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Kibayasu posted:How does an item making the hit area invisible even work. Do you just guess? Does each attack have the same general pattern? Every Judgement Ring is unique to the item or weapon being used. If you've memorized what the Judgement Ring is for, say, your basic attack, it being invisible shouldn't be that big a detriment.
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Aug 31, 2018 06:20
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I think I remember Christopher Nolan stating the Kowloon Walled City was the basis for the slums of Gotham in Batman Begins. At the end of that movie when everybody is exposed to the insanity gas, I guess seeing some of the monsters that are populating this game wouldn't be too out of the ordinary.The Dark Id posted:It's capable of ghost-slapping party members and performing Wind Sheer. Hate to be a nag and correct ya twice, but this should be Wind Shear.
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Aug 31, 2018 06:38
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Materant posted:Every Judgement Ring is unique to the item or weapon being used. If you've memorized what the Judgement Ring is for, say, your basic attack, it being invisible shouldn't be that big a detriment. Yeah, for Yuri in particular the basic attack ring is pretty evenly spaced, and lines up fairly well with some of the points along the outside of the ring. It's easy enough to get the rhythm down once you've been doing it for half the game.
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Aug 31, 2018 07:04
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Yeah, at some point it's more or less an accessory which doubles your attack damage which is kind of busted.
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Aug 31, 2018 08:00
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So did they give up the pretense of it being pre-WWI era with these Kowloon interior scenes because this all screams '80s industrial decay.
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Aug 31, 2018 14:28
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It's historically accurate in a broader sense.
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Aug 31, 2018 15:08
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Like Samurai Champloo.
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Aug 31, 2018 15:11
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Episode XXXIII: Puppet Music: Someone's Table .jpg)  <scans the area> This is Wugui’s room?! What does that guy do every day?! I was expecting like skeevy porn stuff at worse. Not uhh... I don't got a word for this... <shakes head> I don’t get it. Wugui’s just a small-time gangster boss. But this stuff looks like he’s been working with black magic and voodoo. This ain't wholesome Taoist magic junk? 95% too much meat for that, kid. Western folk has the market down on weird bio-organic nonsense. Exactly so, Master Zhuzhen.   .jpg) Music: Wind Which Blows From the Dark II .jpg) So it was you behind all this! What the HELL, dude!? Heh heh heh. While I was here, I rented space in order to conduct experiments… But I do wonder if perhaps I overdid it a little. I suppose this isn’t easy work. Yet I still must find a container to use as the vessel of life. You… used Wugui as the subject for your experiments?! What the Devil are you scheming? <motions to meat wall> Yeah, so that doesn't explain ANY of this... In any case, you couldn’t possibly comprehend it anyway. Oh, yes. Since you have taken the trouble to come here, why don’t I treat you to a little bit of fun… Mildly baffled as to why you came all the way out here, to begin with, but I try not to focus on the details. So, enjoy yourselves... With the new life I have created. Step forward, Wugui..jpg) Wugui?! Not a fan of this man but... yeesh! I'm more and more regretting hanging out with you lot. MURDEROUS INTENT! Wha...?.jpg) Music: NDE - Near Death Experience .jpg) .jpg) Welcome to the Cursed Puppet fight. It is... basically just Yamaraja: War with its stats boosted a bit. Cursed Puppet has 1080 HP versus its previous incarnation's 840. Other than that, it is literally just the same exact fight with a different skin. .jpg) So, our first order of business is naturally shifting over to the Inferno Fusion and queueing up Fighting Spirit. Hey, if it ain't broke, don't fix it! Much like every other Wugui fight, we're limited to fisticuffs only. Even in his new undead state, Wugui of Kowloon still absorbs all special attack energy. As such we're limited to just smacking him with our physical strikes and nothing else.  Speaking of things that ain't broke, Wugui, of course, opens this fight his first move by trying Game of Death again. Sorry, pal... .jpg) ...We figured that one out like two matches ago. I know you're mortally challenged at the moment, but you really need to get with the program in that being a wasted turn at this point. .jpg) .jpg) So, there's not really much left to say about this fight. It is literally Yamaraja: War with Wugui's standard skin and its stats buffed. But by now we've also gained a couple levels since then grinding through Kowloon Fortress City's rather hearty rogue's gallery. We can only hit him with our standard attacks. Which means Yuri is doing most of the work with Margarete on the assist. .jpg) Wugui's physical strikes REALLY hurt here. Especially if he decides to do an entire weird Stretch Armstrong combo in one go. That can burn up to 80+ HP on a single character. .jpg) .jpg) Other than that, Cursed Puppet still has the Nightmare full party Dark elemental attack. This is mildly a problem if we're not quick because when he gets to around 33% HP, Wugui just spams Nightmare non-stop each turn and that's about 60+ damage to the entire party every time. .jpg) .jpg) .jpg) But you know what, Wugui of Kowloon? We've done this whole song and dance before. Let's just cut to the chase here. It's bad enough we wasted an entire day sailing here to kick your butt one more time. Music: ENDS .jpg) Hey! That's my fake line for dying characters!  Wugui flops over dead. .jpg) .jpg) Here lies Wugui of Kowloon. He was in Kowloon when he died. Name checks out. I cannot tell you why he exploded into a cloud of poo gas. Folk from Hong Kong are just peculiar like that. .jpg) Bacon! Wugui was one thing. The HELL is going on with the rest of this room? Oh... That... Hmph. Oh! That’ll be all for today. Goodbye, folks. ‘Til next time! What!? You can't just peace out and not tell us anything. Oh, I assure you I can... That'd really be lame! <shrug> I don't see how this is my problem..jpg) .jpg) Roger Bacon out! Nobody is pleased with this outcome. Why is there a nightmare meat room that seems like something out of Parasite Eve or late game Resident Evil? Don't worry about that! Roger Bacon is up to some hosed up poo poo, but he has no obligation or notion to share what that's all about at this juncture! .jpg) Anyway, other than examining this table and one of the shelves which will make an animated gif of a brain in a jar... that's kind of it for Kowloon Walled City. Well... Wugui of Kowloon is confirmed dead. Hopefully, Alice cannot claim the same as we wasted a couple days down this dead end... Music: Heaven - Kungyang Kungyang .jpg) .jpg) Apparently, Wugui's presence was the only thing keeping the random battle trash mobs stationed in Kowloon. So, it's a clear shot with pleasant music and zero fights on the way out of here. Everyone back in the opening courtyard has some new dialog on the way out. So, let's chat them up before shipping off back to Shanghai. .jpg) You might wanna get an adult to clean out a few of those rooms. Especially, Wugui's old haunt. Why? What's wrong with Lord Wugui's room? <rubs neck> Well... I'm not good with words and I'm not gonna drop an f-bomb on a child....jpg) Life Goals. .jpg) Well, I didn't get attacked by any random monsters on the way out so... maybe? I'm getting on a ship and never coming back here in like 10 minutes so don't quote me on that..jpg)  What?! You say there aren't any more monsters coming? W-what are you people?! I can turn into monsters, she is a super spy and the old guy is just old... possibly magic....And where did you people come from? Shanghai. It's a long story. We gotta go back there now... ...O...K?.jpg) .jpg) Alright. That's it for our field trip to Kowloon Fortress. Tune in next time as we actually go do what we ought to be doing and complete the first act of Shadow Hearts in Chapter 10: Kuihai Showdown! Spoilers: You're not gonna read about this one in the history books...   That wasn't technically a chapter as defined by getting to the world map and making a save with a title like Chrono Trigger/Cross or Xenogears does. But it was enough of its own thing to pretty much count! So, let's see what ghouls we've encountered in that weird side story in Hong Kong. MONSTER: .jpg) Also, no dick. So that's problematic for its existence. .jpg) The sewers of Fengtian runs 3000 kilometers away to Kowloon!? .jpg) It wears bondage clothes. .jpg) It is SO talented swinging that club around. You don't even know. .jpg) Nobody likes to talk about how much of a weird loser Shonen protagonists would be if they encountered normal people. .jpg) An ire for tourists made manifest. I can respect that. .jpg) It yelled BARF right before it died, so I dunno if I believe that one.   Video: Cursed Puppet Boss Battle   Wugui of Kowloon Portrait – Don't ask me why he is being vexed by flying squirrels. That just happens occasionally in Hong Kong. The Dark Id fucked around with this message at 23:38 on Sep 2, 2018 |
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Sep 2, 2018 23:05
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Everyone from Kowloon has stretchy-arms and immediately dissolves into poo gas when they die. I thought it was common knowledge. 
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Sep 2, 2018 23:27
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The Dark Id posted:Let's just skip to the chase here. Dunno if you're looking for this kind of correction, but I think this should be cut to the chase.
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Sep 2, 2018 23:29
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The Dark Id posted:
Eh. Shadow Hearts.
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Sep 2, 2018 23:44
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I guess those meat things were all supposed to be this game's version of liches maybe. The one by the desk looks like it has a face on the top left hand corner of the screen. Although maybe Zhuzhen was right on the money with Wugui. The guy is into instant death magic, would give Plastic Man a run for his money, made the Happy Creeper for gently caress's sakes, oh and of course he works for someone as normal and sensible as Dehuai. Yuri is a pretty decent guy and still sees demon hallucinations of his old man and hears voices in his head, you know this Triad scumbag has some issues.
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Sep 3, 2018 00:00
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It's odd that they gave Wugui a brand new portrait. Nice, but odd. I think that's the only one that changes too, IIRC. Also the meat room is gloriously hosed up.  Just random bits of giblets strewn everywhere for ambience.
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Sep 3, 2018 02:18
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I feel like the whole Kowloon sidequest thing would have made more sense if you were going there for the key to the tower, as opposed to the Japanese Army having it. Maybe there was a story revision at some point after all the awesome stuff had already been made? I don't really know I'm 100% speculating.
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Sep 3, 2018 03:47
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TheLastRoboKy posted:I feel like the whole Kowloon sidequest thing would have made more sense if you were going there for the key to the tower, as opposed to the Japanese Army having it. Maybe there was a story revision at some point after all the awesome stuff had already been made? I don't really know I'm 100% speculating. Covenant got rid of that aside from two sidesquests, but they don't have any dungeons tied to them so you're not really losing out on content. Accordion Man fucked around with this message at 04:11 on Sep 3, 2018 |
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Sep 3, 2018 04:06
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Well, at least we know Bacon's schtick now? Or does a gentleman not restrict himself to a single class of incomprehensible horrors?
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Sep 3, 2018 23:28
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With a name like Bacon it's not surprising he's into meat.
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Sep 3, 2018 23:35
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Glazius posted:Well, at least we know Bacon's schtick now? Or does a gentleman not restrict himself to a single class of incomprehensible horrors? Look, when you get to his age, you learn a thing or two from the Cenobites to keep things interesting.
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Sep 3, 2018 23:38
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 Episode XXXIV: Essential Smut Music: Blow Up .jpg) Well, that was kind of a waste of time. Hopefully, there's no portal to Outworld looming above Shanghai or giant Hellmouth sinkhole swallowing half the city in the couple of days since we've been gone. It's really not clear exactly what the Demon's Gate Invocation does, other than it is some bad news. .jpg) As long as the sky doesn't start birthing cannibal space babies, it cannot be worse than anything we've encountered before. Now then, without any further delay, let's head into Kuihai Tower for the final showdown with Dehuai. It is looking like Shadow Hearts will wrap up as a real short game by JRPG standards. Music: Misfortune - Psycho Temple .jpg) Ah... it's like we were here just yesterday. Or before a long weekend. You know how it is shifting time zones with travel. Everything is all out of whack. Let's get to saving Alice and defeating that sorcerer properly now. .jpg) <shrugs and shakes head> Oh, quit it. Even an idiot like Dehuai wouldn’t use the same tactic again. That has kind of been his only move... The guy seems set in his ways. Like the only question is whether it's going to be a possessed animal or a Yamaraja guy this time. But... This is his main base. It seems like he'd have to try something different, right? Like... I don't know... a DRAGON is guarding the gate. Hey, pops. What was past this gate when you and my old man kicked open the door last time? <rubs chin> Possessed tiger. It turned into a man-tiger demon. <cracks knuckles> OK. If that's the case, my money is on a Yamaraja dude. Heh heh… Well, there’s one way to find out..jpg) Music: China Ogre .jpg) No amount of emulator texture filtering can pretty up that background texture that is apparently a postage stamp sized jpg blown up to fill the entire background. I recall the background of this battlefield looking remarkably ugly even when it was a pixelated mess on the original hardware. .jpg) .jpg) In any case, guess what? It's another Yamaraja match. Remember those two ogres from Kowloon Fortress? We found their boss variant big brother. Meet Yamaraja: Stone. Keeping up with the theme of its predecessors (discounting the pretender Wugui) the boss is a Fire elemental enemy despite having Stone in its name. Dehuai is not good with naming his guardian minions. Dehuai is not particularly good at many things... Yamaraja: Stone original went by Enma-O: Vajra. Vajra is a type of ritual club with a ribbed spherical head which symbolizes the properties of an indestructible diamond and the irresistible force of a thunderbolt. Well... I guess I can see how that can translate to giant oni with an even bigger club... if you really squint and don't think about it too much. Yamaraja: Stone comes with 1800 HP and that's about the only noteworthy trait the creature possesses. He's a sturdy lad if nothing else. .jpg) Our game plan isn't going to undergo a remarkable change in pace at this point. Inferno is far and away the best physical brawler damage output wise for the first half of the game. It's not even a competition. So, we'll have Yuri get his Fusion on and follow that up with the Fighting Spirit to get psyched for the fight. .jpg) .jpg) To offset the fact Inferno is a Fire elemental enemy, we'll just spray that hot-blooded youth down with Margarete's Aqua Edge and set him to work punching. Margarete herself will stick to physical attacks since her innate Water element will do a good amount of damage (and her Grenade has dropped off a cliff damage wise across the last couple of chapters.) Zhuzhen's Lifesucker does some decent damage as well, but once again he's on healer reserve if need be. .jpg) Abilities wise, Stone is even more limited than the last few jerks we've come up against. For some reason, he has a whole host of spells that buff his Evasion (Falcon and Mirage for +15% Physical and Special evasion respectively.) Except... he's a big lumbering ogre with garbage evasive abilities to begin with, so it makes literally no difference. Nobody missed a single hit despite the fact he'd immediately reapply a buff if the first one wore off after five turns. I guess everyone has to have a security blanket. .jpg) Other than that, err... he just beats people over the head with his very large ogre club. Granted, that's a remarkably effective means of wrecking someone's day. Don't get we wrong, I respect a good club user. It made Dark Souls 2 a breeze. But, you know... it doesn't make for a very interesting boss battle. New Music: Meltdown (This is the only time the LP will hear this, so have a listen!) .jpg) .jpg) So, let's take a moment to point out there is a Berserk version of the China Ogre boss track. Yamaraja bosses tend to end in defeat first rather than sanity depletion for the ill-prepared, so it's very easy to never hear this theme. The reason I might be bringing it up now is that China Ogre might be permanently retired as a boss theme in the near future. In fact, a very large chunk of the game's soundtrack might be sunsetting with the end of this chapter. Don't you feel like a fool for passing up those music links until later, thinking there was time? .jpg) .jpg) .jpg) Anyway, Yamaraja: Stone is a complete chump especially after Guyver Wugui and Undead Wugui. Look, Dehuai can't afford a yeti or a dragon to guard the front gate. Do you have ANY idea the overhead in maintenance to keep one of those things around just in case? It's already costing an arm and a leg to feed all of those Kappa he's keeping around and dressing up in human disguises. And let's not even get into the travel expenses Wugui was wracking up going back and forth between Shanghai and Kowloon every other weekend. .jpg) We receive a nice chunk of EXP and Cash for our troubles. More importantly, Margarete has finished taking sharpshooting courses during the last several lengthy boat rides we undertook and can now Snipe enemies. That might come in handy in the near future. Music: Misfortune - Psycho Temple .jpg)  I guess both you and Dehuai think on the same level, sonny boy! No, I’m kidding. Dehuai is much less creative. All right! This is it! Nobody is allowed to die other than Dehuai. I am NOT doing this again in another fifteen years. I'm getting too old for this nonsense. Weren't you already too old for this last time? Eat me, kid. Wait!! There’s something on the ground.Margarete bends over and picks up... .jpg) We finally got our hands on one of those Votive Pictures we've heard so much about and gotten multiple people killed over during our adventures in China. These are actually supposed to be Ema the tiny wooden plaques from Shinto and Buddhist religions. They give the literal names of the four guardian spirits in Shadow Heart's localization, but this was originally Ema of Genbu. Seiryū (Blue Dragon), Byakko (White Tiger), Genbu (Black Tortoise) and Suzaku (Red Phoenix) show up as names, usually of a villain team, in a ton of poo poo. They're the bad guys from the end of the first major arc in Yu Yu Hakusho, for instance. The four protagonists in Yakuza 4 were supposed to represent these guys as well. You don't need to worry about any of that. This is just a component of an upcoming puzzle. It was only briefly stated way back when, but the Black Tortoise Votive Picture was stolen from the shrine in Zhaoyang Village way back in the very earliest parts of the game. .jpg) drat, if it isn’t the Black Tortoise Votive Picture!! So, this is the one that Dehuai took? That’s right. I never expected we’d get it back in a place like this. What? Was it like just tucked in that Yamaraja guy's pocket? It's best not to dwell on questions like that..jpg) We'll just take that along with us and enter Kuihai Tower proper. You may recall this room as the first place we saw Dehuai as well as the first reappearance of Roger Bacon in the plot being a vaguely antagonistic dick to his Chinese colleague. It's changed perspective and added a save point since last we saw it. .jpg) Stepping forward, we find a place for one of the Votive Pictures. This one has a Dragon picture above it. But we don't have the Blue Dragon yet. So, we'll just remember this is here. As a side note, that chest around the side of the save point holds one of the easier to acquire Lottery Tickets. I can't wait for mid-villainous monologue for Dehuai to stop dead in his tracks and reveal himself to be Lottery Member No.8 or some poo poo. We'll need to be on the lookout for a Lottery Member somewhere in this tower. The final member of this act of the game does pop up here. But we'll worry about that later. For now, we have some enemies to deal with... .jpg) Music: Brain Hopper .jpg) It's real weird that it's impossible to do Kuihai Tower before Kowloon since just about all of the enemies are just weaker variations of those hailing from Hong Kong. Water Tiger is back from Fengtian Sewers and the Fight Pit, so that Kappa isn't worth mentioning. The dickless ghosts here are much less crybabies about it and just go by the name Shadow and shockingly is actually a Dark elemental enemy like its name suggests. They're just straight downgrades of Kowloon's Tears with barely any HP to speak of before dying... again. .jpg) A new variation of the snake demons is hanging out in Kuihai Tower, the Man-Snake. These are the Earth elemental versions and they can potentially cast Flying Stones like every other trash mob Earth bender.  These dorks at least have a good dumb original title. Their Japanese names are Zhu Tun She/Chotonda which is literally Pig-Boar-Snake. Apparently, it was some cryptid recorded back during the Song Dynasty, but hell if I can find a wiki article about it other than the fact it appeared (as depicted above) in Shin Megami Tensei IV and several Asian gotcha mobile games. .jpg) .jpg) Lastly, there are three variants of these creeps with the huge dangling schlong. They've gotten rid of the skull mask and bondage gear but haven't gotten any less lewd. There is Rage Demon, which is covered in scars and can inflict Silence with its dong. Don't ask me how that works. You don't want to know. Vengeance Demon is wearing yellow boots and is covered in illegible Chinese characters. He's just faster than the three and begins every fight by buffing his Agility further. Finally, Mournful Demon has no butt or legs but can do the limbo to cast Exorcist Arrow. Again, with its penis. .jpg) Rage Demon has really high physical defense but garbage special attack defense. Vengeance Demon is sturdy against everything. Mournful Demon has a glass jaw but can tank any Special Attacks. Beyond that, there's the factoid their original names were Anger Disgusting Beast, Grudge Disgusting Beast, and Sorrow Disgusting Beast. Let's never speak of this trio again and get back to taking care of this tower. Music: Misfortune - Psycho Temple .jpg) The central lobby of Kuihai Tower has three possible directions we can explore: a door to the northwest on the first floor and staircases leading to the second floor to the west and east. It would take a bit of wandering around to figure out the correct way to proceed here. But let's just do the optimal path, eh? .jpg) Which means first we'll be heading up the right-side staircase. .jpg) At the top of the stairs, we find a slot for another Votive Picture. One which has a turtle above it. Hey, I think we have just the thing to use here. We'll just slot that bad boy in and... .jpg) Bingo! That door to the bottom-right is now unlocked. Fantastic. We'll go out there in just a second. First... .jpg) Kuihai Tower is still undergoing some renovations at the moment. You'll have to excuse the clutter. Hidden just behind a pillar, we can find... .jpg) Our first sample of the final incarnation of the Pure (HP restore) series of the item. Eating this slice of Juicy Fruit gum will fully restore a character's HP. I bet just like Juicy Fruit, the taste wears off within seconds. What a mediocre gum. .jpg) .jpg) Back to the mission, that newly unlocked door leads us on a path to the upper-level walkway of the tower. Unfortunately, the gate at the top is locked shut. However, there is a chest we can plunder and within we discover... .jpg) In the hands of a wicked person, it could destroy an entire nation. Fortunately for the world, it was in the hands of a very incompetent person who just left it in his porch cooler for anyone to wander up to and take. Dehuai, what if it rained out here? That picture doesn't look like it can stand up to the elements. Between potentially nearly killing Alice with torture and leaving your powerful McGuffins out where anyone can find 'em, it's like you don't even WANT to do your evil ceremony. This was stolen from an unseen water shrine off the coast of Dalian port. Blue Dragon was also an early Xbox360 RPG made by a bunch of Final Fantasy expats, including series creator Hironobu Sakaguchi, forming a new studio. With art by Akira Toriyama and music by Nobuo Uematsu! What could possibly go wrong? Well, what seems to be the case with every "we threw a bunch of names you've heard of from Japanese companies into a pot and made a stew!" the case is... a bland gruel you should just pass on by... This is not an invitation for Blue Dragon apologists to counterpoint it was actually a hidden gem here. Nobody cares about your bad tastes, least of all me. Mistwalker turned it around with actual good game Lost Odyssey with much the same people sans Akira Toriyama, so maybe Dragon Ball guy and his mad libs of like five faces, ten outfit types and two pairs of shoes for every design was the foul part of the mix.  .jpg) Now you'd think we would slot the Blue Dragon picture in the main hall right away. But we've got a "puzzle" afoot. We just don't know it yet. Let's head into that room downstairs next. .jpg) If I'm not mistaken, this is the room where we were first introduced to Wugui of Kowloon while Dehuai was getting mad the whole Li Li ghost saga didn't pan out. Before we do anything, there is a critical item we need to acquire in this room. Hey, remember how Yuri taunted Wugui and told him to tell Dehuai to hide his nudie mags because they were coming to kick his rear end? Yeah, Wugui never related that message. So, well... .jpg) The Erotic Book is found on the floor here. This counts as a Valuable (Key) Item. What if I told you acquiring this was essential to unlocking a significant chunk of endgame content? Like access to the game's superboss and Yuri's best Fusion is out the window unless we steal this porn mag from Dehuai's joint. Shadow Hearts is a weird game... And that's tame compared to a similar key item series from the sequel. .jpg) .jpg) Anyway, the Red Phoenix Votive Picture is slotted into this room already, though the picture above the slot is of a tiger. We'll add this to our collection as well. They never mentioned where the hell Dehuai acquired this portrait from... It might have already been in Shanghai and he had it by default. Who knows. It is in the party's possession now. .jpg) Unfortunately, we cannot leave the room unless a Votive Portrait is slotted into... whatever these devices are... So, we'll put the Blue Dragon VP in here for now and carry off the Red Phoenix for use elsewhere. .jpg) .jpg) Let's head up the one path we've yet to take. At the top of the stairs here, we find somewhere we can immediately put that Red Phoenix picture to use. Slamming that bad boy in like a Nintendo cartridge will unlock the nearby door. .jpg) Before moving on, it's worth noting on the far side of the room is a locked gate with a chest behind it and a stairwell leading upward. We'll need to be on the lookout for those stairs if we make it to the next level. .jpg) In the next room, we find just a straight up Umbrella lab san the Tyrants or any other BOWs in their stasis capsule. There is an electrical current running across the stairs up that will zap Yuri if he gets close. We need to finish this rudimentary puzzle before it'll be deactivated. Naturally, this lab is the best spot to store the final Votive Picture for just that purpose. .jpg) You'll recall this is the one Dehuai stole due to that nitwit Master Xifa wasting everyone's time with the shittiest dungeon in the game literally for no reason other than he was bored. That makes a whole set of pictures. Now just to swap 'em around in the right order. .jpg) .jpg) So back downstairs we go to swap the Blue Dragon for the White Tiger... .jpg) ...and finally, the Blue Dragon finds its home in the central foyer. That's all four portraits in their place and the seal broken. Dehuai probably should have kept those things with him at the top of the tower. Or at least, I don't know, put a lock on the chests they were in. This guy's security really needs an overhaul all around. .jpg) .jpg) For frankly baffling reasons, placing all four Votive Portraits in their places will deactivate the electrical current back in the lab and also activates a handy save point. Indeed, this is the penultimate save point of this act of the game. Entering this next room is the  POINT OF NO RETURN for Shanghai. Kowloon Fortress and Zhen's Pit Fights must both be completed before here or they're lost forever. Tune in next time as we step through the threshold and begin the end of Dehuai's arc as Shadow Hearts continues! Video: Episode 34 Highlight Reel (You know you want to see those creepy boys in motion.) The Dark Id fucked around with this message at 17:20 on Sep 7, 2018 |
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Sep 5, 2018 18:44
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So question, and feel free to not answer if spoilers, but how far through are we?
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Sep 5, 2018 19:16
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iospace posted:So question, and feel free to not answer if spoilers, but how far through are we?
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Sep 5, 2018 20:40
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The Dark Id posted:
Are they just called Pig-Boar-Snake in the English version? You never mentioned their localized name.
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Sep 5, 2018 20:54
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Schwartzcough posted:Are they just called Pig-Boar-Snake in the English version? You never mentioned their localized name. They're localised as "Man-Snakes"  Goes great with the other dong-themed enemies.
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Sep 5, 2018 20:59
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Didn't you use that same episode title in the Koudelka LP before?
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Sep 5, 2018 22:14
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Those phallic demons freak me the gently caress out, but I seriously wonder why the hell Dehuai and Wugui would have these things running around at all. The Dark Id posted:I recall the background of this battlefield looking remarkable ugly even when it was a pixelated mess on the original hardware. 2 has weird wording. It'd sound better to say they're not crybabies about it. 3 should be "gacha" games.
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Sep 6, 2018 05:03
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To be fair gotcha sounds about right.
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Sep 6, 2018 05:05
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Christ, I've been seeing this photo a lot lately. But Rafael here would totally fit with the "creepy trying-to-be-human" vibe of this game.
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Sep 6, 2018 07:50
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The Dark Id posted:
Thank you, it's a beautiful piece. Great alarm clock tune too, really helps you start each day brimming with energy. Kanfy fucked around with this message at 08:57 on Sep 6, 2018 |
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Sep 6, 2018 08:51
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The real secret to lost odyssey's greatness was the pure depression it mainlined right into your heart. Don't think I've ever played a sadder game than that.
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Sep 6, 2018 10:48
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Brainamp posted:The real secret to lost odyssey's greatness was the pure depression it mainlined right into your heart. Don't think I've ever played a sadder game than that. I bought a used 360 to play just Lost Odyssey. It red ringed after the tutorial,I was very sad
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Sep 6, 2018 12:34
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Lost Odyssey: where the question is, what is it like to be immortal? And the answer is: it loving SUUUCKS!!! I never finished my playthrough. I should fix that! No other game actually made me feel sad for the characters the way that one did. Malachite_Dragon fucked around with this message at 13:51 on Sep 6, 2018 |
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Sep 6, 2018 13:48
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I love Lost Odyssey. Still kinda upset I never finished my LP of it after everything on my end blew up, and then one of my co-commentators basically vanished for 3 months. Maybe one day.
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Sep 6, 2018 22:11
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Sgt Thud posted:I love Lost Odyssey. Still kinda upset I never finished my LP of it after everything on my end blew up, and then one of my co-commentators basically vanished for 3 months. Maybe one day. Yeah, it's unfortunate the LP wasn't finished, but still thank you for showing me the game had so much more to offer than the first bit would suggest.
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Sep 6, 2018 22:21
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I'm glad at least one person gave the game a chance from what I showed! I think it's a very underrated game.
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Sep 7, 2018 01:45
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I'm sorry, you cannot engage with this endgame content without bringing some porn. Look, I don't make the rules. Not sure I'd recommend Lost Odyssey. It is a really clunky, slow paced JRPG rear end JRPG. I would recommend going on Youtube and looking up A Thousand Years of Dreams, which were a bunch of in-game short stories with light visuals that had 10x better writing than the main plot. They're also intensely depressing stories since it turns out being immortal, going through countless lives and watching everyone you ever meet age and die really loving sucks.
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Sep 7, 2018 14:05
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oh lordy its the infamous teapot porno mag
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Sep 7, 2018 14:33
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Episode XXXV: Snipe Music: Misfortune - Psycho Temple .jpg) No turning back now! Let's head up to Dehuai's lab proper and go kick his rear end. I'm sure there won't be any further complications along the way. .jpg) .jpg)  Grr... Now, this pisses me off to no end! Why do I even bother with a gate and summoning a guardian if they walk right past them?! How do those dicks even see up here from that perspective?! Bah! <clears throat> Ergh... I mean—Dehuai walks to the balcony's edge. .jpg) <laughs> Congratulations. You’ve made it all the way here, despite rather heavy security! It must have been some trial obtaining the Yawang Gate Key. I was getting rather disappointed I wouldn't witness your deaths firsthand! Heh heh he— Naw, we got that like three days ago no problem. Then where were you? Sorry to break it you, but Wugui is dead! Ahh... My loyal minion delayed you this long. An unfortunate, but acceptable loss! Naw. Roger Bacon grabbed him after the temple ruins and took him to Kowloon. He got turned into a weird like... zombie deal. It was a whole thing. <stomps foot> drat that meddling warlock! After I deal with you, I'll go to Kowloon to settle matters with him. <shakes head> Like I said, gramps, we dealt with Wugui already! Yes, then you said Bacon took him to Kowloon. I mean we took Wugui out in Kowloon. <rubs neck> I am having trouble following... Are you saying you fools went to Kowloon Fortress and back? That's where you've been? <cracks knuckles> That's right! WHY!? Well, you see... Umm... You know what? I don't care anymore. I got more pressing matters! And this nonsense is all making my head hurt... No matter. You are too late to stop my Demon’s Gate Invocation, the ultimate Nine Heavens’ magic!Zhuzhen and Margarete run in. .jpg) So, I figured I’d deliver the last rites I failed to deliver fifteen years ago. That’s why I came all this way to see you. <shakes head> Ha! Still alive, eh, Zhuzhen? That's right, brother! Bah! We're not brothers. We took the same crappy Taoist magic training courses for two summers with that ridiculous Xifa. That was a low blow using Master Xiaofang to get through Master Xifa's barrier. I didn't even need a conduit to slip through. I just HATED that STUPID cat! Always with goddamn cat puns. They weren't even real puns half the time. It just added "meow" to random words! It was the most obnoxious thing I've ever encountered! See! I'm not the only one that thought that was annoying. You're not in good company with this one, sonny boy... <points to Zhuzhen> You will lose, just as you did fifteen years ago. I’ll make you beg for mercy – if you survive. This Demon’s Gate Invocation is quite different from last time, you see. Hee hee hee… Sorry, pal, but there won’t BE any Invocation. <dismissive wave> Detestable Harmonixer boy… son of that monster, Hyuga! You think you can stop me?! Heh heh. Like father, like son. Kuihai Tower will be your grave! Take this!!.jpg) Music: Brain Hopper .jpg) Dehuai tosses a mid-boss our way in the form of Badger Devil. It's just a reskin of the Felinus mid-boss from way back in Zhaoyang Village but a Fire elemental (with Fireball as its only magic spell) instead of the original flavor's Wind element. Its original name was Senri, which is just the Chinese variation of the Nekomata yokai mentioned back at Felinus. They tended to shapeshift into a sexy catgirl/catboy. Mountain folk were very lonely. .jpg) Anyway, you know how Margarete picked up that new Snipe ability after beating Yamaraja: Stone? Let's give that a test run. This time around, the super spy phones up support and... .jpg) .jpg) A rifle drops from the sky straight into her hands. She then proceeds to immediately headshot the targeted enemy. This causes a fairly decent chunk of non-elemental damage. But more importantly... .jpg) It has a chance to inflict Instant Death. You know, since taking a bullet to the brain tends to not be a great scene for much of anyone. As it turns out, Badger Devil is susceptible to Death and so this fight lasts shorter than the amount of time it took you to read about it. Music: Results .jpg) .jpg) The party might consist of a bunch of arcane warriors, but Margarete is staying quite competitive with her ability to cast Gun. Music: Misfortune - Psycho Temple .jpg) Did that bimbo just f'n shoot my cat!? Hey! Screw this! Get up here! I'll take care of you myself!Dehuai hobbles off. .jpg) We'll be up there in a second, Dehuai. We need to do some looting first. Like picking up another Lottery Ticket from the mess in this corner of the room. Going upstairs will initiate a fight with Dehuai. .jpg) The path to the southeast unlocks that gate from earlier. This is actually the very final chance to just leave the tower and head back to Shanghai. The actual point of no return is facing Dehuai at the top of the stairs. But we're good. .jpg) .jpg) Speaking of stairs, that tiny staircase next to where we fought leads back to that barred off path with the chest we had to pass outside the Umbrella bio-lab on the second floor. This holds a slightly better revive consumable that restores 50 MP on top of the 30% HP. Nothing picks you up after a beating like having the photo of a greasy old man rubbed on your face. Anyway, that's all we needed to grab. Let's go finally face Dehuai. Music: ICARO - Beated Version .jpg) In truth, you should be on your knees giving thanks for the chance to witness such an event! Wait a second! Valorization went out of style a long time ago, old timer! Good thing being a stupid hussy will always be relevant! Do you have some problem with me, you dirty old perv? You shot my goddamn cat! But enough talk... Alice! The time to unleash the power that sleeps within you has come! The four gods are sealed! I call thee with storm, fire and quake! Let the Valorization commence!!Dehuai flips the switch on his device. White energy is drawn out of Alice and flies around the room. .jpg) Alice!!Dehuai shadow steps in-between Yuri and Alice. .jpg) <shakes head> It’s too late. The Spirit Machine of Kuihai Tower will siphon off all of Alice’s life energy. The Mandala of Hell shall open, and the Seraphic Radiance will be summoned! The Seraphic Radiance?! You mean you’re NOT plotting to carry out the Demon’s Gate Invocation?! Correct. This magic is far more complex than the simple Invocation used to summon an Earth spirit! <enters fighting stance> I-it can’t be! Hah! You think I would go to all this trouble just to try the same ceremony again? You think me that predictable? ...Yes? Absolutely. Mhm. Bah! Why do I bother asking a bunch of fools?! I suppose I should keep you entertained while the tower fills with Alice’s life energy. Now… you shall taste the wrath of Earth Sage Dehuai, True Ruler of the Nine Heavens! Wah hah hah hah!!.jpg) Music: China Ogre .jpg) Yikes, someone really set the graphics setting on low for Dehuai's torture device to get an FPS boost. Maybe don't focus on those assets, game? .jpg) .jpg) No more animal possession proxies or subordinates or evil cats. It's time to finally face Dehuai personally. For being an ancient old fart, he's got the most health of any enemy we've faced thus far at 1700 HP. So, this fight can go on for a little while. Also, having trained with Zhuzhen, Dehuai is also a Fire elemental. .jpg) .jpg) .jpg) The game plan here is the same template we've been using. Inferno is an even better choice for this fight because Dehuai likes his pyromancy and Yuri will take far less damage as a Fire element himself while Aqua Edge will allow him to attack without any elemental penalties. Margarete is actually the worst off in this fight since her Water elemental rear end takes about an extra 20-40 HP of damage from every attack Dehuai throws our way. .jpg) .jpg) As such, we'll have to keep our eye on Margarete's HP while she gets to work repeatedly headshotting Dehuai for a good 90 HP of damage every turn. We'll just spam that with her until she runs out of MP and then switches over to physical attacks. Margarete innately does decent damage this fight, though nowhere near the level of Yuri. Zhuzhen will fully be on healing duty for this fight with as hard as Dehuai hits. Life Sucker does some respectable damage, but that MP is better served distributing Nourishing Potions to heal allies and himself. .jpg) Attack wise, Dehuai definitely took a lot of more combat-oriented training courses under Master Xifa than Zhuzhen did. The sorcerer's physical strikes do anywhere from 40-70 HP of damage depending on if he does one or two blows. Additionally, he can inflict the annoying Fast Ring status anomaly alongside his physical strikes. He only breaks out Fast Ring maybe once every four or five turns. But that's still one of our party wasting a turn to negate it. Real dick move. .jpg) .jpg) Dehuai's biggest threat is Blaze, which hits the entire party for Fire elemental damage. Inferno Fusion Yuri and Zhuzhen only take around 40 HP of damage while Margarete suffers 70-80 HP every time it's cast. This might not sound like a whole lot, but once Dehuai gets below 50% HP all he seems to do is spam Blaze endlessly every turn. That damage can stock up if we're not careful. .jpg) .jpg) But as long as everyone stays in their lanes and fills their role of punching, healing and shooting an old man in the face, Dehuai gets licked in no time. Surely, he'll flop over dead and that's the end of this crisis. Good work, everyone! Music: Results .jpg) .jpg) We receive a nice chunk of cash and XP from beating up the old man. To add insult to injury, Zhuzhen takes it upon himself to steal Dehuai's staff after the battle. It's important to remember to equip this next time we get control. It has double the P-Attack and +15 S-Attack over the previous store-bought stave for Zhuzhen. Plus beating an evil old man with his own walking cane is funny. Oh what, you thought we have finished with Dehuai already? Music: ICARO - Beated Version .jpg) Pant, pant… Give it up, Dehuai! Fool! You think you’ve won?! Time is on my side. The girl’s spirit has filled the tower! We are but moments away from the final act! Heh heh heh… Not if I punch your stupid face in! Nopenopenope! Dehuai teleports to the upper walkway and laughs. .jpg) Yeah... no.Dehuai slowly hobbles out. Nobody stops him. Yuri instead turns his attention to Alice. .jpg)  Yuri… You came… And everybody… It felt... like I was waiting for days... <rubs neck> Yeah... days... Let's get you down from there.Fade to black as Alice is released from Dehuai's magic siphoning/torture device. .jpg) I-I’m okay. We must stop Dehuai… and the Demon’s Gate Invocation… But how? Isn’t it too late?! T-there's three of you... You don't all... need to check on me... ...That's a fair point. But I shot that geezer in the head at least a dozen times and he walked it off. I'm not about to go it alo—.jpg) Music: ENDS .jpg) The room is flooded with a white light. Music: ICARO - Beated Version .jpg) Was that like... the Invocation starting? <rubs forehead> Gah... No. It's just the stupid voice in my head. It happens. The voice in your head... The one I just heard? It's a long story... <looks at Alice recoils in shock> Ohh…!! Alice, you’ve… you’ve regained your strength?! Alice stands up and looks around the room. .jpg) I can fight! <stands up> Heh heh! It’s been a while since I’ve heard that drat voice! <looks around> Did everyone know about this creepy sky voice business but me? It's the first I have heard of it. But that's pretty low on the concern list considering everything else going on... She’s watching over us. Let’s go!.jpg) We're now allowed to form a party for the final battle of Shadow Heart's first half. Or more correctly, we're allowed to decide between Alice and Margarete as our third member. We're not allowed to bench Zhuzhen for the climactic showdown against his arch-rival. That too would be kind of a dick move. Alice, it's nice to have you back and all but you're going to be absolutely worthless coming up and you're lagging several levels behind the rest of the cast thanks to your extended timeout. Just take it easy. You've had a rough week. .jpg) Tune in next time for the final match of the first half of Shadow Hearts atop Kuihai Tower!  Video: Badger Devil and Dehuai Battles The Dark Id fucked around with this message at 15:35 on Sep 10, 2018 |
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Sep 7, 2018 17:15
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Who the hell is the "philosopher and teologian Somel"?
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Sep 7, 2018 17:52
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I'm probably being an idiot - but is he speaking literally or figuratively about Dehuai being his brother? Because this comes out of nowhere. [e]: Thanks, that does make sense. VVV Pesky Splinter fucked around with this message at 18:05 on Sep 7, 2018 |
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Sep 7, 2018 17:54
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The Dark Id posted:
Not gonna lie, I lost it at this line. Dehuai shoulda remembered you always give your bosses immunity to death in jrpgs. Pesky Splinter posted:I'm probably being an idiot - but is he speaking literally or figuratively about Dehuai being his brother? Because this comes out of nowhere. Figuratively. As in they trained together.
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Sep 7, 2018 17:56
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