The Seven-Dimensional Let's Play [Ar Nosurge]

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Video Games > Let's Play! > The Seven-Dimensional Let's Play [Ar Nosurge]

UncertainKitten: Oct 10, 2012

Aww, I'm sad to have missed the latest trivia round before everyone else got to it. Finally caught up to this...I was waiting until I beat the game myself to read.

I appreciate this LP, Feinne, particularly fixing and making consistent a lot of the localization stuff, it makes some things clearer to me.

# ¿ Oct 26, 2015 05:22

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# ¿ May 22, 2024 09:16

UncertainKitten: Oct 10, 2012

FractalSandwich posted:

I see you've realised the truth: if you go too long without posting some kind of content to the thread, the seal on my powers will weaken, and I'll be able to break free and subject you to a fate worse than death - I'll post a neverending series of essays on how this game perpetuates a problematic exclusionary heteronormative patriarchal hegemonic discourse.

Oh hey, now I kinda want you to deliver. I mean, I'm really into the Ar series but..

Feinne posted:

Don't worry, I'll probably have more soon to buy more time.

I'll look forward to it. I've invested far too much of my life into memorizing far too many hymmnos songs and generally enjoying the worldbuilding.

# ¿ Oct 26, 2015 07:24

UncertainKitten: Oct 10, 2012

FractalSandwich posted:

You're playing with powers you don't understand. The endless cosmic wisdom granted by my ultimate technique, "Chains of Markov", is far beyond human comprehension.

I think I want this more than I did before. Markov chains are great.

Actually, I think what I want now is Markov hymmnos. Is there a way to make that happen? I feel like there should be.

# ¿ Oct 26, 2015 19:52

UncertainKitten: Oct 10, 2012

Feinne posted:

Declared a holy war against Platina as part of an elaborate revenge plot.

Bishop Falss (Because they couldn't make THAT obvious enough), also known as Kyle Clancy

Feinne posted:

A prince who was friends with Croix

Targana

Feinne posted:

Archia's leader.

Raphael

Figured I'd do one from each game.

# ¿ Oct 26, 2015 20:52

UncertainKitten: Oct 10, 2012

Omobono posted:

Did we mention that Shurelia's single joke is variations on "remember Ar Tonelico 1"?
Although to be fair I actually laughed here at the sheer audacity.

Also what the hell? It actually leads into a bad ending? Cass doesn't immediatly dropkick Delta before realizing it's the player's fault, and then trying to punch you through the screen or something?

I honestly got the impression that they reached the end of the writing for the game, were like "oh poo poo, it's phase 3 and we don't have a bad ending. QUICK, MAKE SOMETHING UP" and that's how we got the horrible, horrible Shurelia ending. (I regretted my completionism immensely. Immensely.)

# ¿ Oct 30, 2015 05:04

UncertainKitten: Oct 10, 2012

So...against my better judgement, I'd like to mention that I'm learning em-pyei-n vari-fen jang. I have no idea if anyone would be interested in listening to my mediocre singing, but I could potentially post something once I have it more down, particularly if anyone could make a passable off-vocal track (because those basically don't exist for these songs, unfortunately.)

UncertainKitten fucked around with this message at 22:18 on Nov 6, 2015

# ¿ Nov 6, 2015 22:11

UncertainKitten: Oct 10, 2012

Feinne posted:

The traditional dress of their hometown.

Skuwat, Aurica. I really better know this one, given I cosplayed that outfit

Feinne posted:

A swimsuit and float.

Southern Cross, Jakuri

Feinne posted:

A bondage suit.

Victim Pain, Cloche

I'm pretty sure I could get all of these, but I'll leave some for the others.

# ¿ Nov 8, 2015 23:44

UncertainKitten: Oct 10, 2012

I admit, I kind of found the cooking contest both hilarious and a bit touching in a way.

So, uh, as for em-pyei-n vari-fen jang, it's actually coming along pretty well as I practice it, but I kind of hate how I handle the chorus. It hits weird parts of my range, so I'm not sure I can make it sound all that good which would...really be a shame because that's like the best most emotional part of the song. I'll still be working on it though, and I'll put out another request for a passable off vocal using audio wizardry if anyone wants.

# ¿ Nov 14, 2015 05:03

UncertainKitten: Oct 10, 2012

Super Jay Mann posted:

He was unneeded for that though, Jacqli/Mir took that role and ran with it hard.

It's great because the party is all like, semicompetent, particularly for a JRPG, but like incredibly drama laden so somewhat ineffective, and then she joins and is basically more competent than the rest of the party put together, probably 70% because when everyone starts getting overdramatic she's just like 'Yeah, we're not doing that, I'll just blow up this path and we'll move on.'

So! I think I'll have a recording of em-pyei-n vari-fen jang by next week. I'm pretty satisfied with where I'm at with it right now, and just need to memorize it so my performance is smoother. I'm sad I won't have an off vocal, but I'm glad I said I'd do this because it's gotten me back in practice singing and restored a couple of my higher notes.

# ¿ Dec 1, 2015 04:09

UncertainKitten: Oct 10, 2012

So, I started an actually not lovely job this past week which has simultaneously helped me actually get practice in for em-pyei-n vari-fen jang (I kind of get there much earlier than I have to because trains and thusly have time to spare) and also impeded my ability to deliver on my promise. That said, I literally have like 4 more lines to memorize plus a bit more practice, and I'll put out a recording. I'm actually really happy with how it's come along, so hopefully other people will enjoy me singing it.

# ¿ Dec 13, 2015 00:41

UncertainKitten: Oct 10, 2012

Feinne posted:

Ugh it kinda feels like that actually.

You really feel the flaw in the combat system in the boss fights, like they recognized that the timing-based guards of AT2 were cool but didn't bother to really look at why those worked as a mechanic so instead they did something really lovely that makes fights either awful and boring or impossibly hard with no real middle-ground.

Like if they'd literally just stolen AT2's mechanics wholesale this game would have been 1000% better. That would even let us have things like extra party members (even if they come and go from the parties) and various points where both parties come together and are actually working together instead of them contriving reasons why only one group is fighting a thing.

Oh and another thing they I never really thought of because the game doesn't really make it clear at the time, em pyei-n vari-fen jang did in fact KILL Zill. She dead. It comes up and I was like 'wait we did that?' because I didn't think that was what happened.

This game man this loving game. Like I like aspects of it but god drat.

So speaking of killing the worst lady (that I enjoy far too much), I'm starting the recording phase of em-pyei-n vari-fen jang. Thing is, that chorus kicks the poo poo out of me. It's technically not in my range, but I can make the notes when I'm fresh. This is not conducive to multiple cuts to get it just right, but I'm going to try. It hopefully should be ready within a few days, because, like, I can tell I'm close (though wow my mic sucks), I just need to do some clean up and...I guess shaping? It's hard to explain, like, my singing style is...well let's say it's more suited to, say, REPLEKIA then this song (I might have sung REPLEKIA in the past).

It WOULD have been ready like a week ago but apparently there was a rebellion in my sinuses and I ended up being sick for like the past while, which sucked because I really wanted to practice

. But yes, I didn't forget this, just stuff happened like a full time job and the sicks.

Unrelated to that, I totally agree that they just needed to roll with AT 2's mechanics, though I kinda wonder if they could have made the wave system work with something similar, because I did really enjoy being able to clean up the entire bar in one fight.

# ¿ Dec 31, 2015 03:13

UncertainKitten: Oct 10, 2012

Feinne posted:

Remember I sang EXEC_COSMOFLIPS for the Qoga thread and am charitably the worst singer in existence so the bar you have to cross for 'best singing contribution in an ar tonelico thread' is somewhere around the core of Ra Ciela.

COSMOFLIPS is actually a really solid one if you want something that's pretty straightforward at some point because while a couple of the words are a bit of a mouthful it's just a verse and a chorus that repeats but with different feeling.

Oh and you also have to sing it with a Japanese accent to actually match the meter because while I'm a big fan of KOKIA, rather a strong accent and it's really obvious when you look at the lyrics and listen to the song at the same time. There are just one or two words she can't help but add a phantom vowel to the end of because I'd assume they're just really weird sounds for a Japanese speaker.

I'm not judging either there are plenty of sounds in languages that are just weird and if you don't really drill into yourself what they are you're always going to say them wrong. Like say a theta, which is 't-rough breath' and not 'th' as an English speaker would say that sound.

I'm pretty good at phantom vowels in hymmnos. Actually, I sang COSMOFLIPS at Otakon 2015 with a friend. I kind of overpowered him, but like, the fact he had such a deep voice that kind of worked as a ground against my own singing really made the blend come out really well. Um...actually there's video of this performance, though I'm not 100% sure I want to post it? I mean, it's pretty easily searchable on youtube I imagine if you REALLY want to see, but, like, I am an embarrassingly bad cosplayer, and was definitely in cosplay in that video, so...

Basically, I know, by heart, EXEC_COSMOFLIPS, METHOD_REPLEKIA, METHOD_IMPLANTA, EXEC_LINCA, EXEC_Z, EXEC_RE=NATION, The Heart Speaks, EXEC_SPHILIA, METHOD_METAFALICA, and...possibly more but I can't remember at the moment. Also, now I can add em-pyei-n vari-fen jang to that list at this point, I just need to get it more musically solid rather than lyrically solid.

# ¿ Dec 31, 2015 05:11

UncertainKitten: Oct 10, 2012

Feinne posted:

The behavior of the boss there is shockingly similar except to Ar Nosurge's except we can't kill him that quickly, instead he wastes like five+ minutes of our time each time. It varies because the phases don't all have the same amount of health and one of them's just Prim and has EXSPHERE_NOSURGE playing and is therefore actually pretty fun.

EDIT: Also while I won't link it, I did in fact search for that video and it's great and you should feel great about having done it. Also a credible Skuwat. I can't criticize because only stops me from doing horrible nerd poo poo like dress as the King in Yellow for halloween.

Also looking at your list of things maybe try EXEC_HARMONIUS, that's always a fun one.

EXEC_HARMONIUS honestly bores me. Like, I guess it's pretty? But...like...I dunno, it never grabbed my attention.

Well, thank you for the compliment. I always tend to find a lot of mistakes in my singing, so it's hard to like enthusiastically recommend it, but on the flip side, like, I generally get positive reviews when I do sing, so I'm trying to be more out there with it as a thing and it's kinda working for my confidence and such.

But...you know what? I will link it properly. I mean, I'm already working on a song to specifically record for this thread, so being self conscious at this point is just kinda puzzling. So, here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NwK05H88VrM

Feinne posted:

I would assume she did in fact recognize them but wanted to see where things were going.

This sounds like exactly a thing she'd do. I was pretty puzzled as well when it initially happened, but I think I went with that. I mean, she had to be confident in her tracking spell, so.

# ¿ Dec 31, 2015 20:47

UncertainKitten: Oct 10, 2012

The final boss dialogue for both halves is amazing, though I ESPECIALLY lost it for Ion/Earthes. Just...just wait. I'm going to agree with the sentiment that it would be nice if this concept was explored more thoroughly, though in a way Ion's Geonometrics tends to touch on it, a lot. Like, seriously, her calling you out on being able to turn it off or cheat or whatever was pretty legit awesome. Still...yeah, I dunno, the plot is ok at best.

# ¿ Jan 3, 2016 06:03

UncertainKitten: Oct 10, 2012

MonsterEnvy posted:

It did not show up here. But I remember the other player saying that he choose Prim as his character because she is his type. (Yeah he is creepy)

That's basically the amazing quote you get if you fight her with Earthes/Ion

# ¿ Jan 7, 2016 21:35

UncertainKitten: Oct 10, 2012

Lunar Suite posted:

I think the 'people treating real lives as a game' angle is pretty interesting, though the 'have you cake and eat it too' angle was a bit... off. The joke of Prim's player being ArTonelicoGoon.txt wasn't bad but also not really... there?

What if -
Prim's player were an alternate Zill who failed in her plot and wanted to avert it (and then it turns out she's actually our Zill from the future and contributes to her own fuckup). And Earthes' player could be an alternate Nelo, who did succeed in going home by sacrificing everyone and found herself unable to meaningfully interact with her loved ones because she feels like a monster.

Turning Prim into an Undertale spoiler, like thetruegentleman suggests, would also be interesting, but that would require Ar noSurge to do Undertale levels of fuckery, like addressing you with your PSN handle, adjusting game weather based on your IP, commenting on your saves, etc etc.

Having finally gotten around to playing Undertale while watching my roommate play through Ar Nosurge I'm pretty convinced they could have done WAY better with Ar Nosurge and the meta level stuff. Like, I mean, when I first played I thought the Interdimend stuff was really cool and clever but...I guess I've seen the concept done better now and I'm let down?

In other news I'm starting to really despair of being happy with any of my run throughs of em-pyei-n vari-fen jang. It being winter isn't helping because I basically am stuck with perma-post nasal drip because gently caress THIS WEATHER. Turns out when you use your nose to really place high notes, having stuff in the way makes that a lot harder! I'm still trying, so maybe I'll get lucky and have a good recording session. If anyone has any advice for dealing with annoying ~*~not actually a cold~*~ stuff, please share.

# ¿ Jan 21, 2016 22:12

UncertainKitten: Oct 10, 2012

Feinne posted:

I find extra strength Tylenol Sinus is a good all-purpose when my nose is crappy regardless of the source.

Hope you feel better soon (and not just for selfish reasons of wanting to hear your version of em-pyei-n vari-fen jang, it legit sucks that you're feeling poorly).

The worst part is it's not even really affecting me otherwise, it's just blocking me just enough so I can't sing with proper form. This only really comes into play on the high notes, but, like, they're the most important part of the song so it's kind of just "thanks sinuses. go to hell."

I'll try Tylenol Sinus to see if it helps clear it up, I'll be going out tomorrow anyway.

# ¿ Jan 22, 2016 03:03

UncertainKitten: Oct 10, 2012

Feinne posted:

Actually question:

Any interest in seeing the alternate synthesis chats for anything?

Since Ion can synthesize almost all of Cass's things and vice versa.

To be fair I think Ion's are largely better than anything Delta and Cass have to say. But yeah, I'd say just do the funniest ones.

# ¿ Jan 26, 2016 19:03

UncertainKitten: Oct 10, 2012

Feinne posted:

Update in the next couple of days finishing the Dive.

Oh and Nights of Azure came out and is a shockingly good action rpg thing for a Gust game. I highly recommend it.

I've also got LOTS of time this month so not only should I be able to wrap the thread up soon, I'll also have time to start something new before the end of the month.

Oh man, this is so endorsed, I love the game. I'm not 100% sure it's worth $60, but it is rather refreshing compared to the Ar franchise (which is a guilty pleasure at best for me.) The action is a bit easy (at least as far as I've gotten, I hear it spikes later), but I'm really enjoying the dynamics of the main relationship and overall it's just making me happy to play. I'm on Chapter 4 right now.

Also I haven't forgotten to em-pyei-n vari-fen jang, I've basically given up on singing the chorus in proper register, I'm out of practice on my highest notes, and it shows. I'm more of a lower alto naturally anyway, and ORIGA...isn't. The issue this past week has been I sort of shouted my voice hoarse at the ALI PROJECT concert at Anime Boston. It was worth it. I'll probably try to do something this week and eventually post even though I totally won't be happy with it.

# ¿ Apr 5, 2016 08:16

UncertainKitten: Oct 10, 2012

Feinne posted:

Oh for sure but it's not like Bayonetta or something.

Also no matter how easy things might seem early on I can say with certainty that this is a temporary matter. The bosses start getting pretty hard later on, the enemies in later areas can very easily drop you if you get incautious, and the first of the new bosses in the postgame is guaranteed to brutalize you if you don't figure out what the fight's 'about' and even then she can hit like a drat train. The Arena also has plenty of ways to make you bleed if you just loooove death.

This is largely what I have heard, yes. And I wasn't counting the Arena in my assessment of it as "easy". Oh well, I got through the first boss in Chapter 4 and also the lovely scene where Arnice and Lilysse dance which basically made me squeal, oh my gosh and actually had to dodge a little. Moon Rabbit is still thus far the superior form, though.

# ¿ Apr 7, 2016 05:38

UncertainKitten: Oct 10, 2012

FractalSandwich posted:

It was such a strange choice for them to call those things "fetishes". The jokes write themselves.

Eh, it makes a decent amount of sense given the original meaning of fetish. Like, I'm not sure what other term I'd use. I suppose charm or focus might convey it, but it doesn't feel quite as...consistent with what they actually are as fetish (in the original sense) is. I totally have been making all the immature jokes though, so yeah.

# ¿ Apr 10, 2016 07:44

UncertainKitten: Oct 10, 2012

Motto posted:

Though with Azure it's a case where you could do a find->replace on "friendship" to "love" and the dialogue would make more sense.

It is always REALLY JARRING when Lilysse or Arnice says something about being "friends". Like...I realize it's kind of a trope in Japanese media but they really are super overt and I'm not sure it even counts as subtext. It almost makes more sense if they're making fun of calling it a "friendship", but like, I highly doubt they're being that self aware.

Also I totally agree that Professor Alucard and Lloyd make the game significantly worse. Chris at least is totally ok though, and sadly I have not seen enough of her yet.

# ¿ Apr 11, 2016 06:11

UncertainKitten: Oct 10, 2012

So, I sorta have a recording now. It's not great, but it's not horrible, so I'll post it. Is there a preferred way to post these things 'cuz I've never really done this before.

# ¿ Apr 28, 2016 22:00

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# ¿ May 22, 2024 09:16

UncertainKitten: Oct 10, 2012

Thuryl posted:

If it's just audio, put it up on tindeck. If you've got video too, youtube.

Thanks, it's just audio. Also, I will note I opted not to sing the first part because I kept hitting the first note way, way, way too loud for my microphone, and dropping the gain didn't help much because it made the rest sound weird later. Also I didn't really have the pronunciation timings right, which is fine when I'm just overpowering the initial audio, but not so great when I have to sing quietly enough to avoid clipping, but loud enough to be heard. Also I was losing my low notes and I have no idea why. So, basically, lots of reasons I didn't do the first part, but the rest is there. It's also going to start super quiet because I had to reduce the volume on the original track...a lot to be heard clearly. Also my microphone sucks, so don't expect great quality, but, hey, I finally did it and I am proud of myself.

So, without further ado, here is me singing em-pyei-n vari-fen jang: http://tindeck.com/listen/utdks

# ¿ Apr 29, 2016 05:56

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