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Also I realize now that I look at things that the next map is not the one I thought it was. It's still pretty dirty but it's a later that has the deeply bullshit special guest star I was thinking of.
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Jun 12, 2014 06:05
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KataraniSword posted:Jungo's oddly fits on account of it being Jungo, though. I mean, for him, it makes perfect sense to think of everybody as friends after a few days and to be singularly focused on his job as a And  .
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Jun 12, 2014 06:12
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and 
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Io Nitta ~ Tuatha Dé Denann Since this time we're going to be doing something pretty long, we'll want some new demons to alleviate the workload slightly.  And what's better to do so than a new Tyrant? Hecate (Pazuzu + Hariti) is pretty great in both concept and execution. No weaknesses? Gives us Anti-Most (resist to everything but Phys and Almighty)? A ridiculous amount of Magic? She's pretty much our ideal starting point for patching weaknesses en masse now.  While seeming underwhelming now, Girimehkala (Botis + Take-Mikazuchi) isn't all that bad either really. Not because he's intrinsically great or anything, but because he reflects Physicals. Reflect is the only defensive affinity that cannot be circumvented by Pierce which is what makes it a bad thing to fight against. Only downside here is that he can't transfer it on fusions.  So, about that Dragon Stream... [Music: Exploration]   Ah, Hibiki. My end of the preparations are complete. Shall we begin? What about the others? They're all ready to go. Shall we be off?  Oh, okay... Oh, wait... This place... It's in the death clip.[Music: The Enigma Deepens]   What...? Th-Then I'm going to die here...? ...What? Are you afraid? But it's too late, now.  No... I'm okay. [Music: The Operation Starts] ...I'm going. Uh, so... like this? Hibiki, and the rest of you, stay here and protect Nitta. All right? What about you?  Huh? Did he say war gods...? Something's odd. ...Yes, I agree. What...!? Do you know something, Makoto? Well... I haven't been told anything, but I have been with JP's longer than you guys. [Music: Silence]  Aaah! Your cell phone rings... [Music: JPs -Geomagnetism Research Department-]  You probably already know this, but the overflowing power will attract demons. You'll have to protect Nitta until the ritual is completed, no matter what happens. That's it.[Music: Countdown]  Roughly translated: using Lugh to create the Dragon will spawn demons. Are you surprised? I bet you're surprised.  Ugh...! So that's what he meant! Don't tell me you weren't expecting this. We've got to suck it up and deal with it. Hmph... I was just getting bored, anyway. I'll take them all on! Mhm... It's just like every other time. I'm going to defeat those demons...![Music: Challenge to the Fate]  The two victory conditions are misleading, because they're basically one in the same. While I'm sure it may well be possible to wipe out every demon earlier, it would require an awful lot of work and effort to achieve.  An amount that I just don't feel like putting in. Letting the fight drag on works to our benefit anyway. We don't get any cracks beyond these two self-explanatory ones, but hey. Can't complain much about physical immunity.  We'll even kick things off by grabbing it. Wiping out the Legion without Orobas there immediately jumping Jungo is awkward and annoying, so I just popped Evil Flow to not worry about it.  A colossal waste of the MP, but I'm not complaining too much about it. It gets the results we want at least.  Aaaaaahhh! I-Io!? Wh-What should I do...? Io's in pain...Your cell phone rings...  You must be aware of her condition and heal her when you can.On some of her turns, Io will take fixed damage that we don't need to heal but it helps to do so. Just in case.  It doesn't come up too often, so we'll thin out the few demons that can pretend to be threats. By which I mean they have movement skills that let them get vaguely close.  Hinako just keeps on being Hinako, really. The Silky gets wiped by damage rather than petrification for a nice change.  So, about that Orobas?  It has 2 Nisrocs with it. Ugh. This is only annoying because of Shield All. It has a hidden benefit.  All three are weak to Ice. Bifrons' Bufudynes are a wee bit of an overkill but it's in all the right ways.  Mothman #2 tries to take out Hinako. Doesn't really have any alternatives to consider.  To the surprise of approx no one, it ends the same way as the first.  We even get a... Strength Add-On? Guess we've gone through the lot once already then. At this point it does give them randomly; getting a real good one (like Remove Command/Passive or certain sets) is a bit less likely though.  It's not even Io's turn again yet, but we're already a fifth of the way done. Naturally this means...  More demons spawn in. They do this at every progress report we get from Yamato. So, three more of these then.  The initial Nues have finally gotten close-ish to Io. One of them has 2 Pisacas with it, so of course they Curse Io. Why wouldn't they make things more mildly inconvenient?  One of them suicides on Jungo.  And I do mean suicides.  Speaking of Pisacas, this newly spawned Legion has two of them as well. They don't use Possess on Otome though for whatever reason.  Not looking a gift horse in the mouth though. Instead, I'm just gonna speed up this kind of chaff and shove a Ziodyne down Legion's many many mouths.  The other Nue also suicides on Jungo. Maybe they'll learn eventually not to do this. Heavy emphasis on that maybe.   This coincides with a new synchronicity increase for Io.  Naturally this means more lower demons spawn in. We'll get to those later, but this gal's been around since the start so we'll finish her off next.  This ends exactly how you would expect it to. Badb can resist all the punches she likes, but it doesn't matter when she gets turned into a statue immediately.  Otome then puts the hurt on a Nue. Chernobog is the only thing to get an Extra Turn, so of course it uses Free Leap to turn tail and run.  Jungo ain't taking that poo poo though. Can't get close enough to punch normally, so Evil Flow to wipe it out.  ...This is a normal punch. Not a Power Hit. Not a Crit Up'd Mighty Hit. A regular ol' Attack.  This coincides with the next +20% for Io and Lugh's support ranks.  It's at this stage actual new demons spawn in. In this case, we get to fight against an Abaddon. The next Vile demon up; it's actually a little out of our reach right now since it requires Hibiki to be level 48.  We'll worry about that soon enough though. For now, this Badb has gotten too close to Io to ignore. We're gonna have to put her down.  And put her down we do. She didn't really stand a chance in the first place, but points for trying I guess.  Pretty much immediately after, we get to the penultimate synch level.   S-Something came out! It doesn't feel like those weak demons... Careful!This spawns in 3 demons we haven't fought against yet: Scathach, Yama... and Kudlak the level 50 vampire Ghost (so he's above Pisaca). Much like Kresnik, he was part of a sidequest in Devil Survivor 1 - and he was even the boss fight for that quest - but here's he's just a dude. Scathach turns up in Free Battles before now, but there's been no need to bother with them. Yama, like Kudlak, was a boss fight in Survivor 1 but not so much here. Again, downgraded to be just a dude. We've used these two before, though, so there's no tricks there.  These are the last reinforcements. So long as we can outlast them, we win regardless of whether we take 'em out or not.  Taking them out is quicker, and very definitely my preference at least.  This one was just poor positioning on my part. Slightly miscounted where it could hit.  Slipped Badb into Hibiki's team for a moment to get over to near Kudlak. Better to draw his aggro than give him chance to get close to Io.  Hassohappa kinda stings a little. Girimehkalas are weak to Force at least, so we can take advantage of that with Badb if need be.  Likewise, Kudlak is weak to Fire. Dancing takes him out mighty fast at least.  Didn't quite expect Yama to run over to Hinako afterwards, but I'm not gonna fuss too much over it. Saves us time at least.  He also comes with two Nisrocs, but this time its not even a problem. They DO get to Shield All before Hinako can punch (surprisingly), but Multi-Strike gives no fucks. That is the only thing that saved Yama until Kresnik gave him a light slap though.  Scathach got over here that fast because she has a Mothman in her team. We'll take care of her soon, but first Otome's getting her own back on the Abaddon.  ...Well, he is a Vile so of course Chernobog hitting him with a Mighty Hit is going to come close to four digit damage.  And Jungo's going to take out Lugh's son's teacher without fear of reprisal.  Hariti's damage isn't quite as nuts-good as Bifrons' or Chernobog's were, but still. 800 isn't to be sneezed at.  And, yeah, Hassohappa's not stellar or anything. Still gets the job done even if Mow Down probably would've too.  And the Mothman doesn't have Endure, surprisingly enough. One of the few that is oneshottable. [Music: Silence]  Your cell phone rings...  What...!? But... why? Io is...   With this... I can do this! [Music: Silence] [Video: Lugh and the Dragon Stream]  infinitely easier and better to watch this if you can.      [Video: End] [Music: Countdown]  Your cell phone rings...  Loud and clear. Good to hear. The Dragon Stream has turned into a dragon to capture Mizar. Mizar is clinging to a building. You must climb it and rip off its tentacles. Hibiki... Find the right moment to head to that building and finish Mizar. Hmph... Now's the time! I've had enough of being underestimated... [Music: Requiem]  Don't tell me. Oh... Hibiki... Io isn't... w-waking up... She's... Haha... No way! This is just a joke, right? Io? Right? Nitta...! Wake up, Nitta! Wake up! Io! [Music: Silence] Io...! Io...![Music: Over the Brink of Death]   She's... She's alive... Yes... Hibiki, Io's alive! Of course she is. Hibiki... Um... Thank you. Welcome back. Oh... I'm back... Thanks.After celebrating Io's return for a while, you all leave the area...  Now that we've got Mizar pinned down, on top of a random building we can go and kick his ballsy teeth in. And we will go and do just that! Afterwards, we can hang out with dudes again as per usual. The question is who gets the privilege?
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Jun 13, 2014 03:07
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Ya' know, Mizar is really just a giant Chuckya when you think about it.
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Jun 13, 2014 04:15
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Unkillable: Errybody Get Lugh Edition This isn't an incredibly tough map, but it does have some powerful demons later on. Really, you probably just want to keep a party with a Megami around Io, a party up on the steps above her, and then some mobile parties with Genma or Winged demons to let them pop around and put out fires. You shouldn't actually have to worry about any of your real parties going down, nothing here has any skills that are a real existential threat to a competent party. Still, they are all at a pretty good level, and if you've been lagging behind you'll probably get bodied by the later waves. Don't be that guy who is lagging behind in levels and gets bodied. Tyrant Hecate is one of the absolute best demons for the rest of this day and really into the next, because she'll get the upgraded version of Tyranny, Blood Treaty. This is activated before a Skirmish and greatly improves the effect of Tyranny, and it's goddamn amazing because it pretty much means your party has infinite MP. It also goes really well with Evil Flow, because you can pop both and then after the Skirmish you'll have recovered all the MP you had to spend for the Flow (which is not cheap, to be quite honest). She's also super easy to get to 40 Magic and Anti-Most makes a lot of demons infinitely more viable, so basically what I'm saying is fusing Hecate as soon as you're high enough level is a top priority. Mizar's fight is next, and is the most AMAZING THING as I'm sure you can already tell. Maybe my favorite set piece in the game.
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Jun 13, 2014 04:28
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Hecate is definitely the first demon that managed to stay through my party to the endgame. Granted, on the last few fights it kind of lags, but I still kept it around on account of all Tyrants being Unique and Blood Treaty being good enough to keep on every team.
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Jun 13, 2014 06:27
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Hecate is fantastic.
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Jun 14, 2014 03:57
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Good lord that was some DMC acrobatics. I imagine Dante isn't in this one. But I can see how that can weaken you to the point of death.
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Jun 18, 2014 01:58
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Since we have now passed the point that I'd consider this a real spoiler for the game, here's basically what happens in the Mizar episode of the anime: Okay so Mizar gets literally 30 seconds of screentime because the dragon eats his dumb rear end no muss no fuss but then OH NO LUGH HAS POSSESSED IO and then Lugh does crazy villain laughs in the body of a teenage girl and floats around laser spearing people until she gets to the JP's building and Hibiki's like OH NO IO GIMME BACK MY LOVE INTEREST and Lugh's like "lol" and then Yamato shows up and summons Baal and starts whupping the poo poo out of Lugh and Hibiki's like NITTA-SAAAAAAAAAN and summons Byakko and Suzaku both of whom Baal jobs the gently caress out of and Yamato's like "dammit Hibiki you dumbass" and Lugh's like "ok gently caress this poo poo" and laser spears them but then Hibiki punches the laser spear in the fact and then suddenly the Dragon Stream decides it's BFFs with him and he gains the Shoryuken and has the dragon around his arm (???) and Anguished One's like "lol idk" and Yamato's like "PERFECT HIBIKI THIS MEANS WE CAN RULE TOGETHER" and then Hibiki Force Pushes him away and is like I AM THE HERO I MUST PROTECT OTHERS and then he starts floating into the air while unfitting music plays and is like NITTA-SAAAAAN and his anime force is so powerful he screams the demon out of Io and they're in the floating white screen dimension and Hibiki flies towards Io in slow motion while she cries perfectly spherical tears and then they hug while floating in midair above the JP's building and Lugh's like "gently caress this poo poo I'm outta here" and shatters into a billion pieces and Yamato's like "drat that was gay just like I am for Hibiki"
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Jun 18, 2014 03:54
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The worst part is, by the sound of it, you explained it like someone who actually enjoys the show would. (If, you know, anyone like that actually existed.)
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Jun 18, 2014 04:05
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That sounds like someone accidentally swapped out the real script for the show with some fan fiction they were laughing at. And by that I mean it's hilarious.
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Jun 18, 2014 04:08
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In short, they gutted the Mizar fight to make way for the power of friendship and ripping a scene directly out of an Evangelion movie.
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Jun 18, 2014 04:17
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ChaosArgate posted:In short, they gutted the Mizar fight to make way for the power of friendship and ripping a scene directly out of an Evangelion movie. If you think that was bad, wait until you hear how they handled the finale!
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Jun 18, 2014 04:21
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alcharagia posted:Episode 10 of the anime.  addendum to all of this:You may have noticed that alcharagia doesn't mention what Makoto, Fumi, Daichi, Jungo, Airi, and Hinako are doing during this sequence. As you can guess, Makoto and Fumi are doing JP's stuff for this; and by that, I mean Fumi sets up Io in a very large and weird machine to channel Lugh (as opposed to a summoning circle like in the game), and both generally comment on the situation in a very non-emotional manner. Makoto even opens the episode with the deadpan (paraphrased) "Io Nitta, tomorrow you will die for us." line. Outside of Fumi and Makoto, the rest of the surviving cast might not even have shown up for this episode. That's because they do absolutely nothing but stand still and watch as everything unfolds. Well, Daichi "attempts" to stop all of this, but then Yamato puts him in a chokehold threatens to drop Daichi to the ground from his Special Raised Command Platform that the anime gave Yamato (no, really). After that, Daichi then just stands around like the others are, with the occasional "Stop this!" or "This is horrible." comment. I cannot stress just how much the anime flat out ignores or brushes aside everyone not named Yamato, Hibiki or the Anguished One. Episode 10 is probably one of the biggest cases of this happening. I get that the anime had to crunch a lot of game content into 13 episodes, but when you have long panning shots of characters standing around doing nothing while someone talks off-screen (and have it happen in multiple episodes), that's when your script has issues. Hell, here's a big example of how rushed the anime was: the ending animation and next episode preview. After Keita dies, the anime removes him from the ending pan of all the characters, which is a nice little touch. But, around episode 5, they stop this. From episode 5 until episode 11, the ending animation is the credits over actual dialogue and action from the episode still going on. And to top it all off, the previews, and I wish I was making this up, would be posted online a day after the episode aired, if they got posted at all. Yes, the staff were so crunched for time, they couldn't even add in a next episode preview on time and had to do it the next day via a separate video. About the only thing of note (that doesn't make my head hurt) is what they have been doing with AO for episodes 9 and 10. AO sort of becomes Hibiki's roommate and tries to act like a normal human being. As in, not float all the time and even make breakfast for Hibiki, Daichi and Io. I'd post the video of AO trying to walk like a person, but it's got a BIG spoiler for AO that...I believe we haven't covered yet in the game, so I'll hold off on that a little longer.
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Jun 18, 2014 04:22
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AradoBalanga posted:About the only thing of note (that doesn't make my head hurt) is what they have been doing with AO for episodes 9 and 10. This, along with the first episode, which was legitimately a good adaptation because it was pretty faithful and not mindbogglingly stupid, was one of the few things from the anime that didn't make my head hurt.
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Jun 18, 2014 04:25
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Holy poo poo I'm so glad I didn't watch that poo poo because as I said the whole final showdown with Mizar is loving in the game and they poo poo all over it from that description. I mean I'm not kidding I think it might be the best fight in the game.
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Jun 18, 2014 04:28
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AradoBalanga posted:About the only thing of note (that doesn't make my head hurt) is what they have been doing with AO for episodes 9 and 10. AO sort of becomes Hibiki's roommate and tries to act like a normal human being. As in, not float all the time and even make breakfast for Hibiki, Daichi and Io. I'd post the video of AO trying to walk like a person, but it's got a BIG spoiler for AO that...I believe we haven't covered yet in the game, so I'll hold off on that a little longer. Just promise that you'll post it when the time is right.
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Jun 18, 2014 04:41
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Considering he's been around and teaching humans for so long, wouldn't his first thought be to walk like an Egyptian? 
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Jun 18, 2014 04:47
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ultrafilter posted:Just promise that you'll post it when the time is right.
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Jun 18, 2014 04:51
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Yeah, I'll try and get the Mizar fight proper out sometime soonish but I've been a bit distracted. Final Fantasy V fiesta and all that.
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Jun 18, 2014 04:56
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I'll definitely agree that the AO is the one thing the anime did (mostly) right. They take what is established in game and develop it further, giving him extra scenes that show what he was doing prior to the Polaris shenanigans, as well as cute scenes that establish he genuinely is interested in the cast and humanity as a whole. Its just a shame about...literally everything else. Especially the finale. I will have words for the finale, trust me.
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Jun 18, 2014 09:51
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Honestly that all sounds kind of great. Especially the part where Yamato wants Hibiki's Mara. The fact that people seem legitimately mad about that makes me love it.
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Jun 18, 2014 12:24
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Like I can see how that scene could be kind of cool in a really dumb way just for the ridiculous spectacle of it, but only if you didn't know what was supposed to happen in that scene, and also if you didn't know what happens later in the game that makes the later parts of the scene really obviously 100% opposite land wrong.
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Jun 18, 2014 14:36
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 This... this is the same director who did the Persona 4 adaptation, right? Because I'm starting to feel like what happened here was that one actually had someone from Atlus looking over his shoulder the entire time to make sure he didn't accidentally murder their cash cow. And then here he wasn't given any oversight whatsoever and decided, "gently caress it, let's adapt my Hibiki/Yamato/AO fanfic instead!"
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Jun 18, 2014 19:35
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W.T. Fits posted:
Seiji Kishi has a pretty awful track record with anything that's not off-the-wall humor. Probably the best example of this is comparing the first half of the Angel Beats anime to its second half. 
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Jun 18, 2014 19:43
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W.T. Fits posted:
Would it be better if in the Devil Survivor 2 adaption the Dragon Stream was just two Chie's?
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Jun 18, 2014 19:44
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Trial of the Dragon (Stream)
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Jun 18, 2014 19:50
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W.T. Fits posted:
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Jun 18, 2014 21:23
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Manatee Cannon posted:Would it be better if in the Devil Survivor 2 adaption the Dragon Stream was just two Chie's? Double Chie was an animation goof in one scene (and to be honest, I never even noticed it until after the series had finished its run and goons pointed it out in the MegaTen megathread). I don't think that's quite on the same level as the massive train wreck the Devil Survivor 2 anime apparently was.
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Jun 18, 2014 21:55
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Double Chie?
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Jun 18, 2014 22:06
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 Look at who's on the porch, then look at who's sitting next to Rise inside the house.
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Jun 18, 2014 23:22
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Whenever you see something like that a Nyarlathotep did it.
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Jun 19, 2014 00:13
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alcharagia posted:OH NO IO GIMME BACK MY LOVE INTEREST I thought Makoto was Hibiki's love interest.
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Jun 19, 2014 00:56
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Seyser Koze posted:I thought Makoto was Hibiki's love interest. Not in the anime! Instead, they made her in love with Yamato. I still don't know why.
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Jun 19, 2014 01:55
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BlazeEmblem posted:Not in the anime! Instead, they made her in love with Yamato. She kind of owes a lot to JP's and gratitude equals love, obviously.
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Jun 19, 2014 02:08
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Strange Quark posted:She kind of owes a lot to JP's and gratitude equals love, obviously. Well, female-subordinate-swooning-over-male-superior is an all-too-common trope even outside of anime.
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Jun 19, 2014 02:22
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W.T. Fits posted:Double Chie was an animation goof in one scene (and to be honest, I never even noticed it until after the series had finished its run and goons pointed it out in the MegaTen megathread). I don't think that's quite on the same level as the massive train wreck the Devil Survivor 2 anime apparently was. I'll take that as a yes.
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Jun 19, 2014 02:54
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Seyser Koze posted:I thought Makoto was Hibiki's love interest. Implications might vary from ending to ending and the person in question does in fact pretty clearly have a thing for the MC but the anime's not necessarily wrong either on this. EDIT: It also seems like they've kind of misread why Makoto acts the way she does towards Yamato, she's incredibly grateful to him because in her mind she didn't have a reason to live before he came around, which causes her to go along with stuff despite not really agreeing with it. Feinne fucked around with this message at 03:08 on Jun 19, 2014 |
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Jun 19, 2014 03:01
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So...Shinron is basically trying to eat an alien Chuckya...best. game. ever.
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Jun 19, 2014 19:47
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| # ? Apr 26, 2024 16:47 |
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Day of the Tentacle As always, we'll start things off with a bit of light fusion. Just the one thing this time, but it's the only level 48 demon so whatever.  Abaddon (Kresnik + Balor) is actually pretty good for a Vile. Naturally weak to Physicals by default but being able to fuse him by immediately using Kresnik makes it a non-issue. Can be built to suit either physicals or magic, and even comes with Anti-Most giving a way to easily transfer that if Hecate isn't efficient.  Nothing else to do, so let's go get that Mizar. [Music: Exploration]  ...Is anyone getting a weird sense of deja vu from this? Just me? Ah, Hibiki. I've been waiting for you. Mizar is above. I assume you are ready? Then let's head to the roof of the government building. Okay, I'm going. Very well... Just don't let your guard down.[Music: Countdown]  Okay, so yeah this is a really cool setpiece.  A really cool setpiece.  Also near in mind that Mizar is wriggling the entire time. He's attempting, and failing, to break free from the Dragon's front mouth.  ...Is it trying to eat it whole? Mizar's still hanging in there. This is impressive... But we don't have time to be freaked out. We have to do something! Yes... I agree. Huh!? Look! If we attack and cut off the tentacles, Mizar won't be able to defend itself! So we need to hit the tentacles...? But those things...  The same thing will happen if we leave one of them alive, so let's defeat all those, too! Let's go, Kuze! We don't have much time to use the Dragon Stream as a dragon! If we don't defeat Mizar before it's gone, we don't have a chance of winning this![Music: Septentrion]  Much like our last tussle with Mizar(s), there are a few regular demons lying around but we can just ignore 'em. We aren't, but we can. It's a good idea to just sip them entirely if the incredibly generous time limit becomes too much for you though.  There's only three things we can crack, and they're all pretty simple passives still. There ARE some actual spells and stuff we don't have yet, honest.  We can fight the main body proper this go around, but this just involves taking advantage of his replication to split his tentacles. The larger broken off parts are more threatening than these things. Especially since these guys come alone and there are only two of 'em. That range of 4 sounds threatening, but we have Evil Flow so its a non-issue.  Like so. Hibiki and Jungo are going to run around to the other side of the map, where there's a couple of demons and we want to be over there later anyway. Jungo's main job here is to provide covering fire from a safe distance but, well, Hibiki doesn't need it that much really. He literally cannot die here. You'll see.  At the moment, both are just stood outside this tentacle's range in case it doesn't drop immediately. There's no threat of reprisal and it can't move at all.  Worried about nothing though. Between Jungo and two Fire Dancing demons, the Tentacle drops in no time. Balor is mainly just so Jungo can keep up the Evil Flows though. And, yes, we can't kill the tentacles. Even if we obliterate their 1050 HP (easy enough at this point), they'll hang on with 1 hit point left.  This is because the tentacles are scripted to split into two of the smaller ones after you beat 'em. They might also do it if you don't take them out in one go, but I wouldn't know. They're pretty simple all things considered.  You might be wondering then where the Abaddon's gotten to. Fumi has it. I brought Fumi instead of Otome because Fumi has (at the start of the fight) 38 magic. The Abaddon's for later stuff but helps with destroying this Badb Catha.  And I do mean destroying it. Between Fumi dropping Force Dances and our own Badb throwing out a Zandyne, the entire enemy party drops in no time flat.  This Abaddon's close enough to our starting point to potentially be a nuisance. Hinako can handle it easily enough.  It's weak to punches. Hinako and Kresnik are really good at punches. Their lethality could even be somewhat necessary if those Ym's had Evil Flow, which they surprisingly don't.  Speaking of stuff that can fight at range though, these two smaller Mizars are kind of in our way.  Could move around them, but they're basically free EXP at this point so I'll get rid of them.  We don't even have to touch them, ever, if we didn't want to though. Despite seeming like they could be a nuisance, eh. Not really.  The other one was even kind enough to use its turn on a Quick Growth so Hibiki can blast it with the upperhand yet again.  Those done, we can throw Jungo at the Tentacle from a safe distance yet again. My placement, in general, is a bit off though. If the Tentacle survives it can, and almost certainly will, hit Hibiki.  Quite the big "if" though. Oh, and Jungo has the Vitality at this point to equip Drain Hit in lieu of an increased crit chance. He's now functionally immortal since his punches drain more HP than they cost to use. So, that's the two tentacles done. We've already won, right?  ...Not quite. Now they've spread out a bit further. The one at that end is drawing us closer to a Badb Catha and Abaddon left over at that side. There's also two mini-Mizars in between our current location and that far Tentacle.  Since we've gotten closer to the main body, the defensive power of them has gone up ever-so-slightly. I still consider the grown broken off Mizars to be a bigger threat than this part of the main body though. These secondary Tentacles have 1200 HP. Not a big issue.  Especially when Hinako's stood waiting and ready for this one.  Since these Tentacles are roughly on our level, Bifrons doesn't immolate it in oneshot. Over 500 is still remarkably impressive and does finish it off after Hinako and Kresnik pummeling it to below half effortlessly though.  Naturally, these ones are also scripted to drop to 1HP at a minimum then split into two mini-Mizars again.  To speed things along a bit, at this point I say gently caress it and blast team leaders primarily. And by "speed things along," I mean I got bored of taking things down piece by piece and want to save some MP for Fumi.  But, hey, that doesn't mean I'm not going to have other teams do it too.  We're about halfway done with the fight when Yamato gives us a call. This basically is a reminder that there's a time limit more than anything else though. Kind of a non-issue.  The mini-Mizars aren't even remotely a threat at this point so I'm just putting them out of their misery the easiest way possible. Also their EXP isn't that much better if I wipe them all out anyway. They've lost their pinata luster.  Times like this I wish I gave Jungo Assassinate again. I mean, yeah, this is more than enough to win anyway but the Assassinate numbers are so much flashier.  I don't claim to be perfect, except the times when I do. This is one of those times when I have a dumb plan but I'm calling it a work of perfection anyway.  Hinako's team can still easily take care of this tentacle without any hassle so that's out of the way. Two more down, and...  Mizar's still hanging in there. Now we have to get to both buildings to win. Problem here is that if you take out the secondary tentacles by standing next to them, the new ones can immediately turn around and blast you. Like one can do to Hinako which is a Bad Thing.  Primarily because these ones are pretty close to full-on damage control. Star Pressure is basically Mighty Hit on crack. And he has Phys Amp increasing its damage potential, along with boosting that Multi-Strike. And he has Swift Step. That gives him a very high chance of going first in every skirmish. These tentacles have 1500 HP. Not a whole lot, but might be enough to survive past one skirmish now. [Music: Break Out]  Star Pressure loving hurts, man. If it weren't for the Abaddon and Badb still being alive, this would've wiped Fumi on the spot. A second one would still be an immediate wipe, if it hits. Or if Mizar does the not-dumb thing and follows up with Multi-Strike.  Fortunately, Fumi does have Diarahan because I planned for this happening. After all, the only way Mizar can drop Fumi's chance of counterattacks is by dropping Fumi period. He outright cannot hurt Abaddon even if he tried.  Meanwhile over on the far end, I have a weird plan in mind. See, the tentacle over here can just hit Hinako where she is now. This is why I'm attacking this unrelated small Mizar and not the Tentacle. Jungo could do that and probably drop it on the spot but I have a cunning plan.  First things first, gotta drop this Mizar without the chance of it surviving. A rare time I'm focusing on the leader because its actually a tactical decision rather than me being lazy.  Kinda expected Badb to attack Hinako here. See, this Badb has two Silkies with it.  Hibiki's entire team is running Fire spells. This ends quite badly for said Silkies.  That interruption dealt with, I can now put my weirdly cunning plan into action. By moving Hinako up one square to here, she cannot be attacked by the main Mizar now. This is just outside of its attack range, but the other small Mizar would be able to attack without fear of reprisal if Jungo left it alive.  The other small Mizar? Doesn't even register as a threat when it was alive. Now that it's been turned into shards of stone, it's arguably more threatening because someone could cut their hands picking up the pieces.  Fumi and co. are back on the other side slowly plugging away on that tentacle. These ones don't spawn smaller Mizars, so Fumi taking her time with it doesn't matter. For the best too, since only Fumi can really hurt this thing.  But after a short while, she does eventually wipe it out. And these ones actually do die.  Afterwards, Yamato calls us up to complain about us being slow. This is the first time I've taken this long, but I usually just bumrush the tentacles without caring about taking out any stragglers.  As for the Abaddon, which I took the opportunity to snipe at? I didn't pay attention to its party so I missed that the Lhams with it have both Hero Soul (take a single-target hit for the leader regardless of their HP) AND Endure. This proves to be my one real miscalculation.  Afterall, Abaddon's default attack range is 3. You can't benefit from Evil Flow when its the AI's turns and Lham Dearg can guarantee crits. The AI isn't completely stupid, so it focuses solely on Ym. You can guess how this ends.  Hinako's out for revenge, and where she's stood is, yet again, outside of Mizar's attack range.  I'd say petrifying and murdering the poo poo out of the entire team in one Multi-Strike is a fair penance for them to pay. Now that we're just down to the last Tentacle, Hibiki can rush right towards it and laugh at everything it tries to do.  I gave Hibiki Null Phys. Mizar has nothing but Physical attacks (and Petra Eyes, but, y'know, still has Null Curse from before). Literally cannot lose at this point. Hariti got punked by a Star Pressure before this. Not a big deal.  Since I actively can only lose via running out of time now, and that's never happening, I can blast the remaining tentacle at my leisure.  I can, but I don't. I just blast it immediately. Fire Dance and Agidyne make very short work of it.  And just like that, we are done.  A pretty fun fight if I do say so myself.  Plus, hey, we're now done with the sixth Septentrione. We're so, so close to Polaris now. [Music: Silence] [Video: Mizary] Again, best to just watch this.  Well, okay. We're formally done with the sixth but the Dragon Stream's gotta eat it first.  Which, with this being Mizar, sounds like it'd be easier said than done.  After all, infinite replication is kind of Mizar's thing, but...  I wouldn't count out the Dragon. He's got a job to do and he'll do it by any means necessary.  Even if those means involve auto-cannibalism just to keep Mizar locked down. Dragon don't mess around.  Only flaw with its plan is that now that it's succeeded (or if it failed), it has no means of staying in the air any more. [Video: End]  [Music: Over the Brink of Death]  ...It's not moving at all. Is it dead? Or did it just eat too much? That was an amazing swallow. That dragon chowed down like an expert speed-eater.Your cell phone rings...  Huh? Seriously? We did it! Yes! Hmph...! We finally made it pay. Hahaha, Hibiki... First off, well done. It seems the fools are celebrating, but you must understand. Time is short.[Music: Crumbling Routine]  That's outside Miyashita. Ah, about that. You have a valid point. But the Void was never growing at the same speed in all directions anyway. The barrier's collapse has triggered steady encroachment by the Void. I don't know if you will agree with me or not, Hibiki... but I have high expectations. [Music: Exploration]   If we can keep this up, then whatever the next enemy is, I'm sure we can... ...Oh. Right.[Music: In the Devastated Town] Before we start talking about the next enemy... There's another problem to deal with. The will of the species?   What about you, Hibiki? Have you... made up your mind which way to go? I'm still thinking. I'm gonna go think it over some more... Why don't you see how the others are doing?You say your farewells to Daichi before leaving...  As usual, now that we've beaten today's Septentrione we get to spend the rest of the day just relaxing. We'll start off with Io. She seems like a good choice, considering her near death experience and all.  [Music: In the Devastated Town]  ...Who cares!? Just leave me alone. Oh... Sorry. I'm just... worried. Are you hitting on him? No, of course not. I just thought it would be funny. He was looking at that building and looking really depressed, so I spoke up. S-Sorry if I'm mistaken, but... um... you're not thinking of dying, are you? This has nothing to do with you! Just leave me alone... Oh... uh... Sorry.[Music: Elegy] My entire family's dead. I don't want to live anymore! Everyone...? The boy walks over to the building, with a miserable look on his face... Oh... But... Are you going to stop him? Y-Yeah... I have to say something... but what? Just be honest. ......! I should say what I honestly feel? ...... ...... Oh, um... Wait!Io calls the boy back over...  Um... Well... Can you please listen to what I have to say? Shut up! Why should I do that...? Well... uh... My family's dead, too. So I understand how you feel. Yeah? So? I mean, it made no sense for me to live, while the rest of my family's dead... ...... B-But then... My friends stayed with me. ...Friends? Yes. People who encourage me, tell me when I'm doing wrong... Don't you have anyone like that? Someone you were with just today? But that doesn't matter! I don't have any reason to be alive...! ...That's not true! There are things you can do! I mean, even I ended up being useful at something! It was scary at first, but... Helping others...? So now... I'm really glad to be alive. I am. ...... So you live, too! I know it's sad, and it hurts, and you don't like me forcing my opinion on you... ......Io is on the verge of tears... ...... F... Fine. ......![Music: In the Devastated Town] If you're that adamant about it, I'll live. Really? Th-Thank you...! I bet your boyfriend's really having a hard time with you. True dat. Well, I'll be going then. I'll try a little harder.The boy walks away...  So... There ARE times when it's better to say what you're thinking, even if it's rude... That was the right thing to do, right? It must have been.Io watches the boy walk away... [Music: Exploration]  This feels like it really works as the penultimate ranking for some reason. Also the rank itself is nice I guess. I mean, yeah, I'm basically never using the SDTP but hey. Not complaining.  Ah well, let's go see what's up with Otome. [Music: Connected Hearts]   ...Why did you come here!? I told you you can't! But... I'm very busy. Please, just bear with me! Hmph... You don't care about me at all! Koharu, hey!Koharu runs past you...  Yeah, I was surprised. Yeah... I'm really sorry. This is the first time we've fought, so I was caught up... Koharu snuck into the exam room to see me. That's why I was scolding her... But really, it's my fault. I haven't been able to pay much attention to her lately... And ever since Yamato declared his merit system, everyone's been on edge... even me.Otome sighs... [Music: Elegy]  Would Koharu be happier if she had someone more dependable? No. Thanks. I feel like I could do anything with you encouraging me. ...Oh, I have to go. See you later, Hibiki.Otome hurries away... [Music: Exploration]  For once, I'm relieved to see this. Not because I like the idea of getting to SDTP with Otome, but, well, you'll see.  For now, let's go see what's up with Joe now. I'm sure it's not as bad as the name implies.  Joe is carrying a heavy-looking cardboard box... This is a great help! How are things on your end? Don't worry about it. These were for civilians anyway, so don't feel bad.  ...That name doesn't even begin to make sense. Is that food? You want some, Hibiki? It's just some syringes and stuff... That is, it's medical supplies. We got some from Ronaldo.  I thought I'd use them to treat my team and civilians, so I stockpiled them. ...But I'm very impressed with you, Joe. Did you girlfriend ask you to do this? Actually, it was her doctor. I said I was from JP's and he asked me to get him supplies. But JP's told me that they can't give civilians their supplies, so I was in trouble. I couldn't say no to my girlfriend, so I'm glad I asked you, Clicky. Thanks.  In any case, that Hotsuin... Ever since he announced his plans, he's gotten worse! Hm... You're right. It seems he's waiting for our answer, at least... Well... Either way, this is about the only thing I can do. I'll be taking this. Thanks! Oh, wait. Let's open it up and check what's in there. It'd be bad if there was a mistake.Ronaldo opens the cardboard box...  [Music: A Moment of Rest] I had to take antibiotics once... I got food poisoning from expired milk. I got some hygiene products, but not enough IVs. You'll have to use something else. These are the painkillers? Man, that's a serious horse-choker. I'd hate to take that. If you absolutely need some, ask me. My team members will search all through Nagoya... Check it out, Hibiki, anesthetics! Want a shot? I'll shoot you! [Music: Silence] Hey! Joe, are you listening to me? Huh? Sorry, I wasn't listening...[Music: Exploration] ......You're ridiculous. Be serious for once. SERIOUS! Haha, sorry 'bout that.Joe continues checking the medical supplies with Ronaldo...  Next two were perfectly tied. Doing Yamato first, because might get to make him even more humanised or something. [Music: Connected Hearts]  I don't give autographs. Hahaha...! Very funny, Hibiki. I would have expected nothing less. ...You understand my ideals, don't you? Yes. You're as intelligent as always. I want you on my team now more than ever.[Music: JPs -Geomagnetism Research Department-]  Your achievements leave no doubts in my mind as to your talent. With all your natural ability, why do you think you have been hidden for so long? It's not worth considering. It's because the old society was structured poorly. ...And they pretend that it's the "right" thing to do! That's the reaility of the old society. Stupidity at its worst. Don't you feel it? The foolishness of that society? I do.I don't really; I just want your Fate points. But don't tell anyone!  It's normal for someone like you to have these feelings. From now on... if you stay with me, your talents will be allowed to blossom. It's for your own good as well as the good of the world. That is what I believe. Hahaha... Think about it. I'll be waiting to hear from you, Hibiki.Yamato gives you a hard stare and walks away... Well, uh, that didn't quite go as expected. [Music: Exploration]  So, uh, let's see what's up with Airi.   Hey, Hibiki! Don't just stand there! You scared me! You're looking at it again. Ugh... That's not true! I was just, um... Ugh... Go away. This is my...  Oh... Makoto. I-I'm sorry... But what does it matter where I am...? The Nagoya branch has been restless since Yamato brought up that merit system stuff... Unfortunately, the number of demons is on the rise. This is a very dangerous area. But... ...Sorry, Ban, but I did a background check on you. There was a report that you tend to come here... so I was wondering. ...... ...Whatever. I understand why you'd want to protect this hall. It has many memories for you, right? But, please, hold back for now. You'll be able to come back soon... ...! I don't want to protect it! ...Ban?[Music: Elegy] How do you know how I'm feeling!? Don't act like you know me! No one does... No one gets what I'm going through! I do. Ban, I agree with Kuze. Of course, that doesn't mean I understand you completely. Wh-What!? ...Sorry, but would you listen to a little story? A story...? Why would I...? Listen! Now! Ugh... You too? ...If you want to talk, say whatever you want. ...Thank you. This happened a while ago... Really...? Like, dancing in a pool? You? ...Seriously? Haha... That's right. Does it seem odd?  Three months in the hospital, another year to recover... My dream ended there. Huh...!? B-But you're fine now. Doesn't that mean you're all healed now...? No... I needed a great deal of rehab, and have a huge scar on my shoulder. I was done. No...! ...It was about that time that I was scouted by JP's. At first, I was just franting about doing my job, having a place to be... But then I started having a sense of accomplishment about my job. One day, I thought: ......  ...... Sorry, I'm boring you. Anyway, you should get out of here as soon as you can.Makoto leaves... ......  W-Well, whatever! What a waste of time. That was dull...! Really? Um... Hngh... It wasn't that boring, but... it's not like... Um... I mean... What's her story got to do with me at all...? ...Well, I'm gonna go now. See you later!Airi runs off... [Music: Exploration]  As nice as it sounds to have a new demon available to fuse...  It's only Xiezhai. We're now a significantly higher level than this thing so it's utterly worthless for us now, but even if we weren't? It's something that I consider to be pretty drat bad! It seems good on paper with 22 Magic and only 1 weakness, but... it has nothing to use with that magic, has Crit up as a passive for some inane reason (note that it has a whopping 7 strength) and crumples if something so much as looks at it. [Music: Silence]  ...Wait, hang on. What? [Video: Makoto Sako]  D-didn't we get this done already today...? [Music: Countdown]    So, uh, yeah. I think you might have a good idea now why people kinda don't like Ronaldo that much! [Video: End] [Music: Crumbling Routine]  Ah, there you are! Hey, Hibiki...! Dammit... Now it's Makoto!? We have to stop this. Oh... r-right! We gotta do something! Not only that... Ronaldo's gonna be the one to do it! Oh man... This is real bad. Is this seriously gonna happen!? Looks that way. I just don't get it. I mean... I can't imagine killing someone I know! Yeah, me neither. You know? What makes people turn on each other like that? Wait, crap! Now's not the time for questions like that! Yeah, I kinda agree here.  We'll be doing the fight regardless of whether or not Makoto's going to survive it (it's not mandatory but hey it's there). Which, let's be real here, she is. We've come this far without letting anyone die so it'd be kind of a shame to ruin that at the very, very end. Plus if we opted to have Makoto die, we, uh, we'd be complicit in murdering her in cold blood. Sod that.
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Jun 21, 2014 19:19
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