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Psycho Knight posted:
I mean he's usually one of the harder bosses in a game past FF5, given he usually shows up as a late or post game optional fight.
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Mar 12, 2019 11:56
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A Sometimes Food posted:I mean he's usually one of the harder bosses in a game past FF5, given he usually shows up as a late or post game optional fight. Oh, I know. It's just that in this game he fits that role. He's jokey in the sense that he's a goofball. Some games play with that type by making the boss really hard, but WoFF plays it straight. Prowler posted:Alexander in Final Fantasy Type-0: is a summon weapon of mass destruction and it demonstrates, in a fully rendered cut-scene, how an edgy version of the Final Fantasy VI summon would play out were it used in actual warfare. It's actually quite the spectacle, though the scene is technically spoilers. I was considering mentioning that, but the Daisuke Gori thing felt like it was already bringing the mood down. I didn't want to get into a talk of Alexander being a summonable war crime on top of that. There's also the detail of how it gets summoned, which kind of feels like bad taste to put into the same update. Maybe that's just me being overly careful, though. Robindaybird posted:You can tell who played XIV by what name they call Gilgamesh in the fandom. I miss playing FFXIV because it means I'm also missing out on Hildibrand. NGDBSS posted:You may want to clarify that VA's role in Drakengard. He wasn't actually Manah (a six- or eight-year-old girl in Drakengard 1) but instead the Watcher possessing her. Otherwise, yeah that sucks. Done. I forgot that Manah wasn't constantly in batshit Watcher mode. Also, Chicken Knife unfortunately doesn't appear in here, which is a huge missed opportunity. There might be a reference to it somewhere, but I know that Bartz uses the Brave Blade in his Champion Summon. I'm actually kind of surprised, considering how much fun the devs seem to have with the game. Maybe Square interfered for marketability reasons or something and wanted Bartz's appearance kept in line with the official.
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Mar 12, 2019 12:48
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Psycho Knight posted:
Shadowbringers is looking like a good time to come back. Just saying. JOIN US IN THE VOID
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Mar 12, 2019 13:09
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Greg is such a good guy. 
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Mar 12, 2019 13:16
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Why's everyone so big on the Chicken Knife? As I understand it, the Brave Blade keys its damage off fights you've won, the Chicken Knife keys off battles you've fled from. So what's so special about the Knife that you're hyping it?
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Mar 12, 2019 13:25
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Bloodly posted:Why's everyone so big on the Chicken Knife? As I understand it, the Brave Blade keys its damage off fights you've won, the Chicken Knife keys off battles you've fled from. So what's so special about the Knife that you're hyping it? More people can use it, its special drawback is easily gotten around, and it's easier and less tedious to rack up the escapes instead of doing Brave Blade's power up (it goes down in power for every fight you run from).
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Mar 12, 2019 13:26
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Bloodly posted:Why's everyone so big on the Chicken Knife? As I understand it, the Brave Blade keys its damage off fights you've won, the Chicken Knife keys off battles you've fled from. So what's so special about the Knife that you're hyping it? The thing to note is that Brave Blade isn't keyed off winning fights, it keys off of not running from fights. If you flee from a single fight over the course of the entire game it'll get start getting weakened. Meanwhile the Chicken Knife gets stronger the more you flee, and as a dagger it also uses the user's Agility while rolling damage. If you take the time to grind the flees out and use an alternate attack command like !Mug or !Rapid Fire to bypass the 25% flee chance it'll greatly outperform the Brave Blade.
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Mar 12, 2019 15:00
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And a max-power Chicken Knife is more powerful than the Brave Blade even if you’d never fled from a single fight in the entire game by the time you can get them.
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Mar 12, 2019 16:07
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Leraika posted:More people can use it, its special drawback is easily gotten around, and it's easier and less tedious to rack up the escapes instead of doing Brave Blade's power up (it goes down in power for every fight you run from). Basically this. Plus, due to V's kind of stupid encounter rate you are more likely to run 250 times than you are to never run at all. There are some places in the game (like Karnak Castle) where running is preferable to fighting (there's a 10 minute time limit on escaping Karnak, similar to the Reactor escape in VII). CK takes a little prep and some finagling to bring out its potential, but many people swear that it's worth the effort compared to BB. CK also gives a +5 Speed boost, which is better than BB's +5 Strength. A Sometimes Food posted:Shadowbringers is looking like a good time to come back. Just saying. I know... I just hate the forced party dungeons soooooo much. I'm a friendless loser, so I have to do the story dungeons with randoms who are whiny shits at worst and silent speed runners who only barely tolerate your existence at best.
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Mar 12, 2019 16:45
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Regalingualius posted:And a max-power Chicken Knife is more powerful than the Brave Blade even if you’d never fled from a single fight in the entire game by the time you can get them. This is something to note. A max-power Brave Blade has 150 Attack, while a max-power Chicken Knife only has 127. Seems like it would be obviously in favor of the Chicken Knife, right? Even if the Brave Blade is a knightsword, one of the best classes for endgame is the Freelancer, who can equip anything, so that's not a huge problem, right? Except for the multiplier whenever you attack. The Brave Blade uses (level * strength)/128 + 2, the Chicken Knife uses (level * strength)/128 + (level * agility)/128 + 2. That's not averaged or anything, so that means the Chicken Knife, more often than not, deals more damage than the Brave Blade, because it gets powered up by agility as well as strength. (This isn't supposed to be exclusive to the Chicken Knife, but someone messed up the code for basically every other weapon that uses it and they didn't fix it because it ended up being way too good.) ...Also there is the +5 Agility vs. +5 Strength, since Agility for the Chicken Knife affects both damage and the rate your ATB fills up, but I'm not sure how much the ATB part matters.
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Mar 12, 2019 17:02
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LiefKatano posted:...Also there is the +5 Agility vs. +5 Strength, since Agility for the Chicken Knife affects both damage and the rate your ATB fills up, but I'm not sure how much the ATB part matters. Wouldn't the ATB gauge filling up faster contribute to higher DPS for the Chicken Knife since you get more actions in the same period of time?
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Mar 12, 2019 17:33
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Psycho Knight posted:
ShB is also introducing a system where you can run dungeons solely with npcs. It probably won't be very good, but it will be there.
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Mar 12, 2019 18:37
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It would, definitely. I'm just not sure if it's a meaningful increase vs. the amount of damage you're getting from the output of the Chicken Knife anyways, since I don't know how agility affects ATB. Granted I suppose it's just "how much more does this beat the Brave Blade" at this point, anyways.
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Mar 12, 2019 18:41
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Psycho Knight posted:Basically this. Plus, due to V's kind of stupid encounter rate you are more likely to run 250 times than you are to never run at all. There are some places in the game (like Karnak Castle) where running is preferable to fighting (there's a 10 minute time limit on escaping Karnak, similar to the Reactor escape in VII). The goon FCs are friendly and welcoming mate. No real expectations either, totally fine with people joining just to roll dungeons without relying on pubs.
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Mar 12, 2019 18:58
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A Sometimes Food posted:The goon FCs are friendly and welcoming mate. No real expectations either, totally fine with people joining just to roll dungeons without relying on pubs. Leraika posted:ShB is also introducing a system where you can run dungeons solely with npcs. It probably won't be very good, but it will be there. I like the sound of both of those things. Decent people to hang around with is always welcome. As for this new system, I do not care how bad it will possibly be. If it means no more dealing with randoms then I am down for that. No longer having to research a dungeon like I'm studying for a final exam before going in, and no longer having to skip every cutscene, would be a godsend. Hopefully by the time I've got this LP wrapped up they will have worked some of the kinks out of it. Assuming it actually happens, anyway. As for the LP, next update will be a Lil' Update. New intervention quests finally showed up after this chapter. I really want to start Ch 17 because there is an awesome scene at the start, but I should clear out the interventions before moving on.
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Mar 12, 2019 20:11
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I like that Bartz is using his freelancer outfit in this game. I found his outfit in Dissidia (and Amano's design) very ugly.
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Mar 13, 2019 09:09
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I still kind of laugh at how... Wildly divergent Amano’s art is from the final in-game character designs with many of the older FFs. Especially his chocobo from II.
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Mar 13, 2019 09:22
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Amano is primarily an illustrator. He also had a lot of previous work with, and inspiration from, Western superheroes (which is probably where a lot of his form-fitting/spandex character looks came from). The man is an amazing artist, but he's meant to provide a basic design for the characters that the team can work with and shape into what their ideal is, which is why his designs might look a little off to some people. His work is a starting point, so he probably gets really weird and experimental with it to provide a lot of ideas for the character design team to review (Amano has said that working with an existing design is basically pointless for him. He needs room for imagination in his work). Of course, then there are people like Toriyama who look at the first thing scribbled on a napkin and declare it to be perfection. Granted, Amano wasn't the one behind Lightning. It would have been amazing to see what he would have done with her though, just based on the vague text descriptions and suggestions he usually starts with.
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Mar 13, 2019 15:02
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yeah, Vampire Hunter D is another work where you can see Amano go completely wild, especially with monsters and a lot of outfits the vampires wear.
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Mar 13, 2019 17:34
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 Anamika has finally decided to cough up some new intervention quests, so it's time for another Lil' Update. We'll take a look at Bartz Champion summon as well, so I don't fall behind on them like I did a little while ago. First up is checking in with Vivi and Edgar. Lil' Update 4 Highlights - Intervention 1  .png) However, there are many in Figaro who view an army of black mages-- and one that served Bahamut-- with considerable suspicion. Can you offer us your allegiance all the same?.png) Edgar, sir. I know it's just words, but... I've heard enough about what the Federation's done to understand that it's not right. Maybe I can help you somehow, or maybe I can't. Eloquently stated. Yes, they'll warm to you soon.*Later*  Yes. With them out in the field, your men can stay here and get some much-needed rest. Think happy thoughts.[Captain of the Guard]: You're refusing to see the problem at all! I tell you, sire, you are far too trusting of them. Those things started out as Mirages. And for all we know, they're still spying on us! I'll just have to keep an eye on them for the both of us!  Really now... Spying on us. Well, Vivi should be able to weather it.I mean, his concerns are completely valid. We know Vivi is a good boy, but that's only because we are privy to outsider information. All Edgar knows of them is that Lann and Reynn beat them, Vivi randomly gained sentience, and they decided to cooperate. *Later*  [Captain of the Guard]: Huh? You're that-- Listen here! I have a few words for you an-- Oh yeah! Outside I found this beautiful flower! You can have it if you like.[Captain of the Guard]: Hmm? Uh, oh... It's so strange. I thought Figaro was nothing but desert. But that isn't true at all, now is it? And we wouldn't have such pretty flowers if the kingdom's finest weren't out there bravely defending the castle! Ah! Oops, I'm gonna be late for training! Pardon the intrusion, sir![Captain of the Guard]: ..... It is... a lovely flower. *Later again*  [Soldier]: Thanks to the Black Mages, Figaro's defenses are stronger than ever. We're lucky to have 'em around. [Captain of the Guard]: ..... *Later once more* [Captain of the Guard]: I'm not unreasonable... And I never told anyone the Black Mages aren't capable. I just... I just want everyone to play things on the safe side.  [Captain of the Guard]: What? O-oh, is that so? Fine work, I'm sure. You just run along now. Go on. Get some rest. Okay![Captain of the Guard]: ..... *Later still* Hello there, Captain, sir! Oh no! Your uniform got torn. Want me to stitch it up for you later?[Captain of the Guard]: What? Oh, uh... Thank you. *Later even more still*  Hey, Captain.      *Insert a few more split-second shots of Vivi randomly trotting around* [Captain of the Guard]: Ugh... You know what. I'll suck it up and just say it. We need him. He's become an indispensable member of our kingdom! King Edgar could see it. He was completely right about the boy. What a resilient lad. Heh. I salute you, Vivi! Mine is a hard mind to change.  Y-yes. Considering the operation at hand, I felt that their ranged magic would be the best fit. I understand your reservations, but you need to learn to trust Vivi and the other Black Mag--[Captain of the Guard]: You're refusing to see the problem at all! You're putting them in too much danger, sire! How can you foist all the hardest missions on them? Huh?[Captain of the Guard]: If anything were to happen to the Black Mages, it would be a devastating loss for the kingdom of Figaro! My men will join them, sire! Just watch! We will keep them safe. Now, if you'll excuse me, I must get ready!  Edgar, the Black Mages are ready to leave at any time!Hmmm. You are a sly one, Vivi.Huh?Oh, never mind. Listen up. Today the castle guard will be deploying with you. Don't let them down!Aye-aye! ...Still. How did Vivi win the captain over? And that's it. We actually don't have to intervene in that intervention quest. Moral of the story: If someone doesn't like you, just pester them incessantly, compliment them at every opportunity, and eventually they'll go insane and learn to like you.  Next up is something to do with Bartz and Rikku, which is kind of a weird pairing, but okay. Lil' Update 4 Highlights - Intervention 2  .png) Kweh!.png) Hold it riight there! The treasure in this cave belongs to me!Says who?  .png) I've got it! You can have the treasure, but let's team up! It'll be way more fun with the two of us.I can keep it all? Wooo-hooo! You're the best! Oookay, let's get this show on the road! My name's Rikku. And you're...Oh, I'm Bartz. This is Boko! The pleasure's ours!Kweh! Yeah! I bet the treasures in here are gonna blow our minds. Stop singing that, Rikku.  Grrraaah!What's that?! You know, for a place that Princess Sarah said was super dangerous, the Nether Nebula sure does seem to get a lot of visitors just wandering by. Whooooa, intense! What a slick-looking Mirage!Yeah, he looks really strong! He's all like "burrrn" and stuff!.....? (That's strange... Shouldn't they be cowering in fear?) Bartz, Bartz! Don't you realize what this means? A guardian! Now we know the cave is packed with loads of awesome treasure!I was about to say! You sure know your rules of adventure! Strong foes always position themselves in front of the important loot!These pipsqueaks... Are they enjoying themselves? Yooou fools! Turn back now. I will not warn you again--   Ifrit... Oh my gosh... Did you just...?I don't believe it... You saved our lives?Huh? No, I--Whoa whoa whoa. Can we address the loving jacked Behemoth standing in the background? I feel like that's something important we should be keeping an eye on. Ifrit just saved us from that Mirage! C'mon, Bartz. We can't let him do all the work!Yeah! It's our turn to save him!  Okay, I guess we're just handling this ourselves then.  I guess that none of them the-get it. Don't lump Rikku and Bartz in with Lann. He's on a different level.You make a good the-point. Huh? What are you guys talking about? Behemonster is another XL Mirage. Its HP isn't nearly as bad as Iron Giant, but you'll still have an easier time catching it than beating it. You will need a Babyhemoth Prism though, so make sure you get one from a Behemoth family Mirage board if you don't already have one.  It's pretty powerful regardless of whether you want to beat it or catch it. It has Heavy Counter, which packs quite a bit of punch. Its capture chance is triggered by physical attacks and it can use Heavy Counter after a failed Imprism attempt, so you will probably take a good beating unless you get real lucky with capture.  It also has an attack called Heave which deals out heavy damage and high topple chance. However, as with any 2 on 1 fight, you just need to make sure to heal up in between hits. Behemonster isn't fast enough to take advantage of its high attack power.  You may also notice that Lann and Reynn's stacks have changed. Biggs moved up to Death Machine and gets to be the base of Reynn's Stack. Meanwhile, Undead Princess takes up the base of Lann's stack because holy poo poo does she have some good stack abilities with Lann and Moogiepie.  Undead Princess herself also has the Revivify Ability, which is basically auto-Regen that never goes away. She'll just constantly restore HP over time. This is on top of Hypnosis, Dark (which has a Blindness chance), and Dread Gaze (Confusion and Death). Undead Princess rules. She's also going to be relatively thematically appropriate for the coming area. Other than that, OMG! JC! transfigs into a Bombino in order to take the top spot of Reynn's stack.  Anyway, Behemonster is ours now. Yet another XL Mirage that may one day take Clifford's place. Behemonster looks very similar to the Behemoths from FFX, although those didn't have gauntlet things.  Thanks, Ifrit! You're the best kind of friend we could ask for!Look. You really have the wrong idea--I can't go stealing from such a stand-up guy! I promise to leave your treasure alone. Okay? You keep it.I agree. Not after he rescued us! 'Cause that would just be bad form.Err... It is true! Your, uh... your burning passion has moved me! I could not allow your fires to be snuffed out. And just so you both know, there was never any treasure here to begin with.*Ifrit disappears*  Oh, right. Did I forget to mention that? Yeah, we emptied this place of valuables ages ago. Hey, chin up, Rikku. Next time, huh? There are other caves.You're right. Hopefully, they've got some fierce Mirages protecting some awesome treasures. 'cause nothing else will cut it!I hate to disappoint you Rikku (that's a lie, I love to disappoint you because you bug me), but unless you can get ahead of us then you are not going to be tracking down any loot. We steal everything. Bingo. It's too bad Ifrit wasn't a vicious guardian. Those always show up before the loot! You know how this stuff works. Kweh!But I'm in this for the long haul. Somewhere out there, awesome treasure is waiting just for me!You said it, Rikku! That's the spirit!Kweh! And then they all dance off while Rikku sings that loving song again.  One more quest left for now.  Black Chocobo? Didn't we already catch that one waaaay back in the Watchplains? Lil' Update 4 Highlights - Intervention 2  Right, this hasn't come up yet. So, here's the thing. The suggestion with Chocolatte is that the little Chocochick on her head is the one actually in control/actual Chocolatte. Her profile in the Who's Who section has one entry that states: "A choco-gal with the habit of appearing in the most choco of places at the most choco of times. Has a whole bevy of different greetings for those who stop by her shop, only some of which make sense. It's all about the attitude, and not the content! She's also an extremely special case who has managed to retain her identity as she moves from world to world. The real mystery, of course, is deciding who the real Chocolatte is: the woman, or the chocochick on her head. ...What do you mean, it never crossed your mind?" FFXIII is weird. .png) This "SOS from the chocobos" sounds pretty far-fetched if you ask me... Yes, I know that's what you told me. But we've scoured the area and I don't... Huh? Kweh. Kweh!Psst, hey, Master! Did you hear that? That young man is going to save the chocobos! Come on! Hey, beaky! What do you want with all these chocobos?Kweh, kweh![Hyperion]: Kweh? Kweeehhh!  Serafie once told me that there was a chocobo of that name and color that the-made a name for himself at a place called the Gold Saucer.Wow. I love amusement parks!Wait, how did you know it's an amusement park?I... Good question.The Gold Saucer is the giant amusement park located in the middle of the Corel Desert in FFVII. There is a cable car that runs from the ground all the way to the top of the tree-looking building. One of the attractions of the Gold Saucer is the Chocobo Square. Similar to horse racing, people can bet on Jockey/Chocobo teams that race on a track. Hyperion, as well as Tama's description of him, is a reference to Joe and Teioh from VII. Joe is the top jockey in the chocobo races and Teioh is his Black Chocobo partner. They randomly appear in races you enter as a rival (Teioh is the only Black Chocobo that can appear in the races besides yours, and Joe is the only NPC jockey with a unique model).  They are also cheating motherfuckers that can break the stat limits of the mini-game. Cloud/Tifa/Cid can show up with the legendary Gold Chocobo that has player max stamina/speed and Joe/Teioh will just show up with stats that exceed that. "Hyperion" is what Teioh was supposed to be named, but it was too many characters. He also shows up as a boss in Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions.  WoFF Hyperion isn't as unfair as VII Hyperion. 10k HP isn't much and he has a crippling weakness to Light element attacks. He does start with Auto-Haste, though. Combined with a good attack stat (he dealt about 600 damage a hit), he may actually pose a challenge.  He also has Chocobo Kick, which could potential hit multiple times for 350+ each. You need to be a little cautious with Hyperion even though it's 2 on 1, mainly because of his speed. We also can't imprism him, so this fight will have to end in a KO.  This seems like an appropriate opportunity to show off Bartz.            The enemy got hit by Enkidu's Frog spell and you can see it go flying past Gilgamesh at this point after Bartz knocked it away.       Poor Greg. Bartz's Champion summon will boost accuracy and evasion for all allies as well, so it's actually pretty useful here. Hyperion went on to miss all of its remaining attacks after taking a whopping 5000 damage from Bartz.  Kweeeh.Okay guys, you're free to go. Oh. Who're you? I have to say, you are really something! It takes one tough hombre to handle Hyperion!Eh, I guess. You really just have to block him and save your stamina for the last leg of the race when the rear end in a top hat tries to shoot past you. And I suppose Hyperion... must be that black chocobo from before? I tell ya, that thing was more behemoth than chocobo. And it's not often that Boko gets openly hostile toward anything. Oh! And by Boko, I mean this fella. I'm Bartz! And you are?My name is Chocolatte. I can see Boko is very smart. That, and he seems to have the same keen senses as my master.Master?Hmmm... Say, Bartz. If you're planning a long journey, why don't you visit my shop before you go?Don't do it, Bartz! She's a goddamn thief!  Wow, you should have said that you run your own shop! Sure, we'll take you up on the offer. Right, Boko?Kweh!You poor, naive bastard. Oh, perfect. Right this way. Choco-boco-ching! So I meant to ask: why are you able to understand what Boko says?Ha ha! Me and Boko just have a special connection!Kweh kweh!  Uhhhh...Oh well, I guess that's not important. We get a hyperion memento for turning in the quest, so now our Black Chocochick can turn into one. And that's it for this mini-update. Next time, we're off to Chapter 17 and we'll witness one of my favourite scenes it involves one of my favourite characters. Psycho Knight fucked around with this message at 23:53 on Jun 17, 2019 |
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Mar 13, 2019 20:06
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And yet, despite having his own quests, Vivi is still not summonable for some reason. I don't get this game.
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Mar 13, 2019 23:54
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Blaze Dragon posted:And yet, despite having his own quests, Vivi is still not summonable for some reason. I don't get this game. Yeah, they really dropped the ball on some of the character selections. FFII and XII being completely ignored in the base game and characters like Shelke getting prominent roles is just terrible. I praise this game for the love that goes into it, but it definitely has some bruises on it.
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Mar 15, 2019 01:42
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especially when the Switch got the FFIX port, their advertisement was basically "Pst... we got Vivi." poor dude gets done so dirty outside his home games, Kingdom Hearts II just made him a tag a long mute to Seifer and basically possessed with nobody really noticing.
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Mar 15, 2019 03:49
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Update 20 Highlights - World of Final Fantasy Back on track after a small intervention break. We're off to check out the Eclipsed Region this time, where we can supposedly find the Key of Darkness.  But first, one of my favourite scenes in this game. So uh, are we really sure there's a key around here?Well, I am getting some seriously intense naught-but-night vibes from the place.I say we go the-check out that town in the distance-- the one with the light on!Hey, is that... uh, the, uh... train? Sure looks like it. Seems to be decked out in thematically appropriate decorations as well. Nice touch. Also, how did it get here? I thought the track ended back in the forest.   It looks like a one-way ticket to... Oh, you know. Y-you know I hate that kind of--  It's just the conductor.Oh! Then this must be the same train as the-always.Huh? The conductor? Yes! In all my succulentious glory.Wh-why did you scare me?!But miss, you were practically begging for a good heart-stopper. Ask and you shall receive, I say.What kind of stupid messed-up logic is that?!   Rrrgh! Would you cut that out?!   Graaaaaah! I love you so much.Rraaah!Come and get me! Ha ha ha ha!Um... Sis?*One fruitless chase later* Huff... Huff... Huff...Um, Reynn, are you o-- Yeah, well you don't have to give it to me!Yeah, way to go Reynn. You sucker punched your brother when he tried to check on you. Not sure why you're getting all cocky, considering...  Grrr! One of these days, I'm gonna get you for this! Okay... We're kinda getting off track.That's for the-sure.True. As entertaining as it is to watch Reynn get frustrated and Cactuar Conductor be awesome, we have poo poo to do. Let's jump on the train and get a move on.  After the train ride, we wind up just outside this spooky looking building. The Federation must the-control this place.Let's be careful.There's nothing out here on this path at the moment, so just head on inside. Update 20 Highlights - Tometown   Uhhh... Hey, camera guy? Can we maybe hang on this shot for a second and figure out what the hell is up with those two? No? Okay, then. Tometown of the Ancients is a reference to the Library of the Ancients from FFV. That bull looking statue from the first screenshot looks similar to Byblos, who is a boss from the Library of the Ancients. This area is mostly a name reference. We'll see a proper visual reference to the Library in a little bit. Hwooow! Just the-look at all these books!Oh duuuude! ...I have absolutely zero use for this.Well, you never were too keen on the printed word.I doubt anyone's gonna be burning through any paperbacks in this light.Hm... The town is awfully dark. I mean, I know it's the land of naught but night, but it's still too early for the town to be sleeping, right?Yeah. There should be more people around if you ask the-me.  Oh, it's just a crying woman. Or maybe a catgirl? Hey, are you okay?*Reynn stops to look at something*  Hey, it's those two weird dudes from the opening shot. Huh?!What's the matter--Lann!Wha--?  Oh poo poo! Vampires!Eee! Ah! [Man]: Guh!  .....?!    It's Cloud the Vampire Slayer! Cloud is voiced by Steve Burton in English and Takahiro Sakurai in Japanese.  Cloud comes from Final Fantasy VII and oh poo poo I just realised that completes the base cast of VII which means the Pandora's Box of Extended Universes will finally open... Well, it was going to happen sooner or later. Let's deal with this update first. Cloud grew up in the same town as Tifa and had a crush on her, although he was kind of a loner when he was young. He told Tifa he was going to go off and join SOLDIER and be an awesome hero like Sephiroth. When the player first sees him in the opening of VII, he appears like, and claims to be a, former SOLDIER 1st-Class. The truth is a bit more muddled. Late in the game, we find out that Cloud actually worked for Shinra as a grunt soldier, never actually making it into SOLDIER. Due to a combination of the Nibelheim Incident (where his hometown got burned down and mother killed), getting impaled through the gut by Sephiroth, experimented on by Professor Hojo of Shinra, bathed in Mako (and suffering from Mako Poisoning), and then watching his friend Zack get gunned down protecting him, Cloud's mind rebuilds itself around the belief that Zack's life had been his. By the end of VII, Tifa has helped him get his original self back together, the party defeats Sephiroth, and Holy manages to fend off Meteor from loving up the entire planet. What happens beyond that is, or at least was, open to interpretation since the last scene of VII is a shot of Midgar 500 years in the future. It was one of those endings where everyone had their own thoughts on what it meant, and which one was right was basically up to the individual fans to decide for themselves. Of course, things can never be left at just that. Whenever ambiguity exists in media, there will eventually come a time when the creators decide to come back and "answer" everything.  Which is where our look into the dark saga of Final Fantasy extended universes will begin. Check out "Final Fantasy Extended Universes Part 1: Introduction and Final Fantasy VII" from the table of contents whenever you feel like weeping. God help everyone in this LP. .png) C'mon!Meanwhile, back above the depths of hell, we've still got more update to get to. Something about vampires I think.  Uh, yes!Yeah!Yes the-sir!That's right team. Run. Run as fast as your little Lilikin legs can manage.  Following Cloud down the alley a little bit will trigger another scene. I guess we found out where the vampires are coming from. Starting to rethink having Frostbite in the lineup.  Oh, Mirages we can handle.Yeah, no sweat! All the-right! Let's the-savage it!You want him to think we're even more incompete-- Oh, whatever. Savage away!We're tossed in to a fight with two Vampires and two Werebats. If you haven't caught one yet (or transfigged them), then the Werebats need to be inflicted with blindness and the Vampires need to be hit with Dark attacks to create capture chances. Watch out for the Vampires during the fight. They have a skill called Evade & Counter. It boosts their chances of dodging while also triggering a counter every time you miss. It's a nuisance when enemies have it, but super good when the player can get it. Light attacks work best, so if you have Holy or Banish then you're golden. The Werebats are the easier targets, so focus on them first (they also use Leech to drain you and heal themselves, so that's another reason to get them off the board first).  Tada...That's us! Point us at Mirages and watch the magic.Heh. If that's the case, then come with me.Update 20 Highlights - Library of the Ancients   Now this is more like a Library of the Ancients. .png) So, who are they? Celes is voiced by Christina Rose in English, Houko Kuwashima in Japanese.  Celes is from FFVI. She starts out as a General in the Empire's army, but she eventually gets kind of iffy on the clearly evil army she's part of and ends up getting thrown in jail when she dares sass Kefka. After that, she joins up with the main party and helps them in their fight against the Empire. During a plan to sneak aboard an airship, Celes disguises herself as a famous opera singer that she just happens to resemble. This leads to one of FFVI's iconic scenes, where Celes performs at the Opera House.  She tricks Setzer out of his airship (except not really because he knew what she was pulling. He just likes her so he goes with it), then helps the party infiltrate a Research Facility and bust the espers loose. Just before the world goes to poo poo, she manages to stab Kefka, although that kind of makes matters a little worse in the long-run. Of course, she's there for the final battle with Kefka and to help save the world. Co-director Yoshinori Kitase said that he had taken a liking to her during development and bumped her importance a bit as a result. He said that looking back on it, he got so involved with personalities that he messed up the balance while scripting scenarios a bit. I only mention this because Celes is what it looks like when someone really likes a character, but has a modicum of restraint regarding them. Toriyama is what happens when restraint goes in the trash. Celes also has a somewhat father-daughter relationship with Cid. Cid will get an introduction of his own later on, so I won't get into that here (Cid appears in every game, so this isn't a spoiler). Celes. These kids... are the Jiants from the Hills.You don't mean, from the prophecy?Um, you think you could fill us in on what's been going on here?Sure. Where to begin...*Exposition break!*  Yeah. The League of S sent me here. I was supposed to just be investigating the anchor.But by the time he arrived, the vampires were already running amok. I'm told it was utter chaos.Um... You didn't see it?I'm a hired sword. And my job in Tometown is to guard this place, the Library of the Ancients.Oh, right. The library. Library of the Ancients is a location from FFV. The party goes on a minor quest to find Cid's grandson somewhere in the depths of it. Ifrit is also found and battled here, becoming a summon once defeated. So, rarely do I find myself stepping outside. And, it's always quiet here. Nothing seemed amiss-- at least not until the town had already been overtaken.Hey, Celes. Where's... Cid! Are you here?*Silence* Ciiid! If you don't answer me, I am going to burn all of these books. Wait, wait! Oh dear god he's a little fridge robot. Cid is voiced by William Salyers in English, Showtaro Morikubo in Japanese. At least in this appearance, anyway.  Cid comes from Final Fantasy Everything. Main games, side games, spin-offs, whatever. If it's Final Fantasy, Cid is in it, in some form or another. Bad guy (XII, Type-0), good guy (almost every other appearance), player character (VII), possibly god (Dissidia), Robin Williams impersonator (VIII), you name it and Cid does it. The Cid we see here isn't based on any particular Cid. He does have a friendly relationship with Celes though, which mirrors his sort of father-like role to her in VI. Those ghastly threats are so unbecoming.Huh?!Gah! A talking weird thing!The-what if it's a Mirage?Guys, we've seen robots before. We just got out of a prison infested with them. I often wonder the same thing.How incredibly rude. I am just as human as you. Just because I sometimes have a habit of-- Then he goes rocketing off around the library.   BLERP! What? "Calm him down"? If anything, he looks more broken down than-- Aaah!Yes, well, it's far harder to break than you'd think. Trust me.I'll thank you not to refer to me as an--Yes milord. May we continue with our conversation now?Hm? Oh yes, where were we? Oh no no, please, you have it very wrong. I prefer the term "bibliophile," thank you very much.That's the part that's wrong?As I understand it, someone just happened to leave that body he's in lying around, and somehow his soul got embedded in it.His soul's in bed?!*And Lann proceeds to loving lose his mind laughing* Hwooow! I guess in a way, you are human deep the-down!I told you I'm human in every conceivable way.No, you really, really aren't. Aha ha ha!And what about you then? You say you're the Jiants from the Hills? Now that right there is the real stretch. I mean, what a hoot.A... what-a-what? Oh! Ha ha! Tama's not an owl.Oh christ. This again. I mean, it is an easy mistake. But wouldn't you assume she's a skunk or something first?You... You... You... How dare you call me the-stinky again! That is the last the-straw! I am the-fragrant. Roses line up just to get the-one whiff of me! What really the-stinks is your whole stupid existence!You don't have to be ashamed of people thinking you're skunky. Skunks are cool, okay?Time out. Wildlife coolness aside, could you not derail every conversation just because you don't know how to vocabulary?!But Reynn, vocabulary's not a verb!It is if I say so! I'll vocab any way I want to! So can it before I vocab you in the lary!Uh...WHY WON'T ANYONE STOP THEM?! Ah, I see now. You're comedians. Bravo. Thank you, Cloud! Everyone please get back to the whole vampire infestation problem. Okay, let's get right down to it. Those people back there with the fangs? What is the deal with them?They're loving vampires, Reynn. Is Lann's stupidity contagious? You've been getting worse as the game has gone on. Wow! Right down to business.Whew... Vampires. They used to be people like us, until a vampire bite turned them.Huh?Now wait. Don't tell me that people can turn into Mirages?And... and they can't the-go back to the way they were?Oh, well while we're going back, when I was younger and even handsomer I-- Thank you. Let's stay focused. According to several books I have read, those who have become vampires can be cured provided... the vampire that sucked their blood is vanquished before it's too late.So then, all we have to do is move fast and take out the vampires that did the biting?That's the basic idea. But of course, those vampires used to be just as human as their victims. So if we're not careful about it, wouldn't we end up sacrificing as many lives as we manage to save in the end? Although, we could always pick off the illiterate vampires first. You're not really living anyway if you've never known the comfort of a good book.Daaaamn Robo-Cid. That's hardcore. Uh, no, I don't think that makes you eligible for a slaying. But... point taken. We can't save everyone.Then... dude. What are we supposed to do?What if we defeated the first vampire? The one who started the whole thing?The first?That's it! If you trace the epidemic back, there has to be a first.Yes. Let's call that one the "Prime." If we defeat the Prime, then the rest...Calling it right now, Frostbite will be renamed "Optimus" as soon as we get our hands on that Vampire Prime Mirage. Hey, yeah! It should cause a ripple effect and fix everyone. We would be vanquishing the bitees' biters' biter.What do you think? Will it work, Cid?Well, it hasn't been particularly long since the commotion started, so... Yes, I believe that it could.Don't really care if it works or not, we're getting that Vampire Prime. Optimus must be born. Excellent! What a plan! ...Did you follow that, Tama?Wha?! Uh, of course I the-did!Uh, y-yeah, me too! I was just checking.All right. So where can we find the Prime? Hmm... I never gave it much thought, but now that you mention it, they always seem to retreat to the north.Ah! Well, that points to one place.That's right... The graveyard with all the abandoned Mirage trains. That's their lair.Then let's not waste any more time. We should go.Wait, Cloud. Who's going to help the townspeople? I have to stay here.You wouldn't want me to go BZEEEK and make a big old mess.Which is exactly the reason why I have to stay here.So, he's a big pain in the royal the-butt and certifiably useless! Okay, putting aside how completely not funny that is... We can go to the graveyard for you. Right?Huh? Uh, yeah! Vampire shmampire. You just go ahead and point us at any old Mirage...And we'll the-do the rest!Hmm. All right then. I guess.Let's see what the fabled Jiants can do.That's a good place to stop for now. We'll take a break to cover the first train wreck of Square's extended universe endeavours, then wrap up this chapter in the next proper update. Nothing much happened in this update in terms of Mirages, so let's cap things off by catching a new one.  If you remember from our time in the prison, there was a flutter point that we couldn't take just before we had to fight Death Machine. Let's go back and see what's over there. Starting at Mako Reactor 0 is probably the shortest route. Just before the door, there is a chest with 2 turbo ethers in it.  Inside the chamber, we've got a Mist Dragon Mirage, like the one Rydia had with her. There's also two chests in the back. We'll grab those first.  One chest contains the fifth Girl's Diary Entry. First, I still think it's weird that kids would be teasing others about having sick arm tattoos. Second, that gets a tiny bit concerning at the end with that "one day we'll be powerful and then they'll see".    The other chest has Occult Fan, Issue 4. This one just details the secret area in Phantom Sands where we found the Sphinx. It's helpful if you didn't stumble on it previously though.  Approaching the Mist Dragon will trigger a fight with two of them. The capture condition is to restore a lot of HP at once.  As with Phoenix, Curaga is not strong enough to trigger this, so I have to chuck an X-Potion at it. In terms of offence, Mist Dragon has Banishra (Light based attack), Counter, Evade & Counter, and 11k HP. It's weak to Wind magic. They shouldn't be too threatening at this stage of the game, but they can wear you down over time if you fail too many Imprism attempts.  Mist Dragon is the baby form of Holy Dragon, which was bugging me for a while because I couldn't figure out what it was (both Red Dragon and Sky Dragon's baby form is the Spark Dragon). And that's all for that area. Another Mirage ticked off the list and shoved into the Prism Case. Psycho Knight fucked around with this message at 00:14 on Jun 19, 2019 |
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Mar 18, 2019 02:40
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This is the best update entirely because of Conductor Cactuar's relentless trolling of Reynn. Very deserved too.
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Mar 18, 2019 03:42
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the highlights video is absolutely required watching for that purpose. it's the video that convinced me to buy the game in the first place back when it came out.
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Mar 18, 2019 03:57
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Robo-Cid kind of reminds me of IV's Cid. Mostly with the head, I think. 's some hardcore dedication to book-reading, at least. I can respect that.
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Mar 18, 2019 05:19
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You do a mosaic of Cids and don't include Cid nan Garlond or Thunder God Cid? Those are two of the best Cids! Also, does Al-Cid count as a Cid? If he does, it means FFXII has multiple Cids.
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Mar 18, 2019 05:34
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He counts as a Cid insofar as he has Cid in both his Japanese and English names, but I believe the game's directors don't consider him to be a "true" Cid.
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Mar 18, 2019 06:09
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Blaze Dragon posted:This is the best update entirely because of Conductor Cactuar's relentless trolling of Reynn. Very deserved too. The Conductor's having a good time, all the time, and we all love him for that.
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Mar 18, 2019 06:52
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AweStriker posted:You do a mosaic of Cids and don't include Cid nan Garlond or Thunder God Cid? Those are two of the best Cids! I didn't do the mosaic, I just grabbed it online because it was late and I was still frustrated from a lovely essay I'm about to hand in. That's actually one of the only mosiacs I could find. I thought for sure that there would be plenty of Cid collection images out there, but that was all I could see. Maybe I should do a proper one of my own. I can't believe he doesn't have a bunch of them floating around already considering his status. Also, no, Al-Cid doesn't count as a true Cid. The executive producer and one of the former directors of XII have both said he isn't the official Cid of XII. He also lacks a lot of the usual Cid traits, such as being an inventor or scientist type. Doctor Cid fits the character type much more closely. BisbyWorl posted:The Conductor's having a good time, all the time, and we all love him for that. drat right. There's something great about older characters in games that have reached the point in life where they just like to screw with the younger generation and have some fun.
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Mar 18, 2019 08:18
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Psycho Knight posted:I didn't do the mosaic, I just grabbed it online because it was late and I was still frustrated from a lovely essay I'm about to hand in. That's actually one of the only mosiacs I could find. I thought for sure that there would be plenty of Cid collection images out there, but that was all I could see. Oh that makes sense. Sorry for pinning someone else's bad taste on you. Psycho Knight posted:Also, no, Al-Cid doesn't count as a true Cid. The executive producer and one of the former directors of XII have both said he isn't the official Cid of XII. He also lacks a lot of the usual Cid traits, such as being an inventor or scientist type. Doctor Cid fits the character type much more closely. Good to know. I haven't played XII, so I thought I'd ask - I have played Tactics A2, though, and Al-Cid's in that one too... as well as an indisputably-a-real-Cid that has nothing to do with science. Offhand I think Kramer (VIII's Cid), Raines (XIII's Cid), FFTA2 Cid, Randell (FFTA1's Cid), and Orlandeau (FFT's Cid) all aren't much for science, though. Come to think of it none of the Tactics Cids are much alike.
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Mar 18, 2019 15:15
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AweStriker posted:Offhand I think Kramer (VIII's Cid), Raines (XIII's Cid), FFTA2 Cid, Randell (FFTA1's Cid), and Orlandeau (FFT's Cid) all aren't much for science, though. Come to think of it none of the Tactics Cids are much alike. Yeah, for some reason the Tactics Cids are very much about strong warriorship instead of any scientific endeavour. Hell, Orlandeau is rarely ever referred to as Cid, he's constantly referred to by his last name, very rarely by his title of "Thunder God Cid".
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Mar 18, 2019 15:25
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AweStriker posted:Oh that makes sense. Sorry for pinning someone else's bad taste on you. No need to apologize for that. I really should be doing up my own mosaic for it. I put effort into that stupid one-off M.C.Hammer postcard joke, as well as that Extended Universe mosaic, so not doing one for Cid is just pure laziness on my part (not to mention really unfair to Cid, who is awesome). I'll piece one together once Part 1 of the EU thing is up. As for Cid Kramer, he's a little mysterious in that regard. VIII says that he founded SeeD and was involved with creating Balamb Garden, but it doesn't say to what extent. The Estharians are apparently the ones who provided the technical know-how to create Balamb Garden from the old Centra buildings, but Cid's contribution (if any) isn't really talked about from what I remember. He does know about the secret flight mechanisms of Balamb Garden and how to activate them, so that would suggest he possibly has some mechanical/scientific knowledge. Either way, he is the one that provides the party with an airship, which is something Final Fantasy Cids usually do. Cid Raines also has an airship, although it isn't one that gets handed over to the party. He breaks Cid tradition in a bunch of ways though, such as being a young dude instead of an older guy. I'll give you Tactics. I have no idea why they decided to take Cid in a completely different direction there. Maybe they just wanted to try something new. The other Cids in the franchise do have the recurring science/mechanic trait though: Cid of the Lufaine (FF1 Remakes) - Said to have created the airship the party uses Cid (FFII) - Created the airship the party uses Cid Haze (FFIII) - Created the airships Cid Pollendina (FFIV) - Chief Engineer, also built airships Cid Previa (FFV) - Engineer/Inventor, also airships Cid Marquez (FFVI) - Inventor/Magitek Researcher Cid Highwind (FFVII) - Mechanic, Pilot, Astronaut, also built airships Cid Kramer (FFVIII) - Gave the party the airship. Maybe helped build Balamb Garden? Cid Fabool (FFIX) - Engineer, also built airships Cid Al-Bhed (FFX) - Salvaged ancient airship and repairs it Cid (FFXI) - Engineer/Inventor Cid Demon Bananza... Bonanza... Bunansa... whatever the gently caress (FFXII) - Researcher, also created airships Cid Raines (FFXIII) - You got me on this one. He commands an airship. That's about the only Cid-like aspect to him Cid Von Spoilername (FFXIV) - Engineer, builds airships Cid Sophiar (FFXV) - Engineer, Mechanic, possibly helps his granddaughter build the "airship" Cid Aulstyne (Type-0) - Engineer So the stand-outs are the Tactics Cids, Raines, possibly Kramer, and some of the spin-off Cids (such as Crystal Chronicles). If it weren't for Dr. Cid in FFXII matching the usual character traits, then Al-Cid would probably be a standout as well, but there's only ever one official Cid in a game and Dr. Cid is more closely aligned with the typical character type. Psycho Knight fucked around with this message at 19:03 on Mar 18, 2019 |
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Mar 18, 2019 19:01
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I was about to suggest that it was because FFT didn't really have any "sci-fi" elements like other Final Fantasy games... then I remembered there were two engineer characters in the game, Mustadio and his father. I'm curious as to why one of them weren't the game's Cid (though they are descendants of XII's). Something kinda interesting is that the Tactics Cids have some element of "power" to them. Orlandeau is the Thunder God, the strongest swordsman in all of Ivalice, and a pretty important figure to boot, while TA's Cid is the Judgemaster of fake-Ivalice. TA2 Cid kinda breaks the pattern, unless you count him being the leader of the player's clan (which starts off... not that impressively, though they do become as gods as the game progresses).
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Mar 18, 2019 20:13
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AweStriker posted:You do a mosaic of Cids and don't include Cid nan Garlond or Thunder God Cid? Those are two of the best Cids!
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Mar 18, 2019 21:55
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Commander Keene posted:Ducktor Cid would like to have a word with you. 
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Mar 18, 2019 23:43
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LiefKatano posted:Something kinda interesting is that the Tactics Cids have some element of "power" to them. Orlandeau is the Thunder God, the strongest swordsman in all of Ivalice, and a pretty important figure to boot, while TA's Cid is the Judgemaster of fake-Ivalice. TA2 Cid kinda breaks the pattern, unless you count him being the leader of the player's clan (which starts off... not that impressively, though they do become as gods as the game progresses). To me the FFT's Cids take on enough of the Cid 'subtypes' that they're worth including in the Cid lineup. Those subtypes being: Power. This is somewhat nebulous but Cid tends to have some moment or ability to do superhuman things. TG Cid's power is obvious but heck, back before him you had FF4's Cid survive an explosion capable of sealing off a mountain while free-falling into the underworld. And FF6's Cid built a raft while being bedridden and dying just so Celes could go out and find the party and maybe make the world right. Authority. Usually relates being an Airship Engineer/Captain but has also been expanded in general. FF9's Cid ran a kingdom, FFTA's Cid was the Judgemaster of the realm, FF8's Cid ran the Garden etc. Seniority. Cid at his youngest is still older than the party members in general (not counting time shenanigans, looking at you FF13 with the youngest and 'weakest' Cid) which in general gives him a wealth of experience and a good head on his shoulders. Often a beard/mustache too. Also cantankerous coots are always colorful characters. FFTA2's Cid is this and mentors Luso as the lad gets his feet in the world. EponymousMrYar fucked around with this message at 00:16 on Mar 19, 2019 |
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Mar 19, 2019 00:14
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~Final Fantasy Extended Universes Part 1: Introduction and the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII~ I didn't want it to come to this, but we can't play through this game without talking about this poo poo. Well, I guess we technically could do that, but it would be a big disservice considering this game is full of Final Fantasy history, characters, locations, music, references, and plots pulled directly from the entire franchise. Plus, I want to spread the poison that is this knowledge as much as possible. So welcome to the first part of this miniseries of updates about the various Extended Universes of Final Fantasy titles. Introduction Final Fantasy had largely been a one and done franchise, at least when it came to the main series. A Final Fantasy game would come out, you started it, you got a complete story, and you finished it. After that, you waited for the next title to launch, knowing that you would get a new story and characters and world. That is until Final Fantasy X rolled around.  When Final Fantasy X rolled out in 2001, Square was recovering from the financial disaster that was Spirits Within (more on that later). They were also no doubt noticing an issue with modern game development now that things had moved into the 3D realm. 3D games are loving expensive to develop. Not only that, but 3D graphics evolved fast. As developers grew more accustomed to the newer hardware of the mid-to-late 90's, they found ways of squeezing more and more power out of consoles. That's a bit of an issue, because it meant creating new graphics engines and spending more time modelling characters and environments which meant larger and larger staff. The development staff for Final Fantasy VI was about 40 people, the staff for VII was over 100, and the staff for IX took over 200 (I believe). They could recycle some assets, but that wouldn't look too good for the next major instalment in their premiere franchise (they caught some flak for this with X-2). On the other hand, that next major instalment wouldn't be on shelves until 2006. Final Fantasy XI would release in 2002, but that was an MMORPG back in the days when internet access wasn't as readily available as it is today. Online Multiplayer was still mostly the territory of PC games. Console multiplayer was only barely starting to get off the ground. It would go on to be a big financial success for them and kept chugging along until well after 2010, but it still appealed to a particular crowd (MMO fans). So with 5 more years to go before the next big single player Final Fantasy title, Square decided that it was time for Final Fantasy to start delving into the world of sequels.  Final Fantasy X-2 was the result. X will be getting its own part dedicated to it once the base cast comes together (which is actually very soon), so I won't get into detail about it right now. I only mention it here because X-2 would act as a harbinger of things to come. Now, Final Fantasy had received follow up material before (Final Fantasy Legend of the Crystals was a 4-part OVA that took place 200 years after FFV), but the series had avoided any direct sequels to existing games using the original characters until the roll out of X-2. After X-2 proved successful, other Final Fantasy titles would go on to get sequels of their own. IV, VII, and XII, would eventually get the treatment. Other titles would get additional games or story content, but it's somewhat arguable as to whether or not they count as extended universes. XIII had a definitive ending for example, but then got hit with two sequel games. I hesitate to include that as an extended universe though, because XIII was envisioned as being part of a big shared universe along with Versus XIII (which would later become XV). XI and XIV are also debatable. Their "sequels" came in the form of Expansion Packs, but they were also MMORPG's, so it was basically a given that their stories would continue to be added to over time. So I won't be including XIII, XI, and XIV in the EU parts. The point of all this is, X-2's success empowered Square to dig up other previous entries and start pumping out content for them. That way they could beat a little more money out of previous games while the next major instalment was spending a few years in the works. Final Fantasy VII  All of this leads us to our first look at the extended universe of a Final Fantasy title. With the success of X-2, Square started digging through their attic for other games that they could wring some cash out of on the side while development of the main series chugged along. For some ungodly reason, they also took a second look at Spirits Within, the 3D animated "Final Fantasy" movie that drove Sakaguchi to step down as VP of Square because of the massive financial failure it was (it still stands within the top 40 biggest box office failures to this very day, having lost $50+ million when it first came out). Despite looking gorgeous for a 3D animated movie from 2001, the movie basically had nothing to do with the Final Fantasy video games. It was closer to a cross between Alien and Ghostbusters. The plot was also dry as hell and devoid of any emotional impacts. It had a budget of $137 million. It pulled in $85 million... worldwide. The movie decapitated Square Pictures and put a halt to their film ambitions. They would rise from the grave years later for a some smaller projects, but nowhere near on the level of big blockbusters that they were aiming for. Someone at Square looked at that and said "Well, people thought the animation looked great... so what if we made another movie like it, except this time we base it on an actual Final Fantasy game?"  And thus, this gorgeous abomination was conceived. Well, technically it had already been conceived in the form of a short 20 minute script. It started as just a short movie about a young child being asked to deliver a message to Cloud. After some positive fan reaction to sneak peeks (as well as the success of X-2 and the Square-Enix merger) Square decided to take that short and sweet script, crumple it up, toss it in a barrel with an rear end-load of character derailment and lovely universe building material, then light that sumbitch and roast some marshmallows. Just to get the one redeeming thing about AC out of the way: It does look loving good. Even to this day, 11+ years after it was released, the animation and action set pieces are amazing to see in motion. If you completely ignored the plot and just watched the film itself, it looks spectacular (well, other than an over reliance on grey).   Unfortunately, in order to deliver those spectacular set pieces, they had to create excuses for them to exist. That first meant introducing a ton of garbage. The movie ballooned from a 20 minute short into a 100 minute bloated carcass. It also meant completely reversing character growth. Director Tetsuya Nomura openly admitted that they reset Cloud's entire character for marketability reasons. Here is his quote on the matter from the Reunion Books: "At the end of Final Fantasy VII, Cloud was more of a positive, upbeat character than he had been at the beginning, but I didn't think that "upbeat" image of him is what stuck in the minds of fans. We decided to go with a more familiar image that was consistent with the fans' view of him. The script was written to explain why he's returned to that sort of solemn mentality." This isn't limited to Final Fantasy by the way. You see this crap in a lot of extended universe material. The belief is that a character is only interesting if they are brooding, or emotional, or falling apart, or hosed up in some way. So what often happens is that you'll see your favourite characters regress rather than continue to grow.  So Cloud became what Nomura and the Advent Children team believed the fans saw him as: Vincent Valentine. You can just imagine what's going through Vincent's mind during the conversation he has with Cloud: "Why is he acting like that? That's MY thing, dammit! He spent a few years locked up in the basement, I spent 20+ years sleeping in a coffin to atone for my sins! He doesn't turn into horrible monsters. His girlfriend isn't even dead or in stasis for god's sake. What is this poo poo?! What am I supposed to do now?" On top of that garbage, they also needed to create a plot that would call for big action fight scenes and tension. To accomplish that, they created three Sephiroth knock-offs (who were failed clones that somehow survived Northern Crater exploding with Lifestream at the end of VII), gave people magic fantasy cancer due to Lifestream exposure (even though Cloud was showered in it during experimentation and later him and Tifa swam in the loving thing without any ill effects), somehow brought JENOVA back (even though the pieces of her body were used by Sephiroth to astral project and were killed by the party), and then also somehow brought Sephiroth back.  Not to mention they also dragged Rufus Shinra out of the pits of hell to play decoy antagonist. For those that don't know, this handsome and not horribly mutilated boy right here was last seen eating a face full of missiles from Diamond Weapon.   Rufus is not a super soldier, he's the President's son. That man is dead. The fact that he dies is what fucks up Shinra's chain of command and throws Shinra into disarray, giving Hojo the chance to start prepping Sister Ray for another shot (as well as for the party to parachute into Midgar). Yet there he is in Advent Children, totally fine without so much as a single scratch despite being blown the gently caress up by Godzilla Captain Planet. The movie was a shitshow, is what I'm trying to say. I could do an entire update dedicated solely to ripping it apart. Unfortunately, we have other material to move on to.  Such as Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII. Square apparently heard Vincent's complaining about Cloud replacing his character and said "Hey, that's right! Vincent also exists! I bet we could make a thing with him in it and exploit his tragic past!" So in 2006, DoC was released on PS2. A 3rd-person shooter/action/RPG monstrosity. The game starred Vincent Valentine and took place one year after Advent Children (or 3 years after the original VII). It suffered from the DragonBall Z trope of the big bad having been defeated, only for it to turn out that there was an even BIGGER big bad hiding out in a shrub nearby. In this case, the bigger bad hiding in the shrub was a group called Deepground (which I briefly mentioned when Shelke was introduced). Supposedly this was an elite group of SOLDIER (which was already Shinra's elite group), that had better equipment, weapons, and were more powerful than SOLDIER so why the gently caress did Shinra even bother with SOLDIER in the first place? Because this game came much later than VII, this of course means that the super powerful army Shinra was hiding shows up out of nowhere and has never been previously mentioned by anyone until they are revealed. This causes the plot problem of why Shinra never employed them for any reason despite them being far superior to their main army and special forces. It also means that this insane fighting force was completely unknown to the entire executive board because none of them even hint at their existence in VII.  Deepground's plan was to sacrifice a bunch of non-Geostigma infected people in order to create a pure surge of Lifestream that would trigger the planet's final defence system, the WEAPON Omega. This is stupid for multiple reasons because Geostigma is an infection of JENOVA cells from the Lifestream that Aerith heals WITH the Lifestream at the end of AC and you know what, gently caress it all. They were trying to trick the planet into thinking it was under threat by killing a bunch of people off in order to summon Omega which would gather the Lifestream up and take off into space to find another planet to inhabit. Apparently sacrificing a thousand or so people would have been enough to trick the planet, while the various wars that Shinra waged across the world as well as loving Meteor nearly slamming into the planet wasn't enough to do the job. We won't dwell on this, because the Compilation of FFVII is one of the biggest Final Fantasy EUs and we still have more to suffer through. If you truly want to subject yourself to it, go read the LP on the archive. Fair warning: The plot involves Hojo having uploaded his brain to the internet and taking over some dudes body. Yeah. That happens.  Following DoC's This game was actually pretty cool and it's generally considered to be the "diamond in the rough" of the Compilation, no doubt helped by the fact that it has one of the most heartbreaking/tear-inducing endings in gaming (I loving cried, and I'm the heartless monster that was advocating for the "kill all children" option in one of the Danganronpa threads). That praise aside, it also contributed its fair share of poison to the veins of the VII universe. First of all, it gave everyone those goddamn angel wings that Sephiroth has become associated with despite them not having any meaning or appearing in the original game. Second, they based one of the main antagonist characters on Gackt, a Japanese singer/musician that contributed the butt-rock to Dirge of Cerberus. Said character was named Genesis, was as strong as Sephiroth, and constantly quoted a poem from VII called LOVELESS (also he thought he and the other main characters were characters from the poem and was trying to re-enact the poem to cure his fantasy disease). It also gave the Buster Sword a backstory like it was goddamn Excalibur.  Outside of that stuff, the Compilation also involved a bunch of side material that was mostly just filler. This included anime OVA's like Last Order (retelling the Nibelheim incident), On the Way to a Smile (short stories following up with the cast between VII and AC), and Before Crisis (a prequel cellphone game following the Turks, who are a Shinra covert ops group from VII. This game wasn't released outside Japan). All of that stuff was mostly fine. It was just light material that expanded on some side characters or followed up with the main cast. It didn't introduce a bunch of horseshit or drag any characters through the mud, it was just little bits of material for fans to enjoy. And that's the end of the mostly sad excuse for an extended universe about VII. The best way I can personally describe it is as a burning fireworks factory. It all looks pretty, but underneath the pretty lights the source of it all is turning to ash and will inevitably be left as a hollow shell of its former self. The worst part is what's to come. As of early 2019, Square is still intending to release a Final Fantasy VII remake. There is a 99% probability that all of that added garbage I just talked about will be enshrined in the remake in order to complete the Compilation. Yaaaaayyy... Now if you thought that Part 1 of this series of updates was bad, then prepare yourself. The Compilation was bad, but it doesn't contain quite the level of batshit insanity that some of the other extended universes do. I'm pretty sure the next part of this series will be Final Fantasy X and oh boy, that's gonna be some fun. X-2 is not where that train ends. X-2 is where that train starts picking up speed. Psycho Knight fucked around with this message at 23:31 on Jun 18, 2019 |
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Mar 19, 2019 02:18
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| # ? May 13, 2024 10:40 |
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Let no one tell you that anything other than FFVII is worth it. It's not. Dirge of Cerberus is a masterpiece of horrible design, to the point that the utterly hilarious (for all the wrong reasons) plot is unenjoyable because of the awful gameplay, Advent Children is not saved by the lack of gameplay and the plot is dull as poo poo, and Crisis Core...is actually really good in story, for once, but the gameplay's repetitive (not terrible though, even if it has some really baffling decisions like Limit Breaks and even levelling up being RNG-based). I cried at the end too, even when you know what will happen since, you know, prequel, the game manages to perfectly blend story and gameplay to hit you in the heart really, really hard. I've kept myself as far as possible from the FFX expanded universe because FFX is a game I dearly love and my favourite of the franchise (numbered only, FFT edges it out as my favourite FF period). I played X-2 but I refuse to go beyond that. Ever.
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Mar 19, 2019 02:35
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