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Yeah, at least the 'bonus' stuff in this game directly contributes to plot, which is nice.
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Oct 16, 2012 22:35
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 Let's go for a ride!  Instead of going through the original door...  ...let's try going to Bereshith Road instead.  Enemies on max available level of course, because we are anyway practically invincible!    I'm sorry. I thought if we went through the Original Door, we could return to our original word... It's fine. Really. Of course I want to hurry back to the children that are waiting for me. But... I have a feeling this isn't over yet. You're right. I want to know the real reason why we all had to kill each other. It would be an insult to Zhamo, Eluca, Olgar and Vahti if we never found out. Yeah... We've come this far, after all: it's about time we found out what is really going on. And here we are. The Japanese text simply spells out the same name phonetically in English. There seems to be some kind of terminal here.  In fact, it's an elevator control panel. Why not go and visit the restaurant on the 46th floor?   Done with what? With fighting for our lives. I've got a bad feeling about this.  Oh, this guy? So you're still here? Does it mean it's against the rules to be here? Probably. Suddenly, Zhamo's voice is heard from nowhere in particular... What was that? No! I knew it! It's Zhamo! So, that's him speaking from the darkness? That's terrible... Stop it!! How dare you!! It's too much... Too awful. How can you do such a thing? You've crossed the line that should never be crossed! You're going to pay for what you've done! Now come on!So we need to fight him, but...  Our first attack already takes off most of his HP...  ...and our second finishes him off. This game has a bit of a problem, which is the fact that it is made to be possible to finish it even if you don't do any of the optional stuff. But on the other hand, if you do do it, that typically leaves you massively overleveled for the subsequent storyline content. Similar problem exists for example in Final Fantasy X where if you stop to do Monster Arena and other optional bosses like dark aeons, you are basically in a position to one- or two-shot most of the bosses that follow after that!  And he fades out.    Huh? What are you so surprised about? ...I think you just got even stronger. You think? I can't really tell myself. Besides, it's all his fault for making me angry. Right? Anyway, let's keep going. Uh, right. (Why did the Executioner make us listen to Zhamo?) (Was he actually taunting us so we would fight better? If so... why would he do that...?) We can continue onwards, and it takes us to one of these tiled corridors, but this time with some sort of devices along the wall...   Let's examine them to see what they say. ------------------------------------------------- THE AGENT > An organically-grown lifeform programmed to ensure that the Ark Arena proceeds smoothly. Loaded with advanced A.I. to assist in guiding participants. > Follows commands given by the Almighty. Objectives: > Guide participants to proper destination. > Execute insubordinate participants. > Judge participants' eligibility to open the Final Door. ------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------- THE EXECUTIONER > An organically-grown lifeform programmed to ensure that the Ark Arena proceeds smoothly. > Follows commands given by the Almighty. Objectives: > Execute insubordinate participants. > Judge participants' eligibility to open the Final Door. ------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------- THE FIRST COUPLE > The two participants that win the Ark Arena will be sent back 10,000 years to become the First Couple. Their superior DNA will be used to reconstruct humanity and create powerful warriors. Currently discovered special abilities: Toughness: Loop #768 Pyrokinesis: Loop #782 Magic: Loop #1737 Psychokinesis: Loop #1979 Teleportation: Loop #2001 Warning: > The act of sending living matter back in time has a high probability of being noticed by the Qualia. Should that happen, the Qualia's interference is predicted to speed up the end of timespace. > Therefore, only two people at a time will be sent back in order to keep this risk as low as possible. -------------------------------------------------   So if we had gone through it... We'd have been made immortal and sent back in time 10,000 years ago. That must be what happened to Olgar and Vahti. Wow... Apparently, that's also how the magic we use was developed. So this power was born from the blood of countless wariors... ...What sinful power...There's one more of these documents: ------------------------------------------------- IMMORTALITY > A means of ensuring that the First Couple can continue to produce a predetermined amount of descendants. > Their bodies will be boosted to superhuman levels using the principles of transhumanism. This will allow their cells to increase their divisiions at a vastly increased rate, even upon taking damage, resulting in automatic regeneration. > Simultaneously, telomere reduction will be employed to prevent their cells from aging. Warning: > These effects will likely be neutralized in the presence of the Qualia's energy (Quintessence). -------------------------------------------------   We wouldn't have been able to defeat Olgar and Vahti if there weren't. I'm guessing it can't handle fatal wounds, like having your head cut off. Not to mention the 10,000 year limit. Still, 10,000 years should be more than enough for anybody.Wow, that was quite a plot dump right there, wasn't it? But, we need to continue going forward.  At this point, even former bosses start showing up as regular enemies!  But even they cannot do anything (even though we are NOT actually higher level than they are!).  Or, like these guys too.  Denied. In any case...  Soon we reach what turns out to be the arena where we fought other couples!   Where we all fought for our lives. Zhamo and Eluca were so strong... Yeah. Now that I think about it, it's a miracle that we were able to defeat Olgar and Vahti too. ...They were all such amazing fighters. And now, we're the only ones left. Makes you wonder what the whole point of the Ark Arena was... ...I can't help but feel that we'll find the answer to that before long. I agree. Let's keep going. More of these...  ...but soon we are at another elevator access terminal.   And hey, it's that annoying guy!     Our earlier battle was to judge if you are worthy of becoming the First Couple. Now that you have come here, I will judge whether you are worthy of proceeding beyond the Final Door. 439 couples have made it this far before. Only 16 of them were able to defeat me. The Final Door? 16 couples? What are you talking about? Will we be able to return to our own world from there? Do not be foolish. There is no point in going back home, because the Qualia will soon arrive and eradicate every living thing there. The time axis will soon run out... and the world will meet its end. Qualia? The world ending? What on earth is going on? Tell me in a way I can understand! For that, you will need to seek the Final Door. Our master is waiting for you there. She will tell you all you need to know. Fine. Then we'll go see her. Where is this final door. ...Those who seek the final door, must prove their skill to me. What!? We have to fight you again? In order to judge the Final Couple I will hold nothing back. Hold nothing back? Looks like he was going easy on us before. That was going easy? Relax, Musiea. Trust me, we can do this. Don't forget, we defeated Zhamo and Olgar. Okay. I trust you.  Oh fine, let's get this over with.  No different than any other fight...  But our next attack does nothing at all! You might think there is some kind of gimmick to this fight; but no, there is not. It just that there is a cutscene after the second turn and the game can't let us kill him before that, that's all.  He wasn't kidding about holding back earlier! If you are struggling at this level, there is no way you can proceed beyond the Final Door. You don't get to decide that! We can't lose here! So long as we have farther to go, we won't stop until we get there! Well said, Musiea. This battle is far from over! Actually this battle is over right now! The Qualia is coming... The future of all world rests on this battle... After endless years, countless time loops, and nearly infinite ends of all life... You two have the potential to save us... In this world, your names are Escher and Musiea... In other worlds, others will answer the call... Fade to white. The end of the world, huh? I guess this thing's a lot bigger than I thought. There's so much that we still don't know. But if what he said is true... I wasn't particularly attached to this country, but... I can't let that happen. Everyone... All we can do now is keep moving forward. Let's go check out this "Final Door"! This again leads to a hallway with documents... ------------------------------------------------- THE ARK > Can travel up to 10,000 years in the past using the principles of timespace navigation. > While the first couple uses that time to propogate, the Ark will hide inside the time axis, to avoid altering history. Contents: > Contains records of multiple Earths. 1. Re-creation and preservation of Earth's past and historical artifacts. 2. Lifeform preservation (both sexes). > Synthesized monsters created from existing animal DNA will be placed around the Ark to serve as level counters for participants. Curent number of voyages: 2003 Newest Companions: Vieg Valma (Olgar) Vahti Pauwell -------------------------------------------------   So that strange grey city with all the odd buildings is the remains of an ancient culture? Must be. Man... just how long has this been going on?Musiea is of course referring to New York. On to the next document. ------------------------------------------------- THEIA LIEBERG > One of the First Woman candidates for the Ark Project > Genetic Rank: 3 > The original First Woman ------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------- ALEXANDER PIULITZER > The founder of the Ark Project > Widely acclaimed for his work on timespace. > Famously succeeded at preventing plant and animal extinction by controlling their time axes. The first to discover the existence of the Qualia through his research on how lifeforms become extinct. > Known during his college days by the nickname "Piu-Piu". -------------------------------------------------  Sure looks that way... But can you really call him "human"? Probably not. Honestly, he scares me. Have you ever seen his eyes when he gets that blank look on his face? You think that's scary? I thought it's kind of cute. All I know, my instincts have helped me evade death more times that I can count, and those same instincts are screaming at me not to fight him. Haven't you noticed? Sometimes he stares at you with this crazy look in his eyes. Like he'll eat you alive if you aren't careful. ...Oh, I'll be careful around him. Just not in the way you are talking about.Ugh. Moving on, we reach this particular room:  Here are some more consoles we can examine... ------------------------------------------------- THE ALMIGHTY > A system used to ensure the Ark continues to run smoothly. > Connected test subject Theia Lieberg's cranial nerve directly to the Ark central nervous system in lieu of A.I. Objectives: > Produce a human race capable of matching the Qualia. > Judge participant's ability to open the Final Door. -------------------------------------------------  But she wants to help save the world. That may be, but I don't like how she's going about it. I don't know anything about this Qualia. But why doesn't she and her friends just fight it themselves? If they can make things like the Executioner and the Agent, they should have no problem defeating it. Maybe, as powerful as they are, they're still not strong enough? Maybe they need us to defeat it... There must be some reason. Whoa, you're taking her side? ...Well, whatever. We've already made it this far. We might as well go all the way! Let's put an end to this... once and for all!------------------------------------------------- PARALLEL TIMESPACES > Separate timespaces that exist in parallel. Theoretically, these individual timespaces should never cross paths with each other. > Beginning with the Original Couple, the Ark has helped spawn countless new timespaces. Of these, 99.99% have been confirmed to have been destroyed by the Qualia. Warning: > It is predicted that the Qualia will even cause separate parallel timespaces to converge. -------------------------------------------------   And the Qualia will destroy all of them. So, does that mean that there are other versions of us in these worlds too? If so, what happened to them? I don't know... But I hope they managed to avoid getting trapped here...Finally, the console in the middle... ------------------------------------------------- THE QUALIA > A conceptual being of pure energy. Its only determinable purpose is to distort space, consume everything and bring about nothingness. > Once it appears in a timespace, it consumes everything until that timespace is destroyed. Confirmed Data: > Millions of attempts to destroy the Qualia have been undertaken over thousands of timespaces, but a powerful corrective force always brings the timespace back to destruction. > Confirmed timespaces destroyed: 64,762. The Singularity: > After a long and exhaustive observation, a single point in timespace, though to be the Singularity, has been confirmed to be capable of enabling a sufficiently powerful force, in theory, to destroy small amounts of energy. > The primitive human race that exists in the Singularity has been confirmed to be incapable of producing even the smallest amounts of this energy. The Ark will be used to help this race develop their ability to produce this energy. ------------------------------------------------- The ground shakes, suddenly...       T-this is... the Qualia!? My head feels like it's going to split open! How... how is this possible... There's no way we can fight something like this... And the Almighty actually expects us to defeat it? ...because she expects that "something will happen" if we do? This... this is why we had to kill Zhamo and others? Perhaps that's how badly the Almighty felt she was outmatched? ...I won't accept this. I won't!  And it fades away.  No matter who, or what, my opponent may be, I will crush all who stand in my way! That's how I lived my whole life. And it's not going to change now! You hear that, Qualia? After we are done with the Almighty, we're coming for you next.We can now leave this room...  ...and we reach the final elevator!  Oh sure.  I can tell already from here that she's far stronger than the Agent. I'm not worried. Not as long as I'm with you. It's that female voice again!  Our hypothesis was not mistaken. You two have become even stronger than my simulation had predicted. ?! So you're here. Let us introduce ourselves in person. The end of the world is close at hand. We do not have time to waste. True love gives people strength. I do agree with that. ...But you have no right to say it! Not after how you've made us kill each other! There is no time for discussion. Preaching morality will not avert the threat that the Qualia poses to us. Now make your way here. We cannot waste even a second.   Invoking the last elevator, leads us to meet this... thing:   You must be the big boss. I am the Almighty. I am the one who selected and summoned each of the five couples for the Arena. Escher and Musiea, I have watched your battles closely through the eyes of the Agent. So you're the one who put this stupid fight together. I think it's time we showed you how grateful we are. You're going to pay for what you've done. We found out on our way here that you used to be human female. How could you possibly force us to participate in such a cruel competition? All was for purpose of defeating the Qualia. That's why I prepared the Ark and made my way to Earth. So in other words, you are an uninvited guest. If you want the Qualia defeated, do it yourselves. That is impossible. Only humans have a chance of defeating the Qualia that appears in this timespace. And that's... the Singularity? Correct. My task is to create the humans at that point in this timespace that can match the Qualia. Truly, I am relieved. My anguish all these years was not an infinite loop, but a spiral with an end. Escher, Musiea, thanks to you, this bloody, spiraling path will soon be over. Now is the time for final judgment, to see if you are truly worthy of becoming the Final Couple I was waiting for. Now that you've come this far, you must defeat me to proceed to the Final Door. The fate of humanity rests on it. Now, show me your true power. Once I am satisfied, I shall open the path that leads to the Qualia. But if I determine that you do not have a sufficient strength for this battle... OH, SHUT UP! Even if we do have to defeat this Qualia thing, that's up to us to decide! You don't get to choose that for us! Escher's right! If you are responsible for all this, that makes you our real enemy! I have no interest in your feelings. All I wish to know is if you are strong or if you are weak.   Denied. Darkness, divinity, the end of days... Destruction has no purpose. The only thing that matches it... is clear strong-minded will. I don't want to die... I want to live with you... A...yu...   The second and last turn of this boss fight. I really need to try to beat this game at low level one of these days!  Beyond the door lies the Focus Point... The place where the Qualia will appear... At last; at long last, the time has come... After nearly eternal despair... your genes have provided a glimmer of hope. You two... are the Final Couple I have been waiting for. Once you pass through that door... not even we know what will happen... Now... I leave the future... in your hands... and pray... for your victory...  And then a portal opens in front of us:     This is bad. What do we do? ...I'm not the type to go around saving the world and the future. I don't even know if it is possible for humans to fight this thing. Yeah... But... After all those countless Ark Arenas, we're the ones who made it this far. We're here now thanks to the sacrifices of all those that went before us. And I don't want to be the kind of person that runs away at a time like this. ...besides, I want to make sure that those kids that are waiting for you are safe. Escher... Thank you... I feel the same way. Okay then, let's go! If we lose, we lose everything... Sure you still want to join me? I still haven't forgiven you completely, but... ...even I'm surprised how ready I am.      At this point, the game decides to try it on again with the end credits, believe it or not!  But we are smarter than to believe that now! Because the familiar screen shows up as soon as they finish:    Take a deep breath, people. A couple of notes at this point, though: 1. Because this part was so long (more than double the normal length of an update--there just was not a good stopping point) the next time it will be quite a small one just covering some more of the optional stuff in the game. 2. It may look like a lot of plot was revealed here, but I'll just say this: it's actually not nearly as much as it seems. That is all.
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Oct 19, 2012 00:12
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Hmm. Parallel timelines converging. Wonder if that means we're going to have a four-person party for the true final dungeon.
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Oct 19, 2012 01:44
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ivantod posted:
A "simple stablehand," eh buddy?
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Oct 19, 2012 01:52
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Glazius posted:Hmm. Parallel timelines converging. Wonder if that means we're going to have a four-person party for the true final dungeon. Or more. What if every named couple Escher's team fought won in another timeline?
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Oct 19, 2012 02:06
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Mokinokaro posted:Or more. What if every named couple Escher's team fought won in another timeline? I think the fact that there's two playable parties makes it pretty easy to figure out it's just gonna be the four of them.
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Oct 19, 2012 02:35
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See, this is the kind of crazy technobabble I like. Reminds me of Parasite Eve but with GENES! instead of MITOCHONDRIA! If Chrono Cross was more like this it might make some drat sense.
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Oct 19, 2012 02:56
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How do we know there's only two couples available? We might unlock more by finishing the first two.
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Oct 19, 2012 03:09
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 Well, things happened last time, and the game decided to end on another "To Be Continued". Even though this time, the correct way to continue the plot is NOT reloading your saved game, we can still do that anyway. If we do, we'll find ourselves again at the point before crossing through the Final Door. At this point we are free to do whatever we want. One thing we can do, is for example to exit the Bereshith Road dungeon and come back to it.  If we climb up to the floor where the arena is, we'll find that it now contains one of these things again...  ...and you know what that means, there is another "hidden" boss fight here. Wonder what the boss will be like.  Oh. Looks like we're going to be fighting dark versions of ourselves, then.  "Dark" Escher and Musiea are on level 90, and in the game they are called "Escher Atman" and "Musiea Atman". Of all things in the game, this one in particular is NOT a mistranslation from Japanese, believe it or not! "Atman" is a word in Sanskrit (आत्मन्) meaning "self". It is a concept in several religions, such as Hinduism and Buddhism. Read more about it on Wikipedia (where else). As for the fight itself, I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint you here. The game designers pretty much dropped the ball all the way on this one. What could (and should) have been a cool fight with interesting dialogue is unfortunately neither of those things. There is NO dialogue here at all (not even any kind of evil taunting from our mirror selves), and the fight is just your completely standard trading of blows. The enemies of course have all the same abilities as we do, but still suffer from the fact that enemy levels are not equivalent to ours.  Which means, that even though they are higher level, we can still do this in our first attack.  Sure, they can do OK damage to us too...  ...and they also block attacks with annoyingly high frequency.    But the fight is still over before it began really. And here is our reward:   As a reward, we get two upgraded accessories (diamonds). In case you were wondering why we only got clothes and weapons from the other superbosses, this is why. This was the missing piece of the puzzle as far as this particular bit of hidden content goes. Don't worry, there is still more hidden stuff in this game (it IS a JRPG after all!). But for now, I have something else I wanted to show. Genes! So as we are playing through the game, I have been mentioning various genes and abilities that we have been earning, but I didn't really stop to explain it more detail. In essence, genes are this game's combined version of Magic and Skills/abilities. For example, if you want to be able to use the fire spell, you'll need first to find it and then to equip it on your characters. Genes are not equipped individually, but instead in groups of (up to) 6 which are called Gene Plates. Gene Plates contain a fixed combination of genes (i.e. you can't group them how you want). Using abilities consumes MP, which unlike HP are NOT replenished after every battle. It is also not possible to use abilities outside of battle (except those which are "always on"). Each character starts with one innate gene plate (Human Warrior or Human Mage), containing two abilities at the start. As we have seen, the other four abilities for each character have been earned by fighting other human enemies (i.e. other contestants in the arena). All the other gene plates and abilities are earned by fighting enemies of different types. For example, fighting mouse-type enemies will earn us Mouse genes and also over time different abilities that go on that plate. Fighting enemies of higher levels increases the chance of randomly learning an ability from them. The abilities are actually not unique, and same ability may appear on multiple gene plates. This makes combinations easier as each character can equip up to 3 gene plates (in addition to their innate one). Same gene plate CAN be equipped by both characters at the same time. So here is a kind of a summary of what genes there are and some of the more interesting abilities they contain (other than the Human ones, which I have already covered during the game). Mouse Genes Dog Genes Crocodile Genes Deer Genes Bird Genes Hippopotamus Genes Insect Genes Manta Genes Slug Genes Tiger Genes Elephant Genes Lion Genes Fish Genes Tortoise Genes Devil Genes Dinosaur Genes Dragon Genes Panda Genes Celestial Genes As for the abilities, here are some of them: Elemental spells: There are three kinds (water, fire and wind) and you get both a single target and a multi target version. Also there are abilities which allow you to "attach" an element to your ordinary physical attack--this basically allows you to do elemental attacks without spending MP (but be careful not to be countered)! Healing abilities: There's a few, like single and multi target heal, MP recovery, 5% HP recovery at the end of turn (this one is quite good), Steal HP (that we have seen that one boss use quite annoyingly), Revive and so on. Support abilities: There are a few of those such as the usual OZ Up and EXP Up which give you more money/experience after a battle. Then you have your usual increase defence/increase speed/physical resist/magical resist/various elemental resist things. Also useful things like Auto-Counter which gives you a random chance to counter an enemy's attack. There's also things like Get more items and Get more genes here, abilities which do obvious things. There's a few other things here like "Encounter" which allows you to turn random encounters in dungeons on and off at will (useful when you are just trying to investigate an area or you are simply lost and want to find the way out without getting constantly interrupted; it can also be used to more or less control the speed of leveling up). "WTF Japan!" abilities: Since Piu-Piu is a perv, there is actually an ability called "Sexy Pose" which when equipped, gives you a small discount in his shop! It CAN be equipped by both male and female characters, too! So there's nothing too out of the ordinary here, but if you are interested in a particular set of genes, let me know and I'll post more about it. I think that about sums up the brief description of the gene ability mechanics. * * * While the game is reloaded, we can go to Piu-Piu again. He doesn't have anything new to sell, but we can talk to him briefly.    So nothing special, the whole story about his former identity is not even mentioned at this point (but don't worry, we'll come to that eventually of course).  Well that's it for this brief inter-update. Next time we'll have lots and lots of plot progression again!
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Oct 22, 2012 22:06
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Huh. Wasn't really sure where they were going with this at the start, but some kind of huge eugenics experiment to make mankind superpowered is, original, at least. And I'm guessing the correct next step is to start with the royal pair instead. Hmm.
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Oct 27, 2012 16:01
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 I'll take door number two, Monty!                      And here we find the familiar motley crew of characters...       Why did you do that, woman? Hmph. That was a foolish move, coming after me like that.  (???=Escher)  I don't know what happened between you, but this is going too far! Huh? You want some of this too? This is no time to be indulging in petty fights. We need to appraise our current situation. Yes, exactly. Where in the world are we? Hmph. How should I know? As before, we have some time to explore the surroundings and talk to other people now. Let's first talk to Garrick and Alto.  Who are you? My name is Garrick. I am the head of my order. Night fell upon us suddenly as we were attacking the castle. Friends and foes alike stopped moving, as if frozen in place... Then we found ourselves here. Night... eh? It grew dark in an instant right before we were brought here too. Judging from your appearance, you must be from the far-western continent. Which means this same phenomenon occurred there as well... I have also been wondering where this is. I can't tell if it is my country, or some other, foreign land... Not only that, it seems like all 10 people here are couples... Some of whom immediately try to kill each other. I doubt there is a simple explanation for this. Couples? That's impossible. Zhamo and I are nothing like that. If anything, we're...Yes...? Finish the sentence, please! You won't, will you? When you consider the couple factor, this situation becomes truly fascinating. Don't you agree? Fascinating? Are you aware of the dangers of this situation? Of course. But who says I can't enjoy myself too? I haven't felt this kind of excitement in a long time. In fact, I was just getting good and tired of my life. Hey... can you feel that? Yes. Someone is watching. It must be the host that invited us here. And it doesn't look like they want to throw just any old kind of party. I can't wait to see what they have to say.   As always, people have dispersed around.  Before talking to others, we can go and grab that bottle of mulled vine again. And then let's see what is going on with Mana and Ayuta.     Perhaps we've been spirited away. Spirited away? Maybe that's why it became dark so suddenly? I don't know. But I can say this... This place is extremely dangerous... Ayuta... Don't worry, Princess Mana. I will protect you with my life. Ayuta... I am counting on you. What is this presence I feel... Is a human capable of this?Next, our two mysterious friends...   Although we have a slightly better idea what they may be talking about at this point.  I'm thinking about our current situation. I don't feel like talking to you now. I have nothing to say to you.Oh, fine.  Finally, on the other side, we find Escher and Musiea in a not so friendly stance.    Hey, I'm used to women hating me. But if you try anything like that again... I will kill you. And you won't be able to stop me. The boy here is the one who stopped you. This matter has nothing to do with me. Go ahead and kill each other. ...Please don't talk to me... Where the hell are we, anyway? You're not even from my country.And finally, we should go talk to Zhamo.   After all, I am here too. Eluca, did you just wake up here too? How did we get here from... there...From where? Why does nobody finish their sentences here? I don't know. But just because you're still alive, I would relax just yet.Wait, what? What kind of situation WERE these two in before they ended up here? Not with this overwhelming sense of... oppression... What is this feeling? I'm not sure yet. But perhaps you'll end up wishing that you were dead after all... And finally the voice from above makes itself known.     Escher and Musiea. Zhamo and Eluca. Ayuta and Mana. Garrick and Alto. And Olgar and Vahti.  And where you will now fight for your lives. Did you say... fight for our lives? All of you here are but one sheep in two bodies. The person standing next to you will be your partner on this journey. Of course, we do not ask you to do this for nothing.   You may not refuse to compete in the Ark Arena. Likewise, you are prohibited from fighting until I allow it. If you break either of these rules, you will pay with your lives. Stop! Before you speak further, answer me this! Where are we? Why do we have to fight each other? I am under no obligation to answer your questions. Hmph. You really think we're stupid enough to fight each other just 'cause you say to?              You may be the chosen warriors, but you are not yet qualified to fight in the Ark Arena. In order to qualify, you will first need to find and equip the rings beyond this door. Rings...? One is the Warrior's Ring, the other the Companion's Ring. These two rings will prove your eligibility for the Ark Arena. And then he's gone. Why do we need those? It doesn't matter. If we don't play along, we'll all be killed. That much is certain. Looks like we'd better listen to him for now. Eluca... It seems that we must work together. I can't believe they're making me take this child for my partner... So you are really going beyond that door...? It's pointless to stay here and do nothing. Just don't get in my way. We have another chance to explore now...   C-come on out already. This isn't funny, okay? You promised we would always be together... Garrick... (Garrick... He was a highly skilled fighter. I hate to admit it... But there is no way we can defeat the Agent now.) Garrick...Ayuta and Mana are no better...  ...My country... What happened to my country? I just pray it's all right... Father... Mother...   But of course you are. Still, now that I am here, I must keep Princess Mana safe... We don't have to listen to that monster. The fact that we came here from the outside means there must be a way to get out. All we have to do is find it... But, the only thing in this room that looks like an exit is that door. I guess... We have no choice but to do what it says....Olgar and Vahti, as buttoned up as always...   Also, let's not forget about Piu-Piu!    You won't find better selection or service anywhere else. Not that there IS anywhere else here! Anyway, looking forward to your business. I've got all kinds of great stuff here. If you see something you like, don't hesitate to snatch it up! And don't worry about the price! This is no time to be cheap. Eluca may have the hots for your now, but that'll change if she sees you being stingy!And now for some very good news! All the money we earned in the previous chapter... CARRIES OVER! So we can already go shopping for better weapons and clothes!  As for weapons, Eluca uses twin blades.  ...and Zhamo some kind of spear.  As for clothes... interestingly Eluca was wearing by default a Bodyguard uniform. Hm.  But even more intriguingly, check out what Zhamo was wearing originally--Prisoner Outfit! Could it be...  I also buy a Moonstone for Zhamo (Eluca already comes with one). Before we venture beyond the door, let's just check in once more with Escher and Musiea.  (I can't imagine why these two have been paired up. Come to think of it, why did the Agent make us pair up in the first place?) (If it wanted us to fight to the death, it could have easily made us fight one-on-one.) The spirits must be punishing me... I knew I shouldn't have left the children on their own while I search for him... Eternal life and youth. This is starting to get interesting. Interesting? How can you say that? That thing told us to kill each other! Laying life on the line to obtain immortality? I don't see a problem with that. Life has value because it's finite. Immortality will bring you nothing but pain. There are some things you don't want until you've lost them for good. I don't expect you to understand. So I'll do whatever it takes. And if I were you, I'd pray that you don't have to fight me in the first round.Ok, so much about that, we can now go through the door...  ...and there of course awaits the first dungeon. Looks like the order is different now.  Unfortunately, our levels do not carry over, so we have to start at the beginning again. But, more good news: other than innate genes (human warrior/mage), all other abilities that we have learned DO carry over! So we already start more or less fully equipped!  And here we are in the first dungeon.   There is nothing like this in our country. I wonder when were we brought here... ...And not only that, they say we have to participate in this crazy tournament... The Agent's rules are unreasonable and incomprehensible. We can't believe we'll really be granted immortality either... But it seems clear that if we don't win this tournament, we'll never be able to go home. Do you want to go home? Of course. I am a servant of the Divine King. You know that just as well as I do. Let's just worry about our current predicament.
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Oct 28, 2012 00:18
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Kantesu posted:How do we know there's only two couples available? We might unlock more by finishing the first two. I'm suspecting this given the number of folks we're seeing now.
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Oct 28, 2012 01:57
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I can just see it now, we unlock the Garrick/Alto couple last and break the entire sequence of the game.
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Oct 28, 2012 02:12
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Huh. So both of the starter protagonists want to kill each other.
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Oct 28, 2012 18:59
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Glazius posted:Huh. So both of the starter protagonists want to kill each other. Weeeell, at least in the case of Escher and Musiea, the desire to kill was definitely one-sided. Escher had no particular interest/reason to want to kill Musiea. As for Zhamo and Eluca, the full explanation of their situation still remains to be seen, we have only just started with this part. Also a note about future updates that I should mention at this point. Obviously, there is going to be some repetition (at least in gameplay) for at least a few updates. My idea was to start focusing more on the story and not so much any more on the monster-fighting (unless something really unusual/interesting happens during a battle in which case I'll mention it). Because, honestly, once you've seen a few random battles and bosses, you've seen them all, especially in a situation like this, where we are traversing a dungeon we've already seen. Sure, it will probably have some new/different cutscenes (which of course I will show), but from the game mechanics perspective, there is not much that's really different, even bosses are the same. So if anybody has an objection to this and would prefer to see still more details on random battles/bosses we've already seen, you should probably say something now! 
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Oct 28, 2012 20:36
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ivantod posted:Weeeell, at least in the case of Escher and Musiea, the desire to kill was definitely one-sided. Escher had no particular interest/reason to want to kill Musiea. Nah, this seems like a good call. Not to say you've done a bad job covering the gameplay, but rather I'm just much more interested in the plot then what is mostly a conventional turn-based battle system with one or two twists.
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Oct 28, 2012 20:39
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ivantod posted:Weeeell, at least in the case of Escher and Musiea, the desire to kill was definitely one-sided. Escher had no particular interest/reason to want to kill Musiea. I think only screencapping a boss and saying "So, we kill this thing again. It's the exact same" is a fine solution. You should only be covering monsters if something is different, liek if you run into the Metal Slime analogues again.
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Oct 28, 2012 20:43
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Omnicrom posted:I think only screencapping a boss and saying "So, we kill this thing again. It's the exact same" is a fine solution. You should only be covering monsters if something is different, liek if you run into the Metal Slime analogues again. Yeah, this was pretty much exactly my plan. Just show the boss and say, "here he is, defeated again." Of course, if I run again into one of those guys that gives so much EXP that I gain like 10 levels, I will be sure to mention it. BTW I find the inclusion of those enemies in the game particularly hilarious, because it is already easy enough as it is and it's not like you need any ADDITIONAL help leveling up! Edit: Speaking of Metal Slimes, I found something on the web: 
ivantod fucked around with this message at 20:57 on Oct 28, 2012 |
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Oct 28, 2012 20:51
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I feel quite the fool for not getting it earlier who our returning contestants are. I mean, now it's just glaring, but I wonder how long it will be until it's explained properly.
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Oct 30, 2012 03:46
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 Last time, Eluca and Zhamo entered their first dungeon, which in this version is the "Ancient Path to Death". As for the characters, Eluca has the "Human Warrior" built-in genes:  Zhamo is the designated "Human Mage":  The starting abilities they have are of course the same ones that Escher and Musiea were able to obtain previously by defeating them, so need to repeat too much about that one. It is nice to have the 'Recover HP Every Turn' right from the start though. It does recover only 5% of your max HP, but it's still more than zero! On to the dungeon then! As mentioned, the layout-wise the dungeon is exactly the same as before, so we'll only be focusing on actual things of importance that happen while we're in it. As a side note, puzzles are in fact completely different than any we've seen previously, I will of course show that.  Anyway, Eluca looks a bit impatient there, so we should get going, I think.  We still get a bunch of these corridors in between the dungeon parts, but what they are should be at least a small bit clearer now.  Even if they're only Level 1, Eluca and Zhamo can do good damage when they hit a critical. Incidentally, the 'sculptures' in the background of this battle should now also be reasonably familiar.  Eventually, we get to the first puzzle. This one is the same block pushing puzzle as before, with the added complication: before we just had to push the blocks out of the way; now we also make sure that all the floor switches are activated by having a block end up on them. These are usually positioned somewhere in the middle of the room, making us having to build a wall somehow around it since the blocks, as before, keep going in the same direction until they hit an obstacle. Needless to say, the switch itself does not count as obstacle. Sigh. Puzzle Solution Video  One more of these teleporters and...  ...we reach the second puzzle of this level. Puzzle Solution Video  Solving the puzzle finally leads to the boss of this half, which as before, is the forest turtle thing.  By employing the basic spell-countering strategy...  It only takes a couple of turns for this to happen. Still, he gives enough experience for both of the characters to gain two levels each:    As always, before going to the second half of dungeon, we make a quick trip back to Piu-Piu to see what he has to comment.   But nothing very interesting on that front this time. We'll see, maybe later.  Before going back, I decide to up the enemy level, because why not? We might as well level up a bit faster.  So we return to the dungeon's second half.  And there we find a kind of a standoff going on between Alto on one side and Ayuta and Mana on the other. Poor Alto cannot seem to catch a break in either parallel universe...    Zhamo tries to attack Alto...  ...but his attack is swiftly rebuffed. Alto is an actual soldier, let's not forget (or at least was before coming here)!   You don't have time to worry about someone else's partner! Oof... Zhamo... Are you hurt? No, I'm okay. I managed to block it with my spear. ...!? You took that hit without a scratch? You are pretty good... This statement is directed at Mana.    Alto attacks...   ...but she fails.      Why do you apologise? Personal fights between warriors are forbidden... Soon they will come for me too... No! ...but nothing happens. ... ... ...They're not coming? But why? Once Garrick was killed, Alto was left alone. Perhaps that allowed her to act outside of the rules. Yes. You might be right. Oh Ayuta... Thank goodness you are safe... I'm glad Ayuta is okay, but... I feel like we've done something we shouldn't have... I'm sorry, Alto... You didn't deserve this... The rest of this dungeon proceeds as before, with blocked road that we need to make passable by throwing boulders from above.  Soon we are at the first puzzle... Puzzle Solution Video  ...and a bit later at the second. Puzzle Solution Video  A bit surprisingly, I actually find a weapon upgrade for Eluca in one of the chests! This doesn't happen so often at this low level usually.  It's actually not a bad upgrade for the level that we are currently on!  Continuing on, we find Escher and Musiea fighting a monster...  ...which they soon defeat.   It may not be clear from the image, but he's talking about the rings. Apparently he just obtained his. ...I don't need your help. I'll find it myself. Is that right? With that, the two of them leave without even noticing Eluca and Zhamo.  Indeed. But you can't exactly say that we're great friends either. Yeah... I guess that's true. Finally we reach the last boss of this dungeon...  ...and it's our friend the stompy elephant.  It doesn't really help him, though.  So we have obtained the Warrior's Ring...   ...but it doesn't fit on Eluca's hand for some reason! In any case, now we can exit the dungeon, and return to the main hub...  (I love it how Escher and Musiea are standing facing away from each other here!)
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Nov 2, 2012 00:11
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Clearly the ring is sexist. Piu-Piu never really got the point of strong women.
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Nov 2, 2012 07:42
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 In the previous instalment, Eluca and Zhamo obtained the Warrior's Ring, but for some reason she was unable to put it on. No matter though, we need to go and get the Companion's Ring now so we can participate in the first round of fights. But before that, some information gathering.  In fact, let's head over to Piu-Piu first and finish our shopping.   Not buying a weapon for Eluca since she already has a better one.  But Zhamo could use an upgrade.   Also they can both use some new clothes. Gavial is actually a kind of crocodile, so this is basically crocodile skin clothes!   And two Garnet accessories, for speed and luck, as always. Piu-Piu actually has more to say here, but is all stuff we've heard before, and in this case even stuff that that we don't want to hear again, ever: he was going to give us his usual sad story about the lost porn collection. So, skipping over that one! In fact, at any time, if there is a conversation which is completely identical with an already seen one and involving the same people, I will usually not repeat it in its entirety, but rather just make a note that it happened. This game's plot moves slowly enough that there is no need to slow it further down with multiple repeats of long conversations! But, Olgar and Vahti are standing nearby...   You two are... Married. Yes. Are you two brother and sister...? No. I am the head warrior for our King's personal guard. Zhamo here is the son of one of the King's aides.Hm. You'll recall that in other version, Eluca was talking about Zhamo becoming the next King of their country... Oh ho. So you're the head warrior, eh? ...That's quite a large axe you have there. I didn't choose that weapon; it chose me. I can't imagine using anything else. (This guy is strong. He's clearly been through many battles...) (The average level of skill here is far above what it was last time.) (This must mean we are caught in a spiral, and not a loop...) (Zhamo looks like a smart, kind boy. But kindness can be fatal in Ark Arena.) (It will be up to Eluca to see how far they can get here...)Back in the central area, the conflicted Escher and Musiea...   Is that your idea of a joke? She thinks I killed her parents or something. Thinks?! Why you evil...!! (These two look like they'll end up killing each other without any help.) (Zhamo and Eluca... These two don't look like they have a very good connection either.) (Hmph. I can't believe I have to fight these brats.)And finally, Ayuta and Mana.     (I can't underestimate this one. He's trying to find out information on us, just like I'm trying to find some on them.) (This one doesn't seem suited to battle at all... Of course, that's exactly why I can't underestimate her either.) (People like this often have some kind of trump card hidden up their sleeve.) She is the princess of our country. And I am... a stablehand that works for their family.The game is really not being very subtle any more about this stablehand thing... But we'll have to wait for a while still before we find out what's behind that story. (Zhamo... I hope we don't have to fight each other. But if we do, I can tell now that they are much stronger than they look.) (Eluca scares me, but Zhamo has very kind eyes, and he helped save us earlier...) (If we stay together with them, we might be able to make it through this.) It is time to go get the second ring now.  In this version, the second dungeon is Ocean of Origins  As always, we keep upping the enemy levels as much as possible--there is never a downside to leveling up in this game!     With something this big, you'll never run out of water. Let's see how it tastes... No, wai--   No, I didn't. Sorry I'm not well educated. I didn't have time for learning while I was trying to fight my way out of poverty. Eluca... Unlike you, I didn't grow up in fancy high society. With that, we can keep going towards the first puzzle in this dungeon.  And here it is. In this dungeon, we again get the red/blue block swapping puzzle type that we've already seen. The four that we get here are stupidly easy and require almost no effort at all to solve. In my opinion, I think that the inclusion of these puzzles in the game was more or less a mistake. They have no real connection to the plot and add absolutely nothing at all to the gameplay; basically if you ask me, the game would have been better without.  Sometimes, we run into a trio of these guys. This is the only real dangerous fight here because they can poison us and we can't oneshot them.  No matter, as we soon see Olgar and Vahti fighting a monster.  Of course, they succeed.       Yep. As cryptic as ever. With this he leaves...  And we reach the second puzzle. This one is no harder than last.  After that, it's boss time again!  As before, a couple of these...  ...is enough to solve that problem.  So now we can go to the second part of dungeon, situated as before in a ruined castle. But before we proceed, we'll make a quick trip out the dungeon.  Back here, we find Escher and Musiea having a fight...     She walks off. Hmph. Um... is everything okay? Shut up and stay out of this, boy. I saw you fighting earlier. Your style resembles Eluca's. Huh? Who said you can talk to me, brat? I-- I'm sorry. Hmph, well, whatever. How do our styles resemble each other? Uh... Well, they, uh... Come on, spit it out! ...Oh, never mind! I feel sorry for Eluca, having to drag around a partner like you. He walks off.     Oops. Anyway, getting back to the dungeon...  As before, this part requires us to collect two items.  The first puzzle is here...  ...and it yields the first item.  On the way to the second puzzle, we pass the locked door.   And soon in a chest a weapon upgrade for Zhamo.  Over here are Ayuta and Mana, having trouble with some monsters...  Ever so helpful!   Stop right there. What if you go help them and end up getting killed? I'd have to fight the rest of our battles by myself! But...! No. I am ordering you as my partner not to go. Ordering me? That's right. I am the warrior. As my partner, you must follow my orders. I'm sorry, but I can't follow that one. And we are thrust into a battle together with Ayuta.  This is just a normal battle, and thus no problem at all.     That makes it twice that you've saved us. Oh no, I didn't do anything. You would have been fine on your own. Ha ha, I'm glad I was able to fight with you. Thank you, Zhamo. Thank you, Zhamo. Your kindness will not soon be forgotten. You make me think that someday, somehow, we will all overcome our differences. The final puzzle.  And the second item.  Now we can open the door...  ...leading to the boss.  As before, this one is a bit harder to defeat, mainly because it hits like a truck.    But we do manage, after some effort.  And we get the Companion's ring.   But it doesn't fit Zhamo.    Ah-ha, she's figured it out! I'm sure you have too, the game is not exactly subtle here.   But, time to go back and see what the Agent has in store!      Oh, no. We have to fight Zhamo? That is all. I expect you to fight like your lives depend on it. Hey, hold up. Zhamo and Eluca aren't wearing their rings. Doesn't that disqualify them? Zhamo and Eluca are qualified to participate. Then why aren't they wearing their rings?   Nike (TM)           So, once again, it's fighting time. Who will survive, I wonder?
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Nov 11, 2012 01:09
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ivantod posted:Gavial is actually a kind of crocodile, so this is basically crocodile skin clothes! You mean you didn't already know this from Metal Gear Solid 3? 
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Nov 11, 2012 01:39
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We're going to end up playing as Mana and Ayuto later aren't we?
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Nov 11, 2012 01:49
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Captain Walker posted:You mean you didn't already know this from Metal Gear Solid 3? Oddly enough, while I am aware of what MG(S) games exist, the only one I've really played from beginning to end is MGS4. Although, in the case of that game, perhaps the better expression is "watched it" rather than "played it"--I seem to recall that at least on one occasion there is a cutscene that goes on for more than an hour without any gameplay at all! On another note I just wanted to apologise for a slightly slowed down update schedule--I was a bit busy at work last couple of weeks. Next week I am going away on a trip, but after that things should return to normal with approximately twice weekly updates. BTW the trip that I am going on is to Devoxx Java conference--if anybody else is going and wants to meet up there, let me know!
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Nov 11, 2012 01:51
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ivantod posted:And here it is. In this dungeon, we again get the red/blue block swapping puzzle type that we've already seen. The four that we get here are stupidly easy and require almost no effort at all to solve. In my opinion, I think that the inclusion of these puzzles in the game was more or less a mistake. They have no real connection to the plot and add absolutely nothing at all to the gameplay; basically if you ask me, the game would have been better without. I figure it's a tradition held over form the Wild ARMs games, in which they were a well-designed diversion from the drudgery of random battles. They seem a bit samey and disjointed from the rest of the game in Chaos Rings, however.
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Nov 11, 2012 03:56
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Heavy neutrino posted:I figure it's a tradition held over form the Wild ARMs games, in which they were a well-designed diversion from the drudgery of random battles. They seem a bit samey and disjointed from the rest of the game in Chaos Rings, however. Ah, so it's a Media.Vision thing then, interesting. Yeah, here they are mostly pointless and add nothing at all to the experience--they just don't engage you on any meaningful level. It seems that the creators of the game did eventually realise this because in Chaos Rings Ω, this game's prequel, they have been made skippable. Sure, you miss out on a small reward item if you skip them, but at least they are not blocking the plot progression any more.
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Nov 11, 2012 08:30
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Heavy neutrino posted:I figure it's a tradition held over form the Wild ARMs games, in which they were a well-designed diversion from the drudgery of random battles. They seem a bit samey and disjointed from the rest of the game in Chaos Rings, however. Yeah, those puzzles are very similar in appearance to the Millenium Puzzle dungeon in Wild Arms 2 and the sidequest areas of the same name in Wild Arms 3. They might also be in WA4 and 5 but I've never played those two so idunno.
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Nov 11, 2012 09:38
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Ah, thought so. Piu-Piu's just a bit old-fashioned about things.
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Nov 11, 2012 21:50
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Mokinokaro posted:We're going to end up playing as Mana and Ayuto later aren't we? It's looking likely, especially now we've seen Ayuto can fight. On top of that I have a feeling that either Garrick/Alto or Olgar/Vahti are gonna break these temporal shenanigans over their knees. I'm hoping this game goes the Eternal Poison route...
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Nov 12, 2012 05:43
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 Previously, Eluca and Zhamo finished the whole "ring-gathering" business. In the end, it turned out that the Warrior's Ring belongs to Zhamo and the Companion's ring to Eluca, contrary to the expectations. Of course, now it is time for the first round of fights, and our opponents are Ayuta and Mana.  But first, let's get Piu-Piu out of the way.  I'm sure there's lots going through your mind now, but in the end... all you can do is fight. And that means, you have to prepare yourself for whatever consequences that may bring. I'll be honest; I like you guys. So go out there and win. If you are not confident in your chances go back to the dungeons and toughen yourselves up.I think we are quite tough enough, thanks. And of course, you can always buy more equipment from me. Skill's not enough to get you through a fight like this; you need lots of luck as well. But if you've worked even one iota harder than your opponent, that'll make the lady of Luck that more likely to smile on ya.Ok, so let's see about equipment. We're not going to be buying the weapons because we already have better ones that we found (as usual).   But better clothes can be useful:   I have included all four of these because I love how when you put together all the equipment names (including the ones from before) it actually more or less tells you what happened to these two before they were brought to the Arena (at least in this timeline, we know that it may not have been quite the same in the other one that we've seen so far). I think that's quite a nice touch.   And two Topaz rings, of which I have absolutely nothing at all to say. They just increase your speed and luck and that's the beginning and the end of that.  Now, Escher and Musiea are standing right here, so we may as well talk to them.   Aren't your scared, Escher? I mean, you are going to be fighting Olgar. He's so strong, I wouldn't be surprised if he could defeat the Agent by himself. I'm a mercenary, and I'm proud of that. For us, it makes no difference how scary our opponents may be. And frankly, I don't see where a brat like you gets off telling me who's a better fighter. I'm sorry... As I see it, Ayuta and Eluca are about evenly matched. You and Mana will be the keys to getting through this.Yeah, about that. How is Ayuta such a skilled fighter anyway? Can you handle it, Zhamo? I just want to make sure I don't get in Eluca's way. But... ...What you need is resolve.    All the way to the other side, we find seemingly uninterested Olgar and Vahti.   Perhaps fighting is the only way I can truly express myself... (What is this expression Olgar occasionally reveals? What does he know?) However, there is no point to any of it if the strongest couple do not win... That is beyond doubt.   She does seem very calm about the whole thing. But then again, they've done this before. Finally in the central area are our opponents, Ayuta and Mana.   I... If we cannot defeat the Agent, I have no qualms about fighting you two. But if we join forces and fight him together... It's too dangerous. This way is much safer. That can't be... I'm sorry, but it's true. Even your partner has come to the same conclusion. Although... No doubt for different reasons...  ... There was no exit to the outside to be found anywhere. The places that appeared to be forest and ocean all turned out to be fake. It's like a huge diorama has been built in an enormous sealed-off room. Anything that can create something like that would not overlook a possible escape route. Which means that... fighting is the only way out of here. Ayuta... Now that it's come to this, all that is left is to wait for the Arena. What value is there to life if it must be preserved at the cost of another? Princess Mana means everything to me. Even if I lose everything else... I will have no regrets.So...  ...arena it is, I guess.     But I will do whatever I have to protect Princess Mana. ...There is nothing else left to say, Zhamo. Let us all fight our hardest. O-Okay. (Why was it Zhamo and not me that was chosen as warrior?) (How am I inferior to him...?) And with this the fight starts.  As you can see, in another nice touch, quite appropriately for her position Mana is using a bow and arrows to attack (in case you were wondering if she's going to turn out to be wielding a giant axe or sword, like Olgar and Escher)  Unfortunately, this is another one of those fights that will be over before they even begin. Ayuta and Mana are level 12 and 11 respectively, but Eluca and Zhamo are actually level 20 at this point. As before, I didn't really do any grinding, I just never ran away from random battles and I fought the highest level enemies that I could and this is where they ended up after two dungeons. It's difficult not to be overleveled in this game.  And of course the first attack already does ridiculous damage.  They are not doing much to us, on the other hand.  Next attack on Mana does 0 damage. But we've seen this before: the game is preventing us from killing the enemies because in a couple of turns there is going to be a cutscene.  Looks like Eluca has overestimated herself a little bit...        Basically Zhamo goes into overdrive mode and all his stats are boosted, as you can see with the little indicators next to his HP/MP. The stats are the same ones we've already seen many times: attack, defence, speed and luck.    After this, the battle is over quickly.   Ayuta... If we had met in a different time and place... I think we could have been great friends... Yes... I think so too.   What? I am but a mere stablehand, yet I let myself fall deeply in love with you. It is my fault that you were involved in this... Unforgivable. I know. It is unforgivable that you have gone all this time without telling me how you feel. Why... Why didn't you tell me sooner? What?            As always, we learn our opponents' skills (not that we have seen them use them in this battle, but...) Asura Lotus is a multi-hit attack (3-5 when solo, 2-3 when in pair), but it takes a ridiculous 200MP to use, so basically I will never use it (Eluca and Zhamo do not have the 1/2 MP skill at this point). Critical Pierce is passive skill that increases critical damage by ignoring the defence stat (this is again similar to a mechanism that exists in some Final Fantasy games, notably FFX), this one is certainly useful. These two skills are for the Human Warrior Gene plate. The other two skills are for the Human Mage: Moonlight Shadow makes you take 0 damage once, and Recover MP every turn does exactly what it says. Neither is especially interesting, although perhaps Moonlight Shadow can have limited use in some situations. Its usefulness is limited because in most of situations where casting it may make a difference you could instead cast a Healing spell, or use a healing item--there are no enemies with insta-death moves and if they are doing too much damage to you then you won't be able to keep up anyway and need to level up.  So, again the number of characters has been halved and you can see above on the screenshot who won the other fight...
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Nov 17, 2012 23:23
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I'm even more convinced we're going to see Ayuta and Mana's side now. There's obviously unrevealed story there.
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Nov 18, 2012 00:05
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Honestly, I expected that this party would face the former winners as well -- it seems weird that only one of the parties fights the group with the greatest relevance to the larger plot. Even if Ayuta and Mana have unrevealed back story, I doubt they have much to do with the Ark.
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Nov 18, 2012 09:15
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ivantod posted:
Have you learned nothing from the Princess Bride? Stable Hands in love with princesses are the most skilled fighters.
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Nov 18, 2012 16:17
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Einander posted:Honestly, I expected that this party would face the former winners as well -- it seems weird that only one of the parties fights the group with the greatest relevance to the larger plot. Even if Ayuta and Mana have unrevealed back story, I doubt they have much to do with the Ark. We don't actually know much of anything about the plot of this side of the story, and it seems likely to have a different focus so you're not just playing the same story with different characters in the pilot seat.
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Nov 18, 2012 19:13
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Ayuta and Mana's backstory seems clear enough already... but maybe there's more to it than meets the eye.
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Nov 18, 2012 21:03
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I was kind of expecting to fight Vahti and Olgar as well, but I guess things have to be the same before they can be different.
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Nov 18, 2012 23:46
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 Another day, another fight. Olgar, Vahti, Ayuta and Mana did not survive, so we have again the same four characters like in the previous version of events. Their backgrounds are, however, slightly different in this timeline.  Quick chat with Piu-Pui in case he has something different to say...   He does not. This is the same dialogue that we already heard when Escher and Musiea were at this point, so we can move on to bigger and better things. He doesn't have any new weapons/clothes to sell either (not that we have been buying much of his stuff lately, all our equipment seems to be coming from chests these days).  So, we'll go back over to Escher and Musiea then.    When he did that, Olgar and Vahti stopped attacking... Ha ha, those two were a lot more naïve than they looked. There's no way I'd pass up a free shot like that. How can you say that? If they hadn't stopped attacking... Yeah. We might be dead now. I can't believe you saved me...We are interrupted by the Agent...   However, you have not yet obtained your proof of partnership. Ask yourself, why is your partner the person here with you now? Find the answer to that question, and you shall find your proof. If you can't find your proof, you will not be allowed in the final battle. Proof of our partnership...? Now, my children. The third door has been opened. Go forth, fight hard and seek your proof.He leaves, and we can continue the conversation.  Olgar, Vahti... What was the truth you two knew...? There's something... off about these monsters. Nothing about their ecological system makes sense.At this point, they get into the conversation about how monsters resemble modified animals from their countries and how Agent/someone is testing their intellect via the puzzles. But we've heard that conversation before, and it even involved this same group of people last time too. So we don't need to hear it again.    It really ticks me off. In other words, someone else is giving him orders. Yeah. I'm sure of it. So, we can't even defeat the Agent, and now you're telling us there's someone even stronger above him? I'm going to get stronger and stronger and crush the Agent once and for all. If someone else is pulling his strings I'll just take them down as well. Besides, they may not necessarily be stronger than the Agent. Yes... that's true. Whether by your hand, or by ours... They will get what's coming to them. For Ayuta, Mana, Olgar and Vahti's sake as much as ours. I'll drink to that! I've never seen so much blood in my life... I can still smell it from my clothes... Now that I think of it... we have to take care of the Executioner too. What a pain.Well, let's go into the dungeon.  This time we get the Clashing Grounds.  I am feeling adventurous...  And here we are in the snowy area.  Even with such a difference in levels we are still pretty much destroying the enemies.  Soon it's the first puzzle. This time, it's the block swapping/gem collection version.  Moving on after the puzzle, we find a chest with new clothes for Eluca.  It's all so very bloody.  Oddly enough, basically around the corner are also clothes for Zhamo.   And the second puzzle too.  At this level, we sometimes get a more advanced enemy in a random battle. It's still not an issue.  Eventually we reach the first boss.  A bunch of spell counters...  ...and we're done here.     I don't know why I chose you. But I don't hate you at all. You don't? I don't. Really. ...Even though I tried to kill you? The only person I hate... is the Divine King. Stop spouting nonsense! You had no choice but to follow his orders. You didn't do it because you wanted to. Right? ...Anyway, moving on to the scorchy part of the dungeons...   We are interrupted by a sudden earthquake!      A rock has fallen in between Eluca and Zhamo... There is no way I can get there now. We'll have to find another place to meet up. Okay. Be careful, Eluca. ...You too, Zhamo. So Eluca continues on her own.  Around the corner is Escher who apparently also got separated from musiea.   Same here. Just my luck. Can I ask you something, Escher? What? Why did you choose Musiea? You don't have to answer if you don't want to. I don't know why I chose her. I've known my share of women... but I have no idea why she's here. ...I see. I mean, she's got completely the wrong idea about me. I'm not the one who killed her family. It was a traitor from my old organisation. Organisation? Yeah... you know what kind I mean, right? Anyway, Musiea saw me taking care of that traitor. So that's why she misunderstood. Yeah, pretty much. So, why did Zhamo choose you? He says he doesn't know. How are you and he connected anyway? The Divine King who leads our country has been running a cruel and oppressive regime, and he has been driving people into poverty. But if anyone expressed the slightest dissatisfaction, he would have them executed as a warning to others. As head soldier of his personal guard, it was my duty to perform those executions. Zhamo and his family were accused of plotting to overthrow the king, and were sentenced to be executed for treason. WHen I was young child, Zhamo's father recognised my skill with a sword, and rescued me from the streets. Thanks to him, I eventually went on to work as a soldier at the royal palace. He and Zhamo's mother treated me like a daughter. So when Zhamo was born, it felt like I had gained a brother... Zhamo's family was the only family I knew... And yet... Go on. Right before the execution, his parents told me this. "Don't hesitate." "If you hesitate, you'll also be charged with treason." They were worried about me right until the moment they died... ...when I killed my own family... So, why is Zhamo still alive then? All I remember is that I was just about to cut off Zhamo's head. And when I woke up, we were here. I see. So you killed his parents. And yet, he said he didn't hate me... I can't understand that child. I think you're the child here. What? Yes, you may have been the one holding the sword. But it was the king who gave the order to kill. So you are saying that I'm not at all responsible because I pledget allegiance to a madman? No, you're responsible too. The problem is how you handle it.The conversation is interrupted.       Finally, we move on. This was a very long break.  And what better time for a puzzle. For some reason, this one is quite hard.  As before, this removes one part of the obstacle.  After solving this, much easier puzzle...  ...we can go over...  ...and meet with our friend the double headed tiger!   Same strategy as before. This nets us absolutely nothing:       So, it's interesting to note that the character backgrounds in this timeline are not exactly the same as the ones seen previously. In any case, next time we'll go through the final dungeon and then presumably fight against Escher and Musiea...
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Nov 21, 2012 23:05
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If there are stories for any of the other couples, maybe you should try a low-level run for them because this is just silly.
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Nov 21, 2012 23:28
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| # ? Apr 23, 2024 21:00 |
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alcharagia posted:If there are stories for any of the other couples, maybe you should try a low-level run for them because this is just silly. It's actually pretty funny, because as I've said, I haven't actually been doing any real grinding--sure, I haven't been running away from random battles and I use the best equipment I can find, but really the characters at this point are only at like level 25. Also the game kind goes between two extremes, either you are getting one- (or two-) shotted or you are oneshotting stuff (but to be clear, these last bosses have not been oneshot by me, I just omitted most of the battle since we've seen it all before). In fact as we've seen, there are optional bosses later which you simply cannot beat unless you have at least XXXXX HP because they simply deal too much damage. I'll see perhaps what I can do, but I think at this point we're in it more for the story than for the game mechanics, which is not that unique anyway. This is partly why this LP has a subtitle "The Good Parts" (which I admit I stole from "The Princess Bride" anyway)! But anyway, I'm happy to hear everybody's opinions on the subject.
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Nov 22, 2012 08:14
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