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That is truly his personal hell: so many chances to chew on the scenery, with no option but to observe in silence. Considering the rules of this place, Kevin better turn him into table condiment again or I'll be really disappointed. By the way, you repeated the title image inside the update, right at the start. E: update last page
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Sep 4, 2017 14:29
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| # ? May 9, 2024 00:33 |
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This section is fantastic, but holy poo poo the chest messages added a whole extra layer to everything.
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Sep 4, 2017 15:49
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The headflick animation once they hit the ground is kind of adorable. I love all the little animations in these games.  havenwaters posted:I was real glad that person showed up. They needed another beating. As soon as I had the first heretic fight, I knew they were going to show up. ... why are we dancing around this? It's not like we don't know who it is. 
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Sep 4, 2017 15:55
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Yeah. It's Professor Alba.
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Sep 4, 2017 16:13
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It's...poo poo I forgot
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Sep 4, 2017 16:15
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First couple of us were dancing around since our posts were so close to the update. Time to stab the guy Ries.
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Sep 4, 2017 16:16
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Schwarzmann the Noseless, or something like that.
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Sep 4, 2017 16:19
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Epsilon Moonshade posted:The headflick animation once they hit the ground is kind of adorable. I love all the little animations in these games. Because they're in the off-site test poster, there's not much space between the update and the posts, so it's easier to get accidentally spoiled if you scroll too far. So being vague is just trying to be a little polite.
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Sep 4, 2017 17:14
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Those accelerating text blocks of crazy are always pretty jarring whenever they show up
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Sep 4, 2017 17:51
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We're at a new page now, though, so it's not that likely people will spoil themselves by accident. Anyway, like everyone else, I thought this part was really good. The music (both in and out of battle), the fire and brimstone scenery. And XSeed brilliantly added to the atmosphere by making the chests who've been snarking and wisecracking at us for 2.8 games completely soulless. They've truly made the chest thing their own and it's more a shame than ever that Cold Steel I was unable to continue the legacy. The bop on the head Kevin gave Ries was adorable, as was Ries burying Kevin under an avalanche of childish name calling. For the most part, this section was unsettling and dark unlike the usual lighthearted Trails stuff, down to Kevin's new battle lines. (every time so far that I finished the mother's ghost battle with Kevin, he delivered his "Sorry, but you had to die"-quote and it was chilling) Then there's Owen's Madness Mantra and the notion that people like Elmer (who was turned into a cannibalistic monster against his will) and Miss Graham (who needed a psychologist more than eternal damnation) who acted out of deranged desperation rather than malice end up in the same place as men who send mercanaries to raid villages and orphanages. Speaking of the latter, yeah, we knew it was coming ever since the last chapter made us fight Enforcer clones and this chapter started throwing Kevin's victims at us. Just like Loewe and Agate have some shared similarities, so do Kevin and our friend in white. Both lost their family in a traumatic event, were taken in by the Church and grew up in Gospel facilities. Both are adept in Thaumaturgy and know how to work with memory blocks. Both project a laid-back "aw shucks"-persona to the outside world in order to hide their true selves and manipulate others until they're alone with their victim and flash them that "I have you now" slasher smile. Both are "Faceless" in their own way, one because he can erase the memories of whoever he shows his true nature to and the other because until he offed Weissmann he always eliminated his target without witnesses. (possibly including the target, note how Kevin's victims have arrows sticking out of their back? Kevin does not fight fair) Heck, he would have remained an unknown entity to the outside world with Weissmann too if Campy hadn't been watching. So in many ways, having Kevin and old Saltypants meet is a fitting part of the former's arc.
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Sep 4, 2017 17:54
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Erpy posted:Then there's Owen's Madness Mantra and the notion that people like Elmer (who was turned into a cannibalistic monster against his will) and Miss Graham (who needed a psychologist more than eternal damnation) who acted out of deranged desperation rather than malice end up in the same place as men who send mercanaries to raid villages and orphanages. This isn't so much a theologically accurate representation of the afterlife as it is something designed to torture Kevin as much as possible, so maybe that's not actually how it works.
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Sep 4, 2017 18:02
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Yeah, I am impressed by the sudden tone shift. Good work, translation team.
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Sep 4, 2017 18:43
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Yeah, this time shift is great. And Elmer, surprisingly, acts as a minor foreshadowing for... a party member in Zero/Ao's backstory. I think. I'm not 100% sure.
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Sep 4, 2017 18:54
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It's okay, I'm sure it doesn't get any darker than this. That would be crazy.
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Sep 4, 2017 21:59
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Yeah, we sure wouldn't want that, now would we?
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Sep 4, 2017 22:17
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Cryohazard posted:It's okay, I'm sure it doesn't get any darker than this. That would be crazy. Jokes on you, he was salt when he got here. Now he's turned to pepper.
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Sep 4, 2017 22:18
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Sep 5, 2017 09:13
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You know, that is a really good question. How did he end up down here, exactly? Apart from that, of course the gang would storm Hell to rescue a friend in need. I don't get why Kevin and Ries were even surprised. E: I almost forgot Renne posted:
So many questions about this. How do you know how Gehenna looks like, Renne? Omobono fucked around with this message at 10:16 on Sep 5, 2017 |
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Sep 5, 2017 10:13
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Oh, my... This looks like a 1:1 replica of Gehenna.
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I initially expected Weissmann to be a barely-coherent glob smelling of burning salt, like Owens. Instead, he teleports in fine and dandy, acting like he's having a jolly old time in here and even overlooking the whole salt-bolt thing if Kevin would just come along and become the über-evolved being he's always wanted to create. The guy's dedicated to his beliefs, gotta give him that. Of course, he's still a smug prick, so his "what?" reaction is very satisfying when Kevin tells him: "sorry, honey, but let's just be good friends instead". The fact that the cavalry arriving was expected didn't make it less glorious. Omobono posted:So many questions about this. How do you know how Gehenna looks like, Renne? Apparantly the Septian Scriptures have been very, very detailed about what Gehenna and some of its inhabitants look like. That's why Kevin and Ries were able to instantly recognize the various devils they fought at the end of the tiers. Of course, one wouldn't have a bratty 12-year old pegged for knowing Scripture by heart, but at the same time, the average 12-year old also doesn't have 3 doctorates. It's perfectly in-character for Renne to have the Church's scripture memorized just in case she ever runs into a scripture-quoting nun who's in desperate need of a good trolling.
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Sep 5, 2017 10:41
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In a lesser RPG that last scene would have everyone jumping right into the fray. The fact that Tita, Josette, and the casters (save Renne) stay back and provide cover is one of those nice little touches I love the series for
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Sep 5, 2017 11:10
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Erpy posted:Apparantly the Septian Scriptures have been very, very detailed about what Gehenna and some of its inhabitants look like. That's why Kevin and Ries were able to instantly recognize the various devils they fought at the end of the tiers. a good half of the Testaments is just "this is my original character Shadow DarkBlade Talon, he is half-devil and half-angel and half-kitsune, he is stronger than any jaeger and can control birds and is the President of Hell, thou shalt not steal" this is why we have apocrypha
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Sep 5, 2017 11:15
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I have to say it's really an awesome fight. Taking on two of the Chapter bosses plus the final boss from the previous game at the same time with only two people, and kicking their butt to fantastic, uplifting music. Excellent. Erpy posted:Apparantly the Septian Scriptures have been very, very detailed about what Gehenna and some of its inhabitants look like. That's why Kevin and Ries were able to instantly recognize the various devils they fought at the end of the tiers. Of course, one wouldn't have a bratty 12-year old pegged for knowing Scripture by heart, but at the same time, the average 12-year old also doesn't have 3 doctorates. It's perfectly in-character for Renne to have the Church's scripture memorized just in case she ever runs into a scripture-quoting nun who's in desperate need of a good trolling. Not only do the scriptures list at least 77 named devils, they also describe them in enough detail that each and every one of them can be uniquely identified at a quick glance by a priest. That's a highly suspicious amount of work put into it... it makes the implications rather unsettling. quote:note to future generations: please calibrate your marvelous wish-granting engines to NOT prioritize the most hosed up wishes from the most hosed up people within range It kinda makes sense. "Who is hurting the most, and is therefore the most in need of being granted their desire?" Like the Aureole, it doesn't give any thought into whether granting the wish would be harmful or not. Stabbey_the_Clown fucked around with this message at 14:02 on Sep 5, 2017 |
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Sep 5, 2017 13:45
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Stabbey_the_Clown posted:The first two screenshots of Kevin's "transforming" sequence are reversed. That's how it is in the game. Kevin does the little HAAAAA to warm up, then he clenches a fist to his chest and goes HAAAAAAAAAA for real that's why he passed out that first time: he forgot the warmup Hwurmp fucked around with this message at 14:06 on Sep 5, 2017 |
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Sep 5, 2017 13:57
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Stabbey_the_Clown posted:Not only do the scriptures list at least 77 named devils, they also describe them in enough detail that each and every one of them can be uniquely identified at a quick glance by a priest. That's a highly suspicious amount of work put into it... it makes the implications rather unsettling. I get the feeling Zemurian Dante actually went to Gehenna, unlike Italian Dante. Zemurian Purgatory and Paradiso still remain fanfiction though. quote:It kinda makes sense. "Who is hurting the most, and is therefore the most in need of being granted their desire?" Like the Aureole, it doesn't give any thought into whether granting the wish would be harmful or not. Can you imagine if it latched on Olivier instead? Maid uniforms for everyone. Joshua gets the nice backless one.
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Sep 5, 2017 14:49
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Stabbey_the_Clown posted:Not only do the scriptures list at least 77 named devils, they also describe them in enough detail that each and every one of them can be uniquely identified at a quick glance by a priest. That's a highly suspicious amount of work put into it... it makes the implications rather unsettling. In fairness, they only look exactly like he imagines them. If I were plunged into my own recreation of literal Christian hell, I would be like "Lucifer himself! Just as the scriptures describe him! Uncanny!" and my companions would be probably too polite to say "that is the robot devil from Futurama."
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Sep 5, 2017 15:56
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Explosions posted:In fairness, they only look exactly like he imagines them. Except Ries can also identify them.
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Sep 5, 2017 16:15
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I'm not sure if Really Pants mentioned this the first time, but Spear of Loa and Spear of Ur are unique among offensive S-crafts in that they have elemental affinities. Loa is Time and Ur is Space. (This is not always a good thing...) I don't know if Ur is actually higher in raw power but it seems like this boss would be a good opportunity to test that out since they're both equally weak to those elements. I hadn't heard the Evolution version of Genuine Devil up to this point either. It surprised me because it's better than the original version, which is sadly a rarity among the Sky Evolution OST.
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Sep 5, 2017 16:34
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Stabbey_the_Clown posted:Not only do the scriptures list at least 77 named devils, they also describe them in enough detail that each and every one of them can be uniquely identified at a quick glance by a priest. That's a highly suspicious amount of work put into it... it makes the implications rather unsettling. Definitely. After all, Ragnard basically confirmed that Aidios either exists or existed. If the Godess is real, Gehenna and its inmates might be too. And Phantasma did slightly more than merely grant Kevin's subconcious wish. It patterned its new Operating System after him. SC indicated that the Aureole was essentially a semi-sentient super-computer with reality-warping abilities. Judging by what Celeste told us, Phantasma seems to be something akin to the Aureole's external hard drive, which stores the embodiments of wishes before they're transported to the real world and possibly keeps copies stored in case they need to be granted again, but which has less autonomy than the Aureole itself. When the Aureole vanished, some emergency mechanism kicked in and it "wished" a new Operating System into existence for itself, its patterns based on the brain patterns of one of the people nearby. That's probably where you nailed it with the conclusion that Phantasma assumed that the person hurting the most would be the best template because it figured such a person would be naturally inclined to manage a wish fulfillment mechanism with more zeal than someone who's content with life. Second Chapter already showed that the Aureole was completely incapable of comprehending mankind's more self-destructive instincts. We know the rest. It turned out that Onion OS X wasn't the most stable of operating systems, only slightly more stable than Kevin himself and slightly less stable than Windows Vista 1.0. Omobono posted:Can you imagine if it latched on Olivier instead? Super Jay Mann posted:I'm not sure if Really Pants mentioned this the first time, but Spear of Loa and Spear of Ur are unique among offensive S-crafts in that they have elemental affinities. Loa is Time and Ur is Space. (This is not always a good thing...) I don't know if Ur is actually higher in raw power but it seems like this boss would be a good opportunity to test that out since they're both equally weak to those elements. Richard's Afterglow Smasher is actually space-elemental too, the game simply doesn't tell you this. And it doesn't take that many levels for him to learn Sakura Morning Moon.
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Sep 5, 2017 17:08
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...so now are we playing Trails in the Tactics, a Suikoden 2 spinoff, for the tactical descent into Hell? Or did Gilbert just fuckin' train to zone like a rank newb?
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Sep 6, 2017 02:27
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Of course we had to fight him again. After all the repeat boss battles, I'm not surprised Weismann made a comeback performance. On the other hand, the ancient Zemurians are on the fast track to rival the Guardians of Oa in the "dumb poo poo that you caused because you couldn't be loving bothered to put in a little oversight and care" category. Seriously, how do you make not one, but TWO systems that lack basic checks on them to prevent the system from going haywire and misinterpreting input data?
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Sep 6, 2017 03:46
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The Aureole and its external hard drive weren't a product of the Ancient Zemurians. They were created by Aidios. And Phantasma going haywire was because of the Aureole "vanishing", which is so impossible even its creator might not have taken it into account when thinking up safety measures.
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Sep 6, 2017 06:45
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Sep 6, 2017 11:22
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Glazius posted:...so now are we playing Trails in the Tactics, a Suikoden 2 spinoff, for the tactical descent into Hell? actually this is the beginning of the rhythm game spin-off Dancing With The Wind
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Sep 6, 2017 14:10
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So if phantasma is roughly the size of zemuria, I wonder if that's an indication that at one point the auraole had a continent wide scale with its power at some point.
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Sep 6, 2017 16:17
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Ohtsam posted:So if phantasma is roughly the size of zemuria, I wonder if that's an indication that at one point the auraole had a continent wide scale with its power at some point. Maybe it might've some point, but definitely not during the time of the Liberl Ark since there was a limit to how far the Orbal Shutdown effect could reach. Not that I remember how big the range was other than it affected the city of Parm in Erebonia, which is the city closest to Liberl.
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Sep 6, 2017 22:44
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Alard posted:Maybe it might've some point, but definitely not during the time of the Liberl Ark since there was a limit to how far the Orbal Shutdown effect could reach. Not that I remember how big the range was other than it affected the city of Parm in Erebonia, which is the city closest to Liberl. I thought that was more of a defensive measure against potential threats. To make sure nothing close by could harm it.
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Sep 6, 2017 23:37
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 Alright I need four people for the Abyss, and three to join Anelace for a thing afterwards.  
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Sep 7, 2017 01:21
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1) Your four lowest-ranking people, so... Josette, Olivert, Agate, and Anelace. I actually ran the Abyss like four times partway, only until everyone in my party was up to level 135. Once they were all that high, I switched them out. (I was guessing that with 16 people, it was unlikely that I'd only have to use a single party of 4.) 2) I'd tend to go with the best in specific fields. So... Caster - Renne, Physical Damage - Agate, and Healer - Kevin.
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Sep 7, 2017 01:36
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Team Boss Battle. Josette, Richard, Mueller, and Renne Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaand Team Divine Blade. Aneleace, Richard, Estelle, and Joshua
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Sep 7, 2017 01:46
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| # ? May 9, 2024 00:33 |
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I like this explanation for the point of no return. We're effectively jumping into unallocated address space.
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Sep 7, 2017 02:58
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