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Stabbey_the_Clown
Sep 21, 2002

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Taco Defender

wdarkk posted:

Let's Uphold some Convictions in Tales of Xillia

That title makes me think of this:

“Jude's just lost his final appeal, and now he’s going to Anime Jail in: ‘Tales of Xillia Federal Prison’”


wdarkk posted:

Milla also commands The Four, who are this game's Summon Spirits (although it calls them Great Spirits). Since she starts the game with them, we don't have to go on a journey to four elemental temples to get them.

I don’t know anything about this game, but she's going to lose those like 15 minutes into the game, isn't she.



: I need you to keep an eye on things until I get back.
You can handle it, lad. Only patients with appointments will be coming in today.

... How would he know? By definition, patients without appointments don't have appointments!

So is this planet is tidally locked to its sun, huh? That's a neat idea. I wonder if the constant, unchanging darkness/light provokes a higher percentage of people to go crazy.

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Stabbey_the_Clown
Sep 21, 2002

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Taco Defender

Feinne posted:

So I suspect nature abhors LPs of this game, because my efforts to record the first bit have been thwarted all night by various bullshit things forcing me to scrap recordings.

I don't surrender to terrorism, though, so time to give it another go.

If you didn't have those same problems when recording your LP's of Qoga and Neptunia, then Nature must be one demented bitch.

(Also, will you eventually get the Viddler-only videos from your previous LP's uploaded to youtube)

Stabbey_the_Clown fucked around with this message at 13:34 on Oct 30, 2014

Stabbey_the_Clown
Sep 21, 2002

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Taco Defender
"I sorta let myself in, sorry for the intrusion" is such a naive line that it's hilarious.

Jude must be an AMAZING lip reader to get all that stuff from the tank guy.


"But I don't wanna die. :saddowns: " ... What a terrible line and a terrible delivery of it.

Lillium Orbs... the Tales games love their magic Designated-Protagonist-Devices, don't they. Huh, it's not a Sphere Grid, but a HEX grid.

Stabbey_the_Clown
Sep 21, 2002

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Taco Defender
I am glad that Milla is the main character, because Jude is kinda Generic-Slightly-Dim-Tales-Protagonist so far.

MonsterEnvy posted:

Given that there is no 4000 year olds in this one yes. Milla is also older then every main protagonist other then Yuri (They tend to be 17 or 18 while she is 20.) and she is just as much the main character if not more then Jude no matter the route that is taken.

I thought Milla was supposed to be Maxwell, the eternal Lord of spirits and stuff. So is the Legend of Maxwell really new, or does Maxwell reincarnate every few years?

Stabbey_the_Clown
Sep 21, 2002

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Taco Defender
There's just something about Jude that I don't like. I'm not sure what. Maybe it's his voice, or maybe it's just him being a Generic Inoffensive Protagonist. Milla I do like though, for not taking any guff and trying to drown him the second he disregards her command to "shut up". That's someone I can respect.

Stabbey_the_Clown
Sep 21, 2002

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Taco Defender
: Seriously? I take more than just cash, you know. Don't you have any precious metals? Jewels? Rich relatives about to croak?
: Sorry, I left my almost-dead grandpa in my other pair of pants.



Oh yeah, facing a totally unknown and apparently dangerous foe with a wimpy kid and a lady who has no idea how to use her pig sticker. Yeah, this is certainly going to go well.




: Ha ha, and I wonder - does she have any concept of a bathroom?
: ...
: ...
: Rock paper scissors for who has to explain it?
: O-Okay...



Milla expressing her thoughts on bondage in a total deadpan got a laugh out of me.

Stabbey_the_Clown
Sep 21, 2002

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Taco Defender
The most sinister sounding old lady in the world. :allears:


: Well, well, well! We don't get many visitors here!
: Certainly not... repeat ones, at any rate. You people look so young... and tender. Would you care to stay... for dinner?
: Be careful, Jude. I've read about this in a book. These people are clearly cannibals. We should kill them all.


: I'm afraid our little village doesn't have an inn. Not much call for one.
But I've an extra room in my house. You're welcome to use it if you like.
: If you wish to bathe, we have plenty of barbecue sauce. It's good for the skin, you know.

***

: I've heard of this Aifread. He's a legendary pirate.

If Aifreed's granddaughter shows up, I'm telling you right now: I'm gonna shoot someone.

***

: You all must be outsiders. You should hurry and leave this place.
: The villagers have almost finished gathering enough firewood.
: Wait, aren't you a cannibal too? Don't you want to eat us?
: No, I'm a vegetarian.


****

: Oh come on, relax. Nia Khera isn't going anywhere.
: I mean, it's not like we just had to flee from a village infested with soldiers hunting us, right after asking the villagers many questions about our destination.

: Anyway, I really am fine. And I've found that I'm pretty good at pushing all the complicated stuff out of my brain.
: I'm not surprised. You've clearly got lots of extra room in there.

Okay, fine, I guess that is unfair, his spotting and using the rock monster - and thinking about the tactical advantage even if it attacked him instead - was pretty clever.


***

: Please, return to your work.
: By the way, it is possible that the village may be visited by soldiers in red or a catgirl prostitute. They will be looking for me. It is your duty to shield my life with your bodies. The women, the elderly, the children, spare no one in my defense.
: Yes my Lord! It would be our great honour!
: Excellent.


***

I suppose that Jude is slowly growing on me as a protagonist. He is a little nauseatingly heroic, but he also actually seems to recognize at least some of Alvin's innuendos, he just reacts in a deadpan way to them.

Stabbey_the_Clown fucked around with this message at 15:39 on Nov 29, 2014

Stabbey_the_Clown
Sep 21, 2002

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Taco Defender

Neddy Seagoon posted:

Alvin probably just taught her some basic stances or how to hit something properly. It's not like they're going up against swordfighters for most of the game.

alvin is a really poor teacher and I am a terrible human being


: Alvin, can you teach me how to use a sword properly?
: You don't know how to use a sword? Fine. The first thing to know is that the pointy end -
- goes in the enemy?
: If you want lessons, don't interrupt me.
: I was saying, the pointy end goes in your butt.
: That's not in any book I've ever read, but you are the expert...
: Alvin, Milla doesn't understand sarc-
: Ack!
: ...
: A-are you certain, Alvin? This does not seem comfortable at all.

Stabbey_the_Clown fucked around with this message at 20:40 on Dec 7, 2014

Stabbey_the_Clown
Sep 21, 2002

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Taco Defender
OH OH put Alvin in Mint's Nurse's hat. Do it do it do it

Presa has the worst costume design in the game so far. And that's saying something.



Man: That's the worst ventriloquist act I've ever seen.
Woman: Look, you can even see her mouth moving!
Boy: Stone her! Stone her!
Crowd: Yeah!




Tough crowd.


****

: Do you have any idea what you people put us through?!
: Those soldiers were real assholes after they found out what happened here. First one said that his dead buddy owed him 200 Gald, but after we paid that, suddenly all the OTHER soldiers claimed that the dead buddy also owed them 200 Gald! Then they made comments about how flammable our village looked. Weasels!


I guess since Jude is already wanted for treason, additional charges of kidnapping and corruption of a minor aren't a big thing. I bet he didn't even leave a note behind. "I took your shed kid. -- Jude"

***

: Yeah. Since spirits have no apparent physical form, people weren't aware they existed at all.
But Professor Howe surmised that something had to be converting the mana from our mana lobes into artes.
: And that turned out to be spirits.
: Yep. His hypothesis was proven with the discovery of spirits that had taken physical forms.
: And 'cause he figured out what was inside the egg, the age of spirit artes was born.

Soooo... the world revolves around these invisible sentient spirit things whose sole purpose is to serve their human masters by changing their brain-goo into magic? Fantastic slavery, ho!

Stabbey_the_Clown
Sep 21, 2002

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Taco Defender

Clarste posted:

No, the spirits eat the mana from the humans, and they're not really forced to do anything, so it's more like they're gainfully employed. Yes, human brains produce spirit food. I guess you could consider them invisible brain parasites?

There's a skit that addresses this later, but Milla's actually the one enslaving them. Or rather, they all serve her as vassals. She doesn't actually cast spells, she just goes "hey you, make with the fire".

Soooo.... arts are essentially spirit poo poo?

Stabbey_the_Clown
Sep 21, 2002

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Taco Defender
Holy poo poo that waterfall scene is inexcusable. Who thought that was a good idea in any way? Your Strong Female Character gets easily captured, and molested by a really creepy lady who both dresses like and talks like a slut (I think molested is the right word considering how much Presa seemed to enjoy it).

EDIT: Sorry, what I think is the more accurate thing to say is:

...a really creepy lady who some developer decided, would dress in that ridiculous lingerie as an everyday outfit, and who some writer decided would talk in that creepily suggestive way while feeling up someone who was helpless.

Stabbey_the_Clown fucked around with this message at 20:48 on Jan 16, 2015

Stabbey_the_Clown
Sep 21, 2002

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Taco Defender

Stabbey_the_Clown posted:

Holy poo poo that waterfall scene is inexcusable. Who thought that was a good idea in any way? Your Strong Female Character gets easily captured, and molested by a really creepy lady who both dresses like and talks like a slut

Sorry, I have to correct myself here. That wasn't the best way to put it. I think a more accurate thing to say is:

"...a really creepy lady who some developer decided would dress in that ridiculous lingerie as an everyday outfit, and who some writer decided would talk in that creepily suggestive way (while feeling up someone who was helpless)."

Stabbey_the_Clown
Sep 21, 2002

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Taco Defender
Ferry Idiot: Ah, but the route to Sapstrath Seahaven is still open. Would you like a ticket to Sapstrath Seahaven?
> Yes
> I don't know where the gently caress that is or how going there helps at all :ins:
Narrator: Sorry, you have to go there anyway!


: Wah-hey! Check out that water! You'd die if you fell in!
Say, how about you move a little closer to the railing...


: Hang in there, Elize. It'll just be a little while longer till we reach the city. Then I'm sure we'll find the perfect place to ditc- er... person to take you in.



I think the cops might get better eyewitnesses if they didn't delegate sketch artist duty to pre-schoolers!


: So there might be other Teepos besides Teepo?
: That is a possibility.
: We must hunt them down and exterminate them before they can breed.

Stabbey_the_Clown fucked around with this message at 23:47 on Feb 27, 2015

Stabbey_the_Clown
Sep 21, 2002

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Taco Defender
I keep forgetting to reply to this thread. I've been meaning to for a while but kept getting distracted.

Yeah, that Lord whose house is larger than the university really screams "man of the people who believes in equality" to me. Okay sure he's a nice guy, but it just seems like a silly juxtaposition.


“you came to my sister’s aid”
...Come on, it was just a discount on a cup. Hardly life-saving. In fact, hardly worth inviting them over for tea. Seriously, does she invite in dozens of people a week for a meal? What would that be like?




Rowan seems pretty cool so far.

Stabbey_the_Clown
Sep 21, 2002

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Taco Defender

Neddy Seagoon posted:



When I killed them, I talked JusT... LiKe... ThIS!!!

Fixed.

Stabbey_the_Clown
Sep 21, 2002

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Taco Defender



: Look, they're just like Teepo!
: They might really be my family!
: That does seem to be the case.
: If I had Efreet here, I could incinerate them to ash in the blink of an eye. Instead, I may have to do this the hard way.



****

: I can't. I'm pinned down.
: Aaah! Superpals, do something!
: We need a distraction.
: I'll draw the shooter's attention. You take care of the rest.
: You're going to be the bait? That's quite dangerous.
; It'll be fine. Trust me.




AAAHHH! Why?!

Stabbey_the_Clown
Sep 21, 2002

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Taco Defender
So, when will we learn about Jude's secret history as an assassin? Because I'm not buying the "innocent med school student" act. He stepped out in front of that sniper like he knew what the hell he was doing, and casually dodged a headshot. ...You get a lot of practice dodging crossbow bolts in med school, do you? Not to mention that his first instinct after seeing the fake signature on the sign-in sheet was "let's infiltrate this top-secret and guarded facility".

Why did Jude survive that, when by all rights it should have ended with a tombstone reading "Here lies Jude the Porcupine".

Stabbey_the_Clown
Sep 21, 2002

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Taco Defender
Why is there no such thing as just plain wind in this weird dimension? Eh, I'm not going to worry about it too much. I just hope this windmill thing isn't going to the usual "humans accidentally break the world, the bastards" plot.

I think those little pinkist girls are actually trying to get Elize killed.

HMM maybe deciding to take a little girl with a band of monster-fighting fugitives was not the best idea HMM

Stabbey_the_Clown fucked around with this message at 13:27 on Jun 23, 2015

Stabbey_the_Clown
Sep 21, 2002

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Taco Defender
Tales of Xillia: The Lost Skits proudly presents:



Of course, Jude. Everyone believes you.

Stabbey_the_Clown fucked around with this message at 22:05 on Jun 28, 2015

Stabbey_the_Clown
Sep 21, 2002

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Taco Defender
Nice reflexes, Jude. Oh, YOU'RE too good for an arrow to the face, but the important guy isn't? (Also, that's a really impressive lethal range for a handgun.)

Drizzle's kidnapping count: 1

I did like that guy carrying Teepo in the manner of one carrying a bag of infected dog crap.

Stabbey_the_Clown
Sep 21, 2002

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Taco Defender
House Sharil is conspiring to rebel against the throne.

To be fair, we totally are.

That was a totally lame battle in Sharilton. "Our heroine bravely battles her own sanity as the relentless rain of 'SHARING IS CARING' slowly wears away at her mind, when suddenly from offscreen, they're one-shot KO'ed by sinister PLOT BLASTS."

But in the fort, Milla was pretty badass there. Not just the disarm, but the "go ahead and push my friends into the death field and see how few fucks I give" part. Badass does not necessarily equal smart, though.

Stabbey_the_Clown
Sep 21, 2002

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Taco Defender

Omobono posted:

I also can't fault Milla for her :black101: idiocy.

I can.

quote:

How is this different from all the stupid poo poo jRPG heroes or action movie protagonists pull off, after all? Sometimes the line between insane bravery and suicidal idiocy can be determined only post-facto. You could have this scene during the endgame with no change but the outcome and it would not be out of place.

I think the difference is that she blew up. That seems like an important difference to me. Insane bravery was chasing alone after the guy who literally single-handedly and effortlessly bested her in combat. It became suicidal idiocy when she decided to cross the death field for round 2.

"It happens in other fiction" isn't a great excuse. I bet you wouldn't jump through the glass of a second story window just because you saw it on a TV show once. It's common sense to not enter a death field if you have no certainty that you can survive it. So her title is well-deserved. Don't misunderstand me - I'm not angry or upset that Milla acted like that, not at all - but that's not going to stop me from pointing out that it was dumb.

Stabbey_the_Clown fucked around with this message at 16:36 on Jul 5, 2015

Stabbey_the_Clown
Sep 21, 2002

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Taco Defender
They clearly have lots of fancy technology, but apparently a motorized carriage is just too complicated?



And in today's lesson, Jude learns that metal doors are fist-resistant.

wdarkk, now that Feinne has posted the video, could you add portraits back to the scene you inserted (and the link to the video too, obv.)?

I wouldn't call Jude a putz for being upset that Milla was just going to charge back in. Especially since her getting crippled was her own fault.




I like how the party is splitting up here because they each have their own goals (even though Alvin's was a lie, it's a plausible lie). Alvin is a mercenary, not a soldier or worse - an idealist. Going up against an entire kingdom is just not a smart business move, and it hurts future job prospects. Rowan's concern is for his charge, a newly minted target for assassination. Jude's been pretty clear that he's been looking for a home for Elize, there's no reason to take her adventuring further. Plus, I bet Drizzle has some really fancy sheds.

The party splitting up because they have different priorities helps sell them more as real people.

Does anyone else think that a reference to Oedipus in the context of this non-earth planet breaks immersion more than all the weird stuff the planet has going on?

Milla still had the key on her? You know, for such an critical part for their weapon, you'd think that they'd do a better job searching her. Even if she hid it... very well. They have female soldiers. The first rule of taking prisoners is to secure their bonds. The second rule is to SEARCH THEM THOROUGHLY. Also by this time, you'd think that they'd just manufacture a new key. Why was there no backup key, for that matter?

Stabbey_the_Clown
Sep 21, 2002

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Taco Defender

wdarkk posted:

We blew up their backup key producer in a previous update.

I don't know what you're referring to here. Wait, do you mean that thing where the lord guy was taken prisoner and there was an evil butterfly? That place in the middle of the woods was where they made the key? I didn't know that the keys needed to be forged in fires stoked with the souls of the damned. But secondly, that place was shoddily guarded. One assassin and the butterfly, that's it?


Glazius posted:

This makes me wonder how many incarnations of Maxwell are holed up in some kind of Nethack graveyard, because they went on a mission and didn't stop for anything and died of gangrene.

Probably not that many, because Milla is the first Maxwell to have been stripped of their powers and rendered into a mere mortal. Remember that she had no idea what sleeping or eating was before then. She's almost certainly a lot more durable and dangerous at full strength.

Stabbey_the_Clown
Sep 21, 2002

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Taco Defender

NextTime000 posted:

When I first got to this point my reaction was "he is going to gently caress this up isn't he :shepicide:"

Of course he is. Buried in the ground under a rock in a distinctive location would have been safer.

But by all rights, if the bad guys were competent at all, they should have already found it when they captured Milla using their PLOT BEAMS. Hey bad guys, some prisoner handling tips for you: If your prisoners hands are free enough that they can grab a guard and take them prisoner, you're doing it wrong. If you have failed to search a prisoner carefully - not just for MacGuffins, but just in case they have weapons, you're doing it wrong.

Stabbey_the_Clown
Sep 21, 2002

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Taco Defender

The Lone Badger posted:

Hopefully that's actually a fake key and she's trusting Ivar to totally gently caress up and let the bad guys get their hands on it, thus distracting them until they realise its a fake.

From what I've seen, Milla's strengths do not include forward-thinking, definitely not to that extent.

Stabbey_the_Clown
Sep 21, 2002

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Taco Defender
  • Ha ha wow, that's an introduction, all right. That comparison to Estelle from TitS seems more and more apt. (Energetic and slightly ditzy, not to mention being a brown-haired staff-smacking girl who has a dark-haired, yellow-eyed agile childhood companion ). Although those wing-like ribbons look kinda stupid.
  • So this seems to be Fenmont territory judging by the reference to "the capital". It seems odd that none of the soldiers have come around looking for Jude in his hometown. It's almost as if the enemy knows where Jude actually is at all times.
  • I know it's kinda difficult to explain the whole "wanted for treason thing" easily, but Jude could have at least given it a shot.
  • Oh yeah Jude, I'm sure that whispering will help keep your dad from finding out that you're using the SCREAMING-IN-AGONY device in the room next door. He'll never suspect a thing.
  • Did they really do the "childhood love interest who used to be sickly" thing two games in a row?
  • I want to know how exactly did they manage to lose sight of the stone which they were walking directly towards and presumably not averting their eyes from.
  • So spirit fossils are not only extremely rare, but they have to be carved into a very specific shape to fit into the device? Who designed that? And wow, how convenient that the fossil that was smacked off the boss was EXACTLY that shape.
  • What, no scream? Just a mild grunt? I am disappointed. And it's an instant restoration to full combat-ready status, even though Jude's dad said it'd take months of agonizing therapy? Okay yes Milla is a special snowflake, but after the buildup the treatment was given, that recovery still seems too easy. “Impossible, can’t be done, no one could stand that sort of pain. Case closed.”
  • Here, let me check your pulse through my gloves and your gloves. Because that works.

Stabbey_the_Clown fucked around with this message at 10:55 on Jul 22, 2015

Stabbey_the_Clown
Sep 21, 2002

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Taco Defender
I like Leia, she's a breath of fresh air in the party, and you can definitely tell that she and Jude grew up together just from their interactions. It might be better if Jude weren't such a boring stick-in-the-mud worrywort though.

Still though, after her introduction, I couldn't help but think of this...




EDIT: As abrasive as Jude's dad is, I have to admit that piggybacking her all the way across the country was probably not very good for her condition. That's not entirely his fault, though. Surely Drizzle could have spared a carriage to take them to the port at least.

Stabbey_the_Clown fucked around with this message at 20:31 on Jul 21, 2015

Stabbey_the_Clown
Sep 21, 2002

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Taco Defender
Watching the dungeon video, it's kinda cool that Leia and Jude seem to move in the same way, with the same attack timings and such. It does give off the feeling that they trained under the same master.

Tzarnal posted:

Is it, can it be real. A jrpg in which the Westermarck effect exist ? Finally. My dreams have become reality.

But doesn't that only apply to children who live in the same house (and even then only up until the age of 6)? Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think that's the situation here, so it wouldn't apply anyway.

Stabbey_the_Clown
Sep 21, 2002

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Taco Defender
Huh, seeing Jude's Dad in Milla's side really paints him in a much different light. Specifically, he was clearly hinting that Jude should go out and get the spirit fossils. I almost expected him to say "HINT, HINT".

Stabbey_the_Clown
Sep 21, 2002

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Taco Defender
I am quite enjoying the Teepo-less party. I hope it stays that way forever.

Stabbey_the_Clown
Sep 21, 2002

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Taco Defender
  • What, no training montage?
  • "It's not like it affects you?" Wow, that's not only a dumb thing to say, but wrong, too.
  • Jude's dad may be a jackass, but I think Jude inherited it. Seriously, he refuses to give any kind of explanation at all about being wanted for treason to his parents?




Ha, Jude's moving up the departure schedule. "So sorry that we can't stay and listen to your boring problems but we have to leave tomorrow seeya!" "Wait, we are?"




  • Milla doesn't have any conception about what a vacation is, does she. "Come, Rowan, caretaker of a minor, come and join me in my suicidal assault on another country."
  • Wow I think Jude really, really doesn't want Elize and Teepo around! That's funny.
  • Wait, we're leaving the cool new girl behind, but get Elize and Teepo back? That sucks! FEDIT: Oh good.
  • How did Alvin know to send the “come at once” message to Ivar? He wasn’t around when the key was handed off to him, and had no way of knowing Ivar had the key at all?
  • The second message where it asked Ivar to bring the key MIGHT have been written and sent in the minute-and-a-half between the party leaving and Ivar seeing the bird, but that’s a pretty unlikely proposition, and it would have been dumb of Alvin to write.
  • If Milla was a little more respectful of Ivar, he may not have fallen for the trick. Of course “May” is being generous, but disregarding him probably didn’t help.
  • This update could probably have been split in half to form two updates… but since it’s been a month, this is probably for the best.


Sindai posted:

You know, wouldn't it be easier to just make one big video per update with everything in order? It would certainly be a lot more convenient to listen to.

People tend to get skittish about having to watch hour-long videos.

Plus, I think a bunch of the skits aren’t being triggered, but are only appearing in the skit viewer, plus there are occasional times where there aren’t any voice-acted scenes. I see no real reason for there to be a single video.

Stabbey_the_Clown
Sep 21, 2002

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Taco Defender
I was expecting a tiny hidden village, not a big city.

Wha-huh? Where you headed off to?
Duty calls. I'll see you all in a bit.
You just wait here, right on the big X. La dee da...

  • Milla is suspiciously visibly silent about the historical warping of spirit climes (still really weird.).
  • No Alvin, you running away after the poisoning of everyone isn't suspicious at all!
  • A fast-acting poison in food that everyone in a large room will be eating is a bad idea for exactly the reason displayed here. They got everyone EXCEPT their intended targets. A slow-acting poison might have worked.
  • But I'll give the game points for saying that all those people were indeed killed, making the situation seem more serious.
  • BWAHA HA HA HA! All the other teams mysteriously died? I think a two-day postponement of the match is all we need. Wouldn't want to cancel or anything!
  • Yes, let us all go to sleep now and hope the assassins don't come find us while we're helpless and vulnerable. *cheery sleepy-time music after a mass murder*
  • Ha ha ha what? "Oh yeah, that guy with us is with the organization trying to kill me. No biggie." That's gotta be the least climactic reveal of a traitor ever, and I love it.
  • I really liked that Exodus's actual plan was completely different than what they guessed and how everyone was caught off guard.
  • "For some reason they seem to be using fire attacks rather than the electrical ones in the cutscene." - I imagine that the reason was that the electrical attacks were completely ineffective even with the element of surprise.

Stabbey_the_Clown
Sep 21, 2002

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Taco Defender
I like how the game shows and doesn't tell in this part in two particular ways:

First, with Alvin the Traitor. The game had been clearly showing him as being a spy for ages, but the poisoning incident was a good and sensible way to explain his change of heart without needing to waste words on it. He was working for Exodus, but they clearly considered him expendable. When your bosses unceremoniously try to murder you, that's a pretty good reason to change sides.

Having Milla reveal that Alvin was the Mandatory Party Traitor, in a completely offhand way was also clever. It showed that Milla knew and was apparently "cool" with Alvin now. It's a refreshing change from a big huge dramatic speech, showdown, and boss fight.





The second way that the game showed and didn't tell was... well, okay I guess it was telling, but it was the part about what Spyrix is. The game has told us that spirits cast arts, but eat the mana from human brains. Spyrix is powerful and doesn't rely on a human caster, but kills spirits. When you think of that, it's not hard to figure out how that works. My guess is that the spyrix devices trap spirits and force them (somehow) to cast at full strength, which is more powerful, but without being sustained by mana from humans, they starve and die. (That premise seems to be that there might be a lot of spirits about?)


Stabbey_the_Clown
Sep 21, 2002

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Taco Defender
  • The human guards in dungeons are the most unmotivated people ever. “Oh no the intruders have run three feet past me. I'd better give up the chase.”
  • It’s amazing how little sympathy the party seems to have for Elize. (Or maybe I’m just projecting.)
  • Why would the boosters verbalize the user's thoughts? That seems ripe for bad things happening. For example, upon seeing Presa's outshitfit.
  • I think the writing team got their wires crossed big-time. Isla was already being all suspicious before the tournament finals. And then Jiao basically told the party that Isla was the one who sold Elize to the lab. And suddenly NOW people are going “woah, she’s a bad person? What a shocker!”
  • Another good chapter title for this update would have been “Miniature Violin Concerta for Isla". She’s sold children to who knows who? I really don’t feel any sympathy for her at all or care about Alvin blackmailing her.
  • ...So, Isla got started in the selling kids business when she was a kid herself? How does that work.
  • Ummm… Exodus is the only group making the “medication” for Alvin’s mother? Uh. So why would they continue to supply it to him, after they tried to kill him and he attacked them and basically quit working for them.
  • Milla: “Going after the stupid gadget to fix Teepo is a waste of time. However, helping Elize gain acceptance to a little girl's elite pink clique is a good use of the time of the Lord of Spirits!”

Stabbey_the_Clown
Sep 21, 2002

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Taco Defender

McTimmy posted:

The thing with Leia, is the in the background of the aftermath of every forced battle since you've got her, she's been the one that's most visibly fatigued. After the arena fights, Leia is completely passed out. The game never draws attention to this whatsoever so it's very easy for people to miss.

Doesn't the post-battle scenes only care if you died a lot in battle, or if you ended the battle at low health?


wdarkk posted:

Huh. Is Teepo's JPN VA a lady?

Isn't Teepo's english VA also a lady? There was that one woman in Wyvern town who was clearly voiced by Teepo's VA.


EDIT: Oops, I forgot to make more comments on the update. I hope someone else posts after this so I don't double-post with my thoughts on the update.

Stabbey_the_Clown
Sep 21, 2002

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Taco Defender


  • I’m so glad the game really spent the time to develop the Elize gets cranky plot over the cour- oh wait never mind it’s already over.
  • Wow… the party actually suspects that the meeting with the king might be a trap. They… they LEARNED something!


wdarkk posted:

: If his government is secretly producing children like Elize, then he must answer for it.

So say we all.


  • HMMM... the king has is dressed in black and red and has red eyes I wonder if he is evil HMMMM (And that musical theme isn't doing him any favors either.)
  • I actually liked that Rowan realized that Milla’s big fat mouth was going to get the party in trouble and prepared ahead of time.
  • Alvin’s line “Don’t wory. I know you’ve put your trust in me” IMPLIES that he is trustworthy, without him actually saying so. So I wasn’t at all surprised when he betrayed them in the next scene. I loved him standing there waving at them.
  • Technically it may not even turn out to be a betrayal, since he’s told them where Ivar should be, but he has already sent Ivar a letter saying “get the key and go find Milla”, so that could actually work out nicely. … Well, aside from transforming Nia Khera into a battlefield and getting a bunch of civvies killed.

Unlike my outfit, I'll leave [my relationship with Al] to your imagination.

Stabbey_the_Clown
Sep 21, 2002

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Taco Defender
: Come on, you don't believe me?
I know you've put your trust in me before.
Would it kill you to give me another shot?
Well gee, since your last shot DID, in fact, almost kill us, I'm going to go ahead and say "probably"!


quote:

: "Mad Screams of Love"?
: H-How did that get on the market?!
: You've got yourself a sale.
Peddler: Thank you very much!
: W-Wait!
Surely all of us have done foolish things in our youths that we'd be embarrassed to confront today!
Aren't we, as adults, supposed to turn a blind eye to such things in order to spare others from their shame?
: I've never seen Rowen like this.
I'm ashamed to say it, but that only makes me want to read it all the more.
I guess that makes me a child still.
: The only shame here would be abandoning that healthy, youthful curiosity in an attempt to seem more grown-up than you are.
Real men have to hold onto their childlike curiosity for as long as they can.
Which is why I'm going to indulge mine with this special-edition copy of Rowen's masterwork.
: Sounds good to me!

I don't have anything snarky to say here, but this is fantastic.





: So they really are all dead.

...

Loren: I'm afraid so. My business failed in Fennmont, and we couldn't afford to stay in the city any longer.
We just arrived here in Auj Oule, hoping to make a new start in a new land.
: Then you should go check out Hamil! Everyone's gone, so the town's in trouble.
Loren: What do you mean?
: Well, uh...
Loren: I see. You know, I think it may have been fate that brought us together today.
We'll try our luck in Hamil.
Aren't you forgetting something? The finder's fee for tipping you off to that prime real estate. It's a buyer's market, so better snap up those houses because they're going fast, fast, fast!
...
: Prime real estate? The whole town is full of corpses.
: Bah, you can just step over those. And you don't say it like that. Say "Comes with plenty of fertilizer, great for gardens!"



quote:

: Of course. I take full responsibility for my decisions.
: Because that's what a doctor has to do?
: No. Because it's what an adult has to do.
: ......

:owned: I don't think I've seen someone get owned that hard in a while.

Jude, are you sure you want to be a doctor? You don't seem to be cut out for that sort of thing.


quote:

Screaming intensifies.






Step 1: Land in Fenmont.
Step 2: Find clean underwear.

Stabbey_the_Clown
Sep 21, 2002

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Taco Defender
: Nice job. Those are Jude's best clothes, you know. He spent days fretting over exactly what to get.
He bought them for his move to Fennmont, because he was terrified he'd look like a country bumpkin.
: He totally failed, by the way. After the first week his nickname was "Bumpkin McWoodenFace".


I can tell that Kate Higgins is having a blast playing Agria. Gee, I wonder what the connection is between PSYCHOTIC FIRE GIRL and her parents being killed in an ARSON FIRE. Gee, what a stumper.

Also, this:

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Stabbey_the_Clown
Sep 21, 2002

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Taco Defender
Do those troops not realize that Rowen is no longer working for the king? I mean how many years has it been? It's a little more than missing a memo.

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