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Tales of Xillia 2 is some trippy poo poo
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Nov 1, 2014 05:54
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I actually liked Tales of Xillia 2 better than the first, which is unusual for me, since I tend to really, really dislike direct sequels to JRPGs (yeah, I'm looking at you Final Fantasies X-2 and XIII-2, Symphonia 2). That said, Tales of Xillia 1 here is definitely more of an exciting adventure than 2.
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Nov 1, 2014 06:30
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Digital Jello posted:I actually liked Tales of Xillia 2 better than the first, which is unusual for me, since I tend to really, really dislike direct sequels to JRPGs (yeah, I'm looking at you Final Fantasies X-2 and XIII-2, Symphonia 2). That said, Tales of Xillia 1 here is definitely more of an exciting adventure than 2. ToX 2 really relies a lot on the fact you know stuff Also hated the main character being ostensibly a mute after Jude.
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Nov 1, 2014 16:37
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The new system that the main character has makes the entire game less fun by making it really hard to even consider trying out any of the other new characters in a serious fight.
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Nov 1, 2014 17:20
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Feinne posted:The new system that the main character has makes the entire game less fun by making it really hard to even consider trying out any of the other new characters in a serious fight. That's really the major problem with X2. Everything else is pretty good. It's like a fixed Dawn of the New World.
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Nov 1, 2014 17:51
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I picked up ToX2, but then I also picked up Destiny and Ar Nosurge and Natural Doctrine and I havent had time to finish them all yet. I've barely even begun ToX2. Edit: And last week I picked up Civilization: Beyond Earth. WHY SO MUCH TIME EATING?!
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Nov 1, 2014 17:56
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wdarkk posted:That's really the major problem with X2. Everything else is pretty good. It's like a fixed Dawn of the New World. I would say the gigantic amount of reused areas (even the same area multiple times) was also a pretty big hit against it. I don't remember Dawn really doing that.
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Nov 1, 2014 18:01
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Momomo posted:I would say the gigantic amount of reused areas (even the same area multiple times) was also a pretty big hit against it. I don't remember Dawn really doing that. I didn't mind so much given the story and the connections between the games.
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Nov 1, 2014 23:07
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I like Xillia 2 more then the original, but I loved the changes to combat and found the new protagonist the most fun character to play in any Tales game. It also had better boss design then this one I felt. It'd be really rough to play right after Xillia 1 though.
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Nov 2, 2014 04:17
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Chickenfrogman posted:I like Xillia 2 more then the original, but I loved the changes to combat and found the new protagonist the most fun character to play in any Tales game. It also had better boss design then this one I felt. It'd be really rough to play right after Xillia 1 though. Oh don't get me wrong the main character of xillia 2 is mad fun to play as, I just wish the game systems didn't make it basically mandatory because it would be fun to mix it up.
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Nov 2, 2014 04:40
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Feinne posted:Oh don't get me wrong the main character of xillia 2 is mad fun to play as, I just wish the game systems didn't make it basically mandatory because it would be fun to mix it up. Given that I'm coming into Xillia 2 on a NG+ I plan to do some "No Ludger challenges".
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Nov 2, 2014 04:44
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wdarkk posted:Given that I'm coming into Xillia 2 on a NG+ I plan to do some "No Ludger challenges". Nice. It's super hard not to play that character, too, given the focus.
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Nov 2, 2014 04:57
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Momomo posted:The fact that so many people thought Jude was older is kind of weird to me. 15 years old seems just right for his character.
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Nov 2, 2014 10:54
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Jude's actually pretty cool for a Tales protagonist, and his age-ambiguity helps him, I think. He still retains the generic naivety of all JRPG heroes, but there's a calm and collected side of him too. That said, he has to make way for the real protagonist, Milla, who doesn't really fit the profile of the usual JRPG damsel, either. These differentiating characteristics (sort of) are something I missed in Xillia 2, since the main hero is mostly a mute.
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Nov 2, 2014 11:29
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Bricoleur posted:His voice is deep, he's either a doctor or a medical student (I forget which), he doesn't have that hyperactivity most jrpg (or even Tales) males his age have, and his face/height don't tip you off how old he is. They could have just said he's 20 years old and it wouldn't have made any difference, he'd have passed without question. Yeah, basically this -- when I hear someone is a medical student I assume, you know, college age, because that's the age that people in the real world are when they go to medical school. I assumed Jude was at least 18.
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Nov 2, 2014 12:59
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I think there's evidence in-lore that Jude is some degree of prodigy, which makes sense considering what he's up to in the sequel. Or Talim Medical School just accepts students at young ages, which is also possible.
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Nov 2, 2014 17:09
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BearDrivingTruck posted:I think there's evidence in-lore that Jude is some degree of prodigy, which makes sense considering what he's up to in the sequel. I always appreciate brainy main characters, given JRPGs tendency to cast dumb shonen heroes as their main stars...looking at YOU Tales of Graces. And Lloyd (but I can't hate Lloyd). Jude's pretty swell. He's almost a little boring, but he's kind of a straight man to the zaniness of the regular cast, who are all charming and bizarre, even the sleazy ones--possibly especially the sleazy ones! I downloaded this game again thanks to this LP. I'd stopped playing real early in, having just arrived at Milla's hometown and now I'm up to the point where I got Rowan in my party and I drat well may never take him out of it again. All of the characters are really likable so far, another nice plus over Graces, with its sexual harassment lesbian and it's complete misery magnet main character and a selection of passive aggressive tools in-betwee. VVVV--She was funny, but just so completely out of place given the tone of the game and her gimmick was more weird than endearing.
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Nov 2, 2014 17:32
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hey pascal was cool
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Nov 2, 2014 17:33
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Bricoleur posted:His voice is deep, he's either a doctor or a medical student (I forget which), he doesn't have that hyperactivity most jrpg (or even Tales) males his age have, and his face/height don't tip you off how old he is. They could have just said he's 20 years old and it wouldn't have made any difference, he'd have passed without question. He's also naive to the world around him and does not really come off as an adult. A lot of his character arc is about growing up (spoilers?), and that isn't something they usually do with 20 year olds in JRPGs (which are usually grizzled battle-scarred fighting masters). I really don't think he'd pass for 20 either, he's way too small for that. edit: Pascal was perfect for the tone of the game, because the "story" of Graces was non-existant.
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Nov 2, 2014 17:35
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Graces was sort of an action-comedy. Not quite self-aware enough to be "Anime Tropic Thunder" but I'm not sure it was ever intended to be really taken seriously.
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Nov 2, 2014 18:52
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wdarkk posted:Graces was sort of an action-comedy. Not quite self-aware enough to be "Anime Tropic Thunder" but I'm not sure it was ever intended to be really taken seriously. It could have been a bit less wordy about it then. It never really managed to be very funny or engaging--there was comedy in places that worked, but compared to the honestly fantastic writing in Vesperia and a lot of Xilla so far too, it really felt just...not up to par.
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Nov 2, 2014 19:20
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BottledBodhisvata posted:And Lloyd (but I can't hate Lloyd). Yeah, same here. I think it's because Symphonia was pretty consistent about him: he's not an otherwise smart or at least average guy that does stupid things constantly to keep the plot going like in most RPGs, he really is just that thick. Or maybe it's just that Colette is the hate magnet in that game. I'm sorry.  BottledBodhisvata posted:All of the characters are really likable so far, another nice plus over Graces, with its sexual harassment lesbian That's bisexual harasser.  At least I assume so, they hook her up with Hubert right at the end of the Future arc (though you'd certainly be forgiven if you didn't make it that far, heh). I think her deal was that she was obsessed with Sophie for being made out of science and stalking her seemed to Pascal like the most practical way to keep studying her. But yeah, this is Graces; who knows?BearDrivingTruck posted:Or Talim Medical School just accepts students at young ages, which is also possible. I always chalked it up to good ol' nepotism. He is really good at medicine too, maybe being a magical doctor gets you better classes than being a normal one.
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Nov 2, 2014 20:16
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BottledBodhisvata posted:It could have been a bit less wordy about it then. It never really managed to be very funny or engaging--there was comedy in places that worked, but compared to the honestly fantastic writing in Vesperia and a lot of Xilla so far too, it really felt just...not up to par. They probably had a rough draft of the events that went on through the game, and then kind of forgot to write in all the other stuff and focused on the actual game part instead. Then about a month before it came out, they realized they forgot to write a plot and just shoved the word friendship everywhere. The skits were the best in the series though, that's where the real writing went.
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Nov 2, 2014 20:33
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Momomo posted:He's also naive to the world around him and does not really come off as an adult. A lot of his character arc is about growing up (spoilers?), and that isn't something they usually do with 20 year olds in JRPGs (which are usually grizzled battle-scarred fighting masters). I really don't think he'd pass for 20 either, he's way too small for that.
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Nov 2, 2014 22:12
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I didn't really care for Tales of Graces. It was just boring and the whole chasing a possessed villain around before he destroys the world schtick wasn't done very well. Also, despite the main guy being JRPG generic, I weirdly got irritated when all of his friends turned against him just for going off on his own to become a knight. Only Xillia's heroes can be summed up as the "Busty Blonde and her Magical Doctor Sidekick".
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Nov 2, 2014 22:50
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Wayne posted:That's bisexual harasser. I think it was implied that Pascal was obsessed with Sophie because she recognized on some level that Sophie wasn't human, and then the "scientific fascination trumps rational behavior" disorder kicked in. Conversely, the whole thing with her and Hubert was Hubert having a mad one-sided crush on her, and her not noticing because she's as oblivious as a sack of bricks.
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Nov 2, 2014 23:16
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BearDrivingTruck posted:I think it was implied that Pascal was obsessed with Sophie because she recognized on some level that Sophie wasn't human, and then the "scientific fascination trumps rational behavior" disorder kicked in. Conversely, the whole thing with her and Hubert was Hubert having a mad one-sided crush on her, and her not noticing because she's as oblivious as a sack of bricks. I got that, but the way it plays out is just a crazy woman trying to fondle a barely teenage girl who clearly doesn't like it. It's funny at times, but largely just very strange. It was a concept for a joke that might have worked, but there's no skill to its execution.
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Nov 2, 2014 23:36
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BottledBodhisvata posted:I got that, but the way it plays out is just a crazy woman trying to fondle a barely teenage girl who clearly doesn't like it. It's funny at times, but largely just very strange. It was a concept for a joke that might have worked, but there's no skill to its execution. Yeah, if they had gone with Pascal trying to get "samples" instead of trying to touch the child, then maybe it could have worked. But they didn't, so it was very uncomfortable. Mind you, years of playing JRPGs has given me the ability to mentally gloss over the weird skeevy stuff, so I don't tend to think about it like that until it's pointed out.
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Nov 2, 2014 23:44
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Should have Milla's version of Laforte up tomorrow, it's mostly the same except I pretty much one-shot our friend in red with an Arte you only have if you have beaten the game once.
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Nov 3, 2014 01:48
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Bricoleur posted:I have issues with Jude's supposed character arc, and how the game treats it compared to, say, Luke's arc in Tales of the Abyss. However since that's a far off point in time it doesn't need to be discussed until the LP gets there. I didn't find Jude's naivete to be a giveaway for his age, he could just as well be a total bookworm who pays little attention to politics. I think an in between age would be best, 17 year olds can be very smart in school and get a lot done, they are also old enough to be an apprentice. Being 17 they will also not care much about what doesn't exist around them or politics, only their direct personal interest.
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Nov 3, 2014 06:09
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i think the exact arbitrary number some dude decided jude should be is less important than his general character and character arc he's a young and naive med student in the big city, that's all that matters
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Nov 3, 2014 06:11
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Cake Attack posted:i think the exact arbitrary number some dude decided jude should be is less important than his general character and character arc This is a good general attitude towards anime and JRPG ages in general, given how bonkers they can be.
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Nov 3, 2014 06:14
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BottledBodhisvata posted:This is a good general attitude towards anime and JRPG ages in general, given how bonkers they can be.
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Nov 3, 2014 06:43
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Wayne posted:Yeah, same here. I think it's because Symphonia was pretty consistent about him: he's not an otherwise smart or at least average guy that does stupid things constantly to keep the plot going like in most RPGs, he really is just that thick. Lloyd is the most sincere Tales protagonist because he doesn't even try to hide the fact that he's just a shounen anime protagonist, full of burning spirit and hot blood but severely lacking in logical thought processes and self-awareness. So far, I'm liking the dynamic between Jude and Milia a lot better than the early party interactions in other Tales games, though. While there's still a lot of awkwardness, it works a lot better when one of the people involved is just naturally a little awkward.
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Nov 3, 2014 08:42
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KataraniSword posted:Lloyd is the most sincere Tales protagonist because he doesn't even try to hide the fact that he's just a shounen anime protagonist, full of burning spirit and hot blood but severely lacking in logical thought processes and self-awareness. There was the coffee scene, which was either a moment of absolute brilliance on his part, or a sterling example of the dumb outwitting the naive. The jury's still out.
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Nov 3, 2014 18:24
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Interlude: The Mighty Maxwell Every single part of me hurts. I don’t see why you’re being such a baby about this. You dropped me, I speared into the ground, and then I had to listen to your foolish lies about Lady Milla! Excuse me? You act as though that… that guy was driving the action when clearly it was all Lady Milla’s doing! Clearly I must set the record straight! Fine, you do that. First off, your story left out Lady Milla’s incredible entry into Fenmont.Video- “Milla Intro”  Watch   I sense it up ahead. You also left out her incredible entry into the facility!  …At which point everything was exactly the way I told it. Right? W-Well, I suppose you were correct about the part after that guy showed up.  Uh, hi. Just keep quiet, and I won’t need to hurt you. Wait, why are you heading into the lab? What are you…Hmph! Hmph! That’s strange. What part of “keep quiet” didn’t you understand?So? Ready to hold your tongue now? So much noise. Could you try coughing quietly? What are you doing here, anyway? Can I talk?I dropped something. I was just picking it up. See? What are you up to? The guards will be here any second. That’s why I need to hurry, and you need to go home.Before they arrest you for trespassing. And here once again your story diverges from the facts, as you follow that fool when clearly Lady Milla entered the lab first! If you know so much, why don’t you have any of what The Four said? W-Well, that’s, um… Just shut up! That power anomaly we felt when it happened… The one that absorbed the spirits. Its source is here.Why do humans persist in seeking power that could destroy the world? They don’t need spyrix to survive. Hmm? Yes, it must be their work. That’s my gut reaction, anyway. Mind you, it’s not just any gut reaction. It’s Maxwell’s instinct. Isn’t that enough? Look, that’s enough talk for now. Let’s find the spyrix. The foolish guards attempted to detain Lady Milla. Shh. No need to make a scene. Cooperate and I’ll go easy on you.Guard: Intruder! You’re under arrest! We get the general combat tutorial here. Milla’s normal attacks in this section are actually sort of strange, instead of swinging her sword she shoots out magic bullets.  She’s also got an air version, which is pretty cool. Though don’t get too excited because you won’t see this combat style again until Xillia 2.  I’m not going to particularly talk about Milla’s more prosaic artes this time, because we’ve got some crazy poo poo to play around with. Namely, The Four and a special arte I’ve got for having finished the game once (Overdrive). Efreet is the Great Spirit of Fire, and he makes a series of fire-based attacks in front of you. It hits a wide area and if something is hurt by fire it’s probably the strongest of the four attacks.  Undine shoots a jet of water out, it’s quite powerful but enemies can weasel around it at times.  Gnome spirals around you and hits targets, it’s kind of awkward to use because it’s easy to get hit out of it.  Sylph dives at targets in front of you and as I recall will launch things that survive the hit, which is pretty nice.  As I noted, Overdrive is a special Arte you get for completing the game. It’s a brutal charge forward for multiple hits.  After that first tutorial, we get a second brief one on Spirit Shifting, Milla’s unique mechanic. It’s pretty simple, any of her Spirit Artes can either be hard-cast by holding the button down or turned into an instant attack by tapping it. For example, this is her Fireball.  If we just tap, though, we get a melee-ranged attack called Flare Bomb.  After easily defeating the guards, Lady Milla infiltrated the lab. And luckily for that guy, she heard his pathetic defeat at the hands of that lady in red.Video- “Red”  Watch  It’s that girl. Ah-a! So YOU’RE the visitor I heard about!This guy’s no fun. I’ll kill you first. Run! I’ll rip that pretty face of yours to pieces! I’d prefer you didn’t. Of course, Lady Milla easily defeated her. Okay I’m going to stop you there, because the entire rest of your story here is exactly the same as the one I told, right? W-Well, not exactly… If you take out all the insults leveled at Jude and fawning descriptions of Milla’s power, would it be the same? Um, I suppose it might technically be the same under those very unreasonable conditions. That’s what I thought. Then I guess that’s it. But from this point on, I won’t let you spread your lies about Lady Milla any more! I should have dropped you from higher up.
Feinne fucked around with this message at 18:44 on Nov 3, 2014 |
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Nov 3, 2014 18:30
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See, this is what I mean about Jude being kind of the default protagonist. Jude gets a bit where he runs around Fennmont and gets some worldbuilding, Milla just kind of drops down from the sky and you're off to the races.
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Nov 3, 2014 19:15
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I think the girl in red is supposed to come off as disturbing with her movements, but it just looks like really bad motion capturing.
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Nov 3, 2014 19:36
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Bricoleur posted:I think the girl in red is supposed to come off as disturbing with her movements, but it just looks like really bad motion capturing. She has to move like that or otherwise her legs clip through her dress.
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Nov 3, 2014 20:13
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Endorph posted:See, this is what I mean about Jude being kind of the default protagonist. Jude gets a bit where he runs around Fennmont and gets some worldbuilding, Milla just kind of drops down from the sky and you're off to the races. I guess the game intends you to play as Jude first, then Milla the next time around, though I did the opposite and played as Milla on my first playthrough.
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Nov 3, 2014 20:23
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