|
I never really looked at the completion percent. Either I'm misremembering or I missed a lot, because I swear this was a good third of the way into the game as I played it.
|
#
?
Oct 3, 2012 20:44
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 25, 2024 14:10 |
|
|
 Last time it was mostly "another day, another dungeon" kind of thing. Although Musiea did take the opportunity to learn some details about Escher's past. This is apparently making her doubt her original plan to kill him. Other than that, we still need to find the "proof of partnership", whatever that is.  To begin with, it is of course time for some standard issue creepiness from Piu-Piu.       Ugh, let's do some shopping instead.   As always, two new weapons for our intrepid heroes...   ...and some new clothes.   And two aquamarines for luck! Let's see how Eluca and Zhamo are doing this time...     Maybe it's behind the fourth door? Maybe... ...Hello? Come to think of it, the last dungeon looked a lot like my country. Really? The second one looked a lot like mine... Listen! Listen! Listen! But, it wasn't the same place. I wonder what they used for a model?  Geez, what is it? We're having an important discussion here! That's it! That's exactly it!! Why would you ignore me, when I'm right in front of you!? I've been staring and trying to get your attention forever! What are you talking about? This is how we've always talked. You know, I've been thinking. Why are you guys over there, talking and laughing and living it up, while I sit quietly by myself? Don't I have the right to take part in some fun and funny conversations too!? Are we so different, you and I!? Well, we are human, and you are... something else. So there's that difference. Something else!? You're really calling me "something else"!? Well, what should we call you then? Now that's the question I've been waiting to hear! The truth is, mine is a cold and lonely existence; one where I am not normally allowed to speak even to the common people.     We'll talk to you when we feel like it. ...Now my head hurts. I don't think I can keep up with this yet. I guess I still have a long way to grow...While sort of weird, there ARE some nagging unresolved questions about some of the things that Piu-Piu says... In any case, we need to be moving on, it's time for the final dungeon.  This one is called, "The Purgatory".  Enemies one step up of course, but only for the first half, I'll up it again for the second half.  Here we go! Unlike the mess from last time, the Japanese text this time is quite merciful to us: 煉獄 really means just simply 'purgatory' and nothing else!  Map is really no different from others, I'm probably not going to post them any more.  It kind of looks like New York, post-apocalypse with all the abandoned cars and such! The thing in the middle of the screen is your standard issue diamond teleporter, but it's blocked with two chains. Bottom left shows slots for two items, so we know what to do!  In the meantime, the enemies that show up on this level are already almost on the level of some of the previous bosses, like this this only slightly weaker, colour-swapped elephant.  But in the end, we know there will be some puzzle solving to get those items. And here is the first one; in this type, we need to light all the candles. Touching a candle will 'invert' its status, but also the status of all adjacent ones. Still not too hard to do. Puzzle Solution Video  And the first item is ours!  As seems to be the tradition these days, we again find some clothes for Escher. I have no idea where this name comes from as the only meaning that I was able to find doesn't seem to have anything to do with clothes or weapons.  It's a typical small upgrade in defence.  Things don't look very good in this world...  But here is another candle puzzle to cheer us up! This one is really beyond easy! Puzzle Solution Video  But it does give us the last item we need! So onwards to the locked teleporter!   Sure, what could possibly happen!   Oh.  Well, it's a boss. But look how much damage our first attack does to him!  He poisons us, but we don't even care!  As I mentioned, Divine Fist is a nice skill. It gives you a guaranteed critical hit, but you have to go last in a turn. Going last isn't usually an issue when you are planning for it, so...  And some nice water spells...  Again...? Really?  Not a problem. I literally didn't even heal during this battle!  So we get lion genes, obviously. You know, if there is one thing that I feel game falls kind of short a bit, it's mostly with gene skills. There is quite a few of them, but most are not that good or way too cumbersome to use (such as Counter which requires you to cast it first, so you might as well attack twice instead) that it's not really worth bothering with them. Passive skills are a bit better and I guess elemental spells are useful for bosses, but for the most part, the best skills are ones you anyway get on your default gene set (human warrior/mage) over the course of the game.  What's going on now?   Oh, Musiea, really, again? It didn't work the first two times!  Ah, that's better.  ...I will avenge the deaths of my family. I must. I don't think so. Have you forgotten the rules? The 3D models actually aren't that bad considering the platform that this is running on!   I know you're watching this somewhere. Musiea and I are about to have a swordfight. But we're not fighting to the death. This is just sparring. I'm gonna teach this little girl some moves. Nothing more, nothing less. So don't get the wrong idea.     So we are fighting Musiea now? Except for this fight she's suddenly somehow ballooned to 10,000 HP as opposed to the 3,000 that she currently has.  Ah well, we still hit her quite hard.  She on the other hand is not doing so well against Escher.  This is not actually a real fight, and after three turns, it stops automatically.    Well yeah, it was just sparring. That was... you being kind. Kind? Don't be ridiculous. If you die, then I can't become immor-- Never mind that. Now that I've fought you, I can tell that you are not just a violent brute. Your sword is fierce and wild, but also straight... and true. Which is why I can't understand! How could you do something like that!? If only you hadn't done that, I... I... Well, that was pretty dramatic. So, what better time to break out of the dungeon for a moment and ruin the moment with another Piu-Piu conversation!  Sadly, I can't tell you what they are. Why? They are too big for the likes of you! You want to know? You really want to know? Well, if you absolutely insist...    Ok, back to the dungeon. As I mentioned, we'll bring the enemy level up again, because even though I did no grinding, we are really getting overpowered now. How overpowered, you might ask?  Well, just look at this...  On the way back I pick up a new weapon for Escher, oddly enough.  A pretty substantial upgrade in fact.  We run into this guy again... but I don't have an apple item, so it's only two levels each this time!  Some long-shuttered store fronts on the streets of post-apocalyptic New York (I'm sticking by my idea that this is New York--the game never even hints in that, or any other, direction). Note that this time we are collecting three items.  ...and the first one is in this chest.  And then we find this item. Seeds are items that increase a particular stat... by +1! They are basically useless. A typical weapon/clothes upgrade will change your stats by +20 or +30 or something like that. Adding +1 is more or less nothing in the grand scheme of things. In fact you can also steal these items from most bosses, but really... why bother? Game is not overly hard as it is, and if you are having trouble, it doesn't take much to gain a few levels which will give you a lot more than +1 anyway.  In what looks like a department store we find the hallway towards the first puzzle of this area.  And here it is. Puzzle Solution Video  ...alongside the second of three items.  While going to the second puzzle, we pass by a triple-locked teleporter. Don't have to tell you how this will be used.  Finally the last puzzle in this one. Puzzle Solution Video  And we meet our friends again.   You've really grown. Yes, but we haven't just gotten stronger. Our hearts have grown as well. Without a doubt, Zhamo will become a king who will bring equality and prosperity to all. ...Equality and prosperity for all, huh? That isn't going to happen overnight. Of course not. It will surely take many long years for that to become reality. That is exactly why I wish for Zhamo to gain eternal life and youth. I'm truly sorry, but we cannot lose to you! I will no longer hesitate, Escher. And I will hold nothing back in our battle. So, this time has finally come. Escher, Musiea, I'm glad to have met you. In another chest is the last item.  And so...  ...but there is no boss, it just unlocks further part of the dungeon where we find a Jade accessory. Since Escher needs speed and luck more, I give it to him.  And soon enough we reach the boss.  A typically strong opening from our side.  And this guy likes to poison us too! Sigh.   Are you actually... trying to encourage me...? drat it... The medicine's effects are wearing off faster. At this rate, I might not make it... We need to find that proof soon... This guy REALLY hits hard, look at that!  He also has a stupid move where he steals 10% of your money. The reason this is stupid is because (a) it gives you a free hit against him and (b) you get all the money back after you defeat him anyway!  And indeed...  ...that's what soon happens. From this guy, we get no less than devil genes. Hm.  But Escher is really not doing well at all!   drat it... If I don't become immortal soon... I may not make it. After all those people whose lives you've robbed, what makes you think you even deserve immortality in the first place? There's... a girl... I have to see again. And until I do... I can't let myself die. A girl? Yeah. Her name's Aida... I'll never forget it.Interestingly enough, Japanese voice acting both times says "woman" and not "girl".  And somehow after this, our rings start glowing...     Why are the rings glowing? ...I don't know. Well, whatever. Now we can fight in the last battle. Just a little bit longer until we're out of here. Hey... Could you tell me more about Aida? ...Why? Just curious. ...Whatever, sure. I met her while I was still living with the thieves. They brought her to the hideout while she was still a little girl, and they charged me with taking care of her. There weren't any other kids my age there, so I was happy that I now had a "younger sister". But one day, a rich man with a taste for little girls came and wanted to buy her. You know, one of those human traffickers you hear about. I hid from the thieves until I could sneak her outside and set her free. Only, she wouldn't run away. She'd run for a bit, but then she'd keep stopping and turning around. It was only when I promised I'd come find her again someday that she finally ran off for good. The next day, the thieves were going crazy trying to find out what had happened and they soon found out that I had set her free. That was when they started to beat me... But no matter how hard they hit, I was proud of what I had done. * * *     Well then, looks like it's arena time soon against Eluca and Zhamo. But what happens after that?
|
|
#
?
Oct 3, 2012 23:32
|
|
|
Okay, the only thing about Piu-piu that makes him tolerable is the fact that everyone in the story treats him like the annoying little poo poo that he is.
|
|
#
?
Oct 4, 2012 01:56
|
|
|
There is an almost 100% chance that Museia is actually Escher's childhood friend.
|
|
#
?
Oct 4, 2012 02:04
|
|
|
Nobody bats an eye at cars? Maybe this world isn't as low-fantasy as I thought.
|
|
#
?
Oct 4, 2012 06:23
|
|
|
ivantod posted:He also has a stupid move where he steals 10% of your money. The reason this is stupid is because (a) it gives you a free hit against him and (b) you get all the money back after you defeat him anyway! You can use one of those items that doubles post-battle gold earnings and make a profit off of the "stolen" gold. Not that there is much of a reason to give a drat about your gold reserves in this game.
|
|
#
?
Oct 5, 2012 21:39
|
|
|
UselessLurker posted:You can use one of those items that doubles post-battle gold earnings and make a profit off of the "stolen" gold. Not that there is much of a reason to give a drat about your gold reserves in this game. Ha, I didn't know you could do that! But as you say, it's almost completely irrelevant since you get more than enough money by just playing normally through the game. And if you need items you can simply keep going back into the dungeons since all chests restock more or less randomly every time you go back.
|
|
#
?
Oct 5, 2012 21:57
|
|
|
Those puzzles really look more annoying than challenging. It's like they were there just to make the game longer. But maybe I simply get the wrong impression from merely watching the videos, not actually playing the game.
|
|
#
?
Oct 5, 2012 22:05
|
|
|
CrookedB posted:Those puzzles really look more annoying than challenging. It's like they were there just to make the game longer. No, they are fairly annoying, your impression is correct. They actually get harder as we go through the game and there are several more types which we haven't yet seen even! Honestly, they really add nothing to the game and do indeed feel just like useless padding--the game really does not need padding as it is already quite long to begin with. Interestingly, in "Chaos Rings Ω" (which is a prequel to this game, despite the name which suggest otherwise), puzzles have been made skippable. You don't get the reward item if you skip them, but at least they don't block plot progression any more.
|
|
#
?
Oct 5, 2012 22:23
|
|
|
 It seems that we have finally managed to obtain our "proof of partnership" and are now on the way to our second and last fight in the arena. Also, we learned more of Escher's back story which for some reason has made Musiea somewhat distressed.  Of course, we will be fighting Eluca and Zhamo. But before that...  ...let's visit the resident perv and get that out of the way. Anyway we need to buy next level equipment, so...  But that's why I'm here! Just give me all your money and you'll almost surely (probably) walk out of here with something that'll help you win! A new weapon for Musiea. Not buying one for Escher since we got a better sword in the dungeon last time.   And two sets of clothes. Looks like they ran out of imagination for equipment names here... BTW, lonsdaleite is a mineral, very similar to diamond just a bit less hard.   As always, two new gems for our accessory slot. So, back to Eluca and Zhamo now that we are done shopping.    Escher, Musiea... Zhamo... You look so different. I guess boys really do grow up fast. Maybe... But it didn't feel fast to me. It felt like I've been waiting my whole life to get here... We have to thank you, Escher. Every time he saw you fight, his eyes would start to sparkle and he'd demand I explain your techniques to him. Even though he never had a slightest interest in fighting up until now. The way you fight is beautiful, Escher. Not a single unnecessary motion, yet flowing, natural and strong... Of course, it still pales compared to Eluca. Well, well, listen to the mouth on you now. You must be pretty happy, eh, Eluca? ...Yes. I am. Escher. This may sound strange, but... I'm actually looking forward to fighting you. I felt the first inklings of it during our fight with Ayuta and Mana, and now I am convinced. We are at a point where we can fight wit everything we have and still not be assured of victory. But once you win, there is nothing sweeter. Thanks to those kinds of battles, I now know I will reach a level I did not know was previously possible. It has been my duty to fight ever since I was born. There was never a place for personal feelings... I am... genuinely surprised I made it this far. I feel the same as Eluca. I no longer feel plagued by doubt or fear. And it's all because you are our opponent, Escher... I feel the same way... It's a pity only Agent is here to see this fight... Especially since we are going to give him a show he'll never forget. Ha ha, that sounds good. (...) (...Come on... You can't die yet... Keep it together, Escher...) Whatever lies beyond this fight... I want to see it for myself. This is a cruel and terrible place, but... if I hadn't come here I never would have met Ayuta, Mana, Musiea or you. When I think about it this way, I wouldn't trade this for anything.And once again, just before the fight, we actually get a friendly and relaxing conversation.  I guess.    Still looking as strange as ever with those blue tubes.      And the fight starts. This one is definitely harder than Olgar and Vahti, mostly because Eluca and Zhamo have the potential do deal more damage. We are right now actually at a slight advantage because of those extra 6 levels that I gained from those two Billikens. In general, you don't want to use the pair attack while both of your opponents are alive--you want to have one person (Escher) attacking Zhamo and the other (Musiea) on support/healing to make sure both characters' HP is on a good level. If she has nothing else to do, she will also attack but solo, not in pair with Escher. Eluca and Zhamo both have somewhere around 10,000 HP each. So let's see how this goes.  To start with, I remember that I have a few of these items. As you can see they deal damage equal to 15% of current HP--not bad at all. So we'll start by using two of those on Zhamo:   Not bad, that's more than a quarter of his HP down already!  We get hit by a multi-target fire spell! Even if you don't use pair attack, you may still get hit by a multi-target spell instead.  Also of note, Eluca has an ability that regenerates about 5% of her HP at the end of every turn. Hence why we start with eliminating Zhamo first.  Escher's first attack goes not too well.  But Musiea shines through with no less than a critical!  Eluca retaliates against Escher--here you can see how much damage she can deal. If we had done a pair attack, Musiea would now have been hit for something similar. As it is, she can simply heal Escher in next turn.  In this fight I got incredibly lucky with these Magical/Physical Block abilities. They seem to fire about every other turn, without exaggeration!  To keep the morale gauge on our side as much as possible I keep using Escher's Trompe l'œil skill as always in boss fights. Unfortunately the fight is briefly interrupted.     I still have things I need to tell you! Things you need to tell me? When I was baptized I was given a new name! ...Why would you mention this now? Don't you get it? We DID have a reason why we were chosen as partners! What? I don't think there's anybody who DIDN'T see this coming, after what happened last time. Except Escher, that is.    We continue the battle in the same way...    And soon, Zhamo is down. Now we can focus on Eluca.  At this point, we can more or less go with pair attacks which are very effective.  Ayup.   And the fight is over. Since this is a fight that nicely shows off the features of the battle system I am actually including a full video recording here. It also contains a cutscene in the middle so you can also get a taste of what the voice acting sounds like. I'll come back to this in next update, but for now I'll just mention that SquareEnix really went all out on this front--the game contains the exact opposite of "noname" cast; most actors have had quite a few well known roles in Anime and Japanese games (voice acting is in Japanese only, there are no versions in other languages). See if you can recognise Musiea's voice actress, for example. ** BATTLE VIDEO **      Japanese voiced dialogue actually contains an additional nuance here. All characters are just calling each other by first names, EXCEPT Zhamo who refers to Escher as "Escher-san". But in this one line, he finally calls him just "Escher" signifying that they are more equals now. And since I am already on the subject, I might as well mention that Zhamo is also the only one who refers to himself as 僕 (boku) while all the other male characters use 俺 (ore) thus putting Zhamo a bit "lower" on the "manliness" scale compared to the rest.  Don't say that. You truly did the best you could. I really wanted... to make a country you would be proud of... I'm sorry... Eluca. You don't have to apologise for anything. When my heart was at its bleakest, you filled it with reason and light. I can ask for no greater gift.         As always, we learn the opponents' skills. Probably the most important is the Recover HP skill, it gives you back 5% of your max HP at the end of the turn. Technically it belongs to Escher, but if we do a pair attack, then Musiea will also take benefit of it automatically. His other skill, Risk Breaker does an attack that uses your HP to deal damage to enemy. Musiea's two skills are Braveheart, which prevents you from being KO one time after you cast it and Boost Critical which... boosts critical damage (this is a passive skill). Time to leave the arena.      
|
|
#
?
Oct 5, 2012 22:58
|
|
|
You picked a hell of a spot for a cliffhanger, I wanna see what happens next! 
|
|
#
?
Oct 6, 2012 00:38
|
|
|
Escher, never use "whatever" in front of nigh-omnipotent beings. It never ends well.
|
|
#
?
Oct 6, 2012 01:13
|
|
|
Risk Breaker command, Is it any good? I really liked Vagrant Story.
|
|
#
?
Oct 6, 2012 10:11
|
|
|
Rigged Death Trap posted:Risk Breaker command, Is it any good? Eh, it's ok I guess. It takes off about 20% of your HP and does around 2-3x as much damage to the enemy. Main issue is large MP consumption (70MP) and also the fact that at this point in the game even your regular attack can one-shot most of the normal enemies anyway. So it's perhaps worth using against some of the upcoming harder bosses after you have leveled up enough for the damage it does to actually matter against their HP but not in general case.
|
|
#
?
Oct 6, 2012 17:35
|
|
|
Oh man, Media.Vision had a hand in this? I'd seen the game in the App store a few times, and while my general respect for Square-Enix's newer releases is pretty low, I've always been a fan of the balance and challenge in the Wild Arms series. The Genes system in this vaguely reminds me of the Mediums from WA3/5/XF, too. There doesn't seem to be a lot of information on the game anywhere. Not even GameFAQs has a walkthrough or even a list of skills. I'd be interested in seeing a running list of what skills you're getting from each of the different types of Genes you're picking up. At the very least, I'd like to know how Mouse Genes and Fish Genes compare to crazy stuff like Tiger Genes and Dragon Genes.
|
|
#
?
Oct 6, 2012 19:34
|
|
|
DjinnAndTonic posted:Oh man, Media.Vision had a hand in this? I'd seen the game in the App store a few times, and while my general respect for Square-Enix's newer releases is pretty low, I've always been a fan of the balance and challenge in the Wild Arms series. The Genes system in this vaguely reminds me of the Mediums from WA3/5/XF, too. Actually, SquareEnix is more or less just the publisher here, the game was really developed by Media.Vision. I have not played any of the Wild Arms series so I can't really tell you how similar/different they are. The difficulty balance is, however, a bit off in this one, but in the favour of the player: enemies give too much EXP and you gain levels too fast; also, after a certain point enemy of level X is far less powerful than you are at the same numeric level. This makes the game a bit easier than it perhaps should be. It also causes a bit of a loss of need for too much strategising in which skills to equip because you can simply go out and gain a few levels if you are having trouble. A lot of these issues were rectified in the prequel, Chaos Rings Ω. DjinnAndTonic posted:There doesn't seem to be a lot of information on the game anywhere. Not even GameFAQs has a walkthrough or even a list of skills. I'd be interested in seeing a running list of what skills you're getting from each of the different types of Genes you're picking up. At the very least, I'd like to know how Mouse Genes and Fish Genes compare to crazy stuff like Tiger Genes and Dragon Genes. Yes, for some reason, even though it got uniformly very good to excellent reviews, it's not really the most popular game around for some reason. It could perhaps have something to do with the price, which is currently $16 for the iPad version, a bit more expensive than your typical Angry Birds game. However, it does go on sale from time to time and it's definitely worth getting at that price. Aside from occasionally iffy/lazy English translation (most of the actual game text is fine, but don't go into the Help menu, it looks like it was just put through Google translate from Japanese!), it's actually a quite polished experience with a very nice to use touch interface. We have an update coming up soon which will be fairly light on plot, so I may take that opportunity to include more information about Gene skills that the characters have learned so far (in fact they have probably learned already about 80% of them!) which I have kind of been skipping most of in order to not interrupt the pace of the story.
|
|
#
?
Oct 7, 2012 22:23
|
|
|
I also saw a Chaos Rings 2 while I was flipping through the app store, what's the release order? I assume it's 1, 2, omega, but crazier things have happened than flipping 2 and Ω so I figured it might be worth asking. fake edit: And just glancing at Wikipedia, it seems that's exactly what did happen.
|
|
#
?
Oct 8, 2012 04:10
|
|
|
Omega is a prequel so it makes some sense.
|
|
#
?
Oct 8, 2012 12:13
|
|
|
Yeah, it's kind of weird. First there was Chaos Rings, then they made Chaos Rings Ω as a prequel to it. Chaos Rings Ω is a much shorter game (almost like an expansion DLC size would be) that provides some more info on some of the characters from the original, but you should definitely play it after the original as it basically spoils most of it. Chaos Rings 2, on the other hand, is basically a completely new standalone story with different characters and everything else. I have absolutely no idea why they used letter Omega to designate a prequel since that letter usually has the connotation of something being last in order, not first. They should have named it Chaos Rings alpha or something, I don't know. 
|
|
#
?
Oct 8, 2012 17:36
|
|
|
So what you're saying is, Squeenix should not be allowed to name things. I approve of this; whatever you think of their actual games, they have been named poorly in various degrees going all the way back to FF1, which actually had a good reason for its dumb name. But Dissidia 012 Duodecim: Final Fantasy? gently caress you. e: vvv 
Captain Walker fucked around with this message at 18:33 on Oct 8, 2012 |
|
#
?
Oct 8, 2012 17:48
|
|
|
ivantod posted:I have absolutely no idea why they used letter Omega to designate a prequel since that letter usually has the connotation of something being last in order, not first. They should have named it Chaos Rings alpha or something, I don't know. EDIT:^^^^High five, fellow poster!
|
|
#
?
Oct 8, 2012 18:17
|
|
|
 After defeating Eluca and Zhamo, Escher and Musiea won the arena 'tournament.' It also turned out that Musiea is actually Escher's long lost childhood friend, Aida. But the question is, now that there no one else remains, what happens next?  Escher looks kinda indecisive there... Why not go and talk to...  ...Piu-Piu?   No creepiness this time, even he is being pretty serious.  Going back to the main door, we get this option. Eh, why not.  Are we immortal now? All in good time. I thought the last couple remaining was supposed to be made immortal?! When humans strive to protect those they love, that is when they generate the most power. In that moment, they become truly formidable beings. That is why the warriors here were summoned together with the member of the opposite sex that they cared most deeply for. Now it's time for you to demonstrate that power for the last time. What? If you desire immortality... ...you will have to defeat me. So... you're the last opponent. Indeed. But before we begin, there is something I must take care of.   W-why? Why would you do that now? I told you. I want you to show me your true power. In order to that your body must be in perfect condition. Heh heh... Ah ha ha ha ha! This is the best unexpected present I ever received! You want to see our true power? Fine. I'll show you more than you bargained for!! So. We need to fight the agent. He has around 15,000 HP or something like that and this fight can be a bit difficult, but again thanks to those extra 6 levels from Billikens, this will actually be pretty easy for us. But the first time I played this game it was definitely a problem.  As you can see, our first attack takes of almost half of his HP!  He does have a magical attack that does decent damage to us for sure.  But still... we just need to hit him a couple more times and we're done.  Although he could still theoretically kill us I guess.  One more hit and he's almost dead. But as always, the game assumes we are having trouble here and we get the following cutscene.   How boring, I don't know why I even bothered to cure you! It's no good... I can't fight any more. What are you saying? Don't give up now! I was so happy to hear that you had remembered your promise. I truly was. ...But even so, I still can't forgive you completely. Just as you have been searching for me all this time... I had dedicated my life to exacting my revenge on you. And now, to suddenly change all that... Of course. No one can change their way of life that simply. I'm just happy to have found you again. But think about it: if you die, you'll never be able to get your revenge. So I'm not going to die. I'm going to stay alive, for you. And I will fight as long as I still have breath to do so. I will not die unless it is by your sword! And with this we deal the final hit.     "My lord"? Who is he talking to anyway?            Um, what just happened?  Was that... just an illusion, then? He said something about a land we are destined to reach. Well, there is no sense worrying about that now. Yeah. After all, we finally managed to defeat him. Sure looks like it. You really saved me back there, Musiea. Wh-what are you saying? It's not like you to be grateful. You don't like it? ...I didn't say that.   Not so fast. There is somebody we need to talk to first.    All right, go on through the Original Door. The "first truth" you've been waiting to find out is on the other side. Escher, Musiea, whatever you do, don't give up. "The spirts never give you a trial you can't overcome." That's one of my favourite sayings. ...See you again, my friend.I am actually not sure what to think here.  I guess going through the door it is. And on the other side...    Suddenly a woman's voice comes from above...  Oh, look, it's that staple character of JRPGs, ????.   Look up.  You two are about to become this world's First Couple. First Couple? What are you talking about? 10,000 years from now... Right around the time that you come from... A being known only as Qualia will appear and destroy everything. Your job is to spend the next 10,000 years creating a human race that can defeat it. Are you out of your mind? There's no way we could do something like that! Oh, but you can. You two are the ones who triumphed in the Ark Arena.    And the Ark Arena is gone.   We're the only people on the planet now, aren't we? You know, I think we really are. ...I still can't forgive you, you know. I know. You don't have to if you're not ready.           And with that, the ending credits start...  You can see some of the Japanese voice actors on the image above. Like I mentioned before, Square definitely didn't skimp here, these are some fairly prominent names that had quite a few high profile roles. As an example, I'll mention Marina Inoue, Musiea's VA who is at the moment probably best known for being the voice of Alicia in the Valkyria Chronicles games and anime series. You don't see this on the screenshot, but the most awesome one for me is the fact that Olgar is actually voiced by the guy who also did Jet Black in Cowboy Bebop some years ago! At any rate, we have won and it looks like we are done here. Or...?   
|
|
#
?
Oct 9, 2012 20:19
|
|
|
Well that's a hell of a thing... I'm honestly not sure what to say about this. Hmm, how about having a massive open ending as the end of the game's first act is a really drat good way to get me interested in finding out the rest of the story.
|
|
#
?
Oct 9, 2012 20:27
|
|
|
Does that mean that Olgar and Vahti were everybody's ancestors?
|
|
#
?
Oct 9, 2012 20:31
|
|
|
The hell just happened? I'm curious at why Olgar and Vahti were in the Ark Arena for the second time, since it doesn't seem like our protagonists have to enter it again.
|
|
#
?
Oct 9, 2012 20:58
|
|
|
Cake Attack posted:The hell just happened? I wouldn't be so sure of that. Maybe Olgar and Vahti were the first loop, but you have to beat the best of your offspring to prove that you can go on to the next level?
|
|
#
?
Oct 10, 2012 00:03
|
|
|
Cake Attack posted:The hell just happened? Maybe they just lost against Qualia in the future?
|
|
#
?
Oct 10, 2012 01:46
|
|
|
Oh hey this game. I had my iPod jailbroken for a while, and I played the first world and a half or so on it. Then an update undid my jailbreak and I decided it wasn't worth paying full price to get it back. From what I'm seeing here, the conceit looks interesting enough that that may have been the wrong choice, I guess we'll see though.
|
|
#
?
Oct 10, 2012 20:05
|
|
|
This sounds more like the end of the first act than the game. Weird. Especially if Chaos Rings 2 has a different setting and characters. The game just stops before you get to the part that sounds really interesting. Qualia is an awful "big bad" name. Oh no! Units of consciousness are attacking! Quick, don't think of pink elephants! Also, wow is that ending awkward. "Congratulations! You've won. You're the only people on earth now and you've got an apocalypse to avert, so be fruitful and multiply." "Wait what." "You've got a giant monster to slay, so get to it. The children won't be making themselves." "...is this a good time for 'last man on Earth' jokes?"
|
|
#
?
Oct 10, 2012 20:15
|
|
|
Einander posted:This sounds more like the end of the first act than the game. Weird. Especially if Chaos Rings 2 has a different setting and characters. The game just stops before you get to the part that sounds really interesting. Ha ha no, the game is just trolling the player a bit by playing the end credits at this point. It's nowhere even close to being finished. In fact, to dissuade all fear, here is what our trusty completion percentage display shows at the moment:  (as a reminder, the maximum percentage actually goes over 100%) So there is plenty more to go and lots and lots of plot to still discover. "To Be Continued" in this case means really "To Be Continued by Loading Your Save Game". Incidentally, this is not even the last time the game will do the "oh well, time for credits" thing.
|
|
#
?
Oct 10, 2012 20:39
|
|
|
The next part is a one-target dating sim. Oh god the implications of it all. Then it's a simcity like sim. Then an RTS. then back to regular RPG. At least that's what I think it might be.
|
|
#
?
Oct 10, 2012 21:06
|
|
|
It's going to pull a Suikoden 3 and have us play other pairs isn't it? That just seems the logical way for it to go. EDIT: Oh silly me. Didn't notice that. Mokinokaro fucked around with this message at 12:20 on Oct 13, 2012 |
|
#
?
Oct 11, 2012 00:01
|
|
|
Mokinokaro posted:It's going to pull a Suikoden 3 and have us play other pairs isn't it? That just seems the logical way for it to go. ... This is only actually a spoiler for the game you put under the spoiler tag. This game has it as an option from the get-go, as mentioned in the first update. ivantod posted:
|
|
#
?
Oct 11, 2012 01:42
|
|
|
Thanks to this thread, i started playing Chaos Rings again. In my first attempt i was totally underleveled for the Olgar/Vhati fight. The I read this thread, did with a lot of grinding and ativantod posted:
To all the those wondering: "What the hell? What is going on?" If ivantod decides to persue a certain course of action, a lot will be clear in about 2 updates. If he decides the other way, then about 11 updates...
|
|
#
?
Oct 13, 2012 13:53
|
|
|
quantum_squirrel posted:Thanks to this thread, i started playing Chaos Rings again. In my first attempt i was totally underleveled for the Olgar/Vhati fight. The I read this thread, did with a lot of grinding and at I don't think you needs to spoiler that, it doesn't reveal any plot details or anything like that. Basically what happens is that after trolling you in the way shown above, the game then tells you "oh and btw, you can now start New Game+ where your items/stats carry over blah blah blah" and so on. But it never even hints to the fact that if you do that, you will not be able to finish your current session since there is still more plot to go through (despite having shown you the end credits) and that you can do this by simply loading your save game! Of course, it keeps only one save, so once you start NG+, then all plot progress is lost! In other news, the game is finally available outside of Japan on Android Play store, so if you don't have an iDevice and want to follow along you might want to consider that option. Be careful, though, as it doesn't work on rooted phones! You may notice that it has quite a low rating on the Play store, that's because of this problem. In any case, here's the link if you are interested: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.square_enix.chaosrings.googleplay
|
|
#
?
Oct 13, 2012 15:28
|
|
|
 The fate of the world hangs in the balance... you know what that means! Yes... IT'S SIDEQUEST TIME! Ok, not exactly. There aren't really any conventional sidequests in this game, but there is a bunch of optional content, some of which is available to us right now. Basically, eight bosses that we previously defeated in the four dungeons have been replaced by some much stronger ones. While the old bosses had around 4-6,000 HP, these new ones are more along the lines of 40,000-70,000 and of course they also hit much much harder. With our characters at level 37 where we left them last time, they wouldn't really stand a chance. Most of these bosses can hit for at least 2,000-3,000 HP in a single attack and some of them are even able to attack two times per turn instead of only once. Considering that our characters have around 4,000 HP each, this is obviously not going to happen at their present state. So, I went out and did some grinding first. And here is the result:  As you can see, this game doesn't care about such nonsense as limiting your HP to a measly 9999 or your MP to an even lesser 999. Incidentally, the highest tier of enemies open to us now is Lv. 71-81 and even the Lv. 37 Escher and Musiea can oneshot most of them--remember how I said that enemies gain stats a lot slower than we do on an equivalent level! While grinding, I also took the opportunity to open some newly locked chests in dungeons, and there I found some nice new gear for our dynamic duo:  Divine Comedy, a sword for Escher.  Atellana, a new set of clothes for him. Incidentally, Atellana is a old form of Italian theatrical farce, which first appeared even during Roman times.  First rib, a new rapier for Musiea.  And Haute Couture, new clothes for her too. I have noticed that equipment found in dungeons tends to have a lot weirder names than ones sold by Piu-Piu. In any case, we have eight supperbosses to sort out, two per dungeon, so let's get started.  Normally they are activated by approaching one of these things that have newly appeared in the dungeons in place of old bosses.  Sure. Clashing Grounds #1: Poseidon  And here is our first customer. As you can see it is a palette swap of an old boss, most of these superbosses are.  He's not especially weak to physical attacks.  But then he does a spell...  That's better, but still not so great.  This is how much damage he does to us, and this is with an attack we are strong against!  Soon, I hit a spell he's really weak against, and well... you can see the result.  Despite this minor setback...  ...he's finished. On to the next one. Clashing Grounds #2: Cherub   The second superboss of this dungeon is the familiar two-headed tiger.  Things go in the usual way.  Eventually we hit him with a spell, as expected. Spell counter attacks are one of the better strategies against bosses in this game.  He can hit for this kind of damage--did I mention that this is one of the bosses who gets to attack twice per turn? Yeah, the level 37 Escher and Musiea would have died here pretty quickly!  Eventually, a nice critical...  ...ends this fight.  Our reward for beating these two bosses is again new clothes for Musiea. We can return to the main hall and go to the second dungeon now.  When we get to the select screen, we notice something interesting. All four stars are finally filled out for the first dungeon. So now at least it's clear what those were for. Next boss, please! Ancient Path of Death #1: Dante   This guy is NOT in fact a recolour of a previous boss!  Yeah ok...  But we can damage him quite easily, so this won't last long.  And indeed, it does not.  Perhaps unexpectedly, he gives us a new set of genes: Dinosaur genes! Ancient Path of Death #2: Sephiroth   This one is a familiar turtle with the forest growing on its back.  This goes on for a while in a boring way. He does this non-elemental magical attack...  ...and we do this. Repeat.  But then I miscalculate...  ...and Musiea's KOd.  And just as I revive her, the boss KOs Escher. So now I have to revive him. All this time, the boss is actually one hit away from death, so I could have just attacked with the remaining character, but oh well.  Eventually I do manage.  The final result: a weapon upgrade for Musiea. Ocean of Origins #1: Brahma   Ah yes, our old friend, the stomping elephant. He, too, can do two attacks per turn.  We can damage him quite well, though. I wish I could say that something interesting happens in this battle, but it really doesn't although it lasts a while as we trade blows back and forth.  It just ends like this. Ocean of Origins #2: Lethal Gene   That's the recolour of the very first boss we fought (even though they are recolours, they are not in the same order as before!).   He is extremely weak to magic, so this is over in just a couple of turns!  Like so.  Of course, the result is better clothes for Escher. Purgatory #1: Tin Man   Nice colours.    The fight goes largely the same as the previous. Before we go and fight the last of these bosses, you may ask... how much damage are we doing right now to the normal enemies (bear in mind, we are around level 60 and they are 71-80)?  This much damage, actually. And how much damage you think they can deal to us (when they manage to hit us)?  About this much. Yeah, the damage calculation formula and the leveling up in this game is very lopsided.  But more interestingly, along the way, in a random battle, we run into this guy. Tomorrow Billiken is a more advanced version of the ordinary Billiken.  Of course I will use this item, because why not? How much EXP will we get for defeating him?  Wow, 252,098? That's... a bit more than I expected. Let's see... how many levels is that...   Ok, that's way more than I thought. And we don't even really need those levels at this point, but I'm not complaining. I think these enemies are a bit like Cactuars in Final Fantasy: rare, a bit evasive, but give tons of EXP if you manage to defeat them. Ok, now it's the time for last superboss.. Purgatory #2: Libido   This jerk. This is the only actually HARD battle of these eight. First of all, if you have enough HP (like we do), then he'll not at least kill you immediately, but you may still find it difficult to make progress due to a particularly annoying attack that he has.  At first it doesn't seem it will be so hard, look at that damage that we are doing.  Of course he's not doing so badly against us, either. Did I mention that he gets to attack twice in every turn? Of course he does.  Eventually, he starts doing this. The move is called "Steal HP" and it takes your HP to heal him. If you keep attacking in pairs, he will be constantly taking around 6000 HP from you to heal, so you will find that you are making little to no progress in damaging him.  The answer is to drop the pair attack and have only Escher attack and keep Musiea on support. This way he'll only be able to heal for about 3000 every time he does that, which is a lot more manageable.  So we do end up here, although he may kill you once or twice as you attempt this. P.S. Remember the name of this boss. It will be important later.  Of course the result is the improved weapon for Escher. And this makes eight. Now we can go back to the hall. Let's see what Piu-Piu has to say to all of this...  Nothing looks different, and yet, something big is happening right underneath the surface. The door has been opened. The door that will change everything, forever. Now it's time to walk through it, one step at a time...Um, what door are we talking about here?  Let's see...  All dungeons are completed now. If we scroll down...  There's the original door, leading to the outside world... we're not going to go there. But, there is another new destination available... Bereshith Road. Hmm.
|
|
#
?
Oct 15, 2012 22:50
|
|
|
ivantod posted:Ancient Path of Death #2: Sephiroth So what I took from this updates is Square-Enix has finally revealed its most popular villain's true form.
|
|
#
?
Oct 15, 2012 23:24
|
|
|
Huh. So you unlock an alternate bonus dungeon by fighting eight bosses who are, themselves, alternate and bonus. Well, it pads out the playtime at least.
|
|
#
?
Oct 16, 2012 20:45
|
|
|
It's the conceit of the modern JRPG. Half the game's content is in secret areas you never need to visit and bonus dungeons unlocked after beating the final boss. Thanks, Star Ocean 3! 
|
|
#
?
Oct 16, 2012 20:48
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 25, 2024 14:10 |
|
|
Glazius posted:Huh. So you unlock an alternate bonus dungeon by fighting eight bosses who are, themselves, alternate and bonus. Captain Walker posted:It's the conceit of the modern JRPG. Half the game's content is in secret areas you never need to visit and bonus dungeons unlocked after beating the final boss. Thanks, Star Ocean 3! Probably I should have been more clear on this point. You don't have to fight the eight bosses, although it's beneficial to do so as you get upgraded weapons/clothes if you defeat them. You CAN go directly to the Bereshith Road area without fighting them. Of course, in order to do either of these things, you still DO need to realise that you should reload your game after the ending credits shown in the previous update are finished in order to be able to SEE that there is a new area available to continue the plot! Since the game doesn't really hint about it or anything. Personally I find the whole trolling with the end credits a little bit silly to be completely honest. And let me be even more clear: Bereshith Road is NOT an optional area. It is integral to the plot and you must go through it to get the whole story and finish the game. Although, I can tell you that E & M are definitely not done with the optional bosses at this point either so there is more of that too, just not unlocked yet! All optional content does contribute to the completion percentage, but even there as I mentioned, maximum is above 100% so you might end up not realising you missed something! But, as you said, such are the JRPGs nowadays. When playing one, you more or less expect a certain amount of hidden/hard to find content.
|
|
#
?
Oct 16, 2012 21:24
|
|