|
NGDBSS posted:How is it? CS3 seemed good despite the apprehension about NISA doing the localization. It's subtly different from what XSEED did before but it's not the "okay maybe you should have spent another month or two fine-tuning it" output that we got for Tokyo Xanadu and Ex+. Honestly? I'm really enjoying it. The first part of the first Act is a bit of a slog, but that's kind of a trademark of the Trails series at this point, and it has some really great moments. I'm in Act II now, and I'm approaching 30 hours (I guess quarantine is good for some things). I honestly have no idea how much further I have to go, but I like it better than III so far. The first Act knocked me off balance, but in a very good way, but going into that would constitute SPOILERS so I'm not gonna go into it. It still feels slightly off from the first two games (I will never be OK with Laura saying "yeah"), but it's far from NISA's worst. Basically, if you're on the fence, you should go ahead and get it.
|
#
?
Oct 30, 2020 18:33
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 28, 2024 01:11 |
|
|
Rabbi Raccoon posted:Honestly? I'm really enjoying it. The first part of the first Act is a bit of a slog, but that's kind of a trademark of the Trails series at this point, and it has some really great moments. I'm in Act II now, and I'm approaching 30 hours (I guess quarantine is good for some things). I honestly have no idea how much further I have to go, but I like it better than III so far. The first Act knocked me off balance, but in a very good way, but going into that would constitute SPOILERS so I'm not gonna go into it. I'm not quite as far as you, but this is pretty much my take home on CSIV thus far too. Not sure I'd put it above III though, I think that might be my favourite in the series.
|
|
#
?
Oct 30, 2020 19:15
|
|
|
My take from what I've seen of it is that CS4 as whole has some big problems, though it's not really because it's "bad" rather than that they got too ambitious and tried to do too much. Which was probably always going to happen given the nature of the overarching story and how reliant it is on continuity. Origins seems to have found a better groove.
|
|
#
?
Oct 30, 2020 20:27
|
|
|
- That WAS a pretty stupid distribution of Blade cards. Your hand was crap and Crow and a ton of Mirrors and Bolts. - You have to play a number card last in Blade or else it's an automatic loss. You would have actually beaten Sharon 22-18 if you had played the Mirror second-last. - Alisa and Sara also have some unique dialogue in Gate of Avalon based on their relationship with Sharon. - There is only a token cosmetic prize for winning Blade and Super Stallion. - Only the Eastern Teahouse and Stella Garten have a lot of dialogue. I'm not sure showing off Mishy Panic with different people would have a lot of interesting variations. - I don't really understand why Towa is so popular given her utter lack of personality besides "workaholic", and complete lack of any interests outside of schoolwork. I think this is the only time in the first two games where she mentions she has stargazing as a hobby. That's it, that's the only time that she mentions anything she does besides work. - Take Alisa into Stella Garten and she and Rean are also reminded of Nord. - Gaius and Fie have some unique dialogue in the Eastern Teahouse, based on their relationship with Vivi and Linde. - If my calculations are correct, congratulations on reaching Student Rank A0. - "Well, at least if we go with someone other than Alisa, she's got someone waiting in the wings to catch her." There's no if about it - Alisa is definitely not going to be a possibility for the bonfire event on this save. Also, based on stuff from future games, I'm pretty sure that Ferris does not have feelings for Alisa in the way you think she does. - There is a Master Quartz reward for having all the recipes done, but I am certain that it is not from Thomas or Dottie. - I've started my Nightmare re-play of CS 2. I'm only carrying over the notebook, but that'll save me a bunch of trouble scanning enemies. Rabbi Raccoon posted:I just finished a Cold Steel IV marathon and that picture had me so confused for like, 10 seconds Is it true that pretty much every bonding event with a woman has strong romantic suggestions, many completely overt? If that's the case then on my eventual playthroughs, I might actually leave a great number of bonding points unspent, because I do not care for that. I spent a short time carefully uncovering BearDrivingTruck's post a word or two at a time before I realized that it didn't actually have spoilers in it. Stabbey_the_Clown fucked around with this message at 23:13 on Oct 30, 2020 |
|
#
?
Oct 30, 2020 23:08
|
|
|
Stabbey_the_Clown posted:- I don't really understand why Towa is so popular given her utter lack of personality besides "workaholic", and complete lack of any interests outside of schoolwork. I think this is the only time in the first two games where she mentions she has stargazing as a hobby. That's it, that's the only time that she mentions anything she does besides work. As a Sailor Moon fan, I am in no way surprised by her popularity despite no personality save "shy workaholic". Please note this is also a massive self-own as someone who owns a fuckton of Mercury merch/repeatedly keeps debating a tattoo.
|
|
#
?
Oct 30, 2020 23:51
|
|
|
END ME SCOOB posted:As a Sailor Moon fan, I am in no way surprised by her popularity despite no personality save "shy workaholic". I actually don't think this is it. I've always felt that Towa is a good character because she's one of the few main characters in Cold Steel who are well adjusted, competent, likeable and doesn't have some sort of horrifying dark secret. She's emphatically not the shy nerd archetype, she basically openly runs half the school. She basically manages to do the Gaius thing, but not be dull. I think it helps that I've always found the Rean-Towa romance the most believable of the possible love interests, so it doesn't bother me as much when the games do those scenes as the Rean-Alisa ones. Alisa would be a much better character in these games if Rean wasn't in them. CottonWolf fucked around with this message at 00:20 on Oct 31, 2020 |
|
#
?
Oct 31, 2020 00:17
|
|
|
Fun fact: Although you can't open the menu in Stella Garten, the PC version can still trigger autosaves. If you load one of them the script breaks and all NPCs (including your follower!) de-load. It's kinda funny actually. 
|
|
#
?
Oct 31, 2020 02:35
|
|
|
END ME SCOOB posted:As a Sailor Moon fan, I am in no way surprised by her popularity despite no personality save "shy workaholic". does the juxtaposition of Cold Steel and Sailor Moon mean this is relevant again
|
|
#
?
Oct 31, 2020 02:37
|
|
|
The Sailor Scouts would fit right in with Class VII and we all know it
|
|
#
?
Oct 31, 2020 02:40
|
|
|
Infinity Academy was basically Thors anyway. Down to the instructors with a shady past and a body count.
|
|
#
?
Oct 31, 2020 03:33
|
|
|
Level 1 Thief, you really should probably swap the Gladiator Belt and Grail Locket to Alisa. The boss's health is exceptionally large, and you'll need a lot of CP to cut through the boss's health, and more than just Rean will be needing it. Alisa fuels the party's CP (anfd heals and buffs evasion) using her CP, and the Gladiator belt fuels her own CP. Those accessories will also help keep her from suffering from status ailments which could kill or disable her, which will also be helpful for being able to use healing and/or Seraphic Ring as needed.
|
|
#
?
Nov 2, 2020 20:05
|
|
|
They're on Normal, they'll be just fine.
|
|
#
?
Nov 2, 2020 20:11
|
|
|
Admiral H. Curtiss posted:They're on Normal, they'll be just fine. Maybe, but running out of CP in that fight is no fun.
|
|
#
?
Nov 2, 2020 23:49
|
|
|
Food Wars does a lot with the fact that they literally had a dedicated food consultant, up until the point where she went on maternity leave and they did not compensate for that well at all. Stabbey_the_Clown posted:- "Well, at least if we go with someone other than Alisa, she's got someone waiting in the wings to catch her." There's no if about it - Alisa is definitely not going to be a possibility for the bonfire event on this save. Also, based on stuff from future games, I'm pretty sure that Ferris does not have feelings for Alisa in the way you think she does. Stabbey_the_Clown posted:- There is a Master Quartz reward for having all the recipes done, but I am certain that it is not from Thomas or Dottie. That's correct, they give different bonuses for finishing. The completed recipe book reward is from Margarita.
|
|
#
?
Nov 3, 2020 08:26
|
|
|
Cyouni posted:At the current rate, I think the possibilities are Laura, Towa, Sara, and Emma? Might actually be able to manage Crow as well. Elise too? Is Elise always an option or is she the fail state? I can't remember.
|
|
#
?
Nov 5, 2020 17:08
|
|
|
CottonWolf posted:Elise too? Is Elise always an option or is she the fail state? I can't remember. I *think* that's only an option on NG+? Not entirely sure what triggers this actually.
|
|
#
?
Nov 5, 2020 17:35
|
|
|
Hey! I made a real dumb mistake recording this week's videos and editing around it is taking some extra time, plus other stresses for some reason, so the time for 88 will come in another day or two. I got this one done though: - F7-2. Ch.7 Minigame Wrap-Up The F stands for Festivities. Yes we both forgot that we took Machias to the tea house.
|
|
#
?
Nov 5, 2020 18:41
|
|
|
Crow I think is at link level 4, which means combined with the Chapter 6 event, he's in. Jusis is in because of the bike event... probably. Both Towa and Sara are definitively not going to be an option, due to insufficient link level. Neither were for me my first time, and I did all bonding events.Admiral H. Curtiss posted:I *think* that's only an option on NG+? Not entirely sure what triggers this actually. Being on NG+. Stabbey_the_Clown fucked around with this message at 00:24 on Nov 6, 2020 |
|
#
?
Nov 5, 2020 19:04
|
|
|
What a great reward for playing the whole game twice!
Level 1 Thief fucked around with this message at 22:20 on Nov 5, 2020 |
|
#
?
Nov 5, 2020 20:15
|
|
|
- Towa uses (CS2) A gun which shoots orbal energy, so it's kinda like a staff? - Mouse and keyboard controls are good in Super Stallion. Not so much skateboarding in Tokyo Xanadu. But I still managed, with some difficulty. - You never want to play for a tie in Blade, ever. That's essentially throwing one of your cards away. Notice how you keep getting down to your last card and the opponent still has two cards left? That's because you played for a tie. You can't win by handicapping yourself a card. - "Warm me up Rean. It's chilly in here." Gosh... I can think of multiple Alisa bonding events in CS 2 where those lines would be fairly appropriate. - I don't think Elise being restricted to NG+ is a reward, more like a "Fine, if you really want, but you need to go through this additional hoop."
|
|
#
?
Nov 6, 2020 00:23
|
|
|
"This game is War except you have a hand" is an apt description of Blade. I find it tolerable because it goes by quickly, but it's easily solved here and CS2 doesn't change it much. The additional two special cards just make things more swingy. It even shows up a third time in Tokyo Xanadu (ask Fletcher about that), which has some exclusive rewards for making progress. At least by 2015 the devs had realized that Blade was kinda trash so all your draws are curated for more consistent wins. And in CS3 it's scrapped entirely for an LCG. Vantage Masters? Really good if you get past the writers being aggressively clueless about card game metas.Stabbey_the_Clown posted:- You never want to play for a tie in Blade, ever. That's essentially throwing one of your cards away. Notice how you keep getting down to your last card and the opponent still has two cards left? That's because you played for a tie. You can't win by handicapping yourself a card.
|
|
#
?
Nov 6, 2020 01:12
|
|
|
My general Blade strategy is to use up low-value cards first, which often necessitates increasing leads by 1 point at a time. Then use higher-value cards and Bolt/Mirror to either stall or take the lead if possible.
|
|
#
?
Nov 6, 2020 04:30
|
|
|
I've always played Blade by aiming for 1 over their score, and using Bolt/Mirror late in the game (or when big value chances to swing the difference by 4+ come up). 1s get popped immediately to revive anything taken out with a Bolt. It's worked out well for me thus far, with only the most bullshit losses stopping me.
|
|
#
?
Nov 6, 2020 08:45
|
|
|
I like how Sharon is just a Rean shipper. I thought she was trying to get him together with Alisa, but no, it's just any eligable female classmate. Or just Towa? I don't do Gate of Avalon enough to know.
|
|
#
?
Nov 6, 2020 11:56
|
|
|
CottonWolf posted:I like how Sharon is just a Rean shipper. I thought she was trying to get him together with Alisa, but no, it's just any eligable female classmate. Or just Towa? I don't do Gate of Avalon enough to know. Sharon is a very liberated woman, and wants this freedom for other people.
|
|
#
?
Nov 6, 2020 12:11
|
|
|
I'm not really that keen on Blade 2. One card just makes things really, REALLY swingy, to the point of a possible instant loss mid-game.CottonWolf posted:I like how Sharon is just a Rean shipper. I thought she was trying to get him together with Alisa, but no, it's just any eligable female classmate. Or just Towa? I don't do Gate of Avalon enough to know. I checked. No other suggestive dialogue.
I'm going to chalk the Towa thing to an instance of teasing Rean. Sharon's otherwise very firmly in the Alisa camp because of her intense loyalty to Alisa. Notice how her typical competence failed to materialize, after assuring Rean that no one would notice his absence from the penthouse in Roer to go have a late-night rendezvous with a lady? I went 1-4 against Sharon, with the victory going with Alisa. "So miss perfect, how does it feel to have Rean shatter your best-at-everything streak? Because I am AWFULLY curious." Sharon was not frustrated at all, which, naturally, frustrated Alisa. EDIT: Whether or not Sharon is a Rean-Anybody shipper could be checked by seeing if (CS2) in the final dorm night, Sharon has any comments about Rean's relationship if he picks someone other than Alisa. Because I know Sharon definitely comments on that one. Stabbey_the_Clown fucked around with this message at 17:44 on Nov 6, 2020 |
|
#
?
Nov 6, 2020 15:33
|
|
|
 88. The Time Has Come ... oh. We're ... we're doing this NOW, huh?
|
|
#
?
Nov 7, 2020 10:26
|
|
|
If you think something in Trails is or is close to the final dungeon, or anything after what might be a final dungeon, for the love of God, get some sleep first. Haven't gotten so far into CS4 yet, but the pattern has held for eight games, more or less.
|
|
#
?
Nov 7, 2020 14:14
|
|
|
Saving the day to be a band
|
|
#
?
Nov 7, 2020 14:16
|
|
|
Hwurmp posted:Saving the day to be a band Throwing myself into an extradimensional void portal to own
|
|
#
?
Nov 7, 2020 14:21
|
|
|
Veryslightlymad posted:If you think something in Trails is or is close to the final dungeon, or anything after what might be a final dungeon, for the love of God, get some sleep first. Haven't gotten so far into CS4 yet, but the pattern has held for eight games, more or less. My memory of CS1 is that the final dungeon was shorter than I was expecting, while CS2's was much longer than I expected. e: With the ultimate weapon I didn't even really think the first time and got Rean's because I knew I'd be using him whatever. CottonWolf fucked around with this message at 22:52 on Nov 7, 2020 |
|
#
?
Nov 7, 2020 15:22
|
|
|
- Yeah, the first attempt at Rean's pizza only ended up as Special Pizza, not the Teriaki one. - Alisa didn't learn Seraphic Ring on her quartz - that's CS 2. It's a question of whether the stat boosts are better than the arts. - Alisa reacts to that comment by Crow with a glare even if she was the only one you took into Stella Garten. I haven't actually checked to see if she reacts differently if Rean comments on - You've S-Ranked this chapter too - finishing strong. - Thomas is the historian, he knows a lot about... history stuff. - Class 7 was always going to hold the concert in the Auditorium. The Old Schoolhouse was only where they were rehearsing. - "Okay, but that doesn't open this door." Yeah, exactly. Rean's impassioned speech (with assistance from Class VII) about wanting to do something would have made sense - if it was said it after confirming he could pass through the barrier. At the moment, as far as he should know, there's no way in and nothing he can actually do. - The principal was a young man once. He's also practical. He wants this situation resolved, and this is the best lead at the moment. - Welcome... to the Final Dungeon. (Sara really should have joined.) - "If you know something, you could probably share it with the class, glasses." - Ha ha. What a funny idea you have. This is one reason why Emma was annoying me by this point in the game. - Rean's motivational speeches start to lose their potency the more you hear them, because you realize that a lot of what he's saying has no substance. - I rotated people in and out, because this place is huge. But I have more tolerance for switching equipment. - Your party, let's see... S-Ranks in Slash, Pierce, Thrust, and Strike... yeah, that works. Orb Chat - Alisa's EP is the weakest point in her arts casting ability. I usually end up stuffing her with EP Charge III's in the final boss. But I think it's worth it because of how quickly she can get up to +50% ATS, combined with Altair Cannon which hits enemies with -25% ADF. - I'm pretty sure Alisa has 3 lines because Elliot has 2, and Elliot is supposed to be the second-strongest caster. There's a general rule that no two characters have the same Orbment configuration. Alisa having two one-lenght lines does allow for up to 3 different status inflicting quartz, though. - It's an excellent idea to give lots of healing arts, because CP-based healing doesn't work if you're out of CP, such as after dying. - Super-Rare quartz can't be bought. Sometimes Rare ones can be crafted. - He's referring to Professor Russell, and the breakthrough was in Trails in the Sky SC. - Zemurian Ore: You can get 1 piece from an NPC at this point in the game and 4 fragments from the dungeon. - Rean and Laura tend to be good picks for the highest damage weapons. Really, anyone who hits things is a good choice. I went with Alisa because of the buffs to ATS and SPD which you can't normally get on weapons, but it's not going to matter much. - You can technically NG+ more, but it's expensive at 75 U-Materials for 1/3 of a piece. - You can only field 2 magic people in the party at a time for the dungeon and field EP Recovery. Field recovery doesn't work in boss battles, so that becomes less important. - Generally speaking, the male party members tend to suffer from second-best syndrome. Veryslightlymad posted:If you think something in Trails is or is close to the final dungeon, or anything after what might be a final dungeon, for the love of God, get some sleep first. Haven't gotten so far into CS4 yet, but the pattern has held for eight games, more or less. YES. The series has very long final dungeons, and in most c ases there are notable chunks of gameplay after the final dungeons too.
|
|
#
?
Nov 8, 2020 00:12
|
|
|
Gaius is a really, really good choice for the best weapon-- in this game. You can make him an evade tank, stuff either Murakumo or Orochi on him. Wrath. Other evade boosting weapons. It's less necessary on normal, but a lot of late game enemies have huge defense and, combined with his long reach, Gaius is the man who can best deal with that nonsense.
|
|
#
?
Nov 8, 2020 00:21
|
|
|
Veryslightlymad posted:If you think something in Trails is or is close to the final dungeon, or anything after what might be a final dungeon, for the love of God, get some sleep first. There is a massive jug of cold brew in my fridge waiting to be sipped from next time we record. Surely we wouldn't be dumb enough to do ANOTHER Old Schoolhouse marathon, right? :3
|
|
#
?
Nov 8, 2020 03:56
|
|
|
Stabbey_the_Clown posted:I'm not really that keen on Blade 2. One card just makes things really, REALLY swingy, to the point of a possible instant loss mid-game. Force actually isn't that hard to play around, though if you have none of the instant solutions you might need to trust in luck a bit. Saving a Mirror for it turns it into almost a free win, while saving a Bolt brings it back to net neutral. If you have a Force of your own, it's usually going to be a free win if you play it close to the end, barring Mirror shenanigans, which you do need to plan around - I usually avoid playing Force until I can bait out some of their responses. If you have no other good solutions, throwing down draws at opportune times to reset the count isn't utterly horrid, though it's the worst of the ways to handle it because of how ties can put you behind in card advantage. The true silliness is Mirroring their Force, having it Bolted, and then bringing it back with a 1. - I think that them being Class VII is a joke referencing the fact that Cold Steel is technically LoH 7, but your guess is as good as any of ours. END ME SCOOB posted:There is a massive jug of cold brew in my fridge waiting to be sipped from next time we record. I'm interested in seeing how much marathon you'll survive.
|
|
#
?
Nov 8, 2020 06:50
|
|
|
Cyouni posted:- I think that them being Class VII is a joke referencing the fact that Cold Steel is technically LoH 7, but your guess is as good as any of ours. END ME SCOOB posted:There is a massive jug of cold brew in my fridge waiting to be sipped from next time we record.
|
|
#
?
Nov 8, 2020 07:19
|
|
|
NGDBSS posted:Cold Steel as a whole is Legend of Heroes 8. If you look up the save data on PC you'll find it in a subfolder whose name starts with "ed8", whereas Sky starts with "ed6". (ED stands for Eiyū Densetsu, the original Japanese form of the epithet Legend of Heroes.) Oh, I guess they classified Crossbell as 7. (Now that I've made my way through the video, remember you have a ton of sepith that you're currently not using that you can sell for tons of money.)
|
|
#
?
Nov 8, 2020 07:35
|
|
|
Finally got around to watching, and I am loving psyched for DC Douglas's other part in this series.  Also YES To Grasp Tomorrow. It's not my favorite final dungeon track - that honor belongs to Trojan's Ruins from Cosmic Star Heroine - but it's up there.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tTXizK2V44c Stabbey_the_Clown posted:Orb Chat
|
|
#
?
Nov 9, 2020 09:27
|
|
|
Veryslightlymad posted:If you think something in Trails is or is close to the final dungeon, or anything after what might be a final dungeon, for the love of God, get some sleep first. Haven't gotten so far into CS4 yet, but the pattern has held for eight games, more or less. Still kind of mad about when I thought Sky was about to wrap up to a cliffhanger and it went "hey let's take this elevator into the biggest, blandest, grindiest dungeon in the whole game!" (SC's final dungeon I liked, 3rd's was ... eh.) Cyouni posted:I'm interested in seeing how much marathon you'll survive. None, because we didn't, and were never going to. I still don't get what the joke was supposed to be here actually. Stabbey_the_Clown posted:- I rotated people in and out, because this place is huge. But I have more tolerance for switching equipment. yeah, about that ... ----------  89. A Clockwork Orbal Now we're gonna solve the mystery of the Old Schoolhouse Maybe finally we'll learn what this was all about First we'll save the day Then we're gonna beat that play So let's take one last trip through the Old Schoolhouse
|
|
#
?
Nov 12, 2020 04:57
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 28, 2024 01:11 |
|
|
Level 1 Thief posted:yeah, about that ... I was referring to the fact that you need characters with B-rank or higher in all four of the attack types at some point in the second zone of the dungeon. So you'll probably want to substitute in Machias for Gaius. (Jusis can cover Thrust-type attacks for Gaius). *** - I'd forgotten that the one you got from Margarita was Magius. Yeah, I'm also not so sure how great the effect is. - There was indeed a bar in Bose in Liberl with the name Kirche's. - It is not yet time for the train station. But soon. Very soon. - I'm not sure how you're so broke. I did fight more battles, which helped, but I was able to get just about all the weapons and upgrade a couple at this point. - You would have noticed that the chest would have been locked behind the barrier for like 10 seconds if you'd gone down the differetn path. - Yes, the game is padded out. The series was intended to be 2 games, and it became 4 with still a little left over. The padding out becomes far more obvious in CS 2. - Chapter 5 was supposed to be the Laura and Emma chapter, but Legram does feel kinda slim on the character development front. In part that's because the crisis didn't show signs of existing until right before the team goes to solve it. Laura didn't really get any other reveals. Emma had an opportunity to open up to the class more - especially after Rean did the same about his big secret - and she took a hard pass on that. I feel like it would have been better if Emma had been forced to make a choice about whether to prompt the team to go investigate the castle she was concerned about, but the game instead took the easy way out and had some kids conveniently go off at exactly the right time so she didn't have to do anything. - Gaius had absolutely nothing to do in Chapter 5. Jusis got a line or two about his family. Millium is scared of ghosts, which rarely come up in the game. Not really much. This is likely why Chapter 5 felt like a drag, because there wasn't really notable character development. Unfortunately, a lot of CS 2 is like that as well. - I think the door in the castle had to be there because the castle was connected to the Lance Maiden, the Old Schoolhouse was connected to Prince Dreichel and those two characters are connected to each other. - I never really noticed this before, but the first portal you enter forces you into three sections, you hit a switch and get back to the center, then you do one section, hit a switch and go back to the center. Why not 2 and 2?
|
|
#
?
Nov 12, 2020 15:59
|
|