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 I've played several RPGs, and as of yet I can't think of any quite like this one. Eternal Mana is a game that I think of as being far less than the sum of it's parts – it has many great ideas, and a couple less great but still kinda neat ideas, and yet on the whole it comes across as largely generic. The main characters are okay but largely forgettable, and the main plot is nothing to write home about, either. The gameplay is a bit better; there are several interesting and unusual mechanics, some of which were implemented well, others that weren't so much. As I said, though, there are several parts of the game that I think really deserve credit, and I hope to show them off with this LP. Some of the NPCs are surprisingly well developed, even more so than the main characters. In particular, a few of the shopkeepers have intricate and engrossing backstories that you can witness – or ignore – throughout the game. On a related note, this game puts a great deal of focus on item creation, with two main systems that allow you to make new and better stuff as you get through the game. Fortunately, I enjoy the game well enough despite it's mediocre parts, and so I'm here to show off the whole thing for you all so you can get the good bits without having to sit through too terribly much of the bad. As far as participation goes, you will of course be allowed to pick my party as the game progresses, and perhaps decide in what order I do things whenever we a bunch of options. As usual, please keep spoilers in tags, and try not to veer into spoilers for the rest of the series. And of course, please let me know if theres a Cool Thing you want me to show off, especially if it's missable. So sit back and join me on a trip to Regallzine, in search of the best things this land has to offer... Update 1: The Weakling Update 2: Galgazits Update 3: Fire and Destruction Update 4: Daphne's Book Update 5: Mushrooms and Magoo Update 6: The Item Co-Lector Update 7: The Catgirl Update 8: Wings Update 9: Puni Update 10: Bread and Bread Related Things Update 11: Stone Update 12: Their Healers Outnumber Mine Update 13: Sidetracked Update 14: Fort Galga Update 15: Spare Change Update 16: The Other Wind Mana Update 17: Books Update 18: Delsus is a Jerk Update 19: Groovecube Update 20: Please Don't Stand On Our Huge Game Table Update 21: The Land of Mana Update 22: Prism Update 23: Crafting Craft Update 24: Atelier Bunny? Update 25: Aroma Salts Update 26: The Lady Knight Update 27: Where's Rurona? Update 28: Pieces of the World Update 29: Rosie Ann Update 30: No Healing Allowed Update 31: Corrida de Toros Update 32: Extreme Poison Update 33: Unnecessary Precaution Update 34: Revenge of the Puni Brothers Update 35: Frozen lithograph Update 36: Apprentice Blacksmithing Update 37: Pale Wing Update 38: Seduction Update 39: Ups and Downs Update 40: Get Smart Update 41: Hardcore Archery Beatdown Update 42: Dessert Overload Imminent Update 43: Night on the Cliff Update 44: The Chronolex Update 45: False Start Update 46: Deceitful Wings Update 47: A Gentleman and/or a Scholar Update 48: In Search of Candy Update 49: All The Items Update 50: Three Little Pigs Update 51: Postgame Postscript Post Overrated Sage fucked around with this message at 06:52 on Nov 13, 2014 |
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Feb 5, 2014 08:56
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Update 1: The Weakling Watch the intro here! Music: White Night Illusion           You may be wondering what all that was about. I'm afraid I don't have much to say on the subject, but I'm at least fairly certain that the monster pictured two images up is an actual boss fought at some point or another.  Music: Genesis I'm starting a fresh playthrough, which is to say that I deleted my old files and things a while back. In retrospect I wish I still had my old file so I'd still have the bonuses (which includes music tracks, and thus the ability to record the songs myself) available. Oh well.  The options don't have anything unusual, but I like the text speed options. Lazy or Bam. That's catchy. Now, then, let's get a new game started.     Klein, do you remember the day we met? Of course I do. I have no idea why this particular line is significant enough to get it's own black screen. Music: Voiceless Poem       I can't do anything... Music: The Forest Where the Witch Lives   The cat girl turns right around and leaves again.  ...I hope she knows what she's doing.  Meow! I'll think of something! Music: Mana, Noisy Time Water Creature: Mana is waning again... You might be wondering why the game is showing us all these snippets. Honestly, you don't need to worry about them too much. The game will get to a more or less coherent narrative shortly.    Mystery Man: I'll definitely need the Ruby Prism's power... This man has a silky, vaguely British voice. I'm not really an expert on Japanese media but that usually means the speaker is completely trustworthy and pure of heart, right?   Huff...huff...Oh, man. Did we lose him? Shh! Keep it down!   Music: Alchemic Blast Shoot...out of elements! How could this get any worse?   Huh? That strike should have finished him off... Wh-Who're you? Less talk, more fighting! I'd take a moment to discuss battle mechanics here, but this fight is literally just attack it until it runs away. We'll get into that stuff later when there's actually something to talk about.   Music: The Laughable Pair (thanks to pichupal for finding this for me!) I'm fine. I haven't seen you around here before. Are you a traveler? You could say that. Traveling alone is dangerous for weaklings! What?!...I could have killed it myself if I hadn't run out of elements! Of coooouuuurse you could have...What kind of jerk makes such a lame excuse?  …... There's a town nearby called Kavoc. How about I show you around? I don't need any help. I've been doing just fine on my own. Okay. Well, be careful.Lita strolls off to the south, leaving Klein more or less alone in the forest.  ...Guess I really am a jerk. I bet you like her! Klein and some girl, sittin' in a tree, K-I-S-S-ehuheehuhee! Don't start. C'mon, let's go. Music: The Forest of Meeting We finally have control of Klein. As this sign suggests, this is one of those RPGs that tries to incorporate mild platforming elements. For the most part this just means having the novelty to jump around and climb stuff, but there are a few more things that we can do as the game progresses that encourage exploration. Let's try and leave through the north exit.  Oh. Well, that's a problem. We don't get sucked into a new fight, but the game won't let us proceed until Klein can fight back.  The game points our attention to these giant rocks. Let's see what's so interesting about them.  Huh? Uh, sure, okay.  Music: Popo's Pleasant Money Lecture Through various tutorials, I will explain how to play this game to the fullest. I'll try to keep things as basic as possible, so try not to get too discouraged. For this lecture, Klein will be my special assistant. You have an important job, so don't mess it up. Why are you so bossy all of the sudden? Don't worry about it. I'm trying to help with your adventure. In this lecture, we'll cover a very important-  But not everything has an element to extract. That's right, Klein. To simplify, why don't you demonstrate for them? You can rotate the Action Dial with the L1 and R1 buttons. Face the object, take a deep breath, and press the square button.  It disappears, just like that! And, simple as pie, you've collected the object's element. Try this as often as you can – there's no such thing as too many elements. Hey! That was pretty low... And so our first tutorial ends with physical violence. Honestly, I think the tutorials are...well, I guess I wouldn't call them an active pro of the game, but they make a genuine attempt to be interesting while still getting their point across, and you have the option to skip them. I'm going to transcribe a couple more, and you guys can decide if you want me to keep doing so or just paraphrase them in my own words.  For example, that last tutorial simply explains that if Klein hits things with his staff, he can turn them into Elements. There are a lot of different Elements in this game...Water, Fire, Power, Holy, Spirit, all kinds of stuff. This rock offers 24 Water Elements and 6 Dark Elements. But what exactly are these useful for, anyway?    Oh yeah, there's this semi-hidden area in the tree. Feather Charms provide a very modest boost to some of your elemental defenses. Not great, but better than an empty slot.   Music: Alchemic Blast So here's the deal. Klein is an alchemist, and he uses Elements to create Alchemy Items. Every Alchemy Item requires a certain number of one (or more) Elements.  For example, he can use three Water Elements to create one use of Bomb Ice. Currently, this is the only Alchemy Item we can use, but we'll find plenty more as the game goes on. I think of it as a sort of MP analog. Instead of consuming MP to use his alchemy, Klein consumes Elements instead. That's an oversimplification of things, but more or less works to describe the core concept.    For comparison, Lita was doing 70-80 damage with her physical attacks, and Klein was doing a mere 20, so this blows those out of the water (no pun intended). Alchemy is this game's bread and butter, and subsequently Klein is the most versatile and probably most valuable character for winning fights.  Will you stop bringing her up?  Hm...I bet there's an adventure to be had there. C'mon, Popo. Let's head into town.  Music: Iris Long ago, there was a city that was highly regarded as the ultimate paradise. Avenberry, the legendary city in the sky. It was a city built by an advanced civilization. A civilization that communicated with Mana, the spirits of the land, for help and guidance. Those who received the guidance of Mana possessed special powers. They were called Alchemists.  Alchemists and the Mana spirits promised Avenberry eternal prosperity. However, the era of Avenberry came to a sudden end. Nobody knows what happened. Only a single ancient text hinted to the mystery of its disappearance. “Civilizations that undermine the value of life will fail.” Several hundred years later...Avenberry, the city in the sky, had become a popular destination for adventurers seeking the vast treasures hidden within. And the city of Kavoc was build as the base for those who seek to unlock the mysteries of Avenberry.  Music: Town Where the Bells Chime   Indeed.   Now that we've entered a new town, it's time to engage in random acts of vandalism. This is a great spot to pick up some wood and water Elements, as well as a handful of Stone (from barrels) and Fire (from some of the flowers and fruits). Frankly, if there's one thing I associate with this game, it's destroying everything in the town plaza for fun and elements.  There are also a couple of loose fruits sitting around that we can pick up. This game generally rewards picking up every item you can find, even seemingly worthless ones, so we might as well gather these.  Also, on our first visit, there is a bag of cole (money) sitting on top of the crates. We can reach it using the power of platforming, or just break all of the blocks it's sitting on. Now that the town square lies in ruins, let's visit the bar.  Music: Fun Shopping In Kavoc I'm from Gzestein. Oh, wow! That's far. Are you a traveler? I suppose so...Actually, I'm an alchemist. An alchemist! That's rare these days. In fact...I don't think I've ever met one before. Really? Yeah. Could be my fault, though. I hear there used to be a lot in these parts. So what brings you to our humble little town? I'm looking for alchemic items. I'd also like to find some Mana. I'm still kind of new at this Alchemy thing. Actually, I'm trying to visit towns connected with alchemy. I don't know much about Mana...But I can tell you're serious about this. There are a lot of interesting places in the area, but I'm not sure whether or not they have much to do with alchemy. There's plenty of good food, though! Feel free to stay as long as you like. I'd love to, but I don't have much money. Ha ha! I see. How'd you like to earn a little extra? I suppose I could, if the price was right. What kind of jobs do you have for me? Oh, heh...I just need these lunch boxes dropped off at the Magic Shop and the Grocery Store. They shouldn't be too hard to find as you explore the town. The Magic Shop is just up the hill next door. The Grocery Store is across the street from here. Okay, sounds easy. If you have any luggage, you can leave it here. Alright, we've got our temporary safe zone set up. The Journals are save points...  ...and Popo can refill everyone's HP and MP to full. Now let's explore Kavoc a bit.  This is a little more fun than I'm really comfortable with.  As I said, even trash items like this can be worth having around. We can find potatoes, peppers, grass, and dirty water in this area, most if not all of which respawns. Maybe we'll even find a use for some of this crap someday.  There's also a Mini Pendelook hiding behind the architecture here, and another in a nearby barrel. Mini Pendelooks are quite important (although perhaps not as rare as they may initially seem), and it's worth getting all the ones you can find.  Is this the Magic Shop? I'm supposed to deliver this lunch box from the bar.  Oh, it's from Uncle Norman. Thank you... …... ...Can I help you with anything? No, that's okay...I'm just interested in all this stuff. Are you an alchemist, too? No, I am not. However, I did make all these items. Really? I assume you are an alchemist? …...? You should enjoy Lyla's Grocery Store. She has a lot of knick-knacks to look at. …... You should be on your way, right? You can go now.Hahaha, that was RUDE. As I said in the OP, this game puts a surprising amount of emphasis on the shopkeepers. Norman and Veola both have quite a lot to offer, and I look forward to showing that off, as well as the stories of the other shopkeepers we'll come across in time. But that will have to wait – we're still a bit busy trying to get the main story going, after all.  Er, yeah...I'm supposed to drop off this lunch box from the bartender.  Thanks a lot. Tell Mr. Norman I said hi. Hmm...The girl at the Magic Shop told me you might have some alchemy supplies here. Alchemy? What's that? It's, uh...alchemy. You've never heard of it? Veola told you that, did she? Hm...she's probably talking about that box. I've had a box in the back room for a really long time. A box? There's a flower vase or something inside the box...That's probably what she meant. ...A flower vase? Yeah, it was in the box, so I decided to take 'em both. I really have no idea what they're for. Feel free to take a look.   What's a Heal Jar doing here!? Isn't this one of the items listed in your book? Yeah, it's a Mana item created with alchemy. It has healing properties. I can make as many as I want, assuming I have enough items and Mana... Music: Popo's Pleasant Money Lecture It looks like you found one of those Mana Items! Klein is the only one who can use Mana Items. You can synthesize mana items you've found by using a Mana, like me. Mana items are very important. You may find them in treasure chests. Look for treasure chests EVERYWHERE! You should try to collect as many as you can. Here's some extra advice for you...Mana items are useless unless you have a Mana to synthesize them. So, finding more Mana is just as important as gathering mana items! I'll explain synthesis in an upcoming tutorial on Mana Synthesis. But, that's all for today. See ya next time! Today's class is about Mana Synthesis! Alchemists like me can create new objects with the help of Mana spirits. What Klein's trying to say is that alchemists are super cool. ...Let's get this over with. Select Mana Synthesis from the menu. You can select an item from this list, but you'll still need enough elements to create it. Each Mana has its own specialty, so consider that when assigning them. You're a Mana of the wood element, so I should choose you for water or wood ingredients. Good job, Klein! Manas will enhance ingredients related to their element. After choosing the right Mana, you just need to decide how many of the item to make. Let's begin! Pay attention to what the Mana says. She sounds pretty cranky, doesn't she? (not pictured: a cranky-sounding Mana) She must be exhausted. If you force a Mana to work when they're worn out, it can hurt your relationship...Not to mention, unfriendly Mana tend to make lots of mistakes. If you're a good alchemist, you shouldn't have to worry about that. Mana are people too, so be sure and let them rest if they're tired. Hey, what if I mess up and hurt a Mana's feelings? Everyone likes presents, right? Gathering elemental items for them is your best bet. Your relationship will improve if you give them gifts. By the way, I really like plants. Um...I never asked. You could be nicer, Klein...Besides, there are a lot of advantages to having friendly Mana. They could make you extra items! Or...you might even fall in love. One step too far, Popo. Well at least we know you were paying attention for once. If you're nice to Mana, they'll be nice to you. That's all for today! See you next time! I found that box at the foot of a mountain just north of town. There's supposed to be a lot of treasure hidden in the city at the top of the mountain. ...(probably more alchemy items, too) Haha, and I thought it was a vase...I suppose it was a little thick. Well, you can keep it if you'd like. Consider it commission for the lunch box. DO you know anything else about the mountain city? It's all just legends, really. Oh, wait! I think Norman the bartender knows the legend pretty well. You should ask him about it.All right, I guess we'd better go do that. (after I destroy the town square again)  Norman gives us a modest but still appreciated 100 cole. What is that...it looks like a town on top of the mountain. Shh! Not so loud. They might hear you. They?! Sorry I said anything...I'm not really at liberty to talk about it. You'll be better off if you forget about that town up there. D-Delsus...! What do you know about the town? There's a tower west of here...I bet you could get a better view from there. Huh? That town was rich with Mana power, once. But I'm talking a long, long time ago. Mana! You know about Mana!? Not so much...But, I do know that Mana powers nature. That's right! The spirits of Fire, Wind, Water, Earth...well, everything's made from Mana! Anyway, they were creating something using the power of Mana. Using Mana?...That's alchemy! Can you tell me how to get there?! Heh, sorry kid...It's not that easy. If you get to the top of the tower, you can see for yourself. That's probably the best view around. You'll understand once you see it. This game doesn't allow us to travel the world map freely – we have to unlock new destinations before we're allowed to visit them. On the other hand, when a new area is unlocked, the game will offer to show you how to reach the new place from where you are, which is a cool idea. Maybe I'll go check that out.Klein leaves the bar. Hmm...I'll need to keep an eye on this one. I can't guarantee there won't be trouble.Ominous! Well, that's enough for now. Let's save our game and call it quits for the moment.  The saving game icon is a pig. This game really likes pigs. Like, a LOT. Anyway, join me next time as we learn why getting to Avenberry is going to be crazy hard and will take up like a third of the game. Overrated Sage fucked around with this message at 18:11 on Feb 5, 2014 |
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Feb 5, 2014 08:57
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I remember thinking this game was really pretty then promptly forgot about it and bought Radiata Stories instead. Let's see if that was a mistake.
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Feb 5, 2014 14:20
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I like this game, but the voice acting irritates me. They always pronounce Klein as "clean", and do the same with a few other similar names we've not met yet. But destroying the town for mana is never not fun.
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Feb 5, 2014 14:58
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Played Nr. 2 & 3 all the way to completion, only real memories I have of them are how easy they seemed to be, and with 3 in particular how crazy exploitable the combat was, depending on certain character ability classes/choices you made. Have you played the other two, Overrated Sage?
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Feb 5, 2014 15:37
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Overrated Sage posted:* There actually is a song that starts playing when Lita calls Klein a weakling. However, for whatever reason, I simply cannot find it. It's the game's resident funny/sarcastic/mischievous theme, and frankly I think it's rather overused, which makes it all the more bizarre that I can't dig it up anywhere. Oh well, maybe I'll find it in the sound test when I unlock that later.[/i] Never played this game, but I quickly looked it up in Atelier Ayesha. I can try ripping it from there later instead of getting a Youtube link, but I think the song you're looking for is The Laughable Pair. Needed Ayesha to at least find the name of the song first. Never had a chance to play the Iris games, so I'm excited to see what I missed.
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Feb 5, 2014 16:00
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KazigluBey posted:Have you played the other two, Overrated Sage? I have not. I noticed Feinne has an LP of the second, and I will probably read it if not simply to see what connections exist between the games, but otherwise my experience with the Atelier series (Iris or otherwise) is entirely limited to this game. As for difficulty, I remember it being mostly easy-moderate with the occasional actually pretty hard boss fight. It's been a while since I played, though, so I might be a little off. pichupal posted:The Laughable Pair That's the one! Thank you for finding that for me, I'll get that added in.
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Feb 5, 2014 17:31
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I never finished this one, but I remember it was decent, albeit having a few noticeable flaws. I look forward to this LP reminding me of what was here and seeing how it all ends. And no, you're not the only one who enjoyed destroying the town square on a regular basis. There's just... something about reducing a flower merchant's wares to their base components that grabs a hold of ya.
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Feb 5, 2014 17:33
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This game is pretty great, if flawed in a lot of areas. The whole series has a lot of cool ideas, but fails them more often than not. Mana Khemia is pretty similar as an Atelier series spinoff, but both games had fewer and different flaws from the Iris games. There's also the Ar Tonelico series, but... that's a whole different can of often creepy nonsense. Everybody should be clicking those music links by the way. GUST sound team  This is sadly before they got the really talented Akiko Shikata on board for their vocal tracks, but Haruka Shimotsuki is pretty good too. Shimotsuki does almost every vocal track in the game, aside from I think the ending theme.
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Feb 5, 2014 17:57
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My only experiences with this series are The Azoth of Destiny and Atelier Annie. I remember having fun with the former and thinking the alchemy system was super neat, so I'm interested to see how the series started.
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Feb 5, 2014 18:03
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Iris 1 and 2 are, if memory serves, only very vaguely connected. 3's not connected at all. That said, I liked the game back in the day, in spite of it's flaws. Of which there are many, but we'll get to those when we get to them. As for this game's difficulty... I won't get into it, but it'll be easy up to a point. After that it's all up to if you're willing to dig up a FAQ on how a certain mechanic works. If you do, you'll coast through the rest of the game with no problems whatsoever. If you don't, the game will show you no mercy. Oh, and a bit premature, but you might want to look up S.S.H.'s arranges at some point, they're really quite good. Edit: This isn't where the Atelier series as a whole started. From my understanding the previous games were more like Annie, and that the Iris series took a rather large departure from them with it's heavier focus on combat. Unoriginal One fucked around with this message at 20:40 on Feb 5, 2014 |
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Feb 5, 2014 20:37
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Rabbi Raccoon posted:I remember thinking this game was really pretty then promptly forgot about it and bought Radiata Stories instead. Let's see if that was a mistake. You made the right choice. As much as I enjoyed this game's sequel, I couldn't get into this one due to the gameplay improvements in the sequel. On the other hand, Radiata Stories is a game I still come back to to this day. Totally looking forward to seeing how this game goes since I could never really get far into it.
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Feb 5, 2014 23:58
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Re: Soundtrack, for some reason the "popular" soundtrack rip of this game is missing like ten tracks at the end of each OST disc, which has 39 tracks on each of the two discs. This is the most complete Youtube playlist I can find, although it's still missing three tracks. (Town Where the Bells Chime, The Name Is Beggur! and Tree Spirit in the Mist) I really like Gust's PS2 games, there's something that's just nice about them. This, being the first of them, has its fair share of both design and technical issues. Like, I'm pretty sure it loads every single asset on-demand from the game disc, almost as if it were a cartridge game, because you can see the game stuttering constantly whenever a new *thing* happens, be it menu screen or combat animation -- which is strange, because I'm pretty sure Gust made PS1 games before this! Despite these issues, I really enjoyed this game. I think it's the only Atelier game that properly managed to combine the Atelier-type "craft stuff and get to know all the NPCs in the process" and the typical JRPG-ish plot progression. I personally enjoy it a lot more than the older or newer Atelier games that are, if you ask me, a bit lacking on the plot and progression side, but of course your mileage may vary.
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Feb 6, 2014 01:09
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Admiral H. Curtiss posted:Re: Soundtrack, for some reason the "popular" soundtrack rip of this game is missing like ten tracks at the end of each OST disc, which has 39 tracks on each of the two discs. This is the most complete Youtube playlist I can find, although it's still missing three tracks. (Town Where the Bells Chime, The Name Is Beggur! and Tree Spirit in the Mist) Awesome, thanks. The playlist I found has those three tracks, so it looks like all the songs should be covered between them. I'm still trying to figure out which songs are which, but so far that hasn't been as difficult as I feared it might be.
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Feb 6, 2014 06:08
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It's interesting that Azoth of Destiny, this game's sequel, plays itself much more straight. I would have remembered the funny tutorials or descriptions.
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Feb 6, 2014 21:35
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Girl walking up to a guy and just randomly saying "Remember the day we first met?" is just such a very anime thing.
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Feb 6, 2014 23:29
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The only - ONLY - thing I remember from any Atelier game is one my friend played, in which the on screen character would loudly exclaim "Barrel!" when turning a barrel into mana. That cracked us up at the time, but I don't even remember which game it was anymore.
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Feb 6, 2014 23:35
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That is a running joke in the entire series, so it could have been any game.
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Feb 6, 2014 23:40
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Update 2: Galgazits Music: Wind Over Time (world map theme #1) The NPCs in this game generally don't have much of interest to say. Klein can have a few...um, “conversations” with a couple guys in here that don't really seem to mean anything. We're supposed to head off to this tower nearby, but it occurred to me that while I visited several shops last time, I didn't really discuss them.  Lyla's grocery store doesn't have a whole lot that's useful by itself, but has several items useful for crafting other items.  Predictably, Norman mostly serves food and food-related ingredients.  Veola's store has two very basic consumables. Considering how shiny and magical her shop looks, I was expecting a little more than this. Perhaps her menu will expand over time. Okay, let's head out of town.  We have to pass through Lapis Woods to get to this tower, and several more times in the future. We can find a few random/respawning goodies here, such as mushrooms and nuts and things. Nothing great, but might as well collect 'em, right?  I got into one fight with the very most basic enemy, the Mini Puni. Klein killed it in one hit, so let's talk about Klein's attack.   Klein can transform enemies into elements! His standard attack, ELE EXTRACT, has this property if it lands a killing blow. Critters, monsters, even *people* can be reduced to their bare elements. Furthermore, ELE EXTRACT is magic based, so it utilizes Klein's naturally superior magic stat at no MP cost, granting him an acceptable standard attack. Admittedly, he will soon reach the point where he can almost always do something more useful than a standard attack, but it's still nice that it's not a total joke. He also comes with a basic physical attack, in the event you want to go that route.  Klein also somehow got a level up out of that. +5 defense is nothing to scoff at. I'll talk more about level ups in a moment.  Oh, here's a shot of the world map. It kind of sucks and I'm not going to show it much except to show you new areas and maybe give directions.  These purple shapes are teleporters. Let's see where it goes!  Music: Lost Technology  The game now grants us access to the Henmil's Gate location. That's all we have to do here, but what's in that chest nearby?  I can feel mana power. It must be a mana item! Yeah...looks like an Herbal Drop. What's a mana item doing over here? Does this tower have something to do with alchemy? Maybe that girl at the magic shop really was telling the truth...I should find more mana items if I head toward the mountains... In order to create Herbal Drops, I need Fire and Wood elements. Klein? I can't handle Fire elements. Yeah, I know. We'll need to find a Mana who can handle Fire. Now seems like a good time to discuss the mechanics of alchemy a little further. As you can see, both Bomb Ice and Heal Jar take only Water elements, while the Herbal Drop takes Fire and Wood. The game won't even let me try and make the Herbal Drop right now because I have no Mana who can handle it, as the previous cutscene suggested.  Popo actually specializes in the Wood element, but can also work with Water at a 1.5x cost.  A Heal Jar typically costs two Water elements, but after Popo's modifier it costs 3 per jar, or 24 for 8. Easy enough!  Yes, Popo, I'm very proud.  Now let's make Bomb Ice. I can make the maximum of nine, but...eh...I think eight will do. Let's give it a try...  And this is the result! Sometimes, if your Mana like you and have good energy, they'll make extra mana items for free when you synthesize. It's not a huge deal for stuff like this, since Water elements are readily available, but it can be nice when you're dealing with rarer elements or more potent items.   As Popo suggested last time, offering your Mana gifts will improve both their energy and their disposition towards you. This is part of why collecting items, even vendor trash type stuff, is useful – even the things you can't use for item crafting can be given to your Mana to make them happier. Fortunately, Mana seem to care more about quantity than quality.   Music: Spirit's Hometown You're that girl. …? Oh, I remember you. The name's Klein. Oh, that's right. I never asked your name. I'm Lita, nice to meet you. So what brings you to the area? Uh, well...Fade out/in They say nobody's been able to open it.Klein starts examining the gate a bit closer.  Stand back!...What the -  The random guy leaves as quickly as he came. [Lineage of Iris forms the key with mirrors of Dawn and Twilight.] ...What does that mean? It's called alchemy. I'm an alchemist.   Alchemist? You!? No way. I guess you're not as weak as I thought. …...Music: Flask Boy Hey, there's an idea. Want to be a Galgazit? A Galgazit...Don't they kill monsters and hunt Growloons? Galgazit Alchemists are pretty rare. You wouldn't be half bad. Well, I guess I'll think about it. Scared? Me, scared!? No way! Okay, it's settled. You're now a Galgazit. Welcome aboard. We should head back toward Kavoc. I have a house there.All right, we're on our way to a full party! I wonder who our other allies will be?   Music: Spending the Night Together These squares act as save and healing points, and also allow you to talk to your allies.   These kids are Yach (the boy) and Dia (the girl). We'll be seeing them around every now and again. Hey, you kids be careful. You shouldn't be out here without an adult. We ARE with an adult! Right, Pamela? Music: Village of Snow and Glass  I'm a ghost, does that count? … ... … ... Tee hee...Hello! I'm so happy that everyone can see me today. That's a little rude! Of course I'm a ghost. We met Pamela in the forest when we were playing. She looked lonely, so now we're friends! You wouldn't happen to know where my body is, would you? Well...Where did you die? I don't really remember. I slept for a long time...I was already a ghost when I woke up. … … C'mon, Pamela! Let's go play! Oh, okay! Tee hee...Well, I hope we meet again. See you! ...Was she really a ghost?Well, the being transparent thing is a pretty strong indicator. She's certainly bubblier than I expect my undead to be, but I'm cool with that. One trip through the woods later...   Music: Fun Shopping in Kavoc You two certainly are an odd couple. I guess it's not so bad, though. You've already met Klein? Well, that makes this easier. As of today, Klein's a Galgazit. We'll need to use the house for a while. That's alright. Just don't burn the place down. Norman lets Galgazits rent the vacant house. Our reward money will come from the charitable donations of the townspeople.  Personally, I like to generate new oxygen by BREATHEing. Wait, that didn't work-  I think I'm okay. But I would like to use alchemy to Synthesize. I can do it outside, but it would work a lot better in here. You should make sure that's okay with Norman, first. He's the bartender, remember? Could you pick up a Tingleberry from Veola's Magic Shop? I couldn't find any in Kavoc, so I special ordered one. No problem. We'll be right back.I have kind of mixed feelings about this game's introduction. On the one hand, I think it does a good job of introducing new NPCs, worldbuilding, etc. On the other, so far this looks to be an RPG about running errands, and we don't really have a long-term goal besides the rather nebulous “reach Avenberry someday because it's there”. Oh yeah, speaking of introducing new NPCs...   Have you heard of the Flawless Marvel? What? I'm Rurona. I travel around the world studying ancient ruins. So you're an adventurer? Nope, an alchemist. … ...Really? Then why're you- It's a long story. Anyway, do you know about the Flawless Marvel? It's a legendary ruin made entirely of sculpted marble. I always thought that was just a rumor. I don't think anyone around here actually believes it's real. Sigh...Guess I'm on my own, then. Well, thanks anyway.And that's it for Rurona for now. Perhaps this Flawless Marvel place has some goodies in it we can find later.  There are some knight-looking people up by this church-looking thing. We'll be seeing quite a bit of them. Notice the German numbers for names. I wonder when that became a thing?  Oh! I was just wondering what you sell here. Oh. A customer...Let me know if you need any assistance. Uh...okay. Mr. Norman wants a Tingleberry. You have them here, right? Yes. Here you go. Th-Thank you... Have a nice day. Uhh...Lita? If you're done shopping, you can leave any time. We were just leaving! … ... Why did you have to make a scene? Oh, like I was out of line!? She pisses me off. Let's just go. Norman's waiting for us.Actually, I'd say Veola was downright pleasant this time compared to our first meeting. At any rate, I see plenty of verbal slapfights (and possibly physical slapfights) in Veola and Lita's future.  Okay, we've talked about synthesizing mana items, and now it's time to talk about making new items at shops!  When we talk to a shopkeeper who can synthesize (currently just Norman or Veola), they'll give us a list of vendor-specific things they can make. Again, Norman tends to specialize in meals, so let's make this Meuniere thing.  Recipes call for a certain set of ingredients, but you can experiment with different ones. For example, this recipe calls for a Fish Island, a Tingleberry, and Green Powder. The Tingleberry cannot be changed, but I could use a different fish or different powder/spice if I wanted, which may affect the quality of the dish – or even create an entirely new one! For this example, though, we're going to just make it by the book, since Norman kindly supplies the ingredients.  Every ingredient has certain “review properties”. These can get combined to exaggerate or offset each other. As far as I know, these descriptions (and, for that matter, the reviews themselves) don't really matter much, but I could be mistaken.  This looks pretty good. I think I'll put it on the menu. If you want to cook, just bring me the ingredients.And we've got a new item! Sometimes, when you synthesize an item, it will get added to the shopkeeper's menu and restocked regularly. Other items you can only really ever get by synthesizing more. And in case my explanation didn't make sense, let's get our favorite tutor here to help...  Music: Popo's Pleasant Money Lecture Today we're going to learn about Shop Synthesis! Some stores can create items if you bring the right ingredients. They're professionals – so don't worry about them messing up. But I thought only alchemists could synthesize. It's not the same as your Synthesis, Klein. Think of it like cooking – they'll mix the ingredients, but they can't use Mana like Klein.  Popo is wrong about that. You'll find plenty of perfectly good ingredients all over the place. I hope this is more fun than it sounds. Well, some of their items will be a lot better than your alchemist items. You really should try it out. Remember, they're trained professionals. Hmm...Okay. You'll need to make use of both alchemist and shop items. Obviously, using different ingredients will make different items. It's similar to baking. If you use fruits, you'll make a fruit cake. Chocolate makes a chocolate cake. You get it? It sounds as delicious as it is complicated. You can also trade the item with one you had previously.That line is a bit ambiguous – Klein's saying if you wind up making a superior (better reviewed) version of the same item, you can swap it in for the old version. So if I made Medicine that got a review of 70, then made another Medicine that got a review of 71, I can replace the old Medicine. Again, I don't think it really warrants much concern. Look carefully at the shop's display window. Better items mean better customer responses. Customers will get upset if your menu sucks, so be careful. Anyway...the main point of today's lesson is to get used to Shop Synthesis. And here's a special hint: Befriend the shop owner! It pays to be friendly. They may even give you useful hints. So Klein, I suggest you go to the Magic Shop and ask that cute girl out on a date. What is it with you? That's all for today! See ya next time! Norman forks over five each of Flour, Green Powder, Rock Sugar, Ale, Karikari Nuts, Goat Milk, and Canola Oil. Thanks, Norman!   Music: The Name's Beggur!  The gate's secret was discovered. Now they can reach Avenberry...Perhaps I should have a “word” with them...Bwuh HA ha ha Haughk hack hack... Sir Beggur! Is everything alright, sir? Bring the boy here...Alive.By the way, if you didn't click on that last music link, you should. Beggur's themes are all excellent. On a related note, Beggur is excellent.  Well, we don't have any real direction on what to do now. The correct thing is to try and leave town. Upon doing so...  Music: Looming Crisis C'mon, Klein! This'll be fun...It's our first job together! Lita, wait-Lita runs ahead, leaving Klein with little choice but to chase after her.   The man kills the monster with little fanfare. Hey! Stop stealing our business! Music: Sleeping Reality Wait a minute...You're Arlin. I guess the rumors about you were true. This is your job, right? I'll leave the rest to you. H-Hey! Wait!Arlin strolls offscreen as another monster pops up.  Music: Ferocious Drive I already told you, I ran out of elements! Is that so? Well, show me what you've got, now. No problem. Prepare to be amazed. Unfortunately, even this battle is still so simple and the game so early that I don't have a lot to say yet, but allow me to draw your attention to the characters' standard attacks – or more specifically, their area of effect.  Both Klein's and Lita's standard attacks can hit multiple enemies and have surprising range. Lita's attack is more rectangular, hitting enemies on a line higher and lower on the screen (relative to the player, obviously), while still having a bit of left/right range as well. Lita's Claw Swipe also seems to have a speed boosting effect. I still haven't pinned down exactly how it works, but it looks like if she uses Claw Swipe twice in a row, she gets a third attack for free. This can make her quite effective at mopping up large groups of weaker enemies without needing to expend MP.  Klein's ELE EXTRACT also has an area of effect that seems a bit more square than Lita's. I think his physical attack only hits one enemy, though I haven't used it in a while so I can't promise that that's true.  The plant thing tries to put up a fight, but ultimately they just didn't stand a chance.  Music: Winning Shot! Both characters also leveled up from that fight. Statistically, Lita is all about speed with a side helping of brute force, and she excels at making lots of large numbers come out of your enemies. On the other hand, her magic is crap and her defenses aren't great, either (she comes with an accessory that boosts some of her magic resistances, at least). Her MP is low, and secretly it's perhaps even lower than it appears – but that's something we'll have to wait until later to discuss.  When a character levels up, they gain three skill points that they can spend on any abilities they have to power them up. Right now Lita only has her basic attack. I save my early skill points because I'm one o f those people.  Klein, meanwhile, is a fairly straightforward caster, and he's also perhaps the worst character statistically. His magic, MP, and resistances are all fine, but his defense, HP, and strength aren't so hot. He also has rather mediocre speed, and the combination of poor speed and defenses can really cause problems as the game progresses. Curiously, he has access to a few weapons that drastically boost his strength (at the expense of magic and speed) if you feel like making him a physical powerhouse. Of course, his mediocre stats are completely trivial next to the sheer power and utility that alchemy has to offer, so he's still worth having around as a full-time party member.  Klein's abilities are largely (if not entirely) built around his Alchemy, increasing the effectiveness of his Alchemy Items. Again, I'm saving his points for a bit.  Music: Klein and His Pleasant Friends ...You don't give out many compliments, do you? Well...You were a lot stronger than I expected you to be! What's THAT supposed to mean!? Nevermind. C'mon, let's clean up. Growloons are so cute and harmless by themselves, it's easy to forget that they're harbingers of destruction or something. Looks like we're done here. Let's report back to the bar.  Uh-huh. I don't know what Luplus is but he's awesome looking.  Heh...I thought I saw you guys out there. You did a great job, I'm sorry this is all I can offer...He hands over 500 Cole. Not bad, really. Don't worry. We appreciate the townspeople donating anything at all. Thanks for understanding. Good luck out there...Oh! I almost forgot. You are now officially a Galgazit. I'll keep track of you successful jobs. This is a record of Galgazit success stories. Which means it's also a record of Growloons. Whenever you defeat a Growloon, I'll record it. You can use this book to see how many Growloons you've found. The townspeople are willing to shell out special rewards when you dispose of enough Growloons...They're fed up with the Growloons. The more Growloons you defeat, the better. I'll keep the book here, so you can check it form time to time. Hey, we still need to think of a team name. A team name? I don't like that girly stuff. Girly stuff!? We're a team. Teams have names. Okay, okay...geez. Looks like that's where we'll have to stop for now. Remember to vote on a team name, and I'll see you next time as we continue exploring Kavoc – and possibly make a new friend or two!
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Feb 9, 2014 22:08
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Panthers, I guess. And wasn't the name of one of AI2's protagonists Viese Blanchimont?
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Feb 9, 2014 22:25
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I haven't played any Atelier games, but this looks pretty interesting so far. We're obviously the Victors by the way. 
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Feb 9, 2014 22:54
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I forgot Pamela showed up quite this early. Pamela's a recurring minor character in most of Gust's games, usually having roughly the same personality and design. She actually became a party member in Mana Khemia 1 and was kind of overpowered (she ended up pretty much the best healer and could become immune to all physical damage by default). We should be Team Klein 
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Feb 9, 2014 23:08
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It's been a long time, but as far as I can recall Lita's Claw Attack only takes up half of a turn, as opposed to the full turn most other actions require. There are a couple of other moves like this, but Claw Attack's the most prominent. The half-turn thing also comes up for skills with charge times; I think it'll be a bit before those start showing up, but I could be wrong.
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Feb 10, 2014 01:05
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Unoriginal One posted:It's been a long time, but as far as I can recall Lita's Claw Attack only takes up half of a turn, as opposed to the full turn most other actions require. There are a couple of other moves like this, but Claw Attack's the most prominent. The half-turn thing also comes up for skills with charge times; I think it'll be a bit before those start showing up, but I could be wrong. Yeah, it says so at the bottom here: Plus it's an attack with a giant claw, it's metal as gently caress. What else could you want? We should be the Panthers because of said giant claws.
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Feb 10, 2014 02:31
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Didn't even notice that. It seems I was recalling that correctly, though it also shows how long it's been that I forgot they outright stated it like that. And yeah, let's go with Panthers; which is fitting considering half of the game's combat will, in fact, involve Lita splattering everything she comes across with those claws of hers.
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Feb 10, 2014 02:51
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All right, it looks like we're the Panthers.Fetucine posted:I forgot Pamela showed up quite this early. Pamela's a recurring minor character in most of Gust's games, usually having roughly the same personality and design. She actually became a party member in Mana Khemia 1 and was kind of overpowered (she ended up pretty much the best healer and could become immune to all physical damage by default). Oh, really? That's interesting. I honestly never would have known that she wasn't a completely original character for this game. Then again, I can also see her working well as a sort of mascot character, and this game at least seems to have a lot of fun with her status as a ghost.
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Feb 10, 2014 05:24
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Fetucine posted:I forgot Pamela showed up quite this early. Pamela's a recurring minor character in most of Gust's games, usually having roughly the same personality and design. She actually became a party member in Mana Khemia 1 and was kind of overpowered (she ended up pretty much the best healer and could become immune to all physical damage by default). You're forgetting the best part: she's a ghost, so she self-resurrects from KOs after some turns pass. One of the first abilities you acquire allows her to resurrect faster. She resurrects with low HP, normally a bad thing, but she has a skill that becomes better at low HP totals. Pamela is goddamn amazing. She also appears in the Atelier Arland trilogy, as an NPC and a DLC party member. She can still self-resurrect, though she doesn't become immune to physical attacks. I love her lines in Atelier Rorona: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ETvdP6qUzw "I can't sit or drink tea. I'm a ghost!  "
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Feb 10, 2014 07:30
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So Klein went on a journey with only one Mana Item in his pocket? I suppose they must be pretty rare, at least where he's from.
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Feb 12, 2014 01:26
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Update 3: Fire and Destruction Music: Town Where the Bells Chime It turns out the options are randomized. I had to replay a couple of times to get Panthers to show up again. Dammit, game. (Cupid Arrows? Seriously? Interesting that I should stumble on that so close to Valentine's, I guess)  Since we've completed the tutorial Shop Synthesis, Norman has a few new things we can try to make. I think Veola may have stuff as well, but we'll get to her a bit later. Let's try to make a drink to go with our fish, shall we?  Karikari Liquor requires Karikari Nuts (dirt common) but lets us choose the liquid part. Well, we've only got Ale, so...  WORTHLESS?! Jeez, that's harsh.  Oh, that's right – not only can items be used as gifts for your Mana, you can also straight up desynth them into basic elements. For example, this Karikari Liquor can be broken down into 4 Water and 3 Wood. There's no need to do that since those elements are super common, but it can be worth doing if you find a relatively common item that contains a relatively rare element.  Oh hey, it looks like we keep Key Items and normal items in the same menu.  Since we've learned about JUMPing, let's check out the upper part of Kavoc. While our home base is the main attraction, there's also a weapon store up here that's worth checking out.  Loser: The Meuniere at this store is unmatched. Oh, man...This Meuniere couldn't be any sweeter. I'd like to fill my house with this scent. Uh...huh...   Hagel has a few upgrades for Klein, including some elemental canes for magic or a mace for hardcore physical damage. Meanwhile, this weapon offers Lita an attack AND defense boost, at the expense of dunking her speed a bit. Eh, she's already pretty fast, I think we can afford that for now. He also has some crossbows and swords. I guess we'll have to find some new party members to use those.  Growloons are just those round guys, right? Why's everyone so afraid of them? Growloons may look weak...but they can summon evil spirits. SO if nobody took care of the Growloons, there would be demons and things running around. I see... Music: Popo's Pleasant Money Lecture Like what? Like what? Like GIRLS! Since when were tutorials a boy's club? Girls, huh?... Anyway, today I've invited a special guest speaker. Huh? Why'd you pick Lita? Because today's lesson is about Growloons. And I, as a Galgazit, know all about them. Since we have an expert in the field, feel free to take off, Klein. Whaaat!? I'm the main character of the game! You've had your fifteen minutes. Now it's my turn to shine! I'm gathering that this game's tutorials take a Saturday Morning Cartoon approach to violence. When left alone, Growloons can summon evil spirits. For this reason, make sure you defeat Growloons as soon as they appear. But...aren't they strong? Not at all, actually. One shot's all it takes. Even Klein could do it! Got it. But I hear they can come back to life. That's just a rumor. Once a Growloon's down, it's down for good. However, there's still a lot we don't know. Sometimes Growloons appear all at once. Thanks a lot, Lita. I think we all learned something. Good luck hunting Growloons! See ya! Wow, Lita did a great job. Maybe I'll ask her back next time. That's all for today! See you next time! Thug: I got a message for yous. “Go to da cathedral”. Who sent the message?Thug: He's at da place. You'll see 'im there. The messenger walks out of the house. The cathedral is Alkavana's headquarters. What could they want with you, Klein? I guess we'll find out. The NPCs talking about shops is kind of neat, but it's offset by how awkward the Mad Libs style line generator works. Sometimes you get nonsense sentences like this. The man next to this lady has a similar line, “I love the Meuniere because it's so deadly odor...”  Music: The Name's Beggur! Ah, Klein. I've been looking forward to meeting you. Who are you? How do you now my name? Sorry, I'll get to the point. I am Beggur, General of the Alkavana. I'd like you to join us. He's not interested! I wasn't talking to you, girlie! Grr... Your power of Mana would be a valuable asset for the knights. Music: And Fate Was Changed That's...a Mana! With your strength, we could rule the world! How can you control that Mana? Bwa ha! Intimidation, my dear boy! Nobody can ignore my mighty power! Bwuh ha ha ha!Klein pauses for just a moment...  ...and rushes Beggur. It's ineffective because Klein has, like, no stopping power. But still, it's a nice effort.  ...What was that? You can't force a Mana to work for you! I'd rather die than join your stupid army! What!? You insolent brat! Seize them!The mooks walk toward Klein and Lita – and thus toward the Fire Mana...  Gah! Hothothothothot!   Music: Klein and His Pleasant Friends Delsus! I figured something was amiss when I saw you enter the cathedral. You've got guts, though...Taking on the Alkavana won't be easy. Who are they, anyway? Heh, that might be good to know. They're trying to stop people form entering Avenberry, the town on top of the mountain. Why? Dunno...but a lot of people want to get in there. It's supposedly filled with countless treasures. So they decided that sopping thieves was their job...They're guarding a rumor, I guess. Are you trying to reach Avenberry? Nah. I'd rather hand out at the bar than fight the Alkavana knights. Why'd you pick a fight with them, anyway? Um...do you two know each other? Kinda. Well, we'd better start looking for the exit. And we've got party member number three! We've finally got a full battle team, and just in time for our first dungeon-esque locale.  Music: Waterdrop Waltz Oh yeah, somebody mentioned the barrels. When you approach a barrel and examine it, one of your party members will yell the world BARREL! Sometimes you get items (the game will give you an actual examine prompt for these). It's weird but charming.  Kavoc's Sewers are inoffensive as sewer levels go. There are a few paths but it's a smallish area and the encounter rate seems reasonable enough.   In fact, I might even go so far as to say I actually LIKE the sewers, simply because it's a nice little microcosm of exploration gimmicks. The path from the entrance to the exit is free of obstacles, but there are side paths that have various things we can't get over or around, and we'll be able to explore more and more as we progress through the game.  Oh, I guess I better talk about Delsus a little. At the moment, Delsus seems like Lita but a little better, having similar speed and a bit more power and durability. However, bear in mind that he's got three levels on her and he has a speed booster equipped (while her new weapon slows her down), so his stat gains aren't as universal as they may seem. He also has garbage magic resistances (his accessory also boosts his cold resist by a lot, so that's usually lower), but his magic attack and MP stats aren't completely dire at least. In the long run, I recall Delsus being more of a jack of all trades type, and he's got a few nifty abilities that he'll learn over time. But we'll get to those when we get to those.  I have no idea what this sign is trying to tell me.  Delsus' crossbow attack also has an area of effect, somewhat inverted from Lita's. From our perspective, he can hit enemies to the left of his target, and just the tiniest bit above or below them. I guess it simulates his crossbow bolts going through one enemy into the others behind them or something. It's not quite as significant as Lita and Klein's areas of effect, but it's still useful.  I will destroy all the boxes  Sometimes we'll stumble across raw mana. These are items that can be desynthed into huge amounts of Elements, but they have another function that we'll learn about later. For now, I recommend saving all of them.  Lita hit level six and learned a new move. Force Blast is magic based, and despite Lita's pitiful magic stat it's quite powerful. It even has a large area of effect, so it works against multiple enemies. It's also ludicrously expensive, costing 22 of Lita's currently 26 MP. That's a bit of a problem right now, but maybe I can make it more manageable when I can find/synthesis MP restorative items or get MP boosting equipment or something.   The exit of the sewers leads to the back room of Lyla's grocery store. I don't really know why she has a stairwell in her backroom (and bedroom, from the looks of it) that leads to a filthy, monster infested shithole, but I'm suddenly much less inclined to buy stuff from her.  We need to hide you somewhere. Let's go home, then.Yeah, they'll never look for us there!  ...Lake Forwel should do. Lake what? There's a small village there. It's not much...but you should be fine. Just stay out of trouble, okay? You're an alchemist, right? How about we work together? Are you sure about that? You seem like a cool guy, sure. Let me in on the adventure. I'm Uru, Mana of Fire. Nice to meetcha. Sweet! We got a new teammate! Music: Popo's Pleasant Money Lecture Today we're going to learn about... You'll learn to use Destruction Blast to clear obstacles on the map. Hey, Uru. Why don't you teach us? When you want to destroy something, rotate the action dial to the flame icon and press the square button! Of course, there are some obstacles that simply can't be destroyed. I see...So, you should experiment to discover what works and what doesn't. Woo! Experiments rock! Let's try this one! Whoa, hold on! Cut it ou-  Aha! So, today we learned that you can't destroy Klein. Uru, any thoughts? Er...I was just demonstrating that the bomb won't work on humans. Got it? And it's dangerous! So don't mess around. Oh yes, one last piece of advice! Every time you find a new Mana, you'll learn a new skill. Eventually you'll have a lot of cool options to play with – so go find some Mana! Sometimes we can trigger brief conversations by talking to our other party members at the base. They can be pretty neat, so I'll try to check up with them often. Huh? Why do you ask? Oh, just wondering... You shouldn't use me to feel better about your decision. You know that, right? I seriously just want to know. Well, then...I guess I just wanted to have people who count on me. ...Why? I thought I'd feel more important if people were counting on me. Being a Galgazit allowed me to be important to people. You're a Galgazit now, too, so you can't be a slacker. Who are you calling a slacker!? Ha ha ha, just kidding...I'm counting on you, Klein. Despite Delsus' warning, there's really no need to rush out of Kavoc yet – Lake Forwel is simply where the next event is.  Music: Revelation (Introduction) We can even stroll right back into Alkavana headquarters without any worries. Also, the chapel gets it's own song for some reason, I guess because it's a fancy place.  Music: And yet more Waterdrop Waltz Now that we've got Uru and his Destruction Blast, we can explore the sewers a little more. There are a couple new treasures to get that were blocked off by purple blocks before.  Sadly, there are more indestructible blocks that prevent us from reaching the next area. I wonder how we can get around those?  My characters leveled a bit more while I was exploring. Klein is getting an awful lot of defense from his levelups considering he's a caster. I remember him being quite flimsy, though. Perhaps this is just to help him survive the earlygame until he gets more Mana Items or something.  Oops, looks like I electrocuted Klein. What's this buildup of electricity doing in a sewer, anyway? Regardless, we can't get through to the goodies on the other side yet. I think that's it for the sewers for now. Let's spend some time with our Mana.  Uru can handle three elements. Obviously he works best with Fire, but he can also manage Light and Power elements (at hefty multipliers). Now that he's here to help, we can make those Herbal Drops.  Oh, yeah, Mana tend to have pretty middling love and energy when they first join, so shower them with gifts! I have some mushrooms from the sewers that Uru seemed to like well enough. We'll give him some more stuff later.  All right, time to get out of here.  Mysterious British Gentleman: Don't worry, there are still ways to make use of him if he refuses to join us. So, the Lineage of Iris...I have plans for the girl, as well.   This little spot unlocks alongside Lake Forwel. There's really nothing to do here yet, but we'll be back in a bit.   We're finally here! Hey, mind if we run to the store? We wouldn't want to interfere with your errands... Music: Lakeside What's up, Gemlis? Anything for me today? Hey, hey! I've got the perfect job for you! I'm making a fishing lure. I need some Stained Grass. Stained Grass doesn't grow around here. Exactly. That's why I need you. Heh...Should've known. No problem, I'll check in the forest. Thanks a lot, man. You're a pal.When will the errands end? Oh well, let's check out that chest next to Gemlis.  Yup, that's a Mana Item, all right! I wonder what it's doing here... Oh, you know what that is? It washed ashore awhile back. I didn't know what it was, so I didn't mess with it. You can have it if you want. I can't believe someone left a mana item just lying around like this...Could there be more? There aren't any alchemists around here. Where'd it come from? Did something happen around here a long time ago, maybe? Unfortunately, we can't make more Sleepaids without a Mana who can handle Spirit. Perhaps we'll meet such a Mana soon.  There's not much else to note about this place. A couple raw Mana, a save point...exciting times.  There are two paths between Kavoc and Lake Forwel. One of them contains this field. These places are worth stopping by, because sometimes they contain treasure, or even...  Growloons! Besides contributing to the “murder the Growloons” sidequest, Klein can extract one Holy and one Evil Element from them. We have no use for these yet, but I'm sure they'll be nice to have later.  Fade out/in (?)   No use complaining about it. There's not a lot we can do.Lita starts to walk offscreen. Where are you going? I'm going to go dry off...and no peeking! I'm talking to YOU, Delsus! Heh, no thanks. I should be safe here... Who's there!?  Music: Village of Snow and Glass  Yeah, I'm soaked... Oh my gosh, you're right. Here, dry off before you catch cold...Uh... What's wrong? I'm sorry...I was just wondering how you got that bruise. Oh, this? It's not a bruise, it's a seal. A seal? Yes. I got it when -And the scene just kind of ends there. All right, then?  Why hello, ladies. Need any help? … … The lady knight storms off back towards Kavoc. Oh, so now I'M the bad guy... You're a pervert! Man, I forgot how many characters get introduced all at the beginning here. Anyway, the (somewhat poor quality) Stained Grass is up in the treetop here. It's a little cracked, but this one should do. Are you sure? If we looked a little more, we could find a better one. I doubt it. We're lucky we found any stained grass at all. He's right...Stained grass is unusual around here. Hey, how do you know about this stuff? Um...HELLO!? I'm the Mana of wood! Er, anyway...This grass usually only grows up north, where it's cold.That's good to know, I guess, if we ever need any more Stained Grass. (it's actually pretty useful stuff)  We sure did, but...it's a little cracked. Don't worry about it. I was going to shatter it anyway. I need small pieces for the lure. Told you so. Don't get too cocky. For anything else, this wouldn't work. If you're this lazy with your other jobs, your reputation'll go down the tubes. Yeah, yeah...I'll be more careful next time. Make sure that you are, man. You could go far if you set your mind to it.Gemlis hands over 325 Cole. We should head back to Kavoc. I'm sure the heat's blown over by now. Gemlis actually sells stuff, by the way. I bought him out of Fish Islands on principle. Those things are just ~adorable~.  Well, that should do for today. Jon me next time at the outdoor Theater, when the plot's gears finally start to spin into motion...
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Feb 14, 2014 00:23
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Even if the flames don't harm humans, do the NPCs react at all when you try to set them on fire? Ys 1&2 did a thing where if Adol shot NPCs with fire, they would run around while saying different lines. It was the best thing ever. Also, did you do something with your recording settings? The screenshots look uncomfortably brighter.
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Feb 14, 2014 01:01
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Nondevor posted:Even if the flames don't harm humans, do the NPCs react at all when you try to set them on fire? Ys 1&2 did a thing where if Adol shot NPCs with fire, they would run around while saying different lines. It was the best thing ever. I don't think I changed anything, but you're right, there's a definite difference, especially with new mugshots. Hmm...I've gone ahead and dialed the brightness back a bit in preparation for when I record next, and I'll keep an eye on how it looks next time. As for fire, I haven't tried it in a while, but I think NPCs just don't even notice. I'll give it a shot and see if anything interesting happens.
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Feb 14, 2014 01:16
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No JRPG ever lets you do anything violent to npcs unless they do it first. Except Radiata Stories. Which had a designated "Kick NPCS in the shins" button. But yeah, I forgot how well AI 1 and 2 wear their overly anime cutesy style. This lp is making me wanna break out 2 again. I hope you show us a video of some of the fights, Sage. One of my favorite parts of the series is how the battles flow really well. Quickly but not too quick.
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Feb 15, 2014 05:19
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Thanks to the magic of RPGs Inventory, you can stuff whales that can be used to transport an hundread people in your backpack. Also I agree with Mighty Biscuit: the battles in these games are pretty nice-looking and you might want to show them off. paradoxGentleman fucked around with this message at 11:55 on Feb 15, 2014 |
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Feb 15, 2014 11:50
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Sure, I can show off some fights. There's still a bit simplistic to really warrant showing off at the moment, but I'll try to grab some battle footage in the next dungeon and/or dungeon-like area when things pick up a little. I'll be sure to record the next boss fight as well.
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Feb 15, 2014 19:38
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Update 4: Daphne's Book Music: Klein and His Pleasant Friends ...That can't be good. Most people are impressed, actually. Nobody really likes the Alkavana, anyway. The knights used to be popular...but that was a long time ago. What's changed? Now Alkavana's full of bullies who throw their weight around. They won't do anything to us, of course...They have to keep up appearances. Anyway, thanks for what you did. Now it's time to get back to work. Yes, let's! Here's a job for you...People have reported hearing a ghost down in the sewer. A ghost? Yeah. It sounds a little fishy, but it's worth checking for sure.Sure thing. I wonder if this ghost is hostile, Pamela, or hostile Pamela? (I'm guessing it's probably not hostile Pamela)  It's nice to know that, while our objectives may change, the plaza is always here if we want to annihilate it.  Oh, and I also tried setting a child on fire. It didn't work. Oh, and speaking of children...   Then why are your legs shaking, huh? I'm...really cold. Yeah. Oh, shut up, Yach! We're talking about the ghost. Yeah. Our parents won't let us play in the sewer 'cause of the ghost.As opposed to the fact that it's disease-ridden, filthy, disgusting sewer? Well, I'M gonna play in there because I'm not scared! I dunno...It is a little scary. Leave it to me, kids. I'll get the ghost for you. Really? Y'mean it? Of course. I'm stronger than I look. Yeah, even ghosts are afraid of her. What was that? Nnnnnothing. You promise? I promise! So run along home for now. Yay! C'mon, Yach! See ya, lady! We can still run up to Alkavana headquarters and chat up the knights outside. They don't really seem that invested into catching or fighting us.  Music: Waterdrop Waltz We just need to make a pass through the sewers, and a little ways in...  Guess it's just one of those urban legends...Alligators in the cemetery, ghosts in the sewer...???: Boo! I am the ghost!...tee hee!  Oh, it's you guys again. You're the ghost who's been scaring people? Oh, no. I've been with Dia most of the time. You must be thinking of another ghost. Okay...then where's THAT ghost? I don't know, but I need to get going. I promised Dia we could play today. I don't think anyone would be afraid of her. Let's just head home. Well, that was fruitless. A few randoms and a trip through the grocery store later...  No, we haven't seen him. Is everything okay? I've looked everywhere, but I just can't find him. Hi. What's everyone up to? GAH!!...Don't DO that! You nearly killed me! Sorry. Moving through walls is just faster. Yach's gone. Nobody knows where he went. Really? I saw him earlier, down in the sewer.Dia immediately runs out of the room at this news. Wait for me, Dia! We should go, too.And so we make yet another trip through the sewer (it's not as tedious as it sounds – the main path through the sewer is super short)...   Lita throws herself in front of Yach and takes a fireball to the gut.  Are you all right, Lita? ...I'm fine...I told you I was strong. So, this must be the infamous ghost...Let's kick its ethereal rear end! Music: Ferocious Drive Mr. Ghost Man tries to be a boss, but honestly he's really just a tutorial on spectral enemies. This game has a lot of enemies that are straight up immune to physical attacks, and as you might imagine these enemies tend to be a nuisance (particularly since they're a problem that Lita can't negate simply by existing).  Instead, they're a problem that Klein can negate simply by existing.  I also figured that since this is a “boss” and I don't really need to worry about MP conservation in the sewers that I might as well show off Lita's Force Blast. It only did about 70 damage, not nearly as much as I remember it doing. Still, it's pretty much Lita's only means of dealing magic damage. Anyway, I win the battle with no effort...  In an amusing twist, the levelup Delsus got from this fight taught him HIS magic-based skill. Dark Arrow isn't very powerful but it's cheap (4 MP) and can inflict negative status effects, and of course is handy against physically resistant/immune enemies. Definitely a worthwhile ability for his arsenal.  Beats me. Maybe it got lost. I'm just glad Yach's okay. What were you doing in here? I...um...I didn't want you to think I was a coward. What were you thinking!? If you died, who would have done my homework? Which reminds me, you have math to do. ...Okay. Let's go home. Thanks for saving him. Here's my most prized possession.She hands over a Red Bracer. Not super exciting, but decent. So...that was the last ghost, right? I guess so...Time to head home once again...  Music: Voiceless Poem Lita? You don't look so good. I'll be fine. I'm just a little tired. If you say so... Why don't you two go for a walk? I'm going to take a nap. Huh? Psh...girls. Don't worry about it.Lita walks downstairs, and the guys leave the house...     How long will it last? What am I supposed to do?... There's not much to do right now. As far as I can tell, all we have to do to proceed is go to either the screen by Hagel's shop or the screen by Veola's, then return towards the bar.  ...  Yeah, I feel great. Thanks.And turn around and leave again...  Fellow: It's freaking amazing. You have GOT to see it. Lady: I'll check it out as soon as I finish this. Female: Hurry up, slowpoke! It's about to start! Guy: Relax, we still have two hours. Let's take our time. Female: Are you crazy? All the good seats are going to fill up! ...Where's the fire? What's going on, Yach? There's a show going on at the Outdoor Theater! Speaking of which...gotta go! That sounds like fun. No wonder everyone's excited. C'mon Klein, we should go, too!I feel like this update is a little more scattered than the others have been. Don't worry, we're getting close to a real goal.  Music: Small Workshop Kid: I can't wait! This is gonna ROCK! Missus: I'm so nervous, I've got butterflies! Don't look now, but the knights are here, too. We can't disappoint Sir Beggur! The theater must be secured! ...Think we'll be okay? I don't see the head honcho. It should be okay as long as we keep a low profile. Shh. It's starting! The cat girl takes a spot next to our heroes...  Douglas: Will our unbridled passion never find the release of fairest matrimony? Princess: You know my father won't allow such a thing, for thou art but a Doll Knight. Douglas: Then hereby I shall go on a journey. Whence I return, I'll be more a man than Adam himself! Princess: Don't go, sweet Douglas! *sniff* It's so beautiful... Are you serious?The cat girl starts walking suspiciously close to people, while the game makes a suspicious noise. Then...   Music: Two Funny People ...She jumps Klein. Why not?  Oh...uh...sorry?... Meow! Next time watch where you're going!The girl brushes past Delsus and storms offscreen. What was that about? I dunno, but – hey, wait! My book is gone! Dammit, my flask is gone, too! Not that I had any booze...Ma'am: My cookies have been pilfered! Dude: Where'd my surfboard go? We must report to Sir Beggur at once! My grandma gave me that book...We have to get it back! What about my hooch? That stuff is expensive! C'mon. We'll find her.Well, there's nothing else to accomplish at the theater for a while. Let's see if anyone in Kavoc can help us out.  Meow!?!? Hold it right there!The cat girl does not, in fact, hold it right there. Our group chases her towards Alkavana headquarters...  (dammit cat girl why is your portrait blocking your model)  ...Of course, you WILL have to be punished. You've been a bad kitty... These two knights are Vier and Neun. The non-Beggur knights get introduced kind of haphazardly (you'll notice I say that a lot about this game's opening) but I still think it's cool that they get introduced at all. Anyway, Team Panther runs up alongside the two knights. There's nowhere to run!The thief immediately runs away, proving Lita quite incorrect. What do you know...She got away. I suppose that's that. The Captain will know what to do. Come, Neun. That girl still has my book. We have to find her. But how????: She's in the forest.   You need to hurry if you're going to catch up with her.Arlin immediately turns around and starts to leave. Wait...Why are you helping us, anyway? ...I don't need a reason.Right-o. I guess we can figure your story out later. For now, let's head to the forest...   Music: Bullfight Video: Battle with Beggur! So...this is the little girl who made a fool of the Alkavana knights? You may be a child...but you'll pay for what you did! Meow.And our team once again rushes onscreen... Pick on someone your own size, old man! Whuh!? So, YOU'RE behind this... Strike two, champ. Silence! The noble knights of Alkavana will not tolerate this insolence! I've been looking forward to this...You'd better be ready! You'd better watch out! Take cover over there. There's still time to beg for mercy, you little punks! Ein, Zwei...you two ready? You can count on us, sir! We've got your back. Have at you!! This fight is...also a tutorial (and an odd example of one, given that we'll get a tutorial on what it's trying to demonstrate AFTER the battle), but it's a little more dangerous than the ghost was. These guys hit for about 20 damage apiece, so you need to pay some nominal amount of attention to your health.  Each enemy has a standard attack and a special attack that has to be charged up. While an enemy is charging an attack, you can interrupt their action. I still don't fully understand the mechanics behind this, but I've found that some attacks work better than others at interruption.  So I accidentally overrode that concept and tried out Delsus new Dark Arrow skill, and, well...  ...I didn't actually interrupt Ein's charging attack, but Dark Arrow put him to sleep so he didn't get to use it anyway.  With Ein asleep, I decided to beat Zwei up a bit. I'd hoped to reduce him down to a puddle of elements, but no dice.  Once again, I feel no particular need to conserve Lita's MP so I might as well use the one blast of magic damage I can.   Beggur's charged up attack hits everyone for about 20-25 damage. It hurts, but it's still pretty manageable. Ein's special only seems to hit two characters (although it might hit all three if he targets the person in the middle) and I never got to see Zwei's in any of my attempts.  Easy enough! Klein learned a new passive skill called Magic Resist, which provides all those lovely +20s you can see in this picture.  ...and Lita learned Jump Kick, a powerful and spammable physical attack that's great for dealing single-target damage when you're up against fewer but tougher enemies. I went ahead and leveled this skill up because I think it's great.  But now I'm mad...You won't escape my vengeance. I'll follow you through the gates of Hell if I have to...! Okay, okay. Let's go, sir.  Beggur: the best villain. Phew...I'm glad that's over. I'd like my book back now, thanks. Meow! Zeldalia wants the picture book, meow! Hold on a second!And the thief once again rushes off. This is getting kind of tiresome... ...She got away again. How are we supposed to find her now? Don't worry...I know where she's headed. You're kidding! It's a long story. Let's head home for now. Music: Popo's Pleasant Money Lecture Today, our special guest will teach you all about battles...it's HIM!? Your professional attitude is quite inspirational. Thank you for coming, even after Klein handed you a beating. Well, I'll always help those in need, even if they are sworn enemies. That's what being a REAL man is all about! Well, you're the man!...I guess. You and your enemies both have different skills to use in battle. We can divide these skills into three types. I'll describe each one's characteristics and strategies. First off is the Single Type. It works as soon as you select it. Most characters have Single Types. Next is the Double Type. With these, you perform the move twice as fast. Then, using the time you've saved, you can perform a second action. This sounds kind of confusing... Then, with the rest of its action, it will breathe out the fire. The advantage of Double Types is that they are much stronger than Single Types...But they do have a weakness. If you're attacked before completing the second action, the skill may be canceled. For example, if an enemy nails me while I'm preparing to use a Double Type skill... ...The first move's canceled, and you have to start over again...Right? Usually, yes. So if you keep attacking me while I'm preparing my move...you'll probably win! What the heck!? You just told us your weakness, dude! True skill will prevail, even if you do know my weaknesses. The third type of skill, which we like to call the Other Type, is unique...You may have noticed that wolves like to leave to find support when they're in trouble. But they won't get back until the next turn. Oh! So if we defeat the rest of the enemies before the wolf returns, we win the battle! That's right! Only if you aren't fast enough, a whole new pack of wolves will show up. Double and Other Types are risky to use in battle...but your enemy can use them, too! Make sure you defeat them as soon as possible. So you're basically saying that you're a pushover without your special move, Beggur? …What? That's all for today! See you later!Okay, quick recap. There are three kinds of moves. -Single Types are just normal moves like you see in any RPG. -Double Types only take half a turn, and are frequently used to charge up an attack with one half and then execute that attack with the other half. If you damage an enemy while they are charging an attack, you may cancel the second half. -Other turns temporarily remove the user from battle. If an enemy uses one of these and you kill everything else before they get back, you win. Meanwhile, in the real world, Beggur is back at his headquarters...  Don't just stand around! Go arrest Klein! Sir! Right away, sir! Yeah, okay. Enjoy your freedom while you still can, boy! Bwuh ha ha HA HA HA...ooooh...ouch...He hasn't seen the last of me. Klein will pay... Well, did you hear her mention Zeldalia? Well, there's a witch named Zeldalia in Poto's Forest. I guess you're not entirely useless... Heh, well, it's not that easy. There's a huge fortress blocking the way. It was built back during the war, but it's just used by bandits nowadays. That's the only way to the forest? Supposedly there's a path by Lake Forwel, near Iris' Grave. A merchant told me that, but I think we can trust him. We don't have much choice. We'll have to try it.Alright, we've almost got this update finished, but let's chat up Lita real quick before we get go.  Are you okay? I just noticed your always so cheerful. Of course. Smiling helps you feel better. Besides, you only live once, right? Do you think smiling really helps? Of course it does. It definitely helps me when I see you smiling. ... … … … Wh-What's that supposed to mean!? Music: Beat of the Rumbling Earth Little Girl with Old Lady Voice Well, well...It's been a long time. Mysterious British Gentleman: Too long. Yet we haven't changed a bit. Her: You didn't come all this way to discuss old times. What do you want? Him: I thought you might like to know that my experiment is nearly complete. Her: …!? You cannot defy nature! Him: We'll find out soon enough. Her: You fool! Him: You can't stop me. Though you're welcome to try... The man teleports away... Her: ...If that's true...then testing his power is all that remains. Hurry back, Norn...
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Feb 18, 2014 06:33
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The knights all have different appeareances and yet their battle sprites are all the same. This is a bit disconcerting.
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Feb 18, 2014 18:56
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I like how even the generic grunts have some personality
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Feb 18, 2014 21:26
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I like the idea that the Mana are actually there and contributing, instead of like Seiken Densetsu 3 or whatever when they basically disappear unless you need something, and even then you don't even see them half the time. I always wanted to see their thoughts on what's going on. I mean, they're elemental spirits. They're pretty well tied to anything involving mana.
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Feb 18, 2014 21:59
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How are you capturing this? The first update looked mostly okay but... The game really isn't supposed to look like that. The contrast is blown out completely, half the colors are completely saturated away and the tones that remain are compressed to a few very visible gradients. Something distinctly weird is happening to the image somewhere in your pipeline...
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Feb 18, 2014 23:13
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| # ? May 5, 2024 05:25 |
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Well, I'm using an AverMedia DVD EZMaker USB Gold. The capture device in itself has always seemed to work fine, but for whatever reason I had some deinterlacing problems a lot in my previous LPs. I recently decided that these deinterlacing problems come from the software that came with my card (CyberLink PowerDirector), which does some inferior deinterlacing thing that overrides Yadif. I did the first update recording from Cyberlink, and the rest recording through Virtualdub's capturing ability, in hopes that I got get better deinterlacing. However, as you all can see, I'm having trouble figuring out how to get the colors under control while capturing this way. Anyway, I took a snapshot through Cyberlink of the same spot, and I have to say it looks better. Old: New:  The NPC on the left still has some ugly blurring, but I think in general I can keep that to a minimum when I'm picking frames directly out of a video. I'd be happy to switch back over to Cyberlink and see how that goes for a while, and/or take this over to TSF and see if we can figure something else out. Rabbi Raccoon posted:I like the idea that the Mana are actually there and contributing, instead of like Seiken Densetsu 3 or whatever when they basically disappear unless you need something, and even then you don't even see them half the time. I always wanted to see their thoughts on what's going on. I mean, they're elemental spirits. They're pretty well tied to anything involving mana. I think Popo is really the only one that still has stuff to say after he joins, at least in the story, but it is nice that the mana talk to you when you use them for synthesis or give them items. I think most of them pop up in Popo's Fourth Wall Lectures to explain their abilities as well.
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Feb 18, 2014 23:52
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