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MarquiseMindfang posted:The main character ending most things in a single punch is pretty hilarious. One-Punch (Demi-)Fiend
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Dec 13, 2015 04:50
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 : Alright guys, wait a minute. Ninja stop. : What's eatin' ya, boss?: Why the hell do I want to go back in there? : You are a warrior, and you are leaving worthy opponents unchallenged.: ...am I a warrior, now? : Don't kid yourself, we've all seen you punch more than your share of faces. If that doesn't make you a warrior...: Eh, I guess you're right. But I still don't think that's what it is. : Would you like some time to think it over?: Nah, I'll figure it out on the way, there's no time to sit around. *: Crossing the bridge north shortly leads to a dead end, so we head southwest.  Oooh, before I forget: we are now on the "right" side of the Vortex World. Shinjuku was on the back, so we've nearly come full circle.  There are lots of visible locations in here, but the rivers and cliffs only make one of them immediately accessible to us.  Heh, these guys aren't so scary anymore by now. *: That said, in a battle against two Archangels just before we reach our destination, Incubus gets Hama'd. Can't let my guard down! Fortunately, Kikuri-Hime knows Recarm by now, and the 20 MP the spell costs will be a lot cheaper at the Fountain than a revival would be.    Atmosphere: Asakusa *: This would be the approach to Senso-ji, an ancient Buddhist temple located in Asakusa. It's the oldest temple in Tokyo, having been originally founded in 645, though it was bombed during World War II and subsequently rebuilt. The structures here are Kaminarimon Gate, with its distinctive giant lantern, and the Nakamise-Douri commercial street, flanked with stores including tourist gift shops and food vendors.   *: The encounter gauge is blue, so it would seem the Manikins are somehow keeping the demons away for now.   : ...Ah, it has such a sweet ring to it.: Happy to be here.   *: The surrounding terrain hasn't escaped the devastation, but the main buildings themselves look surprisingly intact.   : We're free! There's nothing that can hurt us now!: Gozu-Tennoh is gone, but his army isn't completely...: The Mantra? We don't give a drat!: That's... that's the spirit!Oh man. *: We've got the typical array of services in here, so I gladly make use of them. The nice thing about Asakusa's facilities is that it's one of the few places (or the only place?) where you can't get attacked in between the Terminal, Cathedral, junk shop and Fountain, so it's ideal for quick healing round-trips.   : I don't know why, but it interests me... Something about it's [sic] movement and...angle? *: Oh-ho! We can even afford both of them already. I still milk them for two tickets, of course. And now that we've bought him out of Magatama... : It's so comfortable here. Asakusa has to be the best. There are stores everywhere, too. *wink* *: Nirvana is a bit of an upgrade to Ankh in terms of immunity, but it's got a huge Luck bonus to it and teaches Expel-type attacks instead of healing spells. The first skill it would teach us is Violet Flash, which is a single target attack that does high Expel-type damage. Unlike the instant death Hama spells, it works like any other type of elemental damage spell like Agi or Zio and doesn't have an intrinsic chance to just not work. Unfortunately, most bosses are at least immune to Expel, so its usefulness is somewhat limited.  *: Gehenna is a fire Magatama, like Shiranui, but it's got balanced stats, absorbs fire damage instead of merely nullifying it, and is weak to ice instead of force. Its first skill, Hellfire, is a multi-hitting attack like Shock or Rampage, and pretty much a straight upgrade to Fire Breath.       : So did you. I'm not even gonna ask. : Sorry if I pressured you too much, but I managed to get here after all. It took a while, but I was finally able to pinpoint the route to this terminal.: Good thing I was coming here anyway.: Not bad for an ordinary human, eh?: You're resourceful, I'll give you that.: Oh yeah, I found out something interesting about Asakusa. This is where the Manikins are created. They're made from the black mud that's scooped up from a river around here.: I... would not have guessed.: No wonder they want to rebuild this town.: Makes sense. : It's perfect for monitoring their activities and finding out about the Nightmare System.: Ah, that's great news. Anything you can do, then? : Aight, I can understand that.: It shouldn't take too long, though. Why don't you go look around for a while?: Yeah, I was thinking about that. The place still looks pretty nice.*: Using the talk command in the terminal menu... : ...Hey, don't rush me. You don't want to miss something important, do ya?: Oh, sure, sorry, no prob. Go right ahead.So, I gotta kill some time. My mind is made up, then. : Guys, we're heading back to the tunnels. : Aw, but I was looking forward to sightseeing!: There won't be much sightseeing to do for long if those four oni realize the Manikins set up shop right in their backyard. I know it's really none of our business, but... : No, I get you. Protect the weak, that sort of thing. Bloody work, but someone's got to do it.: Exactly. I'm not going pretend I don't look forward to measuring up to those tough sumbitches, but if I just leave the Manikins to their own devices, I'm not much better than the Mantra were. And besides, it'll be good practice. Let's go, people. Let's hunt some oni.*: We head back to the Terminal and warp directly to the start of the tunnels.  That's a nasty trick I forgot to mention last time: if you're in a dark place, your automap only displays your immediate area. In any case, we turn on the light, and head towards the first branch we did not explore, which is just past the small terminal on B4, a ladder past near the damage mist.    *: A nondescript Cube in a nondescript hallway gets us in a fight with three Trolls. This could be a pretty costly battle, but Senri's Marin Karin and Incubus' Sexy Gaze exploit their Mind weakness, so we encounter no difficulty. I even use Incubus' Evil Gaze, and watch the Trolls finish each other off. It's good to be a gangsta. This is the battle that earns Incubus its last skill, Life Drain. A straight upgrade to Mana Drain, Life Drain steals both HP and MP. It's definitely one skill I'll want to pass down for a long time.  *: That's all for this branch; the short dead-ends had Medicine, a Soma Droplet, and some other unremarkable treasure.  *: Senri turns Stun Needle into Arid Needle, which causes physical damage and a petrification attempt.  That's one of those rad doors when light has run out. Daaaang.  We've explored everything except whatever branches west from this point, and still no trace of the oni.  There was another room similar to this one earlier, but there was a ladder in that small island bit. Maybe...   Ha, I knew it.  It's 6/8 waxing, so it's not long before we can open this chest and get the Agility Incense within. Trying to reach the nearby door drops us into a pit, back to an area of B5 we just finished exploring. Tricksy tunnelses! Making our way back and taking another branch...  Another Stone Cave. Now we're talking.   : Likewise. : I'm Sui-Ki. I'm a cold demon.: I'm ZedPower. I'm an angel of death. : Be careful...: I'm not afraid of this clown. Here I am.: Heh... You got some guts.*: We're returned in front of him, as if nothing ever happened. Well, he's a cold demon, so it's a chance to reform our party. That said, I already ingested Wadatsumi, and we have Arahabaki, Mizuchi and Gui Xian out. : You really want to have some fun with me, huh? : Again? Sure.: Ew... Not with a guy, man.*: Again, we're returned to the room without further trouble. You can only get a rise out of this guy by refusing to approach him. Mid-boss battle: Brute Sui-ki Man, I kinda regret recording this fight, but here it is. Not very exciting! Dude's all physical and ice damage, which makes Arahabaki indestructible. It was just a question of Gui Xian keeping everyone else topped off. Sui-ki is clearly resistant to physical damage himself so it took a silly amount of time, but there was essentially no real danger. So, one down, three to go. *: The only way out of here is down the pit that screwed us earlier. We used up a bunch of MP, so I warp from the small terminal near the exit, go heal up, and make my way back. I'm sure the other oni won't be as simple, and I don't want to take chances. I decide to walk back to where we were instead of teleporting, because the next branch to explore is closer to the exit than to the entrance. However, on my way there, I notice that we haven't explored the western train tunnel from the platform area.    Yep, that's another segment of the map I didn't even see the first time around. We still have a portion of the eastern side to explore, but let's check this place out while we're here.  Oooh, a Stone Cave almost right away.  I think I remember what this guy's about. I ingest Hifumi, and summon Sarutahiko, Valkyrie and Senri.  : Holy hell, that must whistle like crazy when you're facing the wind. : I'm Fuu-ki. You must have some time on your hands, making it all the way down here. : Let's dispense with the formalities here. The only currency I'm distributing today is Knuckle Dollars.: I'm sorry! Please! Don't hurt me! C'mon, I beg of you!: Nice try.: Ha... Yeah, right! Take this, loser!Mid-boss battle: Brute Fuu-ki *: A force dude, just like I thought. We took a few more lumps here because only Zed and Senri resisted force damage, but Valkyrie's Mediarama carried the day. Still, I'm sure you can imagine what Tornado backed by four Makakaja stacks can do to an unprepared party. I'd get back to Asakusa right away, but there's another branch to this portion of the tunnels and I want to check it out first.  Ah, alright then. Asakusa it is.  Hifumi would teach us Void Force (it doesn't), and that's all she wrote. Mastering it earns us a neutral alignment point, shifting our aligment to neutral and changing our title to Adept. Heal, register, walk back.   Huh, we've been here before. In fact, I can't seem to find anywhere we haven't been to. One of the souls last time told us that an oni was attacking people who fell in a certain hole, so maybe there's a hole in a dead end somewhere, that I haven't bothered exploring all the way to the end. Welp, time to fine tooth comb this sucker.   quote:Lv32 Femme Shikome  *: Oooh, I totally missed this.  At last.  We ingest Shiranui, because it's the highest Magic stat boost we can get from a Magatama that has something to teach us on next level up. And we summon Arahabaki, Mizuchi and Gui Xian.   : ...WHAT DO YOU WANT?: You're next on my list.: I AM KIN-KI. YOU FILTHY DOG...: Never heard of you. : I'M ZEDPOWER. ARE YOU DEAF? IS THAT WHY YOU'RE SCREAMING LIKE AN IDIOT? : ...WHAT, YOU'RE THAT...!? drat DEMON-HUMAN FREAK!! SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST!!: BRING IT!: I WILL HUNT YOU DOWN!!Mid-boss battle: Brute Kin-ki *: Kin-ki's a bit of a special case, as he's more resistant to physical damage than is the norm for a physical-resistant demon, and he's weak to all elements in a way that doesn't trigger extra turns. Gui Xian learned Ice Boost a while back so he did the heavy lifting here, with Mizuchi's Makakaja skyrocketing his damage output. The guy can be a bit scarier than he was this time, but he mostly wasted a bunch of turns trying to hit Arahabaki. I'm a bit bummed about losing Mizuchi's Bufula, but Life Refill is a really good skill in general, as it replenishes the demon's HP while walking around. We return to the nearby terminal, but this time, we warp to Ikebukuro.   : That's what the Manikins told me before leaving.: Holy crap, I'm surprised they stopped long enough to talk to you.: ...Well, I'll do what I want.*: We return to the Mantra HQ, and take the elevator down, the the prison level.   : Booyah! : Oh my! What muscles! I'm feeling all tingly!: Don't pour it on too thick, sweetheart. I quite like my soul where it is, thank you very much.: You're no fun. But I like a challenge! One cube. This better not be a practical joke.  Aw yeah.  *: It takes a Strength stat of 24 to be able to open this door. Gaea comes with the same physical resistance as Kamudo, but its set of weaknesses is arguably worse; being weak to force is bad enough, but a weakness to expel and death on top of that is extraordinarily risky. It would teach us Deathbound, which a multi-target physical attack like Berserk, and which scales off HP like Heat Wave. However, you can only learn it starting at level 61, if I remember correctly. Why would I bother getting it now? Because +10 Strength and +10 Vitality is a pretty big deal. No Magatama boosts any stat higher than 10. Now we don't want to have it ingested all the time, because again these weaknesses are rough chuckles, and we want to learn from other Magatama as well. But if we're not immediately in real danger of being instakilled, it's going to help us give some suckers the business, pushing Zed's Strength to 34, his Vitality to 17, and his HP to a ludicrous 354. Considering stats have a hard cap of 40, this is huge. This pleasant interlude aside, we do still have one sucker in immediate need of being given the business. We warp to Ikebukuro, heal up, and go back to the tunnels one last time, to the first Stone Cave we stumbled onto. However, as knowledge is power, and foreknowledge doubly so, I make sure to wait until Full Kagutsuchi before we enter the room. In the meantime, Valkyrie learns Guillotine, a single target physical attack that scales off HP and has a chance to Stun. When we're ready, we ingest Gaea, and summon Arahabaki, Valkyrie, and Sarutahiko. Boss battle: Brute Ongyo-ki *: To celebrate our victory, Arahabaki gives us a Vitality Incense! Ongyo-Ki is a gimmick fight, through and through. Replicate creates three clones, and hitting those clones with single target attacks causes them to Void all damage and also eat up all your turn icons. As for multiple target attacks, they appear to miss instead, even if they hit the real Ongyo-Ki. Since you're losing your icons, he's free to buff himself with impunity and proceed to murder you. He knows Mudoon and Evil Gaze, and if that wasn't bad enough, he also has Dark Sword, which has a high crit rate and can inflict Mute, and Stasis Blade, which also has a high crit rate and can Bind instead. If you don't know the trick or aren't ludicrously overleveled, it's practically an impossible fight. However, if you fight him during Full K, the real Ongyo-ki has a small circular shadow underneath him, whereas the clones do not. That's pretty much the whole fight right there. He still has all his other dangerous skills, and he still uses Dragon Eye every turn, and he'll max out his stats if you let him, but without the benefit of Replicate, he doesn't really have a chance. quote:Brutes Sui-ki, Fuu-ki, Kin-ki, and Ongyo-ki  *: At last, we can see what's behind this door.  Exactly two Cubes!  Boooo.  Yaaaay!  *: As far as physical resistance Magatama go, Murakumo has what might be the least crippling accompanying weaknesses we've seen yet... though it can still be pretty bad. Skill-wise it does pretty much what it says on the tin; the first one it would teach us is Void Mind. And that's the entire recompense for this set of optional bosses. Unless you count removing a threat from the Manikins' doorstep, which you should, really. : Alright, we're done here. Ninja blow this joint!*: We head back to Asakusa, heal up, and visit the Cathedral. : Yo, Cubus. Over here.: What's up, boss?: Good news, you don't have to be you anymore.: ...: I know we haven't always seen eye to eye, but you'll dig this, I promise.: Don't gently caress me on this.: I'm definitely not going to gently caress you on anything.: So, who's the lucky lady? Miss Kikuri? Or the kitten? She's hot!: Allow me to temper your expectations. Sir, if you would... : I am here.: What.: I know this doesn't look super good, but... um, no offense.: I take no offense. I am aware this physical form is impractical.: No seriously, what.: Look, trust me, this'll-: Yeah, I'll trust you like Hua Po and Blob trusted you, huh?: ...!: That's a low blow. You know we all do what we have to do. And you would've done the same, or worse.: Easy for you to say! You're not next in line for a knife enema!: Kagutsuchi is not at its brightest, and there are only two of you. It's clear Zed's intentions are honorable.: I... uh. Right. : STOP WASTING TIME, NUMBNUTS. GET IN THE MACHINE.: Dude, you may not be the promise type, but I am. You know that.: Yeah... Yeah. Alright. But you'll owe me one.: I already owe you more than I can repay. And the new power you'll get today is just a fraction of my gratitude.: ...okay.: We cool?: We cool.: Lord Arahabaki, your assistance has been invaluable as well. It was an honor to fight by your side.: It was good to know a portion of the old glory once more. Thou may call on me again anytime.: Alright then. Minister? : The pylons are ready. Is everything settled?: Yup, that should-: I LOVE YOOOOOOOOUUUUUU~: PRESS THE BUTTON!: Right-o!Vile Arahabaki + Night Incubus =  : So... how do you feel about... yourself? : Very good. Everything is in its place! Why do you ask?: Uh, no reason. Welcome back. quote:Lv41 Lady Kushinada  : Heyo. Any progress?: Lay off me, man. These things take time.: Dude, I've just hunted down four legendary oni, and came back to town between each. What are you doing in here that's taking forever? Are you streaming 4k video over the fabric of the universe? Or are you playing Solitaire? Tell me you're not playing Solitaire.: It's a long story, and telling it would keep me from my information gathering. Seriously though, why don't you go see the sights?: Yay, sightseeing!Bah! Fine. Sightseeing it is, then. *: Non-canon warning! The following events don't actually happen! Or, well, they do happen, but then they un-happen. Now that we've got a free slot, there's something I want to show. We go the the Cathedral, summon Uzume from the Compendium for a cool 11000 Macca, and go back to the tunnels. We then get into enough fights for our new friend to gain one more level and learn Seduce. And finally, we kick Sarutahiko out of the gang.      : I found an interesting group, so I'm playing with them.: Uzume... Let me say something.: What is it? Is something wrong? Don't tell me not to have a good time with other men, because I'm not listening! : Why don't you take it all off and dance like that one time. Give me something to boast about and show them how gorgeous you are!: Oh, I'm in love all over again, darling! You always know the right thing to say!: Take this with you! Once you're rested up, strut your stuff.  : BEST. GODDESS. EVER.*: I didn't make any of that up. A few pairs of demons have unique conversations when you have one use a talk skill on the other. Each conversation can only happen once, and it will not trigger if the target demon is also on your payroll (because the "hey you got one of my pals with you" dialog takes priority). Interestingly, the emerald is traditionally held to be a symbol of unconditional love and marital happiness, so it's an appropriate gift here. Welp, that's done, time to load state. : Wait, wait wait wait. Can't we keep this? We got experience and a Kelpie dropped a Jade and everything!*: Sorry mang, that's not worth 11000 Macca and a Sarutahiko with Dekaja. : Yeah, I guess so. But it feels kinda weird to be... to go through... whatever it is I'm about to go through. Like something I've done having never actually happened.: Retcon's a bad mother, kid. I should know. You have it real easy today, so count yourself lucky.: Hmm? What happened?: I prevented God-crazy nutholes from taking over the world, then I didn't.: Oh. Oh wow. Okay then! No further complaints!
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Dec 15, 2015 14:12
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The Manikins are so cute. In a weird way. Those Oni gave me a little trouble with their physical resistance, but I already had Gaea and 40 St by that point, so Focus-Taunt-Taunt-Dekaja followed by multiple horrific brutalisations settled them quite nicely nonetheless. It's just a shame I didn't get my New Favourite Skill from that Nirvana Magatama til afterwards.
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Dec 15, 2015 14:31
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Huh. When you mentioned Daisoujou being useful for running some bosses out of mana, the first one that came to mind for me was that oni boss. When I wound up here, I somehow had absolutely garbage damage against him, and only wound up winning via a ridiculously protracted fight that took about half an hour and had him run completely dry of MP. 
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Dec 15, 2015 20:56
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I did the same thing. Ongyo-Ki doesn't seem to have any contingency plan if you drain all his MP. He just keeps casting the buffs that he has no points for and never attacks. In fact, I'm pretty sure the next two Fiends have a similar vulnerability to that strategy. After that though, the game does start giving bosses larger MP pools and non-MP abilities.  I'm starting to change my mind on the Str build.
Miacis fucked around with this message at 21:16 on Dec 15, 2015 |
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Dec 15, 2015 21:09
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Kin-ki is a nasty bastard when he goes psycho, especially on Hard mode. Dragon Eye, Dekunda, two Tarukaja's, followed by Berserk, can be brutal. Then I fused an Onkot fresh with Tetrakarn. He doesn't take physical damage reflected onto himself so well, and that particular demon's evolution tree is definitely one of the best.
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Dec 15, 2015 22:39
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Just chiming in to say that I'm loving this LP, enough to have purchased the game. And now I'm trying to power through it and keep up with the maniac pace of your posts! I didn't realize how much I was hankering for a good old fashioned jrpg until Matador pulled my pants down and wedgied my underwear over my eyes. Hot drat!
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Dec 17, 2015 01:17
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The game is fairly hard enough as it is, for a JRPG, but I think many will agree that Matador is the game's first real wake-up call. He blessed me with many Game Overs my first playthrough.
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Dec 17, 2015 01:38
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It's a shame that Matador isn't quite as impressive as a minion as he is as a boss. Still, though, Red Capote (even if it does only affect him) and Andalucia are pretty great skills! At the same time, though, he's not a potential game-changer like a well built Daisoujou can be (especially a Daisoujou with the skill that lets him transfer MP to party members). When I went up against Mizuchi, I actually already had Daisoujou in my party (I think I spent a lot of time in the 2nd Kapla as soon as it opened), so I ended up bypassing part of Mozuchi's gimmick by draining all of his MP. Made the fight a lot easier, to say the least.
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Dec 17, 2015 06:18
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Matador unfortunately has to wait until you get your first Deathstone and you're unlikely to feel comfortable going into the first Kalpa until you've got at least some levels in you. FrankZP went in at what I assume is about level 30 and that's more or less when you're going to be able to start tackling the place. By then, you're very likely to manage to preview Daisoujou in fusions and your second Deathstone won't come for some time, so Matador's a really hard sell. He'd absolutely be worth fusing and using if it wasn't between him and Daisoujou, but it is, so that's how things have to be.
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Dec 17, 2015 22:28
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So, one more notable event takes place in this chapter of the LP. Unless I am forgetting something, I'm pretty sure that the scene in which Hijiri arrives at the Asakusa terminal is the only moment in this game in which his hat is actually on his head.
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Dec 18, 2015 08:18
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MarquiseMindfang posted:The Manikins are so cute. In a weird way. They've got an interesting design. As near-human creatures, they should be permanent denizens of the uncanny valley, especially with the twitching and the odd stare, but not only do they generally act like people, they're also the closest group to an actual human population to be found anywhere in the Vortex World. So even though we now know they're essentially animated mud puppets, they're still sympathetic and relatable figures. Miacis posted:I did the same thing. Ongyo-Ki doesn't seem to have any contingency plan if you drain all his MP. He just keeps casting the buffs that he has no points for and never attacks. Ongyo-ki's AI routine certainly does put buffs at a huge priority. If I didn't have Sarutahiko cast Dekaja practically every turn, the battle would have been harder by an order of magnitude, even without taking into account all the -kaja stacks. There's one optional boss in particular for whom I consider MP draining as being the best strategy (though maybe I'll find a better one this time, who knows), but in general, dang, it takes so drat long that it has to be a last resort. Miacis posted:
The stat mechanics are tuned in such a way that keeping a relative balance can be effective in terms of the versatility it provides, but going whole hog into any one stat is also viable, depending on your playstyle. That's really not something you can say in a lot of games; usually, either focusing too much leaves you with crippling weaknesses in several domains, or keeping a balance turns you into something that's not really good at anything. FisheyStix posted:Just chiming in to say that I'm loving this LP, enough to have purchased the game. And now I'm trying to power through it and keep up with the maniac pace of your posts! I didn't realize how much I was hankering for a good old fashioned jrpg until Matador pulled my pants down and wedgied my underwear over my eyes. Hot drat! Ha, I'm glad to have had that effect. As for the pace, dang I don't know if that's really maniac, but I can't say I really know what the norm is. On a typical week, I play/record/write one day, edit/format/research/write the second day, polish/post the third, then repeat, and I have a floating free day to take a break that I can insert anywhere. I'm not pressuring myself strictly to that schedule and I have no qualms about inserting additional days off here and there if I feel the need to take a breather for whatever reason, but I think that it's a good general guideline to aim for. It's easy to look back at JRPGs in general and think "been there, done that, what else is new", but man, sometimes all it takes is a real good one to make you fall in love again and scratch that itch for a while. Cape Cod Crab Chip posted:Matador unfortunately has to wait until you get your first Deathstone and you're unlikely to feel comfortable going into the first Kalpa until you've got at least some levels in you. FrankZP went in at what I assume is about level 30 and that's more or less when you're going to be able to start tackling the place. By then, you're very likely to manage to preview Daisoujou in fusions and your second Deathstone won't come for some time, so Matador's a really hard sell. He'd absolutely be worth fusing and using if it wasn't between him and Daisoujou, but it is, so that's how things have to be. Yeah, pretty much. If Deathstones weren't a limiting factor, just loading up on all Fiends as they become available would be practically a no-brainer, in terms of raw power. There's merit in tackling the Kalpas ASAP, but for my taste, dealing with the particular type of dungeon that they are takes so much out of me that having to deal with dozens of intense life-or-death battles along the way starts to feel actively exhausting after a while. I prefer having that bit of combat wiggle room a few levels will afford me, even if only so I can focus on navigation and exploration. Of course there's nothing stopping me from leaving the entire Labyrinth for near-endgame and just plowing through it all at once, but that'd take away too much of the thrill of it, heh. ModeWondershot posted:So, one more notable event takes place in this chapter of the LP. Unless I am forgetting something, I'm pretty sure that the scene in which Hijiri arrives at the Asakusa terminal is the only moment in this game in which his hat is actually on his head. Hmm, I certainly think you're right, good observation. There's one other event later where I want to say he has his hat on, but it's been so long there's a very high chance I'm remembering wrong.
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Dec 18, 2015 14:07
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*: Before we start, I restock on Float Balls, and it occurs to me we're running low on Sacred Water. The Asakusa junk shop doesn't sell any, so I warp to other stores and... no one seems to be selling any. I coulda sworn... Oh well. No, wait, I forgot the merchant at the Great Underpass, he does sell some for 200 Macca each. Whew! I buy five of them twice, earning us two tickets and another mystery box. Picking the white one again...  : Awright!: Another item you won't use, great.: I... I'm working on it.*: This guy also sells Chakra Drops. We have only four left, and I want to be able to give some away if I gotta, so I pick up two more.  : That's probably wise.: This place has become desolate now.: I'm not sure it ever wasn't.*: Back to Asakusa, I'm thinking of picking up a fusion partner for Kikuri-Hime. She's not exactly obsolete, but she's only level 28 and I'll want to fuse her sooner or later. There's a sort of averaging going on in the fusion mechanics, and if there's a wide discrepancy between ingredients, the descendant is likely to be weaker than one of the parents. And of course I don't want to turn her into any old critter either, since she's so special to us. Fortunately, the local demons have an ideal candidate among them. In order to stack the odds in our favor, I summon Sarutahiko (for Haggle, occasionally reducing cash demands), Succubus (for Nag, occasionally persuading an indecisive demon), and Kikuri-Hime herself (for Maiden Plea, occasionally calming offended demons). : Hey, I was rather impressed when I met some of your people the other day. Care to join us?  : Haha.> Principality is smiling. : Could you endow me with 540 Macca?: Um, sure.: No, this simply won't do. I would like 1 Bead.: Aight.: I can't say that this is enough. I would like 400 Macca.: Yo, Sarutahiko, sir, would you be so kind...?: Eh, not feelin' it.: ...: *whistle*: Fine, here's your money.: I can't make up my mind...> Principality is unable to decide.   : Are these chicken wings you've got on? Don't take our money and waste our time!: My boy, only the beautiful have the right to be selfish.: Err...: Well then, you may call me mistress!: *chuckle* I yield to you!> That seemed to work well. *: The "that seemed to work well" message is a telltale sign that a demon with Succubus' personality using Nag on a demon with Principality's personality is practically guaranteed to have a positive outcome for this step of the conversation. It doesn't guarantee success for the recruitment attempt, but it guarantees that the indecision doesn't result in the demon leaving immediately. : Hmmm... Then, lastly, let me hear your opinion. Is helping others merely a self-fulfilling act? : Absolutely not.: ...It seems there is a discrepancy in our opinions.> Principality made a wry face. : I can't do that.: What?!: Cheerio.> Principality left. : Aw man.: You really should tell them what they want to hear.: Well, if that's what he thinks, maybe I don't want him around eith... Err. Are you ever just telling me what I want to hear?: I would never do that to you!: Ah. Good.*: Well, that didn't pan out, but I keep trying to find another Principality that's maybe a little more philosophically flexible. The next encounter goes pretty much exactly the same, but the question is different.  : Nah. I've been a fool before, and I'm glad no one destroyed me.: *facepalm*: ...It seems there is a discrepancy in our opinions. ...Our conversation is growing rather dull. ............ Excuse me, then.*: Take three. : Is effort the last hope of all beings? : You gotta hold on to it and fight until your last breath. That's what matters.: Oh for...: I suppose I can be happy with that.: ...huh?> Principality is content.  : I'm Principality of the Divine lineage. Take me with you.: Glad to see a sensible one. Welcome aboard. *: Oooh, Bright Might. I'll be training this guy up so as many of Kikuri-Hime's skills are passed down, but he'll probably make for a decent back-up healer in the meantime. Gonnection is a passive conversation skill that makes it easier to negotiate with demons of the same race (e.g. it would improve our odds of success with other Divines). : Aight, we gotta get the rookie up to speed, and I know just the place.: Is it maybe looking around Asakusa and kicking butt while we take in the sights?: Nnnnope!: Aw come on!*: We head the for Terminal, drop a save, and travel to the Labyrinth once more.  : It was a bit of a last minute decision. : My master is resting right now. : There certainly is a lot I feel like I should know. : I'll try to help you as much as I can. *: Asking her about the Vortex World repeats the cutscene was saw at the end of first Kalpa. I think she's pretty much an event viewer kinda deal. : Err, well, thanks, I guess. I'll be on my way now.: ...Then, you should get going. I look forward to seeing you again...*: I take the shortcut down again, and get well knocked about on my way. Wheeee!  Aaaand we're back here. The place has certainly not been improved by our absence.  *: This assumes that we came here straight after the first Kalpa, and have just received the noble voice's warning.  : It was like the voice of the universe... You weren't harmed, were you?: Nah, I'm fine. But... I appreciate your concern. *: This is a tiny room with one hole in the floor. So much for getting out the way we came in.   I'm trying to imagine what this place smells like, and nothing pleasant comes to mind. Thick dust, moldy paper, a whiff of rotten meat, that sort of thing.   : Everyone around here keeps arguing about Gaea and Messiah, whatever those are...: ...!: Well, if you walk around, you'll see.*: We know "Gaea" as being the name of Hikawa's cult, but this Messiah stuff is, well, some flavor of new.    *: quote:Lv42 Foul Phantom  Another strange door, and it's locked like the other one was.    : Everyone, listen! The world has lost its power under the reign of god. Because of that, we are on the verge of destruction. But, there is no need to fear. The Gaea cult will ensure our survival! Together, we will resurrect the strength of the ancient world!> The soul is still preaching... That doesn't sound like Hikawa's message. Hmm.  : But, the Order of Messiah, brainwashed by a jealous god, won't allow us to do so. ...I'm telling you, they're the ones who should be oppressed, not us!  : If you pray, god will protect you no matter what happens. And, you shall eventually join him in the afterlife... Now, let us pray...  *: This is already even more of a maze. There are so many doors and branches that I'm not taking, not to mention ladders and holes. Dang. We're also mostly encountering various blob o' goop monsters so far, as well as Will o' Wisps, Mou-Ryo and Phantoms. Most are chumps by now, but the latter's electric spells are no joke. Force damage is effective against them, but at this rate, I wonder if Principality and Senri are going to run out of juice before they even level up once.   Ah, this is the other side of that locked door. So this one's a shortcut then. Or, will be someday.  Dang, it's 7/8 waning. I don't want to have to come back here though, so I have Gui Xian pop Estoma and we run out the clock. Normally this would be an opportunity to get into fights, but seeing as I don't know how to leave this place yet, I have to ration my resources.  Okay, not too shabby. We leap down to B2, and there's another locked door behind us right away. I need to remember those.   *: These are the same girls as on the first Kalpa, so, I guess I do know one way out now. Though it's one I'd rather not resort to if I can help it.  *: He's also much the same, but charges 5000 Macca now. Still, if I can come back here pretty easily in the future, I won't have to leave before I'm done.  *: Oh boy, I've been so looking forward to that. Yaaaaaaay. : If you're heading down below, you better be prepared. Once you're down there, it won't be easy coming back up. *: Haven't seen these dudes in a while. The Shikigami can use Tarukaja, so it's best not to take the fight lightly.   Ah, that's the way back up to a location maybe halfway through the first maze level. I'm going to continue exploring it and attempt to clear it out before trying my luck with the third basement. Knowing Dr. Dark is around is making me feel a lot more confident about being thorough.  : Everything is his will... Everything changes at his will... You must leave this dreaded place and fulfill the part which you were originally intended for. *: There's a ladder down here. I'm not done exploring B1, but I'm curious.  : It's cursed, y'know. *: Yikes, it sure does look cursed.  HOLY CRAP.    RUN RUN RUN. : Sorry I mistrusted you, kid.*: Yeah, so, that corridor, huh? Maybe later. Much later. quote:Lv69 Tyrant Abaddon quote:Lv70 Night Nyx quote:Lv68 Fallen Flauros   *: Hmm, the pits on B1 seem to lead to corresponding rooms on B2. I didn't see entrances for those when we were down there, so they must have one-way doors. I guess I'll have to climb back up several times. A couple fights against four Mou-Ryo provides an excellent opportunity for Kikuri-Hime to recover her healing juice. Still, after a using Heat Wave several times, Zed uses a Luck Incense instead of relying on magic. : Gasp! : But, the Order of Messiah wouldn't accept that, and a conflict erupted. What we didn't realize was that our worst enemy was already among us.*: I think that's about as much of B1 as we can access right now. Judging from the symmetry, I may have missed a door in the eastern corners, but I'll be checking out the four pits next and there'll be ample opportunity to make sure. I'm intrigued by the two gaps in the northern sections, but there's precious little I can do about those from here.   : I'll sell you something special.: Oh dang, I got bad news for you dude.: Uh... Wait a minute, your party's full. If you want a new companion, make some room first and then come back.*: We'll have the opportunity to make use of this fellow sooner or later I'm sure.  Oooh, that was down the northwestern pit. We came in at 7/8 waxing, so it was no trouble at all.   quote:Lv44 Brute Ikusa *: Ah, we've seen these guys a lot in Ikebukuro, but this is our first actual battle against them. They're tough customers, but any fight that doesn't have a Phantom in it is a good fight.  Oooh, I knew I overlooked something.  : We chased after the Gaea cult in order to prevent that. But, we were done in by that devil summoner... Hikawa is a dangerous man.*: Ah, so these are the souls of the rival cultists that clashed in Yoyogi Park before the Conception, both Hikawa's people and his opponents.  Now that's all of the accessible B1. Time to drop down the southwestern pit, and then take a good look at those invisible walls.    : What he had to say was very interesting. : I'm always up for interesting stuff.: The man used black magic to summon me. This is what he said: "Kill the man I hate!" I asked, "Is that what humans do, kill those they hate?" He replied, "If you hate, you kill. That's the way we are." I admired those words. It's so demon-like... the true nature of humans.: I... I don't know about that. #notallhumans *: This is all of B2 we can reach as well. There's asymmetry here too, but I can't find a way to remedy to it from here. So, two holes to jump into. Let's start with the western one.   Oh wow. Oh wow oh dang. Oh balls. The automap's absolutely no help here. I think I'm straight up going to have to do this old-school. Which in some circumstances would mean "graph paper", but MSPaint is still pretty old-school, right? Man. At least the floor has a tile pattern. A Chest near where we dropped has a Soma in it, which restores an ally's HP and MP to maximum.  *: Somewhere along the way we master Wadatsumi. We're still neutral, but we've accumulated enough points to bring us to the next tier of titles, so we're an Expert now.   It's slow going, but we make it to a door in the middle of the southern wall. However, all the walls we've encountered so far have been entirely visible.  Unfortunately, this is a dead end, with only a glimpse of some other section through the wall. There's a ladder down in there, dang. Back to mapping we go. Fortunately, the path to the western door is straighforward enough.    *: Another Burial Chamber, this time dedicated to Kaiwan and Ose. There's also a ladder up!    Hello, what's this?  *: Ah, another type of one-way door then. Well, we weren't done checking out B3 from the western hole, so back down we go.  Huh, so that's it, there was nothing more than a couple dead-ends, and still no trace of a wall I could not see. I'm beginning to wonder if I've been sold a bill of goods. The rest of this floor must be only accessible through the eastern pit on B2, so that's where we go.   And here's the northern door.  There are two locked doors behind, one of which is marked "Burial Chamber", and a ladder up.  So that's a one-way door again. Back down the eastern pit we go, there's one more door down there, and it's gotta be the right one.   We finally reach the eastern door and complete our map. Total invisible walls: zero. Welp!  : Hmm?: Oh, come on now. That wall right there. Open your eyes and look!: Eh? I don't... *: Oh wow, that lighter part of the wall is shimmering. I absolutely didn't notice it at first, but now that I know it's there, it's hard to miss. Man I wonder if I missed one of those in another section...  And there's our way to B4.  This looks a lot like the very first room, before we jumped in the hole.  Ah-ha! That's how you open those grey doors. I remember one on the first Kalpa, and it'll open the shortcut on B1 here, but for now I'd rather just find a way out, so I make my way back to the northern door on B3. Unlocking the Burial Chamber reveals Mizuchi's tombstone, as well as a monument with no inscription. No graves for the living! The other door on this level has a Cube with another Deathstone. That's... nice. But I expected some manner of exit. Hmmmmm. I must have missed a shimmering wall somewhere. Time to pull out the fine tooth comb again.  Oh wait, I remember there was a door in that southeastern room. Whew! Valkyrie levels up and leans Soul Hunt, a unique recruitment skill that works best when Valkyrie herself is using it on a male target.  : Cripes, another pit.: It would have been nice to be taking Manikin hospitality for a spin right about now.: ...yeah. It feels like what we're doing here is important, somehow, but at this point I sure wish I was...: ...home?: ...that's a pointless thought, never mind. Let's find what we came here for and go back for a rest. I've had enough of this rotting place.*: The pit drops us to the area beyond the B3 southern door that we could see but not access. There's a ladder down, but also a shimmering wall to the west.  : What, you again? No means no! *: The invisible wall takes us to a small empty room, and what I assume is a one-way door towards the way back up to the maze. I return through the wall instead and take the ladder down.  I think this might be it.  *: And that's the Second Kalpa done, unless you count the cursed corridor, which we'll return to later. Now let's see what revelations might be imparted unto us.  Cutscene: The PurgeSo, that's how it happened. Hikawa didn't just fight the Messiah people, he also turned on his own former allies. That's what he meant by "the purge" back then. It... doesn't really help me here and now, but I suppose it's good to know. *: In SMT1, the Mesians and the Gaians were rival factions, associated with Law and Chaos, respectively. The Mesians were a fundamentalist militant Christian organization, working to summon God into the world to cleanse the world of demons and infidels and usher in the Thousand Year Kingdom told of in the book of Revelations. The Gaians were advocating living side by side with the demon invaders and accepting all gods and other fantastical beings without prejudice, though in practice, well, let's just say Gozu-Tennoh would have approved of their philosophy.  : Hmm? : I'm glad to be done with this Kalpa, if that's what you mean.: There needeth not be reason to hide it... About that... I understand thy joy! I cannot suppress mine own. As another friend to drink mead with, I shall tell thee something interesting.: I'm listening.: If thou takest purple Macca in succession, thine earning shall be even more. Try and strikest anything you can. I have become rich that way! Hahahaha!: Well, at least you've been doing well since we parted. *: I'm going to spare you a few moments of me being poo poo-awful this time. I make it out with 24 Macca, and...  Yeah. Let's move on, shall we?     Aw heck I am not ready for this. > You feel a terrifying presence in the air... Music: TALK   : Uh. Hello. : The moment you stepped into this Labyrinth, the wheel of fate began to spin...  : But, we serve the fallen angel in order to rise above that fate. You wish for the same thing, do you now?: I... don't know.  : We, the four knights of death, have what thou seekest. Thine they shall be, if thou canst triumph over us.  : You have conquered a number of deaths to reach here.: And how!: Whether it be you, or one of us... it is our master's will that one Fiend survives this battle over the candelabra. And when his wish comes true... he shall make the decision to lead his army to the final battle. Do you have the resolve to face us in battle? : I don't think my humanity is so easily taken from me. If you would challenge me, then I would crush you. That is all there is to it. : ...Then show us the strength that our master stakes our fate on. We, the four knights of death, shall await you in the Vortex World.> The four horsemen disappeared. : Well. That was bold.: Holy hell what am I even doing. Holy crap. *: The way further in is blocked, as expected. We take the tunnel back up to the second Kalpa, then, uh. Hmm. I still don't know how to return to the terminal. Man. At least we can use the Moon Key to unlock that shortcut on B1 and maybe see if anything changed.  Oh I'm a dunce, this ladder was here all along, it's practically the first thing I saw when we got here at the start. Good Lord if this was a video LP, I'd have so many angry youtube commenters by now. FISRT!! YUO FRGOT TEH LADDAR ALSO UR VOICE IS DUMB!!1 ASLO PRBLY DUMB FAEC. UPLAOD FASTAR!!1  Yup, this is the first room. It's smooth sailing from here.  Glorious! Back to Asakusa, then. That's a pleasant enough end to this part of our journey, isn't it?  : Lemme guess. Not done yet.: Nope.: I think I'm too tired to be mad. See ya.Fresh air! Fresh dang air! Fresh... um... breeze?   : OH COME ON! : AT LEAST LET ME GET TO THE FOUNTAIN, YOU SON OF A gently caress.Cutscene + Boss battle: Fiend White Rider*: The White Rider has two gimmicks, and both are easily defeated once you've got them identified. The first one is God's Bow, a single target Expel-type instant death effect, with the unique quirk of working 100% of the time on any creature that isn't entirely immune to Expel effects. The Rider will only use it on targets it will work on, so if you bring a party such as ours back there, he will never use it. (Of course, Zed had ingested Nirvana.) If you can't fill out your party with Expel-immune allies, you can still use Tetraja to protect yourself. The other gimmick is his summoning of two Virtues. The Virtues know Mahama, Mediarama, Makarakarn, Rakunda, and Thunderclap (a group-hitting Expel-type attack that has a chance to halve all targets' current HP), so they're dangerous even on their own. And if you kill one or both, the Rider will use Dragon Eye and summon more. The trick is to neutralize them without killing them, and since all Divines are weak to Death effects, Stone Gaze is absolutely your best friend. Arid Needle will also do in a pinch. The remaining threat is the Rider's Prominence skill, which is an extremely strong multi-hit fire attack, but that's not a gimmick, you just gotta be able to survive it a bunch of times. Valkyrie is the perfect ally in this battle, seeing as she absorbs fire, is immune to expel, and in all likelihood still has the Stone Gaze she inherited from Dis. quote:Fiend White Rider quote:Divine Virtue : THAT'S WHAT YOU GET! IDIOT! poo poo-MONGLING MORON TURD-HOLE! GAAAAAAH! : Dude, um. Your humanity?: Oh he's being as human as human can be right now, don't worry.: I need a shower.   : I've literally been to hell and back. I just cracked the skull of one of the four horsemen of the apocalypse with my bare hands. I am taking a dip and you can't stop me.: I'm coming too!: Kiss me.: Ooooh! : Ahem.: Yup, that's pretty human right there.: Should we not... stop him, perhaps?: Probably. You do it.: Will he be cross with me?: I'd be. I can barely stand the sight of you, and you haven't even tried to keep me from nookie yet.: Oh dear.
FrankZP fucked around with this message at 04:48 on Mar 31, 2016 |
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Dec 19, 2015 11:43
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The White Rider is another excellent example of a boss who will utterly wreck your poo poo the first time you encounter him. And the fact that he blocks access to the terminal in Asakusa is one hell of a dick move. Fortunately, the previous one isn't too terribly far away. I've always wondered why the mega-tier random fire spell is called Prominence. This isn't the only context I've seen a powerful fire attack called that, either.
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Dec 19, 2015 17:54
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It's named after solar prominences.
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Dec 19, 2015 17:58
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FrankZP posted:*: Oooh, that's the mook version of the douchebag who kept blocking our path in the Amala Network. That was a Spectre, this is a Phantom  I don't think a mook version of the Spectre exists, but I could be wrong.
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Dec 19, 2015 17:59
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Petiso posted:That was a Spectre, this is a Phantom Oh dang, good eye. I got my ghost-synonym ectoplasm-glob critters mixed up. Thanks for the correction! I'll be making the edit posthaste.
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Dec 19, 2015 18:11
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Welp. So much for Francois' humanity! He certainly is gonna make for an interesting Demi-Fiend in the grand scheme of things.
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Dec 19, 2015 19:55
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About the cursed hallway with the high-level enemies: it's actually possible to complete it soon-ish, if you abuse the hell out of estoma and smoke balls. Obviously you don't want to actually fight anything.
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Dec 19, 2015 20:15
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Loving this LP so far. Is Francois a high enough level to learn Divine Shot yet? With all the points you've been putting into Strength you really should get your hands on that.
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Dec 19, 2015 20:35
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I always complete that hallway because the reward for doing it early is super good.
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Dec 19, 2015 20:37
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Yeah, I'm probably going to explore that hallway before long. At the time I was really like, I don't have an exit strategy, I don't know how much longer this goes, I gotta manage my resources, etc. etc. I pretty much felt like that wasn't the time to go traipsing in it. But in retrospect, I ought to give it a shot. I'll be going back to the Labyrinth even if only to check out the locked vault in the First Kalpa and chat up Kamala again, so I'll probably at least make an attempt at the cursed corridor. Besides, it's not like we can't use the EXP.Kemix posted:Welp. So much for Francois' humanity! Ha, if it turns out putting an interesting spin on him is the best I can do, this whole endeavor will still have been worthwhile. TheOneAndOnlyT posted:Loving this LP so far. Is Francois a high enough level to learn Divine Shot yet? With all the points you've been putting into Strength you really should get your hands on that. Oh he's got the level, I just completely forgot it was on Nirvana. He'll be picking it up right soon for sure. I guess I got too used to being in that early-mid-game mindset of St builds having virtually no worthwhile dedicated physical moves to pick up. Even Heat Wave is mostly based on HP. Man, I even forgot about Chaos Blade on Murakumo, derp.
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Dec 20, 2015 16:10
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The best strategy is actually have a demon with Trafuri and book it out of every battle since the hallway drains your HP so drat fast.
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Dec 20, 2015 16:32
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Yeah, the demon the Shady Broker in the First Kalpa sells really helps there.
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Dec 20, 2015 18:47
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The Order of Messiah is actually supposed to be Judaic, the SMT devs are just very bad at delineating the two and mix symbols because the cross is presumed to be more recognizable. Case in point is how a certain somebody has a giant cross on him, nevermind that he only shows up in Rabbinic lore. It's why they try to bring about the Messiah and why Jesus is not mentioned at all. DDS gets this right when they point out the religious background of the angels as Judaic, with no mention of Christianity. Tallgeese fucked around with this message at 19:55 on Dec 20, 2015 |
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Dec 20, 2015 19:51
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Surprised you haven't fused any of the Fiends yet. Daisoujou is really good at handling the cursed tunnel what with naturally learning both Trafuri and some hella awesome healing spells, not to mention his immunity to all ailments and instakill cheapness as is the wont for all Fiends. And you're only eight levels away from being able to get White Rider too, to say nothing of the other three coming along in very short order.
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Dec 20, 2015 20:21
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Tallgeese posted:The Order of Messiah is actually supposed to be Judaic, the SMT devs are just very bad at delineating the two and mix symbols because the cross is presumed to be more recognizable. Case in point is how a certain somebody has a giant cross on him, nevermind that he only shows up in Rabbinic lore. I understand what you mean, but I'm still inclined to think of it more as a Judeo-Christian mish-mash, for two reasons. First, what happens to Shitenshi posted:Surprised you haven't fused any of the Fiends yet. Daisoujou is really good at handling the cursed tunnel what with naturally learning both Trafuri and some hella awesome healing spells, not to mention his immunity to all ailments and instakill cheapness as is the wont for all Fiends. And you're only eight levels away from being able to get White Rider too, to say nothing of the other three coming along in very short order. Ha, I'm actually surprised about it too. I've thought about it every time we visited the Cathedral ever since we got our first Deathstone, but I'm always like, "I dig my current squad, we're doing fine", or "maybe I'll wait until so-and-so gains a couple more levels". It'll happen sooner or later, though.
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Dec 21, 2015 00:50
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FrankZP posted:I understand what you mean, but I'm still inclined to think of it more as a Judeo-Christian mish-mash, for two reasons. First, what happens to Oh no, it is a mishmash, but you said they were fundamentalist Christian which is just not right. SMT uses Christ analogies and Christian symbols because most of the Japanese audience would just not recognize purely Judaic ones, but that's about the extent of it. One hint that they're supposed to be Judaic include the fact they're looking for a Messiah, which Christians would never do because they already have one. That's pretty much the entire point of Jesus, that he's the prophesized Messiah and no one else. A bigger hint is the whole octopus thing in SMT1 - a basic belief in Christianity is that there is absolutely no need to sacrifice animals anymore. If a really militant Christian fundamentalist who was absolutely not interested in syncretism caught you doing that he would at a minimum condemn you, guaranteed. Jews haven't done it in millennia because the Jerusalem Temple was destroyed. In fact, really Orthodox thought claims that sacrifices will resume after the restoration of the Temple. Which is significant to our discussion because this is said to happen only when the Messiah comes... you know, the thing the Order is named after. So yeah. The Order is basically supposed to be a twisted-up Judaism with crosses plastered on top for recognition purposes. This is why DDS2, with its direct references to SMT1/2, only mentions Judaism. If I had to give percentages, it is 95% Old Testament, 4.99% Revelations, 0.01% the rest of the New Testament, and 100% a bad reading of all of them. Tallgeese fucked around with this message at 04:06 on Dec 21, 2015 |
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Dec 21, 2015 03:52
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Tallgeese posted:If I had to give percentages, it is 95% Old Testament, 4.99% Revelations, 0.01% the rest of the New Testament, and 100% a bad reading of all of them. Quite possibly the best way I've ever heard anyone sum up the Law side of SMT. Though honestly the Law side of SMT shares very little in common with their actual religious/mythological roots, aside from key names and symbols. Especially these days, as we've moved past the original duology SMT and the usual angels are relegated to random encounters or bonus bosses. Much like most of the representative demons from the series, really. "I'm an Incan God of Fertility, now hold still while I punch you in the dick!"
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Dec 21, 2015 07:27
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Arcade Rabbit posted:"I'm an Incan God of Fertility, now hold still while I punch you in the dick!" 
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Dec 21, 2015 09:09
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Arcade Rabbit posted:"I'm an Incan God of Fertility, now hold still while I punch you in the dick!"
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Dec 21, 2015 09:50
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Arcade Rabbit posted:Quite possibly the best way I've ever heard anyone sum up the Law side of SMT. Though honestly the Law side of SMT shares very little in common with their actual religious/mythological roots, aside from key names and symbols. Especially these days, as we've moved past the original duology SMT and the usual angels are relegated to random encounters or bonus bosses. Much like most of the representative demons from the series, really. Well, that sort of watering down is what happens when you want to beat your players over the head with your philosophical stick of choice. Nishitani (author of Digital Devil Story, the book MegaTen took inspiration from) said it himself: every SMT developer he ever talked to played Neutral or Chaos, and as far as he was aware he was the only person he knows who played Law. Which explains a lot: you're not going to put much thought into a part of the game that exists just to be in opposition to the way you like to play. As an aside, the main reason I gave Revelations such a high percentage is because Lucifer quotes exclusively from it in Raidou 2. He goes: "In the book containing God's words to man..." and follows it up with Revelations repeatedly.
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Dec 21, 2015 16:31
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I understand playing neutral, but Chaos over Law? They're equally bad, if you have the strength play one you should be able to play both. Weird.
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Dec 21, 2015 23:52
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mauman posted:I understand playing neutral, but Chaos over Law? They're equally bad, if you have the strength play one you should be able to play both. Lucifer is an extremely persuasive guy.
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Dec 22, 2015 01:51
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mauman posted:I understand playing neutral, but Chaos over Law? They're equally bad, if you have the strength play one you should be able to play both. Chaos is bizarrely popular and I have never understood why. I guess going all "NO gently caress YOU DAD!!" on a cosmic scale has its appeal.
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Dec 22, 2015 03:04
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ManlyGrunting posted:Chaos is bizarrely popular and I have never understood why. I guess going all "NO gently caress YOU DAD!!" on a cosmic scale has its appeal. From what I understand, it's less that people like Chaos and more that they hate Law.
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Dec 22, 2015 03:38
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That's kind of the definition of "no gently caress you DAD", though. It connotes the idea of only doing something out of (usually misplaced) spite. Which is one of the reasons the phrase is often used in a sarcastic manner; doing as I described is generally considered a sign of immaturity. Tallgeese fucked around with this message at 16:11 on Dec 22, 2015 |
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Dec 22, 2015 16:05
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ManlyGrunting posted:Chaos is bizarrely popular and I have never understood why. I guess going all "NO gently caress YOU DAD!!" on a cosmic scale has its appeal. : All the chaos dudes were like, super chill and stuff. It just sorta happened! Don't judge me!GilliamYaeger posted:Lucifer is an extremely persuasive guy. : It was Echidna who turned the tide for me. I... can't quite recall why exactly. : Can't say no to a pretty face, can you?: N... Nnnnn... N-n-n-n-n! Ngggghhhnnnnn dammit! Yes! Yes, it's true! I can't! : ... : Meanie!Tallgeese posted:So yeah. The Order is basically supposed to be a twisted-up Judaism with crosses plastered on top for recognition purposes. This is why DDS2, with its direct references to SMT1/2, only mentions Judaism. You make a hell of a lot of excellent points! But still, they got a big crusades motif, and outright templar knights, the Thousand Year Kingdom concept is straight from Revelations, and when it comes to Japan's history with armed foreigners barging in uninvited and flipping tables left and right, Christians feature a lot more prominently than Jews. In fact, considering Japan's alliances during World War II, the way they treated their Jewish population was comparatively lenient, and they even opened their ports to refugees. Incompatible religious tenets aside, to me they just don't seem to have the sort of adversarial relationship that would seed the idea for the games' events. Still, at this point it feels like we're mostly arguing what percentage of what is here or there, so, eh. A SMT game inspiring a debate over socio-religious minutia! Who woulda thunk? 
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Dec 22, 2015 16:19
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: This is quite the pickle. : Give it a shot. He went through a lot of trouble to get you on board, he's not going to stomp you into paste for saving his life.: Well then! Sir, I humbly recommend you reconsider... hmm?: Ha!: It's probably because I'm a new hire, but I'm unfamiliar with this hand signal.: It means he thinks you're number one.: I'm flattered but I don't see how this is relev-: Oh, for... Step aside, this is no time to mess around.: I'll drink to that.: ZED! YOU ARE ENGAGING IN PHYSICAL CONGRESS WITH A SUCCUBUS. QUIT IT.: Who to the what, now?: Shut up!: Are you going to leave me to deal with hell's own daycare alone now?: WHAT IS SHE TALKING ABOUT?: Long story.: Oh crap, I don't know what got into me. : It looked like a tongue.: Heyo!: I don't think anyone can cast a Posumudi strong enough to cure testosterone poisoning. My husband gets that way sometimes. It's kind of cute, when it's not impossibly irritating.: So, that's it? You're just going to stop there?: Yyyyeah, pretty much. I'm... sorry?: Eh, this is the most action I've had since the Renaissance. And besides, I'm not giving up yet!: Just use protection next time.: Huh?: Don't you have one of those bug things you eat all the time that'll protect you from that sort of stuff?: ...oh! Right!: Well there's no fun in it anymore, then.: Wait, you actually want to kill me?: You spent twenty-three thousand Macca to get me on your team, I thought you knew what we're all about.: Hmm, fair enough!: So, can I stay?: Oh, dang, of course! I asked you to kiss me, what kind of scumbag would I have to be to kick you out because you did it?: Okay okay okay everything's settled, nobody died, we're all good. Can we go check out Asakusa now?: I... I want to ask Kamala about the next horseman. I really don't want us to get ambushed like this again.: We're never going on this tour, are we?: I promise you, if there's still an Asakusa the next time we return from the Labyrinth, we're gonna explore every last corner of it.: So, will you be paying customers anytime soon, or did you just come here to make a spectacle of yourself?: My apologies, miss Lady. Please, take my money.*: We finally have a chance to recover. It's suprisingly cheap by now considering the money we're making, and we have 72084 Macca in our pockets when we leave. : Oh, hey, Princess. A word, please, before we go.: What is it?: Thanks.: Ha! Don't mention it. It was fun. You would have done the same for me, right?: Yeah, I would have. I'm glad you stayed.: I don't know for sure what was waiting for me back in Yoyogi Park, but it cannot have been more exciting than traveling all this way with you.: Let's keep at it then, shall we?: Wherever it takes us.*: I'd like to buy Smoke Balls, which guarantee escape from battle, so I warp to all stores in succession to see if anyone sells them. I think Rag trades them for gems, but I'm not entirely sure you can't buy them for money elsewhere. However, when we get to the Great Underpass...  : Oh dang. The next one's here.: Does that mean we don't have to go see Kamala?: I'm sorry, but after we're done beating this guy into bone salad, we'll still need to know where the next one is. Look, I want to check out the Manikin's handiwork at least as much as you do, but...: I know, I know. Survival comes first. You're taking such good care of us!: You do realize she's a catgirl version of me, right?: Ladies, ladies, if I ever lose my mind again and decide I want to die in a whirlwind of lust and passion, I'm sure there'll be plenty of me to go around.Boss battle: Fiend Red Rider *: Okay, so. Terrorblade does physical damage and can cause Panic, Wind Cutter is force damage, and Bolt Storm is electricity, natch. Lessee... Zed getting Panicked would be devastating, so Iyomante is a must. I need Valkyrie at least to take out the Powers, and she still has Void Mind on. Kikuri-Hime and Succubus are also immune to Mind ailments, so if I wait until New K to fight, that should be damage and healing taken care of even if Valkyrie bites it. It doesn't give us any relevant elemental resistance, but I still think we can do this. Boss battle: Fiend Red Rider Redux *: Aw man, I was hoping not to get enough exp to level up with a mastered Magatama on, but here we are. Oh well. The rest of the fight went a lot better this time though. Seeing as we know how to deal with Divine sidekicks by now, this isn't really a gimmick fight anymore, it's a question of crafting a party that can survive the Rider's offense. I didn't realize that Needle Rush doesn't autocrit from Dark Might, but the guaranteed 150 damage per turn still added up. quote:Divine Power quote:Fiend Red Rider  *: This is still not enough to unlock the next Kalpa, so we're back to the shopping excursion. Aaaand no luck, it looks like Rag has a monopoly on Smoke Balls. I guess I kinda knew already, but I wasn't 100% sure. So! He asks for one Onyx and one Aquamarine for each; we have 17 of the former and 8 of the latter. Hmmm... I'll take two. We already had three. It'll have to do. You can get demons who know the Trafuri spell, which does the same thing, but we don't have much room to experiment with recruits right now. Oooh, while I'm here, I pick up two Dekaja Rocks too, for a Garnet and a Coral each. Sarutahiko knows the spell but it doesn't hurt to have backups and I used up our only one to strip off the Rider's Tarukaja. Alright, now that we're done, it's time to finish up some business in the Labyrinth.   : I think you should stay away from there.: The Third Kalpa? I can't even go down there yet. At least this means he's out of our hair for now.: But, something's kinda weird... This one feels different from the others. I wonder why?: Huh, it must be Dante then. How did he manage to get past the pedestal? Hmm. Well, anyway, thanks for the info, little lady.  *: This is the vault in the First Kalpa. There are three Cubes in here. One has a Deathstone, one has an Attack Mirror, and the last one...  Inventory screen says "A visor that allows its wearer to witness events of the past".  *: If that's not our cue to revisit a Burial Chamber...  This is Forneus' tombstone. Zed ingests Miasma, and our party consists of Mizuchi, Troll, and Gui Xian. > You recall the battle against Forneus...   *: Poor sap doesn't even get a turn.   *: Two turns? That's odd. Hmm. In any case, here's the deal. Burial Chambers allow you to fight boss battles again. You do get experience and cash from them, but it's so little of either that it's essentially useless for grinding. The point is to try to kill bosses in the least amount of turns possible, as a sort of time attack. If you can beat a pre-determined record for every boss whose tombstone shows up, you get an extra turn icon in your New Game+ (meaning that the Demi-fiend counts for two icons, like most bosses). It's a huge bonus, but considering it has no effect whatsoever until we start a new game and make it all the way to the first Burial Chamber again, I don't expect it's something I'll spend a lot of time worrying about. Alright then, last order of business in the Labyrinth today.   : Alright kid, wish me luck.Shameful display: The Accursed Coil (Alternate version for US viewers) *: Well, that was an ordeal and a half. I really should have used more Smoke Balls, but I figured I had so few that I'd prefer saving most of them for the trip back. quote:Vile Tao Tie   : Whoever you are, I hope you're worth the hell out of this.  : I can't believe someone would really come all the way down here...: What can I say, I like to live life dangerously.: ...You see, I made a bet with a buddy of mine. If someone actually made it this far down, I'd have to give that person a prize. Looks like I lost. Here, take this. : ...!*: ...! : ...!: ...! : ...! : God... drat! : ...! : Can I borrow- : NO.: I like you. Come back later and I'll tell you something you might wanna know.: Mmmmmaybe.: Who's a filthy bourgeois now, I wonder?*: Well then. I... didn't quite remember what was down here. In fact I'm pretty sure I've never even remembered to come back down here, ever. Welp!  Good Lord this feels like cheating. But it's not! Time to hoof it back up. Fortunately there are one-way doors along the way, which are a mean trick if you don't watch your automap, but should help us get out of here with slightly less hassle.  : Yeah so I haven't-: I 'on't care!: What's up with you?: Dude I have all the money.: Huh?: I have all the money so hard that I'm pretty sure no one else has any money now. I don't think the universe can contain more currency than is in my possession. It would break a law of thermodynamics. I forgot which one.: That... that's nice.: No, you don't understand. I have all the money.: I gotcha. Now if you'll just let me-: I'll buy your hat. I don't even like your hat, but I'll buy it anyway. Here's ten thousand Macca.: My hat's not for sale, kid.: One hundred thousand Macca.: I am in no position to spend any money you would give me, and besides, I'm not selling you my hat.: You will rue the day.: Yeah, yeah, never heard that one before.: I don't think you get it. I have-: Greed has brought low greater men than you, master.: What are you talking about? I am physically unable of experiencing greed, due to how I have all the money. I don't think any of you realize how much of all the money I have. I have all of all the money.: Okay, okay, I know what's going on. Princess, care to cast Me Patra?: Ah, good idea! Let's see...: Whoa, dang, what happened? I think I blacked out. What... what was I thinking about...? It vaguely feels... like I'm forgetting something... something important...: Don't think about money!: HOLY poo poo I HAVE ALL THE MONEY.: Nice work, genius!: No, I'm fine, I'll be fine. I have all the money, everything's gonna be fine.: Well, that's great. Can we visit the Fountain now? All the money wasn't exactly free.: Good point. I really should buy something and make sure I don't have all the money anymore. Get the economy going and everything. It's such a weight, such a responsibility. Let's go. Let's go make the world a better place, with money.: And punching!: Yes. Yes! Money and punching, the solutions to all problems. Glorious!: Welcome...: Did you know I have all the money?: It's always something weird with you, isn't it?*: We heal up, save, and hit the Cathedral. There have been a couple fusions I've been thinking about but was hesitant to proceed with on account of how I wasn't sure if I was ready to do without the ingredients, but since we have access to the compendium and (nearly) all of the money, that's hardly a problem now. : Gui Xian, Senri, you're up.: It'll be weird to be just one guy again.: Boy, I can't wait.: Already?: Well, it's time. We'll still go looking around Asakusa, it'll just be a little different.: I never really cared about Asakusa, I just wanted to walk around with you without worrying about fighting for a bit.: Oh please.: Come on, class it up a little, will ya?: ...can do.: Alright, it's been a pleasure, it really has been. See you on the other side.Dragon Gui Xian + Holy Senri =   *: We could have outright hired a Naga in Kabukicho, but not one decked out like this. This one's also one level below Senri's, but by the time he learns his last skill, he'll be three levels above and is going to evolve on top of that. Oh, and before I forget, Drain Attack is a passive skill that causes the demon's standard attack to absorb about a quarter of the inflicted damage as HP. Alright, we're pretty close to being in an ideal position to make another fusion, but not just yet. Still, one free slot, that's like a breath of fresh air. : Asakusa, here we come! : The thought of it is strangely pleasant.: Ha, I bet it is.   : ...But, we'll clean it all up, because it's our city! *: We could go further north up the alley, but there's this one door here that we check out first. Atmosphere: Asakusa Tunnels  Man, has this place always been this creepy?  : Oh hey, good to see you!  : ...Oh! It's you! It's me, remember? Y'know, from the Underpass and the Prison... Me!: Absolutely, my good fellow. What's going down?: ...I was thinking of opening a store here -- making use of all my experience. It's a mess now, so it'll be a while before I'll be able to open up. But, I'll hook you up, so come on by after I open!: Oh absolutely. I still have most of the money, so it'll be my pleasure.: Most of what money?: Al-: No, no no no no. It's a lot of cash, let's leave it at that. Goodbye! : Heyo, old timer.  : ...Whoa! It's you! Do you remember me?: How could I forget? : Oh it's been amazing. I have so much money now.: I see, I see! We're doing well living in Asakusa. This is all thanks to Futomimi's leadership. Futomimi is in our holy land of Mifunashiro. Go and see him.: Aight, that's the plan. Keep on keepin' on!  *: There are two exits from here, west and east. Going west...   : Yeah, if you're gonna be people, that'll happen. Shame.: He's ruthless, tearing the skins off other Manikins.: Whoa.: He might be around here, so be careful!: Thanks for the heads-up!   : There goes the neighborhood.Welp, death sure didn't improve their disposition. *: The west gate here leads outside, but I want to check out the eastern side first.     And we're outside again. However, there's only one other place accessible from here.    : But, looking at Tokyo as a whole, we see Nihilo taking over, and that's no laughing matter. Nihilo has no rival. Are we just going to sit here, watching Nikawa make his world of stillness?: Well, I can't do anything about anything right now, but I got people looking into it.    : She must have some guts.: She sure does.  : Oh, it felt sooooo good!: ...huh.: Well I'll be! A Puzzle Boy machine! : Hey kid. What's going down? : You wanna know what games humans used to play?: Ha, believe me, I know already.: I already beat this game...: So did I, actually. I bet I could do it again with my eyes closed.: Well, you won't last a minute. It's over before it even starts. If you can win, I'll give you an insect-like thing.: Oooh, can't have too many of those. : Watch a master at work, kid.  Music: Puzzle Boy *: This track is a remake of the SMT1 overworld map theme! : If you have any questions, open up the menu and select Help. Are you ready? Then, let's start! *: So! This is a block pushing puzzle, kind of a fancied-up Sokoban. I'll be posting images of all stages, but for the solutions, well, this is really out of scope for this LP! I beat all the rooms myself a while back, but now that I know I could, I'll be using a guide at some point, because some of 'em are pretty drat mean and I remember nothing.              *: To my own surprise, I haven't resorted to a guide yet. Yaaay!    *: ...gaaaaaaaah I'm not made out of time, gamefaqs it is. Behold my failure, Internet!             *: Man did I spend too much time on this.  : I guess that means you beat it, right?: Well...*: Technically, yes. : Ugh...... That's fine. You can have this insect-like thing.> You obtained the Magatama Geis. : You can come again, you know.: That's-*: NO THANKS BYE. : Well, I've beaten it anyway.*: If I never have to do this again, it'll be too soon.  Geis is a well-rounded Magatama. Nullifying Expel without enduring any weaknesses in return can come in handy; the first skill it would teach us is Diarama. On our way further inside, we run into Sudama, Shikome, Nue, and Pisaca. The place is not as safe as I'd have hoped.    : What was it? The 'Nightmare System'?: Hikawa has such a gift for names. *: A staircase and an exit take us to this area of the overworld, which only has a Cube with a Magic Mirror in it. Back in we go, to a fork with a dead end and another way out.  That hill in the center must be Mifunashiro, but we'd need to go through one of the two buildings across the bridges to get there. Hmmmm... Let's say north.  Whooops.  : It'll be a while before you'll be able to get through here. Come back later.*: South it is, then. I dig the little construction signs the Manikins are reusing. "Sorry for the apocalyptic mess! We're fixing it as fast as we can!"   : He sees the future by meditating. *: There's a small terminal here, probably as a convenience.  Apart from Valkyrie's Agilao, we haven't had any fire damage in a while. But the one we try to chat up takes some HP and a Bead, then leaves.   These rooms contain an Attract Pipe (single-use Riberama), 3000 Macca (wow!), and...  : What happened to the human boy at the Mantra's jail? Did he escape?: Yeah, you could say that.: ...That hat bugs me.: I know! *: Almost there! Atmosphere: Mifunashiro *: I call it "atmosphere", but there's actually a short melody kicking in after a bit and now I wish it was on the soundtrack because it's amazing. It really lets you know this is a sacred place. Whatever power resides here is not to be trifled with.      And here's a large terminal.    : Hello. I thought I'd pay you guys a visit. I like what you're doing with the place! : Just as I foresaw, you have come to Asakusa. We are fated to meet again... Although, that is all I can say at this point.: You seem like a square enough fellow, I look forward to it. : As much as I could, yeah.: Everyone is doing their best to restore the city. This is the first city we Manikins have ever considered as our own, after all.: I feel better about this than I expected, to be honest. : Though you may 'see' our land, you may not 'enter' it any further.: Eh?*: It's easy to miss, but Futomimi has a resolute, borderline threatening expression here. : This is the holy land of the Manikins, Mifunashiro. Beyond here is our motherland, where we were born... Even if we owe you our lives, I cannot let you past here.: Ah, I see. Well, I'm not gonna lie, it looks like an interesting place, but I understand your reasons. : No biggie, I was just being nosy anyway.: Now, I must return to my meditations. I have to foresee our new future. I need to find out what I need to do to create a world where Manikins can live in peace.: Sure, you're a religious leader, and, well, a leader in general too. I won't keep you from your duties.: ............ *: Back to a more relaxed expression. : Beware of a Manikin named Sakahagi. He's a traitor to our cause, having committed various atrocities. He's probably hiding out somewhere in Asakusa... He might cause you some trouble, but please understand that he is not one of us.: Yeah, I get your meaning. I promise I won't take offense. In fact, if he gets in my way I just might find myself... uh... solving him for you.: ............ Now, I must be going...: Well, it was good to meet you again. Best of luck with everything! I don't know what I expected. I'm not one of them, and he's not... one of whatever it is I am. I don't belong here. I didn't even realize that I thought I did, but now that I know I don't, it's like... it's like... Hijiri's my only remaining lead towards Ms. Takao. Let's head back. *: We hop through the nearby terminal back to Nakamise-Douri. : Are you feeling better?: Kinda. Any good news?: Progress is being made.: It'll have to do. Hey, uh...: What?: Your hat looks good on you. Very, um, very "style".: ...thanks.*: Nowhere to go but to the west of the main intersection here.    Man I don't know how these tunnels could be any creepier. I wonder if the Manikins just like them that way.  This is not good.  I didn't mean that as a challenge! FrankZP fucked around with this message at 20:51 on Dec 22, 2015 |
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Dec 22, 2015 16:26
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Oh no, you're absolutely right about that. The explanation for this is that Law is deliberately set up as an antagonist. They're supposed to represent traditional Japanese attitudes regarding authority, dressed up in nominally Christian clothing to make it clear they're the bad guys. It'd be extremely difficult to maintain that bad-guy clarity if they were to refer to the person who makes up the basis of the religion, so they're kind of stuck and have to use messed-up occult Judaism with crosses. EDIT: Oh hey, update. Look up! Tallgeese fucked around with this message at 16:39 on Dec 22, 2015 |
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Dec 22, 2015 16:33
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