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Einander posted:I know just about everything that's known about the gameplay, and I plan to be thorough in covering both the mechanics and the story. All scenarios (and multiple versions of a few), all characters, all sidequests (though there aren't many), and I have plans for at least two run-throughs of both South Moundtop and The Final Battle.
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Nov 13, 2014 04:34
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Kaboom Dragoon posted:I've wanted to understand how to play Unlimited for so long, but it's one of those games you really have someone in the room with you telling you how to play. I'd still love to see some madman take it on though (assuming they're prepared to spend the first 20 updates doing hour long videos on how to understand even the basic concepts). Here, this should help.
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Nov 13, 2014 11:08
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Chiming in. I'm super excited for this LP--I'm really enjoying how you talk about the game. I'm another who went straight from Saga Frontier 1 (which I loved) to this and was totally turned off by how different they are from each other.
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Nov 13, 2014 11:11
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Einander posted:The game is a bit blurry in general, I'm afraid. It looks like something's making it blurrier, though. I messed around a bit and ended up with this   (though initially with a black border I cropped out). It's a weird resolution for a PSX game, but nice and crisp. quote:In some ways, Roof of Riovanes is a surprisingly apt comparison, but South Moundtop is worse. I'll be looking forward to it, then. I have fond memories of Riovanes.
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Nov 13, 2014 11:44
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Rangpur posted:Jumping the gun a bit, has anyone done an Unlimited Saga LP? Now there's a game which is obtuse even by Saga standards. I've thought about it a few times - I spent months learning the gently caress out of USaGa and still remember most of the arcane knowledge needed to get it to work. Even then, though, it's a pretty punishing game and there's not a lot to really show - the graphics and plot are pretty bare most of the time. I'd rather talk endlessly about Last Remnant or something, but even that would require so much prep for a full playthrough of it I kind of give up. Saga Frontier 2 was my first ever game as a fresh-faced new PSX owner. That was kind of a shock, to say the least.
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Nov 13, 2014 12:13
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vilkacis posted:It looks like something's making it blurrier, though. [...] It's a weird resolution for a PSX game, but nice and crisp. No, see, that's the thing. Every version of it that I've played: emulator, actual PSX, PSP eboot... they're all blurry as gently caress. I've played the hell out of SaGa Frontier 2 and if anything, your screenshot edits look way too crunchy and jaggy. It's that sort of game/graphic style.
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Nov 13, 2014 15:42
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Unreal_One posted:Every time I've played this game, I've gotten hooked by the Gustave storyline, played until I had to do a Wil quest to continue, did one of his, then quit. Really excited to see what I missed. For just this reason, I've always wanted an LP of this game.
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Nov 13, 2014 16:25
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KataraniSword posted:No, see, that's the thing. Every version of it that I've played: emulator, actual PSX, PSP eboot... they're all blurry as gently caress. I've played the hell out of SaGa Frontier 2 and if anything, your screenshot edits look way too crunchy and jaggy. It's that sort of game/graphic style. They're not edits. I can't say anything about how it looks on a TV, but as far as emulators go, blur is a function of the settings. I tried a couple of different plugins in order to get those images, and without any stretching or blurring filters, they all produced clean pixels, but with varying degrees of distortion. But I guess if the actual hardware stretches the image portion to fill the whole screen, that would make the game blurrier than other PS1 titles.
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Nov 13, 2014 18:58
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vilkacis posted:They're not edits. I can't say anything about how it looks on a TV, but as far as emulators go, blur is a function of the settings. I tried a couple of different plugins in order to get those images, and without any stretching or blurring filters, they all produced clean pixels, but with varying degrees of distortion. Huh.  I always assumed it was some screwed up antialiasing going on. Guess we can add "plays in a non-native resolution in order to mess with sprite clarity" to the list of arcane Kawazu-isms this game was coded with.
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Nov 13, 2014 19:44
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I just could not get into playing this game, so an LP is perfect for it.
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Nov 13, 2014 20:11
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Gustave Exiled (1227) Gustave reaches 7 years of age and faces the Firebrand Ceremony. However... 1227 Gustave is banished Gustave is banished from the castle after failing the Firebrand Ceremony.   (Theme)   (Transitions to the hallway on button press...)   (...and they walk around aimlessly up and down the stairs until you press a button again.) Narrator: The castle is turned upside down with preparations for the ceremony and party.   Firebrand spins in place and bobs up and down. Narrator: As the name suggests, it responds to the Anima of fire. Upon reaching seven years of age, the prince undergoes a ceremony to test whether he is worthy to wield Firebrand and become heir to the throne.  (?) (I'm not sure what this translates to. "Sacrifice," possibly, but... If you know, feel free to say so.) a cartoon duck posted:I don't think Weihalter is a German word, but they probably just did the good old German thing of inventing a compound word by combining weihen (to bless) and Alter (age, as in a person's age), so I'd just translate it as Age of Blessing. Rushputin posted:I think it's actually "Weihaltar", so it would mean something like "sacred altar" or more literally "altar of blessing". HenryEx posted:I'd just assume that they did a common switch up and mixed up alter with altar - i've seen tons of people write altar with an e in English, too, and they're reasonably close in pronounciation that you could make that mistake. And Weihaltar is actually a German word, albeit a really outdated one - the linked dictionary is from the late 19th / early 20th century.     (The sword floats down to his hand on its own, and as he concentrates, it flickers red and black. Then he puts it back, and it floats back to the pedestal on its own.)    (As he turns to the center, the room goes dark. The sword floats down to his hand, and as he lifts it...)   (...the sword does not glow.)  Focus your Anima into the sword!      Only the ceremony did not go well. Common trees, grass, and even rocks have Anima. He is less than a rock. I had high hopes for him. That is why I feel so betrayed. It is unforgivable. It is not permissible for a member of the royal family not to have Anima.  Even though he may not have the power of the Anima, Gustave is still a living being. I have given birth to him, I have nursed him, and I have raised him. He may only be an heir to you, but to me, he is the son to whom I have given life.               (Sophie walks sedately inside. Gustave, being a seven year-old kid, immediately runs in and jumps on the bed.  )     (The Outside World)  Chronicle: 1227 Gustave is banished Gustave is banished from the castle after failing the Firebrand Ceremony. Next (Gustave): Departure From Homeland (Gustave) Next (chronological): Departure From Homeland (Gustave) Einander fucked around with this message at 03:42 on Nov 15, 2014 |
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Nov 14, 2014 02:49
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Departure from Homeland (1227) Gustave and his mother are banished from the palace. What destiny awaits them? 1227 Gustave is exiled Gustave and Sophie take refuge in Gruegel with the help of Cielmer.   (The Homeless)  Dismissed.   Oh, it's you, Cielmer. What is it that brings you here?  As the young master's tutor, it is my responsibility that this has come to be. Therefore, I no longer have the right to remain. Please grant me permission to leave the palace. Very well, you have my permission. Thank you for your services over the past four years.   Why didn't you tell me that he didn't have any Anima? Not only can Cielmer just walk right into the royal throne room without announcement or appointment, but he doesn't have to account for or explain the public failure of the Firebrand Ceremony until the king very politely asks him about it. I did not know, myself. I had sensed that he possessed very strong Anima within him...I feel that fate has had a hand in the appearance of such a figure in the royal family.  Fate, eh...I only wished for a son that could have formally acceded to the throne.    It can't be helped, Gustave. It would be best if we could return to Nohl, but His Majesty most likely will not allow that. It is pitiful to have to make you stay in such a place, but...    (A nice little touch--Cielmer turns slightly to look at Sophie and Gustave as they talk. Also, if you look at the upper right, you can see a small dark spot that appears in the last screenshot above--periodically, an insect crawls from the upper right and then vanishes at the floorline.) Sir Cielmer! Why have you come here? His Highness has granted me permission to leave, and I will be heading back to Gruegel. Therefore, I came to see if I might escort Your Highness to Gruegel. But I do not believe that His Majesty will allow us to leave... Waiting here will most likely not change His Majesty's mind.  At Gruegel, it is best that you seek asylum from King Sui of Na. He may not have the right to inherit Firebrand, but Gustave XIII is still blood heir to the throne. He's a messy loose end. I understand. I have always left matters regarding Gustave to your discretion. I shall heed your words. And despite being some kind of noble from a kingdom on an entirely different continent, Sophie trusts him completely, the same way Gustave XII does. Presumably he did something to earn that trust? No, this will not ever be explained. You can infer a few things, but Cielmer is one of the bigger question marks of the game. (Music stops. You can hear wood creaking and the sound of the ocean.)     (A soldier patrols from left to right, checking each of the piers, then walks off-screen at the top right.)   (Cielmer checks in the direction the soldier went, and then Gustave and Sophie step out.)      There's a heavy sort of echoing 'plunk' here, which is the sound effect for monsters using hypnosis attacks, not player sleep spells.   (The Outside World) Just listen to Aussenwelt every time, it's great.  Chronicle: 1227 Gustave is exiled Gustave and Sophie take refuge in Gruegel with the help of Cielmer. Next (Gustave): Gustave 12 Years Old (1232) Next (Chronological): Gustave 12 Years Old (1232) Einander fucked around with this message at 01:47 on Mar 22, 2015 |
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Nov 14, 2014 02:52
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So begins the adventure of Gustav. He might not have any anima but he has the power to win our hearts. 
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Nov 14, 2014 03:17
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The previous updates made Gustave Sr. look like a good king, but holy poo poo is he a horrendous father. "My son has no powers HE IS LESS THAN A ROCK HE IS EXILED/MUST BE KILLED". Jesus christ, dude. The teacher dude might be a monster (from the sound effect thing you said) but at least he's being actually helpful and nice.
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Nov 14, 2014 03:18
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Blaze Dragon posted:The previous updates made Gustave Sr. look like a good king, but holy poo poo is he a horrendous father. "My son has no powers HE IS LESS THAN A ROCK HE IS EXILED/MUST BE KILLED". Jesus christ, dude. Meh welcome to the European-esque royalty. They need a strong first born son. In a magic kingdom where literally every commoner has magic, the royal family need to best around. To not have magic is little like not being born with hand in our universe, he will look weak and stupid.
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Nov 14, 2014 03:22
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Shwqa posted:Meh welcome to the European-esque royalty. They need a strong first born son. In a magic kingdom where literally every commoner has magic, the royal family need to best around. To not have magic is little like not being born with hand in our universe, he will look weak and stupid. Yeah. We haven't seen much yet, but not being an Anima-haver is A Problem. A blind or lame king would be an issue, Anima is basically another sense in this world. And this is basically Game of Thrones:The Anime, so everyone is a jerkface.
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Nov 14, 2014 04:26
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Bellmaker posted:Yeah. We haven't seen much yet, but not being an Anima-haver is A Problem. A blind or lame king would be an issue, Anima is basically another sense in this world. Will is rickon stark
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Nov 14, 2014 04:34
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Curious if you're going to be filling in some of the info from SF2 Perfect Works when it's appropriate, since even if you do play all the story events and understand the main plotline, there's too much left out which wouldn't be so bad because SaGa, but this storyline is almost Matsuno style.
Shitenshi fucked around with this message at 06:15 on Nov 14, 2014 |
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Nov 14, 2014 06:06
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I don't think Weihalter is a German word, but they probably just did the good old German thing of inventing a compound word by combining weihen (to bless) and Alter (age, as in a person's age), so I'd just translate it as Age of Blessing.
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Nov 14, 2014 06:58
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Great LP so far Einander, is it okay if i answer question about the story when it is shown and people have questions? I won't spoil anything that will not be seen. I have watched someone play the game of ten enough that i remember it by heart. Bellmaker posted:Yeah. We haven't seen much yet, but not being an Anima-haver is A Problem. A blind or lame king would be an issue, Anima is basically another sense in this world. But not everyone is a jerkface.
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Nov 14, 2014 07:07
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Shitenshi posted:Curious if you're going to be filling in some of the info from SF2 Perfect Works when it's appropriate, since even if you do play all the story events and understand the main plotline, there's too much left out which wouldn't be so bad because SaGa, but this storyline is almost Matsuno style. I know the big things in Perfect Works, but not everything; I can talk about the final dungeon, but not the history and geography of the City of Night, if that gives you an idea. The main plotline really isn't that complicated, people are just used to stories that care about explaining things. You get most of the information you need. a cartoon duck posted:I don't think Weihalter is a German word, but they probably just did the good old German thing of inventing a compound word by combining weihen (to bless) and Alter (age, as in a person's age), so I'd just translate it as Age of Blessing. I'll quote that in the post. If anyone else has an alternative possibility, I'd be happy to hear them. Sramaker posted:Great LP so far Einander, is it okay if i answer question about the story when it is shown and people have questions? I won't spoil anything that will not be seen. Mmm... I'd ask that you please wait to see whether or not I answer. I'm fine with you elaborating on things I explain, but there's some things I want to keep under my proverbial hat until a certain point. That said, if you know any of the miscellaneous background lore, feel free to pipe in with that. As above, I know the big things in Perfect Works and the like, but I don't know everything.
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Nov 14, 2014 07:24
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I have to say, the game certainly knows how to get your attention with the first few scenes. Color me intrigued to keep following this.
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Nov 14, 2014 07:30
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Einander posted:I know the big things in Perfect Works, but not everything; I can talk about the final dungeon, but not the history and geography of the City of Night, if that gives you an idea. Alright but if you mention what things you don't know when they show up it would allow to be sure not to step on your feet so to speak.
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Nov 14, 2014 07:35
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vilkacis posted:It looks like something's making it blurrier, though. I messed around a bit and ended up with this Looks like the game runs in 320x240 mode with black boxes around the edges to cover up overscan. The actual image is 304x224.  And this is it nearest neighbor resized  Not especially blurry, though there's no telling how NTSC mangles it. e: I guess I came to the same conclusion you did.
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Nov 14, 2014 08:21
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Dad is a bit of a dick, isn't he? I'm having some Darksword vibes here, although in that universe Magic is literaly Life (and religion, and whatever...), so when the royal prince is born without any magic the drama is understandable. This comes out a bit of a surprise because its so sudden. Are non-magical people common in this setting?
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Nov 14, 2014 08:38
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Fat Samurai posted:This comes out a bit of a surprise because its so sudden. Are non-magical people common in this setting? They're uncommon.
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Nov 14, 2014 08:46
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Fat Samurai posted:Dad is a bit of a dick, isn't he? I think the prince is literally the only one. And well the prince has anima of great power, but he can't use any of it. I never got far enough in the story to know what that means.
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Nov 14, 2014 08:50
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It means "screw anima I'm going to conquer the world with steel." Hence, Gustave the Steel like you see in the history timeline. The strange implication is that everyone else is using wooden and stone spears and swords. Clarste fucked around with this message at 12:27 on Nov 14, 2014 |
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Nov 14, 2014 09:17
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In the intro, you see groups of soldiers fighting using wooden weapons. As to why they're using them, King Gustave XII has this to say:quote:
What we know right now is that natural weapons themselves contain Anima, and that having Anima is a pre-requisite for getting the most out of them. The inference made through the basic timeline is that Steel weapons aren't very useful to the average person, because they don't contain the same level as Anima. Gustave doesn't give two shits about that lack of power, though, because he can't use it. Niton fucked around with this message at 10:13 on Nov 14, 2014 |
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Nov 14, 2014 09:50
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Meh I don't feel like spoiler tagging stuff because it doesn't add enough to warrant it. I like Gustav though 
Shwqa fucked around with this message at 10:13 on Nov 14, 2014 |
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Nov 14, 2014 09:52
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Wait a bit longer on talking about stuff we haven't reached yet. We'll get to why they use wooden weapons in two updates. Niton's got it right, Clarste and Shwqa need to rein it in a bit. Spoiler tags for unreached Chronicle content.
Einander fucked around with this message at 10:14 on Nov 14, 2014 |
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Nov 14, 2014 10:11
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Bellmaker posted:Yeah. We haven't seen much yet, but not being an Anima-haver is A Problem. A blind or lame king would be an issue, Anima is basically another sense in this world. I was going to say Gustave XIII is basically Tyrion Lannister as far as his birth/family situation goes. Everyone that cares about the politics would really rather he not exist, but he does, and that can be... problematic. Dareon fucked around with this message at 11:52 on Nov 14, 2014 |
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Nov 14, 2014 11:49
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Einander posted:I'll quote that in the post. If anyone else has an alternative possibility, I'd be happy to hear them. I think it's actually "Weihaltar", so it would mean something like "sacred altar" or more literally "altar of blessing". The SaGa Wikia has a tracklist that seems to have more accurate German spellings than the ones you're using, although some of the translations are still slightly wrong. If I keep reading this LP I'll chime in if you get something wrong. 
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Nov 14, 2014 13:17
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a cartoon duck posted:I don't think Weihalter is a German word, but they probably just did the good old German thing of inventing a compound word by combining weihen (to bless) and Alter (age, as in a person's age), so I'd just translate it as Age of Blessing. I'd just assume that they did a common switch up and mixed up alter with altar - i've seen tons of people write altar with an e in English, too, and they're reasonably close in pronounciation that you could make that mistake. And Weihaltar is actually a German word, albeit a really outdated one - the linked dictionary is from the late 19th / early 20th century. quote:Weihaltar, m. lex. seit Campe 5 (1811) 641a. So yeah, in short, it probably refers to a votive altar or altars in general. The screenshots of when it plays look kinda cathedral-y to me, too. They probably just picked an old religion-related word more or less at random. /edit: I missed the message above me. But hey, i have sources!
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Nov 14, 2014 16:54
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I just checked the track list insert on the soundtrack, and it is indeed Weihaltar, not Weihalter. That'll trust me to teach the information auto-populate on my ripping software, I suppose! Editing the post.
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Nov 15, 2014 03:40
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Oh, man, this game. Thanks to a guide, I was able to make it through everything (except, of course, Battle of South F---ing Moundrop) without too much of a problem. Trying spark those super-rare, super powerful upper tier skills (because I'm an obsessive compulsive completionist like that) was what ended up breaking me. 
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Nov 15, 2014 04:51
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Yeah, there's a couple that are drat near impossible to spark. There's one beast art that I recall only sparks on a temporary character and the only enemy he fights with high enough numbers to actually learn it can only be fought once.
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Nov 15, 2014 05:01
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dis astranagant posted:Yeah, there's a couple that are drat near impossible to spark. There's one beast art that I recall only sparks on a temporary character and the only enemy he fights with high enough numbers to actually learn it can only be fought once. SOUL HYMN  It's a tri-elemental art, and can only be sparked by... all of something like three characters. One of those characters is available in the final sequences, but you'll have very few chances to get even close to learning it even with that character spamming the right kinds of magic constantly. The character most likely to spark it, as noted, can only do it against a single, non-repeatable fight. gently caress Soul Hymn. It's not even that great of a skill.
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Nov 15, 2014 06:31
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So I started playing back through the game. I'm getting frustrated with how tough it is to tell what are paths on some screens. Between the blurryness and the flat painted backgrounds (which admittedly look interesting), it can get frustrating figuring out where to go. There's piles of boulders that turn out to be staircases, but of course you can only tell that if you hug every wall in a dungeon after you're feeling stuck.
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Nov 15, 2014 10:12
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Nudging the thread onto a new page for the update, since it's two posts.
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Nov 16, 2014 00:35
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