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Blaze Dragon
Aug 28, 2013
LOWTAX'S SPINE FUND

I know nothing about this game and yet I can already say that there's no way anything's surpassing the HipHop Jack Brothers. That was awesome.

Game needs more of that, less of Bat.

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Green Intern
Dec 29, 2008

Loon, Crazy and Laughable

There was an update on the bottom of the last page, to those who haven't seen it yet.

Strange Quark
Oct 15, 2012

I Failed At Anime 2022

Blaze Dragon posted:

I know nothing about this game and yet I can already say that there's no way anything's surpassing the HipHop Jack Brothers. That was awesome.

Game needs more of that, less of Bat.

If the HipHop Brothers die, I will be very sad. :smith:

Montegoraon
Aug 22, 2013
King Frost gives the HipHop Bros a run for their money in the awesome department.

Also, the good prince wears blue while the evil prince wears red... as if the parallels weren't obvious enough.

And Destiny Land. You may think that it's "just" a renamed Disney Land, but the changed name actually had a meaning in SMT1 when it first appeared. It had a minigame that let you change your destiny by altering your order/chaos alignment, and has been the go-to name for a theme part name ever since. This version is a lot less pink than the original was.

MonsieurChoc
Oct 12, 2013

Every species can smell its own extinction.
Oh, a DDS lp, that's great! I never got around to finish this game after my PS3 died, eating my save file with it. Guess that'll save me the time to get all the way back to near the end again. /lazy

Feinne
Oct 9, 2007

When you fall, get right back up again.
Yeah, Coordinate 136 is just one of many areas you'll want to re-read the update for once we're close to the end of DDS2 and you understand what the gently caress any of this stuff means.

Aithon
Jan 3, 2014

Every puzzle has an answer.

Strange Quark posted:

If the HipHop Brothers die, I will be very sad. :smith:

Didn't we devour them after the battle? The Atma bars went up slightly. They don't move after bosses that still have their pieces to say. So... yeah.

chiasaur11
Oct 22, 2012



Aithon posted:

Didn't we devour them after the battle? The Atma bars went up slightly. They don't move after bosses that still have their pieces to say. So... yeah.

But they ran away and insulted the party after that.

They are above your mortal rules, hee ho.

Petiso
Apr 30, 2012



We only saw Pyro Jack run, right? So they probably devoured little Frosty...

By the way, you can pretty much trivialise that fight by muting them.

One more thing, in the first part, each cell you can fall into when you approach the evil prince's portraits has a skeleton in the wall, you can actually talk to them.

Aithon
Jan 3, 2014

Every puzzle has an answer.

chiasaur11 posted:

But they ran away and insulted the party after that.

They are above your mortal rules, hee ho.

Oh. :doh: I missed that completely. That's what I get for watching the video and then just scrolling the LP down roughly until they stopped appearing.

Kaboom Dragoon
May 7, 2010

The greatest of feasts

Feinne posted:

Yeah, Coordinate 136 is just one of many areas you'll want to re-read the update for once we're close to the end of DDS2 and you understand what the gently caress any of this stuff means.

To put it another way, when we get to the end of DD2, reread the entire DDS1 part, so it all finally starts making sense.

That's not a joke.

theshim
May 1, 2012

You think you can defeat ME, Ephraimcopter?!?

You couldn't even beat Assassincopter!!!
Okay, Coordinate 136 was the farthest I got when I played some of DDS way back, so from here it's all new. And the Hiphop Bros were amazing. Also, is it just me, or does our princess picture look almost exactly like Sera?

I also should say that I find these updates don't do justice to how long it can take to get through these areas. I played quite a bit to get up to Coordinate 136, but you're making it look like a snap.

W.T. Fits
Apr 21, 2010

Ready to Poyozo Dance all over your face.
I wonder why Mick and Bat chose to hide out in an old amusement park.

: "Amusement?" I do not comprehend.

Ah, that'd be it; to confuse the Embryon's tactician. Diabolical.

Lotus Aura
Aug 16, 2009

KNEEL BEFORE THE WICKED KING!

theshim posted:

I also should say that I find these updates don't do justice to how long it can take to get through these areas. I played quite a bit to get up to Coordinate 136, but you're making it look like a snap.

On the one hand, yeah, these places can get quite lengthy which is hard to really highlight in full. Really, having to split a single area between multiple updates is the best way without things dragging out too long. At least, best one that I can come up with anyway.

On the other hand, a lof of the time the length is mos-



On the other ha-



On the other hand, that's mostly beca-



ontheotherhandthatsmostlybecausetheencounterrateisabsurdlyhighattimesandtheresnoeffectivewayofshowingthatoff.

Feinne
Oct 9, 2007

When you fall, get right back up again.

theshim posted:

Okay, Coordinate 136 was the farthest I got when I played some of DDS way back, so from here it's all new. And the Hiphop Bros were amazing. Also, is it just me, or does our princess picture look almost exactly like Sera?

I also should say that I find these updates don't do justice to how long it can take to get through these areas. I played quite a bit to get up to Coordinate 136, but you're making it look like a snap.

It sure does look just like Sera in a pretty pretty princess dress. The narration over the intercom is also being voiced by Sera's voice actress, Wendee Lee.

CmdrKing
Oct 14, 2012

Maybe if I called it 'Interpretive Stabbing'...

Feinne posted:

It sure does look just like Sera in a pretty pretty princess dress. The narration over the intercom is also being voiced by Sera's voice actress, Wendee Lee.

In fairness, especially in '04 when these games came out, every game had a couple characters voiced by Wendee Lee so you didn't want to read too much into that. Though obviously Sera being pretty obviously the princess should be a BIT of a hint anyway.

KataraniSword
Apr 22, 2008

but at least I don't have
a MLP or MSPA avatar.
I am my own man.

Dragonatrix posted:

On the one hand, yeah, these places can get quite lengthy which is hard to really highlight in full. Really, having to split a single area between multiple updates is the best way without things dragging out too long. At least, best one that I can come up with anyway.

On the other hand, a lof of the time the length is mos-



On the other ha-



On the other hand, that's mostly beca-



ontheotherhandthatsmostlybecausetheencounterrateisabsurdlyhighattimesandtheresnoeffectivewayofshowingthatoff.

This really deserves to be a mini-update of its own. You can't get the full DDS experience without it.

Feinne
Oct 9, 2007

When you fall, get right back up again.

KataraniSword posted:

This really deserves to be a mini-update of its own. You can't get the full DDS experience without it.

Yeah you really ca

GodofDiscord
Sep 5, 2013

Not the strongest, but the cutest.
Wait you didn't show off the skeletons in B1? ...I don't know if you even know that's a thing.
But it's totally a thing, cause they have terrible puns. Therefore it's just cruel if you don't show them off... though you would have to fall down each and every trap floor.

W.T. Fits
Apr 21, 2010

Ready to Poyozo Dance all over your face.

GodofDiscord posted:

Wait you didn't show off the skeletons in B1? ...I don't know if you even know that's a thing.
But it's totally a thing, cause they have terrible puns. Therefore it's just cruel if you don't show them off... though you would have to fall down each and every trap floor.

Well, that could always be covered later on as a mini-update. I mean, how long could it t

Lotus Aura
Aug 16, 2009

KNEEL BEFORE THE WICKED KING!
Point136



Alright, now we just got done with about half of Co-Ordinate 136. Let's keep climbing.



Fourth floor's pretty small; has a couple alcoves with one-way doors leading towards the center but nothing else 'til we continue onwards to the south.


The Princess (3)



Once the princess was captured, it wasn't long before the princes came to the tower. They both meant to rescue the princess...







...and the duel began!

End



This time around, there's actively no avoiding Twinklebell (or even tryin to). Immediately after the broadcast ends, you're thrown into this one.

This game is called... "Reproduce the duel by having the princes face each other." A statue of the good prince is on the roller coaster.



By the way, the statue of the evil prince is...



See that cross panel near him? Head toward that! Well, good luck!



Much like the previous few, this is really easy to solve if you just want to finish it quickly. But there's some stuff to get from incorrect routes so we'll do that first. This one leads us to...



An upper floor with a golden chest in it. This contains...


Hunting ~ Rare Devil



A couple Taowns. These guys, of course, are from a bit further ahead than the regular demons in the area.

They also have one good Force spell. One.



Not really too difficult at first glance, and pelting with Terazi is the best option, but the one thing this doesn't tell you is...



They have a strong counterattack to physicals. Not the best option to try.



Aside from that, their only decent means of attack is a Zandyne (Hell Thrust is just chump change). Force shields neuter that...



And as an added bonus to Void skills, there is a chance of them frightening the enemy too so long as they can be frightened. Drains have a much higher chance. Repels don't even have that.

They have a functional guarantee (not *quite* 100% but very, very high). Remember this for much, much later.


Point136



In the same room as the Taown fight, we can go around a corner and pick up our first Luck Noise.



We also get a new demon that we can fight against. Cu Chulainn would be a minor threat with Executioner but he's weak to Sleep so it's a non-issue.



He does have the courtesy to drop Code Cells for us though.



Getting back to where we were before is easy enough to do. It's just a linear path leading to a one-way door dropping us by Twinklebell's third statue.


Arms



But she can wait. We'll run back to Swadhisthana briefly and head to the Vendor at Minimum Solar Noise...



For the benefit of our Jack Cell. Jack Cells and Organic Cells sell for the same amount albeit in a mirror of one-another. Organic at Max Noise sells for 24,000 whereas Jack at Maximum is 16,000.

Yes, Jack cells sell for their most at Minimum noise. They are the only cell to do this.



Running around a bit and selling the lot... pushes us just over 100,000 Macca. Huh.





Graven Shard is an interesting item. It costs 50,000 Macca but works as a free, infinite Dia... but only in battle. It heals one persons HP for a little more than a Ration and is reusable but can't be used from the menu. Buying that immediately then.

Chakra Pots cost 10,000 Macca and restore 150 MP. Reminder that Chakra Drops cost 3,000 and restore 50. So, no point to buying the Pots then.

Estoma Spray reduces the encounter rate until Minimum Solar Noise. Costs 3,000. Very useful for running around although "reduces" is nebulous and it doesn't stop "fight, take 3 steps, fight." Just makes it happen a little less often.


Point136



Back at Coordinate 136, the platform right next to the one with the statue on it... is what we want.



This leads to a switch that rotates that red beam. It flips it to where it is now, which is where we want it.



Oh, hey. Since Serph, Gale and Argilla all have Mudo we get access to a new one of those combo exclusive spells. Millennia Curse is something of a crap shoot, since it hits every enemy, takes all of our teams turns and can do one of two things. Either it murders the targets straight up or it inflicts Curse. One of these is much better than the other, of course.



Omoikane decides to turn up again and just straight up mocks me this time around. One of these days!



Anyway! With the red beam now in place, we can head back to the Good Prince's statue and move that platform.



This brings us right to the exit now. Before, it just led to a door on the upper floor which leads directly back to the entrance on this floor. How rude!


The Princess (4)





Laughed... killing... princess... The princess... was...



And... the ... To save... beloved princess... challenged... The "...prince... "...prince" ... in fact was human..

End

This one wasn't much use to us, huh? Thankfully, the room itself has nothing in it whatsoever past the broadcast and the Karma Terminal. Moving right along, then...

The Princess (5)



But, before he could complete his plan...



Her heart was overcome with despair, and that power called forth great destruction.



End

At first, it doesn't seem like there is anything that can even be done in this room. There's platforms with mirrors on them, and we can move 'em around but... nothing happens. So, not touching them yet then.



Looking over the room a bit more, we can find this right next to the entrance. Give it a poke...




I'm in a hurry here. No more of this crap!!



Heat just punches the wall. Well, uh, good thing he's been putting points into Strength! :v:



'Cuz that crumbles the entire section of wall where the sign was. And reveals a beam of light... near the ceiling.


So, at times, illogical outbursts may open up new paths. I assume that next, we must use this light as our guide.



Gale has the right idea, and we'll lead the beam of light wherever we can. This one gets a might complicated in comparison to the others. First, we'll take both mirrors over on the west and move them. The one we're at first...



Leads directly to this switch here. We can walk to it too, but since we need to relocate the mirrors ths is slightly more convenient. We'll push it, and the red beams directly next to it open up...



There's a ladder right by the button, so we'll take that and head over to the mirror on the east side of the upper floor. With the red beam relocated...



That leads to one of these rotatable mirrors. We'll flip this one and then take the platform back up (can't get to the ladder from here).



Taking the ladder back to the button in the center, pressing it again, and the red beams close back together. Head back up the ladder now, move the mirror from the east side of the upper floor again and that completes the circuit here. If all three mirros on platforms are moved and the rotatable mirror is rotated that...



That leads the beam of light towards that picture, shattering it and letting us continue onwards.

But we're not done here. Oh no we're not.



Leaving the mirrors in place for now, we run back to the button and reposition the red beams. Again.



Now we run alllll the way around back to this mirror over on the east side of the lower floor. Move this platform and we get to a golden chest you might've seen earlier.



This one contains the... Yellow Key. Finally!

Now we can just take the platform back, head on back up the ladder and continue onwards. Simple.



Hmm, we did finally get the Yellow Key. And there IS a small terminal here... let's warp back to the entrance real quick.



We'll deal with the other Yellow Walls we've seen later on, but the two on the second floor are nice and easy to get to right now.



The west wall's first since it leads to a couple goodies. A fresh new Quick Noise to add to our inventory, a Chakra Pot to the south of this and to the north...



A couple of nifty Magic Mirrors. These things set up a barrier on the entire party and repel any magic spell thrown at them on the next turn. Could definitely have its uses.



The wall on the east side of the floor's next of course. This one's more worth our time since it leads to...


Coordinate 136 Field Hunt



Our next field hunt. This one's a bit trickier than the previous two by far; not only is the time limit longer, but the extra time is needed.



But, hey, once we manage to pull this one off... we get a new Mitama.


Hunting ~ Rare Devil



Nigi Mitamas are better to take down than Ara Mitamas but, of course, they're a little bit harder to beat. In theory. We have better stuff now so its a non-issue.

Although they are superweak to Fire spells (in case its not obvious now, their colour hints at this; red is weak to ice, blue is weak to fire...).



And with a couple buffs, Hunt skills can deal wacky huge numbers. 712 isn't even the largest in this fight!



They're kind enough to drop a Dekaja Rock for us at least. This lives up to its namesake; it's just a free Dekaja spell. I got plans for this one.


Point136



Running back after having solved all the puzzles is wonderfully quick, at least. And, yes, we have solved all the puzzles... for now. The remainder of the castle is a straight line on a staircase that leads...



All the way to the 10th floor and what seems to be a clocktower. Through the door it's just another short staircase to the 11th floor and that puts us...



Right outside the Princess's Chambers. There's just a small terminal here, so no easy healing for you...



Although you don't really need it since the bedroom itself is empty. There is that other door to the south leading to a balcony...



And that's where we want the opportunity to heal up (the bed cannot be used for this unfortunately).


Mick the Slug and The Traitorous Bat

Silence



Taken long enough to catch up with these two...





C'mon, let's hear you sing. And if you do a good job, I'll bring you along to Nirvana.
Who'd want to go with you?
Aww, y'don't like me? Well...if you're not going to cooperate, then...





Alright, come n'get a' piece of me.



Heat, you idiot what are you doing.



Remember how Bat's thing is "good with knives?"



He just shanks the gently caress outta Heat before he can do poo poo about it.


!



You...!



What!?
Maybe we'll reward you and your and your sweetheart with a trip to Nirvana...



Once we're there, she'll all yours.

Something Else Cool That I Swear Isn't On The OST :saddowns:





Heat, no! you can't trust that traitor!
I knew this was coming... Now we'll know for sure who's superior.





Understandably, Gale tries to step in at this point to end this ridiculous charade but...



There is no alternative. Defeat him, Serph.





Silence

...I understand.

Again, this choice matters. Picked wrong answer, etc. etc.

Vs. Asura Agni



More importantly, time for a... very special battle. Basically still cutscene.

Hunting ~ Comrades



Sadly, we're not having a gunfight with Heat. He'd lose hands down there...



Especially after he transforms into Agni. Because I am really bad at buying new bullets, Serph still has the ice ones from Manipura! :v:


Alright then... Let's see what you're made of, Mr. Leader... Time to die!!



In the interest of fair play, Serph morphs into Varuna too.



Though it doesn't matter too much; you have to intentionally lose this fight and it's still functionally a cutscene. All you can do is skip your turn or a regular attack.



Might as well just turn on Auto-battle for all the difference it doesn't make.



At a couple times, Agni has a line of dialogue but they're mostly just for show.



Once either Asura drops into the red, the fight ends and the cutscene continues...


Silence



With Varna getting knocked on his rear end.



Agni moves in for the kill...



But misses. Hmmm...



This gives Varuna a chance to get away and do nothing but block.



As the two grapple once more.





Sera comes to a realisation that there's something she can do...



While in the meantime, Agni and Varuna put on a show for Bat and Mick.



Using the distraction to her advantage, Sera just slips underneath Mick's arm...



And jumps off the castle.



Needless to say, her stupid plan destined to fail, uh, failed. Immediately.


No y'don't! I don't think so girlie.



Plan B it is then. And this one's much better.



Because it emits a loving shockwave.

...Sera if you could do this, why didn't you.



It completely fucks up everyone in the area. Goddamn.


What the--!?
Gah! My ears...
Ah... Ugh...





He, uh, does.

Sera!



Hey, look, the dude who's a bat is using his ability to, y'know, fly.



And he caught her. What a shocker.


You witch!
Hey, nice catch! Now, just don't drop her.
I really thought you were better than this, Mick. ...Guess I was wrong, huh?
Whaaat!?



I knew it!



Agni decides that the best form of action against the dude flying past the edge of the castle is to try and bumrush him. Uh...



This seems a mite overkill but whatever.



...Speaking of overkill. Suddenly a laser tears off one of Camazotz's wings. Holy poo poo.






Cielo!

Dude can also fly and catches Sera immediately afterwards.

Meat Ball



Easy does it... Gonna get outta here...





Finally got Mick cornered. His brilliant plan holing up in a dead end has backfired remarkably well.



Serph, what was it Heat said he'd do back there
It went like this...
Yep...



Silence



Or in other words...

DIE!!



It's time to finally fight Mick. Took long enough!

Boss: Asura Rahu

Big Battle



Strangely enough, Rahu's actually two separate parts that make one demon. Must be torture on Mick's psyche.

Kinda makes sense, considering Rahu came about from a dude drinking amrita and getting decapitated for it. But because he drank it, he was immortal. So, yeah, Rahu is basically a reverse Dullahan. He even gets the horses and everything!

Anyway, strategy here is simple. Taunt twice on the first turn which completely murders his defence (the attack boost is mostly irrelevant).



Probably a good idea to have some form of Earth protection. Drain is a wee bit overkill, since Void is more than good enough.



On his first turn, the Head will use a unique move on whoever has the highest Strength stat. Or at least that's what every piece of anecdotal data I've seen from playing the game, watching other people play the game and heard from other people who've played the game seems to suggest.



This sticks 'em in a big ol' energy ball and is Bad Times. Whoever he grabs now cannot be targeted at all. Can't switch 'em out, can't heal 'em, can't do anything with 'em.



This 76 is the Body punching. With its 4x Tarukajas. I wasn't kidding when I said it was mostly irrelevant.



No matter what you do on your turn, the Head counters by Absorbing a very small amount of HP from the person in its energy ball. Attack the body or head? Counter. Heal yourself? Counter. Buff/debuff? Counter. Put up a shield? Counter.



Speaking of debuffs, though, we do have a Dekaja Rock right here. Might as well use it now to remove those attack boosts.



Oh and the Head does nothing but Absorb on its turns too. There are three ways to get someone out of this. If they die, if the body dies or if the head dies.

The body is the easier to kill of the two since it has 1000 HP whereas the head has 1500. The Body, nicely enough, is also the stronger one.



Mostly because of this. Dragon Quake is a somewhat potent attack that hits the entire party.



...But it does Earth damage. So we've been able to render it worthless since the very beginning.



Killing either the head or body before their captive dies is easily doable, but eh.



Rahu does something special if the two get to Reunite. He never does it under any other circumstances so might as well let it happen.



Starts off by using... Psycho Rage. Okay, sure.



Then he casts Diarama... on the Head. Which has taken no damage.

Uh, Rahu? You... y'know, what. Never mind.



Next, he buffs his defense. Okay, so now its only down 3 stages. That's still plenty.



Then he debuffs your defense. This matters less than you would think considering they can't hurt you worth poo poo.



And then a Tarukaja to finish up. And since the damage output from 4 was manageable, this is just sad.



Have like a bajillion Revive Gems so this is a minor inconvenience at best.



So, weaknesses! The Head gets its poo poo kicked in by Force spells. Its immune to Fire, Ice, Elec and Earth of course (along with the usual ailments, death and expel).



The Body meanwhile is weak to Fire. Immunities being Ice, Elec, Force and Earth.



Since Serph can deal 1/5th of Body's max HP in one hit with an Agilao this goes quite fast. Both the Head and Body need beating to end the fight though.

...Kinda wonder what taking out half of it would do to Mick if he Reverted to Human at this point. Probably don't want to find out though.



Anyway, since the Head can't use Dragon Quake we can switch Argilla out now. Earth Drain was basically her biggest reason for being around. Well, that and healing but we aren't gonna need healing now. Gale has the good Force spells.



He also has Tarukaja. Two of those and Serph's dealing 1/5th of this things max HP now too.



People seem to think that fielding Gale at this stage is a Bad Thing. That's 47 on his weakness. Without defence buffs or magic debuffs.

Can't help but notice that a lot of people who write guides for this game are idiots who don't know what they're talking about.



Meanwhile, a Zanma from Gale under the same scenario deals almost 1/5th of the Head's max HP. And you're "not supposed to" field the guy who can do this. And will never not be able to do this.

I don't even know.



So, yeah, Rahu's easy too. A bit gimmicky, but easy. I swear there are some actual vaguely challenging boss fights. I just seem to have misplaced them.

Also Rahu's the first boss since Hayagriva to do something wonderful. We get AP from this one!

...Shame I had to waste it all on chump Mantras because I had no more money left. Don't worry, this'll be fixed in due course.




Comrades







Oh, come on! I totally saved Sera back dere!
Are you joking! Bat makes me sick!
Yeah, what she said!
What is "joking?"
As far as I know, it means you aren't serious.







Serph! I'm sorry! You're hurt...



Well, at least everyone's alright now.

Silence

I'm sorry. I... I came here to help but... I've only created problems. There really isnt' anywhere I belong...
'ey, why you say dat, Sera?



Well, I mean... We're y'know...



Yeah, that's it...
Comrades...?
Dat's right.



Oh hush, that's enough from you.
Hey, say something, Serph.
Sera's our comrade.



And with that, we're finally done with Coordinate 136.



Just in time to get a full party! :toot:



Cielo's, uh... special. A weakness to Ailments, of all things, is pretty friggin' awful. That's not just being weak to one thing. In this context, "ailments" is a catch-all for almost every possible type of ailment in the game. Nerve, poison, charm, shock, panic... It makes Cielo
really hard to field without planning. His initial skills basically being a bunch of Electric spells, a couple buffs and... Recarm sounds nice but he has no physical skills at all. This means no Hunt skills. This does not help him if you don't have Holy Beast yet (why don't you have Holy Beast yet).

So of course I actually like using the guy. Go figure.

Thankfully, stuff like Stone or Curse is not counted under Ailments since those are special and are counted as Death aligned instead. No need to worry about Cielo getting guarantee-killed at least. This kinda helps his usability at least.

Oh, and Dyaus is the lord of the skies. Husband of Prithivi, father of... uh... Usas. Dude is basically the Vedic equivalent of Zeus or Jupiter. So, y'know, pretty goddamned important. Much like everyone else, you could've guessed that this was coming considering Cielo's name is literally just Spanish for... "Sky."

Anyway, we need a plan of action so if we talk to Cielo, Gale or Argilla by the entrance to the castle...




I have devised a plan. It is time that we trapped them.



An ideal location?





A "huge vessel," huh?



So now we can go to a... Deserted Ship... next time to attempt to lure Bat and the Brutes into a trap of our own.

But, y'know, we've taken care of 3 of the 5 enemy tribes now and we've been focussing on this war and scheming and traps for quite a long while. We do have the Yellow Key to put to good use as well, but first I think it's time we finally went and did our first sidequest. And wouldn't you know it? Now that we've beaten Rahu one just opened up inside Coordinate 136...







For the moment, here's every (new(ish)) skill we picked up in the entirety of Co-Ordinate 136. A lot of it are variants on stuff we have, or covered as they were available, but some stuff is a bit less obvious. Comatose/Stun Needle/Mute Blow are all self-exlanatory but Null Critical does not grant immunity to criticals; just makes them less like to happen. Quick Cure makes it more likely that you'll remove an ailment if it can be cured at the end of turns. Ingest is a Hunt skill that inflicts instant death instead of damage but at a higher rate than the one we had before. Problem is, it costs more HP than Devil Feast and there's no reason to use it ever. Power Wave hits every enemy for a decent amount of physical damage. Paraladi cures Paralysis, Me Patra is Patra but full party. Pulinpa tries to inflict Panic on one enemy, Makajam tries to inflict Silence/Mute on one enemy and Dormina is an attempt to put every enemy to sleep.

Lotus Aura fucked around with this message at 00:18 on Sep 15, 2014

Feinne
Oct 9, 2007

When you fall, get right back up again.
So, we've got two new Atma to discuss after this update:

Cielo's Atma is the Rainbow Arch. It's a rainbow atop a cloud with a mouth on it. It's a rather interesting choice, and is more an allusion to Cielo's ability to fly than his affinity for lightning. There IS a lightning themed Atma, but it'll be quite some time before we see it.

Mick the Slug's Atma is the Solar Eclipse. It's a black circle with a mouth in the side. I'm going to be honest, the best rationalization of it to me is that it's a fat joke. He doesn't use dark skills or anything.

Cielo's Ailment weakness is extremely tragic, though there are ways to actually gain advantage from it.

ultrafilter
Aug 23, 2007

It's okay if you have any questions.


I'm kinda disappointed that Mick the Slug's demon form wasn't actually sluglike.

W.T. Fits
Apr 21, 2010

Ready to Poyozo Dance all over your face.

Feinne posted:

Mick the Slug's Atma is the Solar Eclipse Evil Pac-Man. It's a black circle with a mouth in the side.

Fixed that for you. :v:

Bellmaker
Oct 18, 2008

Chapter DOOF



Heat actually came up with a decent plan, huh.

Cielo nuking Bat sure got a :hellyeah: out of me

Poor Cielo, being weak to "ailments" in an Atlus game sure seems like a death sentence!

Ratoslov
Feb 15, 2012

Now prepare yourselves! You're the guests of honor at the Greatest Kung Fu Cannibal BBQ Ever!

Bellmaker posted:

Poor Cielo, being weak to "ailments" in an Atlus game sure seems like a death sentence!

It is a secret super-power.

I gotta say, I'm actually kind of impressed at Bat's ability to figure out the exact moment to backstab and escape his current boss before beating a retreat to join someone else who absolutely positively know better.

Kurieg
Jul 19, 2012

RIP Lutri: 5/19/20-4/2/20
:blizz::gamefreak:
I love the way that Heat just punches himself in the mouth to get items out.

blankd
Mar 26, 2010

Ratoslov posted:

I gotta say, I'm actually kind of impressed at Bat's ability to figure out the exact moment to backstab and escape his current boss before beating a retreat to join someone else who absolutely positively know better.
Well he's like, good with knives or something.

Also "Mick the Slug" was localized from "Mick the Nick".

Kaboom Dragoon
May 7, 2010

The greatest of feasts

I believe the first book finishes either at the start or end of 136, so that gives you an idea of how much it covers. I'll have an update on it in the next couple of days if people are still digging them.

Green Intern
Dec 29, 2008

Loon, Crazy and Laughable

I really like Cielo's demon design. It's stands out among the other members of the party a bit, and the plane aesthetic is pretty cool in general.

David D. Davidson
Nov 17, 2012

Orca lady?

Green Intern posted:

I really like Cielo's demon design. It's stands out among the other members of the party a bit, and the plane aesthetic is pretty cool in general.

I agree. Kazuma Kaneko's artwork on the whole is pretty cool. His designs for the demons in this game are pretty cool in particular.


SOME SPOILERS DOWN BELOW
http://artofkazumakaneko.tumblr.com/

David D. Davidson fucked around with this message at 05:49 on Sep 12, 2014

ultrafilter
Aug 23, 2007

It's okay if you have any questions.


Kaboom Dragoon posted:

I believe the first book finishes either at the start or end of 136, so that gives you an idea of how much it covers. I'll have an update on it in the next couple of days if people are still digging them.

Please do.

David D. Davidson posted:

I agree. Kazuma Kaneko's artwork on the whole is pretty cool. His designs for the demons in this game are pretty cool in particular.

http://artofkazumakaneko.tumblr.com/

There are some pretty major spoilers there, so click at your own risk.

David D. Davidson
Nov 17, 2012

Orca lady?

ultrafilter posted:

There are some pretty major spoilers there, so click at your own risk.

Didn't scroll down that far before I posted it. I went ahead and put up a warning.

Petiso
Apr 30, 2012



Wow, I think I've never seen Rahu's head by itself, I always went for it first to get rid of Dragon Thrash, I also assumed it had less HP than the body.

Another bad thing about Cielo you forgot to mention is that his stats' distribution is focused on Agility, the least useful of all.

I still love the guy though.

Sleep of Bronze
Feb 9, 2013

If I could only somewhere find Aias, master of the warcry, then we could go forth and again ignite our battle-lust, even in the face of the gods themselves.

Dragonatrix posted:

Something Else Cool That I Swear Isn't On The OST :saddowns:
Aw, I wanted to listen to that.

quote:

Oh, and Dyaus is the lord of the skies. Husband of Prithivi, father of... uh... Usas. Dude is basically the Vedic equivalent of Zeus or Jupiter. So, y'know, pretty goddamned important. Much like everyone else, you could've guessed that this was coming considering Cielo's name is literally just Spanish for... "Sky."

They're not just equivalents, they're ... alternative religion selves? They all appear to derive from the same PIE god, or at least the names all came from the same PIE place.
Z = ds, so Dyaus = Dseus = Zeus. Jupiter is probably better written as Iuppiter, which in turn comes from Iu- (pronounced Yu) and pater (father). And Dyaus is often more formally called Dyauṣ Pitar, so they're actually very close. Dyauṣ Pitar -> lose the D -> yaus pitar -> assimilate the s into a geminate p -> Yauppitar -> Latinise -> Iuppiter.

There's even enough evidence for us to think the PIE god used the 'father' title himself, as something like Dyeus ph2ter and Zeus is a bit odd for only taking it as an occasional epithet while Iuppiter and Dyauṣ Pitar kept it much more closely bound to them.

theshim
May 1, 2012

You think you can defeat ME, Ephraimcopter?!?

You couldn't even beat Assassincopter!!!

Dragonatrix posted:



Oh hush, that's enough from you.
:allears:

Just reading the description of the puzzles and backtracking was enough to make me think stopping where I did wasn't a terrible idea. And I've heard it only gets worse...

Petiso
Apr 30, 2012



theshim posted:

:allears:

Just reading the description of the puzzles and backtracking was enough to make me think stopping where I did wasn't a terrible idea. And I've heard it only gets worse...

You hear a water current approaching...

Montegoraon
Aug 22, 2013

Ratoslov posted:

It is a secret super-power.

I can't help but wonder. Did they decide to give one character a weakness to ailments and then come up with the one situation where that would be extremely useful, or did they design the situation first and then decide to give the player a tool to make it a little more manageable?

Feinne
Oct 9, 2007

When you fall, get right back up again.

Montegoraon posted:

I can't help but wonder. Did they decide to give one character a weakness to ailments and then come up with the one situation where that would be extremely useful, or did they design the situation first and then decide to give the player a tool to make it a little more manageable?

I honestly think him being weak to ailments wasn't intended to be any worse than the other weaknesses. Honestly, it really isn't, but people perceive it as really poo poo and that he's the worst by a wide margin because of it. I'd imagine that's why he's weak against just Nerve in DDS2, which makes him crazy awesome in 2 to go along with him just in general being crazy awesome in 2.

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Montegoraon
Aug 22, 2013

David D. Davidson posted:

I agree. Kazuma Kaneko's artwork on the whole is pretty cool. His designs for the demons in this game are pretty cool in particular.


SOME SPOILERS DOWN BELOW
http://artofkazumakaneko.tumblr.com/

For those of you who don't want to look, there's an interview linked a few pages down in that where Kazuma Kaneko talks about this game and the series in general. I won't post the whole thing, because there are massive spoilers, but here are some interesting non-spoilery highlights.

quote:

Q: Then I would like to hear about what became your main work, character design. We just talked about the theme, but is it also reflected in the character design?
A: Indeed. Besides the game setting, the basis was the characters “eating” their enemies but since we simply couldn’t have them eat in their human form, we thought of having them do it after they turned into demons. That is how the characters who turn into demons have a prominent mouth; I also removed the eyes, which stood out too much.

Q: In addition to that, can you share a few characteristic ideas that were incorporated into their designs?
A: There’s nothing similar to an actual culture in this world, so everyone wears the tribal costumes provided by the Karma Church. They might look like patched uniforms, but they can actually be disassembled into pieces.
Moreover, they can be divided into options for mantle, back, skirt etc. That is why there is a basic suit for everyone, but dynamic characters would remove their coats, and matching their distinctive trait, I’d dress them well. This is the way the separation of characters takes place. …I’m saying there’s no culture, but I still fussed over a certain something! (laughs)

Q: Unusual for this series, the protagonist Serph has his name introduced from the very beginning.
A: The name is indeed attached, but according to tradition, I drew the protagonist not really expressing his feelings or showing too much personality. I did this because it is unpleasant for the character to get angry at a point when this shouldn’t happen for the player. That’s why, first of all, I always give him a stern expression.
I only add enough personality so people can say “Oh, this is the protagonist of that game”.

Q: The one who can suppress the transformation of Serph & co. into demons in the middle of their dispute is Sera, the key-person. What kind of character is she?
A: Sera makes her debut naked, but Cielo or someone else put together some fitting clothes for her to wear (laughs). I gave her a very short hairstyle, since no one in the female cast had one. But more important than her hairstyle is the fact that she is the only one in this world to have black hair.
Story and design-wise, her design has changed a lot, alongside the progression of the scenario. I was surprised when she started singing (laughs). At any rate, she is a character on a sort of mission. Personality-wise, some players might find her irritating.

Q: Not limited to DDS, what is important to you besides being able to produce the designs?
A: I first think of the things that don’t look so important. However, for me there are rules that determine every theme’s characteristics; the Persona series, for example, has “another me” as a main theme, so the Persona has the image of a dressed-up self, with a mask and costume.
Since the theme of DDS is one’s instinct (= to eat), I aimed for animal-like and simple designs.
According to the rules of that “simplicity”, I aimed for “removing” more than “adding” to the designs. When drawing a strong character, rather than thinking that I should draw horns or wings, I attach all the elements from the stages of the initial design and from there I streamline it. This is…unexpectedly difficult. That is why, when I don’t get sudden flashes of inspiration, I get terribly distressed about it.

Q: Has “removing” been more important than “adding” to you since the very beginning?
A: No, it hasn’t been like that. As expected, besides reaching this point to some extent, I thought about what would make a cool design, so it ended up like this.
First, I started by simply thinking that I should do things that are different from others. I was never an actual art student, but I didn’t really like the doujin-style art that was popular at the time, thinking how difficult it would be to carry equipment like all those jumbled weapons and armours (laughs). Furthermore, they’re not efficient at all. I thought that great guys would carry more simple things but….society went in the opposite direction.
After that I gradually started thinking about what design was. Well, back then I didn’t have the concept of planning the design and adding or removing, seeing as I only removed things instinctively. Looking at various things and seriously studying design made me change too.

Q: Since you mentioned earlier “the spirit of Megaten”, what is your definition of Megami Tensei?
A: I don’t know whether this is the definition of Megaten or not, but comparatively, popular RPGs have got a lot of “babyface”-like facets compared to it and even if it would win in a challenge, it wouldn’t be an actual victory; but I think this “heel” role is what is specific of Megaten.
I did say “heel” but the main point is that it’s “dark”. More than being actually “gloomy”, it’s actually being able to say its story in a straightforward manner…show it with no dishonesty. Not only looking at or showing the good parts, but also the reverse. “There really isn’t a conclusion, but this way of thinking exists too, right?”, that is, not us saying or showing many things, but leaving the player room to spontaneously to reflect about the game. This is what I believe Megaten is.

Q: Does that “dark” part exist in you too?
A: I believe so. It’s something I have. Conversely, I’m probably intuitively unable to make “babyface”-like things. I’ve wanted to do adult-like things from childhood. I hated childish things. I believe there are definitely people with the same feelings as me, and don’t do it only out of egocentrism or because I’m displeased…it’s more like, there are times when I choose the “rock” way.

Q: So is this the meaning of Megami Tensei to you?
A: Yes. A tool that can express various familiar things we should think about every time…probably.

If you don't feel like reading all that, here's the best part.

quote:

Q: How did discussions with the staff go after you decided to introduce the keyword into the concrete plot?
A: First, I explained the initial ideas to the people in charge of planning and scenario. Talking about the food part and so on while changing it into something more familiar. And seeing how after that, the story was something they worked on, I waited in anticipation for something in their own style. Speaking of the result, if I had done it, I think it would have turned really bleak, but the way it was presented by them, it gained a more or less light atmosphere, or, how should I put it…since it went a mild route, I think it had a good charm.

Q: Was the plot you had thought of much heavier?
A: That is so. To be honest, I would have preferred a much bleaker atmosphere, but it wouldn’t be all right if everything followed my own preferences. Bleakness will be used in a new production, so I believe that this time the staff successfully put together a mild atmosphere.

DDS's story, which takes place in an incredibly gray world of constant total war, where people then start turning into demons and are forced to eat each other, and even that is barely scratching the surface of what's coming later on, is Kazuma Kaneko's idea of a "mild" storyline and atmosphere.

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