't nearly as bad.  By the way, don't let anyone remain Dazed for long. They can gently caress you up if they gets a crit. But at least I was preparing a Clean Magic, so that danger is out of the wa-  drat IT. At least Lucia is casting. Finally. Whatcha gonna pull out, girl?  Wait, what? Is that a heal spell? Uh, Ronfar already took care of that, mostly, but if you could patch him up or maybe heal some status ailments...  Or you can just heal yourself. For no reason. I hate you Lucia. At this point, I'm desperately trying to get this boss fight out of the first phase. Yes, this is another multiphase boss fight, and the first phase is by far the worst. If Lucia helps you out, this goes by so, so much easier.  Or that could happen instead. At least Lucia is completely nonthreatening while Dazed.  Nonetheless, Ronfar's starting to run out of MP for Clean Magic, and I'm just desperate for this phase to loving end already.  NO!   YES! YES! YEEEESSSSSSSS!    ... ...... ......... I think I'm going to go cry now. I actually didn't know (or forgot) that Dazed characters can cast. Fortunately, it only takes a single Needle Step to knock him back to his second phase. Ronfar shakes off Daze in the next round, and the since the Magic Tester loses its drum after the first phase, so it can't Daze me again. Instead of that, it can...   I don't even know. Thankfully that only hit Hiro, otherwise Ronfar would be out and I'd be up poo poo creek. It can still do the Trouble Bubble, but by now the worst is over. As long as you have enough MP for healing and attacking and such, we've won the fight.  Speaking of which, we have our first Star Light use! Considering how badly this fight went, a Starlight and two or three herbs is not a bad item cost.   And now we're finally into the third, and last, phase. It has the same attacks, and it falls quickly.  gently caress you. gently caress you. gently caress. You.  By the way, this not the strangest fight I've had with this thing. One time, I didn't think to get the Fresh Ring, and the Magic Tester put Hiro to sleep. And since characters that get put to sleep take double damage... Hiro was hosed. Not long after, Jean took a dirt nap too. It was just Lucia and Ronfar. So for shits and giggles, I put the game on AI. And then they didn't die. Lucia started... fighting the drat boss. It definitely helps that in that run, I got the guy out of the first phase quickly enough. If Ronfar got Dazed I'm pretty sure I would have been hosed. But, no, I got through it. Lucia actually took the thing out by herself. Now, I certainly prefer for Hiro and Jean to get the experience rather than half of the remainder going to a deadweight, but I kind of wished that happened this time just so I could show it off. Oh well. At least it's over.  Well, we killed it. Now what? : You idiots! You totally destroyed my mega-magic tester!  : Well, I guess you did pass...    : Ta-da! Congratuations, you're a winner! Yeah, that's about right.  : My name is Lemina Ausa, premier of the prestigious and world famous magic guild of Vane.  : He he! Did I surprise you?t̵̝͙̺̼̯ͤ̑̕hͧͪ̃͜͏̤̭ͅȇ͖̫̼͙̞̜̻̼͚̌̒ͬ̓̀͠y̠̜̔ͮ ̤̘̖͔̓͂́̉͝w̶̴̛͈̮̪̲̠͉ͮ̉̎ͣͣi̴̷̤̲̰͙̩̿͆̅̑͟ͅl̢̠͚͇̤͋̔͒ḽ̵͋̔̒̎͌ͬ͠ ̛̮̗̼̬͎̿̓̔ͪ̃ͩ͞n̼̫̝̘ͦͯͅe͈͕̹̼̥͂ͥ͝v̢̟̟̺̦͂̔̑͛̋͊e͇̗ͩͯ͒͋́̊́r̝͖̔ ̝̭̘̮͈͈͖̓ͯ̽̐͒͠f͕̺̣̟͓͉̐į̴͓̹̗̘̬͕̍ͪ͋̊̐ͣ̚͠n͖̈̐̽͛̇͂̇̀ḑ̵̦̃̕ ̛̱̣̌̔̌̄ͨ̅ͫ̚y̎̑ͨ͒͆ͦͪ̒̇҉̶̺̻̤̥̖̠́ͅo̶̙̖̟̟ͧ̿ú̷̹̲͎̐̉͗ͣ͒ͩͤ̀r͛̀̓̇̒͌̔͛҉̡͖̣͍̘͚̞ ̜̯̖͎̱̲͕̋͢b͖̙͖̥͙̭͈̠̆̽̔̑́o̷̯̤̣̫̝̬͕͒̊͂̍̽̃̂͒d̵̶͖̦̞͈̖̙̘͇͌̅̑́́͞y̨̹͍͛̓ͪ͠  : By demonstrating your skill with the various test monsters I've placed in this mansion, you have now passed the offically passed the entrance exam for the magic guild of Vane. : If you join right now, you'll be charter members! And you'll also become part of the rich history and tradition of Vane. So, what do you think? Do you want to join the magic guild?: It sounds really nice, but we're really in a hurry. We have a quest to finish.: Oh, don't say that! At least say you'll think about it. Please! Please! Please!: ...Seriously, how many beans does Hiro consume? Does he do a raw vegan thing or something? : Well then, if you finish this quest faster, you can join the guild! So, I'll tell you what: I'll go with you to speed up this little quest of yours. I'm sure you can use an extra hand, especially one skilled in magic!: B... b... but we didn't ask you to...: Oh pooh! Just shush up and let's get moving!Ruby, just tell her you all are wanted fugitives. That would get her off your case pretty quick. : I hope that once we finish your quest, you'll join the guild. I'll do my best to speed things along. Just think about it, okay?: Don't you think you're being a little... er... pushy?I mean, seriously, Lemina knows nothing about these people. For all she knows, they could be unusually skilled cocaine smugglers! (I'm sorry, K-A game. Banana smugglers.) : This magic guild sounds quite enchanting...: Watch it, Lucia. This girl sounds desperate. If you say any more, you'll probably find yourself hog-tied and being dragged to this magic city.: Oh, c'mon Ruby! She's not that bad! And besides, we could use her in battle!: Okay, Ronfar! That's enough! She's off-limits to you!: Hey! I wasn't thinking anything but pure thoughts!: Pure what? Lust?: Are we gonna talk or are we gonna move? Time's slipping by! Let's go!So... we're not gonna mention the whole "being hunted by Leo" thing. And, you know, Jean still doesn't know either... Oh whatever. New party member!  As you can imagine, she is our squishy mage. ...wait a sec. Let me compare something...  ....Hiro has less HP than the mage. 1 less, mind you, but he still has less HP. And higher base wisdom. Hiro royally hosed up on his character sheet.  Anyway, Lemina has the same Wisdom Robe Ronfar has, and she has a Water Staff.  Lemina gets both Flame magic and Ice magic. For Flame, she has, well, uh, Flame, her single target spell, and Fire Ring, her area of effect spell. For Ice, she gets Ice Pick and Ice Wall.  Both of them, you guessed it, need Magic Experience to level up. And they're both good spell sets, so you're gonna want to level them up. For now, it may not be a bad idea to just focus on Lemina's spells for now. Both Ice and Flame get pretty good spells at level 13. (Of course, so does Dance. Health... eh.)  Lemina's final spell set is Mystic Spells. The somewhat misnamed Spell Sucker is a silence spell that I've never used, and Magic Swiper steals MP from enemies. Which is nice, but Lemina has such a massive MP total (although not as much as Jean's; jeez!) that it's not as nice as that same spell on, say, Ronfar. Still, it's a solid skillset. With Lemina, we have a complete 5-person party. That didn't take long.  It's definitely a good idea to set your battle formation, something I've consistently forgotten to do. Obviously you want your fighters up in the front, but since enemies sometimes surround you, it's a good idea to put Lemina in the center, just to be safe. Also try not to cluster your guys too close together to avoid taking too much damage from AoE spells. That's enough futzing around for now. Let's get a move on.   In the remake, there's this whole scene with a magic carpet after the manor, but nothing like that in the original. Next time, we'll we going around the mountain. Camel Pimp fucked around with this message at 04:32 on Apr 10, 2014 |
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Mar 30, 2013 21:24
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Hiro's stat growth.  I think I like this version of the mansion better than the remake. Why would they remove those eccentric little test rooms like that? What I do like, though, is how Lemina is basically palette-swapped Mia with a new dress. They weren't even trying to be subtle there.
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Mar 30, 2013 22:37
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Was I hearing things, or during the video when Hiro, Ronfar, and Ruby are giving the "What." face we hear a fart noise?
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Mar 31, 2013 07:04
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Choco1980 posted:Was I hearing things, or during the video when Hiro, Ronfar, and Ruby are giving the "What." face we hear a fart noise? No one ever claimed that this was the classiest game. Also: Prism posted:He's really not kidding. Here's the costs. Can I put this in the OP? It's a pretty succinct summary of how annoying the MExp thing can get.
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Mar 31, 2013 17:52
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I still can't decide which of the two games has the worst magic test section. At least this dungeon is simpler (but still crap) in the remake. Lemina still owns, though. Rain fire on your enemies erryday.
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Apr 1, 2013 18:29
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