I am Setsuna: Piano & Snow Trigger a Sense of Nostalgia

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EponymousMrYar: Jan 4, 2015; The enemy of my enemy is my enemy.

U-DO Burger posted:

CT's normal battle theme wasn't that great tbh. Actually most of Mitsuda's normal battle themes aren't anything to write home about. He's generally pretty good at boss themes though

To be fair a significant part of my dislike for it is because I prefer high energy music and I feel Setsuna's theme does the original disservice.

# ? Aug 22, 2016 20:07

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# ? Apr 26, 2024 17:00

CrashScreen: Nov 11, 2012

This is great. I've been on the fence because of its price point for a while, so this will help.

# ? Aug 22, 2016 20:39

Picayune: Feb 26, 2007; cannot be unseen; Taco Defender

Spritnite? Spritnite! Spritnite! Dang, what even is this word? :v:

# ? Aug 22, 2016 20:57

Policenaut: Jul 11, 2008; On the moon... they don't make Neo Kobe Pizza.

I keep reading it as "Sprite Nite" which makes me think these people are just chugging back Sprite before doing a special move.

# ? Aug 22, 2016 20:58

The Dark Id: Aug 13, 2005; Why
you
know
I
LOVE
THIS SHIT !!!!
[citation needed]

Part II: I Am Just Here On Business

New Music: Voyage

The next thing we know, Endir has hopped on a boat up north and is fixing to get his assassination on. Our mysterious employer�s pitch went on a bit longer than the prologue plot hook implied. So we hear it now in its entirety�

In that village, there is a young girl who shall turn 18 years old this year. My mission for you, Endir� is to kill her. The village of which I speak is known as �the village of sacrifice�� Once every ten years, a sacrifice is chosen and sets out on a journey to the Last Lands to fulfill her duty. Not long ago, a young girl was once again chosen to become a sacrifice� It is she who is your target.

Alright, just a quick ferry ride to some Podunk town, murder some teenager, and score an easy payday. Sounds simple enough. It�s got to beat midnight polar bear brawling out in the wilderness.

New Music: The Scent of the Sea

It is very unusual for travelers to come over from the mainland, of course!

*points ahead* Nive Village is just past here. All the villagers are very friendly� I�m sure you�ll feel right at home in no time.

So are you here on business or pleasure, if you don�t mind me asking?
�Business.
Oh well. Enjoy yourself just the same.
Mhm.

It�s not often anyone comes here from the mainland. Usually it�s the other way round� There�s a departure ceremony today, actually. What? Who�s departing? The sacrifice, of course!

Mhm. They sure are�

Welcome to the Nive Island Docks. There�s a few dock workers milling about. Nobody has much of interest to say beyond being generally friendly and pointing us toward the main village to the north-west.

Being an RPG, old school styled or not, our protagonist is of course free to loot any unattended treasure chests in the area and stuff their contents into his pockets. Here we find a handful of Fogstones. These let us escape from battles. There�s no run command, we�ve got to use these consumables. Ehh� If you say so, game.

We�re also free to barge into any unlocked doors. I�ve got to say I really do like interiors in this game. They all have a nice cozy warm glow to them in contrast to the perpetual wintery setting outdoors.

As it turns out, this is a restaurant of sorts. Unfortunately, it�s not quite open yet. Well, lock your door and put a closed sign up, you buffoon. I know you�re a backwater village, but there are some universal protocol to operating a village. Sheesh.

Oh sure, keep your door wide open to your closed business, but have the inviting treasure chest locked. I see how it goes. Endir was thinking of stopping by here for lunch after the assassination. But now, I just don�t know if that�s wise.

So silver chests are locked for now. The method to unlock them won�t present itself for a good while. So let�s not worry about it.

Indeed, there is precious little to be done on the docks. So let�s just head north and see about this village everyone is pointing us toward.

New Music: The Winter Breeze

Welcome to the world map. It actually has been quite a while since I�ve played a game with a proper over world map you could travel across like this. That concept was just kind of quietly phased out at the end of the PSX era of RPGs.

There is no worry of random battles while traveling the world map since the game doesn�t have any random battles at all. We�re free to wander around out our leisure. Not that there is much to see here. True to the villager�s word, Nive Village is a short trek northwest of the docks.

New Music: Tender Glow

Aww, geez. Two minutes in the village and we�ve already caused an Alert. Nice going, Endir!

Beautiful scenery, warm people� It�s a wonderful place, this village. Please, stay as long as you like.

Just� passing through.

Well, this Wal-Mart greeter of the opening village seems helpful enough. Maybe he can point us in the way of our mark. Let�s chat him up again.

My own daughter is the one who will take on this important role� I suppose this, too, is fate�

�Yeah. Fate is� real weird like that. Look, I gotta go�
Take care, friend.

Oof� Awkward. Alright, that wasn�t the best start. But maybe someone else knows something, eh? But first�

Look at this cute rear end snowman. It is just precious! :3:

This is a really nice looking game, as it turns out! Especially for something made in Unity. But we�re getting off track here. Let�s investigate the whereabouts of this sacrifice girl. Preferably, out of earshot from her father. There is a woman wandering about just a bit north of Raishin. Maybe she knows something.

She often goes to the Falling Snow Monument to pray to the past sacrifices. Where�s the Falling Snow Monument? Just past the Dazzshire Woods to the northeast.

�Oh. Huh. Well, that was remarkably easy. Thanks, Kind Woman. You have been instrumental in this assassin�s intel gathering session!

I�m not going to go around chatting up each individual villager in town. The gist of the local gossip is the sacrifice girl is getting booted off to go on a journey today and that�s a bummer. But there�s a bunch of monsters around lately causing a ruckus and apparently her journey is the remedy for the monster attacks. Well, it seems like we�re just cutting out the middle man here with the whole murder for hire gig.

At the northern end of the village, we find a couple landmarks. The large building here is the village elder�s house. There�s nothing of interest there at the moment. But to the right of that, we find�

An apothecary aka our first merchant. Here we can blow our hard earned cash from the polar bear kidnapping gig to stock up on supplies. We can also gain a bit of advice in the form of random tutorial screen.

We can eventually upgrade weapons. Great to know. Not particularly relevant at the moment since we won�t have access to the resources to do this for a couple hours. Though, upgrading our weapons is quite important in I am Setsuna, as we�ll see in a bit.

As for actual shopping, we�ve got a small variety of items to choose from. Most are probably self-explanatory if you�ve ever played a JRPG before. But a quick overview is as follows:

Potion � Recovers a small amount of HP.
Ether � Recovers a small amount of MP.
Antidote � Removes Sap status. (Read: Poison)
Crescent Grass � Removes Paralysis status. (Read: Slow)
Smelling Salts � Removes Confusion status.
Athenian Water � Revives a knocked-out character. Also recovers a small amount of HP.
Tent � Recovers the HP and MP of all characters. Also removes all status ailments.
Fogstone � Creates a smoke screen, allowing escape from battle.

All pretty standard JRPG items. Status effects annoyingly persist outside of battle, so it is necessary to have some remedies on hand if party members get unlucky.

But for now, our only interest is stocking up on a bunch of Tents, since they are by far the most useful of the lot and cheap as dirt. Tents can only be used at save points or the world map. But frankly, the only time we�ll need to top off our health like that IS when accessing a dungeon from the world map or hitting a save point prior to a boss encounter. So Tents are quite essential!

Tents are especially necessary due to other quite questionable design decision of I am Setsuna: There are no inns in the game. You know places in safe zones where you can top off your health for a nominal fee? Yeah, those don�t exist. There�s no healer. Save points aren�t giving out handouts either. We�ve got to bootstrap ourselves to fighting shape with consumables or bust.

Allegedly, the justification is that people don�t often travel in this world since it is a wintery, hostile penguin filled region. So inns couldn�t sustain themselves as a business model, since the only people traveling is the occasional merchant ~~and our party once they undertake their inevitable journey, it�s the chapter title for chrissake~~. Which� no. gently caress off. That�s stupid! That�s not even an old school concession. Inns have been around since the NES days of Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest.

TLDR: Stock up on Tents because that�s the only way we�re ever getting a full party restoration outside of story events! It�s real dumb!

Anyway, Nive Village was a bust. Let�s move on to this monument up north.

Dazzshire Woods is just a short stroll to the northeast of town. It�s simple enough to track down. While we�re getting past a few bad design decisions right out the gate, here�s another big, glaring one: There is no world map. As in this view right here? This is the most we get of the over world. It�s not a big issue early on when we�re shepherded from one nearby location to another. But the game�s world will eventually open up and the lack of a map becomes a bit of a problem�

New Music: Into the Woods

But enough about future oversights. We�ve got a short bit of woods to trek through. Dazzshire Woods is a very short mini-dungeon. Indeed, there�s two treasure chests (one of which is locked) and three encounters before we�re at the exit.

And two of those encounters are just against more Pengy critters. I hope you like murdering assorted cutesy penguins. Pengy is an entire class of monster in Setsuna�s world with over a half dozen permutations throughout the land. They�re pretty much the game�s equivalent of Slimes.

There is one new encounter in the second snow covered woods of the game: the Waloompa � a big dopey monster walrus. These fellows have about double the HP (100ish range) of a Pengy but they�re slow as molasses as far as attack speed goes.

And their only attack is trying to slap, poorly, with their floppy flipper arms.

Needless to say, it doesn�t go well for the Waloompa in the Walrus vs. Endir match-up. There are creepier enemies later in the game. Eventually� a few. It�s not entirely murdering off-brand Pok�mon critters. Just like 75% that�

But, regardless. That�s it for Dazzshire Woods. I only cut out a forty second encounter against TWO Pengy. Like I said, it�s a very short dungeon.

And we arrive out the other side to a northern cape with a gravestone overlooking the ocean. Yeah, that�s not conjuring up any old memories�

And I won�t bring it up again, but I do have to emphasis that it is a good idea to SAVE YOUR GAME OFTEN! My last save was before we beat the tutorial boss a good 25 minutes ago or so in-game. Sure don�t want to have to redo that for no reason! Especially since the next opportunity may be another 20 minutes after this.

Anyway, onward to the Falling Snow Monument and hopefully the end of our mission.

Ugh� Man. Serge better not be buried up here. I cannot do that again.

New Music: Winter Journey�s Tale (Recommended Listening. It�s pretty much the main theme.)

*stands up and nods* I hope you can keep watching over me until the end�

Alright, let�s step in here before our victim�s pre-murder chat with her dead mother reaches peak irony.

�

Are you the sacrifice?

Yes� And you are?

�

*shakes head* �I don�t suppose you�re going to answer that. I� am the sacrifice.

Just like the past sacrifices whose names are engraved upon this monument. That is why I cannot let you take my life now.

*backs up*

But even if you do not kill me, my life will end soon enough. When my journey comes to an end, so too will my life�

Yeah� But you see, one outcome I get paid and the other I don�t so� Ya know�

�..

�

*pulls back sword* �You are just killing the mood here.

�

I am�

WHAT?! drat. Already a twist! I cannot believe the game�s title was an outright fabrication.

Well� maybe not. This is Setsuna and despite the name of the game, we can rename her. But that would be really dumb. It�d be like titling a game� I dunno. Nier. And then letting you rename the guy named Nier. Why would you do that? :v:

Though, honestly. The only suitable alternate name for Setsuna would probably be� Yuna.

*sheathes sword* Already regretting this job.

Name is OH SH�!!

New Music: Endless Crusade

Thank goodness we made it in time�

*stands up and pulls out sword*

Alright, screw this. I *was* just gonna walk away before, but now I am ENDING everyone here.

But have you ever taken on two magic users at once, I wonder?

I fought a bear yesterday. I think I can take a girl wearing a sock puppet on her head and some hippie dad.

Alright, maybe I�ve never fought two magic users at once. But have you two ever fought a guy that can *spin* with his sword like a cyclone?
�Yes.
That�s like a basic move a 10 year old could pull of.
�Wait, what?

And thus our hero got his rear end kicked� Tune in next time for further adventures in botched assassination attempts!

Setsuna Official Art � I don�t think this is very practical winter traveling gear, lady. Also, you seem to have an entire garden ornament stuck in your hair.

The Dark Id fucked around with this message at 16:30 on Aug 28, 2016

# ? Aug 23, 2016 00:18

Speedball: Apr 15, 2008

Heh. The retro-ish JRPG I've been playing lately myself has been "7Th Dragon III: Code VFD." Despite that confusing title it's pretty rad. Dragons are invading the planet and only you and your time machine can wipe them all out. The first level is you saving everyone in Atlantis!

The classes are bizarre but neato too. Your first warrior-type is essentially two different classes depending on whether they're using one sword or two, and in single-sword mode they can shift stances with an attack that makes them go into "sheathed" or "unsheathed" mode. There's a hacker class that hacks the enemy with a magic computer to drain them of MP/make them attack each other/other stuff, or set up ambush counterattacks with their gun while hiding. The first magic caster class you get is a "Duelist," as in YU-GI-OH Duelist, because they draw elemental cards each turn, which determine what kinds of spells they cast. They can combine cards to make lots of traps for countering enemy attacks.

Even the healer classes are more than just healing. One's a Godhand and they specialize in punching poo poo to death when not performing CPR. Other nice quality-of-life things are you've got some "Field Skills" that let you heal everyone for free or avoid encounters a limited number of times per dungeon.

# ? Aug 23, 2016 00:35

CrashScreen: Nov 11, 2012

The protagonist seems to be treated as experienced and skilled, but so far the game doesn't seem to portray that. Let's hope he catches his break soon.

# ? Aug 23, 2016 01:29

EponymousMrYar: Jan 4, 2015; The enemy of my enemy is my enemy.

The World Map is peachy keen, although this island doesn't show off what I really like about it.

CrashScreen posted:

The protagonist seems to be treated as experienced and skilled, but so far the game doesn't seem to portray that. Let's hope he catches his break soon.

The sad fact of the matter is that Endir probably could take these two, except he let them talk and charge up a dual tech.

# ? Aug 23, 2016 01:33

Drakenel: Dec 2, 2008; The glow is a guide, my friend. Though it falls to you to avert catastrophe, you will never fight alone.

EponymousMrYar posted:

The sad fact of the matter is that Endir probably could take these two, except he let them talk and charge up a dual tech.

Skill and experience apparently don't protect one from cutscene stupidity.

How tragic.

# ? Aug 23, 2016 01:40

avoraciopoctules: Oct 22, 2012; What is this kid's DEAL?!

TooMuchAbstraction posted:

Nobody mentioned yet that penguins and polar bears don't belong in the same hemisphere?

Penguins do seem like an odd choice of wandering mook, though. They're about as non-threatening as you can get.

They can get pretty vicious with their wing slaps.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E5KdHTsii2A

Dr. Fetus posted:

I've heard of this game, but wasn't really interested to play it myself. Gonna see what I'm missing out on through this LP.

Me too. Was not willing to pay $40 for a merely decent retro RPG. Thanks for LPing this, TDI!

# ? Aug 23, 2016 02:05

Speedball: Apr 15, 2008

So, to prevent a sacrifice, we're attacking the girl. Kind of a "shoot the hostage" solution, isn't it?

# ? Aug 23, 2016 02:09

Kavak: Aug 23, 2009

So are the design flaws limited to mechanics or are we going to see some good old fashioned JRPG stupidity sooner or later?

Also I just realized what the snow and piano setup was reminding me of:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YvI_FNrczzQ

# ? Aug 23, 2016 02:10

Drakenel: Dec 2, 2008; The glow is a guide, my friend. Though it falls to you to avert catastrophe, you will never fight alone.

It also may say something about our protoganist who took a 'job' without a single word of compensation. "Hey, go murder this girl because uh... mercenary?"

# ? Aug 23, 2016 02:18

Bufuman: Jun 15, 2013; Sleep in the briefing room.
At your own peril.

Drakenel posted:

It also may say something about our protoganist who took a 'job' without a single word of compensation. "Hey, go murder this girl because uh... mercenary?"

This is a JRPG. "Mercenary" is usually enough of a reason to go off and kill someone, especially if money is involved.

# ? Aug 23, 2016 02:21

Nohman: Sep 19, 2007; Never been worse.

Was interested in this, but $40 was kind of steep for a JRPG throwback. A TDI LP works real well instead! :v:

# ? Aug 23, 2016 03:55

Wayne: Oct 18, 2014; He who fights too long against dragons becomes a dragon himself

The Dark Id posted:

Here we find a trio of Fogstones.

Nohman posted:

Was interested in this, but $40 was kind of steep for a JRPG throwback. A TDI LP works real well instead!

Pretty much exactly what I was going to say, heh. Thanks for covering this one, Id.

# ? Aug 23, 2016 04:26

Hargrimm: Sep 22, 2011; W A R R E N

I could make some tenuous connection with the Chrono Trigger influence and the minimalist soundtrack, but I just really want to link the new CT jazz album that Overclocked Remix put out today. It's good!

# ? Aug 23, 2016 05:09

Frionnel: May 7, 2010; Friends are what make testing worth it.

I love the sound of pianos so i'm already fond of this soundtrack. That said, i didn't play the game, so i don't know if it gets old fast.

# ? Aug 23, 2016 07:32

Phantasium: Dec 27, 2012

Kavak posted:

So are the design flaws limited to mechanics or are we going to see some good old fashioned JRPG stupidity sooner or later?

It will become apparent shortly.

# ? Aug 23, 2016 15:26

Momomo: Dec 26, 2009; Dont judge me, I design your manhole

Typically I like this sort of thing, but I'm not sure I'm feeling the piano soundtrack. It doesn't seem terribly fitting for a game like this, at least so far.

# ? Aug 23, 2016 16:28

StandardVC10: Feb 6, 2007; This avatar now 50% more dark mode compliant

A world infested with hostile penguins. Sure, why not.

Getting some FFX vibes from this though, except it's wintry rather than tropical.

# ? Aug 23, 2016 17:09

Shardix: Sep 14, 2011; The end! No moral.

I enjoyed this game well enough, but it is for sure not $40 good. As for the soundtrack, I would say that with a few exceptions it never gets any more interesting than what we've already heard. Not being a fan of piano music myself, I was completely exhausted by it a quarter of the way through the game. The saving grace being that there is at least a large number of tracks, and most of them are subdued enough to be ignored. The battle theme and world map being unfortunately notable exceptions.

# ? Aug 23, 2016 17:10

The Dark Id: Aug 13, 2005; Why
you
know
I
LOVE
THIS SHIT !!!!
[citation needed]

Part III: Local Hospitality

Ugh� Hey. No way! Uh-uh. I�m not doing an amnesia plotline. Not happening. Where am I?

Music: Feeling of Unease

This is the village of Nive. You were put to sleep and carried back here�

*tries and fails to stand*

Hey! C�mon, give it up� There�s no way you�ll be able to move. You�ve got the magical energy of two magic users restrainin� you, y�know?

Ugh� Stuff it, Wakka.

Endir manages to get upright�

What the� Looks like you�re no pushover, eh?

The girl with the frog hood jacket from earlier enters�

*shakes head* I�ve been here for two weeks now� Isn�t it about time you remembered my name? I�m�

A future party member, considering we can change her name. And here I thought she was just a random over-designed NPC.

Sorry, Aeterna. Never mind that, though� Look!

What?! How come he can get up?!

A masked tribe who make their living as mercenaries� You�re one of them, aren�t you!? Why did you try to kill Setsuna? Who hired you?

�

For generations, sacrifices from this village have given their lives in order to protect the world. You tried to kill one of those precious sacrifices� Do you even understand just how serious a crime that is?

No.

But you�re probably gonna tell me anyway�

So that�s why you attacked Setsuna. You were unaware of what a terrible mistake you were making�

No� I did it for the fat payday. I just happened to not be too well informed either.

I will protect Setsuna. I won�t let you touch her, no matter what�

Aeterna tops off the magical barrier flattening Endir. I guess nobody in this village has ever heard of a jail cell.

And with that, Aeterna storms off. It�s going to be real awkward when she inevitably joins our party in two minutes.

*sits up* Your dumb town doesn�t even have a jail. You yokels aren�t running a guillotine. Shut up.

�..

C�mon, at least ACT like you care! Talk about emotionless� Anyway, I�m kiddin�. We don�t even have a guillotine here in the village. You got pretty lucky, though� Several of the villagers did actually insist that you be severely punished� The reason you�re still alive now is you had someone to defend you. Do y�know who that was?

*sigh* Lemme guess. Was it the selfless sacrifice in an uncanny act of compassion?

Well, I am surprised� Exactly right. You�re a sharp guy. It was Setsuna who protected you. With the sacrifice herself askin� us to spare you, no one could exactly argue. What a curious young lady she is� Savin� the life of the very same person who tried to kill her�

Boy, she�s one of THOSE types, huh? Look� I�m wearing a mask and I can�t move my arms. Just pretend I�m rolling my eyes and making a jerking off motion here�

Once Setsuna is safely on her way, we�ll let you go. That�s what the village chief ended up promisin� her, y�see. Anyway, until then, you can stay right here.

Music: Deadly Gamble

It�s the monsters! The monsters are attacking again!

What!?

Forget about that house! The only person in there�s the guy who tried to kill the sacrifice!

*sweat* No� but still�

Come on, we need to hurry up and get all the villagers to safety!

And my name is Villager, so you know I�m serious!

Round-Faced Man� I cannot reach my poo poo list right now. But you�re going RIGHT at the top of it when I get out of this�

The Round-Faced Man abandons his post. There�s immediately a roar so loud it shakes the cottage. So I�m just going to assume he immediately was torn asunder by an angry swarm of vicious penguins.

Hey, Setsuna is here and she�s going to release us from our magical prison like a dope. Also, apparently those giant rings in her hair are actually chakrams. There has� got be a better sheath available for those�

And with that Setsuna runs off. Welp, they neglected to disarm Endir when they knocked him out and captured him. I suppose it�s time for take two on the whole assassination attempt thing, right? But first, maybe let�s head outside and see what all the fuss is about�

Letting him go�

What do you mean!? We can�t just set a criminal free!

Hey, innocent until proven guilty, lady.
Were you trying to kill Setsuna?
Yes.
*baffled cringe*

He has yet to commit any crime. We can�t leave him here to die!

Yeah, that�s basically murder. Not cool.

A Waloompa slides into frame like Kramer, roaring its head off�

See! This guy gets it.

All right� If you want to live, draw your sword, and help protect Setsuna!

Fiiiine. I don�t get paid if she gets eaten by an off-brand walrus anyway.

And so we gain our first new party member. Setsuna will just be standing on the sidelines for this one don�t worry, she�ll join in five minutes.

Music: No Turning Back

Now then, time for battle. Endir is still a little beat up from his brief trek through the woods. But that�s fine. We�re not going to be facing anything too challenging initially and we have a second party member. Let�s check out Aeterna�s abilities.

Our new companion is the speedier but somewhat physically weak female party member archetype. She attacks with twin blades. That�s two hits for 9 HP of damage each displayed above, not 99. For reference, Endir is doing around 25-30 HP of damage a strike with his physical hits.

Despite displaying an affinity for magic in literally both cutscenes we�ve seen her in thus far, Aeterna does not, in fact, have any magic attacks in battle initially. Her only Tech is Charge, which is a physical attack where she err� charges into the enemy. This attack will hit all enemies in a line between Aeterna and her target. But the damage isn�t remarkably high. Charge will also shift Aeterna�s position to right in front of the enemy she has targeted.

While Charge isn�t particular noteworthy, what is special is that Aeterna can team up with Endir to do a combo attack � X-Strike. I am Setsuna just straight up has dual-techs from Chrono Trigger. And� this was the same exact first dual-tech unlocked in that game. Just swap out the Ye Olde English speaking frog knight with an anime girl in a frog hoodie.

X-Strike is by far the strongest attack we�ll have access to for the first few chapters. Especially if it�s buffed with Momentum. Poor monster walrus didn�t know what hit him! Although, I could do without ever seeing Overkill for wrecking enemies again in my life�

*turns to Endir* You help, too!

Sure.

Hmph� Good. At least you�re not arguing back.

Meh� You�d just get pissy and insist I have to help anyway. Let�s just cut to the chase.

Anyway� I�m afraid saying no isn�t an option.

See?

I�ll help, too, Aeterna!

No. You stay hidden, Setsuna!

But�

Don�t worry, it�s fine. I�m going to protect you!

�

Let�s go! If you try to run, I�ll kill you� so watch your back!

_{Uh-huh� Try to pull that again when you�re not in a cutscene.}
What was that?
Meh� nothing.

Our goal now is to run around town taking out all the marauding penguins and walruses trespassing on private property. There�s not really a lot of urgency here because� I mean c�mon. Teens trampling in your yard due to Pok�mon Go is probably more of a threat. None of these enemies are any more resilient than the ones Endir was soloing back in Dazzshire Woods earlier.

A half dozen dead Pengy and one more slain Waloompa later�

*looks around* Phew� Seems there was no real damage to the village, either.

No! Don�t say stuff like that. That�s just gonna make the bos�

Music: Deadly Gamble

You just HAD to be all �I guess it�s over�, didn�t you?

Of course.

These are real battles. Not some cutscene crap where I get owned in a fade to black. I�ve got this.
What are you even going on about?
Forget it! I�m fine. Let�s go.

*nods* Hmph� Glad to hear it. Get yourself ready� this one isn�t like the others. Being a little tired out is no excuse, either� We must protect Setsuna, even if it costs us our lives�

I�d debate that but now�s not the time.

Don�t say that!

Setsuna rolls in with the full party HP/MP restore that only occasionally exists in cutscenes. That sure would be a nice ability to actually learn in any RPG.

*nods* Thank you� Now I don�t have to worry about anything except fighting.

*shakes head* I don�t want you risking your lives! I�m going to fight, too!

What are you talking about, Setsuna!? I�ll protect you, so just�

That�s right, Aeterna. I need you to protect me.

Exactly, so�

So if you die here, how will you be able to do that? In order for you to be able to protect me, Aeterna� right now, I need to protect you!

Don�t be ridiculous!

I�ve made up my mind.

�..

Looks like nothing I say is going to make any difference� Just promise me you�ll run away if it gets too dangerous.

I will� together with you!

Yeah, great. Either you two make-out already. Or you get in here and be the party�s white mage. Let�s do this thing.

And now we have our second addition to the party, just in time for this chapter�s first boss battle.

Music: Relentless Advance

Meet the first proper, non-tutorial boss of I am Setsuna: Whitewind. It comes sporting around 300ish HP and is by far the strongest creature we�ve faced thus far.

Right off the bat, Whitewind can use Wingslice which will hit twice for 15-20 HP of damage. The initial spacing in this battle is a bit weird. Aeterna is considered to be far enough to the left of Endir that any attacks striking her will miss him.

But an attack targeting Endir or Setsuna will likely hit both of them, since they�re considered bunched close enough together to be on the same plane. We could adjust Endir�s position by using Cyclone but ehh� that�s a waste of MP.

As a Momentum buffed X-Strike will do way the hell more damage than Endir or Aeterna can pull off with any singular attack. So their strategy for this fight will be to just build up their SP and perform X-Strike when both are ready.

Two X-Strikes is enough to take Whitewind down to 50% health, at which point it�ll buff its attack power with Inhale.

From there, the overgrown pigeon will start breathing fire. This will hit either Endir and Setsuna or Aeterna and Endir, as it moves in a half-circle arc. Our party might be getting a bit beat up by now. But that�s what Setsuna is for�

Setsuna comes equipped with a potent Cure spell, because of course she does. Being the female healer archetype, Setsuna�s physical attacks are complete crap but she�s good with magic. For the duration of this fight, Setsuna will just hang out building up her SP gauge and casting Cure accordingly. Momentum boosted Cure spells will boost Setsuna�s ATB gauge, she can continue the healing train as Endir and Aeterna keep up the X-Strike parade.

And that�s just about all there is to this battle. Whitewind did have one more attack where it dive-bombs the entire party for about 40-50 HP of damage but� I killed it too quickly. Whoops!

The Boss Bird gives enough experience to boost both Setsuna and Aeterna to Level 3 while Endir jumps to Level 4. And that nicely restores everyone to full after the battle. Plus we�ve got a handful of feathers and an egg for a future omelet. All in all, good work team.

Music: Feeling of Unease

Don�t bother trying to resist.

Hmph. �Really? We�re still doing this?

Murder of a sacrifice is a very grave crime. Even if it was only an attempted murder, we can�t just let you walk. The only reason you�re alive now, rather than inside a monster�s stomach�

Is that I helped stab all the monsters to death? Like we just did?

Is that the sacrifices keep the monsters at bay, and stop them becoming more ferocious. If it wasn�t for them� Everywhere would have been overrun by monsters a long, long time ago. You almost doomed all of mankind to certain death!

That�s not my problem.

Heck, that sounds like more work for me. Mercenary has gotta eat.

No, of course it isn�t. You are welcome to live out your life in your own narrow little world. Just as long as you don�t get in Setsuna�s way, that is. If you�re still think about trying something, you�ll have me to deal with.

*shakes head* There is no way you could possibly understand� The ritual of sacrifice is repeated over and over again, in order to bring us into the future�

The village elder wanders over to defuse the situation. And look, he�s brought pleasant music with him�

Music: Tender Glow

Before anything else, let me thank you, on behalf of everyone in the village. Now, with regards to what we shall do about you� Truth be told, I too am at a loss.

He needs to be kept restrained until the sacrifice has set off from the village.

Yes� better safe than sorry, I suppose�

Hey, do I get a say in this�?

Please, wait!

What is it, Setsuna?

It�s me who he tried to kill. Please, hear me out. I want you to make him a free man.

Let him go, you mean�?

Hey, she�s the sacrifice lady. I think we should listen to h�

No, not quite. I�d like him to join my guard.

...Aww, beans.

We can�t do that� He�s too dangerous!

*sucks teeth* Yeaaaaaah. I�m pretty dangerous and that sounds like a REAL bummer�

If he�s so skilled that you think he�s dangerous, surely he�ll make a very reliable companion� The sacrificial pilgrimage is not an easy journey. The more people we have on our side the better� Right?

I mean� technically� I guess? Meeeeh�

No matter what you say, I�m still against it� We�d be putting ourselves close to a man who�s even more dangerous than the monsters�

If it�s my life you�re after, then please see the pilgrimage through to its end. If I complete my duty as a sacrifice, that should also fulfill your goal� My death.

So? What say you? In light of your having protected our village from the monsters, we shall respect your decision. Will you remain here in the village until Setsuna departs on her pilgrimage� Or will you leave on her journey together with her, as part of her guard. There is still time until their departure. Once you have made up your mind, come to my house. Mine is the northernmost house in the village. I shall be looking forward to hearing your reply!

Hmm� A swordsman in an unfamiliar land not quite sure of what is going on being pressed into becoming a guardian for a selfless teenage girl�s pilgrimage to a distant forbidden land on a suicide mission to ward off monsters. I� Wait� gently caress� I know this one�

poo poo! Abort the LP. I already did this one! I�m out! I�m turning back!

Aeterna Character Art � The frog hoodie is cute and all, but maybe you could have invested in a jacket with sleeves instead of strapping several layers of poo poo to your arms? Just a thought.

Video: Whitewind Boss Battle

The Dark Id fucked around with this message at 18:27 on Aug 26, 2016

# ? Aug 23, 2016 23:10

Kemix: Dec 1, 2013; Because change

Welp. Poor Endir, still better than Beach Cloud from FFX.

# ? Aug 23, 2016 23:41

Kavak: Aug 23, 2009

Well that was a short but sweet ride! See you next time! :v:

I'll be gentle and just say this game is sticking pretty hard to old JRPG conventions. In fact, I'm pretty sure we're getting a mage of some kind next and Aeterna will learn to steal things, right? Speaking of which, why is she the only one with a tan?

# ? Aug 23, 2016 23:42

All Frogs: Sep 18, 2014

I'm kinda digging that frog hoodie. Not really sure out why though.

# ? Aug 23, 2016 23:43

Fabulousvillain: May 2, 2015

The Dark Id posted:

Don�t bother trying to exist.

Does this line look weird to anyone else?

# ? Aug 23, 2016 23:54

Woodbeam: Dec 30, 2012

Green, a pink-to-purple gradient, and various shades of orange?

I'm not a fashion or art guy, but that seems pretty... wrong.

# ? Aug 24, 2016 00:25

EponymousMrYar: Jan 4, 2015; The enemy of my enemy is my enemy.

Woodbeam posted:

Green, a pink-to-purple gradient, and various shades of orange?

I'm not a fashion or art guy, but that seems pretty... wrong.

It's less for fashion and more for game design that everyone has bright/distinctive colors in order for you to identify them easily against the background color palette.

Edit: it also looks dumber in detail than on the actual models.

EponymousMrYar fucked around with this message at 01:15 on Aug 24, 2016

# ? Aug 24, 2016 00:53

Bufuman: Jun 15, 2013; Sleep in the briefing room.
At your own peril.

I suppose it would help if they offered to pay Endir for his services, but we all know that this is going to be some "Do it for your freedom that you would have in about 4 hours anyway" reward instead.

And since you said that there's only one ending, I can assume there's no ending where Endir just sits there until she leaves and then game over. In fact I'm guessing that even if you do get an actual choice, we'll be forcibly recruited somehow anyway.

And of course, since it's Square, there's undoubtedly no third option where Endir just Cyclones right from there, ganks both Setsuna and Aeterna (try that cutscene dual-tech bullshit NOW, why don't ya) before anyone thinks to act, then murders everyone else on his way out of the village. I bet Cavia would've had a choice like that.

# ? Aug 24, 2016 01:22

FredMSloniker: Jan 2, 2008; Why, yes, I do like Kirby games.

The Dark Id posted:

New Music: A Moment of Respite

I hear this game 'borrows' from more than Chrono Trigger. :raise:

Speedball posted:

So, to prevent a sacrifice, we're attacking the girl. Kind of a "shoot the hostage" solution, isn't it?

Not... really? I mean, the idea here is to keep her from dying in a specific ritual way. (Presumably.)

The Dark Id posted:

Hey, Setsuna is here and she�s going to release us from our magical prison like a dope. Also, apparently those giant rings in her hair are actually chakras. There has� got be a better sheath available for those�

I think you mean 'chakrams'.

And wow, there is some serious JRPG idiocy going on here. I'm not sure who's dumber, the girl who wants the guy who is literally here to kill her to be her bodyguard on a dangerous mission or the guy who actually signs on to be her bodyguard, not because he's smart enough to realize that his employer is trying to start the apocalypse, but because he's dumb enough to think that, because said employer didn't specifically say 'I want her dead before she can perform the sacrifice', that actively keeping her alive for an indefinite period of time is the way to go. :ughh:

# ? Aug 24, 2016 06:20

Rainuwastaken: Oct 30, 2012; Another blue ribbon for Hecarim.

Considering we're probably going to find out that the sacrifices are actually feeding a dark god of angry monsters and is doing exactly the opposite of what everyone thinks, chilling out for now is probably the smarter plan.

Plus it's easier to stab someone to death in their sleep.

# ? Aug 24, 2016 07:31

Qrr: Aug 14, 2015

The Dark Id posted:

Are damage numbers for abilities broken in this game? I assume [Null] is supposed to be a number, but they forgot to set it.

Or is it intended to say [Null]? Does it mean anything?

# ? Aug 24, 2016 08:41

Yapping Eevee: Nov 12, 2011; STAND TOGETHER.
FIGHT WITH HONOR.
RESTORE BALANCE.

Eevees play for free.

Qrr posted:

Are damage numbers for abilities broken in this game? I assume [Null] is supposed to be a number, but they forgot to set it.

Or is it intended to say [Null]? Does it mean anything?

This is actually a case of confusing terminology, I think. I suspect [Null] should actually be [Non-Elemental]. :pseudo:

# ? Aug 24, 2016 09:01

Just Andi Now: Nov 8, 2009

Setsuna gave me more Colette vibes than Yuna. Maybe because her choice of weapons is chakram.

Qrr posted:

Are damage numbers for abilities broken in this game? I assume [Null] is supposed to be a number, but they forgot to set it.

Or is it intended to say [Null]? Does it mean anything?

What Yapping Eevee said, though with a bit of a twist: [Null] is actually counted as its own element instead of just a lack of one.

# ? Aug 24, 2016 09:09

anilEhilated: Feb 17, 2014; But I say fuck the rain.; Grimey Drawer

For the longest time I thought the game's name was "I am Satsuma" and it's some kind of spinoff of I am Bread.

# ? Aug 24, 2016 11:21

Danaru: Jun 5, 2012; 何 ??

andipossess posted:

Setsuna gave me more Colette vibes than Yuna. Maybe because her choice of weapons is chakram.

You know, what exactly is it about sacrificing idiots that Japan loves to make RPGs about so much?

# ? Aug 24, 2016 11:55

Tae: Oct 24, 2010; Hello? Can you hear me? ...Perhaps if I shout? AAAAAAAAAH!

Pretty sure martyrism in stories isn't a japanese thing. Major american rpgs do that just the same.

# ? Aug 24, 2016 12:05

Mokinokaro: Sep 11, 2001; At the end of everything, hold onto anything; Fun Shoe

Japan almost always subverts it in some way though, at least in JRPGs.

# ? Aug 24, 2016 15:03

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# ? Apr 26, 2024 17:00

EponymousMrYar: Jan 4, 2015; The enemy of my enemy is my enemy.

Mokinokaro posted:

Japan almost always subverts it in some way though, at least in JRPGs.

There's also the whole shrine (warrior) priestess and sealed evil thing going on. Subverted Martyrdom is like the 'IT WAS HIS TWIN EVIL BROTHER' drama hook for that.

# ? Aug 24, 2016 15:28

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Video Games > Let's Play! > I am Setsuna: Piano & Snow Trigger a Sense of Nostalgia

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