Let's make babies, then lead them to battle!! Conception II: CotSS

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MythosDragon: Jan 3, 2016

I think the deeprealms might just seriously be the laziest thing I've ever seen in an RPG tbh.

# ? Oct 8, 2018 00:22

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# ? May 3, 2024 16:50

namehereguy: Nov 24, 2017

Psycho Knight posted:

They show a surprising amount of restraint in that regard, especially considering what this game is.

Actually, if it wasn't for a small amount of CG's (and that Classmating cutsceNE dealie), this could have easily been a Teen rated game. I've seen way worse in lower content rated games, not even just RPG's.

It's probably like movie ratings where the publishers have a target and some degree of interaction with the rating system such that games in a grey area between T and M get the rating the publisher wants them to; they'll add or remove scenes of basically the same type until they get their rating.

Sword_of_Dusk posted:

Awakening wasn't really a generational story, nor was the children utilized well (though it was far better than the bullshit Deeprealms of Fates). You have to turn to Genealogy of the Holy War for a generational storyline.

The curse of the newer Fire Emblem games is that bringing in favorite mechanics and eliminating hated mechanics is limiting their storytelling. They've got the children characters because people liked the Genealogy of the Holy War children mechanic, but for a generational story to really work the kids have to come in as a block, which means that at some point during the story there has to be a hard cutoff where they're finalized. And they seem to have specifically decided they aren't going to screw you over on avaliability and once you're out of the prologue people don't just stop being in the party anymore, or generally even skip missions. So every plot-critical kid's parents need to lock in before the kid joins your party, which sticks in a plot barrier to a thing that proceeds at variable rates when they tie it in with supports. Hence why Lucina's mother locks in and why she's the only child character specifically in the main plot. And it's not much of a generational story because Chrom is like 24 tops and Lucina is 16 minimum before the timeskip.

Genealogy of the Holy War was from the era when they'd just kill 80% of the cast and kick the rest out of the party then bring in replacements. I think the only way they're doing a cast-wide generational story as opposed to "Come with me if you want to live" is like Fate's big DLC where you have a whole game that reaches a conclusion about the adult cast and a second whole game about the kids cast after the credits roll. They're not likely to just exterminate the cast with their current tone (well, okay, Fate's DLC did literally that), and there's gonna be an immortal witch or dragon or whatever in the secondary adult cast and there's gonna have to be a reason they aren't just tagging along with the new party. Which probably means "we failed to defeat the dark lord, now he's back" isn't on the table, it has to at least be a plot where they tell their kid to take care and go back to magical librarianing or whatever their day job is instead of bringing their dread and mighty sorcery to bear.

MythosDragon posted:

I think the deeprealms might just seriously be the laziest thing I've ever seen in an RPG tbh.

Yeah, they are admittedly pretty drat lazy mostly because they're basically just an excuse to have the children mechanic. Getting the mixed adult-children party is going to have a reason that boils down to "Time bullshit!" and unlike Awakening this isn't a time bullshit plot.

# ? Oct 8, 2018 00:32

MythosDragon: Jan 3, 2016

I like Fire Emblem mostly because of supports and yeah the way it interacts with kids isnt very good. I grinded for over 100 hours to get all the supports in 13 and sans mini games its probably the most I've suffered in a game. I also cant even attempt to play 13 as a normal game while accounting for kids, if I want to use the kid I have to use both their parents, and then keep them together on maps forever or grind parents I'm not using to get the kids and ughh it sucks. 12's unlimted map number is the best the series has gotten, but even then I dont really want to try it out with kids.
I want to see FE branch out and try out other methods for supports though like tying them to the chapter directly, having a base where you can stumble on them happening naturally(I feel like this might have been part of 14's development process but was scrapped cuz of your mostly useless home base,) or bringing back 4's large maps and in battle events but much more robust and tied to the castles.

Just for the record you don't have to kill the parents to have kids. You can have a say 100 year war, and have major arcs each have a different lord while still getting to use old units. Best way is to Agarest it up and have Fantasy Races make up the bulk while humans get redesigns. Basically just acknowledge that time is a thing in terms of war.

Edit: Uh before I keep this going, I'm gonna stop talking till we get a new update. I always get involved in the derails....

MythosDragon fucked around with this message at 01:21 on Oct 8, 2018

# ? Oct 8, 2018 01:19

Psycho Knight: Jan 19, 2017; "Being a fangame and not bound to a rating, Pokemon Reborn is able to expand more on topics such as death and the extreme dangers Pokemon could pose. These topics...are treated with the respect such a subject deserves."

Let's throw a Medicham into a volcano and make it give the T2 thumbs up!

Sword_of_Dusk posted:

Awakening wasn't really a generational story, nor was the children utilized well (though it was far better than the bullshit Deeprealms of Fates). You have to turn to Genealogy of the Holy War for a generational storyline.

Fair enough. I'll agree fully with the Deeprealms though. I really liked GotHW, but Fates was one game too far with the children mechanic. I still like how Awakening used them, but I will admit that they could have been utilized better (while they should have been left out of Fates entirely).

namehereguy posted:

It's probably like movie ratings where the publishers have a target and some degree of interaction with the rating system such that games in a grey area between T and M get the rating the publisher wants them to; they'll add or remove scenes of basically the same type until they get their rating.

To get the thread back on track, the game is in the weird middle ground in Japan, being CERO C (15 and up). Either Atlus didn't want to cut anything and just took the M rating as is, or they looked at it and would have had to cut too much in order to get a Teen rating.

From what I understand a Teen game would have likely sold better since it's less restricted. Although maybe the statistics showed that an M rating would draw more attention? I'd like to know what the thought process was behind this.

I know people tend to flip their poo poo whenever localizers remove anything, but those Classmating cut ins add nothing. They seem designed to drive the rating up.

Seems like Alts for both is the more popular option. Maybe it would be a good idea to include the Alts for Ellie/Narika/Chloe in the next update as well. I wanted to wait until their first time going to the dungeon, but all the costumes are shown in the opening video anyway. At least this way I can get all the voting out of the way at once.

# ? Oct 8, 2018 02:07

MythosDragon: Jan 3, 2016

If I remember correctly, it takes a while to get access to all the girls. How do you plan to hold that vote?

# ? Oct 8, 2018 02:29

namehereguy: Nov 24, 2017

Psycho Knight posted:

To get the thread back on track, the game is in the weird middle ground in Japan, being CERO C (15 and up). Either Atlus didn't want to cut anything and just took the M rating as is, or they looked at it and would have had to cut too much in order to get a Teen rating.

From what I understand a Teen game would have likely sold better since it's less restricted. Although maybe the statistics showed that an M rating would draw more attention? I'd like to know what the thought process was behind this.

I know people tend to flip their poo poo whenever localizers remove anything, but those Classmating cut ins add nothing. They seem designed to drive the rating up.

My guess is that if Atlus had decided they wanted a T rating instead they would have modified or removed the Classmating cut ins and probably gotten it. The market thing is basically that at least with movies the higher age rating tends to attract people who can get it, so if the target demographic would buy M-rated games then M is the target rating. And M isn't really a very firm cutoff in the US; it's Adult Only that's traditionally been a death sentence because Walmart won't stock it and a pretty big chunk of the game market was historically people who went to Walmart or equivalent and bought something that was on the shelves. Sometimes stores check age for M-rated games, but they don't always and generally when kids are old enough to make purchasing decisions their parents will consider it acceptable to buy them an M-rated game.

# ? Oct 8, 2018 05:08

Psycho Knight: Jan 19, 2017; "Being a fangame and not bound to a rating, Pokemon Reborn is able to expand more on topics such as death and the extreme dangers Pokemon could pose. These topics...are treated with the respect such a subject deserves."

Let's throw a Medicham into a volcano and make it give the T2 thumbs up!

MythosDragon posted:

If I remember correctly, it takes a while to get access to all the girls. How do you plan to hold that vote?

This is why I want the thread to focus on 3 of the heroines. Right now I have the current four equally leveled and will continue bond leveling until everyone is at the first 'bar', which is where you get the first actual bond event. Chapter 1 is largely tutorial dumps (I think it's just a matter of blowing through the dungeon after Update 4 and the Ch 1 is done) and then Chapter 2 introduces heroine 5. By the 3rd Labyrinth we will get all the heroines.

So here is my plan, at least for now. The upcoming vote is only for who goes with us into dungeon 1 for gameplay purposes. I will be showing off Fuuko, Narika, Ellie, and Chloe's bond events in the first bonding update.

After we get heroine 5 in the next chapter, I will ask the thread to cast up to three votes for 3 of the 5 heroines. The three with the highest will be the ones we focus on for bonding events. When heroine 6 and heroine 7 are introduced in the following chapters, I'll ask the thread to either vote for them or stay silent. If the new heroine gets enough votes to pass the 3rd place vote then they will replace them.

Example:
1. Fuuko - 12
2. Chloe - 7
3. Ellie - 6
Narika - 4

Let's say Ruby was introduced as the fifth heroine and gets 9 votes from people.

1. Fuuko - 12
2. Ruby - 9
3. Chloe - 7
Ellie - 6
Narika - 4

The 1, 2, 3 are the focus heroines.

I admit that it will be kind of tricky. Heroine 5 slips in close enough to the intro to not miss much, but 6 and 7 show up kind of late in comparison, so they either have a disadvantage or an advantage depending on your viewpoint (people either attach to who we have and don't want to start a new route, or they want to vote for the newcomers to see new route events).

The problem is, while I can grind for bond points sort of quickly, level is an entirely different matter. The focus heroines are the ones most likely to win 'take into dungeon' votes, so they will have to stay leveled. If I did a vote after every chapter then I risk the thead pulling a 180� and jumping between choices, resulting in me having to play catch up on leveling. There's always a point where people will get a bit bored with the focused on characters and want to see someome new just for fun.

If anyone has a better idea for this voting process then let me know. I'm open to suggestions. Just to give you an idea though, getting every heroine from level 1 to 5 alone required a straight 15 minutes of speed grinding each. That's only going to take longer as levels grow. It would really slow down updates if I had to spend an absolute minimum of like two hours leveling 7 heroines in every dungeon.

Psycho Knight fucked around with this message at 11:31 on Oct 8, 2018

# ? Oct 8, 2018 11:28

MythosDragon: Jan 3, 2016

The dlc has a metal slime grinding mission and since its packed in maybe it'll help?

Also if I know my goons, theyre gonna vote 6 and 7. Not sure how having delayed votings gonna effect that.

Edit: I havnt mentioned it but your added text is gr8. and the game half writes itself for you. Wake just burn blasts Chlotz all day.

MythosDragon fucked around with this message at 16:21 on Oct 8, 2018

# ? Oct 8, 2018 16:03

Psycho Knight: Jan 19, 2017; "Being a fangame and not bound to a rating, Pokemon Reborn is able to expand more on topics such as death and the extreme dangers Pokemon could pose. These topics...are treated with the respect such a subject deserves."

Let's throw a Medicham into a volcano and make it give the T2 thumbs up!

~Update 3.5: A little bit of Narika in my life, a little bit of Fuuko by my side~

So Wake and the gang have some time to kill while they wait on authorization for 'Operation: Baby's First Dungeon'. We're going to do some prep work before kicking that ill-advised adventure off.

There are currently four heroines that can be bonded with. The first scene is a unique introduction, and then bonding events after that are just generic filler types. The first full bonding event will happen once one of the bars on the gauge is full.

You can get this through a combination of doing the generic events, taking the heroines into dungeons, picking the right dialogue options during events, and giving gifts (although we have no access to gifts yet). Before all of that, we'll have Wake make the rounds and formally introduce himself to his future dungeon escort missions.

-School Entrance-

Chlotz will stop you for this no matter who you pick first.

Hey, do you want to come with me to the bathroom? Y'know, like friends do?

Chlotz, I have way more important things to do right now than potty train you.

What crawled up your rear end? I mean, further up than usual.

I've got to make sure everyone won't get ganked the second we set foot in the dungeon, so I have some 'interviews' to do. Need to know what I'm working with.

Oh? Are you meeting a girl? Well, if you are, work to make your bonds stronger. The closer you are to a girl, the stronger the Star Children you make with her will be.

Yes Chlotz, I know how this all works... Mostly. I'm still not a hundred percent on what the hell happens during Classmating. Still, I know full well that bonds need strengthening for this to work.

And the best way to make a strong bond is persistence and devotion. Just keep talking.

That's a touch creepy, but you at least have the right idea with the 'devotion' aspect.

Don't m--

Don't even start with that!

After that...encounter, we check in with Fuuko.

-2nd-year Classroom-
:siren:

As usual, be mindful that these videos sometimes have risque/spoiler screenshots in them :siren:

Music: Fuuko's Theme

Hey Fuuko, do you have a minute?

I'm probably going to be asking you to Classmate with me from time to time. So I think I should...formally introduce myself? If that makes sense.

Haha, you're so uptight. Don't worry, I'm totally okay with it.

To be honest, I'm worried that I'll end up more of a nuisance than a help. I don't know if I'm actually suited for the part...

(That makes two of us, unfortunately.)

But I suppose this is what fate has planned for me... I'll do my best to help you.

That's all I'm looking to hear right now. Thanks.

Oh, you don't have to thank me.

Well... Once again, then. I'm Fuuko, and for some reason I was chosen to be an Elite. It's nice to meet you.

Thank you for being so polite, madam.

You just love doing that don't you?

-2nd-year Classroom: A Short Time Later-
:siren:

As usual, be mindful that these videos sometimes have risque/spoiler screenshots in them :siren:

Music: Narika's Theme

Hey Narika. Got a second?

Just wanted to stop by and say 'hi'. We're going to be fighting side by side, so I wanted to get to know you a little better. Maybe get you fired up a bit.

Yes... that makes sense.

Listen, I'm going to be straight with you. I know you get nervous easily and all that, but unfortunately we don't have time to ease into this. This is not going to be easy, but if you can give it your all then we'll make it through this together. I promise.

Yes, of course! As long as you're fine working with me, I'll try my best... It would be my pleasure to fight alongside you.

Good to hear. Glad to have you on board.

(Oh thank god. I thought for sure she would be a nervous wreck after what happened in class. This is good, I won't have to spend precious training time calming her down and getting her focused. Maybe I'm worrying too much. I might be giving these girls too little credit because of what happened to Fuuko in the forest. This is going better than--)

(Ooh poo poo... here comes the downward slope...)

Huh? Oh, n-no, it's nothing.

Chlotz, for the love of Star God, please--

So you wouldn't mind being my pal too, I take it?

Not at all! I'd be glad to.

Then on behalf of all the guys who want to know you better, I have a question.

Do you have a boyfriend?

Wh...Whaaat? Why do you want to know that?

Hey, you're a cutie! You're modest and polite, so a lot of guys are into you!

I... I'm not sure that's true...

Listen Narika, you are modest and polite, but this is one of those situations where maybe you are being too--

You too, Wake...?

Er, Narika, your face is bright red. You okay?

*Narika loving books it*

Wait, Narika!

Aaaand there she goes.

...Chlotz.

What's up?

What the hell was that?

What? I was being friendly and encouraging.

No Chlotz, that's what I was doing. You ran up and asked a girl with clear social anxiety if she was dating. Then you started calling her a 'cutie' and polite and modest, and then you told her that every guy on campus is secretly eye-humping her wherever she goes.

And that was...not okay?

(I am going to enjoy Classmating with your sister and then telling you all about it afterward.)

Who else we got now that Narika has been properly terrified?

-Hallway: Sometime Later-
:siren:

As usual, be mindful that these videos sometimes have risque/spoiler screenshots in them :siren:

Music: Ellie's Theme

Where the hell did that Ellie girl disappear to? I've been all over the Academy and there's no trace of her.

(She wasn't a figment of my imagination... right? It wouldn't be the first time.)

*Ellie tears it through the Hallway*

Aheheh... I'm sorry, Ms. Chloe.

I haven't been told much in detail, but you can't come to class late, okay? Be careful.

I'm sorry! I'll try and come on time.

*sigh* I got scolded...

There you are.

(Good, I'm not crazy... this time.)

Ah, I didn't notice you there! Good morning, were you looking for me?

You know it's noon, right?

Aheheh, that's true. I should've just said "Hello," instead. I'm sorry, I only got to school just now.

Just now? Did you get lost or something?

Oh, not really. I had some work to take care of. But you were looking for me, right? Ah... If we need to go to the Labyrinth right now, I can go at once.

Slow it down, that's not why I was trying to find you. I wanted to touch base with you before we start getting prepared to go there.

I'll do my best, so I hope we can get along!

Glad to hear it.

Aheheh, I'll be seeing you all the time from now on. I was surprised to be chosen as a Disciple, but I'm happy to be able to meet you.

Why are you happy to be able to meet me? Am I some kind of celebrity or something? I've been here for like three days.

Ah, um, it's not important. Don't worry about it. Oh... Afternoon classes are going to begin soon. Sorry, if I'm any more late than I already am, I'm really gonna get yelled at. Please excuse me.

*Ellie loving books it*

...Maybe she is...

(Nope, don't go there Wake. You're not hallucinating or having flashbacks. She's totally real. Chloe could clearly see her too.)

Ellie apparently appears and disappears from the school like a freaking ghost and seems to be unable to sit still for like 5 minutes. Oh well, at least she carried an actual conversation this time. Let's go track down Chloe.

-Faculty Office-
:siren:

As usual, be mindful that these videos sometimes have risque/spoiler screenshots in them :siren:

Music: Chloe's Theme

Hm? What is it?

Just wanted to say hi. I haven't had the chance to meet you one on one yet.

You came all this way to say "hi"? That's very sweet of you.

I know it's going to be a pain trying to juggle teaching duties with stopping the world from being overrun with monsters. I'll do what I can to help out if you need it.

And I'll support you in any way I can. Really, there's nothing we can't do if we just put our heads together. I don't want you to think of me as just your teacher: we're in this together.

Yes, ma'am. Roger that.

No, no, no. Nu-uh. That's too... military. Just take a deep breath and relax.

Don't get cute with me. I lived with Chlotz you know.

Certainly, I'll be right with you.

Sorry... I have to go now.

*Chloe leaves*

She certainly is in demand... Hold on a second, did that girl say 'concert'?

Now that Wake is finished with the formalities, it's time to get some work in. I take everyone out to the ~~1st Dungeon from the next update~~ Training Facility to put them through their paces. After boot camp, Chloe/Narika/Ellie all settle at level 5, Fuuko hits level 7 (somehow), and Wake rises to level 10. Our tutorial Star Children also cap out at their current max levels, which are 10. That's okay though, because with the increased stats from the higher leveled heroines we can start opening up our SC options.

A little bit of Ellie is all I see, so let's look to her to start things off. First, a little skit. These happen for every heroine when they are first selected for Classmating.

-Ritual Hall-

Okay, so this is our first time trying this out.

I don't like being touched by people, so I don't know if this is going to work...

Fair enough. That is going to complicate things though.

Um, would it be okay if I just held onto your shirt...?

I... think? Hold on a tick.

Hey! Mattero! Does this work if she just grabs on to my shirt?!

*distant* I believe so! We haven't really tested that!

Well, no harm in trying I suppose.

Whew... I'm glad to hear that. Oh, that doesn't mean I don't want to touch you or anything.

Hey, it's up to you. Whatever you've gotta do.

Y-Yes! I'll do my best!

Yeah, we're still skipping that transition scene. Anyway, Ellie's got the stats to be able to create Swordis, Magician, Cleric, and Gunslinger. I choose Swordis for now because this is all just a dry run before I let you guys choose the team.

...Whew. Um, did I do well?

Your guess is as good as mine. There's a Star Child here, so yes?

...Whew. I'm relieved that I have the power to create Star Children, too...

Well she's got dog ears...cat ears...some kind of animal ears, and a tail for some reason, so she's some kind of furry apparently. I think that's normal for this class though. Why?

N-Nothing, I'm just curious. It's good to hear that nothing's wrong. All right, I'm going to do my best with the Star Children we create! When you go into a Labyrinth, please invite me along.

Next up is Fuuko. Technically this is her second time Classmating, but she still gets a scene.

-Ritual Hall-

Yeeeahh, sorry about last time. I was rushed, and not sure what I was doing, and those old guys were standing right there--

Haha. Well, we were just told to hold holds and think about each other. I mean, I'm still not sure what's really going on.

You and me both.

I guess we'll just have to keep going at it some more until we're used to it... It's a bit embarrassing, though.

Well when you describe it like that then of course it's embarrassing. Did you even listen to yourself just now? You sounded like Ruby. Cool those Dusk Breakers.

Oh, right! Sorry!

Well, why don't we get started?

Most of the girls at the moment have the stats necessary to create Magician. It's basically a tutorial class.

Oh... Whew. Thank goodness. It looks like the Star Child was born without any complications. I hope it goes this well every time we do it.

Why do you guys all freak out about the Star Children not being born right? It's really freaking me out.

Hahaha, sorry. This is still so new to me. I'm just not confident that I did well...

I don't think that's how this works Fuuko.

I mean, you did choose me to Classmate with. I have to give it my all.

(Well at least she's motivated. Can't complain about that I guess.)

You're up next Narika.

Your turn Narika. Let's get started, I need to get some grinding done.

*distant* Woooooo!

I meant grinding in the Training Facility! ...Grinding experience! ...Killing virtual monsters to get better at fighting--

DammitChlotzwhereareyou!?

Um...

Sorry, I'll deal with that later. Did I make you nervous?

Just a little bit...Okay, maybe more than a little bit...

(Dammit Chlotz. You're making this really difficult for me.)

Listen, I'm a bit nervous too. Let's take a second to try and relax. Sound good?

Just take a deep breath.

*breathe in, breathe out*

I think I'm feeling a little better now.

Good. Okay, slowly hold out your hand.

L-like this? Oh... Wake, your hand is so warm.

Okay. Now hold on to your rear end because this part gets incredibly weird.

Wait!? Wh--

Narika is currently the only heroine that will reliably give me access to the Grappler class, mainly because of the large TEC requirement. Even with Narika excelling in that, I still only just barely meet the requirements for it at level 5.

*pant* *pant* My mind was blank during the whole thing. Did I really do it right?

Beats me. My head gets filled with all these weird stat sheets whenever it happens. I'm just as lost as you guys. There's a Star Child here though, so everything looks like it turned out fine.

Oh, it's so cute!

Yeah...

I don't remember much about the Ritual...But I can still feel the warmth of your hands.

(Little killer is gonna help me slaughter soooo many monsters. Adorable.)

Um... Wake...

Hm? What? Sorry, I zoned out there for a second.

I don't have much experience with this, but I'm glad I could help.

Before we can hit up Chlotz' sister and have Wake cash in that 'blessing' card, we have to deal with Chlotz himself first.

-Ritual Hall-

Since you're here, it probably means you're here for some Classmating, right?

Don't give me that. I heard you spying.

Er, no... I just happened to be walking by. I wasn't trying to peek on you Classmating with the girls or anything!

What's your angle this time Chlotz? Just tell me.

Anyway, at this rate you're going to have nine Star Children in no time.

You need three Star Children per team in order to make a balanced team!

Thank you for explaining first grade math to me.

I'm so jealous. I mean, you have a duty to get it on as often as you can!

Oh yeah, standing in the middle of a ritual hall and blacking out for a minute while graphs fly around my head is the best. Do you have an actual reason for being here?

Oh, anyway, I've got some good news for you. Ruby just told me. The more you take a Star Child into the Labyrinths, the more they will like you. She also suggests you take the girl that is the Star Child's mother, and any siblings.

I mean, I've got to get back to my studies. Later.

I can't believe Chloe had to live with that for an entire childhood.

Despite the Chlotz bashing, that last part is actually some decent information. The nine Star Children thing is useless, since you'll eventually get 9 anyway, but the family thing is nice to know. If you bring Star Children families with you then they will be stronger in battle.

Note: This is largely meaningless to me since I'll likely have to use multiple heroines in order to get the proper classes for the teams you guys suggest. For now anyway. Eventually the heroines stats will get to the point that they can create nearly any class.

We're almost done. A little bit of Chloe is all we need.

-Ritual Hall-

Ready to go Chloe?

But... um... how exactly do we get started?

You're nervous too, huh?

A-A little, yeah. I've never had to do this sort of thing before... If... If you don't mind, would you show me how to do it?

Chlotz isn't around, so I can't watch him squirm. There's no need to make this weird. At least not yet.

Just give me your hand. It's not really complicated.

Like... this?

That's right. Ready?

S-Sure. Please be gentle...

Classmating doesn't really understand the concept of 'gentle'. Brace yourself.

Huh!?

Chloe can only get us...Wait, another girl? Is this some kind of weird reverse starter-Pokemon gender ratio? This is like the sixth or seventh time Classmating in this recording and I haven't seen a single boy? Huh...well that's RNG I guess.

Here's a theoretical class I could get, possibly with a little more grinding.

.....

Alright, we're done.

R-Really? Phew... I got so nervous. I hope I did everything alright...

You sort of just had to stand there, you know. I don't think you have to worry about messing it up.

I'm still not even sure myself what the hell is happening.

I'm glad to hear it. Since I'm a teacher, it would be embarrassing if I failed...

I wouldn't worry yourself about it. It seems like a pretty automatic process.

You're right. Hey. Next time you go to a Labyrinth, would you take me with you? That way, I'll be able to help you out when you really need it.

Now that's the kind of help I like to have.

It's a promise then!

I think that's enough for today. You look pretty exhausted. I'm not in great shape either to be honest.

Oh my! I must look like a mess. Give me a call if there's anything I can do.

FINALLY. We are done with all those awkward introductions and allusions to actual naughty stuff. Before I wrap up this little interlude though, there's one little skit I think we should see. We're still missing a new class showcase after all.

-2nd year Classroom: The Following Day-

Hey Narika. You're kind of just Blair-witching it here in the classroom. Do you want to head back to the dorms together?

: All right.

Oh... I'm sorry. I can only go with you part of the way.

Got something to take care of?

I'm volunteering at the Church to collect donations today. The money we collect will be used for orphans.

This skit is an example of the generic 'filler' type. You'll see them repeat a lot while trying to raise the Bond gauge to the next level. They do add new ones over time, but for the most part you'll just skip through the text and pick whichever dialogue option gave you the best affection score as you repeat it over and over. These also act as opportunities to present gifts to the girls, but again, we don't have access to any right now.

Sounds admirable. I can help you out if you'd like.

Really? Oh, thank you very much.

No problem. I just need to call out for donations, right? Having God's Gift do it might make for a better haul.

It would make me feel better to have you with me. I'll try to call out, too. Thanks again for coming with me.

-Downtown: Evening-

Hey! Give generously to the Church! They're trying to help out the orphans! You don't want to ignore orphans, do you!? Come on!

(At least he's enthusiastic...)

Oh! E-Excuse me! W-Would you please d-donate to the Church! We're collecting money for orphans...

[Random Jackass]: Nah. AngelMarker has me bent over a barrel all day long just trying to earn this much. Although...If you'd bend over a barrel maybe I'd be willing to help out the orphans a little.

Wh-what!? I-I-I...

...(Come on, just a liiittle uppercut. You can do it.)

[Random Jackass]: Well I'm not giving up my cash for nothing. Do you want to help the orphans or not?

B-But...

(gently caress it, I gave her the chance.)

Hey! Put the money in the box or move along, idiot! She's not out here to stare at your ugly rear end face!

[Random Jackass]: drat, God's Gift huh...Feh, screw this.

*Random jackass leaves*

Doing okay there Saint Narika?

Sorry... I didn't know what to say...I...

You'll get there eventually. Anyone that hangs around me long enough ends up becoming more surly and jerkish. Here, go and grab us some drinks with this. We've been out here for a while now. I have a... call to make.

O-Okay, thank you.

...

*Narika leaves*

...

*beep* Zorro? Are you still nearby? Dad needs a favour.

Daaad, I told you I'm not Zorro! I'm Tuxedo Mask!

Tuxedo Mask is a loser that gets captured every other episode. He doesn't even use a sword. He swings a cane and throws flowers at people like some kind of geriatric florist. Besides, I'm not forking out for a dozen roses every week. I'm not a walking bank.

He's cool! He jumps around and wears a cool hat and--

Uuuugh...we'll finish this later. Some bastard just harassed your mom on the street.

.....

Black shirt, about five ten, kind of lanky. Currently turning down the alley near our location on Gracia Street. He didn't donate to the orphans.

.....Zorro will avenge mommy.

That's my boy.

Don't kill him though. I've got a feeling Star God wouldn't be cool with taking it that far.

Understood.

I'm back. Here is your drink, Wake. Are you finished with your call?

Thanks. Yeah, it won't take long.

What won't?

I meant the call didn't take long.

(I love those little guys.)

Forgive me for that extended bit. I had an idea and wanted to take a crack at it. Anyway, the reason for this set up is that during the training montage, the RNG Star God decided to smile on Narika and she got a temporary Star Child boost. This was enough to allow her to create a Thief class Star Child.

It isn't immediately obvious until you go to the Class select and see a bunch of classes opened that you may not have been able to create before. The Matryoshka will have stars rising up from it during the creation as well.

This bonding mini-update is at an end. Originally I intended to show off the first major bonding event for the heroines, but I didn't think the Classmating introductions and Wake's meet-and-greet would take up so much space.

That being said, in preparation of our ability to tackle the first dungeon freely, I need some votes.

These are the classes I currently have access to (or that I should be able to get with another level or so).

The voted for team will be our team for Dungeon 1. The vote on which Heroine will go with us into the first dungeon will happen next update, once we can actually explore the drat thing without being constantly interrupted by tutorial cards.

Psycho Knight fucked around with this message at 20:24 on Feb 23, 2019

# ? Oct 8, 2018 23:37

BlazeEmblem: Jun 8, 2013; Uh oh. Do I use Ariadne thread or Goho-M?

How about
1.Cleric
2.Swordis
3.Theif

Cleric is really the only important one now. Or ever.

I like what you are doing with Wake's interactions with Narika.

BlazeEmblem fucked around with this message at 00:27 on Oct 9, 2018

# ? Oct 9, 2018 00:15

Sword_of_Dusk: Sep 30, 2018; Legendary Luminary

Casting my votes for Swordis, Magician, Thief.

If you get a female Thief, can she be named Felicia? Otherwise, no naming requests from me.

# ? Oct 9, 2018 00:19

Ratoslov: Feb 15, 2012; Now prepare yourselves! You're the guests of honor at the Greatest Kung Fu Cannibal BBQ Ever!

We gots to have a Grappler and a Merchant. Look at that hat!

# ? Oct 9, 2018 00:28

AweStriker: Oct 6, 2014

Cleric, Magician, Merchant

# ? Oct 9, 2018 00:30

MythosDragon: Jan 3, 2016

I suggest toning down the added dialogue a teensy bit. Love the effort, characterization and the Zorro joke, but the Chlotz scene went on too long and is gonna be contradicted in game a bit too many times for it to really fit. Plus I can see it becoming work rather than fun for you eventually and sans life thats the number one killer of LPs.

1 correction; Theres more than one actual event per bond level.

As many thieves as possible good practice.

# ? Oct 9, 2018 01:26

Psycho Knight: Jan 19, 2017; "Being a fangame and not bound to a rating, Pokemon Reborn is able to expand more on topics such as death and the extreme dangers Pokemon could pose. These topics...are treated with the respect such a subject deserves."

Let's throw a Medicham into a volcano and make it give the T2 thumbs up!

MythosDragon posted:

I suggest toning down the added dialogue a teensy bit. Love the effort, characterization and the Zorro joke, but the Chlotz scene went on too long and is gonna be contradicted in game a bit too many times for it to really fit. Plus I can see it becoming work rather than fun for you eventually and sans life thats the number one killer of LPs.

1 correction; Theres more than one actual event per bond level.

As many thieves as possible good practice.

Noted. I can see your point with the Chlotz scene. I just felt this scene was a particularly bad one for him and it isn't well handled in game. It kind of just...ends after he chases her off.

The last scene that I wrote myself was because I wanted to try something out. I want the Star Children to have a little bit of personality so they aren't completely interchangeable. I'm not planning on writing entire scenes like that all the time. It was an experiment and it seems like it didn't work out. I can admit to that.

As for it becoming work, I wouldn't worry about that. Writing for this LP is super fun. Something about this game makes it really fun to insert dialogue for, which is partly why I picked it.

I'll go back and remove the Chlotz scene though. It does feel kind of preachy.

I will warn you now though, if you remember this game then you know the scene coming in update 4 with the Sealing Matryoshka and Ruby. I loving hate that scene. I have an extended rant for Wake in mind for that scene, and I refuse to drop it. Ruby needs to be put in her loving place in that scene for how blazingly stupid she acts. :colbert:

It is a huge plot hole and I have no idea if the translation caused it, but I don't care. You have until then to convince me I'm wrong about it or point out something I missed. If you remember it fully anyway. I would love for someone to point out something that justifies what she didn't do, but after reading through the scene multiple times it just. Makes. No. Sense.

Anyway, these bonding updates don't offer a lot of official dialogue for me to work with. This is supposed to be the grindy stuff that you do in between story, so it's a little light. That's why my added stuff is heavier than usual. I appreciate the criticism. When I start writing I have a hard time stopping, which is a flaw in it's own right.

As for the bond events, I didn't notice that. I never ran into any alternate events while bond grinding until the gauge was full, at which point a chain of events kicked off. I'll review footage to see if I missed anything.

Sword_of_Dusk posted:

If you get a female Thief, can she be named Felicia? Otherwise, no naming requests from me.

If Thief wins a spot then I'll do what I can. It doesn't take especially long to save scum this, I just don't want to be doing it with every class. Plus, sometimes the RNG gets weird, like it did in this update with 7 consecutive girl Star Children.

BlazeEmblem posted:

I like what you are doing with Wake's interactions with Narika.

Thanks. I'm not favouring anyone in order to avoid influencing the thread, Narika's scenes at the moment just lend themselves well to molding the dialogue, probably because she doesn't talk as much as the others. It's just easier to steer the conversations.

Psycho Knight fucked around with this message at 02:14 on Oct 9, 2018

# ? Oct 9, 2018 01:57

Dance Officer: May 4, 2017; It would be awesome if we could dance!

Merchant, Thief, Cleric because they're all money-grubbing bastards

# ? Oct 9, 2018 02:45

MythosDragon: Jan 3, 2016

Psycho Knight posted:

I wasn't trying to tell you to remove anything, I love pretty much all of it. But I've seen too many dead LPs and as fun as uncanon dialogue is, character development that doesnt stick hurts. Don't remember the scene in question at all. Go wild, I'll say something after the fact if I can offer anything. Also sorry if I came across wrong.

For Bond events, the classmating scene is a requirement for other events. Before the first dungeon each girl can have the introduction, the classmating, and then 2 events that start their plot. Basically if its voiced, its not generic, and its placed at the top of the event viewer in the database. This with the generic 2, amounts to 12% of their scenes so uh yeah not much to this game. Also we have 19% of the main plot already so the game is front loaded there, so eventually we'll get by the updates faster.

# ? Oct 9, 2018 02:47

Psycho Knight: Jan 19, 2017; "Being a fangame and not bound to a rating, Pokemon Reborn is able to expand more on topics such as death and the extreme dangers Pokemon could pose. These topics...are treated with the respect such a subject deserves."

Let's throw a Medicham into a volcano and make it give the T2 thumbs up!

MythosDragon posted:

I wasn't trying to tell you to remove anything, I love pretty much all of it. But I've seen too many dead LPs and as fun as uncanon dialogue is, character development that doesnt stick hurts. Don't remember the scene in question at all. Go wild, I'll say something after the fact if I can offer anything. Also sorry if I came across wrong.

For Bond events, the classmating scene is a requirement for other events. Before the first dungeon each girl can have the introduction, the classmating, and then 2 events that start their plot. Basically if its voiced, its not generic, and its placed at the top of the event viewer in the database. This with the generic 2, amounts to 12% of their scenes so uh yeah not much to this game. Also we have 19% of the main plot already so the game is front loaded there, so eventually we'll get by the updates faster.

I didn't take offence or anything. Constructive criticism is good.

I won't say that I would never get burned out on this, but I'd like to point out that I could have been playing Valkyria Chronicles 4 and Fist of the North Star: LP for the past two weeks or so. I'm the kind of crazy VC fan that imported VC3 and fan-patched it to play. This is also a long weekend for me, yet I've pretty much been glued to this LP. For the time being, I am completely in to this.

You may remember it as soon as you see it. It is hard to remember because it goes by in like 1 sentence, but it's such a huge hole that the entire scene falls apart. The cast even skips over it immediately and everything continues like normal. So at least it won't run into the 'character development that doesn't stick' problem you mentioned. I also have a way to explain it away in a sense so that people don't go asking "Wait, why is everyone fine with each other now?'.

Assuming I am not blind and didn't miss an incredibly important piece of info, then this upcoming scene will flow much better than the Chlotz scene.

Oh, and I see what you are saying about the bond events. I know about that, I guess I just didn't word it properly in the LP. I'll review it.

Dance Officer posted:

Merchant, Thief, Cleric because they're all money-grubbing bastards

That they are. You are incredibly spot on with Merchant, but that little bit hasn't shown up yet.

Psycho Knight fucked around with this message at 03:24 on Oct 9, 2018

# ? Oct 9, 2018 03:21

namehereguy: Nov 24, 2017

I'm trying to decide if Ellie is Wake's long-lost childhood friend or if she's just straight up an avatar/angel of the Star God.

I mean she has stars in her eyes and we have this whole star magic theme going. And it is like the driving plot point that the Star God really likes Wake.

namehereguy fucked around with this message at 04:32 on Oct 9, 2018

# ? Oct 9, 2018 04:30

megane: Jun 20, 2008

I'll go with Thief, Merchant, Cleric since they're the coolest-looking.

# ? Oct 9, 2018 04:50

Rockopolis: Dec 21, 2012; I MAKE FUN OF QUEER STORYGAMES BECAUSE I HAVE NOTHING BETTER TO DO WITH MY LIFE THAN MAKE OTHER PEOPLE CRY

I can't understand these kinds of games, and not getting it bugs me almost as much as me being weird

Huh, had to look it up - at first glance I thought Chloe was Akira Kogami, the burnt out idol from Lucky Channel.

# ? Oct 9, 2018 05:22

MythosDragon: Jan 3, 2016

Just did a quick dungeon run, and this games alot less clunky than I remember. Guess I just really hated star children/something better came out/grinding bond points sucks. Not really seeing your level grinding issue right now tbh, I didnt even get to the boss, and a single run of the dungeon got Ellie to 10 and my kids to run into the level cap at 11.... Almost feels like I have an exp cheat on tbh. Not sure what to do now, my kids are maxed out, but taking level 1s to a boss doesnt sound fun.... Really nice that like 70% of the monsters just implode on contact and still give exp and cash.

Also since I havnt mentioned it, the art's use of bright and clashing colors really makes the character design stand out, and I'd love to see this artist again. Chlotz' eyes just SHINE.

Edit: Did 3 more runs and realized exp pinata's show up in imploding monsters, explaining my levels. Basically if you just run around on the final floor once or twice you should get all the exp you need to take a heroine to the next dungeon and bring your new kids up to speed.

MythosDragon fucked around with this message at 07:45 on Oct 9, 2018

# ? Oct 9, 2018 05:51

Zanzibar Ham: Mar 17, 2009; You giving me the cold shoulder? How cruel.; Grimey Drawer

A Grappler possibly named Baki after this manga I'd see around when I was still reading manga online but haven't actually read which means I probably got the vibes it wasn't a light-hearted story.

# ? Oct 9, 2018 05:57

Ashsaber: Oct 24, 2010; Deploying Swordbreakers!; College Slice

Personally I liked the extended filler bond scene there, it was pretty fun. I would like to know how much of Wake's dialogue is from the game and how much is fresh for LP, but that's just because all of his lines in thread have been italics so its hard to tell where the game ends and the LP begins.

On another note, you exposing me to a stupid little game like this got me interested, so even if it isn't a good game I'll probably pick it up on sale to screw around with it.

# ? Oct 9, 2018 06:29

MythosDragon: Jan 3, 2016

Ashsaber posted:

Personally I liked the extended filler bond scene there, it was pretty fun. I would like to know how much of Wake's dialogue is from the game and how much is fresh for LP, but that's just because all of his lines in thread have been italics so its hard to tell where the game ends and the LP begins.

On another note, you exposing me to a stupid little game like this got me interested, so even if it isn't a good game I'll probably pick it up on sale to screw around with it.

Basically Wake just passively responds 90% of the time, PK is usually expanding and improving it but sometimes he pulls from the ether to keep scenes going after an awkward pause or rip into someone.

(Wake getting off on monster killing is canon btw,)

# ? Oct 9, 2018 06:35

Psycho Knight: Jan 19, 2017; "Being a fangame and not bound to a rating, Pokemon Reborn is able to expand more on topics such as death and the extreme dangers Pokemon could pose. These topics...are treated with the respect such a subject deserves."

Let's throw a Medicham into a volcano and make it give the T2 thumbs up!

MythosDragon posted:

Just did a quick dungeon run, and this games alot less clunky than I remember. Guess I just really hated star children/something better came out/grinding bond points sucks. Not really seeing your level grinding issue right now tbh, I didnt even get to the boss, and a single run of the dungeon got Ellie to 10 and my kids to run into the level cap at 11.... Almost feels like I have an exp cheat on tbh. Not sure what to do now, my kids are maxed out, but taking level 1s to a boss doesnt sound fun.... Really nice that like 70% of the monsters just implode on contact and still give exp and cash.

Edit: Did 3 more runs and realized exp pinata's show up in imploding monsters, explaining my levels. Basically if you just run around on the final floor once or twice you should get all the exp you need to take a heroine to the next dungeon and bring your new kids up to speed.

Hmm.... Can you quickly check to see how much exp a single battle gives you on average? I can't do it in my file since I'm end game level.

I ran around exclusively on the last level of Lust just before the boss, and the exp never cracked 40 for a battle. It was usually 20 or so, and that is in the Training Facility version. Exp piniatas also never showed up. I'm wondering if SC tinkered with that as well (and if they did then I will be horrified about what that means for me). Just in case: getting Fuuko to level 8 takes roughly 800 exp I think, for example. The insta kill ability also never triggered very often, meaning I had to fight each battle.

I'm also dealing with janky WASD movement controls, and key placement that requires me to stop occasionally to figure out the proper buttons. That's because the game started only sporadically recognizing my DS4 during the last recording. It does not want to make this easy on me.

Ashsaber posted:

Personally I liked the extended filler bond scene there, it was pretty fun. I would like to know how much of Wake's dialogue is from the game and how much is fresh for LP, but that's just because all of his lines in thread have been italics so its hard to tell where the game ends and the LP begins.

On another note, you exposing me to a stupid little game like this got me interested, so even if it isn't a good game I'll probably pick it up on sale to screw around with it.

As MythosDragon mentioned, Wake's responses are 90% generic. He either gives a statement of agreement or he repeats what he heard in the form of a question so that other characters have a break in dialogue.

Remember, I said he wasn't a completely silent protagonist, but he is still supposed to be an avatar for the player to self-insert. The game gives him kind of a middle ground between Persona protagonist and Fire Emblem Awakening avatar. So he talks more than a Persona protag, but his dialogue isn't as unique as Awakening's protag. I'll post a quick comparison example later today to show you the difference between me and the official. Trust me, whenever he says anything interesting I will point that out (like his Chlotz' sister comment).

And in case anyone is wondering, I work Wake's dialogue around everyone elses. I very very rarely remove anything from another character's official dialogue, so all the non-italicized lines from them are everything they are saying. At the most, I'll remove or change an adjective or the beginning of a sentence to make it flow better with my added stuff, but that's it.

Also yes, I am not playing up Wake's monster killing lust. He has a...beef, with monsters. We'll get an explanation for it in story, but he is devoted to the idea of killing them. Hell, I may actually be underselling how focused he is in some of these scenes.

I'm glad you're interested, although I can't exactly recommend buying it due to the grindy and boring dungeon gameplay. I won't steer anyone away from it though because I do want Spike Chunsoft to get support. They are a weird and cool game company (remember, they also make both Mystery Dungeon and Danganronpa).

Psycho Knight fucked around with this message at 12:52 on Oct 9, 2018

# ? Oct 9, 2018 12:40

MythosDragon: Jan 3, 2016

Psycho Knight posted:

Hmm.... Can you quickly check to see how much exp a single battle gives you on average? I can't do it in my file since I'm end game level.

I ran around exclusively on the last level of Lust just before the boss, and the exp never cracked 40 for a battle. It was usually 20 or so, and that is in the Training Facility version. Exp piniatas also never showed up. I'm wondering if SC tinkered with that as well (and if they did then I will be horrified about what that means for me). Just in case: getting Fuuko to level 8 takes roughly 800 exp I think, for example. The insta kill ability also never triggered very often, meaning I had to fight each battle.

I'm also dealing with janky WASD movement controls, and key placement that requires me to stop occasionally to figure out the proper buttons. That's because the game started only sporadically recognizing my DS4 during the last recording. It does not want to make this easy on me.

Same amount of exp, the imploding ones give me 20ish, and the ones that dont are about 50, with one group getting like 80. Theres like 3 specific groups that the game makes me fight. Big Dude and Lava Boot with Little Boots, and Laser Spider with Sword Faced Birds. I fought 2 times or so each on 1-3, and then floor 4 gives me about 5 fights while the other 30ish enemies in the dungeon implode. I can see Pinata's not being in the training facility though. A run can be done in less than 30 minutes, and going through floor 4 is 10ish.

# ? Oct 9, 2018 20:00

Psycho Knight: Jan 19, 2017; "Being a fangame and not bound to a rating, Pokemon Reborn is able to expand more on topics such as death and the extreme dangers Pokemon could pose. These topics...are treated with the respect such a subject deserves."

Let's throw a Medicham into a volcano and make it give the T2 thumbs up!

MythosDragon posted:

Same amount of exp, the imploding ones give me 20ish, and the ones that dont are about 50, with one group getting like 80. Theres like 3 specific groups that the game makes me fight. Big Dude and Lava Boot with Little Boots, and Laser Spider with Sword Faced Birds. I fought 2 times or so each on 1-3, and then floor 4 gives me about 5 fights while the other 30ish enemies in the dungeon implode. I can see Pinata's not being in the training facility though. A run can be done in less than 30 minutes, and going through floor 4 is 10ish.

Weird. I'll have to review in detail once I'm finished with Update 4. I definitely didn't achieve that kind of leveling in the time you did, and I was using fast forward. I especially shouldn't be taking longer considering the Steam version has almost no loading times. Even with my janky keyboard controls, it shouldn't be that much of a variation.

I went back and changed the Chlotz/Narika scene as well. Shouldn't be as jarring now when Chlotz continues being a creeper.

I don't have people I can bounce these off of first in order to refine them, so if anyone here is reading along and feels like something isn't landing, or a scene is dragging because of dialogue I added, or anything like that, then let me know. I'm willing to edit and rewrite a little.

If you don't like me adding dialogue to characters at all, then this isn't going to be an LP for you unfortunately. Unfunny as I might be, I doubt I'd make it through the LP just purely transcribing it. All I can promise is that I won't cut dialogue from any character except Wake. I include everything other characters say and just work with that. I step back a bit during serious plot scenes because serious important stuff is a bit harder to work with.

Update 4 is chugging along. The battle update portion is really tutorial card heavy (like 20 of them). I will be uploading a video of the battle run for people who would rather just see it in action.

# ? Oct 10, 2018 02:37

Sword_of_Dusk: Sep 30, 2018; Legendary Luminary

I'm loving the added dialogue. Even the character development Wake tried to bring out in Chlotz worked for me, because the dude feels like the kind of character who would need more than a few whacks to the head before something finally clicked. I can just imagine him constantly explaining away everything Wake says.

# ? Oct 10, 2018 04:48

Zanzibar Ham: Mar 17, 2009; You giving me the cold shoulder? How cruel.; Grimey Drawer

I like the added dialogue. Without it finding out that the 'thanks for your blessing' line was from the game itself wouldn't be half as funny.

# ? Oct 10, 2018 05:18

BlazeEmblem: Jun 8, 2013; Uh oh. Do I use Ariadne thread or Goho-M?

I like the added dialogue. Him being snarky and obsessed with killing monsters really only shows up in a few scenes in his normal dialogue, so the first time I saw the "glad to have your blessings" line, I thought it was just awkwardly worded, not intentional. The added dialogue helps set the line up better.

# ? Oct 10, 2018 05:45

jimmydalad: Sep 26, 2013; My face when others are unable to appreciate the

AGDQ 2018 Awful Block Survivor

Merchant, Thief, Magician

# ? Oct 10, 2018 08:12

Psycho Knight: Jan 19, 2017; "Being a fangame and not bound to a rating, Pokemon Reborn is able to expand more on topics such as death and the extreme dangers Pokemon could pose. These topics...are treated with the respect such a subject deserves."

Let's throw a Medicham into a volcano and make it give the T2 thumbs up!

~Update 4: I'm talking 'bout you, and you, and you; You're an rear end in a top hat too~

In our last update, Wake got to know the girls that would be fighting alongside him inside the death mazes that no-one else has ventured into. He also welcomed some new Star Children into the world, but we won't be meeting them just yet.

Our first foray into a Dusk Circle is right around the corner. We just need to check on a few minor loose threads before we set off.

-Downtown-

I need to get that sorted out and I don't have much time to do it.

-Laboratory-

There's a battle simulator here, right? That one I used during the Qualifying Exam? Please tell me I didn't break it when you guys took that Ether reading a few days ago.

Oh, it survived. No need to worry. Planning on doing some training, are you?

That's a good idea. Allow me to introduce you to the simulator again.

-Redux-

We call it Renda for short.

Is it customize-able? I'm going to be working with some...varying skill levels.

Oh, yes. The Renda is programmed with a variety of combat scenarios. Its data contains all the monsters and Dusk Circles that we have investigated.

Perfect. There must be a ton of options to choose from then.

*clears throat* Ah, yes. Of course.

What was that for? You said it has data from all the monsters and Dusk Circles you've investigated.

Oh, don't mind me. I'm just thinking--

It only has a basic training dungeon, doesn't it?

I'm afraid so. If you recall, the entire reason you are so coveted is because you are able to enter and fight inside the Dusk Circles. We...don't have that ability, so our data is limited. We will have to gather it from you in order to truly expand Redux.

Yeah... I guess I should have expected that.

It also has combat models of all the female Disciples that can go into combat with you. That's what makes it possible to experience a very realistic mock battle within it.

That will be helpful later on when I'm training myself and the kids, but not so much right now. The girls need some basic training, so they'll have to go into Redux with me.

I understand.

Elite-level Disciples are given free access to the combat simulations. This is your personal activation key card. Now you can use Renda whenever you want to. Make sure you don't lose it.

What the hell is a 'Renda'?

Redux.

...

We'll call it Redux from now on.

Good. I see Ruby passed along the memo.

The interiors of the Dusk Circles are like Labyrinths. The geomagnetic fields within the Circles are unstable, and change at a whim. Renda recreates that feeling of randomness quite faithfully as well.

Dungeons are randomized every time. I want everyone to pause and take special notice of that first part right there, in a story context.

But, seeing is believing. You should try experiencing all this for yourself.

Trust me, I intend to.

Your Star God abilities are a rare gift indeed. You can create an Ether Field sufficient for battle, even in a world with no Ether.

But, we've calculated the Star Energy used by an S Rank Disciple and Star Children... Unfortunately, it seems you're limited to taking only one girl into a Labyrinth.

You say that like it's a bad thing.

Thus, we've made it so that the simulator only allows for one female to join you.

Great. So I have to train them individually instead of a group. Thanks for not breaking the immersion Mark.

I knew you would appreciate that.

I was being sarcastic.

I know, and I was ignoring your inflection.

The training facility only let's you explore Labyrinths you've already cleared. Since we haven't cleared any yet, that means the only thing the training facility has available is the Tutorial Dungeon, and I MEAN Tutorial Dungeon. It has tutorial cards that pop up to nag you, it sticks you on rails, all that jazz.

Honestly, this scene is kinda stupid. This is like someone telling a basketball player that they've got a training center set up for them to get ready for their first professional game, then the door opens to reveal one of those mini-hoops that sticks to your bedroom wall/door.

-Laboratory-

Wake sleepwalks through it just to humor Mark.

I poked one of those bat monsters with my foot and it died, Mark. Is there no way to crank the difficulty up a smidge?

Ah, God's Gift. Have you come to see me?

What do you know, you can be funny sometimes.

He's here to train. I already gave him a key to Renda.

...

I mean, Redux.

...

That's good. Make sure you treat Renda well.

I promise to treat Redux well. No clue what this Renda thing you're talking about is.

Right... the interchangeable terminology complaint.

Right. Anyway, I need to make a stop at the store. Have fun doing whatever it is you do.

Oh, yes, perfect timing. I was thinking of getting this to you.

It's the Vis-o-matic, a communication tool for the God's Gift... Mark named it. Mark, make sure you teach him how to use it.

This better not be some kind of tracking collar.

Wake, do you still have time?

As long as we can walk and talk, then yeah.

Well, let's get going. Time to have some fun shopping.

-Shop-

We plan on developing even more from now on and having them sold here.

What's with these prices? What kind of currency is "GP"?

Crap, this isn't the Gold Saucer is it?

You can't buy the products here with money. That's where this "Vis-o-matic" comes in. The Vis-o-matic has communication functions, a database, and GP awards.

So then GP is just some form of AngelMarker fun bucks?

GP is short for "Glow Points." The Vis-o-matic will be constantly monitoring you within Dusk Circles. When you defeat monsters, it measures your performances in the battle. It then runs it through some algorithms and awards you with these Glow Points. Your GP total is then saved and updated when you make it back to the store. The stronger the monsters you defeat, the more GP you will be awarded.

I think that should be obvious, really... But you use that GP to shop at this store...

*Chlotz outta nowhere*

When did you get here? Never mind, you do have a point there Chlotz. Mark, not that I don't love the idea of getting paid to kill monsters, but you do realize that if I die then the rest of you are boned, right?

Nothing good can come when a man's grasp exceeds his means. That's why we use this merit system to balance things out.

And that fortune cookie wisdom is just fine for regular Disciples, but I sort of have a lot more on my plate than they do. Is AngelMarker seriously going to look humanity's prophesied savior and say "Sorry, you can't have the Dusk Circle Decimator. You're 50 glow short"?

Most certainly.

(gently caress you AngelMarker.)

That gadget is pretty cool, though.

You'll eventually be supplied with a version of the Vis-o-matic for Disciples.

Seriously? Yes!

You realize that means you need to go and kill monsters to be able to afford anything, right?

Ooohhh...crap.

By the way, the video feed sent through the Vis-o-matic is given to us in real-time. When you're in the Labyrinth, we plan to monitor that video feed. Chief Ruby will do it most of the time. Well, that explains the Vis-o-matic.

It is a tracking collar!

I never implied it wasn't.

Bastard. Whatever, as long as it's only in the Labyrinth. I catch Ruby spying on me in the shower and this thing's next video feed will be the inside of a monster's stomach.

Anyway, what are you doing here Chlotz?

I was told the mass-produced Dusk Breakers were being given out at the shop.

Welp, see you later!

*Chlotz leaves*

Your friend is able to be so cheerful, even at times like these. I envy him.

That makes one of us. Hm? What's this thing doing?

Looks like the time's come to use it. Touch the screen to answer it.

It feels like a nanny is shackled to my wrist.

I'm glad to hear that. I have some good news for you. The government has approved of our plan to move into the Dusk Circle. I'm sorry to ask this of you so suddenly, but can you come back to the lab?

I was hoping to get training time in with the girls, but fine. Might as well just suck it up and get this over with.

-Laboratory-

We have been given our marching orders by the government. God's Gift and the Disciples supporting him have permission to enter the Dusk Circles.

So happy about that.

However, when you are within the Circles...

Isn't that so, Mattero?

That... is the case.

From here on out, you will be receiving directions from her and her team.

Can't say I'm excited for that, but if she is an expert on Dusk Circles then at least I'll have solid intel to rely on. Better to take whatever precautions we can.

Still, I'm surprised at how quickly we received approval for the plan.

I'm sure they were getting impatient too. They've been waiting twenty years for this moment, after all.

...Still, we can't push our luck in there. We'll begin by testing the waters.

Awful lot of 'we' being thrown around here.

The Circle Seeds... the ones that haven't turned into Labyrinths yet... As long as they don't turn into Labyrinths, there's no danger of monsters coming out?

Yes. The Circle Seeds are Circles that haven't become active. There are five Circle Seeds that can be ignored for now.

There was a report that the other Circle Seeds could become active within 9 months. The overall density of Dusk Energy in the world is supposedly on the rise.

I-Is that so?

Here's an interesting little bit of info hidden away in the Database about Dusk:

Notice anything interesting there? Dusk is one of the six elements that make up this world. Specifically, it's where humans get their desires. That sounds like a negative thing at first, what with it being linked to the Dark element of this game. However, what is quite possibly the strongest of human desires? Living.

Seems there's a little bit of a feedback loop happening. Monsters start getting more threatening -> people get more scared of being killed by monsters -> the desire to not get killed by monsters grows -> Dusk Energy rises -> monsters get stronger/more numerous, and it all comes back around. It's like the Circle of Life, except it carries them all straight to hell on the backs of nightmare creatures.

I'm sure there are other factors at work here of course. There are a lot of human desires after all. There's also the question of what caused the monster threat to surge in the first place, and how the Dusk Circles started springing up out of nowhere.

Let me mention this, while we're at it.

Data suggests that for a Dusk Circle to gather enough energy to become a Labyrinth, a vast amount of Dusk Energy must be absorbed from the surrounding area.

And when I say "surrounding area," I mean from this world.

That's probably not a good thing...

I'm not sure what all that means.

Simply put, the worse the Circle, the more time it will take for it to become active.

Here's how this game handwaves the dungeons/enemies getting progressively harder over time.

I don't see how that's something to smile about Chloe. Depending on how these things are spread out, doesn't that mean they're all on track to line up in one horrifying chain?

If the other Circles all become active at once, what are we to do?

Everyone, let's all focus on the task at hand before worrying about possibilities. Currently, there are only two Circles that have become active. This time, we'll move into the smaller of the Circles. Remember, this is only to test the waters. Don't spend too long in there.

That part is up to the monsters as far as I'm concerned.

Oh, and you don't need to depart for the Dusk Circle immediately. Once you're ready, come back to the lab and speak with me.

We're on a short leash here, Ruby. I wanted time to train with everyone, but I also need a first-hand look at what I'm going to be dealing with. Fuuko, can you take about half an hour to get focused, and then meet me back here with the star kids?

M-Me!?

Sorry, but I've fought with you the most so far. I know more about how you fight.

Well... Okay! I'll do my best!

It's go time. Four updates in and it's finally time for the Big Ol' Battle Breakdown that will largely signify the training wheels mercifully coming off. Let's head back to the lab and get this pain train rolling.

-Laboratory-

Hello, Wake. If you're ready to go, shall I call for the Chief?

Let's rip this bandage off.

Alright, I'll go get her. Wait here for a moment.

-Station-

We're all counting on you, Wake.

Now is really not the time for the 'counting on you' bit. I do not need any more pressure right now, and I can't have any fun to lighten the mood. Let's just get on with it, please.

It's the world's fastest ride, made with the latest technology from AngelMarker. Its name is the E.S. Savage! It's the newest model, loaded with the Supernova Star Engine!

We're getting an airship!

The Supernova Star Engine takes in Ether from the atmosphere. It uses it to amplify the passengers' Star Energy and convert it to propulsion power. You'll use this craft to reach the Dusk Circles all around the world. It runs completely on autopilot! Isn't it a dream come true?

We don't get to fly it.

Chlotz would piss himself if he saw this.

Alright, guys, get your inner children back under control.

Trust me, I've been restraining mine ever since we got authorization to start all of this. Let's begin already.

Who are you going to take into the Labyrinth with you?

You're given the option to choose between Fuuko, Ellie, Narika, and Chloe. We're taking Fuuko in this time. I didn't hold a vote, but that's because this field trip is still part of Tutorial Town. We haven't quite gotten off the rails yet. Jacob, Elley, and Esther will be accompanying us as well.

You ready, Fuuko?

I'm ready.

Very well. The other girls will be able to monitor you two over the communication gear.

And don't try anything funny just because you're along with her, okay?

We'd be able to hear and see everything.

Chief Ruby!

I'm walking into a constantly shifting monster hive that no-one on earth has survived in for more than a few minutes tops, and even fewer have seen. I'm going in completely blind, with the exception of the limited knowledge you guys possess. I have to learn as much as I can about what I'm dealing with.

I'm just trying to ease their tension.

(He's a completely different person... What is with this guy?)

Well, good luck, you two!

Wake is acting a little... off. I'm sure it's nothing important.

When selecting a Labyrinth from the map, you can also change the heroine you are taking with you using the Y button (which is Tab on the keyboard I think. The hell?) You'll also get access to 'sub-labyrinths' over time. These are just optional dungeons with beefier enemies. The Training Facility only gives you experience, so the sub-labyrinths are where you want to go if you want to farm money and good items.

The goal here is obvious: Stop the boss and shut the Circle down. The dungeons get longer as the game goes on as well, to an almost absurd degree. This first dungeon just has 5 floors, but the last dungeon in the game has something like 25, and it is a drat slog. The game is nice enough to highlight the floors that have quest targets on them though. We don't have any yet, but I'll show you what it looks like when we pick some up later.

Anyway, Lust Labyrinth, here we go!

This thing can sure get some height. We can see Star God from up here!

No really, we can. That massive rear end world tree there is the Rootstone that Chlotz mentioned just before I poo poo all over his name. The jewel looking thing is supposedly the Star God's Will. The Church is headquartered in a city at the base of the root and can apparently commune with Star God.

So at what point in the finale do we climb that thing and kick some villainous god-wannabe rear end? We don't. This is pretty much all we will ever see of it. It just hangs out in the background.

[Announcement]: All personnel must change into battle attire before entering the Dusk Circle.

Back to business I suppose. The gang needs to gear up before going in.

God... dammit...

-Lust Labyrinth-

'Impact' was not mentioned as being part of the flight plan. Nevertheless, we got here in one piece. It's..uh..It's sort of garish in here.

Yeah... Just like Mark said, it's a drat maze in here.

Wake, it seems you've made it there safely.

We're going all the way in now.

That's quite bold of you. Make sure to take it slow.

I'm well aware.

(Nothing? Really? What happened to him?)

The deeper you go in, the stronger the Dusk Energy inside will become. Obviously, that means the monsters will be stronger as well, so be careful.

Umm....Wake? Are you...doing okay?

'Okay' is a little too wide of a lens. What do you mean, exactly?

Well, you've been getting more and more serious as the day has gone on. You didn't even shout something weird when you transformed, like you did last time. You just stood there and...poof! You know?

It's nothing to worry about. I'm still the same old me, whether or not you like that. This is just new territory for me. I don't know what to expect from these places yet. Not to mention I've spent the past few days having everyone in the school pile expectations on top of me. I'm nearing the limit of my stress tolerance.

Okay. Just know that me and the Star Children are by your side.

Thanks Fuuko. That helps a lot. I promise I'll be back to my usual self once the things settle down.

Ah...well, let's not be too hasty. Maybe you could still do without the--

Whatever you're about to say, no can do.

Operation: Baby's First Dungeon! Commence!

Battle Video will be at the end of the update since it contains spoilers on the update itself.
:siren:

Usually warning about the music vids possibly having spoilers or naughty shots :siren:

Music: Dungeon Battle 1
(This one is actually really catchy. You should listen. Especially funny is the guy in the comments section trying decipher the lyrics.)

I mentioned this before, but our aim is to get to these portals so we can advance to the next level. The green dot on the mini-map signals a 'Get the hell out of here portal', while blue is our advancement portal.

You can tell how strong of a monster you're dealing with by the way it looks on the dungeon map. Gold enemies are quest/event enemies, so you can easily spot them while running around.

"God's Poke" is an ability that Wake has by default. Once you've passed the enemy's strength by a certain amount, Wake's team will just rip them in half like tissue paper. You still get the experience and whatnot, but you don't have to battle. The only reason not to steamroll one when you see it is if it's surrounded by a stronger enemy and you don't want to put up with a battle.

This sounds a little more worrying than it actually is. Treasure chests can be booby-trapped, but those are purple colored and warn you before you try and open them. The actual chance of getting hit with a trap seems to be fairly low starting out (I leveled all four heroines, opening every chest I came across, and never got hit with a trap once). Later in the game you can get Star Children classes and items that can just disarm the things.

There are some pain in the rear end traps a bit later, but I'll point those out whenever I'm unfortunate enough to run into them (which WILL happen, I assure you).

Enough of that. We have battle tutorials to finally plow through.

I move down the hall and into the first room, grab a potion from the nearby treasure chest and start the first battle. If you approach enemies from behind, you can score an advantage, and the enemy can of course pull that on you as well (likely as you try and run around them to save time). Who's ready to get buried in tutorials?!

A few things to highlight. We don't have access to MECUNITE just yet. It will be shown off soon. Chain Drive and Ether Density will be explained shortly.

Sorry about that, but the game condenses this stuff better than I can. It does really throw all of those at you in this battle, I'm not cramming everything from the dungeon into this one scene.

NOTE: Technically, this is all you truly need to know to beat this game. I know that because it's basically all I did for my entire Vita play through. You can get by perfectly fine by just hitting weak points and doing bog standard JRPG tactics. If you are a sane person, then skip past everything between this point and the next story screenshot.

Any of you still reading at this point must really want to know everything about how these additional battle systems work. If that's the case, then put on your glasses. You're in for some studying.

I lazily finish the battle against the glorified training dummy and we move on.

Jacob lets us know that he's leveled up as well. The Star Children will occasionally shout stuff out as you are running around. Sometimes it's a random phrase, sometimes it's just to let you know they leveled up in that last battle, but sometimes they have cute little things to say about their dad and moms. I'll include any of those that happen, because they can range from heartwarming to outright savage burns. It's hilarious.

Grit your teeth, here it comes again.

Uuugh. Almost done. After running into another room (containing two enemies this time) we get barraged with this as we attack the first thing we see.

MECUNITE let's the Star Children get in on mom and dad's transformation fun. It burns through BP though, so only use it if in a bind (In other words, practically never).

We kill that thing and then grab some new clothes (armor) for the kids before hitting up the other monster.

This is the Chain System, and it's the reason why Speed is the name of this game. The Speed stat impacts turn order, Chaining an enemy only lasts until their turn comes up, and hitting an enemy while they are chained builds a combo. That combo gives bonus EXP/Glow and some BP at the end of battle.

You should be able to piece that together. The more you out speed the enemy, the more turns you can get, which means the more hits you can score when they get chained, which means better bonuses.

Another room later, we get our Ether Density explanation.

We're winding down now (oh thank you Star God for this mercy). Seventh Burst are special team skills that Wake and the Heroines can have. They chew up a lot of MP (and later BP), but they deal a good shot of damage. They're basically Limit Breaks you can throw out whenever you have the MP/BP.

Of special note, pay attention to the part about how having an ally positioned at a weak point causes the action cost to be large (takes longer for Wake's team to get their turn again). This is another reason why you'll want to have allies aimed away from weak points sometimes.

Here's everything you need to know about Elements. The affinity chart is the most important thing right now. In the early game you'll mostly be dealing with the Fire/Water/Wind/Earth circle. The latter part of the game gets stupid with Light Element enemies though, which are a pain to deal with.

With all of that out of the way, we can finally move on with the game and start battling stuff as we please.

A big welcome back to all the sane people that just skipped that part, by the way.

We were able to monitor the ecology of the monsters within the Labyrinth as well.

That wasn't so bad. You guys were really building this place up to be absolutely terrifying. I can work with this.

Thank goodness. I'm really tired of carrying Elley around.

Asmodeus Intro - Watch the cutscene

Looks like we missed one during our little purge.

Pretty fancy armor. Probably not going to help you much though.

Oooohhhh....

So this is YOUR turf I take it?

What the hell is that thing? It doesn't look like the doofuses we've been fighting so far.

Yikes... That one seems completely different from the ones we've encountered.

That's... Wake! Get away from that monster, now! That's a Dusk Spawner! In other words, it's the boss of this Labyrinth. That aura you're feeling is Dusk Energy. That thing creates the monsters you fought. But to think it would be on an early floor like this... You have to get out of there!

This is the bastard that's creating the monsters? We can't run from that, we need to kill it!

Listen to me!

There's no way you can beat it now. Do not chase it down! Come back at once!

I mean, the tactically reasonable thing to do here is listen to Ruby and book it. On the other hand, anytime an RPG tells you to run away from an enemy, it's just begging to be fought. Better judgement be damned.

So what's it going to be Wake? You going to run away and let this monster make you look like a candy-rear end in front of Fuuko and the kids?

If it bleeds we can kill it!

I'm not backing down from this! It's the source of untold suffering! I will bury it!

Can we maybe discuss this a little more?!

The game gives us a final two cards to explain that RNG will sometimes cause ally teams to interfere with an enemy attack. Personally, if I have no agency over it then I don't particularly care.

On to what matters. Despite Ruby telling us that it can't be killed, that doesn't necessarily mean that this guy is tough. He's kind of a joke to be honest.

He only hits for about 70 damage with his basic attack, and he's not exactly blowing us out of the water in terms of speed. He's a bit faster than Wake and Fuuko, but our default Star Children are keeping up just fine.

He spends most of his time aiming for Team A since they have about half as much health as Wake/Fuuko, despite the fact that Wake and Fuuko are by far the larger threat (for comparison, Team A deals about 140 damage attacking head on, probably 300 or 400 if they were hitting the weak point).

Despite locking in on Team A, he barely dents them. Remember, we have a Cleric on Team A that has a heal spell. The damage they took, which can you see above, could be completely erased with a single cast. That's not even getting in to the fact that we picked up a bunch of potions on our way here.

Other than deliberately stalling for time, I don't see a way to lose to him. I did a test run on a separate recording while taking a Level 1 Chloe in with me, and when it came time for this fight I had everyone stand still and just slug it out.

Elley actually had to cast Heal that time. Even if I hadn't used heal in that fight and Team A wiped, Wake and Fuuko would have finished it about 1 or 2 attacks later.

You can win this fight without using anything the game has taught you so far, except for having to press Attack and maybe Skills. If my cat got the inkling to paw at the keyboard for a few minutes, she probably could have beaten it too.

Of course, Ruby did kind of tell us that the thing is immortal. Given how easily we knocked it over though, we probably could have kept killing him for hours.

Not staying down huh?

Dammit, fine! Let's go everyone!

Asmodeus gets to live to bug us another day. More importantly, we have quite possibly my most hated scene in this entire game to watch!

:siren:

WARNING: This scene is handled so poorly that I will be heavily editing Wake's dialogue here. I don't know if something was lost in the translation process and it all makes sense in Japanese, but I don't care. I refuse to follow the games lead in skimming over this blatant display stupidity.

-Laboratory-

If you weren't a God's Gift, I'd have your rear end expelled from this Academy! Do you have any idea how reckless you were being back there!?

I'm sorry...

You seem to have something personal against monsters...

But, I have no interest in your personal sentiments.

How the hell am I supposed to shut these Circles down if the thing I need to beat can't be put down for good?...

No, it can be defeated. You'll have to use this to do it, though.

A Matryoshka? That thing I make Star Children in?

If everything goes as told by the oracle of the Star God... Using this when the Dusk Spawner is defeated should seal its power.

Ex... Excuse me?...

There was no plan for you to encounter the Dusk Spawner, so we didn't give it to you.

This thing... could have just... stopped it?

That's right. There's more to it, though. Once the Dusk Spawner is sealed, it will stop producing monsters within that Circle. This will vastly decrease the threat of monsters escaping it.

....

Wake?...

In other words, defeating the Dusk Spawner will sterilize that Circle. Of course, that doesn't mean the Dusk Circle will disappear... But it would be a great success to just call it a temporary fix.

And, make sure to bring back the Matryoshka doll that you sealed the Dusk Spawner in. We'll use it as research material.

We'll need it to continue our research into saving the world. We're counting on you.

:munch:

Shut your loving mouth Ruby...

...Excuse me?

I said shut your loving mouth before I 'expel' your heart from your rib cage!

Esther: Haha! Dad said a bad word!

I think we should go now guys! Come on!

Jacob: Awww, I wanna see dad yell.

Elley: I wanna see a heart!

Maybe later, come on!

*Fuuko and the kids loving book it*

...

Let me see if I've got this right. You sent us into the heart of a monster infested death maze knowing full well that an unkillable leader monster was skulking around. Not only did you not brief us on this in advance despite knowing of it, now I find out that you had some kind of Magic Pokeball sitting on a shelf in the storage closet? And you didn't provide me with either of those things because you didn't PLAN on us running into it?

You're not in--

It's the boss of that place you idiot! Of course we were going to run into it! A bunch of humans were tearing around it's Labyrinth! That's like not planning on the owner of the house to come downstairs with a rifle when somebody kicks their door in and starts rooting around their home!

...

What the hell were you thinking!? Why wouldn't you give me the loving Devil Killer nesting doll for my trip straight into hell!? What would have happened if that thing had ambushed us and injured Fuuko or the kids, and we couldn't escape!? What if it had blocked the exit!? What if it had decided to chase us, like monsters are known to do!

...

It's not even an AngelMarker product! It's a Church relic given by the Star God! If anyone on God's green earth deserves to have it it's me! What, were you holding on to it for when Super God's Gift shows up!?

...If you had given me that drat thing in the first place, like you should have, that Dusk Circle would be neutralized right now. The monster threat would have subsided, people nearby could finally get a peaceful night's sleep, and the Disciples fighting tooth and nail would have been able to catch their breaths. Now they have to keep up the struggle for another few days, burying friends and family along the way, so that we can get ready to go back in and chase that spawner into a corner again.

....

You're a colossal fuckup Ruby. You should have never been given the authority you currently have.

...You've said your piece. Now get out.

If you ever pull a stunt like this again, I will come into this Lab, string you up with that big-rear end bra of yours, and drag you into the nearest Labyrinth to watch you run screaming through its halls from the monsters. I'm sure you'd get out just fine though. It's only a constantly shifting maze. From your point of view, those are a breeze to escape from on short notice.

*Wake leaves*

...

...That confrontation did not go quite how I thought it would...

Shut up, Mark.

So that was fun! I want to add that I did not selectively edit out a single official line. Ruby had that Sealing Matryoshka in her pocket and clearly demonstrates that they knew about Asmodeus well in advance (somehow). Her willful incompetence never gets called out by anyone, but she gets to yell at Wake and knock him down a peg.

I hate this scene. I hate this scene with a passion. Despite only lasting for like 1 minute, I have a hard time thinking of a scene in any RPG that makes me angrier. The only game that comes to my mind right this second is Tales of the Abyss, and how half the cast in that game gets away with making GBS threads all over Luke without ever getting called out for their own blatant fuckery.

But anyway, let's look at the positives, shall we? No more railroading! We are finally free to explore Labyrinths/Classmate/play the actual JRPG.

We also have some new arrivals to introduce.

---------------------------------------------------------

Baby's First Dungeon

Also, Narika is with Wake in this video. This was my third run through this segment (I apparently didn't record the run with Chloe where I slugged it out with the boss, so I redid it with Narika this time).

Psycho Knight fucked around with this message at 03:30 on Oct 16, 2018

# ? Oct 11, 2018 03:52

namehereguy: Nov 24, 2017

I assume they didn't want to risk losing the art-

Wait. Wake is the only person who can actually lead a team in there. If he dies they wouldn't be able to seal the thing anyways.

# ? Oct 11, 2018 04:03

Dr. Snark: Oct 15, 2012; I'M SORRY, OK!? I admit I've made some mistakes, and Jones has clearly paid for them.
...
But ma'am! Jones' only crime was looking at the wrong files!
...
I beg of you, don't ship away Jones, he has a wife and kids!

-United Nations Intelligence Service

namehereguy posted:

I assume they didn't want to risk losing the art-

Wait. Wake is the only person who can actually lead a team in there. If he dies they wouldn't be able to seal the thing anyways.

The more you think about it, the dumber it gets! Seriously, there are literally dozens of reasons why any sane individual would never have done that.

Also I'm beginning to see where Wake's more bloodthirsty side is coming from with the game. Dude flat out refused to back down even when he was told that a fight would be pointless.

# ? Oct 11, 2018 04:12

BlazeEmblem: Jun 8, 2013; Uh oh. Do I use Ariadne thread or Goho-M?

In Ruby's defense, at this point all they had was theory. They had no idea how powerful the enemies were yet, and even the dusk spawner was also just a theory. Maybe she didn't say anything so that Wake wouldn't go off to try to kill something that, for all they knew at the time, was a death sentence if he tried? Of course, even that theory falls apart by how surprised she was at Wake's actions, meaning that she didn't realize how bloodthirsty he was yet.

# ? Oct 11, 2018 04:36

MythosDragon: Jan 3, 2016

The funny part about the the battle system, is ether density is about as in your control as interference, and nothing's gonna survive long enough for chaining for like 15 hours.

There's an entire section of the database for mercunite's and its giga useless but is still the main reason to use them.

Wait the scene that you hate so much is them failing to give you the mcguffin for the test run? Man, I've seen like hundreds of worse scenes so this is just a drop in the bucket. I've read a novel where there was like a 40 phase boss fight that went on for over 500 pages(Basically 2 entire volumes), and atleast 5 phases could have been the end if not for stupid bullshit, BUT NOOOO, GOTTA KEEP GOING FOR DRAMA! Agreed on gently caress that scene in ToA though, Jade's pretty high on my least favorite party members in any game.

# ? Oct 11, 2018 05:02

Sword_of_Dusk: Sep 30, 2018; Legendary Luminary

Well, that was incredibly stupid. Why would you send your only means of fighting back against the monsters effectively into a dangerous area without all of the pertinent information and equipment they might need? Jesus Christ, reading that even ticked me off.

# ? Oct 11, 2018 05:41

Psycho Knight: Jan 19, 2017; "Being a fangame and not bound to a rating, Pokemon Reborn is able to expand more on topics such as death and the extreme dangers Pokemon could pose. These topics...are treated with the respect such a subject deserves."

Let's throw a Medicham into a volcano and make it give the T2 thumbs up!

MythosDragon posted:

The funny part about the the battle system, is ether density is about as in your control as interference, and nothing's gonna survive long enough for chaining for like 15 hours.

There's an entire section of the database for mercunite's and its giga useless but is still the main reason to use them.

Wait the scene that you hate so much is them failing to give you the mcguffin for the test run? Man, I've seen like hundreds of worse scenes so this is just a drop in the bucket. I've read a novel where there was like a 40 phase boss fight that went on for over 500 pages(Basically 2 entire volumes), and atleast 5 phases could have been the end if not for stupid bullshit, BUT NOOOO, GOTTA KEEP GOING FOR DRAMA! Agreed on gently caress that scene in ToA though, Jade's pretty high on my least favorite party members in any game.

Yeah, messing with Ether Density is almost a waste of time. The best time is during boss fights, and they have skills to knock it back down. Chaining is kind of the same way. Depending on how much you grind, nothing will survive long enough for you to actually use it. Unless you attack from a Caution spot then you will have to sit and wail on enemies for a few turns before you can get it to happen.

It's not purely because of the fact that he wasn't given the McGuffin. That happens all the time in games and media in general.

It's the fact that the writers make no effort at all to handwave it. The McGuffin was fully functional and in Ruby's possession. Wake is the only person on earth that can even get close to the monster, let alone fight it. His death would basically mark the beginning of extinction, or at least a massive reduction in humanity. There is absolutely zero reason for Ruby to not give the drat thing to him. She nearly dooms the planet because "I dunno, I didn't think he would need it." Also, as I established, she has this tool in her possession despite the fact that it came from the Rootstone. It is not AngelMarker property.

Then, to top it all off, she goes on a power trip with the 'I'd have you expelled' bullshit. Due to word limit, I had to cut part of my added dialogue where I was going to have Wake point out that she's nothing. She's like the section manager at a department store. She isn't even the Chief Researcher at AngelMarker. She's the CR of one lab that seems to consist of herself and Mark.

Don't get me wrong, Wake is a dumbass for attacking something he has been told will continually revive, but he has reasons behind his insane bloodlust. Ruby is supposed to be this hotshot genius and expert in her field, but this scene has her displaying pre-school level intelligence. She should have been fired for this immediately.

Anyway, I could rant about this all night. I will regret asking, but what are you referring to with the multi volume boss fight thing? That sounds agonizing.

BlazeEmblem posted:

In Ruby's defense, at this point all they had was theory. They had no idea how powerful the enemies were yet, and even the dusk spawner was also just a theory. Maybe she didn't say anything so that Wake wouldn't go off to try to kill something that, for all they knew at the time, was a death sentence if he tried? Of course, even that theory falls apart by how surprised she was at Wake's actions, meaning that she didn't realize how bloodthirsty he was yet.

I don't buy that personally. She instantly recognizes what it is, knows that it is powerful, knows it can continually revive, and knows how to stop it. She also just gives Wake the sealing doll immediately after.

Plus, as I pointed out, if something had happened and Wake/the gang got trapped in there, then they would have had no possible way to survive. Even if the sealing doll is only theory, it wouldn't have caused any inconvenience at all to give it to Wake as a hail mary in the event of something bad happening.

Dr. Snark posted:

The more you think about it, the dumber it gets! Seriously, there are literally dozens of reasons why any sane individual would never have done that.

Also I'm beginning to see where Wake's more bloodthirsty side is coming from with the game. Dude flat out refused to back down even when he was told that a fight would be pointless.

Wake's excitement for poses and transformations may have been created for the LP, but his seething hatred of monsters most certainly was not. He's got some issues on that front.

# ? Oct 11, 2018 05:43

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# ? May 3, 2024 16:50

MythosDragon: Jan 3, 2016

The novel I'm referring to is Shield Hero. In the web novel there was a 15ish chapter crisis involving a giga turtle, in the published novels that fight is stretched over 2 entire volumes of "OH NO WE CANT WIN! BUT WAIT WHAT IF WE TRY HARDER!" "WHAT DO YOU MEAN WE DIDNT ACTUALLY WIN AND ITS STRONGER NOW?" several times over and then "IT'S BEING CONTROLLED BY SOMEONE ELSE!?" and then you repeat the first 2 stages again. Theres a bunch of in betweens like getting on the thing and finding a way in that are usually much more tolerable to read but contribute to it being an entire 2 books of a crisis.

My hobby is stories rather than just games, and I've been at this for 20 years with like no breaks so I have a ton of experience with all forms of infuriating poo poo. I've even read a Chinese webnovel that killed a random antagonist off, forgot, came back, and had to go "HE WAS ONLY PRETENDING TO BE NAILED TO A WALL BY AN EVIL CULT!".

# ? Oct 11, 2018 06:21

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Video Games > Let's Play! > Let's make babies, then lead them to battle!! Conception II: CotSS

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