|
Baramos was right. The working man is a sucker!
|
#
?
Nov 18, 2018 05:12
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 9, 2024 21:06 |
|
|
I did Chapter 2 of this game earlier today. Frank was either very lucky or undersold the Birdsong tower; that place was brutal. Huge groups of enemies with attacks that hit the whole party is a great way to design a dungeon. Even if I had had Snowstorm, which I didn't it, would have been brutal and I had the best armour and weapons for everyone. Glad that's over.
|
|
#
?
Nov 18, 2018 05:52
|
|
|
There's something about this chapter that always stood out to me. It's very unique even to this day. Even modern RPGs where you play a "merchant" tend to focus more on crafting or adventuring, while here you're buying and selling. Just buying and selling and haggling as needed.
|
|
#
?
Nov 18, 2018 05:56
|
|
|
IIRC, this chapter of DQ IV is the direct inspiration for Reccetear.
|
|
#
?
Nov 18, 2018 06:34
|
|
|
Taloon's chapter is pretty unique. ...I don't like it. Oh sure, I can appreciate changing the pace and having a different kind of protagonist, but this is still my least favorite chapter of the game. But then it's not so bad as to be a deal breaker.
|
|
#
?
Nov 18, 2018 06:55
|
|
|
Patter Song posted:IIRC, this chapter of DQ IV is the direct inspiration for Reccetear. Taloon is a big inspiration for a number of things, hes quite popular in Japan.
|
|
#
?
Nov 18, 2018 08:18
|
|
|
the entire Mystery Dungeon series started not with an original IP (Shiren the Wanderer was the 2nd game in the series), but with a game centered around Taloon
|
|
#
?
Nov 18, 2018 08:31
|
|
|
Maybe it was because I sucked at video games as a kid, but I remember hating this chapter due to a lot of grindy tedious bullshit. Don't know if that was just me though.
|
|
#
?
Nov 18, 2018 08:44
|
|
|
Taloon is by far my favorite character in this game, mostly because he's the kind of character I'd be in an RPG. I've always told people that I would be "the crazy merchant standing outside the ultra last boss's castle, selling high end equipment at a huge markup because I gotta eat too!" And I mean, here it is, in all its glory. Shine on Taloon, you're an inspiration to merchants everywhere!
|
|
#
?
Nov 18, 2018 09:18
|
|
|
This chapter is absolutely my favorite. I love the fact that the protagonist is just this person that wants to be a really good merchant. He's not in it to save the world, doesn't have a mysterious backstory or magical powers, isn't from some noble family, etc. He's just some guy! And of course, back in the day, this little selling minigame felt amazing to play through, especially with all the little variations you can get by saying "no" in nonsensical places.
|
|
#
?
Nov 18, 2018 09:35
|
|
|
I love how jolly his theme is 
|
|
#
?
Nov 18, 2018 10:00
|
|
|
I always loved Taloon's chapter as a kid. It's the part of the game that stuck with me the longest.
|
|
#
?
Nov 18, 2018 11:50
|
|
|
This chapter is... I suppose the best phrase would be "joyfully nonstandard". It feels kinda like the devs were just testing the limits of their scripting engine.
|
|
#
?
Nov 18, 2018 13:21
|
|
|
Shitenshi posted:Maybe it was because I sucked at video games as a kid, but I remember hating this chapter due to a lot of grindy tedious bullshit. Don't know if that was just me though.
|
|
#
?
Nov 18, 2018 13:32
|
|
|
Patter Song posted:IIRC, this chapter of DQ IV is the direct inspiration for Reccetear. I kinda forgot Reccetear existed. But I think that's the only other one where it's an RPG merchant game (and no I'm not counting stuff like Drug Wars or Lemonade Stand. The are business simulators.)
|
|
#
?
Nov 18, 2018 13:49
|
|
|
Oh, it's the inspiration for that horrible Monochromon part of the original Digimon World. This seems to have a lot more charm already, though it's also helped by not having a time limit on your head because I doubt Taloon will die of old age if you don't get a certain amount of cash.
|
|
#
?
Nov 18, 2018 14:42
|
|
|
Hyadain gave Taloon and his theme his customary treatment, but the song and video spoil some big developments in this chapter and beyond. Don't go looking for it if you haven't already played the game (or don't care about being spoiled).
|
|
#
?
Nov 18, 2018 14:47
|
|
|
Taloon is the best. I can understand the people that didn't like this part but I loved it.
|
|
#
?
Nov 18, 2018 14:50
|
|
|
Merchant thing aside, Taloon is also a family man, which is pretty uncommon for the JRPG heroes. But this guy already went and dealt with his romantic subplot ages ago.
|
|
#
?
Nov 18, 2018 14:57
|
|
|
JustJeff88 posted:I did Chapter 2 of this game earlier today. Frank was either very lucky or undersold the Birdsong tower; that place was brutal. Huge groups of enemies with attacks that hit the whole party is a great way to design a dungeon. Even if I had had Snowstorm, which I didn't it, would have been brutal and I had the best armour and weapons for everyone. Glad that's over. Frank had an incredible run in Alena's chapter. The Birdsong Tower is a brutal dungeon if you get a little unlucky with enemy groups, even more so than the dungeon outside Frenor. Taloon's chapter is novel and I adore that they tried this stuff out on the NES. He really steers into that Merchant class and makes the most of it.
|
|
#
?
Nov 18, 2018 15:26
|
|
|
Hirayuki posted:Hyadain gave Taloon and his theme his customary treatment, but the song and video spoil some big developments in this chapter and beyond. Don't go looking for it if you haven't already played the game (or don't care about being spoiled). That's the same reason I didn't post the Alena song yet (that one will be fine to post by the start of Chapter 5).
|
|
#
?
Nov 18, 2018 17:45
|
|
|
MagusofStars posted:Not just you. This current part where you play merchant is unique and the overall concept of being a merchant rather than Yet Another Adventuring Warrior is interesting...but the gameplay of this chapter is tedious boredom where everything stops dead for several hours of required grinding. Won’t go into details until we get there, but the later part of this chapter in particular can gently caress off. I'm about to play this one and I'm not looking forward to it. It's a great idea narratively and I don't begrudge anyone who has fun with it, but I've read about it plenty and I can tell that I'm not going to like it. If anyone has any suggestions for making it go faster I'm all ears, but I'm not going to hesitate to use Game Genie codes if I feel the need.
|
|
#
?
Nov 18, 2018 17:46
|
|
|
JustJeff88 posted:I'm about to play this one and I'm not looking forward to it. It's a great idea narratively and I don't begrudge anyone who has fun with it, but I've read about it plenty and I can tell that I'm not going to like it. If anyone has any suggestions for making it go faster I'm all ears, but I'm not going to hesitate to use Game Genie codes if I feel the need. You really don't need to do a lot of shopkeeping at the beginning--just a day or two, and it usually goes by faster than they are here. It's honestly the fastest, easiest chapter in the game once you've done it once or twice, get a grasp of the unique mechanics, and know what you're doing. I personally find this chapter a fun little diversion from the combat-oriented stuff up to this point.
|
|
#
?
Nov 18, 2018 19:28
|
|
|
There's a lot you can do to make this chapter go faster, but I don't think there's any way to get around doing some grinding. I never minded it that much, but YMMV.
|
|
#
?
Nov 18, 2018 19:37
|
|
|
Taloon! My fave! I used to work at the shop for days and days as a kid. It was relaxing. Plus, you could grind up lots of money if you didn't mind being bored - and if you were really patient, someone would sell the shop something *really good* that you could then turn around and purchase. Ah, so chill!
|
|
#
?
Nov 19, 2018 00:55
|
|
|
peachsynapse posted:Taloon! My fave! "Oh, hey can I buy..." "NO!"
|
|
#
?
Nov 19, 2018 21:29
|
|
|
This was a painfully slow chapter on my first run but once you discover how to abuse the arbitrage mechanics it's one of the faster ones (if used right it can break the game well beyond this chapter with minimal effort.)
|
|
#
?
Nov 20, 2018 03:28
|
|
|
ultrafilter posted:There's a lot you can do to make this chapter go faster, but I don't think there's any way to get around doing some grinding. I never minded it that much, but YMMV. No grinding is necessary at all, at least not in the usual sense. Taloon never gets a single experience point in the speedrun, and there are no glitches used. I'll wait a bit to go into detail - some of what we do may become apparent as Frank continues.
|
|
#
?
Nov 20, 2018 03:30
|
|
|
Hey it's me! I'm the idiot who stayed in the village working in the shop for four days because I was waiting for the call to adventure. I didn't realize I could leave whenever I wanted to. 
|
|
#
?
Nov 20, 2018 18:28
|
|
|
loving love Fiona Apple posted:Hey it's me! I'm the idiot who stayed in the village working in the shop for four days because I was waiting for the call to adventure. I didn't realize I could leave whenever I wanted to. Same. I guess the lesson is that I'm not one who would naturally seek out adventure.
|
|
#
?
Nov 20, 2018 19:57
|
|
|
reminded of how much I love that DW4 is a complete reset, not just in terms of the setting, but in terms of reconstructing the entirety of NES JRPGs before subverting that construction
|
|
#
?
Nov 20, 2018 23:22
|
|
|
like this is the title I'd tell people to start on if they really wanna get down and dirty with an 8-bit game
|
|
#
?
Nov 20, 2018 23:23
|
|
|
Heh, I expected this chapter would be rather divisive. For all the reputation for playing it safe DW has nowadays, it's definitely not out of its experimental phase by the time 4 rolls around. I personally quite like Taloon's whole deal but I understand why it's not everyone's cup of tea.Peanut Butler posted:reminded of how much I love that DW4 is a complete reset, not just in terms of the setting, but in terms of reconstructing the entirety of NES JRPGs before subverting that construction Right, exactly. The execution is flawed in a few regards, but dang, it's unique and bold and I gotta respect that. Anyway, sorry for the slight delay again; my ISP has pulled one thumb out of its rear end but it turns out they had their other one in there too and it's still stuck. Next update should be up momentarily if everything holds up.
|
|
#
?
Nov 23, 2018 01:27
|
|
|
  : Oh. We're still doing this.     Oooh, we get to buy a Chain Sickle! Exciting!                     : ...ehhhhh.  : This isn't how I become the world's greatest weapon merchant, is it? I have to find another way. If we sell our Basic Clothes, we have enough money for a suit of Leather Armor, a Leather Shield, and...  : Actually boss, I was thinking of getting some hands-on time with the merchandise. I feel just awful about keeping you from doing whatever it is you're doing downstairs, but I'm taking the day off. : Oh, I see. We managed to sell the Sickle yesterday, but we can still have our eye on that Boomerang for later. We can effectively buy an infinite amount of everything our employer's store is selling, regardless of how many we've bought from customers. Now it is entirely possible for someone to come in and sell us a Sword of Malice, but it can take a very long time to show up and it costs 3500 gold besides, and neither Taloon nor I can stand to work one more day for someone else's profit. We make do with a Copper Sword for now.    : Alright then, time to see why everyone else has been buying all these weapons! : Zed! Zed, wake up! He's leaving town!: Gwah? Huh? Hot drat! Okay, these are Santeem-grade enemies, nothing too dangerous. Taloon one-shots the Slime and two-shots the Gopher. You could conceivably walk out on the first day and start fighting with your bare hands with only moderate trouble, but it's worth spending a few days at work just for a chance to get some cool gear in the shop inventory and earn enough money for a basic adventuring kit.     Taloon does not inherit the DW3 Merchants' chance to find extra gold after battle, but all enemies in Chapter 3 have a much higher chance than usual to drop a chest, and these special drops pick from a list that includes a wide variety of equipment, including some surprisingly good gear. These Wayfarer's Clothes are nothing special, but they'll be worth selling.   It turns out the Lakanaba region is right between Frenor and the tower west of Izmit! : This must be the cave the innkeep was talking about, with the Iron Safe inside. It's tempting... but I really ought to get in a few more practice swings first. Ooh, and Stag Beetles were in Burland also, so we're getting a mix of early critters from both previous chapters.  : Oh crap, can't let Neta wait for me too long! We've only made 20 gold from a day of fighting, but selling those Clothes should allow us to buy a few Herbs for our first attempt at the northern cave.  : Oh, sweetheart! Sorry I'm late! : Have you been out for a drink without me?: Nah, I just went Gopher-hunting for a spell, and I ended up racing the sunset to get back.: You needed a change of pace?: If I have to buy one more Club from one more yokel, I'm going to throw a fit.: Well, as long as you stay safe...: Don't worry. There's nothing out there that's more important to me than what's in here. It's just... We can do better, right? Better than losing my mind in boredom for a hundred a day, at least.: So I take it you're not going back to work tomorrow?: Yeah, no. I'll work something out.: I know you will. I trust you.: It means the world to me, Neta.  We leave town with three Herbs and our daily Lunch. We could have picked up one more, but it's best to keep some inventory open in case we get loot.  : Alright then, let's see about that safe.The monsters so far have only been dealing 1 damage per hit through our gear, so we're not even a little bit worried yet. I suspect it'll take spellcasting monsters to make us sweat.      : Hello, what's this? : The ground's a lot smoother over there, but it's the only way through. Well hey, I'm not turning back over moderately spooky floor. Forgive your foolish husband, Neta! : Huh. Heh. Alright then. : ...better not. : What kind of adventurer is that? : The kind that's not an adventurer, presumably.  : Gah, it's like the last slice of pie! I gotta! : Ha, maybe he has it in him after all! : Whuh-oh. : WHEEEEEEEEE! We get pushed all the way down to the staircases.  : Man, I bet people would pay good money to do this. Better file it for later. We run into our first foes here; they're tougher than we're used to... but still not very tough. This also earns us our first level, for 2 Str, 2 Agi, 2 Vit, 1 Int, and 4 HP. Not bad!     Oooh, that's a legitimately great find. It does fill up our last inventory slot, so we have our Lunch right here.  : I should probably see what's down this hallway before I try another button. : There's no way I can jump this far, but...    : Yup, still fun. Man, this cave-exploring business is underrated! : East is probably the way out. If there is a way out. Might as well go down while I still have Herbs, I guess.   : Mmmaybe the stairs first.      : Mostly I came because this is more fun than my job, but yeah, sure, Iron Safe, why not?: I think that rolling boulder has something to do with it. A Stag Beetle down here drops a valuable Leather Armor; Taloon is definitely getting another upgrade soon!   : ...huh.  : Not this way, then. : I have to try my luck here after all! : No button this time. I wonder if that's good or bad. Video: Boulder dash!     : Whew!This boulder is a bit tricky, in that it will follow you around corners through east and west passages, but it can't move north (the floor is probably on an incline) and will only stop if it would fall in a hole. The first time you go through this, you'll probably run south past the first intersection, so either you fall down the hole before the boulder does, dropping you in the room with the menhirs underneath, or you'll run to the east path, which essentially leads to the same place whether you fall in the hole or reach the stairs at the south end. The only way forward is to lead the boulder to the westernmost tunnel from the eastern one, then let it roll down south at the last intersection.   If these boulders are anything like they were in DW3, we should be able to push them... but let's see if there's any need to.   : If this chest has what I came looking for, I don't think I'll ever be able to work for another merchant again. I'd put both elbows on the counter, close my eyes, and see this room. : Welp, here's to wise career choices.   As long as we have the Iron Safe in our inventory, we no longer lose half our gold if we lose a fight. This essentially removes the usual DW death penalty (other than being sent back to a House of Healing). In normal circumstances this would be game-breaking, but given how the rest of this chapter is about to proceed, it's in fact an enormous kindness. That said, the Iron Safe is completely optional, and Taloon never has to set foot in this dungeon at all. It's just... well... he should. Once the chest is open, the tile under our feet is not an open chest as we might expect: it's an ornate stone plate.  : Hmm... "To Those Who Travel in Search of Treasure: Return the treasure you've stolen to this place. Then the exit way will appear..." : Pfft, no.As soon as we step off the plate...  : Yikes! : No button on this one... There must be something about that plate. The door opens as we step back on. : Ah, I get it. : Okay, lessee... : Yeah, that'll do. Surprise! The whole deal with getting Old Tom to the House of Healing every morning was actually a boulder-pushing tutorial!      : Haha! Taloon, one, maker of unusually elaborate underground trap, zero.   : Sucks to be that guy.   This room used to be full of water. I'm not entirely sure why it didn't just drain down the stairs; maybe the button opened a trap door too.    So ends Chapter 3's first dungeon. It would have been easy to throw Taloon into a bunch of battles and basically say "you're like Ragnar but weaker, deal with it", but no, the place has a bunch of unique features and some mild puzzly stuff instead. The Chain Sickle you get inside is enough to one-shot any of the weak monsters in the cave, so you can walk in here at level 1 and do everything in one go. : Dang, this adventuring stuff is a lot easier than I thought! No wonder we get so many randos at the shop.Just as we leave the cavern entrance, we get into a random battle. Except the town music starts to play, and...  This is another Chapter 3 quirk: we occasionally meet fellow traveling merchants instead of monsters!  This one doesn't have anything we need, but it's an excellent occasion to free up inventory space; we get rid of our old Copper Sword and of our extra Leather Armor.  : ...here? In the middle of the wilderness? I'll... uh... think about it.   : You could say that, yeah. : You'd better get the Iron Safe before you go south.: Guess I'll be leaving soon, then!   : Oh my goodness, Neta, wait until you hear what I did today!Speaking with Neta in the day is basically a free inn stay, and we get our Lunch in the morning as usual.  : Yeah, me too. I think it's about time I start really working on it. And it's pretty obvious it's not gonna happen in Lakanaba. : Heh... It feels good to hear you say it. : Hohoho! There's my motivation to come back with some good news then!It's canon, people: Taloon's a god in the sack.  : I love you, sweetheart. I promise, I'll be back as soon as I can. : I might be off for a few days, so take good care of your mom while I'm gone, alright?We drop a save, and we're on our way.     : Huh. I didn't know there's a village here. Guess it's been longer than I thought since I've been around.    : Hmm...  The lady near the water is going around in circles.  : Well, alright. Thanks for the warning, buddy.That's a bit out of the left field for a western audience, but in Japanese folklore, foxes have a reputation for being sentient, shape-shifting supernatural tricksters.  : Ask me again when I haven't been walking all day, miss! : It's not that it's not a nice place, but it depends on the local commercial zoning. : Um... Bless you? : Oops, I caught a cold?: You need to dress a bit warmer than that, young lady. We're pretty far north!  : I decided to marry her and stay in this village. Ha, Ha, Ha.: You go where love calls you, my good man.  : ...huh. You're pretty new at this, aren't you? I'll take one of those swords, but I won't be held responsible if your boss throws a fit.  We haven't actually received a Broad Sword; this is in fact a Cypress Stick. Yeah, that was too good to be true. There's no way to call the merchant on this nonsense, but we can sell him the Stick right back, and we're only out three gold. If we buy a Medical Herb...  Yikes.  Yyyyeah. No good.  : Fie on you and on your establishment!   : Nnnnnot really. Just a bit miffed, I guess. : Really? Well, have a good trip! : Buncha weirdos.   : ...wait, what?   We can go as far west or east as we want, we always end up in front of the village.  : Hello, Traveler! Are you lost?: Yeah, I think I might be. : Iiiii dunno. Well... I guess I'm pretty tired. But just the one night.   : What the f...    : I gotta get outta here!We can leave quickly in any direction this time. : So, foxes tricking people, then. With... subpar goods and low-quality accommodations. These are dangerous times!
FrankZP fucked around with this message at 20:20 on Nov 23, 2018 |
|
#
?
Nov 23, 2018 01:46
|
|
|
Man, if the worst thing that happens to you when you're in a Japanese fox-spirit story is being out a few bucks and waking up in the middle of a field, then you should count it a win. Foxes are terrible.
|
|
#
?
Nov 23, 2018 02:11
|
|
|
Ratoslov posted:Man, if the worst thing that happens to you when you're in a Japanese fox-spirit story is being out a few bucks and waking up in the middle of a field, then you should count it a win. Foxes are terrible. I'm surprised we still have our clothes on!
|
|
#
?
Nov 23, 2018 03:10
|
|
|
Taloon really does have the best adventure! 
|
|
#
?
Nov 23, 2018 04:11
|
|
|
I'm thankful for LPs by Frank, even though Canadian thanksgiving was six weeks ago.
|
|
#
?
Nov 23, 2018 05:18
|
|
|
The nicely colored outfits on the traveling merchants come back in later games. I wonder if that's a reference to something.
|
|
#
?
Nov 23, 2018 05:27
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 9, 2024 21:06 |
|
|
Glazius posted:The nicely colored outfits on the traveling merchants come back in later games. I wonder if that's a reference to something. 
|
|
#
?
Nov 23, 2018 05:48
|
|