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 Alternate thread title: I'm Passionate About These Rhythms In 1992, Square released Romancing SaGa for the Super Famicom. Built upon the first two SaGa games (released in the U.S. as Final Fantasy Legend), it featured an open world, eight protagonists, and a host of arcane and obscure game systems. It was popular enough to spawn two sequels for the same system, and more SaGa games for the PlayStation and beyond. In 2005, Square Enix remade the game from the ground up for the PlayStation 2. Released as Romancing SaGa: Minstrel Song in Japan and simply Romancing SaGa in the U.S., it featured new graphics (a unique watercolor style that admittedly looks awkward in places), a new soundtrack, a few new systems, and more beginner-friendly (though still fairly opaque) gameplay. The remake is a special game for me. I purchased it on a lark but sunk dozens on dozens of hours into it. Although not perfect, I fell in love with its gameplay, its stellar soundtrack, and even its cheesy voice acting. I love it so much I wrote about it on these very forums. Given the game's poor reception in the West, I was as shocked as anyone when a remaster was announced for release in 2022. Shocked, but ecstatic. It's a great game, and while it isn't for everyone, more people ought to experience it. People like you. So how is this gonna work? The game has eight characters, each with their own intro. So my first order of business will be to run through those eight intros and get you acquainted with those characters, as well as the allies they can recruit along the way. Once that's done, I'm going to start taking input from my audience. You all will be responsible for choosing our protagonist, their allies, and even what tasks we undertake. This LP will therefor become your own story: not a comprehensive look at the game, but a playthrough dictated by your choices and priorities. I think it's one of the game's strengths, and the LP should reflect that. Disclaimer: I won't be using my own account when linking music. I figure stuff that's already on YouTube is fair game, but I don't wanna get in any kind of trouble for uploading something I shouldn't. If a music link is broken, that's why. You can also buy the soundtrack in various digital music stores. What's the update schedule? Whenever I can get an update done. In my previous LPs I tried to set a timetable, and in neither case did it go entirely smoothly. Given how much more complex I see this LP being, there's zero chance I'll be able to maintain a weekly schedule, and I'm not gonna try and second-guess how often I'll be able to update. Anything else? As I've mentioned a few times, I feel that Kenji Ito absolutely outdid himself with this soundtrack. Although I'm not going to share every piece (the soundtrack is enormous and I'd drive myself crazy trying to catch every single song), I will point out the ones I think are most important or excellent. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S3bIH77OBMw Updates Intro: Albert Game Mechanics: The Menu Screen Intro: Aisha Game Mechanics: Skills & Classes Intro: Gray Mythology of Mardias Intro: Claudia Intro: Jamil Intro: Sif Game Mechanics: Monster Types Intro: Hawke Intro: Barbara Getting Started Free the Gecklings Rapidly Changing Plans Assassination, Heresy, and Fraud Pride of the Knights The Fiends of Saoki Neville's Request A Scroll and a Scurve Treasures Great and Small Creepy Butterfly Monster of Mt. Tomae Captain Silver's Treasure Constance Kidnapped Ailing Emperor The Sword of Ice and the Serpent of Water Courier Services Missing Taralians Find the Aquamarine Isle of Evil Plant Ecology Return of the Vampires 5-Headed Snake God fucked around with this message at 22:32 on Apr 20, 2024 |
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Aug 7, 2023 22:06
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Dramatis Personae Protagonists Albert  "I Am Albert, Son of Rudolf, Lord of the Isthmus." Voiced by: Yuri Lowenthal Default Class: Frontier Guard Recruitment Limitations: Cannot be recruited if Diana is in the party. Other Notes: Starts with level 1 in Cosmology and the Sunray spell. Aisha  "I'm Aisha, a Taralian!" Voiced by: Carrie Savage Default Class: Herbalist Gray  "I'm Gray." Voiced By: Josh Phillips Default Class: Swordsman Claudia  "My name is Claudia." Voiced by: Karen Strassman Default Class: Ranger Jamil  "I'm Jamil. Pleased to meet ya." Voiced by: Ted Sroka Default Class: Thief Sif  "I am Sif, a proud Valhallan." Voiced by: Megan Hollingshead Default Class: Valhallan Warrior Hawke  "You can call me Captain Hawke." Voiced By: Gerald C. Rivers Default Class: Pirate Barbara  "My name's Barbara. Good to meet you!" Voiced by: Erica Shaffer Default Class: Entertainer Other Notes: Starts with level 1 in Demonology and the Energy Bolt spell. Other Characters Brau  *Bear noises* Voiced by: No one Default Class: N/A Recruitment Limitations: Joins in Claudia's intro. Can't be recruited by anyone else. Other Notes: Can't take classes or skill ranks, can't Glimmer techniques, can't be removed from the party, and can't use equipment. Diana  "I am Diana, Knight of the Rose and daughter of Rudolf and Mariah! Face me if you dare!" Voiced by: Michelle Ruff Default Class: Rosalian Lancer Recruitment Limitations: Cannot be recruited if Albert is in the party. Other Notes: Starts with a unique short sword, the Queen of Swords, which she cannot unequip. Dowd  "A-Are we gonna be okay?" Voiced by: Sam Riegel Default Class: Thug Recruitment Limitations: Joins in Jamil's intro. Other characters must first complete a specific early-game quest. Galahad  "Now I'll be able to fulfill my divine mission." Voiced By: Unknown Default Class: Rosalian Officer Gian  "The city's more dangerous than the wilderness. Trust me." Voiced by: Unknown Default Class: Imperial Knight Recruitment Limitations: Only available after completing a specific early-game quest. Guella Ha  "From now on we should walk with the Hotbloods." Voiced By: Liam O'Brien Default Class: Geckling Knight Herman  "Fighting these can be lucrative!" Voiced by: Unknown Default Class: Trader Monica  "Who sent you?" Voiced by: Unknown Default Class: Imperial Knight Recruitment Limitations: Only available after completing a specific early-game quest. Myriam  "I'll put an end to this with my magic." Voiced By: Unknown Default Class: None Other Notes: Starts with level 1 in Pyrology and the Hellfire spell. Patrick  "You'll play your best game against your greatest foe! ...Me." Voiced by: Unknown Default Class: None Recruitment Limitations: Only available after completing a specific early-game quest. Sylvan  *Wolf noises* Voiced by: No one Default Class: N/A Recruitment Limitations: Joins in Claudia's intro. Can't be recruited by anyone else. Other Notes: Can't take classes or skill ranks, can't Glimmer techniques, can't be removed from the party, and can't use equipment. 5-Headed Snake God fucked around with this message at 18:48 on Jan 14, 2024 |
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Aug 7, 2023 22:06
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 As mentioned in the OP, we're opening the game with the eight heroes' unique intros. Our first protagonist is Albert, a nobleman's son. His position as character #1 isn't a coincidence; Albert has by far the longest intro in the game, and it eases the player into the mechanics more gently than any other.  After selecting our character, we're prompted to rename them. I'll be keeping the protagonists' names as-is, since they're voice acted in-game anyway.  Next, we're prompted to choose our hero's class, which dictates their starting skills and affects their stats. New Game + lets you choose any class unlocked in a previous playthrough, but since this is a fresh save, we only have the default choice. In Albert's case that's Frontier Guard, a basic fighting class that sometimes mitigates enemy surprise attacks. Every class has its own special ability, and while this one isn't great, it's not terrible. Albert also starts with one level in the Cosmology skill, which gives him some magical ability. The red highlight means it's a fixed skill that he gets regardless of class. He also starts with a Cosmology spell, Sunray, though it's not really worth using in his intro.   Since this is a new game, we're also prompted for a player name. Sadly, "5-Headed Snake God" doesn't fit. We're also asked for a gender; since I don't know your genders, I'm leaving it as Unknown.  Lastly, we're asked to set the strength of our controller vibration and how quickly the game's story will advance (a new option for the Remaster). I'm going for a standard new player experience, so I'm keeping the progression speed at Normal. That's all for the setup, so let's get going!  The blue region in the center of the map is highlighted, and as you can see on the right, it's Rosalia. Each character is associated with one (or sometimes two) of the game's ten regions. In this case, it's Rosalia, a powerful kingdom That won independence from the empire next door some years back, and has been at odds with them ever since. (Mardias is the name of the world, named for its creator-god, Marda.)  The intros are narrated by the game's eponymous Minstrel, who we'll eventually meet in person.           After learning a little about where and who we are, we've given control of Albert at last. You can see button prompts on the screen, which I haven't found a way to remove. You'll just have to get used to them.  Here's our party status screen. I'll go over more about what all this stuff means in another update.  Diana wasn't kidding about Albert needing to equip himself.  There are many, many groups of weapons in Minstrel Song; Albert's Frontier Guard class is skilled with two of them: Foils and Long Swords. He starts with one of the former, a Dress Sword, which is weak but serviceable for the early game. Every character also comes with a Smoke Bomb Pouch (a new item in the remaster that facilitates fleeing from battle) and a First Aid Kit (which can be used to cure poison or paralysis, or restore a small amount of HP in battle). Both can be refilled by resting at an inn. Finally, the armor and shield are basic early-game fare.  We're geared up, let's go exploring. Music Highlight: Hope for Justice/Wings of Justice (Many songs on the game's soundtrack have two translations. The first name is the unofficial literal translation, while the second is the official name from the Western release of the soundtrack.) Albert's theme is an almost martial tune that reflects both his noble blood and the fact that he's the generic RPG protagonist.  Heck yeah, forget mom and dad, let's go have an adventure!  Our plans are shot down immediately. Albert's intro cannot be skipped or subverted.   Back inside the keep, we find a locked and guarded room containing a magic staff. We might have to come back for this later.  All right, let's go see the lord and lady.   Word balloons are not always meant to be red from left to right. I respect my readers enough to believe that they can figure out the correct order.      And with that, we have our first mission and our first party. Most characters don't have three allies handed to them like this, but like I said: this intro is designed to ease us into the game.  The game constantly tracks our quests, as well as any rumors we hear. The remaster tells us outright when once of these updates.  Here's our new party. As you can see, Albert is by far the weakest person here, so Diana and the soldiers will have to carry him.   Preparations made, we head out of Isthmus Keep and toward the cave. We could take one of the other exits to the world map, but we'd have nowhere to go  The cave is dark and ominous, but at least our minimap shows us where all the monsters are. Music Highlight: Labyrinth of Illusion/Halls of Illusion The game's most common cave music has a slow, oppressive feel that gives one a sense of danger.  Music Highlight: Prelude of Battle/A Prelude to Bloodshed As standard battle themes go, this one is pretty solid - which is good because, as the main battle theme, it plays a lot. I think it does a solid job of keeping the player excited for the many fights they'll face. And here we run into our first monsters. Each model represents a single group of monsters, and the model indicates one monster type in that encounter. More importantly, each monster type has a different form of detection and movement. I'm not going to go into too much detail about this, but you can see that the beastman is chasing us (by the red tint), and the bug has just spotted us. The beastman uses sight to find us, which means that we could sneak by if we stayed behind him. The bug uses hearing, which doesn't depend on facing but has a much shorter range.   As the fight starts, we're given the option to fight or flee. Flight always succeeds (except against bosses), but eats a charge from our Smoke Bomb Kit. Once we choose to fight, we're prompted to choose actions for our party. Minstrel Song uses round-based combat, with the player selecting all characters' actions before anyone does anything. Actions are sorted by weapon or item, then martial arts (unarmed attacks), then by spell school.   We then choose targets. Enemies that have been targeted by other party members are marked with a star to keep the player from losing track.  Once the battle ends, our characters have a chance to increase their stats. Minstrel Song, like most SaGa games, eschews experience levels in favor of stat gains. What stats a character gains seems based on a mix of the character, their class, the strength of the enemies, and pure random chance.  We also gain jewels, which are used for increasing a character's class level. 1 jewel is an absolutely minuscule prize. Battles do not, as a rule, give meaningful jewel rewards.  To the left of the entrance is this chest, which gives us a warning that a trap might be set. This message comes up whenever we try to open a chest without having the Find Traps proficiency equipped. I'll go over proficiencies at another time; this update is gonna be long enough as it is.   This being the beginner scenario, there is of course no trap. We get 110 gold, which isn't a lot but is better than nothing.  There's only one other path to take, and it leads us to a dead end. Hopefully we'll find what we're looking for here.    This is it. Let's do it! Boss Fight: Demon Scout https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qy9gjatjzgY Music Highlight: A Piece of Courage Now this is what I'm talking about! A Piece of Courage is a rousing, bombastic piece that grabs your interest from the first notes and holds onto it for the entire fight. It isn't the best battle music in the game, but it's a quintessential example of what the game has to offer.  So here we are at our first boss fight, the Demon Scout. This isn't an especially tough fight, but Albert is basically useless and his survival is practically a miracle.    The Demon Scout opens the fight with its most impressive attack, Manipulate Gravity. It does considerable damage to the entire party, but it seems to be percentage-based, since Albert takes less damage than anyone else.   Its next attack, Triple Maul, would definitely have KOed Albert if he hadn't gotten a shield block. This was absolutely clinch.   The scout has one other attack, Piercing Claw, which is its least dangerous.  Diana manages to avoid it at one point, because besides shield blocks, characters can also deflect attacks with their weapons (though the odds are low).   This battle also sees Albert get his first Glimmer. Every weapon has a set of special attacks available with it, and Glimmering is how those techniques are learned. Glimmer rate is affected by a character's weapon skill level and the strength of the enemy they're attacking. Some techniques (mostly the stronger ones) are also harder to Glimmer than others. At a Foils skill level of 1, Albert hasn't Glimmered anything prior to the boss fight.  And even there, Paralyzing Thrust is... pretty lame.  One of the soldiers also manages to Glimmer a technique, Blunt Strike. This deals no damage but has a low chance of inflicting paralysis. Since the Demon Scout is immune to that, this is literally worse than a regular attack.  Finally, the other soldier brings it down.  Although there are only a handful of animation "sets" that characters use in combat, every character does have their own celebratory stat-up animation.  We get five times as many jewels from this fight as a regular one, and it's still a pittance.   As Diana congratulates Albert on the whole lotta nothing he did, a strange red sigil appears on the wall.    Eh, I'm sure it's nothing.  Time to head home.   Upon reporting our success, we complete the quest and receive a healthy number of jewels. Completing quests is the main way of getting them.   As Rudolf congratulates his boy on not dying, we get word that the prince of Rosalia has shown up.    He cuts an imposing figure, for sure.   This feels a bit out of nowhere, but maybe Diana has a reputation? Or maybe it's just a good match; the Isthmus is an important location and it's implied that Rudolf may have some political power.       I have to assume that this is either Neidhart flattering his fiance's family or him seeing Albert's potential, because right now he's pretty useless.    All in all, this seems like good news. But this is the intro to a JRPG. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ziy-AFsqYzs   We'd better head to the throne room.    (Crystal City is Rosalia's capital, in case that wasn't clear from context.)    The wall behind the throne opens to reveal a secret passage.  A chest inside contains a nice 2,000 gold, which should make for solid traveling money.  The siblings escape out of a back exit, but then... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z96SgdzgRt8 Yeah, that's not good.  Albert awakes in a strange bed.           Monica is an exceedingly helpful woman. I'd be super suspicious if I hadn't played the game before.  Monica's map gives us access to the town of Bruelle, which is good because we otherwise wouldn't have many places to go.  Stepping outside, we get an intro screen for the town of Loban, located in the Bafal Empire. You know, the country that Rosalia broke away from.  See this kid? There's one in every city and town, and they're important. You can pick them out by the sparklies on their belts.    They offer town maps, access to item storage, and tips for beginners. They offer more tips as the game goes on, which in the PS2 release was how you could track your progress through the game - a topic I'll cover in another post.   We grab a map, then head out. There's nothing here we can really buy. We can get to the world map either by walking out of the town's exit or pushing Square on the gamepad - a very convenient shortcut.   After selecting our destination, the game shows us our route.  And we arrive in Bruelle.  As with Loban, there's nothing here we want to buy (that we can afford), so after grabbing a town map, we head for the docks and hire a ship.  As Albert looks across the water, he notices a man with an oddly-shaped parcel behind him.   Well, that was rude. I wonder what his deal is. Anyway, the boat ride goes 100% smoothly and ahahaha no Albert's intro is a series of misfortunes. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yg767ijx3fI The prerendered cut scenes look kinda bad, in my opinion. They're just not as good in motion as the actual game.  The ship wrecks in a land of ice and snow.    Albert passes out in the snow, his last thoughts being of his sister. Albert's intro isn't over, but I'm going to end it here. You'll see what becomes of him another time. 5-Headed Snake God fucked around with this message at 14:23 on Oct 7, 2023 |
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Aug 7, 2023 22:07
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I have a weird love/hate relationship with SaGa. Interesting conceptually in terms of story and plot, usually have great graphics and music (and this one is no exception, I heard some music samples on a website and immediately bought the OST way back when in 2005 in a time when 56k internet were the norm and Youtube music playlists had not come to be and don't regret it one bit to this day), but holy gently caress the gameplay usually turns me off in one way or another. Whether it's the extreme take on non-linearity that usually leaves you wandering without a single clue on where you're supposed to go or something else like how much of a nightmare the final boss from SaGa Frontier 2 can be if you don't come properly prepared, I always get fed up with them. Looking forward to how this one turns out.
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Aug 8, 2023 02:00
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Shitenshi posted:Whether it's the extreme take on non-linearity that usually leaves you wandering without a single clue on where you're supposed to go or something else like how much of a nightmare the final boss from SaGa Frontier 2 can be if you don't come properly prepared, I always get fed up with them. Supposedly, the lead designer of the franchise's philosophy is "surprise me". 
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Aug 8, 2023 16:10
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Yo, SaGa! I love SaGa. ...That being said, I've only played SaGa 0 (FF2), SaGa 1-2 (Final Fantasy Legends), and Last Remnant (Not a SaGa, but headed by the same guy). I've not seen a huge amount of the later SaGa games, so this will be fun.
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Aug 8, 2023 18:14
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Shitenshi posted:I have a weird love/hate relationship with SaGa. Interesting conceptually in terms of story and plot, usually have great graphics and music (and this one is no exception, I heard some music samples on a website and immediately bought the OST way back when in 2005 in a time when 56k internet were the norm and Youtube music playlists had not come to be and don't regret it one bit to this day), but holy gently caress the gameplay usually turns me off in one way or another. Whether it's the extreme take on non-linearity that usually leaves you wandering without a single clue on where you're supposed to go or something else like how much of a nightmare the final boss from SaGa Frontier 2 can be if you don't come properly prepared, I always get fed up with them. Looking forward to how this one turns out. I think Minstrel Song is pretty approachable, as SaGa games go. Not to say it's friendly, but I was able to beat my first run with no outside help. (I then bought the player's guide and never regretted it.) dotchan posted:Supposedly, the lead designer of the franchise's philosophy is "surprise me". I've heard that too. Given how the games play I don't doubt it for a moment. Odd Wilson posted:Yo, SaGa! I love SaGa. Oh man but I love Last Remnant. Haven't touched it in years. Maybe I'll play it again once this LP is done.
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Aug 9, 2023 01:33
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Interested in this one, because I loved the FF Legend games and enjoyed RS3 on the SNES (albeit with a lovely late 90's translation), but never played the others and don't know much about them. Are you going to explain the mechanics as you go along? I assume this is like every other SaGa game with mechanics so absurdly obscure that decades later people are still trying to figure out how some of that poo poo works.
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Aug 9, 2023 02:05
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MagusofStars posted:Interested in this one, because I loved the FF Legend games and enjoyed RS3 on the SNES (albeit with a lovely late 90's translation), but never played the others and don't know much about them. I don't plan to explain everything in detail, partly because there's a lot to cover and partly because I'm not sure I know everything. I do intend to explain the most important stuff though. My next update is going to be a short post covering some of the more basic stuff so everyone knows what's going on in battle.
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Aug 9, 2023 02:47
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I can only vaguely recall how the beginning of Albert's story went from reading a GameFAQS guide decades ago for the SNES versions, but I think it's fair to say it's only going to get worse before it gets better for Albert here.
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Aug 9, 2023 17:05
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Minstrel Song is a big, complex game. So while I can't cover everything it contains, I can go over a few of the more important details. In this mini-update I'm going to talk a bit about the menu screen, including equipment. Some of this should be pretty basic stuff for RPG veterans, but Minstrel Song has a few unique mechanics too.  Each party member has a small scroll containing their name, portrait, and three numbers. HP is Hit Points, and it's exactly what you think. If a character's HP hits zero, they go down. It's worth noting, though, that no special items or abilities are required to revive a KOed character: any healing item or spell will do the job. Characters are also restored to full HP after combat, which is why the menu screen doesn't display both current and maximum values. LP is Life Points. Every time a character loses all their HP in combat, or is struck while already down, they lose one LP. Especially powerful attacks can cost a character two LP in addition to the HP, and some other abilities can damage a character's LP directly (which may or may not also be an instant KO). A character reduced to 0 LP is permanently killed and removed from the party, unless it's the main character, in which case we get a game over instead. LP can be restored by sleeping at an inn. BP is Battle Points, which are used to fuel a character's spells and weapon techniques. A character starts each fight with BP equal to a percentage of their maximum, which varies from character to character. In Albert's case, it's 30%, which is on the low side of average. The "+2" at the end of the line indicates how many points the character gains each round, and is based on a combination of which character it is and their maximum BP. +2 is the smallest growth rate, as befits a beginner character. If you're sharp-eyed, you may have noticed that the two soldiers have far fewer LP than Albert or Diana (4 vs 12 and 11, respectively). Generic characters like the soldiers can be recruited as regular party members, but they always come with small LP pools and some fixed equipment (like terrible armor), which makes them poor choices to take into the later parts of the game.  In the bottom left corner is this clock-like... thing, which is new to the Remaster. This tracks our current Event Rank, a value which represents how far into the game we are. As ER advances, new quests open up and some others expire. (In the PS2 release, ER could only be tracked by talking to the Volunteer Brigade, who offer new tips as ER increases.) ER starts between 0 (shown here) and 2, depending on the protagonist, and goes up as we fight battles. Fighting battles also increases a second, hidden value, Battle Rank, which determines what enemies we can face in combat. The ER and BR system incentivizes avoiding enemies and, especially, not grinding for stats. Gear and class levels are very important in determining a character's power, and quests and chests are much better sources of gold and jewels.  It's also worth talking about our equipment page. Weapons and armor should be fairly self-explanatory for most RPG players. Weapons and consumable items take up weapon slots, of which each character has four. In battle, a character can switch between their equipped weapons freely from round to round.  On the right, we have our core stats, as well as numbers noting how they're modified by our equipment. Strength (STR) affects the damage of most weapons. Vitality (VIT) affects physical defense and resistance to physical status effects. Dexterity (DEX) affects weapon accuracy and the damage for a few weapon types (like foils and short swords). Agility (AGI) affects turn order, physical evasion, and damage for a small number of techniques. Intelligence (INT) affects the power of most magic. Willpower (WIL) affects magic defense and resistance to mental status effects. Compassion (COM) affects the power of healing magic. Charisma (CHA) affects the damage of Illusion magic and has a tiny effect on the success of inflicting status effects. And finally, Weight affects turn order and has a minor effect on accuracy.  And finally, on the right, we have the character's resistance to various damage types: slashing, bashing, piercing, fire, cold, electricity, and energy, plus status effects at the end. And that's it! The next update will feature our second protagonist's intro.
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Aug 14, 2023 19:18
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5-Headed Snake God posted:
Didn't realize this game had permadeath. Consider me very interested now, I like to see how RPGs handle that. ...The generics do have way less LP 
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Aug 15, 2023 15:59
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Odd Wilson posted:Didn't realize this game had permadeath. Consider me very interested now, I like to see how RPGs handle that. Don't get too excited; none of our guys are gonna be dying in this LP unless things go really wrong. The generics won't even be in the party except maybe for a little while early on.
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Aug 15, 2023 23:40
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Does the game ever make it clear that grinding is a bad idea, or do you just have to run face first into that yourself if you're coming from more traditional rpgs?
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Aug 16, 2023 00:15
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It's a SaGa game. If the question is ever "Does the game explain this?" The answer is always "Hahaha! No."
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Aug 16, 2023 00:22
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Zerbin7 is partially right. The Event Rank system and anti-grinding features are never explained. In fact, as far as I'm aware, the term "Event Rank" is never shown to the player anywhere in-game. That said, Minstrel Song does have some explanations, like the Glimmer tutorial the pops up the first time that happens. It's not exactly beginner friendly, but it's kinder than most games in the series.
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Aug 16, 2023 00:57
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I am justly corrected. Honestly, this game is probably the most transparent of the series in its mechanics. Also the only one I've ever completed. I adore the complex systems, but man, is it opaque. I think the idea is that you are meant to study the games like some ancient text, understanding in part, but never the whole. Like the man said, "Surprise me."
Zerbin7 fucked around with this message at 16:25 on Aug 16, 2023 |
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Aug 16, 2023 16:23
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Welcome back, folks. Today we have our second character's intro. Protagonist #2 is Aisha, a nomad girl. As with Albert, I feel her placement in the character order is intentional. But while Albert is intended to teach the player how the game works, Aisha is intended to teach the player humility.  There's no nice way to say this: Aisha is, numerically, the worst of the eight protagonists. She has terrible starting stats, terrible stat growths, and low LP. As a bonus, her starting class, Herbalist, is also awful - possibly the worst in the game.   We're once again shown a map of Mardias, but this time the region we're visiting is the Dry Lands, a place of sand and scrub north of Rosalia.  Despite looking and behaving exactly like humans, Taralians are not actually human. I may cover this in a mini-update at some point.  The Taralian camp is a nice-looking collection of tents - humble, but visually distinct.  Music Highlight: Feel the Wind/The Wind's Kiss. Aisha's leitmotif is a serene, almost childlike tune.  Yes, the body portion of Aisha's outfit is basically a poncho held together with a couple of leather straps on each side. It's not the only time she's sexualized, and given that she's 16, I'm not real comfortable with that. Just... try not to judge the entire game by this.    Yes, that's right: Aisha gets a horse. It's the only real perk of having her as our protagonist, and even there it's pretty lame, since it can only be ridden on the Steppes of Galessa. Still, it's a convenient way to get around that large, open area, especially since it can outrun monsters.  But who wants to do that? Let's kill something!  It's a single mamty, a bottom-tier beast enemy and about as simple as these things get.  Now's as good a time as any to talk about weapon durability. In addition to BP, some techniques consume a weapon's Durability Points, or DP. Without going into too much detail, I'll just say that the higher a character's class level, the less DP they consume when using techniques for that class's weapons. A weapon's basic attack (Hew, in this case) generally doesn't consume DP, but since Aisha has no ranks in Hand Axe, it instead costs 1* (noted in-game as a "1" with a yellow highlight). This means it has about a 50/50 chance of consuming 1 DP. Aisha sucks so much she can't even use her weapon's basic attack without risking damage to it.   Round 1 indicates that the numbers are not in our favor here.  And there we go. Two rounds and our one party member has been defeated.  BUT WAIT  A  Okay, yeah, it's Neidhart. Luckily, the prince of Rosalia has some decent stats and gear, not to mention a cool unique weapon.  Neidhart absolutely shreds the mamty, and could have done so with his basic attack. (Neidhart can actually be recruited as a standard party member if Albert is the protagonist, but I'm not going to couch him as an option for this LP since he only becomes available about halfway through the game.) Once the fight ends, Neidhart takes Aisha to a nearby stream to tend to her wounds. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kuMJXO785xQ   I appreciate that the Taralians have their own language. Lends an air of verisimilitude to the setting.   Neidhart is generally known as Neidhart the Black, but being known to a bunch of peaceful nomads as the "Black Devil" is a pretty bad look.       We could opt to go back to the camp immediately, which as far as I know has no effect except for skipping the next scene. But let's get some extra content in here.  Aisha is absolutely thrilled at this opportunity.     Aisha isn't kidding. Crystal City is an impressive-looking place, especially with its reflective marble streets.   The guards all offer salutations as Neidhart enters, though they don't get any dialogue boxes.     You know what this game didn't need? An entire cutscene of Aisha taking a bath. And yet... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RnnUm4Zv3vI I did say that her outfit wasn't the only example of Aisha being sexualized. It's not overly offensive, but it is a bit creepy. I do, at least, appreciate that Aisha keeps her goofy hat when bathing, presumably so the developers didn't have to model her hatless head.    Were I a prince, I would probably not take visiting foreign teenagers on a tour that included my sick father's bedroom.   Though not technically the reigning monarch, Neidhart handles the day-to-day affairs of the kingdom while his father is indisposed.     I genuinely don't know how the king can tell that Aisha is a Taralian. Maybe the clothes?      You might be thinking that this is setting up some kind of romance between Aisha and Neidhart. You'd be wrong - this is never touched on again. SaGa, everyone!          With that, our detour to Crystal City is done and we head back to the Taralian Camp.   One of Neidhart's greatest skills is that he knows how to make an entrance.     It's not clear how exactly Nizam and Neidhart know each other.      I appreciate that Aisha seems to be paying very little attention to this conversation even as Neidhart delivers thinly-veiled threats.      Everything we've seen so far raises an interesting question: what kind of man is Karl August Neidhart? On the one hand, he came out of nowhere to save the life of an injured girl, and treats her well. He's also quite well-liked by his people. On the other, he's quite willing to at least threaten overwhelming violence against a small, nonthreatening tribe of nomads. Based on what we've seen in the two intros so far and what I've seen elsewhere in the game, but take on Neidhart is that he's loyal to his country and desperately wants to protect it, but is overzealous about it. Maybe something to do with Rosalia's long history of war with Bafal. I really don't know for sure.    Aisha finally perks up at this - it seems she really likes the idea of living in Crystal City.   Likewise, she's visibly crestfallen when her grandfather flatly refuses.    With that, Neidhart leaves, and we're free to explore the camp, though there's not much to see or do. We don't have the money to buy any equipment or a spell.  Talking to Nizam triggers the next part of the story.    He gives us a map, and we head off to the desert town of Uso.  The Dry Lands don't have a capital city the way many of Mardias' regions do, but Uso is a rough approximation, with a high-level magic shop and stores selling strong equipment.   A local tells us about the treacherous Kaklim Desert. Given how badly a basic enemy destroyed us earlier, we probably shouldn't go there yet.  Uso has some exotic-looking people and nice shops, but we can't really do anything here right now. We may as well head back home.  Outside the camp is this strange man. Maybe he's friendly?  Oh. A kidnapper, huh?   He demolishes Aisha with ease, and we get our first Game Over screen. Luckily, it's not a real Game Over.  Instead, we learn that Aisha has been, well, kidnapped, and is being sold as merchandise. But to whom, and why? These questions will be answered... another time. 5-Headed Snake God fucked around with this message at 14:25 on Oct 7, 2023 |
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Aug 25, 2023 04:22
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Okay, just to be clear, progressing the plot for this character requires you do deliberately go kill yourself, twice?
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Aug 25, 2023 07:40
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I suspect, based on the initial comments about her character stats, it's less "Deliberately" and more "a natural consequence of existing".
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Aug 25, 2023 11:58
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Regallion posted:Okay, just to be clear, progressing the plot for this character requires you do deliberately go kill yourself, twice? Strictly speaking, no! In the case of the kidnapper, it's actually possible to instead recruit a couple party members in Uso, go fight some battles in the desert or on the steppes (which should be winnable with some allies), and eventually get taken elsewhere for a different end to the intro. For the first battle in which she's saved by Neidhart, I'm unsure what happens if you never lose, but it's possible, especially with the remaster's New Game + features. I went with the route I did in part because I thought it was the most interesting story-wise, and partly because I felt it's the experience a new player is most likely to see, but mostly because, well... berryjon posted:I suspect, based on the initial comments about her character stats, it's less "Deliberately" and more "a natural consequence of existing". ...of this. That first fight especially I could not have won barring insane amounts of luck, and mamties are one of the weakest enemies in the game. Aisha can develop into a decent, contributing party member, but at the outset, with her starting class, she's basically useless. 5-Headed Snake God fucked around with this message at 13:01 on Aug 25, 2023 |
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Aug 25, 2023 12:16
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Now to be fair, if Albert were forced into the same situation, he'd fare just as poorly. But instead he has allies to carry him until he comes into his own, and his better growths mean he'll outclass Aisha for most of the game.
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Aug 25, 2023 16:26
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I own the PS2 version of this game, but I only ever managed to complete a single character's scenario. Very on board to see what I missed!
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Aug 26, 2023 00:07
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Gotta admit I did not expect Aisha to start with a Hand Axe when her Str is 3 and probably does not get much higher than that They really wanted her to have a rough start, huh?
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Aug 26, 2023 02:08
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Man, I fuckin' love the SaGa franchise, glad to see more of it getting LPed. It's great that Tokita was able to pressure SE into dipping into their back catalog of actually interesting games to remaster/remake stuff like SaGa or Live A Live (and now Super Mario RPG).Shitenshi posted:Whether it's the extreme take on non-linearity that usually leaves you wandering without a single clue on where you're supposed to go Wanted to chime in and say that while I understand how this sort of thing can be an acquired taste for some, it's one of my favorite parts of the franchise. It feels like a sort of fusion between JRPG mechanics, and the conventions of a western, open-world CRPG like The Elder Scrolls (particularly Daggerfall, where the game gives you basically nothing to go on without you having to hunt the information down yourself). I don't want to get too deep into the mechanics just yet, to avoid potentially spoiling future updates, but I very much enjoy it. And, weak as Aisha is, SaGa is the kind of game where pretty much anyone can end up useful with some work, so while you're gonna be leaning on your party members a fair bit more than with most of the MCs, Aisha isn't strictly useless. Also, Kenji Ito is a drat good composer, the soundtrack for Minstrel Song is truly excellent. And on the topic of sound, the voice cast here is a real who's-who of anime/video game VAs, but before most of them had really become well-known.
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Aug 28, 2023 01:08
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EclecticTastes posted:Also, Kenji Ito is a drat good composer, the soundtrack for Minstrel Song is truly excellent. And on the topic of sound, the voice cast here is a real who's-who of anime/video game VAs, but before most of them had really become well-known. Along with a bunch of names that I still don't recognize, and playing Spot the Voice Actor is a hobby of mine. But yeah, I recognize a lot of the voices in Minstrel Song, which is why I'm trying to credit them in the characters post.
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Aug 28, 2023 01:30
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5-Headed Snake God posted:Along with a bunch of names that I still don't recognize, and playing Spot the Voice Actor is a hobby of mine. But yeah, I recognize a lot of the voices in Minstrel Song, which is why I'm trying to credit them in the characters post. Patrick Seitz (Neidhart's VA) is the English voice of Franky in One Piece, as just one example of his many roles. Neidhart is, in fact, only his second major role in a video game, after Garrosh Hellscream in World of Warcraft, and he wouldn't really break out until a year after Minstrel Song was released, when he landed the roles of Kenpachi Zaraki and Isshin Kurosaki in Bleach. Based on the timing and what works coincide with Minstrel Song, it seems like they might have straight-up approached Geneon for introductions, as the series that most of the cast have in common are Read or Die the TV and DearS (both were localized by Geneon and released the same year as Minstrel Song).
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Aug 28, 2023 04:11
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5-Headed Snake God posted:Along with a bunch of names that I still don't recognize, and playing Spot the Voice Actor is a hobby of mine. But yeah, I recognize a lot of the voices in Minstrel Song, which is why I'm trying to credit them in the characters post. Would it be possible to list some of their more famous roles too?
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Aug 28, 2023 06:46
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jkq posted:Would it be possible to list some of their more famous roles too? You might know Yuri Lowenthal as Ben Tennyson from the Ben 10 franchise, Simon from Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann, Suzaku Kururugi from Code Geass, Sasuke Uchiha from Naruto (a role that makes him easily the biggest get in the cast for a game made in 2005), Haseo from .hack//G.U., and many, many other roles. Hell, he's probably the most prolific and successful VA among Minstrel Song's cast to this day. Carrie Savage is a career supporting actress, so it's hard to say "you definitely know her from this", but if you've watched any significant amount of dubbed anime, there's a very good chance you've heard her voice a lot, as she's been in a ton of stuff that aired on Adult Swim, she's been in One Piece, she even landed a leading role as the title character of Solty Rei (which I happened to borrow from Netflix about Michelle Ruff is one of the few cast members to have been working since the nineties, having lent her voice to Speed Racer X back in 1997. You might know her as Fujiko from Lupin III, Yoko from Gurren Lagann, Rukia Kuchiki from Bleach, or Crimson Viper from Street Fighter, to name a few roles.
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Aug 28, 2023 08:02
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jkq posted:Would it be possible to list some of their more famous roles too? It's a little outside what I want to do for the LP, but I could add IMDB links or something. And EcclecticTastes is more than welcome to chime in if he likes.
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Aug 28, 2023 12:24
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I've brought up skills and classes a few times so far, so this seems like a good time to talk about exactly what they are and how they work. Skills Skills are a measure of a character's capabilities: the strengths they bring to the party. Skills are rated by level (0 to 5), and are broadly divided into three categories. Weapon skills cover a character's aptitude with various kinds of weapons. A character's weapon skill level is deducted from the BP cost of that weapon type's techniques, and higher skill levels increase a character's chance to Glimmer new ones. There are a staggering 16 different weapons skills: Foils, Short Swords, Long Swords, Great Swords, Scimitars, Hand Axes, Clubs, Two-Handed Swords, Katanas, Two-Handed Axes, Staves, Pole Arms, Lances, Bows, and Martial Arts (unarmed attacks), and Shields (affects shield block rate; shields don't have techniques). Not all weapon skills are created equal. There are a ton of foils in the game, including some rare specimens that are pretty easy to acquire, but finding a top-tier scimitar is an event. Magic skills cover a character's abilities with certain kinds of magic. As with weapon skills, the level of a character's magic skill is deducted from the BP cost of spells of the relevant school. Unlike weapon skills, magic skills don't affect a character's Glimmer rate, because new spells can't be Glimmered, only purchased. There are ten different magic skills, sorted into five opposed pairs: Hydrology & Pyrology, Aerology & Terrology, Illusions & Demonology, Cosmology & Sorcery, and Bewitchery & Necromancy. Not all magic schools are equally useful, but all of them have at least a few worthwhile spells. Sorcery and Necromancy, however, cannot be learned by party members, and exist solely for enemies to use. Finally, map skills cover a character's non-combat talents. There are 17 out-of-battle abilities, which the game calls proficiencies; these are sorted into six map skills: Search (finding hidden stuff), Gathering (collecting resources), Strategy (disarming traps and picking locks), Survival (athletics), Covert (stealth skills), and Trade (trading with monsters). A character's level in a map skill determines both the efficacy of their proficiencies (such as how long Stealth skills last or what level of lock they can pick) and how many proficiency uses the party gets per adventure. Trade has the potential to be quite useful at high levels but is fairly mediocre at low levels. Covert is mostly useful for evading encounters and slowing the party's Event Rank advancement. Gathering skills are situationally useful. Every other map skill is an essential part of every party's tool set. No one wants to have to leave behind good treasure because they couldn't disarm a trap. Classes There are a ton of classes in Minstrel Song, and it's not really worth the time to go over each and every one of them. Knowing the basics is still worthwhile though. A character's level in a particular class is equal to their lowest-ranked skill associated with it, and that level is subtracted from the DP and LP costs of techniques and spells that fall under those skills. (A cost of 1 reduces to 1*, which in turn reduces to 0.) Each class also has a special ability, which usually grows more powerful as the class's level increases. There are three types of classes in the game. Basic classes have three associated skills. Every protagonist's default class is a basic class. Due to this low skill count, basic classes are easiest to adopt and level up, but also tend to be on the weaker side. Aisha's Herbalist class, for example, can find rare herbs when using the Gather Herbs proficiency, which can be used to make better consumable items - but this is a lot of work for a pretty mediocre payoff. Advanced classes have five associated skills. A character must have an advanced class at level 2 before they can switch to it. Since they have more associated skills, advanced classes are harder to level up, but their special abilities tend to be better than those of basic classes. A Wizard, for example, deals extra magical damage and has a ton of magic skills, which is useful in pretty much every fight. Legendary classes have seven associated skills. Unlike basic and advanced classes, a legendary class's skills can't be trained up as a package: to take one, a character has to reach level 3 in its skills, then find the one mentor in the world that will switch them to it. This makes legendary classes difficult to adopt, never mind level up. Legendary classes all have the same special ability, which is a 2-point reduction in the DP and LP costs of techniques and spells. This is... honestly pretty lame, and advanced classes are generally a better choice. To increase a character's skills and change their class, the party has to visit a Mentor, which can be found in most towns and cities (though every mentor offers different skills and classes). Skills can be levels up by spending jewels, which are mostly earned from completing quests. Every quest completed increases the number of jewels earned from future quests, and this tally carries across multiple playthroughs. Mentors can also teach a character proficiencies for a modest gold fee. Getting a class to level 5 is nigh impossible in a fresh game, and you should expect our team in this LP to cap out at level 3 or so. 5-Headed Snake God fucked around with this message at 01:01 on Jan 20, 2024 |
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Aug 28, 2023 12:32
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Fresh game implies some sort of New Game Plus, my experience is with The Last Remnant, I suspect it's similar?
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Aug 28, 2023 13:53
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SIGSEGV posted:Fresh game implies some sort of New Game Plus, my experience is with The Last Remnant, I suspect it's similar? It's pretty hefty. You carry over the number of quests completed (meaning you earn more jewels), the classes unlocked by your party become available to choose as future characters' starting classes, completing certain objectives unlocks new content in future playthroughs, and there's an extra bit at the very end of the game that lets you power up the final boss to make him more of a challenge (minor spoiler for something I'll mention in the LP). In the remaster, you also have the option of carrying over any or all of your money, jewels, items, skill levels, and various character stats. There's also a bonus scene if you beat the game with all eight protagonists, which isn't really worth the time investment unless you're going to play the game that much anyway.
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Aug 28, 2023 14:52
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5-Headed Snake God posted:Classes I'll be happy to do class breakdowns, but it'll be a couple updates, since the classes we've already seen interact with mechanics you haven't shown off, and I'd hate to get ahead of the LP.
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Aug 28, 2023 20:26
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Thank you! 5-Headed Snake God posted:It's a little outside what I want to do for the LP, but I could add IMDB links or something. Only if it's not too much trouble.
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Aug 28, 2023 21:14
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EclecticTastes posted:I'll be happy to do class breakdowns, but it'll be a couple updates, since the classes we've already seen interact with mechanics you haven't shown off, and I'd hate to get ahead of the LP. I'm already planning to cover the classes that I end up using for the main party, but once we hit that point you're welcome to contribute whatever you like. jkq posted:Only if it's not too much trouble. Not at all. The characters post has been updated with links.
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Aug 28, 2023 22:38
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Welcome back everyone. It's time for character #3's intro, and it's a bit of a departure from the first two. For one, just look at those stats. Protagonist #3, Gray, is a seasoned adventurer with some actual fighting ability. In terms of personality, he's pretty much exactly what you'd expect from a character with that name and appearance: he's soft-spoken and rarely displays any kind of emotion. He's not exactly a lone wolf or an edgelord, but he does toe the line.  Gray's starting class is Swordsman, which is decent enough but sadly, entirely inadequate for his personal quest. But I'm getting ahead of myself.   Gray is tied to Ligau Isle, in the southeast corner of the map. His connection is tenuous, in part because Ligau is tiny and has a very small number of associated quests.      Gray starts with two allies in his party. Galahad is a sturdy swordsman and a solid warrior, while Myriam... has a magic spell. She contributes, but like most dedicated casters in Minstrel Song, she feels a bit lacking in the early game.  The party arrives in Jelton, Ligau's sole town. Music Highlight: Ligau Isle From a Window/A Window to Ligau Isle Though technically the theme for all of Ligau, this piece plays only in Jelton. It's a lazy, laid-back tune for a remote island town.  First things first: we outfit Gray with the First Aid Kit and the Smoke Bomb Pouch. The latter is going to be super important.  Galahad begins with the same weapon as Gray (a low-tier longsword), but his Gothic Armor is pretty excellent in the early game and affords him considerable protection.  Myriam has a staff and robe that boost her Intelligence (and therefor her magic damage). She's not a capable physical fighter and spends a significant amount of time defending.  We also swap around our party members a bit and put Myriam in the back row. The stars in the box on the right indicate how the character's position affects their speed, power, and defense. Most melee weapons work best in the front row, but some, like polearms, are better in the middle row. Spellcasters usually want to be in the back row for the defense boost.  Why yes, yes we have.   We can't actually go back to the mainland until we finish our job here, but this is an interesting world-building tidbit.   Ligau is notable for being home to dinosaurs, which is cool and does help make the place noteworthy.   This is a good question and actually has a satisfying answer!  And this is it. Our heroes' goal on Ligau is to steal and sell some dinosaur eggs.  There are hints that there's traditional treasure as well.  Outside Jelton are the Plains of Ligau Isle. They're dotted with both monsters and holes. Music Highlight: Absolute Freedom/Arrant Freedom. Gray's theme is more... romantic, I guess? than you'd expect from the resident aloof guy. I like it, though; it has just a slightly exotic sound and some great strings.   We head for the nearest hole and dive right in.  This den is filled with dinosaurs, which have a unique map model. Like other monsters, they give chase if they see the party, but they're incredibly slow and easy to dodge.  A treasure chest near the entrance contains gold. I chalk its presence up to "this is a console RPG and you shouldn't think about it too hard". It's actually where the map would be if we didn't already have it, but that's not as funny.  The den is a linear path, and at the back are the eggs. But there's a bit of a problem. See, having a dinosaur egg in our possession will make the dinosaurs super aggressive; they'll beeline for us at high speed, and while we can run away, this won't cause the map model to despawn as it normally does, so the battle will just restart. And at our power level, we can't beat a dinosaur in combat. So what to do? One option is to grab an egg and try to get out without engaging in combat, but that's easier said than done. We'll do something else.   Leaving the eggs where they are, we get into combat with the dinosaurs and run away.  Since we don't have the eggs, this despawns the model, allowing us to clear the cave with ease. In the PS2 version, which doesn't have smoke bombs, this costs LP: the character who uses the flee command loses LP equal to the number of party members. Fortunately, Gray, Galahad, and Myriam have well over 12 LP between them, so the strategy still works.  With the dinosaurs gone, we grab an egg and head back to Jelton.  It's worth a ton of cash! (Please ignore the fact that we also have a Treasure Map - I'll get to that later.) This is probably as good a time as any to talk about vendors and clout. The box on the left shows icons representing the three big mercantile companies in Mardias. From top to bottom, we have the Crystal Cartel, the Draconian Merchants, and Maritime Imports. The numbers to the right of the bar represent this shop's connection to each, always totalling 300. This shop is mostly even, leaning slightly away from Draconian Merchants in favor of Maritime Imports.  Upon buying or selling anything at a shop (the egg in this case), the bars next to these icons fill up by a certain amount, and when they reach full, we gain a level with that supplier, which applies world-wide. This represents our clout with that supplier, with higher levels unlocking new items in shops. Clout maxes out at 10 for each supplier, which typically takes two or three playthroughs. Basically, buying and selling stuff gives us a form of experience that unlocks new goods.  Since we used some smoke bombs and are flush with money, we pay for the fanciest room at the local in, which refills it and adds a bit to our First Aid Kit. Now, at this point we've finished the Plains Treasure quest and could head back to Melvir. But we're not quite done. Remember, there's supposed to be a deep cave full of loot! We've gotta have that.  This cave at the far east end of the Plains is our target, recognizable by the flowers growing at its entrance.   The appropriately-named Treasure Cave is a pretty linear affair, for the most part. But it's a proper dungeon, with real monsters we have to fight, so let's talk a bit about the critters we're seeing in the early game.  The windcomer (I assume it's supposed to be "windcomber"?) is a basic plant that uses physical attack for low damage, but has decent durability. Rippers are birds that use a beak attack that can blind the character they attack. Blindness isn't a major debilitation, but it's annoying for weapon users.  Like most plants, windcomers are weak to fire, which Myriam conveniently wields in the form of the basic Pyrology spell, Hellfire. Unfortunately, with her 3 initial BP and Hellfire's cost of 4, she has to wait until round 2 to cast it.  Rippers typically take a few hits from Gray and Galahad to kill, except when Galahad Glimmers Impact Slash. This is one of the best low-level techniques - it does cost a fair amount of BP and DP...  ...but it inflicts considerable damage. (The fighters' regular attacks hit for around 30-40 damage.) It also can inflict Stun, which causes the target to lose its turn if it hasn't yet acted on the current round. The DP cost means it has to be used sparingly, but it's great to have when we need it.  Magic bugs are low-level fiend monsters which like to cast Energy Bolt, the basic Demonology attack spell. They're not too durable, but Energy Bolt can hurt.   Galahad manages to Glimmer another technique against them, Knee Split. This attack has a much lower cost than Impact Slash and can still inflict Stun, but it deals far less damage. It's not terribly useful.  Spinners are the basic insect enemy type. Their special attack, Web Shot, can lower Agility, but overall they're not terribly dangerous.  Goblins and mamties are the basic beastman and beast enemies, respectively. Both stick to simple melee attacks, making them among the least dangerous enemies in the game.  Zombies, the basic undead monster, are a bit of a step up in difficulty. They can deal some decent damage with their claws and have significant durability, though they're susceptible to fire damage and the Sunray spell.  And finally, we have the slime, the basic enemy from the "unknown" monster group, which also includes elementals and rock monsters. Slimes don't have much HP, but have a very high chance to shrug off any physical damage thrown at them. Magic is the best way to deal with them, but in the meantime...  I don't want to give the impression that this is common or anything, but sometimes the RNG decides that you're gonna die. But enough about monsters, let's go deeper into this cave!  One of the side passages leads to this distinct-looking wall.  It's a climb point. Without the Climb proficiency and the Survival skill at level 3, we're not getting up here. There are a few of these walls throughout the dungeon.  Near the end of the second floor, we happen upon a monster with its back turned, letting us sneak up on it.   This gives us a first strike, which means we start with extra BP and are almost guaranteed to act before the monsters in the first round. Enemies can also strike us from behind for the same initiative boost.  Finally, we make it to B3, the lowest floor of the cave.  A short distance in, we spy something unusual.  It seems like nothing more than a rusty old sword, but... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6oRQFeVgyfk Anyone can find the the Rusty Falcata, but only Gray gets the cutscene and the quest that results. This quest, Voice of the Blade, acts as an extended tutorial on Minstrel Song's blacksmithing system, and takes place over the course of a little over half the game. It's also why gray's starting class kinda sucks when he's the protagonist: the Falcata is a katana, and you have to use it to advance the quest, but the Swordsman class doesn't have the relevant weapon skill. If y'all choose Gray as the party leader, I'll need to change his class.  That's about all we can actually do here, so let's get out. Luckily the exit is nearby.  The local blacksmith is so rude to my new talking sword friend.   So here we are at Jelton's blacksmith. The info blurb explains the basics, but as with many tutorial popups in this game, it's woefully incomplete. Luckily, it does include that last paragraph, which is of vital importance: most weapons can have their durability recharged by staying at an inn, but tempered weapons have to be re-tempered to be repaired. It makes spending their DP much more costly unless the material is readily available.  Luckily, the Ligau Swordsmith has bronze in stock, so for now we can always come back to cheaply repair it. At the bottom of the screen, you can see the weapon's stat changes after tempering: greater attack power and DP, plus a 1-point reduction in the DP costs of techniques ("DP Modifier"). To the right of that, you'll see that the material we're using, bronze, is highlighted in red. This indicates that it's a harmonic material for the weapon, which is a fancy way of saying it can be used to permanently make the weapon stronger.  By contrast, adding Ligau steel will improve the Rusty Falcata's DP, but nothing else, and it isn't harmonic.  After adding bronze, the Rusty Falcata becomes the Falcata. Success!    This is absolutely terrible advice. We do need to use the Falcata to make the harmonic material set in (and reach the next step in the quest), but breaking it is entirely unnecessary and will just add repair costs.  With nothing else to do here, let's head back to Melvir.  Melvir (likely a mistranslation of "Melville", a reference to its maritime traditions) is the capital of the Bafal Empire and the home of its emperor. It's one of the biggest cities in the world, right up there with Crystal City, and has numerous shops, temples, and other sites of interest.     Our companions are leaving, and we can only choose one to accompany. For now, we'll take the most Gray option and choose neither.        Although we know that Gray's heritage is that of the Ligau natives, his actual origins are never explained.  As we wander the city, we're accosted by a fellow anime protagonist.   I genuinely don't know whether Gray legitimately doesn't remember Gian or if he just doesn't want anything to do with him. Either explanation is plausible.      Well, that's a suspicious request. We could accept anyway, or we could just go our own way. But that's a decision for later. 5-Headed Snake God fucked around with this message at 04:08 on Oct 3, 2023 |
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Sep 5, 2023 00:57
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If anyone can find me the names of the voice actors for Galahad and Myriam, you'd be my hero of the week. I don't recognize them and the information doesn't seem to be available.
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Sep 5, 2023 01:07
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5-Headed Snake God posted:If anyone can find me the names of the voice actors for Galahad and Myriam, you'd be my hero of the week. I don't recognize them and the information doesn't seem to be available. It's entirely possible that their VAs weren't anyone well-known, or voiced other characters as well. Since the entire English cast went uncredited, it's impossible to fully know who voiced who, beyond what information has been gathered already. That said, given that the cast seems to be comprised entirely of people who did work for Geneon around 2004/2005, I did find it odd that Taliesin Jaffe (who also fell into that group) isn't in the cast, so who knows, maybe he voiced Galahad (though I imagine at this point, he might've said something about it if he had; he's pretty much at his absolute most famous these days, thanks to Critical Role, where he works with two guys who absolutely were in the game, so one would think it might at least go on his personal website or something). EclecticTastes fucked around with this message at 02:18 on Sep 5, 2023 |
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Sep 5, 2023 02:16
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5-Headed Snake God posted:RESUME EDITING HERE Is that supposed to be there? (Also, why I put // before internal notes like this when I'm writing. Helps it stand out and easy to find in a file.)
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Sep 5, 2023 03:06
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