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Robindaybird
Aug 21, 2007

Neat. Sweet. Petite.

wow the TV Show really has not aged all that well.

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Space Cadet Omoly
Jan 15, 2014

~Groovy~


Robindaybird posted:

wow the TV Show really has not aged all that well.

Wait, there was a Shadow Hearts TV show?

Neddy Seagoon
Oct 12, 2012

"Hi Everybody!"

Space Cadet Omoly posted:

Wait, there was a Shadow Hearts TV show?

The Donkey Kong Country one :ssh:.

Space Cadet Omoly
Jan 15, 2014

~Groovy~


Neddy Seagoon posted:

The Donkey Kong Country one :ssh:.

Ooooooh, yeah early CGI has aged like unrefrigerated milk.

Geostomp
Oct 22, 2008

Unite: MASH!!
~They've got the bad guys on the run!~

Space Cadet Omoly posted:

Ooooooh, yeah early CGI has aged like unrefrigerated milk.

On the plus side, we now know that Donkey Kong still has the most majestic singing voice of all gorillas.

FeyerbrandX
Oct 9, 2012

Could be worse.... could be Bubsy.

The Dark Id
Aug 13, 2005

Why
you
know
I
LOVE
THIS SHIT !!!!
[citation needed]


Episode XVI : The Bandit of Le Havre


Music: Old Smudged Map ~ Europe




Our journey to the dreadlands of vile Wales continues as we arrive in the port city of Le Havre. For reference sake, that means the minecart ride took the party roughly 200 kilometers. The Parisian metro plans were apparently ambitious to say the least.



We are now are par with Sting as far as our rankings go. It's a toss-up whether they mean the guy from The Police or the WCW.



The rankings on this screen sound like a series of awkwardly translated rap lyrics. MC Demon Sergeant could drop a beat.



I'm going to give it to the next proper dungeon before these stats start dropping.



I'm surprised they keep Nicolai on the total battles stat screen. Spoilers: He will NOT be rejoining us at any point in the game. The Director's Cut version of the game that never left Japan has a bonus dungeon where he's briefly playable again alongside Lenny and Veronica. They never finished that part for this version, unfortunately.


Music: Town of Twilight ~ European Town




Well that is the Score screen update. Let's move onto brighter horizons like a brand new village to explore. If you'll recall, our goal was to charter a boat to Wales to talk to Roger Bacon to see if he knows anything about sorting out Yuri's new curse and the whole cult wanting to kill them thing. You know, the same Roger Bacon that we saw get kidnapped by Lenny immediately after the CGI intro. But the party doesn’t know about that. Details... Our quest continues! By naturally badgering townsfolk going about their day...



But things are pretty dangerous right now in Le Havre. Better watch out.
So just nobody noticed the doom glyph in the sky last year?
Well, stiff upper lip and what not...




As we continue around the corner, we see a familiar truck. I was not loving about with the comparison to DMCV Nico with the brothers Magimel. But before we approach that, there is an item in the corner and it is...



Hey, Seals are back. There is no longer the in-battle thing they had in the first game. Just use them. You get a stat boost! The End! Use them! That's one more point of resistance against magic attacks! I don't honestly know if that mechanically means a goddamn thing. But it sounds good on paper!



Ah, smell that fresh ocean breeze! Nice place to do a little shopping, no?
Yeah, okay. What've you got?



So Gerard does have new armor in his shop but maybe we should look around Le Havre first before investing. As you do...



Hmm... Let's keep that factoid in the back pocket...



So I have to go to bed early. It stinks!

Again... Let's not worry about this plight yet! We just got into town! Let's go across the bridge here and see what is happening.



She can literally block your path extremely hard in a weird NPC pathing way that nobody else in the game can. I don't know if that's the joke.



OK. We have some direction now from Unemployed Henry. Much more importantly, if Yuri ventures JUST past him we get a new scene with our old pal Ring Soul. This is obviously important!



You again! Ring Spirit, right?
No... My name is Ring Soul! Let me say it again... Ring Soul!
Soul and Spirit are different things. How are you all not getting this?!
Okay, okay! I get it! You're... here to give me another one of those... um... you know, right?
.........
I have little choice. I can see it... I can see your future... This I entrust to you...
Can you see where we can find a boat?
...I cannot share the future. Only observe it.
Hmph.




Another Attack Boost. We could, in theory, give this to Blanca/Yuri/Karin to boost them to the max of four strikes. But we're just going to hang onto it a bit for now.



Oh, boy! Thanks!
Your gratitude seems insincere...
N-no way! Really! I'm really happy... Thanks!
I was having a rough day and this will definitely pull me out of the slump!
.........
My gaze narrows upon you.
I will appear to you again, to bestow upon you more power... But beware! I am always watching... Watching to see if you are truly the one to command destiny...

Ring Soul vanishes.



What a mysterious spirit.
I think he's a soul, Karin. C'mon. Have some respect.
......




We're done going that direction for now. Let's double back and head toward the docks. Logically... there's probably a boat somewhere there, right?



Off the coast, it's crawling with German submarines right now. We'd be taking our lives into our hands, going out there! But we might be able to talk, depending on the price...
OK... I'm a little short on funds. Also, I'm a little caught up what the hell is a "submarine"?
He he. If you ain't got no money, go see the mayor. He's looking for vigilante-group members. See if you can get hired!
...Don't you mean like "town watch" or something? Vigilante has, you know, like... implications.
I used the words I meant.
...OK.


It just so happens the mayor's manor is just down the street. But first! As soon as we approach a man nearby the boat captain, we're automatically pulled into a mandatory conversation.



What is it? You're holding us up.
That ticket you've got. The one for the lottery. That entitles you to hold a lottery with any lottery member in the world. A lottery! With any member!
We haven't got time for that now. Come on, get out of the way!
I already did this questline. Heck, I'm on my way to the Lottery Chairman. Get outta here with this rehash.
Don't try to deceive yourself! You know you want to! Give in to your desires! Play the lottery!



...Not much of a choice, huh?!



The Lottery sidequest from the original Shadow Hearts has returned. It is... virtually identical. We need to find Lottery Tickets, most of which are hidden in the world (not QUITE as obscurely placed as the first game, but...) If we are carrying a Lottery Ticket then NPCs relevant to the quest will suddenly transmogrify into Lottery Member No.XX. We then need to do a rather difficult Judgment Ring spin to gain a prize. It's once more required to gain at least one prize from every Lottery Ticket member in the world. Although this time around, I think it's impossible to fail this quest this time around. Covenant definitely has missable content but it is mostly reserved to dungeons. There is no actual THE FIRST HALF OF THE GAME IS GONE FOREVER NOW split in the story.





In any event, we gained the Bathin Crest from winning the top prize which includes two pretty decent spells. Having an actual spell that can just delete Status Abnormalities is PRETTY good considering that was mostly the realm of consumables in Koudelka 2.





Just past the Lottery Member, we can find Extremely Poor Mahone camping out. Nothing much to be done there. But what is important is that treasure chest next to him.



Extremely Poor Mahone said he's hungry, not cold. So he won't mind if we steal this set of armor. This is a +17 Physical and +19 Special Defense armor that only Blanca and Gepetto can wear at the moment. I'd be pretty into seeing Blanca don a big think fur coat and go about this day. Either way, that’s the more expensive of the two new available armors back in the Brothers' shop (900 Cash.) So a freebie is nice to our wallet.



Doubling back the way we came and continuing past Lottery Member Fox, we find the Mayor's House at the end of the street.





Naturally, the first thing to do when approaching the domicile of a potential new employer is to break into their garage and steal some of their poo poo. As you do.





We've got one of the more useless accessories in the game back here. We want to avoid hitting the Berserk status if we can help it. Having the whole party gain it and having the option to flee the battle we'd have to REALLY be loving up to get in that situation does not exactly sound worthy of an accessory slot.





Now that we've rifled through the garage, let's enter the immediately opulent to the point this mayor is definitely going to turn out to be evil mayoral mansion.





As soon as we enter the hall, an assortment of what can only be referred to as cartoonishly shady goons walk down from either end of the central stairs to address the party.



That's right. We need the money.

The Mayor also descends the stairs to address the visitors.



We're travelers. We wanted to find a ship that would take us to England.
And we finally found one, but now we have to earn some money for the fare.
Doesn't seem like there are any good spots to grind around here. So you know how it goes.



Such a small town needs a vigilante group, eh? Because of the war?
In a way. There's been more crime since the war started. A bandit's been showing up every night! We've been keeping a sharp eye out, but he's a tough customer. We can't seem to catch him. Think you guys can do it?
Do you have any special qualifications for the job?
I can command a magic puppet.
I have sword arts derived from a hundred-year German opera.
I punched out a space god once.
Awroo.
......
...Alright then. The job is yours if you want it...

Sure, why not? We'll get him snatched up before you know it.



Mayor Leonard waddles over and stares directly at Karin's chest for a few seconds. As you do.





The mayor then trots over to a chair that clearly could not begin to support his frame and has a no-clip seat.



We'll start you off on town patrol tonight. Work hard, now. No slacking!
<nods> You got it.



So we've got a job to do. Yuri did defeat multiple wizards and a space god once. A bandit in northern France can't be that much more taxing. We do need to talk with the Mayor and his entourage to progress. But there is something hidden in this room. A Lottery Ticket! Can you discover the first hidden one? No, there is not any visual indications. No shiny glowies. Nadda.

...

......

.........



Of course, it's in the stuffed bear's head! That was an easy one. They'll get more Sierra and Roberta Williams hates your guts tricky later in the game.



Also, I'd just like to remind you how the Mayor and company entered the scene -- all coming from the top of the stairs. If we... actually go to the top of the stairs, there are no rooms up here. It's just a balcony with a low-resolution picture of the mayor. What were they all doing up here and why? The world may never know. Anyway, let's talk to these clowns further.



Messed up his ankle? With a special hold?
And this guy can pick up anything that's lying around and use it as a weapon! Trust me, you don't wanna see it!
Doesn't sound like any ordinary thief!
Can you elaborate on the "special hold" thing?
Naw. Gotta keep kayfabe.
...Wha?

Don't blame me if you get hurt, okay? Or, worst case scenario, if you die...



<nods> All set!
The others are already out on patrol. Good luck to you guys.



And with that, nighttime has instantly descended on Le Havre. Welp. Let's get to this patrol.



<shakes head> *sigh* That bandit sure is scary. I hope we don't run into him!



We'll let them handle that direction and head the opposite way. Now that night has fallen, everyone has some new dialogue for our vigilante patrol.



I'm sorry, but please don't talk to me anymore. I don't know anything about that bandit, understand?



Oops! I can't tell you. It's our town's secret.



We don't need any more hooligans in this town, if you ask me... Huh? Oh, nothing. Pay no attention. I wasn't talking about you, you know.



This all clearly seems on the level. While we're here, we can return the La Cage Aux Songes shop and pick up that armor we skipped earlier.



The Leather Cloak is a +19 Physical/+17 Special Defense armor that for some reason Gepetto is unable to wear but everyone else it constitutes a decent upgrade. It is 840 Cash a pop. We can safely sell our old threads (at 5% mark-up) to recoup a chunk of the losses.



After inventory management is sorted out, the party has to make their way to the very south of Le Havre back to Unemployed Henry. Nothing is found here. But as soon as we head back the way we came...



Time out! Time out! Hey, that attack is illegal! Gaaahhh!
Those voices... Over there!



We'd best hurry back to the warehouse where our NPC allies were patrolling.


Music: Suffocation ~ Grim Atmosphere




What is it?! What happened here?!



Ha ha ha!
Who's that?!


Music: Grand Papillon!! ~ Pro Wrestler
(Listen to this corny poo poo right now!)



When the forces of darkness descend! In the name of justice, this fist!



In the name of truth, these muscles! In the name of honor, this blood!



Ha ha!





<concerned, confused looks>



Just a sec here, gotta hoist up this full coffin left earlier on the scene.



Champion of Truth and Justice, Grand Papillon! Ready to fight all evildoers!





If you can face the unfettered fury of my rippling muscles, then come on!

Music: ENDS



......
...What? Huh?

What? Huh? Indeed. Tune in next time for the further startling adventures of Grand Papillon!






Video: Grand Papillon Appears!!
(Go watch this immediately.)





Grand Papillon Concept Art - Who IS the mysterious Grand Papillon?!

The Dark Id fucked around with this message at 20:03 on Apr 19, 2019

Cooked Auto
Aug 4, 2007

...Sure. I'm all for this.

Kemix
Dec 1, 2013

Because change
pleasejoinuspleasejoinuspleasejoinuspleasejoinus

Shitenshi
Mar 12, 2013
After saving the world and killing a god-tier eldritch abomination, you'd think Yuri would be so chill that he''d be playing along with these types of characters by now.

DeafNote
Jun 4, 2014

Only Happy When It Rains
I was about to say 'man that lottery ticket was easy to find. Its where I would have started looking'

But now I cant think about anything anymore but the sheer whahu?

Accordion Man
Nov 7, 2012


Buglord
He's here! :allears:

Ratoslov
Feb 15, 2012

Now prepare yourselves! You're the guests of honor at the Greatest Kung Fu Cannibal BBQ Ever!

HE'S HERE! THE GOOD BOY IS HERE! GET HYPE! :woop:

Leraika
Jun 14, 2015

Luckily, I *did* save your old avatar. Fucked around and found out indeed.
The best character in this whole drat game appears!

Night10194
Feb 13, 2012

We'll start,
like many good things,
with a bear.

Wait. I just realized after watching the Xenosaga stuff. Grand Papillion's VA was Cherenkov in Xenosaga, wasn't he?

E: I just checked, yes, he is!

Night10194 fucked around with this message at 22:05 on Apr 12, 2019

Space Cadet Omoly
Jan 15, 2014

~Groovy~


Who is this magical butterfly man? Does he join the party at some point? Because if he doesn't the developers made a terrible mistake.

CmdrKing
Oct 14, 2012

Maybe if I called it 'Interpretive Stabbing'...
Not too surprising, in any given 2-3 year span there are usually about 15 VAs splitting all the jRPG work between them.
My favorite example from Xenosaga is the dude who did Allen also doing best muscleboy Cliff in Star Ocean 3.

And now the REAL Shadow Hearts 2 begins to reveal itself. The Big Butterfly cometh.

megane
Jun 20, 2008



Ah yes, the thriving WWI-era France lucha libre scene.

Accordion Man
Nov 7, 2012


Buglord

Night10194 posted:

Wait. I just realized after watching the Xenosaga stuff. Grand Papillion's VA was Cherenkov in Xenosaga, wasn't he?

E: I just checked, yes, he is!
Yeah, it's Paul St. Peter, he's in a bunch of turn of the 2000's dubs.

Accordion Man fucked around with this message at 23:31 on Apr 12, 2019

ultrafilter
Aug 23, 2007

It's okay if you have any questions.


Now we learn what kind of game this really is.

Cirina
Feb 15, 2013

Operation complete.
is this luchador a future party member or a future recurring enemy, based on what we've seen so far they could be either

Slowflake
Aug 18, 2010

KIIRYU-CHAAAN!

Jagged Jim
Sep 26, 2013

I... I can only look though the window...

ShadowHeartsCovenant.jpg

StandardVC10
Feb 6, 2007

This avatar now 50% more dark mode compliant
Just FYI you spelled Le Havre as "Le Harve" in a couple places

DiggleWrath
Aug 30, 2018

O O
>

So the the of this game is wildly different from the first game, if you can't tell. If you're like me and are extremely dense, it'll take a couple more dungeons for you to fully realize this...

Tuxedo Ted
Apr 24, 2007

This is exactly what I needed to come home to after a long day. Like a salve for the soul.

Son Conan
Sep 25, 2007

This is pretty much the moment I realized I needed to play this game.

stryth
Apr 7, 2018

Got bread?
GIVE BREADS!
Oh, the memories, they're all flooding back! This guy, he's the cause of my first ever case of laughter induced paralysis. So much :stonklol: packed into one place, and you know what they say, you never forget your first!

DeTosh
Jan 14, 2010
Slippery Tilde
Yeah, okay, you got my attention.

OminousEdge
Apr 4, 2013
Best character the whole series you mean, as far as entertainment value goes..

Gilgamesh255
Aug 15, 2015
Wait, we come across this gentleman THIS early? drat it, now I gotta fire up my copy of Covenent.

Space Cadet Omoly
Jan 15, 2014

~Groovy~


Yuri's little "What? Huh?" Some how makes a great scene even better.

Mokinokaro
Sep 11, 2001

At the end of everything, hold onto anything



Fun Shoe

Eopia posted:

is this luchador a future party member or a future recurring enemy, based on what we've seen so far they could be either

Yes.

Junpei
Oct 4, 2015
Probation
Can't post for 11 years!
"Papillion" is French for "Butterfly", btw.

Space Cadet Omoly
Jan 15, 2014

~Groovy~


Junpei posted:

"Papillion" is French for "Butterfly", btw.

It's also the name of a breed of dog that has an adorable butterfly shaped heads:

Space Cadet Omoly fucked around with this message at 15:50 on Apr 13, 2019

Omobono
Feb 19, 2013

That's it! No more hiding in tomato crates! It's time to show that idiota Germany how a real nation fights!

For pasta~! CHARGE!

A wild Grand Papillon appears.
Thread goes wild.


It is endearing seeing the reactions from the other side, and wondering, was I the same during kethryveris's LP?
(answer: but of course I was)

Commander Keene
Dec 21, 2016

Faster than the others



I think I remember Grand Papillon from when one of my friends used to play Shadow Hearts back when it came out. I'm pretty sure he's the character I mentioned in the previous thread.

The Dark Id posted:

That guy doesn't look much like an "Olivia" to me. Considering this is supposed to be France, though, who wants to bet they messed up the translation a bit here and his name is supposed to be "Olivier" or something like that?

Kemix
Dec 1, 2013

Because change

Space Cadet Omoly posted:

It's also the name of a breed of dog that has an adorable butterfly shaped heads:



I didn't know these existed and I want one. God that's adorable.

GimmickMan
Dec 27, 2011

The last few lines of Papillion's speech and the pose he makes at the end are lifted from Banjo Haran, protagonist of the 1970's anime Daitarn 3.

And that was your bit of useless trivia of the day.

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Brainamp
Sep 4, 2011

More Zen than Zenyatta

Dunno why but reading those lines before seeing the video, I could only hear Crispin Freeman doing the voice.

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