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Worldwalker_Pure posted:Oh hey, The Mysidian Legend. That's just it. The setting, characters/monsters, and even the battle concept are entertaining, fantastical, and might seem, as a sum, engaging and entertaining. But all the nostalgia in the world cannot hide the repetition and linearity, making for a very dull experience in practice. I barely kept my momentum up thanks to the humor and strong desire to play a JRPG.
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Feb 2, 2019 07:22
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Prowler posted:That's just it. The setting, characters/monsters, and even the battle concept are entertaining, fantastical, and might seem, as a sum, engaging and entertaining. But all the nostalgia in the world cannot hide the repetition and linearity, making for a very dull experience in practice. I barely kept my momentum up thanks to the humor and strong desire to play a JRPG. WoFF was a weird decision by Square. They clearly wanted the game to be two main things: -An introduction to the Final Fantasy franchise for the younger generation. -A celebration of a decades-old franchise for fans to take a nostalgia trip on. The problem is that it only does those two things half right. The game is a good starting point for kids or anyone completely unfamiliar with FF or JRPG's as a whole. It has a large cast of cute and interesting characters. It has a collection of great music. It isn't too difficult in terms of general battle. It doesn't get overloaded with story and deeper themes right out of the gate. And it provides a little encyclopedia players can check if they are curious where certain things come from. The problem is, the game is still steeped in enough lore/characters/monsters/games/terms to overwhelm. The style/tone of the game is largely very different from the series itself (with the exception of some titles like Crystal Chronicles or maybe IX), the gameplay is only slightly similar to the main series (and completely different from newer entries like XII-XV), and it still has a reliance on stats/numbers/elements that might be too much for young ones. Not to mention that Chocolatte's shop prices are downright appalling for early game compared to the amount of gil you typically get, and by the time you can safely afford a supply of items, your Mirages will likely have unlocked abilities that do the same things. On the other hand, the game has a ton of nostalgia, references, nods, and character interactions that only long time fans will understand or notice. The battle system is quirky but has the potential for a lot of experimentation and customization. There's a PvP thing for people that love that kind of stuff. The voice actors are largely the same as always, which makes them really recognizable to fans. Not to mention the music, locations, certain story beats, and overall love for the franchise. But then the long time/older fans have to deal with a frankly baby-safe Final Fantasy title. Tutorials are at every turn. Tutorial information is repeated multiple times. The only possibility of a game over is in boss fights or very specific scenarios, outside of that losing carries absolutely zero consequence. Anything approaching possible bad language is replaced by 'funny' nonsense alternatives like honk or schmup. Even when the story really gets rolling, there's not a lot of depth to it. Dungeons are crazy linear and not especially interesting in many cases. The only puzzles you have to think much about are the weight switches, which are pretty sparse. So what you end up with is a game that is aiming to appeal to young kids but will probably be too overwhelming for them, and a game that is aiming to pull in Final Fantasy fans with nostalgia but will probably bore them to tears before they get to experience three-quarters of it. Now I'm not saying that this game needed to be Teen rated and have mild cursing and some blood and violence and an undergraduate thesis on philosophy stuffed into it. But you can do interesting things without that stuff. Pokemon does it fairly regularly. It's kind of hard to properly put into words, but WoFF feels like a long road trip. Boring as gently caress, but you get enough brief glimpses of interesting/funny poo poo as you pass by that you resist the urge to bail out on the highway (usually). Psycho Knight fucked around with this message at 13:03 on Feb 2, 2019 |
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Feb 2, 2019 12:58
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All of that just makes it sound like the perfect game to be LPed. That way, we get all the good without having to go through the boring.
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Feb 2, 2019 15:07
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Okay, last time we were sitting just outside of Saronia. If you have already forgotten, Saronia is the place that Princess Sarah is hoping will ally themselves with Cornelia against the Bahamutian Federation. Except that Yuna told us Saronia just joined the Federation. But, we've gone through too much trouble to turn around now. Besides, it's not like we've got anywhere else to go. Before that, we've got some Mirage rechristening to do.  As previously established, Mandragora has been named Basil.  Right Claw becomes MasterHand. Dexter would have been solid as well, but I feel Super Smash Bros. would resonate more with the youth of today than heraldry would. Left Claw will definitely be called Sinister, though.  Zapt is now Magus.  Copper Gnome is now Mugsy, as previously mentioned.  Baby Paleberry becomes Dingldoink. User dotchan named one Paleberry "Dinglberry" and another "Doink", so I combined them.  Sharqual is now Bruce. Minilodon was a great suggestion, but it won't be very appropriate as of the next update.  Magic Jar becomes Dutch Oven, because I don't care how old you are, that's just funny. I have forgiven the description people for the 'batception' thing purely because they have given us this gift.  Our first Chocochick will be called Foozles, because this game needs some Final Fantasy Tactics references.  Our other Chocochick is now Boco, who I guess is the evil twin of FFV Boco.  And our White Chocobo is now Wark, which is the sound that Chocobo's sometimes make (their regular call is "kweh").  So here is the current lineup. I brought along all of the Mirages that names were suggested for and was left with two open slots. To temporarily fill them, I bring along Babyhemoth and Ahriman. As for stacks, there were none suggested, so I created a Jiant and Lilikin stack for both Lann and Reynn. I'll periodically change these around as needed unless someone has a really good idea in mind for one. Update 9 Highlights - Arriving in Saronia  This chapter is incredibly short by the way, which is saying something considering the others haven't been lasting very long.     Hmm... ominous. Do you think that glows? That must be insanely annoying for people trying to sleep at night. Anyway, we're finally here in Saronia. Saronia is another location from the Final Fantasy series. Considering we have run into Refia, you can probably guess that Saronia is from FFIII as well. The party flies over Saronia at one point in the game and gets their airship blasted out of the sky. They eventually uncover brainwashing shenanigans with the King and beat the thing behind it and then get a brand new airship. .png) Thank you for your help. I'm going to go see my uncle now. Take care!And then she just books it.  Hwuh? What is it?I just the-noticed... The whole the-town seems to have a threshold around it.Huh? Then, does that mean there's a powerful Mirage here in Saronia?Very the-close. Keep an eye the-open.*Reynn nods in agreement and then turns to Lann* Hey. What's the matter? I thought you'd gotten kind of quiet.*Lann pops out of Lilikin form*  [Cat]: Mreowww!   Ha ha, you're such a weirdo. Why are you apologizing to a cat? But, you should have seen the look on its face! Scared the honk out of me. Time to bother the locals like a couple of annoying tourists.   Is that a... sheep? Oh right, the citizens. Seems like life in the Federation involves some sort of BS rewards program, except that instead of being able to exchange points for $10 off, they determine whether you'll spend your life in the slums or get to chill out in a castle! Fun stuff. On the left side of this area, there is a set of stairs that lead up to some kind of poster or pamphlet. What's it about?     Nothing cult-like about this, no sirree.  Let's take the road south of where the sheep guy was hanging out and look around for the so-called slums.  Welcome to scenic Shanty Town. Looks like we found the place the citizens all want to avoid getting stuck in.  That guy is the last one we need to talk to, after which Lann and Reynn head back to the square.   Well, for now, why don't we see if we can go talk to that thane guy about the League of S?I'm probably wasting my breath, but try to watch what you say around here.Uh, sure.How about you practice what you preach, huh Reynn? Ms. We're on official business for Cornelia. Looks like the thane's manor is at the very tippity the-top of the town. Let's moooove... it the-out!Before that, I return to Shanty Town to grab something.  On the left side, there's a Treasure Chest that only Jiant Reynn or Lann can access. It has the second issue of Occult Fan. What's this one about?     Treasure Ship, huh? That's worth keeping in mind. Let's goooo--  Except, there's a guy blocking the street on the right side of the main square. He tells us that the harbor is off-limits to outsiders. Guess that option is out. Fine, let's just go see the Thane then. Update 9 Highlights - Literally the rest of Chapter 7  Looks like Refia has hit a bit of a roadblock.  Will you just listen to what I have to say? Is that... Refia?Oh! You caught up.What's going on here? They giving you trouble?I already told them that the thane is my uncle. I'm not allowed to talk to my own flesh and blood now?[Soldier 1]: I don't care who y'er supposed to be, 'cause y'ain't seein' him! Dude, what?Why are you guys all shocked that the castle guards are doing their loving jobs? They would be really crappy guards if they just let anyone wander in to meet the guy who owns the land. Well, you see, sir, we are here to meet the thane, on behalf of Princess Sarah of Cornelia. That paper is huge (to a Lilikin)! Did Princess Sarah write the introduction on a commemorative poster of herself? [Soldier 1]: What now? I expected better from you, considering you're practically our neighbors.Reynn, shut your mouth before I smack the taste out of it. What do you mean "our"? You're not a Cornelian citizen first of all. Second, Saronia is now part of the Federation, which tried to invade Cornelia. That means Saronia is technically an enemy. At absolute least, they are not best buddies with Cornelia anymore. How about you wait and see how they respond to the letter before you start smugly giving lip? Yeah! You tell him, Reynn![Soldier 2]: Cornelia's got Jiants for emissaries? [Soldier 1]: They got some kinda royal Cornelia thing with 'em. [Soldier 2]: What? You sure? [Soldier 1]: Beats me. You gonna send 'em packin' and take the risk?  *After a short time where the Soldier goes to do his basic duty, he returns* [Soldier 2]: The thane says he'll see you. Let's go, Refia.Huh?[Soldier 2]: Hey! The girl stays here. Refia's part of our antourage. [Soldier 1]: But-- Toodle-oo.Looks like the two of you are going to need an attitude adjustment real soon. You're getting a little too big for your britches. Thank you, guys! You're always there for me.No big deal.Yeah, I mean, it wasn't a lie. We were all heading in more of less the same direction.  [Thane of Saronia]: You must be the Jiant emissaries from Cornelia. Oh, uh, yes. We're here to-- [Thane of Saronia]: Are you telling me the invasion failed? Hm? Are you here to ask for my help? Yes, they did try to invade, but for the moment--Who are you?[Thane of Saronia]: Hm? Why, Refia. Is that you? Who are you?! No! You are not Uncle Takka!Takka is and is not a character from FFIII. He's a blacksmith in the original FFIII, but in the remake his story role is boosted by being made Refia's adoptive father. The Thane of Saronia Takka that we see here is a reference to that, but this one is Refia's uncle instead of adoptive father, the Thane of Saronia instead of a blacksmith, and he looks much younger than OG FFIII Takka while possibly looking slightly younger than remake FFIII. Wait. Sorry. What?[Thane of Saronia]: Ha ha ha ha! Then I was right. If you've managed to see through this facade, then there's no mistake: you are a Medium. Yes, I was wise to make sure you left town, and to ensure that you never returned. Where's Uncle Takka? What are you...[Thane of Saronia]: How intriguing. This must be an act of fate. The Jiants from the Hills, here. And with them, a Champion's Medium! And not just any Medium-- one that bleeds the same blood as this body. Also apparently this Takka is actually a blood relative of Refia instead of an adoptive relative.   That's disconcerting. That answers that. He's the one who put up the threshold here. And we're thrown into a battle. So is he a Bahamutian soldier?Well, he's nothing like the ones we've fought so far. Be careful! He's a beefed up colour swap of the Bahamutian Soldiers/Commanders. I'm not overly concerned. I have both Lann and Reynn in their Lilikin stacks at the moment. Lann is rocking with DinglDoink on top and MasterHand on bottom. Reynn has Magus and Ahriman (who doesn't have a nickname as of yet).  Federation Guard can cast Bravery to boost his attack, but not much else. He doesn't have any elemental resistances or weaknesses, so just wail on him with whatever. As is typical for 2-on-1 fights, you can always have one character focus on healing while the other attacks if you find yourself running into trouble. He dishes out about 115 damage to Lann's stack post-Bravery boost. Not really a powerhouse. Reynn does most of the heavy hitting for this battle. Magus and Ahriman have been around for a long time and have built up their Magic stats, so a Thunder from them can deal out about 420 damage. Lann's damage output is lagging mostly due to DinglDoink not being properly leveled as of this battle.  Federation Guard also has Venom Lance. Having Poison heal handy might be nice, but he pulled this one too late into the battle, so I just ignore the Poison and keep the pressure on. Beating him nets us 4400 EXP, a few Arma Gems, a Mega Phoenix, and 750 gil.  Celebrating a bit too early there, Lann. [Bahamutian Soldier]: Heh heh heh heh... Ha ha ha ha ha! How-- Sure. I don't mind. You're easy EXP and gil. I need both.   [Bahamutian Soldier]: Sir Segwarides... Wh-why are you...  And Segwarides scores the team kill.  You are a fool! To so much as inquire. An imbecile beyond belief, to let a Medium to Champion aspire!Oh crap, he's one of those poetic villains. Uh... okay.That's not good...    We were saved! By a talking cat that shoots fireballs! ...Okay! Huh? Isn't that the same--[Cat]: Well, are you guys coming or not? Huh?!O-okay!The-run for your lives! Should you guys maybe have looked before jumping out the window like that? How high up are we exactly?   Heh heh heh, ha ha ha ha ha! Sherlotta, thank you. Agh! What do you call that creepy trick?.png) You're the creepy one here! Unbelievable. Would you just put these on? Then take another look at the town. Sweet, monocles. About time we classed things up.  Huh? Is that coming out of the sky? Tama! Get out of the way! Hey! Refia, you should the-have a look too!How do you explain this?Don't expect any help from me on that one. After all, not even the visitor who left those monocles at my inn could tell me exactly what it's showing us or how. So I thought I'd bring the lenses here, but maybe I didn't have to. The thane was visibly crazy. What in Grymoire is going on?Uh...Okay, guess we'll file that one under "no one knows."So, what do we do? We came here to ask about the League of S, but all we found was a lot more questions.Sorry. Did you say the League of S?That's right.*One exposition break later*  You can?!Oh, sure. I know a few people right here in Saronia who should be able to get in touch with the League. I'll ask them to pass on your message.Do you mean it? Thank you!Sherlotta's been around a lot longer than she looks, so she knows tons of people. Isn't that great?Don't you talk about my age.Eh heh heh...So like, what's with you and the cat-o-morphosis? I'll tell it. Sherlotta got powers from a Crystal, bad guy captured her and locked her up to use those powers for his plan, Sherlotta transferred her soul or some poo poo to a cat, she escaped in the cat body, then she wandered around for some 2,000 years, then found a baby (the player character). Boom. Done. Oh, and one of her powers is to apparently morph between human and cat form at will, I guess. There you go, Sherlotta. A very long story summarized in the span of 15 seconds. But, I will say this. Huh? ...so, they're promiscuous? What the hell are you getting at here Sherlotta?  Even Lann and Reynn don't know what the gently caress. Yup. So! The real question is, what are you two planning to bite off next?We've still got a lot to puzzle over. But now that the League of S thing is settled, I think we'd better resume our quest to find Mirages.Yeah.Plus we've got that castle and Mom to track down along the way, too.Sounds pretty good to me.From here, the best place to go next would have to be the Low Seas. In which case, you basically have no choice but to find a boat down at the docks.I guess this is the last town on the continent. Okay then. We'll figure something out.Who needs a boat? Let's just take Bruce. So what about you two?Are you coming back to the Solace, Refia? The wolves have been taken care of now, so the only thing to fight off is the cold. You seem oddly nonplussed by the fact that I'm pretty sure we just saw your uncle's corpse being puppeted around by a Bahamutian soldier. He did say something about you bleeding the same blood as "this body", and there was no body left behind after that transformation. Oh well. He's probably fine. Of course I will.Well you two, thank you so much for everything. Best of luck in all your adventures.Thanks! Take care!Hey Sherlotta, thanks for stepping in to help.Sure! Oh! So, that really was you! Gosh, I was kinda hoping you'd forget...How about you watch where you're going, Sherlotta? I have a cat. I know drat well about their penchant for sneaking around your feet and tripping you up.  Anyway, we get the monocle, although it's a story item so we can't just use it whenever the hell we want.  More useful is that we can now get Refia's champion medal. That also means that there should be some new Intervention Quests kicking around. Time for another Lil' Update! Yes, that was actually the entirety of Chapter 7. Psycho Knight fucked around with this message at 01:17 on Jun 12, 2019 |
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Feb 3, 2019 23:41
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I don't see anything wrong with how they entered the castle. Way to exert power and bureaucracy over petty shitheads.
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Feb 4, 2019 00:41
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Man, Not-Uncle Takka is a great villain. It's a waste to have him for one scene because I love the hammy ones like him. Segwades isn't terrible or anything but Not-Uncle left a much greater impression on me there. Though I have no idea what's the difference between fate and destiny.
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Feb 4, 2019 02:00
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Blaze Dragon posted:Man, Not-Uncle Takka is a great villain. It's a waste to have him for one scene because I love the hammy ones like him. Segwades isn't terrible or anything but Not-Uncle left a much greater impression on me there. Yeah, it's a bit of a waste. I like his character design in this. Destiny tends to be a little more malleable. Fate is unavoidable (supposedly). Destiny is also usually used in a more positive light. Fate is mostly used to talk about bad results, like death and stuff. As to what the hell the Federation Guard means by this, I guess he's pondering whether Lann and Reynn were always going to fight him, or if it's because of some push he made to rise through the ranks lining him up with Lann and Reynn's path. I don't know. He may just be trying to sound poetic and impress his boss. Beats me. SSNeoman posted:I don't see anything wrong with how they entered the castle. Way to exert power and bureaucracy over petty shitheads. I see it as them doing their jobs. They were kind of jerkish, but Refia was there pestering them for who knows how long. Reynn also has absolutely no knowledge of relations between Saronia and Cornelia other than Sarah being willing to ask them for an alliance. Plus, they are supposed to be emissaries from Cornelia trying to form a defensive pact. Being a smart-rear end and then trying to plead for help might be a bad choice of moves in working to achieve that.
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Feb 4, 2019 02:53
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This point always raises questions? From what we heard, Saronia was against, then clearly something happened and the Thain was turned/replaced into a bahamian soldier. How exact did that happen and why don't they do that more often if they can just do that to people?
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Feb 4, 2019 03:57
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(Note: The battle stuff has mostly been cut out of the Highlights video. I wanted to try and keep the length down to make it more easily uploadable. However, I did keep the shots of the unique enemy special attacks.) Lil' Update 2 Highlights Video  With Refia now awakened as a Champion (I guess?), there are a bunch of new things to do back at Anamika's room.   And I've got stuff to do, so chop chop, let's go. You offered a service and I'm availing of it. Your break can wait for when I'm not around (which is 95% of the time). First of all, let's get Refia's Champion Medal. We'll see this in action later in the update.  Moving on, two new Intervention Quests have become available. The Ice Bridge is up first.  Seriously, getting to town and back is a real pain in the neck. Maybe with some magic... I wonder if I could just build an ice bridge right here.   It'll be fine, just stick a "Use at own risk" sign next to it and you're golden. Not like it's our problem. We've got Bruce. You... might have a point there.Hmm, a bridge of ice... Oh! Now hold on. I've heard of a Mirage who might be able to make us exactly what we're looking for.That would be great! Hmm...Hm? Wait a second. If we build a bridge that leads right to town, then who's going to stay at the Solace anymore? Do people normally stay at this place? Doesn't exactly look like a well worn path outside. Not to mention the whole wolves problem which only got solved very recently.  You certainly tracked this place down quickly. That's funny, I thought I told you I could handle it myself.Hey! Where's Shiva?! Get out here on the double so we can discuss some business!   No thank you. Unless you're hiding some handsome men, then I am done with you now. Good-bye.Quick! Run outside and grab Warrior of Light! We never said we're done with you.Uh, so... we were hoping to ask for a favor.A favor?*A brief favor explanation later*  Yes. We heard that you were a specialist of sorts.You must be mistaken. I'm not the one who does the ice bridge trick.Oh, out of your league? Well, we won't waste our time with second-tier Mirages. You ready to go, Refia?What the hell has gotten into everyone lately? Where is all this arrogant sass coming from? Huh?W-w-w-wait, wait just a minute! When did I say that I can't do it? Sherlotta, just shut the gently caress up. I do not talk like that at all! And you dare to call me small-time? You... wretched HUMANS!Wha-- Everyone calm down! And now we're cleaning up Sherlotta's mess. Wonderful. Go on, just build the bridge for 'em! Oh, and for us too.Lann, just... Oh dear lord. We don't need a bridge over the Icicle Ridge you idiot! We already crossed that place, and we have magic portals that can take us straight to Saronia from anywhere! The only reason to ever go back to that entire region is for a handful of Mirages, which requires us to not skip over the Ridge. Wait, what? When did you two show up? What's going on?I guess you might say that we're... kinda sorta tagging in?You're-- What?! That doesn't even begin to make any sense... But don't expect any mercy from me!Trust me Shiva, I would love to leave you alone and let Sherlotta suffer. If losing this battle meant Sherlotta got frozen in a block of ice for a while, I'd be down for that. I think it's a lesson worth teaching. Unfortunately you stand in the way of several things I want, namely access to an avalanche of Mirages, so I'm going to have to beat ya up. This time I'll show you I'm not whatever it is you thought I was!Are you still hung up on what she said in the Nebula?Wow! Lann the-remembers that conversation?I guess it did traumatize him.He'll always the-wonder what we were talking about...Hey, I'll get over it! ...Someday. Right. Anyway, Shiva isn't crazy difficult in this quest. Not having any Fire moves will cause this battle to drag on longer than it normally would, but as long as you didn't hitch your wagon entirely to the Ice-cart, then you'll get through just fine. Dark is also a really good substitute as well, although it's a bit harder to get at this stage than Fire abilities. Dingldoink currently has one, but its damage is dependent on taking a hit first.  Petty Grudge is a skill Dingldoink can use which increases damage dealt relative to the damage it receives. So untouched, it hits for about 100 on a weakness to Shiva.   Taking a hit from Blizzara bumps that a bit, but it's still far behind the 370 damage that Reynn's stack can dish out with Thunder (their Magic stat is kind of crazy though). Shiva knows Sleep as well, although it's not especially threatening. It wears off when you take a hit, so all it really does is waste her turn and then delay yours a little (if it even hits).     Like Ramuh, Shiva starts busting out her signature attack when she gets to the halfway mark of HP. Make sure to keep that HP on the high side.  Diamond Dust has a bit of a drawback for Shiva in this fight. Petty Grudge hits much harder because of the damage that was taken. Still, let's not chance Lann's well-being. Time for Refia. Lil' Update 2 Highlights - Refia Champion Summon Final Fantasy III Music: Battle Theme   Refia's summon is Healing Light. Healing Light is a spell that the summon Ifrit is able to do (as long as the person that summons is not a Summoner class) in FFIII. FFIII's summoning was kind of weird. There was a 50/50 chance of the summon doing an action. It would either do an attack spell, or it would pull some kind of support spell. Healing Light restores HP and also removes status ailments (and stun). It costs one Gauge star.         Not bad. We've already got offence covered, so let's keep Refia around for a bit in case we need desperation healing. Ailment heal is good to have on standby as well. That's all there is to this battle. Shiva doesn't have anything too frightening at this early point in the game. This quest is still only 1 star after all.  Huh? Oh, thank you so much! Thankfully Sherlotta keeps her trap shut on the way back.  That looks safe. No railing, made of ice, thin anchor points, heavier in the middle than at the sides, and no central support. Beats taking your chances in the Mirage infested Icicle Ridge though, I guess. Shiva vanishes after that. Now the trip to Saronia won't take nearly as much time. Yeah, that sure does suck. No... I must... I must destroy the bridge...!Uh... Relax, Sherlotta! It'll be okay! We get two Ice Attack items for finishing this quest. On to the next! Lil' Update 2 Highlights - Second Intervention   It is f-f-freezing out here. Let's get this over with, so I can go back to the inn.Then put on a coat! Right. Somehow, I don't think she'll keep us waiting long.[???]: Leave it.... Leave it... Aaah! D-did you hear that?She's here!  Spooky. This leads straight into a battle. Not wasting any time on this one. Uh, well, I guess it's possible.Know who else must be the-wealthy. That skeleton the-Mirage, Lich!What? Oh, I get it. Lich. Rich.Heh heh heh heh. Well, too bad, Princess! I don't have a gil to my name!And you're bragging?Well, technically, you don't let him the-near any of the money, so he's actually telling the truth. And I, in turn, don't let Reynn spend the money. That cash is mine, dammit.   Undead Princess packs a pretty decent punch. Shouldn't be anything we can't handle though. Possession Rush has a chance to cause confusion, which is a bit of a nuisance, but that will wear off with time.  There are consequences to not curing that right away, however. Reynn decides to immediately cast Thunderbolt on our party. Good thing we resist/block it. She can also use Slow. Undead Princess is a fan of ailments it seems.  So the battle drags on. I don't really have the proper abilities to be doing major damage, Lann's stack gets taken out at one point, I revive them, Dingldoink eats dirt immediately after. Over all, not a great run. I even still have half her health bar to go. So let's turn this fight into a joke. See, if you've played Final Fantasy games, or even just some RPG's in general, you may be familiar with the concept of Undead enemies and their (sometimes) critical weakness.  Trying to heal something that's, well... dead, doesn't work out too well for them.  This is an old concept that still holds true for this game. For example, in FFVII there is a story boss that you can outright kill in one shot using a healing item. It's actually one of the few things that this game doesn't hammer into your skull. We can't use Phoenix Down to kill Undead enemies instantly (you can't target enemies with Phoenix Down), but we can bust out Potions to deal a flat 500 damage, or High Potions to deal a flat 1000. Lann's stack can use a regular Cure spell for 250 damage in addition to this. This all makes the battle go by much more easily.  [Undead Princess]: Wooow! You're the strongest mortals I've ever seen. I don't suppose such tough gals would be willing to-- Whoa whoa whoa whoa! *Sherlotta just walks up and punches Undead Princess off screen* [Undead Princess]: Eeyaaah! Do you think she was trying to tell us something there?Maybe. As long as she's not bothering this place anymore. Let's go home. [Undead Princess]: Are you just naturally mean? Sure does seem that way. [Undead Princess]: 'Cause I was all like "Don't kill me, let's talk!" Don't pretend you didn't hear me. Was I supposed to spare you so you'd stab me in the back? And why are you still breathing? Can't you take a hint? Let's try this again.[Undead Princess]: Aaah! I am so not breathing! Check it out! Dead as a doornail-- oh, I'm un-dead! The problem is, I can't let creepy she-monsters scare folks away from my inn because that would basically put me out of business. ...Hrah!*And Sherlotta punches her again* [Undead Princess]: Waaah! Shall we, Refia?Uh, remind me never to get on your naughty list.Oh, please. She'd be dead twice over without us interfering.  What is it going to take?Sherlotta, I don't think we're going to make much progress this way. Maybe we should hear what she has to say.You're way too nice for your own good.*Turning her attention back to Undead Princess* Now talk. And it better be worth it if you don't want a beating.[Undead Princess]: Why are you so violent?! Look, just for the record, I'm not doing this 'cause it was my choice.  So you're tormenting people just because you're bored?[Undead Princess]: Aaah! Please don't hurt me! I'm just trying to give you some context. If m'lady has a better idea, then hey, I'm all ears! So what you're saying... is you don't know what to do with your un-life.[Undead Princess]: Yeah. Super lame, I know. I mean, all I've really got is this deep-seated grudge-- which is great for my hex life-- but sometimes the magic just isn't there even though it's supposed to be. Ugh. All right, I get it. If I can't slay you, I may as well make you useful.[Undead Princess]: Whoa! For real?! From now on, instead of scaring adventurers away from my inn, I want you to scare them towards it. If you can do that, you're hired.So what you're saying is that you're going to start hustling people. How noble. [Undead Princess]: Coool! You really mean it? Yes! I'll do it! I'm on the job! Oh well. Undead Princess is happy about it. She just wants to be helpful. And don't you go threatening them or stealing their valuables.[Undead Princess]: Oh, I would never dream of it, mistress! Oooh! I have a purpose! Something to live for at long last! You just got through telling us you're dead.  She's happy.Oh, right![Undead Princess]: Hey! Wait, mistress! I'm going with you! Nope, your job is right here, 24/7.[Undead Princess]: Wha? Is that, like, even legal? We get an undead princess memento and two Holy Torches for that quest. After completing it, a new one opens up. However, there's one snag--  We don't have any more Arma Gems. No worries, we can fix that. Off to the Coliseum!  One of the available fights is Test of Might 1, which will give us Arma Gems for beating it. Looks like it revolves around a Cockatrice and is Level 15. We can do that. Let's get this done so we can get back to--   ...you. This adorable (and also hellishly frustrating) little guy is supposedly available in the Pyreglow Forest. I say "supposedly" because the encounter rate for him is so ridiculously low that you can spend a total of an hour and a half looking for one and not find him. In case that isn't clear, I'm referring to me. In all of the time I spent in the forest doing story, hunting Mirages, returning for Magic Jar, and specifically trying to find a Cactrot... I never found a single one. Anyone who has run into one of these things has likely found out that they have a habit of running from battle. Right Claw has an ability fairly early in its Mirage Boards that prevents Mirages from running, so I've been keeping MasterHand around in preparation for this moment. Only for the moment to never come. You're mine now though, you little bastard!  However, preparations are needed before hand. Cactrot needs to be inflicted with Slow in order to create a capture chance. Chocolatte doesn't sell items that can do this, so I instead turn to Mini Flan. Sticky Goo worked well for them when I had to battle them, so it should do for this one encounter.   Of course, then a different problem arises. Cockatrice has an ability called Death Beak, which will sometimes just insta-kill. Trying to break the stack and separate Cactrot becomes a pain when Death Beak happens to connect multiple times. Once the Cockatrice is out of the picture it becomes smooth sailing though. Sticky Goo goes to work and we eventually get our hands on Cactrot.  Something worth mentioning. People in the thread have pointed out that repeatedly hitting a Mirage with its Prismtunity condition will increase the odds of capture. So if you keep casting Slow on Cactrot for instance, the capture chance will get better and better. This will be signified by a more intense sound/chime. Good to remember. As for Cactrot, it's a baby version of the Cactaur. It's also the name Cactaurs were given in the original FFVI translation. Also, winning the Test of Might 1 battle for the first time will give us 4 Arma Gems. Just what we were looking for. Back to questing. Lil' Update 2 Highlights - Third Intervention  [Man]: Oh, um, that's quite all right, thank you. I'm not tired. And I need to cross the ridge by nightfall.  [Man]: Ugh... S-strength... fading... Ooogh. *And the man collapses in the snow* [Undead Princess]: Oopsie. Now I've really gone and zombified the pooch... Well, no one's gonna blame me for helping young people "go green," right? Hey! Any luck drawing in customers? Huh? What's the matter with him? Looks like he's already got one foot in the grave.[Undead Princess]: Oop! Uh, I bet you he's just hungry, right? You'd better take him back to the inn, on the double! Hmm, okay. Refia, get this young man set up with a meal. Undead Princess and I are gonna check out that lead. *Refia proceeds to drag the half dead man through the snow towards the inn. I'm sure he'll be fine. Also, good luck getting him to pay for anything when he wakes up and realizes the scam that's going on here* [Undead Princess]: So, uh, what exactly is this "lead" we're chasing? Oh, there's been talk of a really obnoxious Mirage haunting these parts. From what I hear, it's just as irritating as you used to be-- which means I need to dispose of it. And you're helping.[Undead Princess]: Well, why don't you tell me how you really feel about me. And here I thought you cared. Boo hoo... Come on, death breath.[Undead Princess]: Hey! M'lady, wait for me!  Really? I never thought this region would be prime real estate for Mirages like yourself.[???]: Who goes there? Who has come to trespass upon my domain? This land is mine... Begone at once!  Battle time. Sadly, no, we aren't fighting an Undead Prince. Har-dee-har, you remembered the "rich Lich" joke. So is this your passive-aggressive way of telling me you want me to give you some money?...Maybe.Okay, very well. Here's one gil. Hands off my cash!Woohoo! One gil! Now I can buy-- Hey wait, I can't buy anything with this!Ah, look out!Wha-- Hey, hold on! This discussion isn't over! The battle is just against a group of three Metalliskulls, which are variants of the Death Skull we already have. It's not much different than a standard encounter fight. Their attacks mostly hit for 100-150 damage and they've only got about 2000 HP. They do focus on Electric attacks, so it might be a good idea to make sure your stacks are at least neutral to that, if not outright resistant.  Being Undead, these guys also suffer from the healing weakness. So you could just cheese them with potions if you wanted to. I'd recommend not wasting those on them though. Potions are still fairly expensive, and these guys aren't hard enough to be worth cheesing.  At least they had the good sense to disappear in the end.[Undead Princess]: Yeah. Sure did. Ugh... So why is it you can't find the grace to just fizzle out? I wonder. Maybe you'll pass away properly if I work you a little bit harder.[Undead Princess]: Whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa, I was kind of hoping to put my roots down here in the physical plane if that's cool wi-- So! I think we should head back and check on out guest.[Undead Princess]: Oh, uh, o-okay! Hey listen, I'm pretty useful to have around. Did you know I can do tricks? Yeah? What kind of tricks? Don't quit your day job.Or DO quit your day job and come fight with us instead!  I'm not kidding. You're coming with us. Like with Princess Goblin, Undead Princess will hang out on the field map once we've been through the related quest. Undead Princess will hang around outside Sherlotta's Inn and we can battle her here for EXP or a capture chance.  You need to talk to her twice before you get the option. Not sure why.  ...Hmm.  Booo!  Let's just battle then.  Also like Princess Goblin, this fight is way above our current capabilities. Thankfully, we can squeak by through the power of sheer numbers. Undead Princess needs to be hit with Light attacks in order to create a capture chance. Dingldoink has picked up Banish by this point of the game, so that will serve our purposes well.   Staying alive will be impossible, but we can mitigate that by throwing Phoenix Downs everywhere.  If Undead Princess takes out one of your stacks, then do not restack upon popping a Phoenix Down. She only has single-target moves, so breaking up your stacks will increase the number of targets she has to work through. So as long as your Light attack caster and Lann/Reynn are standing, you're good. The other three Mirages will be useful distractions.  I got lucky and managed to catch her on the third Imprism attempt. Like Princess Goblin, this fight dishes out an insane amount of EXP for our current level. Unlike Princess Goblin, I will be saving this victory. All of these levels give our party access to new Transfigs (you may have spied Mugsy's new look already).  Also, since we'll be keeping Undead Princess, I need to point out something about these special battles. If you look at the bottom of the description, you'll see a blue star with the words "Sui Generis" next to it. This means that the Mirage is a special one from the story, as opposed to a random encounter or Transfig. We don't get the option to name these Mirages. Undead Princess is also from Crystal Chronicles, which is why the description talks about her having history with Sherlotta. In that game, she guards a magic MacGuffin which the hero and Sherlotta go looking for. She's kind of goofy in that game like she is here, and Sherlotta also treats her like crap (like she does here).  That is helpful information, Undead Princess. Once we can get our hands on some more powerful healing abilities/items, I'll be putting you to good use as a Mirage EXP grinder. With that out of the way, it's time to take a look at all the new Mirages we have available. Our travel party got a huge bump in levels from that battle, and many of them have opened new forms on the Mirage Board.  First is Mugsy, who actually got his new form before the Undead Princess battle. Mugsy can now become a Mythril Giant. Mythril Giant has the Smash field ability, so I'll be putting him to use in order to get us access to some previously blocked side areas (Nether Nebula and Icicle Ridge). Mythril Giant is part of the Iron Giant family. No, not the 1999 childhood happiness destroying movie "Iron Giant" from WB. This one first showed up in FFII. They vary a bit from game to game, but are always depicted as huge armoured dudes with big ol' swords (except in FFIV Advance). They are tough to fight but usually cough up some good rewards.   As a quick side note, I go to the Coliseum and pick up Tama and Serafie's alternate colour scheme Mirages. I like the idea that these are the second player colours. Next up is Basil, who can now become...  Evil Basil-- I mean, Korrigan. Basil also gets access to a second Transfig. What other adorable little creature will--   Oh sweet Christ!Meet Malboro, an (in)famous monster from the FF-verse. First appearing in FFII, Malboro's have been a consistent nightmare to deal with throughout the series. At first they were kind of just slightly dangerous encounters. They would attack in groups and their regular attacks could inflict status ailments. Their threat level changed when they were beefed up in later games. Instead of groups, they would come at you solo. To make up for that, they were given an attack that would become their signature move, "Bad Breath". They start battles by using Bad Breath, which will inflict status ailments on the party. Not A status ailment mind you. ALL of them. As in example, in FFVI, Bad Breath will cause Silence, Imp, Confusion, Poison, Blind, and Silence to a party member. Meanwhile, running into them in FFX will have them hit the entire party with Slow, Darkness, Poison, and Blind. Plus you might get confused just for fun. Malboros suck to deal with. They are one of the enemies in FF that punishes you if you ever forget to save. For added fun, here is Amano's artwork of the thing from FFII.  Sweet dreams.  Moving on as quickly as humanly possible. Magus can now unleash his inner Anime to become Zaphr.  Dingldoink can become a Paleberry. Paleberry is part of the Tonberry line, which I'm waiting to lore dump because I want us to get a regular Tonberry first.  I also pick up the special Baby Paleberry from the Coliseum, known as Red Bonnetberry.  And finally, Turbine Shark becomes Jet Shark as Bruce Transfigs to Mega Sharqual.  Also I go back to the Coliseum and grab Mel, who I passed on the first time.  One final thing to highlight before the update ends. As you unlock spaces on a Mirage's board, the Sync Level will rise. When Sync Levels reach certain amounts (like 25% for example), the Mirage will get a stat boost. Psycho Knight fucked around with this message at 23:57 on Jun 13, 2019 |
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Feb 5, 2019 02:25
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So I just found this Let's Play. I'm one update in and I think Tama's tic is worse than Starfire, because even in TTG she words her sentences in a way where 'the' isn't that awkward sounding. Something like "I would like to initiate the group hug." or akin to that. Basically using "the" as a replacement for "a". Stuff like "Would you the-like some sugar?" is just worded awkwardly. Anyway, that's just my two cents on the comparison!
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Feb 5, 2019 02:56
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Hobgoblin2099 posted:So I just found this Let's Play. I'm one update in and I think Tama's tic is worse than Starfire, because even in TTG she words her sentences in a way where 'the' isn't that awkward sounding. Something like "I would like to initiate the group hug." or akin to that. Basically using "the" as a replacement for "a". Tama just throws "the" randomly into her sentences, and it's not used to enhance her character and backstory like it is for Starfire. In these "anime" games, a character with a verbal tic generally has it to be "cute", and to me, that's what makes it annoying.
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Feb 5, 2019 03:21
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yeah, Tama's dialogue is super jarring due to how random the placement of 'the' is. There's no consistency.
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Feb 5, 2019 03:40
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"Hex life"? Seriously, game? I didn't really expect something like that.
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Feb 5, 2019 03:48
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I love Undead Princess. She's so wonderful, both here and in EoT. 
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Feb 5, 2019 04:42
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Now that we're starting to get transfigs, you should probably bring up the difference between green and white abilities on the ability list.
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Feb 5, 2019 06:16
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And Malboros keep getting worse as graphics get better!  Can you get Bad Breath? It tends to be the best status effect move since surely at least one of them will stick.
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Feb 5, 2019 09:16
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Undead Princess is probably the best one to use exp boosting items for a very long time. Throw any max heal item like an elixer at her and she falls, and even without a bonus that should bring a new mirage from level 1 to level ~16 even without an exp boost.
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Feb 5, 2019 16:01
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Vauron posted:Undead Princess is probably the best one to use exp boosting items for a very long time. Throw any max heal item like an elixer at her and she falls, and even without a bonus that should bring a new mirage from level 1 to level ~16 even without an exp boost. Oh yeah, UP is going to be a major help early on, especially since the thread can throw out suggestions for new Mirages to be swapped in. Really helps get new ones up to snuff, as well as filling out the Transfigs. SSNeoman posted:And Malboros keep getting worse as graphics get better! Yes. It has a high AP cost (8), but it hits with Oblivion, Slow, Poison, Blind, and Confuse. It is definitely a good coverage move. Major bosses will probably be safe from it, but not always. Usually there is a gap in their status resists somewhere. BisbyWorl posted:Now that we're starting to get transfigs, you should probably bring up the difference between green and white abilities on the ability list. Yeah, that will be next update. I planned on including it in this update, but I forgot about it while I was doing the part about the Sync bonus. ZeButler posted:"Hex life"? Seriously, game? I didn't really expect something like that. The game is weird about that. It's clearly aiming for kid friendly, but rarely it will have these almost-older wordplays that seem kind of out of place. I find it doesn't pull it off as well as something like Spongebob (used to) for example. I can't imagine there are many young'ins that would find "hex-life" entertaining or funny (or even know what it means). Hex just isn't a word you hear very often. So that makes the attempt at an under-the-radar joke kind of fall flat in my opinion.
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Feb 5, 2019 16:20
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You kind of underestimate how many kids are exposed to 'hex' by the way of Harry Potter or the endless retreads of Scooby doo. But yeah that was kind of an unexpectedly obvious innuendo in a game that's otherwise aimed at kids.
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Feb 5, 2019 18:09
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Goblin Princess, Undead Princess... it's getting a little Ooo in here, I think.
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Feb 6, 2019 16:07
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Come to think of it, isn’t it kind of strange that we haven’t seen any actual kings and queens by now?
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Feb 6, 2019 18:35
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Psycho Knight posted:"Iron Giant" from Disney. Iron Giant is WB not Disney. Anastasia is Fox not Disney.
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Feb 6, 2019 22:14
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mateo360 posted:Iron Giant is WB not Disney. poo poo, how did that happen? Now I'm trying to think of why I had Disney on the brain... Also, any reason for Anastasia? Did I make a reference to that that I've blanked on? Regalingualius posted:Come to think of it, isn’t it kind of strange that we haven’t seen any actual kings and queens by now? Glazius posted:Goblin Princess, Undead Princess... it's getting a little Ooo in here, I think. I know of at least two Queens in this game, and one King. I'm pretty sure we are a fair ways off from any of them. Robindaybird posted:You kind of underestimate how many kids are exposed to 'hex' by the way of Harry Potter or the endless retreads of Scooby doo. Right, Harry Potter is still a thing isn't it? Do kids still watch Scooby-Doo? I thought that had reached the point of mostly being a space filler. Granted I don't really watch TV anymore because of YouTube.
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Feb 7, 2019 00:21
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Psycho Knight posted:poo poo, how did that happen? Now I'm trying to think of why I had Disney on the brain... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7h9V0nDT9XU
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Feb 7, 2019 00:37
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Psycho Knight posted:poo poo, how did that happen? Now I'm trying to think of why I had Disney on the brain... No just a lot of people tend to confuse Anastasia for a Disney princess. I just threw that in there as a joke.
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Feb 7, 2019 01:21
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That's a meme, though. Viewership doesn't impact a meme. I do love said meme though. For some reason it just makes me really happy seeing Shaggy as an unstoppable DBZ poo poo-wrecker. mateo360 posted:No just a lot of people tend to confuse Anastasia for a Disney princess. I just threw that in there as a joke. A noble pursuit all the same. Haven't heard of that though. Not much of a Disney person honestly, which is why I'm one of only a handful of people not playing KH3.
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Feb 7, 2019 03:38
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Psycho Knight posted:Do kids still watch Scooby-Doo? I thought that had reached the point of mostly being a space filler. Granted I don't really watch TV anymore because of YouTube. they still keep making scooby-doo movies so i'm sure its doing well enough.
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Feb 7, 2019 05:43
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and given WWE is using Scooby Doo to try to get children fill in the gaps of their shrinking demographic, it seems to?
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Feb 7, 2019 05:56
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Psycho Knight posted:That's a meme, though. Viewership doesn't impact a meme. I do love said meme though. For some reason it just makes me really happy seeing Shaggy as an unstoppable DBZ poo poo-wrecker.
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Feb 7, 2019 07:29
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Robindaybird posted:and given WWE is using Scooby Doo to try to get children fill in the gaps of their shrinking demographic, it seems to? ...does it? How well is the WWE doing these days? Still riding John Cena to the bank? Edvarius posted:But at what point does something stop being just a meme? Because I've found at least one instance of Ultra-Instinct Shaggy showing up in an actual novel from a long running fantasy series. Well OK, obviously it wasn't the actual Shaggy, just an "homage" to him (the character first showed up in a short story that even had the "And I would have gotten away with it too..." line). But still, he's there, and pretty much untouchable due to having luck as his superpower to the extent that when he makes a cameo in a full-length novel he'd been guiding people through monster filled radioactive wilderness for decades. Memes don't stop being just memes. They are born, grow to their prime, get old, die, then are reanimated into shambling corpses. It's the circle of life! Next update is almost done. I have found a backup source for music. Hopefully this one sticks. After the next update I'll start replacing the old links. I also just found out that one of the DLC Champions isn't available on PC. I'll have to find a place to pop that in as a mention. For anyone curious, it's Sora, who was a limited time thing on PS consoles.
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Feb 8, 2019 02:45
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We're approaching Chapter 8, but we have some minor detours to make first. Also, there's something I forgot to mention in the last update.  Now that we have some Transfigurations available, I want to point out the different coloured abilities you would see if you checked out a Mirage's abilities. By viewing abilities, you can see all of the ones that a Mirage can learn in its different forms (although some are hidden at first). If the ability is coloured Green, then it is unique to that form of the Mirage. So if you change the Mirage to a different form, then that ability won't transfer. It's a good snapshot of what you can expect before you go Transfigging Mirages, or when you are trying to construct a stack. Anyway, that's all there is to that. It's very straightforward. Now, let's hit the road for Nether Nebula. Our new Transfigs that I showed off in the last Lil' Update will allow us to visit some new locations. Well okay, not so much new, more like extra areas of places we've already been. Before going ahead, make sure you have a Mirage with the Flutter field ability, as well as one with the Smash field ability. For us, Floating Eye has Flutter (but NOT Ahriman, so we needed to change him back to Floating Eye first). Mugsy has Smash, but only in his Mythril Giant form.  If you remember back to when we were first here, just before meeting Ramuh, Shiva, and Ifrit, there was this big rock blocking a side route.  Mugsy can take care of this for us after he unlocks Smash from his Mirage Board.   I'd tell Tama to pull her weight for once, but she does kind of sacrifice her life to save us from losing progress when we gently caress up in battle. A little further ahead, there is a second stumbling block in the form of a crevasse. Floating Eye will carry us over this with Flutter.   That only meets the syllable portion of a Haiku. Don't go giving Lann credit where it isn't due. I don't see any juxtaposed imagery going on in that.  So welcome to the secret area of Nether Nebula. The Mirages in here are mostly the same as in the main portion, but there are a few notable exceptions. Also, the Mirages in here are stronger than the main portion.  The notable exceptions are that we can snag the other two 'reward' Mirages here. We already have Zapt, but now we can acquire Fritt and Bablizz. This is another change the Maxima addition makes to the base game. You could find these special Mirages here in the regular game as well, but they were a lot rarer and harder to get. The Maxima version makes them much easier to catch. Fritt here showed up in the very first encounter of this area for me.  Fritt needs to be hit with Fire attacks to catch. Battles here will pay out around 10,000 EXP, so it makes for a decent early game grinding spot (at least until we get the means to easily exploit Undead Princess.) The area is only a single screen. There are treasure chests in here with a mega-potion, 2 mega-ethers, and another one with 2 mega-phoenixes.  Finally, Bablizz completes the set. You can probably guess based on Fritt what the capture conditions for it and Zapt are. So that's it for this area. We aren't done with secrets, though. If you remember, there is a place we've been to recently which has a Smash spot we had to skip initially. Starting in Saronia, we head back out to the Ice Region on our way to Icicle Ridge. World of Final Fantasy Music: Chocobo Theme  Bruce doesn't have Joyride anymore, so Wark will give us a lift instead. Chocobo's have their own Joyride theme that is in line with the Chocobo Theme from other Final Fantasy titles. It is adorable.  Anyway, once we retrace our steps back to the final Ice Slide puzzle, it's just a matter of going down, left, down, and left.  At the top of the path that was previously blocked by an ice boulder, we find a big platform with a weight switch on it. This one requires a weight of 11 or greater and an Earth Resistance of 100 or greater. I choose Mugsy, Foozles, and Dutch Oven to fill those requirements.    This causes the platform to fall down, and gives us a route to that upper left path. Go down, left, up, left, up, right, up, left, up, right, and honestly it's impossible to screw up by this point.  Secret Slip is a small area that only contains one special Mirage, but said Mirage is a doozy.  The battle is against two Holy Dragons. This is a tough fight or a tricky tough fight depending on whether or not you want to catch one for yourself. First of all, you need something capable of Light attacks. For our purposes, I switch Dingldoink back to a Baby Paleberry and stick him on top of Reynn's stack.   Their regular attacks can hit for 300 or so. Their special is Holy, which can hit for the high 300's even if you have resistance to Light. Oh yeah, and as you can see, I've changed up the stacks. Dingldoink is only here temporarily. Dutch Oven is normally in that spot. And no, before you try and get smart with this, I can confirm that casting Reflect and bouncing Holy back at the dragons will not trigger their capture chance. You need to hit them with a Light attack of your own, which I think is kind of bullshit to be perfectly honest. Don't punish thinking on the fly, World of Final Fantasy. Encourage it.  If you don't want to bother catching one, then be aware of this little hitch in the fight. You need to whittle the dragons down to the point that they can be taken out in quick succession. If not, then one dragon will revive the other one. It isn't a lot of HP, but you don't want to get caught in a loop of them reviving each other while your AP declines.  Dragons are a common enemy in the FF series, but Holy Dragon specifically is one that shows up in FFVI as a boss. Its actually the easiest of the dragon bosses in that game. It only had Holy, which you could just easily reflect back at it. This reinforces my belief that reflecting Holy back at it here should have been a way to trigger its capture chance. Missed opportunity for a call back, WoFF.  Before moving on, I should explain the changes I made to the stacks. Basil now becomes a Malboro Monstrosity (and begins the Board march towards acquiring Bad Breath for our personal use). Dutch Oven goes on top as it is a good support Mirage. I use Fire Seeds on a blank space in order to give the stack access to a mid-level Fire spell. They have a good balance of Magic and Strength, along with some decent defence. Their range of abilities to take advantage of those stats is a bit lacking, though. They'll need some more training. They have solid elemental resistances across the board as well (+50 to everything except Fire), although Light and Dark attacks will mess them up (-150 each).  Lann's stack leans more towards physical attack, but it has a wider range of skills at the moment, plus better agility. Elemental Resistances are more unbalanced though. Both stacks kind of need some work, but that's fine. That happens when you're constantly switching Mirages around.  Oh, and we are strong enough to take on this Murkrift now. This is a new one for Maxima. I'll show it off next time, since we've still got a dungeon to fit into this update and it's running a bit long as it is. Probably should go back and take care of that Behemoth in Wellspring at some point, too. Okay, enough exploring. Let's go back to Saronia so that we can find a way to get the hell away from Saronia. Update 10 Highlights - Saronia  We have to go bugging citizens to find a lead on a boat.    There are only three people we need to talk to and they are all in this one area.  We. Have. Bruce. What is wrong with you two? Bruce could totally make it through that Low Seas place. Well, you can't really blame them. They probably need every boat they've got to make ends meet.Wait! Hold your chocobos. Didn't somebody mention a pirate ship was parked at the pier?Yeah, something like that. Why, what's your point?Heh heh heh. I've got an idea. What if we beat up all the pirates and then... commodore their ship?What? There's no way it'll be that easy.Well, we don't have to go in with Mirages blazing. We might just be able to sneak off with it. gently caress yeah, Lann. That's what I like to hear. Let's go steal the poo poo out of a Pirate Ship! I guess... It's definitely risky, but if we don't get our butts in gear, Refia's Not-Uncle, or that freak in the creepy golden mask, might come along and really rain on our parade.Lesser of two evils it is! Docks, here we come! Also, that guy that was blocking the way to the docks because "non-citizens aren't allowed there" just wanders off during Lann and Reynn's conversation. Talking to him just has him repeat what he said about not letting us have his boat. I guess his guard shift ended? "Five o'clock. Welp, my day is done. Not my problem anymore."  The chest behind him that requires you to be in Jiant form contains another Girl's Diary Entry. This is number 3.   Cool. World of Final Fantasy Music: Pirates Ahoy Update 10 Highlights - Saronia Docks    These docks need to get docked a few points. Let's watch our step... There's an exit gate right behind us, which is good because before we can go anywhere in this dungeon we will need a Sizzle Mirage. I quickly go back and swap Black Nakk in (after transfigging it back from White Nakk because Sizzle doesn't transfer).     You jumped into a cannon. The hell did you think was going to happen? Naturally, this must the-be how the locals get around.Uh-huh. Naturally....jpg) Going up the stairs nearby, there's a treasure chest that will ambush with a battle when we try to open it. The capture condition is straight-forward, but be careful when attacking it. You have to reduce the HP quite a bit, and a stray critical might take it out.  Mimics are another common enemy to the Final Fantasy series, and are actually common enemies in fantasy anything. They were originally in FFII as things called "Monsters-in-a-box", which are essentially the same thing. They look like treasure chests but will trigger a battle when you try to open them. They tend to be slightly beefier than the average enemy. I liked FFX's design of them the most. The chest itself breaks into pieces of wood and takes the vague shape of one of four enemy types. It's a cool idea. I heavily presume that the "other famous mimic in our game lineup" is referring to Dragon Quest, although I guess it could be Gogo from VI as well. Either way, Mimics started showing up in Dragon Quest III, which was released around the same time as Final Fantasy II. At the time, Square and Enix were competitors. They didn't merge into Square-Enix until 2003.  There is a special battle in the Coliseum where we can get a variant called Kobold Mimic.  Dutch Oven later gets a Transfig that can turn it into a Mimic Jackpot.  Back to the docks. There's another launch point, but there's also a little platform down there where the light is. Let's make sure to go down there first.  Nice. That's all that's around here, so let's get shot out of a cannon.  That shoots us over to a switch. Bruce can fill both of these requirements on his own now that he's a Mega Sharqual.  This causes the water level to rise and lifts the floating bridge into position so we can cross it.  You can't get back to that bottom platform with the item like this, though. By the way, you'll notice that I'm not showing any random battles through this dungeon. That's because the Mirages in here are ones we've already got from previous places. Namely, we can find stuff like Ahriman, Floating Eye, Mini Flan, and Sharquals.  In the next area, we can board the first ship we see to grab a treasure chest with a Strength+ seed in it. We then get back on the main path and quickly come up on a split. Take the stairs down (rather than get on the ship) and you'll run into another treasure chest that contains something called a swirlshell. This is obviously another Gimme Golem thing. Although, there's also something else off to the right of this chest.  No Cactrot, not that random item hidden in the clams.  Ringing the bell will prompt a response from the twins. That chime sounded like it could wake the dead.You don't mean a gh-gh-gh-- AAAH!Hey, I didn't say it!Hmmm... eh, it's probably nothing. Moving on.  Heading back to the ship and launching Lann over to the other side, we land right next to a Murkrift on a dead end pier. Unfortunately, this one is against a single Level 25 Mega Sharqual, which we already have in the form of Bruce. Nice EXP, but nothing else of note. It's decently strong, but shouldn't be a huge threat (as it's by itself).  After that we hit a Gimme Golem, but we already have the item it wants, which makes it largely pointless. Before that, we spy another bell nearby. Might as well investigate.  Following the stairs down from that leads to another bell, a cannon, and a treasure chest off to the right (that requires Flutter) that contains 2 phoenix downs. The cannon shoots us back to that first bell we ran into, which... hmm... wasn't there a mention of that recently?  Riiiight. Occult Fan, Issue 2. That said something about ringing the bells in a certain order. It doesn't say what that order is though. It does say that maybe someone in Saronia would know, but that's actually a false lead. None of the Saronia citizens mention it. However...  You may have spotted some chalk drawings on the wall when we were rooting through Shanty Town for goods. Here is our correct bell order.  So first is the basket of kelp, or seaweed, or whatever.  Then the bell next to the boat full of clams.  And finally the one next to the boat full of fish.   Fancy. The blinged out boat parks itself at the end of that pier where the Murkrift was. Let's go check it out and see what we can steal.  There's a lot of treasure here, but there's some kind of Pirate Moogle guarding it.  I think this might be a rare Mirage!What? ...Oh, that's nothing.Since when is it nothing?!You suck, Reynn. Rare Mirages are awesome.  Although these things are kind of maybe a pain. We need to inflict Berserk in order to create a capture chance. Chocolatte sells items called War Gongs that can do that if you don't have a Mirage that can. That's easily done, in theory.   In practice, this is very difficult. Like the Mini Flans, there are a lot of these enemies that are all bunched up in a group. They also have an ability that can inflict Berserk on your whole party. Berserk means the characters will automatically do a basic attack. This is a problem. Six of these things pegging away at 200-300 or so damage each will quickly chew through your health and there's basically jack you can do about it.  This requires some preventative measures. I change up Lann's Jiant stacks to maximise Berserk resistance and hope it's enough to hold the ailment off while I try and whittle away the numbers. Reynn's stack already has the best resist I can muster at the moment with what Mirages I have.  Reynn ends up getting Berserked, but Lann thankfully holds it off. Later in the fight, both Lann and Reynn manage to dodge the bullet. Once you manage to knock out the others, throwing a War Gong at the last one should seal the deal for you. You won't have to worry about Berserk when the last Pirate is Berserked itself.  We get a kupicaroon memento, and the ability to rob the ship blind of all its treasures. Said treasures include: 2 holy torches, 5 water spellstones, 5 phoenix downs, 3 ethers, and 2 haste stones at the back of the ship. An elixer and a turbo ether in the middle. A phoenix pinion, 2 remedies, a mimic battle, and 5 star curtains at the front of the ship. A good haul. After that fight, Cactrot gains the SP to turn into a proper Cactaur. Size doesn't change, so I go ahead and do it. Cactrot has 1,000 Meedles, which splits up damage randomly across all the enemies. Cactaur has the proper version of the attack, called 1,000 Needles, which will deal a flat 1,000 damage to an enemy regardless of defence. Much better. After some Mirage Board stats, Cactaur gets a +7 increase to agility over Cactrot. I should mention that Mirages have two kinds of Transfigs. There is the direct kind, where they can change into a higher form (White Nakk to Fenrir), but there's also a shift style one where a Mirage can transfig to a different line (Black Nakk to White Nakk). Direct keeps all the same purchased Mirage Board spots, but when you shift to a different line all the SP is returned and you can go through the Mirage Board fresh.  Heading back to where the Gimme Golem was, there's a treasure chest on the ship before the next area. It has 5 fish scales in it (which are water attack items). The last part of this dungeon is laid out over a wide area. Heading to the right from where we enter and down the stairs causes a small conversation to trigger.  Yeah, Lann! Nobody ever said anything about having to fight past all these stupid Mirages.I'm sorry. I don't recall you offering up any alternative ideas. Oh well. I did read that cold weather helps keep you focused, so I guess it's not all that bad. See, shivering uses less energy than a--Ahhh! Man, do I just love the cold! Well, come on, come on! No time like the present! Moving on. There's a treasure chest and two cannons on the right hand side. The path in the middle towards our destination (where the save point is) is blocked by another Gimme Golem, so we might as well shoot ourselves further to the right.  Another switch and a Flutter point. The Flutter point leads to a chest with 3 potions in it. The switch can be activated by Bruce, same as the last one. The switch raises the water level, after which we can take the cannons all the way to the left of the destination ship.  Which is where we find the swirlshell we need. Then we need to fire ourselves back to the switch on the right, activate it again to lower the water, then head back to the centre path.  Let's be the-sneaky.We save at the save point, then hit up the Pirate Ship. Update 10 Highlights - Pirate Ship Hijack  [Moogle]: Avast ye, kupo! Oh lord... [Moogle]: Not so fast ye, kupo!  Remember when we talked about the Moogle and I said that their "kupo" thing varies from an occasional utterance to a constant thing? World of Final Fantasy takes the more annoying option. The Moogles that talk in this game say "kupo" at the end of every. Single. Sentence. Ugggghhhhhhh... Huh? The pirates--did they just call us pirates?Well, I'd say the pot knows a kettle when it sees it.[Moogle]: Kupo! All paws on deck, kupo!  My timbers are not exactly shivering. Now what, kupo?Stop saying "kupo!" and fight, kupo! Get 'em, the-kupo!Guys, we're not here to have fun.Aaand?Aaand?...We're not here to have fun, kupo.Better.Much the-better. All of you shut up! I'm not even going to pretend that these guys are a threat. They are laughably weak. Balthier, wash them away please.  And that takes them all out in a single shot. Obviously, we are not done here.  Although we do apparently rob these guys blind. drat, that gil. [???]: Scurvy swabs! For shame!    Final Fantasy V Music: Pirates Ahoy! ~ Faris Theme Update 10 Highlights - Faris and Syldra   It's Faris and Syldra! Both Faris and Syldra are from FFV. Faris is a pirate captain and Syldra is her sea-dragon that pulls the ship. This entire scene is a callback to Faris' initial meeting in FFV. The party in that game tries to steal her pirate ship as well, which is where they encounter her. Faris is a Warrior of Light.  Faris is voiced by Emily O'Brien in English, and Rie Tanaka in Japanese. Faris is girl, but was raised as a boy (since she was raised by pirates). It bugs her when people question that, but she also has trouble keeping it straight herself. She'll flip between referring to herself as a woman or a man. She's actually a Princess, but that doesn't really jive with her, so she goes back to being a Pirate Captain at the end of FFV.  Syldra is the friend of Faris and is able to pull the pirate ship along even when there is no wind. Syldra saved Faris when she was young and fell into the water. She later helps save the party, but that rescue doesn't end quite so well since she kind of... dies as a result of it. Syldra makes another appearance later in the game as a spirit and then becomes a summon. [Moogle]: It's Cap'n Faris, kupo! Hello!It's created a threshold!Th-that Mirage must be mega the-powerful!.png) How kind of you gents to whip my crew into shape. That's what she's saying, you doofus.Hmph. What are you, comedians? Too bad. If you've the brass to steal from pirates, then you know what comes next. So long, you clowns!Clowns? Where?  Tama, it's time! Make yourself big!Huh?Yes the-sir!You can do that?!Hrrrah! ...Heh heh. Guess the-not.Ugh, I should have known better than to even ask.So we're tossed into battle with Syldra. Just Syldra. Faris might be standing there, but she's kidding herself if she thinks she's any kind of threat.  Despite what you may think, since Syldra is a sea-dragon and all, she actually resists Electricity. Fire and Ice are her two major weaknesses. Not that it matters--    Since you won't be taking advantage of it. Don't bother trying to fight. This is a scripted battle that cannot be won. Assuming that Thunderstorm doesn't kill you in the first turn, Syldra will just keep spamming it until you stay down. Elemental resistances do nothing to blunt the damage, meaning that the attack is changed to a special non-elemental-damage-because-boss-fight-so-gently caress-you type. Even if you power level and are strong enough to fight toe-to-toe with her, the battle will just end in a special one-shot kill Thunderstorm after a certain length of time. Also, if you manage to blast through her HP before then, then all damage just gets reduced to 0 when she hits 1 HP. Syldra has plot armour, so just sit back and let this happen.  But they're... they're too strong!They really aren't, actually. They are just temporarily benefiting from Story Armour. Grrr...[???]: I have you now. Hide Refia all you want, but you can't play hide-and-seek with destiny. Fate has chosen us! Oh great, what fresh hell is this?  The thane of Saronia? Why is he here?Why is he alive? We beat him, then he got impaled by golden mask and vaporised. Guh.He followed us here?! Aaaaaaah!Wh... what the...Out of the hydra, and into the crack-the-pot! What are we gonna the-do?Kill him again? He really wasn't that hard before, and now we're a lot stronger. [Bahamutian Soldier]: Doesn't this make you just want to kiss kismet? These divine designs... Isn't fate great? Now that it's brought us together, anything could happen. Just imagine. Are we destined for something bigger? Or could it be... our cookies are merely meant to crumble? Now, Jiants from the Hills. These questions... are all yours and mine to answer! Oh my god, let's just fight already. Please, spare us the naval gazing crap.   This is the same fight as last time. Also, I have 1,000 Needles for this one. Just fall over dead, dude. He does have an attack called Tower Breaker that will send your stacks immediately to critical and knock them over if it hits, but it's really not threatening. Especially-- Nngh...Rrgh...What? What the hell are you two grunting for? He's nearly dead. You scoundrel! Find another ship to spew your bilge on!Hey, hands off my kill, Faris!    [Bahamutian Soldier]: So this is how... the dice have rolled... Dammit Faris. You kill stealing rear end in a top hat. Wow!Yeah, WOW, you killed a guy that we already had halfway in the grave. Impressive work. Robbing us of our drat EXP... Hey. Clowns.Huh?Y-yes, ma'am!Perhaps you'd care to explain.*One explanation later* So, the Federation replaced Thane Takka with one of their soldiers?Actually, we're not too sure about that ourselves.But everything we've told you is true.Honest to the-goodness!Well, believe me, I'd not put anything past those Federation dogs, but if they have monsters like that in power...Hey, um...Hm?Captain Faris, you wouldn't happen to know where they're headquartered? The Federation, I mean.Bahamut's citadel? No one knows a lick about that, lass.It was worth a shot...Why? Was that your reason for trying to steal my ship? To go off on some wild goose chase?Uhh... The whole idea was Lann's!You don't say.What? Me? Oh, I would never ever-- I mean I don't even like ships, not that there's anything wrong with your--Oh, please don't hurt me. I'd like to see her try that without plot armour.Ha ha. Belay there, lad.Okay?You see... I might be able to help you gents on your way after all. If you are the Jiants from the Hills-- the ones the prophecy mentions-- then I recall the same prophecy mentioning where you're supposed to go.Huh? You mean there's more to it? Could you maybe get someone else to tell it? [Moogle]: Aye, I have, kupo! The prophecy says quite clearly that the Jiants from the Hills will collect four keys, open up a pathway to the Crystal Tower, brave its dangers, and mount the very heavens, kupo! Four keys, huh?Wait, the Crystal Tower?Hmmm... So Mog, I don't suppose you know where the four keys might be?[Moogle]: I'm afraid I know of only the first one, kupo. That's one more than I do![Moogle]: Kupo! The first key is said to lie in a... Oh, 'twas a valley of fire, kupo! Where's that?I can think of one place. The fire valleys in Babil, down to the south of the Low Seas.Ugh, there's those Low Seas again. Hee hee hee hee hee!New stuff becomes available in the Chocolatte Mart at this point. We also get the chance to save. The chapter actually ends here, which is a weird spot considering Chapter 9 will just start with us still on the ship talking to Faris. Psycho Knight fucked around with this message at 00:49 on Jun 14, 2019 |
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Feb 9, 2019 00:08
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Pretty sure the other famous mimic is Gogo.
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Feb 9, 2019 00:48
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Leraika posted:Pretty sure the other famous mimic is Gogo. I didn't think of that. That seems highly likely since it's Final Fantasy. The DQ thing lines up really well, though.
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Feb 9, 2019 01:32
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Oh, little detail about mimics in this game. They have access to death, so fighting them is a lot more risky than you might think.
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Feb 9, 2019 03:02
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I kind of enjoy how the tutorial text keeps dumping on Tama. Just watch, at the end of the game she's going to flip out and become Titan Tama out of nothing but pure spite.
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Feb 9, 2019 03:44
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Cactuar really makes me wish the game would let you partially stack up, he's a really speedy bastard by default and gets a set of support nodes from both his forms that reduce the AP cost of Thousand Needles. Being able to keep him off the stack means you can throw out 1000 damage every round for 1AP while letting the remaining two have 8AP on hand for stronger skills.
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Feb 9, 2019 05:32
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BisbyWorl posted:Cactuar really makes me wish the game would let you partially stack up, he's a really speedy bastard by default and gets a set of support nodes from both his forms that reduce the AP cost of Thousand Needles. It is definitely a shame. It's possible to pull it off, but it would take far too much effort to be worth it. You would need to unstack, have the other stack knock out Cactaur, restack, then use a Phoenix Down, then heal. That's a lot of effort to go through to get them separated in just the right way. Then you have to worry about Cactaur getting one-shot by a stiff breeze since it's sitting out there on its own. Glazius posted:I kind of enjoy how the tutorial text keeps dumping on Tama. Just watch, at the end of the game she's going to flip out and become Titan Tama out of nothing but pure spite. It is kind of funny. Tutorial cards are consistently poking fun at her. It's even funnier when you remember that this is supposedly Enna Kros (they are part of the Tip Jar, which EK is said to slip stuff into occasionally). grandalt posted:Oh, little detail about mimics in this game. They have access to death, so fighting them is a lot more risky than you might think. The game has been pulling that a lot considering that we are still in the early game. Cockatrices have Death Beak, which is also a possible instant-death. Granted they, and Mimcs, don't seem to use it much. None of the Mimics I've fought have tried using Death.
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Feb 9, 2019 10:35
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Leraika posted:Pretty sure the other famous mimic is Gogo. grandalt posted:Oh, little detail about mimics in this game. They have access to death, so fighting them is a lot more risky than you might think. BisbyWorl posted:Cactuar really makes me wish the game would let you partially stack up, he's a really speedy bastard by default and gets a set of support nodes from both his forms that reduce the AP cost of Thousand Needles.
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Feb 10, 2019 00:07
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Commander Keene posted:1,000 Needles was a lot more threatening when your party (and enemies) didn't have such ridiculously inflated HP pools. Now it's basically just a good early-game attack. then there's FF8, which had a Cactuar with 10000 needles
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Feb 10, 2019 05:28
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And it had the best “getting hit by a Limit Break” animation of them all.
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Feb 10, 2019 07:50
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