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The devs were probably thinking to make King Tamakos look a little less scary given how slapstick this game could be and then said, "gently caress it, done it scary twice, we're not stopping now!"
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Apr 15, 2021 16:30
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I forget, does the nightmare baby ball show up in the next game? I haven't played it in like 15 years.
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Apr 16, 2021 22:30
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 Episode CXVII: Transience .jpg) There is technically one additional order of business we could see to back at the Queen's Garden now that we've completed the dungeon. But... No use fighting it anymore. Let's go rip off the Band-Aid on doing the really bad idea. Which means returning once more to Wales and Roger Bacon's home. Warning, things in this update are somewhat NSFW for naked ladies in Resident Evil stasis capsules.  Music: Spiritualization ~ Holy Land of God .jpg) .jpg) .jpg) Roger doesn't specify where the dark deed will take place. But do you remember in his basement there was a barred set of doors in the direction opposite the Bacon Jet's hangar? That's where we are heading. This actually took me a few minutes to find my first playthrough because hell if I looked down there or even headed in that direction before hitting the Bacon Jet and being whisked off to Russia. .jpg)  So it's finally time. I haven't got a good feeling about this. I feel the same way. I mean, so far we've had nothing but failures when it comes to magic! If Yuri or Roger turns into a monster, I just couldn't take it... ...... Thanks, guys. This is really building up my confidence in this... Worry not, friend. If you turn into an abominable form I will not hesitate to suplex you into submission with the full extent of my muscles! I have no idea what is going on, do you? Awroo... (No...).jpg) Karin... And if worst comes to worst, I'll do whatever I have to do. <turns away and opens the door> I'm sorry to have to ask you guys, but if anything happens to Roger or me, don't hesitate to take us out. If a silver-haired spider... plant lady thing comes skittering out. You should... probably take that out too..jpg) Music: ENDS .jpg)  VIDEO: CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE REST OF THE UPDATE'S CONTENT. YOU SHOULD WATCH THIS. .jpg) It's probably got to be a bit of a bummer for Karin to have a crush on the protagonist and hear he's decided to just go resurrect his old girlfriend before even considering you in the running. .jpg) .jpg) Look at that... Well, let's get started. Hm? Okay...Some time later. .jpg) That's not like... orphan goop or anything, right? ...What? You didn't have to melt down a buncha orphans or anything crazy to make that gunk, right? No, it's just a complex alchemical compound of my own making. Cuz last time I saw someone try this they had a big cauldron of orphan goop. ...Oh. Heavens. I forgot I wrote the resurrection magic spell in the Émigré Manuscript copy wrong on purpose. Mostly as a joke. That was a lot of dead kids, Roger. Let's not fret about that right now. I must concentrate..jpg) Roger fiddles with assorted mechanical devices and the machine whirls into action causing the entire basement to shake. .jpg) .jpg) ?!.jpg) ...... ...... ...... ...Is it supposed to do something? Give it time. You cannot rush these sorts of dark arts and super science..jpg) .jpg) ?!.jpg) Alice?! <holds Yuri back> ......Music: Serious Mood ~ Unrest .jpg) Now begins the secret of the Émigré Manuscript. So this is what Kato did too? Not quite... Kato created Ouka by using her hair follicles to make a clone. Hair follicles...? Hair strands. Uhh... where did Kato get those from? She's been dead for over a year. Let us... not dwell... on that information... ...Yeah... Good idea....jpg) He merely used the Émigré to manipulate time and force the nucleus to grow more rapidly than normal. That's why Ouka doesn't have any of Yoshiko Kawashima's memories. She was born as a completely separate individual. So... what about Alice?!.jpg) She's exactly the same Alice that you knew. Her memories and emotions are just as they were at the time she died. When she wakes up, she'll feel just as though she had a nice, long sleep. Hm. You can't be serious? There will likely be some early confusion. What with over a year passed. The world engulfed in a war. Another end of the world threat looming. And she will be naked in a tube. N-naked...? ...... ...Wait, she's not going to have gigantic boobs and a butt like Ouka, right? As I said, it will be the exact same Alice. Proportions and all. OK. She wasn't lacking in those departments, as I recall, anyhow. .......jpg) Yes, but the experiment isn't a success yet. ...... This is just a vessel for her soul to enter. The magic happens from this point on. The real trick is going to be... calling her soul back into this body. To this point, not a single wizard has been able to do it. This will be the true test. We may even give birth to a monster, or we might even become monsters ourselves. Some wild stuff may go down, my friend. The last time I saw someone attempt this it needed divine intervention to stop it. All right, once we start there's no going back. ...Fine. <nods>.jpg) <activates the machine>.jpg) Auronus. Auronus!.jpg) NEW Music: Transcience ~ The Miracle .jpg) <waves hands toward the vessel> Auronus! Auronus! .jpg) Auronus! Auronus. Auronus... .......jpg) .jpg) Auronus! Auronus!! .......jpg) ...By the wheels of the Cherubim, take this soul beyond the Gates of Time!.jpg) ?! Oh poo poo! What do you mean oh poo poo?! It's a good oh poo poo! Oh. OK. ...I think. You think?!.jpg) ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... <coughs> ...... They should get some chairs down here. <nods> Mhm..jpg) ?!.jpg) .jpg) .jpg) .jpg) .jpg) Thus Alice begins growing back the rest of her body. It would be somewhat awkward to resurrect her as only an upper torso. .jpg) This all seems promising. .jpg) gently caress! .jpg) The crystal! Oh poo poo! Is that a good "oh poo poo" or a bad "oh poo poo"?! Bad!!.jpg) .jpg) I'm going to go out on a limb and saying the stasis capsule cracking, the entire lab turning red, and falling apart is not indicative of this going very well. .jpg) <frantically begins operating the machinery controls> Aaah! Oh, dear! Oh my! Oh! <glares at Alice's vessel> .......jpg) Karin falls to her knees and begins crying as she can just innately sense things going poorly. The machinery going haywire loudly the next room over isn't a good sign either. .jpg) .jpg) The Alice vessel's skin flaking off in gross chunks? Also, not a good sign in my professional practitioner of the dark magick arts opinion. .jpg) Even Yuri can tell this probably isn't ending well. .jpg) .jpg) Yeah... when your soul vessel's recreated body's torso splits in half that's kind of a deal-breaker in a successful ritual department. .jpg) Her soul... isn't returning... <dismayed sigh>.jpg) .jpg) .jpg) Evil-looking goop that looks like the biomass slime from Parasite Eve begins oozing from the base of the cracked capsule and shlopping up towards Neo Alice's remains. .jpg) .jpg) .jpg) But fear not. This is CGI Yuri who can just call forth one-time-use powers in these higher budget cutscene and use his special eyes to dispel the evil malice goop from Alice's remains. .jpg) Welp... .jpg) ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... .......jpg)  Yuri....jpg) .jpg) .jpg) NEW Music: ALICE (Piano Arrangement) .jpg) .jpg) A-A-Alice...?!.jpg) <smiles and nods> I love you....jpg) I-I love you too... It took well over a decade for video game technology to catch up with Yuri Hyuga's big ugly crying tech in this scene. .jpg) .jpg) .jpg) .jpg) Yuri might need a minute here. .jpg) That's... amazing....jpg) <sobs>.jpg) Well... we resurrected Alice Elliot for all of thirty seconds. But on the plus side, she didn't turn into a nightmare creature and immediately try to kill everyone in the greater Aberystwyth region. So that's a win, right? ... ...Right?    Alice and Yuri Concept Art - It was a bit colder in the concept art zone.   Video: Episode 117 Highlight Reel (You should definitely watch this.)
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Apr 17, 2021 01:45
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Congratulations! That is the single most successful ressurection using the Emigre Manuscript yet! Almost five seconds of lucid sapience, and no monsterization! I say this calls for champagne all around!
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Apr 17, 2021 01:59
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Just long enough to dick punch Yuri in the ol' feels!
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Apr 17, 2021 02:07
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I could not hold back a few tears myself the first time I saw this scene.
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Apr 17, 2021 02:08
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(non-prerendered) cutscene Bacon has heavy DKC cartoon Cranky Kong energies https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-c7DZl2gJk
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Apr 17, 2021 02:19
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Yeah, as ridiculous as Yuri's crying face looks, this scene hurts
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Apr 17, 2021 02:23
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That went considerably better than I expected.
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Apr 17, 2021 02:29
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I still can't hear this version of Alice's theme without crying.
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Apr 17, 2021 02:43
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This is actually pretty emotionally affecting for a ps2 jrpg. But to be honest, as a youth, Chrono Cross also made me weep, so I could just be weak to jrpgs.
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Apr 17, 2021 02:57
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That went better and worse than expected, not sure if that'll give Yuri closure at all since I don't think he got to say goodbye to Alice originally.
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Apr 17, 2021 03:17
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I wasn't using that heart anyways. It's fine. ... 
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Apr 17, 2021 04:21
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Hey man, crying is ugly. If anything, most other characters are far too pretty when they cry.
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Apr 17, 2021 04:54
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Ratoslov posted:Congratulations! That is the single most successful ressurection using the Emigre Manuscript yet! Almost five seconds of lucid sapience, and no monsterization! I say this calls for champagne all around! Night10194 posted:That went considerably better than I expected. And it only took both the most accomplished warlock in the world to cast the ritual and the most powerful monster slayer in the world with a specialization in suppressing malice to disperse the inevitable malice buildup. I'm thinking that before Roger translated part of the manuscript wrong on purpose, as a joke, the original author(s) also wrote down a lot of rituals wrong on purpose, as a joke.
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Apr 17, 2021 06:27
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And Yuri didn't even get a hideous monster to hug out of the deal. 
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Apr 17, 2021 06:35
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Yeah, that honestly went better than it had any right to. They deserved an abomination for their hubris.
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Apr 17, 2021 07:28
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Omobono posted:And it only took both the most accomplished warlock in the world to cast the ritual and the most powerful monster slayer in the world with a specialization in suppressing malice to disperse the inevitable malice buildup. Roger goes into it in Koudelka: This ritual was never intended to bring the soul back, he was basically trying to hack that bit in on the fly himself. It was intended to create mindless, soulless abominations to be used for labor for the Fomors.
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Apr 17, 2021 12:45
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Schwartzcough posted:Yeah, that honestly went better than it had any right to. They deserved an abomination for their hubris. I think having to kill an Alice abomination would be a very fast ride to the darkest ending for Yuri.
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Apr 17, 2021 12:56
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Yuri is not loving this...something
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Apr 17, 2021 12:58
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Well.... poo poo that could have gone better. 'Course it could have also gone way worse so I'm counting this as a solid B- for Roger and Yuri.
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Apr 17, 2021 14:03
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...Aw poo poo, poor bastard. Also, I'm pretty sure he managed to avoid a boss fight by glaring at the gunk.
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Apr 18, 2021 01:11
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Not the result they were hoping for, but better than the result we were expecting.
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Apr 18, 2021 02:49
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Yuri felt the emotionally devastating boss fight coming on and said, "Nope, gently caress that." Couldn't escape the emotional devastation, though.
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Apr 18, 2021 16:23
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Schwartzcough posted:Yeah, that honestly went better than it had any right to. They deserved an abomination for their hubris. I think after all the bullshit Yuri has gone through, he at least deserved to get to actually say the Three Special Words to Alice. And he got to say goodbye. It *is* kind of funny (to me, anyway) that everyone keeps forgetting Roger deliberately mistranslated the Emigre Manuscript after using it to make himself immortal, though.
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Apr 19, 2021 05:29
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Commander Keene posted:Although I doubt it'll come to an actual resurrection, considering Karin is the Designated Love Interest for this game. Most likely they'll get a Speak With Dead where Alice's ghost shows up for long enough to help with the Mistletoe Curse or some part of the Kato Situation and then tell him to let go of his grief and be happy or something like that before fading away again.
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Apr 19, 2021 07:13
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Yuri Hyuga 🤝 Edward Elric
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Apr 19, 2021 09:07
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Episode CXVIII: The Oath.jpg) The laboratory door unseals. .jpg) You made it out okay! Huh? Noticing a distinct lack of my niece... Welcome back! Glad you're not a monster mash! Awroo! Awroo! (Awroo!).jpg) Did you meet... Alice? ...Yeah. For like... twenty seconds..jpg) It didn't work at all. I'm a failure! I beg forgiveness of God for having committed this terrible sin. I swear! Never again will I transgress against the holy word of Our Lord! Even if I am the only wizard in history to successfully do a resurrection miracle, no matter how short-lived. Eat it, Albert Simon!.jpg) He seems a little too perky, no? <nods> Mhm!!.jpg) <coughs> But our Lord is merciful and He has given me the answer! The answer? Do you mean to say you know what Kato is planning? I... honestly have no idea how you came to that conclusion but... Exactly! ...By the wheels of the Cherubim, take this soul beyond the gates of Time! "Beyond the Gates of Time." That means Kato is planning to create a warp in the fabric of time-space. A warp in time-space?! When the Émigré power is activated and new life is generated, there's a momentary change in the flow of time. I believe Kato is planning to use that to destroy the world as we know it..jpg) Is that pretty easy? That "flow of time" thing? Well, it's not easy, but I'm sure he can do it. Wait... did we just make his plan work by trying to resurrect Alice? ...Maybe. Frick... What's going to happen? It's hard to guess, but maybe we'll be sent 1,000 or even 10,000 years into the past. I have never met the guy before so, I'm just winging his motivations... Oh, no...! But whatever happens, the world that we know will disappear. That's certain. <murmurs> You do not want to F with the timey-whimey stuff when it comes to magic. It's a bad scene. Do not cross the chronology or you could trigger disaster!.jpg) ...... Where do you think Kato is now? If my guess is right, he'll choose a place on a ley line with a strong magnetic field... If I was Special Agent Kato that's what I would do. Not that I'd ever perform the time magicks. Unless my skill of wizardry was challenged... Don't you think we should ask Kurando's mother where he is?! She's right... ...OK. We'll ask my mom. She only turned into a demon the last time we asked her something like this. So it's decided! Mhm. Yep! .......jpg) .jpg) And with that, our time in Wales is concluded! We'll be back here for sidequest nonsense later. But barring one of the endings, Roger Bacon evaporates from the main plot at this point. .jpg) In any event, we are going to take the Bacon Jet back to Japan and visit Inugami Village once again. Although, doing so immediately throws us into... Music: Holy Mistletoe ~ Graveyard .jpg) .jpg) I gotta admit... when I first saw you hanging there like that, you... scared me pretty bad. But now I feel like I've become a little bit closer to you ...almost like a brother. I mean like a cursed brother that keeps ending up in jail and you wish you had to stop dealing with, but... Maybe when you wake up... maybe that's when I can finally let go of my past and be free. Or I die and be with Alice again. Hopefully... I really don't know how any of this works and am winging it..jpg) .jpg) Yuri must past through the northern weird gates not associated with the elemental affiliations. Where he meets Jeanne again. .jpg) Jeanne?! You're all right! Tee hee! Of course, I am! I'm here in your heart. Nothing in here can hurt me. ...Oh, okay. But I thought I'd never see you again. I was frantic! Please stop going through the weird mind gates. Those lead to... stuff you don't want in your life, kiddo..jpg) They must've been scenes from your memory, Yuri. Scenes from my memory...? <big sigh> That sounds like that time I blew up Shanghai by accident and I was brain broken in a Romanian vampire's Castlevania tower for half a year digging my own grave while my ghost dad psyche was being a jerk. ...... ...I will not lie. That is a lot, Yuri. Yeah, the Shanghai thing was absorbing a maleficent deity into my soul and it going out of control and I... never really dealt with that. So watch your step down here, kid. ...Noted. But... Yup. Looking at those scenes, I think I kind of understood something... ...Why I can't find your happiness here. It's because you haven't decided what happiness means to you yet..jpg) That's right. Your reason for living. Your purpose. You told me that your purpose in life was to get revenge for me and the other villagers. But that's just too sad... I want you to find out what makes you happy, Yuri. And then I want you to really become happy. Jeanne... I really appreciate that. But, to tell the truth, I don't really want to be happy... I frick'd up. I got the bad ending. I don't deserve to be happy. And the thing I just tried with Roger in Wales. You don't even want to know about that... I already know. I exist in your heart and soul. ...Frick. <steps forward and covers her heart> That's because you've forgotten what happiness is! When Alice died, you decided your happiness died with her. When you were digging her grave alone, you cried until the tears wouldn't come anymore. You put Alice in that coffin, wrapped in that special coat, and gently covered it with dirt... You knew you looked better with a coat and you did it anyway. That is true love..jpg) .jpg) OK. Not really proud of being a perv initially. I was having a weird night. I mean I was speaking Japanese....jpg) Or that time I got seasick and there were ghosts....jpg) Beating Ghost Dad was pretty rad..jpg) What in the hell is that?!.jpg) .jpg) .jpg) .jpg) .jpg) .jpg) Can we stop? This sucks....jpg) I-I... Listen to me. The Holy Mistletoe curse is going to kill your soul. Nobody can stop it. You're going to lose yourself, Yuri. ...... Look, I can talk to other curse ghosts in the afterlife. It is a bad scene, as they put it. You don't have much time left. You've got to find out what happiness is. It's the only way to defeat the curse. ...Okay. I'll try. Do you promise? <nods> Yeah.Jeanne vanishes. .jpg) .jpg) A new gate has opened past the magical guilt power-point presentation. Which leads to... .jpg) <gasps and looks around frantically> Somebody! Talk to me! Call my name or something! I think I'm in the Shadow Realm! I don't want to be here!.jpg) H-hey, Karin! Hey! Umm... Gepetto! Sorry about all the creepy doll talk! Gepetto!.jpg) Uh... wait a second! Lucia! You can get in the main party again! Just see me! Old man! Big guy! We can strength train! Anastasia! Blanca! Argh! You stupid dog!.jpg) <collapses> W-Wait!! Ahh... I-I'm disappearing...!!.jpg) No, I don't want this... Somebody make it stop!!.jpg) Yuri is engulfed in a flash of light and arrives at a new gate. .jpg) Music: ENDS .jpg) .jpg) This train...?!.jpg) .......jpg) <gasp> A-Alice....jpg) .jpg)  <smiles> Yuri, you're back! Uh... Umm.... I guess that I feel asleep here waiting for you to arrive. Uhh... Y-you did...? Ohh...Yuri sits down across from Alice. .jpg) Did you have a hard time? O-oh, I... Umm... You know, same as always. I-I, umm... Y-Y'know... fought some monsters and wizards. T-The usual junk... But umm... uhh... What? Can I sit next to you? Sure, go ahead!.jpg) <nervous laugh> I umm... haha... you know always umm... feel kinda sick... Yuri switches seats. .jpg) Umm... heh sitting backwards... hehe....jpg) .jpg) .jpg) .jpg) Was it hard for you? Huh? To find your way here? Uh... oh. Not at all. Really?.jpg) W-well, a little, I guess! I'm proud of you. <scratches head> Oh, c'mon!Music: ALICE (Piano Arrangement) .jpg) I'll never forget. What? Taking this journey with you. And meeting you. Being with you. Alice..jpg) Don't worry. Whatever the curse is, I don't mind. I'm sorry. Don't be. I wonder if God will punish me? Why?.jpg) Roger and I used the Émigré Manuscript to bring you back to life. ...... But we couldn't do it. ...... Your body didn't turn into a bug monster or anything. Don’t worry! I know..jpg) So you really meant what you said then? Mm-hmm. I-I love you too. ...I know that..jpg) If there really is a God, and if he'd grant me just one wish... I-I'd go back to the day we met. Hee hee. Then we could take a trip together again! Hehe. That was some trip, all right! I would try to avoid blowing up Shanghai on a redo but other than that, it was a lot of fun. Yeah... there were a lot of deaths we probably could have avoided.They both laugh. .jpg) ...Now we can see each other anytime. Anytime? I'm not going anywhere..jpg) <smiles and nods> <smiles and nods>Yuri gets out of his seat. .jpg) Are you leaving? Yeah. I've got one more thing that I have to do. <frowns> Sort of having another end of the world thing to deal with. Yeah, yeah... I know... It keeps happening..jpg) ...... Once I take care of that, everything will be out of the way. And I'll come back to you. Then I'll never leave again. <nods> I swear it. Be careful..jpg) See you soon! Video: Episode 118 Highlight Reel (You should definitely watch this.) Note: The Director's Cut of Shadow Hearts 2 did do a CGI version of it. The best I can do is a dubbed over 14 year old video showing it dubbed over because hosed if I can find a direct rip of the original game and do that myself.  Canonically an illustration of Alice and Yuri that Kato drew while being depressed after Yoshiko Kawashima died. The Dark Id fucked around with this message at 05:11 on Apr 20, 2021 |
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Apr 20, 2021 05:01
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Um, I'm not sure spending an eternity in your own head with a mind-representation of your dead girlfriend is the right kind of "find happiness to give you a reason to live" that you should be looking for, Yuri... That's more of a reason to give up and die. Edit: and if that is somehow an actual manifestation of the real Alice, shame on you! You gave up your life so that Yuri could go on living, not so that he could give up on living without you!
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Apr 20, 2021 06:11
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The Dark Id posted:
 I see what you did there, Id.
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Apr 20, 2021 07:19
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These are Sora levels of having too many people inside you, Yuri. If you keep this up then you'll probably go back through The Portal That Is Kato into Shanghai, high-five several yourselves, then finally see Kato turn into a younger, even hunkier version of himself and peace out, taking any resolution to the plot with him. ...It is a little sweet that Alice decided to stick around and watch over Yuri.
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Apr 20, 2021 09:25
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A Disaster that will devour many dreams!
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Apr 20, 2021 13:51
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Kato is a surprisingly good artist, not gonna lie.
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Apr 20, 2021 20:08
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God that flashback to how Alice died hits hard slowed down enough for Yuri to react to it. It's the bad timeline! First time he's ever realized what happened! gently caress.
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Apr 20, 2021 21:47
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It's pretty cool they made this scene a full on HD remastered cutscene, like Yuri's Emigre ritual just now, or him trashing Rasputin's ride, in the Director's Cut.
Shitenshi fucked around with this message at 23:05 on Apr 20, 2021 |
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Apr 20, 2021 23:03
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Lunar Suite posted:These are Sora levels of having too many people inside you, Yuri. If you keep this up then you'll probably go back through The Portal That Is Kato into Shanghai, high-five several yourselves, then finally see Kato turn into a younger, even hunkier version of himself and peace out, taking any resolution to the plot with him. Yuri's doing a Sora, I didn't even realize that until now and now I can't help but imagine Yuri simplifying the Kingdom Hearts plot by punching everything.
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Apr 22, 2021 07:09
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Episode CXIX: You Think Big Music: Field of God-Dog ~ Village of The Dog God .jpg) Following that interlude, we are now deposited in Inugami Village. Our destination is the Inugami estate to go see if we can figure out where Kato might be doing some timey-whimey poo poo in Japan. So without further delay, let's head there. .jpg) Haha! Well... a lot of stuff's been going on, and... Hee hee. Oh, has it?! Well, it's never a bad thing to get a little happiness back into your heart. That is one way to put it... Actually... We've got another favor we'd like to ask you. A favor? Go ahead! I'm pretty sure I know what it is, anyway. Can you help us find Special Agent Kato? We could stop what he's up to if only we knew where he was... What exactly is he up to? And... who is that, exactly? I can see magical events transpiring. I do not have a directory of every person you have ever met. A friend of mine from a previous adventure. He... isn't dealing with the loss of a loved one particularly well. Times two... He decided to destroy the world. You know how it goes... ...I'm not going to pry on the phrasing of any of that. He's going to destroy the world by distorting the flow of time. There's a good chance he already started getting the magic ready. We've gotta find him quick and stop him! We may have just left him to do his own thing for the better part of a month... I see... Yuri. Yeah? You're ready to fight, then? Fight your friend? ...Yes. He's in Asuka, east of here... Asuka? Yes. The Stone Platform in Asuka. Mother, I thought the Stone Platform was just....jpg) But it's not an Imperial mausoleum. It's an altar to the God of Destruction. Which one...? There seems to be a new one every day. The Japanese one, naturally. ...Naturally. A place steeped in mystical energy that's linked to Yamato. I'm not surprised Kato chose that place as his base for warping time-space..jpg) <nods> That'll be the battleground, then. <nods> Be careful! Now the power of the destructive souls that lie dormant in Yamato is the power Kato controls. Assuming I'm correct in his intentions knowing only the vaguest of details and local geography. <nods> Okay, I got it. Now that it's decided, you should res today and build up your strength. Forget the battle, just for one night..jpg) .jpg) Time to head out. When Yuri reaches the town square, most of the gang is assembled to depart. Except... .jpg) <looks around> Awroo, awroo! Huh?  Karin's not here... <folds arms> Oh, yeah. I saw her this morning... Where did she go? ...... I'll have to look around for her. There are like two destinations in town and I just came from one of 'em..jpg) We're now tasked with finding Karin. Spoilers: She's in the only other place of note in the town, the shrine. But our party is loitering about town now and we can speak with them in a rare occasion. So let's see their thoughts. .jpg) Kids these days... Wandering off for private cutscenes, no doubt. Scandalous!.jpg) Have any of us even been seen eating anything this entire journey...? Yes, of course. When was the last time you remember? I uhh... you know. Umm... That one time! Uh-huh... I'm on a diet..jpg) You want to help me look, big guy? No. ...Alright, then..jpg) Awroo! <scratches head> She hasn't been this way, huh...? Awroo, awroo. (No, and I am to prevent you from leaving the village until you find her.).jpg) Come to think of it, she seemed a little strange ever since the queen's garden. I didn't want to say anything, but... She did keep gasping and sobbing when you and Roger performed that ritual. It was creeping us all out a bit....jpg) Anyhow, let us return to the Fountain of Sukune with the rotten rice bowl ventriloquist ever at the vigil at its gates. Music: ENDS .jpg) .jpg) ...... How do you feel? <shrugs> I'm not getting any better. It's just like Nicolai said. There's no way to break this curse. Nothing to punch. Nothing to kick. No incantations. Just a weird tree with me growing out of it in my soul. Bum deal.Yuri starts walking toward Karin. .jpg) Don't come any closer. Huh? Stay there. Uh... all right..jpg) .......jpg) I'm sorry. It's okay. You're just being a little weird, is all... Anyway, I decided even if I can't break this stupid curse, it'll be all right... .......jpg) When it happens, and my soul fades away, I know that my memories... they'll live on inside all of you... Do you mean it? And that cross I gave you and stuff. I guess... we kind of talked about this already... <nods> Yeah. There's nothing I can do, anyway. Guess I'll just die. ...... But you know what? Before I lose my soul... While I'm still who I am... I'm going to settle things with him! !! Other than that, there's not a thing that I can do about it. I need one more good punch. And that's a heck of a jaw to punch... <nods> ....... Yuri! ...Yeah?NEW Music: Karin (It took us this long for Karin to get theme music?!) .jpg) I-I've loved you ever since I met you!?! (Frick.) I still do!! I always will!! I know I can't match up to Alice! You're such a dummy, I know you never noticed! Karin, I... No, it's fine! You don't have to say anything! ...... (Will do.) I always knew in my heart that you felt the same way about me too. .......jpg) <wipes away tears> That's why I risked my life. Because I loved you. And now that you know that... that's enough for me....jpg) And Yuri just awkwardly stands there. End of scene. I do not think... this is a two-way feeling, Karin... You might need to let this one go. Music: Field of God-Dog ~ Village of The Dog God .jpg) .jpg) But with that, our business in Inugami Village is concluded! We'll be back here in the End Game. But for now... .jpg) The final actual location of the main plot of the game has unlocked -- The Asuka Stone Monument. And we do need to actually head there and confront Special Agent Kato to unlock all the End Game content of Shadow Hearts: Covenant. So let's just get to it. No sense in waiting, yah? NEW Music: The Fate ~ Cluster Amaryllis (This is the only time this ever plays. Go listen to it. It's great!) .jpg) Video: Click Here for the Bulk of the Remainder of the Update. (You should watch this. It's the best cutscene in the game.) .jpg) .jpg) Buh gawd! Is that Special Agent Masaji Kato's music playing?! .jpg) .jpg) He just been here chillin'! He chill! A true rival character bro will chill before becoming an end boss villain. Kato is a good bro. .jpg) .jpg)  So you've come... That's right..jpg) Hmph. <smiles and nods>.jpg) Did you meet... Alice? Yeah. Thank you. It was... a roundabout meeting. But I'm OK with it now... That's good to hear..jpg) You still plan to destroy the world? ..... Yes. .jpg) I plan to remake this world by bringing us 100 years into the past. 100 years? Yes, 100 years..jpg) When the people that have warped this world had not yet been born. ...... Are you going to stomp on babies...? ...That is not what I am going for. I'll go back to that time..jpg) Then I will be able to guide this world to a whole new future..jpg) <smirks> You think big. I'm not really following. But it seems ballsy..jpg) <chuckles> So you're satisfied with the miserable state of the world? You're happy just to let things continue the way they've been? No, I'm not. The future I want is the one that I create for myself. ...Even if it costs me my own soul. So you fight because of... your beliefs? No....jpg) Because of... my destiny. <smirks> <THE KATO INTENSIFIES> .jpg) .jpg) .jpg) .jpg) .jpg) .jpg) And, you know, a circle of ominous stone pillars erupts from the earth. Always the pretense to good things arriving, as we all know. .jpg) .jpg) .jpg) The actual son erupting with energy to trigger an event? Never gone wrong with that one. Solar flare? Eclipse. Never been a bad event surrounding such an occurrence. Sunshine and rainbows all the way down. .jpg) .jpg) ...Soul of the Ancient Gods! Soul of the Land of Nippon!! Return beyond the Gates of Time!!.jpg) .jpg) .jpg) .jpg) Yoriwara, vessel of Yamato. I'll be there at its peak! <nods>.jpg) 108 tolls of the bell. Space will be torn and time warped! I got it..jpg) .jpg) .jpg) And thus Kato teleports away like some theatrical vampire to go become the final boss of the game. .jpg) Welp. The Vessel of Yamato -- The Final Dungeon of Shadow Hearts: Covenant is now here! Music: ENDS .jpg) Technically, we can just leave now and could conclude the chapter. But much like the Neameto Float in Shadow Hearts 1... .jpg) .jpg) We do need to enter the final dungeon once to trigger a poo poo load of flags for the End Game. As in... all of them. Doing this leads Yuri back to the Graveyard once more... . Music: Holy Mistletoe ~ Graveyard .jpg) <nods> Yeah. Do you think you'll find it? The answer?.jpg) And soon too. That's good. So will you tell me next time I see you? It could be a multi-choice answer, you know. That is... ominous. Just saying what I know. Could you... elaborate? ...... No. ...... ...That's fair, kid. You've done enough You got it. <nods> Good..jpg) And with that, Jeanne vanishes and we end up in The Vessel... Music: Deep in Coma ~ Battle in Japan .jpg) .jpg) Jeez, it's huge! It's like being inside a star... It's so beautiful... I am low-key freaking out right now. You...? Awroo... (This is not cool...).jpg) Okay, everyone! Let's go!.jpg) Yep! Let's go! The gently caress out of this dungeon! .jpg) Holy poo poo is there a lot of End Game content now unlocked. I could finish this LP in five updates if I just powered through to the end. It's going to be about twenty-five... Hopefully, I won't drop dead by the end of that, but we'll see! Thus ends the lead up to the End Game of Shadow Hearts: Covenant. Tune in for... some wacky rear end poo poo and tying off every single extra-curricular activity we have remaining as Shadow Hearts: Covenant continues!  Video: Karin's Confession  Video: Asuka Stone Monument Confrontation (Go watch this!)
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Apr 23, 2021 03:26
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A whole lot of things have indeed unlocked. Including, The Festival
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Apr 23, 2021 03:44
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Kato really thinks he's going to heal the world by going back a hundred years and "leading" people? What, is he going to teach most of Europe that Imperialism is bad or something?
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Apr 23, 2021 03:45
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It's worth going back and watching the Idar Flamme reveal along with this one to get a sense of just how much has changed since the end of disc one.
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Apr 23, 2021 03:49
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