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UPDATE ON PREVIOUS PAGEThe Dark Id posted:
The Dark Id posted:
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Aug 4, 2018 23:21
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Here's the real reason Zhuzhen is either everyone's die-hard favorite or utterly forgotten. The General Leo Effect is in full swing for him.
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Aug 4, 2018 23:33
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DeafNote posted:I am surprised the game just took the old trope of four elemental temples away from us and reduced it to just the Tiger. Technically speaking we've already done the Black Tortoise Temple in the Cat Village and the Blue Dragon Temple with that Li Li business.
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Aug 4, 2018 23:50
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StandardVC10 posted:
Nonsense! They're magical pistachios! 
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Aug 5, 2018 00:18
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I think pistachios are magical
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Aug 5, 2018 01:52
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For all I know, eating pistachios actually would restore whatever magic points I've used.
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Aug 5, 2018 02:07
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Malachite_Dragon posted:Nonsense! They're magical pistachios! Activated pistachios obviously.
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Aug 5, 2018 02:22
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ultrafilter posted:For all I know, eating pistachios actually would restore whatever magic points I've used.
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Aug 5, 2018 02:51
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StandardVC10 posted:
Keep those demon nuts away from me
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Aug 5, 2018 03:53
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One thing I never got about the Japanese army's plan here, is that seemingly they want to stop the Demon's Gate Invocation by making sure Dehaui doesn't get that final god altar/effigy whatever. Which, as far as they know now, he cannot get because the temple is too well defended, so much so that their own armies are minced whenever they go near. So...they want to keep trying anyway? If they somehow succeeded, they would have just replaced the temple's current, very effective defenses with their own lovely soldiers which they know Dehaui can blow away with ease. Surely they'd be better off just leaving things as they are?
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Aug 5, 2018 08:21
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Common logic flaw in most RPGs... or really SFF stories in general come to think of it. I think the assumed logic is that "well, he's the Evil Wizard, he'll probably figure it out eventually except we won't know for SURE and that's even worse than him having it surely". You could also speculate that with any of the Four Gods in place Japan wouldn't be able to complete their takeover either, but it's way more likely to be the first one (which isn't a good excuse, but people don't logic good most of the time.)
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Aug 5, 2018 10:48
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CountryMatters posted:One thing I never got about the Japanese army's plan here, is that seemingly they want to stop the Demon's Gate Invocation by making sure Dehaui doesn't get that final god altar/effigy whatever. Which, as far as they know now, he cannot get because the temple is too well defended, so much so that their own armies are minced whenever they go near. They had exactly one competent soldier and hes traipsing around as a ghost in a fox mask.
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Aug 5, 2018 10:50
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Basically it's your typical RPG military "if it's not in our hands, it's in the wrong hands!" dumbassery.
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Aug 5, 2018 11:07
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Malachite_Dragon posted:Basically it's your typical fiction imitates reality yo
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Aug 5, 2018 13:00
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You woulda thought that with Dehuai still being active and something of a town hero by the townsfolk dialogue coupled with everything he's been through recently, Zhuzhen would have seen this kind of poo poo coming a mile away once someone said that Zhen wasn't the owner anymore.The Dark Id posted:At around sundown, he transforms into Bumming a Few Bucks Off His Mates For a Pint Miha. 1. EDIT: I'm a dingus that can't read. 2. I checked the game script for clarification, and this wasn't a translation error. Should be, "just have a seat." 3. Should be, "Are those...the same clothes, even?" Shitenshi fucked around with this message at 23:43 on Aug 5, 2018 |
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Aug 5, 2018 16:07
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Rigged Death Trap posted:fiction imitates reality yo yeeah, if you take a look at half the hair-brained schemes the military of most countries had came up with, it would make your hair go white from the sheer lunacy (and bigotry as several of those plots revealed). There's a reason why Military Intelligence is considered an oxymoron by people who been around the brass.
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Aug 5, 2018 16:32
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Shitenshi posted:1. I think this should be, "Pint of Miha." Nope, Miha is the guy's name. He's Tipsy Miha, and then TDI edited it.
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Aug 5, 2018 21:11
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Plus I mean, Japan is itself an imperial power at this time so maybe they want the shrine for their own imperial fuckery.
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Aug 5, 2018 21:44
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Episode XXIV: No Sell.jpg) Now, where were we? Oh right... Zhuzhen was having another really bad day.  Music: Misfortune - Psycho Temple .jpg)  I-I’ll be all right!! Y-you magic-sucking, half-pint, slicked-back bastard… Hey. I know you're upset I sold the bar, but that's mean... I think the old man is talking to me. I was talking to him. Oh... That makes more sense. Heh. And I was thinking of allowing you a quick death. As usual, you had to go and say too much… I’ll cut off your limbs and serve them to Dehuai. And that wagging tongue of yours as well! You're going to cut off my limbs and have me bleed all over your place just because you're getting mad? I see why this bar turned into such a dive. Oh, it's fine. It's not like it'll be the first time. Right, Zhen? <frown> I'll have Qiuhua go get the mops... Ah, there they are!  Yuri and Qiuhua rush onto the scene. .jpg) Don’t tell me you’re half-dead? You hurt? This guy did this to you? Heh… What’s the matter, kid? You sound like you’re actually starting to care about me or something. Yeah, well... Don't let it go to your head. Some of your friends, Zhuzhen? Poke around in other people’s business and you’re bound to get hurt. I’ll forgive you this intrusion. Get lost! Great, another rambling jag-off. That crappy sorcerer sure has a mid-boss type he likes.Yuri stands up and gets in Wugui's face. .jpg) I don’t care if you get down on your hands and knees, I won’t let you off the hook!  W-who are you?! <waves a dismissal> Why would I tell you?! It doesn’t matter anyway, since you’re going to die right here! You really are dumb!  (Why am I getting an awful sense of déjà vu...?) <nervous laugh> Wh-wh-wh… What an amusing joke!! A… all right, fool! We’ll see who’s about to die!! You, dumbass! We've discussed this. No, I meant that I am—wait... I've DONE this before! But where...? ... ...... ...poo poo..jpg) Music: Brain Hopper .jpg) .jpg) Time for Yuri vs. Wugui of Kowloon. Perhaps this will go slightly better than Zhuzhen's attempt.  Wugui doesn't mess about this fight. He immediately goes for the throat and attempts to take out Yuri with his Game of Death. .jpg) ...OK..jpg) You just stood there for a minute and then kicked the air... I don't get what you were going for, guy. I see. You, too, are protected by the darkness!!.jpg) Well, I mean that's true of Yuri in his current form. But we can always switch that up. While Yuri is immune to Wugui's one hit KO, there's still nothing we can do about his absorption of magical attacks. So, let's switch over to something that packs a bit more punch, eh? .jpg) And then let's buff our punching potential to the maximum. We need to beat 333 HP out of Wugui. Which is the same amount he had when he fought Papa Hyuga fifteen years ago. Yuri still has about 25 Levels to grind if he wants this to be that much of a stomp match. But we'll be fine. .jpg) .jpg) .jpg) The remainder of this fight just turns into Yuri and Wugui exchanging punch combos to each other's faces. Turns out an eight-foot-tall, burly fire elemental with four arms can outpunch a short guy from Hong Kong that ate some Gum-Gum Fruit. It's got to be really embarrassing every 15 years to have a Hyuga show up on your turf and just completely whip your rear end. Music: Results .jpg) He even steals Wugui's wallet while he's at it. The guy shouldn't have been carrying around that much spending money if he didn't want to get mugged. .jpg) Also, for defeating Wugui in a fist fight, we get this extremely specific use case item. This sounds like it might be useful in some scenario where, I don't know, Wugui fought an entire party and could use his OHKO on people who were not immune to it. Except that scenario assumes we wouldn't be finding items that straight up defend against instant death by the point that would come up. The game will not be presenting such a scenario... As soon as the battle ends, Margarete and Alice run onto the scene. Music: Misfortune - Psycho Temple .jpg) F-fusion!! Y-you… you’re… a demon…! Oh no, you're gonna hurt my feelings saying stuff like that while I'm standing over here with a 4-0 record against Dehuai lackeys. I changed my mind! I’m not going to kill you anymore, so you run along to Dehuai… Since I’m here, he better hide his girlie magazines, ‘cause he could get killed any day now! Nnngh… Things’ll go a bit differently next time, kid!! Uh-oh. Are you gonna have a second powered-up form? Or maybe throw one of those Yamaraja dudes at me? ...N-no. Forget this!.jpg) Wugui OUT. Music: ENDS .jpg) <weakly stands up> Ugh... I’ll be all right… Heh heh heh. Not to sound ungrateful for your help, but… couldn’t you have come just a little sooner…? Hey, I think I’m having déjà vu… Urgh… owww… <approaches Yuri> Arrgg... No… What’s happening… I can’t believe it…Music: Tanjou .jpg) There’s no mistaking it… His eyes… and his mouth… It’s an absolute likeness!! Like a twin… Psst... Alice? Zhuzhen? Who is this senile old guy...? It’s as if he’s alive… and… grew to be this grand… ohh… urggh… <turns to Alice> Hey, he’s crying! Er… What should I do? <confused shrug> Maybe give him a hug...? Naw... I don't even know who this guy IS! Master Zhuzhen, is he…? Heh heh heh… You guess right, Qiuhua, Zhen. Let me introduce you. The kid’s name is Yuri. It’s a memento from Colonel Ben Hyuga!! Hunh?! Err... Did I miss something sleeping in...? I told you he didn't hear any of that. <concerned hum> Yeah...Sometime later... Back at the party's hotel room. .jpg) Ever since then, I accompanied him in his travels. We opened a shop in Shanghai because he said we should make this our base of operations… But in fact, he did it out of concern for young Qiuhua. Am I supposed to know who that is...? That's me. Ah right. You're the one that ran out hollerin' about how the old quack was getting his rear end handed to him. That's not how I said it at all. I can read between the lines. Each summer, father left the village for work. Then he returned just before winter began. But there was that one year… A cold winter arrived, and snow was falling. But no sign of father… And instead, what came to our village was… Hmph… Forget it… See I can trail off on key backstory too... I heard that the colonel had a Russian wife. And that they had a young son. But… I had no idea… that he would be alive… Gee, thanks. …My mother died. Heheh, but just my luck, I had to outlive them. <steps forward> How can you say that? I haven’t been this thrilled in my life. And how happy Zhuzhen must be as well! Oh yeah, gramps... We need some words. <sigh> Here we go....jpg) But you kept quiet the whole time!! Whether it’s about my father, or me, or whoever else… … Why is everyone so drat secretive!! Why?? Tell me, you stupid old man!! I was over the old guy who's read ahead in the script routine since we first met. Time to knock it off for real! <runs up to Yuri> Stop it, Yuri! Zhuzhen was agonizing over it all the time. He didn’t know how to tell you. So, please…! Wait, when did he tell you about this crap...? While you were sleeping. Didja all sneak off to hear stories about my old man while I was napping? No. We were standing... actually, literally exactly where we are standing right now. You are... a VERY heavy sleeper, Yuri... Oh that's rich coming out of you after you fell dead asleep on a park bench for hours. They don't need to hear about that....jpg) Zhuzhen!! What did you say?! Those could be your last words! ...OK, that part I didn't hear about... I first met Hyuga fifteen years ago, here in Shanghai. When he saved you from that Wugui man and gave you a piggyback to safety! Pfft... Really? Ergh... I mean, keep talkin'!  I didn't feel that was important information here. Let me continue...Zhuzhen sighs and looks out the window. .jpg) We spent much time tracking Dehuai. Finally, we learned what the Demon’s Gate Invocation was. We hit Dehuai’s stronghold, the Kuihai Tower, and finally defeated him. It was a fierce battle. So then, the man you told me about in Dalian was… <turns to Yuri and nods> That’s right. I was talking about your father. Hyuga put his life on the line and stopped the cursed Valorization. Then… my father died, eh… … Yuri… Please forgive Zhuzhen… Zhuzhen didn’t want to get involved in the same fight your father got pulled into. I can fully understand Zhuzhen’s feelings. If I were him, I would’ve done the same thing.Yuri kicks the wall. Music: ENDS. .jpg) Yuri... Zhuzhen. If Dehuai is trying to repeat the same mistake he attempted fifteen years ago… Then the next target is surely Master Xifa!!Music: Much Hatred Still Rankles .jpg) Y-you’re right!! How could I have been so dense?! Don’t shout like that all of a sudden! You wanna scare me half to death?! Gah! When did you get here!? I've been here the entire time. It's been REALLY awkward, let me tell you! …But that temple is the holiest place in Nine Heavens Taoism. It’s protected by Master Xifa himself. Even that miserable fool Dehuai should know better than to mess with that place. Master Xifa? Yeah. He was my teacher... a mangy old goat. He’s the protector of the underground temple at Wuhan. YOU are calling someone a mangy old goat? What is he? Like a hundred years old? 108 this year, if I remember correctly. ...Oh. Huh. …And here’s the rub. The White Tiger is ensconced there… one of the Gods of the Four Directions. At first, the White Tiger picture was kept elsewhere, but to keep it from falling in Dehuai’s hands… Colonel Hyuga placed it in the care of Master Xifa. Which means… Dehuai’s plotted out this scheme far more carefully than before… And if that’s what he’s called in Wugui for, then it’s all beginning to make sense.  Zhuzhen focuses on Yuri. .jpg) How about you, Yuri? Do you have the guts to walk your father’s path? My… My father’s path? The one I just got tossed on my lap like a minute ago now that we're in the thick of it...? That path...? <points to Yuri> It will be a difficult and painful road. And when you arrive, you may find nothing but despair and ruin. Are you up to the challenge?! Huh?! What do you say?! Zhuzhen! H-how can you ask such a thing of him?! <looks to Qiuhua and slaps the air> Butt out, kid! We’ve got absolutely no time to waste! <looks at Alice> This has been a race against time from the moment those bastards set their sights on Alice!! Alice said that she could find out why her father died if she fought Dehuai. Right? That isn't how I would put it, but... <nods> Yes, that’s right. <turns back to Zhuzhen> Pops, I… No matter what the cost, if I have a chance to see what my father saw, I won’t have a single regret. If that drat Dehuai really is going to release that Demon’s Gate Convocation upon us… It's "Invocation." I don't know what either of those words means! Doesn't matter... I’ll do everything I can to make sure his little convocation is canceled once and for all! <laughs> Heh heh… good for you, kid. And you can count on this broken-down old sage here to guide you through hell if need be. Yeah, well... get it together. I don't care what my pops did. I ain't giving you any piggyback rides if you get wrecked. <slowly turns head and glares at Alice> Sorry... Margarete, looking for any excuse to get out of this conversation, notices something awry with the hotel room door and opens it. Music: Profile .jpg)  Fancy meeting you all here again just when it sounds like you could use my services. <gives a c'mon this loving lady motion> You!! You were listening in again, weren’t you?! No! No, I wasn’t! I just… happened to overhear. With your ear up against the door!? Well, I... err... heard a loud noise. Like something being kicked. I wanted to be sure there wasn't any trouble, you see... Oh hey, that was me. My bad! Seems like a reasonable response. Sorry for the noise! Are you all for real right now!? <shrugs and shakes head> How incredibly suspicious you are! Now I’m SURE I don’t like you. <shrugs and walks into the room> Now, now. Don’t get so angry. .jpg) I hear Dehuai has sent his men to Wuhan. And that’s not all! The Japanese military troops that were secretly stationed in Shanghai have been secretly sent to Wuhan, too! Sounds like the beautiful and talented regional Japanese Army leader is onto the plot. You'll have to hurry if you want to get ahead of her movements! What?! <incredulous gesture> Hey! How is that you know about Dehuai… let alone movements of the Japanese Army?! <turns to Margarete> Hee hee! We in the smuggling business can get our hands on a lot of underground information. You need to hang onto the secrecy of your contacts if you want to get ahead in this business. You understand, right? <shrug> Something smells here… But if you’re trying to help us, I suppose I ought to thank you. I got my eye on you... <turns back to the rest of the group> Well, and here I went to all the trouble of gathering information I thought you could use! Yuri, Zhuzhen, what shall we do? There isn’t much time left. I got my hands on a vehicle that'll let you get there ahead of the army. Parked it just up the street. Great, huh? <suspicion intensifies> Hmm....jpg) Don’t you think that even for a great Adept like yourself, he’ll be an awfully tough opponent? <nods> Well… I suppose you’re right… Zhuzhen, we’ll go with you to Wuhan! No, Zhen. You and Qiuhua stay here and gather as much information as you can. We need this place to be the base of our activities again! You've got the bar back now that Hyuga's son has beaten Wugui, right? Zhuzhen… That... isn't how business ownership works. There's a ton of paperwork filing, and I'd need to get the deed to have it signed over and— Nah. I think I beat that guy's rear end hard enough he won't come back. I'm not sure what we're talking about either, so don't quote me on that... ... Wait here, and rest assured… We won’t let them touch the White Tiger! Yuri… Okay, I understand. Qiuhua, let’s get back to the shop. Ah yes, before you leave Shanghai, stop by our place. Be careful, Uncle Zhuzhen! Come back safe!.jpg) Boy, will we ever get ready. Tune in next time as the gang does some shopping, gets a few upgrades and Yuri gets involved in an underground pit fighting tournament as Shadow Hearts continues!    Video: Wugui Boss Battle   Li Zhuzhen Portrait – It's amazing how he keeps that monocle and hat on straight despite all these rear end kickings. The Dark Id fucked around with this message at 16:26 on Aug 10, 2018 |
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Aug 6, 2018 19:37
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I love underground pit fighting tournaments! Also you've got a Yuri face instead of a Zhuzhen face after the line I was talking to him at the start there.
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Aug 6, 2018 21:47
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The Dark Id posted:
No, Yuri! Bad Genre-Savvy Protagonist! You do NOT interrupt the story with an "oh and then he died I guess" line! Zhuzen JUST finished telling you that HE killed your dad and he never said why. Let him finish the drat story.
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Aug 6, 2018 23:04
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So this is like Final Fantasy X in that the protagonist's dad had his own party who had their own adventure before him, and also like FFX in that we will never ever ever be getting that game ABOUT said adventure.
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Aug 6, 2018 23:54
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Maybe, but Yuri's way cooler than Tidus.
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Aug 7, 2018 00:28
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The Vosgian Beast posted:So this is like Final Fantasy X in that the protagonist's dad had his own party who had their own adventure before him, and also like FFX in that we will never ever ever be getting that game ABOUT said adventure. Unlike X, there apparently were some actual plans to make this prequel game, as noted upthread. Then poo poo of some variety happened, and the company behind Shadow Hearts is now no more, unfortunately.
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Aug 7, 2018 04:11
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So just to get things straight, Dehuai's plans for the Invocation somehow involves corrupting these gods of the four directions, right? Didn't Yuri and company already save or purify the shrine for one of these gods in the cat village already? Or did they just defeat Dehuai's demon hanging there and the whole thing is still corrupted?
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Aug 7, 2018 04:28
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Not so much corrupting the four directional gods as it is getting them out of the way so they can't prevent the ritual from happening in the first place.
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Aug 7, 2018 04:49
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That's something that'll be made very clear later on.
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Aug 7, 2018 05:03
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ultrafilter posted:Maybe, but Yuri's way cooler than Tidus. I do feel like Tidus gets unfairly poo poo on as he does shape up once he knows what the hell is actually going on, but yeah, in terms of protagonists, Yuri beats out a lot of the more well-known characters.
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Aug 7, 2018 05:52
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Robindaybird posted:I do feel like Tidus gets unfairly poo poo on as he does shape up once he knows what the hell is actually going on, but yeah, in terms of protagonists, Yuri beats out a lot of the more well-known characters. Yuri has the benefit of having been doing this a while.
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Aug 7, 2018 08:02
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Ahh, pit fighting! A guarenteed group of wierd and interesting enemies, some nice prizes, and some intrigue from someone cheating at it. Refreshing.
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Aug 7, 2018 08:11
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Onmi posted:Yuri has the benefit of having been doing this a while. I'm more thinking of some things that go down that's in spoilers territory for the LP
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Aug 7, 2018 15:57
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Ratoslov posted:Ahh, pit fighting! A guarenteed group of wierd and interesting enemies, some nice prizes, and some intrigue from someone cheating at it. Refreshing. I didn't even know this was something you could do in Shanghai until after my second or third playthrough of this game.
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Aug 7, 2018 16:35
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Pit fights are a staple of the series that gets expanded upon in Covenant.
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Aug 7, 2018 16:42
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What makes Yuri immune to Gate of Death? Protagonist immunities? Different stats? Hardcoded in the game?
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Aug 8, 2018 04:09
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I think it's just this one battle.
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Aug 8, 2018 04:18
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He's just cool, is all.
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Aug 8, 2018 04:34
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Glazius posted:What makes Yuri immune to Gate of Death? Protagonist immunities? Different stats? Hardcoded in the game? Probably the same thing that let him reattach his arm in the opening.
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Aug 8, 2018 04:37
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Glazius posted:What makes Yuri immune to Gate of Death? Protagonist immunities? Different stats? Hardcoded in the game? He's never heard of Bruce Lee.
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Aug 8, 2018 11:22
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Episode XXV: Pit Fighter Music: Swindler - Shanghai Mood .jpg) Time to hit the town in Shanghai with Yuri in the lead this time. A few things have changed in town since Wugui got his rear end kicked and ran out with his tail between his legs. .jpg) For instance, there's a new shop open across the street from the hotel. Who knew the only thing holding down crime in Shanghai was a man who, by all accounts, seemed to have been hanging out in Hong Kong up until the last day or so and a couple of Kappa monsters disguised as drunk goons. .jpg) This shop is the Shanghai Weapon Studio and it's offering the newest in weapons and armor for the entire party (other than Zhuzhen's weapon since we got that for free.) .jpg) Now that we have the Star Card in our possession, we can get up to a 20% discount (and 10% sales boost for old junk) by utilizing it at the checkout. Each of the discount cards requires their own Judgment Wheel spin to unlock the savings. If either of the spins (the second one being a faster wheel than the first) fails, then we have to pay full price. It's kinda tedious, especially when you're buying a ton of junk. But you all don't have to worry about that part. There is the first actual JRPG dungeon rear end dungeon in the game coming up, so we do want all the new supplies on offer. .jpg) Yuri is picking up a nasty looking Steel Claw which is double the power of his previous Knuckle Blades (22 P-Attack and 18 S-Attack vs. 11 and 9.) Be careful or you'll poke an eye out, kid. .jpg) Alice is diving deeper into the occult with a new tome which sounds like one of those weird, extremely niche magic items you'd find in Castlevania and never use because it's some poo poo like boosts magic a certain percentage while in an outdoor area in direct moonlight which is only like 3% of the map. You know the type. Anyway, this has P-Attack 17 and S-Attack 23 over her previous weapon's 8 and 13. .jpg) Margarete is picking up another Japanese army pistol that shouldn't exist for over a decade. Not sure if it supposedly being an improved version of the Type 94 is particularly accurate since this first went into service in 1927, about eight years before the Type 94 existed. But hey, who am I to argue with alternate history? The facts remain that this has +11 P-Attack and +8 S-Attack over its predecessor. .jpg) Armor wise, Zhuzhen and Yuri are getting into the .jpg) Glad we're being fashionable while protected. This offers similar stats to the male counterpart. Just with the numbers reversed (19 P-Defense and 21 S-Defense.) .jpg) But we're not done stocking up for coming events just yet. Let's jog down the street and return to that shop we passed by with Zhuzhen. .jpg) This shop is offering the next level of basic accessories to replace everyone's Studded Cap and Leather Belts. These kinds of items get outclassed by specialized accessories soonish. But for now, they're worth the asking price for everyone. .jpg) Need to have the proper Feng Shui balance with your headgear. This boosts everyone's Physical Defense by a couple points. Every bit helps. .jpg) I love frontier hero Billy Coen. I hear he once drop-kicked a rabid monkey to save his pack mule. Likewise, this boosts everyone's Physical Attack by two points. .jpg) While we're here, the Shanghai shops also sell the second tier of basic consumable items to restore HP/MP/SP. We're gonna stock up on some of these as well. There may be party splitting gimmicks on the horizon and we do want to be prepared. .jpg) These just look like Peanut M&Ms. Gross. They do restore 150-180 HP when crunched down on in battle. We'll definitely be needing a few handfuls of these. .jpg) Now, this just looks like rotting peanuts. Maybe because they were soaking in some mysterious goop for 15 years. I don't think nuts are meant to be preserved for quite that long. These restore 7 SP a pop. We won't need quite as many of these. Probably... .jpg) .jpg) Anyway, that's all the supply and inventory shifting we had to do in Shanghai. We're more than prepared to hit the road and see what's going on with this monster overrun temple. But, as it turns out quite a bit has changed in the... twenty minutes since Wugui of Kowloon was kicked out of his own establishment. New, decidedly less lovely drunk but not at all interesting to speak with patrons have gathered. Wander Meiyuan has also made his way to Shanghai. That was like a 1000 km ride directly by boat. How are you here just a few hours after the party arrived!? .jpg) drat, harsh critic in the house... Meiyuan offers his usual services. But going forward, now that we have four party members, Meiyuan offers a new service. .jpg) He's the only way to switch out our party at the moment. No idea why him and if the game tells you he had this service, it was silently buried in the increasingly massive FAQ section of the menu. So, if we want to equip Margarete, we need to run over to Meiyuan to swap her out for Alice or Zhuzhen and get her sorted out. It's pretty cumbersome and annoying. Especially since there is no other way to remove accessories and the like from characters unless they're in the active party. It's definitely one of those early in the series oversights that get ironed out in sequels. But alas, this is the way of things in this title. .jpg) .jpg) While we are here, we'll actually employ acupuncture services of Wander Meiyuan to boost Yuri's new weapon. We might need to give him an extra edge. Sorry, pal... .jpg) For you see, Mr. Zhen took NO goddamn time overhauling this bar now that he has regained control of it via his friend's friend kicking his boss's rear end. Just open up a history book. If you could beat anyone in their own establishment in a martial arts bout, the winner took control of the property in question. I don't make the rules. Anyway, let's check out the fuckin' underground cage matches Zhen has set up in his back room. .jpg) And it's all thanks to you and your friends. Neat. Who were you again...? Qiuhua. Mr. Zhen's daughter... Zhuzhen has a DAUGHTER!? That old fart is full of secrets. No... Zhen. The man who owns this bar now. The one who fought Dehuai with your father fifteen years ago. <snaps fingers> Oh... That guy! OK. Nice to meet you. ...We've already met. If you say so, lady. So... what's all this then? Father says he wants to use his powers again and he just won't listen! Watch out when you talk to him.Yuri enters the arena where Zhen is standing. .jpg) You immediately jumped to cage matches? Huh... That's shockingly rad. I guess I can see why my dad hung out with you. I decided to use summoning powers! Now pit fights are back! ...Summoning powers? Ain't you supposed to like have a horn on your head or have an entourage of dweebs in dumb outfits for that kinda thing? I'm not as strong as I was before, but I'm sure I could train you people. Let me explain the pit fights. In a pit fight, you bet money on a fight with a monster. You fight the monsters that I summon. I'll reward you according to your number of wins! Pops, that's not how betting works. That's just paying you to fight a monster. I'm still working out the kinks. But this is the system for now. Do you want to participate in the pit fight? Yeah!.jpg) Welcome to the Pit Fights sidequest. We're not done in Shanghai by any means. We'll be coming back here after the rather lengthy dungeon coming up and this side quest isn't going anywhere. We can come back here several chapters from now when the party has another ten levels under its belt. Indeed, it's a rather poor idea to attempt this thing as soon as it's available. But I do LPs, I'm full of bad ideas! So, I went for it immediately. .jpg) The gimmick of the Pit Fights is that only one character is allowed to fight a gauntlet of enemies summoned forth by apparently Zhen, the Braska summoner class of the party fifteen years ago. We're given the choice of anyone in the active party for... some reason. It's Yuri. You're gonna use Yuri for these fights. Full stop. I'm sure, in theory as a challenge, you could toss someone else into the grinder. It will not go well for them unless, as mentioned earlier, we came back way later. And by then it still would just go slower than if we just used Yuri since nobody is remotely on his level damage output wise. .jpg) Music: Brain Hopper .jpg) .jpg) Pit Fights will be our chosen character against a random selection of past foes we've already defeated. Here we have those two Hellcat mini-bosses that we fought early on in Zhaoyang Village. At this point in the game, they literally cannot hurt Yuri meanwhile he'll brush up against them and they'll explode into dust. Child's play, right? .jpg) One a fight is completed, we're given the option of quitting and receiving a cash prize. But obviously, that doesn't complete the sidequest. To do that we need to make it through 10 consecutive rounds of pit fights. If we're defeated at any time, we get no prize other than the experience points rewarded for defeating enemies. No cash, Soul Power points or Malice either. These fights are functionally the same as taking on a challenge from the Four Masks in the graveyard. .jpg) Anyway, I'm not going to go over how to beat all these enemies with just Yuri in too much detail. That's not remotely interesting, especially since over half of 'em are complete stomp matches. Let's just briefly see what exactly he fought. .jpg) Three White Wolflings. Still baffled how they settled on localizing their name as that. .jpg) .jpg) Yamaraja: Wind is resurrected and slightly more difficult with just Yuri. They're at least nice enough to remove the original version's immunity to physical attacks. Went with Man Dragon spamming Flash Floods since that dealt decent damage, didn't have as high an MP requirement and didn't face Tornado's elemental weakness since we don't have Alice to keep HP topped off in support. .jpg) .jpg) What the gently caress, Zhen!? You brought Li Li back from the dead AGAIN!? We just had an ally loving DIE exorcising this ghost lady and you summoned her back!? Maybe you should start consulting with others before summoning every spirit you could pluck out of the air. Sheesh. In any case, Heaven's Fiend can deal massive amounts of damage and heal itself as necessary. It's not too difficult despite it being the most recent real boss we fought. .jpg) This little bastard is the reason why I say taking on the Pit Fights immediately is a terrible idea. This little poo poo was a fifteen-minute battle of attrition. This is the Custom Wind Shear – a monster unique to the Pit Fights. Attack wise, it's identical to the Wind Shears we fought way back in the prologue. Except this one has 500 HP and is several dozen times stronger. .jpg) .jpg) And by several dozen times stronger I mean it can do upward of 60-120 HP of damage in a single turn. It also possesses Tight Ring and will spam it constantly, so Yuri's Judgement Ring will be a small sliver the entirety of this fight. There're items and accessories later on that ward off those effects. But we sure don't have them or the time to use our very limited Judgement Ring status ailment curatives because this jerk will kill Yuri in two rounds if he doesn't heal. .jpg) As a result, this just turned into an incredibly annoying, grueling battle of attrition where Yuri would get to attack maybe once every other turn. Sometimes he'd need to take two turns to heal. Burnt through the entire sack of Thera Seeds we'd just bought in the process and most of the Mana Seeds too. Came very close to just loading an earlier save, sticking that inventory junk to the end of the previous update and ending the chapter there to save this for another day. .jpg) But in the end, the Custom Wind Shear did go down. This was a bad idea to take on so early in the game. Don't follow my example if you ever play Shadow Hearts. .jpg) After that? Three Frog Gods. That cannot even hurt Yuri for more than 2 HP a round. So, we got time to heal to full and restore all our MP before slaughtering them and heading into... .jpg) Prototype Wind Shear, the lesser Fire elemental cousin of the Custom Wind Shear. This is another Zhen Pit Fight specialty. Now, this jerk isn't quite as powerful as the earlier one (remember these fights are all randomly selected in order) but he's still a pain in the rear end. Especially since we were out of Thera Seeds by that point. Prototype Wind Shear also has 500 HP, but it can only dish out 50-75 HP of damage a round. It also lacked the obnoxious Ring Anomaly effects of Custom. .jpg) .jpg) Instead, it comes packing Flaming Arm of Death. Despite the name, this causes Silence alongside Fire elemental damage. Since we're using Inferno and just punching a bunch, that shouldn't be an issue. It still causes a rude amount of damage. But after that jerk Custom Wind Shear doing 100+ HP a turn, it's not nearly as bad. .jpg) Once Prototype Wind Shear and Custom Wind Shear are both out of the picture, we're actually totally on easy street. The final three matches are... .jpg) Just a normal rear end, Level 1 fought before battle tutorials even kicked in Wind Shears. They were murdered with extreme prejudice after the shenanigans their brethren caused earlier. .jpg) The penultimate match is against a four-man squad of Ogre Flames. This match only took a while because they all cast Fireball one after another after each of Yuri's turns. You get that 8 HP of damage in guys. It's definitely gonna turn the course! .jpg) The final, incredibly anticlimactic round is again... two more Kappa and a Water Tiger aka the mid-boss of Dalian Sewers. At this point, they're capable of in excess of 2 HP of damage against Yuri. .jpg) It did not go well for them. Missed from the potential random raffle of combatants was... just a couple of wolves, Transformed Tiny and Yamaraja: Earth. .jpg) But we don't need to worry about that! This sidequest is over! Time for our reward. I mean, aside from the fact Yuri gained nearly three levels grinding through these jerks while Alice and Zhuzhen got a drink in the bar and Margarete took a nap or suspiciously spied on Kawashima or whatever she's up to when out of the party. Music: Swindler - Shanghai Mood .jpg) I'll give you a reward worth ten winnings..jpg) We receive a cool 5000 Cash. Which... honestly is kind of underwhelming since we had to blow about $3500+ worth of consumables to finish the trials. Oh well, there's a little more added on top of that for finishing the whole quest at once. .jpg) Who's "you-know-who" anyway... Is that a real question...? I asked it, didn't I? Colonel Hyuga! He used to rough it up in pit fights, too. So you just had a steel cage arena in the back of your bar for over fifteen years? Yes, of course. Why? Is that unusual? ...Yes! Hah! Colonel Hyuga said the same thing! That proves blood is thicker than water! He's got that same quality of excellence. Oh, I remember! <yells to his daughter> Qiuhua, bring that thing to me.Zhen walks over to the edge of the arena. .jpg) That's right, THAT. Just a moment! I don't like this "that" business. Look, if it's my dad's stash of old nudie mags or something, I'm good...Qiuhua runs off. Zhen turns back to Yuri. .jpg) ...Well then, shall I tell you about that day? The morning we went to Kuihai Tower...Music: God Knows Bad News .jpg) The additional reward for completing this sidequest is a bonus flashback to the party from fifteen years ago. Look, they even rendered a new angle of the city street just for this sole scene. .jpg)  <shakes head and waves arms> ...... Don't look like that, I'll be back soon I say. And if not, well... You or anyone else in Shanghai won't have much to worry about for long... <stares off into the distance>Zhen joins the rest of the party. .jpg) Colonel Hyuga, Master Zhuzhen, father... please. Hah hah hah. You can count on it! Don't worry about a thing. And you be a good girl, now. You keep the bar running and don't let anyone snub you on tips, ya hear? Yes.Colonel Hyuga walks up to the girl and kneels down. .jpg) It's a lovely cross. I'll take good care of it! <stands back up and nods> Do so... <nods> Is that all right? To give her such a treasured item... It's fine. Looking at this child reminds me of my son.Hyuga turns away. .jpg) Well... there was this fox mask I gave him but never taught him what it's for or how to even wear it. The silly kid has it stuck on the back of his head like a hat. I'm a little worried his mother hasn't said anything yet... Everything's going to be fine, Hyuga! Let's get this business taken care of so you can go home. Kill Dehuai, foil the Demon's Gate Invocation... Maybe toss that Wugui fiend off the roof... And you're there in no time at all! You've obviously never had to write an after-action report... But... You're right, Zhuzhen. All right, let's go! Yeah!They turn and set off for the final battle. .jpg) <waves> Farewell! Colonel Hyuga!Music: Swindler - Shanghai Mood .jpg) In retrospect, maybe saying goodbye to only him was... Somewhat ominous... <frown> Yuri, the colonel never forgot about you for a moment. He loved you and his wife with all his soul. The stories he'd tell about his hot, redhead Russian wife with the giant ti— <mortified look> ...Heart. The giant heart she had. Such a loving woman, I'm sure. Qiuhua. <walks up to Yuri> I took hold of this that day. Your mother gave it to Colonel Hyuga as a good luck charm. Now it's your turn to hold on to it.It's a small, beautiful silver cross. You received Anne's Cross. Thank you. I never thought I would find a memento from my mother here... Or that I'd have to fight ten rounds of monsters before you decided I should have it. It slipped my mind until now. I remembered it around Round 7. You know what? I'm not going to ruin this. I'm happy. I'm just going to go....jpg) This keepsake from Yuri's mother lets anyone whose Sanity drops to 0 do a Judgment Ring to prevent the Berserk status. As in, the character won't immediately go Berserk that round and do some stupid poo poo. They'll basically just skip a turn instead. They'll still go Berserk next turn if their SP hasn't been replenished. In other words, it's a really useless accessory. Especially since it doesn't have any other stat buffs when equipped. It comes back in Shadow Hearts: Covenant as one of the best accessories in the game. .jpg) In any case, that's the Pit Fights sidequest of Shadow Hearts completed. In the first half of the game, at least. .jpg) With that, all of our business in Shanghai is concluded for now. All that's left is to make our way to the Temple Ruins and try to prevent Dehuai's latest bullshit. That's a wrap for this chapter. Shadow Hearts will continue in Chapter 7: Xiyuan 9 Courts! I hope you enjoy dungeon crawling and bottle episodes!  That's another short chapter down. But there's still some stuff added to the library. On closer inspection... MONSTER: .jpg) Man screw this little dude. .jpg) Man gently caress this little poo poo!  NPC: .jpg) Turns out Zhen is only like in his early 40s. He's just aged like poo poo. Don't smoke, kids. .jpg) Nice soul patch. .jpg) Hadn't noticed it until now but she's got quite the chin in her character portrait. I wonder if Kato is single... The Dark Id fucked around with this message at 16:25 on Aug 10, 2018 |
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Aug 8, 2018 18:46
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I actually skipped a good chunk of the optional sidequests because you can miss them when I played through so it'll be good to see some of it. Didn't know they showed a cutscene after you did the pit fights.
Accordion Man fucked around with this message at 21:40 on Aug 8, 2018 |
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Aug 8, 2018 19:16
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