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Episode XVIII: Don’t Get Killed.jpg) I doubt Koudelka ventured here expecting to witness a murder-suicide from a prolific serial killer couple. But that’s just one of the many hazards present in any ill-conceived trip to the dark realm known as Wales. On the topic of desecration, before Koudelka continues forth, it seems like a good idea to loot Bessy’s body for any valuables. It’s not like she’ll be needing ‘em... .jpg) Bessy’s Rifle RD is a flat upgrade from the standard rifle in every way. At least, other than having six shots before reloading rather than twelve. That’d be a spiffy upgrade if, ya know... we actually used rifles in this playthrough. .jpg) A neat, for lack of a better term, little detail with the Rifle RD it is missing two bullets for what should be obvious reasons. Considering how 99% of the time new video game weapons come magically full on ammo as soon as they’re picked up, even if the last person using it was dumping bullets until they were dry, it’s a decent attention to detail. That said, that’s not actually what we want off Bessy’s corpse. If we examine her body, we get... .jpg) .jpg) We’ve got a key to Patrick’s Room. Considering every other character outside the playable party is confirmed dead by this point, that seems like a decent place to go investigate next. Unfortunately, it’s a key to his room from an indoor room. The courtyard entrance is still a no-go. And even if it were, Koudelka refuses to climb over the Hartmans’ corpses and return outside. .jpg) It was hard to notice during the cutscene, but we’re back upstairs from the torture room where Ogden ambushed Koudelka. For some reason he saw it fit to lug her, his axe and... a murder table up that ladder to get his axe killing on. That seems like a lot of effort when there’s a perfectly good guillotine he could have employed right there. Ogden was a very troubled man... .jpg) The only way forward is back down into the blood splattered murder chamber downstairs. Now that Koudelka isn’t having Ghost Visions™ and getting blindsided by serial killers, we’re free to explore the room. .jpg) Trying to exit through the double doors results in this prompt. I think this might just be translated poorly. The game actually wants us to investigate the doors on the other side of the room because there might be someone skulking about over there. Spoilers: There’s absolutely nobody beyond this door. Unless you count random battles against zombies and we all know that no, that does not count. .jpg) Ogden was a far messier boy than first suggested. I can see why Bessy shot him. He’s clearly been negligent about cleaning up his gore piles after the previous few axe murders and now he was going to add even more mess to the pile with another girl? There’s got to be a limit. .jpg) To progress we need to investigate that semi-familiar looking door on the far end of the room. But before we do that, Koudelka’s head seems to be pivoting toward the blood sacrifice altar above the murder table. A closer inspection reveals... .jpg) .jpg) Just your average mason jar full of human blood. I’m not going to ask where the jar part came from since it’s clearly just a bowl on a statue full of blood with no jar present whatsoever. But details... I’m sure it’ll feel right at home in Koudelka’s inventory next to the severed arm she’s still carrying around. Anyway, about that door...  It seems the door is a no-go pushing or pulling. Let’s just ignore that big gap in the door clearly large enough for Koudelka’s rail thin rear end to squeeze through. Climbing is not in Koudelka’s skillset. Unless it’s up onto rooftops or a key item is involved. With that in mind, the frustrated Koudelka gets ready to leave, until... .jpg)  Koudelka! Edward. Koudelka! Where are you?! <runs to door> Over here! I’m over here!.jpg) Oh thank God! I was so worried. Are you OK? Are you hurt? <checks herself over> No... I'm OK. How about you? I almost got creamed by that monster. Luckily I went down the side hallway. Yeah, lucky you running away like that... I’ve punched a lot of weird things tonight. It wasn’t always a good idea. I wasn’t going to try my luck punching against that monster. But I guess your magic handled it since you’re still in one piece, right? No... that thing was invincible. I just ran away in the other direction. Oh... So that demon is... just still hanging out in the church? Most likely. That seems... troubling. Not that it’ll follow us this way. Wall’s caved in. We can't get back to the sanctuary. .jpg) <pulls on door> Ugh! I figured you'd escape to the garden and you’d be here. Thank God I took the underpass. That’s a real leap in logic, but sure... <yanks door harder> <gives up pulling on door and throws up hands> UGH! It’s no use! This door won’t open. Dammit! <slides into door frame>.jpg) Isn’t there another way out? Aren’t you underneath the arbor? <looks over shoulder> There is. There is another door across from the cathedral. The cathedral! That's right! There's got to be another way out, a secret passage or something. Secret passage... I guess I’m already in a secret passage but that doesn’t rule out this will lead to another one. That’s the spirit!.jpg) <slides back into frame> OK, let’s split up. Koudelka, start from that door. We'll go along the wall. Find a place to regroup. Clear? <nods> Got it. Watch out for monsters or that creepy couple from earlier. Oh... I don’t think we’re going to need to worry about them... The monsters? The caretakers. Huh? Why? ...Long story. I’ll tell you about it later. O... kay... <starts to leave> Koudelka... Yeah? Don't get killed. Tch... Same to you..jpg) Sage advice from Mr. Plunkett. Despite clearly not agreeing to meet anywhere and just hoping to link up further in, it seems we need to return to the Monastery Library to hook up with the boys again. .jpg) We’ve actually seen this door already from the other side back in Disc 2. It was in the same room as that Mortal Kombat rear end looking acid pit room near where the gang fought the Mad Fly. That’s a decent clip from the Library. .jpg) But if the game’s text narration says they’ll link up at the Library, I guess they’ll link up at the Library. Now that Koudelka has spoken with James and Edward, she’ll now allow herself to enter the door on the opposite side of the murder chamber. .jpg) Hey Temporary Save, you actually gave a location on the nose for a change. Good on you. It might be in our best interest to make a Temp Save here just in case. We wouldn’t want to have to rewatch all those cutscenes if an unfortunate incident befell Koudelka. .jpg) Especially since there’s another Mortal Kombat arena rear end looking room and the familiar prompt of a looming boss fight again. A solo character boss fight, naturally. Everyone’s favorite JRPG match-up... Stepping forward reveals...  Music: Incantation Again .jpg) Meet the Gug. It’s like a Shokan from Mortal Kombat (a Goro boy for those not familiar with their Mortal Kombat lore  ) boned a mantis man and out came this Z-List mutant. Despite having the very most ‘90s rear end looking monster design we’ve seen so far, this creature is actually another monster ripped straight from H.P. Lovecraft.The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath posted:"It was a paw, fully two feet and a half across, and equipped with formidable talons. After it came another paw, and after that a great black-furred arm to which both of the paws were attached by short forearms. Then two pink eyes shone, and the head of the awakened Gug sentry, large as a barrel, wobbled into view. The eyes jutted two inches from each side, shaded by bony protuberances overgrown with coarse hairs. But the head was chiefly terrible because of the mouth. That mouth had great yellow fangs and ran from the top to the bottom of the head, opening vertically instead of horizontally." .jpg) Replace two paws on its arms with just four arms and yep... That kinda sounds like that. Gug isn’t a particularly swift creature. It turns out chicken feet aren’t the most adapt at transporting a four-armed weightlifter. It does have a walking animation I enjoy where it pounds its fist like a beat-em up lackey trying to be intimidating. .jpg) .jpg) Gug is mostly a physical attack based creature, which should be obvious given its burly physique, but it does have a magical attack in its moveset. It employs the Slavic Squat to cast its eldritch magicks, which is also an amusing animation. The attack itself is just an Earth elemental magic that Koudelka shrugs off barely taking damage. .jpg) You know this game’s damage calculus is off when summoning a meteor shower is overshadowed in damage four times over by just shoulder checking the same person. I guess that’s what happens when your magical stats raise actual resistance to magic while your vitality stat just raises HP because hey... you can take more physical damage if you’ve got more health!  The final move in Gug’s stable of amusing animations is the most spastic windmill punch imaginable. At least he’s putting those extra limbs to good use with such a vicious assault. .jpg) Anyway, I had to redo this fight and have Koudelka hang out just to see any of Gug’s attacks. The brawny special boy here has 5329 HP. It’s an Earth elemental enemy, so its weakness is Wind elemental magic. And by weakness I mean it is cripplingly weak to Wind magic. They kind of over-tuned this fight in Koudelka’s favor since it’s a solo match. .jpg) .jpg) By that I mean two casts of Tornado and this thing is done in no time flat. Especially with our Koudelka having Level 2 Tornado. If you’re wondering if we’re overleveled. Nope. I played through this the first time with about five less levels and a Level 1 Tornado and Gug still died in three casts instead of two. It’s just an extraordinarily weak boss. Music: Level Up! .jpg) .jpg) Our reward for slaying Gug is a sawed off “shotogun” if this description is to be believed. Like the Rifle RD, this is a flat upgrade to the original Shotgun 2. I’m fairly disappointed Gug didn’t just pull out a sawed off and blasted Koudelka mid-battle. Though given the amount of damage bullets do to our party compared to near everything else... perhaps that would have been a wee bit unfair. .jpg) In any case, that concludes Koudelka’s first and only solo character gimmick boss fight. Tune in next time as Koudelka continues her exploration of the seedy Nemeton underbelly, befriends some unusual dinguses and perhaps links up with the rest of the party as the worst night in Wales continues.    Video: Episode 18 Highlight Reel   Koudelka Concept Art – Ugh. Axe murder victim sludge is all over her boots. The Dark Id fucked around with this message at 18:27 on May 11, 2018 |
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May 11, 2018 17:02
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The Dark Id posted:We’ve got a key to Patrick’s Room. Considering every other character outside the playable party is confirmed dead by this point, that seems like a decent place to go investigate next. Unfortunately, it’s a key to his room from an indoor room. The courtyard entrance is still a no-go. And even if it were, Koudelka refuses to climb over the Hartmans’ corpses and return outside. Well now I need to re-watch News Radio and laugh through the tears
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May 11, 2018 17:26
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Koudelka is surprisingly stable after having gone through all that. I don't think the Shadow Hearts team would be so lucky even with all the batshit horrors they encounter on a regular basis. Or it probably has something to do with sanity points mechanic becoming a thing. The Dark Id posted:But before we do that, Koudelka’s head seems to be pivoting toward the blood sacrifice alter above the murder table. Should be altar. Minor I know, but yeah.
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May 11, 2018 17:48
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On the topic of Wales chat, keep in mind that the one town with the really long name got that as a publicity stunt. The original name is still lengthy at five syllables (Llanfairpwllgwyngyll), but that's just a Welsh variant of contemporary English names for towns like Stratford-upon-Avon and the like. And usually the locals will shorten it to Llanfairpwll or even Llanfair, just as anyone would do if they didn't have to make some formal pronouncement. (Compare the official name of Bangkok, for instance.)
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May 11, 2018 18:50
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The Dark Id posted:Anyway, about that door...
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May 11, 2018 23:56
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Koudelka's frustrated foot-stomp when she can't open the door is priceless.
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May 12, 2018 00:44
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This game is fascinating with all the old time RPG BS in it. It needs to be studied.
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May 12, 2018 01:24
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DukeofCA posted:Koudelka's frustrated foot-stomp when she can't open the door is priceless. Nice contrast with her attitude towards Edward in the beginning. She acted like she was doing him a favor by letting him tag along back then, but now she knows she needs the guys. EDIT: Not that she'd ever admit it to their faces, though.
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May 12, 2018 02:03
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Wipfmetz posted:It has been said before, but those animations are gorgeous for a PSX. I honestly can't think of any other game besides (maybe) FFIX when it comes to excellent animations on the PSX.
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May 12, 2018 02:12
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Ubiquitous_ posted:I honestly can't think of any other game besides (maybe) FFIX when it comes to excellent animations on the PSX. You, uh, do realize that's not the animation you're thinking of, right? That's Motion Capture.
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May 12, 2018 02:26
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DukeofCA posted:Koudelka's frustrated foot-stomp when she can't open the door is priceless. Don't forget the little frustrated kick at the door  .
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May 12, 2018 02:52
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berryjon posted:You, uh, do realize that's not the animation you're thinking of, right? That's Motion Capture. It IS really interesting to see it used this early, though.
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May 12, 2018 02:56
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Personally I'm putting the method aside because either method can be used badly. Here, it looks very natural and well-done.
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May 12, 2018 03:24
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This game is just bizarrely creative and ambitious. It doesn't always land, but by god is it willing to try.
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May 12, 2018 03:27
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It's a still pretty unique game when it comes to its writing and atmosphere even almost twenty years later.
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May 12, 2018 14:58
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the combat is absolutely atrocious, but I can appreciate their attempt to try something new with the JRPG formula, but the strength really is the atmosphere and writing.
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May 12, 2018 15:38
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Keldulas posted:Personally I'm putting the method aside because either method can be used badly. Here, it looks very natural and well-done.
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May 12, 2018 17:00
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The Dark Id posted:
 Gug just chilling.
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May 13, 2018 02:32
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Nohman posted:
Iä! Iä! Cheeki breeki fhtagn!
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May 13, 2018 03:49
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Nohman posted:
Eldritch abominations gotta have smoke breaks too.
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May 13, 2018 10:15
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Episode XIX: Say a Prayer.jpg) That’s another eldritch abomination down and with it a newly restored holy water font. At least they didn’t make Koudelka go too long without a proper save point. Now where to next...? .jpg) Looking at our map and confirming it by clicking on the door, the upper right path leads nowhere and cannot be entered. Our only option is heading to the upper left and hoping that staircase at the end of the long corridor leads somewhere near the Library. .jpg) Heading into the room, we find a corridor with a creepy statue embedded into the wall. That doesn’t seem suspicious in the least. Especially when the map clearly showed there was a room in that direction. Let’s take a closer look... .jpg) Naturally, upon reading this inscription Koudelka’s first instinct is to shatter that Mason jar full of murder victim blood onto the statue. What else? When this is done, we receive the message: As the scent of blood from the bottle enshrouds the statue, it begins to shake! .jpg) The statue then slides back into the wall and apparently evaporates, giving way to a new passage. May as well take a gander in here. Surely it cannot be any more horrific than Ogden’s murder chamber.  Aww CHRIST! Welp... I was clearly wrong with that previous statement. Welcome to what the game internally refers to as the Altar of Darkness. Koudelka and the rest of the gang have zero comment on this nightmare room full of organs in jars and bloody intestine vines all connected to a sullen inverted head. Though clicking on the face will allow us to talk to it. Or more correctly, it’ll speak to us... .jpg) Meet The Creature -- Koudelka’s vague hint system. Speaking to this head will provide a cryptic hint to progressing in the game or finding some of the more hidden bits of side content. The Creature will only provide one hint at a time. But exit and reentering the room will refresh The Creature with another piece of advice. Again, beyond that nobody comments on this thing and it has no connection to anything else. It just exists and is extremely creepy. Anyway, about those hints... .jpg) It’s a creature of some kind. It says...  If you want acid... get empty bottle... Patrick's laboratory... Soon... you will meet them soon... I just worked here... Patrick... hired... me... They can be seen only in the dark... hidden doors... hidden books... Vigna and Valna... just want their dolls... The pair of dolls... The woman turns her back to them... If you have the research diary... The Émigré File... Roger... Where is the pendant you dropped? If you sound the disk... The last of Patrick’s experiments... Must stop... The star that Charlotte leaves behind... Or the flare... That woman... Wrote many letters for children... But never delivered... The graveyard... St. Daniel’s grave... And the grave of the girl... Pipe organ... move... go below... Daniel’s arm... Holy strength... If you go...fourth, floor...hidden...sacred... Patrick... How could you do this to me?.jpg) .jpg) And that’s all the hints The Creature can offer Koudelka. I’m kind of getting the feeling James’s friend Patrick might be kind of a dick. Just a weird hunch. In any case, now that we’re done chatting up a part timer worker who got turned into an unholy abomination by alchemy experimentation by his boss, let’s continue on our way. .jpg) .jpg) The series of corridors eventually leads to an exit on the far side. I’m sure between the piles of gore in Ogden’s murder den and The Creature’s whole... thing... the air down here must be a touch on the .jpg) Crud... It’s still a crappy night in Wales. You should know that Welsh hours last approximately 2.5x a regular hour. It's an anomaly of the region that isn’t present in the rest of the British Isles. .jpg) .jpg) It seems we’ve ended up in a cliffside graveyard. Fittingly, if we hit any random battles around here it’s all upgraded versions (read barely distinguishable palette swaps) of undead enemies from earlier in the game mixed with the occasional angry raven. Thankfully there are no extremely powerful skeletons skulking about. .jpg) At the far end of the graveyard we can locate the final resting place of Charlotte D’Lota, the ghost girl that got a beheading for her ninth birthday. We’re given the option to pray in front of the grave. The Creature did say something about graves, didn’t it? .jpg) Praying to Charlotte’s grave has no noticeable effect. Koudelka just kneels and prays for a few seconds before standing back up. But performing this action and obtaining the letters from Charlotte’s mother completes the requirements for a sidequest we’ll be encountering in the near future. So let’s just keep those actions in mind. .jpg) .jpg) Doubling back and continuing along the path, we come upon another grave by the cliff’s edge. More importantly, we find another doll to complete our set. .jpg) That’s both the dolls belonging to those ghost girls guarding the Green Key and its door. Seems we’ve got another a destination to backtrack to once Koudelka links up with the others.  A cross used by St. Daniel, founder of the monastery, when he was alive. It’s worth noting there is a removed weapon in the North American version of Koudelka – Daniel’s Cross. This was a special Club type weapon (same category as the Hammer, Mace and Pipe earlier) that was located behind this headstone. I couldn’t tell you why it was removed other companies still being a bit skittish with censoring certain things like fighting with religious imagery even into the early aughts. The cross is still present in the PAL (and Japanese obviously) versions of the game. Daniel’s Cross gave +6 Vitality, +8 Intelligence, +13 PIE and +6 Mind. It also had 100+ hits of durability if someone were to use it as a melee weapon for some reason. Which would have made it a decent and probably thematically appropriate weapon to equip on James. Alas... .jpg) In any case, this is St. Daniel Scotus Eriugena’s grave, the (as far as I can find fictional) brother of John Scotus Eriugena a 800s Irish theologian, poet and philosopher from the ‘800s. While Koudelka has no real reason to pray to his grave, beyond the Sainthood and all, doing so is required to progress the game. So... .jpg) Before Koudelka can even begin praying, we receive this message. This presence might be familiar if you’ve played the marginally more well-known Shadow Hearts series. It may be the only character to appear in every single entry in the series. .jpg)  <Crip Walks onto scene and starts chewing scenery> Oooh... Ugh! Woo... Repent now! Judgment day is near! The cacophonous sound of the seven bugles will consume the heavens and all sinners will burn in the fiery wrath of the Lord. (Oh what the fresh hell is this? Just keep praying, Koudelka... Maybe it’ll go away...) Err... But I... no... *I* do not die... Hmmhmmhm... <stops praying and looks over shoulder> .......jpg) Death knows no boundaries! It is an integral part of each and every life. Death is ultimately an act of graaaace and looooove from the Lord! Aha... ...... (OK... It’s a zombie. So Flare should probably take care of this thing if it doesn’t go away.) <notices Koudelka and the grave> Ohhh... A blessing, is it not? Daniel Scotus Eriugena... blameless soul. That man has not a heart to be found in his body! Though I do thank him for building the monastery here... I cannot say I am a big fan of his work... Oh? What soured you, my dear? Was it the acid pits in the basement? It was probably the acid pits in the basement. I never understood the appeal, personally. Who wants to walk down all those stairs for some acid? Downright inconsiderate, really. <rises to her feet and approaches the weird old man>.jpg) And you are...? Hmm... Where are my manners? Helloooooo! My name is Roger Bacon. <shakes Koudelka’s hand> I am a monk from the Franciscaaaan Order! <crosses arms> A monk? And I thought you were a mummy. <looks self over> Heh. Yes, you are quite right in your assessment of me. Sun-dried kippers may be more pleasant to look at than ohh... my shriveled up appearance. For what it’s worth, I’ve seen people in much worse shape this evening... Ohh! Flattery will get you everywhere! There was a time when I was hailed as the foremost warlock. Ergh... But my profession seems to go in and out of fashion with the passage of time. Can't do much about that, can I? It’s always either kings and queens wanting nothing more than your service at all hours of the night or it’s a mob screaming about heretics this and blasphemy that. It’s quite a tiring occupation, really. I wouldn’t recommend it. Heh. Hehe. You are a strange man. Err... That’s if you can be called a man....jpg) <starts trotting around> I have given up being a “man” many hundreds of years ago! I am no longer a person. Heh... Though I hesitate to answer questions regarding my existence because... I have yet to figure out exactly what I am... Immortal but you still age. I don’t think they’ve come up with a decent term for that... Mostly for lack of need. But I haven’t cracked a dictionary in recent years. Perhaps that’s been remedied? Hehe. That's fine. It's not that I need to know anyway. But tell me. Why were you sleeping in such a strange place? I have never been able to awake in a good mood. Plus the rental rates were reasonable. Heh. Hehehe... And I just planned to rest for a while. What year is it, anyway? Are we still on the Gregorian calendar? Are you trying to fool me or are you being serious!?.jpg) Of course I am being serious! The clock I own was too big for the coffin... It's 1898. They make clocks you can stick in your pocket now. ...... Lord have mercy... I've been asleep for... close to a hundred years... I guess that would explain the stiff neck. And back... And limbs... And... well... the last part isn’t appropriate for mixed company. Heh... Well, I guess there are some things that can still surprise you. Watch out! When life begins to lack the element of surprise... that’s when you are... walking... down the path to the Looooord! Heh. I don’t think I have to worry about that lately. <looks Koudelka over and smacks lips> Anywaaaay....jpg) <gestures to the steps ahead> As a token of my appreciation, I'm going to keep the metal gate unlocked for yoooou. Go through the gate... Heheh... You make that sound really sinister. I apologize. You get as old as me, you just sort of start sounding like this allll the time... Hehe... I assure you it’s safe. Well... heh other than the randomized battles. You mean those monsters that keep ambushing us? Hmph... The random battle term hasn’t caught on after all this time...? A pity! Hehe Maaaaaaybe another hundred years or so?.jpg) <begins walking to the gate but stops> Why would you do this for me? Well... It seems to me that your friends are running amok inside the monastery grounds. They are making so much noise! One of them just keeps punching everything. It’s quite obnoxious. Who punches a table? Even if it is possessed by a poltergeist. There are better ways to perform an exorcism! Heheee... And the other one keeps harping about blasphemy this and thieves that... I know it’s been a 100 years of sleep... but I’m still groggy. So... Would you kindly tell them to... keep it quiet? Hmm...? Hehehe. Heh... I can’t promise anything with those two... But I’ll give it a try. Or at least try to get us out of this place... You do that... Ta-ta!.jpg) And with that, Roger Bacon departs. Unlike Saint Daniel of Nemeton Monastery, Roger Bacon was very much a real person. Wikipedia on Roger Bacon posted:
.jpg) Getting back on task, the stairway from the entrance to the graveyard leads to an area we’ve already encountered back at the end of Disc 2. The gate Roger unlocked connects the Monastery Church to the Library building. .jpg) Assuming the two chucklefucks went to the Library as the text narration implied, we should run into them any min— .jpg) Oh... There they are... Sup, boys? Did you all play nice while Koudelka was gone? .jpg) Koudelka. Edward... Oh, thank goodness you’re OK. <lowers head> That’s not completely the case... I have some bad news for you. I saw the caretakers. Both the husband and wife... Really, where were th—? They’re dead. Oh... Huh... So did you, like...? Do them in? What? No. Who do I look like? You? ...Harsh. But fair..jpg) Apparently, they were the ones responsible for killing all the thieves and desperadoes that were sneaking into the monastery. And with good reason... Or at least a motive that was clear enough. “Good” might be stretching it... I don’t... No... I don't believe it... The husband tied me to a table and was going to kill me with an axe. If you’d like, I can lead you back to his murder dungeon. The wife confessed to their crimes. I *think* they were actually the culprits... Yes, well... You could still be mistaken....jpg) You should know very well what has been going on! Ogden was trying to avenge the death... of Elaine... The death... of Elaine? ...... <turns away upset> I don’t believe it. This is preposterous! Who is Elaine!? I have no idea....jpg) <steps forward> All I know is that Elaine's spirit called me to this place. Tell me, who is Elaine? And Patrick? ...... <turns away and starts pacing> The caretakers told me that robbers broke into Elaine's home while Patrick was away and murdered her... Elaine was a benefactor for the caretakers. Hold it... I thought you didn’t know who Elaine was? Just that... And she was this Patrick guy’s wife. That’s enough background to fill out an obituary. I wouldn’t call that having “no idea” who she was... That’s probably more info than I know about you yourself. Are we really doing this right now? I’m just saying... <sighs> As I was saying, the caretakers... They took it upon themselves to murder every single robber and desperado that entered the grounds. It... was a form of revenge for them... ...... ...... <puts hands on hips and waits for James to respond>.jpg) I am originally from Ireland, you see. Figured that... “James O' Flaherty.” I don’t think it can get more Ir— Could you stop it and let him speak? Although small, my family had a successful business and were soon able to send me to school, which I loved from a very early age. I was soon accepted to a prestigious university in England. With my parents' assistance I made my way across the ocean. I met Patrick at university. We were both studying chemistry and embarking upon similar paths. ...... About that same time... we began competing for the love of a beautiful woman -- Elaine. And we had a falling out... I loved Elaine with all my heart. Omnia Vincit Amor. .jpg) But love does not conquer all! I soon discovered that I lacked the social status and inheritance money necessary to properly care for someone so well bred and sheltered as Elaine. ...... Oh... One of those *THOSE* kind of girls, huh? No tha— <punches in arm> Enough! OW! Tch... fine... <paces> I gave up my suit and made way for Patrick. To ease my pain I joined the church and left the secular world behind. And being the perfectionist I am, the Vatican made me a bishop and in charge of some very important matters. But it's been so hard to distance myself from one's emotional attachments... Is that why you blame everything on sinners and immigrants? No, my judgment upon them is sound. Can I start mocking this sob story now? No, Edward... Save it. Right..jpg) Although I have not seen them for twenty years, I wished them all the best in their life together. And if it hadn't been for this, I wouldn't have thought twice about seeing Patrick again. ...... That’s right... Patrick! H-How can this be? He promised me he was going to take care of Elaine and make her happy. What could have happened...? A random burglary gone wrong? That’s far too simple an explanation! There must be more to it... Must there really...?.jpg) Being a witness... to the gory aftermath, I have a hard time believing that the caretakers were acting on revenge alone. Believe me... It was an unimaginably heinous sight. Maybe they just got carried away with their dark deeds...? And what about these monsters that keep appearing? That’s just Wales for you. That’s not entirely inaccurate... No... There's a bigger secret we have yet to uncover. <pulls something out of her pocket>.jpg) This is the key to Patrick's mansion... Shall we go?.jpg) A mysterious mansion owned by a recluse dabbling in misguided mad science? I think I’ve heard that one before somewhere... In any case, the gang is back together again. Tune in next time as the trek to Patrick’s manor hits a speed-bump in the form of a pissed ghost of a little girl as Koudelka continues.  Video: Episode 19 Highlight Reel (You should watch this.)  Koudelka Iasant Concept Art – I feel like if the technology were there, Koudelka would be wearing the expression on the left in half the game’s cutscenes. The Dark Id fucked around with this message at 19:02 on May 14, 2018 |
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May 13, 2018 22:28
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The Dark Id posted:
Wrong portrait here.
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May 13, 2018 22:42
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Is this the first time we can meet the Creature? It's weird to encounter a hint device this far in a game that seems deliberately designed to be obscure. And Roger Bacon is surprisingly restrained this far in. Usually he's ready for a plot dump to set the heroes straight. I half expected him to know more about Elaine and Patrick than James or even the murder couple. Then again, he just woke up. The Dark Id posted:We’re anomaly of the region that isn’t present in the rest of the British Isles. I'm guessing you meant to say that "we're in an anomaly of the region." Otherwise I'm not sure what this sentence is supposed to say. Shitenshi fucked around with this message at 23:34 on May 13, 2018 |
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May 13, 2018 23:03
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Nohman posted:Real hosed up the gang would just murder their Charlie equivalent like that as soon as he shows up. I hope there is a Frank and he fairs better. I have been sitting on this quote for so long, waiting for this exact update.
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May 13, 2018 23:21
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Roger Bacon's voice acting in particular is such a standout for this era. The perfect amount of zany and scene-chewing.
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May 13, 2018 23:23
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ZiegeDame posted:I have been sitting on this quote for so long, waiting for this exact update.
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May 13, 2018 23:51
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Small quibble, but your link to the Wikipedia page for Roger Bacon is currently linking to the as-of-yet-non-existent Wikipedia page for Roger Bacon"Ubiquitous_ posted:Roger Bacon's voice acting in particular is such a standout for this era. The perfect amount of zany and scene-chewing.
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May 13, 2018 23:58
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This game totally rules in every way except for everything gameplay related.
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May 14, 2018 00:01
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quote:Praying to Charlotte’s grave has noticeable effect. Koudelka just kneels and prays for a few seconds before standing back up. Do you mean "has no noticeable effect" here?
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May 14, 2018 00:05
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I'm kind of surprised that James actually has a "thank goodness" for Koudelka being okay. Seems like he IS capable of not being a jackass.
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May 14, 2018 00:16
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Oh yeah, let's get into some emotional flute music as we discuss what the hell is up with James.  Roger Bacon is also pretty good here too, really hamming it up but in a wonderful way.By the way, was there an art book of Koudelka released? Where is everyone getting their concept art from? I'm seeing so much stuff here I haven't seen before. Night10194 posted:This game totally rules in every way except for everything gameplay related. 
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May 14, 2018 07:10
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Oh poo poo there was a Frank Reynolds equivalent! I can't watch the video at work but I'm going to assume Roger Bacon sounds like Danny DeVito. Edit: How old is James supposed to be if he was playing the field in college and getting shut down over 20 years ago? Nohman fucked around with this message at 15:41 on May 14, 2018 |
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May 14, 2018 15:12
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May 14, 2018 15:59
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The Dark Id posted:Fittingly, if hit any random battles around here
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May 14, 2018 19:01
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Roger Bacon is loving fantastic. Here's a picture of that Daniel's Cross in-game, BTW:  It's still such a weird omission to me, given literally the rest of the game. It's still present in the US version's data as well. It just seems too deliberate to be an oversight. EagerSleeper posted:By the way, was there an art book of Koudelka released? Where is everyone getting their concept art from? I'm seeing so much stuff here I haven't seen before. Not really, which is a great shame, and would be killer to see some of those monster concepts in non-polygonal form. Most of the concept art is from the Japanese (and one Chinese) guide books, the light novel (which has several original pieces), and Kikuta's old blog. The US guide is utter trash - it's all black and white pictures, there's no monster stat/drop information, and barely any info on where to find half the poo poo. Here's the scans I made for the first LP of this (if there's any problems TDI, just say and I'll remove the link - there's nothing spoilery, now we've seen all the characters). Scans of most of the Koudelka stuff is uploaded to the wikia, along with Kikuta's expanded backstory of Roger, Daniel Scotus, and "other" things, heavily related to both. The weird blend of actual historical stuff, with fake history and horror elements is what drew me to the series in the first place.
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May 14, 2018 21:30
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I'm kind of sad they didn't use the bottom right design on the first page for Koudelka, it's very pretty and still has a 'take no poo poo' vibe to her, and proto-james looked way too kindly for the kind of poo poo that phews out of his mouth.
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May 14, 2018 23:58
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The Dark Id posted:
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May 15, 2018 09:23
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Shei-kun posted:Goddamn. James is literally older than the other two party members combined. I'm surprised his age actually makes sense for a Catholic bishop.
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May 15, 2018 13:54
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Night10194 posted:I'm surprised his age actually makes sense for a Catholic bishop. Well the Catholic church has had issues with younger members.
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May 15, 2018 14:19
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Ol' Bacon's introduction in SH is pretty strong too. After he appears you get the 'new party member' naming screen (his default name is 'Strange Creature') but as soon as you leave it, he turns to face the screen and immediately makes fun of you.
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May 15, 2018 14:59
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