|
Part 42: Corporate Takeover With Alice and Reisen successfully sprung from Border Concern's holding cells, we're now officially free to play around in their computer network freely! Music: Cyber of Server  ...Let's break some poo poo.   Important thing to grab before heading on, another HertzUp 1! Always useful.   Oh?   : "I've defeated so many security forces, but I've reached my limits...": "Please, at least take this and accept my support." Oh hey, thanks!  Unfortunately, Yorihime will not be joining us in trashing the place, because Reisen can't exactly operate her at the moment and she's running on fumes. She'll just be providing support from behind.  Yoink.    And back to the first floor! Which means no new viruses, for obvious reasons.  Now on the other side of the one-way paths.  Music: VS. Virus Okay, strictly speaking, there is one new encounter here: Autoroids will now show up to harass you in virus fights! ...It's entirely possible that they were able to spawn before and I just didn't see them, but it's equally possible that they only show up after you trip a flag. Who can say.  Music: Cyber of Server Presumably, one of the reasons Yorihime is in the basement with free healing is because if you take this path, you have to walk all the way back! That's kinda rude, game!  Obviously, we shall not being doing that.   We will be stealing more money, however.    And tripping more security systems.   It's only first floor security, though.    : Ooh! This seems important. That's me~! Hello, friends. Music: VS. Tournament  These three are V2 Autoroids, and as such, have slightly buffed chips.  For whatever reason, they come equipped with PoisLine chips, despite that going through their own Aura chips. Unfortunately for them, I come equipped with PoisonWing Style.  Game, set, match. Music: Cyber of Server  : "I'm in the back of the server on the first floor." : "Look for the control system of the infrared camers.": "Disabling those will vastly simplify our task moving forward.": "Got it. Infrared cameras." : "Hurry, I got it!": "Thank you, now we can proceed." : "Reisen!": "Mm?"Hm??   Ah, crap.    Hey, uh, Reisen. What's that.  : "Is this your first shootout?"      : "Forget about the guns! What are you doing?!": "The ATM-78 Personal Rocket Artillery is highly portable and capable of being disassemb-": "Argh!": "Oh well..."Have I mentioned that Reisen is actually the best? Because she is.   : "Yeah!"  Amusing Reisen antics aside, we've got a computer system to break open. Let's keep moving.     Onto the next floor!  Or, rather, the tenth floor. They're taking the elevator, remember?    Seven seconds on the clock...    ...But really, this one's a straight line, there's no way you can mess it up.   Music: VS. Virus Only one new virus on this floor, FlwrTnk3! It should go without saying, SeedCan3 is an excellent chip. ...Not that it's easy to get at the moment, considering the Autoroids have so much health that they're almost inevitably going to be the last thing you kill. Music: Cyber of Server    Another RegUp 1 just up ahead.    And then all the way down at the end, we have another BstrRpd AddOn. ...Honestly, I kinda wish it was Charge. Or Power. Rapid is only useful if you use the AddOn that switches your charge shot to fire Danmaku.  More security!  So long as you remember that 六 is 6, you'll be fine.  Fights are disabled during the button presses due to the timer, but that doesn't mean you can't get one right after the fact. It even had an Autoroid in it! It's like I didn't even disable the security at all!!  ...Worth it, though. Autoroids can drop a whole slew of useful chips.   I think it's safe to say I have well over 100,000 zenny at this point. Almost entirely from Mystery Data.      Oh snap, another EarthPwr chip? And in S-code?  I don't use it as much anymore, but it's still a fantastic chip with a little bit of setup. And this one's free!    No security stations on this floor, so, next!  Security right outta the gate, huh?     This one is very easy to trip on and accidentally hit IV instead of II. As in, I was like half a step away from doing just that before I caught myself. Remember to pay attention!    Same goes for the other side, but I was prepared this time. Now, as for this floor's viruses...  Music: VS. Virus Juragon! 2!   My flames are better.     We also have Mythrilr and MasLigr3!  As a reminder, do not, under any circumstances, use poison on a MassLiger. You will regret it. Music: Cyber of Server        And then over here we have a chip for AuraSrd3.  Apparently, I've gotten one before? Huh. Well, either way, it's a decent chip, but it requires more setup than I'd like to be really good.   More security!   Slightly easier than last time, even.  : "Did I beat them all?"Welllll...  Yeah, probably. Probably not smart to set your Security Programs up as random encounters, Yukari!  : "I'm at the back of the server on the 20th floor.": "Look for the security system for the elevator controls.": "That will allow us to enter the president's office.": "Alright, elevator. Got it." : "Hurry, I got it!": "Thank you. I see the elevator starting to move." : "...": "Is something the matter?": "The president...": "I didn't see President Yukari as a bad person...": "Very few in the world are as ugly outside as they are within." : "It is what turns humans to crime that creates villains.": "...What do you mean?": "Man is born free, yet everywhere he is in chains.": "I see..." : ...How much of that was just you trying to sound cool?: ...About 50 percent. Right then! Next stop's our last. Onto the server of the President herself!     Y'know, after we finish raiding this one for goodies.  Onward!    As should be expected, the President's Server has a fair amount of security firewalls installed.  : "Yeah!"  : "Ms. Yukari... You were a part of ROM?" : "Oh, I wouldn't put it like that...": "More of a patron, really. A sponsor, of sorts.": "I would say I help, but I merely provide money and real estate."That is pretty much the textbook definition of helping, Yukari.  : A stage six boss, if you will. : "Interrogating you will certainly be a difficult process.": "Ms. Yukari!": "Why...? Why would somebody like you cooperate with ROM?!": "...A normal person like you could never understand."Get ready, everyone. Did you think Gauss from Battle Network 2 was dumb? Well...  : "A gorgeous house! Countless glittering artworks! ...A boring world of everything.": "So I wanted a stimulus.": "ROM - just by existing! - throws the world into chaos! Beautiful, brand-new chaos!"  : "Just for that, how many people, how many Navis, are hurting?!": "Yukari Yakumo...": "You can explain yourself from a jail cell.": "Enough talk. Surrender." Then get a twitter. You're the rich CEO of a tech company, you'll have thousands of weird fanboys defending whatever nonsense you spout.  : "...As you wish."       Indeed, an electromagnetic barrier! One powered by flicker animation. One with two frames - entirely opaque, and entirely nonexistent. In order to make this scene look slightly less ridiculous, I'll only be using screenshots without the flashing forcefield. Luckily, I knew this was coming, so I recorded it as well, if you'd prefer to watch it instead.  : (She actually shot me! It WAS a good idea to install a forcefield in my office...): "Loading armor piercing round!"Reisen, that's a rocket launcher. Don't all rounds count as armor-piercing?  : "You've only got a small supply and a whole lot of demand is headed your way!": "Robot demand! And I think you'll find yourself all sold out!": "...Really." : "A field of that size must be controlled by something in this room.": "The robots should only be able to arrive from one direction...": "Reisen?!": "I will hold them off from the hallway."  : "Find the control terminal for the barrier and take it out!": "We'll show that idiot president!"Right! Based on the number of images, I'd normally cut the update there, but I don't want to spend a third update on this one dungeon, so let's keep it moving, yeah?    Music: VS. Virus First off! Two new viruses on this floor, both of which are kind enough to show up in the same virus battle. Mantizr is still annoying to fight. As a side note: MFlarGun P is needed for a certain Program Advance. It only drops if you get a busting rank of 4 or lower, so you need DataFind to get it.  Music: Cyber of Server Next, the map! The final stage of Border Concern is about twice as big as any other floor, but, you can do it in any order you want.  Let's start with the bottom left!    Every time I think to myself "you know, do I really need so much zenny," I'm reminded of how much furniture costs. Every zenny counts.    This security system is slightly jerkish, simply because the numbers are so close together.  Still, not bad.   Onto the top left!   The top left area has the best goodies.  Our HP Total is now 840(+200)! And hey, look at that, I was right. Our Zenny is now well over 100,000. I should probably find something to spend that on...   As is tradition, there's a free FullEnrg close to the boss. Which is good, because I might have run out of those at some point!   More security.   This one just involves going in circles, but the slight pauses as you transition between running around and sliding on the one-way paths makes the timing a little tight.  Cutting back to the start and working my way over to the top right side of the map.    Ooh~!  I wish this was in a better code. I've really found the ShlArmr2 chips quite handy.    And this... is an easily acquired stage-2 chip that we've had for ages. Eh? Yukari, c'mon, get better loot.    The third security lock...   Is also pretty weak. You'd think all four locks would mix it up, but three of them are only one set of numbers, so there's not even any momentary disorientation.  Only one firewall remains!    The bottom right section of the map doesn't even have any goodies. Dammit, Yukari.  The lock on this one is slightly mean though. You can't see the numbers from the start, and 15 seconds isn't actually that generous. If you guess the wrong side to start with, you might run out of time.  The correct order, of course, being left, right, middle.  And with that, the path is clear.  Might be a good idea to use that FullEnrg from earlier right about now.   Music: Stop And the boss of the dungeon is...!  Music: Encounter!   Sorry, scratch that, the bosses of the dungeon are Ran and Chen Yakumo!   Ran and Chen are both Shikigami - technically not "true" youkai? They're sorta analogous to a Witch's Familiar more than anything. Specifically, Ran is Yukari's Shikigami, but Chen is Ran's Shikigami. Which is why Chen isn't technically a Yakumo? Her name's just Chen, but she may as well be one. That said, there's something else about Shikigami which is incredibly relevant to this game: in-universe, they're the equivalent to computers. Literally, when the few characters who know what a computer is try to explain it to the other characters, they either compare it to a shikigami themselves, or the person they're explaining it to tends respond with "what, like a shikigami?" Here's a few panels from one of the most recent manga (now on indefinite hiatus because of the artist's health), Hansoku Tantei Satori/Cheating Detective Satori to illustrate what I mean:    The chapters those pages are from came out after I started, and I have been waiting for months to properly show them off. This, right here, is one of the most accurate parts of this game, because Ran and Chen are literally goddamn NetNavis. ...*ahem*. Anyways! Said manga is why most everyone now refers to Chen as Chen Yakumo, because it's been nearly twenty years since the three of them debuted in Perfect Cherry Blossom, and Chen's outfit has since changed to match Ran & Yukari's dresses. She has the official Yakumo family uniform now! Now, back to the fight.   : "Oopsie!~☆": "Two NetNavis?!": "What?! Where's the other NetOp?"Well, you see...   Goddamn, blink animation makes her smug as hell. Yukari, I love you, I love your design, why must your motivations be so stupid in this game?   : "As the president commands.": "I bet you regret stepping foot in this server~☆" : "We're up against both of that woman's Navis.": "Both?! How can she operate both at the same time?": "It's simply what I trained myself to do."TL: : gently caress you, that's how. : "You're really something...!": "Two versus one? No matter how great you are..." : "I'll take those odds!": "You idiot!": "...Madam president.": "Nyaa~☆!"   Music: VS. Navi  Ran and Chen! Ran's a Null-type Navi, whereas Chen's an Earth-type. Now, something interesting about this fight: Yukari was kinda bluffing. It's not that she can't operate them both, exactly...  She just can't operate them both well. Chen's first and initially only attack is this: She curls up into a ball, then attacks by quickly rolling around the perimeter of the field. She gets more attacks in her V2+ forms, but at the moment, only this. As a side note, I've actually played Perfect Cherry Blossom, and I'm pretty sure this attack is based on her spell card, [Heaven Sign "Immortal Sage's Rumbling"].  Her other attack, which is likely based on [Flight Sign "Soaring Idaten"], is similar to the first, but instead of just the perimeter, she attacks by bouncing around diagonally like a pinball. She only uses this after Ran is deleted. I didn't know she had this attack until I was literally writing this update!  As for Ran, she has two main attacks, both of which are based on, well, Bass, so I'm stealing his attack names. This first one is Air-Burst, and It's just a straight energy blast shot down the row in front of her. However, it has almost zero wind-up and fires quickly, so it tends to hit me more than I'd like.  As for her other main attack, she forms a shield in front of her, then attacks with a replica of that shield on your side of the field. In a circle. Which, when combined with Chen's perimeter-circling attack, means you can stand right smack in the center of the field and not get hit once. Granted, the shield will block attacks like Cannon, but you can easily attack around it or through it.  Much like Chen, Ran's attack patterns also change when she's the only one left on the field. She gains access to two other expies of Bass's attack patterns, the first of which being Shooting Buster from 4-6. Also much like Chen, I realized this in the middle of writing this, and had to go back and screenshot it! It hits three panels at a time instead of continuous fire, but it's fast enough that that doesn't really matter!  Finally, Ran will charge up in the back column before firing off Explosion (aka: a massive barrage of Air-Bursts), Bass's signature attack from 1-3. Ironically, in copying attack patterns from Bass, Ran's attacks are the most Danmaku-like of all. Go figure! Two on one? I'll take those odds indeed.    (No matter who you delete last, you'll always get Chen's chip from this fight.) Music: Stop  : "Oh wow~☆!"    Music: Encounter!  : "My robot Shikigami will take down that troublesome NetAgent, then...!"Music: Stop  *off-screen explosion noises*  ...You were saying? Music: Main Theme  : "Reisen!": "What?! 200 combat Shikigami destroed by a mere child?!": "You should not let your biases color your perception.": "I may be young, but I have spent more years in battle than any common soldier.": "Compared to the battles I found at age 6, this was an inconvenience, and only that.": "Yeah! Child's play!"Er... "Child's play"?    : "Your barrier has fallen. Your last robots have been defeated.": "Do you still wish to resist?": "I AM Border Concern! I'm Yukari Yakumo! This can't happen to me!"Why not? Too chaotic for ya?   : "Once the public learns of your involvement with ROM, you will likely lose your position.": "Cooperate and reveal what you know about ROM, and you may be shown leniency.": "Hrk! What if... that doesn't happen? What if the world is engulfed in chaos?"  : "A trump card?!": "Did you forget you were in the HQ of Border Concern? At the forefront of technology?": "Goodbye, you disturbed insects!"Wait, what   Wait, what??  : "True teleportation... That was no disguised stealth system.": "Teleportation in the real world? There's no way..." Music: Settlement   : "I'm sure they left the information we're looking for somewhere in this building.": "I understand.": "Let's go home, Shanghai.": "Outside this building, at least." Music: Central City  : "I'm fine, just a little redness.": "Thank goodness.": "I didn't think this investigation would go like this.": "I think we're finally one step ahead of ROM.": "I hope so. But I think so, too."Yeah! It won't be long now! ROM's days are numbered. Music: Stop   : (Something big's coming, and it's going to shake the world...): (But no matter what happens...): (No matter what! I will keep Alice safe!) : "...Yes!"
|
#
?
May 27, 2021 05:49
|
|
|
|
| # ? Jun 8, 2024 05:35 |
|
|
Blaziken386 posted:
Yukari is fooling around again.
|
|
#
?
May 27, 2021 06:07
|
|
|
Yukari hitting the  button, huh? ...Honestly it's the exact kind of stupid that fits the BN aesthetic.
|
|
#
?
May 27, 2021 06:17
|
|
|
Ah, Yukari. The most powerful, or at least one of the most powerful, yokai in all of Gensyoko. And she's hamming it up in style. I'm totally expecting the game to bust out a cover of Necrofantasia at some point. In the meantime, here's a good one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3pdtuw077c
|
|
#
?
May 27, 2021 06:26
|
|
|
PlasticAutomaton posted:Yukari hitting the A really bored Yukari hitting the button for the lulz before getting stomped by Reimu (or other PCs) is also perfectly in character for her. I was expecting Chen being operated by Ran to be honest, to keep up with the shikigami's shikigami business. I wasn't ready for Reisen Sagara. Neither was Yukari though.
|
|
#
?
May 27, 2021 07:40
|
|
|
The second I saw Chen using Punk's attacks I knew she had to die.
|
|
#
?
May 27, 2021 11:44
|
|
|
To add onto your computer comment, I appreciate how robotic Ran is in both motions and speech. Even among NetNavis (who usually have personalities and mannerisms) they doubled down on the computer thing. So Yukari's battle style amounts entirely to... dragging two fingers in circles on a touch screen. Sometimes she does a circle AND line at the same time! drat that's impressive training.
|
|
#
?
May 27, 2021 16:29
|
|
|
idk, a tech company CEO deciding to commit capital crimes for the thrill of it seems pretty believable. The unbelievable bit is them actually having a plan for when things go bad.
|
|
#
?
May 27, 2021 19:26
|
|
|
Blaziken386 posted:
Some people just want to watch the world burn...
|
|
#
?
May 27, 2021 22:12
|
|
|
Right now people are shorting a movie theater company on the stock market because reddit dissed them so bad. They are literally paying billions for the privilege.
|
|
#
?
May 27, 2021 23:48
|
|
|
Seraphic Neoman posted:Right now people are shorting a movie theater company on the stock market because reddit dissed them so bad. They are literally paying billions for the privilege. it's a very rude and personal attack on me, seeing a hot evil lady act like elon musk
|
|
#
?
May 28, 2021 00:20
|
|
|
BisbyWorl posted:Yukari is fooling around again. Templates like that are forbidden, you know.
|
|
#
?
May 28, 2021 02:56
|
|
|
Blaziken386 posted:it's a very rude and personal attack on me, seeing a hot evil lady act like elon musk I can appreciate this viewpoint.
|
|
#
?
May 28, 2021 03:16
|
|
|
Part 43: Regularly Scheduled Programming (...Yeah, that's an appropriate reaction to waiting a month for an update.) Now, we've officially dealt with Yukari, but that doesn't mean we're done with Border Concern just yet.  Case in point, if we go ahead and jack into the same telephone booth that we started this dungeon off with...  ...And go ahead and investigate the edge of this pathway...  Music: VS. Navi We can go ahead and fight Chen V2! Who is actually a fair bit different from her V1. She has her Oni Masks now! So, technically this is her Extra Stage form?  She still primarily attacks by careening all over the field, but without Ran here, she's much more proactive about attacking in diagonal lines, in addition to circling the perimeter.   The masks are purely defensive - they don't track you or anything, they simply move up and down their columns, blocking any frontal attacks. Hitting them causes them to pause and retaliate with a slow moving Aqua/Heat tower down their row. Which, in conjunction with Chen jumping around so much, can quickly cause the field to get extremely hectic.  This isn't helped by the fact that Chen doesn't have collision with the masks while moving, and as such, sometimes you need to hit the mask to hit her. Nor is it helped by the fact that her attacks do have collision, and as such, she'll be setting off one or both of the masks every time she attacks. As far as I know, the masks are indestructable. Let's see how she does one-on-one, shall we?    Here's hoping this won't eventually bite me in the rear end like Murasa did, eh? It's not like her V3 is in an area that I frequently have to travel through, or anything like that...  As I mentioned last time, no matter what, you can only get Chen's chip from the fight with Yukari. That said...  Hey, remember way back in Part 24, when I got Crimson Noise? Where I mentioned that you can get spoiler-y chips from bossfights? Guess what's been in my second folder the entire goddamn time.   RanX does 240 damage down every single row, before any multipliers come into play. It's glorious. The only downside is that it doesn't do piercing damage, but you can't win 'em all, I suppose. That wasn't the only spoiler-y illegal NaviChip chip I got from CrimsonNoise, by the way.  Music: Central City Oh, and one more thing before we head back home for the day.   : "Please? I'll give you this magic number! '97358614'! Now you can't tell!"Fun fact! Never found this kid before. Another one of those NPCs whose head darts into frame for all of half a second.  Let's go see what it is, shall we?  Music: Genso Town  Eh?  Star-Shield, huh?  Hm... something about this seems kinda familiar... Of the various AddOns that utilize the triggers, this one is pretty useful. Yes, you freeze in place for a second, but that shield repels everything that doesn't do breaking damage.  And speaking of things I previously didn't know about, there's one more thing I wanna pick up before we finish off this chapter.   Music: Undernet We're just gonna make a quick pitstop at the very back end of the Undernet.   We're also just gonna avoid the new boss who's taken up residence in Undernet 3. No reason to be mean to her twice in one day, y'know?  So, back in Undernet 10. Remember that hidden path?  The one that I said seemed like a weird oversight, because there was absolutely nothing on it?  Haha, so, funny story.   The moral of that story?  Always mash A. (I'd like to thank PrinnyDyte over on discord for pointing this out. Would've literally never found this without that tip!!)  It's a somewhat expensive AddOn, but depending on your folder? Could very easily be worth it.  As a side note, this is the message you get if you try to have multiple DarkChips without that AddOn, which is very charming. Shanghai can sass you even through warning messages!   Okay, now we can go to bed.   Music: Stop     ...So, it's entirely possible that the NetAgents investigating Border Concern has accelerated ROM's plans just a tiny bit.  Music: Incident!  : "Is there anything we can do?"There's gotta be something, right?  Oh?  : "Dr. Morichika? What does it say?": "Ah..."  : "As it happens, I am at the NetAgent center right now.": "Would you mind coming by when you have the chance?" : "Let's go, then."Hmm.  Hmmm. Well, I wonder what Shinki's got to say about all this?  Ah.   : ...Sorry, momma.  Music: Incident! Anyways... heading outside, Genso Town's got some new additions.  : (It looks out of place, especially in your hometown.)   : "Every asset will be needed in case this hits the real world like the Internet Armageddon."  : "It's scary, seeing the SDF out there."Things are kinda serious, huh?  I know Rinnosuke asked us to meet him at the NetAgent center, but I'm curious how everywhere else is handling this.  : "Life goes on..."Unsurprisingly, there's mecha outside the University.  And a familiar face, as well! Hi, Sanae!   : "Tensions are high and forces are vigilantly watching for ROM activity.": "For your own safety, please remain indoors if at all possible until the situation has passed." ...Yeah, I know that feeling.   Music: Incident!  Yeah, I know that feeling as well.   : "But now I remember we thought the same of the Internet, until the Internet Armageddon..."You know, it doesn't get brought up that often, but I feel like it should be mentioned: both in this game, and in the Battle Network series proper, the Net is not the same thing as the Internet. In both cases, the Internet existed, something happened (ie: The Alpha Revolt/Internet Armageddon) that effectively destroyed the Internet as we know it, and the scientists of the time had to scramble to come up with something else. It's a neat bit a worldbuilding that gets kinda glossed over at times!  Anyways, where were we?  Ah, right, existential dread.  Let's not keep Rinnosuke waiting too long.  Music: Incident!  So many relateable NPCs out today, gosh.  To break up the seriousness a bit, I wanted to point this out: despite being ostensibly the same object copied and pasted around the various maps, this one has broken layering on its sprite. You can stand on top of it!  Right then. Let's get this show on the road!    : "What is it, Doc?"(Buckle in for some serious expositioning, folks.)   : "The reason for this... The answer lies in the true nature of Shanghai.": "The true nature of Shanghai...?": "Yes..."Music: Stop    It's been a while since we've seen Alice's dad, huh? Update 19 posted:  : "The world's in trouble, and Japan is in the center of it.": "And I know that my daughters are the key to stopping this crisis." Well, that's one way to let the cat out of the bag.  : "Rebecca...?": "......": "Alice, you may have noticed that Shanghai is no normal Navi."  : "Let me start from the beginning.": "20 years ago..." Music: Sadness  : "Together, we had one beautiful daughter.": "Her name was Rebecca, Rebecca Marga, and she was so happy and full of life."(Rebecca's name here is why Alice is Alice Shinki in this game, instead of Alice Margatroid. Though, why they shortened it for Rebecca, I have no idea.)  : "But one day, hiking on a path to our next destination..."   ...    : "I wandered the world aimlessly."  Note: this is the first time we've actually heard Shinki's first name! ...And it just so happens to be the name of a completely unrelated touhou character, who debuted after this game was made.  : "But..." : "I found an old terminal in the ruins I'd stumbled upon during one of my adventures.": "Inside was a dying electronic lifeform."Eh?  : "A living being existing in cyber-space.": "It was a girl, washed to our planet from a place called 'Beyondard'...": "I asked an acquaintance who had researched the cyberworld to treat the child.": "To compensate for missing data and the damage that had put her in a vegetative state...": "We had to transplant human DNA and even memories to make up for what was lost.": "So I... I gave her the DNA and memories of Rebecca, who I had lost."Your guess is as good as mine as to how he transplanted memories.      Music: Stop And there you have it. This isn't exactly that big of a revelation, given the fact that it's a Battle Network fangame, but whatever, it works. If anything, the backstory is kinda like a blend of both Megaman.EXE and Omega-xis.  : "Ah, yes.": "Shanghai's large capacity is because she is made up of cells, stored as information.": "This allows her to interact with the lifeforms of Beyondard, the Black Navis.": "Because in the beginning, she was made of the same blocks as them."Coincidentally, this is also why she can use DarkChips at zero cost. It's not just because she's already a delinquent, but also because they're designed to corrupt NetNavi Programs. Not cross-dimensional electronic lifeforms. There's just a little bit of a difference, y'know?  : "So I've been operating my sister to fight this whole time..." : "That's why... I asked Dad to keep it from you.": "......" : "Would you keep operating me as Shanghai?": "...I don't know."It's a difficult question, to be sure.  That's also a good question!  : "Their leader... They surely must be a being from Beyondard.": "And one of great power.": "Shanghai is the only one who can fight against a lifeform from Beyondard as an equal."Fair.  : "The bonds between Alice and Shanghai are of the utmost importance.": "The bonds betwen Shanghai and I...": "An ultimate state, beyond Full Synchro. Two hearts, merged as one.": "Without this Perfect Synchro, we have no chance."   : "But it's a guarantee that you two have to trust each other completely.": "I know that you have a bond beyond that of a Navi and NetOp.": "......" : "I wondered how Shanghai understood so much about me...": "Because we were family...": "Because we were sisters...": "......" Music: Main Theme  : "I'll fight alongside my sister...": "No, alongside Shanghai!": "Alice... I knew you would say that." : "The NetAgents are preparing an assault on the ROM hideout.": "The day of the final battle will be coming soon.": "Prepare yourselves for that day.": "...Okay!" : "Alice, go home and rest.": "I... I have some things to talk with Rinnosuke about.": "Alright, Papa...": "Come home soon. Mama misses you.": "Yeah, I... I know."(Oof. And here I thought Yuuichirou's work-life balance was bad.)  Music: Stop   : "I notice you didn't tell them how dangerous Perfect Synchro is.": "If Shanghai were to be deleted while in Perfect Synchro... Alice would lose her life as well..." : "It would just scare them!": "And I don't believe for a second that they stand a chance of losing!": "I love my daughters! I'm proud of them!" The world's only chance or not... I'm with Rinnosuke here. That's not exactly the thing you should be hiding, Lloyd.  : "There's nothing we... There's nothing any of us adults can do.": "We're not powerless.": "There's things only adults can do.": "Things we can do to let our children live life to the fullest."Things adults can and should do: make sure kids know and understand the dangers they'll be facing, so they can make informed decisions. Oh wait  : "...You always know the right thing to say.": "I'll trust you, Lloyd."I take back my siding with Rinnosuke. (I know she'd have done it no matter what, but it's the principle of the matter.)    ...   
|
|
#
?
Jul 2, 2021 06:48
|
|
|
I will admit I was a bit let down by this plot point. I mean, this is a fan game, you can do anything you want! Don't just use the exact same 'oh my partner is actually my sibling and we need to get 110% in sync to win'-thing from the source material.
|
|
#
?
Jul 2, 2021 07:28
|
|
|
Is that a Hourai doll I spy?
|
|
#
?
Jul 2, 2021 07:42
|
|
|
Wait so the "rip to your brother but I'm different" meme someone posted ages ago is literally true?! This is great, the story is absolutely ridiculous in true MMBN fashion. Edit: and that someone was Blaziken! Blaziken386 posted:I spent entirely too much time making this Edit 2: could've sworn it said "... But I'm made different" which would have been amazingly on the nose. Solumin fucked around with this message at 08:37 on Jul 2, 2021 |
|
#
?
Jul 2, 2021 08:31
|
|
|
BisbyWorl posted:I will admit I was a bit let down by this plot point. I admit that one idea I've had for a BN fangame - which I admit I'd like people to rip off from me, 'cause I'll probably never use it, is OK, so remember how in Mega Man Star Force 2, Matter Waves (RF projections that acted as real, interactable matter) had become a thing? And remember how in MMBN2, the villain of the piece - the head of Gospel had done something in an abandoned apartment block that emitted an unknown radiation that started fusing the real and cyber worlds together. All of that brings me back to Dr. Wily and the LifeVirus. He was just trying to destroy the entire internet. But it occurs to me that anyone willing to use the power of Matter Waves or whatever the equivalent is to unleash the dreaming world (er, the Net) into the waking world could cause some serious damage. Of course, if there was, say, a Navi that had somehow grown a soul, and bonded to its owner... what if that would also be a way for them to be there with them...?
|
|
#
?
Jul 2, 2021 09:00
|
|
|
So, in the BN anime, "Beyondard" is a blanket term for "another world" that just becomes shorthand for the parallel world that the characters travel to; to Beyondard, the normal BN Earth is Beyondard. So it's unclear if Shanghai.EXE Beyondard is referring to an equivalent world for Shanghai.EXE's universe, or just "another alternate world," but if it's the former...Is Shanghai meant to be a counterpart for Trill?  Trill.EXE is simultaneously a Navi and Actual Child (who grew up as the series progressed, noted to be unlike Navis in that regard) from Beyondard, who exists to wipe out the "Beast Factor" that's been corrupting Navis and aligning them to Gregar or Falzar, and is also the means by which MegaMan can Beast Out in the Anime without having to absorb one of them. I wouldn't put too much stock in this, except that one of Trill's other abilities is explicitly to store viruses in his "pocket." While it's not an explicit power of Shanghai's, the mechanic is similar enough to make me wonder.
|
|
#
?
Jul 2, 2021 09:04
|
|
|
BisbyWorl posted:I will admit I was a bit let down by this plot point. this entire game that I'm willing to let it slide.Quackles posted:OK, so remember how in Mega Man Star Force 2, Matter Waves (RF projections that acted as real, interactable matter) had become a thing? Faillen Angel posted:So, in the BN anime, "Beyondard" is a blanket term for "another world" that just becomes shorthand for the parallel world that the characters travel to; to Beyondard, the normal BN Earth is Beyondard. So it's unclear if Shanghai.EXE Beyondard is referring to an equivalent world for Shanghai.EXE's universe, or just "another alternate world," but if it's the former...Is Shanghai meant to be a counterpart for Trill? *the other reason being: they never fuckin' dubbed it and this was the dark ages of anime when stuff like crunchyroll wasn't even a thing
|
|
#
?
Jul 2, 2021 09:39
|
|
|
Blaziken386 posted:*the other reason being: they never fuckin' dubbed it and this was the dark ages of anime when stuff like crunchyroll wasn't even a thing Ah yes, the days when you watched anime on Youtube, 10 minutes at a time.
|
|
#
?
Jul 2, 2021 09:50
|
|
|
Quackles posted:And remember how in MMBN2, the villain of the piece - the head of Gospel had done something in an abandoned apartment block that emitted an unknown radiation that started fusing the real and cyber worlds together. I wish they did more with that I really liked the design of that place.
|
|
#
?
Jul 2, 2021 16:39
|
|
|
So they went for an hub.bat situation. I totally called it, as shown by this totally unedited post: Omobono posted:
Totally called it Shitposts aside, I'm not sure I like the total recycling of this particular plot point but it doesn't really hurt the game as a whole in my opinion. Omobono fucked around with this message at 18:17 on Jul 2, 2021 |
|
#
?
Jul 2, 2021 18:06
|
|
|
The way things have been going, I expect there to be a few more plot twists that make Hub 2.0 look irrelevant in comparison.
|
|
#
?
Jul 2, 2021 18:10
|
|
|
Part 44: Heavy Artillery : "Augh! The artillery is too thick!"Music: Emergency!  So, seems like the NetAgents have located the ROM base, huh?  : "To defend this location with such ferocity... ROM must have something they cannot lose.": "...but you are correct. Fall back!"Well. ...drat.  Music: Stop  : "Understood...": "You've found their hideout?": "The Fujiwara branch of the Yakuza gave us some leads on their location."Fujiwara? ...Wait, you mean Mokou?  : "It was something ROM had overlooked. The Yakuza kept tabs on them.": "Before, they had some sort of nonaggression pact, as long as nothing hurt their interests.": "Even the previous incident with the Black Navis caused a lot of upheaval, and threw many of their operations into chaos.": "They took that as a betrayal, and tipped off a NetAgent."Turns out Organized Crime isn't too fond of random chaos! Who'da thought?  : "They've got thick defences. Artillery support, radar systems, and air coverage.": "We'll need you to find a way to break into their base."Wait, what  : "Who knows, you might find an obvious solution we've missed. Mouth of babes, and that.": "You've found ways to beat ROM many times before.": "...Okay, I'll try to find some way to help.": "We're relying on you!" ...Goddammit, Sagume.  : "...It's just frustrating. I decided to fight, and we're still planning.": "Why don't we head over to Remilia's?": "Why Remilia?": "'Cause she's rich!": "..."Not sure I entirely support that logic, but sure, why not?  Ah?    : "Would you like to come by to visit before they start the surgery?": "I'm sure it would mean a lot to Satori if you were there!"Well... if we're not gearing up to attack ROM's base at the moment, I'm sure visiting a friend couldn't hurt. Sure, why not?  Music: Incident! Off we go!   : "But I have a feeling you'll be the one to take them down, Alice!"Considering Sagume's current plan is "have us come up with the plan," you just might be on to something.    Music: Hospital Despite the rest of the world playing the tense Incident music, the Hospital theme is still the same as always. Makes sense, since it's supposed to be a place of safety.   : "I suppose if anything happens, we can just call the NetAgents next door."...For a given value of safety, that is.    : "Hi, Koishi. Where's Satori?" : "She's already in the operating room.": "Well then, let's wait in front of the operating room until the operation is over.": "Kaaay!"drat, we just missed her, huh? Maybe the waiting room has magazines or something.  : "Utsuho should be playing in the TV Comp!": "She's not very good at sitting still and waiting patiently.": "Hmmm..." Music: Stop    : "Unyu... I'm bored...": "Koishi hasn't been playing with me at all lately...": "I'm so bored..." Uh oh.  Music: Theme of ROM  : "Power...?": "But Utsuho doesn't have the ability to fight..." : "Then I will grant you that ability."Uuuhhh....   : "A Dark Chip...!"This seems... bad.     : "With this power, I can finally take care of that girl who's always getting my way..."So, I dunno if you remember a certain BBS post, but... UnderBBS posted:My buddy's been naggin' me about Dark Chips recently. His Navi was a "kid's model", the type with low capacity, and he liked usin' Dark Chips. One day it just rampaged and turned into a huge monster. What gives?" UnderBBS posted:It's a DarkRoid now, that Navi's done, dude. Low-cap Navis don't have much to 'em, so Dark Chips start overwritin' their Navi-bits. Each Dark Chip has a bit of data that it forces inta ya when you use it. Unless you're already committed to evil, watch your Dark Chip use. has turned into a difficult situation.  !!! Music: Hospital  : ".........": ".........".........  : "The doctor said it's a difficult operation...": "I wonder if Satori's going to be okay...": "She'll be fine as long as Dr. Yagokoro is in charge!" Umm...  Red screen filters are generally a bad sign in these games.  Music: Emergency! So, remind me. Which comp was Utsuho in, again?  : "Dr. Yagokoro! What's happening!?" : "It seems like the temperature is rising because the AC is malfunctioning!": "But it's only on this floor! And I can't seem to open the door's digital lock either..."So, important fact: operating rooms are typically kept rather cold, due to sterile clothing and bright lights being really goddamn hot, especially when you have to wear them for extended periods of time. So even a regular problem in the AC can be a serious issue.  : "She's fine for now, but she won't recover if it keeps getting hotter!": "...Only this floor? It's almost like...": "Regardless! If the AC is malfunctioning, there must be a problem in the cyberworld.": "Please tell us where to jack in!" : "Jack in there? Let's do it, Alice!": "Of course!" She'll be fine!! (...hopefully!!)  : (It controls the operating room too, so you can jack in from outside to fix any problems.)  Music: Cyber of Hospital  Welcome to the second optional dungeon, everyone! The Yagokoro Hospital Server! The gimmick here is incredibly straightforward:  : "Be careful. The heat's slowly draining your health."Be quick, or else!  You lose 20 HP every second or so that you aren't in battle.    : "SOMEONE RELEASED A BUNCH OF VIRUSES AND SET THIS COMP ABLAZE!": "THE FIRES ARE BEING FED BY VIRUSES LIVING INSIDE THEM!": "IF YOU CAN DELETE THE VIRUSES, THE FLAMES SHOULD GO OUT!" Luckily, this being a hospital, there's a few Sprites hanging around who're more than happy to heal you! ...Though, you may want to bring a full inventory of healing subchips, just in case.  : "THIS HEAT'S NOT GOOD FOR YOUR HEALTH!": "PLEASE KEEP AN EYE ON YOUR HP AT ALL TIMES!"As you can see, in the time it took me to run from the start of the dungeon to the very first platform, I'd already lost 60 HP. I'm reasaonably certain it can't kill you, but it sure is noticeable.   The only new virus encounter on the first level are FlaMeow3s, alongside various other Heat viruses like Flire, Heater, and so on. Which means it's excellent for grinding ErrorFrags, if you're so inclined.  As a reminder, FireArm chips hit twice if your target doesn't move. Very nice.    As expected, most of the chips from BMD in here are also Heat-element.    Each of the fires have EX-viruses inside them. And normally "special" encounters are annoying because they're pointless for grinding chips... but most EX viruses don't have their own chips anyways, so it doesn't really matter! Just know that FlaMeowEX is a faster version.  Additionally, because you're fighting viruses attacking you from inside a bonfire, these fights are all uniquely annoying in that you'll have a constant Melt status effect applied to you. Even if you're Heat-element yourself, or using Witch-style. Which means chips like Medicine that do damage over time are preferable, because at least that damage isn't getting cut in half.   Aside from the assorted Battlechips, there's also a good number of healing subchips in the BMD here. Helpful!   Next bonfire has a FlireEX, alongside some NarLilys. As a reminder, NarLilys can crack your tiles, so dealing with them is a priority. Thankfully, they don't have much health.  Also, important to note: Melt only halves the damage of battlechips. Charged buster shots aren't affected by it.   Now to deal with the right side.    More Flire viruses! This time with some Flire3s mixed in. As it turns out, I'm pretty bad at dodging their weird fireballs, no matter how many times I see them. My brain's not good at diagonals.   More free healing over in the nearby BMD.  And the final fire of the first section holds...!  ...oh, that's just mean.  Thankfully they're nice about their attack patterns and don't completely box me in, but still. Mean.  With the Melt status in play, these two effectively have 5000 HP between them in total. Once again, poison is your friend.  And with that, the first gate is open!   Tackling the fires on the right side first this time.   Another new EX virus, Dyad! (Supposedly, a shortened form of "Diamond"?) Slightly annoying because this one does have a unique chip, but it won't drop it.    Next encounter is pretty easy. One FlaMeowEX can't box you in and, frankly, Warriors aren't fast enough to be a problem anymore.  The BMD over here has a FireArm3 O chip in it, in case you're having diffculty getting it to drop from the viruses in this area.    Back over on the left side, there's a GhostEX in the last fire. If it hits you, the Blind status will make the fire trapwebs hit for double damage, so watch out for that. Ironically, its attack speed works against it - because it was attacking almost constantly, even after getting blinded I could just shoot straight ahead and still reliably hit it, because it was almost always right in front of me.   And with that, Area 1 is clear!   Seven fires in total to contend with this time, and a lot less healing stations this time around. Hope you brought subchips!   As for viruses, there's two new ones in random encounters! VnmWooly, being a venomous spider, can poison you. Obviously.   The next one is Flire3! Which we just saw in the last Area's bonfires. But now we can get its chip! I'm still bad at dodging the fireballs.  The first bonfire of this area kinda sets the tone for things to come.  Three FlireEX! What does that look like, you ask?  This footage is not sped up at all. Help.  Please die!! Thank you!!!  As a reminder, my HalfEnrg chips were maxed out when I came in here.  Hopefully the right side will be nicer!  Once again, more Heat chips.    Thankfully, FlaMeow aren't smart enough to completely flood my area with fire. But it's close.   And the other one has...!  ...Two JuragonEX. Of course.   If there's one good thing about this dungeon, it's that DrkRayGn is basically always maxed out in damage. ...Even if it only does half of that against these two.  And with that, we can proceed.  Missed the screenshot of the capture, but I caught another virus for the menagerie right after this! Flire viruses were kinda rare before this dungeon.    The next fire has another JuragonEX, alongside some Filter viruses, the EX Poison version of the Crasher family. Weirdly, it doesn't have a poison-element chip to drop. It's one of the few alternate-element viruses where that's the case.   JuragonEX + Poisonstage = pain   Fitting for a hospital, the BMD just north of that last bonfire has Recov500, the strongest of all Recov chips.   Next bonfire is up in the top right!  It's also extremely mean.  -Meio attack really fast, and hit twice. -BaldyEX spawns ice panels under its tornado, restricting your movement. -Melt means you take double damage from the water-element tornado. -Changing to AquaStyle to counter the ice panels means you take double damage from the Meio. Put that all together, and what do you get?   Music: Game Over   Music: VS. Virus Attempt number two!  Success!  Music: Cyber of Hospital Directly south from there is a chip for BlkNplm K, the chip which Dyad would've dropped if it was a regular encounter.  It's pretty much exactly what you'd expect. I never use these chips, frankly.  It's at this point I realize that I accidentally left a BMD in the first part of the area. I backtracked all the way to go get it, only for it to be a FullEnrg... which I used almost immediately to counteract the heat damage I took going back for it in the first place.   YlwWooly are the EX versions of the Wooly family!  I got stunned by them more than I'd like to admit...  One final bonfire left, over on the left side.   ...It's kind of anticlimatic.   Well. The real climax is just up ahead.  Music: Encounter!  : "...Ah?": "You... The Navi called Shanghai!": "Unyu...! Everything was great until you came along!"Well... at least she's not completely berserk? This isn't that much better, though.  : "Utsuho?! Is that you? Why are you doing this?!": "Stop! If you don't, big sis Satori will...!" : "What did Satori ever do to you?!": "Satori this! Satori that! Koishi never has time for anything else!": "No time for friends! No time to study! Only Satori!"Somehow, I don't think Utsuho's in any mood to be reasoned with.  : "Utsuho...! You-!": "You're really something!": "To play with lives for your own selfish gain!": "You think your fun is more important than someone's life? Koishi's own sister?": "It's not, you idiot!"It should be noted that none of the girls know that Utsuho was corrupted by a Dark Chip, nor is it even common knowledge that Dark Chips can do this. As far as they're aware, Utsuho just kinda flipped the hell out!  : "Alice!": "I'll get through to her by putting her head through a wall!"But hey, artificial corruption or not, that's nothing a little percussive maintenance can't fix!     Music: VS. Navi  Introducing Utsuho, for real this time - not just a joke character, but a Hell Raven with the power of  For her first attack, she tends to lead off with Mega Flare Gun in triplicate. It works exactly the same as when Flire does it. Keep track of which one she shoots first, because they explode in the same order.  Next up, one of her more dangerous attacks, Dark Meteor! She uses her wings to blow you backwards while pelting you with meteors. You can damage her to stop the wind to make the meteors slightly easier to dodge.  After that, she tends to follow up by charging down either the bottom or top two rows, then the other two rows on the way back. This comes out quick, sometimes even while there are still explosive flares or meteors onscreen.  Finally, for her half-health desperation attack, she pulls out the mother of all Charge Cannons, and fires a massive blast straight ahead. Luckily, only the second and third columns in front of her are three rows wide.  Just a tip: you probably should avoid getting hit by that. Boss Battle: ☢!!WARNING!!☢      Music: Stop  : "So that's why she went crazy...": "U-Unyu..."It's a good thing Shanghai's somewhat familiar with the possible consequences of Dark Chips, huh?   : *Pow!*: *Gack!*  Dark Chip, Get!  : "A perfect explanation of where she got that power. And that attitude!": "U-Un-Unyu...!"Music: Sadness  : "Utsuho has done so many bad things! I hurt Koishi!": "I can't show my face to Koishi! I can't stay here! She'll never want to see me again!"  : "I'm sorry!"Ah?  : "I never paid attention to your feelings!": "It's my fault! I did this to you! To Satori!": "Koishi..." : "The surgery looks like it's finished."  Music: Hospital  The surgery room light turns off...  (...God dammit, blink animation, now is not the time.)  : "Congenital Weakness Factor Disorder... I cured the disease that was eating away at her.": "Wha...?" : "She'd be able to see for a while, but she'd go blind again in a few years.": "There's still no settled protocol for treating CWFD...": "But during the operation in that sweltering heat...": "The cell that causes CWFD started to turn back to normal."I. How does that even. ...Y'know what, sure, okay. I don't know nearly enough about medicine to understand if this is completely ridiculous or not. Satori's better, and that's the important part!  : "I'll look into it later. Satori should be able to see once the anesthesia wears off.": "T-Thank you so much!!": "Well, I have to move Satori to her room, so could you please wait on the second floor?": "Sure!"      : "Look, sis! It's me, Koishi!" : "Koishi... Fufu... You're as cute as I imagined.": "I'm so happy for you, Satori!": "Alice... It seems Koishi is in your debt for various things.": "And I am grateful as well. Thank you so very much." : "That's great! Now we can go home together!" : (Utsuho reflected on her actions, and the Dark Chip is no longer a threat.): (I guess Koishi and Utsuho will be working together from now on to support Satori.): (And finally...) : "We couldn't stand by and let Satori be hurt, that's all.": "Whatever the reason, thank you very much. Please, take this." : "Ah?": "Try it out when you have the chance!"(We'll go over EirnCall in the future. It's kinda like Humor, but with interesting fluff instead of jokes.)  : "Satori wanted to see you, she mentioned.": "Come back and visit us some time!": "Of course!"And with that, the Hospital Incident comes to a close!  Our main reward from this, DrkBreth, is well worth the effort. It's a 400-damage Dragon Flame chip. In the same code as GrassStage. It's probably one of, if not the most powerful Dark Chips in the entire game.  Beautiful.  And now that we've fought Utsuho, I can show off the other ridiculous chip that I got from Crimson Noise ages ago. It's Utsuho's charge attack! If you use it in the middle row, it hits the entire goddamn field, because of course it does. Utsuho is weird in that you can fight her V1 normally... but her V2 and V3 forms were never implemented in normal gameplay, so the chips are classified as Illegal Chips. Now, before we end things off, let's go see what Satori has to say!  : "Nothing to worry about, Alice. I'm better now than I ever remember being.": "That's wonderful to hear, Satori. I'm so glad.": "Anyways, Doctor Yagokoro mentioned that you wanted to talk about something?": "Oh... I'm sorry if you came all the way just for that, it's really just something silly...": "No, no, it was no trouble at all! I'm always happy to come visit a friend!"Also, we hadn't actually left the building yet. So.   : "And Shanghai, too! What Satori wants to say, is that we want to get strong, too!": "Strong enough so nobody can hurt Satori again!" : "It may be far in the future, but some day we'll challenge you and prove our strength.": "Of course! But please don't push yourself, Satori!"By "far in the future", they mean "this is a postgame fight that was never implemented." Unfortunately, no O'Rin fight exists.  : "Just you wait, we'll be strong enough to challenge you in no time!" Oh yeah, one last thing.    : "With this power... A pox upon opponents..."You didn't think we'd get just one Dark Chip in the hospital, did you?  Behold, the best defensive chip in the game! ...You know, provided you actually use W-code. The chip art sure does look familiar though, huh? Blaziken386 fucked around with this message at 09:40 on Jul 8, 2021 |
|
#
?
Jul 7, 2021 04:26
|
|
|
This dungeon would be even more hellish (heh) if you didn't have that heal on multi-deletes to help mitigate damage.
|
|
#
?
Jul 7, 2021 05:14
|
|
|
Well, a lot of science is "we didn't try this obvious thing, whoops", and applying *heat* during an operation seems counterproductive, so I guess it makes sense. Also, 
|
|
#
?
Jul 7, 2021 06:04
|
|
|
I actually really like the small tweak that was done to the Battle Network twist of Battle Network's writing is questionable in general, but Dr. Hikari wanting to keep things a secret in the original game is kind of a lovely thing for a father to do, after putting Lan in oblivious charge of his brother's leash of life and death. The fact that Haruka knew as well and kind of went along with it and had no arguments only adds on to it. Neither of them are the ones that should be making this decision. But the sibling is. For an older sibling, the one who's being operated, the one who would want their younger sibling to treat them the same way, the one who would want to look after them, it makes perfect sense for her to want to hide this information from Alice. Mind, all it'd take is for Lan/Alice to lose a friendly Netbattle or trip up during virus busting and then whoops Navi is gone permanently and then have fun explaining that, pops. But at least in Lloyd's case he'd have a better justification than Yuichiro. (oh yeah, his name in Japanese in "Troid", not "Lloyd". As in Marga + Troid. I don't know why the translator made him "Lloyd". Probably because it sounds like an actual name?)
|
|
#
?
Jul 7, 2021 07:16
|
|
|
My question is why not just have Shinki be the one to deliver all that exposition as opposed to giving the honour to this unseen father character at the last second. Her touhou self even has that whole lore about creating living beings, it would have all rolled together nicely. Also this optional dungeon was another big and fun surprise for me. I basically never had to worry about the health drain because I pelted all the viruses with multiple Medinces and always got healed, but the atmosphere is still suitably hectic! I'm not even sure why its optional since I think it could have fit naturally enough between story chapters somewhere, but its a neat little packaged story all in all. eternaldough fucked around with this message at 09:51 on Jul 7, 2021 |
|
#
?
Jul 7, 2021 09:46
|
|
|
The fact there were actual optional dungeons was a very neat surprise as BN had none of that aside from the post-games. Also yeah, the game just straight up reusing that plot point from BN1 is where it lost me for a bit.
|
|
#
?
Jul 7, 2021 10:18
|
|
|
quote:oh motherfucker. I shoulda known something was there.
|
|
#
?
Jul 7, 2021 16:37
|
|
|
I just realized that pre-boss theme is actually a remixed really short loop of Hellfire Mantle, pretty neat.
|
|
#
?
Jul 7, 2021 19:46
|
|
|
TerminusEst13 posted:(oh yeah, his name in Japanese in "Troid", not "Lloyd". As in Marga + Troid. I don't know why the translator made him "Lloyd". Probably because it sounds like an actual name?) eternaldough posted:My question is why not just have Shinki be the one to deliver all that exposition as opposed to giving the honour to this unseen father character at the last second. Her touhou self even has that whole lore about creating living beings, it would have all rolled together nicely. Also, I feel like this dungeon might've been intended for story stuff* at one point, but they decided to not detract from ROM too much. Honestly, if it was required content, I might've found it a little bit lacking, but making it an optional reward for doing a sidequest just made it that much more neat. I never played through it my first time, because I got stuck on the puzzle for the Shipwreck Dungeon and couldn't take on any more quests. I like content that's potentially missable! *Or at the very least, intended as a lead-in for post game story stuff. Well, whatever. Now onto something completely different!
|
|
#
?
Jul 8, 2021 02:13
|
|
|
Bonus Content: Eirin's Enlightening Ecological Education~! Today, we'll be going over the EirnCall program we got for resolving the Hospital Incident! But first... there's something we need to finish taking care of.  That being: There's still some viruses I never got around to catching!             Twelve of them, in fact. Some of them were only really frequent in early-game areas (ie: DunBeetl or HolSnake) or just flat out annoying to get. (ie: Wukong, SworDog, GunHopr)  And with that, our menagerie is finally complete! Let's meet our new friends!   : "Stroking under this gal's chin makes her happy."  : "...I want to get a line of these guys and make a choir."The only thing I can think of is this:   : "Do you think he'll follow my orders?" : "So cool! This guy's sooooo cool!" : "Ha ha ha! What a funny dance!"  : "When this guy crows, is it time to wake up?" : "Even if I touch this virus, it won't leave a scratch!"Even if you can't hurt it, you don't need to be mean to it.  : "I heard a rumor that this guy leaves behind soil that's perfect for cyber-gardens..." : "Maybe you're hungry? Mmmm... I can't tell." : "C'mere, lil' guy! Eat up!" : "Maybe I should sharpen its blade?" : "Would you like to train it to come out when you play a flute?" : "What's this guy's rope attached to...?"Who can say, truly? Well, anyways. With all viruses present and accounted for... let's give Eirin a call, shall we?  : "I was wondering why a doctor would want to talk to us.": "Not just a doctor!": "A super-hot cool beauty of a doctor!": "Uh..." : "Just fighting viruses all the time must get boring, right?": "If you call me with this AddOn, I can tell you about the ecology of viruses.": "Ecology of viruses... That sounds interesting.": "That's right!" : "RayCann are a typical turret-type virus, closer to a machine than a creature.": "A machine? Don't they grow by eating BugFrags?": "They're like mollusks, hiding their vulnerable bits inside a hard shell.": "Huh...": "The bullets they fire from their barrels are mono-type transition depth charges.": "They're shells of an image that transfer a bomb to a locked-on target.": "You can dodge if you step off of the targeted panel!"I like the justification for why there's a cannon-type virus when viruses are supposed to be digital animals: "well, it's actually a mollusk."  : "The main body of the virus is the brain-like plant growing on the turret.": "It's a virus that uses its hijacking abilities to control a tank-type program.": "You can burn them out with Heat and Poison!": "The shells fired from the tank have no element since the parasite didn't make them.": "It drops the SeedCan chip, which actually fires the seeds of the parasitic plant!": "The virus ecosystem of the cyber-world sure is something!"Huh. Apparently FlwrTanks don't attack you with Leaf-Element attacks? Good to know.  : "A GelPack's a snail, a cyber mollusk, and grows its own heater shell on its back.": "Speaking of - my servant toasted one on a fire and said it was delicious.": "Eating viruses is popular in some parts of the cyber-world, but don't copy them!": "The laser beam that they fire come from Sparktake mushrooms living in the shell.": "Sparktake take the shell's heat and turn it into electricity that can by discharged.": "That's how the GelPack can fire those huge beams.": "I want to eat it.": "Stop that."I also want to eat it.  : "Wooly are spider-shaped viruses covered in fine hairs.": "They fire balls of sticky wool to capture their prey.": "They can be different elements depending on where you find them!": "Their eyes shine in the dark so some people call them by the color of their eyes.": "By the way, people say Wooly were modeled after tarantulas.": "Then I don't think the creator of this virus has ever seen a tarantula.": "Spiders can be cute, can't they?": "I guess..."Some friends of mine like spiders. I will respect that opinion, so long as they keep spiders far away from me.  : "FlaMeows are cat-shaped viruses that have found a home in a cyber-kotatsu.": "I could tell it was a cat from the name...": "You can see that their tails are bifurcated - they used to be Nekomata-type viruses.": "I don't know the full story behind why they've mutated from their creator's design.": "I'm glad it's not a virus that attacks with cat scratches.": "Those hurt!": (But wouldn't fire breath hurt too...?)The reason they mutated is because kotatsu are warm and comfy, what's to understand.  : "Their name refers to their origin as digital pets on the Kedama Dog Lovers server.": "So they're some type of dog?": "Yes, but their legs shortened and degenerated during their time living in the cyber-world.": "If you flip one over, you'll see one small vestigial leg.": "When they're about to attack, their hair hardens to protect them from the shockwave.": "It seems that stronger variants can grind panels into sand with their attacks.": "I see, I see...": "So a cyber-dog created as a pet has become a cyber-wolf...": "That's what happens when you leave you pet out in the wild.": "Wow..."Fun fact about Kedama: the name comes from the kanji 毛 and 玉, which literally translates to "furball". I dunno if that's a nickname for dogs in Japanese, but it definitely is in English!  : "Lily viruses were originally ornamental flowers in a flower shop's networks.": "Somehow they evolved to make their own poison. Isn't life great?": "I can't see a flower that big fitting in any bouquet.": "They're extinct now, but there used to be a subspecies with deadly poison.": "Just a single drop would cause instant deletion, no matter how strong you were.": "Wow... I'm glad I wasn't around back then.": "They were eventually hunted to extinction by Navis who wanted the poison for themselves.": "How ironic... Evolving a stronger poison led to their own downfall."I'd ask why nobody tried to cultivate them before they went extinct... but "instant deletion poison" is probably much more dangerous to farm than it is to hunt down. Sorta like how cows are statistically more deadly than sharks, but only because people interact with cows far more than they interact with sharks.  : "Screwn viruses were born in the search for a better cyber-fan.": "It became what it is now when someone decided it would be cooler if the fan were ice.": "I wonder why people weren't satisfied with a normal fan?": "By the way, the part of the virus that grows when fed BugFrags is the crystal shaft.": "I wonder if the fan would keep spinning while you fed it?": "I guess I'm just not that enthusiastic about fans..."I guess you could say Alice isn't a fan of Screwn.   : "ShlRune are viruses that look like hermit crabs.": "I thought it was a weirdly shaped GelPack.": "One of the seven mysteries of the Net is what a ShlRune looks like under its shell.": "Net debaters argue as to why it can jump 1 meter up, but not move from its spot.": "And that's not even counting the super-heavy shell that causes rockfall on landing.": (Nobody else is wondering about the pincers?)Under the shell is... a second shell.  : "They look like AC units, but the origin of their name is from the ancient Web.": "The Web?": "People used to use browsers and these rogue programs would take over or break them.": "Browsers quickly developed countermeasures, but they're a part of the web history.": "So in a way, these viruses are a remnant from those earlier times."Pictured: the things infesting 90% of all ROM websites. ...no, not the evil organization. The other type of ROM.  : "They're the combat data of a demon-type Navi that has gone independent and viral.": "It's a real annoying story, so don't ask me about it.": "The original Navi is a big drinker, and I hear you can summon them with cyber-sake.": "...but you're underage, so you can't get cyber-sake.": "I'm 20, so I can drink.": "...I'm underage, so I'll stay away from alcohol."For some reason, I would've thought she'd be younger than that? Huh. Since Alice got Shanghai when she was 6, and she's 14 now... that means Rebecca must've died when she was about 12?  : "EvilEye are tank-type interceptors designed by a cyber-security company.": "They've got some nerve calling that thing a tank.": "They also made the tanks used by the FlwrTnk virus, though you wouldn't know by looking.": "Maybe it's supposed to be a 'stylish' tank?": "I don't think so..."I wonder if said company also made Kumami's tank?  : "BibiBat viruses are bat-shaped besides the creepy eyeball.": "The eyeball seems to have the power to control gravity.": "I wonder if a bat-virus and an eye-virus merged to make these.": "There is a theory that the foot-like structure was a seperate virus at one point.": "Is it one virus, or two viruses, or two viruses and a foot?": "...Huh?"...Virus ecology is weird.  : "Junks are viruses that cover themselves in junk data the find in the cyber-world.": "You have to seperate your trash before you throw it away.": "You've dealt with junk data before?": "Have you found any Zenny in the junk?": "I often add it to my pocket money when I find it.": "That's the government automatically buying rare data hidden in the junk.": "I still think it's Zenny in the mystery data.": "Who's the doctor here?"Hm. Maybe that's why the Zenny in Engelles and Undernet are so much more valuable? Picking up rare junk data in Engelles is sorta like international espionage! ...Either that or it's just a matter of conversion rates, and Japan's economy is slightly hosed. ...Which would also explain why the shops there are also more expensive.  : "The virus attaches itself to the anchor-shaped navigation systems of a ship.": "They breed and spread to the rest of the cyber-world.": "So the anchor isn't a part of the virus?": "Once you remove the anchor it's just a squid. I wonder how it tastes?": "...Are you going to eat one?": "Don't you think it'd taste good?": "I wouldn't know!"I also want to eat it...!!  : "You'd think it's a frog virus, but in fact it's a hat virus!": "Doesn't it spit tadpoles?": "The hat looked like a frog, so the hacker who made it put that attack in.": "So is it a HatFrog or a FrogHat?": "Who would want to wear a sloppy hat like that?": "I wouldn't trust your sense of style."Pyonta-kun is adorable.   : "Clawnch launch their bubbles in a parabolic arc.": "You can bait them into shooting then dodge their attack by stepping to the side.": "Clawnch used to be crabs that used their bubbles as an attack.": "As they evolved, they took the appearance of a crawfish to be more intimidating.": "Crabs and crawfish... I feel like neither of them are scary?": "I guess it's a matter of taste."You know, usually things evolve into crabs, not the other way around.  : "Reftile are frilled lizard viruses with fragments of barriers around their necks.": "They were born when a lizard virus found and assimilated a protection program.": "They can't directly attack, but they can be annoying.": "If you encounter one on its own, they're helpless.": "That's why they often appear alongside other viruses.": "It is said that those groups share their food with the Reftile.": "Aww...": "In the real world, sharks and remora have a similar relationship.": "By sticking to a shark, remora get the leftover scraps.": "But sometimes a bigger fish can eat a remora after getting past the shark!": "Moral of the story: Choose your boss well.": "When you say it, it doesn't sound like a joke."Shanghai is the strongest shark of them all.   : "These viruses are modeled after Japanese samurai.": "...They seem a bit short.": "Its sword is made of special material that enhances its power and adds an element.": "Those without an element are said to make up for it with exceptional sharpness.": "I want to know what's under the helmet.": "There are some things the world is not meant to know."While you were studying viruses, these viruses studied the blade.  : "SworDogs are viruses with the motif of the White Wolf Tengu.": "Tengu have wings and a long nose...": "Those are Crow Tengu. There are many different kinds of Tengu.": "White Wolf Tengu are lower in the hierarchy, and earn money to help humans.": "Like a personal Youkai servant!": "SworDogs are wolf-like in nature too, with weaker specimens hunting in packs.": "They cut their prey with the sword-like fangs that grow from their mouth.": "What do they do if you throw them a bone?": "I think they're wolves, not dogs."Huh. I didn't actually realize SworDog was based off of Momiji until right now. I never noticed the hat before!  : "Lansir are knight-like viruses, with a Western armor motif.": "They can get pretty tough!": "Their strategy seems to be inspired by the legions of ancient Rome.": "A line of heavy soldiers form a wall of shields. This tactic plants fear in their enemies.": "A Lansir calls on that fear by advancing with AreaGrab and brandishing its lance.": "There's a lot of history behind that strategy.": "It is said that humanity still has not discovered a tactic more effective than encirclement."Fun fact about Rome's spear walls: Philip of Macedon, the father of Alexander "the Great", was able to defeat them with a few different strategies like flanking with artillery... but also by simply arming his men with longer spears.  : "DrilBit are fashioned after the Kappa Youkai of Japanese rivers.": "I wonder if they like cucumbers and suffer when their heads dry out.": "What I'm wondering is what Kappa have to do with the drill on their heads.": "There are legends of a race of Kappa known for their craftsmanship.": "Maybe that's the origin of the DrilBit's design."I also didn't realize that DrilBit was based of of Nitori & the rest of the Kappa! Probably because they're not Aqua-type, so I didn't make the connection.  : "Flire are modeled after the Yatagarasu, the three-legged crow of Japanese myth.": "Yatagarasu are the avatars of the Sun, which seems to be the origin of its attack.": "It looks like it has no legs, let alone three.": "They could be in the barrel.": "The barrel is quite heavy, and Flire usually rest upright with it standing on the ground.": "It must be hard work carrying it into battle."Utsuho's long arm cannon in her design is supposed to represent the third leg. Because, in ZUN's own words, the alternative would've been indecent.  : "These viruses have a blast furnace within their bodies, and a diet of cyber-metal.": "The napalm it fires is molten iron from their furnaces, wrapped in waste metal.": "Is that really napalm, or is it just their ■■■■?": "They are living things, and their excretions have to go somewhere.": "The stronger variants are made of fictional metals like mithril and orichalcum.": "Sometimes it feels like the cyber-world is a fantasy world with these fictional metals."...   : "Fujin are modeled on the tools used by Tengu Youkai.": "They are topped with the leaves of the Fatsia Japonica plant, also called Yatsuda.": "I guess you could say that Fujin are Yatsuda-type viruses.": "Yatsuda fans were what gave the Tengu their long noses, right?": "That's right!": "The names Fujin and Raijin are from the famous scene painted on a folding fan.": "And the Heat-type Enma are from Enma, the king of Hell.": "Viruses seem to take a lot from legends and youkai.": "To be a virus scientist, you need to know your legends!"I have nothing really to add to this, other than the fact that Aya is an awful, terrible woman, and I love her so much. Ayayayaya~.  : "Baldy are actually based on a postcard of Mt. Fuji.": "The picture is of a field of Pampas grass, but really looks like a shaved head.": "That's a pretty obscure reference.": "I think it's interesting.": "It explains the Leaf element of the basic Baldy type, though.": "I guess the water element is like a sea monster? Don't think too deep on it.": "Baldy are not like normal plants that gain nourishment from the ground.": "With their elemental tornados they adapt their surroundings to fit themselves.: "They're like humans, I guess.": "By making homes for themselves from the surrounding environment?": "I guess...": (I feel like that's not what she meant.)I tried googling multiple different phrases, and still could not find whatever postcard this is supposedly referencing.   : "LibeRdr are dragonfly-like viruses with eyes that act as radar.": "What's the 'Libe' part of the name mean?": "It's a pun in another language.": "Real dragonflies start in a larval form, but these viruses are different.": "Instead, they are born as adults from eggs implanted in plant viruses like PoisLily.": "I guess viruses can take some liberties, living in the cyber-world." I thought the name was supposed to be like... "liberate" and "radar" together? Does that count as a pun? edit: Blaze Dragon posted:The Spanish word for dragonfly is libélula. And Japanese having no difference between l/r means that it flows well into radar.  : "Juragon are called fire dragons, but are closer to wyverns than dragons.": "The difference between the two are whether their arms are in their wings or seperate.": "Their flame breath is hotter than the flames of most other viruses, so watch out.": "The breath is formed by a cyber-reaction of sulfur compounds in their bodies.": "The resulting sulfide gas ignites on contact with the outside air.": "Cyber-reactions don't need to follow the physical laws of the real world." : ◄(Doesn't understand but didn't want to interrupt) : ◄(Stopped listening halfway through)...Well I thought it was interesting, at least.  : "PnlMole are mole-shaped viruses, as you can tell.": "Why does it wear sunglasses when it lives underground?": "Subterranean creatures often don't have eyes at all.": "It's so the bright light doesn't blind them when they emerge.": "They're viruses, so that may not even apply to them, though.": "That's true..."The real reason for those sunglasses:   : "AxeHawks are viruses formed from a hawk and an axe, specifically a tomahawk.": "By spinning its wing-blades, it can cut through most anything.": "When you use its chip, you fire just the axe part.": "There's a reason that chips remove all the biological parts.": "Battle chips are a record of battle data, so it only calls up the attack itself.": "You learn something new every day!"In an alternate universe, Shanghai simply throws a bird at people and hopes for the best.  : "You'd think it was based on a mantis, but in fact it's based on a cosmic creature.": "Cosmic creature?" : "An extraterrestrial being that lives in outer space.": "We haven't explored space fully, but there might be some scary creatures out there.": "So this virus is completely made up, got it.": "You could say that it's the first organism native to the cyber-world.": "They hide in polluted bodies of water, emerging to slice prey with its scythe.": (I'm glad they're not real...)Wait, if you haven't explored deep space, then why do you think it's based on a cosmic creature...?   : "Tanukit are viruses that can change forms between a raccoon and a Jizo statue.": "Why a Jizo statue?": "Why indeed...": "In the cyber-world, anything that strikes a Jizo statue is punished by lightning.": "They say it's a self-defense feature of the Net, but we don't know why.": "The cyber-world sure is mysterious.": (Is it because it's sacrilegious?)Wait, what? Jizo statues hitting you with lightning is just an intrinsic property of the Net?   : "Ligers are hybrids with a lion for a mother and a tiger for the father.": "I wouldn't want to fight either of those!": "Masligr are viruses that have taken over an emplaced railgun program.": "Unfortunately for them, the flesh part of the virus replaced the trigger of the gun.": "Somehow I feel bad for them..."Fun fact: this is wrong. Ligers are what you get when the Tiger is the mother, and the Lion is the father. If the Lion is the mother, you get a Tigon!  : "FalLeaf are autumn-themed viruses, but can you recognize what the main body is?": "A blob with eyes?": "It's a chestnut!": "No wonder they're vulnerable to fire.": "During the winter, you can set one on fire and cook a sweet potato over it.": "Don't be like her, please."Roasting a chestnut to bake a sweet potato, huh?  (This is Minoriko Aki, a harvest god. ...Who smells like baked yams, and gets mad at Reimu when she comments that "something smells delicious," accusing Reimu of wanting to eat her, despite being a shrine maiden. Her sister, the midboss before her, is the Goddess of Autumn, and she looks like a chestnut.)  : "Liba are viruses modeled after antlion larva.": "Do they mature into adults?": "It seems they only used the larva as a base, there's no system for them to grow.": "That's kind of sad.": "In the natural world, bugs need to grow up, but in the cyber-world it's unnecessary.": "I suppose if an insect is already perfect, it doesn't need to metamorphosize.": "I don't want to deal with bugs, perfect or no.": "We all have our preferences."I'm with Shanghai on this one. Though, I will admit that antlions are at least kind of cool.  : "The official name of this virus is 'Shotgun Hopper'.": "They seem to be a subspecies of an older virus called a 'Cannon Hopper'.": "They really irritate me, jumping and shooting everywhere.": "In the Net around the countryside, they're called 'GunLocust'.": "Huh...": (Those sound delicious...)...I don't want to eat that.  : "Beetl are the rare virus that takes advantage of aura and barriers.": "The sword-shaped horn is cool but the aura is just annoying.": "Thankfully, Beetl viruses are the only ones we've found to use auras.": "There's rumors of a precursor aura-using virus, but only far across the world.": "I wouldn't want to run into one of those."The Beetl are distantly related to the Scuttlest, apparently! The more you know.  : "Raijun are viruses that are based on the thunder beasts from the tales of the Sage.": "The beasts not only controlled thunder, but also an addictive poison to cripple its victims.": "The only cure to the addiction is to eat the horn of the beast.": "That sounds dangerous.": "Recent research has found that the civet is the origin of that legend.": "Now that story just seems ridiculous.": "The legend may be fictional, but the virus is still as dangerous as always."Unsure if by "tales of the sage" they're talking about a specific piece of folklore, or if that's just a reference to Wild and Horned Hermit, the manga where the design is from. I don't know the specific origin of its legend! The cure for the poison in the manga isn't eating its horn, by the way. It's eating corn. Much less dangerous!  : "Snake viruses are actually the poison gas, which used to be a security system.": "Then what's the snake part?": "That's the control valve, left over from the original program.": "Why not close it then?": "It's a holdover, turning it wouldn't do anything." : "I wonder..."Funny, you'd expect Snakes to be the things security systems were designed to keep out.  : "Wukong are monkey-shaped viruses with a motif of Goku from Journey To The West.": "If you say so.": "There's a long story behind the name 'Wukong'.": "Maybe I'll look it up some day.": "I thought it was named after Wookies.": (Are Wookies monkeys?)Despite Journey To The West being, like, a really widely known, adapted, and referenced story, I've never actually read it. I think Sekiro made some references to it? That's about as close as I've gotten.  : "Ghosts can disappear and reappear, licking Navi's faces as an attack.": "Their licks make my face go numb and seal my eyes closed!": "By the way, Ghost viruses are based on ghosts, and aren't actual cyber-world ghosts.": "Phew...": "But who knows? You might run into ghostly Navis or data some day.": "........."C'mon Alice, Navi Ghosts aren't that scary. Update 32 posted: And with that, Eirin's Educational Ecology Lessons have come to a close! The whole virus catching mechanic wasn't super useful from a gameplay perspective? But it was a super fun and cute collection quest, and I'm really glad they included it.
Blaziken386 fucked around with this message at 22:51 on Jul 11, 2021 |
|
#
?
Jul 8, 2021 02:13
|
|
|
Blaziken386 posted:I thought the name was supposed to be like... "liberate" and "radar" together? Does that count as a pun? The Spanish word for dragonfly is libélula. And Japanese having no difference between l/r means that it flows well into radar.
|
|
#
?
Jul 8, 2021 02:43
|
|
|
Gosh, an entire set of dialogue locked behind an optional dungeon and an optional mechanic? The attention to worldbuilding is incredible. Is there a reward for catching them all?
|
|
#
?
Jul 8, 2021 02:43
|
|
|
scaterry posted:Gosh, an entire set of dialogue locked behind an optional dungeon and an optional mechanic? The attention to worldbuilding is incredible. Is there a reward for catching them all? Blaze Dragon posted:The Spanish word for dragonfly is libélula. And Japanese having no difference between l/r means that it flows well into radar.
|
|
#
?
Jul 8, 2021 02:47
|
|
|
If I'm not mistaken, the Mantizr enemies kind of look like they're based off one of the types of space monsters from Gunbuster. That would explain the stuff about it being based on a creature from outer space.
|
|
#
?
Jul 8, 2021 04:02
|
|
|
scaterry posted:Gosh, an entire set of dialogue locked behind an optional dungeon and an optional mechanic? The attention to worldbuilding is incredible. Is there a reward for catching them all? You don't need to catch them, iirc, using EirnCall in any normal zone will have her talk about a random virus in that area.
|
|
#
?
Jul 8, 2021 05:14
|
|
|
|
| # ? Jun 8, 2024 05:35 |
|
|
Geizt posted:If I'm not mistaken, the Mantizr enemies kind of look like they're based off one of the types of space monsters from Gunbuster. That would explain the stuff about it being based on a creature from outer space. Yeah, I agree with this take. Didn't put it together until this update, but given all the other mecha references, it seems like a pretty sure bet.
|
|
#
?
Jul 8, 2021 05:48
|
|
