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in case anyone was wondering about what they were using instead of 1, 2, 3 This was the worst dungeon in the game, at least (unless I've blocked out more annoying ones). I, uh, did not have a guide and I'm very bad at these puzzles. e: update on last page woops
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Apr 21, 2020 20:14
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| # ? May 26, 2024 00:01 |
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That's how many ways now for Lucia to instantly gently caress over the party? Three? More? Are we sure she's on our side here?
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Apr 21, 2020 20:29
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Honestly most of the dungeons in this game look downright unpleasant to play in.
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Apr 21, 2020 21:04
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This dungeon is about where I checked out and didn't pick the game back up.
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Apr 21, 2020 21:16
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Congrats on clearing that dungeon. May its like never be seen again in any game.
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Apr 21, 2020 21:29
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An hour and 45 minutes! I'm glad I have almost no memory of it. I fear it'll be unforgettable after you wrote up that entire thing. I'm sure we'd have forgiven you for skipping a few dozen steps...
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Apr 21, 2020 23:06
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Keldulas posted:Honestly most of the dungeons in this game look downright unpleasant to play in. I think a lot of people block out or mentally gloss over the fact that honestly most of this eras rpg dungeons weren't great, as they were almost all switch puzzles, teleport mazes, or hallway webs.
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Apr 22, 2020 00:55
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I guess it's cause there's a party split gimmick and the semi urgency of the plot, but I'm a little surprised they didn't take the chance to do something similar to the "Anastasia explains cyrillic", but with Kurando explaining the iroha stuff in the puzzle to a lovestruck Anastasia, since she's partied with him. Wouldn't even need to explain why Yuri knows the language, since he's half Japanese.The Dark Id posted:a much fancier Japanese title of "Walking Calvary: Killing Frost" Don't know the title for sure, but guessing "Cavalry".
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Apr 22, 2020 02:37
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Probably because the target audience is Japanese, and thus less likely to need the explanation than the Cyrillic characters in a Russian dungeon. And when it got to the localization team, they didn't have the ability to add the text boxes it would take to explain the characters to Western audiences (I mean, the devs couldn't even be bothered to change the characters out for the supposedly English numerals and letters on the doors), so they just fudged it.
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Apr 22, 2020 03:16
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Sgt Thud posted:I think a lot of people block out or mentally gloss over the fact that honestly most of this eras rpg dungeons weren't great, as they were almost all switch puzzles, teleport mazes, or hallway webs. Or some horrific combination of all three.
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Apr 22, 2020 03:27
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Honestly, I'm trying to think of a PSX-PS2 era dungeon that was actually Great and I'm drawing a huge blank.
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Apr 22, 2020 05:13
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Several from FF7 and 9 were enjoyable (depending on whether an outside area can be called a dungeon), though I struggle to think of any good ones from 8 or 10. And in the next game in the SH series, I gave up in a dungeon set in a hotel. Yeesh.
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Apr 22, 2020 08:16
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I didn't mind the majority of the dungeons in FF8, though in my case, I went full gamebusting early to the point that I had encounters turned off basically at all times past halfway through disc two because I didn't need anything they were offering
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Apr 22, 2020 17:40
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Robindaybird posted:Honestly, I'm trying to think of a PSX-PS2 era dungeon that was actually Great and I'm drawing a huge blank. There were a few I really liked in Valkyrie Profile. The Hard Mode ones had interesting gimmicks that didn't wear out their welcome. Tombs of Amenti is bullshit, though. The final dungeon in star Ocean 'Til the End of Time is probably one of my all-time favorites. Gorgeous, lots of goodies to find, and fairly simple puzzles. I liked a lot of dungeons in that game, actually. One of my favorite games. I genuinely loved every dungeon in Legend of Legaia, but I hate the boss fights. Final Fantasy IX had some awesome ones, if very short. Tales of Symphonia had a lot of fun dungeons, too. That was released on PS2, right?
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Apr 22, 2020 17:53
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Rabbi Raccoon posted:Tales of Symphonia had a lot of fun dungeons, too. That was released on PS2, right? Gamecube at first, but it had a Japanese-only PS2 rerelease. I don't get why people dislike dungeons with puzzles and riddles. Would you rather them just be boring straight lines to the boss?
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Apr 22, 2020 18:39
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Dungeons with good puzzles are better than straight line paths. Dungeons with bad puzzles are not, particularly when the random encounter rate is high and each encounter is costly. It's also a lot easier to write bad puzzles than good ones.
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Apr 22, 2020 18:42
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Junpei posted:Gamecube at first, but it had a Japanese-only PS2 rerelease. Yeah, uh, it's like the other goon said. It's not puzzles that people dislike; it's bad puzzles. Nearly all puzzles from that era are bad/obtuse. The puzzle you just saw in this very game is just tedious busywork that serves no purpose other than to artificially extend the length of the dungeon.
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Apr 22, 2020 19:07
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I honestly feel like Lufia II is the peak of dungeon design. A perfect balance of length, difficulty, and uniqueness. I don't think there was a single dungeon I disliked. The remake had some fun ones too.
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Apr 22, 2020 19:27
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I mean, if by this time period you mean "late 90s-early 2000s", if we move from consoles to handhelds this is the era of Battle Network and Boktai and Golden Sun, which I think all had pretty solid dungeon design. (Yes, I am a Golden Sun defender of sorts)
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Apr 22, 2020 19:45
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Golden Sun can be faulted for its pacing and endless filler but they really did make dungeon puzzles work.
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Apr 22, 2020 20:55
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A lot of the examples for JRPGs with good dungeons also don't have random encounters. Those can quickly turn a good dungeon worse and a bad dungeon utterly horrible, there's a reason the genre moved away from them to the point you hardly ever see random encounters anymore.
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Apr 22, 2020 21:00
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And, heck, the Wild Arms series also has really good dungeon/puzzle design!
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Apr 22, 2020 21:25
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Junpei posted:And, heck, the Wild Arms series also has really good dungeon/puzzle design! Amen. Any chance of doing that series in the future, Id?
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Apr 22, 2020 22:15
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Junpei posted:I mean, if by this time period you mean "late 90s-early 2000s", if we move from consoles to handhelds this is the era of Battle Network and Boktai and Golden Sun, which I think all had pretty solid dungeon design. I thought I was the only person on these forums that liked Golden Sun period.
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Apr 23, 2020 00:45
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Rabbi Raccoon posted:I honestly feel like Lufia II is the peak of dungeon design. A perfect balance of length, difficulty, and uniqueness. I don't think there was a single dungeon I disliked. The remake had some fun ones too. Honestly, Lufia II is the peak of more than just dungeon design. The Ancient Dungeon was maybe the first modern Roguelike, for one.
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Apr 23, 2020 00:52
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It does seem like there should have been a judgement ring prompt for the "hit both buttons at the same time" thing.
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Apr 23, 2020 01:43
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TurnipFritter posted:It does seem like there should have been a judgement ring prompt for the "hit both buttons at the same time" thing. A brief moment of (Probably) accidental mercy by the devs, after that slog of a dungeon.
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Apr 23, 2020 03:14
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Episode LXXXV: On the Intersection of Japanese Politics, Super Science and Wizards.jpg)  Music: Hardcore to the Brain ~ Mid Boss in Japan .jpg) Lt. Colonel Terada and his .jpg) .jpg) They are all dead in the first two turns. So don't worry about them. I think the Iron Soldiers have already nearly taken as many losses than the Sapientes Gladio Claw Soldiers back on Disc 1. .jpg) After that, we are going to buff ourselves with Arc Shield and Arc Rage. Terada does not know how to magic so that's about all we need. Arc Gale could also speed things along. Terada is a fairly sturdy fellow for just a guy with a gun wearing early 1900s Power Armor. .jpg) .jpg) As for the Lieutenant Colonel, he has basically nothing going on of note. His two attacks are firing his gun and Rapid Fire gun. Both of these attacks do around the same amount of damage but Rapid Fire has the potential of causing Action Speed down 50%, Physical Attack or Special Attack down 30% or Physical Defense down 30%. .jpg) You know how we equipped that P-Attack Down 3 Ring Add-on? Terada here is highly vulnerable to being inflicted with this debuff. The way debuffs, especially physical/special attack debuffs that exceed 30% in this game works is interesting. It's basically such that the character afflicted with the status is equivalent of being down 30% of their current level. So a Level 30 enemy getting hit with a 30% decrease of their attack output now has the attack equivalent of a Level 21 enemy. .jpg) And the way level scaling differences work in Shadow Hearts 2 is that any enemy more than roughly five levels behind our party can literally do no more than 1-2 HP of damage per strike. So Terada's gunfire that was doing around 150+ HP of damage now does about 14 damage. .jpg) .jpg) Needless to say, things do not go well for Lt. Colonel Terada of the Iron Soldiers. Music: Result ~ Victory .jpg) .jpg) At the very least, he was worth a nice chunk of EXP and a piñata of Soul Energy and Cash. Plus he marks the end of this godawful dungeon, so that's an added bonus. I know we received Demon Earrings here but I was unable to take a look at them just yet as there is a decent chunk of cutscenes and an entire dungeon featuring a different party after this. Music: ENDS .jpg) You're a heavy sleeper kid if you managed to doze through ten minutes of sustained gunfire and swordplay the next room over. .jpg)  Ahh!Music: Memories of Melodies ~ Peace .jpg) Snowball! Kurando!! Princess!The little girl runs out up to Kurando. .jpg) Are you okay, Princess? I'm okay. What happened to all the bad men? ...Don't worry about that. And advert your eyes from behind that table on the way out the door. It's not a sight for children..jpg)  You're a lucky little girl. Who are you? Call me Yuri. And this guy's name isn't Snowball. It's Blanca! <wags tail> Blanca? Yeah. Though, we could keep calling him Snowball if you'd really like. Awroo! (Absolutely not!)The girl bends over and pets Blanca. .jpg) So it's Blanca, is it? Thanks, Blanca! <happy whine> I'm Yoshiko. Yoshiko Kawashima! Uhh... wait, what?! Yoshiko Kawashima...?! ...Yes. You've never been to Shanghai before, right? ...No? And you're how old...? Umm... eight. Why? Just a little confused is all..jpg) This is Yoshiko. She is the daughter of my master, Naniwa Kawashima. <bows> So you mean the old man is...? Yes. Is that right...? Huh... small world... Yuri!!Music: Suffocation ~ Grim Atmosphere .jpg) ...Huh?! I'm Kaneda, Captain of the Mikasa. Don't make any sudden moves. No one needs to get hurt..jpg) So a squad of soldiers with automatic rifles, including a guy in power armor, and we're gonna show some hands and scrap. Two sailors and an old captain with pistols and we're immediately surrendering? Man, Battleship Mikasa was a really stupid stretch of this game. Music: ENDS. Meanwhile, elsewhere... .jpg)  You called me, Minister? Terada has failed. Yes? Kawashima's murder, the kidnapping... all have failed. How do you waste an entire platoon of elite soldiers failing to kill one old man and kidnap one little girl... This is what happens when you get outsourced henchmen. It's all because of that young bodyguard of his... I've heard the rumors, but... I never imagined it was so bad. And apparently a wolf was involved too. I don't even know what to think of these reports anymore. I cannot say I know what to make of that either, sir..jpg) It's time to go to Plan B. Special Agent Kato, are you apes ready? The final one, Ouka, is nearly completed. Mutant Apes, eh? You're really sticking with that term for them? The term is acceptable. Meh... If you say so. It is your project. The third one required quite a bit of time and money, did it not? I'm sorry, Minister. That business with the skull book and Russia better have been worth it. That thing gives me the willies. Undoubtedly. Very well. I must speak with Garan now. You may leave. <bows>Kato begins walking toward the door. .jpg) Special Agent Kato. Yes, sir. Don't get too involved in your work. They may appear human, but in the end, an ape is just an ape. I read about your specifications for the third ape and my eyebrow was definitely cocked... Yes sir. I understand very well. Kato bows and exists the wrong. .jpg) Minister, you must be careful with him now. Since his return from Russia, he's been shut up in the laboratory, practicing suspicious magic! Eh... who isn't these days? You're telling me this while you floated into my office on a flying pillow. This is a ceremonial oracle's pi— Is it magic? Well... yes. Of a sort, but... <grunts>.jpg) He came back from Europe with a great present for me. Let him play with his little toys. Minister! You're far too easy on him. He was nearly court-martialed after coming back from Europe! You shouldn't give him such an important position!.jpg) Special Agent Kato has traveled extensively in Asia and Europe and seen much of the world. On the other hand, you have never left Japan and I'm not surprised you see things differently. It's really quite interesting. ...I cannot understand you! Nor can you understand English, Mandarin, or Russian. You have your uses but diplomacy is not one of them. Hmph. I could be quite diplomatic if I wanted my talents wasted. Heh heh.Music: Serious Mood ~ Unrest .jpg) Prepare for our attack on Kawashima. He's adopted a daughter of the Qing Dynasty in order to gain a foothold in Asia. He plans to resist Yuan Shikai and even support the guerilla war. I'm afraid if those events should occur, we'll lose our advantage. Ah, yes. We cannot ever permit that. We cannot allow Kawashima the power to create a country in Asia. .jpg) We must eliminate him while he's still in Yokohama. <nods> I understand you. With my magic, I will send his soul spiraling into hell!! Ha ha ha! I'm counting on it! I don't know why I wasted my time with that meathead Terada and his toy soldiers..jpg) .jpg) And with the little creepy bastard Garan teleports away to embark on future villainy. And so ends our time in the Battleship Mikasa. Except for a couple of sidequests that involve returning there immediately after we regain control of Yuri and the gang. But that may be a little bit. We've got something entirely different coming up for a stretch next. Special Agent Kato has been up to some... questionable side projects. And by "questionable" I mean what the actual gently caress, Kato!? Stay tuned for some unhealthy use of ancient evil tomes as Shadow Hearts: Covenant continues.  This chapter was quite lengthy despite nothing happening for the core 80% of its content other than a ton of my time wasted. But we did get a number of new Library entries in the process.  Enemies: .jpg) I don't know. It looks more like a crab to me given the four legs. .jpg) Unarmed except for the four massive arms attached to it. Ignore the robust turret beneath it. Too much weight to add any bullets for the thing. It's just for show. .jpg) His daughter also wears power armor. Characters: .jpg) Kawashima apparently trained the evil politician that's trying to kill him and... A Hyuga? Presumably Yuri's dad...? What? That's new information. .jpg) Remember all that historic information I gave about Yoshiko Kawashima in the previous LP? Yep, turns out that Lt. Colonel Yoshiko Kawashima was entirely an invention of that game and this is the real historic one. This cute little girl is destined for a firing squad in about thirty years for espionage and treason. Isn't history fun? .jpg) And his role in this story is entirely over now. .jpg) He's been wearing that for eight months straight. You don't even want to know the BO stench wallowing beneath that suit of armor. .jpg) So he's trying to stop Kawashima from making a new country in China because HE wants to make a new country and China and that dick Kawashima totally stole his idea. .jpg) Citation needed for that last bit. Although, Seimei Abe is a real legendary onmyōji from the 900s.   Video: Episode 85 Highlight Reel (You should watch this. My throat hurts just listening to Garan's dumb raspy voice.)    Yoshiko Kawashima Concept Art - It does not seem the healthiest thing to adopt a child and name them the same thing as your deceased previous biological child.
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Apr 24, 2020 19:11
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That's not a turret on the Flying Drone. It's some kind of control antenna slash stabilizing rod that looks like a gun. Or so I tell myself to make the design make more sense. So that Oracle mage is probably the next jobber Yuri and co have to face. I shudder to think what Kato's been up to, guess next update we'll start finding out.
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Apr 24, 2020 20:32
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From the sound of mutant apes, I'm guessing a bit of Kowloon flavor, but less meat growths around the place and more Umbrella lab area. Blanka you goofball. The Dark Id posted:Special Agent Kato, are you apes ready? "your" and "exits the room" I'm guessing.
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Apr 24, 2020 21:25
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Yuri and everyone giving up as soon as Terada pulled a gun on them reminds me way too much of Franklin and Michael pissing their pants as soon as Martin Madrazo showed up in person in GTA V. The guy acts and looks the part being a big time cartel lord, but considering all the people they've taken on by their lonesome even that early on, they could have easily cut the head off the snake right then and there, hid the body somewhere else to cover their tracks and called it a day. And after everything Yuri and co have been through now? Yeah...come on guys.
Shitenshi fucked around with this message at 23:19 on Apr 24, 2020 |
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Apr 24, 2020 21:45
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Blanca is very extra in this shot, and I love it. Please watch the highlight video for his "oh, I didn't see you there" dramatic turn.
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Apr 25, 2020 03:51
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.jpg)
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Shitenshi posted:Yuri and everyone giving up as soon as Terada pulled a gun on them reminds me way too much of Franklin and Michael pissing their pants as soon as Martin Madrazo showed up in person in GTA V. The guy acts and looks the part being a big time cartel lord, but considering all the people they've taken on by their lonesome even that early on, they could have easily cut the head off the snake right then and there, hid the body somewhere else to cover their tracks and called it a day. And after everything Yuri and co have been through now? Yeah...come on guys. Cutscene Incompetence strikes again! I love Garan. He has some fun scenes with the party down the line.
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Apr 25, 2020 06:04
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I don't know what I expected the next antagonist to be but Chiaotzu's evil Grandpa wasn't it.
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Apr 25, 2020 06:47
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Kato, in light of your recent turn toward evil Umbrella science, I'm going to have to ask you to turn in your chin.
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Apr 25, 2020 07:57
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Tuxedo Ted posted:Blanca is very extra in this shot, and I love it. He's just auditioning for a part in Oliver and Company.
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Apr 25, 2020 09:25
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Personally I've always loved the Ishimura's character profile has to include the couch he's sitting on.
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Apr 25, 2020 13:05
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Kati’s officially gone to the dark side to make mutated monkey henchmen and we meet the father of that one Japanese agent we knew and were kind of, almost allies with briefly before Yuri went insane from demonic influence for six months? At least now we have some direction as we descend into dark magical politics in Japan.
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Apr 25, 2020 14:16
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given they're using actual character models, yeah - they never did a model of him where he isn't sitting.
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Apr 25, 2020 16:19
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...or did they?
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Apr 25, 2020 17:23
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