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I think Alexei had big sisters besides Anastasia. [checks Wikipedia] Yes, three others. Olga, Maria, and Tatiana. I'm guessing they won't feature in the game. That space wolf battle totally came out of left field and made me laugh. Who will Blanca fight next?
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Jan 11, 2020 21:41
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achtungnight posted:I think Alexei had big sisters besides Anastasia. [checks Wikipedia] Yes, three others. Olga, Maria, and Tatiana. I'm guessing they won't feature in the game. Anastasia is the only one anyone ever remembers. The other three might as well have never existed. The next Wolf Bout is just as interesting as R-3, if for different reasons.
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Jan 11, 2020 22:43
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You'd think the king and queen would know better than to trust random strangers on the basis of any magic ability in this setting since their own daughter can use magic and now aliens are casually invading Russia too.
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Jan 11, 2020 23:30
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StandardVC10 posted:This wolf bout was bafflingly surreal in both its content and its timing, and it owns. It says something when a wolf version of Terry Bogard was one of the more tame encounters.
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Jan 12, 2020 00:27
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Did that dog just flip us off? I think that dog just flipped us off! quote:Or maybe it was just punching the ground in frustration?
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Jan 12, 2020 00:59
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I think the real takeaway from that conversation is that R-3 comes from the Kirby universe, since his punching emoticons and him flipping you the bird makes a star.
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Jan 12, 2020 01:40
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The fights themselves might be the most whatever thing but the context getting increasingly absurd is a treat. Especially after serious time the last few episodes and then just HEY ALIENS! Also I appreciate the Chernobyl radiation joke. 
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Jan 12, 2020 03:15
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DukeofCA posted:Anastasia is the only one anyone ever remembers. The other three might as well have never existed. Mainly because she's the one that has been subjected to a lot of hoaxers claiming to be the lost princess who somehow survived the massacre. There's been a few guys who claimed to be Alexei, but Anastasia is the one every fraud would impersonate. The Romanovs were absolutely lovely rulers, but you can absolutely see in a lot of archival footage that the family were very tightly knit and love each other in a way you didn't see with a lot of royals.
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Jan 12, 2020 03:50
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R-3 is my favorite wolf. He's precious. 
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Jan 12, 2020 04:17
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The Dark Id posted:
Debased? Rephrase entirely. The Dark Id posted:K-3 is a Light elemental enemy with 506 HP. Xander77 fucked around with this message at 13:27 on Jan 12, 2020 |
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Jan 12, 2020 13:17
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I would estimate a year or two tops. If I had to guestimate I'd give it until summer of 1918 for it to boil over...
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 Episode LIII: Solomon's Trial  Music: Old Smudged Map ~ Europe .jpg) Our next destination is the Goreme Valley of Turkey in the Ottoman Empire which is a good 1300 miles/2092 km away from Petrograd. But, that's not really an absurd travel factor anymore now that we have access to a VTOL jet. Before we head off, it's been a while since we've checked in on the Score stats. Let's take a gander... .jpg) Oh man... Wormgaur Rank? Really? We've got to change that. .jpg) I'm glad the Battle Data screen still maintains slightly off anime hip-hop lyrics. It's important to maintain this when you're a mild-mannered demon sergeant making the grade to hit pro. .jpg) I'm going to bring Lucia and Gepetto into a fight and just tank their Ring Data scores one day. .jpg) I'd like to say Blanca's lead is insurmountable due to the Wolf Bouts but Karin and Yuri might pull into competitive range again someday. .jpg) That's enough farting around on the map screen. Let's jump into a new location see what the talk of the town is in Turkey. Music: Flame of Strain to Blaze ~ Tension .jpg) A number of NPCs mention what beautiful sunsets are in the Goreme Valley but I don't we ever actually see the sun and instead only ever get this sickly orange skybox with a few smudges for clouds. You'll just to take the locals' word on that one. .jpg) .jpg) While the rest of the gang just obliviously trots into the valley, Blanca is once again the only one paying attention and is alerted to something ahead. .jpg) .jpg) And that something is walking right into a pincer ambush of armed locals. Unless the two dumpy armed dads behind the party repelled down the valley walls, Yuri and the others literally walked right past them without noticing. Good job, guys. .jpg) Yuri tries to start some poo poo, because it's Yuri and of course he would, but Roger stops him and puts his hands up. It's probably unwise to slaughter a bunch of villagers as soon as we step into town if we want the exiled holy man to be cooperative. .jpg)  Really...? We're just giving up? I can take a bullet. I took like thirty the first time we met. Just put your hands up already! Tch... fine..jpg) Music: ENDS .jpg) The local militia, consisting of two sets of triplets with very similar fashion senses, is stopped by a man who apparently used Instant Transmission like Goku to spontaneously appear between the groups and have them stand down. .jpg) You...? <runs forward> It's Lawrence! Huh?.jpg)  Well, it's been a long time! ? Yes, well. Everyone seems to think that you've come here to kill him. Him? Bishop Jovis. He's their priest, you see. Well... you might even call him their god. Why would you think we're here to kill him? Have you seen the... colorful folks at the head of Sapientes Gladio? No offense, but most of you lot look the type for their ranks. I keep telling them they all stick out but nobody listens to me. Lad, I was including you in that tally of misfits. Hey! I dress perfectly normal! <cocks eyebrow> Hmm... as you say....jpg) .jpg) Thomas motions to the rest of the militia and they disperse to resume their normal activities of wandering around aimlessly and reciting a single prepared line to passing strangers that happen to speak to them. Such is the life of an NPC. Music: Spiritualization ~ Holy Land of God .jpg)  Yeah! Just who exactly are you? And Lucia, how do you know him? You weren't there when we met this guy in Wales. I was the most popular fortuneteller in all of Italy. I've met a LOT of people, OK? OK. Why did you call him Lawrence...? Oh, that....jpg)   You're a spy?! Well... I suppose you could say that.  Why did you call yourself Thomas before? Well... I didn't lie. It's my name. Thomas Edward Lawrence. T.E. for short. Yeah, I'm not calling you that. Sounds forced. Like you're trying to make it a thing. If you say so... Lawrence of Arabia is another moniker I've earned. <shakes head> Nope. Not happening. Lawrence it is. Look, I wasn't trying to deceive anyone. It's just business... But what are you doing here? <steps forward> I can explain that..jpg) The British Secret Service sent a communication to track down Bishop Jovis. He went missing in Istanbul.  Where the heck is Istanbul? I thought we were in Turkey. It's a city in Turkey, Yuri. You really need to learn some geography. This is getting embarrassing. Bite me. Right after that, I had to return to Russia to get you all, and Mr. Lawrence went on ahead to Goreme. I see. So you've been running around all over the place then, huh! And you too, Mr. Lawrence! It was a bit of a hassle trying to evade the Turkish government, but here I am! I'd say you've had a tougher journey than me though, right?! You can say that again! We got into trouble with Rasputin!  ....... We also sort of accidentally kidnapped the princess of the royal family. Wow... a real spy! ...I see. Hmm. Well, anyway. The first thing is to have a meeting with Bishop Jovis. I'm sure the rest will fall into place. So this Jovis guy's here in the valley? Yes. He spends his time praying at a chapel deep inside the cave where he lives. Do we need directions? Is there any special hidden path to take to reach him? Oh no. Just walk forward down the one path until you reach the end. You can't miss it. ...... I'm going on ahead. You guys follow later..jpg) We're now free to explore Gerome Valley. We may as well chat up the locals now that they're not aiming rifles at our heads. .jpg)  And I made it in a cave! ...You live your best life..jpg) Of course the Magimel Brothers have made it to Turkey ahead of a jet. I want to see them drive that rickety shop truck to the next location and it's just like Nico's van from Devil May Cry 5. Anyway, we'll talk to them in a minute. That chest looks tempting... .jpg) The Marax Crest with Cure Plus is added to our collection. At this point in the game, Cure is still as much healing as we need for most situations. Oh and for the record, I did check out the Solomon's Key in-between chapters and we've yet to gather quite enough Crests for the appropriate region to complete another segment. We're one away from one of 'em but no dice. .jpg) This? It's a Piroshki. I brought it back from Russia... It might be a little bit squished since it was in my pack when I got knocked around by a sorcerer. But it's still probably fine. It looks good! I'm drooling just looking at it! Oh, yeah! Please! You've gotta let me have it! > You can have it! Calm down! Ah! Food! At last! It's so tasty! You ever think about not living in a cave in the middle of nowhere if you're this famished all the time? I don't know what you're getting at... Oh, yeah! Thank you! Here, have this! You can't eat it, so I don't need it!.jpg) So that seemed like the next stage of the Trading Side Quest. And you would be correct, it is. But...  This is a trap! Remember how back in Cannes there two options to trade the Underground Film? But both of them led back to the same next step in obtaining the Super Piroshki just via different folk in Petrograd? That is no longer the case. From here on out there are straight up dead end trades that will result in much worse rewards (and lock us out of one of the ultimate weapons in the game.) Trading with Starving Coquile here is the first such trap trade. Obtaining the Burning Candle will let us trade with exactly one more person in Disc 2 which nets us... one bottle of Getitup! for Joachim. That's not actually the worst trap, either. If we held onto the Daruma Doll all the way until the Winter Palace dungeon (by failing to notice a new NPC spawned in an area we'd already early explored) then Edgar the Clockmaker would have traded us the doll for a Holy Easter Egg. Which we could trade with a guy up the street on this very screen for... a Pure Root. One Pure Root. That's not great. .jpg) Oh, come on! I'm starving here! You want me to die?! I want you to diet.So we're going to turn down this offer and hold onto this until a more lucrative trade appears later in the game. The final steps of the Trading Quest in Disc 1 are already open right now were we to backtrack to earlier towns. But we'll wait until we sort out the events here first. Anyway, let's do some shopping... .jpg)  Call that a welcome?! Wherever you go, we make sure we get ahead so we're there when you arrive! Is it really profitable just following us around everywhere? Those travel costs have got to be adding up. We wouldn't be very good merchants if it wasn't, now would we? So, you going to buy? Now, what should I buy...?.jpg) No new weapons are present in the Magimel Twins' shop but a new tier of armor has appeared and that's always useful. We're only going to buy one piece of armor, the Plastron, and equip it on Yuri. In the process we managed to level up our Point Card to Rank C and unlock 30% Discount on our next purchase. Spiffy! .jpg) This armor is only able to be equipped by Yuri, Blanca, Karin and Joachim for whatever reason. It provides +56 Physical and +52 Special Defense. .jpg)  Don't be so cold! We were just following our best customers, that's all! So... do you want a dress made? I'm not in the mood today.It's been a while since we've gotten a Stud Card, eh? In theory, we could actually get one in this very area. But in practice... nah, we're going to let that one wait. You'll see what I mean shortly. .jpg) This jerk would have ended the Trading Quest with the crappiest possible reward if we had fallen victim to Edgar's grift in a different timeline. Speaking of sidequests, there is yet another, very involved, one that is triggered by approaching the only new NPC in this area that doesn't look like they came off a generic middle-aged guy assembly line. .jpg) Huh? What are you talking about?! You can't just launch into a bunch of weird stuff without saying what you mean! Really...? You, of all people, are going to tell someone that? I can see them... I can see them now... All those demons encircling you... What?! A-are you talking about ghosts?! Look, I don't like ghosts, okay! So cut it out!.jpg) I don't morph into any ghosts! They're fusion monsters, get it? Fusion! Look, the last time I had to deal with a ghost it cursed my girlfriend and killed an old lady that told really long winded stories. Or the one time a ghost hired me to go to a haunted house and I had to fight a ball of dead ghost babies and then it stiffed me on pay. I'm not a fan, alright? But I thought, "you can't just launch into a bunch of weird stuff without saying what you mean!" What do you call that?  Shuddup!  <enters fighting stance toward Sarah> Look! Who are you, anyway?! Coming along, and spooking me out... Are you looking for a fight?.jpg) C'mon! I'll punch a ghost! You're not gonna haunt me! <relaxes stance> ...... I am Sarah... Maid to the great King Solomon! King Solomon?! Never heard of him! What country is he the king of? Does it really matter? You're not going to know where it is anyway. If it's the source of frikkin' GHOSTS I want to know about it! Solomon... He was an ancient king of Israel, I think. But that kingdom collapsed over 3000 years ago... <jumps back startled> So this chick's 3000 years old?! Aaaghh! She is a ghost! Calm down! Are you a man, or aren't you?! You're making a scene! I'm sure she's not a ghost... Let's just say... she's just a little "unusual," okay? We'll leave it at that. It is my duty to test those who want to inherit Kind Solomon's power... I will not force you, but if you truly wish to be the successor of King Solomon's power, you must... I'll do it! Anything you say! Tests, battles, anything! Then the ghosts will go away, right?! I'll even learn geography. I don't care. Just get rid of the ghosts!.jpg) <nods>.jpg) Sorry, give me a little longer..jpg) OK. I suppose we can do the first stage of the Solomon's Trials. First, we're going to outfit Yuri with protection against Ring Abnormalities and Petrification. Those two things could be show stoppers for what is to come. .jpg) Okay, then! Choose which trial you want to attempt....jpg) So Solomon's Trails are literally just Shadow Hearts: Covenant's version of Pit Fights. Yay... My very favorite very dull grind of a questline from the first Shadow Hearts is back. Joy. There's a lot more to them in Shadow Hearts 2 as each trial now has varying objectives instead of it being universally "Grind each character out to suitable levels so it can survive a ten-round fight gauntlet solo." Unfortunately, it's still a huge time sink and one that has multiple quest line completions, Magic Crests, ultimate equipment and a super boss tied to it. Right now we only have the Beginners class of challenges. Which are:
.jpg) And if you had any doubts these are just Pit Fights reborn, it literally just says Pit Fight when selecting a character to participate. We're going to do the Beginner, Level 1 challenge today and naturally Yuri will be up to bat as our heaviest hitter and most versatile party member. But honestly, probably anyone could handle this one. Even Gepetto. I'm not putting Gepetto in. .jpg) .jpg) Music: Vicious 1915 ~ Battle in Europe .jpg) Sarah transports us to a giant floating Judgment Ring sigil floating in a pocket dimension void. It's reminiscent of where we fought Meta-God. Just sans the low-resolution JPEG of the Earth below. I guess this is a touch more elaborate than the back room of a rundown bar or a condemned building basement where orphans are squatting. For the Level 1 trial we need to fight five sets of enemies. The order of the enemy sets is randomized but they're all jerks we've already faced in past dungeons and are grouped accordingly. .jpg) The first set is the Rhondda Mines crew of Barghest, Propolis and Tammuz. .jpg) To be honest, our Fusion doesn't particularly matter for this trial. Hell, we could probably do the whole thing with untransformed Yuri. Personally, I went with Orexis because it's a decent mix of speed and strength. Also, it's at the bottom of the Fusion list so I could select it quickly in the menu. .jpg) Why I say the Fusion really doesn't matter is, much like the first Shadow Hearts, level scaling is a non-existent thing and anything with even a 5+ Level difference is basically rendered a non-threat. Nevermind, enemies from six or seven dungeons ago. All these creatures can literally do no more than 1 HP of damage per attack. .jpg) Meanwhile, Yuri will utterly annihilate them in one to two hits. It's frankly cruel to send trash mobs into this kind of unwinnable grinder. .jpg) .jpg) It is worth noting that each round of a trial counts as its own separate battle. So any buffs/debuffs applied will evaporate as soon as the next fight starts. Likewise, Yuri will have to transform into his Fusion of choice once again each and every round. It's a little obnoxious but what are you going to do? .jpg) Round two is just one poor Stray Wolf that lost its way from St Marguerite Island and found its way to the business end of Yuri's fist and an early grave. RIP. .jpg) Round three is the Neam Ruin representatives Ofnir and Otheon. This is the only fight that managed to deal double digit damage as Ofnir immediately cast Rage on its big stone golem comrade and that bruiser could dish out 50-60 HP of damage per turn. I actually had to take a safety heal. At least one of these mobs put up an OK effort. .jpg) Round four went to the proper St Marguerite Island natives with Gatorback, Kheperer and a Paladin. The party has only gotten maybe three levels since back then but that's still enough to make this a stomp match. .jpg) The finale in the fifth round was the most obnoxious of all with the Sapientes Gladio Italian HQ roster of a Gremlin, Langsuir and three Clawed Commanders. .jpg) The reason this one is tedious is solely because of the Clawed Commanders. Normally, I'd just nuke an entire group of them huddle together at the beginning with some AOE magic and it would be a complete none issue. But Yuri's Fusion don't get AOE attacks until we pump more Soul Power than I have invested in any one class yet. Thus I could only take them out one at a time and they would spend the rest of the time setting up 3-5 person combos to juggle Yuri for twenty seconds. Granted, every hit still only did one HP of damage. But when the enemy wastes 30 seconds of your time doing nothing, it's *kinda* irritating. .jpg) .jpg) But, much like the actual Clawed Commanders... it didn't go well for them by the end and the first of the many... many... many (seriously, there is eighteen total trials across the game plus a bonus boss fight) of Solomon's Trials are completed. We could easily do the second trial right now as it is do a huge Combo to Godhand Lenny like... we already did in the real fight against him. But, you know, I'm good for now. Oh yeah, by the way these trial fights? Yeah, they don't grant experience or Soul Power. Just the prize at the end of the trial is all we get. They're not even courteously enough to heal the participating characters once they're completed. Music: Spiritualization ~ Holy Land of God .jpg) .jpg) It's another Magic Crest. Arc Shield actually sounds like something that could be quite useful so I guess it was worth it. But, meh... Still not a fan of RPG arena quests. .jpg)  I-I don't care about that! J-just tell me the ghosts are gone now! They're gone, aren't they?! Oh, no! To control the demons, you must complete all the trials. Every level... It takes great endurance... ...And proper plot progression. What?! S-so... I'm gonna be possessed unless I do them all?! First I'm cursed and now I'm haunted and gonna get possessed by ghosts? Can those two things override each other? How does that even work?! ...That is not... really my... area of expertise... But you should REALLY do all these trials! I insist!.jpg) Maybe some other day. For now, let's head into the caves and onward toward startling revelations that definitely will not border on questionable retcons as Shadow Hearts: Covenant continues!    Video: Episode 53 Highlight Reel    Sarah Concept Art - Is there a Middle Eastern equivalent term for a weeb? The Dark Id fucked around with this message at 00:00 on Jan 23, 2020 |
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Jan 13, 2020 23:11
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For some reason, I thought Sarah first popped up round the first time we met Lawrence. Would have made more sense that way too, instead of this far in the game when we're already way past making a dent in Yuri's fusion roster and we've all but had the mandatory unwinnable boss fight with the puppet master behind Sapientes Gladio.
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Jan 14, 2020 00:07
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The Dark Id posted:Sarah Concept Art - Is there a Middle Eastern equivalent term for a weeb? Wiyy al-Bu
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Jan 14, 2020 00:34
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So what is this "shortcuts" rating in the battle data screen? For some reason I feel like it was in Shadow Hearts 1 also, and also never budged above 0.
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Jan 14, 2020 01:06
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Schwartzcough posted:So what is this "shortcuts" rating in the battle data screen? For some reason I feel like it was in Shadow Hearts 1 also, and also never budged above 0. It's not in SH1 - its to do with the combo system. You can assign characters to do certain actions and activate them (when in a combo) with the triggers and bumpers to speed up the actual process of doing combo moves and cutting down on menu time. Or something like that - never actually used it [e]: Gave it a quick go:    Character State covers stuff like what Fusion Yuri is in (and presumably Joachim in whatever form he's in) so you can have presets for when they're in a specific form.  So for example, changing a standard hit into a Third Key hit.  And you can set magic as well  You still have to group up for the combo, and successfully hit the ring areas, but it can queue up the next character (you can also push left/right to choose which one is next) while in the active process of doing damage, bypassing manually selecting the move from the menu - and it'll default to the standard menu selection if you let the combo play out as normal.  I guess it speeds things up a tiny bit.  Cool it's there, but literally never touched it before now.
Pesky Splinter fucked around with this message at 02:04 on Jan 14, 2020 |
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Jan 14, 2020 01:44
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Why the hell is Fire Emblem Mrs. Krabappel doing in Alternate History WW1?
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Jan 14, 2020 01:58
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Pesky Splinter posted:It's not in SH1 - its to do with the combo system. You can assign characters to do certain actions and activate them (when in a combo) with the triggers and bumpers to speed up the actual process of doing combo moves and cutting down on menu time. Or something like that - never actually used it Yeah, it's basically that except, you know, Combos are based on character order and that is never going to necessarily be consistent because there is a bit of a dice roll at the start of every encounter as to the order plus you're likely to be swapping out Crests given upgrades or specific situations given enemies have different weights and can be juggled easier or harder depending on that and... I mean, it's not like it takes more than ten seconds to look at the next character in a combo's movelist and deduce the best action. It's a very useless system I'm never going to touch. Much like the whole mechanic where you can make three separate teams depending on the situation but like... I can just swap out folks in five seconds. Plus I'll need to manage accessories and Crests anyway so useless too. There are several quality of life in theory but not actually mechanically systems in this game. But, you know, they've come a long drat way from Koudelka... FeyerbrandX posted:Why the hell is Fire Emblem Mrs. Krabappel doing in Alternate History WW1? What is Shadow Hearts Mrs. Krabappel doing in Fire Emblem?
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Jan 14, 2020 03:00
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The Dark Id posted:It's a very useless system I'm never going to touch. Yeah. I mean, it's even in the sequel, where combos sort of matter a bit more (and the system is tweaked slightly so they can be started with any character), but it still suffers from the same problems as in this game, and is entirely unneeded in the grand scheme of the game. As you say there's so many factors to take into account (weight in this game, height in the sequel) reducing the options to four to save...not really any great deal of time, doesn't actually really help things. The Dark Id posted:There are several quality of life in theory but not actually mechanically systems in this game. But, you know, they've come a long drat way from Koudelka... Yeah, at least we can actually see which character is moving next, can see health, weaknesses, item drops, etc and not Koudelka's perpetual twin answers of "???" and "Should have bought the Japanese guide - hope you can read Japanese".
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Jan 14, 2020 03:34
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The Dark Id posted:What is Shadow Hearts Mrs. Krabappel doing in Fire Emblem? Turkey Mirage Simpsons: #FE
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Jan 14, 2020 22:36
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The Dark Id posted:Unless the two dumpy armed dads behind the party repelled down the valley walls
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Jan 15, 2020 00:57
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Xander77 posted:Rappelled. Rap battled.
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Jan 15, 2020 02:37
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Pretty messed up that the game favors denying a starving man from having a light snack. The desire for one-of-a-kind items makes many men into monsters.
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Jan 16, 2020 01:27
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Supersonic Shine posted:Pretty messed up that the game favors denying a starving man from having a light snack. The desire for one-of-a-kind items makes many men into monsters. Let's face it, basically all RPG protagonists are sociopaths (or outright psychopaths).
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Jan 16, 2020 01:33
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Eh, the starving dude will be fine. Look at him, he is quite hefty in size. He can't be starving that badly. And well dressed. He likely has a stash of food somewhere or a way to easily get too and from a place with food,
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Jan 16, 2020 07:58
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Call me crazy, but I have a sneaking suspicion this lady is not to be trusted, and I have an idea of what these trials are leading up to.
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Jan 16, 2020 16:10
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I also have a sneaking suspicion that something not very wise is lurking behind these trials and their host.
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Jan 16, 2020 16:11
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To be fair, TDI did tell us where this is going:The Dark Id posted:So Solomon's Trails are literally just Shadow Hearts: Covenant's version of Pit Fights. Yay... My very favorite very dull grind of a questline from the first Shadow Hearts is back. Joy. There's a lot more to them in Shadow Hearts 2 as each trial now has varying objectives instead of it being universally "Grind each character out to suitable levels so it can survive a ten-round fight gauntlet solo." Unfortunately, it's still a huge time sink and one that has multiple quest line completions, Magic Crests, ultimate equipment and a super boss tied to it.
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Jan 16, 2020 16:31
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They're at least more interesting than the Pit Fights. I never bothered with the Pit Fights but I did all the Trials.
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Jan 16, 2020 16:55
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Episode LIV: My Old Friend... Music: Spiritualization ~ Holy Land of God .jpg) Time to head into the cave dwellings of Goreme Valley. Fun fact: the actual Göreme Valley was indeed host to a bunch of homes, temples, and churchs carved into the rock or inside caves. This was a big spot where Christians hid out when the Roman Empire was being kind of dicks to them. So I guess it's appropriate a weird Christianity split-off ex-cult leader is camping out here. But before we do that and perhaps walk headfirst into a rather lengthy story exposition, let's chat up the other cave dwellers in the area... .jpg)  I was born on a mountain and raised in a cave. Truckin' and fuckin' is all I crave. I'm glad you shared that with me..jpg)  I will stay behind, to gaze at the sun. The sun is a wondrous body. Like a magnificent father! If only I could be so grossly incandescent! Are they putting something in the water around here...?Yuri enters the first door on the left. .jpg) No, I'm always thrilled to see strangers pointing rifles at me as soon as I stumble into a new town. Heh. Same. It really gets the blood flowing. Uh-huh...Yuri enters the first room on the right. .jpg)  My journey here took much from me. My husband was trampled by a goat stampede and lost both of his legs. My son was detained by Turkish police at the border. My father died from dysentery outside Istanbul. My cat ran away. The toll has been great. I flew here on a jet plane. ...How swell for you..jpg) Up the steps in the central corridor leads to what appears to be a dead-end or possibly somewhere reserved for a future cutscene as our heroes gaze into the horizon. But, if you'll recall a certain treasure hunt quest... .jpg) "Behind the pillar where there is a view of the town that has stone houses and a beautiful sunset." .jpg) Well, we cannot see the view of the town or the sunset. But, there *is* a pillar and... hey, Seere! .jpg) No, get that eternal five-year-old lovely kid and his murder golems the heck out of here! I'm not going through that crap again! Anyway, next time we're in Cannes we'll need to rub this in that Loud Croft guy's face. Yuri enters the second door on the right. .jpg)  If it's discovered by the Ottoman government, everyone will be driven out. There's no doubt about that. You ever think about, I don't know, blending in better? Maybe by not wearing a three-piece suit while hiding out in a desert cave? Poppycock! One must always strive to look sharp. ...Sure..jpg) I'm sure this guy won't need this Lottery Ticket on his desk. There aren't even any Lottery Members in Turkey. Ridiculous! Yuri enters the second door on the left. .jpg) Your guys tried to shoot me and my friends as soon as we walked in town. He has taught *us* to live peacefully every day. Outsiders are another story, stranger..jpg) Yeah, you are like the fifth person to say that but it's just an orange overcast glow in the sky. I can't even tell where the lousy son is right now. And why has it been sunset for like five hours? That's not normal... I like sunsets. There is definitely something in the water here....jpg) OK. I believe we've bugged everyone outside of this Jovis guy. Let's go talk to Lawrence... or Tom or Ed or whatever the hell he's calling himself today... and get this show on the road. .jpg) .jpg) Yes. This is the true Sapientes Gladio. Sages of the Sword... I thought they would, you know, change their crest after a violent terrorist group took over the name. I would wager rebranding is difficult when you have no resources and are in seclusion in a remote cave based town in central Turkey. I guess that makes sense. The Bishop will be inside..jpg) Now we could run straight ahead into the chapel and have our meeting with Jovis... .jpg) ...Or we could quickly duck into his bedroom and steal some of his poo poo. He's lucky we didn't slaughter his flunkies. If he's foolish enough to keep anything in a treasure chest, it's up for grabs. .jpg) A free set of that other piece of armor that was newly available in the shop is found in Jovis' chest. Despite the "female adventurers" description, all the female characters plus Blanca and Gepetto are capable of wearing this cloak. Don't ask me. This set of armor offers +50 Physical and +58 Special Defense, making it a slightly more magical defense inclined than the armor we got for Yuri. We'll equip this one on Karin. .jpg) That's enough looting and gabbing with random folk. Let's finally get on with the meeting with the original leader of Sapientes Gladio. Music: ENDS .jpg) .jpg)  So you have finally come. The outlanders who wish to question me. Are you Bishop Jovis? Yes. We came here from Russia. We want to find out... what you can tell us... about Sapientes Gladio and their leader, Rasputin. ...... ...I've washed my hands of them completely. We were once aligned. Now we're nothing more than enemies... ...No further calls are made for birthdays. No token gift cards exchanged for the holidays. We have unfriended one another on Gladiobook. Our ties are severed....jpg) And... do you happen to know what Sapientes Gladio, or should I say Rasputin, is planning to do? Some nonsense about stealing a country. I am sure an overly complicated and drawn out scheme is involved which ends with him gloating in a theatrical fashion. And I am sure it is tedious and full of idiotic fools that are easily duped and should have seen the betrayal coming miles away.Anastasia runs forward. .jpg) It's not nonsense! That's my country you're talking about! Hmm... ...... <sigh> Congratulations on residing in a place one-eighth of the world's landmass..jpg) Listen here. Your friend has ruined my whole life! How dare you call it nonsense! Anastasia... That's horrible... ......Jovis slowly gets up and turns to Anastasia. .jpg) My words were careless. I beg your forgiveness, Princess. I'm afraid you fall into a nihilistic rut sometimes at my age and don't realize who your guests are... especially, when your followers just vaguely mention "outsiders" without any further information. It makes things difficult for me... Are you blind...? Mhm. I can sense only some light, that is all. ......... Although now I am able to see many of the things that I could not see when I had my sight. Check this out, child. I bet I can point out who of you, as the young people say, got "owned the hardest" recently..jpg) Bishop Jovis points toward Yuri. .jpg) Huh...? Wha? Huh? <looks around confused> Dang. You nailed it in one! I'm impressed. But, that's not all....jpg) When you first set foot into my church, I felt as if an old friend had come to visit. Friend? The God of Wrath's soul that is sealed within you made me feel so. I could sense his presence. What? The God of Wrath's soul...? You're gonna have to specify, old man. I've got like a dozen Fusion souls rattling around in me. And the ghost of a little girl. Wait, what? It's a long story....jpg) <nods> Hmm. His power has also been sealed away by that foul Mistletoe's curse. You know about that?! I did start the organization, young man. I would know a thing or two about our cursed holy relics or ones we had planned to obtain. Hmm... Fate certainly does have its ironies, wouldn't you say? Can't you speak clearly, old man?!.jpg) I am sorry. I am a bit out of practice, I suppose. I have not met the likes of you since I left the secular life and came here. Hmm... Yes, it has been some time since I encountered wandering adventurers... Yes, some time indeed... I suppose you have already looted my quarters of valuables? You better believe it! That is acceptable. Take it as payment for my earlier rudeness. Karin over there already has it equipped. What? You stole that?! You told me you got it on a discount from the Magimel shop! Yeah, I did! But then I found the free one and reloaded an earlier save. ...... I think I can answer the questions that you seek. Allow me to tell you about... Rasputin. ...... ...... <strokes beard> Hmm... ...... ...... ...... He is, as you young people say, kind of a dick... Yeah! Tell us something we don't know! <nods> Yes, of course. Allow me to prepare some slides. <sigh> I never should have started this trend with those doodles....jpg) That was when it all began. I was betrayed by my disciple, and forsaken by my friend....jpg) My friend and I had just taken in a young Rasputin as our new disciple. But time passed....jpg) And soon Rasputin had gained the power he needed to fulfill his ambitions..jpg) That was when he showed his true self. Recognizing his madness too late, my friend and I tried to fight him..jpg) But we were quickly undone by the demonic power he wielded... The two of us were banished and Rasputin became the new leader..jpg) He has made a soul pact with the King of Demons, Asmodeus. That is what shields him and protects his mortal flesh..jpg) ...W-Wait, who was the guy in the background of those slides? A soul pact? <nods> When a person sacrifices his very soul in exchange for unearthly power. Is that really possible? It is. If one possesses great knowledge and willpower..jpg) I'm afraid that's exactly what Rasputin learned from us... That was, as you say, my bad. We really screwed the pooch on that one, as it were..jpg) So you're saying that he possesses the power of Asmodeus? <nods> Mmm. Maybe he thought he was strong enough... But at some point, well, while unaware, his soul was devoured by Asmodeus. And now that demon within him seeks the destruction of this very world. ...I thought he was only taking over Russia? These powerful demons in soul pacts, you see, they start small scale. Take over a country here. Start a war there... Then eventually get, as I've heard the term, "galaxy brain ideas" and it escalates from there. It usually ends in world destruction. Isn't there any way to stop Rasputin? A power equal to Asmodeus could break through his shield. ...... Power like that? Where would we find it? My muscles are perfection and their power was nothing! <points at Yuri> Within the heart of this young man..jpg) Huh? Me?.jpg) To stop the madness of Rasputin and our former organization, my friend fought to change the future of the entire world. .jpg) His plan was to summon a god that would shake the earth and shatter the skies. When I saw his plan would reorder the nature of the world, I became fearful... Hey, now, wait a minute... This sounds a LOT like a story I've already heard and I'm NOT a fan....jpg) My friend lost his confidence in me and, in order to battle Asmodeus, he made a soul pact with the most powerful demon he could find. .......jpg) .jpg) But the soul of Amon is now sealed within you. Why is this so? I found a weird stone in a temple beneath Wales and then beat up... aww crap, it IS him... Huh?.jpg) Because you defeated my friend and conquered the will of Amon. And so when the god which was summoned turned to light and was crushed by you, my friend's soul disappeared within you as well. Hey old man, that friend of yours....jpg) Cardinal Albert Simon... <gasp> Frick!.jpg) .jpg) That's right, dapper warlock Albert Simon didn't summon an alien god to destroy the planet due to vague JRPG cleanse the corrupt world and maybe visions of World War I being a really bad scene. He was actually trying to stop his old dirtbag student Grigori Rasputin from uhh... taking over Russia and MAYBE going crazy and destroying the world at some point after he made a soul pact with a demon? And he tried to accomplish this by err... ALSO doing a soul pact with a demon and then ergh... trying to destroying the world first...? Also we've got him loving about with Dehuai who killed Yuri's parents and was just a huge piece of poo poo. An incompetent piece of poo poo at that. And everything with Arcane Olga. And helping out murdering catboy and his master and doing gruesome experiments on Wugui of Kowloon in China. Plus torturing Koudelka and giving that weird Kiryu/Majima hybrid doctor the loving Emigre Manuscript... Like, uhh... I dunno, man... I know don't know about this retcon, ref. But nobody gets off Shadow Hearts: Covenant's wild ride -- even characters that are already dead. .jpg) Only the fallen angel Astaroth and the God of Wrath Amon have the power to resist Asmodeus. ...... ...Wait, what's this Astaroth thing? That's new. Don't worry about that right now. You're the one that brought it up! If you want to resurrect that power, you must first pass a trial. A trial? You must search for Amon, buried somewhere within you. <looks at his chest> ...... But how...?.jpg) The Mistletoe extinguishes your powers. The more you resist, the more the curse inside you will eat into your very soul. There is a limit to how much even the strongest of wills can endure. <points at Jovis> And what if I... can't... endure...? I-Is like a... bad debuff... Or maybe my Level gets reset again. That would su— You will go permanently insane..jpg) <gasp>.jpg) ...... ...Hmm....jpg) <gasp> Well, that sucks... ...Yeah... Awroo... (poo poo...).jpg) ...... ...... <definitely trying not to have a panic attack> Ha ha ha! Yeah! Right! Good one, old man! Ha ha! Yeah... Gimme a break... Ha ha! Yeah... G-Good stuff... Rog, hehe, where... where did you dig up this fossil? He... ha ha... he's a real... a real comedian... Ha ha. Son, I am, as they say, dead rear end serious right now..jpg) You need not go alone, I will come with you. It will be a most perilous journey, my young friend. You? I don't know. We already got the old man niche filled in the party with Gepetto and we barely even use him. Ingrate! Amon is a powerful foe. I think you know that far better than I do. I did hold off the German Army for half a year with it so... yeah, I see where you're coming from... But... Father! Eh?.jpg) Let me take your place!! I'll be the one to go with him! Uhh... umm... Karin... ...... You know that failure means death? If you die in the Mirror Castle, you die in real life. ...Wait, Mirror Castle? There are many steps to this trial I need to go over. There will be an orientation. That's fine..jpg) Hmm. It shall be. Now then, come with me. I did not intentionally mean to make that rhyme. I do not want you to think I am one of those kinds of douchebag elderly mentors.Jovis walks off. .jpg) Eh... uhh... umm... Heh....jpg) Tune in next time as we prepare for Karin and Yuri to take a journey into the wack rear end mind palace residing in Yuri's soul in order to resurrect the power of an easily permanently missable late-game Shadow Hearts 1 Fusion that is suddenly incredibly plot relevant as Shadow Hearts: Covenant continues to just keep doing whatever the hell it wants.  Video: Episode 54 Highlight Reel (You should probably watch this.)   Jovis Abraham Concept Art - That's about how I'd expect an exiled holy man living in a cave to look. The Dark Id fucked around with this message at 06:34 on Jan 17, 2020 |
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Jan 17, 2020 00:25
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I appreciate how Yuri looks at himself like he's expecting to see some kind of map or instructions.
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Jan 17, 2020 00:41
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So the game expects you to have gotten an optional fusion but not gotten the good ending? Weird, usually sequels either assume average completion or 100% completion, not a patchwork.
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Jan 17, 2020 01:36
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Taciturn Tactician posted:So the game expects you to have gotten an optional fusion but not gotten the good ending? Weird, usually sequels either assume average completion or 100% completion, not a patchwork. To be fair the optional fusion is a lot easier to stumble in to than the true ending.
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Jan 17, 2020 02:37
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ImpAtom posted:To be fair the optional fusion is a lot easier to stumble in to than the true ending. Agreed. The first time I played the original Shadow Hearts it was blind without a guide and I got Amon and the bad ending. Then, having enjoyed the game, I read up on it and beat it with the good ending, close to all optional quests done. Both times were a fun ride of course. I'm surprised that they didn't use the fallen angel Seraphic Radiance in Yuri for his ultimate power sealed by the curse, though. It enabled him to nearly blow up Shanghai and defeat the alien God at the end of the first game. Was it really more obscure and harder to get than Amon for most players? I guess so.
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Jan 17, 2020 02:48
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Well, missing Amon permanently involves ignoring a puzzle the game flashes in your face. Missing Seraphic Radiance permanently involves not standing in a specific spot in Dehuai's tower and finding his porn stash.
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Jan 17, 2020 02:53
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You could easily not realize that you didn't have to solve the puzzle to get Amon if you aren't using a guide. Plus if they went with the Seraphic Radiance now they wouldn't have been able to tie in Albert Simon.
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Jan 17, 2020 03:11
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ultrafilter posted:You could easily not realize that you didn't have to solve the puzzle to get Amon if you aren't using a guide. Plus if they went with the Seraphic Radiance now they wouldn't have been able to tie in Albert Simon. Yeah. But then again it is probably more Realistic to tie in with Albert and Amon, Power Scale Wise than to Give Yuri the last Games Endgame Fusion whose lore literally states it has the power to murder gods before we even reach the mid game here. Plus, A demon in a church is more of a reason to freak out and get help from what appeared at the time to be the Vatican than a naked Angel is.
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Jan 17, 2020 04:47
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Albert Simon being a happy go lucky murderer that aided and abetted in casual citywide destruction as well as trafficking with the worst kinds of criminals and demons kind of shuts down whatever noble intentions this retcon is aiming for. Since Jovis was shut down by him and Rasputin both, I think the guy is just a bad judge of character and though he thought the guy was his friend, the feeling was in reality probably not mutual. He's lucky that he was "forsaken," worst case scenario is that he'd either end up as a sacrifice for some unsavory arcane ritual or forced as a helpless bystander to watch our dapper old arch-nemesis and Arcane Olga roam the streets, doing what they do best.
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Jan 17, 2020 05:03
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it would have been funnier if this was about seraphic radiance and jovis had to talk up his old friend dehuai.
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Jan 17, 2020 05:22
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Shitenshi posted:Albert Simon being a happy go lucky murderer that aided and abetted in casual citywide destruction as well as trafficking with the worst kinds of criminals and demons kind of shuts down whatever noble intentions this retcon is aiming for. Since Jovis was shut down by him and Rasputin both, I think the guy is just a bad judge of character and though he thought the guy was his friend, the feeling was in reality probably not mutual. He's lucky that he was "forsaken," worst case scenario is that he'd either end up as a sacrifice for some unsavory arcane ritual or forced as a helpless bystander to watch our dapper old arch-nemesis and Arcane Olga roam the streets, doing what they do best. Yeah, it's definitely a retcon that doesn't work on a few different levels.
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Jan 17, 2020 05:26
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I love the monks standing around in monk robes during the flashback and there's Albert sticking out like a sore thumb in his snazzy tux.
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Jan 17, 2020 06:55
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