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Kalenn Istarion posted:A bit off topic but can't you cut the tail off the Taurus Demon for Phat Lewt? Taurus demon? No, that's only for dragons. (ask me about trying to get the moonlight greatsword with an enchanted falchion  )
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Nov 29, 2016 23:54
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ManlyGrunting posted:Taurus demon? No, that's only for dragons. Untrue, you can get an axe from the two gargoyles on the roof of the church - I just couldn't remember whether Taurus had something because his tail stands out with the armor plating or whatever.
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Nov 29, 2016 23:56
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I just noticed this is an anime art style game where the character portraits feature noses, I was going to make fun of Julienne for being noseless until I noticed that she's got quite a big one for this sort of art style. Pretty much everyone has a fairly unique nose, save for Setsuna who falls into the stereotype I expected. I like it.
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Nov 30, 2016 01:18
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Part XVIII: Tiger Uppercut.jpg) What is a Fridging, anyway? It sounds akin to some poorly censored cursing in an R-rated movie being broadcast on TBS. Are we going to find out what happens when you meet a stranger in the Alps? Did Nidr end up with those scars on his face from eating pineapple? Is the boss gonna be Mr. Falcon? .jpg) We’ll just have to head back inside and see. The early parts of the dungeon are the same thing as before: icy platforms with buffed out black bear versions of the tutorial boss turned common rabble. That is, until we draw close to the barrier from earlier. Here we find... .jpg) Oh, for Christ sake... Not th—  Music: The Last Mountain .jpg) ...Yeah. What he said. The party all draw their weapons... .jpg)  It looks like this time even he hasn’t managed to recover yet... ? Y’mean... Can’t he move? ...... If we want this journey to succeed, we need to finish him off here an’ now... Even if it might seem spineless. Seconded. The motion has passed. Let’s finish him. But... he’s... No. There ain’t a single reason why we should sympathize with this guy. Only reason we ain’t killed him outright yet is cuz he keep’s runnin’ off every time we beat him. Shoulda warped away further if he didn’t wanna get got.Setsuna walks between the party and Reaper... New Music: The Lone Reaper .jpg) Oh... Gimme a frikkin’ break. You are not gonna do some “oh dear we cannot murder him, all life is precious” morality garbage right now. That’s not happening... I’m gonna start drinking again if so... Dammit! What are you doin’!? Get outta the way! *shakes head* No. I won’t get out of the way. I do not... understand you... Same. *sweat* Me neither, Setsuna! Why’re you protectin’ him? You do know he’s tried to kill us all several times now!? *nods* Yes. I haven’t forgotten... But even then, I couldn’t sense any aggression from him. ! Whadd’ya mean, you couldn’t sense any aggression!? He keeps trying to kill you! I’m fairly certain attempted, premeditated murder is an act of aggression severe enough that people are, in fact, placed into prison due to said aggression... Mhm. There are entire countries down south I cannot enter again cuz there are warrants for my arrest due to that kinda aggression... *shakes head* Yes, I know... I don’t understand it myself, either... But I couldn’t sense any animosity....jpg) What is it you’re fighting for? What is it you’re trying to find out...? *sweat* What’s gotten into you, Setsuna!? She’s gotta bad case of martyritus. She’s gonna die so all life is now precious and beautiful. Next she’s gonna be feeling sympathy for some writhing tentacle monster cuz it’s got kind of a sad sounding wail while dying, despite all the people it’s stuck vines down unwanted orifices. ... But I don’t play that kinda game. Life is cheap, dirty, and can be ended for a reasonable price in my book. Let’s finish him off. Step aside. I’ll make it quick. Wanna test this new blade anyway. I betcha I can cleave his head off in one swipe. What? No! Oh. You want it to be drawn out? Right to the gut, good disembowelment. Y’all gonna need to step back. The blood spray from those kinda wounds can get real messy. No, Endir. We’re not go— Oh... Huh? You wanna go the savage route, huh? Take off all four of his limbs but suture the wounds so he doesn’t bleed out, then let nature take its course with one of those bearmen wandering the cave descending upon him and ripping him open like a meatbag? That’s a bit cruder than I usually operate. But this guy does kinda deserve it... *goes wide-eyed*... We’re not killing him! Endir, let me try... Setsuna... What is it that you can sense? *shakes head* I’m sorry... I don’t know... No, don’t indulge her dumbass streak... I thought you were somewhat smarter than that. We need to keep moving and I’m trying to expedite the process, alright? Then use that fancy Charge move of yours and put a knife in his jugular. I’m not doing that with Setsuna in the way. And now we’re back to square one! I just get the feeling that he’s suffering... That he’s all alone... ...Yeah, that’s called be goth. Most people grow out of it past their teenage years. Dracula Fanclub here didn’t get the memo. One thing I do know is that if we don’t kill him now, he sure as hell ain’t gonna thank us for it later... He ain’t the sort of being who has emotions like that. Any mercy you show him’s gonna come back to bite you in the face. I think the expression is “in the rear end”, not face... Whatever! Face or butt... *nods* I don’t mind..jpg) If he doesn’t die here, he may choose a different future... Death closes all those possibilities shut. If we’re able to communicate... then whether it’s a monster, or whoever it is... I want to place my hope in them... In their future... ...... *sheathes Hanzo steel* This is tremendously dumb. *puts away walrus knife* Undoubtedly. *coils magical girl wand back around tail* The dumbest. *reluctantly puts sword on back* Can’t believe we’re doing this... .......jpg) After you have... witnessed the deaths... of your comrades... Including... that masked man... Oh, what’s that? No, I don’t hear any animosity at all in this discussion. Nope. I hear someone choosing a bright, new stunningly brilliant future for themselves! *growls* One where I fuckstart their face by slowly peeling their dipshit mini-boss goth tryhard scalp off while they’re still breathing and crafting a crude but stylish mask for Kir here out of your pelt. *sweats* I-I’m good... I’m looking forward to it! I’m looking forward to the guy who has lost three out of three times he’s tried to fight us suddenly have a comeback story in the end. You always like to hear that! Yeah, Endir is right! We’re here to make sure that never happens! *nods* Exactly. I’m not on board with like... ANY of the rest of the stuff he said... S-Same... Speak for yourselves.Julienne approaches Reaper and seems intent on stabbing him in the face... .jpg) The masked man’s threats may be barbaric... It’s psychological warfare. But the intent is correct. Heh... You sure you’re on the right... side...? ... *winds up to strike*Nidr walks up and stops Julienne from killing him... .jpg) ... *withdraws lance* This is foolish. Seconded. Yeah... But it’s what Setsuna wants and it’s her show. If he comes back again, we’ll be sure to finish ‘em then. Let’s go.Music: The Strength of Time .jpg) Well, that was real dumb! Reaper has no further dialog. He’s just going to chill by the cave entrance until we inevitably fight him again at a later time. Spoilers. There’s nothing of note between Reaper and the previous obstacle of the cave. So let’s just skip ahead to... .jpg) Yo for real, I’m stabbing that clown in the throat if we have to return to town a second time cuz this doesn’t work and he’s still there... That’s fair. Please don’t. It should....jpg) .jpg) *jumps and fist-pumps* Open!The party briefly celebrates then heads on through... .jpg) Once we get through here, the Last Lands will be right before our eyes. The Last Lands... Then it seems we only have one option....jpg) .jpg) Fighting more trash mobs. The second half of the cave is home to some palette swaps of the squirrels with comically oversized snowballs. They’ve got a mean throwing arm and seem to have given up their showboating evasion skills for pure aggression. But nothing we cannot handle. Especially since Endir and Nidr are topping off their MP every fight to keep the Tech gravy train running and more than funding our next expedition to our final destination with all the materials dropping. .jpg) The second half of the caverns is just a big narrow route curving south, where it splits horizontally to the east and west. The eastern path is blocked by one of those pesky time distortions... black holes... spatial anomalies... Whatever the hell they’re callin’ em. There’s big purple barrier and we cannot go that way. .jpg) Westward, on the other hand, leads to a save point. And you know what that means. We’re gonna go back to the A-Team of Endir, Nidr, and Aeterna and do some prep here. Endir needs Aura and Life at the ready. Nidr definitely needs to have the Provoke ability and Counter isn’t a bad option. Aeterna has to have Protect. And everyone with decent offensive Techs. Scarfing down a food item that raises Evasion or reduces physical attacks ain’t a bad idea either. .jpg) Cuz this next boss is actually kind of one of the hardest bosses in the game! Sayagi wasn’t just spinning a yarn about her party getting wiped by a particularly fearsome Pengy. Music: The Last Mountain .jpg) No ma’am... We gotta real contender here. .jpg) Isn’t that... It’s a spatial distortion. I’m not calling it a “black hole”. That is straight up incorrect terminology and it’s irresponsible to use. I see... So those distortions in space we’ve been seein’ all around the mainland... You think this thing is what’s causin’ them? *sweatdrop* Yikes! If it is, that means this guy definitely isn’t just some small fry, doesn’t it... Pfft. I ate a whole bag of burritos once in a single sitting and I started shittin’ out time and space as well. Tore the very fabric of a toilet’s reality asunder. I’m not impressed. ...Thanks for sharing, Endir. This thing’s kinda big, isn’t it!? I don’t think “kinda” is the word... But why, though? It’s changed... It definitely has... ? Changed...? You’ve seen it before? *nods* Well, yeah... A long time ago. What are you like twenty? What qualifies as “a long time ago”. Now’s not the time. C’mon, that’s enough chitchat! We need to finish this thing off before it finishes us off! Be careful, everyone!Music: Reckless Advance .jpg) Time to take on the Aurorean Tiger! This guy is kind of a huge fucker! I’ll go ahead and let him show why as he starts the battle with initiative and first attack. .jpg) .jpg) The Aurorean Tiger just did a nine-hit combo that took off 279 HP of damage to Endir – the second beefiest character in the game. The thing that makes this boss difficult is every round of attack, it does that combo to a single character for 250-300 HP of damage. .jpg) .jpg) The beast does actually have three flavors of this combo. Gale Rush is just pure physical (Null) damage. He also has Scorching Rush, which adds additional fire-elemental damage. And Glacial Rush, which does water-elemental damage, but only hits twice (still for like 150+ HP of damage.) The problem with this fight is we need to actually survive and have time to attack. Unless you’d power-leveled unreasonably, Kir and Setsuna straight up cannot participate in this fight, cuz they’d get one-shot constantly and it’s already difficult enough with this party. .jpg) The first order of business should be upping the survivability of the party. To that end, Aeterna’s Protect Tech is super handy as it at least mitigates the damage from approaching 300 HP of damage to a worrying, but not quite as dire, 150-200 range per attack. Optimally, we want our party members able to survive two rounds of attack before desperately needing a health boost. .jpg) Endir is pretty much on constant Aura duty every second or third turn. But in a pinch, Aeterna’s Flawless Blow with Momentum will fully heal her while doing a bit of damage. Some deal with Nidr’s Stone Strike. But having Momentum in this fight is a tough undertaking since big boy is surprisingly fast for such a massive enemy and charging up Momentum is a tall order. .jpg) Since Aurorean Tiger only attacks one character at a time, it’s not a bad idea to have Nidr use Provoke to draw aggro since he can tank far more than anyone else. Plus Provoke beefs up his Physical Defense stats (still doesn't do much to the fire or ice versions of the combo though.) Protect doesn’t last especially long, so it’s more for breathing room while Endir and Aeterna go for Techs or heal. .jpg) Blowbeat is still a decent option to let our attacks hit a bit harder, but Aurorean Tiger almost immediately shrugs off the more debilitating Paralysis and Stun effects since he’s such a speedy boy. .jpg) The classic X-Strike actually does a darn good amount of damage, even without Momentum. Aurorean Tiger only has 2318 HP (what ARE these numbers) and X-Strike hits for around 700+ HP a go. That ain’t bad! It’s just risky to pour Endir’s MP into beefy offensive techs since he can run out of MP pretty fast and we don’t want that at a bad time. .jpg) Speaking of Techs, Aeterna and Nidr actually have a real useful Dual-Tech for this fight: Phantasm Break. .jpg) .jpg) Phantasm Break is just an all-out attack by the two jumping and slamming their weapons into this creature’s dumb face. It only does 200-250 HP range of damage. But the key thing about it is it lowers attack power substantially. To the point where the Gale Rush only does around 100+ HP of damage. It only last for maybe two or three rounds of attack before wearing off. .jpg) But combine that with Protect and the damage drops to around 70ish range. That’s manageable! Especially in a fight that is entirely about not dying from a constantly berserking all offensive jerk. .jpg) So that’s the Aurorean Tiger boss battle. Even knowing it was coming, I still almost got wiped here. And it definitely gave me some trouble the first go around too. Music: Moment of Respite .jpg) .jpg) All in a day’s work. Which horn do you think we broke off of the thing and how much is it worth? .jpg) *jumps and fist-pumps* Legendary monster? Hah! It was no match for us! You really like celebrating for battles you didn’t participate in, huh? I’m giving moral support. Is that whatcha callin’ it now?.jpg) Ugh... Do not turn this into a boss rush, game. You were good about that so far... Music: Deadly Gamble .jpg) .jpg) Aurorean Tiger climbs back to its feet and starts farting purple vapors all over the place while roaring its head off. .jpg) Hey... Julienne... Are you OK...? Is she OK? RIP AND TEAR! RIIIIIP AND TEEEEEAAAAARRRRR! Nice. .jpg) Music: March to Rebirth .jpg) Haa... haa... haa... *sweats* Wh-what’s wrong, Julienne...? Julienne... Don’t tell me you’re still... Awesome? I was going to say... Nevermind. The Last Lands... The power that dwells there... *stops glowing* I must see it with my own eyes... *limps forward* ...I must continue on..jpg) Hold that thought just a moment. .jpg) .jpg) Turns out the one buffed out tigerman giant hanging out in the back of a cavern was, in fact, the source of all the energy fields carving up the continent and barring passage all over. Weird... .jpg) So that huge monster was what was causin’ them, after all. *shrugs* Let us hurry on. !.jpg) ? Yes, I am fine... Why do you ask? *shakes head* Never mind... As long as you’re all right... So, your whole outlook is just kinda “eh... it’s probably fine...” now that we’re reaching the end, huh? Possibly....jpg) Alright then. So goes our trek out of the Fridging Caves and onward toward Fridging Heights and The Last Lands. And feels like our journey’s end is right around the corner! The Dark Id fucked around with this message at 18:48 on Dec 1, 2016 |
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Nov 30, 2016 20:40
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That Reaper scene is one of the most confusing things this game has had. He's so going to end up joining our party by the end isn't he?
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Nov 30, 2016 21:03
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Mokinokaro posted:That Reaper scene is one of the most confusing things this game has had. Honestly when the boss went into cutscene mode after the fight I thought Reaper was going to show up and stop it from wrecking the party, then join. I guess he'll do that later. And hey, Julienne actually showed some personality and a desire for something there. Character development! With the barriers gone, has the world opened up a bit or did you just get some alternate paths to the same place?
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Nov 30, 2016 21:11
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I briefly wondered if there was something good in one of those areas blocked by the purple fields, but then I decided "probably not".
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Nov 30, 2016 21:48
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A few places have opened up thanks to the barriers going down. They were mostly just for gating the world so we made a big loop around the continent (the area south of Royburg earlier leads from an area that dumps out at Gatherington, for instance.) We could visit 'em right now, but there's not much to do there beyond loot and fighting stronger enemies until the plot demands we go there. We've still got two chapters before the game opens up. Just about all the optional areas are offshore islands that require an airship.
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Nov 30, 2016 22:48
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Y'know, here's a thought, Setsuna: why does reaper's life have more value than purple tiger dude? Why weren't you martyrizing yourself for him? Both are intelligent, probably, and both wanted to kill you. Actually, why haven't you been jumping in front of every cannon fodder penguin or seal in this game so far? Are you saying only human life has value? That's racist, setsuna.
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Nov 30, 2016 23:53
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youcallthatatwist posted:Y'know, here's a thought, Setsuna: why does reaper's life have more value than purple tiger dude? Why weren't you martyrizing yourself for him? Both are intelligent, probably, and both wanted to kill you. Actually, why haven't you been jumping in front of every cannon fodder penguin or seal in this game so far? Are you saying only human life has value? That's racist, setsuna. Gonna take a wild guess at this. Most monsters are, more or less, wild animals. Wild animals that can summon meteor swarms, but wild animals nonetheless. With a few exceptions, they lack intelligence, and so can only act as their instincts demand. They can't make an informed choice to do anything differently, and so sadly, if they attack, you've gotta defend yourself and put them down. People on the other hand, can at least choose to stop being an evil moody dickbag, or continue to be one. Bear in mind that, from a pure canonical story standpoint: The party has not killed nearly as many monsters as Dark Id has made them kill. As far as the story is concerned, Endir and friends never spent substantial time just grinding XP, and the encounters they did get into were likely few and far between, and in nearly every case, they were the defenders not the aggressors. There's no extinction mechanic in this game (As far as I know), no one is ever going to say "Wow Endir, you took time out of your main quest to hunt down and exterminate every last penguin monster in existence."
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Dec 1, 2016 02:48
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That boss's design was dope as hell and Julienne just became way more interesting. Is this game actually getting good? And as dumb as that Reaper scene was, I love the idea of returning to a place where you fought a recurring villain and finding him still laid out on the floor.
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Dec 1, 2016 03:18
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Setsuna you are too loving dumb to live. Nonetheless Julienne's murderfrenzy makes up for it. That lady needs to go in our party.
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Dec 1, 2016 05:04
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So do they just send the stupidest women in the village to go get sacrificed? At least Julienne growing a murder boner made up for it.
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Dec 1, 2016 05:40
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Or Julienne got possessed again. I lay odds on that over character development.
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Dec 1, 2016 06:01
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Can we recruit whoever keeps posessing Julienne? They'd immediately be second best character in the party
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Dec 1, 2016 07:01
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Welp that Reaper cutscene was particularly stupid, even by this game's standards. In other observations, to me that monster's halo looks somewhat similar to Setsuna's ceremonial loop hair thingy. Dunno why, probably the discussion about ceremonial garb couple updates ago.
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Dec 1, 2016 07:17
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Omobono posted:In other observations, to me that monster's halo looks somewhat similar to Setsuna's ceremonial loop hair thingy. Dunno why, probably the discussion about ceremonial garb couple updates ago. See, what with the monsters apparently being smart enough to accept sacrifices and that Yakra boy in the earlier segment of the game, I'm now imagining that the twist here is this particular monster was the Sacrifice for the Monsters, and that they have their own Sacrifice and ceremony thing to drive the humans out of the world. Way too farfetched to actually be part of the game, though. I hope.
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Dec 1, 2016 07:26
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youcallthatatwist posted:Y'know, here's a thought, Setsuna: why does reaper's life have more value than purple tiger dude? Why weren't you martyrizing yourself for him? Both are intelligent, probably, and both wanted to kill you. Actually, why haven't you been jumping in front of every cannon fodder penguin or seal in this game so far? Are you saying only human life has value? That's racist, setsuna. Well, she did go in for the bug kid, too. So far stuff that has talked and also tried to kill her (Endir, kidnapping Lord guy, bug boy, Julienne, and now Reaper) has gotten a pass at some point. The Dark Id posted:That's no happening...
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Dec 1, 2016 08:20
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An interesting way for these kinds of plots to go would be if the Sacrifice/Mystical Rite/Whatever was not mystical in nature, but the magical equivalent of a targeted strike, not just reducing the number of monsters in a nebulous way but actively killing 80% of the existing ones - the Monsters would have a good reason to want to stop the rite, and the Intelligent Monsters twist would carry way more weight. Kindof a Star Vs the Forces of Evil kinda thing, where the monsters have a drat good reason to be pissed at the others.
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Dec 1, 2016 08:24
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BlackPersona posted:See, what with the monsters apparently being smart enough to accept sacrifices and that Yakra boy in the earlier segment of the game, I'm now imagining that the twist here is this particular monster was the Sacrifice for the Monsters, and that they have their own Sacrifice and ceremony thing to drive the humans out of the world. That would actually be a pretty cool twist. More likely is either a successful sacrifice comes back as a big nasty monster not unlike FFX's Sin, or it was just a motif the art director thought looked cool.
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Dec 1, 2016 08:56
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BioEnchanted posted:An interesting way for these kinds of plots to go would be if the Sacrifice/Mystical Rite/Whatever was not mystical in nature, but the magical equivalent of a targeted strike, not just reducing the number of monsters in a nebulous way but actively killing 80% of the existing ones - the Monsters would have a good reason to want to stop the rite, and the Intelligent Monsters twist would carry way more weight. Kindof a Star Vs the Forces of Evil kinda thing, where the monsters have a drat good reason to be pissed at the others. So, the journey to the sacrifice site is just an excuse to gather some of the strongest fighters around and lead them right through the thickest collection of monsters, thereby reducing their numbers and the threat they pose?
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Dec 1, 2016 10:21
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Exactly how useful is a water-elemental anything? It seems like everything's an ice monster.
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Dec 2, 2016 09:10
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Part XXIX: To Zanarkand Music: The Strength of Time .jpg) Alright. We’ve cured the time-space anomalies plaguing the land by murdering a giant tiger man. Let’s blow this ice cave and continue onward to the final leg of the journey. .jpg) *nods* So that one drat monster was blockin’ people’s paths all over the mainland... Lucky we got rid of it... We’re lucky the cave didn’t collapse on us too. ...Why would that kinda thing happen? It was a load-bearing boss. Those things trigger mine collapses, castle crumblings, and tower toppling all the time. That is actually a thing...? You bet your 3:00 minute timer it is, pal. Yes, indeed... Come on, let’s get out of here..jpg) Rudely, there still is about a quarter of the dungeon to navigate, despite the defeat of the boss. It’s mostly just additional encounters with earlier enemies. .jpg) Though the dungeon does pull a real dick move in sticking a Spritnite-Eaten Monster palette swap of the bearmen roaming this area just before the exit to the cavern. The Uppa are mostly black with white trim fur. .jpg) This here is Southpaw. He’s mostly white with black trim fur. Totally different! Mostly in the fact that it has 3024 HP and will absolutely fuckstart our party’s faces almost instantly if we try fighting it right now. That’s it hitting Endir for 303 HP x2 or nearly one and three-fourths his maximum health for its basic attack. Its only other attack is a limited AOE that will hit TWO of our party members for roughly that much damage. .jpg) We’re just gonna go ahead and keep our distance from Southpaw and exit this cavern. That back end of the Fridging Caves leads us to... Music: Road to Closure .jpg) The world map! Against all odds, it’s still snowy out. Too bad that demon tiger wasn’t the source of the bad weather, too. .jpg) This valley in the mountain range continues to the south for a ways, but there is a trail leading to west. That goes... .jpg) ...back to Gatherington. With the spatial distortions gone a shortcut back into town circumventing the Fridging Heights dungeon has opened up. Handy. A couple areas have opened up in the world thanks to the purple barriers carving up the land having been knocked out. For instance, there’s a new dungeon to the north of Gatherington we briefly spied from afar when exploring up that way. But, there’s not a whole lot of reason to go off the beaten path. Not when we’re so close to the endgame! .jpg) But since Gatherington is within spitting distance, we will head back into town to dump all the materials we gained from that previous expedition and stock up on any new spritnite. We get a good 12,000G haul out of the deal. And on top of that... .jpg) Endir gains an ability that fills up everyone’s SP gauge instantly. I like to think he realizes a really bad pun that has been in front of his eyes this entire time and it gets him so fired up that the entire party rallies. Like the time a good friend of mine who is a big Dark Souls fan got a kitten and named it Siegmeyer of Catarina (just Sieg to not be insane.) Took me the better part of a year to get the Siegmeyer of CATarina part. Goddammit... I'm still mad about that pun. I know you read my LPs. I'm calling you out on that cat pun name! .jpg) From Fossilized Snow, Endir can now prank enemies by sticking their finger in an electric socket. It’s childish, but it gets the job done. As I remember, this is kinda an ehh ability that feeds into a couple dual-techs. Not to self: actually check if we’ve gotten any new dual techs at the end of this chapter.  .jpg) Setsuna learned about planking. Enemies just kind of groan and ignore her. It’s in direct contrast to Nidr’s Provoke, wherein he makes dated memes and dad jokes to infuriate his enemies. .jpg) Speaking of Nidr, his role as the party’s tank solidifies even further with an ability that straight lets him absorb an attack that rightly ought to have killed him. Of course it burns a turn in the process and wears off next turn so... very situational. .jpg) Julienne’s gained the ability to flip her poo poo and murder things even harder. It’s just a risk/reward buff/debuff. We don’t lose control of her like Berserk status in many other games. .jpg) Finally, Julienne has already upgraded to the second tier of Ice. There’s been at least one enemy type in two of the last three areas that has had an immunity to Water Elemental in this, The Land of Snow. In contrast... I don’t think there’s been any other immunities of elements beyond that. So uhh... It’s not the greatest affinity to have. .jpg) Anyway, we’re up to date on everyone’s Techs (sorry Kir and Aeterna, you’re SOL) and ready to move on with the journey. .jpg) Heading back the way we came and continuing southward, we come to a path leading into the Fridging Heights mountain range. The word Fridging is still bothering me. It’s dumb. It’s a dumb word. It sounds like what some overly religious suburb housewife would say when venting frustrations about the colored folk moving in down the street and how they’re ruining America. Tell me you could not see a racist white mom saying “fridging” instead of loving. Music: The Last Mountain (The track title would suggest this is probably where this song ought to play when not moonlighting as Reaper’s theme...) .jpg) From the summit, we’ll have a clear view of the Last Lands... *nods* So here we are... *folds arms* Mm... When you say we can “see the Last Lands” at the summit, do you mean it in like an “I can see my house from here” kinda way or is the place just over on the other side of the mountain. It’s not right next door. But we’re close enough. Do you think I could *actually* see my house from up there? Probably not. Frankly, I have COMPLETELY lost sight of where we’re supposed to be on the continent. Why didn’t any of us ever buy a map...? Excuse me... All of you have been journeying across the land without a map...? Oh you’re just now realizing you joined Team Wingingithard? ... Aeterna, you look a little pale... Are you all right? *shakes head* I’m fine, I’m just a little tired. *looks down* I see... Are you all right, Setsuna?.jpg) *nods* I’m fine. My mind’s been made up ever since the moment we started this journey. *looks down* And anyway... You’re all here... I don’t have anything to be afraid of. *nods* So thank you. Our journey isn’t over yet. Don’t get me wrong, I can’t wait for this to be over. But c’mon. You all know there is gonna be some real BS at the top of this mountain. And there’s gonna be some BS catch about this whole “Last Lands” business. Let’s not get premature with our wrap-up party, eh? Aren’t you optimistic? *shrugs and shakes head* Have you paid attention to literally *any* part of this journey? It’s not a matter of “if” there will be some BS ahead. It is “when” there will be some BS ahead. That is... yeah. Yeah... *sigh* *shakes head* Sorry... I guess it’s too early to be saying thank you... It’s just that it took us so long to get this far... You’re right, Endir. Our journey isn’t over yet. I still have an important duty to fulfill. Let’s hurry on... to the Last Lands... I’ll be counting on all of you for a little longer!.jpg) Alright! Let’s do this thing! Welcome to Fridging Heights. It is... not a particularly memorable dungeon. It’s basically just a snowy path leading north that zig-zags across bridges over a stream in the center. It’s kind of like that forest where we met Kir, just a lot grayer. I don’t have too much of a problem with this game’s combat heavy areas since they all have the decency of lasting no more than about twenty minutes, minus the boss fight. Xenogears is still king of the lovely dungeons in my book of JRPG LPs. .jpg) As far as enemies go, a new version of the oversized hermit crab critters has appeared: the Armonite. They actually put effort and made an entirely new model for this revision. Aside from the completely different shell with a cape draped over it, they’ve now got lil’ helmets they’re wearing. They’ve still got the Attack/Defense buff attack and just kinda charge with their shells. Albeit for around 150 HP of damage now. But, nothing really new going on beyond the redesign. .jpg) The mega-walrus enemies have gotten an edgy redesign for Fridging Heights. Their Tremor AOE attack has been upgraded to a full on Earthquake and hits the whole party for around 150 HP of damage. They can also counter physical attacks now. Not so much with Techs. And Nidr/Endir are still riding the MP restocking gravy train. So good luck with that. .jpg) While we trek up the mountain, there are also a couple new weapons to outfit the party. In the first half of the region, we find an upgrade for Nidr. .jpg) Nidr has gained a huge serrated blade. It’s full metal and made by an alchemist. Very powerful. .jpg) .jpg) This dungeon is divided into two halves. The second half just has less bridges and more snowy fields and upward slopes. Still not too noteworthy. .jpg) In part two of the dungeon, a new version of the Puff-Puff has appeared. In direct contrast to the Armonite enemy and the effort put into updating its look, the Fiery Puff-Puff looks like a lovely texture mod thrown up in Steve’s Wildlife Reskin upload on the Steam Workshop. Fiery Puff-Puffs, in addition to doing much more damage when exploding, can now enter a suicide pact in which all members of their race in a battle will cause a Chain Reaction of detonations all together. Can be a real issue when there’s two or three near an unsuspecting party member. .jpg) .jpg) Threat of seal suicide bombing victims aside, Kir can finally give up his brief affinity for dead magical girl staffs in exchange for... a stick. Supposedly it’s a magic stick. But still... it’s a stick. .jpg) .jpg) Past a dozen or so battles against detonating seals, edgelord walruses, and knight crabs we finally reach a save point near the summit of the mountain. I do appreciate this game giving a clear indicator that “yeah go take a piss and grab some water, there’s either a boss fight/plot/a combination of boss fight and plot incoming!” Especially after Final Fantasy X’s love of walking five feet and jumping into eight minutes of cutscenes at random. .jpg) Save point indicator aside, it turns out Aurorean Tiger was the big disc end boss for this story arc. There’s no boss in Fridging Height. Just a straight path leading to the summit. Music: ENDS .jpg) This is finally it. We get to see what all the fuss is about with The Last Lands... .jpg) ... You said that what we can see up ahead are the Last Lands, right, Aeterna? *twitch* Sometimes I hate always being right... So how are we gonna get there...?Music: Feeling of Unease .jpg) Aww beans... Really? I thought you’d be more upset than that... I’m trying to stay professional and not scream all the obscenities that are racing through my head at the moment... *continuously shakes head* What... This can’t be possible... Why? Why has this happened? What we’re seeing in front of us... Is this some sorta illusion, or what? What’s going on...? The land’s... gone. It’s gone... The land has vanished... What’s... what’s going on? Wait. Did the land disappear or did it just take off flyin’? I don’t think that distinction matters... Unless any of you could fly all this time, I think we’re kinda boned... You’ve seen the Last Lands before, right, Aeterna? What’s going on!? Can’t we get there anymore? *shakes head* Wait... There must be a way... Yeah, sure... An airship! Oh wait... We blew the only one we saw up. Half a continent away... How did that happen again? Oh right! Fighting that dipshit goth dork we didn’t kill earlier for some dumbass reason. *glares in Setsuna’s direction* *stares off into distance*.jpg) But... what the hell are you plannin’ on doin’, exactly...? Yeah, Aeterna. What now? You’ve been miss go-go-go! Gotta get back to the journey! Well... *motions to floating island and makes fart noise* Well... Well... Umm... You see... Well... I’ve heard better plans...Aeterna falls to her knees and starts glowing... .jpg) ! Aeterna!? There IS something wrong with you, isn’t there!? Yeah, alright. If you like ACTUALLY sprout wings and can fly us over, you have free reign to dunk on anything stupid I say for the rest of this trip. No... I... Oh! Wait! Or a super jump. You have a super jump, don’t you? Ah. That explains the whole frog hoodie. It all makes sense now! Please... Don’t give up hope....jpg) !.jpg) Now Aeterna’s vanished as well!? Did she just like... die? I dunno uhh... maybe? Was she a ghost the whole time...? Kir, was she a ghost like your undead gremlin brother? I don’t kn—my brother wasn’t a gremlin either! I’ve accept that you’re not a gremlin. But I’m sorry. That ghost brother was DEFINITELY a gremlin. Now ain’t the time for this. *shakes head* What the hell’s goin’ on here!?.jpg) Julienne? Speaking of now not being the time... *readies lance to attack Setsuna*.jpg)  Unless you’re planning on using that lance to baseball bat Setsuna over to that island, I suggest you fridging chill out, lady! Julienne! You ain’t cured at all, are ya!? She isn’t!? Y-you don’t think she’s planning on attacking us, do you? Julienne! *glances over shoulder* Could you do me a solid and maybe, I dunno, back up from crazy tits here trying to kill you! Cyclone, the big ol’ sword spin? That’s kinda my signature move. Don’t wanna take your head off too prematurely. It’d kinda be counter-productive....jpg) DO...NOT...INTERFERE... KILL...THE...SACRIFICE... *winces* Setsuna... Stay... back... Julienne!!.jpg) Aww dang....jpg) .jpg) We can travel together... no further... Please forgive me... Setsuna... Why...? Why are you saying this? *looks over shoulder* Really...? *stinkface* *silent look of fatherly disappointment in idiot child* I can no longer... remain myself...Julienne puts away her weapon and starts limping back down the mountain. Setsuna attempts to follow... .jpg) Please... I do not wish to harm you... Please understand...Julienne leaves the party. Setsuna falls to her knees. Real bummer day for everyone. Music: Loss .jpg) Both Aeterna and Julienne are gone... And the Vanished Land is blocking our way. What are we gonna do? For starters, we’re not referring to the missing landmass as the proper noun “Vanished Lands”. That sounds real dumb. Can we not do this right now? We can’t change what’s happened. All we can do now is try an’ think what to do next... Right, Endir? Let’s go back to Gatherington. Standing on this mountain ain’t gonna do us any good right now. We need to find a way across. *nods* Yeah, right... Maybe... Hmm... I dunno. A catapult? What...? A catapult. What if we got or... I guess we’d have to construct it up here... a catapult. What would we do with a catapult? We could set it up and fire Setsuna to the Last Lands on that. ...That is. No, Endir. We’re not doing that. How would we protect her when we got there? Tch. Dang. Yeah... That’s a factor huh? *rubs chin* Hmm... Hm. Oh... OH! Yeah, totally. You’re right. Launching Setsuna would be irresponsible. What we need is a rope ladder too. A really long one. What... Why? We tie it to the back of Kir, we launch HIM on the catapult, and then we he lands then he can fasten the ladder to something up there, roll it over the edge, and BOOM! Whole party is in the Last Lands. WHAT?! NO! You are NOT launching me on a catapult like that. What? Are you worried about carrying the rope ladder? Don’t worry, we’ll tie it to your back and face you the opposite direction so you land on it. You won’t have to worry about the weight and it’ll break your fall! It’s genius, really. No... no it is not, Endir! No part of that plan is genius! What’s wrong with that plan...? I think that’s a solid strat! Y’know. Let’s just go back to the getting off the mountain part. Yeah... we’re gonna need to gather up some supplies for this operation. Lotta wood. Lotta rope. It’s gonna be a pain. Lotta grinding involved. ... Before we do anythin’ else, we need to get everything that’s happened sorted out in our heads. Setsuna... Shall we go? Oh boy... Is she havin’ a time...? *glares* Be. Nice. Setsuna! Stand up! Yeah, Aeterna phased out of existence and Julienne is possessed or has an evil split personality and took off but... I mean... at least nobody got kidnapped! And no fight against that Reaper clown. That’s something, huh? Setsuna? Could be worse, right...? Endir... You’re right. I’m sorry...Setsuna rises to her feet. Well... if she actually had feet... .jpg) I need to think about what there is that I can do. That’s the spirit. You were kinda out of it. Did you hear my catapult plan? Y-Yes... I will... consider it... *thumbs up* *nervous glance at Setsuna and Endir* *looks at Kir, makes cringe face, briefly shakes head and makes pass motion* *relieved sigh*.jpg) And so that’s how Aeterna and Julienne abruptly left the party. .jpg) Well, poo poo... On that note we close this chapter. Tune in next time when Setsuna and the gang deal with a third of the party taking off and the final area being held aloft by the Master Emerald. It's always something... The Dark Id fucked around with this message at 21:34 on Jan 29, 2017 |
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Dec 2, 2016 20:13
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it is actually a pretty good idea for that ridiculous anti-climactic resolution for the possession thing to have not really resolved anything at all. i guess if it didn't do anything that would explain why the butler dude was fine with it, too.
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Dec 2, 2016 20:27
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Yeah this is actually a decent story twist all things considered.
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Dec 2, 2016 20:37
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That was actually interesting. But what I want to know is if Endir's contact on Setsuna is still active, considering it's (still) very likely that Julienne put out the hit on her in the first place. Dude's gotta maintain a reputation, you know.
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Dec 2, 2016 20:46
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Aeterna just literally went up in a puff of smoke?
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Dec 2, 2016 20:48
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HardDiskD posted:Aeterna just literally went up in a puff of smoke? the fact that auron was split into two characters was never a secret, though i wasn't expecting the other half to be the innocuous frog hoodie girl.
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Dec 2, 2016 20:53
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She was just confused and thought the cutscene was over.
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Dec 2, 2016 20:57
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gimme the GOD drat candy posted:it is actually a pretty good idea for that ridiculous anti-climactic resolution for the possession thing to have not really resolved anything at all. i guess if it didn't do anything that would explain why the butler dude was fine with it, too. I can't believe that incredibly shady Magic Consortium guy failed us.
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Dec 2, 2016 22:16
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Aw, hermit crabs with tiny capes. That's so cute.  And some other stuff, I guess.
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Dec 2, 2016 23:01
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He's back! Sorry if our nitpicking depressed you, Dark Id. You are appreciated.
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Dec 2, 2016 23:43
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Wow. Alright, that's actually pretty interesting.
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Dec 3, 2016 03:17
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but anyway, i guess there is now plenty of room in the party for a goober with a scythe.
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Dec 3, 2016 03:21
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Ah, the standard "serious drama poo poo just went down" part of the JRPG. Always a favorite bit. Now we wait for the deus ex machina that will magically fix all our problems and get us to the final dungeon!The Dark Id posted:Endir gains an ability that fills up everyone’s SP gauge instantly. I like to think he realizes a really bad pun that has been in front of his eyes this entire time and it gets him so fired up that the entire party rallies. Like the time a good friend of mine who is a big Dark Souls fan got a kitten and named it Siegmeyer of Catarina (just Sieg to not be insane.) Took me the better part of a year to get the Siegmeyer of CATarina part. Goddammit... I'm still mad about that pun. I know you read my LPs. I'm calling you out on that cat pun name! I've had moments like that too. A recent one: I was playing through Persona 4 Golden for the umpteenth time, maxed out Teddie's Social Link, and unlocked the ability to fuse Helel, the ultimate persona of the Star arcana. If you've never played Persona 4, you only need to know two things: 1. Teddie makes a lot of terrible bear-related puns on account of resembling a big stuffed blue bear. 2. Helel's title is the Light Bearer. I only JUST realized that on my last run, which was like my 4th or 5th through the game. Teddie's bear puns are so omnipresent that even the fourth wall makes them on his behalf!
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Dec 3, 2016 04:40
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I named my cat Heisenberg, because I was a physics major when I got him and Shrodinger would be cliche. If I ever get a Russian Blue, they'll be named Cherenkov.
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Dec 3, 2016 04:53
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That landscape view of the floating city is functional enough, but I would've liked that they use a different camera angle to show if there's like... an ocean under there, or maybe a pitch black void, or something. We can see more mountains behind it, so it makes me curious.
booksnake fucked around with this message at 05:23 on Dec 3, 2016 |
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Dec 3, 2016 04:54
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StandardVC10 posted:I can't believe that incredibly shady Magic Consortium guy failed us. Where else are we going to get the quantities of rope and wood needed in order to enact the catapult plan? Not to mention making sure that wood and rope won't disappear like Aeterna and the Walrus Dagger did. If the Walrus Dagger can just up and poof out of existence, anything can 
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Dec 3, 2016 05:12
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EponymousMrYar posted:Where else are we going to get the quantities of rope and wood needed in order to enact the catapult plan? Not to mention making sure that wood and rope won't disappear like Aeterna and the Walrus Dagger did. If the Walrus Dagger can just up and poof out of existence, anything can Let's face it, using this plot point as a reason to send us on a fetch quest is exactly the sort of thing this game would do.
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Dec 3, 2016 06:01
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EponymousMrYar posted:Where else are we going to get the quantities of rope and wood needed in order to enact the catapult plan? Not to mention making sure that wood and rope won't disappear like Aeterna and the Walrus Dagger did. If the Walrus Dagger can just up and poof out of existence, anything can I forgot about the Walrus Dagger. I really hope it is safe on the party stash but otherwise I hope we will get
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Dec 3, 2016 06:41
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