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Oh boy, here we go. So, we placing bets on just how many orphans turned into supernatural horrors we'll be facing this time?
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Oct 18, 2018 01:00
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I don't think I ever once got into a back attack in this game, or a pincer attack. The more you know. It's also been so long that I remember bringing Keith in Margarete's place, but not his reactions. I can only imagine what dialogue he has in place for the whole "ma'am" thing. On the plus side, I guess it can't be too bad. This is the weird guy that unironically danced with Nina from Bistritz without a care in the world. For a literal vampire, he poses the least threat to these brats. The Dark Id posted:
2. I checked the game script and it should just be "quiet." 3. Should have that "the" removed, and ideally, an "as" after protagonist.
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Oct 18, 2018 01:08
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Really Pants posted:How about those kids who turned into cats back in Zhaoyang? They don't count, they were 1000-year old dem- 
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Oct 18, 2018 01:12
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Shitenshi posted:I don't think I ever once got into a back attack in this game, or a pincer attack. The more you know. It's also been so long that I remember bringing Keith in Margarete's place, but not his reactions. I can only imagine what dialogue he has in place for the whole "ma'am" thing. I never even knew that Shadow Hearts had rows, let alone back attacks. I'm pretty sure the scene plays out with Margarete regardless of whether she's in your active party.
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Oct 18, 2018 01:14
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Junpei posted:What is the name of the kind of hat Halley is wearing? You know, the kind that only Intrepid Orphans, Plucky Reporters or cab drivers circa 1920s New York wear? Newsboy caps, I believe is the name.
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Oct 18, 2018 01:34
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Geostomp posted:Oh boy, here we go. So, we placing bets on just how many orphans turned into supernatural horrors we'll be facing this time?
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Oct 18, 2018 02:48
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We're going to an evil orphanage where the kids have been disappearing for a while now. It's not a question of "if" they're dead or horrifically transmuted into demons, it's a question of "how many?"  .
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Oct 18, 2018 03:00
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That stupid door actually frustrated my attempts to progress the game.
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Oct 18, 2018 03:09
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Shitenshi posted:I don't think I ever once got into a back attack in this game, or a pincer attack. The more you know. It's also been so long that I remember bringing Keith in Margarete's place, but not his reactions. I can only imagine what dialogue he has in place for the whole "ma'am" thing. The party is automatically Yuri/Alice/Margarete for this London section. It just happened to be the same party we used back in France. There's almost no sections where bringing a different party member results in different dialogue other than a generic line or two.
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Oct 18, 2018 04:11
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Hate to break it to the kid, but Halley is one of the most forgettable JRPG party members I know. To the point that I actually didn't remember him being one at all despite it not even being that long since I played through this game.
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Oct 18, 2018 13:25
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Can't wait to find Marge actually had her support unit take out the entire London Rats gang while the leader was distracted.Kanfy posted:Hate to break it to the kid, but Halley is one of the most forgettable JRPG party members I know. To the point that I actually didn't remember him being one at all despite it not even being that long since I played through this game. That'd be mighty impressive in a world where 2/3rds of the cast of Chrono Cross exists. Or Rico from Xenogears.
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Oct 18, 2018 14:23
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I didn't think of until now, but I think the music for London and the London Rats hideout was switched on accident or something, because if you swap those themes around they fit their areas a lot better.
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Oct 18, 2018 15:48
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Geostomp posted:Oh boy, here we go. So, we placing bets on just how many orphans turned into supernatural horrors we'll be facing this time? With this game? I make no bet against it. SH doesn’t have the hard on that DRAKENGARD does for kids, but it would be remiss if it didn’t cap a few kids in the head in broad daylight.
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Oct 18, 2018 23:23
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We've seen three cat-kids die. Not sure about any other kids.
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Oct 19, 2018 02:40
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Li-li was old enough to marry, so probably not her. I suppose there's the who knows, it's all unconfirmed state of Shanghai's casualties. I'm sure we're off to pick them up first, since there's no reason not to, but part of me is amused at the idea that the group might forget Keith and Zhuzhen in the hurry to investigate about the Cardinal's place, so the two sit around the hotel lobby waiting for the rest to bring money to pay for rooms. The Dark Id posted:we'll just pilfer one more thing from the impoverish youngens.
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Oct 19, 2018 02:48
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Kanfy posted:Hate to break it to the kid, but Halley is one of the most forgettable JRPG party members I know. To the point that I actually didn't remember him being one at all despite it not even being that long since I played through this game. He really is insanely forgettable. The cast in this is not hugely memorable to begin with, a fact that they remedy greatly in the sequel, which has probably one of my favorite casts in any RPG ever.
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Oct 20, 2018 03:11
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Infinity Gaia posted:He really is insanely forgettable. The cast in this is not hugely memorable to begin with, a fact that they remedy greatly in the sequel, which has probably one of my favorite casts in any RPG ever. It'd be pretty hard to forget any of the cast in From the New World too.
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Oct 20, 2018 03:33
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Episode XLIX: Jack the Doctor.jpg) You know, I'm fairly certain that Carl guy said Cardinal Simon's mansion was across the Thames. Though he also said something about it being to the north too, so who knows? Anyway, let's stay on this side of the river and to the west to find that orphanage.  Music: Someone's Table .jpg)  What’s wrong with you? <stomps foot> This is it! This is where all the kidnapped orphans end up! <examines address marker> What do you mean? It certainly seems that this is the mansion of Cardinal Simon. So you mean Cardinal Simon’s mansion has become an orphanage? Hmm… Hey, at any point did we ever look into the possibility this card guy might be, I dunno, evil too? No. The thought hadn't crossed my mind. ...Crud. Well, too late to do any research now. So let’s just ask the people who live there directly. <shakes head> I don’t want them to find me. I’ll wait here.Halley runs and hides behind the nearby van... which would offer him zero concealments from anyone inside the orphanage. Yuri goes and knocks on the front door. .jpg) Hello, I need to ask you something. <opens door> Look, we just wanna ask some questi—oh, they just opened the door? Huh...The party enters the mansion. .jpg) I was told this is the mansion of Cardinal Simon. Is that true? Cardinal Simon? A man named Albert Simon. I believe he moved here from Italy… <nods> Oh, yeah, I believe that was the name of the previous owner. I bought this mansion to start an orphanage, but I don’t know anything about the previous owner. But… ...The address sign out front still has Albert Simon's name on it. I have not gotten around to getting it changed. London bureaucracy. You know how it can be. <concerned grunt> That checks out... <nods> …Is that right?Margarete steps forward. .jpg) Excuse me, but may I have your name? My name is Jack, but… Well, Jack, this is an orphanage, isn’t it? Where are the children? <paces> They’re asleep in their rooms. It is awfully late, you know. It's 6:30 PM. <narrows eye> Growing boys and girls need a full night's sleep. But I really would like to gather some data, so perhaps we could just talk with them a little. <shrugs and shakes head> That won’t do. I told you they’re asleep! What if I came back in the morning for a brief interview? I'm afraid it's a holiday weekend. What does that have to do with the children's availability? They'll be getting... bonus holiday sleep. As a reward for good behavior. ...That's not a thing. This conversation will wake the children. I don’t like people from the papers anyhow. Now run along!Jack motions to the door. The party leaves the mansion. .jpg) Yes, it appears to be… But the guy we’re after disappeared two years ago.  Yuri, where did you pull that "disappeared two years ago" from? Ergh... From out of your butt? The guy said he knew nothing about the previous owner. That's literally it. Not a thing about him disappearing. <rubs neck> Well... It's usually something like that in these kinds of situations, ya know? Don't MAKE UP STUFF to fill in the blank, sonny boy! So... is this Albert Simon's mansion or not? It's an orphanage now, like you said, run by a man named Jack. Even though there's no orphanage listing outside and Cardinal Simon's name is still on the building. <shakes head and shrugs> That seems kind of suspicious… <nods> I think they’re hiding something… The man is wearing an eye patch and dressed like a cheap gangster. Yeeeeeeah. Nothing about that guy's vibe was on the level... Well, for the time being, let’s go back to the inn….jpg) If we try to return to the mansion, this is the ominous message we receive. Boy... we're sure gonna run into a bunch of dead orphans, huh? Geez, you title one LP "In Which a 12 Year Old Takes a Sledgehammer to the Face" and suddenly there's a bunch of dead kids in everything you touch that point forward. That seems entirely unfair. .jpg) In any event, there's nothing more to be done at the orphanage mansion. We're not even going to bother looking at that kidnapper van either. .jpg) The party leaves the area. Jack opens the door and glares them before stepping back inside. .jpg) <nods> We’ve got some pests here. They’re the ones who kept me from grabbing that kid before.  ...That was me they kept from grabbing the kid before, sir. A minor detail. You stay on their trail. And don’t let them spot you. Yes, sir…The Man in Black exits the mansion. .jpg) Jack is evil? Whaaaaa? Next, you're going to tell me we're going to tell me this sprawling Resident Evil mansion with a save point right next to the front door is going to be the next dungeon. Later that day, back at the Old Castle Street Hotel... Music: Vitamin Metropolis .jpg)  Can’t help wondering what happened to the Cardinal, but it’s disturbing about the missing children, too. Speaking of which... who is this boy following you? I was wondering that myself. Also, where is my money!? That's Halley and here's your cash. You all hold onto your own money from now on. I don't want to hear it if you get robbed again! Did HE steal our money!? No, it was one of his friends. Look, I got it back... mostly. Just drop it. I'm not gonna drop the fact you wandered back with an ORPHAN after you were all fire and brimstone saying you were going to double tap the lot of them in the head?  ...You were gonna do WHAT now?!  Ancient history! Don't worry about it, kiddo! We should get back on track... Let’s take a look around. We still don’t understand the connection between Cardinal Simon and this Jack. <nods> That’s true… but from what I’ve seen so far, there’s something funny about that orphanage. There’s no sign of children anywhere and the whole place seems so gloomy. And its operator who looked shadier than Wugui of Kowloon. How is that even possible? He had an eye patch, a slicked back blonde mullet and a white suit. Yeah, OK. That sounds like it would do it. <nods> All right, let’s ask the townspeople about that orphanage..jpg) We're back in control. While it was suggested we should ask around town to learn more about the world's least legit orphanage and .jpg) What kinda chemicals we talking about here? Heavy stench of embalming fluid. Ah... Suspicious! ... ...I have no idea what that is or does. Now it's Jack from the orphanage? Hmm... I may remember something about him... Oh yeah? Whatcha got? Umm... He had a low-voice? I think? Yeah... Yeah, he does. Anything else? No. That's it. ...That's very helpful. No problem!  .jpg) The drunken Lottery Member just wants to play more Lotto. Maybe the bar owner and patrons have some juicy gossip. .jpg) Well, not a whole lot, but I think I heard he was a doctor before he started up that orphanage. Like a respectable doctor or...? The man's wearing an eye patch. You figure it out, chap. That's fair....jpg) Guess he started that orphanage, but there's no way I'd put Joshua or Sharon in a place that guy ran. <rubs neck> Really hope this ain't leading to a buncha orphans with their organs harvested or something. That'd be real dark....jpg) Yep. ... ... That's all I know. Why do I even bother?That's it for the bar. But there are still the Reformed and Diehard Smokers over by the canal. .jpg) Yah, I think that's the usual function of orphanages. Why would any of them want to come back to this place after being adopted by good families. Geez, just throwing shade at your crap hole neighborhood, huh? We Londoners know the score..jpg)  Or leaving the orphanage period. I'm pretty sure that place doesn't even have a yard... Nobody thought that was suspicious? Ehh... they're orphans. It comes with the territory. Uh-huh. Well, good luck with that lung cancer, chief. Sure thing..jpg) OK. That's enough diddling around. Let's get back to the hideout. Which, in retrospect, we probably should have covered up the secret entrance to after we left, huh? Music: Babysitter is Old Nurse .jpg) .jpg) Hmm? Where are the other kids? Nobody hid the bloody entrance when we left... Yeah, seems like a mistake. So the kids are...?Music: ALICE .jpg) They were taken away! Taken away… What do you mean?! They found this hideout?! How do you know for certain? They could just be, I don't know, out pickpocketing tourists... Again. We left the bloody door wide open!Halley runs to the stairs. .jpg) I’m going to rescue them! No! If you go there all alone, you’ll get yourself killed! What do you expect me to do, then?! Let the adults handle it. Yuri and Alice are stronger than they look. And me? I have a GUN! We'll ha—Halley shakes with anger and does an anime power-up.  Wh-what the--?! This power…?! Nani!?Halley's power aura fades and he collapses to his knees. .jpg) It’s why my mom abandoned me… That sounds like a tragic backstory brewin' we're gonna have to skip for now...The party walks up to Halley. .jpg) At least the ones that are your friends. Not having a real hot feelin' about any of 'em that disappeared earlier... <stands up and nods> Yuri… <looks to the girls> One of you, go tell the old man what’s happened..jpg) We now have to form a new party with Yuri and Halley being mandatory members. Sorry, Margarete. You're joining the bench with the other old timers. Nobody over the age of 25 allowed in this group. Music: Much Hatred Still Rankles .jpg) Just gonna storm an orphanage with a magical boy and beat up a Cyclops mobster. That's like an average Thursday evening for us. Sorry I'll miss it.Margarete runs off. .jpg) .jpg) Halley Brankett has now formally joined the party as our sixth and final member of the squad and is tagging in as our Wind representative. Also, his surname is totally misspelled in this status screen. Or the promotional stuff has it wrong. I mean they're both wrong -- it's Plunkett. Whatever! Nobody ever mentions it in-game anyway. Halley is a pretty decent all-around character. He's pretty skilled with magical attacks but also isn't complete garbage with physical strikes like Zhuzhen and Alice. We'll get into the details of his abilities later on. He might be a mandatory member of the party for a pretty long stretch of the game coming up. .jpg) Being a plucky orphan rascal, Halley's weapon of choice is the slingshot. His default one is immediately outclassed by the Oak Slingshot we stole from an alley next to the London Rats hideout long before we even heard of Halley. .jpg) It's only +4 Physical Attack but it can randomly inflict poison. So that's neat. Rare are the weapons in Shadow Hearts that inflict status effects. .jpg) We don't HAVE to take Alice or Margarete for this next chapter. It's possible to return to the inn if we'd want to grab Keith or Zhuzhen too. But... we don't. Alice is fine and I'd take Margarete over either of those. Zhuzhen, I like your character a lot but we're NEVER using you again in the active party for any main plot segments. .jpg) And so all that's left to do is head back to Jack's Orphanage. But leaving Old Castle Street concludes this chapter of Shadow Hearts. Tune in next time for Chapter 17: Orphanage Secret! Will the secret be a bunch of dead orphans? Almost certainly!   I do believe that is the only chapter in the game that has zero combat encounters. Even the opening of the Europe section in Prague with that Terry dude getting immediately ganked had a single fight with some jobbers. But even with the lack of fighting, we did get a few new entries in the old Library codex. NPC: .jpg) Kiddo, I'm sorry to break it to you but you'll NEVER become a PC. You're lucky if you survive the next chapter of the game. .jpg) Someday Halley-senpai will notice her. She's gotta unique character model and everything! Not many NPC girls can claim that in this game. .jpg) Does getting mixed into the same vat of orphan slurry count as marriage? Just asking... Dr. Jack actually got an entry here as well. But his just completely spoils his whole upcoming deal. So we'll refrain from looking at one for the moment.   Halley Plunkett Profile Art - Kid, what are you doing stuffing a bunch of Materia into your pocket? That doesn't even exist in this universe! The Dark Id fucked around with this message at 18:02 on Oct 23, 2018 |
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Oct 20, 2018 17:04
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Don't seem to recall Edward having anime powerups randomly, so I guess Halley gets it from his mother's side.
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Oct 20, 2018 17:43
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So far I’d only remembered Yuri, Alice, and kinda Margarete. I knew there was a vampire but nothing else about him.
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Oct 20, 2018 17:58
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One day I hope a game will have something like this, except it turns out the sketchy dude really is running a legit orphanage. I guess Drakengard 3 of all games kinda had this with Two where it was pretty easy to assume that her running an orphanage and also being really good at cooking weren't entirely unrelated. But that was just too pedestrian for Yoko Taro.
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Oct 20, 2018 20:07
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We're dealing with someone named Jack in London, and this is historical fiction. This Albert Simon can't be too swift if he's doing business with this type of guy. Or maybe Albert Simon is the star of that song Werewolves of London. Keith is a vampire and is kinda off in his behavior, maybe this dude we're looking for needed an excuse to reconnect with nature and just wanted somebody to watch the pad while he was gone, credibility be damned. The Dark Id posted:That's another diddling around. 1. Should be "enough." 2. She's.
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Oct 20, 2018 22:34
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Shitenshi posted:We're dealing with someone named Jack in London, and this is historical fiction. This Albert Simon can't be too swift if he's doing business with this type of guy. On #2, "She got a unique..." and "She has got a unique..." are both acceptable grammatically, no need to change it.
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Oct 20, 2018 23:02
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It is wild to me that Yakuza didn't come out for another 4 years after this, because just... look at Jack! It is stunning he's not a deliberate Kiryu/Majima mashup.
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Oct 20, 2018 23:12
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Deep Dish Fuckfest posted:One day I hope a game will have something like this, except it turns out the sketchy dude really is running a legit orphanage. To be fair, Two seemed to be an excellent guardian for her orphans despite having a very busy career and being a ticking time bomb for otherworldly horrors. It was just too bad that her boyfriend had very poor choices in music appropriate for the children. Geostomp fucked around with this message at 01:36 on Oct 21, 2018 |
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Oct 21, 2018 00:03
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RandomMagus posted:On #2, "She got a unique..." and "She has got a unique..." are both acceptable grammatically, no need to change it. Oh I know that, I just didn't know if it was intentionally informal or meant to be formal. Looking over the screenshots again, I forgot how creepy that mansion was. Whether it's in the hands of a goddamn priest or someone with an eyepatch named Jack, no kids should ever go there. Shitenshi fucked around with this message at 00:08 on Oct 21, 2018 |
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Oct 21, 2018 00:05
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Oh no the orphanage is turning the kids into zombies! ...Wait, that's what they looked like before they got abducted? Tough luck.
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Oct 21, 2018 00:20
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well, he's british.
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Oct 21, 2018 00:20
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Geostomp posted:To be fair, Two seemed to be an excellent guardian for her orphans despite having a very busy career and being a ticking time bomb for otherworldly horrors. It was just too bad that her boyfriend had very poor choices in music appropriate for the children. Poor choices in more than music, really.
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Oct 21, 2018 01:12
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He was just an idiot, after all.
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Oct 21, 2018 01:17
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gimme the GOD drat candy posted:well, he's british. I mean, this would be when London Fog was so polluted that it literally suffocated people, so orphan kids probably aren't gonna be too healthy
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Oct 21, 2018 02:56
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Hey now, Edward Plunkett could punch a ghost. He didn't do anime shouts beforehand, but that may just have been an engine limitation.
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Oct 21, 2018 07:11
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Glazius posted:Hey now, Edward Plunkett could punch a ghost. He didn't do anime shouts beforehand, but that may just have been an engine limitation. If you believe really hard that you can punch a ghost, then you can. Or you could never believe you couldn't punch a ghost in the first place. that works too.
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Oct 21, 2018 08:13
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The Dark Id posted:Rare the status ailment inflicting weapons in Shadow Hearts.
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Oct 21, 2018 12:47
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That sort of inversion is a standard if maybe unusual way of emphasising whatever word you put first.
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Oct 21, 2018 15:54
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vWlBp6iIJ6M
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Oct 21, 2018 17:58
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The Dark Id posted:
I checked out of curiosity, and in the original Japanese version Jack does indeed say that here: The Dark Id posted:
They just kind of... left that part out for some reason. Jack claiming he tried to kidnap the kid personally is likewise a mistranslation. It's no FFVII or Wild Arms 2 but it does seem like the translation was thrown together a bit hastily. Kanfy fucked around with this message at 18:09 on Oct 21, 2018 |
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Oct 21, 2018 18:07
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Kanfy posted:It's no FFVII or Wild Arms 2 but it does seem like the translation was thrown together a bit hastily. Yeah, I'm no purist, but there's some definite wonky, inconsistent translations and strange localisation choices made, especially towards the end; the bizarre "Thou has not won, not even once", which is an invention of the localisation. Some of the sheer half-arsed effort is comical, like characters switching between Japanese and English voices for attacks and grunts. Pesky Splinter fucked around with this message at 20:58 on Oct 21, 2018 |
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Oct 21, 2018 20:42
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quote:It's called the Sator Square and it's a so-called magic square, an old, historical spell of sorts kind of like "abracadabra." It's at least 2000 years old and has been found in Roman ruins going as far back as Pompeii What it spells out is: SATOR AREPO TENET OPERA ROTAS The "magic square" part comes in because it's a multi-direction palindrome. As you can easily see yourself you can read it left to right, top to bottom, right to left, or even bottom to top and it will always spell out the same Latin sentence, which is usually roughly translated to "the farmer Arepo works the field" or something of that nature. No one is quite sure where it originated from, but it has been in somewhat continuous use since before the fall of the Roman empire. There's your occult history lesson for the day. This series has a tendency to get the weirdest obscure myths right in just the place where you'd expect it the least.
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Oct 21, 2018 22:14
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| # ? May 24, 2024 18:02 |
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The Judgment Ring design, and how it changes across the series, is one of its coolest design elements IMO. Few other RPGs incorporate such detail into its gameplay design.
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Oct 21, 2018 22:31
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