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MonsieurChoc posted:Funny thing about the SaGa gacha game: they seem to ship Albert the tiny noble with the Sif the big barbarian lady. "You may be a boy, but you speak like a man." 
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Oct 2, 2023 03:47
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MonsieurChoc posted:Funny thing about the SaGa gacha game: they seem to ship Albert the tiny noble with the Sif the big barbarian lady. It's frankly an incredible dynamic Noodle-arm boy is rescued by beefy Viking lady and they start going on adventures as noodle-arm boy swiftly becomes much less noodle-armed Whether it's platonic or something more, these two may as well be tied at the hip Adventuring buddies for life
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Oct 2, 2023 11:24
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Since we're approaching the end of the character intros, why don't I throw in one more lesson on basic game mechanics? This post is all about monsters - specifically, the models seen when walking around. Each model represents a different monster type, and touching it will start a battle that includes (but isn't limited to) monsters of that type. Monsters move around randomly until they detect the party, at which point they'll try to move in and begin a fight, but every monster type does these things in different ways. Aquatics include fish and frogmen. They detect the party by sound, and move toward it in straight lines, turning at regular intervals to face the party. They're fast and hard to avoid, but moving in a serpentine pattern can sometimes do it.  Avians include various kinds of birds. They detect the party by sight, and move toward it in a manner similar to that of aquatics, though they're easier to avoid since they turn less often.  Beasts include monstrous animals and other non-sapient, land-based creatures. They detect the party by sight, and run toward it in a similar manner to avians. However, if the party gets behind them, they'll stop in their tracks, making them much easier to evade or back attack.  Beastmen include goblins, ogres, and other humanoids. They detect the party by sight, running toward it while turning constantly. However, after running a short distance, they briefly stop, so if they start their chase from far away they can often be avoided.  Demons include magic bugs and actual demons. They detect the party by sound, and move toward it a short distance before stopping - after which they teleport, appearing directly in front of the party. They can be avoided by turning just before they appear, which causes them to materialize outside the player's intended path, though doing this when other monsters are around is generally a challenge.  Insects include bugs of all kinds, including some scorpion-like monsters. They detect the party by sound and move toward it, turning to stay on course. When they get close, they switch to flying in circles around the party for a bit before swooping in. It's possible to catch them on walls when they're spinning, but otherwise they're hard to avoid.  Lizards include lizardmen and more bestial reptiles. They detect the party by sight, and move directly toward it, turning as necessary. If the party is facing them when they close, they freeze for several seconds, making them one of the easiest enemy types to avoid or back attack.  Plants include multiple kinds of, well, plants. They detect the party by sound, and move toward it in a straight line, turning twice to stay on course and gradually slowing down as they move. If they detect the party from a distance, it's often possible to avoid them, but up close it's effectively impossible.  Undead include zombies and ghosts. They detect the party by sight, moving toward it unerringly but very slowly. However, they will also sink into the ground, only returning when the party gets close. They're easy to avoid unless you lose track of them, in which case they can easily take you by surprise as they come out of the ground.  Unknowns include slimes and elementals. They have a unique detection method that involves neither sight nor sound, and thus can never be fooled. However, they have a small detection radius, move slowly, and have no special movement tricks, so they're one of the easiest enemy types to avoid. Monster types that rely on sight can detect the party from far away, but only while facing it. Monster types that use sound have a smaller detection area, but will hear characters approaching from behind. Both of these detection methods can be fooled by proficiencies in the Covert skill: Hide and Move Silently. Using one of these proficiencies makes a character effectively invisible to either sight or sound, though only one can be active at a time. Of the two, Move Silently is probably the more valuable, as monsters with sound-based detection are usually harder to avoid. There are, of course, a few more enemy types, like the dinosaurs on Ligau and the occasional human enemy, but these eight monster types represent the vast majority of opponents encountered in the game. 5-Headed Snake God fucked around with this message at 13:40 on Nov 19, 2023 |
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Oct 2, 2023 15:05
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5-Headed Snake God posted:
So far I am perfectly pleased with the level of technical and literary prowess I am observing, and can confirm that the enthusiasm would be plenty to carry me along even without those things  (I appreciate the explanation of what constitutes sight and smell detection at the end of the last post... I was reading it going, "I don't know what this means," but at the end all was made clear)
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Oct 3, 2023 20:03
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Welcome back, everyone. I've had some extra free time this week, so how about an early update? It's time to meet our seventh protagonist. I'm not going to mince words here: Hawke is my favorite protagonist. He's a cool pirate with a fancy outfit and a great crew.  As you'd expect, Hawke's default class is Pirate. It's a good class, with three excellent skills and one of the better passive abilities found among the basic classes (an occasional initiative bonus).  It's come to my attention that Normal progression speed is actually faster than what we got in the West on the PS2. In the interest of packing more content into the LP, I'll be playing the game with Slow Progression instead. (If y'all choose Sif as our protagonist, I'll likely replay her intro to cut down on the crazy ER progression we got.)  Hawke is one of many pirates who lair in the Coral Sea. This is a unique area that can't be accessed normally. Like Sif, Hawke is also linked to a second area, the tropical Walon Isle, though it's a much looser connection.       And with that, we're dumped into the Coral Sea to make our way around. Music Highlight: My Comrade-in-Arms, Ladyluck/Leaning on Lady Luck Hawk's theme is a rousing piece. It's not as pirate-y as you might expect, but I think it fits him, and it's just generally pleasant to listen to when exploring.  But before we get started, let's look at our party. Hawke begins with a sizable group of three characters - more than anyone else.  Hawke himself has some decent gear, apart from his weapons, both of which kind of suck.  His first mate, Guella Ha, is a geckling (lizard person). His armor kind of sucks, but he has the HP to compensate, especially since his spear means he functions best in the second row. (He can alternatively be placed in the front row and focus on martial arts, but for now the spear is the better option.)  And finally, we get control of a regular ol' pirate. He's nothing special, but his lack of fixed gear means he'd actually be decent to take into the late game if not for his terrible LP.  Because I'm not completely forgetful this time, I remember to sort out my combat positioning. Spears work best from the middle row, so Guella Ha moves back a bit.  Back on the map, we can see that there are five tunnels leading out of the Coral Sea. The middle one (next to an enormous growth of coral) is the one we want - the others all lead to dead ends. There are also a bunch of monsters - aquatics, avians, and insects only, since land-bound monsters can't navigate the water.  The correct cave is easily identifiable by the fact that it has an exit on the opposite end. The cave itself is also empty, so traversing it is pretty dull. This is Coastal Cave C, and by the end of the intro we will be intimately familiar with it.   Finally, we arrive at the Pirate Coast, a haven for buccaneers of all kinds. Music Highlight: I am a Pirate/Pirates! So... Not every song can be a winner, right? This song and its companion, We Are Pirates/More Pirates!, are extremely repetitive and grating whenever they come up. (It's literally just one line - "We are pirates" - repeated ad nauseam.) They stand out as musical highlights for being just about the only bad songs on the soundtrack.  As well pull into post, a pirate runs up on the dock and informs us that there's a meeting to attend.  But first, we take a moment to check out the town. Pirate Coast has the usual amenities: a shop, an inn, and even a pub. Because it's an outdoor pub, the Minstrel can't be recruited there.  There's also a magic shop.  Since Hawke starts with a decent sum of money (777 gold) and has a level in Hydrology, we'll spring for the Healing Water spell. He'll probably never be able to restore a lot of HP with it, but it's useful for getting fallen allies back on their feet and frees up the First Aid Kit for Guella Ha.  But enough dithering, let's go to a pirate meeting.  Rude.  I'd make a comment about a guy named Butcher being obviously untrustworthy, but these are pirates.       Ah, the classic move of someone with no counter-argument: changing the subject.    Hawke is absolutely unwilling to take any of Butcher's grandstanding and it's great.   As if we'd ever back down from this. We're pirates!   Butcher haughtily shoves Hawke out of the way as he makes his exit.    Well, we may as well get going. We take our second trip into Coastal Cave C, and at the other end we automatically travel to Mask Isle.    That doesn't look like a pirate ship.   Following this, we see the imperial navy firing on the Lady Luck. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XdK2x8GRkhw Hawke and Guella Ha survive, but most of the crew seem to have fallen and the ship itself isn't in great shape. Hawke is justifiably furious.  After that, we're dumped back into the Coral Sea map, but the monsters have been replaced by imperial ships.  And we're in our first fight, pitted against imperial sailors.  Hawke has both a foil and an axe, though neither is especially good. He also, appropriately, knows the technique Hawke Blade, though it's generally too costly to use.   Guella Ha and the pirate have nothing yet, but...   ...that is quickly remedied. Double Stab is a basic spear technique that works great for most of the game.  Despite the expense, Hawke has no other foil techniques, so when he's got the BP, he can get some good damage in with Hawke Blade.  Evading the remaining ships, we make our way to Coastal Cave C and make out third trip through it.  We immediately head to the hideout to confront Butcher, but things don't go as planned. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mNZIwx8NdUk Hawke's furious face at the end is a sight to behold.  Unfortunately, Butcher's ploy works as intended, and every pirate in the room turns hostile. We have to fight a few to escape: we can't elude them all no matter how quickly we move, and we can't run from the fights.  Luckily, Hawke Glimmers Impact Slash, adding to our arsenal.  Also luckily, Hawke starts with a hand axe technique: Throw Axe.  It's not fancy, but it does solid damage. It's also technically a ranged attack, which is very helpful to have in a few rare cases.   We race through the streets of Pirate's Coast, continually pursued by the pirates, and flee onto the Lady Luck.  Back to Coastal Cave C one more time as we flee the Coral Sea.  We head north for the town of Oapu on Walon Isle.   This isn't going to work out, so Hawke orders the ship to Walon's other town, Godongo.  The map, however, stops us at a spot in between... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_rZvacLIPkE It's never explicitly stated, but I'd bet that this is the same storm that wrecks Albert's ship.   Luckily, we do manage to reach Gondongo intact.  The Lady Luck is not so fortunate. We're a pirate without a ship.  Having made it to Walon Isle, Hawke's intro comes to an end. Just one more protagonist to go! 5-Headed Snake God fucked around with this message at 04:22 on Oct 6, 2023 |
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Oct 6, 2023 03:23
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Guella Ha rules.
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Oct 6, 2023 05:20
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Not shown: The option to muck about and chase helpless merchant ships, kicking their butts, most likely choosing to spare their lives, and getting 100 gold in the process. And there is a fairly nice rapier in the town you could grind for if you wished to do so. However, doing so would obviously eat through your time, so it's easy to see why 5-Headed Snaked God didn't do that.
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Oct 6, 2023 07:52
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Gilgamesh255 posted:Not shown: The option to muck about and chase helpless merchant ships, kicking their butts, most likely choosing to spare their lives, and getting 100 gold in the process. And there is a fairly nice rapier in the town you could grind for if you wished to do so. The real reason I didn't do that is because I didn't know it was an option. Which makes this the first thing I've learned about the game since the LP started, but probably not the last.
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Oct 6, 2023 12:23
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5-Headed Snake God posted:The real reason I didn't do that is because I didn't know it was an option. Which makes this the first thing I've learned about the game since the LP started, but probably not the last. Heck, you could take on every other encounter in the sea as well if you so wanted for arguably less gold; the problem is, like you mentioned earlier, there are events that slip by early, and battling things, even if you restrained yourself to the merchant ships, could easily cost you time. At least the way you did it saved you a considerable amount of time. I should mention, the rapier you can buy is around 2000 gold, but outclasses the foil and axe you have right now in damage, so that's something for any considering that.
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Oct 6, 2023 14:49
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MonsieurChoc posted:Guella Ha rules. He is my friend and we have had many exciting adventures together.
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Oct 6, 2023 16:25
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Guella Ha is great. Also, to go all the way back to the first update: 5-Headed Snake God posted: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.  . No way to toggle them separately that I'm aware of, but you can at least get rid of the button prompts most of the time.
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Oct 6, 2023 17:07
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MonsieurChoc posted:Guella Ha rules. Having no exposure to this besides the LP so far I had to sit and stare for a few seconds in awe of this absolute unit. Also the awesomeness of those song names obviously took all the actual awesome so there was nothing left for the songs themselves.
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Oct 6, 2023 21:28
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FeyerbrandX posted:Having no exposure to this besides the LP so far I had to sit and stare for a few seconds in awe of this absolute unit. I wouldn't want to listen to the full soundtrack versions of them, but the "Pirates" songs are still pretty good in the short bursts you usually hear them outside of cutscenes. Also there's a song much later that more than makes up for them and is also one of the best BGMs in all of video games. We're talking "Moon level from Ducktales" good.
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Oct 6, 2023 22:05
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EclecticTastes posted:Also there's a song much later that more than makes up for them and is also one of the best BGMs in all of video games. We're talking "Moon level from Ducktales" good. It's a testament to the quality of the soundtrack that I can think of at least three songs that fit this description. Though I suspect I know which one you mean. It's the one referenced in my alternate thread title in the OP, isn't it?
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Oct 6, 2023 22:48
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Hawke! Back when I owned this game on PS2, he was the only one I ever managed to complete the game with. Of course, that was so long ago I remember almost nothing about it.
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Oct 6, 2023 23:10
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5-Headed Snake God posted:It's a testament to the quality of the soundtrack that I can think of at least three songs that fit this description. Though I suspect I know which one you mean. It's the one referenced in my alternate thread title in the OP, isn't it? It extremely is.
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Oct 7, 2023 00:21
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Welcome back everyone. It's time for us to meet our last protagonist. This intro isn't as long as Albert's or Sif's, but I think you'll still be surprised at its length. Our final character is Barbara, a traveling dancer. She's very much not the sort of person you'd expect to embark on epic, world-saving adventures.  Barbara's starting class is Entertainer, which is decent. Martial Arts and Long Swords are both fine weapon skills, and Covert, while probably the least important field skill, is still useful. The passive ability is also handy, though it's hard to tell how often it's working. I haven't covered combinations yet, but it'll come up eventually. Barbara also gets a free level of the Demonology skill and its starting spell, Energy Bolt.  Barbara is primarily associated with the Frontier, to the far west. It's a set of small colonies developed by Kjaraht in an effort to compensate for the territory it's lost over the last several years. Ironically, those colonies' isolation from their homeland mean that many of them are pushing for independence.    I cannot overstate just how long the New Road is. There's an actual map spot for it that separates the Frontier from the rest of the world, but the road itself runs through the Frontier, Kjaraht, Rosalia, and the Dry Lands.      With the narration done, we're left to explore Weston. It's worth noting that Barbara's cart isn't just for show: it's a vehicle that can be taken into the New Road area and makes her party immune to monster attacks. It's by far the best mode of conveyance in the game. Music Highlight: Passionate Eyes, Captivating Dance/Passion in a Glance, Passion in a Dance Barbara's theme doesn't really embody passion or captivation, but it is a jaunty theme fit for an entertainer. Also I just dig the steel drums.  Barbara begins the game with her partner, Hermann, who is... unique. His voice sounds like a pubescent teenager, constantly cracking and trying to keep an even pitch. He doesn't have any dialogue outside his combat barks and has no in-game backstory, so he's just kinda... there.  Barbara's starting gear and stats are nothing really special, though the Glamorous Ring is nice to have.  Hermann is even worse off, especially since his starting class, Trader, rivals Aisha's Herbalist for worst in the game. It has no offensive skills whatsoever (Herbalist at least gets Terrology), but its passive ability is marginally better than Herbalist's.    A few people mention that Weston isn't the only settlement in the Frontier, and we even unlock one of the others.   Several people in town mention that monsters are dangerous, which strikes me as the most obvious advice one could give.  With nowhere else to go, let's check out the pub.  Unlike in most pubs, the Minstrel here actually has something unique to say. His request is a pretty obvious one, and Barbara readily complies. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n6bIeOXnJDc It's not amazing or anything, but for a game made in 2005, this really isn't bad.  Someone's exaggerating a bit.  That seems... excessive.    ...Did he steal this?     Having given away his jewelry, the Minstrel runs out of the pub at top speed.   Barbara's no fool, but there's not much she can do about it. We may as well take a look at our new necklace.  +1 to all stats and immunity to Demonology spells is good, but... Wait, what does that say?  How on Mardias did the Minstrel get a friggin' Fatestone? In any case, this is our demonstration that the ten Fatestones can be acquired in-game. They all give +1 to all stats and immunity to one school of magic. Depending on the school, this can range from entirely worthless to extremely useful.  And with that, Barbara's intro comes to a close! I told you you'd be surprised by the length.  So, now that we've met all eight protagonists, it's time for you lot to cast your first vote: Which of the eight will be our lead for this LP? I'll be taking votes for party composition, classes, and a few other things as well, but for now I want to do one thing at a time. Feel free to vote for any many characters as you like - whoever has the most votes will be our party leader. I'll cast the tiebreaking vote, if required. Voting will end on 10/13. 5-Headed Snake God fucked around with this message at 16:18 on Oct 8, 2023 |
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Oct 8, 2023 12:13
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Pirate.
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Oct 8, 2023 13:28
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My only playthought was with Hawke, so I will vote for Barbara or Gray.
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Oct 8, 2023 14:01
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Jee, so many choices---Hawke. I mean, come on, he's a pirate who's adventuring with his pirate lizard bro!
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Oct 8, 2023 15:10
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Sif the valkyrie, or otherwise Barbara
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Oct 8, 2023 16:09
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Jamil to prove you wrong when you said people wouldn't vote for him.
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Oct 8, 2023 16:33
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MonsieurChoc posted:Jamil to prove you wrong when you said people wouldn't vote for him. It's this one for me as well
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Oct 8, 2023 18:11
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I genuinely love Hawke, but there's Neat poo poo to Show Off, so, my vote goes to whoever ends up with the most votes out of Jamil, Gray, and Albert.
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Oct 8, 2023 19:53
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Sif or Barbara for me, in that priority. I really should play this game again, with the new version.
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Oct 8, 2023 23:12
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Sif, or Barbara, or Claudia in that order.
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Oct 8, 2023 23:26
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Sif or Hawke, whichever has more votes.
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Oct 8, 2023 23:31
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To clarify: for my own sanity, this is not a ranked-choice or otherwise modified vote. Any characters you vote for will be given equal weight. If this makes a difference, feel free to modify your choices. At the moment, that gives us the following vote counts: Albert: 1 Aisha: 0 Gray: 2 Claudia: 1 Jamil: 3 Sif: 4 Hawke: 3 Barbara: 4 5-Headed Snake God fucked around with this message at 00:03 on Oct 9, 2023 |
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Oct 8, 2023 23:58
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Throwing votes to Claudia and Aisha.
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Oct 9, 2023 00:06
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SIGSEGV posted:Sif, or Barbara, or Claudia in that order. 5-Headed Snake God posted:To clarify: for my own sanity, this is not a ranked-choice or otherwise modified vote. Any characters you vote for will be given equal weight. If this makes a difference, feel free to modify your choices. Going to say then that I add Aisha to my vote.
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Oct 9, 2023 00:18
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Jamil and Barbara
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Oct 9, 2023 04:20
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5-Headed Snake God posted:To clarify: for my own sanity, this is not a ranked-choice or otherwise modified vote. Any characters you vote for will be given equal weight. If this makes a difference, feel free to modify your choices. In that case I'll also add Aisha to my vote.
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Oct 9, 2023 08:52
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Went back and reread the character intros, and Jamil interested me the most.
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Oct 9, 2023 18:58
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It seems like the voting has pretty well petered out. If there are no more votes in the next day or so, I'll close the polls early and get on with the next vote.
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Oct 10, 2023 17:54
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Well, this thread is already full of surprises. Here are the final vote tallies: Albert - 1 Aisha - 3 Gray - 2 Claudia - 2 Jamil - 5 Sif - 4 Hawke - 3 Barbara - 5 When I started this LP, I figured that the protagonist would almost certainly be either Sif or Hawke. I didn't expect the vote to come down to a two-way tie, though, and I most definitely didn't expect that tie to be between Jamil and Barbara. And so it falls to me to cast the tie-breaking vote. This should be an easy choice. After all, Jamil has more personalized content than Barbara, making him an easy pick. However. As you may recall, one of my goals with this LP is to showcase the game's stellar soundtrack. And with that in mind, I can't think of a more fitting protagonist for our journey than the dancer. Therefore, I cast my vote for Barbara. I hope you enjoy your journey with her! There's still voting to be done, however, as I now need you to decide on her companions. As with the first round, you may cast your vote for any number of characters, and the four with the most votes will join Barbara on her adventure. (If both Albert and Diana make it into the top 4, only the one with more votes will join us, since they're mutually exclusive.) You can refer to the second post in the thread if you need a reminder of your choices; every character there save for Brau, Sylvan, and Barbara herself is an option, including the remaining seven protagonists. As before, if there are any ties to be broken, I'll cast the deciding votes. Since y'all got your votes in pretty quickly in the first round, I'll just keep this vote open for about two days.
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Oct 11, 2023 17:14
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5-Headed Snake God posted:every character there save for Brau, Sylvan, and Barbara herself is an option, including the remaining seven protagonists. Actually, Dowd is also not an option, assuming this is a fresh file, because the only way to unlock him for other protagonists to recruit is by playing Jamil's story. As this involves a quest that's open to everyone, I'll wait until that quest is in-progress before going into too much more detail, but fun coincidence, the sequence of events requires Barbara to be recruited.
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Oct 11, 2023 17:40
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Sif goes with Albert and therefore team pure girlpower must be: Barbara herself, Claudia, Diana and Myriam, since Aisha is, huh, apparently not good.
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Oct 11, 2023 17:42
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EclecticTastes posted:Actually, Dowd is also not an option, assuming this is a fresh file, because the only way to unlock him for other protagonists to recruit is by playing Jamil's story. As this involves a quest that's open to everyone, I'll wait until that quest is in-progress before going into too much more detail, but fun coincidence, the sequence of events requires Barbara to be recruited. This was apparently changed for the remaster! Dowd can now be recruited after finding Wuhan's secret room and freeing the women.
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Oct 11, 2023 17:43
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EclecticTastes posted:Actually, Dowd is also not an option, assuming this is a fresh file, because the only way to unlock him for other protagonists to recruit is by playing Jamil's story. As this involves a quest that's open to everyone, I'll wait until that quest is in-progress before going into too much more detail, but fun coincidence, the sequence of events requires Barbara to be recruited.  this was changed for the remaster, it is indeed possible to recruit Dowd on a fresh file with anyone.Anyway, I'll vote for: Patrick - Best facial hair, great voice acting Guella Ha - Lizard Monica - New character for the remaster! Aisha - Someone has to look out for her and make sure she learns how to suplex dragons When you do the mid/lategame quests that give unique recruits, will there be votes about swapping them in or are they destined for the sidelines? Snake Maze fucked around with this message at 17:46 on Oct 11, 2023 |
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Oct 11, 2023 17:43
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SIGSEGV posted:Sif goes with Albert and therefore team pure girlpower must be: Barbara herself, Claudia, Diana and Myriam, since Aisha is, huh, apparently not good. This would still put our party short a character. But you could add Monica, who I snuck into the character list about ten days ago. Or you can just leave things up to chance; you don't have to vote for all four companions. 5-Headed Snake God fucked around with this message at 17:51 on Oct 11, 2023 |
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Oct 11, 2023 17:48
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