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 If you do not wish to be spoiled on Xillia 1's ending, or plot points from the first game, do not read past this point  Introduction Tales of Xillia 2 (2012 / 2014) is, obviously, a sequel to 2011 / 2013's Tales of Xillia, taking place on year later in the same world, and featuring much the same cast. These two games are set in two parallel worlds: Rieze Maxia and Elympios. Rieze Maxia is a land ruled by spirits of earth, wind, fire, and water, and its people use these spirits to aid their daily lives. Elympios, on the other hand, utilizes advanced technology in order to live, as it has no connection with the spirits. In the backstory of these games, Rieze Maxia and Elympios were originally one world, but the development of objects called spyrix began to destroy their enviornment. Because of spyrix, the two worlds were separated by the most powerful spirit, Maxwell. At the end of the first game the two worlds were united once again through the efforts of Jude Mathis, Milla Maxwell (originally Maxwell's puppet, she becomes the new Maxwell at the end of game), Alvin, Elize Lutus, Rowen Ilbert, and Leia Rolando. Although all six will have an important role in this game, Xillia 2 will instead follow the strange life of Ludger Kresnik and Elle Mel Marta, as a chance encounter between the two spirals into a fight for the world's future. Gameplay The battles in this game are fought according to the Cross Dual Raid Linear Motion Battle System (Namco-Bandai's term for it), which doesn't particularly need to be explained here, as the system is not only very similar to the one in the first one, but will also be explained much better in the first few hours of the game. However, if you are coming into this game from the first one, you'll be able to get used to it very quickly. However, that is not to say it is entirely the same. More important is story progression. Unlike Jude and Milla, Ludger is a silent protagonist and the player will have the ability to choose Ludger's responses to NPCs and PCs throughout the game. While these choices do not substantially affect plot progression, there is a new affection system for three NPCs and all the playable characters aside from Ludger, so raising affection lets you see new scenes and even additional content to certain story sequences. This game, progression-wise, is divided into 16 chapters. To progress from one chapter to the next, you have to pay off debt, which is a mechanic introduced at the end of the introduction and forms the basis for the player advancing the story. Of course, I do not need to go into specifics at the moment. The choices While there are choices, there are also *right* choices to make that increase character affections, and the choices I make in the game will be clearly indicated by my commentary. However, that is not to say I won't show off the alternates. At the end of each video, I'll post the results of the choices not made in the main update for your enjoyment. When it comes to one of Xillia 1's most popular features, dressing up your characters with all manner of goofy accessories and costumes, however, that can be arranged in the thread. I'll be going through this game again on a New Game+, which means I can bring all the cosmetic stuff over from my previous games. When I recruit every new character, I'll post everything I have for the character, and one lucky poster will have the honor of having their choices reflected in the update. Spoiler Policy Obviously, as a sequel, anything from Xillia 1 is fair game. The characters will frequently refer to characters, events, and plot-related stuff from the first game, and I'll explain references where appropriate. However, as of the posting of this thread, fellow forums poster wdarkk is Let's Playing the first game, so if you want to know where it all began, feel free to read that thread. However much I like the first game, I like this game even more. I hope you'll enjoy my take on the wild world of Tales of Xillia 2. Updates: Part I: The Man Who Dreams Part II: The Girl Who Begins Part III: The Man Who Transforms Part IV: The Man Who Works Part V: The Man Who Trusts Part VI: The Woman Who Reports Part VII: The Man Who Advises Part VIII: The Man Who Explains Part IX: The Man Who Delves Part X: The Man Who Struggles Part XI: The Woman Who Laments Part XII: The Girl Who Partners Part XIII: The Man Who Helps Part XIV: The Man Who Rules Part XV: The Man Who Understands Part XVI: The Man Who Hums Part XVII: The Man Who Bets Part XVIII: The Woman Who Learns Part XIX: The Girl Who Fears Part XX: The Man Who Tries Part XXI: The Woman Who Despairs Part XXII: The Woman Who Returns Part XXIII: The Man Who Reflects Part XXIV: The Man Who Mirrors Part XXV: The Girl Who Hates Part XXVI: The Girl Who Reveals Part XXVII: The Girl Who Decides Part XXVIII: The Man Who Chooses Part XXIX: The Girl Who Questions Part XXX: The Man Who Departs Part XXXI: The Woman Who Schemes* Part XXXII: The Woman Who Sings Part XXXIII: The Man Who Vows Part XXXIV: The Man Who Concludes Part XXXV: The Man Who Challenges Part XXXVI: The Man Who Remembers Part XXXVII: The Man Who Meets Endings Part XXX-2: Family Matters Part XXXVIII: Debtor's Release Part XXXIX: New Heroes Part XL: The Man Who Lives Part XLI: The Woman Who Believes Sylphid fucked around with this message at 07:45 on Jan 24, 2017 |
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Mar 21, 2016 00:27
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Reserve post.
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Mar 21, 2016 00:28
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Part I: The Man Who Dreams        Welcome to Tales of Xillia 2, everyone. While we've got a number of options here, for this thread we're going to be starting a New Game+. In long-standing Tales tradition, we've got some Grade Shop options to choose from before we begin this game.  So, the Grade Shop works a bit differently in this game than in other Tales games. In most Tales games, you accumulate Grade over the course of your entire playthrough, and the sum total of that acquired Grade is the number of Grade Points you get to spend in the shop. In this game, instead, by accomplishing various tasks in-game, you get points to spend here. There's a total of 10000 Grade you can acquire by accomplishing everything, and after every playthrough, your points are replenished for you to spend all over again, should you choose. Let's take a look at all the options before we begin. Ludger's Voice: normally, Ludger is an almost entirely silent protagonist. This option, if chosen, lets you hear his voice when making a choice in-game. It's free, and you can turn it off if you want, so there's no reason not to get this. Max Item Capacity 30 / 99: self-explanatory. I would highly advise getting 30, at least, because the standard item limit of 15 can be kinda restrictive your first time through the game. Of course, it also means certain fights can be easier, because you can stock up more healing items. Inherit Consumable Items: these are items like Apple Gels, Life Bottles, Elixirs, etc. etc. everything that you consume in and outside battle to restore health / TP. Inherit Material Items: much like the first game, this game has a very important crafting system for making powerful late-game items. Useful for saving a lot of time grinding materials in the late-game. Inherit Fashion Items: everyone's favorite feature in this game and Xillia 1. Fashion items change your character's appearance, making them as goofy or cool-looking as you want. There are also a number of fashion items you can only get from the post-game bonus dungeon that are also carried over with this choice. They're...interesting, is all I will say for now. Inherit Accessory Items: another self-explanatory choice. Everything that fits in the Accessory category is automatically returned to you at the start of the playthrough. Inherit Extractor: the Extractor is the game's system for giving characters new skills / abilities / stat increases. Obviously carrying this over means you're going to have a serious leg-up on the competition throughout the vast majority of this game. Inherit Special Items: special items are kind of a niche category in this game, as most of the items, with the exception of the Winged Sphere (which increases field movement speed), will probably never be used very much be me. Kinda pointless to carry over. Inherit Skill Items: you'll get various special items in this game that teach Ludger special artes. This options carries all those items into a new game. Not overly useful. Inherit Special Arms: there are two kinds of "Special Arms" in this game: Alliance and Devil's Arms. Devil's Arms are another Tales tradition, where their power increases depending on the number of enemies that are killed by a specific character. Alliance Arms are weapons whose power increases depending on the number of linked attacks done by a specific character. If you want to make the game REALLY easy, carry over these. Inherit Special Weapons: various powerful weapons can be acquired by crafting in this game (named after games in the Tales series). While eventually made rather worthless in terms of raw stats compared to Special Arms, these are pretty cool because they also provide passive buffs. Double Experience / 5x Experience: shouldn't have to describe this one. HP +1000: free max 1000 HP boost to all allies. Double Gald / Double Items Drops: both self-explanatory. Double Item Drops in particular is extremely useful. Unlock Skits: you are free to view any and every skit in the entire game in the Library if you choose this item. Very cool for people who enjoy the skits in this game / Tales games in general (and really, if you don't, there are plenty of other JRPG series you could be playing. They're easily one of the best parts of every Tales game, especially in recent entries.) Double Gauge Growth: the gauge that lets you launch linked artes with your partner increases twice as fast. Handy. Maximum AC + 1 / +2: AC is the number that determines the number of actions you can take in a single combo. More AC means you can launch longer combos after recharge. Inherit Arte Usage: self-explanatory name. Besides the novelty of keeping track of all the times a specific arte has been used, the reason you would carry this over is because the more an arte is used, at certain milestones, the power / effectiveness of that arte increases. Inherit Artes and Skills: not the same thing. Artes are combat abilities, skills are various modifications you can make to characters to make them more effective / change their fighting style. Increase Power Combo Damage: the way you bring down powerful bosses in this game is to initiate Power Combos, where you start a combo off with an enemy's weakness, then multiply that damage by combining different elements into the same combo. There's a multiplier attached depending on how many different elements you use (up to 9), and this option increases that multiplier. Increase Power Combo Time: once you start a Power Combo, you need to throw a different element at the target to increase the multiplier / reset the timer. If the timer expires, the combo ends. This option gives you more time to do so. Triple Critical: triples the critical rate for allies AND enemies. Choose this carefully, as you can't disable it once you've started the game with it. Double Damage: much like Triple Critical, this option doubles the damage done by your buddies and by every enemy. Again, use cautiously. Choosing this option in Tales of Xillia 1 led to an incredibly challenging / fun final boss on my end. Reduces Arte Cost: *yawn* Just decreases the TP needed to launch artes. Ludger Chromatus Lv. 2 / Lv. 3 / Max: something pretty cool. While it would be unwise to explain what the Chromatus is right now, Ludger gets the ability to invoke something by that name at a certain point in the story, and its power increases the further you get in the game (at various story-critical moments). Starting off with successive Chromatus levels allows you to harness that power before those moments in the story. Inherit Affinity Level: carries over the affection levels for every playable character except Ludger (who doesn't have one), as well as the affection level of three NPCs (whose affection levels exist, but are invisible). This can save a lot of time relatively late in the game. Inherit Merit Points (All) / Merit Points (Half): Merit Points are another gameplay mechanic that would not be wise to get into right now. This option will make more sense a couple updates from now. Inherit Kitty Dispatch: the big gathering quest of this game involves finding hordes of cats to find special items / material items. Selecting this option carries over most of the cats and the dispatch data. More cats = more chance of finding more / rare items. Phew, that was exhausting. Let's get on to the actual game once you've made your choices...  Omen  A boss fight already?! Nah, this is a little tutorial "fight". The shadowy man will rant at you. Feel free to take this time and practice how Ludger fights / general controls. After attacking for a bit...   Hmph... I see you have a similar combat grip. You and I are definitely brothers... And yet... I got all the strength! You actually think you'll make it through the Trial like this?! Don't make me laugh, Ludger!  The Trial is cruel. Unbearably cruel. And people are weak. Weak enough to ruin us all. You will come to understand... This is our curse! The gears of fate that grind the curse bind upon us an armor of death. It's a Key and a Lance that pierces space and time. Souls encircle the throne of the void. The branches of history reach out to infinity!  You alone must make the decision, brother. Everything rides upon this one choice. Not just your life...but the fate of the entire world. Do you have what it takes...to destroy...to choose...to pass the Trial?! Answer me! Ludger Kresnik!     The Spirius test   One of the very few lines Ludger has that is always voiced, I believe.    Hm, coulda sworn we've seen this guy before. Not sure where, though.  Cutting it a bit close, don't you think? Need I remind you that this is the Spirius Corporation's entrance exam? First choice of the game. For the record, anytime you see a check mark next to a choice, that means the last playthrough I did, this is the choice I made. This choice, as well as the next one, is utterly inconsequential. However, for every choice, I'll post the alternate choice in scene's video. But you still barely made it on time? You're short on brains...but you've definitely got guts. Hm? Well, we've GOT to go with L1 here. You dreamt that I killed you? Well, if you keep decimating my supply of tomato cupcakes, perhaps that dream will come true. Kidding. Anyway, time to wake up and smell reality. Let's begin, shall we? You'll be tested here, in the underground training area. These caverns stretch all the way to Trigleph's city limits. You could head straight out of town from here. I wouldn't, though. It's an automatic failure. Hmph... I see you have a similar combat grip. We're definitely brothers. The exam is live combat. Slay five of the monsters in the training area and return before your time runs out. Spirius is not liable for any injuries sustained during the exam. But just between us, if things go bad, I've got your back. You're my brother. Thank me later. Here they come!  So we finally have our first real battle. Next to Ludger's picture at the bottom, we have the basics of combat. HP is in orange, TP is in blue, and the number of actions Ludger can perform in a single combo is 5 at the moment. The normal Tales battle style is still present here. Unless you're free running (you can't attack while free running), you're stuck on an invisible line with the targeted enemy (the triangle above the enemy's head indicates I'm currently focusing on that foe, as well as their remaining HP).  Square guards against enemy attacks. Of course, blocking is critical against tougher enemies. Note, however, you cannot block every attack. If a red exclamation mark appears above an enemy's head, you can't block that attack and you will need to actually dodge to avoid considerable damage. You can also quick-step back and forth by hitting the control stick left or right twice in fast succession. Unless you have the skill that increases quickstep range, not terribly useful for dodging enemy attacks.  X launches normal attacks, and circle activates artes. You can tilt the control stick in three directions (toward the enemy, up, and down) to use different basic attacks.  Artes are governed by the same principle. Ludger is using Azure Edge right now, but at the moment, he also has Time Disintegration, which is a fast melee combo. Unlike many other Tales games, you can combo the same arte over and over again in the same combo (so I could do a three hit combo of just Azure Edge.) Time Disintegration ends with a kick that knocks the target down, so you can't combo that. You can also, of course, combine regular attacks and artes in the same combo, but always keep in mind artes require TP, which can be restored with items or regular hits (regular hits restore 1 TP per hit).  Anyway, these enemies are as basic as they get, so feel free to take them apart with artes or regular hits. Just remember to ration TP a bit at this point.  And this is the usual post-battle screen. Everything should be pretty self-explanatory, but the victory screens can many times be the most entertaining part of a fight, as amusing post-battle conversations is one of the selling points for this game.  For now, this is your rather limited main menu. 276 hours? drat I'm put a lot of time into this game. I'm going to put quite a bit more in it, I think.  Poking around in the item menu, you can find stuff like this. Any downloaded costumes can be found here, but only can be equipped on the characters they're assigned to. These include downloaded costumes for the first game (which are carried over into this game). I got Milla, Alvin, and Elize's DLC outfits for the last game, but they're all pretty good, especially Milla's Dhaos costume.  And this is the considerable arsenal of weapons I'm carrying over. I only carried them over to maintain their stats I worked so hard to get my last couple playthroughs. We won't be seeing a lot of these items in regular gameplay for a looooong time, so just forget you saw this for now.  Anyhow, for our primary goal, it's pretty easy to find all the enemies, so just go and waste them. You can also look around for four treasure chests, which all have basic consumables or money in them. Once you've taken out all the enemies...  Just return to where we talked to Julius at the start of the test.   Hard choices Random employee and monster!  Choosing L1 leads to Julius taking care of the situation, R1 is a bit more interesting...  This fight is basically impossible under these circumstances. Especially since you can't equip anything to give you super-powered weapons before the game really begins. When you almost certainly get KO'd...    Valor and skill are two very different things, Ludger. True professionals know the difference...and their limits. Just now, we were testing your ability to analyze the situation. Ludger Kresnik. You failed.  Gears in motion   Elle, wait right there!    He went downstairs. After him!   Your pocketwatch. Elle, you know how to read a clock, right? You need to get on the ten o'clock train leaving from Trigleph Central Station. From there, head to the Land of Canaan. To Canaan? It's a place where any wish can be granted. It's where you and I can finally live in peace. A place that grants wishes? You must go there, no matter how frightening it may be. Okay. I promise I'll go. Get to the train and then to Canaan! Shoot him now!    What about you?! I'll meet you there. I promise! Daddy! Daddy! drat it, she got away. It doesn't matter. He's the Key.   
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Mar 21, 2016 00:28
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This game is good as hell.
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Mar 21, 2016 02:40
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alcharagia posted:This game is good as hell.
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Mar 21, 2016 05:30
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alchargia, as the first poster, would you mind doing the honors of dressing up Ludger and Jude for when I record next? I have every fashion item in the game, so there is no need to hold back.
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Mar 21, 2016 08:41
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I wonder if you're supposed to beat that monster on New Game+? Assuming you remember the opening, anyhow.
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Mar 21, 2016 11:50
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Sylphid posted:alchargia, as the first poster, would you mind doing the honors of dressing up Ludger and Jude for when I record next? I have every fashion item in the game, so there is no need to hold back. Well, it's the first go, so let's go understated. Give Ludger a vivid green mustache/pipe combo and Emo Glasses, wearing his pajamas because Ludger misunderstood "business casual," and our other friend aviators and the largest Li'l Milla you can possibly make, wearing the color variation on his Xillia 2 outfit because he looks better in green.
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Mar 21, 2016 13:17
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alcharagia posted:Well, it's the first go, so let's go understated. Give Ludger a vivid green mustache/pipe combo and Emo Glasses, wearing his pajamas because Ludger misunderstood "business casual," and our other friend aviators and the largest Li'l Milla you can possibly make, wearing the color variation on his Xillia 2 outfit because he looks better in green. OP was wrong to trust you with this, alcharagia. But we knew that.
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Mar 21, 2016 17:30
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alcharagia posted:Well, it's the first go, so let's go understated. Give Ludger a vivid green mustache/pipe combo and Emo Glasses, wearing his pajamas because Ludger misunderstood "business casual," and our other friend aviators and the largest Li'l Milla you can possibly make, wearing the color variation on his Xillia 2 outfit because he looks better in green. You're quite mad, you know. I hope you know what you're doing.
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Mar 21, 2016 18:10
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Excited for this! X2 was a lot of fun and I'm excited to relive the rest. Agreed on the costumes and accesories being the best. God, I recently replayed this game and forgot I had Jude in the Bruiser/Kongman outfit and he's so much taller then Jude everytime it focused on his head it zoomed into his pecs. Every cutscene was weird.
pichupal fucked around with this message at 19:32 on Mar 23, 2016 |
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Mar 23, 2016 10:28
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pichupal posted:
The game makes a point about having all the playable characters in the same shot together in the OP, (except Ludger, who was on-screen two seconds earlier) so it's not a secret the game seems to want to keep in the first place. So it's *technically* a spoiler, but it's as insubstantial as spoilers get.
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Mar 23, 2016 18:43
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Yeah, I guess the game doesn't do anything to hide it. Honestly, I try to skip most anime openings until part way through the game these days because they tend to spoil like half the game.
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Mar 23, 2016 19:31
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I was able to beat the monster on a fresh game  Whats happens when you do is that you go to help the woman up, she puts a knife to your throat, and then you fail due to being unable to tell the diference from friend and foe. The game has one of the best concepts for a story ive seen in a jrpg, but i always felt it was dragged down by a few of the tales cliche's.
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Mar 23, 2016 20:29
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Agean90 posted:I was able to beat the monster on a fresh game Oh really? That sounds cool enough for a re-record of that part, just to get that scene. I always thought that was a fight you were supposed to lose badly.
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Mar 23, 2016 20:45
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TOX2... It's a very good game, I'll give it that. For all the Tales Cliches, it has some really amazing plot twists, a interesting (if unbalanced) mechanic, and a really heartwarming ending. But it sort of stifles itself by accidentally tripping up where Silent Hill 4 and Devil May Cry 4 did by having you visit every place from the first game, but in reverse order. Yeah, there are some new, interesting dungeons, it condemns itself by having a few repeated bosses (looking at you, Chimeriad 4v4, King Nactigal, and especially Maxwell). It's still solid, and it's new bosses are really cool, though.
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Mar 23, 2016 23:56
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Part II - The Girl Who Begins The next day  Hey, Ludger! You alive in there? Chop-chop! Sleeping in on your first day of work? Smooth move. Somebody's ready for a pep talk from his brother? Ryoooow. Going with L1 here. Gotta get some characterization in early, y'know. Also, for another reason (which I didn't realize at the time). Julius is one of the three NPCs I promised in the first update that have affection levels. While nothing indicates he likes this choice, trust me, he does have an affection level. So, what's the point of increasing these levels? Not too much, actually. If his level is high enough by the endgame, you'll get a special pair of swords (that happen to look exactly like the ones Ludger is already using), that have pretty good stats, but otherwise don't have much point at all. Don't worry if you miss out on them, because they're not terribly worth the investment. Really? I, uh...didn't think you were gonna say yes. You're gonna make a great chef someday, so give each meal your all. Hey! Don't laugh at me. Anyway, I know they're gonna love your cooking at the station cafeteria. I eat it, and I haven't died yet. How many Tales protagonists have pets? Not too many, actually. Off the top of my head, I think of the others, only Lloyd had one. There's something about the way Rollo meows that's cute and yet very unnatural, which results in an appealing character. The furball will be very key to upcoming story developments, so stay tuned. Looks like Rollo's hungry, too. Let's eat. What's the special today, chef? Julius likes tomatoes, and he seems like an okay big brother, so why not indulge him as an apology for having to save us from that electric monster thing? L1 increases his affection. So, trying to butter me up with tomatoes, huh? I'm onto your tricks. Doesn't mean it won't work. Ryooow. And how about you, Rollo? Fancy some deep-fried canary, maybe? Or how 'bout some diet Kitty Krisps? Gotta lift you from the kness, big boy.  Production will begin today at the Oscore Plant, a joint venture between the government and the Spirius Corporation. The plant's projected output surpasses that of any other facility in Elympios. Industry leaders have high hopes that Oscore's output will stabilize Elympios' food supply. To commemorate the occasion, a ceremonial train will depart from Trigleph Central Station at ten o' clock today. A ceremonial train, huh? And it leaves right from your new workplace. How's that for a perk? Say, I should really give you something to celebrate your new job, shouldn't I? Hm, another pointless choice. But hey, I want that snazzy pocketwatch, so let's ask him for it. This game seems to have a clock theme going so far (even if there is no actual time travel in this game).  Fun fact, the pocketwatch on the right is the icon used for the Platinum trophy of this game! Hey, if it's a watch you want, I'll spring for a new one. Well, how about a nice necktie instead? You'll be dealing with all sorts of folks at the station, you know. Gotta look sharp. Whoops, I've gotta run.  I do believe something odd is going on...  But the clock faded back in, so I guess everything's fine. Catch you later. You should go, too. A train station employee running late is a pretty big faux pas.    Thanks game. Welcome to Ludger's apartment building, a place we'll be seeing quite a bit of over the course of the game. Right now, you can either proceed down the elevator to continue the game, or you can return to Ludger's apartment to look around for yourself. There's really not much to see there, but you can get a jacket-less version of Ludger's default outfit if you go into his room and investigate the closet. I'll show that later. Or, you could try to barge into Julius' dwelling, but the door is locked. That is all I will say about it for now. Even if you're brothers, would you want someone snooping around the place you sleep? I think not. Also, despite it being an apartment building, there's not a whole lot of rooms you can go into.  The landlord will be hanging around the lobby or thereabouts the entire game, so if you want to know the state of Ludger's rent payments, don't forget to check in with her.  And this is the park immediately outside. This is actually where the Tales staple of "Big emotional scene prior to fighting the final boss" scene happened in the first Xillia. You can see Trigleph is not a particularly lively place in terms of plant life. Elympios, where Trigleph is, is kinda barren in terms of actual geography, which does not particularly lend itself to interesting environments to explore.  Fateful encounter  You're the one who wanted to cover this event, Leia! Balan had to call in some favors just to get you a ticket. Me?! I can't write the article for you! Besides, I don't even know which train they're using for the ceremony. Hey!  Seems like this poor fellow, who we DEFINITELY have not seen in a previous Tales game, is in a spot of trouble. Let's be a nice guy.  If you've made a choice that increases affection levels, you'll get a little pop up with their head to indicate as such. This applies to skits, as well, so this is the first and only time I'll show that happening. Well, yeah, sure. If you don't mind. Thanks a lot. You're a lifesaver. A friend just left me in the lurch.  What happened was that weird effect thing that happened to Julius' watch happened to the girl's watch, and she dropped it.  Meow. Hey, mister kitty-cat, do you know where they kepe the big trains around here? Daddy called it "Tri-something Station". Commercial... District... The station! Hey, wait! Mister kitty-cat! You're going to the station too? And our first skit of the game. Skits are divided into three broad category, with [MAIN] applying to skits that either have big storyline relevance or pop up naturally in the course of the main storyline.  Skits are... They're not really something text-only does justice. Even when the video is linked, it's just not the same thing as actually watching them. So, I'll probably keep all skits as video only. But, at the same time, I don't want 8 million videos of a single skit. What I'll do is I'll post a screenshot of the first part of a skit, then at the end of the update, I'll link a "All Update (2) skits" video that will have all skits + choices in it, just for everyone's viewing convenience. Sound good? Good. However, since this update only has one skit, I guess it gets its own video. Anyway, for this particular area, the big road leading to the left leads to the Spirius Corporation HQ, which is not somewhere you need to be right now, and there's no point in going elsewhere in the city aside from Trigleph Main Station. Just proceed to the end of the road to make it to the train station. Update 2 skits  Big man in town So that's the ceremonial train.  Is that it? Yes, sir. A message from Vice-Director Rideaux. "Suspicious activity observed in crown. Please take caution." He's going to attack us here? This'll be some celebration. We have been expecting you, Mr. Bakur. I'm happy to say our departure is right on schedule. Thanks for your help. I really appreciate it.  Welcome to Trigleph Station. The only thing to note about this screenshot is the green leaf icon indicates an item shop. Fascinating, I know.  First day on the job    Sir, you'll need to follow me to the station manager's office. This young lady just told me you tried to lure her out of the train station. By the way, Rollo is now almost constantly following her around. It's not long now until the feline is basically another of her accessories. Hey! You're not going anywhere! We've been falsely accused by a troublesome little girl and we're late for work, dammit! Time to fight back.  What happened is they struggled for a bit more, before Ludger slugged him right in the jaw. You wanna play rough? That other cop doesn't seem that interested in someone resisting arrest, but was that locker always there?  Guess not...     You know, as of this writing, I don't remember what happens if you try to flee the scene, and I'm not quite sure what happens if you let the clock expire. I imagine a choice will be made for you, but whatever. We're headed to that train anyway. Call it destiny. Edit: if you let the timer run out, the game makes the choice of L1 for you. Guess there's no use in letting it run out in the future. However, if you're playing the game for the first time, you shouldn't make this choice. For some reason, choosing R1 increases Elle's affection, making her the second NPC with an affection level.  And here we go...  Duty calls   Instead of just the bright, shiny effect, when Ludger touched the touch, it just disappeared. Something very odd is going on with clocks in this game...  Ludger is completely pinned down, so we need to...  FIGHT BACK! This option increases Elle's affection, but that's fine. Makes perfect sense.  Ludger and the mysterious attacker get into a short fistfight. Is he an agent? But, the attacker gets the upper hand, and it looks dire, until...  Catch! The resulting fight is pretty easy, so let's just skip past it and (correctly) presume I won.  Don't worry... I'm fine. Huh? What the? Impressive, Dr. Mathis. Were those Rieze Maxian martial artes? My security team could learn a thing or two from you. Then again, my security team can't channel spirits the way you Rieze Maxians can. I'm just glad we were both on the same car. You know, you're not too shabby yourself. My name is Bisley Bakur. I'm CEO of the Spirius Corporation. Hm, Julius works for Bisley, and it would seem impertinent of us to cause him any trouble by acting like a jerk to the big man. L1 raises Bisley's affection, making him the third and final NPC whose affection level will give you something nice if it's high enough at almost the very end of the game.  Ludger Kresnik, huh? You wouldn't happen to be related to Julius Kresnik, would you? Wait, your name is Kresnik?Jude has heard that name before, hence his surprise. In the first game, the first major arc of the story involved a weapon called the Lance of Kresnik, which is what temporarily destroyed the barrier between Rieze Maxia and Elympios. The Lance is named after Kresnik, who was really only known as the Genesis Sage in the first game. Sir, according to the corporation files, Ludger here is Director Kresnik's younger brother. Though they don't share the same mother. That's good to know. So you're part of the Spirius family, as it were. Those Exodus bastards have made their move. Exodus?! Terrorists who want trouble between the two nations.Exodus is another holdover from the first game. Exodus was a group of Rieze Maxians, decended from Elympions (or were just Elympions who got stuck on the wrong side of the border during some kind of dimensional incident), who wanted to return to their homeland and were prepared to do anything to accomplish this goal. One in their ranks was none other than Alvin, who initially appeared to Jude and friends as a simple freelance mercenary (but no one bought that line, since mercenary work in JRPGs is almost always cover for some other scheme). However, Alvin has since formally renounced all ties to the group, and with the reunification of the worlds, this is what they've resorted to. They've targeted us for supporting the government's peaceful policies towards Rieze Maxia. I have no doubt they plan to ram the train straight into Oscore. What?!Yeah, I guess Ludger isn't a total silent protagonist, but he's almost always limited to grunts or one-word replies. Wait, you mean this train?! So now, we have a choice between raising a different character's affection depending on our choice. When it comes to raising NPC affections, you should prioritize Bisley > Julius > Elle, if a choice must be made. For now, I'm going to go with L1, which raises Elle's affection. Technically speaking I shouldn't have done this, but in the playthrough I'm using to record alternate choices, I've carried over affection levels, so it doesn't matter at all what choices I make in the main playthrough. In this situation, R1 raises Bisley's affection. Ludger isn't subtle with seeking employment, obviously. Stop the train?! What are you gonna use? Your feet?! We could if we take control of the engine car. You'll stop it? This I have to see. I'll help, too. I have a stake in this. I'm impressed... My name is Jude Mathis. It's a pleasure to meet you, Ludger. C'mon.Update 2 alternate choices compilation
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Mar 25, 2016 09:05
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Well, to be fair, I also live in an apartment building and there aren't a whole lot of rooms I can go in. Loving the cat so far. He's like a tiny ambulatory Buddha.
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Mar 25, 2016 21:34
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And you were saying my fashion choices were silly. 
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Mar 25, 2016 21:41
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Oh hey, Xillia 2. A lot of neat concepts, but the execution fell flat a few times, though I still like this game a lot more than the first Xillia. ... Where'd you get the slime attachment from?
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Mar 25, 2016 22:01
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Despite how bugfuck insane the plot gets, I loved this game a lot more then Xillia 1. The combat was a huge step up, the boss design was much better, and the game focused a lot more on character moments which are the only thing anyone playing a Tales game should care about plotwise anyway.
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Mar 25, 2016 22:10
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I suppose I'll be the voice of dissent here and say I absolutely despised this game like little else in my entire life. I like some of the music, and the costumes out of the bonus dungeon are excellent, but everything else? Just urgh. Would you believe we already have a large plot hole? I'll keep my bile in check since there's no point in dragging the LP down with my issues. The "Is he an agent?" line comes from the soldier Ludger is fighting though.
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Mar 25, 2016 23:04
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Traverse posted:Oh hey, Xillia 2. A lot of neat concepts, but the execution fell flat a few times, though I still like this game a lot more than the first Xillia. It's been a while, but I think it's the attachment you can get from finishing the bonus dungeon. I stuck it on Ludger just because.
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Mar 25, 2016 23:29
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Why would you have a silent protagonist and then give him a voice anyway? That's incredibly weird and it's already created tons of awkward silences in cinematics. 
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Mar 26, 2016 01:13
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Part III: The Man Who Transforms So, regardless of your choices thus far, you'll be headed to the front of the train in order to bring it screeching to a halt. Along the way, you'll get into various fights with random mooks (who are virtually mandatory fights because you have no way to dodge around them), and, when you're switching cars, you'll frequently get a new tutorial. After this particular fight, Jude's gonna have a little chat with us.  Linked heroes Um... I brought an extra one. Take it. So, apologies to alchargia, but I forgot to change Jude into her chosen ridiculous outfit for the previous protagonist for this scene. This will not go unaddressed after this scene is finished. You know about Allium Orbs, right? We've been using them ever since the Lilium Orbs transmutated. The Orb will let us Link during battle. When we're Linked, we can--  Time to Link up!Okay, so this tutorial is REALLY important. Effective linking, and making the most of your linking, is mandatory for playing this game well. I'll explain step by step the tutorial, and my own comments over screenshots, but you can watch the video to get an idea what I'm doing in real-time. To start with, initiate a link by pressing the corresponding D-pad direction to the character you want to link with. When we get a 3rd and 4th party member, we can link with them by pressing directions other than left. For now, though, we're obviously going to start with Jude.  Simple enough. Get on one side of your opponent, and your linked partner will attempt to get on the other. Why would they want to do that? Aside from the obvious advantage of focusing an enemy's attention on one side or the other, attacking from an enemy's blind spot will increase the odds of a critical hit and recovering AC mid-combo, allowing you to continue a combo maybe 2-3 hits longer. Never underestimate how important a combo can be even one hit longer.  Another advantage of linking with an ally is that ally will support you if you get into trouble. Linked partners will support your own blind spots if necessary, and vitally, will protect you from a combo. For example, let's say an enemy launches an arte against you that hits 4-5 times. On the third or so hit, the ally will warp right in front of you and block the remainder of those hits. This is a crucial benefit.  Every playable character in the game has a support skill that activates under certain conditions. In Jude's case, if an enemy knocks you into the air and you land flat on the ground, he'll instantly warp to your position and activate Restore, which gives you back a little HP, and, if the attack KO'd you, Restore also gives you a chance of a free ressurrection (I think 20%). So, if we were to play as Jude (or any future party members), what's Ludger's support skill? None other than Mimic. He can replicate the support skill of whoever he is linked to.  Next up, Linked Artes. Check the gauge on the left. As you attack with your linked partner (doesn't have to be the same one), that gauge builds up. When you fill up a segment, launch an arte, and you'll get that icon over the controlled character. Following that, press R2 in the brief window that icon is visible, you'll launch what's called a Linked Arte. Using Azure Edge when linked with Jude...  Gets you Light Link Charge. The various "Element Link Charges" are pretty generic attacks, where you and your partner character just charge through an enemy using that particular element to do damage. If the name of the Linked Arte isn't specified in the arte menu, you'll get one of the Link Charges. There are quite a few unique artes, though, so we're barely scratching the surface. However, as the game mentions, you can't just stock up Linked Artes by not launching them. To advance the gauge, you need to use Linked Artes.  Yeah, so by pressing the same D-pad direction as the character you're linked, as you'll change their pre-set strategy to either Acting Together, Acting Freely, or On Your Own. Generally though, there's no much need to change strategies, except in a variety of special situations. Like, if there were a swarm of enemies, you might want to divide your firepower so you can still get linked benefits while the AI covers other bases. Up to you.  While Azure Edge launches Light Link Charge, Time Disintegration, Ludger's other arte at the moment, will launch Dual Conquest, a fast melee combo that can hit the enemy with a status effect. While you are hard to kill during a Linked Arte, you are NOT invincible while the animation is playing. Certain enemies, almost always late-game enemies, can be so powerful they can kill you while the arte is playing out.  After a few fights, you'll level up with Jude and Ludger. Most of the time, the characters have specific quotes they throw out for when they level up, but at story-critical times, like this one, you'll just get the Level Up! screen with the character doing a simple standing pose.  So, when you have more than one party member available, you can switch the leader of the party (read: the on-screen character running around in the field), and swap members around, for when you have more than four party members or when you want to switch the character you start each battle playing as. When you're playing with only with one player, like I am, the character in the first slot is who you start each battle playing as. Since we have Jude, who is a fun character to play, why not play a few battles with him and show him off a bit?  This is an example of Protect in action. That Exodus agent I'm targeting fired a short volley of gunfire at me, and Ludger immediately responded by getting between me and her.  Jude starts with three artes: Demon Fist (which fires a projectile along the ground. A Tales protagonist classic, though a few heroes don't get it), Cerberus Strike (which is an Earth-elemental 3-hit combo), and Healer (which creates a small circle around Jude that restores ~80 HP to anyone in it. The effectiveness of it depends on Jude's attack power). After taking out a few more Exodus goons and getting onto another car...  Lilium Orbs did that too, but these work a lot differently. Hm? All Lilium Orbs quit working when they were overloaded with mana after the schism was dispelled. But we figured out that by feeding them elemental energy through an extractor, a kind of mana-absorption spyrix... We were able to resurrect them as Allium Orbs. Our Linking and development capabilities were back in business. Uh...sorry for rambling on there. Why don't you just give it a shot? Okay, so this is another mechanic that's kinda been simplified from the first game. Basically, as Jude and this screenshot said, you gain new artes and skills by acquiring elemental ores from battles and random pickup locations in field maps. These ores are then added to the current extractor a specific character is using, and they develop artes and skills from what the extractor can give you along that elemental line. For example, using an extractor that has the Water line, Ludger will get the arte Swift Strike, get the Vitality skill, and upgrade Time Disintegration. If he were to use the extractor Jude is currently using, Shine, he would get the Falling Thunder arte, learn the Intelligence skill, and get another skill called HP Gain. Note that characters cannot share extractors, so you must choose one or the other. But, of course, when a character has learned everything along a specific elemental line, there's no use for that character using that extractor any longer, so you can give it to someone else. It's really a very simple mechanic in practice, despite what you may think, and extractors acquired later in the game can learn skills from multiple elemental lines at the same time, and every element has upgraded extractors where characters can learn skills along that line faster. That won't be for a little while, so just keep it under your hat for now. After moving to another car...  Collision course Wasting a chance to see the sort of person we're dealing with? Hardly. My watch is gone! I don't care! I gotta find it! I can't get to Canaan without it! Just when things couldn't get more interesting.  Like with all characters (aside from Ludger, but he has a few tricks up his eventual sleeve), Jude has a special ability that's unique to him. Jude's ability is the Snap Pivot. If you backstep and dodge an enemy's attack (as in, stay just outside of the hitbox, which means projectile attacks like Exodus gunfire would also count if you dodge them properly), Jude will disappear in a slide, and reappear behind the enemy whose attack he backstepped away from. Because he automatically gets behind the enemy, you can enjoy all the benefits of back attacks after a Snap Pivot. And, let's be completely honest here: Snap Pivots give you major style points. Jude may not be as singularly versatile as Ludger eventually will be, but don't get me wrong: he is a very fun character to play as. Mastering the Snap Pivot will be an enormous boon to you. A few more cars later...  Trainwreck Uh, Jude, you might want to check your cover there... Up ahead's the conductor's room. I'll go in first. Meanwhile, you cover me, okay? Ludger doesn't seem thrilled with this plan, but that's how it's gonna go down. Don't worry. I'm used to this sort of thing. Odd for a doctor to say, I know...   Who the hell--  Oh, it's Julius. Wait a minute... Ludger? What're you doing here?Ludger also notices Julius is holding both pocketwatches from that morning. Clearly we've caught him at a very awkward time.  Yeah, we're gonna need some answers here. Neither choice matters, but I'm going with L1. I'm doing my job... Heh, and a thorough job at that. I'd expect nothing less from Crown Agent Julius. You work fast. Enough with the games, Bakur. Who would have known you had such a talented little brother? Aren't you the model sibling. You've protected him well. There's clearly some history here, but we (still) have a little problem...    After a couple backflips...  Oh, that watch! Julius and Bisley take quite a bit of interest in Elle's watch reappearing, but...   You can take a few guesses which choice will increase the affection of which NPC, but we're going to protect Elle. Bisley can take care of himself, I think.   We will never accept peace with Rieze Maxia! No!The crossfire launches the watch in the air (you should watch this scene. It's pretty rad), and it lands on Elle's pocketwatch, causing another supernova. Huh? What's this?         I'm Elle. Elle Mel Marta.The first trophy I ever earned in Zestiria is named after her! Its name is "Elle Mental Marta"! Look, Elle, it's okay. No, it's not! That guy got weird! And so did the watch! Ryoow. I seem to have a knack for encountering weirdness. The Four Great Spirits. The Lord of Spirits. And now this.Oh Jude. If only the you of you right now knew what was in store for you. They're back!Ludger and Jude get ready to fight, but before we can...   All clear, President Verland. Well done, Ms. Nova. My security team could learn a thing or two from you.Uhhhh, that's not Bisley, or that black-haired woman with glasses he was with. Just where the hell are we? Deja vu. Ludger! What are you doing on this train? Friend of yours? An old classmate.  Well, the most important thing is stopping this thing, but that's not the choice you want to make your first time through the game. Choosing R1 will increase Julius' affection, and really, we need to find out what the hell just happened. Any idea what's happening in the other cars? I do, unfortunately. Some terrorists dressed in white coats are attacking the other passengers onboard. I'm coming too! It's too dangerous. Maybe. But I gotta take this train all the way to the Land of Canaan. The Land of Canaan? From the legend? You've heard of it? Do you know where it is? It's seen in old manuscripts. "Manuscripts" huh? Okay, you can come. But when the fighting starts... That's when I skedaddle! Let's just get to the front of the train again and try and figure out what happened. We're gonna need some answers from Julius, since you don't take swipes at your boss with a clear intent to kill for no reason. Then again, maybe Spirius is just a very strange bunch, indeed. Whatever the case, our destination is the same as before.  For this skit's choice, R1 increases Elle's affection.  Last skit of the update, so compilation video for all of them this update. Update 3 skit compilation.  So, this is the last useful tutorial of this update. Once you've filled up the entire Link Gauge, you can use another Linked Arte to go into Over Limit. There are three advantages (for now) for going into Over Limit: you have unlimited AC, you will not stagger from enemy attacks (though you can still take damage, of course), and you can launch (different) Linked Artes in a single chain of attacks. So, for right now, you can chain Light Link Charge into Dual Conquest, or the reverse. Once you're pretty far into the game, you can start Over Limit with one ally, then quickly switch to another and launch a Linked Arte with a different comrade for a blistering series of attacks. Although the number of Linked Artes you can chain into a single combo depends on how long their different animations are, you can generally expect to put together at least four different artes. Later in the game, there's a cherry on top to Over Limit, but that will do it for now.  So varied attacks are kind of a gimmicky kind of attack where you hold L1 and do a normal attack to cause a variety of effects, like knocking an enemy sky high or stunning them or whatever. Personally I almost never use them, but if they bring you victory, who am I to argue? The other control introduced here is sidestepping, which is done by holding L1, holding up or down on the left control stick, and pressing X. It's not quite as useful as free running away from attacks, but side stepping can be unexpectedly useful in a wide variety of situations. This particular tutorial also increases Power Hits and Combos, but I think we can introduce them in a real fight at the end of this update.  Speaking of which, we're back at the front of the train, and Jude seems perturbed. I have a feeling things are about to get heavy.  Chaotic collapse Stand back! Let me handle this... Let you handle what?! We need some answers here, man. You don't need to know. I said you don't need... Ludger!    I don't know what's going on here, but Big Bro is going down!  Okay, so here's where I'll formally introduce Power Hits. Power Hits, as I explained in the first update, are how you effectively bring down the damage sponges in this game. First, start with an enemy's weakness. In this case, it's Wind-elemental attacks or Sword-type attacks, both of which Ludger has (Azure Edge and his regular attacks, respectively).  AI Ludger has started a Power Combo, indicated by the green bar on the right. When Jude attacks, he adds another element (Jude's basic attacks are Blunt-type attacks). Depending on which he started with, Ludger should add the other element to increase that multiplier, and for maximum benefit, Jude should use Cerberus Strike to add Earth-elemental.  Watch out for when a boss has any color of exclamation point above his head, because he's about to attack with an arte (in this case, a move called Falling Snow, which is an extremely fast dashing attack that slashes through a target). However, while starting with a weakness is highly advisable, beware of attacking with a resistance. Not only will the enemy not take much damage from the hit, but they also will not stagger, and will likely counterattack. Julius here really likes to do that, so beware if you want to start off with Cerberus Strike (don't, actually).  For the first real boss of the game, Julius can be pretty hard. But, he doesn't have much health, and smart use of Power Combos will bring him to heel pretty quickly. By the way, Grave Hits are for attacks done while an enemy is dead that are part of the same combo. The reason you would want to rub in combo hits is because you get bonus EXP from a fight depending on how long your longest combo was. There's actually a pretty easy way to get an infinite combo (or would be an infinite combo if it wasn't timed, but you can easily get 2-300 hits if you do things right). That bonus EXP can be a hell of a thing if you're good with combos.  That creature hurt my employess like this?! You! Hurry and finish him off! It only took us three updates to turn against our own flesh and blood. But it doesn't have to end here...does it? I can't kill Julius. What are you waiting for? You'd spare this monster's life? I know you have...a kind heart... And that's why--   I told you to stay away!      Bad news! The brakes have been sabotaged! What's going on? Update 3 alternate choices compilation So, to recap: on our first day of work, we 1. Got accused of being a child kidnapper 2. Got ourselves involved in a terrorist incident 3. Got ourselves nearly killed by our formerly nice older brother 4. Killed our brother 5. Failed to stop said terrorist incident 6. Destroyed the world Great job, Ludger Will Kresnik...
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Mar 27, 2016 05:30
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Is Elle's last name a Dawn of the New World reference?
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Mar 27, 2016 06:02
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Junpei posted:Is Elle's last name a Dawn of the New World reference? I do not believe so, but they do have the same hair color, so there's that, at least. Speaking of New World references, a pre-order costume for this game had Ludger with Emil's outfit, so that's also something.
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Mar 27, 2016 06:08
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Sylphid posted:Oh Jude. If only the you of you right now knew what was in store for you. Do this need that second 'you'? On top of the fact that we completely failed to stop a terrorist incident, said terrorist incident was intended to destroy a major food production plant. So not only was there massive destruction, there might very well be food shortages in store for Elympios! Or you know. Food price hikes. I don't think the fallout ever really gets touched upon, asides from the immediate effect on Ludger, does it?
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Mar 27, 2016 08:55
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Hey, when you can next, try switching to Jude and using Demon Fang for a Linked Arte. Maybe it'll turn out different than Light Link Charge?
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Mar 27, 2016 11:16
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I owe you an apology alcharagia, this is magnificent.
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Mar 27, 2016 18:32
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Huh. I was gonna do this after I finished Xillia 1, but now I don't know if I will or not.
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Mar 27, 2016 22:08
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Anime Doogie Howser is pretty brotier is this game imo
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Mar 28, 2016 00:28
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wdarkk posted:Huh. I was gonna do this after I finished Xillia 1, but now I don't know if I will or not. Sylphid isn't doing the Martel framing device, though.
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Mar 28, 2016 01:01
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Man, this is one malicious easter egg on the devs' part. Julius tries to speedrun the game by stealing one Significant Pocketwatch and attacking the train to hope to get another, and while he actually does, there's a cutscene and the world is destroyed. I hope he got an interesting achievement, at least.
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Mar 28, 2016 02:38
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Junpei posted:Hey, when you can next, try switching to Jude and using Demon Fang for a Linked Arte. Maybe it'll turn out different than Light Link Charge? Can confirm this is true. Doing that gives you Earth Link Charge, but its general worthlessness remains the same. Use named Linked Artes all the time.
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Mar 28, 2016 21:43
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Agean90 posted:Anime Doogie Howser is pretty brotier is this game imo Jude is the best Tales heroine, IMO.
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Mar 28, 2016 22:10
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Also, alchargia, given how long this game is / how many people we'll need to dress up over the course of it, I hope I can rely on your services again in the future.
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Mar 28, 2016 22:19
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Well of course.
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Mar 28, 2016 22:21
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Sylphid posted:Also, alchargia, given how long this game is / how many people we'll need to dress up over the course of it, I hope I can rely on your services again in the future. Please. He'll just end up ruining dramatic moments. At least say that when there's a serious moment you'll remove accessories.
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Mar 29, 2016 01:16
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Junpei posted:Please. He'll just end up ruining dramatic moments. Disagree. Alcharagia's accessories stay on. All accessories. No exceptions.
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Mar 29, 2016 01:24
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