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Fun fact: "mocos" is Spanish for boogers!
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Feb 24, 2021 05:08
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| # ? May 24, 2024 19:18 |
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NullBlack posted:Pagan - Relating to, characteristic of religions that differ from main world religions. Shadow Hearts did some weird thing with that particular accessory. Here's Shadow Hearts 1's description, "Angel Earrings.". Making sense so far: quote:Earrings in the shape of Michael's wings. They are very old, but still brilliant. They have the mysterious power to raise the adventurer's mental strength. Now we get to Shadow Hearts 2, with a very big huh: quote:Pagan artifact, carved in the shape of the wings of the dark angel Michael. It has the mysterious power to calm the wearer's mind. When you hit From the New World, you suddenly get: quote:Earring made from the wing of a fallen angel worshiped by a heretical sect. The magic of the angel who doubted God's existence brings the wearer clarity of mind. My guess is either mistranslation and the earrings never had anything to do with Michael, or the devs are trying to turn up the edge each game. The first interpretation is supported by the fact that in the first game, the earrings' name are supposed to be 堕天使のピアス, "FALLEN Angel Earrings." Tallgeese fucked around with this message at 19:16 on Feb 24, 2021 |
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Feb 24, 2021 19:11
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Traditionally Michael is credited with casting Lucifer out of heaven, so it's definitely possible someone got their wires crossed and thought that Michael was the fallen angel.
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Feb 24, 2021 19:47
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Or... it's on purpose and they're trying to be funny. It's like this is the first Shadow Hearts item description you guys have ever read.
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Feb 24, 2021 20:21
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I'm betting Michael doesn't think this is very funny 
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Feb 24, 2021 23:46
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Well remember that the Shadow Hearts translation has taken some liberties. As much as I like the name Seraphic Radiance, it's supposed to be something like Triumphant Heavenly Female Phoenix. Yes I'm serious. They specifically use a character meant for the "huang" in fenghuang, with Huang being the female Chinese phoenix and Feng the male. You might be familiar with that kind of phoenix as Ho-Oh from Pokemon, which is how they pronounce fenghuang. That's why Seraphic Radiance is a naked lady with red fiery wings, why she has snake appendages (fenghuang used to be depicted as having some snake parts), and why to get her you have to obtain the Rebirth Stone. Never mind that the fenghuang has absolutely nothing to do with rebirth, it's a phoenix and that's what they went with. Fun huh? That design actually made sense! Tallgeese fucked around with this message at 07:22 on Feb 25, 2021 |
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Feb 25, 2021 07:05
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And also that this is a game that can't get the voice acting and the subtitles to agree on exactly what a character is saying like 70% of the time.
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Feb 25, 2021 09:10
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Episode CIII: Mom, You're Embarrassing Me!.jpg) Before we get solicited by more weirdoes with spoiled food in their pockets, let's head into this .jpg) She knows in her heart there is bound to be a chest with loot behind that waterfall, as is the way of things, but she really doesn't want to get her fancy outfit wet to obtain it. What if it's just an Elixir she'll never use up until the point the credits of the game are rolling. .jpg)  It's Kurando. I'm home. I brought... umm... guests along with me, you could say. ...I probably shouldn't have carried in a bowl of moldy rice with me. That's not going to be the best first impression, huh? You shouldn't have taken that disgusting thing at all.The woman stands silent for a few moments before turning to face her son and his new companions. .jpg)  I'm glad you all could make it. I'm Saki, leader of the Inugami. This is the Fountain of Sukune. Within its holy mirror, you may see many mysterious things. It has always warned of evil omens, but days ago it began to warn of the greatest threat ever to be witnessed in this world. It did warn of the Meta-God some years back, but since that never set foot on the planet this still qualifies as the greatest threat witnessed in this world..jpg) There is a great disturbance in the ley lines running through Japan. Some great force seeks to shake the very stars from their foundations. It is not by chance that you come to Katsuragi at this time. Understand? <nods> It's usually pretty important when a new location appears on the world map..jpg) Are you Yuri? Yeah. <smiles> I see. Huh? Oh uhh....jpg) Yuri proceeds to get embarrassed the pretty shrine lady smiled at him. Karin is not thrilled with this. .jpg) It is now time to find the one that you have all been searching for. NEW Music: Fountain of Saint Evel ~ Spring of the Holy Demon .jpg) .jpg) .jpg) Saki performs a ritual dance that summons the sound of bells and ominous chanting... .jpg) .jpg) Oh and opens up a window into the cosmos. As ancient ritualistic dances in mysterious holy caverns tend to do. .jpg) A quick trek through the endless sea of stars and we home in on Earth. Saki pops in "Nicholas Conrad" into the Fountain of Sukune search engine prompt and we get... .jpg) .jpg) What's that mountain...? It's Mount Fuji... ...At least I'm pretty sure it is. I've never seen it from space. Well, maybe I caught a glimpse of it from the sky once. I was a little busy punching an alien god to death at the time..jpg) I'm going to use my Harmonixer Vision to get a better look. Your... what vision? Oh. Sometimes when I get into pre-rendered cutscenes I get a one-time-only ability. I got my arm chopped off by an imp once and just popped it back on. And then later I jumped 50 feet in the air off the back of a speeding train carrying an unconscious girl to escape from a wizard after I punched a hole through his head. Huh. What a wild night that was. ...... Anyway... Harmonixer Vision... ENHANCE!.jpg) Huh?.jpg) .jpg) Kato?!.jpg) But more importantly, down in the fires of Mount .jpg) Look! Nicolai!  ...Is he naked? OK. You! Don't look! He's more well-built than I would have thought. You either!.jpg) .jpg) No, it's Astaroth!.jpg) Ngh. His evil is like an armor, hiding him from my sight. Well, we know where he is now. You can probably stop looking before—.jpg) .jpg) .jpg) No, wait! He's found me!!.jpg) And this is why you always use a cosmic mirror VPN when searching for dark god ancient evils. .jpg) Ahh! Look out!!.jpg) .jpg) At least Saki remembered to keep up her eldritch terror firewall while searching the dark god web. .jpg)  Impertinent fools... Hey! Lady, it might be time to cut the connection to the demon zone! Hey, Kurando. Tell your mom to end the call! It doesn't work like that. It's a powerful spiritual link that must be properly dispersed or... Yeah, well....jpg) .jpg) .jpg) AAAAAAHHHHHH!!!.jpg) .jpg) Mother!! ...Or something like this is gonna happen. drat it!.jpg) .jpg) You never go full Sephiroth. .jpg) Prepare to die....jpg) .jpg) He's taken over her body!! Maybe he's just going to gloat and make threats like Rasputin did with your mom. We probably won't have to fight her..jpg) .jpg) .jpg) ...So, Kurando. How do you feel about fighting your mom? .......jpg) NEW Music: Getting Nasty ~ Mid-Boss Runs Wild in Japan (This the Berserk version of the Disc 2 boss theme. Seems fitting for a party member's mother transformed into a demon lady.) .jpg) Well, this is happening now. Saki Inugami has transformed into Kouenki or "The Lady of Shining Crimson" -- a ten-foot tall, four-armed, mostly naked demon lady with tentacle hair sporting dagger extensions at the ends. Astaroth has a very... peculiar taste in women. Kouenki is a Fire elemental class enemy with 5720 HP. She is actually kind of tough compared to the last few bosses we've faced. Looking at you, Garan of both sizes. Barrier and Shield being up at all times is fairly essential at mitigating damage. Shield, especially so because. .jpg) .jpg) Shield is especially essential because Kouenki has Energy Charge which gives her a HUGE physical attack buff and without Shield she can outright just body a single character if she happens to get a critical hit in her attack string. .jpg) Even with Shield, she does at minimum 200 to 250 HP of damage with her physical attacks. Considering that's roughly half of any one party member's total HP pool at the moment, we really don't want anyone's health levels to fall below 200 HP at minimum. Additionally, if the transformed Saki doesn't buff her next attack string, she will instead use physical attacks that inflict Seal which means no magic or special attacks for the next four turns unless we waste someone's turn remedying its effects. .jpg) .jpg) .jpg) She's no slouch with magic either with a pair of high damage, wide range AOE attacks. While they're not quite as beefy as her physical abilities, they still pack a sturdy punch. .jpg) Beyond keeping our defensive buffs up and everyone's health at a safe range, it's mostly the usual order of affairs getting as many Combos strung together as we can for maximum damage output. Yuri busted out Veneficium, the Water elemental Fusion, for this fight since our big fiery armored boy of choice isn't so hot against a fairly nimble Fire elemental boss. .jpg) .jpg) Luckily, Saki only fades away when her Kouenki form is defeated, indicating she was merely beaten and not unceremoniously outright killed like Garan. That would be kind of awkward for Kurando to stick around if we murdered his mother five minutes after meeting her. Music: Result ~ Victory .jpg) .jpg) Although, I cannot imagine Yuri immediately rushing over and looting her wallet off of her unconscious body is particularly endearing. But thems the breaks when you turn into a boss battle, I'm afraid. I don't make the rules, I just follow them. Music: ENDS .jpg) <moans and collapses>.jpg) It's a good thing you can just a possession out of someone. It makes sense. You can technically punch a curse out of someone as well. You just need to know where to punch. Or who to punch. Sometimes both. .jpg) .jpg) Kurando rushes over and confirms we did, in fact, not kill his mother. Welp. I've heard of some bad first meetings with parents before. But I've got to say, inadvertently getting someone's mom possessed by a god of destruction which turns her into a giant sexy monster mash lady and beating the poo poo out of her until she knocks it off is definitely bottom tier on good first impressions. Hopefully, we can patch things up next time.    Video: Episode 103 Highlight Reel (You should definitely watch this!)    Kouneki Concept Art - Tall ladies are in right now.
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Feb 26, 2021 21:06
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The Dark Id posted:
What an understatement
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Feb 26, 2021 22:06
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When I first played, I thought she said "key limes" instead of "ley lines" and was deeply confused before remembering "Oh right, Shadow Hearts." and haven't batted an eye since. Hey Id, can I send you the therapy bill for shattering this deeply held belief?
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Feb 26, 2021 22:15
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when did Astaroth get power over clothes?
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Feb 27, 2021 00:34
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Nissin Cup Nudist posted:when did Astaroth get power over clothes? "Astaroth" is actually a mistranslation of "rear end-Tear-Off"
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Feb 27, 2021 03:37
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that's a long sash not hair, she's basically Lisa Lisa'ing the whole thing.
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Feb 27, 2021 03:58
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I like that the concept art for hair is a pair of Yay, No images. Also, interesting to see a 4-armed person with the second pair coming out of their armpits, rather than just lower on their torso.
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Feb 27, 2021 05:56
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It cannot be overstated how creepy her eyes are when you're actually playing the game.
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Feb 28, 2021 22:05
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Yeah, those I definitely remember those are some very well done Crazy Eyes
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Mar 1, 2021 00:07
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Good lord is the game's camera horny in that scene.
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Mar 1, 2021 03:58
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...! posted:It cannot be overstated how creepy her eyes are when you're actually playing the game. Robindaybird posted:Yeah, those I definitely remember those are some very well done Crazy Eyes I had forgotten how much she positively quakes with fury before the boss fight.
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Mar 1, 2021 04:34
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Poor Kurando. He has to deal with unwanted attention from a child fawning over him, then he has to watch his own mother get all crazy-sexy-scantily-clad-possessed right in front of his eyes. I'd rethink the group I'm hanging out with after that.
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Mar 1, 2021 15:28
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he's basically the straight man after Karin gotten too used to everyone being a loving weirdo - I actually do kinda like him, but he definitely suffers from being introduced so late.
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Mar 1, 2021 17:58
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Episode CIV: Your Nose and Your Eyes.jpg) It's probably going to take a bit of time for Saki Inugami to recover from her crazy demonic possession and having said demonic possession forcefully knocked out of her via punching, stabbing, wolf spirit barrages, and luchador wrestling techniques. So in the meantime, let's check in on Kato and the Mutant Apes over inside .jpg)  Raiden! Yo. Let's get back. Okay. We don't want the master to think we're milking our smoke break. Why do we keep calling it a smoke break when neither of us smokes? I used to smoke when I still had a mouth. I just like to take a moment and reminisce about going to flavor country. Okay.The two teleport away to a different, more brightly lit barren cavern and proceed to have a walk and talk. .jpg) That monster is somewhere up ahead. Haha. It's like it's waiting for us. Like it's some kind of boss of this place. I wish I could just stand in place and wait for someone to come to fight me. Are you scared? Don't be stupid..jpg) You and me both died once in Shanghai. What do I have to be afraid of now? I can't think of anything more frightening than being blown to bits by a giant monster lady and finding there is nothing but cold oblivion waiting on the other side. Hehe. So you are afraid...Raiden stops walking . .jpg) Hien... Yeah? When even the doctors gave up on us, it was the Master that saved us. With science! .......jpg) He treated us good. Just like we was his own family. Even stupid me, who couldn't die right. Now look at me. I have nifty robot ears and an electric fist. He even gave us all an unlimited supply of grenades. He's so generous. That's why we fight so hard for him. Why we're willing to die for him. Exactly. But... But what? Ouka is different. ......Music: Impatient Mood .jpg) Unlike us, she wasn't given any mechanical implants. At least none that I know of....jpg) She was the Master's girlfriend, reborn. He wants to have a baby with her and live like a nice, happy couple. I wish I had a girlfriend that called me master all the time. Or a girlfriend..jpg) You... Listen, Hien. No matter what happens to us, I want to be sure that we protect those two. Raiden... Is there something strange with wanting to do that? <shakes head> Un-uh. It is already our jobs, after all. Yes. But I want to do my job. I don't even need to get paid to do it. ...Wait, you get... paid? <nods> Of course. The master and I may need to speak later..jpg) Are you with me then? Of course. I'm right there with you! Just like the Shanghai days. Just like them. But... Let's try not to die this time, eh? I'll try my best. You do the same. I'll do my best not to get blown up again.Music: ENDS .jpg) .jpg) We now join Kato and Ouka hanging out figuring out what manner of dungeon puzzle they need to solve in order to pass this lava river. As you do. .jpg)  Hm? Did you call me. No. I have been standing right by your side the whole time we have been here. I do not know why I would need to call you. Is something wrong? No. I thought that I heard a voice. Just my imagination. ...... Perhaps inhaling the fumes of molten lava is having an ill-effect on you? It's probably nothing..jpg) Is the boundary still holding? <nods> Yes. There is no need to worry. But... the flow of time is different here. A few hours here is actually several days in the outside world. One could complete all manner of optional tasks and take multiple trips across the continent without the consequence of neglecting to address an imminent threat. We can't just stay here doing nothing. Yuri and the others could arrive here at any moment. If what you are saying about time dilation is correct, they could have even grinded multiple levels in the time we've been here and have become stronger than ever. It is certainly possible, Master. We're back, Master.Hien and Raiden enter the scene and bow. .jpg) Well? There is no up or down here. No front or back either. There is only cave and lava lit cave. It's like a maze. Or a dungeon. Sort of a dungeon cave maze. I've never seen anything like it. But he's here all right, Master. I'm certain he's here. I see....jpg) The Mutant Apes' report is cut short by the ground beginning to tremble and the lava river churning up. Music: Flame of Strain to Blaze ~ Tension .jpg) .jpg) Master, could this be the path to reach our objective. It would be odd if it wasn't the case. Hmm... It seems that Nicolai wishes for us to enter..jpg) We may not come back alive. You understand that, don't you? <bow heads> Yes, Master.b.jpg) So what is the goal of Kato and the Mutant Apes with Nicolai at this point, again? Other than he's bad news now that he's possessed and probably should be running around on the loose. Oh well, I'm sure it'll all work itself out. Or they'll all get their asses kicked forcing Yuri and friends to have a climactic battle against the wayward possessed cultist. Music: Field of God-Dog ~ Village of The Dog God .jpg) The Mutant Apes were there too. I really am not a fan of that name. At least Sapientes Gladio had some sort of mystique to it. Mutant Apes make us sound like we're involved with a pack of monkeys..jpg) Would you call it a lair? Rasputin's floating fortress or that spooky tower in the Vatican. Those were lairs. This is more a guy squatting in a big cave. Is that really your chief concern right now? I'm just sayin'. We're devaluing the term lair. They're tough. They'll be okay. Right? They'll be fine! They might even beat Nicolai for us. They'd better not! I'm going to be ticked off if I don't get to punch that jerk in his smug face again.Kurando enters the room. .jpg) How's your mother? She just came to. She asked to see all of you. It's this way..jpg) The only thing to do now is to head up the stairs. Though, there is a sneaky Lotto Ticket hidden behind the staircase. Music: ENDS .jpg)  Well, how are you feeling now? Much better. Thank you. I'm very sorry to have caused all of you so much trouble. <shakes head> No trouble. I don't mind a fight that isn't locked behind a puzzle in a creepy alternate dimension or involves flipping switches and climbing a bunch of stairs. Ugh... We're going to have to run through a big dumb cave again next, aren't we? <frowns>.jpg) Thank you for saving me. We should thank you. You told us where Nicolai is. Huh? Only having to fight a demon-possessed version of you for a few minutes is a bargain trade-off. ...... Huh? Hee hee....jpg) Is there... something on my face? Yes. Your nose and your eyes..jpg) That's a pretty silly joke... Hm? Yes... She's always saying stuff like that. Being humorous isn't really the strong suit of the Inugami family. Mother tries but ehh... <nods>.jpg) Now don't get so angry. I wasn't getting angry. Just... kind of confused...? You look so much like your father, that's all I'm saying. You have the same permanently angry angled eyebrows. My father? Yes. Huh. Did you know him? <nods> Yes. You really knew him? <nods> Yes. For reals? You knew him? <nods> Yes. Jinpachiro Hyuga. You knew him? <nods> Yes. Though for a while he tried to get people to call him Ben. Nobody quite knew why. So you're really saying you knew my dad? <nods> Yes. If you do not mind, can we move on from confirming this? But how? I am his sister..jpg) Sister...?! Huh?!Music: Memories of Melodies ~ Peace .jpg) So you're Yuri's aunt? His aunt? His aunt? ...Huh?.jpg) For some reason, Anastasia sees it fit to punch Joachim in the balls for... repeating what she said, I guess? I don't quite get that reaction. I think Anastasia is just a mean little poo poo and gets her kicks from abusing Joachim at this point. And don't think I've forgotten about you kicking Blanca. At this rate, we're going to ship you back to Russia in time for the purge. .jpg) I heard about you from Kurando. Wait... Kurando did you know I was your cousin the whole time?! I had my suspicions we were related. Since you do look remarkably like pictures I've seen of my uncle. And... also you possess the ability to transform into a monster. There is a limited pool of families that can perform that feat. You never thought to bring this up? You never asked. But when I first saw you, I thought my brother had come back to life... heh... as a street urchin. Street urchin...? I prefer the term wandering adventurer or rude hero. You kind of are homeless, Yuri. And no, squatting in that church back in Domremy doesn't count. Yeah, well... I don't see the rest of you all having a house. I have a family home back in German. You stayed at my apartment in Paris. I rented a room in the back of Granny Lot's bar. And I always have a home in the squared-circle! I have an apartment in Florence. I live in a palace. But only in winters. My family has a summer villa and a fall retreat and... Yeah... Well... All of you shut up! I really want to hear all about you, but I'm afraid we don't have the time. The imminent threat to the world should likely be taken care of first. Yeah.Music: Field of God-Dog ~ Village of The Dog God .jpg) For 2000 years, this has been the base of monks and soothsayers, working to protect humans from evil spirits. Each family has its own unique powers. The power of transforming that you share with Kurando is just one of them. So my soul fusion ability... You're saying I got it from my father? Well, he could fuse into a dark elemental devil-like creature, so... Sort of, although your case is a little unusual. Normally, the number of forms you can embody is limited to one. Really? That's pretty weak. I can do three of each element. And a bonus one too that I stole from a wizard. I even used to have a different set before that jerk Nicolai cursed and de-leveled me. I think your unique experiences have taught you how to transform into various forms. They say dormant powers can be awakened through encounters with death or severe emotional disturbances. My mom did get killed by zombies in front of me. And I got cursed. And had the voice of a psychic in my head for months. And a ghost version of dad showed up to kick my rear end a bunch. And I accidentally blew up a city. And... Yeah... OK. I see what you're getting at. So I might have more dormant powers? No doubt you have. You and Kurando both..jpg) <nods> Yes. <turns to Kurando> Hehe! So the two of us are still just novices, huh? <nods> I guess so! Maybe I'll have to stick you in the main party once in a while so you can grind out some levels. It would be nice to do something other than sitting on the sidelines once in a while. We'll see... <steps into the middle of the crowd> Sorry to interrupt, but this is no time to be dreaming about all that! We can't let Nicolai get away. ...That's right. Even as we speak, the monster is deep in Mt. Fuji, gathering its strength. In Mt. Fuji?.jpg) Some people even refer to it as the Immortal Mountain. I've even heard of some maps that have it marked as such.  Maybe Astaroth is planning to make Mt. Fuji erupt?! <nods> I would guess that he is. With that monster's power and the energy in Fuji's ley lines, it wouldn't just be a normal eruption either. I-if that happened... He'd completely wipe out Japan! ...... Not exactly a world-ending threat like a space god's arrival to reset the world. But... it wouldn't be great if we just let Japan get wiped off the map. Yuri... You're going?.jpg) There's lots to talk about when you get back! <nods> Sure. Karin. Uh, yes? We've got a lot to talk about too. Huh? Sure! I'm really... looking forward to it...!.jpg) In the transition from the voice-acted cutscene to the text-only cutscene zone, we transitioned from Saki's bedroom back to the den where we began. .jpg) If we return upstairs to Saki's bedroom, we'll find Cheerful Old Nanna was hiding in a corner that whole scene. But importantly, to the left of in the corner by the window we find... .jpg) Another of Lucia's Aroma Oils! I think we're just stealing our aunt's beauty supplies in this instance. That's rather rude. Having said that, this is the final Aroma Oil we'll find just lying around someone. There is one final Oil to obtain but it involves, you guessed it, an endgame sidequest. .jpg) Just rub me down with all the fragrant wood aromas. I want to smell like a tree. A tree life for me. And with it the combinations are many:
Just a friendly reminder that all these Aroma Oil combinations are unknown in-game until they are used for the first time in battle. So we'd have to have Lucia waste twelve turns to reveal the extent of this new acquisition. Also, we'd have to use Lucia in battle. .jpg) Heading outside, we find ourselves at the doorsteps of the lovely Inugami estate. Remember before when we went to the path leading to the shrine cavern, there was another path with stairs leading up a hill that we skipped? This is where it led to. Cheerful Old Nana would bar entry to the house proper and tell Kurando to go visit his mother at the shrine, so it was a waste of time coming here earlier. But now that we are here, there is one goodie hidden in the yard. .jpg) .jpg) Another of cursed Lucia's Tarot Cards. They stuck one of absolutely everything in this tiny village, huh? The effect of this card is either a 50% increase in maximum HP for a battle or a 50% reduction of max HP for a battle. The Special Effect version is the entire party's maximum HP being doubled. In the Special Reverse Effect, all allies have their maximum health reduced to 1 HP and you're looking at a Game Over screen if you're in a boss battle and cannot flee. Good stuff, Lucia. Good stuff. .jpg) This village has hit almost every ongoing sidequest that isn't based in a specific location. Except one... If we return to the Inugami Shrine, we now find... .jpg) Another Wolf Bout! What, you thought we'd do all those other side quest advancements and NOT do a Wolf Bout? We're in frikkin' Dog God Village. We're gonna have a dog fight. .jpg)  Awroo, awroo! (Are you the wolf traveling with Kurando these days?!) Awroo? (Yeah. What of it?) Grrr... Awroo! (Protecting Inugami is the job of the Matsunagas. We don't need your help.) Awroo, awroo. (What do I care about your family history?) Awroo, awroo. Awroo? (Besides, when I met him he was being pursued by soldiers and nearly slain in a drive-by shooting. Your family is doing a terrible job.) Awroo! Grrr! (Silence, impudent pup! My claws will teach you a lesson!) You asked for it!Music: Soul Comet ~ Spirit of the Wolf .jpg) I won't stand for any more of your insults! Now you'll witness the prowess of the House of Matsunaga!.jpg) Music: Glint of Light ~ War of the Hungry Wolf .jpg) Another Wolf Bout it is, Matsunaga, with his strong eyebrows and a voice that is just literally just Joachim coming out of a wolf, is a Light elemental wolf with 900 HP. .jpg) His main gimmick he immediately throws up a Special Defense increasing Barrier so special abilities, like Soul Comet, are out. Our counter to this is to cast Rage on Blanca to bolster his physical attacks. .jpg) And then it is just a damage race of two wolves taking turns beating the poo poo out of each other. .jpg) Needless to say, Matsunaga of the Matsunaga Clan does not win this damage race. Music: Result ~ Victory .jpg) .jpg) Blanca will take on all challengers in the most epic of fights lasting less than a minute you have ever borne witness to! Music: Field of God-Dog ~ Village of The Dog God .jpg) That's what you get for bringing personal feelings into the battle. Awroo... Awroo! (I'm mortified. Let me give you my stamp as a symbol of my undying shame...).jpg) Just one more paw print to collect until Blanca is the champion of the Wolf Bout. But to what end...? Let's see Matsunaga's profile before we depart. .jpg) Heir of the Matsunaga clan. Killed by Blanca before he could marry. His death signaled the end of the Matsunaga legacy. .jpg) Uhh...? Blanca, is there something you're not telling us? Are you going to come back one day and just straight up murk this wolf? Or is the wolf going to fake its death to escape from its disgrace and pin the murder on Blanca? Wolf Bout politics behind the scenes are wild. .jpg) But for now, that is a wrap for Inugami Village. Tune in next time as we pursue the demonic possessed Vatican priest that was secretly a high-ranking secret cult leader who was also secretly the bastard son heir to the Russian Empire's throne to the largest mountain in all of Japan. As Shadow Hearts 2 continues to just do what it wants.  That was a fairly short adventure but we did make some new friends along the way. Monsters: .jpg) She will, if her territory is threatened by astral projecting demons, possess local shrine maidens and throw down with any passing adventurers in the area. Nobody said she was good at being a guardian goddess. Just look at her crazy eyes. .jpg) Smug rear end Harmonixers with their pure spirits. I bet they think they're something special. Bah! Characters: .jpg) Would you believe she is actually the wizened, practically relic age of... 35! Please, hold back your shock at her advanced years.  Video: Episode 104 Highlight Reel   Saki Inugami Concept Art The Dark Id fucked around with this message at 02:27 on Mar 2, 2021 |
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Mar 1, 2021 19:48
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The Dark Id posted:
This should be Ouka's portrait. Also, can I just take a moment to say how glad I am they didn't put Saki in this poster?
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Mar 1, 2021 20:00
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The dialogue in this update was awesome, especially the original bits. Wonder what Blanca's home is like.  Typical we'd meet a stuck up wannabe samurai wolf. And beat him.
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Mar 2, 2021 04:02
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Aw, couldn't we have a dog with eyebrows?
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Mar 2, 2021 07:32
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 Episode CV: The Final Ring .jpg) The Immortal Mountain, as Mount Fuji refers to itself on dating sites, has now appeared as our next destination on the .jpg) So let's tackle one of the least involving ones -- the Treasure Hunt. Since we picked up that hidden Blood Jewel from the Forest of Wind crossroads, we can now return to Yokohama Streets and Music: Rising Sun ~ Japanese Town .jpg) Oh, yes! It's your treasure, my friend! Dammit! You're really starting to bug me! How do you find it so fast?! Eh... It's been a few months since I've been back in these parts. But, a  pops out of my head when there is a point of interest. So that helps a heck of a lot. So? You want another beating? You think I'll just give up?! No way! I'll take you on! Here it is, my final challenge! This time, I'm serious!.jpg) .jpg) ...I didn't even need to look up where this was to figure it out. You're slipping, Croft. .jpg) You bet! Although it's only because I've run out of treasure to hide! But this last code is extra difficult! This time, you can't possibly beat me! See! The code's almost impossible! It's gonna really annoy you, and you still won't find the treasure! ...... Is this old man Kawashima's house back in the Imperial Capital? N-No...!.jpg) .jpg) It is, in fact, located behind a rock in Mukyo-An. Naniwa must have been very confused why some weird white guy hid a dog bone under a rock in his backyard. .jpg) The Dog Bone is the first of our penultimate weapon upgrades for our party. This one is a Rasp for Blanca. Just gnawing on the bone of a dog is far stronger than rare specialized toothpaste made for a lion's maw. This gives +185 Physical and +186 Special Attack. .jpg) Let's fly back to Yokohama and tell Croft to suck it. Or we would... except, Croft took his ball and went home as we discover when we return... There is now a random child hanging out near where he was stationed. .jpg)  He was shouting something about going to look for treasure to hide. What a weirdo!And that concludes the Treasure Hunt sidequest. Croft died on the way back to his home planet. The end. .jpg) So that is one side quest down! Only... three dozen more to go! But, everything else is well out of our way at the moment or won't trigger until the next big plot event. So we're just going to focus on the critical path and hit up the next area. Time to go to Mt. Fuji! Music: In Darkness of a Labyrinth ~ Dungeon .jpg) .jpg) I loving HATE this dungeon! This is the worst dungeon in the game. By far. Hands down. This is a trash-tier dungeon! Even among the previous identical 3-4 lovely subterranean dungeons, this is next-level crap. I hope you enjoy looking at gray-blue rocks. As that is the next 90 minutes of this game before we get to the boss. Precisely, 93 minutes to get to the boss if my footage time is to be believed and I had a guide the entire time telling me the optimal path. Oh, and of course it's not helped by a high random encounter rate... .jpg) Music: Deep in Coma ~ Battle in Japan .jpg) We've got a decent pool of enemies to contend with in this dungeon. The most common is probably the Samurai Ghoul (Or Hone-musha/Bone Warrior in Japanese) which is... just an undead skeleton samurai instead of the base zombie samurai we previously faced. These are Earth elemental creatures with 321 HP. They hit fairly hard with physical attacks and can inflict Physical Defense debuffs with their sword strikes and... that's kind of it. .jpg) Next up we have a Lava Lump. It's a dude stuck in a lump of lava. The name is apt. He doesn't appear to be having a great time. Unsurprisingly, it's a Fire elemental monster with 291 HP. It can headbutt with its lava mass to inflict Physical Attack down and fling out Red Cradle fire magic. .jpg) Filling out the roster and often appearing in hordes of 4-9 in an encounter, we have the Blooming Phoenix which is just a harpy with big boobs and a huge butt. It's not nearly as alluring as its reindeer-headed cousins back in Russia. It's a Wind elemental, what with the wings and all, with 206 HP. It can inflict Fake Ring and likes to cast Arc Gale to speed up its allies. They're easily the weakest enemies in the monster mash of this dungeon and often group together for easy AOE magic takedowns of several at a time. The Japanese name for it is Fenghuang Chick which is just the Chinese version of the Phoenix legend. .jpg) Finally, there is just a huge rear end scorpion called Scorpilus. I hate it because it reminded me of Resident Evil 0 and I don't want to be reminded about Rebecca Chambers and Billy Coen's big dumb adventure with leeches and villainous opera singers. These are the hardiest enemies in Immortal Mountain with 880 HP and they're Light elemental because... I don't know scorpion mechanics. I've got nothing. Does Japan even have scorpions? I mean, other than the undead ninja from Mortal Kombat. These are I believe the first enemy we've encountered that can inflict Deadly Poison by default which is Poison 2 -- the sequel to Poison and knocks off over a quarter of an inflicted character's health per turn. It's a bad scene. Kill these guys with haste before they get a chance to use that. Music: In Darkness of a Labyrinth ~ Dungeon .jpg) Back to the dungeon proper. We've done a handful of crummy cavern/underground/sewer dungeons now. What makes this one especially suck? Let's check out this altar up ahead. .jpg) It looks like some kind of altar.Yeah, if only it was just an altar. .jpg) .jpg) To the east of this altar, we find another Crest. We do need to collect 'em all. .jpg) .jpg) And to the west of the altar, we find a chest containing a Red Crystal. Well, we did just find a strange altar. Perhaps we should investigate further and perhaps use this ornate crystal. .jpg) Okay, let's try it..jpg) .jpg) .jpg) We got transported! I guess that must've been a warping device. A warping device, huh...? I never imagined there'd be a device like that inside the Immortal Mountain... Is it a device or a magic thingie? It feels like a magic thingie. A magical device is still a device. ...I guess so. Feels wrong, though. Anyway, whatever, let's keep going..jpg) So this isn't just an aesthetically dull as dishwater cavern dungeon. .jpg) This is an aesthetically dull as dishwater cavern dungeon warp maze! EVERYONE'S favorite gimmick! .jpg) .jpg) And it's not just a warp maze dungeon. It's a warp maze dungeon with multiple portal triggers we can need to shuffle between in order to teleport to different parts of it. Sometimes in specific sequences! .jpg) .jpg) And no we're not getting any map or indication of where we ended up because every area looks like an identical stone corridor with little to no landmarks. Hell, half the treasure in this level is hidden hotspots in corners of the map so we don't even get open chests as landmarks to indicate areas we've already explored. What the hell, Shadow Hearts: Covenant? You had a crappy teleporter maze in the Temple Ruins in the first game and at least that one was kind enough to leave a ton of treasure chests to mark explored locations. This poo poo is just rude as all get out. .jpg) .jpg) .jpg) There are three of these goddamn crystals we need to insert into roughly a dozen different altars across the area. All leading to different maps depending on the color of the crystal utilized. This was a treat to play with no guide my first through the game, let me tell you. .jpg) The best part is there are multiple unique items and side quest progression points down specific paths. Oh and there are just dead-end paths too with items that are hidden from view and you just need to hump the walls like the Doom Guy in the original game in hope of picking up some nothing consumable item not remotely worth the time fighting two random battles to obtain. Oh, and some teleporters lead to different parts of the same map and you just waste your time as the altars we place the crystals on and the teleportation destination are mutually exclusive. We can't warp to an area and take our colored JO crystal back. We've got to get it specifically from the altar it came from. It's great! .jpg) Lucia's penultimate weapon is hidden behind this altar path and it is ACTUALLY hidden from view behind the scenery. I hear there are a lot of Hades fans out there. I still need to play that for more than half an hour. I hear it's pretty good. Unlike Lucia in battle. This item grants +176 Physical and +196 Special Attack Power. .jpg) .jpg) I'm not going to over how specifically to get through all the points of interest in this dungeon because it's poo poo like "Take the Yellow Crystal out and place it by the first altar in the room NOT the one right past it near a save point and then backtrack to obtain the Blue Crystal and bring that to the Yellow Crystal warp point and then go through a roundabout and use the altar there, NOT the one you see earlier down the path to get to..." .jpg) We're just going over the highlights. Like a goddamn Wolf Bout is hidden behind a specific series of portals. One that looks suspiciously similar to Blanca, no less... .jpg) Blanca is going to need a Leonardo's Bear for this match since Instant Death will be in play and be a bad scene for him otherwise. Music: Soul Comet ~ Spirit of the Wolf .jpg)  Awroo... (Nobody wants to bother with that warp maze rubbish.) Aw-awroo?! (I'm getting a weird sense of pressure in my chest... Hey, who are you?!) Awroo... Awroo. (My name is Lobo. They used to call me the "King of the Wolves.") Awroo... Grrr. (Lobo, eh? So you're him. I've got a question for you.) Awroo, awroo. (A wolf answers to no one. Only strength will make a wolf submit.) Awroo? (Then why did you answer the question about your name?) Awroo Aw...roo. Awroo! (That was... just common courtesy. This is a test of mettle!) Awroo... Awroo. (Do you really think you have that kind of strength?) I do! And don't forget it!.jpg) Remember those words. And now get ready for defeat!.jpg) Music: Glint of Light ~ War of the Hungry Wolf .jpg) Time to take on I'm just remembering the Final Fantasy IX Official Guide now. Read more at Playonline.com! .jpg) .jpg) Since Lobo's intent was to KO Blanca in a single blow, his attack power is actually quite weak otherwise. To the point, the Shield spell will allow him to do MAYBE 2 HP of damage if he lands a critical hit. .jpg) .jpg) I'm guessing that "King of the Wolves" is a former title and not a currently held honor, eh? Music: Result ~ Victory .jpg) .jpg) And that's another Wolf Bout in the bag. I wonder if Blanca is going to ace this wolf off-screen as well. Though, that may be rather inappropriate considering, well... Music: In Darkness of a Labyrinth ~ Dungeon .jpg) It's the job of the young to carve out the future. Old men should stand aside..jpg) Awroo... Awroo? (So it's true, then? ...But why?! You were in no shape to fight...!) Awroo... Awroo... (A warrior never stops fighting. But my own son wasn't cut out for battle...) <looks into the air> Awoo... Awrro. (He left home, and I hear he lived out his days in a peaceful forest.) Awroo... Awroo. (He said something about wanting to be a park ranger... I told him I didn't think they allowed wolves to become park rangers.) ...... Awroo... (He told me there was nothing in the rule book that said a wolf can't range parks...) ...Awroo. (...Perhaps there was a rule against that.) *whimper* (But now I see his son chose the path of the warrior...) <sits down> ...... Awroo... Awroo. (I don't have any more time left... Blanca, ask Ernest everything...).jpg)  Blanca defeating his grandfather grants his final Manifestation -- Aurora which fully heals the entire party in exchange for 54 MP. That's right, Blanca can manifest the Aurora Borealis at this time of year, at this time of day, in this part of the country, localized entirely in the back of a teleporter maze inside Mt. Fuji. Beyond that, we can take a look at Lobo's Profile. .jpg) King of the Wolves. Trapped and starved to death by humans. Although over 100 years old (in dog years), he has the heart of a young warrior. So Lobo is ANOTHER undead wolf? Or is he a ghost wolf? What's going on here? In either case, he's certainly looking in better shape than the last undead wolf we encountered. Lobo lays down and goes to sleep. .jpg) Well, we have completely filled out the Wolf Bout tally sheet with twelve qualifying Wolf Bout paw prints. We should return to Ernest to claim our prize. You know, next time we're in France. It is worth a mention that the first story in Ernest Thompson Seton's Wild Animals I Have Known book is "Lobo the King of Currumpaw." So actually fighting a Lobo to conclude the Wolf Bouts is a good reference. Though, does that make Blanca the heir to the Currumpaw throne? ...Where the hell is Currumpaw? .jpg) There is one more major point of interest across several other warp zones and shuffling of crystals on altars. And it's really screwed up it is an easily missed event. If we go to this random dead end of a cave that looks identical to at least ten other dead ends in this cave, we find an old pal. .jpg)  What's up with you? Nothing, I'm fine. Stuck going through a warp maze. It's kinda tedious. I really need to learn how to teleport one of these days. You should! It really comes in handy! I'm glad I took those courses back in college to learn it. It saves a ton of cash on commuting. Especially, when you're the Ring Soul. But, about that... Eh? Today's the last time, you know. The last time I do this. I've had a lot to deal with recently. But I couldn't have gone on with this Ring Soul job without you. Me? Yeah. At first, I thought I just needed to get the job done and go. I was supposed to be contacting Karin for this job originally, you know. They told me she was the protagonist. I mean she's on the game cover boxart. But then you showed up and became the lead protagonist and Karin stopped talking to me. You do get awfully quiet during these chats, huh? You seem to have it handled. I wasn't sure what to think. But then, we had some disagreements, we talked... We sure did, huh? ...And then we were friends! I think that's pretty cool. <rubs his neck> Haha! Hey, you're embarrassing me, here. So, here you are. This is for you. With my thanks..jpg) And that is indeed the last Attack Boost in the game. Everyone can achieve their maximum physical attack string at this point. .jpg) Good luck, okay? Listen, let's go get a drink once I'm done! We could go down to Micha. There are some good bars down there. Sure, you got it! Great! I'm looking forward to it! I'll see you off today, okay? See ya, then!.jpg) Ring Soul does not vanish this time. He waits for Yuri to leave because he is a good extra-dimensional entity. That is unfortunately the end of the Ring Soul questline. Ring Soul does make an appearance in Shadow Hearts: From the New World. Though you mostly find yourself dealing with his daughter, Aya. But that's an adventure you're going to have to take on your own, kiddos! .jpg) .jpg) There is quite a bit of loot among the assorted teleportation zones but it's all crap we've seen already. I got it all, don't worry! That was just an hour of my limited time in this world down the drain looking at gray walls and fighting the same four guys in various configurations. But, eventually, we make it to an ORANGE cavern. Progress! And no more teleporting, thankfully. There are a few branching paths with loot at the ends. But again, they're nothing worth mentioning. .jpg) Heading straight ahead will take us to the lava river that Kato and the Mutant Apes were hanging out around. Before we rush forward, there is a very sneaky treasure chest that is easy to miss. Can YOU spot it? .jpg) This dungeon is just rude. .jpg) This is Kurando's penultimate weapon. I'm doubting the vigilance of its millennium watch over Japan when it's just sitting in a crate in the back of a volcano. But it does provide Kurando with +206 Physical and +166 Special Attack Power. .jpg) .jpg) There is nothing in the way of gimmicks for the rest of the dungeon. It's just a straight linear shot to the end. Even the random battles have been disabled. I don't think they wanted to design a lava river random battle zone map that is used for all of three rooms you can jog through in a minute. .jpg) I wonder where they all went?The ground shakes and the bridge across the lava river that Kato and his crew encountered reappears. .jpg)  That does appear to be the case. Tune in next time when uhh... let's just say some major poo poo goes down in the heart of the Immortal Mountain.  Video: Lobo Wolf Bout  Samurai Ghoul Concept Art - Human skin slacks probably itch something fierce.  Immortal Mountain Concept Art - It's quite convenient that all active volcanoes have naturally occurring bridges over deadly lava rivers. The Dark Id fucked around with this message at 17:17 on Mar 3, 2021 |
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Mar 3, 2021 16:45
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I think the implication is that Lobo is Blanca's grandfather. Lobo's son became the park ranger, but it's the son of the park ranger who came back to beat the poo poo out of the undead zombie wolf.
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Mar 3, 2021 17:03
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I wonder which was the worst guide, Final Fantasy IX or Prima's Breath of Fire III? Final Fantasy IX may have been an ad you had to pay for, but it still had SOME stuff, but the Breath of Fire III one was just chock full of misinformation and fell apart if you looked at it funny
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Mar 3, 2021 17:07
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At least SH:C didn't make everything brown. The dungeons might be pretty bad, but they're not all the same color.
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Mar 3, 2021 17:17
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Blanca was the name of Lobo's mate, so that implies Blanca was named after his dear old granny.
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Mar 3, 2021 17:25
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Rabbi Raccoon posted:I wonder which was the worst guide, Final Fantasy IX or Prima's Breath of Fire III? Final Fantasy IX may have been an ad you had to pay for, but it still had SOME stuff, but the Breath of Fire III one was just chock full of misinformation and fell apart if you looked at it funny I will always offer at least token defense to IX's guide purely since you got a little vivi plushie for registering for their stupid website. As for BoFIII? Maybe its lack of quality contributed to me disliking that game.
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Mar 3, 2021 18:12
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Actually Croft did get himself a small family before he died. Somehow, though, they were more sensible and took to investing treasures rather than hiding them. This caused the family to become quite wealthy over the next century or so. They also remained great at finding treasure. Croft’s best known descendant is his great (possibly two greats depending on the reboot) granddaughter Lara, a well known tomb raider. That’s my head canon anyway. I liked Croft. Gosh, this game really has too many side quests. And I got too into the most inconsequential one.  Mount Fuji could have been way more visually interesting. But no. And Japan does share some scorpion species with the mainland of Asia according to Google. None get that big, though. And of course the dungeon is frustrating in other ways too. It made me glad guides for this game existed back when I played it. At least there’s some cool stuff inside, like the Wolf Bout. I will miss the Ring Soul. With any luck, he and Yuri will be able to go drinking after the game. Somehow. So you won’t play From the New World? That’s fine, I wasn’t a big fan of it either. My first copy of BoF3 was stolen by a burglar before I completed it. I later got another copy and finished it. I wonder if the burglar enjoyed the game more than me. Probably not.
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Mar 3, 2021 18:53
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Delightfully Devilish, Ernest.
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Mar 3, 2021 21:40
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I thought BoF3 was one of the finest RPGs I've ever played. I know nothing about the guide, just wanted to throw that out there.
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Mar 3, 2021 22:55
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Yeah, I'm surprised to see some of the BoFIII hate in the thread, but the guide was indeed a piece that quickly fell to pieces. It was right up there with the Prima FFT guide from way back in the day. That latter one didn't even have the dignity of full terrain maps for the Deep Dungeon or anything.
Shitenshi fucked around with this message at 02:58 on Mar 4, 2021 |
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Mar 4, 2021 02:35
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I loved the Dragon Gene system and it is my favorite Ryu in terms of how fun playing around with dragon forms is
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Mar 4, 2021 03:03
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achtungnight posted:My first copy of BoF3 was stolen by a burglar before I completed it. I later got another copy and finished it. I wonder if the burglar enjoyed the game more than me. Probably not. I'll see your BoF3 theft and raise you Unlimited SAGA. I doubt they could have enjoyed it less than me.
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Mar 4, 2021 03:10
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Rabbi Raccoon posted:I wonder which was the worst guide, Final Fantasy IX or Prima's Breath of Fire III? Final Fantasy IX may have been an ad you had to pay for, but it still had SOME stuff, but the Breath of Fire III one was just chock full of misinformation and fell apart if you looked at it funny At the very least, the Final Fantasy IX strategy guide seems to be a minor collectors item. I had one in pretty good condition that I decided to put up on ebay for $15 bucks last year. I immediately got someone offering me $20 for it with a "why wait? I'll pay you more than your offer now" which gave me a moment to go  . I let the auction play out and it ended up going for $90. Not a bad return on something that's just been sitting in a box at my parents house for 20 years.
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Mar 4, 2021 14:19
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BOF3 was pretty good. Well, except for the loving desert of death. Shudder
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Mar 5, 2021 09:54
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Junpei posted:I loved the Dragon Gene system and it is my favorite Ryu in terms of how fun playing around with dragon forms is  FalloutFan56 posted:BOF3 was pretty good. Well, except for the loving desert of death. Shudder
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Mar 5, 2021 13:49
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Commander Keene posted:I disliked shisu more than the desert of death. Mostly for making me engage with the fishing minigame. Hey now, don't be dissing the fishing minigame. Though I do agree it should have been left entirely optional.
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Mar 5, 2021 15:58
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