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Wasn't around to catch your first LP of this series, but I suppose I'm here at ground floor for this one. ...I'll admit my eyes glazed over pretty quickly. I saw enough of the last one to know what to expect. I suppose these internet rants about censorship regarding this game are dumbfounding and/or worth a laugh. I don't think my brain wants to remember what I saw of Conception 2, but this plot seems even more contrived to make this work. More of them also look even younger which makes this all the more unsettling.
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Nov 8, 2019 05:36
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drat, Mana is just plain insufferable. This whole thiing is awkward enough without a flying pervert doll, and it's worse that it's a main character that pesters you in every conversation and not just a side character who can mostly be ignored. It also doesn't help that they're responsible for causing you to lose your money in a cutscene. Also, that censorship crusade ordeal is just as dumb and pointless as I expected. It's hardly a change and still yet manages to bring out the idiots. I'm actually relieved it wasn't something as far up on the creep scale as Fire Emblem Fates's whole censorship thing. Mana's already enough to make my eye start twitching or facepalm in astonishment.
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Nov 14, 2019 02:02
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Psycho Knight posted:I'm stressed out because of final term papers and depression and final exams coming up. This LP is providing so much joy right now. I started doing LPs to hold back my depression, so I'm glad to hear your LP's helping you out! Also, Spike Chunsoft does seem quite the clumsy company. They're not Bethesda, who trips off a cliff and insists it was on purpose afterwards, but this is unique level of  that they've got going so far.It makes me wonder if the low quality videos were just a poor upscaling job that got sent in by accident instead of the one that worked, but if so, how did it take so long to fix the issue? The livestream also intrigues me: what in the world was so important you couldn't release it then and there? I mean, I don't know what they did on the livestream, but if it was playing the game, wouldn't it have been better if people could play along with it? Releasing without the ability to change settings is also pretty baffling. I mean, testing the option functionality is something you need to be doing pretty often, especially prior to release. I just...how do you forget that on a port?
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Nov 14, 2019 03:44
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I missed you Spike Chunsoft, you and your complete inability to avoid tripping over your own feet.
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Yeah, they really have a talent at making characters unlikable. Arie seems reasonably sane, but the rest so far have just been... ugh.Kaishai posted:Yeeeah. From that update I'm seeing two Maidens I'd prefer to bench already. Tarua looks and acts much too young, and Lillith/Lillie probably doesn't need explanation. At least Arie seems interesting and sane? Fully agreed. This upcoming one looks like they're heading for the bench as well. They can't all be this bad, right?
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Nov 26, 2019 15:42
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So far, I'm not that against Ruka. She seems generically tsundere, sure, but we can hope they'll do something interesting. I wouldn't mind a pleasant surprise. I fully understand the dislike of the "noble laugh", so I'll second the decision to ignore wannabe fox-girl for now. I was hoping Mahiru would be more tame, but the Chunsoft induced schizophrenia plus this "sorta siblings" thing has me saying no for now- I've seen enough to know which direction that's probably heading. If everyone manages to be worse somehow, I might change my opinion, but for now I'm holding out for this to be hopefully not that terrible, though I know there's a trainwreck coming in down the line somewhere. Ratoslov posted:Why are all the women in this dimension terrible? As Psycho said, probably a result of over-doing it. Few studios and stories in general can pull off having many characters be interesting, and a new series with new-ish writers aren't likely to pull that off. Why they always seem to go for making unlikable characters over pleasant if boring is beyond me.
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Dec 1, 2019 18:12
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Psycho Knight posted:I'll be able to match it based on context and dialog the next time I'm on my PC. But based on the video you gave me it does indeed look like SC just cut out some of Mahiru's actions/speech and covered it up with a fade transition. The cutscene from the start of the game I can understand, but god drat SC, you had to reanimate the models anyway, could you really not find a way to take Old Mahiru out? Polsy posted:The motion sequences are lined up with when you advance the text anyway so surely you could just take any undesired ones out...surely... This is Spike Chunsoft we're talking about. From what I've seen of them so far, I wouldn't put it out of question they could tangle their programming that badly to where it isn't so simple of a fix. Though if they already reanimated the models, then it really seems like a hamfisted solution. What I'd give to get some information on the inside workings of this mess of a company like what happened with Lunar: Dragon Song.
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Dec 1, 2019 23:15
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These didn't seem that bad at all. Mirei is a tad bit on the freaky side, but it's nothing compared to the unfortunate mess that is Lillie. Reone and Sue are both mostly normal, though the latter seems a bit young. It's relieving to know that not everyone is terrible. The only person I'm leaning towards the most is Arie, mostly because she's rather simple and non-alarming so far.
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Dec 4, 2019 04:44
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Given I only voted for 3 out of mixed feelings on the majority of the cast, I have to say that this poll is an interesting turnout so far. I figure this game's going to have enough eye-twitch inducing moments on its own, so even if we end up with the safer choices, there's probably still plenty of to come. I'm thinking Strawpoll was a pretty good choice for this. mastersord posted:-A baker who's personality I can only describe as "Nermal, the world's cutest kitten" (I wonder if anyone here still remembers Garfield had a TV show..) I do, though I don't remember much about it. I also remember a Dilbert TV show, though I don't think it ran for very long. Prince Valiant had one too, and it wasn't all that bad. ...Why is it this stuff that I can remember, not the useful things?
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Dec 6, 2019 04:41
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inflatablefish posted:Guys I think I broke the bread. Fixed that for ya.
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Dec 6, 2019 22:58
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AnAnonymousIdiot posted:Astrological wizardry I'm always surprised at how these things can manage to get some things right. Most of its a miss regarding me, but it's drat spot on for a few of my relatives. Psycho Knight posted:He has and always will see some serious poo poo. Makes me wonder what the hell the Male Clerics go through in the Star Realm before getting summoned. They have seen the truth in a very bright light- it granted them their powers but they will lose it if they ever close their eyes. Female clerics are just slacking off in that regard. They already lost their powers but they fake it good enough for nobody to really notice. Slaan posted:Changing name to Team Couscous Why not Croissant? We need a reason to have more bread jokes.
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Dec 8, 2019 04:32
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Well, those are some intriguing poll results, though I can't say I'm surprised. I figured Yuzuha wouldn't make it to the top due to the "big brother" thing. Even if they're not related, we've already seen FE: Fates to know we really don't want that. Sue is one of those characters I wouldn't have minded if she didn't look so young, especially with that outfit. Everyone I voted for made it, so that's cool I guess. megane posted:Naming dudes after thread posters is a fine and honorable tradition. Dwarf Fortress threads have been doing it for years!
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Dec 9, 2019 16:42
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Commander Keene posted:I feel like it might not be a great idea to lower peoples' inhibitions when there's currently a ban on sex because it creates literal sex monsters I don't know if we're ever going to get an answer regarding Mahiru. This is a pretty awful deal all around, getting dragged through dimensions for a deal she never asked for, and with the likelihood she won't be able to go home. But hey, if she does, she can take the entire experience and try and write a best selling novel out of it. BlazeEmblem posted:I hope Mana is secretly a villain just so that we can kill it. We can always hope that Mana is trying to undermine the God's Gift and the people with terrible decisions like lowering inhibitions because it's working for the enemy side. Then that'd mean we'd eventually find out and be able get rid of the creepy thing. I mean, it's got those chains on it because it's probably a criminal. On a different note, cherry blossom viewing, because it wouldn't be a Japanese game with partial dating mechanics without it.
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Dec 13, 2019 07:00
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SSNeoman posted:I take back everything I said about world-building in the next game. It was mediocre but lordy it was better than this As far as I can tell, it looks like we're just going to be mining veins and veins of handwavium, provided they actually bother to tell us what any of this stuff is. At least they gave us a comedy option for the dance. AnAnonymousIdiot posted:Also, does Mahiru want others to share what subconscious thoughts they have with one another in hopes that it collectively strengthen their bonds with one another through mutual understanding? Reading this over for something sensible, it sounds like she's wondering if the system - i.e. Classmating for stronger Star Children - could be gamed. Sounds plausible to me. Outside of the attitude whiplash, her main character trait seems to be actually giving a drat about trying to solve this whole issue so she can go home.
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Dec 16, 2019 06:55
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Zore posted:The 'SEVEN MYSTERIES OF THE SCHOOL' thing pops up in loving everything and its always just nothing. This. I don't get it either. This one was less pointless than most due to the hope of a portal, but somehow ended up feeling especially pointless compared to most of what I've seen. AnAnonymousIdiot posted:I think this is some holdover from Japanese Horror tropes or at least the Shinto-inspired ones where there is some nebulous Otherworld you can access with the right tools/rituals. Not sure we're going down that path though. ...Okay, I think I can see this. It at least explains a bit of the things I've seen in other games I've seen LPed that were school based. Commander Keene posted:I'm fairly certain her original personality is supposed to be the "overcompensating for a crush" type of tsundere, because that's generally what that character archetype is used for. I've no idea what her personality is supposed to be- I guess that's a side effect of SC's failed attempt of a personality change.. The general impression I got is that she hardly thought of him as anything but a childhood friend, but this was just... I don't know. This came way out of nowhere for me. Maybe I'm just not paying close enough attention, though I'm trying not to think too hard about this game.
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Dec 21, 2019 01:52
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AnAnonymousIdiot posted:Alright, I think I had a brainwave on the personality change. I think the writers had, 'Virgo = Virgin' in their heads, and tried to base their translation and characterization around that conceit. I think they're trying to tell jokes. ...Hmm. Plausible, as "trying" would be the operative word. We are talking about Spike Chunsoft..  -Hold it right there! Isn't every star maiden supposed to be a virgin? Refer to the testimony of the creepy doll: Psycho Knight posted:Update II: No need to fear me; I did not come to touch Ah cripes, now I'm doing Ace Attorney references. The Flying Twybil fucked around with this message at 14:02 on Dec 21, 2019 |
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Dec 21, 2019 14:00
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One condition to be selected as a Star Maiden is keeping your virginity intact.
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Psycho Knight posted:That would be funny if that's all it was. Like Arie really hates cockroaches and has just been sweeping them all into the same room for years so she doesn't have to deal with it. My bet's definitely on Arie's secret being really mundane. Based on what I've seen of the series, it's probably trying to make the player think it's a lot more...mature than it actually is. I thought I picked up traces of Femiruna changing in the events we saw, I just didn't vote for her based on the dreaded laugh of the nobility. If it turns out that way, I might be inclined to vote for her. For some reason, jerk nobility becoming not-jerk nobility seems to be a bit rare in what anime stuff I've seen. Also, do the ears move during animation? I've been wondering based on the weird lace stuff around them if they're not just some weird headband. The Flying Twybil fucked around with this message at 04:20 on Dec 24, 2019 |
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Dec 24, 2019 04:17
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Polsy posted:Cuttlefish ink is an effort to tie it back to the options in Japanese ('having an octopus spit ink at you') but it's not like there's any reason for them to not just make up entirely new answers. Option 3 is 'Sumi-chan' (corner being sumikko in Japanese) so if that's a reference it either wasn't the same reference in Japanese or wasn't a reference at all. ...Well, huh. This is a strange thing to try and keep consistent between languages. Chunsoft just being their classic self, I guess? This is always interesting stuff to read- keep up the good work! Slaan posted:The head pat thing is super creepy when basically every other girl acts like classmating is not!sex. Why put that in Japan, why?! Agreed. I've never understood the head pat thing, and it always comes off extra weird because it's always the younger looking characters. Slaan posted:Why put that in Japan, why?! I find I ask myself this question far too much. The best answer I can come up with is a quote from the FE: Fates LP: "due to EXTREME CULTURAL DIFFERENCES"
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Dec 31, 2019 01:55
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BlazeEmblem posted:Huh. I had assumed that the Thirteenth maiden would be a sort of generic fill in character when you said that she isn't connected to the story (as in, a random person showing up and announcing they are the Ophiuchus star maiden), but I am really into Alfie's perspective as a former Star Child, who doesn't really get romance, since she only starts to feel romantic feelings once she becomes a Star Maiden. This is mostly my thoughts as well. The dark part of whatever science went on here came straight out of nowhere, but her tie-in to the actual mechanics of the game is interesting. She's a lot more "fun", which I suppose is more than you could say for quite a few of the others. Her being 30 is a bit odd given that she acts a lot younger, but that also probably stems from the whole "once a star child" thing. Having someone who isn't uncomfortably young in appearance is nice, given the cast. This being said, I don't know where she stands presently. There's some stuff in there that manages to still be really off-putting to me, though she's most assuredly not Lillie. The Flying Twybil fucked around with this message at 04:16 on Jan 7, 2020 |
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Jan 7, 2020 04:12
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Psycho Knight posted:What kind of stuff is off-putting? Just curious. The only thing that still weirds me out a little bit is that, although she is technically 30, her change into a Star Maiden has apparently given her a bunch of emotions that she's never had to deal with before. She says it herself that she doesn't feel like she's the same person anymore and it's scaring her. Granted, it would be fairly easy to tackle that kind of thing if her route decides to focus its attention on it. Oddly enough, the emotions thing doesn't faze me. I've seen it before in the case of "Inanimate object becomes real person". But if you want to know, the stuff that bothers me is... Psycho Knight posted:
Psycho Knight posted:
...this, though I know it's a given for the genre, ...and that outfit design, which is also typical for the genre. (This, especially combined with the implications of the "surgery".) It mostly just proves I'm really in the wrong genre to be nitpicky. Then again, this is also a lot less things than some of the other maidens. *The cheerful character with a dark backstory seems to be especially common, and though realistic as it is, I'd prefer it when a story holds to a consistent tone. Edit: There's also some personal reasons as to why this bothers me. The Flying Twybil fucked around with this message at 21:23 on Jan 7, 2020 |
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Jan 7, 2020 20:56
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And I was the one selected to be experimented on… At the time, I didn’t know what would be done to me.
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Psycho Knight posted:Okay, I get that. The backstory thing was a bit unsettling, but it doesn't bother me too much because the game thankfully doesn't linger on it. Alfie just mentions that it happened and then moves on. It would be a bit different if her character route focused in on it, but I'm pretty sure there's no intention of going back. Seems like the route is concerned with Alfie and her views on love/romance as opposed to the illegal experimentation and body modification on God's warriors stuff. I'd agree that they don't seem like they'll be bringing up the surgery thing again. I read through it again and it looks to me now as if that was just part of their "whatever we can do to make her relevant to the story" part. It's still unsettling to me given the connotations, but I can overlook it if it does stick to the views on love/romance skits. The personal reasons isn't particularly against her, but towards the "cheerful, but dark past" trope thing. She'd honestly be my favorite character so far if not for stuff I've mentioned.
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Jan 7, 2020 23:42
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So Mana's a vampire? Makes sense. I'm in the same boat of being surprised that they actually bothered to give an explanation, especially one that has at least some sense to it. The melon smashing thing is apparently a real thing, by the way. I had to look it up after seeing this update since this was also a minigame in RF:F. Apparently some part of its creation involves getting people to eat more watermelon...? Also nearly that exact same conversation in the bath happens in RF:F as well. There's a reason why its not necessarily a favorite of mine in the series.
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Jan 10, 2020 02:32
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Psycho Knight posted:Yeah, I know the watermelon thing is real. It shows up a lot in other media as well as a quintessential "summer" activity. It doesn't surprise me that it's a marketing thing. That's how bacon and eggs ended up becoming a typical breakfast. Some American company in the 20's went to a doctor and basically bribed them to say that heavier breakfasts were more beneficial. That doctor wrote to a bunch of other doctors. Then suddenly "Bacon and eggs" are the new breakfast meal. RF:F is Rune Factory : Frontier. I probably should've just said that to start with, but I'm used to talking about it abbreviated and I forget a lot of people don't actually know the series. It's part of the side series of Harvest Moon games that are somewhat more anime and also involve RPG combat alongside farming. Its a hedged in Wii sequel to a predominantly handheld series that made more than a few odd design decisions as part of its creation. Has a good soundtrack in spite of it, though. I've never seen the watermelon thing in any other media, but then again, I don't have extensive experience with Japanese media.
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Jan 10, 2020 03:07
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Psycho Knight posted:I usually stay neutral, but Tarua seems to consistently bottom out in these polls, so screw it. I want to get that opinion out there and off my chest. I've been meaning to ask something, as I can't remember if you've mentioned it before, but what's with the "augh" thing in her lines? Is it just a verbal tic, or something? I feel like I'm always missing the context regarding what it even is. It bothers me, and I don't know why.
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Jan 11, 2020 06:30
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I'll say for 2 as long as it's not too much work for you. If SC put effort into something, then it's worth a look to see how badly they tripped on themselves in doing so. Or, you know, the miracles where they don't. Take as much as time as you need for the updates, there's no rush if you've got other stuff on your plate presently.
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Jan 14, 2020 05:58
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I don't think Sue is really that bad, its just that her events are rather...plain, I guess? Compared to the other options available, it just doesn't seem like I'd be getting any more than what the summaries already give. I kinda figured Alfie would hit near the top somehow, especially since we have a much different view of Arie compared to what we had when we first voted. I didn't expect her to take 1st, but what can I say? Femiruna was also expected, given Reone's complete U-turn. I'll admit this time I actually voted for Yuzuha, though I can't really remember why. I think it was because she was one of the least offensive at this point. What I was not expecting was for Tarua to steal last place from Lillie. That's no mean feat. --- In regards to the actual update, I'll honestly say that if the WW1 theory about Shang is real, I'm impressed that part of this game's lore makes sense for once.
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Jan 16, 2020 02:37
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For some reason, I keep finding myself more fixated on various cultural things more than the events themselves. Or at least, it's beginning to seem so. Bananas as an autumn/fair food just seems exceedingly strange to me and I don't know why. -- Back mostly on topic, Arie and Femiruna's events were rather nice, and Ruka's was basically as expected. I still have no idea where Farun is going with hers, but whatever. Also the whole energy drain circle was most definitely a thing. The Flying Twybil fucked around with this message at 08:29 on Jan 20, 2020 |
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Jan 20, 2020 08:24
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Psycho Knight posted:I've heard of bananas being a fair food before. Usually it's from Americans who deep fry everything, but I definitely know it's a thing. Chocolate-covered bananas wouldn't be particularly odd, especially alongside stuff like candied apples. As for some cultural connection, that I don’t know. I'm not even sure how prevalent bananas are in Japan. Not something I've ever taken notice of. I mean, I'm from the land of the deep fry but for some reason I've never heard of or seen bananas in a fair. Must be a regional difference. It's worth noting that It has been a while since I've been to a fair. Psycho Knight posted:Ruka’s event was what I expected, although I was a little curious as to why she goes and volunteers at a food stall. If she were getting paid then I would understand, because she was probably doing it for the kids at the orphanage. Volunteering at a festival? Not sure the thought process there. It might be that she's trying to show the kids at the orphanage about being not selfish, but she's also doing it to push herself out of the shell she's got going. I'm beginning to wonder if she really even has these powers or if she even has as much control over them as she thinks she does.
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Jan 20, 2020 16:02
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Psycho Knight posted:
Most of the events were objectionable for me, yet I know I'm far from the intended audience from this game. Nonetheless, TCG is appreciated. Onto other topics, I suppose Sue's event possibly clarifies that Femiruna's ears are, in fact, real. The real question is now is whether there are human ears underneath the bangs or not. Yuzuha's comment worries me a bit, by the way. The flower and bug trivia tells me though that sending a vote her way was a good choice.
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Jan 25, 2020 03:13
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Oh, right. I forgot to mention, but this batch of Bonding Updates get a bit more… racy then what we’ve seen so far. It’s nothing really objectionable, but I will have to employ TCG at some points. This event with Ruka will act as sort of a prelude of things to come.
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Psycho Knight posted:I have a higher tolerance for this kind of thing I guess. The CGs and Sue’s T&A pose were the only things that really stood out to me as being too much for an LP that someone might scroll through at work or something. Swimsuits (absent any explicit posing) are just clothes. You see worse in some Top 40 music videos. That said, I like using TCG where I can. I'm starting to make him part of my 'style' as an LP writer by personalizing him. I added a DBAC (Don’t Be A Creep) tattoo near his knuckles and I'm working on something for the front of his beanie. Maybe so. I don't really have too much of an issue with the swimsuits, or even Farun's outfit, though I'll admit they still bother me. There's a lot worse, especially these days- this is practically conservative by standards. I still prefer the look of the 1920's swimsuits personally, though I don't imagine wool jerseys are practical for swimming. That being said, the CG's and Sue accounted for most of the objectionable material and well- You know, I could put this faster by just stating I'm a stick-in-the-mud in most regards: curmudgeonly and old-fashioned. I've got specific reasons for it, but I'm not going to get moralistic about it either. I'm playing VC2: if I broke into rants over fanservice then my head would've exploded by now. In less rambling topics. I did not notice TCG in the trees at first, but after a cursory check, I must note that it is a valid time. I might know what Yuzuha's issue is, but as I've never seen the true text of the events, I could be a bit off. I'll just hold it in mind and wait to see if I guessed right or not, as it's a bit of a stretch. The Flying Twybil fucked around with this message at 07:19 on Jan 25, 2020 |
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Jan 25, 2020 07:08
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Well this was an incredibly unfun update for the most part. Granvania is just the absolute worst at this point. We haven't quite reached Valkyrie Profile's level of "why am I even trying to save this world" yet, but the populace haven't proven themselves to be more than ingrates and jerks most of the time. In regards to the events themselves, this is what I've got to say. I'll see if I can improve over my usual vague ramblings into something more coherent: Alfie Alfie's event proves the townspeople are incredibly dumb. Maybe it's an issue on the Academy's side for possibly not being open about it enough, but I have a feeling they're just willing to believe anything if it justifies banishing Alfie. The townsfolk of Granvania just seem to be incredibly xenophobic given that they've been giving Itsuki hell for no reason. Arie Of course the game would end on a cliffhanger at Arie's event. They've been really dragging this out, and I suppose they'll be getting as much out of it as they can. Still, she was straight up with that confession. If she feels that bad about doing something that feels good, couldn't you just have reasoned that with that "helping others also makes you feel good"? I know the direction they were aiming with that, but it still makes it sound like she felt like she couldn't be happy in the slightest. Femiruna Femiruna's event just continues to prove this game is really pushing the wrong morals. Sure, I get they're playing the "she shouldn't use money and social class to solve everything," but she's being incredibly generous if you ask me. She's going far out of her way to contribute to the cause of saving Granvania, even if its partly because it's a gift for Itsuki. She directly acknowledges how much it'll help, so I really can't give the game any leeway here: they can't push the right morals. Ruka Still tsundere-ing, but slowly weathering away just as expected. The direction this is going in is intriguing though- it's not the way I figured it would be going. Not much else to say, unfortunately. Farun So basically, she seems to be bad with connections and communicating in general without wearing a "mask". She's been wearing them for so long and running for so long that she really doesn't know what to do when she doesn't have it up. Second or triple guesses their actions in conversation and flounders when faced with scenarios she failed to predict. drat it, that's eerily familiar. Thanks for reminding me, game I'm not even playing. Mirei Again, this game's morals suck, especially when Granvania's populace is factored into it. Mahiru The whole thing I've been getting from Mahiru for most of her updates is that she's really overdoing it when it comes to Itsuki. I mean, I suppose anyone would do that when their competition has just jumped by 1200%, but she's really overdoing it. I'd still like her a lot more if her characterization wasn't mistakenly two-sided and she wasn't a cousin. Yuzuha Her events don't seem like they're going in the direction I thought, which I suppose is a good thing. I suppose it told us a good amount about her though. Reone How long ago were her "street fighting days" anyways? It honestly sounds like these jerks are holding onto some grudges for way longer than they really should. Again, I'll agree, being a government employee and Star Maiden herself, she should know that she really should just tell the authorities. Maybe part of it is her not wanting people to lower their opinions of the Star Maidens any more than they already seem to be, but isn't basically blasphemous to be against them in the first place? If she told the higher-ups she was a street fighter, I'm pretty sure Shang would tell her that she should train Itsuki in it to see if it would help with his time in the labyrinths. Sue She's hard to describe now. Given this backstory, it does explain a lot about how she's been acting throughout her events. She seems surprisingly...innocent given her parents gave themselves to save her. There's always the probability she downplays it in her mind to minimize the grief, but I don't remember being told if she was raised by anyone else. The part that makes me think this the most, aside from the "went away", is the exchange about not wanting anyone to die: it and the attachment strike me as a childish in ways. Collette Minus the DO NOT READ part, I've seen nearly the exact same plot thread in Restaurant Empire. No, that's really about all I've got to say. Collette's never been very interesting to me, though I'm probably sure I've never given her a fair chance. Lilith Eh, it was an event. I suppose it's nice to see that Lillie didn't try to tear Itsuki's head off immediately or break straight into dialogue that strains the game's rating. I don't have much investment in these two, probably because Lillie's been such an awful person most of the time. Tarua You've got mail! Running is great! Hey, didn't you know running is great?! Mail! Allusion to clumsiness and insert recent anecdote about short lifespan boss. But seriously, they're setting up for what really looks to be obvious with the Boss's health. I only know as much as the summaries tell me, but we're far too into these stories to have learned so little about a character. Hell, I know of some games that adopted a glacial approach to character development and still felt like they went faster than this. I don't really have any investment in her story, either. ...Well, that was a lot more verbose than my usual complaining. Call me out on anything that seems off, I made this post pretty late at night.
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Jan 28, 2020 08:06
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Raitzeno posted:I highly doubt it when even setting aside her wonky, slapdash, flipflopping personality, you still have 12 (...or perhaps 11, Reone) candidates without that bitter incest aftertaste. Yeah. Despite her being less offensive than others in some ways and having some actual story relevance, I'd be hard pressed to consider Mahiru in the end. This isn't the antebellum of early 1800's America- some people might be able to overlook it, but the blood relation is a deal breaker for me. Even Yuzuha's "Big Brother" and Farun's "Big Sis" nicknames are more bearable for being exactly that: nicknames. We get the idea that for both characters they don't feel nearly as literally as Reone does, and aren't related by blood. What I'm saying is that Mahiru would have to become incredibly exceptional while everyone else takes a large fall for it to really be considerable.
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Jan 29, 2020 06:29
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Psycho Knight posted:1. Mahiru was not related to Itsuki. Like, her parents were just close friends of Itsuki's parents which led to him being taken in by them. They'd still have the childhood friends angle, but no blood relation. My opinion of them would jump a good amount. Mahiru would still have the characterization wonkiness, but the amount of pressure she puts on trying to get Itsuki to notice her becomes significantly less disturbing if they're not blood relatives. You know, honestly I'd be fine with her still being a cousin if her story wasn't even romance based, just based around them becoming better friends. Come to think of it, has any game done that before? A straight platonic route? Reone doesn't particularly have to forget about her brother, she just needs to stop thinking of Itsuki as her brother because that's incredibly creepy with how forward she is. Moving on from it entirely would definitely help, and she could still play the maturity card that she always seems to use. I'd imagine she'd jump up a pretty good distance, though I don't think she'd hit top 6 in my opinion.
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Jan 29, 2020 17:14
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I mean, as much as I complain about them, I'm mostly here for the character events. As long as we get to see them, I'll be fine with anything.
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Jan 29, 2020 22:14
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Psycho Knight posted:
Alright, the jig's up, Marion. I don't know how you managed to cross into an entirely different game/universe, but I knew something was up from the start. Though I can't really blame you, I want to leave VC2 behind as well. ---  Jokes aside, my guess is that these little red things are possibly grape tomatoes. They're from Asia after all.
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Feb 2, 2020 18:32
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Weapons? You’ve got so many of them…
Itsuki, to tell you the truth… I’m a weapons enthusiast.
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Psycho Knight posted:It's really become a thing with me. I like Marion, she's one of the few characters in VC2 that I was fond of. I also really like Narika in Conception II, even though other people seemed to think she was boring and flat. I immediately took a liking to Arie because I like her design and how she was one of the few "normal" characters in this game. I'm not sure on how I feel about the weapon enthusiasm, but given that I do a lot of studying on martial weapons myself (I'm a history buff) I have no room to complain even if I wanted to. No matter how initially startling Marion might be in VC2, she's comparatively harmless to the rest of the cast which is varying combinations of violent, self-absorbed, moody, and/or cliche. I find that when surrounded by a cast of strange characters, I always find myself liking the "normal" one more often. Though I'm fond of every character in RF3, the most normal character is my favorite one. This works vice versa as well for me as the majority of RF4's cast is rather normal (I'd go as far to say dull, even,) the stranger characters are where my interests fall. I've done a good bit of planting and gardening in my spare time, so I've picked up some stuff on various plant related things. Tomatoes are basically a staple where I come from, and though I really don't like their taste by itself, I can say for certain that smaller breeds of tomatoes make some drat good salsa. I used to eat a lot of fruit, but I can't really have very much sugar in my diet anymore. Most vegetables I had to learn to like- I still can't stand the taste of spinach no matter what form I try to eat it in. Psycho Knight posted:My only complaint at this point is that it seems the little bit about Femiruna wanting to make friends has been dropped. I'm glad she's becoming a better person, but right now it looks like the only reason she's doing it is because she wants Itsuki's approval. I think the route would be going a lot better if there was still those moments where she tried to make real friends. I really wish it does bring back the part about wanting to make friends, because my opinion of her has really jumped over time. I can't say for sure how close she was with any of the other Maidens initially, but given how they all helped her out in preparing for this last event, I'd say she's made some. "Psycho Knight" posted:
...Even if she doesn't realize it yet. The Flying Twybil fucked around with this message at 01:34 on Feb 3, 2020 |
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Feb 2, 2020 23:50
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: Perhaps I was troubling them… B-But they did not appear to be troubled by my asking them for help…
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Psycho Knight posted:Oh, I’m sure she's bonding with the other Maidens to some degree. Them helping her isn't a particularly good indicator of that, though. Mahiru likes to play leader and is also Class President or whatever of the Star Maidens, so she obviously wouldn't turn away Femiruna if she were coming to Mahiru for genuine help. Yeah you've got a point. They're all stuck in this together, and Mahiru and Arie would definitely be the types to help. If we factored our current relationships into the equation, though, I'd almost have to say it's indicative of friendship with Mahiru. Aside from her wanting to be a leader, she's also seriously invested in Itsuki so far with that competitive side. I'd imagine they're good enough friends if she's willing to set aside any feelings of rivalry regarding him to help a potential rival. Well, that, or she could've framed it as a thank you gift or something. Sue's contribution makes perfect sense when you think about it. She's already admitted she wishes she had ears like Femiruna, and she seems to have a serious investment in that hobby- I think it'd be only natural she'd help Ms. Cat Ears. Back to the point at hand, though, it would still be nice to see her reaching out. I mean, there has to be some nice people in Granvania, right?
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Feb 3, 2020 02:55
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Psycho Knight posted:This is often a problem with games that have a self-insert protagonist. The game tries to make the player feel like the center of the world and super important. I've noticed this problem shows up a whole lot in other games as well. The RF games have always had self-insert protagonists, though given some amount of personality, and they mostly pull it off pretty well. The issue I have with the later games in the series stems from this same problem of having the insert be the center of attention more often than not. If you're trying to run a main story/conflict that includes the self-insert character, falling into this trap is almost impossible. You can alleviate the problem by putting a lot of work into the supporting cast and providing breaks from the main story for them, or you can opt for the alternative of them becoming effectively a non-entity. The RF series is all over the place about this unfortunately, and doesn't make for a great example. A recent example I can think of that falls into this trap is the more modern Fire Emblem games. Discussions of quality aside, their inclusion of a "my unit" often pushes the story into it being focused around you (Awakening, Three Houses), or being entirely written around your character (Fates). FE7 was the first of the series to include a self-insert in any way, in the form of a player named tactician who was written with to have as little direct influence on the story as possible. In fact, you're pretty much just a wall for characters to talk off of in story events and you have no implicit involvement aside from directing the army. Perhaps some people like it with the focus on them, but I've found that with self-insert characters I hardly ever consider them in image of myself. I've always played them as if they were simply my version of that character, built with my experiences and choices upon the loose framework the game provides in its story. This is unfortunately a bit of a fragile way of envisioning the game given that too rigid a main story, the more likely the illusion is to break. The later RF and FE games suffer this both in the end - a collision between emergent storytelling and straight storytelling. In the end, with a very character driven game like this a heavy focus on the player insert really seems to be counter-intuitive. This, like Persona, also has dating sim elements makes for a contradictory combination in a divide between a focus on the player or the characters around them. The writing is somewhat at fault for this as we don't get very much of a view of what the Maidens are doing aside from when we're involved, but I think that's also somewhat due as a side effect of how the game is presented in a less directly interactive form by way of the world map. It really needs more general events or separate side-stories between characters to help pull the focus off Itsuki and develop the cast more. (If the majority of the characters in VC2 weren't walking tropes and cliches, I'd actually give it credit for showing interaction between the students. Even then that doesn't really count though, as Avan is neither a self-insert protagonist nor a likable one.) I'm mostly just rambling on here, though. I'm not claiming to be an expert on any of this or to even know fully what I'm talking about. It's food for thought, I suppose. (I apologize for bringing up RF so often, but it's basically my mental starting point for dating sims and anime stuff in general. It was the first active exposure I had of either of those topics.) Moving on to other topics, I'll just straight up say that Femiruna and Ruka are probably at the top of my list right now. Similarly to you, Arie's spot remains a bit shaky given I don't know where they're taking this. Ruka hasn't done anything special, but she hasn't really done anything that offensive either aside from the staple "walking in while dressing" thing. Alfie's new revelation of shortened lifespan doesn't help much either, especially with the way they're handling it. I'd like for Yuzuha and Itsuki to become good friends and I wish there was a platonic route to take there. The brother/sister thing would be a fun dynamic if it wasn't for the impending romance implications overhead. Same thing goes for Mahiru, really, I would've really liked to see a friendship route there.
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Feb 3, 2020 08:19
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This update was... a lot to take in. Hell, I don't know what to say at this point. Some of these routes really dropped the ball, and some others are a lot more... mild, I guess? ...Yeah, it's going to take me a bit to process this.
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Feb 8, 2020 01:40
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Psycho Knight posted:Mahiru's personality change could have been pulled off smoothly, as shown by those small tweaks to dialogue. But instead we get this weird fusion of minor edits and badly done scene cuts. I want to stress: The 3D models and the sprites are not rigged. They just have a handful of motions/poses and the transitions from one to another are tied to text boxes (they only "move" when a new text box is appearing). It would not have been a difficult or hugely time consuming task to redo these events to flow smoother. I've gotta ask: how long did they have to make this port/remake? I'm wondering if some of this might just be some issues caused by time crunch. Although, the idea that the writing team had finished early and spent their time poking around could be also easily be true. Will we ever solve The Mystery of What Happened To Mahiru?
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Feb 9, 2020 02:44
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| # ¿ Apr 27, 2024 05:17 |
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Psycho Knight posted:It's hard to tell, because there isn't much detail on this game’s development history. Ah, the plot thickens then. You're likely correct about the anime adaptation, as that's an easy marketing strategy. Release a sequel, then make a callback to its predecessor from years back. It lets you cash in again on old resources, and also re-establishes the presence of the series in the current era. The media world of video games passes by quickly, as really most media does these days. Refreshing a series is helpful, especially if it didn't hit it off very well in its original market. I imagine they still had all the proper decoding methods and file information necessary for retrieving the files from the PSP, that is, if they still didn't already have them in their original form. Getting those shouldn't have been hard, but they'd still have to do some cleanup work on anything that wasn't up to modern standards (audio bitrate, original sprite resolution, etc). Hell, I'd imagine a decent bit of the code would be salvageable as well, given that it was probably written in C/C++ and built with a library to compile for the PSP. With at least one or two people from the original team advising, (drastically reducing the time spent trying to figure out what everything is) I'd imagine your estimate of Jan/Feb 2018 to be about right. Psycho Knight posted:That gives a few months to work out the roadmap for development and maybe do some work on improving the quality of the models. Once the ball is clearly rolling, SC orders an anime in April/May and the studio puts together the series by October (or at least they get the first half done and then work on the other half as the first 6 episodes are airing). By this point, SC has the models in place to put together a trailer and some early marketing material. You can tell it's preliminary because Mahiru's hair is still light brown instead of the much darker colour we see in this game. Even the Anime had the darker hair colour by that point, so it appears SC wound up using old artwork. Then you've got another two or three months of development time before December ends and the game needs to go off for printing to make its mid/late January release. You know, I pay so much more attention to the story events that I complain about that I nearly forgot there was an actual 3D RPG as part of this. The Maiden models would be an easy job, given they were likely originally made with a very high polycount- a few subdivisions or a lazy subsurface job and it'd be good. After all, there's only ever one or two on the screen on the same time, so the polycount limit is incredibly high. The RPG models would take a good bit of work to update- depending on their original quality, they might even have to be entirely redone. If I had the models, I could tell you what they did with them and probably how long that might take. Trailers and marketing displays usually end up getting made with early material because they're there to build the hype up while the developers finish the game. WKC for instance, used a bunch of early (better looking, even) models and animated everything as a video because they had literally nothing. Given they still used the older Mahiru design, it's likely they were working on that trailer for a while- logically before the design team gave her darker hair. I don't have any professional experience with development, but I've spent a lot of time inspecting the industry. What I know and I'm making observations off of is just some personal experience with development and some research on various post-mortems/ developer stories. I can't claim any of my information is exact either, I'm just taking swings as well. As regards to answering emails, usually the higher up they are, the more defensive they'll be about interviews. The games industry is all about ideas, industry secrets, and design strategies- leaking that stuff out to a potential competitor can spell bad times for what is already an unreliable method of income. Indie devs and small teams are usually more willing to talk about things because they'll do anything they can for publicity. Big studios usually have no need to talk about behind the scenes stuff because they've got a noted public image and they want to keep it. Capitalism is complicated. (Still, this is just conjecture of mine based on trends I've noticed- I'm not in marketing.) You could always send them an email to see though, you never know what they'll say. I know one of the Lunar games in the archive actually had a guy who worked on it answered questions about it years after the fact as to why it came out so badly. I'll admit I'd like to know what happened in the development of this game, as everything just leaves so many questions.
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Feb 9, 2020 06:46
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