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You know, after looking at the FFX LP, I came to realize just how few (if any) enemy recolors are in this game compared to its successor.
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Oct 18, 2015 01:46
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Hobgoblin2099 posted:You know, after looking at the FFX LP, I came to realize just how few (if any) enemy recolors are in this game compared to its successor. FFX wrote itself into a corner with that due to having the different enemy types and how only certain characters could attack them reliably to begin with. I don't think the game really suffered that much for it, though.
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Oct 18, 2015 02:21
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Hobgoblin2099 posted:You know, after looking at the FFX LP, I came to realize just how few (if any) enemy recolors are in this game compared to its successor. The only real palette swaps are the Friendly Monsters, and you win those encounters in a totally different fashion so they don't quite count as enemies. So yeah, IX did a better job than X in unique enemies. It's probably the best in the series for that, really.
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Oct 18, 2015 02:25
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SorataYuy posted:The only real palette swaps are the Friendly Monsters, and you win those encounters in a totally different fashion so they don't quite count as enemies. So yeah, IX did a better job than X in unique enemies. It's probably the best in the series for that, really. VIII is actually surprisingly good about that as well. Off the top of my head there are only two palette swaps (Elnoyle/Elvoret and Behemoth/Catoblepas).
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Oct 18, 2015 03:10
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SorataYuy posted:The only real palette swaps are the Friendly Monsters, and you win those encounters in a totally different fashion so they don't quite count as enemies. So yeah, IX did a better job than X in unique enemies. It's probably the best in the series for that, really. What's great so about this game, is they're not simply recoloured-hue enemies - they have actual texture, and cosmetic differences. Like, they put actual effort into a recoloured enemy that you see once, and will probably not notice the differences of.
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Oct 18, 2015 03:12
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The original Mother (EB beginnings now I guess) did something similar, where later re-uses of the same sprite had another layer drawn over them that added details. I always found that impressive.
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Oct 18, 2015 03:48
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ApplesandOranges posted:VIII is actually surprisingly good about that as well. Off the top of my head there are only two palette swaps (Elnoyle/Elvoret and Behemoth/Catoblepas). And Bahamut/Tiamat! But yeah, FF8 is really good about not having pallet swaps in general.
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Oct 18, 2015 03:50
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ApplesandOranges posted:VIII is actually surprisingly good about that as well. Off the top of my head there are only two palette swaps (Elnoyle/Elvoret and Behemoth/Catoblepas). Mr. Vile posted:And Bahamut/Tiamat! But yeah, FF8 is really good about not having pallet swaps in general. That's because all the enemies in the game scaled to the average party level, so there was no need for higher-leveled recolored versions of the enemies.
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Oct 18, 2015 05:48
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You know, now that I think about it, VII had relatively few palette swaps. Sure, there were a couple here and there, but the majority of enemies were unique, and I don't think any enemy types aside from Shinra soldiers got used more than twice. Which is much better than the old 2D sprite games. I wonder if palette swaps took less data space than creating all new sprites? It would explain why sprite-based games use palette swaps so often while more modern games don't need to bother.
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Oct 18, 2015 09:50
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Yeah palette and sprite data are stored totally separate and in-game sprites have a value for each. IANA Programmer but that's my understanding.
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Oct 18, 2015 10:11
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There are random encounters in FF8?
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Oct 18, 2015 10:47
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Simply Simon posted:There are random encounters in FF8? Yes. 12 was the first modern (non-Mystic Quest etc.) single player FF game to have monsters on the overworld.
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Oct 18, 2015 10:49
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Plavski posted:Yes. 12 was the first modern (non-Mystic Quest etc.) single player FF game to have monsters on the overworld.  is that most people play with Enc-None.
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Oct 18, 2015 10:50
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Pesky Splinter posted:What's great so about this game, is they're not simply recoloured-hue enemies - they have actual texture, and cosmetic differences. Like, they put actual effort into a recoloured enemy that you see once, and will probably not notice the differences of. That's the same thing that they did for FF12. More games should do that since the hardest parts of modelling is the animation and a remodel that reuses a skeleton is infinitely easier than making a whole new model that you have to rig all over again. All it takes is good planning really, go through all the concept designs first, rig one skeleton that can apply to all models, selectively turn off bones that arent modeled over and bam youre done.
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Oct 18, 2015 10:51
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Rarity posted:Man, Burmecia is just bleak. In a game that always nails atmosphere, Burmecia does a great job of showing desolation and despair through the design and the haunting music. It all really helps emphasise Freya's emotional struggle. I said this during the recently completed FF7 thread, but Nobuo Uematsu seems to pull ideas for some of his themes from contemporary composers, and Burmecia is another theme that seems at least a bit inspired by Philip Glass. As soon as I clicked the tindeck for Burmecia link, this is what my brain went to: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=anyFjDb9oLE compared to what we have for the Burmecia theme: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1pdsMVlc0ic A lot of similarities in the style (threes on fours), and some obvious differences. Not a complaint at all, Glassworks is one of my favorite compositions Uematsu is a phenomenal composer.
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Oct 18, 2015 17:29
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Yeah, Uematsu is famous for that sort of stuff. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PD21CBN6KkE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bueIQ_R6i2I
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Oct 18, 2015 17:59
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Uematsu is a hack, but he best kind of hack. Which is great for all video games since theyre by definition all referential.
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Oct 18, 2015 18:22
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When you have to come up with hundreds of new themes for each game, not letting your influences show would be stranger than showing them.
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Oct 18, 2015 18:32
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I'd rather Uematsu being Jury's still out on if it's better than Masashi "Leitmotifs ARE GOD" Hamauzu or not.
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Oct 18, 2015 20:16
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hey uh enjoy more avatars      In case it wasn't already clear Dagger is the best Princess.
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Oct 19, 2015 01:50
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Garnet's pretty great. Or Dagger. Or whatever bladed weapon she goes by nowadays.
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Oct 19, 2015 01:56
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I kind of want that first one, but I'm not sure what would be a good line to go as the title. EDIT: Kheldarn posted:It's from 6, but how about : poo poo, that's PERFECT, considering FF6 is my favorite in the series. Though I'll probably go with just the first line (since that GIF doesn't look to be stopping any time soon) and hope people get the reference. Bufuman fucked around with this message at 02:16 on Oct 19, 2015 |
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Oct 19, 2015 02:08
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Bufuman posted:I kind of want that first one, but I'm not sure what would be a good line to go as the title. It's from 6, but how about : *Gobble... snarf... snap...* Well! I've stuffed down all I can... Let's go!
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Oct 19, 2015 02:10
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Aaaaand claimed. Thanks for the avatar Mega! Though FYI this one was 150x151, a pixel above the height limit, so I had to resize it. Anyone claiming the others might want to check the size before they try uploading it.
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Oct 19, 2015 02:24
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Bufuman posted:I kind of want that first one, but I'm not sure what would be a good line to go as the title. Chiming in to say I did get the reference since I saw it in another thread before finding them all here. Good choice!
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Oct 19, 2015 03:33
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This the first FF where the characters are animated when just standing around? Squall and Cloud could totally freeze in place, but it looks like Zidane...sways and twitches? (and moves his tail.)
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Oct 19, 2015 07:17
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I remembered Doctor Tot today.
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Oct 19, 2015 14:19
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FactsAreUseless posted:I remembered Doctor Tot today. Thank you. In memory of Doctor Tot, I'm gonna Mega64 fucked around with this message at 01:02 on Oct 20, 2015 |
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Oct 19, 2015 17:34
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VagueRant posted:This the first FF where the characters are animated when just standing around? Squall and Cloud could totally freeze in place, but it looks like Zidane...sways and twitches? (and moves his tail.) I can't remember if it's been mentioned before, but your party leader will also turn his head to look at NPCs as they run past them.
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Oct 19, 2015 18:16
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ApplesandOranges posted:I can't remember if it's been mentioned before, but your party leader will also turn his head to look at NPCs as they run past them. Nonono. Zidane very specifically checks out every woman he passes by. 
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Oct 19, 2015 19:44
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Galick posted:Nonono. Zidane very specifically checks out every woman he passes by. Maybe this is why they didn't invite Ruby to the briefing for their kidnapping plan. Speaking of which, here's a video of that Easter Egg. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RzRmMjxyr6A Blueberry Pancakes fucked around with this message at 20:17 on Oct 19, 2015 |
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Oct 19, 2015 20:13
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Galick posted:Nonono. Zidane very specifically checks out every woman he passes by. Zidane does that but your party leaders do look at NPC (especially ones that are interactable.) It adds a neat little bit of immersion.
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Oct 20, 2015 01:02
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KataraniSword posted:I'd rather Uematsu being I await for the day the two truly meet so that whoever wins, we lose and end up with the most bizarre loving soundtrack of drum 'n' piano, probably for Dark Souls 3.
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Oct 20, 2015 04:06
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gently caress yeah, I love this game. Took me a while to check out this lp since I've already played it so much myself and followed TWD's playthrough, but I'm glad I finally did go through the thread because I'm still learning things I never knew about or noticed before, even so many years later- and with how many times I've run through the first half specifically, because when I first picked up FF9 as a kid it was a found used copy that had no disc 3. And when I finally met a dude who lent me the third disc, it was too mangled for my PSX to read. At least my found copy also included the 100% thorough and comprehensive strategy guide so I could fill myself in on the story  But it's never lost its charm for me, and some of the setpieces were a huge influence on my own art and writing back in the day. FF9 owns and this is a nice chill lp that I'll be sure to follow now, maybe I'll start a new file and play along at home.
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Oct 22, 2015 00:35
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  Last time we reached Burmecia and progressed all the way to the castle itself. Ahead lies the King of Burmecia, likely in danger with his life and the future of his people in the balance. It's completely possible our being here could change the fate of an entire war.  So naturally I'm going to leave to do some last-minute side questing.   First, we got a Kupo Nut for delivering a letter about Stiltzkin to a moogle that was already standing in the same room as Stiltzkin.   Each time you deliver a Kupo Nut, you randomly get a Tent, Ether, or Phoenix Pinion. The exception is the first time you deliver one during certain points, mainly during different discs (though disc 2's reward isn't available for awhile, which is why I go ahead and spend it now). You can only hold one Kupo Nut at a time, so might as well spend them when you get a chance to grab more.    Also as mentioned in the thread, you can loot this guy for bells. I forgot to unlock the central door my last trip here, which made the return a bit longer than necessary. At least the way back will be quick.  Next up, Qu's Marsh. The frogs have had a chance to repopulate.     Thanks!It's a good idea to do so if you left frogs to breed because if you do, you'll likely get the next reward from Quale. It requires eight frogs to hit.    The Silk Robe is a nice boost up defense-wise for the mages, but it also teaches Loudmouth, which prevents Silence (obviously very useful for a mage) and Ability Up, which doubles all AP gained, which is great for obvious reasons. I give this to Quina since the creature that makes it a loving pain in the rear end to use pronouns for has more expensive abilities, though Vivi is definitely not a bad option either.   The other big thing is Chocobo Hot and Cold, as the Reef ability gives us two more treasures we can reach in the Lindblum area. This one is on an island close to the Chocobo Forest.  4 Remedies, 2 Elixirs, 8 Rising Sun, and the Oak Staff. The other items are great as-is (the Rising Suns being a throw-only weapon, and also we'll be getting a character with Throw sorry spoilers), but the Oak Staff...  Bio is stronger than the -ra spells (42 spell strength to their 29), being non-elemental with a 20% chance of inflicting poison status. Drain is just barely stronger than a -ra spell at 32 strength, but of course has the whole "absorb HP" aspect to it. Stop is a straight-up 40% chance of inflicting the Stop status. This seems pretty lame until you realize Stop doesn't wear off in this game, making Stop essentially an instant death spell (albeit one that doesn't give rewards other than AP). Definitely wielding this after I learn Blizzara (Thundara will have to wait).  This one is near the Lindblum City/Qu's Marsh area on the west side.  8 Potions, 4 Phoenix Downs, 3 Ethers, and a Magician Robe.  This robe gives some nice stat boosts and a couple abilities. Auto-Potion has a character automaticlly use a Potion (or Hi-Potion if you have none) whenever you take damage. Pretty wasteful at this point of the game, though it's probably not too bad for bosses right now since we don't have a White Mage. MP +10% boosts a character's MP by 10%, though oddly Vivi can't learn it.  Oh yeah and I'm over 100k gil. I'm also probably overleveled as hell and have spent ten hours alone doing various sidequest stuff and various other dickery. Oh well.   Alright, we're all caught up. Let's finish things off.    Freya, I'm sorry, but from the looks of this, I don't think the king made it. Might as well exhaust all the options. Talk to her: I don't know what to tell you... We can only hope that the king and the others escaped. No luck. Hey, it's been over ten seconds since Zidane thought about girls, let's wonder about Dagger: I don't think Dagger came here... I wonder where she went...Alright let's leave her alone. Vivi, let's go see what's over there.  Freya! You make it sound so easy...  Come on. Um...okay. I'm gonna go on ahead. Try to find a way up here. I'll meet you up top. Quina has other priorities.    I knew she was behind all this. What do you mean, you knew? I decided to return to Burmecia because I heard rumors that Brahne had set her sights on our kingdom. Then that girl standing next to her must be Beatrix, Alexandria's general. That's Beatrix? Beatrix...    ...Beatrix of Alexandria, in particular. They say her swordsmanship is the best in the land. Yes... Please understand, Freya. Right now, Burmecia is at peace, while other nations are slowly but surely gaining power. I don't know if my spear alone is enough to protect Burmecia...which is precisely why I must go out into the world. Sir Fratley...I don't think I can live on my own-not without you. Freya, you're going to be fine. Trust your strength...and have faith in your destiny. Once I complete my journey around the world, I will return to Burmecia. Then promise me, one more time, that you will return.  You never came back... You've left me with nothing except rumors of your death. I couldn't believe it! I still won't believe it! Never. Not until I witness proof of your death with my own eyes. RAIN SOUNDS  Yes. ...You still can't get over him, huh?Freya's driving motivations, and the reason she abandoned Burmecia in the first place, was to find her missing love. Even all these years later the memories still eat up at her, and after abandoning her home to find him she felt too ashamed to come back, at least until now. Freya's issues are pretty clear-cut but still deep enough to give her some substance.      It feels as though the raindrops are blessing our victory...This guy has the hair of Sephiroth, the theatricality of Kefka, the androgyny of Emperor Mateus, and the utter glee from being evil of Exdeath.  Meet Kuja, the man behind the black mages and very likely the main villain of this game.  My only concern now is finding the king of Burmecia. We must take care of him once and for all, and prevent these rats from ever rising up again.  I don't know, Your Majesty. I've ordered Zorn and Thorn to search the perimeter, but there's been no word so far. I will join them and lead the search right away. What? Rats often look for new homes when they sense an earthquake. They probably moved to the sandy tree house by now... So, you, see, it's too late. The king has already turned tail and fled. It'll be quite difficult if they escaped to Cleyra. Cleyra... Unless we can get through that sandstorm, it will be impossible to attack them. Kuja, what do you think? Surely, with your powers, there must be something you can do.  I'm certain those filthy rats will retaliate in full force, and my black mages may not be enough. That sinister man... Who is he? Beats me... I've never seen him before. I don't know, either. Cleyra has remained in isolation for a hundred years. If my people escaped to there, they'll be safe, at least for a while. What's this place like? The people of Cleyra are originally from Burmecia. Long ago, they severed ties with Burmecia over a trivial conflict. Now the kingdom is at peace, shielded by a large sandstorm.   You wish to fight me, Beatrix of Alexandria?   You can almost hear the guy making GBS threads his pants when he finds out this is loving Beatrix.   You'll have to deal with us, first!  ...Thank you, Freya.    For the final battle of Disc 1, we're going up against Beatrix herself. Now, the game's been hyping up how loving powerful and scary Beatrix is. Like, everyone so far has said she's essentially Death Incarnate.    AND THEY AREN'T loving KIDDING. Beatrix can easily one-shot a person if she feels like it. And just to make her seem even more badass, that move is Shock, i.e. that totally badass move General Leo uses in the one battle you get to play as him in FF6 (though suddenly nobody gives a poo poo about the move once you can have Gau use it, go figure).  Beatrix is a monster. Luckily, you don't have to actually bring Beatrix down to 0HP, but simply survive for a set amount of time. That said, she has 3360HP you can burn through to trigger the end of battle.  She has steals, of course. The Chain Plate is an armor upgrade for Zidane that teaches Devil Killer, which boosts damage against demon enemies. She also has a Mythril Sword upgrade for Steiner but that's in the absurd Rare slot, which means a 1/256 chance of actually getting it so gently caress that.   The one saving grace is that Beatrix is vulnerable to Slow, so definitely take advantage of that.   She can also use Thunder Slash, which is nice if she hits the person wearing the Coral Ring.   Regen's actually not that useful here since Beatrix one-shots people anyway but what the hell. Once I get the Chain Plate I decide to kick Beatrix's rear end because why not.    Quina's best offense is Pumpkin Head since it's Max - Current HP and Quina has nothing better to do anyway.   Vivi, well, yeah.  And though Freya's Lancer isn't as impressive, it's still a good damage option since I put everyone in the back row for this fight. With my busted offense, Beatrix is taken care of easily.  Wait, no, Beatrix instead gets tired of playing with us and decides to end this poo poo.  Sorry for the janky frame rate, had to do it for file size reasons.    Isn't there anyone who is worthy of facing me? Yes, Your Majesty.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-oWHjuAePY  So after all that...    Things went poorly.   Kuja manages to simulatenously gloat and look so handsome.  Oh and he has a dragon steed conveniently off-screen.  Until we meet again, Thong-Man. 
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Oct 22, 2015 00:41
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Mystery Sword/Sword of Doubt is one of my absolute favorite tracks, in the top three for sure. The sense of dread and finality is absolutely real. It wouldn't sound out of place as final boss or super-powerful secret boss music- almost a shame it didn't get saved for that.
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Oct 22, 2015 01:03
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The first part of the music that plays when Kuja peaces out always reminds of We Will Rock You and it makes me crack up every time I hear it.
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Oct 22, 2015 01:12
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Squarely Circle posted:Mystery Sword/Sword of Doubt is one of my absolute favorite tracks, in the top three for sure. The sense of dread and finality is absolutely real. It wouldn't sound out of place as final boss or super-powerful secret boss music- almost a shame it didn't get saved for that. But I agree that song would have been amazing for a secret boss, but it certainly does the job here of presenting a very fearsome opponent that outright murders you canonically. I also believe that she's a Paladin class from her general attire which is traditionally a very powerful class as well, right?
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Oct 22, 2015 01:14
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FinalGamer posted:But I agree that song would have been amazing for a secret boss, but it certainly does the job here of presenting a very fearsome opponent that outright murders you canonically. I also believe that she's a Paladin class from her general attire which is traditionally a very powerful class as well, right? "Paladin"/Knight styled characters kind of zig-zag as far as their offensive power (Cecil was only second because your other melee options were the shitwrecker dragoon and the wussy ninja that wasn't very good at much of anything, but on the flipside FF5 Knights are one of the biggest beatsticks in the game, and then, well, General Leo.) but they're always top of the class defensively, meaning Beatrix already suggests that she's too tough to bring down easily, and then proceeds to open up a can of whoop-rear end all over your face and neck area.
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Oct 22, 2015 01:50
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This is the first time I've noticed the Burmecian rat statues are carrying bells. That's a neat little detail. --- It's almost redundant to say it, but yeah, the music for this section is pretty great. Mystery Sword/Wavering Blade/whatever still raises the hairs on the back of my neck, from the memories of playing the game, and the atmosphere of Burmecia. Kuja's theme is interesting; it's a reworking of an FFV track ~ Intentions of the Earth. It's also very similar to Saint-Saëns, The Aquarium. (I'd love to hear Kuja's theme done in the style of the Aquarium.)
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Oct 22, 2015 02:00
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