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Billy Black posted:I played a little Dragon Quest IX, but got preoccupied with other games and didn't get too far. The little bit I did see, though, I loved. I said it in the DQIX thread, but it reminds me of Earthbound with the humor and gameplay, and I've been looking for a game like that for a long time. EarthBound is practically a carbon copy of Dragon Quest. Intentionally so, but still. quote:-Something about monsters joining your party? This sounds very exciting to me. Is it as good as it sounds, or is it filler content? There are long stretches of the game where recruited monsters will be your only party characters, and some monsters will be useful for the entire game. quote:-On that same note, the Dragon Quest Monster games sound even more exciting to me, for the same reason I love Pokemon. Should I really start that series with the GBA games, or is starting with the DS one (DQM:Joker) fine? Starting with Joker is fine. quote:-When people talk about Party Chat, are they referring to when I hit the X or Y button? I'm assuming it gets more interesting when I have more party members than some little girl. Yes, talking with the party members = party chat. quote:-What's up with the DQ/DW thing? Is it like Final Fantasy III/VI, where it was a localization thing, or is there more to it? When Enix finally set up a US branch to translate Dragon Quest, the name Dragon Warrior had already been trademarked a few years earlier. Via Wikipedia: "Early in the series, Dragon Quest games were released under the title Dragon Warrior in North America to avoid trademark conflict with the role-playing game (RPG) Dragon Quest, which was published by Simulations Publications in the 1980s until the company's 1982 bankruptcy and acquisition by TSR, Inc.. TSR continued publishing the line as an alternative to Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) until 1987,[1] and in 2003, Square Enix registered the Dragon Quest trademark in the United States.” quote:It's pretty unbelievable to me that I've never played a DQ game, especially with how much I like RPG's in general. But better late than never I suppose. Welcome aboard. Make sure to dig up Dragon Quest VIII on the PS2, many regard it as the best entry in the series. Japan likes Dragon Quest III more, though.
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Feb 28, 2011 17:01
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Billy Black posted:-Something about monsters joining your party? This sounds very exciting to me. Is it as good as it sounds, or is it filler content? -Monsters can be recruited in several DQ games. Dq5 basically started allowing you to beat monsters up and then they join you due to certain abilities that are gained later on. Dq6 removes this partially, now the only creatures that are recruitable are encountered at specific times in-game, so there's no randomness like DQ5 had. -The DQ monster series is a combo of, well, DQ monsters and Pokemon. I wouldn't play the old GBC ones unless you REALLY like old-school gaming. You may want to play the DS ones for more updated graphics and engines. Cute note: Dragon Quest Monsters 1 for the Game Boy Color is a prequel to DQ6, though story was never a huge factor for the DQ series. The DS DQM: JOKER series is a side story with no real relevance to the main series' storyline. -Party chat just allows your characters to make little quips about the situation. Personally, I find them a bit bland as they obviously had to write a looooooot of dialogue, but here and there they add hints and clues of where to go. -It's a localization thing. Dragon Quest was called Dragon Warrior in the 90s for the first 4 Nes games. Only recently did it switch back to Dragon Quest. Also, you may want to consider getting Dragon Quest 4 before playing 5 and 6, just to see how the series evolved over time. 4 is more primitive, than the others by far, especially as it has no party chat. Storyline wise, the games are very loosely connected; you can do fine playing them on their own. If you want to play them in storyline order, technically it would go 6-4-5.
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Feb 28, 2011 17:12
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What do people normally do with all the various +stat seed items? Do you use them to patch up deficiencies on teammates, or just slap them all on the hero character?
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Feb 28, 2011 17:13
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I use them to boost a given character's strong stats. I don't see any reason to boost my healer's strength - though defense, MP, and HP seeds tend to get split evenly since everyone needs those stats.
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Feb 28, 2011 17:24
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I hoard them and never use them. Seriously, I don't think I've ever used one before even though I know it's pointless not to. That's how you identify someone who grew up playing RPGs in the 80's and 90's, we can't bring ourselves to use any items that can't be bought at an item store.
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Feb 28, 2011 17:30
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Vakal posted:What do people normally do with all the various +stat seed items? Depends on the DQ game in question. For games like III, VIII, and potentially IX, where you have the same party the whole game, I’ll spread the seeds around evenly. For games like IV, V, VI, and VII, where your party is either configurable or changes depending on where you’re at in the story, I’ll just drop them on the hero, since he’s always in the party. The latter is my MO in other RPGs like Breath of Fire, too.
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Feb 28, 2011 17:36
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Adam Bowen posted:I hoard them and never use them. Seriously, I don't think I've ever used one before even though I know it's pointless not to. That's how you identify someone who grew up playing RPGs in the 80's and 90's, we can't bring ourselves to use any items that can't be bought at an item store. Well it was kinda useful to hoard them in DQ8 as you can make some nice stuff with the alchemy pot. Although I guess if you don't use them for that and still hoard them well then ya what's the point? Like hoarding elixirs in FF games makes some sense because you're constantly waiting for the perfect situation to use them which inevitably never comes. But seeds are actually more useful the earlier you use them so your compulsive RPG mind should be telling you to use them asap. Also about DQ5, I just started it and I'm in the second town doing some leveling. Is it like a DQ thing that boomerangs are loving awesome in every game? They kicked rear end in 8 and after saving up enough to get the first one in 5 my hero is suddenly a powerhouse.
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Feb 28, 2011 18:07
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“Volitaire” posted:Is it like a DQ thing that boomerangs are loving awesome in every game? They kicked rear end in 8 and after saving up enough to get the first one in 5 my hero is suddenly a powerhouse. Yep. Boomerangs are great early to mid game weapons in DQ games.
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Feb 28, 2011 18:21
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I completely beat Nokturnus last night, in under 20 turns. Afterwards, he teleports himself and my party to Mortamor and then proceeds to beat the poo poo out of him. It was pretty loving cool. quote:Also about DQ5, I just started it and I'm in the second town doing some leveling. Is it like a DQ thing that boomerangs are loving awesome in every game? They kicked rear end in 8 and after saving up enough to get the first one in 5 my hero suddenly a powerhouse.
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Feb 28, 2011 18:23
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Volitaire posted:Also about DQ5, I just started it and I'm in the second town doing some leveling. Is it like a DQ thing that boomerangs are loving awesome in every game? They kicked rear end in 8 and after saving up enough to get the first one in 5 my hero is suddenly a powerhouse. Yeah, boomerangs tend to be a solid choice for the early to mid points of any game they show up in. I'm not too far into DQ5 (I just recently got past the Isle of Smiles) and aside from boss fights the hero hasn't stopped using the edged boomerang that I bought hours ago. On a semi-related note, one thing I like about DQ5 so far is that after a certain point I stopped having to buy weapons and could instead put that money towards armor. For example, Carver's been using a claw I found a couple dungeons ago, and as of yet nothing sold in a shop compares favorably to it.
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Mar 1, 2011 00:46
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So in DQ6, I got Nevan, headed to Murdaw's Lair After 3 tries, I finally beat Murdaw and his 2 henchmen. and then Murdaw attacked me again.  Add another death to that tally.
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Mar 1, 2011 05:25
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I've played a lot of video games over the years, and one of the most amazing moments I've ever experienced happened in the GBC DW3 remake. I forget exactly what I was doing or where I was going, but I stumbled upon a random comprised of one Wyvern... and six Metal Babbles. My usual strategy for those fuckers was using the Chance spell to hopefully break them to pieces (it seemed to work more often than it should!). Chance went off and confused the entire battlefield.  My characters took turns smashing each others' faces, until I was down to just the Hero, in critical HP. All of the monsters were still alive. Thought for sure I would wipe. Then, it happened... by some RNG miracle, the Wyvern breathed fire on its own party. In DW3, fire breath destroys metal monsters. Six Metal Babbles melted, and the Wyvern scorched itself to death, all in one shot. With one character remaining, I got something like 130k experience. Definitely a  moment.I love Dragon Quest.
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Mar 1, 2011 05:53
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psychoJ posted:I completely beat Nokturnus last night, in under 20 turns. Is... is THAT what they call Darkdrium/Dark Dream now? 
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Mar 1, 2011 06:31
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Mikael Kreoss posted:Is... is THAT what they call Darkdrium/Dark Dream now? Yes. Honestly, I like Nokturnus more than Dark Dream. Murdaw, however… ugh.
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Mar 1, 2011 07:33
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Technically, there's no "now" as this is the first official release of DQ6; most of those names are fan-names. Outside of the DQ Monster ones, that is.
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Mar 1, 2011 07:46
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Mister Roboto posted:Technically, there's no "now" as this is the first official release of DQ6; most of those names are fan-names. Outside of the DQ Monster ones, that is. They’re just romanizations of the Japanese names. It’s not like the DQ6 translation patch came up with totally new names: that’s what the official translation did.
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Mar 1, 2011 08:16
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Meh, is there some trick to beating The Third Test other than spamming Kabuff to counter its constant use of Kasap? My healers (Ashlynn and Milly) keep getting gibbed in one or two hits since said boss is both quicker than them and does 40-50 damage to everyone when it's not doing 60-110 damage to one target with its 'normal' attack. Short of changing those two to warrior or martial artist just for this fight so they don't die so quickly and/or grinding levels, I can't think of a good plan.
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Mar 1, 2011 23:55
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Falconer posted:Meh, is there some trick to beating The Third Test other than spamming Kabuff to counter its constant use of Kasap? My healers (Ashlynn and Milly) keep getting gibbed in one or two hits since said boss is both quicker than them and does 40-50 damage to everyone when it's not doing 60-110 damage to one target with its 'normal' attack. Short of changing those two to warrior or martial artist just for this fight so they don't die so quickly and/or grinding levels, I can't think of a good plan. I got stuck there too. I just went and ground up an extra level and made sure I had the best gear available at that point and the fight went much more easily the next time I tried it. I'm pretty sure I had two people devoted to Kabuff and Healing every round, with the hero healing also whenever they other two fell behind, while Carver did most of the actual attacking.
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Mar 2, 2011 00:04
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Falconer posted:Meh, is there some trick to beating The Third Test other than spamming Kabuff to counter its constant use of Kasap? Every time I tried using Kabuff to keep myself alive, I failed. My successful attempt involved a full-bore assault: - Hero (Merchant, I think?) used the Staff of Ghent on whoever needed it, and attacked on those rare turns where no one needed healing - Carver (Martial Artist) used Knuckle Sandwich, or Double Up if I felt like risking the damage; he also had some Amor Seco Essence for emergencies - Amos (Warrior) alternated Focus Strength and attacking; he also had some Amor Seco Essence for emergencies - Nevan (Preist turned Mage) healed constantly, and used Frizzle on those rare moments I didn't need healing I should also note I had the best non-Casino armor and weapons I could get for everyone at that point in the game, and my levels may have been a little high from grinding for cash.
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Mar 2, 2011 00:15
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I decided to mix advice and save up the gold to buy a second magic shield, along with ignoring Kabuff and going all-out with damage. I switched Ashlynn with Nevan too; Nevan's 140 HP and access to Fullheal saved my rear end a few times where Ashlynn would've just exploded into red mist. Suffice to say I won this time with no casualties. Thanks you two. 
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Mar 2, 2011 01:18
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Falconer posted:I switched Ashlynn with Nevan too I preferred Nevan over Ashlynn right up until Ashlynn got her mojo back. Then she became my full-time magician, with the hero, Carver and Goowain rounding out the party (until I got Terry, who then replaced Goowain.) Goowain rules. The guy cleared the Slimopolis for me on my second attempt.
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Mar 2, 2011 01:49
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Manos del Sino posted:I preferred Nevan over Ashlynn right up until Ashlynn got her mojo back. Well, I switched her out mostly because I've been busy getting her mastery in the prereqs for Luminary, all of which have squat for HP. She had ~70 HP at the same point that the hero, Carver and Milly had anywhere between 100 and 220 HP, and it bit me on the rear end in that last boss fight.
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Mar 2, 2011 02:39
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Manos del Sino posted:Goowain rules. The guy cleared the Slimopolis for me on my second attempt. What the heck did you train him as? Despite being almost level 40 and having maxed out Armamentalist, I still can't get above Rank C with Goowain. I did manage to beat all those ranks both normally and handicapped, but I just can't win on Rank B. My problem seems to be a lack of Fullheal. In the SNES version, I finished the arena with a Healer that maxed Paladin; I probably should have just made Goowain a Paladin.
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Mar 2, 2011 02:58
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Lizzie is the best. Everyone use Lizzie.
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Mar 2, 2011 03:41
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Captain Vittles posted:What the heck did you train him as? At the time, Goowain had Warrior, Martial Artist, Priest and Thief mastered, while just starting on the Paladin track. He was level ~36 at the time. He's 40 now and Paladin is just a few battles away from final mastery. Woo. He also had Metal Slime Armor from the casino and that badass hit-everything flail from Greedtown. I haven't found Lizzie, unless she's the cureslime and I've just been ignoring her at the Inn. The only three slimes I have are Goowain, the cureslime and Goober.
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Mar 2, 2011 03:52
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Manos del Sino posted:I haven't found Lizzie, unless she's the cureslime and I've just been ignoring her at the Inn. The only three slimes I have are Goowain, the cureslime and Goober. Take Terry to the dungeon of Arkbolt. The character is a hacksaurus who starts as the dragon class, has tremendous natural stats, and has very impressive natural ability growth (e.g. falcon slash, metal slash, kazing).
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Mar 2, 2011 04:01
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Draile posted:Lizzie is the best. Everyone use Lizzie. I love Lizzie. Lizzie was with me when I finally managed to kill the final boss. The top tier breath attacks are just amazing.
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Mar 2, 2011 04:09
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Know what I love about Lizzie is she actually gets unique party chat dialog, as opposed to repeating the same three stock phrases! Kinda bummed she's the only monster they did it with, though. 
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Mar 2, 2011 05:13
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Man, the music is pretty awful in this edition. Not that DQ was ever Uematsu, but even the early NES tunes were more...tuneful than some of these.
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Mar 3, 2011 15:03
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Mister Roboto posted:Man, the music is pretty awful in this edition. Not that DQ was ever Uematsu, but even the early NES tunes were more...tuneful than some of these. I've been playing DQV, and I'm loving the music so far. Even the ridiculously long "you gained a new party member" jingle makes me laugh. I don't know if it's intentionally ridiculous, but I love it either way.
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Mar 3, 2011 16:58
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If something seems ridiculous in DQ, the reason for it is mainly "because that's how DQ1/DQ3 was and we're never ever changing it."
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Mar 3, 2011 19:08
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Billy Black posted:I've been playing DQV, and I'm loving the music so far. Even the ridiculously long "you gained a new party member" jingle makes me laugh. I don't know if it's intentionally ridiculous, but I love it either way. Dq6's is pretty poor quality for whatever reason. Oh well, still a good game. Also, if anyone wants to see their favorite DQ heroes in full animated glory, check out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xlya4H9I_OM&feature=related Dragon Quest Monsters Battle Road Victory has scenes with pretty much each major hero from the game in Final Fantasy style ultimate attack cutscene mode. Mister Roboto fucked around with this message at 12:55 on Mar 5, 2011 |
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Mar 5, 2011 12:52
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Mister Roboto posted:Man, the music is pretty awful in this edition. Not that DQ was ever Uematsu, but even the early NES tunes were more...tuneful than some of these. I really hate the battle music in this game. Just for the first ten seconds.
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Mar 5, 2011 13:34
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Mister Roboto posted:Man, the music is pretty awful in this edition. Not that DQ was ever Uematsu, but even the early NES tunes were more...tuneful than some of these. Since when is Uematsu some genius of melodic composition and sample quality?
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Mar 5, 2011 14:40
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Terpfen posted:Since when is Uematsu some genius of melodic composition and sample quality? Regardless of your personal feelings towards his work, he has international recognition OUTSIDE of just nerds, a range from opera singers to rock bands performing the material, and multiple symphonic concerts every few months in different countries. This would generally indicate a sign of success. Koichi Sugiyama doesn't even remotely have the same level of recognition worldwide. Back in the 90s, he did do early video game music concerts, which is cool, especially as I liked his early material. As a result, he has some some recorded symphonic suites, but the first ever showing outside of Japan was 2005. There hasn't really been much since then. And yes, yes, Britney Spears, popularity doesn't mean it's good, etc, we all know music is subjective. But to seriously think Uematsu has no talent and not a single song out of the 200+ he's composed is amazing, that's trying a bit too hard to be contrarian. Besides, I wasn't saying that all DQ music is bad, I quite liked the early simple tunes on the NES. The DQ1 overworld (and its DQ3 remix) was a very nice arrangement and very pleasant to listen to. But recently? Nothing in the past decade has been notable. Mister Roboto fucked around with this message at 15:24 on Mar 5, 2011 |
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Mar 5, 2011 15:20
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"Mister Roboto” posted:This would generally indicate a sign of success. No one’s claiming he hasn’t been successful, or at least, I’m not. My point is simply that he’s not the shining gold standard of video game music, or even JRPG music. (Yasunori Mitsuda is.) He’s been oddly resistant to more realistic sound sampling for a long time, for example. Sugiyama’s music also harkens back to more simplistic days, but he does a better job of imitating real instruments and stringing together melodies. A huge number of his tracks sound remarkably similar to the original compositions when performed live. Not trying to start a sound war, just saying that being very successful doesn’t necessarily make him the best point of reference.
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Mar 5, 2011 15:54
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Terpfen posted:(Yasunori Mitsuda is.) The funny thing is, the main reason I know this name is because of Chrono Trigger. He did Chrono Trigger with Uematsu. v  vI'm still going through DQVI, and it's beating my brain to a confused pulp. I'll get the hang of which side is dream, which isn't, and which people come from where eventually. Until then I just want to escape to the casino.
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Mar 5, 2011 19:07
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Alpha Kenny Juan posted:The funny thing is, the main reason I know this name is because of Chrono Trigger. He did Chrono Trigger with Uematsu. v “With” Uematsu? Chrono Trigger was 95% Mitsuda, 4.5% Uematsu, 0.5% Noriko Matsuena. He also did Chrono Cross, Xenogears, Xenosaga, and a whole lot more. But hey, he never scored a Final Fantasy game, so he doesn’t count, apparently.
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Mar 5, 2011 23:16
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This Mortamor guy is a huge bag of dicks. When I first reached him, I was level 39 and only had a few mastered classes under my belt. That fight saw my first string wiped out in just a handful of rounds while my second string team managed to beat Mortamor's first coming, but died shortly after to the next stage of the battle. 10-20 hours later, I've grinded my team up to the low 50s and high 40s. Most everybody has mastered all or most of the lower level professions and at least one fully mastered secondary class, while working on the next. The Hero mastered Paladin, Gladiator and Hero and was currently working on Dragon, having over 600 HP going into the fight with Mortamor. And this time I found out that the bastard has three faces and the third one ripped my party apart. Again. He's a huge bag of dicks.
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Mar 8, 2011 19:45
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The first time I fought him, his first form tore me to shreds; I wasn't prepared for the strong elemental attacks. The second time I fought him, I made it to the third form and lasted a while before I discovered the hands can use Zing and Kazing. That ended badly. The third time I fought him, I had finally mastered Hero and had mastered Dragon with Lizzie. I easily dispatched the first two forms with rapid buffing and judicious use of Kazapple with my b-team, then pounded the final form with hit-all attacks like Lightning Storm, Inferno, Thin Air and Kaboom to make sure I killed both hands at the same time. Once the head was the only part left, I used Kazapple whenever possible. Hustle Dance, Multiheal and the Sage's Stone kept me alive as needed (and they were usually needed), but I never used any buffs if the final form dispelled them - the time was better spent attacking. I still haven't beaten the bonus dungeon boss.
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Mar 8, 2011 20:26
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