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Episode XLV: Fusion Frenzy Music: City .jpg)  But you have to give the guy credit for how he set his trap without anyone knowing. I dunno if jumping someone in a bathroom is like some high-level strategy. If we're being honest, we REALLY don't "have to hand it to" someone who attacked me. Well, if you're gonna put it that way... Fine. But... On top of that, we now know she’s connected to Bacon somehow… Heheh! The plot thickens once again. Now I’m really lookin’ forward to France! ….jpg) Once more we are given the option to assemble our squad. Nah, I think we're good still with this party for the trek to France. Before we go, let's chat with the other bar patrons. .jpg)  At least I won't need to break out the mop. Yeah... A wall is scorched and the floor is all torn up... Oh... Great... Is that all? Eh. The sink looked backed up. <sigh> I'll get the mop....jpg) You ever think about cuttin' back, lady? I'll take a break on the next day that ends in a "y." ...Doesn't every day end in Y? <knocks back another glass> Yup..jpg) .jpg) Up until this point, Alice has been the only playable character allowed to walk around in Gismot's Bar and she was staunchly against entering the men's room at any point. Now that we're Yuri, we can jog right in there and obtain another Lottery Ticket off the filthy men's room floor. Score! .jpg) Welp. We're completely done with Prague. This whole chapter could have just been a single update. But, we have something we can do now that Yuri is back in the party for good. .jpg) As mentioned early, now that Yuri has gotten over Fox Face and his mental issues about Fusion, he now has access to Level 2 Fusions and (almost) all of 'em have been unlocked at this point just by virtue of playing through the game, doing everything available and (almost) never running from a fight. Dammit, game. I'm not doing a goddamn random battle in the five steps between a boss room and a save point when I just topped off my health with a tent. That's some bullshit and you know it!  Music: Graveyard Moon .jpg) All the gravestones here are lit up like it's Christmas. I mean, other than that slacker delinquent that is the Water element. I'm not sure why this game has such neglect for the Water element. There hasn't been an area heavy with enemies in that element since the tiny stretch that was Fengtian Sewers. Even places that seemed like they ought to have a bunch of Water elemental enemies like... I dunno, Dark Port Dalian or literally a goddamn boat had exactly zero Water elemental enemies. There have been exactly zero Water based enemies in Europe thus far and spoilers: there ain't none in Rouen either. Oh well, we'll sort that out one day. Or I'll extensively grind the first Water based enemy we find. One of the two! .jpg) In any event, waltzing up to one of the lit up gravestones will once again initiate a battle against the Fusion monster held within the grave. .jpg) Music: NDE - Near Death Experience ~ Muddy Water Edit (This is basically a training montage so here's a remix from the Shadow Hearts Near.Death.Experience arranged soundtrack.) .jpg) For the most part, and by that, I mean drat near universally, Level 2 Fusions are just flat upgrades from their previous incarnation. They'll gain access to the Level 2 elemental spells of their particular affinity, as we've seen enemies in the Europe section of the game employing. They also usually gain a souped-up version of their previous unique abilities. This can be a bigger percentage buff, more potent healing abilities or a status effect that lasts a few extra rounds. .jpg) The Fusions themselves also get a redesign. The Earth elemental fusion has jumped from a Raging Tiger to a Mad Bull. Too bad we're still a few levels short of Level 34.  .jpg) .jpg) I'm not really going to go over the fights for the new Fusions. The Inferno Fusion buffed with Fighting Spirit and punching the hell out of things works most of the time just as well as it had been previously. But beyond that, these fights are basically the same as the first go around just with different attack animations and bigger numbers. All the Fusion battles are tuned to Yuri's current level so they're all totally beatable with minimal fuss. And even if Yuri were to fall against a Fusion monster, all that happens is he gets booted out of the Graveyard back to the real world with 1 HP left. .jpg) .jpg) So let's just cut to the chase where Yuri punches a pint-sized Minotaur the gently caress out and steals its soul. .jpg) Me every time I browse the internet. .jpg) I'm not a fan of Mad Bull's color palette. It looks like some off rear end like P6 palette option in a fighting game. What's with the magenta hooves, guy? Gaudy coloring aside, Mad Bull offers:
.jpg) .jpg) Moving right along, we've seen our fair share of Fire elemental enemies along the road. Indeed, Fire is sitting just barely in third place for most Soul Energy collected. This is nice, because our maximum punch-boy, Inferno, has served us well thus far in getting poo poo done. .jpg) Someone is discussing Kingdom Hearts in my vacinity and I hate I now know what they're talking about. .jpg) Inferno upgrades to Ifrit. Which... looks less like the Go-Bots version of a Goro and more like Goro and Reptile had rough sex and out came this angry looking lad. At least his gaping scaly vagina is no longer prominently visible. That was getting uncomfortable for everyone involved. Ignition replaces Fighting Spirit with a 38%-40% increase in overall Physical Attack Power over Inferno's paltry 15-18%. So that's not too shabby an upgrade! Beyond that, Ifrit's stats include:
.jpg) .jpg) The good times keep rolling. Just assume most fights here on out have Ifrit punching the new Fusions into submission instead of Inferno. Regardless, the Light element is runner-up to Dark in most Soul Energy collected and we'll probably be cranking out its newest incarnation for future fights where Alice alone healing just isn't cutting it. I'm not sure about that name, though... .jpg) I think that's just heartburn from that Chinese food I had for lunch. Big mistake... .jpg) This doesn't look anything like a cartoon dog! What's going on here? Did the freaky angelic nightmare from earlier just not look unnerving enough? Let's give it leathery wings, a head that looks like a gothic eraser and replace that tail with some golden orbs to punch it up. Perfect! Now it's ready to go fight Bayonetta. On top of that, its stats now include...
.jpg) .jpg) Wind and Earth elements are pretty far down there in Soul Energy with Wind pulling slightly further ahead. Likewise, I can barely remember the Wind element's Fusion. It was useful for like... one fight back in Dalian. I think it was a big ugly owl boy? What have you got for us here, Icarus? .jpg) I personally am not a fan of anything roiling within me. .jpg) Ah! A nightmare owl boy! Delightful! Who needs eyes when you could stick bonus beaks in their place? I like to think this thing is just shrieking non-stop and Yuri is powerless to stop it during his Fusion. Anyway, this top notch squawker is flying too close to the sun with...
.jpg) .jpg) It might not be immediately obvious, but the gravestones have been growing as they've accumulated Soul Energy. If that wasn't abundantly clear before, just take a gander at the Level 3 MAX Dark Element headstone. It's had a wee bit of a growth spurt. And a quick fight with the Devilman hanging out within yields Charon. .jpg) My feeling every time I decide to start a new LP. .jpg) Honestly, it just looks like Death Emperor's emaciated rear end just started pounding some carbs and hitting the gym to bulk up. Good on him. Too bad his move list is still kind of ehh... I have never in my life been one to use an MP stealing technique in an RPG. The consumables are right there and there's never been a game where mana restoration items weren't in surplus. Oh well, beyond that Charon is sporting...
.jpg) .jpg) Charon has the unfortunate luck of being the forgotten middle child of the Dark elemental Fusions. Death Emperor gets a ton of play between it being both Yuri and Fox Face's go-to default and Ben Hyuga busting out the Level 3 Czernobog Fusion early to show Yuri's potential if he got his poo poo together. It doesn't help we can unlock Czernobog straight away since the endless succession of Dark elemental trash mobs up the 13 miles of stairs of Blue Castle has maxed out that Soul Energy to its limit already. .jpg) Considering ordering some Mexican food for dinner and my bowels will know of this treason... .jpg) There is a drawback to having Czernobog already. You might notice the third ability for this Fusion is listed as [????] while Ben Hyuga, and indeed the mini-boss version of Czernobog monster fought to obtain this Fusion, had access to Revelation -- Roger Bacon's big gently caress-off ultimate attack from the opening of the game. The trouble is we need to unlock the ultimate ability of some Level 3 Fusions to reach their full potential. No having access to Ultima right out the gate of Disc 2, unfortunately. But that's something we won't have access to until we reach the endgame and there's still a lot of Europe to cover before we reach that point. For now, Czernobog will sit kind of neutered, but with still some respectable stats in the form of...
Music: Graveyard Moon .jpg) Before we finish with the Graveyard field trip, you might notice there's an extra grave here now -- a nice shiny white one. It looks like it's brand new. I'm sure the relevance of it won't come up anytime soon and it's completely unrelated to any Faustian bargains made recently to a set of ornery evil masks. .jpg) Speaking of our old pals, they're still writing the script for dunking on Yuri over Alice's recent questionable plays in the spectral realm. Don't worry. They won't stay strangers for too long. .jpg) That's about it for our time in the Graveyard and upgrading Yuri for his European adventures. Back to reality, we go! Music: City .jpg) As soon as we hit the town gates, that's a wrap for Prague and Chapter 14 as well! Tune in next time as the game maybe actually starts making good on that LP title of Koudelka 2. Shadow Hearts continues in Chapter 15: Rouen Reunion! No room for heathens in this adventure.   That was another tiny chapter and only one entry was booked in the Library. NPCs: .jpg) Even   Video: Episode 45 Highlight Reel (If you want to see all the new Fusions in motion, take a gander!) The Dark Id fucked around with this message at 22:35 on Oct 11, 2018 |
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Oct 8, 2018 23:04
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The Dark Id posted:All the gravestones here are lit up light it's Christmas  new fusions! I do like that they gave him new models for them, this was the era where they could've easily just cranked up the stats and gone "good enough"
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Oct 8, 2018 23:21
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Baldo's original name was supposed to be the Norse god Baldr. Would make sense given some of this game's weird takes on conventional mythology creatures. And I forgot about how easily poor Charon can get screwed over. Almost makes me think the designers should have put in a gently caress ton of endgame level enemies on the stairways after Yuri rejoins so it would be mandatory to wait on using him unless you were willing to suffer it out. Though speaking of MP stealing abilities, it wouldn't hurt to have really tough random mage type enemies or bosses, where you'd need something like that. Charon still gets chumped by the big Fantasia beastie in that regard, though.The Dark Id posted:And a quick fight with the Devilman hanging out within yield Charon.
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Oct 9, 2018 00:22
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I don't know if my internet's just acting up but I don't see any picture of Ifrit.
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Oct 9, 2018 00:24
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Really Pants posted:I don't know if my internet's just acting up but I don't see any picture of Ifrit. There is none. Id may have just forgotten to put it in.
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Oct 9, 2018 01:45
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Or Ifrit is invisible. 
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Oct 9, 2018 01:48
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Malachite_Dragon posted:Should be 'like'. They seem to just be new skins on the same basic models to me, but that’s still impressive for the time.
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Oct 9, 2018 04:42
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The Dark Id posted:There is a drawback to having Czernobog already. You might notice the third ability for this Fusion is listed as [????] while Ben Hyuga, and indeed the mini-boss version of Czernobog monster fought to obtain this Fusion, had access to Revelation -- Roger Bacon's big gently caress-off ultimate attack from the opening of the game. The trouble is we need to unlock the ultimate ability of some Level 3 Fusions to reach their full potential. No having access to Ultima right out the gate of Disc 2, unfortunately. But that's something we won't have access to until we reach the endgame and there's still a lot of Europe to cover before we reach that point. For now, Czernobog will sit kind of neutered, but with still some respectable stats in the form of... I'm like, 85% sure you could unlock Revelation right now. Yes, it is a little counter intuitive. It's also true that what you need to do is something the game has already trained you not to do. Still, unlocking Revelation could be done in maybe 5 minutes.
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Oct 9, 2018 05:38
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Vauron posted:I'm like, 85% sure you could unlock Revelation right now. Yes, it is a little counter intuitive. It's also true that what you need to do is something the game has already trained you not to do. Still, unlocking Revelation could be done in maybe 5 minutes. Would that be letting Yuri's sanity drop to 0?
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Oct 9, 2018 13:32
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After all the years of seeing mostly just the FF fire ogre interpretation of ifrit, feels almost weird seeing a fire lizard guy. So, do the new forms completely replace the old ones or do you get a choice of which to use? The Dark Id posted:Did the freaky angelic nightmare from earlier just wasn't unnerving looking enough? This is a bit of a mix of possible ways to say it. "Did the ...not look unnerving enough?" "I guess/Maybe/For some reason the... just wasn't unnerving looking enough?" Pretty much a pick your preference sorta deal.
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Oct 9, 2018 16:33
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The Dark Id posted:The Earth elemental fusion has jumped from a Raging Tiger to a Mad Bull. Too bad we're still a few levels short of Level 34. Now all we need is for someone to hack its movelist so it knows Margarete's Grenade attack...
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Oct 9, 2018 16:37
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Rebonack7 posted:Now all we need is for someone to hack its movelist so it knows Margarete's Grenade attack... I completely missed that joke until you commented. Heheh, testicle grenades.
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Oct 9, 2018 17:16
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W.T. Fits posted:Would that be letting Yuri's sanity drop to 0?
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Oct 9, 2018 19:04
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Zagglezig posted:After all the years of seeing mostly just the FF fire ogre interpretation of ifrit, feels almost weird seeing a fire lizard guy. You can still use first tier fusions if you want, but higher level fusions are pretty much straight upgrades so there isn't much reason to not use them over the lower ones. (Well higher level fusions do have a bigger SP cost but that shouldn't be much of a factor.)
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Oct 10, 2018 04:58
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I like many beak owl boy.
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Oct 11, 2018 04:00
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The Dark Id posted:Anyway, this top not squawker
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Oct 11, 2018 07:41
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Xander77 posted:Possibly "top note'? Top-notch.
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Oct 11, 2018 07:54
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The Dark Id posted:You'd think the girl would get a few more Sanity Points after over half a year of fighting ghosts, demons and warlocks. Not really the sort of activity noted for making you more sane.
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Oct 11, 2018 09:57
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 Episode XLVI: The Scene of the Crime Music: Atmosphere - Blow Up .jpg) There is a bit of strangeness that only now have they mentioned that man... we're traveling kind of far on the map. It's going to take at least a good month to get that far... The distance between Prague and Rouen is 1177.7 kilometers. So it's only a little over a 100 km further than the distance between Prague to Bistritz. At this rate, World War 1 is going to start up by while the party is walking between map zones. With that said, let's jump right into our French adventures. At least, after this intermission! New Music: Castle of Silence (This sure is a theme for bad dudes hanging out scheming nefarious poo poo.) .jpg)  Ahh, you’re back. So, how did it go? It’s shameful. I couldn’t return with that girl. She's craftier than she looks. The Toilet Trouble Gambit is enough to ensnarl most. That is a scheme title you may wish to workshop at a future juncture.Roger and Olga walk to the center of the room, away from the remarkably poorly wired electric chair. .jpg) Oh, yes. That Harmonixer fellow seems to have returned to his normal self and rejoined the party. <nods> I couldn’t see how far the girl delved into the man’s soul, but… She brought him back from the spirit’s grave. I'm not sure how she managed any of that, to be honest. Try not to trouble yourself dwelling on the specifics too much. The kid doesn’t look like much, but he’s actually quite a troublemaker. We need to get rid of him early on. Lord Bacon! You can’t tell me you’re afraid of that young boy. Well, I’m not entirely sure what to think. He did punch a hole in my head the one time. H-he did WHAT!? Quite the irritating lad. The trouble is that the soul of the Seraphic Radiance remains sealed somewhere deep in his being. Fortunately, he hasn’t yet awoken to his true power. But if he ever does, he’ll be a fearsome enemy. Let us hope he doesn't have an affinity for the ill temptations that are sidequests. The Seraphic Radiance? An ancient god summoned up by an old man in Shanghai -- one of the guardian deities of this planet. Do you recall hearing of big trouble in little China last autumn? I heard about Shanghai exploding. Yes. That news reached my ears... That would be the work of Seraphic Radiance. No mere human should be able to bring the god into submission, and yet he managed to do it… So what power is it that protects him? That’s what I want to know. Hmm… <rubs back> ... Lord Bacon, she still hasn’t given in yet, has she? She may die if you continue to torture her like this… I think you should warn the inquisitors. <shakes head> You needn’t worry. She’s not the sort of witch to succumb to this level of torture. If anything, she’s the one with the upper hand. She’s merely toying with her inquisitors who wield the whips. …… How about a nice cup of tea in the other room?The pair strolls off for a spot of tea. Meanwhile... New Music: But-Dad-Dead-Bed (This relentlessly sounds like a sleepy town theme from a PS1 RPG.) .jpg) I give it like an hour before we find out there's some demon hanging out or the church is haunted or something. Yeah, yeah... The glow sure has worn off on having you back, kid... I wonder if Margarete has arrived yet? Well, let’s try the inn.Everyone begins walking toward the inn. Keith stops and notices Alice is looking at the nearby church and not following them.   Is something wrong, Alice? Hmm? Oh, nothing..jpg) I'm starting to think Zhuzhen just doesn't know what the words for different sizes of settlements are supposed to be. Rouen had around 130,000+ people living in it by 1914. It's a small city, Zhuzhen. Even if it's only two buildings with interiors, this single street, and an alley as far as Shadow Hearts is concerned. Only one of the townspeople wandering around has anything interesting to say. The woman by the entrance just talks about how her husband is working an honest job and the guy by the inn says he'd never seen you in town. The guy by the church, though... .jpg)  But, my lad, Father Doyle, who took care of this church, was afflicted with a sickness of the heart. Too much spicy food, huh? I've been there. No... deep in his heart -- his soul. My soul lives in a spirit graveyard. ...OK. He's shut himself inside and won't show himself to anybody. Even the church is closed up.A priest with a proper name who's holed up in one of the only two prominent buildings on the map, huh? I'm certain that won't become relevant in the future. .jpg) Unlike Lottery Tickets! Lotteries will ALWAYS have their relevant place in society! .jpg) Alice staunchly refuses to let us explore the alley next to the inn here. I'm sure there's no reason for that. Young women are just naturally wary of dark murder alleys. That's just being smart. .jpg) Anyway, the inn where Margarete asked us to find her is right next to the alley. So let's pop in there and see if we cannot reunite with the Alluring Spy. .jpg) Is she staying here? Miss Margarete? Please wait a moment. Yes, she is staying here. But she’s out at the moment. Ah-hah. So she beat us here! Did she not have a month's head start? Well, yeah but... Shut it, kid! Again, I am over four times your age. <nods> Okay! Guess we’ll be staying here, too! Some rooms, please! Psst... You all can cover the cost of some room, right? I still ain't exactly flush after a half year of having my brain fried, ya know? Yeah, yeah. We got it. <nods> Absolutely. We haven’t had a lot of customers lately, so I can give you a deal! You seem to have a lady with you, so I’ll prepare two rooms upstairs. Use them as you wish. Yeah, OK. Just make snap assumptions about the group dynamic like that, guy. ... <steps forward> Thank you.  Oh?! Are you…? Aren’t you the young lady who stayed here with her father about half a year ago? …Yes. I still remember that incident. Such a terrible incident… Oh, that poor priest, rest his soul. I had to look up what the word "gibbed" meant after reading about it in the paper. Apparently, it is short for the word "giblets" -- you know, the scattered pieces of flesh a chicken has carved off when preparing to cook it. Does that mean it's pronounced "jibbed"? That just sounds wrong... <mortified stare> But at least you’re safe, child. It’s a blessing of God. Now, go along and rest in your quarters.Music: Sweet Pillows .jpg) What the...?Music: Graveyard Moon .jpg) Welp. Nothing good ever comes from getting tossed into the Graveyard in the Cutscene Zone™. Yuri refuses to leave until he finds what's up. So let's go hit up the Four Masks to see what the jerks want this time. .jpg)  Ho... ho... ho...! How foolish! You were on the verge of entering paradise, where you would no longer experience pain or suffering! Heheh! Well, I see you’re still a bunch of blabbermouths. I couldn’t care less what you say about me!! Hmph!! I haven't been here for over a month and all you four still do is float around talking poo poo about me, huh? That's just sad... You guys need a new routine. Ho... ho... ho...! Oh, don't worry, boy. We've been working on one that we think you will enjoy. Bwa... ha... ha...! How strange to hear those lines from one who not so long ago was so eager to die! You should be thankful to that little girl! Yeh.. heh.. heh..! That’s right. For she has taken upon herself the burden of your karma. What do you mean? To save your soul from the God of Death, the one who wears the fox mask, this girl offered her soul to us! What’d you just say? We're just as surprised as you that she offered it up so willingly. Tsk, tsk, tsk! All we did in exchange for her soul was open the gate to you. It isn't even that hard to climb over the thing if necessary. She really should have considered the offer more thoroughly. But hindsight and all that... You humans know all too well how that goes. Ho... ho... ho...! When Malice reaches its peak… we’ll come for that girl’s soul, in place of Fox Face! Bwa... ha... ha...! There is no escaping from us! No matter where she runs, her life will eventually burn out. Even if she’s within your very arms!! <swipes at the air> drat you!! I won’t let you lay a finger on her!! <kicks up dirt> Your curses are as worthless and phony as a three dollar bill, you got that? Now, apologize!!! You wish to challenge us? How very interesting! I assure you, we're slightly more difficult to deal with than a manifestation of latent daddy issues... No matter how hard you try to protect her, you will fail. All you can do is sit helplessly by and watch this precious life depart. <clenches fist and shakes in anger> Arrrrrgg!! Now I’m pissed off!! You want some of me? I’ll take you all on!! Tsk, tsk, tsk! We’ll be watching your vain attempts to drive off our spell.Yuri turns to leave... .jpg) Tsk, tsk, tsk! It is time for you to depart, lad. Your world awaits you! Be seeing your lady friend soon, boy. ...Gonna toss into a bonfire next time I see you. Tsk, tsk, tsk. Good luck with that..jpg) So you remember how Malice was no longer a factor for a whole half hour there? Yeah. That's over. Malice is back in play. The catch is that now it only accumulates when Alice is in the active party. The thing is, Alice will pretty much always be in the active party since there is no point going forward where a dedicated healer is unnecessary and the game largely stops stripping us of random party members going forward. Instead of Fox Face showing up at maximum Malice, now one of the Four Masks will start appearing instead. Those guys will completely kick our rear end at this point in the game. So we're once more going to try to avoid too much Malice build up. Anyway, back in the real world... Music: But-Dad-Dead-Bed .jpg) <shakes head> N-no… don’t worry. I just had a bad dream. I'm just gonna go check on Alice. Make sure she's not... ya know, cursed or anything... Again... I'll be right back! .jpg) Alice's room is right next door. So let's just barge in there in the middle of the night like a lunatic. The concept of door locks in hotels hadn't made it to France yet in 1914, you see. .jpg) She’s gone? Where did she go by herself?Welp. Better go tell the others that Alice has either wandered off alone, gotten kidnapped or maybe just fainted again on the way to the bathroom. You never know with her, really. .jpg) She wandered off somewhere while we were resting? We’d better go look for her right away. I’ll go look for her. But she might come back in the meantime, so you two wait here. I don't see the logic behind two of us would wait behind and only one would go to search. Ergh... one of you wait here and one waits in her room. ...Again, wouldn't just having one of us wait in the hall cover that? No, vampire guy. You'd get in the way of other people trying to get to their rooms! That's rude as hell. Think for a minute, eh? Ah. This checks out..jpg) Before we rush out to find Alice, Keith moved in that previous cutscene. Which means we can now raid the hotel cabinet of complimentary items like those tiny tubes of shampoo, a bar of poor quality soap and... .jpg) Shockingly high-end tea mix. This restores 300 HP and 200 MP and only has a very miniscule chance of causing cancer from latent radiation (do NOT drink it under the light of the moon!) That aside, let's get to finding Alice. Perhaps stopping at the front desk will help point us in the right direction. .jpg) Really, the blue ribbon in her hair is the thing you'd identify by...? Would you prefer the pre-mature gray hair or the unreasonable short skirt? ...Yeah, not gonna give this place a good hotel satisfaction review when we leave. So where did she go? She said she was going to meet a priest friend of hers..jpg) Nothing fishy about meeting a priest friend in the dead of night. Another person you don't want to meet in the dead of night? .jpg) This creep. This guy is clearly stalking us at this point. I missed it, but apparently, you could go to Bistritz after getting Yuri from the Blue Castle and he'll appear in town peeping in someone's window with the heart emote above his head. Wanderer Meiyuan? That guy is not my kinda guy... .jpg) .jpg) A Silent Peddler is also hanging out in the inn lobby. At least that's just a network of quiet weirdo merchants. I'm not creeped out by that. Unless it turns out there's actually multiple Wanderer Meiyuans and we've been seeing a different but identically looking one each time, like the merchant in Resident Evil 4. That's a haunting scenario I don't want to think about too much... Anyway, only about 3000 more steps until we can claim the grand prize from the Silent Peddler. .jpg) More importantly, the Silent Peddler doubles as the Tight-lipped Merchant and functions as the only shop in Rouen. And he's selling a WHOLE MESS of new gear for the entire party. Yuri is the only active member right now and we cannot equip/examine items for inactive party members. So we'll just gear up our Rude Protagonist for now. .jpg) Hell yeah! We're ready for Halloween with a slick Thriller jacket. It comes sporting 58 Physical and 55 Special Defense. .jpg) Nothing screams hot-blooded shonen protagonist more than wearing a loincloth. .jpg) I really wish this game showed everyone's armor on their character models. I want Yuri to strut out wearing nothing but a frilly circlet, a Thriller jacket, and a loincloth when he catches up with Alice and her to completely no-sell his new attire. .jpg) We'll need to stop by the Silent Peddler when we're back to a full team. For now, let's try finding Alice. Hmm... I wonder if she's down the alley she didn't want to go down earlier and definitely wasn't where her dad got turned into paste by Roger Bacon. .jpg) That definitely won't be the case at the far end of this alley. But there are more pressing issues before we advance too far. For instance, if Yuri goes dumpster diving in this alley, he'll find... .jpg) Little known fact that Drunken Master was originally a silent movie released in 1913 and Jackie Chan has been around since the late-1800s. Strange but true. Strapping a 50-liter jug (that's the size of one of those big Gatorade containers they dump on coaches in football games) causes SP to decrease every other turn. That would really only be handy for Alice and even then, ehh... .jpg) Speaking of Alice, wouldn't you know it. She is at the end of this alley. You might recognize this spot if you go back to the very first update of the LP. .jpg)  Hi, Yuri. Sorry to disappear on you like that. Hey, is this place… <stands up> Yes. This is where my father died. (Oh boy... Regretting coming alone now. Should have listened to the vampire...) Alice…Yuri steps closer to Alice. .jpg) It’s just as if it happened yesterday. That evening, Father and I were waiting here for someone. But before that person arrived… <That Man's Voice> I showed up. .jpg) Roger Bacon and Arcane Olga teleport into the alley. Yuri runs in front of Alice. Music: Wind Which Blows From the Dark II .jpg) Bacon! Heh heh heh… Long time no see. I’ve been looking forward to seeing you again. Both of you. I was a little worried after Shanghai that you wouldn't make it. How did you survive that explosion, dear? You all were out ground zero, as I recall. Huh... How did you guys live through that? Ergh... Don't worry about the details, Yuri! Congratulations on your rebirth, Yuri. Returning from the graveyard of souls is a laudable feat. Though, of course, Alice here had to sell her soul to the God of Death in order to make it happen. Hah! I’m not afraid of that masked freak!  Oh... Everyone just... knows about all that now, huh? Ya... we should probably talk about that whole thing later. ...Yeah. Probably. Well, thanks for showin’ up here. It saves me the trouble of huntin’ you down. It’s payback time for killing Alice’s father! And summoning that god that blew up a chunk of China. Dick move there, too! At ease, young man. I have no desire to fight the two of you today. I merely wanted to announce myself. Hah, don’t hold back on our account, old man. We're ready to go! Or are you afraid? <That Female Voice> That’s right. I’ll give you a full course on the house!Music: Blade .jpg) Margarete! On the scene! Startling everyone by jumping off a roof and flashing her drawers at the crowd. .jpg)  Hello, kids! So you’re okay, huh? We’ll talk later. I’ve got lots of questions for you. <chuckles> Another one of your friends, is it? You youngsters multiply like viruses. Fine, I’ll play along. Step forward, my servant! ... ...Step forward, my servant...? <shakes head> Oh! Sorry, Lord Bacon. I spaced out for a minute....jpg) Music: NDE - Near Death Experience .jpg) Olga isn't actually going to bother fighting the gang here. Instead, she's going to send a dark color palette swap of Roger Bacon's favorite Wind Shears -- now rebranded to Bifronze. Much like original recipe Wind Shears, these guys are absolutely no problem and will go down from a single round of attacking from Yuri or Margarete. .jpg) Much like after Yuri bailed for several chapters, Margarete has jumped up several levels in the interval and even learned a new technique in the process. On Switch -- Drops something hard on target's head.  Yep... That does exactly what it said on the tin. Not sure what poor sod on Margarete's spy network support staff got stuck with the duty of having to lob a bedpan off a roof onto an unsuspecting enemy. But they're clearly quite dedicated to their job. .jpg) In any event, maybe delegating the role of attacking the protagonists to your lieutenant who immediately turns around and pawns off the job to some jobbers working under her isn't the best show of force for your dramatic reappearance... Music: Wind Which Blows From the Dark II .jpg) A word of caution. I will no longer be playing along in future fights, so be on your guard. Yeah same, I'll punch a hole clear through your head next time instead of stopping half-way. I look forward to seeing you try. That's a weird thing to look forward to, dude....jpg) Once again, Roger Bacon and Arcane Olga teleport away with nobody making the slightest attempt to stop him. C'mon, at least toss a rock at him as he makes his escape. It's been established Bacon is no match for rogue rocks tossed at his head. .jpg) We REALLY gotta do something about that teleportation thing one of these days... <stares at Yuri> Music: Rice Field of Light  The bad hair and the ratty jacket and the cartoon gloves look the same, but I'm not sure if... Whoa! I kinda like that!Margarete stops her anime shenanigans and jumps back in surprise. b.jpg) Ahhhh! It’s a ghost! Alice! Aren't you and Zhuzhen supposed to do something about this kind of thing!? You guys are slacking! Bust this ghost boy! Wait!! I’m not!! So, you’re real? You look solid. I guess you’re not a ghost. At least you're not transparent and you have legs instead of like... Alice, you're the expert. What do they call that like ghost wisp thing where the legs should be? You know, I honestly do not know. Maybe Zhuzhen would know? <hardily laughs> Heh heh. Yup, I’m just as ya see me..jpg) <freezes in place> Well, I’m glad to see you’re alive. But shucks... I owe Zhuzhen a hundred bucks. I had you totally pegged for worm food. <turns to Alice> How are you doing? How’s the drunk old man? He’s doing well. He’s waiting for you at the inn. Great. He's there with our new party member, Keith. ... ...Keith isn't a ghost, right? No. He's a vampire. Pfft... Heh. You've gotten funnier since the last time I saw you. I’ve got some crucial information. Let’s head back to the inn!.jpg) <walks away> <unfreezes after a few seconds> Hmph! You're the cockroach! Good one! You got me! Nailed it! Some time later... Music: But-Dad-Dead-Bed .jpg) I sensed a massive cloud of evil descending on the town. So I was a little worried! Geez, really? You coulda said something before I ran out there by myself before. ... ...Are you for real right now? We ran into Bacon again. You saw Bacon?! Did he try to harm you?! <shrugs and shakes head> No, they said hello and went away. Guys, I know I brought this up a few months ago but we REALLY need to do something about all these jerks just teleporting away all the time. <notices Keith> Huh? Who’s this handsome man? Oh, this guy? He’s the master of the castle where I stayed. <nods> Yes, I’m the one who took care of the moocher here. My name is Keith. Enchanted, Mademoiselle. I’m Margarete, the moocher’s babysitter. Nice to meet you, Keith.  Hey, I been more of a babysitter for him lately.  Oh... You know how it is. I get him on the weekends. You take care of him the weekdays. I hate all of you. <turns to Alice> Why did you go out without saying anything, Alice? We were worried. ... <shakes head> I mean, uhh, please don’t be angry with me, and if you’d rather not talk about it, fine. But maybe if we knew about what your father was trying to do, certain details may fall into place. No need to go into details. That innkeeper up front gave me more than enough. Incidentally, we're not leaving that guy a tip on the way out... That day… my father and I were supposed to meet with a certain person. A certain person? My father said this man was a warlock as powerful as Bacon..jpg) But… my father was working on secret missions for the Vatican. The Vatican?! Umm, what’s a “Vatican”, anyway? It’s in Italy. It’s the seat of the Pope – the leader of the Catholic Church. Oh yeah? ... ...Should I know what the Catholic Church is supposed to be? Again, are you for real right now? I also dunno where Italy is... So if you could fill that in too, that'd be great. So you're a lost cause. Alice, you were saying... <pouts> Well excuse me for not knowing everything ever... So, did you actually meet this person? <shakes head> No. Bacon appeared before he arrived. ... Can I have your attention, everyone?Everyone turns their attention to Margarete. .jpg) The first person recorded in history by the name of Roger Bacon appeared in England in the 13th century. As a priest in the Franciscan Order, his scholarly training was at Oxford and Paris Universities. His skills as an alchemist and a warlock were superb, and his name was known throughout Europe. At that time, he was branded as a revolutionary, but there were also many who felt he was persecuted. It seems he was very critical of the Church and was even imprisoned for it. Huh? That guy is 700 years old? So, he’s not human after all? <shrugs and shakes head> But, as I looked deeper into his past, I began to notice some odd things. Roger Bacon may be a peculiar fellow, but in many ways, he seems like a very upright individual. It seems that for many years he has also aided leading scholars in the fields of medicine and chemistry. It also said he was supposedly really short. Like sub-five feet tall short. So that seems off too... <shakes head and waves dismissively> Upright?! Any way you look at it, that guy’s twisted!! Why, then, did he kill Alice’s father?! It doesn’t make sense. <nods> That’s it! That’s the problem. Finally, in Nuremburg in 1540, something happened that completely changed his life. At the time, all of Europe was caught up in the mass insanity of the witch hunts… Bacon was accused by one of his pupils. Accused?! You mean he was put on trial before the church? <nods> A pupil warned the tribunal that Bacon’s research had gone too far, threatening to corrupt society. It finally ended in his exile. After that point, we can only catch glimpses of him throughout history. Such as now, as a force of evil. <nods> I see. I guess he got sucked down into the murky black depths of sorcery. There anything on where he got exiled to back in the day...? <grim look> Yeah... It was... Wales. <gasp> <shudder> ...No wonder he turned so evil. What's wrong with this Wales joint? It was a great wasteland of evil magicks even in the time before my slumber. Let us speak no further on it. <turns to Alice> So, the question is, this person that Bacon was trying to prevent Alice’s father from meeting… Who on earth could it be?! …Wouldn’t it be best to ask that person directly? <faces Alice> Alice. The person who introduced Father Elliot to this mystery man, it was Father Doyle, wasn’t it? <steps forward> Yes, but the church was closed and we couldn’t get in..jpg) THUNDER CRASH! Music: Wind Which Blows From the Dark II .jpg) Ha ha ha… You fools. Lord Bacon spared your life. Yet you still intend to go to the church? I won’t let you! Ha ha ha! That voice!! Arcane Olga… She’s watching us from somewhere! Let’s hurry!!.jpg) Tune in next time as we hit up the Rouen church and learn more of the Vatican's involvement with recent events as Shadow Hearts continues! It's never a good scene when the Catholic Church starts mucking about in the occult...   Shadow Hearts Instruction Manual Render - Yuri is just going to strike a pose out here with his
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Oct 11, 2018 22:31
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So, uh, do they ever actually touch on the whole 'Alice's father is a Catholic exorcist-priest' thing? There are a couple ways he could have a daughter if I recall, like if he was a Church of England priest who was already married before he converted to Catholicism, but the celibacy thing is a bit of a barrier normally. I wouldn't think it was so weird (you know, anime Catholicism with its space inquisitors and ninja priests and wizard) if it hadn't been for the fact that James explicitly entered the Church because he was so bereaved over letting Patrick marry Elaine in the previous game.
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Oct 11, 2018 22:52
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Night10194 posted:So, uh, do they ever actually touch on the whole 'Alice's father is a Catholic exorcist-priest' thing? There are a couple ways he could have a daughter if I recall, like if he was a Church of England priest who was already married before he converted to Catholicism, but the celibacy thing is a bit of a barrier normally.
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Oct 11, 2018 23:05
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Arcane Olga is no Dehuai, that's for sure.
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Oct 11, 2018 23:26
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Wales is the Korriban of alt-history urban fantasy JRPGs. A place evil empires know well not to get involved in save for the treacherous dark sorcerers/chancellors lurking in their underground hideouts on their off days where they plan to usurp incompetent emperors and eventually become the final boss. God knows what horrors lie in it's sleazy equivalent of Kislev's D-Block.
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Oct 11, 2018 23:28
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I wonder if "Bifronze" is supposed to be known Goetic demon Bifrons. Probably is.
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Oct 12, 2018 11:55
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AweStriker posted:I wonder if "Bifronze" is supposed to be known Goetic demon Bifrons. Probably is.
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Oct 12, 2018 16:21
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Maybe I missed it before but what the hell kind of music title is "But-Dad-Dead-Bed"
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Oct 13, 2018 05:22
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I love all the regional European names. Rich Romanian names like Kevin, Keith, and Terry or Father Doyle of France. I can't wait to see Sergei the Irishman or Fernando from the Netherlands. Also, I'm going to take a wild guess that the Vatican's involvement and talk of Koudelka tie-ins means the Emigre Document comes back and someone is doing some dipshit resurrection that goes really poorly again? Kase moch posted:Maybe I missed it before but what the hell kind of music title is "But-Dad-Dead-Bed" That was my favorite indie pro-rock band from the late '90s. They used to open for Coffin Fetish.
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Oct 13, 2018 13:33
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With Alice's father dying in a shady alley I was expecting atleast one Batman reference in the update.
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Oct 13, 2018 13:52
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Really Pants posted:Arcane Olga is no Dehuai, that's for sure. She’s about as incompetent, but nowhere near as funny about it. “Attacking in a random bathroom” just is as good of an introduction as “posing as evil puppy”.
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Oct 13, 2018 17:59
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Were there any benefits to letting malice build up to fight fox face when the party is strong enough to kill him? Special story bits, unique drops, or the like?
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Oct 13, 2018 18:19
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I dont know posted:Were there any benefits to letting malice build up to fight fox face when the party is strong enough to kill him? Special story bits, unique drops, or the like? Don't think so. There is something for beating the masks but that's like end-game content, they're still too strong for us.
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Oct 13, 2018 18:50
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I’ve always kind of wondered: are the Four Masks a quartet of four specific demons Yuri absorbed early on or are they some kind of collective manifestation of lesser demons that Yuri absorbs who somehow gained sentience over time? If they’re the latter, why don’t we have two more for light and dark when the four we know seem to be pretty clearly of the four basic elements? I guess Fox Face could count as dark, but he’s more like a manifestation of Yuri’s issues than an independent entity.
Geostomp fucked around with this message at 20:11 on Oct 13, 2018 |
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Oct 13, 2018 20:09
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The Masks are based on something else, but I forget if it's a spoiler or not.
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Oct 13, 2018 20:18
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Fox Face gives +5 demons souls to all elements. And mad experience.
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Oct 13, 2018 21:02
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The Masks are based on the minor tarot. Sure, the french combination of 'heart, spade, diamond, and club' is much better known, but the 'wand, cup, sword, and coin' version does get referenced now and then. It might be enough for you to find out the elements of the Masks before you fight them, but after all the lies concerning the Yamaraja elements, I wouldn't hold my breath.
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Oct 13, 2018 21:22
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Vauron posted:The Masks are based on the minor tarot. Sure, the french combination of 'heart, spade, diamond, and club' is much better known, but the 'wand, cup, sword, and coin' version does get referenced now and then. It might be enough for you to find out the elements of the Masks before you fight them, but after all the lies concerning the Yamaraja elements, I wouldn't hold my breath. Given their designes (Lion, Tiki, Fish, Bird) and the fact that they glow the respective colors the game uses for the basic four elements, I think it’s pretty obvious which is which already.
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Oct 13, 2018 22:19
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Geostomp posted:Given their designes (Lion, Tiki, Fish, Bird) and the fact that they glow the respective colors the game uses for the basic four elements, I think it’s pretty obvious which is which already. On second thought, I think its supposed to be both. Accordion Man fucked around with this message at 23:30 on Oct 13, 2018 |
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Oct 13, 2018 23:27
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SgCloud posted:With Alice's father dying in a shady alley I was expecting atleast one Batman reference in the update. I was going to say.
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Oct 14, 2018 00:13
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Accordion Man posted:The Gold Mask is a bull, not a lion. This is the early era of PS2 graphics, what a thing looks like and what it's supposed to be are not always on the same page.
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Oct 14, 2018 02:52
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SgCloud posted:With Alice's father dying in a shady alley I was expecting atleast one Batman reference in the update. .jpg)  Tell me, Alice; have you ever danced with the devil in the pale moonlight?
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Oct 14, 2018 08:04
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