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Some of those are  Others, well, I'll just say lol lmao  and let's leave it at that.E: *le sigh* date roundup update two posts ago
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Mar 28, 2023 04:54
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At least with the black out with the old man, I can imagine Opal just giving him a thorough massage, I'm pretty sure that's an actual skill that can be used in battle too for healing.
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Mar 28, 2023 05:29
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Hey devs, just because you power creeped the gameplay doesn't mean you had to also power "creep" that jesus christ
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Mar 28, 2023 08:36
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Hey fun fact that entire update had 215 images. I usually stick to an 80 image limit to keep things from getting too long. I had to break from that because otherwise we would have been here for around 3 full updates just covering this.
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Mar 28, 2023 09:01
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Update LXXI - Featuring: Tonal whiplash Music: Destructive Curse  We return to our regularly scheduled glimpse into the ISDF.  I don't like what I'm glimpsing.  Assistant: D—Install of the TYPE-HAZ and TYPE-HPN specimens is nearly complete! Only 14% remaining!  No... At this rate, his body won't hold up! Open all channels! Assistant: U-Understood!  Assistant: Th-This is too dangerous, Professor Nagumo! The synchronous discharge is not stopping!  Assistant: 92%... 95%.. 98%...! Th-This is incredible...!  Almost there!Assistant: 99%...!  Ngaaaaahhhhh!  Assistant: The D-Install is complete!   None can question the power and intellect of humankind now! We are unstoppable!  Yuma, buddy? You're looking a little funny.    Oh christ.   ...This is a resounding success. It is as though the fog that had previously lingered over me has been lifted all at once...  True Dragons... The evolution of living things... I understand it all... Haha... Hahaha... Yuma... We need to readjust your composition immediately. The board of directors will surely approve once they see his overwhelming visage. And as we've been expecting from the moment we learned about D-Install-   The ISDF constantly hitting  finally bites them in the rear end.Assistant: Ahhhh!  An alarm siren starts blaring.   The funny thing is, despite Akutsu being the entire reason for Yuma's inferiority complex and his sudden turn to evil, the main cast just... never interacts with him. At all. Hell, I don't even think Unit 13 knew he existed outside of maybe his name getting mentioned once or twice.    What I have done? You... killed a person! I merely swatted a fly that was buzzing around my ears. Is there something wrong with that? Yuma... Professor. I hold within me the memories of five True Dragons. The wisdom of the planets they consumed... The emotions of the people they slaughtered... Can you imagine how delicious those memories are?   Indeed... Long time no see, Admiral.  Nagumo, what happened here!? ... What...?    ISDF Soldier: You monster...!   ...  Music: Stops     Talkative Young Man: I've been waiting to go on this date for ages... I won't give up just cause of a cold! *cough*      Doctor Hori: *cough* *cough* Wh-What...? Me too...? *cough* *cough* After the fun times of the past two days, things have... taken a turn for the worse. Music: Destructive Curse     I didn't think the 7th was supposed to be here yet...!  However, the representative of humanity has finally emerged... That's why the Dragonsbane has grown particularly violent. Isn't Unit 13 supposed to fill that role? They're still... Don't you remember? There is one more. The strongest human, created by humans... Do you mean... Yuma?Which means that on top of driving Yuma insane and turning him evil, Akutsu also put all of mankind on an extremely tight timeline before we all die of Dragon Sickness. Good going, jackass. Yuma holds within him the data of five True Dragons. He is unquestionably the strongest being alive on this planet. F-Five True Dragons!? That's what those bastards at ISDF have been doing to him...? Th-They're insane! What the hell are they thinking!? Calm down, Julietta. He deserves a chance to prove himself. We'll have the last specimen soon. Prepare for the completion of the Dragon Chronicle.  Don't worry. Everything's going to be OK★ OK... I'll gather everyone. I'm counting on you, Allie. Yes, of course. By the way, Julietta... Take care of Unit 13 for me. Hm? O-Of course...   Mhm. We no longer need to guide them. Heh, thank god! I'm finally done taking care of those brats.   My job here is done, so I'm not gonna be getting in your way. Eeheehee...  ...Nagamimi can teleport?    Oh hey, it's our old friend, the mysterious masked man! Who's been... hanging around... various True Dragons... *chuckle* We shall see soon enough★ The imminent power... Shall they be the ark of humanity, or a mere snack...? No matter the outcome, our roles will end once it is decided. *chuckle* I'm not so sure I agree with you there★ ......I think we've been played.     However, Allie has new information on the 2nd True Dragon. Please meet her on the terrace.   Destructive Curse permanently overrides the normal music.  And as you might imagine, this is the one time where everyone's lines have actually changed. I'm sure Allie can hold off on her inevitable betrayal while we go see how bad everyone is doing.  Vacant Woman: There are just too many fun memories here... I can't stay away... *cough* *cough*  ~ Jealous Man: *cough* Keep going! You'd better not die before I do!   Talkative Young Man: I can't die before I see the last ep of Ultimate Killer: Grenerik! *cough* *cough*  Envious Woman: Do you think they'd maybe choose me now...? It's my last request... ~ Bartender: *cough* *cough* How rude of me. A bartender must never cough in front of a customer... This Dragon Sickness is quite troublesome... I cannot believe it is taking my job from me... ~ Skilled Man: It looks like I can't even beat the Dragon Sickness... The world is a really cruel place, huh...? Ha, haha... *cough*  Wandering Lucier: It makes me sad just sitting looking at the title screen...  Lonely Girl: I'm sorry for coming here all by myself... Please come pick me up, big brother...   Job Seeker: W—Wait... They're probably not even conducting interviews at a time like this... *cough*  Hardworking Man: *cough* *cough* *cough* H-Hey, help me out here! I'm begging you! What the hell, writers! Yesterday we were doing photo ops and sleeping with our coworkers, you can't just jump to killing everyone with no form of build-up! ~ Aaron: Urgh. It's even louder in here now that people are coughing all over the place... *cough* *cough* Even me...  Iori: It would be terrible if I couldn't drink coffee anymore. I hope someone finds a cure soon. *cough*  Crybaby Girl: *cough* *cough*  ~ Rick: *cough* Th-The Portal... is operating... as normal... I will protect... the Portal... with my life...!  Adventurous Woman: You won't get another chance to catch such a rare disease, you know! *cough* *cough* *cough*  Rude Scientist: This is no joke. Like, for real! *cough* *cough* Wait... Am I gonna die!?     The R&D Floor. Former Captain: I told myself I wouldn't lose to Dragon Sickness, but that determination was not enough... ~ Focused Boy: *cough* *cough* I wanna see my parents one more time before I die...     Director Yoshida: Sorry... I can't think straight... right now... Too... EX-hausted... The real reason the game wanted you to be certain you were ready to move on yesterday? All optional content is now locked out. If you didn't take care of it during the Intermission you're poo poo outta luck.  ~ Ami: *cough* *cough* So this... is Dragon Sickness... All I want to do... is eat monster meat...  Marco: I'll never realize my dream of researching this country's culture... ~ Amanda: *cough* *cough* Unit... 13... We all caught Dragon Sickness... We're not gonna be able to continue our research...  Vacant Student: I don't want... the people who saved me... to catch Dragon Sickness... *cough* *cough* ~ Lucas: *cough* *cough* No... To be taken by Dragon Sickness just as our research was coming to fruition... Unit 13... My battle ends here... I leave the rest... to you! ~ Intelligent Boy: *cough* *cough* It hurts... H-Help me, Unit 13... I... *cough* *cough*   The Development Floor. ~ Defeated Soldier: *cough* *cough* No... I can't lose... Not again... Even if it's against something as strong as Dragon Sickness... Never... *cough* *cough*  Mature-Looking Boy: I haven't even found my Lucier love yet...! *cough* *cough*  Ray: I'll never be able to make my bone-chilling horror... *cough*   Adachi: I'm not the only one... Everyone in the office has been inflicted with Dragon Sickness...  Lionel: I've tried really hard to match the other people here... but I've had it. My hands won't move...  On the Conference Floor, Chika and Rika are MIA.  System Message: While we're gone, this supercomputer will handle all shop duties! Work hard, Unit 13! With love, Chika and Rika.  On the plus side, we can finally shop without the ever-present scream of ARIGATOU GOZAIMAAAAAAAAAAAAASU. On the down side, both quests and construction are unavailable.  Even if you had in-progress quests, the entire menu is locked out.  Dates are also off-limits. Wanted to split up all those date scenes into more managable chunks? Haha get hosed you lost out on all that gear. ~ Mark: There haven't been many customers lately...  Maki: I'd like to take some time off to recover, but everyone's sick... I can't complain... *cough*   Retired Blacksmith: You better stay healthy, you whippersnapper! Got it? *cough*  Kuroki: I have so many regrets about my life... I wish I had learned to play the piano for real... ~ Tatsuya: *pant* *pant* H-Hello, Unit 13... I-It looks like I won't... be able to complete that project... *cough* *cough*  Medical Floor. Future Pop Star: I wanna recover from this Dragon Sickness and get back on stage, but my body won't listen...  Meow-nager Ai: The cats have been feeling sick, and seeing that made me sick, too... *cough* *cough* Forgot to top off everyone's EX yesterday with some Fancy Cat Food? Again, get hosed.  Jane: I'm going to have to abandon my dream of opening a bug cafe cause of this Dragon Sickness... *cough*     Sick Boy: A-Am I... gonna die...? No... I don't wanna...! ~ Well-Bred Boy: *cough* *cough* I'm glad you're not affected... but I'm a little jealous, too.  Atlantis Ward. Novice Smith Cub: S-Something's not right here... They said it was just a cold, but colds don't hurt this much... ~ Shy Girl: *cough* *cough* Are the cats... alright...? I don't... have time to worry about myself... The cats... are my family... *cough* *cough*   ~ Tohma: Is Lady Ulania safe...? *cough* *cough* *cough*  Calm Court Lady: This is truly unforgivable... *cough*  Milra's Grandmother: *cough* Just... do what you can to save Milra... *cough* Please... *cough*  Chief Toglau: Please, save the children instead... *cough* *cough* ~ Talkative Scholar: *cough* Ah... It's you... *cough* *cough* You have... my thanks... for everything... *cough* *cough*  Lookout Girl: You saved us, but now this... Why... Why is this happening...?  Eden Ward.   Wounded Huntsman: I see... *cough* *cough* Most of the people on this floor have already collapsed...  Carefree Man: Man oh man... I'm beat. ~ Disoriented Girl: *cough* *cough* I need to get some sleep, but I can't find my room... Urgh...   ~ Goht: *cough* *cough* My obsession with cooking 'as caused so much trouble for my wife... I'm... sorry... Chiako... *cough* *cough* ~ Chiako: *cough* If both me and my husband die here, please bury us together.  Myrna: I'm really envious of you guys. You all look fine...  Tokyo Ward. ~ Cat Owner: *cough* *cough* Hey there. I'm jealous of you... I wish I wasn't sick. My cough is just not stopping, and my body is really heavy, too... What a pain. ~ Soldier-Like Man: *cough* *cough* I thought I was strong, but even I have Dragon Sickness now... *sigh* Dragons are frightening... ~ Cold-Hating Soldier: *cough* *cough* I'm getting chills... I need to find a place I can warm myself up...  Patient Woman: Is ISDF almost here...? I can't hold on much longer... *cough*  ~ Shiro: Crap... Even though we have shelter, we still can't avoid the Dragon Sickness... You went through so much trouble to build it for us, too... *cough* *cough*  Curry-Obsessed Kid: It's good for the body, you know? I-I'm serious... *cough* *cough*  Soup Kitchen Worker: Huh...? Oh yeah, I'm a dude. I've always wanted to be a maid though, so I'm training to be a woman! *giggle* Wouldn't a maid be the ideal waitress? Let this be a lesson that it's never too late to work towards your dreams. ~ Trapped Employee: *cough* *cough* Why won't she answer her phone...? Hey, if I die... can you take care of my wife and child for me...? I... *cough* *cough* ~ Yoshiko: *cough* *cough* At this rate, I think I'm gonna turn into a ghost myself...    Reference Room.  Now-Awake Woman: I think I'm done for... *sigh*  Minato: To be honest, I caught it. My symptoms are still mild, but it's making me really anxious...  Proud Old Man: It looks like even I can't beat Dragon Sickness... Gwahaha... *cough* *cough* *cough* *cough*   Amano: C-Could it be that I've been inflicted with Dragon Sickness!? No... There's no way... And finally, the Warehouse.  ~ Retired Soldier: *cough* It's sad to see these young ones being snatched away from their promising futures... I'm sure I'll be soon to follow them... *cough*  Max: We've gotten a bunch of new stuff in the warehouse lately, so... *cough* *cough*  Inconspicuous Man: I thought I was just going to die here alone, without anyone noticing me... *cough*   Hardworking Maid: Servants must always exert themselves for their masters, even if they're sick... *cough*  Tamaki: I-I need to hurry... *cough* And now that we know that Literally Everyone in Nodens is absolutely hosed-  -Let's go see what Allie has to say for herself.  But here's a fun little fact for you all:  All the True Dragons we've seen so far, aside from Haze, have had Lovecraft themed names.  Nyala is a shortened version of Nyarlathotep.  Iod shares a name with a Great Old One.  Fomalhaut is the star system that Cthugha hails from.  The Greek god Hypnos appeared in Lovecraft's short story of the same name.  And there's also an Elder God that appears in a few of his novellas. One by the name of...  ...Nodens. Next time: It gets worse.
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Mar 31, 2023 04:51
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Oh hey, the game finally remembered what franchise it belonged to. The cats also have a different meowing sound effect during this time, where it's audibly weaker.
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Mar 31, 2023 05:02
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Well, on one hand, this really, REALLY sucks right now; I guess they were saving the old school feeling of despair for the last chapters. On the other hand:Gilgamesh255 posted:Ha ha, I hope Yuma punches that prick's head off when he inevitably goes berserk and [THE FOLLOWING HAS BEEN REDACTED DUE TO POSSIBLE SPOILERS, DESPITE NOT HAVING FINISHED THE GAME MYSELF] becomes VFD. I mean, c'mon, slotting in all those dragons who could've been at one point been considered gods, and you DON'T expect him to become the final dragon? Idiots. Well, I sure hope somebody picks up that phone, because I FUCKNG CALLED IT! WOOOOO! ...drat shame about everyone, though. gently caress.
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Mar 31, 2023 05:39
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Gilgamesh255 posted:Well, on one hand, this really, REALLY sucks right now; I guess they were saving the old school feeling of despair for the last chapters. On the other hand:  GiantRockFromSpace posted:It's gonna turn out Nodens is evil Gilgamesh255 posted:"What about humans who, you know, wink wink, nudge nudge, say no more, say no more, with dr--" 
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Mar 31, 2023 05:43
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Mar 31, 2023 06:11
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Ouch my neck hurts from that whiplash.
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Mar 31, 2023 06:32
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...Whelp, my Samurai that looks like a dapper gentleman definitely has his....work... cut out for him when he dates Allie. Akio Otsuka voice, don't fail me now! Also, have a belated Psyduck in regards to these recent revelations! 
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Mar 31, 2023 06:48
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Okay, finally. It was driving me up the wall that working for an organization named Nodens was basically like signing up with Satancorp, except the True Dragon names were suble/obscure enough that nothing else seemed to be a reference. Glad to have some explanation there, even if it means everyone's coughing up their lungs.
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Apr 1, 2023 08:34
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Update LXXII - Featuring: Death Music: Destructive Curse  Well, it turns out Allie Nodens, the woman who ran this whole True Dragon hunting tour, was the bonus boss of the first game the entire time.  We've been dancing on her strings from the moment Nagamimi scouted us back at 7th Encount.  The situation is bad, to put it extremely mildly.     Music: Stops  Music: Ignith of the Final Attack (code：VFD Ver)     Is that... some new kind of Dragonsbane...!? No... It is the Dragonsbane's true form... Shoot...! Jil, get behind me!  O-OK...!    *cough* *cough* What... just... Interesting. I did not expect you to survive as well. Survive...? Opal! Everyone...   Opal...! What do we do...? They're not breathing!  W-We all promised we'd work hard together... No... Why...? Wake up... Wake up!Oh, and all our friends we've been having fun with the entire time? loving dead.    What's the meaning of this, Allie!? Everything is fine. We will not be needing them anymore.~ Does this mean you're... *chuckle* I thought you would have realized sooner.~~                We cut to the Dragonsbane covered buildings.  Which then get choked out by a new, pink, Dragonsbane.  But it's not entirely new. ND's boss arena in 7D1 was covered in the stuff.  ND's Dragonsbane has already covered the entire city.  Considering a few seconds of exposure killed off Eigur, Ulania, Sailas, and Jil, it's safe to say that ND just killed every human in Tokyo, if not the entire world.    We have hard scales, we fly around with massive bodies, we breathe fire, and... we consume humans... But the essence of dragonhood is not contained within that consumption. Those who eat, and those who are eaten. It is a common concept in this universe of ours. *chuckle* Let me try to explain it in more relatable terms. When you sit at the breakfast table... Does your food stare up at you and fight back for trying to meddle in its life? Probably not. That would be absurd. And yet, that is exactly what you have done. You have so far managed to defeat every True Dragon you have faced. Until this moment in time, nobody stood up to the True Dragons. Not until humanity came along. Do you understand what this means? You, the dragon hunter, a human... And there's the meaning behind the title of the series.  You used Opal! You don't want to hunt the 7th True Dragon, you want to make it! There have only ever been six True Dragons in this universe. However, once one who can defeat those six appears... The 7th Dragon isn't a normal True Dragon. They're the concept of a True Dragon, the evolutionary pinnacle of an entire world, applied to the True Dragons themselves. Which means that, hilariously, the absolutely bonkers power creep of VFD has a narrative justification! We had to be signficantly stronger than every other game in the series because we're literally becoming the ultimate being in the universe! This process has been repeated countless times over the span of history. Opal... If you fuse with the Dragon Chronicle... You will become the 7th True Dragon, and carry this realm into a new era. Dragons, Dragon Sickness, and Dragonsbane will all disappear from existence. Peace will return to this world... In that sense, perhaps I was not lying to you★ No... My heart... the 2nd True Dragon specimen... will complete Julietta's Dragon Chronicle... In fusing with that, you will reach the pinnacle of evolution. What's your deal with evolution? Life is a beautiful thing. To live is to grow. Humanity's growth brings with it unlimited possibilities. It is always interesting watching you. I wish to see the moment that life progresses to the next plane of existence. ~ Why are you doing this? My answer is unchanged. I want to celebrate the evolution of life. Life is a beautiful thing. To live is to grow. I would like nothing more than to observe that.~~ That is all. Simply put, I have a deep affection for the sprout we call humanity★ Is it not reasonable to desire the growth of the one you love? No... This is all wrong...! You say you love us, but... You spread the Dragon Sickness! You killed so many people! That is simply a difference in perspective. My actions have all been out of love for humanity. Think of it as a mother disciplining her children. My actions are consistent with that.    Hey, did you notice that the twins had the same pointed ears as Allie? In order to kill a True Dragon, you must possess a Dragonslayer. You already knew that, did you not?  This is another 7D1 reference, but one you'd probably miss even if you played the fan translation.  See, Konohana Sakuhime and Konohana Chiruhime were the names of ND's adds during her bonus boss fight, but Pokeytax had to shorten them down to Cherry Maiden and Leaf Maiden due to name size limits. This is also why the twin blades Chika gave us are called Chiru+Saku.  Those humans were quite strong, so I chose to keep them in my thought★ Now, Unit 13. You must tear out their hearts in order to bring them back to their original forms★   You can't be serious. It's true... We're just incarnations of a Dragonslayer. This is our will...~ I won't do that. Sometimes there are requests you won't agree with, but you still have to do them. We are mere incarnations of a Dragonslayer. Therefore... this is our will...~~      Next time: It gets worse.
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Apr 4, 2023 03:09
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And so it ends like a Greek Tragedy, by loving your mother dragon up, killing the daddy dragons and tearing your eyeballs out from the repeated dungeons
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Apr 4, 2023 03:50
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GiantRockFromSpace posted:Too bad GEORGE! is the true final True Dragon because if TDs are the apex of evolution GEORGE! reached that several updates ago. I'm not sure if the prophecy ball actually counts for this one, because this was picking up on the massive gameplay foreshadowing. That being said True Dragon GEORGE! with 8 adds (As that's pretty much what the rest of Unit 13 would become if Chika and Rika are any indication) would be an incredibly bullshit fight. At least Earthquake sorta has a cooldown?
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Apr 4, 2023 05:08
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Man, this is... pretty nuts, but if nothing else this game suddenly got a whole lot more interesting.
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Apr 4, 2023 05:17
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Araxxor posted:I'm not sure if the prophecy ball actually counts for this one, because this was picking up on the massive gameplay foreshadowing. Don't think it really counts because Kinu's LP did spoil the VDF twist in retrospect  (And Nodens in a recent update, since I never finished the DS LP and they were referred as ND ingame I think?)Also pretty sure GEORGE! would just be the first phase with a nasty T1, and then when you lower his HP Valerie bursts out of his chest and life-swords your team to death.
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Apr 4, 2023 11:44
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GiantRockFromSpace posted:Also pretty sure GEORGE! would just be the first phase with a nasty T1, and then when you lower his HP Valerie bursts out of his chest and life-swords your team to death. T1, T2, and T3, since he can Earthquake -> Ultimate Lance -> Earthquake.
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Apr 4, 2023 12:00
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A well placed tonal shift can do a lot, and I appreciate the decision to just wall off the side content entirely. It'd have been nice if there had been core content to parcel along the side content though. Also I'm not entirely certain that dragon evolution and regular evolution work the same way.
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Apr 4, 2023 20:56
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GiantRockFromSpace posted:Don't think it really counts because Kinu's LP did spoil the VDF twist in retrospect I referenced Nodens by name like, over fifty updates ago, I just got blunter about it by having Allie literally appear in person in 2019 completely unchanged.
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Apr 5, 2023 01:12
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Kinu Nishimura posted:I referenced Nodens by name like, over fifty updates ago, I just got blunter about it by having Allie literally appear in person in 2019 completely unchanged. in my defense i have bad memory. i blame the dragonflowers, loving allergies *dies*
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Apr 5, 2023 09:15
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GiantRockFromSpace posted:Don't think it really counts because Kinu's LP did spoil the VDF twist in retrospect The title is "Broodmother ND" in DS. The full name of Nodens never got revealed until VFD, as she is a complete no-show in the 2020s. Which is funny considering how the post-game of 7th Dragon DS ends, saying she'll show up again in the future soon. In short it was a teaser for a new antagonist (the post-game in DS is a hallucination) that didn't really come to pass as plans for the series changed. It was supposed to be 5 games in the Eden era with 1 game in Tokyo serving as a prequel. She doesn't show up until VFD, and taking the Eden era into account, it's only Haze and Hypnos that shows up in terms of True Dragons. Though I haven't finished the 7DS LP, and it's currently on hiatus while I clean up the EO3 LP before the re-releases come out. Araxxor fucked around with this message at 09:55 on Apr 5, 2023 |
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Apr 5, 2023 09:52
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Omobono posted:Some of those [dates] are (I stand by my lol lmao for the others)Now, on to see how GEORGE! clowns on Kinu Nishimura posted:I referenced Nodens by name like, over fifty updates ago, I just got blunter about it by having Allie literally appear in person in 2019 completely unchanged. Which update/reminiscence did Allie appear in?
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Apr 5, 2023 11:39
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niara namedrops her in update 46, iod mentions her by name in the year between part 2, she appears personally in sumie's reminiscence parts 2 and 3 (initially under a screen name as 'NDni' but in person as Allie later on), and while she isn't mentioned by name at that point specifically in update 80 a joke is made about her cat food company, which is named meowden's, in reference to the cat cafe, and thus her. i would describe this as not being particularly subtle, but one of these references was in an update posted before bisby even started this lp, so the spoiler warning in the op remains apt in this case too.
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Apr 5, 2023 11:51
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Just binged the whole LP and this game is a trip and a half. I'm a little disappointed that Valerie wasn't the face of all the date scenes because holy poo poo that face is equal parts hilarious and unhinged. The dates are also just baffling, honestly. There was absolutely no need for them to go anything beyond the heart to heart conversations that were had with each of the characters. It even retroactively makes a lot of the creepier dialogue from some of the characters that much worse because before the date scenes you could have played it off as the person just being a weirdo with some translation quirks. And then the conversations with Mio where the main character is praising how mature she is comes across as the main character grooming a child instead of being there for their teammate and trying to help her cope with the weight of the responsibility that they're all under. The balance of the game is interesting though. I'm reminded a bit of the Bravely Default games where the power curve exists to be absolutely shattered. But at least the Bravely Default games typically required synergies from different classes that worked together to make for a devastating combo, or having multiple characters work together to get some insane strategy going. And, to be fair, you can get some insane synergies going here as well, but you don't need them because GEORGE!
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Apr 6, 2023 16:14
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i think it's fairly worth mentioning that under 'scenario writing' there were four separate writers credited and under 'npc dialogue' there were nine. i think the fact that a lot of parts of this game feel really disjointed with each other, like the dates feeling... weirdly inconsistent with how old you're 'supposed' to be, can be chalked up to that at least partially.
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Apr 7, 2023 00:53
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Update LXXIII - Featuring: Humans, dragons, and everything in between Video: VS Chika and Rika Music: Battlefield - The Hunter   Chika and Rika come in with just shy of 9K LF each, putting them a few thousand ahead of Hypnos' 13K combined.  Aiden is a bit awkward here, as TROYs can only hit one of them at a time, but he has a special job for this fight.   Kamaitachi is one of the biggest threats these two have, dealing 0.7x damage with a 30% chance of Death on the entire party. Suffice to say, I made sure to give everyone Death resist before coming in here.  Rika does not have Instant Death, thankfully. Her Zanmai instead deals 6 hits of 0.35x damage on random targets.  For Reasons, I need Rika to survive for a while, so all my damage is getting piled on Chika.  So, what's Aiden's EX skill?    Just a god drat satellite cannon, that's what!  Of course, this is VFD, so it goes right back to being stupid as hell the second you go time travel and the satellite follows you. 12,000 years in the past? 5,000 years in the future? That baby's gonna be right there for you to use.   ...my hack.     As they demonstrated earlier, the twins can put out some serious hurt. Taking a moment for Trick Hand will help me patch up.   Petal Blizzard is their combo attack, and it's... a slightly stronger Zanmai. Only slightly, at 0.5x for 6 hits compared to 0.35x for 6.  Another 7D1 callback here, the Leaf Maiden had a 1.25x weakness to all elemental damage, while the Cherry Maiden had a 0.75x resistance. Rika and Chika carry this over. However, the devs botched it, as the flip side to this was that Leaf had a matching resistance to all physical damage, and vice-versa for Cherry. They forgot to carry that over for the twins, so now Chika's just flat out stronger than Rika.       Tsukikage is a free turn, as all it does is have an 80% chance to hit one person with a 0.5x accuracy Blind. The strange thing is that while both of them share the move, Chika's version has negative priority while Rika's doesn't.     Blizzard Omen is Petal Blizzard's telegraph skill. They weren't able to use it for the last one because of the 80% negate chance on Indra's Flames.      Aria in Team 2 lets me use Team 3's Support without slowing down Unison, which acts nicely as a Hit Harder tool. Shame the only time I get to use it is when I'm using my worst team.        Now that people have stopped exploding, Aiden can get back to his job.   ffffffffffffffff   On one hand: Annoying.  On the other hand: It's turn 9.   I'm so desperate to make this work that I've resorted to throwing out blind hacks.    And since I'm not trying to instantly end the fight, Valerie and GEORGE! have to hold back.     And did you know you can block during Unison? It does absolutely nothing but you can do it.  Hey thanks for putting most of the damage on Opal.    I'm... sorry... Chika! No!  Oh hey that finally went off. It extends all those backrow buffs, I guess?  Eh, might as well.    The damage on it is decent, but no status riders, no natural way to buff her attack, and being attached to Duelist makes this the worst offensive EX.  Yes.  Killing one twin will make the other use Sange, a self buff that gives 2x ATK for 9 turns! It also has a 100% break chance so they should never get a chance to make use of it lol. They also start taking two actions a turn. The survivor will also unlock a new unique move. Chika gets Yanagi, which has an 80% chance of inflicting Sleep on the party and a 40% chance of Skill Seal. Rika, meanwhile, gets Adabana, which has an 80% chance of Charm while still keeping Skill Seal. This makes exploiting Rika's elemental weakness early on in the fight a trap, as Sleep is far less annoying to deal with than Charm.  See, while Chika and Rika have the usual spread of 0.25x to 0.5x ailment resists across the board, the devs thought they'd be cute and make Rika completely immune to sleep to reflect her workaholic nature and love of energy bars. sleepmode.exe bypasses immunities. I brought in my worst team and had an actual boss fight just to make Rika have a nap.   Edit: I'm an idiot and misread the charts. Chika's the one with Sleep immunity so I did all this for nothing.  Music: Finish Them Off  Music: None  Unit 13 is really strong... You're right, Chika... I'm so relieved... Please, Unit 13... Tear our hearts out...  If you don't, you won't be able to use our Dragonslayer abil— I won't kill you. You dummy! How soft—hearted can you be...? You're so stupid... Unit 13...~ I'll win without a Dragonslayer. No... You can't... Our desire is...~~        Yuma, you have absolutely atrocious timing and-  -Yooooooooooooooooou got a little something on your face?    Music: If these Hands could Reach  This is... what... we want...  Why would you do this!? It is because of your indecision. You will lose sight of your objective if you allow yourself to become clouded by emotion. ~ You look... different. Does my appearance bother you? I shall be the 7th True Dragon. This is the future of humanity.~~ Please try not to disappoint me before this has even begun. Chika, Rika...! Let's get you down to the Infirmary right away! Unit... 13... Please... defeat the dragons...! Take the hopes and dreams of humanity... with you into the new universe... I'm glad... I got to work with you guys... Thank you... I am so... happy... I met... everyone... Thank you... Unit 13...     And the final Dragonslayer is... two katanas, as another nail in the 'the plot was written under the assumption that you'd play as F!Samurai and no one else' coffin. For bonus points, Chiru + Saku, the dual swords we got from Chika's date, use this exact weapon model with the glowy bits removed. Next time: It gets worse. BisbyWorl fucked around with this message at 10:26 on Jul 17, 2023 |
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Apr 7, 2023 03:24
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Rika: I'll sleep only when I'm dead Bisby: is that a challenge?
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Apr 7, 2023 06:07
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Yeah I will say some of the dialogue feels like it was written with the default Samurai portrait in mind. If you play the demo and transfer progress without making your own characters in the full game, that's who gets stuck as your leader.BisbyWorl posted:
Yeah there's a few things to unpack now that the game finally remembered what franchise it belonged to. These two were basically stuck working for ND for who knows how long, and the job at Nodens, as horrible as it is, did give them a bit of a breather from what they were doing. Rika's gigantic workaholic tendencies may have been a way of coping with her current situation.  Chika and Rika have the exact same stats and payouts, aside from the damage multipliers and that little Easter egg with sleep. Chika is easily the stronger of the two, not just with her stats, but because of her skills as well. quote:Chika (LV. 58/54) quote:Rika (LV. 58/54) Chika is by far the bigger threat. Rika is more easily bursted down with elementals taking 67% more damage from those in comparison to Chika, but Chika straight up has a 2.7% chance to cause an instant game over if you don't have death protection. She's also the one that initiates Petal Blizzard, and the attack is sourced as coming from her. Debuff her, and the damage on that attack will plummet. After doing Petal Blizzard, Chika and Rika will give you 1 turn where they just throw out basic attacks before initiating Petal Blizzard again. So it's used every 3 turns if you don't interrupt them. This makes inflicting them a bit unreliable unless you have hard crowd control to stop them from doing anything at all. Rika will always use a basic attack on a Petal Blizzard turn. Chika is one of the few enemies that can act 3 times per turn, as she she initiates Tsukikage, Blizzard Omen, and then Refresh in that order. Blizzard Omen is a pretty odd telegraph skill. Most telegraph skills show an animation of the enemy powering up, but Blizzard Omen has no such animation. Instead it's used to play some voice clips from Chika and Rika, which is to warn the player about their special attack. No subtitles are provided, unfortunately. Chika's version of Tsukikage has negative priority to ensure it goes last. This is actually a partial benefit, as it means she'll be able to purge off most ailments with Refresh before she initiates Petal Blizzard. However she won't be able to inflict you with Blind first as a result. When there's only one left, they'll actually try to keep up Sange on themselves if you keep trying to purge it. Which is less time they're attacking you at least. Incidentally Rika is the first time you can encounter Charm in-game. It's basically like Confusion, except instead of a 50/50 chance to smack a random enemy or party member, it always causes you to attack your own party. Now for some funny technical bits. Tsukikage actually has an ailment dispel tied to it. What was likely supposed to happen with it was that it was supposed to purge the user of ailments at the same time. Except Tsukikage is coded as an attacking skill, so that doesn't work. In fact it would end up purging ailments on the party if it was functional. Fortunately unlike with a similar glitch with one of the Idol's skills back in 2020-II, they caught this one, as the ailment dispel is completely non-functional, and they just gave them Refresh to purge off ailments more easily. Another funny tidbit is that if you put Rika to Sleep, she'll still partake in Petal Blizzard, as that's Chika's attack despite the animation. In fact the animation doesn't play out any differently, and Rika will "wake up" for the duration of that attack and then immediately fall back asleep once it's over.
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Apr 7, 2023 12:52
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Update LXXIV - Featuring: Localization errors Music: Destructive Curse  We get a small break after... all that.  For a given definition of 'break.' Oh, and there's a glowy sparkle on everyone's corpses.  System Message: An object shines on the ground amongst the shattered pieces...   System Message: It looks like he was trying to take something out of his pocket as he died...   System Message: Something lies on the ground next to his body...   So we take a moment to loot their bodies. They aren't just key items either, these are all actual accessories! Each one has a rather useful effect. The Split Weapon Core has a 50% resist for Charm/Burn/Downer, same with the Damaged Pendant and Skill Seal/Paralysis/Confusion. The Bent Sword Guard gives +7 DEF/MDF and a 60% Death resist, and the Broken Knife Hilt gives the same defense with a 60% Null Action resist.  The time has finally come for you to wield it.~ There is only need for one dragon hunter... We shall determine at last who is fit to lead humanity. Music: Stops    In doing so, we shall determine who stands at the forefront of humanity. You have come to understand the situation quite quickly, Yuma. Naturally. I must collect the data of all living things in order to become the 7th True Dragon. That is the purpose of my existence.    Music: Re:Vanishment (code：VFD Ver)  Both of you are so selfish... What's the point in killing all of those people...!?Mio breaks out her ultimate weapon: the JRPG Hope Speech. What a foolish question. All living things seek evolution by instinct. In other words, they seek power. In this world, the strong survive, while the weak are filtered out. Weakness is not necessary.  Me at like 80% of this game. When do you decide someone's weak? Is it when they're born? Is it when they lose to someone else? Who gets to decide!? Humans inherently have the ability to change! They can do it, with sheer willpower! The only reason we fought the dragons was to protect the people we love! It didn't have anything to do with ridiculous stuff like evolution! You destroyed this world... and you killed so many people... I'll never forgive you for that!   You have no right to continue living.Turns out that going for the JRPG Hope Speech doesn't work that well when you're talking to a man who killed his boss just for being annoying. Music: Stops     No...!   No... This... This can't be happening...!  Whether it be Unit 13 or Yuma... Either one is fine★ I will await you at Chidorigafuchi Park. Come once you have resolved this little issue of yours.Chidorigafuchi is an actual park, located right next to the Imperial Palace.   ...   And despite being willing to kill us 10 seconds ago, Yuma just... decides to leave. You'll never guess where he's setting up shop.  Music: If these Hands could Reach  Th-There's still so much I need to talk to him about...! Urgh... You were always so... selfish... my daughter... Ah! You were always stubborn... ever since you were a baby... I wonder where you got that from... Ngh... D-Don't strain yourself... *sigh* Just... forget about me already... Why would you say that...? Do you... not like me? It's not that... I just... couldn't do anything... Neither for you, nor your mother... You're wrong...! I remember it clearly! You used to read picture books with me every night... and give me big, warm hugs... I remember it all! I could never forget that... I love you... Mio... You've grown so much... I... am unable to protect you, but... I am sure Unit 13... will free this world... from the dragon's curse... Dad...! No... No! Please, no! Promise me, Mio... Never let go... of the things you believe in... You must persist... until the end... ...   So, uh...  poo poo is unfathomably hosed.  Now, the implication here is that the only reason Mio (and Yoritomo) hasn't died like all the others who were exposed to pink Dragonsbane is because of the anti-Dragon Sickness serum.  ...But it looks like all that can do is buy her some time.    You guys are alive... I'm so glad... Grandpa... D-Dad is... Something happened to Yoritomo!? Tell me everything. *sob*  All life forms on this planet are dying out due to Dragon Sickness... *cough* *cough* Grandpa...! Are you... Of course. I am no exception... However, I finally understand the true nature of this disease... Dragon Sickness is more than just a filter... Rather, it forcefully drags humanity into dragonhood... Essentially, it is a stimulant for evolution... Even you have fallen under its influence. It brings death to those who can't handle the power of the dragons, while strengthening the strong... That explains how Unit 13 was able to grow at an abnormal rate and continue hunting the True Dragons. Unit 13 and Yuma are the only ones who fully adapted to the dragon powers... Any others most likely will not be able to handle it. That includes myself... and you as well, Mio.Which is why Unit 13 can be up and about without so much as a sniffle: we're already on the cusp of becoming the 7th Dragon, so there's nothing more it can do to us.   Music: Stops  I'm not going to give up. Opal... I won't give up, either. Hehehe! I intend to struggle for as long as I can, too! ~ What should we do? Opal... Grandpa, is there anything we can do? There is one thing... Though it's something only Unit 13 can accomplish.~~ Would you guys be willing to help me? *nods* If my hypothesis proves correct, there should be a way... but I must meet with Tomari first. Mr. Julietta? *cough* *cough* You should stay here, Mio... Your body will not be able to handle any more strain. No... Let me come! Please! ...If that is truly what you wish, you may join us. Yes!Music: If these Hands could Reach  This overrides the normal music for the rest of the... ever, really.  Even the backup teams changed their lines for this.  Now, we're pretty much on rails for the rest of the game.  Because the place is packed with pink Dragonsbane.  And everyone is dead. I do mean everyone, by the way. The bartender at 7th Encount?  Dead. The guy in charge of Skylounge dates?.  Dead.  Everyone in the cat cafe?  You better believe those cats are dead. This is actually really annoying, because it means we can't use Fancy Cat Food to instantly refill EX on everyone. You have to take those two Mind Boosters and grind it out the old fashioned way.  Hell, if it wasn't for that computer Chika and Rika set up we wouldn't even have a shop.  Odds are Julietta got some serum back when he set up that meeting between Mio and Nagumo during the Intermission, but the game never confirms. ...Terrible. Hmph... The mastermind now feels regret? This was your plan, was it not? But I had no idea that Allie was a True Dragon... Or that she was spreading Dragonsbane in order to create Dragon Sickness! So what!? Your plan was to use dragon specimens to force the hand of human evolution! You're just as guilty as Allie for taking part in such an atrocious plot! ... Why would you do such a thing? It was so... we could change the world.~ You've been deceiving us...? Yeah, I was using you... I wouldn't blame you if you decided to hate me.~~ The Tomari I once knew thought more about the future of humanity than anyone else. What caused such great change within you? Yes, I was like that in the past. I used to believe... my research would bring peace to the world. But that's no longer the case. I became disgusted with humanity and its foolishness. After the 2021 Dragon Calamity... ISDF was responsible for the restoration of the world... They undertook humanitarian aid, resolved disputes, you name it... I thought by joining them... I could become a hero. I thought I could save the world. But ISDF was only interested in saving the countries that would benefit them the most... The poorest, most ruined nations remained as such. ISDF completely neglected their needs. Furthermore... my dragon research, which was supposed to bring peace, was used as a weapon... They used it to create conflict between those poor, destroyed nations. The research I spent my entire life on to save people from the suffering of Dragon Sickness... They used it to kill! I will never forgive them for that!Man it would have been nice if, like, any of this was really mentioned before. As it stands the only real issues we've had with the ISDF was with Yuma and the whole making artifical dragons thing. And that's why you left the ISDF? Exactly. Humans keep on repeating the tragedies of the past... We're so foolish... But... is that a good reason to annihilate humanity!? From that point, we could use Dragonsbane to spread that new data, and update humanity. There would be no more conflict, no more confusion... That is what I truly believed. I had no intention of making Unit 13 into the 7th True Dragon, or of annihilating humanity......holy poo poo Julietta's secretly been a Resident Evil bad guy all along. Mr. Julietta... Do you still believe in that plan!? I'm sorry, Unit 13. I didn't know... I never expected humans... to have such strong wills... Humanity can overcome despair at any time... Past, present, or future... Humans can change, and grow. The only fool who remained the same... was me. I have essentially spent the past years of my life researching a way to destroy humanity. I... You idiot... You should've stopped when you realized your mistake. *sob* *sob* There's no time to cry. What do you mean...? ~ We need your help. You... need me?~~ What do you plan on doing at this point...? Allie... ND's Dragonsbane is spreading around the world at an insane rate. No matter how strong you are, there won't be anyone else left by the time you reach ND. It's too late... Mr. Julietta... It's not too late. You just said it yourself! Humanity can overcome despair at any time! I'm not going to give up. I am going to prove the strength of humanity's willpower! Mio... I see... I too must believe in the power of the human will... Once we have the ND specimen... I should know every last detail about dragonkind... But why...? Hm... ND plans on turning Unit 13 into the 7th True Dragon... But I won't let that happen. Your plan was to use those six specimens to defeat the 7th True Dragon, correct? And if that goes well... we may even be able to rescue humanity in the process. Fate...!? Professor Nagumo, do you intend on defying the laws of this universe!? Hehehe! Does that really matter now? Unit 13... We'll need the ND specimen to make this plan work. Could you get it for us? *nods* I'll be counting on you. We'll be making preparations until you return. Lend me a hand, Tomari! Understood, Professor. Good luck out there... Unit 13. Opal... I promised I would support you to the very end, right? My dad and my grandpa did everything they could to save my life... It might not last much longer, but I want to use the time I have to travel a path I believe in. *nods* Give it all you've got, Mio. I will. Thanks... Grandpa. Mr. Julietta... Where's Nagamimi? That's... a good question. Maybe with ND? Or maybe just dead somewhere... I see... That means I'm the only navigator. This is a really big responsibility... Don't worry. I can do it. ... Opal... How about you take care of the offense while I navigate? *giggle* That's what I said to you before our very first mission in 7th Encount... Do you remember...? And these, in turn, are the exact responses we had way back then. Sounds like fun!Both give the same response. *giggle* Mhm! I'll be the best navigator you've ever had. You'd better keep up! *cough* *cough* We should head over to the War Room and plan for our mission. Let's go, Opal! ~ You probably don't need me worrying about you, but... be careful out there, Unit 13.These two will spend the rest of the chapter in here.  Also they're not even 10 feet from two different corpses.   Unit 13... ND said to go to Chidorigafuchi Park, right? *nods* Well, right now Chidorigafuchi Park is surrounded by Dragonsbane miasma. You can't get through it. You'd be better off heading over to the Parliament Building in Chiyoda. I heard there's an underground passage there that's been around for a long time. You should be able to use it to get through to your destination.This is a weird localization change, because what Mio's actually talking about is the National Diet. Just under a year later Persona 5, which was also published by Sega, would use the proper name. And yes, I did say the Diet. The same Diet used as your home base in 2020-II. We're hitting such unparalleled levels of asset reuse that they're turning not-dungeons into full dungeons. *nods* Unit 13, the Parliament Building has undergone numerous dragon infestations in the past. Nobody has set foot in it since it was designated a special historical site 70 years ago... So, I have no idea what it's going to be like in there... Be careful.      Next time: It gets
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Apr 11, 2023 03:18
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Everything is going well, I see, also everything is going well in a way that for now actually can set up the low tech and low population of 7DDS. Now, this is a story with time travel and such and when you took out the previous big dragons in the past the information on them through the past to the present disappeared but the damage still stuck around. I'm worried the game is going to forged that last thing and bring back the world state when ND dies, a time travel fixes everything that is unearned is about just as bad as it was all a dream.
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Apr 11, 2023 11:39
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Update LXXV - Featuring: Darkness Music: UE77 Tokyo    Just like with Hypnos, the world map has been covered in ND's Dragonsbane.  Although the funny thing is, despite all the old dungeons being covered on the map, all dungeons we've already cleared out stay clean. This wasn't possible in Eden because of the Noble Rosier in Kazan we couldn't fight until the Intermission, and Preloma had Hypnos herself.  UE 77 is boned, but what about the other time periods? Music: Berg - Ultimate Sea Palace  Well Tallieri is just fine. You know, Tallieri! The guy who helped out Ulania until we killed Nyala then stayed behind in a dead kingdom instead of helping his people in an entirely new world because ??????  Also he has, like, zero response to the fact that all of his people are dead.   Kazan is also fine.  However, based on what we know of how timeline changes work, they got about a day before ND exterminating all life on the planet catches up to them and wipes Eden from existance. ...Wait, doesn't that mean that the events of Chapters 4 and 5 could never happen which means we could never get two True Dragon samples so ND would never exterminate all life which means the events of Chapters 4 and 5 do happen whi-  hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh  Let's just go deal with Yuma and ND before Eden vanishes. Worse case scenario: we become the 7th Dragon and devour all reality before we have to worry about paradoxes. Music: Forfeit - The Dragon Inquires  Ahh, the National Diet. It feels like we were here just yesterday!  I accessed the facility mainframe and turned on the power, so the elevator should be working. The lights are all destroyed, though, so you'll have to move around in the dark. Just use the elevator, and look for the passage to Chidorigafuchi Park as quickly as possible. There are lots of dragon signals in there... so proceed with caution! Unlike blue Dragonsbane, pink is purely a cosmetic change for us. No more damage tiles.  drat, those tents are looking good for having been out for 70 years.   They even left the tanks!    Static blares for a few moments. —3! Come in, Unit 13! What a relief! I was really worried there. I wonder why the connection's so weak... Hmm... I'm going to look into it for a bit. I'll let you know if I find out anything!So, the Diet is dark as poo poo, if you couldn't already tell. This makes staring at the map the only reliable way of getting around.  So I'm going to go through the entire dungeon with both screens visible.  Up first is a trio of dragons. These Little Dragons are just stat boosted versions of the ones we fought at the Ladyin Ruins.    How the gently caress was that an ambush?   Killhorns are upgraded Sumo Dragons. They keep the Dash Stance -> Great Horn trick of their predecessors, but for whatever reason the Killhorn's Great Horn is weaker than the Sumo's.   However, GEORGE! exists, so all this ambush can do is make them die faster.      Gee, I wonder if something important is in the old Murakumo briefing room. Music: Battlefield - UE77  Normal enemies still exist and are even more irrelevant. I just want to point out that we're still using Battlefield - UE77. Music: Forfeit - The Dragon Inquires  The entire top half of the lobby is blocked off.  Okay, this should lead to...  ...thaaaaaaaaaaaaaat doesn't look like the Council Chamber?  While we're stumbling around in the dark, we may as well take a moment to talk about everything that's happened.  Namely: the sheer dissonance between the entire game and here.  Having a major threat shake up the status quo is a staple of many stories, sure, but the problem here is that Tokyo has been established as a completely safe place for pretty much the entire game. The ISDF contained the attack in the prologue with zero fuss at all, and even a full set of 7 High Dragons got mopped up in the time it took for us to climb the Ladyin Ruins. There's just zero build up before everything goes to hell.  There's also the fact that while Allie had a few suspicious moments, (remember when she said she didn't expect Emel to become a True Dragon just yet?) in-universe she's been perfectly friendly. Hell, you can sleep with her just a day before she does her big reveal! If you don't go around talking to NPCs at the start of Chapter 6, it is entirely possible to go from making a fancy multi-time period cocktail for her to having her casually kill off pretty much the entire supporting cast in the span of about half an hour.  This also really screws over the Eden cast, as they barely had any screentime or character development. Compare Ulania and Sailas: Ulania started out as a fatalist determined to sacrifice her entire kingdom because she honestly felt that was the only way to save Earth from Nyala's brood, and ended up one of the most optimistic characters in the cast just because Unit 13 showed her another way. Sailas, meanwhile, started and ended as a generic research obsessed creepy scientist character, to the point where even his date scenes are one-note. And let's not get into Nagiri, who was an active character for all of half a dungeon before she got banished to Medical.  (Despite being called the Council Chamber we've somehow ended up on a Residential Floor.)  It really feels like they wanted to do a few more chapters to more naturally lead into this level of tragedy, but the sheer lack of time and money forced them to jump from 'happy light-hearted time travel adventures' to 'the end of the world' with zero setup. I mentioned at the very start that I wasn't making this a narrative LP because of some late game plot points, and this is why. Trying to tie in a custom narrative that doesn't turn into an utter misery fest as everyone's friends/lovers get cut down before their very eyes and one of them is set to become the very thing they set out to destroy would have taken a herculean effort.  So on top of not being able to see, this is also a teleporter maze. A simple one, sure, but a teleporter maze nonetheless.   As an aside, I don't really have a good way to say this, but-   I kiiiiiiiiiiiiinda forgot two civilians at some point and I have no idea when or where, and since everyone is dead I can't go back and get them.  The final reward for rescuing all 50 civilians is the Sheathed Wisdom, an accessory for single blade Samurai that lets them start in Sheathed Stance. However, using it means not having instant access to Sheathed Stance's priority defense debuffs, so it's fairly eh in this game.  Also Carrion Dragons are Stab Dragons that traded in Rolling Claw and Roar for Burning Slash (single target attack with chance of Bleed and Burn) and Deadly Fang. (single target attack with 80% chance of Death) GEORGE!, die, etc. I can't grab that Ozon-Aid All, by the way. Some items are just flagged to be undiscardable, so the only way to thin my inventory would be if I intentionally took an ailment and used them.  The Major Bracer gives 20% ailment resist.     I don't know what it is, but that's why you sometimes exit from a different spot than you entered. There seems to be some rule to it all, though. You should be able to keep moving if you figure it out.The rule is simple, just head back into the entrance.  Then exit again.  And now you're back where you started. Going back in will lead right back to where we were before. There's zero one way paths, so this whole teleporter gimmick is just a way to turn a hub zone into a dungeon.      You can barely see the lobby entrance from here, so we got teleported to the PM Housing ward.             Not every door acts as a teleporter.  So the first segment of the Diet has been fully cleared out.  And that means we can move on to the next. Next time: Lazier asset reuse.
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Apr 14, 2023 03:30
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they haven't replaced inuzuka's ugly-rear end carpet in eighty years
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Apr 14, 2023 03:41
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Okay, wait, let me get this straight. The reward for rescuing every NPC is an accessory that lets you Samurai not draw their weapon at the start of combat. I know, I know, videogame and all, but it's hilarious to me that there's an accessory required for a Samurai to just... not draw their sword. It's literally less work than starting out with your sword drawn. Also, yeah, the pacing in the game is kind of crap, but as you said, it's probably a victim of a limited budget. I did notice that the map still has 76 dragons left to go, which seems like an awfully high amount, especially since the people who would use Dz to upgrade the building are dead (and, well, the people who you'd be upgrading the building for are also dead, so that's a wash at least?). I'm vaguely surprised they didn't at least let you unlock a cat cafe equivalent in one of the other timelines if they were going to kill everyone.
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Apr 14, 2023 07:05
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Update LXXVI - Featuring: Ultimate power Music: Forfeit - The Dragon Inquires  Hey look, an obvious setup for a barrier dragon that'll drag in three smaller dragons!  (Ruinous Dragons are Criminal Dragons that lose Headbutt in exchange for making Muscle Gaze AoE.)  (Icemorph Dragons are the same as Morphs, only Ball Hop now inflicts Freeze)   Shame GEORGE! exists, so all they can do is die. ...12K damage??????? That's insane! The only way you could really hit 5 digits in 2020 was during a second round against Nyala where his defenses are intentionally dropped to nothing, and GEORGE! broke past it like it was nothing!                Cannon Dragons are even nastier Tower Dragons that add in Confusion to all their status moves, while keeping the Poison and Venom Boost. However, GEORGE! exists, so it'll never get to move.  Bit hard to tell, but you can see text scrolling on the monitors. The monitors that, according to Mio, haven't been used in 70 years.     Another rule to the dungeon is that the door on the left will never be a teleporter.       Armor upgrade for tank classes. GEORGE! doesn't get it because his armor gives him +5 SPD.   Why... connecti... so bad? Some... interfer...The connection cuts out.  The underground passage from the Parliament Building is the quickest path to ND. It was obvious that you would end up here. Let us settle this, once and for all.Fun fact: The National Diet and Chidoragafuchi Park are only 1 KM away from each other. So while there probably isn't a hidden passage connecting the two in real life, it's at least a reasonable distance to cover!  Well, let's get moving... He's waiting for you. I supposed ending up here was inevitable, really.   Golden Dragons are Dark Ones that can inflict full party Skill Seal.                 Just have to check the left room before we can head to Yuma.  You know it'd be a lot more impactful seeing all these old locales in a new context if I could, like, see.       Eh?  Okay, so Super Blast is, according to Chika way back in Chapter 2, 30 years old. The Diet has been sealed off for 70 years. So how did this Blaster Belt end up here? Did Kirino break into his old base for giggles one day and accidentally leave it behind?  Christ, even the accessories are nonsensical.   Let's just go see the old Unit 13's room.  If you listen closely, they say you can hear a young woman giving a lecture about dragon taxonomy...    And so the entire dungeon was just one long circle. Opal... Don't let your guard down.     That's the entire dungeon.  So let's go take care of an old friend. Next time: The world's most intense staring contest.
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Apr 18, 2023 03:19
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Update LXXVII - Featuring: The greatest weapon the world has ever seen Video: VS Yuma Music: Ignith of the Final Attack (code：VFD Ver)                    Music: Battlefield - The Hunter  The time has come for our duel with Yuma.  As the last opponent standing between us and ND, Yuma comes in with a whopping 10K LF, 8K under Chika and Rika's combined total. ...wait, that can't be right.  GEORGE! could one shot him with a War Cry-boosted Earthquake crit, the devs must have made a mistake.  Hell, Opal's team has already dealt 10% of his health right here, and they don't have a win button!  Yuma comes out swinging with Drake Blast, which deals multiple hits of MAT-based damage with a 20% chance of Burn. It has a -100% crit rate, which is a mercy considering the base damage was enough to nearly wipe the party. Okay, it's clear that Yuma is meant to be a glass cannon boss. He can't take much punishment, but his own damage is sky high to compe-  You what. Yeah, this isn't a normal fight. Yuma uses Drake Sphere to fully heal himself every turn. The only way to beat him is to take him out in one turn, and his SPD is set to 1 just to make sure he can't interrupt you and heal early. While you could effortlessly do it with a Banisher and a Rune Knight, the intended strategy is to stall until you can pop Unison and beat him that way. If the implied message of Yuma not getting that it's the power of friendship that let Unit 13 surpass him hasn't clicked for you, the fact that you literally can't beat him (broken moves aside) without teaming up with your friends should make it obvious.  So here's how the fight goes: I heal, Yuma hits me, I heal, repeat for 8 turns because I have a Fortuner in the back. This is what the devs actually intended here.   Also even his sky high offense isn't a threat, because sometimes he'll just... not attack. At all. You just have a safe turn to patch yourself up for the next hit.   Back Kick has a 30% chance of Null Action.   Crazy Claw is... another multi-hit random target move. It deals 0.5x ATK-based damage a hit compared to Drake Blast's 0.6x, but Yuma has more ATK than MAT so they're roughly equal. The real threat is changing out Burn for the far more serious Confusion.    I could have put Team 2 up front shave two turns off my Unison timer.  I could have stuck Aria and Yuno together so I only need four turns to Unison.  Hell, I could have combined Valerie and GEORGE! to, as mentioned earlier, end this fight on turn 1. But I didn't, because this is an actual thing the devs designed.  The fight against our friend driven far beyond his breaking point because of an unhealthy mindset, reduced to a meaningless slap fight that will immediately end in our favor the second the timer says we can.  This is the last turn before I can Unison, so I start setting up.   And GG.   If your team can't hit 10K damage even with Unison for whatever reason, the devs put in one bit of mercy:  Remember when I said that all enemies have slightly reduced stats on Casual mode, with one exception? Yuma is that exception, having his health cut in half to make it easier to meet the damage check. Every other enemy in the game only loses about 15%.      ...Is that Kirino's defeat animation?????  Holy poo poo it is. Music: Finish Them Off  Music: If these Hands could Reach   Even with all of my power... I lost... *chuckle* I knew it... I knew it... all along... Unit 13... You are the strongest of all... Not me...  My existence... has been futile since the very beginning... I am useless... I wish I was never born... If I am not the strongest, I have no reason to be! *shakes head twice*  Please, don't say things like that. Unit 13 appreciated your being there... and so did my dad.  Nobody's useless. I am not useless...? Even though I am weak... we could still have lived... together... ~ You're my teammate, Yuma. Teammate...? I suppose... it was fun spending time together... even outside of battle...~~ Admiral... I understand now... The purpose for my existence...  A crackling sound starts.       I never would have thought of something like this... I should've expected nothing less from you.      You're wrong... The blame lies with ISDF. I've always looked up to you, Professor...! I appreciate that... but ISDF has nothing to do with it. I do not regret my research into NAVs or man-made beings like Miharu... However, even though I created life... I could not create humans. In the end, every single NAV ended their life in despair. Even Yuma... They often searched for meaning to their lives... The purpose of their existence... In doing so, they put their happiness into other people's hands... Tomari... Human happiness is something found between two people... All I wanted... was for them to find that happiness...         Next time: A quick tour of the Diet. BisbyWorl fucked around with this message at 10:43 on Jul 17, 2023 |
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Apr 21, 2023 03:35
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Yuma is a very confusing character. If he was placed in any other game he probably could have been more interesting. Instead VFD utilizes him as a jobber and well. All this really. Unit 13 reached out to Yuma. Multiple times. He turned them down every single time. He really only has himself to blame for this sentiment.  A very appropriate response to his nonsense.  Anyways there's his battle stats.  And his stats in casual mode. Most of the casual mode changes just nerfs stats slightly, but as was mentioned, Yuma gets a huge HP cut here in case you can't solve the puzzle boss of a DPS check. Ailments can also be used to stop him from using Drake Sphere. Unison will also give you 2 turns to deplete all that HP since it induces a guaranteed turn loss for him. quote:Yuma (LV. 62/58) His skills aren't anything special aside from his kill in 1 turn gimmick. quote:-Take 2 actions per turn. His AI is also very simple since he's just a DPS check. You can splat him on turn 1 with powerful enough skills, or even using EX skills.
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Apr 21, 2023 04:32
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What an intensely unsatisfying boss design. You're not going to feel clever at all if you beat him via the intended result, and the secondary path of burning him down in a orgy of DPS isn't going to be satisfying because that's every single fight.
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Apr 21, 2023 12:32
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Ratoslov posted:What an intensely unsatisfying boss design. You're not going to feel clever at all if you beat him via the intended result, and the secondary path of burning him down in a orgy of DPS isn't going to be satisfying because that's every single fight. Agreed. This sort of design is great as a tutorial, but as the penultimate boss? It's definitely less than satisfying.
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Apr 21, 2023 14:51
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I can kinda appreciate the intention behind it (though I'm also absolutely a sucker for "the power of friendship" type stuff)... but having to potentially waiting up to eight turns to use Unison for the "intended" result definitely makes it clunkier in practice. The other method, of just blasting away all of his 10k LF in one turn anyways... could be fun if that wasn't what every single fight wound up being anyways. I'm not sure how much set-up you'd even really need to smash him to bits.
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Apr 22, 2023 03:12
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