RPG Thread: SaGa Emeril Beyond

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FireWorksWell: Nov 27, 2014; Let's go do some hero shit!

Max Wilco posted:

I was playing as Claude, and I remember I had to restart a few times before I got the Dexterity perk.

Why did you have to restart? I'm unfamiliar with SO gameplay.

# ? Oct 31, 2023 23:06

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# ? Jun 1, 2024 06:43

fridge corn: Apr 2, 2003; NO MERCY, ONLY PAIN

NikkolasKing posted:

In terms of your more notable JRPG composers, Sakuraba gets far and away the most hate in my experience. But having first heard him with Baten Kaitos, and also heard his efforts in SO3 and 4, I like him a lot. He has a very obvious style but so what.

SO4 had some arrangements of SO1 and 2 music which were among the best tracks in the game.

His soundtrack for Valkyrie Profile is absolutely sick nasty and goated

# ? Oct 31, 2023 23:10

Endorph: Jul 22, 2009

most of the distaste for sakuraba comes from the later tales games where he seems to really be phoning it in. id say everything from vesperia to his work on zestiria is indistinguishable mush. (zestiria has good songs, but they're by go shiina.)

# ? Oct 31, 2023 23:12

Inspector Gesicht: Oct 26, 2012; 500 Zeus a body.

Remind me, what's Motoi Sakuraba in paycheque mode?

# ? Oct 31, 2023 23:14

LibrarianCroaker: Mar 30, 2010

FireWorksWell posted:

Why did you have to restart? I'm unfamiliar with SO gameplay.

If memory serves, while most talents can be learned by using skills, Dexterity can't, and Dexterity is really important for pickpocketing, a thing which you wanted to do mostly when your party is split up and you only have your MC.

# ? Oct 31, 2023 23:15

Endorph: Jul 22, 2009

Inspector Gesicht posted:

Remind me, what's Motoi Sakuraba in paycheque mode?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-iws0WehOA

# ? Oct 31, 2023 23:18

Max Wilco: Jan 23, 2012; I'm just trying to go through life without looking stupid.

It's not working out too well...

ImpAtom posted:

I would not. The remake sounds like it's like 70% the same.

Chaotic Flame posted:

Unless you just REALLY want to compare the original with the remake, there's no reason to replay the original with the remake two days away

I kind of wanted to compare the two, but I suppose I could always just look up a playthrough of the original on YouTube to see.

FireWorksWell posted:

Why did you have to restart? I'm unfamiliar with SO gameplay.

LibrarianCroaker posted:

If memory serves, while most talents can be learned by using skills, Dexterity can't, and Dexterity is really important for pickpocketing, a thing which you wanted to do mostly when your party is split up and you only have your MC.

Yeah. From the Before I Play entry:

https://beforeiplay.com/index.php?title=Star_Ocean:_The_Second_Story posted:

Reset the game repeatedly until your main character - either Claude or Rena - has Dexterity. Play the game as normal until after Cross, when you have Celine and get the mission to go to the cave. Get Sensibility 1 and 2, from Cross and Herlie.

# ? Oct 31, 2023 23:19

Mr. Trampoline: May 16, 2010

Endorph posted:

most of the distaste for sakuraba comes from the later tales games where he seems to really be phoning it in. id say everything from vesperia to his work on zestiria is indistinguishable mush. (zestiria has good songs, but they're by go shiina.)

Sakuraba is good when he has time but I started noticing when he seems uninspired or rushed to do a game's score around when I first played Tales of Rebirth, where some tracks it seems like he has 4 or 5 song ideas that he's mashed together to try and make a full song

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lyWgII06Eeo

This one for example. There's also just some Sakuraba-isms like battle track themes that overuse glissandos which I personally find noisy

# ? Oct 31, 2023 23:19

Endorph: Jul 22, 2009

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=inkynlZfW0M

i liked this song in xillia that was incredibly poorly audio balanced so itd just overwhelm all midbattle dialog and drown it out

# ? Oct 31, 2023 23:20

Phantasium: Dec 27, 2012

Inspector Gesicht posted:

Remind me, what's Motoi Sakuraba in paycheque mode?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yjwiNfPmc7E

# ? Oct 31, 2023 23:20

Phantasium: Dec 27, 2012

Also there's like 8 games that have a world map theme like this

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V7CKPuJlrSU

# ? Oct 31, 2023 23:23

Endorph: Jul 22, 2009

the later tales games do have some occasional good sakuraba songs mind, like fury sparks, mad dance, until the sword is exhausted, but he only seems to have managed like one or two per game for a while there.

Berseria has some decent character themes and Arise has a bit more effort in most of its songs (even if there's still only a couple i'd call real highlights,) so hopefully he's on the upswing. Might just be a result of them not cranking out Tales games every couple years anymore, though.

# ? Oct 31, 2023 23:23

Endorph: Jul 22, 2009

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrM_MDiS8oY

otoh they reused this song for like 7 games straight

# ? Oct 31, 2023 23:24

Max Wilco: Jan 23, 2012; I'm just trying to go through life without looking stupid.

It's not working out too well...

The only Motoi Sakaruba work that I'm really familiar with is the Dark Souls 1 soundtrack, which is pretty iconic, but...I dunno, there's always been something off about some of the songs to me. Not bad, necessarily, but some sort of odd quality to the compositions, or the instrumentation.

There is the album he did with Deja Vu (Baroque of the Future). I've been meaning to check it out. I listened to the track Prelude while typing this out, and I think it's pretty good (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NpudqxTPesQ).

With what I played of SO2, I remember the track you hear in the first town starts to get really grating after it loops for the hundredth time. However, I recall the battle theme pretty easily.

# ? Oct 31, 2023 23:27

Ibram Gaunt: Jul 22, 2009

Lunacid 1.0 is out and its good. Started over to experience it fresh after not playing in over a year.

# ? Oct 31, 2023 23:44

Tired Moritz: Mar 25, 2012; wish Lowtax would get tired of YOUR POSTS

_{_{(n o i c e)}}

motoi channeled all their energy into valkyrie profile 2

# ? Oct 31, 2023 23:45

Caphi: Jan 6, 2012; INCREDIBLE

Endorph posted:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrM_MDiS8oY

otoh they reused this song for like 7 games straight

It's a banger but it gets more forgettable each time, and not just on account of repetition. Vesperia was close to the last Tales that used synth instrumentation; somewhere in the PS3 era everything turned into big epic orchestra and it makes it sound just that bit more like mush.

# ? Nov 1, 2023 00:03

kirbysuperstar: Nov 11, 2012; Let the fools who stand before us be destroyed by the power you and I possess.

Tired Moritz posted:

motoi channeled all their energy into valkyrie profile 2

worth it

# ? Nov 1, 2023 00:03

OneDeadman: Oct 16, 2010; [SUPERBIA]

There was a time where I really disliked Sakura because there was like 3 songs in each of his games that sounded like a remix of some rando SO2 track. But I�ve mellowed out on that.

# ? Nov 1, 2023 00:07

Sakurazuka: Jan 24, 2004; NANI?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WGerHt-FoPM

Still does good stuff whenever he gets to do a new prog rock album (Star Ocean game).

# ? Nov 1, 2023 00:30

Sakurazuka: Jan 24, 2004; NANI?

On the other hand he got chance to do a new Valkyrie ost and turned in a Dark Souls one instead.

# ? Nov 1, 2023 00:39

Oxxidation: Jul 22, 2007

i ran star ocean 3's bonus dungeon so many times that those sax chords are stuck in my head to this day

# ? Nov 1, 2023 00:40

The Colonel: Jun 8, 2013; I commute by bike!

yeah i have no hate for sakuraba's style he just, does a lot of boring work on his "main" rpg series.

like contrast this song

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=alsfCwHBZNI

with any given tales boss theme he composed in the ps3 era and it's like. incomparable

# ? Nov 1, 2023 01:42

Phantasium: Dec 27, 2012

# ? Nov 1, 2023 02:50

Xalidur: Jun 4, 2012

I dig his Baten Kaitos stuff the most, even as a Dark Souls Enjoyer. The Valedictory Elegy is still my favorite JRPG normal battle theme after all this time, and it's remixed into boss battle themes in cool ways.

# ? Nov 1, 2023 03:46

Electric Phantasm: Apr 7, 2011; YOSPOS

I'm more of a Sports Sakuraba guy myself

https://youtu.be/rUvGu6OwWCY?si=AL1ryh0XRdWRXw36

https://youtu.be/yM3Wu3j-Vgo?si=H0MMZrSGnfpbe4Ld

# ? Nov 1, 2023 04:52

kirbysuperstar: Nov 11, 2012; Let the fools who stand before us be destroyed by the power you and I possess.

https://old.reddit.com/r/BlueReflection/comments/16vwn2r/okay_i_need_to_tell_you_guys_about_suns_latest/

quote:

So as someone who understands Japanese to an extent, I�ve been playing Sun and following its story since launch, because I love Tie and hate myself. I�ve considered in the past posting story summaries or impressions on here, but decided against it out of a lack of motivation and because I don�t know how much interest in there is in Sun�s story around here. But when I played today�s update, I said to myself:

I must tell them what has happened here today. The people need to know.

And here I am.

When we last left off, our hero and heroines were in a pinch! Their operation had been outed to their enemies in the heavy industries faction by way of a spy among the support unit (we never meet the spy or the support unit), and now they are under attack by Uta�s subordinate Mai and her squad of controllable Testa (that�s what they call the monsters in Sun). All seems lost, and Yukiko laments that her operation plan put them in this situation. The ever-gallant Leader-kun tells her it will be alright, as long as they still make this mission a success. But how, she asks? First, he pulls out two ��military uniforms�� covered in holes in strange places specially made to make the girls stronger and more ether efficient (wonder why they don�t use these all the time�) and gives them to Meiqi and Yukiko to wear. Next, he says that judging by the situation, Uta must be nearby, and that he has a plan to deal with her once and for all.

Skipping ahead to the important bits, they split up, everybody fights, Meiqi�s afraid of ghosts joke, Shiho goes Super Saiyan and beats all the minions (note: this SS Shiho has already been playable for over half a year even though this is the first time she�s used this form), yadda yadda yadda. Long story short, it�s time to confront Uta and Mai.

Now mind you, it would be an exaggeration to say that the villains are completely cornered. They�re outnumbered, sure, but Uta hasn�t even transformed yet, and I seem to recall it being implied last chapter that these two are significantly stronger than the main party. At the very least, the pair seems fully capable of escaping still. Leader-kun seems to disagree with me on these points, however, and so he takes this opportunity to reveal his aforementioned �plan� to deal with Uta, the kind of plan that you would only reveal when you�re sure you�ve already won the battle. So he walks up to Uta, and says to her:

I�m going to enslave you.

That�s right, Leader-kun reveals that he can use his special protagonist power, which he has used in the past to buff his team and enter people�s hearts via the Common, like a slave crest straight out of a lovely isekai anime. He claims that he can put some kind of seal on Uta�s heart that will allow him to control her and stop her if she ever tries to hurt them. At this point, you would expect any sane person being told this to call bullshit, or fight back, or book it. Mai is ready to fight, at least.

But as we all know, Uta is not a sane person. Far from being skeptical or angry or afraid, the suggestion turns her on. The idea of being forcibly enslaved to a low-ranking weakling like Leader-kun�she practically salivates at the thought. So without fighting even once, she allows him to go through with this plan. And just like that, you can now roll for Uta in the gacha and add her to your team. That�s not all; one of her playable versions features her in a skimpy cat girl outfit with a collar, which we learn from the currently running event story that she wears into combat to show everyone that Leader-kun has �collared� her. Her Reflector form, meanwhile, is not playable.

So, well, that just happened. Though for the record, the last line of the event story implies that Uta already has a plan to get out of her servitude (or possibly that it never worked to begin with) and she�s just playing along until it she gets bored. Still though, Blue Reflection Sun amirite?

TL;DR: In Blue Reflection Sun�s latest story update the male protagonist �enslaved� Uta and she let it happen because she�s a crazy masochist.

well we had a good run of 1 (one) good game

# ? Nov 1, 2023 07:00

FractalSandwich: Apr 25, 2010

kirbysuperstar posted:

https://old.reddit.com/r/BlueReflection/comments/16vwn2r/okay_i_need_to_tell_you_guys_about_suns_latest/

well we had a good run of 1 (one) good game

Not sure I'm willing to take some random Redditor at their word on that one.

# ? Nov 1, 2023 07:20

Sakurazuka: Jan 24, 2004; NANI?

kirbysuperstar posted:

https://old.reddit.com/r/BlueReflection/comments/16vwn2r/okay_i_need_to_tell_you_guys_about_suns_latest/

well we had a good run of 1 (one) good game

Two good games and a good anime

# ? Nov 1, 2023 08:27

kirbysuperstar: Nov 11, 2012; Let the fools who stand before us be destroyed by the power you and I possess.

Sakurazuka posted:

Two good games and a good anime

oh right the anime

I dunno about BR1 being 'good' though I guess it's better than some of the other stuff Gust was doing at the time (NoA1/2 lol)

# ? Nov 1, 2023 08:30

Endorph: Jul 22, 2009

kirbysuperstar posted:

https://old.reddit.com/r/BlueReflection/comments/16vwn2r/okay_i_need_to_tell_you_guys_about_suns_latest/

well we had a good run of 1 (one) good game

that doesnt even make sense with uta's characterization

shes not a masochist, her whole thing is that shes emotionally numb, so the only thing she can feel is either literal physical pain or extreme emotional pain. shes not a generic wacky masochist her whole deal is trying to escalate the stakes in hopes she'll finally find something that excites her. this'd be the last thing she wants.

# ? Nov 1, 2023 09:00

Meowywitch: Jan 14, 2010; Fight for all that is beautiful in the world

Maybe that guy really wants to create a new criminal girls game or something

# ? Nov 1, 2023 09:03

Endorph: Jul 22, 2009

Meowywitch posted:

Maybe that guy really wants to create a new criminal girls game or something

criminal girls was written by the writer of ff14 shadowbringers so it was also better written than that

# ? Nov 1, 2023 09:04

FractalSandwich: Apr 25, 2010

kirbysuperstar posted:

oh right the anime

I dunno about BR1 being 'good' though I guess it's better than some of the other stuff Gust was doing at the time (NoA1/2 lol)

I liked Nights of Azure 1.

# ? Nov 1, 2023 09:28

Thuryl: Mar 14, 2007; My postillion has been struck by lightning.

Nights of Azure at least had the good sense to realize it existed as a yuri delivery vehicle and replace the weird creepy dude side characters with weird creepy lady side characters in the sequel

# ? Nov 1, 2023 10:12

FractalSandwich: Apr 25, 2010

Thuryl posted:

Nights of Azure at least had the good sense to realize it existed as a yuri delivery vehicle and replace the weird creepy dude side characters with weird creepy lady side characters in the sequel

Not to be confused with the Vostok 1, which was a different kind of Yuri delivery vehicle.

# ? Nov 1, 2023 10:22

Kanos: Sep 6, 2006; was there a time when speedwagon didn't get trolled

The hardest part about the SO2 remake is trying to figure out who I'm cramming into my party on the first run, because 6 party slots(plus Claude and Rena) gets very tight when I simultaneously want to use my old favorites and also test if they improved some of the more lackluster characters.

# ? Nov 1, 2023 13:02