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achtungnight posted:Last I heard of Ernest, he somehow flew to a certain Rogue Galaxy in his bug form and started their most popular spectator sport. But he also died in the ring a few years later. They say he raised a child named Mio who today remains one of his sport’s most feared combatants… Good god, why does this make so much sense in my brain, WTF?! Edit: Update on last page.
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Jun 10, 2021 14:40
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That drawing of Ernest legitimately makes him look like my head accountant at work. I'm gonna have a talk with him when I go in
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Jun 10, 2021 14:47
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achtungnight posted:Last I heard of Ernest, he somehow flew to a certain Rogue Galaxy in his bug form and started their most popular spectator sport. But he also died in the ring a few years later. They say he raised a child named Mio who today remains one of his sport’s most feared combatants… Now I REALLY want to squash him, gently caress that mini-game! Where's that time machine so I can go back and do the deed myself?
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Jun 10, 2021 15:11
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Thank you for continuing the LP despite its curse, Id. 
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Jun 10, 2021 22:25
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And of course the reason Bianca is summoning Char is because they have the same voice actor, completing the stupid inexplicable game-long voice actor joke.
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Jun 10, 2021 23:43
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ImpAtom posted:And of course the reason Bianca is summoning Char is because they have the same voice actor, completing the stupid inexplicable game-long voice actor joke. I found this out shortly after I brought it up way back when, but if Shuichi Ikeda voiced Blanca, he did it under a pseudonym. Blanca is listed on IMDB as Takeshi Toyoda, who has done no other roles than Blanca. Nor can you trace it to his English VA, who was Richard Cansino. Richard Cansino, while he did voice a character in the original Mobile Suit Gundam, voiced Hayato Kobayashi, rather than Char Aznable. I'm still not sure where I got the idea from. My head wants to say the previous LP, but I went over it at the time and found nothing. Materant fucked around with this message at 01:02 on Jun 11, 2021 |
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Jun 11, 2021 00:55
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Materant posted:I found this out shortly after I brought it up way back when, but if Shuichi Ikeda voiced Blanca, he did it under a pseudonym. Blanca is listed on IMDB as Takeshi Toyoda, who has done no other roles than Blanca. Nor can you trace it to his English VA, who was Richard Cansino. Richard Cansino, while he did voice a character in the original Mobile Suit Gundam, voiced Hayato Kobayashi, rather than Char Aznable. IMDB is wrong. Suichi Ikeda is the Japanese voice for Blanca. Hell check his Japanese wiki page if you want which specifically mentions Blanca: https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%B1%A0%E7%94%B0%E7%A7%80%E4%B8%80 Also here's an interview with the developers where they specifically mention that he was basically intended as the voice actor from the start: https://dengekionline.com/soft/recommend/sh2/index.html ImpAtom fucked around with this message at 01:14 on Jun 11, 2021 |
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Jun 11, 2021 01:10
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Behind The Voice Actors also has Blanca listed as Ikeda.
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Jun 11, 2021 01:18
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I wish I'd known this earlier so I could've read all of Blanca's lines in his voice.
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Jun 11, 2021 01:19
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Night10194 posted:Fighting Tournaments. Not even once. They worked out alright for the Dragon-Slaying Slacker.
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Jun 11, 2021 05:42
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Chalk me up as one who never realized you could go back to see Henri in the castle.
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Jun 11, 2021 16:57
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Someone told me most of Blanca's lines are just slightly altered original MSG Char quotes and going through some clips. Well, dang... That random-rear end Gundam goon squad Wolf Bout makes far more sense now. Someone put Blanca in Char's dumb helmet before the next update so I don't have to.
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Jun 12, 2021 08:43
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The Dark Id posted:Someone told me most of Blanca's lines are just slightly altered original MSG Char quotes and going through some clips. Well, dang... That random-rear end Gundam goon squad Wolf Bout makes far more sense now. Someone put Blanca in Char's dumb helmet before the next update so I don't have to.  
Calamitous_Justice fucked around with this message at 09:18 on Jun 12, 2021 |
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Jun 12, 2021 09:03
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I really wish we could fave replies right now.
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Jun 12, 2021 15:56
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This delightfully stupid game  .
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Jun 13, 2021 13:13
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Man, Shadow Hearts just does not have a single gently caress to give, and it's amazing.
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Jun 13, 2021 15:44
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Episode CXXIX: Dog Days.jpg) What do you say we give Kurando a chance to... do anything for a couple of sidequests? Today's activities take us back to the quaint Inugami Village.  Music: Field of God-Dog ~ Village of The Dog God .jpg) Specifically, we want to return to the Inugami Estate of Inugami Village to have Kurando Inugami speak with his mother Saki Inugami. Inugami. Inugami. .jpg)  An errand? I've been getting a bad premonition coming from the Dog Shrine lately. We have to protect it. Could you check? The Dog Shrine? That sounds serious. Yes, we'll have a look. The Dog Shrine? What's that? Are there going to be like... dog monks? In little dog monk robes doing dog monk ceremonies and stuff? I... might be interested in seeing that. N-Not exactly..jpg) A shrine, huh? And a legendary sword is in it? Yeah... I can see where this is going. Yes, but it's actually like a maze. It's built to keep strangers out of its inner recesses. Are you sure we're not going to get lost in there? You've been there before, right? <folds arms and looks down> Uh, no... I've heard about it, of course, but I've never actually been in there. Then what about you, Aunt Saki? Tell me you've been inside, at least! No, never. Kurando's father has been there a few times, though... You're joking, right? What kind of sacred shrine has barely anyone visit it? This is just going to be another musty old dungeon that's going to annoy me, isn't it? Oh, I know! Wait a minute... I know it's around here somewhere... ...Here it is! Take this with you, Kurando. What's this?.jpg) Saki proceeds to shovel a whole armful of crap into our Key Item inventory. .jpg) Such as a map of the Dog Shrine. Just one glance is enough to tell we're in for some real bullshit puzzle dungeon tomfoolery in the near future. .jpg) .jpg) .jpg) .jpg) .jpg) Especially, given the fact we're also handed five stone tiles with directions associated with them. Hey, did I mention I just went "gently caress this noise" to this dungeon when playing the game the first time while lacking any internet access? .jpg) You should be fine as long as you have that map. Just follow that and avoid the guardian beasts and malevolent creatures drawn to the power of the Mumerio. I'll be sure to tread lightly. Oh, your father once told me the shrine also gets haunted from time to time. It's been some time since an exorcist cleansed the area, so be on the lookout for that as well. ...I see. It'll all work out, I'm sure, once you get in there!.jpg) *sigh* There isn't anybody like that on the Inugami side of the family... Hey! You saying it comes from my side of the family?! ...I couldn't agree more, Kurando.  Tch. Whatever you say. Let's go punch a ghost dog or whatever the heck and get your ultimate weapon..jpg) We have our new task ahead of us. Now we just need to exit the village. .jpg) And a new location, the Dog Shrine, appears on the map. The Japanese title of this location is "The Dog-Cage of Kurama" which... doesn't exactly roll off the tongue. But it does place the Dog Shrine on Mount Kurama a real location to the north of Kyoto. Music: In Darkness of a Labyrinth ~ Dungeon .jpg) .jpg) Naturally, Kurando is a mandatory party member. Ironically, we'll let our good boy Blanca sit out the visit to the Dog Shrine and go with Karin, Yuri, and Joachim for The Monks Team. With the Wolf Bouts concluded, we don't need to keep Blanca training as often. Joachim, on the other hand, still needs to maintain his work out regiment for future, manly events. .jpg) Now there are one of two ways this dungeon can go. Before we get to that, let's go inside and take a look at what gimmick we'll be dealing with first. .jpg) Inside we find a strange pedestal in the center of the room and a locked door past it. Also, apparently, this shrine is built directly above a river of lava. That red texture on the floor is a moving lava flow, not just some decoration. I don't think Mount Kurama is an active volcano with magma just feet below the surface. But I also don't think there's a puzzle maze shrine housing a mystical sword on the mountain either. So what do I know? Anyway, let's take a look at this pedestal. .jpg) This is a pedestal for placing stones. If we place the stones just right, we can create new paths. Create new paths? That's right. Here, let's take a look at the map..jpg) The grey areas are blocked. We can open up paths to these areas by placing stones on the pedestals. There are nine stones altogether. They each open up paths in different directions. What do you yellowish-green, stick-like thingies mean? Those symbols represent connections that can be made between areas. In other words, if we place the stone just right, we can open paths from one symbol to another. I dunno. Sounds pretty complicated....jpg) OK. So remember how all those tiles had directions in their descriptions? Well, now they have shapes on them. Except for the special colored rooms with the animal symbols, this dungeon is composed entirely of nearly identical-looking rooms which can be shifted by placing the stone tiles we've acquired. The tile shapes will alter the layouts of rooms when placed on the board. So the tile pictured above will result in a room with a door to the north and south. Exits to the room must connect to something otherwise it just results in a dead-end room. The white rooms on the map are connecting rooms we can enter assuming we have a tile with an exit leading to it placed. Our ultimate goal is to reach black uhh... what the hell is that even supposed to be? A turtle, maybe...? That's usually what it is in this mythology, right? Whatever, the black room in the center two tiles up from the bottom room where we begin. The trouble is we need a specific tile to place on that square on the map to reach the treasure in that room. That's right there are more tiles to be found in the dark corners of this dungeon! And the game didn't indicate this, but we basically need to hit up all the other special rooms first to gain additional tiles to reach other rooms. Oh and it kind of needs to be done in a set order of clockwise starting with the area to the west. Long story short: This is the part where you go to GameFAQs, a rambling Youtube video, or whatever your preferred methodology is of looking up a goddamn guide and find the solution because gently caress doing this via trial and error. It's not incredibly hard but you can easily beef it using the wrong stones to get to one part of the map and be unable to proceed to the other. It's just a pain in the rear end. Full stop. .jpg) We're going to hit up the Red Phoenix room to the west. So we'll place these tiles to reach that connecting room as so. .jpg) I hope you enjoy rooms that look actually identical except for shuffled doorways as that is the entire dungeon. At this rate, we're going to get to a dungeon that is just a straight line of untextured polygons that takes 20 minutes to walk down with a random battle every five feet. .jpg) When we reach the corner connecting room we find another pedestal. That's right there are multiple pedestals for tile shuffling as well. .jpg) Tile is already starting to stop sound like a real word. So let's pick up another one! .jpg) .jpg) This pedestal only has two slots as it only controls the two rooms above it connecting to the Red Phoenix room. Technically we don't need to go to the Red Phoenix room. It's just got some loot in it. The only noteworthy bit of it being the rare Strongoids item for Joachim. But it's worth a quick trip. .jpg) .jpg) After that, we're going to turn around the way we came and go straight back to the start. BUT, do remember to take those tiles with you. They must be manually removed from the pedestals to be returned to the inventory. Wouldn't want to have to backtrack while backtracking, now would we? They are at least nice enough to have a Remove All Placed Stones option. Except it's one of those dick options where there's a secondary "ARE YOU SURE?!" prompt with "NO" being the default option and it's very easy to mash through and get kicked out. No, owl. I don't want to hear the goddamn tutorial again. .jpg) Our next goal is the Blue Dragon room to the north. So we'll use these stones to blaze a trail in that direction to the connecting room. .jpg) .jpg) And yet another stone, JIN, is hanging out here. We'll add that to our collection. .jpg) The pedestal in this room has four spaces for the four rooms above the connecting room. We'll use these tiles to create a winding path to the Blue Dragon room wherein we'll find a mediocre Xbox360 launch title. .jpg) We might also find random battles. This dungeon does have random battles in it. But the encounter rate is extremely low by sheer virtue of each room takes three seconds to navigate before loading up a new room and as such random battles just seldom get a chance to even trigger. The entire dungeon I believe I had three encounters total. Music: Deep in Coma ~ Battle in Japan .jpg) Fittingly, the Dog Shrine has a Dog Guardian a Dark elemental enemy with 852 HP. They bite, being dogs and all, and can cause Delay in the process. That's just about it. Monster dog. What more do you want? .jpg) Next, we have this ridiculous nightmare crab. How do you even eat with eyeballs in your mouth, you knucklehead? This is a Waira an Earth elemental critter with 355 HP. It likes to throw rocks at people and cause Special Attack Down by biting them with its eyeball mouth. What if you bit Blanca, crab dude? You'd have hair in your eyes and nobody wants that! Waira is the name of a fictional yōkai. As in it's from period literature and not any actual folklore origin. Non-canon yōkai! Fanfic yōkai! Wikipedia on Waira posted:
Or they could be a crab thing with a sideways mouth filled with eyeballs. Who's to say with these bootleg yōkai? .jpg) This last enemy I had to go out of my way to find in a random battle capacity. As in I had to return to the dungeon and force an encounter since I looked up the list of enemies in the area and whoops missed one. This is an Otoroshi a Wind elemental creature with 348 HP. This err... cloaked floating brain with several bonus eyeballs including one growing out of its err... brain fills a support role and will cast Arc Barrier, Surge or Shield on its comrades. Like the Waira, Otoroshi is another yōkai that doesn't have any actual folklore basis and cropped up in illustrations in children's books from the 1700s. Wikipedia on Otoroshi posted:
No idea how you went from hair monster to brain with all the eyes. Music: In Darkness of a Labyrinth ~ Dungeon .jpg) .jpg) Back to it. The Blue Dragon room contains the ZAI stone which will always us to continue our tile shifting shenanigans. .jpg) But first, we need to return to the initial room, remembering to take all the stones we placed with us. I have definitely not exited out of the Remove All Stones prompt by accident multiple times at this point. No sir. .jpg) This time our aim is the White Tiger room located to the eastern side of the Dog Shrine. We'll use this configuration of stones to blaze a path to the connecting room to that segment of the dungeon. .jpg) .jpg) In the connecting room, we find another pedestal where we can slot up to four tiles. But... we only need to go to another connecting room two squares over. So this will do. Plus we don't even have four stones left. .jpg) .jpg) Besides we need at least one more stone that can bridge the gap in the corner leading to the White Tiger room and it must be a tile with north and western entrances. .jpg) .jpg) And this leads to the ZEN Stone. Which, if we read the description, is the last damned stone and will lead us to the Dog Shrine's treasure. .jpg) ...At least it will after we backtrack all the way to start. Technically we could probably ditch those stones we left on pedestals on the way here. But, I took them anyway. Just in case. So I can smash them into powder with a sledgehammer, maybe. I want a JRPG where you can just break the poo poo out of key items at the end of the dungeon. Take a sliding block and push it over a cliff into the sea. Drop that bullshit emblem into a volcano. gently caress yo dungeon! Ain't no one doing this poo poo again! .jpg) The final configuration is as follows. We need to put the ZEN stone over the Black Whatsit room on the map which will unlock the final room of the dungeon and our ultimate reward. b.jpg) If all this tile crap was hard to follow or your eyes glazed over reading it, this is the path we took to get to each room. Now take that knowledge and remove it from your brain so we can finish this... perfectly fine if you're following a guide dungeon. I was out of this place, boss and all, in less than 40 minutes. It took longer than that just to go talk to human Henri revisiting Tiffauges Castle. I'll take it. That's how low my dungeon standards in this game are now. .jpg) The ZEN tile reveals another copy and pasted room (you're not fooling me because you rotate the angle of the room and change a symbol on the wall's color, game) with a solitary generic treasure chest. You'd think a shrine with magically shifting rooms protecting a legendary artifact would have more... elaborate décor for its protected treasure and not the same chest from the wholesale chest factory. .jpg) .jpg) Investigating the chest reveals Mumeiro -- the ultimate weapon for Kurando with +219 Physical and +178 Special Attack Power. That just leaves Anastasia without her ultimate weapon and hers requires looting the final optional dungeon and ugh... Solomon's Trials. So that one's got to wait. All that aside, it's worth noting that Kurando automatically equips Mumeiro as soon as he obtains it because we're jumping straight into the boss from here. .jpg) Oh, Kurando! You did it! It's incredible! I can feel the power surging out of it... Hmm... funny. I'm suddenly feeling a cold chill down my spine and a feeling of... an obnoxious aura... Huh?.jpg) Hey... We've heard that disgusting laugh before...!The party turns around to find... .jpg)  What do you mean, "pillow ghouly guy"?! Oh no, it's Baby Head. I don't know. It looks more like he's Baby Dead to me. Grr! Heh. You know, you're right. I guess he doesn't need that pillow to float anymore? Eww... He stayed all wrinkly and gross as a ghost. At least he's transparent so I don't have to see all his oily pores..jpg) That bad premonition Aunt Saki was talking about must've been this guy. This is a sacred Inugami shrine. If you leave quietly now, we won't have to get rough with you. Oh ho ho! Such threats! Do you really think you can make me slink away? Now you're doomed! This time, I'll throw you into the depths of hell! You already did that. Twice! It didn't work. Yeah, you died last time. Give it a rest. Fools! I'll show you I'm more powerful than ever. Yuri, have you ever punched a ghost baby? Yes... ...Really...? It happens. But I have not punched an old man that looks like a baby and is a ghost. You don't see that combo a lot. Let's add that to the punch list..jpg) Music: Hardcore to the Brain ~ Mid Boss in Japan .jpg) The boss of the Dog Shrine is the ghost of Garan, Hotoke Garan. Hotoke being a term in Buddhism for a dead person's soul. So, you know. It fits. Ghost Garan is still a Dark elemental enemy with 6980 HP. .jpg) He's also accompanied by an Otoroshi (the flying brain and eye guys) which, as you'll recall, is all about casting buffs and defensive spells. So we want to nuke that thing off the board immediately. .jpg) The spectral Garan is identical to the previous two encounters only stronger and with higher-end spells of every elemental flavor and he retains a very high magic resistance even in death. And... something very peculiar happened when fighting him. His AI just... broke. .jpg) As in the previous two battles against Garan, he likes to use Mind Assault to wipe the MP of a single party member. In this case, he targeted Karen immediately. This was annoying because, having only two Crest Magic users, Karin was the one I had equipped with Arc Rage which I wanted to cast to make this battle go faster since everyone is stuck doing physical attacks. So I threw here a Mana restorative item. Which made Hotoke Garan just kind of poo poo the bed. As he just spent the rest of the battle casting Mind Assault on every member of the party. .jpg) .jpg) The battle lasted four rounds and all he did was steal MP before being punched into being double dead. I could not replicate that behavior reloading even from the turn where he started doing. I have no idea what triggered that. Music: Result ~ Victory .jpg) .jpg) Which, you know what? Fine! gently caress it! Garan doesn't does deserve a more dignified final battle than his AI making GBS threads the bed and wasting every turn before ingloriously dying a second time and nobody acknowledging his re-death. Here lies Garan. He lived as he died. Immediately forgotten. Music: In Darkness of a Labyrinth ~ Dungeon .jpg) ...It wasn't my doing. It was the power of the Mumeiro. Now I understand why it's been sealed away in the Dog Shrine all this time. It's too powerful for ordinary use... Are you going to put it back? Well... Oh no! After all that stone tile map crap you equipping that stupid sword RIGHT NOW and hanging onto it! He's right. That was kind of a huge pain.  Plus you earned defending me beating up that crusty old man ghost. Did we defeat him for good this time? Pfft. Who cares? Seriously. R-Right. That takes care of the errand. Let's go back and see Aunt Saki. <nods> All right..jpg) We are now transported back to the World Map. Let's return to Inugami Village to get a debriefing from Saki and close out this quest. As well as perhaps set the trigger for a follow-up quest we'll cover next time. .jpg) We purged the Dog Shrine of an evil spirit, Mother. And I have the Mumeiro here safe with me. <nods> Yes, I know. I was watching. You were? How? Hee hee! I was dying to find out what was going on, so I peeked into the Fountain of Sukune. <jumps back in surprise> Yikes... You mean you were watching the whole time...? You were magnificent, Kurando. What a fine young man you've become! Somewhat of an anti-climactic battle against that sorcerer's ghost. Why did he keep stealing your magic energy and nothing else? No clue. I do. That dweeb was a stupid idiot and only got stupider since he died. ...Yeah probably that. I couldn't have done it without everybody's help. That way of thinking of yours must be what made the Mumeiro allow you to pick it up. That sword chooses its own master. It won't allow anyone unworthy to wield it. I'm proud of you, Kurando. Mother... I'll allow you to take the Mumeiro with you until your journey is through. Knowing you, I'm sure you won't let its power go to your head. <nods> I won't! Well, I guess we'll be continuing our journey now, Mother. All right. Be careful out there!The party departs. .jpg) Can you see him, my husband? Ever since he met Yuri, our son has grown so much, and so quickly too.Tune in next time as Kurando might continue to grow. And lose a lot of clothing in the process... It'll make sense.   Can you believe it? We've almost burned through all the optional dungeons! I still can't see a light at the end of the tunnel. But one day... Monsters: .jpg) Only *I* have the brains to rule Lylat! .jpg) Worship me or I'll set your poo poo on fire! .jpg) Pfft. I'm dead. What do I care if my hellhound runs amuck after I'm gone? .jpg) You'll just have to take our word on it since he had text-only speech for his afterlife encounter. Characters: .jpg) Yeah, Henri is looking great for his '90s. Garan was actually only 37 and look at that trainwreck of genetics.   Dog Guardian Concept Art - Woof. The Dark Id fucked around with this message at 05:35 on Jun 16, 2021 |
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Jun 15, 2021 00:17
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I know I went through that dungeon when I played, but I absolutely do not remember it at all. The next part is less forgettable, though.
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Jun 15, 2021 00:50
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Another sucky optional dungeon complete. Congratulations.
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Jun 15, 2021 00:59
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Those 4 animals are the Four Symbols of Chinese myth, which has spread to neighbouring countries in the general Sinospehere. The black tortoise has a snake entwined around it which is why it looks a bit fucky.
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Jun 15, 2021 02:46
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That was some fresh bullshit all right.
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Jun 15, 2021 05:34
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The Dark Id posted:
I'm guessing there are some pictures missing or out of order in this part of the update? I doubt the sinister laughing happened before the congratulatory back-patting over the sword, and then nobody called Garan "pillow ghouly guy" before he got indignant about it.
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Jun 15, 2021 07:11
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When Id said that Garan came back from the dead for side quest bullshit I thought he got condemned to French Ghost Alcatraz. But nope, he decided to go after dog sword. He decided that being wizard pillow baby that going after a sword was a good idea. A sword with some sort of willpower to determine who should wield it. This ghost baby who should have had noclip enabled and since there was an omen or boding or whatever that seemed like the sword was in imminent danger faffed around until the party showed up. Ghost baby, do you even know how to use a sword, let alone one that's like twice as tall as you? Ghost baby you're the worst. Go to baby wizard ghost jail.
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Jun 15, 2021 13:36
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Here lies Stay dead this time. You won't accomplish anything anyway.
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Jun 16, 2021 04:09
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Schwartzcough posted:I'm guessing there are some pictures missing or out of order in this part of the update? I doubt the sinister laughing happened before the congratulatory back-patting over the sword, and then nobody called Garan "pillow ghouly guy" before he got indignant about it. Something hosed up. Sorry I'm on the road for work. My internet access is very limited. It should be good now.
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Jun 16, 2021 05:39
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Wait what? Garan was only 37? Wow JRPG aging hit him hard...
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Jun 17, 2021 02:44
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No he's 200 years old, TDI was making a joke.
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Jun 17, 2021 03:33
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Those nine stones are also - correcting Hei to Pyou, and Rei to Retsu - known as the Kuji-in.
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Jun 17, 2021 20:31
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Episode CXXX: Jutendouji.jpg) We're not quite done with Inugami Village or letting Kurando get some screentime. We have to actually completely exit the village and return to the World Map before immediately about-facing and reentering the town to trigger the next quest because old video games. The prerequisite to trigger this quest is completing the Dog Shrine and Yuri must have all his elemental-based Fusions unlocked. Neo Amon isn't necessary to the proceedings. But we've long since completed that task, so let's mosey back into the village. Music: Field of God-Dog ~ Village of The Dog God .jpg) What is it? What's going on? Saki seems really strange. Since early morning she's been all by herself at the Fountain of Sukune. Well, what are you worried about? She's always doing that. I would be more worried if she wasn't zoning out in there at this time of day. That would mean she's hitting the wine again. No, it's different this time! How so? No, it's different this time! Yes, I understand. How is it different? Kurando! I'm so glad you're back! I've got to talk to you! Saki seems really strange. Since early morning she's been all by herself at the Fountain of Sukune.  Nanna are you... feeling alright? No, it's different this time! All right, then. I'll go see how she is. You don't have to worry..jpg) .jpg) Back to the Fountain of Sukune we go. We are going to want to make sure Kurando's health and MP are topped off from the trials in the Dog Shrine as this is a solo Kurando side quest. Whoops, I saved the game and forgot to use a Tent and had to reload the game before realizing Kurando had full health still because Garan's AI busted hard. Oh well. Entering the unknown with an empty mana pool is also embarrassing. .jpg) Don't worry! I'll be back before you know it. Just wait here and relax. Be careful, okay? <nods> Of course. We'll just... go get lunch or something while you do your thing. Is there anywhere good to eat around the village? <grimly looks down> No. ...Oh...Kurando enters the shrine alone. .jpg) Kurando... Mother, what is it?! What's happened?! Hee hee....jpg) Last night, your dead father appeared to me in my dream. M-my father? Yes. He showed me the enemy that you and the others must ultimately face. A very prominent chin and wide build, yes? That would be him, alright. He also complained about his adventures with Yuri's father went untold in favor of frivolities in America. I did not understand those words. But the important thing he told me....jpg) <steps forward> And he said this to me: "Open Kurando's seal." My seal...?! The power of the dog guardians that guard the 8 million gods of Japan... That power is in your blood, given to you to protect this world. Kurando, I must follow the Law. It is my duty to prepare you. You must defeat me, and break out of the box that contains your power.Music: Fountain of Saint Evel ~ Spring of the Holy Demon .jpg) <grabs sword hilt> I understand. I cannot hold back. If you lose, you will die. Please forgive me, my son... my beloved. You needn't apologize. I am Inugami too. My blood is your blood! <nods> Hmm. I am surprised you decided to stand against this trial alone. I... thought I had to do so? There is nothing in the law of the seal that says you cannot have allies with you. Oh, well... I suppose it's too late for that now... Hmph. You can still call for them, if you'd like. They are waiting outside the shrine, are they not? They may have gone to get lunch. It... No, it's fine. I can do this by myself. Very well..jpg) Awaken now the true form which lives behind the façade!.jpg) Awaken now! Spirit of the Ogre!.jpg) Music: Ladder to Heaven .jpg) Solo boss battle time! Before we can do anything, Saki had things a little backward. It's not defeating her that will unlock the seal on Kurando's power. Kurando's seal has been unlocked, now he must defeat his mom. And the newfound power Kurando has unlocked? .jpg) .jpg) Changing his ethnicity, hair color, growing a horn, stripping off most of his clothing in favor of a loincloth and weird slave shackles as well as acquiring a huge rear end sword. This is Kurando's second and final Demon Morph -- Jutendouji. Which, if you cannot tell by the sword that's nearly bigger than he is, is purely a raw physical strength Fusion. Jutendouji is supposed to be Shuten-Dōji, a prominent oni king from Japanese folklore that was kind of a dick and kept kidnapping and eating villagers around Kyoto. This resulted in a band of heroes needing to go kick his rear end. Or disguise themselves as priests, get invited over to his joint, to get him completely piss drunk and decapitate him while he's too shitfaced to fight back. As heroes do. I'm uncertain if the oni king did this villainy in a loincloth. Wikipedia on Shuten-dōji posted:
Yeah, not really seeing that description fitting Kurando's current form. .jpg) Speaking of forms, our adversary is just Kouenki again. I guess that transformation earlier wasn't the dark influence of Astaroth on Saki. She... can just turn into a giant four-armed lady at will. She just happened to get mildly possessed the last time. Kurando's mother is still a Fire class elemental enemy. Though to make things fair for a solo boss battle, her health pool has been reduced to 2800 HP. She's still pretty tough if we're not careful, though. .jpg) .jpg) Kurando's Jutendouji form only has two abilities at its disposal at the moment. Ascetic's Fire, despite the name, is a Non-Elemental magic attack that costs 88 HP. It's not very impressive, doing exactly 250 HP of damage to Kouenki. .jpg) The actual only option to get anywhere is to just go ham with Jutendouji's physical attacks. Even with a Level 1 version of the Demon Morph, he is pretty goddamn strong doing 400 to 450 HP of damage with a second attack string. .jpg) .jpg) .jpg) The thing is Kouenki also hits really goddamn hard doing in the ballpark of 250-300 HP of damage per turn. So Kurando gets maybe at a risk two turns before he needs to heal up with a consumable. .jpg) Big Lady Saki also access to Energy Charge and Kurando better have at least 200 HP RIGHT NOW because that's how much damage she is going to do the next turn. If he defends and Blocks the next turn, that is. If he isn't defending, Kouenki will do over 700 HP of damage and he will die that turn. b.jpg) c.jpg) And as Saki said before the battle began, this is a real match and she will straight-up murder her son in this fight. It's going to be really hard for Saki to explain to Yuri and the gang why Kurando is a splattered corpse with a different skin color, stripped almost naked, and is wearing weird bondage chains. No part of that is going to look good for the defense team in Saki Inugami's murder trial. .jpg) .jpg) In any event, Kurando just smacks his giant lady mom with a sword a bunch and heals every other round until she takes a nap. That's pretty much the whole fight. Music: Result ~ Victory .jpg) .jpg) Kurando gets a load of experience all to himself and a hefty allowance for knocking his mother out. Again. This family is a little dysfunctional. But they are related to the Hyuga family so it is to be expected. Music: Field of God-Dog ~ Village of The Dog God .jpg) W-what the...?! I feel a burning in my chest... And an urge to go wild... These clothes... they feel so... restrictive... That's the spirit of the Ogre you have awakened. Your life will now be a struggle to keep it under control. But I know you're capable of it. Make your father proud now, as the young Inugami leader..jpg) .jpg) And nothing says leadership of a clan like rejoining a band of weirdo hobos and immediately leaving town again. .jpg) Now that we're out of cutscene and battles, let's take a quick look at Jutendouji. Like other high-end Fusions, Kurando's second Demon Morph is a Non-Elemental class. At default level, Jutendouji has:
.jpg) .jpg) But that's at Level 1. We have a decent stock of Soul Energy that's being saved for a rainy day or the End Game Fusion unlocks. We can have Kurando perform several unfortunate-looking poses to buff him to max Level 10. Which ups Jutendouji's stats to:
.jpg) Can I just note that the Fountain of Sukune has been visited for several key scenes now and this goony ventriloquist with pockets full of spoiled food has been loitering outside this entire time. You're not going to be Japan's best ventriloquist standing in the middle of the woods all day. Christ, you don't even have a puppet! Get it together, Ichizumi! .jpg) While Kurando's role in events today has concluded. There is one additional thing we can do in the village if we return to the Inugami Estate and speak with Saki one last time. .jpg) I-I, uh... Well... I wanted to talk to you, Saki... To me? What about? Speak up, and don't be shy, now. I know we haven't known each other very long but you can trust me to talk about whatever you wish. Have you seen my entourage? Other than Kurando, you are downright normal. Hee hee. Yuri seems like a fine young man, at least. ...For being his aunt, you sure don't know that guy very well.  Perhaps. So did you want? Well, I... I'm not really sure what to say... I'm worried about Kurando. He seems to have... changed somehow. Kurando? <nods> Yes. ...He seems to have gotten more... manly... more adult lately... He keeps saying he's itchy in his clothes and something about returning to monke...? I don't quite understand what's gotten into him. Tee hee hee! I'll let you in on a little secret. Kurando has recently become a man!.jpg) That's right. Don't tell anyone, all right? But Kurando has just passed his coming-of-age rite. He was swinging that big, hard thing around so roughly! I was just amazed to see what a man he'd become! <looks down and ponders> Big, hard thing...?! What a man he'd become...?! Wow, they really do things differently in Japanese families, huh? That's wild!  !? Oh, my goodness! Heavens, no! What were you thinking of, my child?! Ho ho ho! ...Actually, I guess I'm the one that was thinking something weird! Ho ho! I meant that Kurando broke his seal and resurrected the Spirit of the Ogre. He was swinging a metal rod. Understand? <shakes head rapid> Uh, I don't think so... Is this the sex talk? My mom already gave me that one and it wasn't nearly as... strange. There are some cultural differences that aren't coming across well, if so...Saki turns away embarrassed. .jpg) Huh? <turns back to Anastasia> Never mind. ...Oh, I know! I'll tell you what, Anastasia! Let me give you this. It'll look just marvelous on you!.jpg) .jpg) So we gain Anastasia's alternate costume accessory. Only the female characters gain alternate costumes. After Karin's uhh... look, and given some Cornelia's dresses, Anastasia gaining an alternate appearance could be worrying. But thankfully, it's just an inoffensive cute kimono. b.jpg) The leading weavers of the day purified raw silk in the holy fountain to create it, the ultimate garment! I kept it safe all these years, to give to the woman Kurando would someday marry. <gasp> The woman Kurando would marry?! <nods> That's right. ...And that should do the trick to repair my image, don't you think? ...Arranging a marriage for you son? Do you not want that? No, no, no! That's fine! That works! Image restored! <steps forward> And what is my image supposed to be? You remember, now, don't you? ...Um, "the beautiful, mysterious widow," was it...? <smiles and nods> There you go! And that's what I want you to say, whenever anybody asks you from now on, you got that? Especially any suitable, handsome men looking for mysterious, alluring single women. <nods> Um, yes, ma'am. (What is she getting so worked up about...?) And now you and Kurando are officially engaged! Take good care of my son! Y-yes, ma'am!.jpg) Now that Saki has offloaded Kurando, she is quitting this shrine gig, taking the next bus to the Imperial Capital, and getting her single mom drink on. That was kinda fuckin' a weird conversation to end things on... Hey, 12 year old want to marry my sixteen year old son? No, we're not going to discuss this with him. Have this cute dress and don't discuss the talk that could be mistaken for gawking at my son's penis. Now on your way, sweetie. That weird poo poo is the last time we ever take to Saki Inugami. She ended on that. .jpg) .jpg) That all said, the Autumn Dress, like Karin's alternate costume, is an Anastasia-only Accessory that has zero stat boosts and just burns an inventory slot changing Anastasia's appearance if you're into that kind of thing. .jpg) And now that we've gotten the two youngest party members hitched and taught one of them to strip down to their britches, we are officially done with business in Inugami Village for the rest of the game. Slowly but surely we are crossing more and more locations off of the World Map. One day we'll reach Asuka Stone Platform again. One day...   Video: Episode 130 Highlight Reel Juten-Kurando's Special Attacks are at the end of the video.  Jutendouji Official Art - It was important to get the detail on Kurando Butt.  Jutendouji Portrait - I'm told extremely bushy old man's eyebrows help greatly in battle.  Anastasia Alternate Costume - Anastasia is going to be the only Romanov to survive the purges because she moved to Japan and became a complete weeb.  Kurando and Anastasia Key Art - Anastasia is trying very hard not to look at Kurando's butt. The Dark Id fucked around with this message at 02:11 on Jun 19, 2021 |
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Jun 18, 2021 23:09
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+ =  ?
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Jun 18, 2021 23:25
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Yep, getting your son engaged to a 14 year old girl without talking to him first, great job Saki Inugami.
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Jun 19, 2021 00:18
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I too would have preferred a prequel adventure centering on Ben Hyuga to the Shadow Hearts 3 we got. Especially considering the timing of it- we might have seen this universe’s version of such historical figures as Theodore Roosevelt, Thomas Edison, and the Wright Brothers. I don’t know much about Asian or European history at the time, but I’m sure they would have found some interesting people in those areas too. Please share with me if you know any.
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Jun 19, 2021 03:26
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Teddy Roosevelt would have forced his way into the party. You all know this in your heart of hearts.
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Jun 19, 2021 03:46
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Hwurmp posted:
I personally accept it! Hell, I'd imagine the ending where Alice lives would have led to Calliope Mori.
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Jun 19, 2021 05:03
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Malachite_Dragon posted:Teddy Roosevelt would have forced his way into the party. You all know this in your heart of hearts. Well, not to spoil From The New World or anything, but we may or may not have had a Roosevelt in our party there!
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Jun 19, 2021 05:14
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So if I'm remembering my Shadow Hearts lore correctly, Harmonixer's normally only have one fusion available and Yuri multiclassed into main character which lets him take multiple fusions. But Kurando has two, his original and k-mart Shutendoji, was Shutendoji sealed into him when he was a baby and that's how he gets multiple fusions? Or is it a Inugami bloodline thing where they all have their original fusion and then later on awaken Shutendoji who is sealed inside their blood?
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Jun 20, 2021 18:56
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Episode CXXXI: On Further Keys and Trials of Solomon.jpg) Can you feel it? In the air... A rumbling in the distance. A feeling of unease in the pit of your stomach. It's more JRPG bullshit busywork. It approaches once again. It keeps coming. Like the endless march of time, it tramples you beneath its heel. Its name... Solomon. Music: Deep Meditation ~ Title .jpg) So we have actually obtained all but two Magic Crests in the game. One is at the end of the final optional dungeon we need to tackle and the other is a special Magic Crest obtained by all other Crests and finishing all of Solomon's Trials. So, I reckon we ought to fill in the rest of Solomon's Keys regions on the board up to this point. The Bastion of Riches is our first objective. .jpg) We're just going to go down the list unless something is too esoteric to immediately place. Andromalius is rather vague and I'm not sure if two lovely desert tents count as "treasure hordes" but it's the only location that has two of a thing on this map. So it goes there. .jpg) Valefor is adjacent to the Wilderness of War, which is the map to the northeast, and the watchtower is that central structure. So he gets placed here. .jpg) We're skipping to the back half now because the next few qualify for the "I have no idea what you're talking about without context" placements. Malphas built the watchtower. So he probably lives there, right? .jpg) This place is lousy with treasure, unlike that supposed horde of treasure in tents to the north. So Belial hangs out here. .jpg) Next to the watchtower. Wings and horns. Next to the Spring of Wisdom, which is just south of this. The horns are admittedly hard to detect at such a low resolution but they're there as is Haagenti. .jpg) A bunch of crystals and the Palace is the region right next to this location. That seems like Decarabia's home, eh? .jpg) Three dudes hanging out at a table next to the Spring of Wisdom looks like this. Let's hope nobody does a spinning lariat to Seere lest he sicks a golem on them and starts a cannibal space baby apocalypse. .jpg) We know where Seere goes and while there are two options adjacent to Seere and the watchtower... he goes here. Because that's where he goes. Look, these things aren't all entirely clear... .jpg) It seems like there is a bunch of alchemy bullshit going down here and it is next to the Palace region so Zagan finds his spot in this slot. .jpg) The west side of the watchtower is fairly clear. Shax welcome home. .jpg) And with that, we have completed the Bastion of Riches. I just replayed Bastion recently. Still, a pretty drat good game, as it turns out. I should get back into playing Hades... Anyway, completing this region of the Keys of Solomon unlocks: Andromalius - Holy Resist, Bright Banish Valefor - Heal Belial - Heat Resist, Red Cradle Zagan - Earth Resist, Rock Strike Shax - Gathering Malphas - Gale Spark, Bright Crime Haagenti - Aqua Resist, Hail Crash Decarabia - Cure Plus Seere - Air Resist, Gale Spike Cimeies - Arc Heal So top-tier magic spells and resistance to elements for the most part. The latter of which is just a waste of a turn for the most part at this point. This game is oddly starting to have a Koudelka feel of they put way too much poo poo into the battle system compared to what the actual gameplay entailed. Obviously, it's not THAT egregious. There's no PIE stat. But the amount of buffs and debuffs and levels of spells you just... do not need to engage with at all is getting to be staggering. The most I've grinded in this game is forcing a few extra battles to get Joachim out of a morph I did not want for a boss fight. It's almost entirely been just doing every random battle that comes my way with little else. The only time I ever use Crest Magic is for debuffs/buffs/healing and beyond that, just decent AOE spells to take out enemy trash mobs quickly. There is almost never a reason to use specific magic on bosses rather than characters' special techniques or physical attacks. The latter of which has a whole system tied to it that inflicts its own status effects that are far more effective than any magic debuffs as almost every boss is immune to 'em. I almost kind of think the game would be better if it forced you into a lot of specific party configurations like Shadow Hearts 1. Actually having to properly utilize Kurando for a few hours after ignoring him for a long stretch was the most interest I've had in the combat segments of the game in a while. Shadow Hearts 1 did have the folly of Yuri and Alice being just mandatory after a point since playing the game naturally they were both essential and out leveled everyone easily by quite a magnitude. .jpg) But ehh... it is what it is. Too many systems with little purpose were the name of the JRPG game for a good decade from the mid-90s to mid-aughts. Let's just live with it and move on to the second zone we're clearing out: The Spring of Wisdom. .jpg) Well, you can't get farther southeast than literally the southeast corner of the map. So I would imagine Amdusias is located here. .jpg) Giant telescope. Andrealphus. That name sounds like a weird sneeze. .jpg) This one is a little vague but this is the only spot encroaching on the Bastion's otherwise square map so Vapula goes here. .jpg) The sea region and a smokestack I suppose is an incinerator of dubious purpose are both here. As is Vine. .jpg) Astronomy is popular on this side of the map and this mansion has a telescope so Orias must hang in this spot. I skipped Valak because they are entirely contextual on other units we've yet to place. .jpg) Guy lives in the spring. Pictured Gusion's spot at a spring. .jpg) Lives next to Gusion and it looks like a bunch of nerds doing nerdy poo poo so Stolas has his place in life. .jpg) Buer is up to some freaky poo poo and two guys leering over a table at a naked corpse seems like freaky poo poo. And it's next to Gusion's spring so Buer does depravity here. .jpg) Next to Gusion and the Palace slots nicely here for Foras's joint. .jpg) Another vague one but there is only the one available slot net to Stolas so I would guess this nondescript slot is for Botis. .jpg) Guy has a tower. We have a tower. Marbas lives here. .jpg) Yeah, he knows gems, looking at stars and "medicine." There's only one slot next to Amdusias and that's where local drug dealer Marax slings his wears. .jpg) There is only one space available adjacent to the central spring so Ronove finds a spot here getting high off fumes from the incinerator like a weirdo. .jpg) There is only a single slot that is connected to Buer and it's not near the other two guys he doesn't like. So Valak's haunt is right here. .jpg) There's only one final slot left and not being next to Marax isn't too clear a hint. Whatever. By order of elimination, Naberius is squatting here. .jpg) And that is the Spring of Wisdom eliminated from the board. It yields: Vapula - Arc Rage Stolas - Arc Cure Botis - Gathering Naberius - Arc Gale Foras - Raise Up Gusion - Resurrection Buer - Cure All Orias - Earth Edge, Heat Edge Marbas - Air Edge, Dark Edge Ronove - Aqua Edge, Holy Edge Valak - Arc Barrier Andrealphus - Entrance Vine - Arc Mirage Marax - Arc Heal Amdusias - Arc Shield Way more a support suite of buffs and protection on this end which makes them far more likely to get some use. .jpg) .jpg) The central area of the Key of Solomon is the Palace of Transgression and it is home to all the boss-related Magic Crests such as Asmodeus, Astaroth, and all the ones the demon bosses at the end of the optional endgame dungeons have been dropping. We still have one of those to tackle so we'll leave this region be for the time being and back out of Solomon's Keys. .jpg) But we're not done with the good old king of Israel yet. Unfortunately, we're going to go take some time to burn through another set of Solomon's Trials back in Turkey. Music: Spiritualization ~ Holy Land of God .jpg) ...... Why the long face? Well, I keep doing these trials, but for every one I complete, there seem to be two new ones to do! It's getting to be a grind. A grind where I don't get XP. The worst kind of grind... <holds out arms> As you overcome the trials, your power gets ever closer to that of King Solomon. Don't you feel honored?.jpg) ...... The prizes haven't even been that good for the effort. I've at least gotten some story or SOMETHING interesting out of other diversions. This just a retooled pit fight some dangerous magic orphans used to do back in London and the back of a seedy bar in Shanghai. Before it exploded. Nonsense. This is a storied trial lasting eons to hone the skills of warriors such as yourself. C'mon, lady I'm picking fights off a list. I did this same thing with a soul-stealing 12-year-old with an options menu written in crayon. ...... Look, I've never met this Solomon guy! I don't know anything about him... .......jpg) ...... T-take it easy, Yuri! She's just doing her job. You can't do anything getting mad at her. You're going to need to speak to her manager to get anywhere. You're just upsetting her. Huh?! Oh! Sorry! A-are you angry?.jpg) Look, I'm sorry! I-I said too much! I'm really sorry! Please, don't be mad, okay? ...Will you do the trial? O-of course! Sure I'll do it! <nods> Very well! Let's get on with it before you change your mind. Are you ready? Fiiiiine. It's my duty to test you. Do you want to attempt a more difficult trial? Yeah! Bring it on!.jpg) That spiel was actually introducing the Trial of Embodiment which is unlocked by visiting Asuka Stone Platform and initiating the endgame quests. We'll tackle that next time. Today we're going to burn our way through the Trial of Worshipper set which was unlocked following our visit to the Immortal Mountain and Nicolai's death. And... oh gently caress me, I have to use most of the characters I haven't touched since they stopped being plot relevant? And they can only use magic. Which, other than Blanca, that checks out. I just need to take a few minutes to equip everyone with idle Crest Magic of the AOE variety to make this go as swiftly as possible and... .jpg) Music: Vicious 1915 ~ Battle in Europe .jpg) The game kind of knows you definitely have neglected at least a couple of these characters. There is no way you've been having multiple magic-oriented users. Hell, the reason Blanca is my utility character is he's decent at magic and can actually hit worth a drat if need be. Gepetto, Lucia, and Anastasia are wet rags physically. .jpg) To that end, they're throwing fairly low-risk encounters from late Disc 1 and early Disc 2's proceedings at us. Such as a pair of Emptiness, two Lemures, and a Danters from Apoina Tower Disc 1 end. .jpg) Then we've got a trio of Koshoki that were rapidly spawned from the science magic wolf tearing up poo poo at the Imperial Capital's streets. .jpg) Against all odds, there are still a couple of remaining Steel Soldiers and a Flying Drone X that survived the Hojo Research Laboratory massacre. We'll fix that right quick. .jpg) Mutant Snails from the Forest of Wind that if you'd neglected any optional content you'd never fight to make the penultimate round of the benchwarmer party and the good boy. .jpg) And finally, the magic-only team has to take on the Armored Fighter the Mutant Apes tangoed against within the Ouka dungeon from early on in Disc 2. .jpg) So I decided to something stupid here and gave Lucia a second chance to redeem herself and the Tarot Card disaster of the SG Italian Branch Incident. .jpg) I'm willing to give most people a second chance to turn it around. .jpg) MOTHERFUCKER!!!! .jpg) Immediately after that Armored Fighter just kicked the living poo poo out of Lucia and I didn't even bother to revive her before finishing the fight. Just toss her limp corpse off the edge of this astral plane. Nobody will miss her. .jpg) .jpg) I can't loving believe Lucia screwed me again. That boss fight redux went three extra rounds because I had to get everyone's HP and MP back up and fix Gepetto from going Berserk. Lucia stayed dead. Don't even look at this lie of her climbing to her feet as though she contributed to completing the trial. Pah! .jpg) .jpg) Silver Angel four of five is collected from completing the first level of the Worshipper trials. As with the final Magic Crest, the last Silver Angel is kept in the remaining dungeon crawl we'll be venturing toward in our next adventure. .jpg) Worshipper, Level 2 is the other half of the party being barred from using any magic. That's perfectly fine. There are no random Tarot Cards to hurt us... .jpg) Up first on the docket here is another trio of dog spawn Koshoki. .jpg) A fire sale on remaining mechas from the Hojo Laboratory with a trio of Beetle Walkers and another Flying Drone X. .jpg) The Towd, Enku, and Yomi Samurai denizens of Garan's Purgatory. Not to be mistaken from the Otherworld. .jpg) Five more Mutant Snails. You ever had escargot? I did once since I'll try any food while traveling if it's put in front of me and has observably been eaten by another human and they didn't start foaming out of the mouth and drop dead. It tastes kind of like an earthy chicken if it had the texture of say... a clam, I suppose. I was not big on it. .jpg) Finally, Garan back in his Purgatory's Yama Garan form is here for one last go at it with a trio of Enku minions. .jpg) .jpg) It goes the way it always goes for Garan. With him dying again and nobody caring he existed. The Trial of Worshipper 2 is down! .jpg) We gain another Ultra Belt here. I was actually very incorrect about the Steps mini-game providing the only one of those. I have four now from the optional dungeons and this. It's just the top-tier belt accessory that you cannot buy from normal means. .jpg) There are only three trials in the Worshipper class and the final one is a party with one member down and Fast Ring in effect. Everything else is a go. .jpg) We'll take Yuri, Karin, and Blanca as our crew by sheer virtue of Joachim's Judgment Ring is a wee bit harder to hit than Blanca's when I need to react to Fast Ring status. .jpg) We're jumping around for this set of battles. We're all the way back to the Otherworld (not to be mistaken with Purgatory) of our first Garan encounter with a Gaki, Pera-pera, and a pair of Noh Masks. .jpg) There's still a flash sale on mechas at the Solomon's Trials with two Beetle Walkers, a Flying Drone X, and Steel Soldier from the Hojo Labs. .jpg) We're back to the Purgatory party with four Enku and the designated driver Yomi Samurai. .jpg) Joining the party late are a Towd, Yomi Samurai, and Enku. .jpg) And finally, that dog that got turned into a monster beast by shocking Nicolai's balls too hard, Shoki, is the last challenge of the Worshipper level of Solomon's Trials. .jpg) .jpg) Yeah... an early Disc 2 boss is not particularly taxing. And that completes our session of Solomon's Trials for today. Music: Spiritualization ~ Holy Land of God .jpg) .jpg) Our final reward for completing Trial of the Worshipper is the Dragonfangs the... second-best weapon set for Yuri. They boast +195 Physical and +177 Special Attack Power and we'll never equip them because we already have obtained his superior ultimate weapon for much less effort... .jpg) Thanks for nothing, Solomon's Trials! Goddammit, I don't believe I still need to come back here for one more update later. It's endless this endgame! .jpg) I know Solomon's Bullshit is not the most engaging content for the LP. So let's just go and initiate the steps for the final dungeon of optional engagement we'll be crawling through next go around. For this, we need to return to Le Havre. Music: Town of Twilight ~ European Town .jpg) Particularly, we need to enter Granny Lot's bar on the southern end of the town. Not to talk to her. Her relevance evaporated as soon as we had Joachim formally join the party. .jpg) No, we want to speak with this fellow, Drunken Gauss who is getting sauced at one in the afternoon and looks suspiciously like the drunkard we encountered in the bar in the Port of Southampton. n.jpg) <waves hand around face> Gak! You smell! How much have you been drinking?! Yes! Yes is not an amount. <hic> Yes it is! Hello...! You people come to drink too? <hiccup> Lemme buy you one. I just made a whole bunch of money. I can't use it up all by myself... <steps forward> Buy us a drink? Well, if you're sure you don't mind... Back off, Gramps! He's offering. It'd be rude to refuse. Yeah, you're still on thin ice for that whole haunted house thing and having your daughter's soul in the doll that is creeping us all out. Yuck! It stinks here. Do we have to stay? Aw, don't be that way. We can stay! Just for a little while, okay? You freeloaders need to buy something if you're going to stay! Hey, lady. We saved your adopted children and got the mob off your back. Yeah, six months ago! That's not paying toward my goddamn rent! Buy a drink or beat it! She's got a point. You are not getting a drink on the party's funds. Hmph! I went on a trip and got lost in some strange woods. Then I found some glowing flowers in all different colors! I picked 'em and brought 'em back, and made tons of money! Now I don't even feel like working anymore. <hiccup> ...Glowing flowers in all different colors? Tell me more about them. Mister!.jpg) The flowers talk? Don't remember what they said. I don't usually listen even to people! Anyway, the flowers were deep in that forest. Are you sure you weren't just drunk? Or high? Or both? Oh, most definitely. But those talking flowers sobered me right up, I'll tell you what! ...Say, everybody. I want to go there! What? You want to go?.jpg) But I want to go! I want to go! Please? Please?! Let's go, everybody!! Pleeease? We should really get back on task... We just spent the entire day messing with a puzzle board and flew to Turkey to do magic simulation fights. We took an entire day doing a haunted mansion for your weird puppeteer friend. We've been all over the world doing Blanca's dog fighting! Karin had that dungeon of ghost busting! Anastasia made us go through the same dungeon a second time! ...Yeah OK that sucked. Kurando just got to get some weird sword and yell at his mom. Joachim has his bat family problems. I've not gotten to do anything special! ...You haven't really done anything since you joined us. Oh, and you're one to talk! ...I interject occasionally...  Well it's my turn now to do something and I wanna do this! <hic> You tell 'em girl! Yikes! Fine, fine! We'll go. We'll go, right, everybody? Oh, boy! Thanks! We'll all go, then!.jpg) .jpg) And with that, the last of the optional dungeons unlocks -- The Black Forest. Guess where our adventures take us next time!   Lucia Expression Concept Art - Lucia is desperately trying to remember how many edibles she ate and it's hitting hard.
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Jun 23, 2021 01:50
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If you see a small bird in the Black Forest, don’t attack it.
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Jun 23, 2021 02:20
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AweStriker posted:If you see a small bird in the Black Forest, don’t attack it. Similarly, try not to mind that you're being watched at all times...
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Jun 23, 2021 03:04
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| # ? May 24, 2024 14:18 |
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Ugh, I remember the Black Forest dungeon. It was awful. I think my party abandoned Lucia somewhere inside it, and had Gepetto make a doppelgänger doll of her to throw off suspicions that we lugged around the rest of the game.
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Jun 23, 2021 04:26
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