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Yeah I bought a ps2 slim about a year ago from ye olde pawn shoppe and it hasn't broken yet... though I have some absurd luck with getting consoles that by all rights shouldn't work to do so. Original Xbox360 that still hasn't red ringed lucky. It is... quirky.
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Dec 23, 2012 03:47
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A lot of (but not ALL, caveat emptor) store-sold secondhand consoles are actually refurbished, meaning all of the faulty, defective parts had been swapped out either by the manufacturer or a third party in the refurb process. This means that you're actually more likely to get a long-lasting system if you buy it used, though that does NOT extend to handhelds.
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Dec 23, 2012 03:52
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Thinking about it, my original launch PS2 started having problems after a few years of regular use too. It wouldn't render some things properly (like the ground in Vice City, as someone else said), and the memory card slots wouldn't work about half the time. I replaced it with a slim which is still working.
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Dec 23, 2012 04:14
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KataraniSword posted:A lot of (but not ALL, caveat emptor) store-sold secondhand consoles are actually refurbished, meaning all of the faulty, defective parts had been swapped out either by the manufacturer or a third party in the refurb process. With GameStop, at least, they'll actually advertise a refurbished system as such. Otherwise, when you buy used, it's just one a guy brought in for some store credit (or drug money, depending on the area), was briefly tested to make sure it loads a game and the controller works, and then was tossed out back.
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Dec 23, 2012 06:26
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My slim PS2 played everything perfectly from the time I got it (right after they were first released) until the DVD drive died on my birthday last year. It died during a marathon of Samurai Champloo. I'm going to revive it pretty soon, but if it had to go, that was a pretty awesome way for it to go.
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Dec 23, 2012 06:33
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Trasson posted:With GameStop, at least, they'll actually advertise a refurbished system as such. Otherwise, when you buy used, it's just one a guy brought in for some store credit (or drug money, depending on the area), was briefly tested to make sure it loads a game and the controller works, and then was tossed out back. Yeah, but the people who buy refurbs from GameStop are more likely to trade them back in, as well, meaning the amount of systems with fixed parts goes slowly but steadily up with time.
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Dec 23, 2012 06:34
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I finally got rid of my PS2 Phat when it stopped playing PSX games and I needed to play Vagrant Story like right now. The nice thing about the slim is that I could duct tape it to my "slim" PS3 and it would still be cheaper and smaller than a backwards-compatible release model.
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Dec 23, 2012 08:00
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Adus posted:My fat launch PS2 also started to have some issues in its old age. Kingdom Hearts 2 locked up a couple times, and when I played Vice City sometimes the entire ground refused to render. As entertaining as flying car and house limbo is, it was... difficult to play. It might be okay now, actually. For awhile, my fat PS2 wouldn't read disks at all. I thought it was hosed and I was ready to crack it open and do SCIENCE, but those screws are a pain to get out and I have the attention span of a goldfish thanks to the internet. But sometime later, I gave it another try and it worked! Mind, it doesn't always behave itself. Sometimes it won't read disks and I have to beat it until it remembers who the boss is. Sometimes no amount of violence will make it cooperate and I just have to resign myself to the fact that A.)The old fat PS1 gets some face time if I'm trying to play a PSX game, or B.) I'm not playing at all that night if it's a PS2 disk. I also had a PS2 controller that went completely dead for awhile and then revived itself. Still works to this day and only demands the flesh of the living occasionally.
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Dec 23, 2012 08:48
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George posted:I finally got rid of my PS2 Phat when it stopped playing PSX games and I needed to play Vagrant Story like right now. The nice thing about the slim is that I could duct tape it to my "slim" PS3 and it would still be cheaper and smaller than a backwards-compatible release model. Bought a ps2 slim when the music randomly stopped playing until I entered a battle or new area in Persona 3 and 4. Also it couldn't play Katamari Damacy 2 so gently caress that.
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Dec 23, 2012 08:53
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 ahead.The disc read errors were actually caused by a poorly calibrated read head in the optical drive. There were some guides that recommended fiddling with the optical parts in the drive to recalibrate them. Ars Technica had a really good one back in the day. The main issue is that the PS2 optical drive was either losing its calibration or it was sold poorly calibrated, resulting in marginal error conditions. When dust got on the lens or a disc used a material that was difficult to read through, this would push the drive over the edge and prevent it from reading the disc. Calibration and cleaning both eliminate those error conditions. Oh, and if anyone attempts that guide to fix an old PS2, be very careful with the silver Flexible Flat Cables. I've worked with that style before in some other hardware and they break very easily from unfolding.
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Dec 23, 2012 19:06
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DerpAlert posted:Oh, and if anyone attempts that guide to fix an old PS2, be very careful with the silver Flexible Flat Cables. I've worked with that style before in some other hardware and they break very easily from unfolding. Those are the cables that are connected to the power/open buttons? My dad and I pulled our PS2 apart years ago to try and fix some problem and left the cover off while I started playing Kingdom Hearts. The silver cable got pulled loose while shuffling stuff around on the table, which didn't cut the power immediately, but meant that once the system did get shut down, that would be the last of it. I powered through KH in like three days.
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Dec 23, 2012 20:56
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I remember my days as a young lad, playing all sorts of poo poo on my lardbox PS2, until one day it started giving the famous disk read error, starting with Enter the Matrix and quickly expanding to stop me from playing literally every game I had access to. Being a poor middle-schooler with no money to replace it, I would repeatedly try and boot up xenosaga or Warrior Within regularly in desperate hope that it would start working, until one day it literally caught fire internally. This was not as exciting as it sounds; the console froze and shut down, there was a brief period of melted electronics smell, and being the curious little bastard I was, I grabbed a screwdriver and disassembled the thing to find a black mark the size of a curled thumb on the circuitry. To this day, no person, no matter how badly their PS2 hosed them over, has told a similar story to me, and people with actual knowledge of the PS2 hardware have responded with confusion and disbelief. I can only conclude that it was some sort of external force punishing my younger self for my taste in video games. Eventually I saved up allowance enough to get a Gamecube (and later an X-box) and have not purchased a Sony console since, a decision I only regret due to never playing the Kingdom Hearts or post-X Final Fantasy games. On more topical subjects, this LP has been pretty goddamn fantastic so far. I found it a couple days ago and have been powering through it on my vacation time. the PSX-era Final Fantasies were my bread and butter growing up, and there's poo poo you've posted here that I never even knew about in 13 years of irregular playing.
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Dec 24, 2012 07:11
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Anyone find it odd that Sephiroth's sword is the Masamune? I can't help but think that Muramasa would have been a better choice, all things considered.
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Dec 24, 2012 13:28
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J. Alfred Prufrock posted:Anyone find it odd that Sephiroth's sword is the Masamune? If we were going to name it anything it should be the Laundry-Drying Pole after Sasaki Kojiro's famed longass sword which wasnt that much longer than the bog standard katana, 40cm more is the average for a long katana. At least when you think about the length of sephiroth's totally not overcompensating bar of steel.
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Dec 24, 2012 13:46
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J. Alfred Prufrock posted:Anyone find it odd that Sephiroth's sword is the Masamune? While this doesn't mean the point doesn't stand, there is no "the Masamune". Masamune was a historical blacksmith of whom a few swords (and several more tanto or other shorter weapons) survive to this day. There's currently one in Missouri.
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Dec 24, 2012 15:03
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Rushputin posted:While this doesn't mean the point doesn't stand, there is no "the Masamune". Masamune was a historical blacksmith of whom a few swords (and several more tanto or other shorter weapons) survive to this day. There's currently one in Missouri. There's only one Masamune in FFVII, though! I think it makes some sense for Sephiroth to wield a Masamune instead of a Muramasa. He wasn't always a villain, and acquired his sword long before he went crazy and wanted to destroy everything. If anything it serves as a reminder of just how highly esteemed he was in the military before he went crazy. Seeing as it was the realization that he is a lab freak that made him lose his mind and not a cursed sword, I think it's highly appropriate.
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Dec 24, 2012 16:31
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J. Alfred Prufrock posted:Anyone find it odd that Sephiroth's sword is the Masamune? I've been rereading TDI's Chrono Cross LP. So Masamune being evil isn't that strange, my brain is being melted as we speak. It is stupid, but not strange. Enmity Enmity blah blah evil enmity hatred humans suck blah.
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Dec 24, 2012 18:34
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Don't forget the faeries and dwarves.
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Dec 24, 2012 19:58
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FeyerbrandX posted:I've been rereading TDI's Chrono Cross LP. So Masamune being evil isn't that strange, my brain is being melted as we speak. It is stupid, but not strange. Actually, the Masamune in Chrono Trigger/Cross wasn't called the Masamune in the original Japanese (which makes sense considering it's not even a katana). Tue localization changed it for what ever reason, probably to make it sound more exotic.
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Dec 24, 2012 22:52
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Frocobo posted:Tue localization changed it for what ever reason, probably to make it sound more exotic. And to give further throwback potential to other Woolsey games (which were at that point pretty exclusively FF games). Really, it's kind of dumb how they decided they wanted to make what is (at least in CT) very obviously a broadsword a name like "Masamune". At least the FF7 Masamune is a Japanese sword, albeit more of a nodachi than a katana. KataraniSword fucked around with this message at 23:09 on Dec 24, 2012 |
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Dec 24, 2012 23:06
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KataraniSword posted:And to give further throwback potential to other Woolsey games (which were at that point pretty exclusively FF games). Really, it's kind of dumb how they decided they wanted to make what is (at least in CT) very obviously a broadsword a name like "Masamune". At least the FF7 Masamune is a Japanese sword, albeit more of a nodachi than a katana. What's weirder is that basically every other time they've needed some kind of special magic broadsword they've just gone "gently caress it" and used Excalibur.
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Dec 24, 2012 23:13
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I figure it wasn't Excalibur because it wasn't that in Japanese either ("Grandleon," which makes Masa, Mune, Doreen, and the Grand Dream triple tech make so much more sense).
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Dec 24, 2012 23:15
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A Japanese swordsmith can't forge a European Broadsword? Racists. Probably one of Woolsley's more questionable calls as far as exoticism goes. GranLeon would of came off as foreign enough(seems Frenchy to me). Dauntasa posted:What's weirder is that basically every other time they've needed some kind of special magic broadsword they've just gone "gently caress it" and used Excalibur. Exca and Libur doesn't jump out as mystical enough I suppose. A stretch argument could be in Final Fantasy gamelore the Excalibur is never the best sword. It's always 2nd or 3rd best, with the Ragnarok/Ultima Weapon/Lightbringer beating it, even at that point(FFVI basically gave it to you so late and an afterthought you'd probably not bother using it unless you loved Knight Swords, it's a Lv5 Weapon in Secret of Mana, Ragnarok trumps it in FFIV). The Masamune, on the other hand, is usually fairly well protected as the best Katana. In VI it was absent to American players(Aura=Masamune). It's the absolute last weapon you get in I and IV. Maybe he wanted to emphasize it was such a big deal and Excalibur wouldn't have gotten that done? I've written way too much about 16-bit swords.
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Dec 25, 2012 00:00
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I always pronounced it "may-suh-mewn" instead of the more correct "mah-sa-mew-nay" when referring to Frog's sword for that reason.
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Dec 25, 2012 01:18
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In chrono trigger it would have been lame to call it Excalibur. Frog's entire story would have seemed copied.
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Dec 25, 2012 18:30
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Frog's real story was him being a crude braggart. Nothing marshmallow at all about him, especially with his fistpumps being completely out of character.
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Dec 25, 2012 21:23
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Hey, remember Jenova? I forget if this has been brought up before in the thread or not, but her helmet actually has legible writing on it: I forget where the image is from exactly (might be Dirge of Cerberus), and Square is misspelled on purpose (the exact reason I also forget), but it's kind of a silly thing to add to a cosmic horror, especially at such an intense moment in plot.
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Dec 27, 2012 07:10
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I believe that the inscription has been different in EU appearances. This Final Fantasy wiki site seems to agree, at least.  http://finalfantasy.wikia.com/wiki/Jenova Edit: But the stuff about Lavos and The Thing just seem silly to me, baha. Anyway, I'd never known about the "Did You Know Gaming" thing up there. Been browsing that site now for at least fifteen minutes...
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Dec 27, 2012 12:12
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Frocobo posted:but it's kind of a silly thing to add to a cosmic horror, especially at such an intense moment in plot. It's an Easter Egg that literally no one could read. Yes, it's silly but it's not like anyone ever went "OH HOLY poo poo THIS IS INTENSE wait what why is it written MADE IN HONG KONG in her helmet".
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Dec 27, 2012 16:24
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Elentor posted:"OH HOLY poo poo THIS IS INTENSE wait what why is it written MADE IN HONG KONG in her helmet". I knew we could never trust Hong Kong! 
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Dec 27, 2012 21:17
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This is why Shinra had to blow Wutai down.
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Dec 27, 2012 21:29
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Elentor posted:This is why Shinra had to blow Wutai down.
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Dec 28, 2012 00:25
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Rushputin posted:While this doesn't mean the point doesn't stand, there is no "the Masamune". Masamune was a historical blacksmith of whom a few swords (and several more tanto or other shorter weapons) survive to this day. There's currently one in Missouri. As a Missouri resident, I would like to know more about this.
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Dec 28, 2012 01:06
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jivjov posted:As a Missouri resident, I would like to know more about this. The Harry Truman Library has one. I was actually there once, but for some reason it wasn't on display for the one day out of the year I was driving through, so I didn't get to see it.
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Dec 28, 2012 01:16
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J. Alfred Prufrock posted:The Harry Truman Library has one. I live less than a half hour from Independence. I know where I'm going my next day off 
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Dec 28, 2012 19:32
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Chapter 70 - Around the World Last chapter we had finally acquired our airship, the Highwind.  Before we go on, let me point out something. The moment you exit to the world map you're greeted with this. It's the same music that played in the Northern Cave. It sets the tone for the world you're now in.  It's eerie. The game pretty much greets you with both that music and the meteor in your face, as if announcing that doom is near.  Right now we're just enjoying flying around, around the wo-OrLd around the wo-OrLd.  Life is beautiful around the world. Also, remember that pudding to the right of the highwind? We still can't get there - the Highwind can't land on forest areas.  All that we see or seem is but a dream within a dream.  I'm sorry, I'm too busy moping for Cloud.  As you have noticed, this is where CD 2 "opens up", kinda like CD 1 when you leave Midgar. You now have the world map all yours again but more accessible...  And likewise, every NPC will have something to say about the end of the world.  I've mentioned once, but I like the attention to the detail of the old FF games. Small things that keep even the smallest of the game NPCs consistent, like this senile old man who said crazy things back in CD 1.  And similarly, all the NPCs that you met in CD 1 while travelling around the world.  I would say something snarky but then I remembered the dinosaurs so yea, that's life.  Makes sense, if they're gonna use the rocket. We now know our future locations, but we can't just go there yet.  I CAN'T STAND THEM USING MY ROCKET TO SAVE THE WORLD.   Yep, it still looks more tilted than the Tower of Pisa, and you're still obsessed with a gigantic phallus.  A man of simple needs. Ashton would be proud.  With the new world there also comes new stuff to steal.  The [Fourth Bracelet], God only knows why the name, is a very strong piece of armor that also gives +20 Magic. It has a lot of MDef too - the biggest in the game.  Since Armor MDef doesn't work, this officially makes this item the biggest waste of an attribute in the game. HOORAY!  A friendly reminder that gazing at rockets is not healthy and CAN and WILL ruin families.  These people won't need these things when the meteor comes down so we're doing them a favor.  Next stop: Nibelheim.  This is a little something that happens if you played the piano in the flashback way back and told Tifa you "jammed it".   I'm not sure how or why he'd forget an Elemental materia there. Maybe it grew from his residues and/or bodily fluids. Next stop: Cosmo Canyon. Bugenhagen should have one useless thing or two to say about this situation.  I know, right? Such a poor sense of fashion. I myself would have preferred it to be pink.   Hahahaha.  I can accept this characterization of what these people would do if the world was about to end. Drink.  Interesting. Let's check it out.  My faith in science will keep me safe in the afterlife.  Huh.  Somebody in Cosmo Canyon is no longer selling a Healing Materia  .The bag in the bottom contains both an Elixir and a Magic Source.   Some more NPCs doing their things. Everyone's got their own apocalyptic schedule.  Merry Christmas everyone.  I told you he'd say useless things.  Hey, speak for yourself. I'm here to find out how to stop the cataclysm.  Indeed, Cloud has......, a most terrible malady.  So terrible Squall almost died from it.  Thank you for calling Bugenhagen Helpline. For help with FF7's plot, press 1. For help with the Carnival Night Barrel, press 2.   Seriously? After all this time translating the same term, the guys decided to put "Life's dream"?  So yea. Things are not looking very good.   This game is not very sensitive to grad students.  Some more flying around. There's now this huge crater near the Junon area.  Flying to the far north, there's this previously unaccessible house amidst the mountains. Let's check it out.  Oh look, a Green Chocobo!  Oh.  KILL IT, KILL IT WITH FIRE.  What's it with old people in this game becoming horribly deformed monsters?   Huh.  We're off to a great start.  There you go.  It's worth mentioning...  While the Chocobo Sage looks a LOT like the Cetras in the [Temple of the Ancients], they don't use the same model.  The Chocobo Sage is one of the most infuriating, if not downright THE most infuriating character in the game.  The reason is pretty obvious by now.  Let me put it this way - Remember when we captured our first Chocobo, way back in the Chocobo Farm? There's an entire minigame devoted to capturing Chocobos in this game, as you may have noticed from the many different nuts and greens being sold throughout the game.  The problem is - the mini-game is extremely esoteric and, while it's possible to figure it out by yourself, the entire thing is an excuse to give helplines and gaming magazines something useful to tell you back in the day, since God knows this game is easy.  Enter Chocobo Sage. He's supposed to be your in-game link between total oblivion and actually understanding what the hell is going out without resorting to trial-and-error. But for the most part, the best he'll be able to offer you are his nuts. This is because he only remembers a new piece of information every four battles you fight.  Which makes this effectively an information grind which we won't be doing right now. Either way, we have our first piece of information - the Green Chocobos are Mountain Chocobos.  "Chocobo breeders aren't famous for their creativity."  Indeed, we need to find out a way to get ourselves one. It might allow us to get to the weird pudding structure near Cosmo Canyon.  But it won't be right now.  Read the next screenshot text in Prof. Farnsworth's voice.  Yea. It definitely won't be right now.  FF7 has plenty of islands all around that we can now access. This one is to the south of Cosmo Canyon.  This one is special because its desert features Cactuers. Not to confuse with Cactuars, which we fought in the Gold Sausage desert. They're annoying with enormous dodge-rate and high damage.  After a lot of Lasers slowly reducing their health to something manageable, we Morph them. They're the prime source of [Tetra Elementals].   It goes without saying I got three of these.  Talking about Gold Saucer, this should be a great time to have some fun.  Oh, Corel.  Such a lovely place.  Oh for gently caress's sake.  Cmon man, Tifa's anxious to do some gambling.  Fine, we'll go find Cloud. Geez. NEXT TIME: Searching for friends! More depressive stuff! How many song references can I put in one update? Who knows! Music we've listened in this update: The Great Northern Cave - An amazing, dark, depressive theme that shows the meteor means business. Chapter 70 Bugs & Bytes The Highwind Dynasty As the name implies, the Highwind airship is based on Cid's last name.  Both Cid and Highwind are recurring names in the FF franchise, although for the most part they're unrelated. Going all the way back to Final Fantasy 2, Highwind has since become a surname associated with Dragoons, a class/job of lance-wielding knights capable of jumping very high and fall down impaling the enemy. Cid is the modern version of the Dragoon. Like most Highwinds before him, he also uses a spear and one of his limits is the trademark Jump ability from the Dragoons of the old.  Although Highwind does fit the theme of an airship, it's the name Cid that was previously related to the craft back in FFII as an airship commander and again in Final Fantasy III (not VI) as an airship engineer. In a way, Cid Highwind combines both trademark names associated with flying high, although probably not in the order you'd expect. Overflowing with Tips: Like everything in this game, the Chocobo Sage's tips are based off a counter (your Battle count) that can be overflown. In this case, they're using a signed 16-bits integer that will eventually go negative to -32768, glitch and turn it impossible for you to get his tips until you're back to positive again. Hooray! Luckily I don't think there's anyone in the world who's actually played over 32767 battles in the same game, or so I hope. On the bright side, if you get to exact 32767 he'll glitch and spit out all of the tips continuously, thus curing him of his old age issues. It's a miracle! 
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Dec 28, 2012 23:53
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An update! An update which largely shows how sucky people find the impending doom and how they cope with it, while Tifa still wallows in misery, as well as the beginning of "the Chocobo minigame, but an update just the same! Welcome back, sir! And yes, you want a few Tetra Elementals, good poo poo.
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Dec 29, 2012 00:13
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The Fourth Bracelet has an actual defense stat with that +20 magic, useful if you don't want the Wizard Bracelet's low defense. Being a whole =O O=O short compared means less room for HP Plus, which is far more important for survival, though. I'm not really sure if the Tetra Elemental is useful for much at this point, but it could make a nice general purpose accessory along with the Protect Ring and Ribbons.
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Dec 29, 2012 00:15
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Huh, that's how the Chocobo Sage works? As a kid I always just assumed it was related to your progress through the story and I'd visit him after every major plot point because I was soooooo excited to breed chocobos. It worked, if in a roundabout way.
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Dec 29, 2012 00:19
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Mmmm, Gold Sausage... What is it with Final Fantasy games an "knock-off" brand Cactuars? I think FFX has "Qactuars" in addition to Cactuars, and XII has "Cactoids" and "Cactites." I think other games have multiple versions and spellings. It shouldn't be that hard to stay consistent in the modern age!
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Dec 29, 2012 00:23
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