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McDragon
Sep 11, 2007

Well with everything I hear about people having trouble with that I did not, I will chalk it up to luck. I was expecting some bullshit platforming for an optional thing at some point so I tried it without even seeing if there was a chest at the end. Of course there would be.

Anyway, the Forest Zone is very pretty but a bit of a pain to get around, and you have to do a lot of getting around it. Still, I always liked kicking the poo poo out of the LARPBots.

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Josuke Higashikata
Mar 7, 2013


I had no idea you could get to the fist shrine the way TDI did. I just jump off the wall in the central plaza on to the cliff and jog about 10 seconds to the cliff.

Hunt11
Jul 24, 2013

Grimey Drawer
I don't remember having nearly as much problems getting the stick.

iospace
Jan 19, 2038


I didn't get the stick :negative:

Then again, I didn't get a lot of the weapons (didn't go out of my way for them). Oh well.

Deep Dish Fuckfest
Sep 6, 2006

Advanced
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Toilet Rascal
:same:

A large part of the reason being the existence of this thread. I'll get to see all the weapon stories anyways, and I'm not a completionist so I don't really care beyond that.

OJ MIST 2 THE DICK
Sep 11, 2008

Anytime I need to see your face I just close my eyes
And I am taken to a place
Where your crystal minds and magenta feelings
Take up shelter in the base of my spine
Sweet like a chica cherry cola

-Cheap Trick

Nap Ghost

Deep Dish Fuckfest posted:

:same:

A large part of the reason being the existence of this thread. I'll get to see all the weapon stories anyways, and I'm not a completionist so I don't really care beyond that.

if there isn't at least one weapon that will drive you insane trying to get it, you're playing the wrong series

Fabulousvillain
May 2, 2015

McDragon posted:

Well with everything I hear about people having trouble with that I did not, I will chalk it up to luck. I was expecting some bullshit platforming for an optional thing at some point so I tried it without even seeing if there was a chest at the end. Of course there would be.

I had done it in only a few tries, but I was also asked for help from my brother to do a certain (optional thankfully) dungeon in Final Fantasy 15 which controls 100x worse but expects you to do a whole level full of precision platforming thats worse than this.

Not to say this challenge isn't bullshit, just that that stupid level in FF15 revived my ability to do this lovely precision platforming in 3d.

Begemot
Oct 14, 2012

The One True Oden

Mindblast posted:

It took a few tries but after a while you figure out a method and you get it. Or you google what that chest has, go lol, and just move on with your day.

I saw what was in the chest on a list of all the weapons in the game and thought "holy poo poo that's amazing I must have that stick". And indeed, it turned out to be my primary weapon for most of the game. Those crits are no joke.

cant cook creole bream
Aug 15, 2011
I think Fahrenheit is better for weather

McDragon posted:

Well with everything I hear about people having trouble with that I did not, I will chalk it up to luck. I was expecting some bullshit platforming for an optional thing at some point so I tried it without even seeing if there was a chest at the end. Of course there would be.


It's pretty much the same for me. I managed to do it on the first or second try and didn't even notice 9S interfering. You just have to do it in one take without stopping or readjusting and it's quite easy.

AirborneNinja
Jul 27, 2009

I didn't have a lot of trouble getting to the stick, took me about three tries, but I am constantly using the aerials because they're fun.

Deep Dish Fuckfest
Sep 6, 2006

Advanced
Computer Touching


Toilet Rascal

exploded mummy posted:

if there isn't at least one weapon that will drive you insane trying to get it, you're playing the wrong series

And if you don't prefer letting TDI take the brunt of the bullshit for you, you're playing this series the wrong way.

KamikazePotato
Jun 28, 2010
I didn't have any trouble with this segment and 9S never made it a problem for me either. It's basically just your standard medicore 3D platforming bit.

FrankZP
Nov 11, 2015

AIGHT SHITBIRDS, IT'S EXPLOSION TIME!
While you're pod-gliding to the next pillar, it helps to imagine 2B's feet as a sort of crosshairs, and aim the camera so they overlap the point where you want her to land. As long as your initial jumps gave you enough distance to begin with, you'll touch down in the right spot every time.

The Dark Id
Aug 13, 2005

Why
you
know
I
LOVE
THIS SHIT !!!!
[citation needed]
Episode XXXIX: Long Live the King!


Music: Forest Kingdom (Quiet)




Onward to the raid on the Forest Kingdom’s Castle for... no real reason. I know it’s been a while with all the sidequests, but we just asked Pascal if he knew about any weird things the machines were up to and he mentioned these guys. Then 2B and 9S proceeded to flip out and murder their way through these machines’ territory to see what was up. No real reason. We just don’t have any important standing orders beyond investigating the machines. Caim (usually) had more reason for his murder rampages than our android protagonists do at the moment.





Before we enter the castle, it seems the Resistance were good enough to have installed an Access Point here at some juncture in the past. It’s a bit iffy how they accomplished that but I’m not complaining.



The updated map gives us a glimpse into the remaining area of the Forest Zone. Seems our goal is vaguely upward in the general castle area. Yeah... the map is about as useful as an rear end in a top hat on my elbow for the entirety of the Forest Zone section. Though it’s worth noting, we’re only one Access Point away from having mapped the entirety of NieR Automata’s game world. There’s only one very tiny region we’ve yet to explore. That’s not to say it’s the entirety of the areas we’ll encounter. There may be more to a some of the past locations that we’ve yet to plunder.



But that’s for a later date. Let’s head into the castle proper. Nobody is guarding the main entrance. We’re free to waltz right in the front door.



Yep, this looks like a king’s castle, all right...



The inner hall of the castle is a different story as we see a sentry posted ahead. However that’s the last guard we’re going to see coming as we raid this castle. For you see...


Music: Alien Manifestation (Vocal)




The entirety of the Forest Zone Castle is a side-scrolling action segment. You thought they’d forgotten about those since like the Amusement Park roller coaster, huh? Wrong, idiot! They’re coming back in a big way now. For better or for worse.



Stand strong! Move!



Given this is a 2D segment mostly involving long corridors with enemies pouring in from each entrance to a room, Mirage falls somewhat flat here. Laser and the Hammer Pod Programs shine given it’s mostly enemies in a line right in front of 2B. The Shockwave chip (those Sonic Booms 2B is constantly doing now) is also great stuff since even if 2B whiffs an attack, she’ll still likely connect with some unsuspecting machine past her blow.



There is a ton of treasure hidden about the 2D plane of this area. If there’s a platform just out of reach that requires some finesse platforming or a pillar in front of the area where 2B can run, there’s probably a material drop or treasure chest.





There’s also several dead end paths and side rooms that loop back on the way we’ve traveled or to lower levels of previous rooms. These all usually have some treasure and an extra fight from machines late to their guard duty shift after the androids have already ransacked the place. None of it is particularly remarkable loot so I’ll not be mentioning too much of it as we continue our march to the right...



Roger that, Nine...ze.
Huh!? Wait, what did you just say!?
Roger that, 9S.
Wait, no! That’s not what you said! You said “Nines”! Or at least something close to—
Cut the chatter, and engage the enemy.
Gah!



9S, that’s not a cool nickname. That’s like what a midboss in a lovely villain team named after playing cards would name himself. You don’t see 2B insisting people call her... what? Toobie? Is that the road you want to go down next, 9S? Toobie and Nines? Those are third rate shovelware 3D platformer mascots' names. Toobie & Nines: Trouble in Robotropolis coming Fall 1997 only on the Sony Playstation!

Have some respect for yourself, 9S. Christ...



Anyway, one anomaly in this area can be found if we climb to the third level of the initial set of halls. We’ll eventually come out to the courtyard, which is our destination to advance. Usually fighting our way through the ground floor. However, on a balcony on the third level is a treasure chest which Pod 042 will declare contains a machine lifeform part and 2B will decide she doesn’t need it.

There are three of these chests scattered in out of the way points in the castle. They’re all linked to a sidequest that isn’t accessible until later. This is one of the only times the game leaves a sidequest item lying around and lets 2B interact with it early. It’s quite annoying! Especially since the actual sidequest 2B just decides for no reason that now she’ll take the items in question.





Entering the courtyard proper, we find that the horse-like machines can actually go bipedal when not ferrying around a knight captain. They turn into a dive kicking and Sonic the Hedgehog spinning mild hazard.





This is one of the very few times this occurs. Technically, they can go into this form if the knight captain is destroyed before the mount. But that is a really unlikely scenario considering robo-horses have far less HP than their masters. It’s more weird than dangerous. Moving on!



You’ll pay for this, invaders!
Leave our kingdom!



Guys, look. We’re not taking anything from your kingdom... Other than everything in treasure chests that isn’t being nailed down. But we do that to our allies as well. It’s nothing personal. Just part of YoRHa’s standard practices in the field. Now just line up for your decommissioning and we’ll be on our way to loot and kill further into your home turf.

...We’re not even pretending to be anything but the baddies in this plot beat.



The farthest err... right in the castle (it’s technically northeast...ish I think...? It’s hard to tell) holds a several story tall ancient library. Sadly, we cannot stop to check if any of the books are still intact after untold millennia. I’m guessing... no. All important documents in NieR: Automata’s world are stored in computer terminals, corpses, discarded swords and padlocked treasure chests.



We’ll be returning to this library a few times as we crisscross our way to the higher levels of the keep. Though there isn’t a ton of interesting sights on our trek to the left through the second level of the castle.



There are very poorly orchestrated ambushes...



Weird machine worms humping trees growing in second floor interior courtyards...? What? Why is there a water canal running through the second floor? Who designed this place? Castlevania has more architectural sense.



There’s the occasional 50 foot tall painting. Thankfully, it does not trap us in a Painted World full of angry bird people. We’ve got enough problems as it is...



There’s also worms having fun slinking through windows. We’ve not even going to bother trifling with these things when their weak point is accessible for all of half second intervals. Those enemies are the worst designed thing in this game by miles.





Eventually we loop back around to a higher level of the library room. Still no books to read. 2B isn’t the inquisitive type and 9S is probably still fuming about how he KNOWS he heard 2B say his dumb nickname. He knows it...



What is present is ladders. Most all the staircases in this library have long since crumbled away but the ladders are fully intact, no problem. If video games have taught me nothing, it is that ladders are the sturdiest means of connecting two floors in existence. Natural disasters? Apocalypses? Millennia of disrepair? Ladder has it covered.



The ladder upward to the top level of the castle is progress. But we’re going to take a detour to a couple lower levels to check out some points of interest while we’re here. After all, we did skip from Floor 2 of the Library up to Floor 5 in our looping back to this area.







On the third floor of the library, we find a route into the back exit of the castle. Unfortunately, the gate into the backyard is currently sealed shut and there’s no way to access it. We’ll be heading back here at a later date for a sidequest. But it’s good to know it’s here early.





Heading up to the fourth floor of the library and running to the opposite end of the walkway leads to a few interior corridors that are otherwise inaccessible. Upon entering, we overhear a hidden conversation between some of the Forest Kingdom soldiers. Let’s eavesdrop for a spell...



We’d best be wary of the machines building a village near the forest as well.
We should launch a preemptive strike before their efforts proceed further! For the sake of our forest king.
For the sake of our king!

Pre-emptive strike, huh...?



HOWDY, MOTHERFUCKERS! HEARD YOU ALL WE’RE FIXIN’ TO ROLL ON MY BOY PASCAL AND FRIENDS IN THE MACHINE VILLAGE. YOU HEARD THAT TOO. RIGHT, 9S? SOUNDS LIKE WE GOT US JUSTIFICATION TO...



Kill. YOU. ALL.

Gotta love it when your unprompted raid into neutral territory is retroactively justified middle massacre. Thanks boys. Now if we have to go assassinate your king, we’re completely in the right. See, 9S. We’re not the baddies at all!



After annihilating the Forest Kingdom’s high command, we can return to the library and continue or journey to the top level of the library and further into the castle.



Another lousy worm makes its home on the upper walkway above the tree humping and window jumping ones below. No, they’re not all the same worm. You can kill those and this one will still spawn here.



Continuing to the left further, we eventually make it back to the inner courtyard from early. Just five or six stories up. With the washed out grey brickwork and the oversaturation of bloom, I’m getting a real ICO vibe from the background of this castle that we’ll never explore.



You will go no further!
Don’t give them a single inch!
All hail the king!
This is our beloved nation!





The final line of defense before the Forest King’s chambers is an absolute mess of about 20+ machines pouring in from all directions eager to defend their king to the last man. It does not go well for them, despite their best attempts.



Once the carnage is finished and the last of the king’s guard is slain, we can take a breather and note that there is puzzlingly an Access Point vending machine installed outside the king’s room. Sure... why not? That’s not actually any map information unlocked from this given the entire area is on a 2D plane. But hey. Save point.



Now we could head straight up and see about this Forest King. But, we might have skipped past something very important in the previous area. See below where 2B and 9S are standing? That arrow?



Turns out that arrow belongs to a block on a hidden lower platform. 2B can pull this block away from the wall to reveal a hidden but extremely important side area.



It’s the forest kingdom’s blacksmith’s chambers. Where did you think those hundreds of Machine Spears were coming from? Amazon overnight shipping? Despite our slaughter of just about everyone in the castle, the machine blacksmith is very chill and willing to talk.



I see you’re taking good care of your weapons. However, I’d be happy to sharpen them for you if you wish.



Masamune offers the same services as the Weapons Trader in Pascal’s Village with one key difference: this is the only Weapons Trader in the game that can upgrade weapons to Level 4. He’s in full samurai gear named Masamune locked behind a hidden pathway behind a giant stone block. Of course he is extremely good at his job.



Unfortunately, we do not have the materials to upgrade anything to max level at this time. Most of those necessary components don’t start dropping until around the half way point of the game. We’re like a quarter total of playtime. The best we can do is get Virtuous Contract and Fang of the Twins to Level 3.

I mentioned that NieR: Automata does NOT require collecting all the weapons to gain access to the final ending. It does, however, require collecting all the weapons and upgrading them to max level in order to do all the sidequest and get all of the endings. So that's great... We’ll be seeing Masamune a lot in the future.



While we’re in the neighborhood, screw it... Let’s grab another machine lifeform weapon. This time, we’ll go with the Machine Axe.



The Machine Axe, despite the name, is a Large Sword class weapon. There’s no axes class in this game. Don’t be silly. It has the same perks when upgraded as the Machine Sword: Machine Shop discounts and Machine Brand (grind kills to buff it like Drakengard 1.) It’s not a very impressive Large Sword. But hey. Gotta catch ‘em all... Let’s see if its story delivers...

Machine Axe posted:



HuMAN fiGhT. WHy?

Why... humans love?

Why do humans band together?

You- why are you alive?

Video games violence. Porn. Mosh pit. Spite.



My master honed that very blade long ago. He was a master craftsman who gathered four black and four white weapons and improved on them. But they spilled so much blood that my master sealed them away in various locations across the world. However, I wager you would wield them in the service of good. If that is true, you can search for them in sealed shrines throughout the world.
......
Weapons are mirrors that reflect what is in your heart. Treat them with the care they deserve.



Masamune is talking about the Virtuous series of weapons in his closing spiel. There’s also a Cruel set of four black weapons we’ve yet to encounter personally. We’ll be checking back on Masamune periodically. Even if mostly off-camera for me. But for now, let’s head back upstairs and see about this Forest King.

As a side note: the easiest way to get back to the top floor is to just save and reload after speaking with Masamune. Otherwise, 2B has to shove that box incredibly slowly to the edge of the platform to jump back up. Or fall down below and tour the bulk of the castle again. No thanks!

Music: ENDS



I take it the Forest King is a big fan of nature given all the greenery in his...



...chambers? Err? Is that a cradle?



Yep. That’s a cradle alright. And there’s something cooing in it.







Huh... A robot baby. That’s a new one. Was it built as a baby and does it gro—



AWW CHRIST!







NieR: Automata might be light on the human child murder. As you can see by this robot baby getting Aeris’d in the face, the Yoko Taro child killing train has not slowed down one bit. It’s just changed species.



Tune in next time when we meet the third character on the NieR: Automata’s boxart some 12 hours in...






Video: Episode 39 Highlight Reel
(You should probably watch at least the ending cutscene.)





Forest Zone Castle Concept Art – Yep. That’s a castle alright. Shame we don’t get to actually explore or run around any but a tiny bit of it.

The Dark Id fucked around with this message at 18:22 on Jun 12, 2017

Junpei
Oct 4, 2015
Probation
Can't post for 11 years!
Zero? Is that you? How'd you remove your flower eye?

ultrafilter
Aug 23, 2007

It's okay if you have any questions.


That's a hell of an introduction.

Malachite_Dragon
Mar 31, 2010

Weaving Merry Christmas magic
:yokotaro:, motherfuckers!

Sage Grimm
Feb 18, 2013

Let's go explorin' little dude!
And with that the King is dead. Long Live The King! :yokotaro:

Jet Jaguar
Feb 12, 2006

Don't touch my bags if you please, Mr Customs Man.



ultrafilter posted:

That's a hell of an introduction.

This is really going to the spoil the "how are babies made" talk if you ever backtrack.

"Well, they are created as infants and the somebody STABS THE poo poo OUT OF THEM. The end! No moral!"

chiasaur11
Oct 22, 2012



Jet Jaguar posted:

This is really going to the spoil the "how are babies made" talk if you ever backtrack.

"Well, they are created as infants and the somebody STABS THE poo poo OUT OF THEM. The end! No moral!"

I disagree. There's a very clear moral.

Don't be a baby.

Kavak
Aug 23, 2009


I finished a godawful adventure game called Stasis yesterday where your daughter gets shredded by a monster and you must use her blood-stained teddy bear immediately afterwards to solve a puzzle. I should've expected Taro would take that as a challenge.

Hunt11
Jul 24, 2013

Grimey Drawer

chiasaur11 posted:

I disagree. There's a very clear moral.

Don't be a baby.

In the Yoko Taro universe there is no safe age to be.

AradoBalanga
Jan 3, 2013

Hunt11 posted:

In the Yoko Taro universe there is no safe age to be.
Correction: there is no safe anywhere in a Yoko Taro game. Well, maybe except the start menu, we haven't seen any character get killed off there yet.

Picayune
Feb 26, 2007

cannot be unseen
Taco Defender

Hunt11 posted:

In the Yoko Taro universe there is no safe age to be.

Yeah. Just... don't be.

chiasaur11
Oct 22, 2012



Picayune posted:

Yeah. Just... don't be.

To be or not to be. That is the question.

golden bubble
Jun 3, 2011

yospos

Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous :yokotaro:
Or to take arms against a sea of :psyboom:,
And by opposing end them.

golden bubble fucked around with this message at 05:08 on Jun 11, 2017

ManlyGrunting
May 29, 2014
I... I have a feeling that one of the areas Id just showed up may have been what I spent 20 minutes running around like an rear end in a top hat to find for a quest :negative:

Jen X
Sep 29, 2014

To bring light to the darkness, whether that darkness be ignorance, injustice, apathy, or stagnation.
I expected that this was going to be a "The Court Jester" style of thing

I did not expect android murder time

Ratoslov
Feb 15, 2012

Now prepare yourselves! You're the guests of honor at the Greatest Kung Fu Cannibal BBQ Ever!

Oh no! What will 9S do? Now there's two ladies vying for his affections!

Deep Dish Fuckfest
Sep 6, 2006

Advanced
Computer Touching


Toilet Rascal
I love how MYSTERY CHARACTER looks at that lump of scrap metal impaled on her sword and just seems so satisfied with her work.

InequalityGodzilla
May 31, 2012

She just loves killin' what can she say?
Also, is she somehow wearing even less clothing that 2B?

Tarezax
Sep 12, 2009

MORT cancels dance: interrupted by MORT

InequalityGodzilla posted:

She just loves killin' what can she say?
Also, is she somehow wearing even less clothing that 2B?

Other than a camisole covering her midriff, what looks like clothes on this character is actually parts where her skin has sloughed off, as far as I can tell.

Strangely, despite this, she still has heels on.

Bruceski
Aug 21, 2007

The tools of a hero mean nothing without a solid core.

InequalityGodzilla posted:

She just loves killin' what can she say?
Also, is she somehow wearing even less clothing that 2B?

I've automatically assumed she's some form of Kaine. 9K or Knine perhaps?

Synthbuttrange
May 6, 2007

Tarezax posted:

Other than a camisole covering her midriff, what looks like clothes on this character is actually parts where her skin has sloughed off, as far as I can tell.

Strangely, despite this, she still has heels on.

Heels are structural components, not shoes.

AirborneNinja
Jul 27, 2009

Relevant to 9S face tanking the most dangerous enemy and our new challenger.

Hemingway To Go!
Nov 10, 2008

im stupider then dog shit, i dont give a shit, and i dont give a fuck, and i will never shut the fuck up, and i'll always Respect my enemys.
- ernest hemingway
technically ninus cannot be a meat shield as he is a robot, though i appreciate 2b having the ribbon

Malachite_Dragon
Mar 31, 2010

Weaving Merry Christmas magic
They're Terminator style meat skins stretched over metal endoskeletons, he fits the technical definition for meatshield and that's that :colbert:

motoh
Oct 16, 2012

The clack of a light autocannon going off is just how you know everything's alright.
It was an update past, but re: mobile game salt mines. Taro has not escaped his fate, but his newfound success and fame followed him to the sinoalice project, where it has hilariously melted the servers with unforseen demand.

White Coke
May 29, 2015

The Dark Id posted:

After annihilating the Forest Kingdom’s high command, we can return to the library and continue or journey to the top level of the library and further into the castle.

Our.

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Josuke Higashikata
Mar 7, 2013


TDI didn't make it clear but 2B and 9S start laughing very momentarily before the Forest King gets crackered by best girl. Definitely catch the video

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