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        So imagine if you will that you're working at Square near the end of the millennium; the Final Fantasy series is selling like gangbusters and things are generally going well....except you also realize that the company is starting to pump up goofier fare like Brave Fencer Musashi or Chocobo Racing. You've got your own interesting ideas and you know Square won't go for them; so what do you do? Well if you're Hiroki Kikuta then you take your new ideas and head off to start your own company, and try to develop a new, unique property. And that brings us to today's let's play for Koudelka, the first entry in the cult classic horror RPG series known as Shadow Hearts and a game clearly reaching for the stars but ultimately running into a number of hurdles along the way. Released for the PS1 near the end of 1999, Koudelka follows the adventures of a rag-tag group of jerks as they investigate a dark mystery surrounding a desolate monastery in Wales. On it's surface, the game has many hallmarks that you'd normally see in a lot of turn based RPG's but beneath that you'll see smatterings of what Kikuta originally wanted. Which believe it or not, was meant to be something more akin to the survival horror present in Resident Evil. He wanted scare resources for the adventurers and a tension to the game that not only came from the dreary setting, but an unsurety of what could lie in wait behind the next corner. It's just that the ex-employees he brought over from Square wanted to continue doing the tried and true RPG formula, and the compromise can be pretty clearly seen in the game as multiple genres start to mix into an odd stew that really takes some effort to see the real creativity hidden in the game. Because beneath the initial familiar sheen and safety of a bog standard RPG lies a very twisting and dark tale told through some incredibly well-done voice acting. So hopefully you'll enjoy the journey and please be kind and remember no spoilers.  Koudelka Iasant is our titular character and primary protagonist. With her razor wit and headstrong personality, she has found herself at the heart of a very dangerous situation. Thankfully she's got just the right tools to deal with the job (mainly cynicism).  Edward Plunkett is roguish adventurer with his heart set on obtaining booty....but not the kind you might be thinking. Sadly as he made his way into the Nementon Monastery in search of treasures, he soon only found himself in way over his head.  James O' Flaherty is your typical Irish rear end in a top hat priest that you might see pop up in Father Ted. The question is though why this man of the cloth has found himself in the monastery and if he's being on the level with Koudelka and Edward. discworld is all I read fucked around with this message at 04:32 on Aug 30, 2017 |
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Jul 22, 2017 09:52
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 Hey, it's a horror RPG for the PS1 that isn't Parasite Eve! It'll be an exciting ride that hopefully I won't gently caress up badly with. Also though I wasn't planning on doing it initially, there is a rather bizarre secret in the game that involves carrying a certain amount of items and saving at very particular times: Bonus 1: Masters of time and saving (and yes, I did get the info slightly wrong regarding how many items you need but you'll get the general gist of it all)
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Jul 22, 2017 09:55
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I'm a huge fan of the Shadow Hearts series but somehow never actually got around to playing Koudelka, so this'll be fun.
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Jul 22, 2017 15:12
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Geez, Koudelka can't even give her companion a heads up about something being poison until after the fact? That's pretty cold. Although I suppose that's better than the revelation I thought was going to happen, that the soup used soylent green as an ingredient.
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Jul 22, 2017 15:15
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I've tried playing this before but the general clunkiness of the mechanics always rebuffed me. Looking forward to experiencing this game vicariously.
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Jul 22, 2017 18:55
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Genocyber posted:I've tried playing this before but the general clunkiness of the mechanics always rebuffed me. Looking forward to experiencing this game vicariously. Leraika posted:I'm a huge fan of the Shadow Hearts series but somehow never actually got around to playing Koudelka, so this'll be fun. Edvarius posted:Geez, Koudelka can't even give her companion a heads up about something being poison until after the fact? That's pretty cold. Although I suppose that's better than the revelation I thought was going to happen, that the soup used soylent green as an ingredient.
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Jul 22, 2017 19:18
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I guess there's something else to fear in Wales other than the roving bands of All-Male choirs. *Insert Welsh flag with crying dragon here*
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Jul 22, 2017 21:27
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I remember renting this a few times when it originally came out but never managing to finish it because I made some really terrible decisions with my party. Looking forward to your lp.
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Jul 23, 2017 04:37
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zeroskippy posted:I remember renting this a few times when it originally came out but never managing to finish it because I made some really terrible decisions with my party. Looking forward to your lp.
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Jul 23, 2017 05:00
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I really enjoyed Koudelka, and I wish we had more horror-themed RPGs out there. Shadow Hearts really stood alone and even now, there's very little like it. The main thing that annoyed me about Koudelka was the weapons breaking seemingly at random. Having to rely on your fists the entire way through the game never stopped being annoying. Having to rely on random drops, both for your weapons and gear made for a really uneven difficulty curve as well. Makes me wonder if the game was balance tested very well.
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Jul 23, 2017 06:11
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This is a good game to LP. I certainly had more fun watching someone play the game than playing it myself. It felt so rough and unpolished the whole time. With each Shadow Hearts the darker themes got lighter and the game more fun to play. Shadow Hearts 2 felt more like a Final Fantasy game than its own identity, and Shadow Hearts 3 went full blown crazy anime.
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Jul 23, 2017 08:45
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Kaboom Dragoon posted:I really enjoyed Koudelka, and I wish we had more horror-themed RPGs out there. Shadow Hearts really stood alone and even now, there's very little like it. The main thing that annoyed me about Koudelka was the weapons breaking seemingly at random. Having to rely on your fists the entire way through the game never stopped being annoying. Having to rely on random drops, both for your weapons and gear made for a really uneven difficulty curve as well. Makes me wonder if the game was balance tested very well. Apparently for most of the development time, the team disagreed with each other on how the game should play. The lead designer wanted it to be more Survival Horror than JRPG while others wanted it to be more JRPG than Survival Horror and the end result is a kind of weird compromise that doesn't quite work, so I wouldn't be surprised if properly balancing the game was given a low priority by the end.
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Jul 23, 2017 08:50
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I once heard a stage actor mention that early 3D games really owed a lot to theatre, since they didn't have the resolution for facial expressions and had to rely on posture & body language. What we've seen so far of this game has some really expressive animation.
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Jul 23, 2017 11:44
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Sweet, I never got my hands on that game, but I really enjoyed playing Shadow Hearts. I really hope Koudelka keeps her you're-all-idiots-attitude for a while longer.
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Jul 24, 2017 20:26
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Hel posted:I once heard a stage actor mention that early 3D games really owed a lot to theatre, since they didn't have the resolution for facial expressions and had to rely on posture & body language. What we've seen so far of this game has some really expressive animation. Yeah these cutscenes are fantastic for in-engine ps1 cutscenes. Overall though I can see some of the confusion the dev team was going through. The game definitely looks like it's trying to split the difference between horror and JRPG, and ending up kind of a watered down version of both. It seems like it would be a tricky balance for anyone to pull off.
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Jul 24, 2017 20:33
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Do you plan on LPing the Shadow Hearts games afterwards as well? The only one that hasn't been done is Shadow Hearts 3, simultaneously the zaniest and also most fun to play of the series. This game definitely does have great voice acting, even now, and really great model work. Shadow Hearts 1 carries the expressive models to an extent, but it's a shame the VA was either poorly or not at all translated.
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Jul 24, 2017 21:29
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Yeah the voice acting was amazing for the time, especially coming from the resident evil games to this.
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Jul 24, 2017 21:57
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Ubiquitous_ posted:Do you plan on LPing the Shadow Hearts games afterwards as well? The only one that hasn't been done is Shadow Hearts 3, simultaneously the zaniest and also most fun to play of the series. This game definitely does have great voice acting, even now, and really great model work. Shadow Hearts 1 carries the expressive models to an extent, but it's a shame the VA was either poorly or not at all translated. zeroskippy posted:Yeah the voice acting was amazing for the time, especially coming from the resident evil games to this. Cathode Raymond posted:Yeah these cutscenes are fantastic for in-engine ps1 cutscenes.
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Jul 24, 2017 23:50
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 So as our story unfolds inside Nemeton Monastery, we find that it's not just the murderous old couple that we have to worry about but also internal strife for our party members....and a whole lot of supernatural malevolent forces. And speaking of pure malevolence, our bonus update this time around is going to involve some backstory for Nemeton: Bonus 2- Guard's Diary
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Jul 26, 2017 19:47
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I was watching this on youtube and I didn't realise you'd made a thread for this! I'd heard of Shadow Hearts but I'd never heard of Koudelka. I have a real soft spot for the very early 3D era on the PS1, it's a wonderful time full of pre-rendered backgrounds and weird RPGs. I hope there's an indie revival at some point. I'm with everyone else in being super impressed at the voice acting and animations in this, it's fantastic work and it really sells the whole setting and cast. Does the whole game take place in the monastery?
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Jul 26, 2017 20:14
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Fun fact for the bonus video: gaol is pronounced the same way as jail, which is what a gaol is. I don't know why this is pronounced this way either. That's the English language for ya.
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Jul 26, 2017 21:15
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Red Bones posted:I was watching this on youtube and I didn't realise you'd made a thread for this! I'd heard of Shadow Hearts but I'd never heard of Koudelka. I have a real soft spot for the very early 3D era on the PS1, it's a wonderful time full of pre-rendered backgrounds and weird RPGs. I hope there's an indie revival at some point. savixeon posted:Fun fact for the bonus video: gaol is pronounced the same way as jail, which is what a gaol is. I don't know why this is pronounced this way either. That's the English language for ya. VVVV Aye, I'm not saying you're trying to disparage me or anything. I just know that I can sometimes butcher words or phrases (like saying 'intensive purposes') discworld is all I read fucked around with this message at 23:41 on Jul 26, 2017 |
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Jul 26, 2017 22:29
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discworld is all I read posted:Yeah, I stumbled a bit on that and I probably should have looked up how it was pronounced. But I decided to take the high road and just come across ill-informed. Nothing against you, I just only found out about that weird pronunciation recently when I heard it in a game and I looked it up to see if the voice actor messed up or their script differed from the dialogue. I just like sharing weird tidbits of information.
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Jul 26, 2017 22:39
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Is there anything more wonderful than pelting foes with barrels and crates?
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Jul 27, 2017 02:11
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Nope! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qh4uNhrOF2s
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Jul 27, 2017 04:37
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I am actually pretty impressed with the voice acting considering this is a PS1 game and I've played this before but somehow had forgotten how good the voice acting is. Kind of a shame Shadow Hearts doesn't continue that tradition even if I'd argue they're better games overall than Koudelka.
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Jul 27, 2017 06:21
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Covenant and From the New World have pretty good voice acting, with some rough spots. This game has them, too, but I think the writing for the voiced dialogue is a lot better than most of what's in the SH games.
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Jul 27, 2017 06:26
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Mr. Fortitude posted:I am actually pretty impressed with the voice acting considering this is a PS1 game and I've played this before but somehow had forgotten how good the voice acting is. Kind of a shame Shadow Hearts doesn't continue that tradition even if I'd argue they're better games overall than Koudelka.
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Jul 27, 2017 06:47
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discworld is all I read posted:Yeah, while I've never played any of the other Shadow Hearts games, it's pretty easy to appreciate the voice acting in this. It's fairly well written too, even if James and Edward come across initially as just caricatures, the voice actors really sell the characters. James with his overly self-righteous demeanor hiding a broken moral compass that seems less based in reality and more based on what society on the whole will allow. Edward on the other hand seems pretty devil may care with his life, seemingly seeking out danger without really knowing what to do when the danger presents itself. Both characters seem pretty naive and very apt to tell you that they're not; that their world view is right and you're wrong or misguided. Meanwhile Koudelka just sighs and tries to survive the night cause that is the most pressing matter; especially now that we know that it's not just a few random murders done by an elderly couple that is waiting inside the walls of the monastery. A lot of voice acting has different actors record their lines separately for scheduling reasons, but this game definitely sounds like everyone was in the booth at the same time when they were recording. The characters play off and respond to each other really well.
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Jul 27, 2017 11:42
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The voice cast did the motion capture and were recorded doing the dialogue. I believe the cast had a background in theatre, which is why it feels so naturalistic, especially compared to games of the era (hell, even compared to a fair few games today). It's been a while since I last saw it, but there should be footage of the mocap sessions on Youtube. These days, it's pretty much standard practice to produce games like that, but back then, it was highly unusual.
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Jul 27, 2017 12:12
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Kaboom Dragoon posted:The voice cast did the motion capture and were recorded doing the dialogue. I believe the cast had a background in theatre, which is why it feels so naturalistic, especially compared to games of the era (hell, even compared to a fair few games today). It's been a while since I last saw it, but there should be footage of the mocap sessions on Youtube. These days, it's pretty much standard practice to produce games like that, but back then, it was highly unusual. So kinda similar to the production of the first Siren game? That's pretty cool.
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Jul 27, 2017 20:18
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Ya know, that actually makes me wonder if the Japanese version of the game kept the English voice actors. I'll probably see if I can dig up an iso of it to check, but that might also explain why it got a North American release before the Japanese release. Cause usually Japanese games don't do that even to nowadays. Or maybe there was some other deeper story there.
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Jul 27, 2017 21:13
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discworld is all I read posted:Ya know, that actually makes me wonder if the Japanese version of the game kept the English voice actors. I'll probably see if I can dig up an iso of it to check, but that might also explain why it got a North American release before the Japanese release. Cause usually Japanese games don't do that even to nowadays. Or maybe there was some other deeper story there. I did a quick search on Youtube and that does appear to be the case - English voice track, Japanese subtitles. Weird.
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Jul 27, 2017 23:13
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discworld is all I read posted:Ya know, that actually makes me wonder if the Japanese version of the game kept the English voice actors. I'll probably see if I can dig up an iso of it to check, but that might also explain why it got a North American release before the Japanese release. Cause usually Japanese games don't do that even to nowadays. Or maybe there was some other deeper story there. Didn't Resident Evil and Devil May Cry only have English voices? So it's not unheard of at least.
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Jul 28, 2017 06:11
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Hel posted:Didn't Resident Evil and Devil May Cry only have English voices? So it's not unheard of at least.
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Jul 28, 2017 06:54
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The dev team did visit Wales to scout the setting out, so it makes sense.
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Jul 28, 2017 07:09
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I love the constant bickering between the party members.
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Jul 28, 2017 12:52
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discworld is all I read posted:Yeah, I definitely know Resident Evil did it. Maybe they just want to keep English voice actors when it's fits the games thematically?
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Jul 28, 2017 18:08
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Not sure if you know this, but the buff spells will have the opposite effect if you cast them on the enemies and it'll debuff them.
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Jul 29, 2017 17:18
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Mr. Fortitude posted:Not sure if you know this, but the buff spells will have the opposite effect if you cast them on the enemies and it'll debuff them.
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Jul 29, 2017 18:49
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