Looks like I'm going to hit another REALLY PAINFUL wall soon. The next part after The Catacombs. Numor Mine. It's the Emma and Rush only part, which is going to suck oh-so-badly because those two haven't seen much battle. Emma's stuff also hasn't been upgraded all that much, so she's fallen behind a bit as well. Rush's equipment is fine since I'm the one creating them, but it's his HP that I'm concerned with. It was hard enough to fight Namul Sin and Niram Sin at BR3. If they get hit with Spark V, they're dead. I may have to sacrifice a few BR ranks to train them up, but not too much though. OK, really only training Rush at the moment. Need to make sure that the soldiers are also keeping up. As long as he's the leader, it's easy to manipulate his art usage. Good thing he has Poison Gas V now. It can wipe out most enemy groups at the moment. May need to dedicate some time to farming some materials for them as well.
Planned out the rest of the game, so hopefully it'll go a little smoother. Kicked out a few soldiers to make room for the more important ones later on. After Numor Mine, I'll have access to 12 active battle units and 4 unions. I'll still be spreading out my units since stacking them right now isn't such a bright idea. After the Nest of Eagles, I should have 15 on the field, so I guess I can start training up using Wisdom's Echo. Unfortunately, some of the units I want to use aren't available until after Wyrmskeep or a certain BR. They also haven't gotten any of their accessories, so their HP and AP/Speed aren't inflated. It's actually kinda annoying. I actually don't get why people think that stacking unions is a good idea... You can only deadlock one union at a time, so if you're surrounded, you could very well end up screwing yourself over. Not exactly a pleasant thought in LasuRemu. Especially in the beginning when you have no way of reviving for a long time.
Also, that little vertical bar beside the union's HP/AP bars? Apparently that's known as the Union TENSION Gauge, not the Union Morale Gauge. If it's high, they're tense/"hyped up" as Rush would say. If it's low, then they're sleeping/daydreaming on the job? Would probably explain why those soldiers are pretty bad at hitting stuff when the Union Tension is low. Actually, they just suck in general. Except for that qsiti, Mithidia. He's pretty cool, what with smacking his enemies with Spark III so early in the game. But you know, I need Hex users. BADLY. Good thing I'll have access to a few soon.
Still going fairly slowly in FFXIII. Just got to Chapter 9, and realized that it's a farming spot. Farming for Premium Chips and Credit Chips to sell for Gil. Farming CP to level up the Crystarium System. The nice thing about it is that it features leaked experience, so Vanille and Sazh are gaining CP even through they're not in the party. Snow is with the party, but he's currently not usable. Justified, since he's still injured from a (should have been fatal) fall. At the rate I'm going, I'll be finished just in time for the start of school again. I normally can finish an RPG in about a week, so I'm already running behind. Not at 100% completion, but just the main story.
A little something I noticed... It seems to feel less like FF and more like SaGa in terms of difficulty and progression. There's a lot of micro-management involved, including trying to sync up attacks. In SaGa, it would turn into some sort of combination attack. Here, it's used to ensure that the Chain Break gauge doesn't fall too quickly. You also have to think a little faster with the Optima Change system in place. Like LasuRemu's targeting and random variables, but in real-time. LasuRemu is essentially a renamed SaGa. FFXIII could very well be a SaGa-FF hybrid. Maybe that's why I'm starting to warm up to it a lot more lately.
Also, it's more of a NTS, but try not to fiddle around with the GPU's settings too much. I liked getting 400+ fps on certain scenes, ~170fps while moving on the field with no stuttering and 25~80fps in battle. The game purposely slows down during Critical Offense/Defense segments. But hey, at least I managed to record some rather hilarious clips of my GPU acting like it's bugged! Actually, why am I so amused by that anyways? It could have been an indicator that there's something wrong with my computer. It's not like dad can help since he doesn't deal with the crazier/high-end/gaming video cards. I also feel really tempted to boot up the "main" computer to check its specs.
29 Dec 2009
25 Dec 2009
Next playthrough is being recorded.
Huh, there are more changes to the PC version than I thought. I guess I can start editing the Last Remnant wiki now. As an example, Mayfield starts with a Spatha customization so I thought that he would continue upgrading along that line. For some reason, he ended up upgrading to a Bluesteel after I visited a town to give Rush a Superlative Bluesteel to learn Cerulean Rain and provide better defense. Didn't happen as I just simply went "It's going to take too long. I'll just use its stats." As another note, Rush can't use Katana-based arts if the Bluesteel is in his main hand slot. I think pretty much every LasuRemu player knows that. Just noting it down for my reference for future playthroughs.
Anyways, finished my 2nd run, but just barely. As many people will note: morale control is key. The most surprising thing was that he didn't bother trying to kill multiple unions at a time with Deep Impact. The Conqueror did manage to use Animalcule twice, and both times, it didn't kill off the party outright. In fact, it didn't land any effects on 2 unions once, and the 2nd time was completely dodged by a union that can hold its own in a deadlock. And again, Rush was a main attack force with Swift Spring Squall V. At least he wasn't blocked or dodged when he was able to use it. There was some scrambling to get the unions back on their feet when I was left with only 1 union. None of the downed unions were near him, so breaking Deadlock was the only way to go and the only option I had unless I wanted to see the last one completely slaughtered. He was already in Savage mode when it happened, so the chances of seeing another dead union was much higher. I also basically cheesed him through abusing Cachexia V with Chamberland's union. I remember that specific one because he was the first to learn Cachexia, and the only one to reach level V with it. The damage didn't matter at all; it was the Clear AP effect that mattered.
And how much money did I get from New Game+ anyways?! Let's see... Before fighting The Conqueror: 1 357 992. New Game funds...: 92 142 067. Er... what? That's way more money than I need... EVER. It's the materials that are more important, although it's not necessary this playthrough. All soldiers means that Rush isn't going to see much of a fight unless forced. So... after Blackdale. I think that's where I'm headed next. Already got into an unnecessary fight at the beginning of the game, while wandering around the Gaslin Caves. Shouldn't have freaked out when that monster popped up from the ground. Oh well. Not like a fight there is going to affect my BR much anyways. Not going to care too much about my BR this time around, so let's see what happens, hm? Oh, and taking notes on the soldiers' weapon progression for the wiki!
FFXIII progress? Still very linear, but that's OK. I haven't gotten lost, so it's all good for me. Hope's got a lot of problems. Vanille is a little too happy for my liking. Fang is cool. Same with Lightning. Snow still needs a good punch to the head. Maybe several more. Sazh isn't that old, but he's actually surprisingly easy to relate to. Love the battle system. Libra/Scan is quite a life-saver, but you can't really use it that often since it's linked to the TP system. It refills gradually after several battles. There are other abilities that are linked to the TP system, and guess what? It also limits how many times you can summon. You can only control one character (Leader) in battle, and you can't switch. Perfectly fine with me because FFXII's way of doing it was a bit of a mess. The Crystarium system is like the Sphere Grid, but much more limiting. The game tells you how much you can upgrade by setting the Crystarium Level for that chapter. I like the Optima Change system quite a bit. It's possible to somewhat abuse it too. Sometimes when you Optima Change, the ATB bar refills instantly for all party members. Sometimes, not all the time. I don't know what the conditions are, but it's very helpful for the Healers to start throwing Cures in your direction. Best to do it when the HP starts getting into the YELLOW range. Once it's red, it's probably a better idea to spam Potions. It'll connect faster since the spells have to travel in order to activate. Another thing I like? BUFFS AND DEBUFFS ACTUALLY MEAN SOMETHING. Yes, that has to be in caps because you're going to need them. Enhancers and Jammers. Starting a battle with either of them makes it somewhat easier.
The boss battles are actually hard. There's a timing aspect in some of the battles too... The first one when in Lake Bilge created a few problems because there weren't that many Optimas to deal with. You need a Healer for almost all battles for the beginning, at least until everyone's leveled up a little bit to blast through the battles quickly. The Chain Break part of the game isn't that easily exploited, but it's something to aim for. The one boss that gives most people problems that doesn't involve a timer on your head? That bulb-like monster in Chapter 4. Keeping Lightning in the ATK role and having buffs casted in the first critical seconds in the battle were key. Then using Libra to figure out its weaknesses. Why? Because it changes its weakness every so often. It's annoying, but you practically have to leave it up to the AI to target that while you try to keep the Chain going with normal attacks or Ruin. The ATK also keeps the Chain gauge from falling too quickly. Helpful, to say the least. Oh, and timing? Knocking them up in the air, then synching attacks to KEEP it in the air. It stops the enemy from fighting back while you pound it with attacks. I summoned Odin into the battle, but it didn't help too much because it also stopped me from having Hope recast buffs. Basically, it was 2.5 minutes of trying to Break the boss while staying alive and Optima Changing every few seconds to maximize damage and healing.
Anyways, finished my 2nd run, but just barely. As many people will note: morale control is key. The most surprising thing was that he didn't bother trying to kill multiple unions at a time with Deep Impact. The Conqueror did manage to use Animalcule twice, and both times, it didn't kill off the party outright. In fact, it didn't land any effects on 2 unions once, and the 2nd time was completely dodged by a union that can hold its own in a deadlock. And again, Rush was a main attack force with Swift Spring Squall V. At least he wasn't blocked or dodged when he was able to use it. There was some scrambling to get the unions back on their feet when I was left with only 1 union. None of the downed unions were near him, so breaking Deadlock was the only way to go and the only option I had unless I wanted to see the last one completely slaughtered. He was already in Savage mode when it happened, so the chances of seeing another dead union was much higher. I also basically cheesed him through abusing Cachexia V with Chamberland's union. I remember that specific one because he was the first to learn Cachexia, and the only one to reach level V with it. The damage didn't matter at all; it was the Clear AP effect that mattered.
And how much money did I get from New Game+ anyways?! Let's see... Before fighting The Conqueror: 1 357 992. New Game funds...: 92 142 067. Er... what? That's way more money than I need... EVER. It's the materials that are more important, although it's not necessary this playthrough. All soldiers means that Rush isn't going to see much of a fight unless forced. So... after Blackdale. I think that's where I'm headed next. Already got into an unnecessary fight at the beginning of the game, while wandering around the Gaslin Caves. Shouldn't have freaked out when that monster popped up from the ground. Oh well. Not like a fight there is going to affect my BR much anyways. Not going to care too much about my BR this time around, so let's see what happens, hm? Oh, and taking notes on the soldiers' weapon progression for the wiki!
FFXIII progress? Still very linear, but that's OK. I haven't gotten lost, so it's all good for me. Hope's got a lot of problems. Vanille is a little too happy for my liking. Fang is cool. Same with Lightning. Snow still needs a good punch to the head. Maybe several more. Sazh isn't that old, but he's actually surprisingly easy to relate to. Love the battle system. Libra/Scan is quite a life-saver, but you can't really use it that often since it's linked to the TP system. It refills gradually after several battles. There are other abilities that are linked to the TP system, and guess what? It also limits how many times you can summon. You can only control one character (Leader) in battle, and you can't switch. Perfectly fine with me because FFXII's way of doing it was a bit of a mess. The Crystarium system is like the Sphere Grid, but much more limiting. The game tells you how much you can upgrade by setting the Crystarium Level for that chapter. I like the Optima Change system quite a bit. It's possible to somewhat abuse it too. Sometimes when you Optima Change, the ATB bar refills instantly for all party members. Sometimes, not all the time. I don't know what the conditions are, but it's very helpful for the Healers to start throwing Cures in your direction. Best to do it when the HP starts getting into the YELLOW range. Once it's red, it's probably a better idea to spam Potions. It'll connect faster since the spells have to travel in order to activate. Another thing I like? BUFFS AND DEBUFFS ACTUALLY MEAN SOMETHING. Yes, that has to be in caps because you're going to need them. Enhancers and Jammers. Starting a battle with either of them makes it somewhat easier.
The boss battles are actually hard. There's a timing aspect in some of the battles too... The first one when in Lake Bilge created a few problems because there weren't that many Optimas to deal with. You need a Healer for almost all battles for the beginning, at least until everyone's leveled up a little bit to blast through the battles quickly. The Chain Break part of the game isn't that easily exploited, but it's something to aim for. The one boss that gives most people problems that doesn't involve a timer on your head? That bulb-like monster in Chapter 4. Keeping Lightning in the ATK role and having buffs casted in the first critical seconds in the battle were key. Then using Libra to figure out its weaknesses. Why? Because it changes its weakness every so often. It's annoying, but you practically have to leave it up to the AI to target that while you try to keep the Chain going with normal attacks or Ruin. The ATK also keeps the Chain gauge from falling too quickly. Helpful, to say the least. Oh, and timing? Knocking them up in the air, then synching attacks to KEEP it in the air. It stops the enemy from fighting back while you pound it with attacks. I summoned Odin into the battle, but it didn't help too much because it also stopped me from having Hope recast buffs. Basically, it was 2.5 minutes of trying to Break the boss while staying alive and Optima Changing every few seconds to maximize damage and healing.
23 Dec 2009
Ninja and Blaze Edge.
Yay, Legendary Ninja achieved! Along with several Swift level 5 arts. Pretty much end-game now. Going through The Ancient Ruins because I forgot about it in my first run. It's actually somewhat difficult with a Rush+soldier party. Mostly relying on Rush to deal damage with Swift Spring Squall V with one other unit doing Dispirit V/Bewitch V to lower enemy morale enough for the other units to make up for the lack of uniques.
While fiddling around with the trainer, I managed to change David's in-game model. Well, in battle model. I like his eyepatch, so I swapped his usual one with the one you see at the beginning of the game. Well, there are other things that I can say, but I'll just leave it at that. Don't think I'll be fiddling around with any more models. I could always sub in Emma for Emmy since I kinda miss her hat... Eh... whatever.
And I'm not sure if I can take on the final boss right now. It's "The True Conqueror" Rank 8. In other words, I'm screwed unless I can get some status control to deal with all about 2M HP. If it were Disgaea, 2M HP would be no problem whatsoever. Oh, and get another attack union. Currently, I have one attack union, one for morale control, one dummy union (3 units, no healing...) and I have no idea what the other 2 are for. They're kinda all purpose, like Rush's union, but not as effective. None of them can lower enemy morale, and no soldiers learn Wards, so no "Band of Champions" or "Cheer" for more morale control. The only problem about morale is that if it gets too high, he'll use Crimson Flare III to knock it back down while slaughtering as many units as possible. I think I spent at least 20 out of 40 turns just running around healing everyone while keeping him distracted with various dummy unions. Pretty everyone becomes a dummy union based on status, union speed and positioning. Breaking deadlock is sometimes beneficial if they're at full health. And maybe if they had more than 7000HP. I should get a few soldiers with Lotion arts. There shouldn't be any crossover for item consumption between the other Item arts, so it should be safe. Also, why are there no soldiers who can learn Shards? It seems a little unbalanced here. Not to mention that none of them can dual wield. But yeah, I need some serious status control.
Started some FFXIII, but didn't get very far. Eh, whatever. Not like I'm going to finish it in less than a week anyways. Very pretty, had a few close calls in battle and Lightning can punch out Snow. Kinda funny listening to him after playing Sigma Harmonics (Kurogami Sigma) and Last Remnant (Lord David).
Also
Build 4699. Try to find this specific build of the Dolphin emulator. Tales of Graces is extremely tempting. Not too keen on modding my Wii either.
While fiddling around with the trainer, I managed to change David's in-game model. Well, in battle model. I like his eyepatch, so I swapped his usual one with the one you see at the beginning of the game. Well, there are other things that I can say, but I'll just leave it at that. Don't think I'll be fiddling around with any more models. I could always sub in Emma for Emmy since I kinda miss her hat... Eh... whatever.
And I'm not sure if I can take on the final boss right now. It's "The True Conqueror" Rank 8. In other words, I'm screwed unless I can get some status control to deal with all about 2M HP. If it were Disgaea, 2M HP would be no problem whatsoever. Oh, and get another attack union. Currently, I have one attack union, one for morale control, one dummy union (3 units, no healing...) and I have no idea what the other 2 are for. They're kinda all purpose, like Rush's union, but not as effective. None of them can lower enemy morale, and no soldiers learn Wards, so no "Band of Champions" or "Cheer" for more morale control. The only problem about morale is that if it gets too high, he'll use Crimson Flare III to knock it back down while slaughtering as many units as possible. I think I spent at least 20 out of 40 turns just running around healing everyone while keeping him distracted with various dummy unions. Pretty everyone becomes a dummy union based on status, union speed and positioning. Breaking deadlock is sometimes beneficial if they're at full health. And maybe if they had more than 7000HP. I should get a few soldiers with Lotion arts. There shouldn't be any crossover for item consumption between the other Item arts, so it should be safe. Also, why are there no soldiers who can learn Shards? It seems a little unbalanced here. Not to mention that none of them can dual wield. But yeah, I need some serious status control.
Started some FFXIII, but didn't get very far. Eh, whatever. Not like I'm going to finish it in less than a week anyways. Very pretty, had a few close calls in battle and Lightning can punch out Snow. Kinda funny listening to him after playing Sigma Harmonics (Kurogami Sigma) and Last Remnant (Lord David).
Also
Build 4699. Try to find this specific build of the Dolphin emulator. Tales of Graces is extremely tempting. Not too keen on modding my Wii either.
17 Dec 2009
Moving along, moving along...
Woo, got Duke Ghor's quest to trigger! Finally did "Kate and Rhagoh," Jager's and Nora's are ready and I can do the "Hearts" quest now that the Darken Forest events are over. Guess it's also time to mop up The Fallen too, since that one locks after going to Undelwalt. I wonder if the entire army's strong enough to tackle everything at this point? Pretty sure that I'm going to need to start upgrading their equipment again. At least I still have Sheryl's quest open for smacking around Bai Ze. Going to level Nimble->Swift and Mighty->Peerless for them.
Turns out that some of my reserve units really have hit their stat caps. Their HP and AP looked inflated because of the accessories they had equipped, and that some of them had participated in a few fights earlier in the game. Pagus and Blocter were used for the mandatory fights while introducing the game's mechanics (not really...). Blocter jumped into the 3 fights during "The Standoff," which allowed for an extra union that normally wouldn't be available for control. Emmy hopped in for her quest, "The Fated One," and gained a point of Speed there.
The real highlight from this though? Other than finishing the Base Fights without too much of a problem. And accidentally Raidlocking Ludope so that I get clobbered with Galaxy (NTS: don't engage his union first turn). Rush FINALLY hit the Ninja class. So now I can "Rear Assault" unions like crazy! Cue jokes about rear assaul(ry. Would be even funnier if I did that with a candle, crossbow, or other sharp and pointy formation. It'll definitely come in handy for the larger enemies that can multi-deadlock. Prevents a direct encounter, but I also need to turn off some arts to make sure that Rush uses the rights ones, like Nimble Spring Squall III (at the moment). Should probably start planning the next playthrough (EN voices) and the one after (JP voices). Using purely soldiers means that I might have to forget about going low BR and abuse Wisdom's Echo and Bai Ze like no tomorrow. Definitely want to have Rush as a Ninja, and planning to have David as my Assassin. I'm dead serious about a marquis being an assassin. It also means that I should save up a ton of money for that. Dave's going to be using lots and lots of Shards. Oh, and recording the cutscenes in both languages. Found the LR commu on LJ, so maybe I can share that there. Better start giving that video card a work out!
Oh. Can't forget this little thing... I might end up with a physical copy of the game at some point in the near future. Can't really say how excited I am about it since I want the JP version but the shipping killed on all versions.
Turns out that some of my reserve units really have hit their stat caps. Their HP and AP looked inflated because of the accessories they had equipped, and that some of them had participated in a few fights earlier in the game. Pagus and Blocter were used for the mandatory fights while introducing the game's mechanics (not really...). Blocter jumped into the 3 fights during "The Standoff," which allowed for an extra union that normally wouldn't be available for control. Emmy hopped in for her quest, "The Fated One," and gained a point of Speed there.
The real highlight from this though? Other than finishing the Base Fights without too much of a problem. And accidentally Raidlocking Ludope so that I get clobbered with Galaxy (NTS: don't engage his union first turn). Rush FINALLY hit the Ninja class. So now I can "Rear Assault" unions like crazy! Cue jokes about rear assaul(ry. Would be even funnier if I did that with a candle, crossbow, or other sharp and pointy formation. It'll definitely come in handy for the larger enemies that can multi-deadlock. Prevents a direct encounter, but I also need to turn off some arts to make sure that Rush uses the rights ones, like Nimble Spring Squall III (at the moment). Should probably start planning the next playthrough (EN voices) and the one after (JP voices). Using purely soldiers means that I might have to forget about going low BR and abuse Wisdom's Echo and Bai Ze like no tomorrow. Definitely want to have Rush as a Ninja, and planning to have David as my Assassin. I'm dead serious about a marquis being an assassin. It also means that I should save up a ton of money for that. Dave's going to be using lots and lots of Shards. Oh, and recording the cutscenes in both languages. Found the LR commu on LJ, so maybe I can share that there. Better start giving that video card a work out!
Oh. Can't forget this little thing... I might end up with a physical copy of the game at some point in the near future. Can't really say how excited I am about it since I want the JP version but the shipping killed on all versions.
16 Dec 2009
Base fight time!
... DX
That was my basic expression when fighting those "DLC" monsters. Holy hell that was insane. Took me 38 turns to kill off everything. Using only soldiers there was just crazy. No unique arts to pull off from time to time. Limited to Weapon/Wield and Mystic Arts, while trying to spark more Item Arts for more efficient healing, and Weapon/Wield Arts at the same time to hopefully get a sudden advantage with criticals. And it was nice way to really see how big of a role Morale plays in the game. And that role is HUGE. Having morale in the red for the majority of the fight against that Remnant monster was not good. It's a good thing Rush and I were on the same page with the reinforcements after they came. "D< I've had about enough of this. LET'S WIPE 'EM OUT!" Lo and behold, Blackout popped up. Well, so did Whiteout, but that union is SLOW. Also doesn't help that Rush had 60 Speed to work with. I really think it came down to luck because I tried replicating the fight, but kept getting wiped out whenever Ala Melvilana Fusion decided that it was a good idea to use Run Amok III (sometimes even twice) then Hurricane III right afterwords. Stacking my unions didn't really help either. In fact, it made everything worse. Anyways, the next encounter's going to be tons of fun. Well, next playthrough, which I plan to start this week. Got a rather large number of equip drops from the fight, which is nice. I let the soldiers take what they wanted because the art modifiers were Power based (Mighty/Peerless). Weird thing is, the guy that took the Ancient Tataraichi doesn't have an Items Wanted list anymore. Great, it means that I don't have to look for materials to upgrade the weapon. The guy that took the Auld Highbrand though? Deacon is really dumb. Well, maybe more like the programming is really dumb. He's requesting materials for the Damascene Claymore, which isn't part of his upgrade path according to the LasuRemu wiki. Maybe it's a translation error? Info carried over from the 360 version, since the wiki's based on the PC version? So the Extra Missions that you can undertake are just plain insane. The amount of trouble I had against the Jhana Royals mission far exceeded the insanity of the Fourth Base from my first run. I realize that they're there for a challenge, but seriously? Now I really wonder about the Absolute Conqueror. I've already started triggering the rest of the quests that require talking to certain people a set number of times before they start moving. Jager, Loki, Nora and Rhagoh's quests are still up in the air because I forgot about recruiting them fairly early in the game, and the fact that I didn't have enough money after customizing some equips to ensure surviving the early game onslaught at a low BR. There's also Glenys' final quest, which doesn't open up until I reach Undelwalt and after the fight in the Holy Plain. I should be able to get Duke Ghor's quest and trigger a few red bubbles since I'm talking to EVERYONE after each Base fight. Also, it looks like some of the uniques have hit their stat caps. Not surprising considering how much time I spent grinding while looking for materials. I really only noticed that their stats weren't going up when I checked up on Rush's stats. Rush kept getting faster and stronger, but when I took a peek at the Athlum main force, not so much. HP and AP are improving, but at a very slow rate. Main stats and their unique parameters seem to have hit the cap, which is slightly higher than the 360 caps. They can exceed them once I start using them in battle, but that's not the point of this playthrough. Seriously, comparing Rush and David? Their stats, according to the JP360 wiki, are comparable. Dave is slightly faster, a bit sturdier and had better AP gain, but Rush beats him in maxAP and versatility (STR and INT when looking at the PC version). Both are balanced, unlike the other Generals who are more specialized. Even EMMY has higher strength than the boys at 100. Oh, interesting thing. The game's on sale for about $10USD on Steam right now. Jump Festa's in a few days. The SaGa team's currently free because they finished up with Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers (Production Studio 2, IIRC). So... New SaGa game? Sequel to LasuRemu?! One can hope/dream. There better be a PC version... I like fiddling around with settings after my initial playthrough. And I love SaGa right now.
That was my basic expression when fighting those "DLC" monsters. Holy hell that was insane. Took me 38 turns to kill off everything. Using only soldiers there was just crazy. No unique arts to pull off from time to time. Limited to Weapon/Wield and Mystic Arts, while trying to spark more Item Arts for more efficient healing, and Weapon/Wield Arts at the same time to hopefully get a sudden advantage with criticals. And it was nice way to really see how big of a role Morale plays in the game. And that role is HUGE. Having morale in the red for the majority of the fight against that Remnant monster was not good. It's a good thing Rush and I were on the same page with the reinforcements after they came. "D< I've had about enough of this. LET'S WIPE 'EM OUT!" Lo and behold, Blackout popped up. Well, so did Whiteout, but that union is SLOW. Also doesn't help that Rush had 60 Speed to work with. I really think it came down to luck because I tried replicating the fight, but kept getting wiped out whenever Ala Melvilana Fusion decided that it was a good idea to use Run Amok III (sometimes even twice) then Hurricane III right afterwords. Stacking my unions didn't really help either. In fact, it made everything worse. Anyways, the next encounter's going to be tons of fun. Well, next playthrough, which I plan to start this week. Got a rather large number of equip drops from the fight, which is nice. I let the soldiers take what they wanted because the art modifiers were Power based (Mighty/Peerless). Weird thing is, the guy that took the Ancient Tataraichi doesn't have an Items Wanted list anymore. Great, it means that I don't have to look for materials to upgrade the weapon. The guy that took the Auld Highbrand though? Deacon is really dumb. Well, maybe more like the programming is really dumb. He's requesting materials for the Damascene Claymore, which isn't part of his upgrade path according to the LasuRemu wiki. Maybe it's a translation error? Info carried over from the 360 version, since the wiki's based on the PC version? So the Extra Missions that you can undertake are just plain insane. The amount of trouble I had against the Jhana Royals mission far exceeded the insanity of the Fourth Base from my first run. I realize that they're there for a challenge, but seriously? Now I really wonder about the Absolute Conqueror. I've already started triggering the rest of the quests that require talking to certain people a set number of times before they start moving. Jager, Loki, Nora and Rhagoh's quests are still up in the air because I forgot about recruiting them fairly early in the game, and the fact that I didn't have enough money after customizing some equips to ensure surviving the early game onslaught at a low BR. There's also Glenys' final quest, which doesn't open up until I reach Undelwalt and after the fight in the Holy Plain. I should be able to get Duke Ghor's quest and trigger a few red bubbles since I'm talking to EVERYONE after each Base fight. Also, it looks like some of the uniques have hit their stat caps. Not surprising considering how much time I spent grinding while looking for materials. I really only noticed that their stats weren't going up when I checked up on Rush's stats. Rush kept getting faster and stronger, but when I took a peek at the Athlum main force, not so much. HP and AP are improving, but at a very slow rate. Main stats and their unique parameters seem to have hit the cap, which is slightly higher than the 360 caps. They can exceed them once I start using them in battle, but that's not the point of this playthrough. Seriously, comparing Rush and David? Their stats, according to the JP360 wiki, are comparable. Dave is slightly faster, a bit sturdier and had better AP gain, but Rush beats him in maxAP and versatility (STR and INT when looking at the PC version). Both are balanced, unlike the other Generals who are more specialized. Even EMMY has higher strength than the boys at 100. Oh, interesting thing. The game's on sale for about $10USD on Steam right now. Jump Festa's in a few days. The SaGa team's currently free because they finished up with Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers (Production Studio 2, IIRC). So... New SaGa game? Sequel to LasuRemu?! One can hope/dream. There better be a PC version... I like fiddling around with settings after my initial playthrough. And I love SaGa right now.
14 Dec 2009
I hate people.
I seriously don't understand the problem here. What is there to get? Bayo's a female protagonist. You're a guy. I would've thought that you would PREFER to play as a girl because it's eye candy. And why do boards get into such an uproar whenever there's a main female lead? WolfeyesVIII made a mention of FFXIII's unveiling, but I don't remember any of the backdraft. I just remember excitement from the announcement. I can understand some people being a little upset about Dissidia's cast (Tina, CoD, Ultimecia and Shantotto) though. Both sexes end up over-sexualized in all sorts of media, yet there's only outcry if it's the female. Very rarely the males. And about connecting to the characters? If you want to connect to them, fine. I have no problem connecting to a character whether they're human or not, male or female, or a robot. It just doesn't matter as long as said character was interesting.
Take Bayo, since that's one of the newer games. At first, in 2007, I just didn't care. OK, a gun on foot (heels = 99% sure it's a girl). Woo. 2008. Really didn't keep up with the news, no developer blog to really read. E3 '09. Still didn't really care that much until seeing gameplay. Loved how the game flowed. Didn't care that main was female. Oct 29th. Started playing the game. Yep, just like a female Dante, only with a bigger mouth. Did I connect with her immediately? Nope. It took until about Chapter 14 to understand her, why she does what she does. Started connecting there and appreciating the effort to create her and her world. Have to admit though, I still prefer Antonio Redgrave, even though he's dead, because of his journal entries. Maybe it's just my geeky tendencies taking over. OK, not really. I'm usually like this. What if Bayo was male? I really don't think it would have changed how I felt about the game. Why? Because it's damn fun to play. The narrative and interesting characters were an extra to give the game some more depth. For games like Bayonetta, it's all about the gameplay. But I guess some people have problems with a witch going around sending angels into iron maidens or cutting them in half with a massive chainsaw. If the character fits, there's no reason to get upset about it. It's a design choice. If you don't like it, just try to ignore it. Don't go online (or to your friends) complaining about how the main is a girl. Complaining about game mechanics is perfectly fine though. I have a complaint of my own: she's too floaty. There's others, but that's a moot point.
Taking a look at Demon's Souls. I created a female avatar. Why? Because I'm a girl. I could have easily created a male avatar if I wished to do so. In fact, I was going to start a new file with a male character (if I hadn't lent it out to someone) after finishing my original scenario. There's no difference between the 2 sexes other than some gender-specific equipment. Just like how Last Remnant has some RACE-specific equipment. You don't see people screaming racism against LasuRemu, now do you? ... I'm actually kinda upset that I can't make a guy run around in a dress though.
P3P? Didn't really feel anything when they announced that there was an option to play as a female. Actually, that's a lie. I felt "yay, we have a choice!" Then, "wait, that means that the girl's ending is non-canon." But yeah, I happen to like the choice. SenBASA is another one. I like playing as Kojuurou and Matsu.
tl;dr I hate people. People are stupid. And why didn't I go into game journalism?! Other than the fact that I hate writing most of the time.
Take Bayo, since that's one of the newer games. At first, in 2007, I just didn't care. OK, a gun on foot (heels = 99% sure it's a girl). Woo. 2008. Really didn't keep up with the news, no developer blog to really read. E3 '09. Still didn't really care that much until seeing gameplay. Loved how the game flowed. Didn't care that main was female. Oct 29th. Started playing the game. Yep, just like a female Dante, only with a bigger mouth. Did I connect with her immediately? Nope. It took until about Chapter 14 to understand her, why she does what she does. Started connecting there and appreciating the effort to create her and her world. Have to admit though, I still prefer Antonio Redgrave, even though he's dead, because of his journal entries. Maybe it's just my geeky tendencies taking over. OK, not really. I'm usually like this. What if Bayo was male? I really don't think it would have changed how I felt about the game. Why? Because it's damn fun to play. The narrative and interesting characters were an extra to give the game some more depth. For games like Bayonetta, it's all about the gameplay. But I guess some people have problems with a witch going around sending angels into iron maidens or cutting them in half with a massive chainsaw. If the character fits, there's no reason to get upset about it. It's a design choice. If you don't like it, just try to ignore it. Don't go online (or to your friends) complaining about how the main is a girl. Complaining about game mechanics is perfectly fine though. I have a complaint of my own: she's too floaty. There's others, but that's a moot point.
Taking a look at Demon's Souls. I created a female avatar. Why? Because I'm a girl. I could have easily created a male avatar if I wished to do so. In fact, I was going to start a new file with a male character (if I hadn't lent it out to someone) after finishing my original scenario. There's no difference between the 2 sexes other than some gender-specific equipment. Just like how Last Remnant has some RACE-specific equipment. You don't see people screaming racism against LasuRemu, now do you? ... I'm actually kinda upset that I can't make a guy run around in a dress though.
P3P? Didn't really feel anything when they announced that there was an option to play as a female. Actually, that's a lie. I felt "yay, we have a choice!" Then, "wait, that means that the girl's ending is non-canon." But yeah, I happen to like the choice. SenBASA is another one. I like playing as Kojuurou and Matsu.
tl;dr I hate people. People are stupid. And why didn't I go into game journalism?! Other than the fact that I hate writing most of the time.
Got the voices!
Poked at the demo again. Yep, you can finish it without fighting a single thing. Just run through the Ivory Peaks to Elysion. There are a few quests to undertake: Baulson, The Dreaming Rose, Athlum's Witch, Bravery and Loyalty. Mr. Diggs and A Day's Beginning have already been completed since those are mandatory. It's just really a primer to check out customization (Combat Broadsword +1 to Warrior's Broadsword +1, just how much stuff did he whack?!), combat and exploring dungeons/areas. Maybe even engage a few rares? The fact that you start at BR11 was slightly surprising to me after running through the full game (didn't pay that much attention when I first played the demo). I got there and I was barely BR2 or BR3. Maybe it's the recommended BR? When engaging in a battle, the morale bar is pretty much in the middle, so I guess it's the recommended BR...?
So, I've moved onto the 2nd half of the game. Don't think I'll be grinding anymore in the Wisdom's Echo sidequest anymore. It's just not viable at my current character BR, and I think there's a diminishing return for doing the quest too much too early. Next playthrough, which is going to be PURE soldiers (and recorded in English), I'm going to have to keep that in mind. The 4th run is going to be on Hard, or Ransatsu, mode with my favourite units (recorded in Japanese, and keeping BR stuck at 1 to keep morale at a disadvantage). So... TIME TO GRIND AGAINST DRAGONS! Namely, Bai Ze, who can be respawned through a certain quest regarding this one rather "interesting" character. Sheryl.
Dave still really deserves a hug after the game's events. And not the type that would crush him, a la Blocter. I really wonder how he can hold it together like that... Four to five years of being a Marquis, a bunch of different events, the stuff I posted in an earlier entry... Square-Enix, make a sequel for this? And try not to screw it up. This SaGa game deserves more than that. I also find myself shipping Rush/David. A LOT. It's kinda obvious, although I think the majority of the fandom ships David/Rush. ... I sometimes hate being stuck in the minority. Not much fanart for the pairings I like. I also really feel like sticking glasses onto David and pretend that he's Sigma. Both are voiced by Ono Daisuke, are pretty cute, and happen to experience a lot of death, so... Also voicing Snow, much to my surprise. Which reminds me, I'll probably be getting FFXIII in the mail this week! Joy!
Oh, and I managed to extract the voice clips from the game files. Problem is... most of them get cut off prematurely. If I could extract them as a single package without the offsets, maybe... After exams, maybe I'll also label them properly?
So, I've moved onto the 2nd half of the game. Don't think I'll be grinding anymore in the Wisdom's Echo sidequest anymore. It's just not viable at my current character BR, and I think there's a diminishing return for doing the quest too much too early. Next playthrough, which is going to be PURE soldiers (and recorded in English), I'm going to have to keep that in mind. The 4th run is going to be on Hard, or Ransatsu, mode with my favourite units (recorded in Japanese, and keeping BR stuck at 1 to keep morale at a disadvantage). So... TIME TO GRIND AGAINST DRAGONS! Namely, Bai Ze, who can be respawned through a certain quest regarding this one rather "interesting" character. Sheryl.
Dave still really deserves a hug after the game's events. And not the type that would crush him, a la Blocter. I really wonder how he can hold it together like that... Four to five years of being a Marquis, a bunch of different events, the stuff I posted in an earlier entry... Square-Enix, make a sequel for this? And try not to screw it up. This SaGa game deserves more than that. I also find myself shipping Rush/David. A LOT. It's kinda obvious, although I think the majority of the fandom ships David/Rush. ... I sometimes hate being stuck in the minority. Not much fanart for the pairings I like. I also really feel like sticking glasses onto David and pretend that he's Sigma. Both are voiced by Ono Daisuke, are pretty cute, and happen to experience a lot of death, so... Also voicing Snow, much to my surprise. Which reminds me, I'll probably be getting FFXIII in the mail this week! Joy!
Oh, and I managed to extract the voice clips from the game files. Problem is... most of them get cut off prematurely. If I could extract them as a single package without the offsets, maybe... After exams, maybe I'll also label them properly?
10 Dec 2009
Hm. No tiers.
Still surprised that I haven't seen a tier list for Last Remnant. While it'd be impractical to create one for all characters (there's what, 400 of them?), it'd be fairly easy for the unique leaders. Of course, there's also the catch dealing with their upgrade paths (balance, combat, mystic). And as with creating tier lists akin to the FE tiers, join time, base stats, stat growth, abilities and class availability can influence their placement. I don't think it's easy to place Rush because he's so flexible, even though you can't start training Shards until you reach Nagapur.
I can see David not placing all that high... He may start with Invocations (Black Out) and Herbs, learns Remedies (slightly redundant, Rejuvenating Waters) and Shards (Moonlight and damage, but expensive), but that One-handed+shield combo seriously hampers him. But hey, at least he's not stupid this time around with the Frostblade, and can learn Cerulean Rain. It seems like a good reflection of his character though: trying too hard to do everything at once. Keeping him in a union would be a good idea since he has Ex Machina as a Unique Art, meaning that he won't stop others from acting before shooting. One of the only other things he's got going for himself is above average HP when compared to other Mystic oriented (mitra?) units and pretty good Speed, giving his union a bit of mobility. Most other characters have a specific focus when you stare at their starting stats and skill sets. I mean, just look at Wyngale and Leucetius. They can become Warlocks because they can learn every Arcana in the game. They even START with Int>Str. Of course, this is a SaGa game. There ARE no concrete tiers because everything can eventually be steered in certain directions based directly on your actions in battle. It's just a matter of how quickly. Efficient leveling! It's like how someone tried to create a tier list for MinSaGa. It didn't work out because of all sorts of factors affecting outcomes and how everyone can be eventually tailored the same way. Or at least become game breakers if you have the patience to do that to every single playable character at ER22 (unless you're facing off against 10DS Saruin). Just a matter of working with their inherent traits and steering them towards something. Alfred with a D growth rate in Compassion? Not a problem! Just abuse Cosmology when you have the chance!
But yeah. I guess SaGa is Square's version of non-linear play. Too bad it's not one of the pillars for them, and that the West isn't particularly fond of the games either. I wonder how well SaGa2GoD sold... Probably not that well. Still haven't bothered progressing with my playthrough. Running around gathering materials for their upgrades, then ended up poking at the demo. You don't even need to fight a single battle to finish the demo at all. Just run through the Ivory Peaks to reach Elysion. That's it. Not many quests are available, Blackdale isn't on the map, and you can't open up new area either. It also kinda makes me feel like I don't fight enough battles. By the time I reached the Ivory Peaks, I wasn't anywhere near BR11. Probably also sparked a hell of a lot more arts than available.
I don't think I can upgrade their stuff any further at the moment. No access to Platinum Ores, amongst other materials.
I can see David not placing all that high... He may start with Invocations (Black Out) and Herbs, learns Remedies (slightly redundant, Rejuvenating Waters) and Shards (Moonlight and damage, but expensive), but that One-handed+shield combo seriously hampers him. But hey, at least he's not stupid this time around with the Frostblade, and can learn Cerulean Rain. It seems like a good reflection of his character though: trying too hard to do everything at once. Keeping him in a union would be a good idea since he has Ex Machina as a Unique Art, meaning that he won't stop others from acting before shooting. One of the only other things he's got going for himself is above average HP when compared to other Mystic oriented (mitra?) units and pretty good Speed, giving his union a bit of mobility. Most other characters have a specific focus when you stare at their starting stats and skill sets. I mean, just look at Wyngale and Leucetius. They can become Warlocks because they can learn every Arcana in the game. They even START with Int>Str. Of course, this is a SaGa game. There ARE no concrete tiers because everything can eventually be steered in certain directions based directly on your actions in battle. It's just a matter of how quickly. Efficient leveling! It's like how someone tried to create a tier list for MinSaGa. It didn't work out because of all sorts of factors affecting outcomes and how everyone can be eventually tailored the same way. Or at least become game breakers if you have the patience to do that to every single playable character at ER22 (unless you're facing off against 10DS Saruin). Just a matter of working with their inherent traits and steering them towards something. Alfred with a D growth rate in Compassion? Not a problem! Just abuse Cosmology when you have the chance!
But yeah. I guess SaGa is Square's version of non-linear play. Too bad it's not one of the pillars for them, and that the West isn't particularly fond of the games either. I wonder how well SaGa2GoD sold... Probably not that well. Still haven't bothered progressing with my playthrough. Running around gathering materials for their upgrades, then ended up poking at the demo. You don't even need to fight a single battle to finish the demo at all. Just run through the Ivory Peaks to reach Elysion. That's it. Not many quests are available, Blackdale isn't on the map, and you can't open up new area either. It also kinda makes me feel like I don't fight enough battles. By the time I reached the Ivory Peaks, I wasn't anywhere near BR11. Probably also sparked a hell of a lot more arts than available.
I don't think I can upgrade their stuff any further at the moment. No access to Platinum Ores, amongst other materials.
8 Dec 2009
... Battle voices? Anyone?
Heh... After looking at the Japanese TLR PC wiki, it's extremely apparent that it's a SaGa game. Just taking a look at the Remnants, there's at least five that are references to the previous SaGa equips. One of them was even upgraded from being a lowly sword to a "flying monster." That would be the Lob Omen. The Schiavona, my FAVOURITE LONGSWORD from Minstrel Song, has appeared as the Schiavona spear for either Jager or Rush to use. Of course, there's also the infamous Overdrive spell, Crimson Flare (which I never synthed), various arts and how about half the game is sidequests. It's really not as bad as Romancing SaGa, since you do have to go to specific locations for the story and that quest cutoffs are based on event flags instead of a hidden battle counter. In MinSaGa, you could just finish the game in about 2 hours if you knew exactly how to progress and not actually finish any quests along the way (pretty much every quest is optional as they only progress time). Oh, and the Ice Sword makes its infamous return. Why is it infamous? Because anyone who's played Romancing SaGa will remember that the best way to get it is to kill Galahad. Conversely, people only remember Galahad as the guy who starts with Grey and is killed for the Ice Sword because he's a jerk. Yeah, his defining characteristic is being killed for a sword that you give an Elemental Lord. Isn't it sad?
It's also somewhat surprising that I can't seem to find a wiki with all the battle lines. I guess it's not popular enough for that (like the rest of the SaGa series). I'm very tempted to compile them myself, but I wouldn't know how to translate a majority of the lines. I did notice that Rush is generally more playful in his tone in the JP version... "な～にやってんの" is one of the lines (I think it's the "Ugh, what are you doing?!" line). "やる気か？" is another, which I think is the equivalent to "You wanna play"? I guess it's because of how many lines there are for each situation. There are 48 uniques (7 of which are one character but different classes, and thus different base stats), lines for deadlocking, flanking, back attacks, healing, etc. There's just a lot of stuff to record and trigger. And some people will only say certain things if certain people are in their union. Some people even say something when they spark an art. Although, I can't really say that they're sparking anything since that little light bulb doesn't pop up. Just energy swirls. Pretty energy swirls, but still energy swirls. If it had popped up, it would have been a dead giveaway that it was SaGa. Still you're sparking arts in the middle of a battle. How many other games let you do that without cost?
Anyways, more about the game itself. What I don't understand is why all of the soldiers I've hire so far have "illegal" end-game upgrades. Seriously, it sucks. They're not even sensible upgrades either! Either way, I need to upgrade everyone's equips before heading off to "Disc 2," even though there is no Disc 2 for the PC version. Or at least as far as I can since some of the materials aren't available until the Seventh Path opens up. Also got Rush's Intelligence to over 100. Pretty much unintentionally because I was raising the soldiers' HP because of their sucky defense from the weapons. About 1/4 of them use katanas, which give THE lowest defense ratings.
... More later.
It's also somewhat surprising that I can't seem to find a wiki with all the battle lines. I guess it's not popular enough for that (like the rest of the SaGa series). I'm very tempted to compile them myself, but I wouldn't know how to translate a majority of the lines. I did notice that Rush is generally more playful in his tone in the JP version... "な～にやってんの" is one of the lines (I think it's the "Ugh, what are you doing?!" line). "やる気か？" is another, which I think is the equivalent to "You wanna play"? I guess it's because of how many lines there are for each situation. There are 48 uniques (7 of which are one character but different classes, and thus different base stats), lines for deadlocking, flanking, back attacks, healing, etc. There's just a lot of stuff to record and trigger. And some people will only say certain things if certain people are in their union. Some people even say something when they spark an art. Although, I can't really say that they're sparking anything since that little light bulb doesn't pop up. Just energy swirls. Pretty energy swirls, but still energy swirls. If it had popped up, it would have been a dead giveaway that it was SaGa. Still you're sparking arts in the middle of a battle. How many other games let you do that without cost?
Anyways, more about the game itself. What I don't understand is why all of the soldiers I've hire so far have "illegal" end-game upgrades. Seriously, it sucks. They're not even sensible upgrades either! Either way, I need to upgrade everyone's equips before heading off to "Disc 2," even though there is no Disc 2 for the PC version. Or at least as far as I can since some of the materials aren't available until the Seventh Path opens up. Also got Rush's Intelligence to over 100. Pretty much unintentionally because I was raising the soldiers' HP because of their sucky defense from the weapons. About 1/4 of them use katanas, which give THE lowest defense ratings.
... More later.
5 Dec 2009
It's exam time!
And I'm not studying just yet. ... I really want to finish the 2nd run first before getting to it. Besides, my first exam on the 10th doesn't actually require any studying whatsoever since it's open-book and the fact that most of the info required is given in the exam itself. It's more of an exercise to see how well you can connect the dots under a time limit.
Anyways, moving on.
As mentioned above, I've started my second run with what I touched upon in my previous post. Essentially, I'm emulating what would have happened if I were stuck with the 360 version's Leader limit (only 6 can be deployed, including Rush). The mercenaries aren't bad, seeing as how most people would end up hiring McGrady for his Remedies until Rush learns it/you get tired of using Herbs. They're just rather limiting because they don't learn new skill trees at certain BRs. And the fact that they're counted as "leaders." That's where the soldiers come in handy. They're free to hire and come in tiers depending on where you are in the story. So for me right now, I can hire up to Tier 6 because I haven't tripped the event flag for entering the Aqueducts yet.
As for the soldiers themselves... They're not that bad. Limited, but what can you do? They don't ask for better equipment and they only bother raising HP and AP with accessories, unlike the uniques who sometimes ask for the weirdest things (which I can't quite remember, but it involves David asking for something that he didn't need). I wouldn't mind giving them better equipment, seeing as how I'm not exactly fond of finding their materials. It also means that I have to be on the lookout for them while also taking apart some older equips. You can only get Imperium that way... It's also infuriating how even though you HAVE THE STUFF IN YOUR INVENTORY, that they don't just ask for it! It's not like I need Platinum Orex100 for an extended period of time.
Using only soldiers isn't too bad. Didn't end up scraping by the Nest of Eagles fight at all. I had an easier time, probably because I've kept my BR a little on the low side, spread out my units with certain formations and didn't stack my healers. Having at least one person in each union able to heal is a real life saver... The mobility of a stacked healing union needs to be really high if you don't want them to be raidlocked or intercepted along the way. A combination of Remedies, Herbs and Lotions is a good idea as well, seeing as how learning "Kiss of Life" takes a freaking long time and costs 129AP when you first get it. That's more than me force triggering Blackout 4 times in a row. Which reminds me, I need to stock up on some herbs.
The main limiting factor for the soldiers is their arts. They only know one style, and they stick with that style for the rest of the game, unless it's one of the ones that can alternate. One-handed to Power Grip. Gives them a few more options, but it also affects their damage output upon a regular attack. What also sucks is that there aren't any dual-wielding soldiers. Guess it's not orthodox/they need to be a General of Athlum. Those that only start with Item Arts or Mystic Arts can eventually learn Wield Arts and Weapon Arts, making more versatile, but they tend to start with lower stats. Straker was rather annoying at first because his HP wasn't exactly impressive. When I was doing the PC grind, he started with about 288HP, whereas everyone else was already approaching 350HP. He had One-handed Katana arts and Remedies. Hm. Well, he's getting better, although everyone else is still ahead by quite a bit. Rush's stats are already approaching the 70 range, which is pretty much overkill at this point (before Aqueducts). The ones in Reserve are also gaining a few stats here and there. Judging by the distribution, Dave is geared towards a balance of Str and Int, Emmy is Str, Pagus with Int (obviously...) and Torgal with Str. What's funny is that Dave is the fastest out of all of them. So... Are they supposed to chase their lord?
Anyways, to do list for the day: Chopping veggies (not with a sword), studying some anatomy (not going to kill someone), poke at biochem (no drugs to kill someone with either), and grind until the team can get +50AP per round and Rush learns Kiss of Life. Oh, and stop using Dragonfly. It has the Mighty/Peerless art modifier, since I want the Nimble/Swift modifer.
EDIT: Holy crap BR50 kill of the Enlightened Seven.
Anyways, moving on.
As mentioned above, I've started my second run with what I touched upon in my previous post. Essentially, I'm emulating what would have happened if I were stuck with the 360 version's Leader limit (only 6 can be deployed, including Rush). The mercenaries aren't bad, seeing as how most people would end up hiring McGrady for his Remedies until Rush learns it/you get tired of using Herbs. They're just rather limiting because they don't learn new skill trees at certain BRs. And the fact that they're counted as "leaders." That's where the soldiers come in handy. They're free to hire and come in tiers depending on where you are in the story. So for me right now, I can hire up to Tier 6 because I haven't tripped the event flag for entering the Aqueducts yet.
As for the soldiers themselves... They're not that bad. Limited, but what can you do? They don't ask for better equipment and they only bother raising HP and AP with accessories, unlike the uniques who sometimes ask for the weirdest things (which I can't quite remember, but it involves David asking for something that he didn't need). I wouldn't mind giving them better equipment, seeing as how I'm not exactly fond of finding their materials. It also means that I have to be on the lookout for them while also taking apart some older equips. You can only get Imperium that way... It's also infuriating how even though you HAVE THE STUFF IN YOUR INVENTORY, that they don't just ask for it! It's not like I need Platinum Orex100 for an extended period of time.
Using only soldiers isn't too bad. Didn't end up scraping by the Nest of Eagles fight at all. I had an easier time, probably because I've kept my BR a little on the low side, spread out my units with certain formations and didn't stack my healers. Having at least one person in each union able to heal is a real life saver... The mobility of a stacked healing union needs to be really high if you don't want them to be raidlocked or intercepted along the way. A combination of Remedies, Herbs and Lotions is a good idea as well, seeing as how learning "Kiss of Life" takes a freaking long time and costs 129AP when you first get it. That's more than me force triggering Blackout 4 times in a row. Which reminds me, I need to stock up on some herbs.
The main limiting factor for the soldiers is their arts. They only know one style, and they stick with that style for the rest of the game, unless it's one of the ones that can alternate. One-handed to Power Grip. Gives them a few more options, but it also affects their damage output upon a regular attack. What also sucks is that there aren't any dual-wielding soldiers. Guess it's not orthodox/they need to be a General of Athlum. Those that only start with Item Arts or Mystic Arts can eventually learn Wield Arts and Weapon Arts, making more versatile, but they tend to start with lower stats. Straker was rather annoying at first because his HP wasn't exactly impressive. When I was doing the PC grind, he started with about 288HP, whereas everyone else was already approaching 350HP. He had One-handed Katana arts and Remedies. Hm. Well, he's getting better, although everyone else is still ahead by quite a bit. Rush's stats are already approaching the 70 range, which is pretty much overkill at this point (before Aqueducts). The ones in Reserve are also gaining a few stats here and there. Judging by the distribution, Dave is geared towards a balance of Str and Int, Emmy is Str, Pagus with Int (obviously...) and Torgal with Str. What's funny is that Dave is the fastest out of all of them. So... Are they supposed to chase their lord?
Anyways, to do list for the day: Chopping veggies (not with a sword), studying some anatomy (not going to kill someone), poke at biochem (no drugs to kill someone with either), and grind until the team can get +50AP per round and Rush learns Kiss of Life. Oh, and stop using Dragonfly. It has the Mighty/Peerless art modifier, since I want the Nimble/Swift modifer.
EDIT: Holy crap BR50 kill of the Enlightened Seven.
28 Nov 2009
Next playthrough.
Whee. Finished TLR! In about a week. The ONE thing I wanted to see were Bow techs. Seriously, I wanted Bow techs after playing Romancing SaGa. And maybe even flashier Arcanas. Oh, and the lack of Overdrive for the player's side made me a little sad. Now, to play through it again, not missing any side-quests (like I stupidly did the first time around because of the Base fights), using only generics (for fun) and trying to turn Rush into a Ninja (exclusive to the PC!). The 3rd time through would probably be a low BR run with uniques, and again, not missing side-quests. The 4th, and probably final, run will be on Hard Mode, getting all side-quests and generally disregarding the BR unless necessary. Hopefully. Oh, and changing the voices every now and then. Both casts are pretty good, so I don't mind either one.
Someone also needs to smack Rush on the head REALLY HARD. His slang is embarrassingly out of date by at least 20 years (... he's only "18"). Or at least he should stop talking to people while miming their speech patterns (see Khrynia's quest chain). And people seem to drop dead around David. First his mom, then his dad (from the Gae Bolg no less), a girl that he met at Fornstrand, Emma (mother-figure), who knows how many civilians and soldiers, and Rush (unless he's really not dead). Not to mention how much pressure he felt when he became Marquis at his age (19 at game start). It's kinda funny how he isn't completely/outwardly suicidal or depressed by the end of the game.
The game also falls into a lot of Wild Mass Guessing. So... the Conqueror is the Warden and Rush is the Activator? What's that supposed to mean? AND WHY ISN'T THERE AN ULTIMANIA TO EXPLAIN IT?! Maybe that official guide can help out... but only the Japanese one. 990 pages > 200~300 pages from here, so it's bound to contain more info, and it's sanctioned by Square-Enix... And if all the Remnants were activated, then they would go OM-NOM-NOM on everyone on the planet. Huh. That sounds... ew. And the page is pretty much on the spot about Rush's behaviour towards Irina. It's practically psychotic, kinda like Nero and Kyrie (only not quite as bad...). At least Irina can hold her own on the field, whether she has a polearm or the Nightbloom equipped.
Someone also needs to smack Rush on the head REALLY HARD. His slang is embarrassingly out of date by at least 20 years (... he's only "18"). Or at least he should stop talking to people while miming their speech patterns (see Khrynia's quest chain). And people seem to drop dead around David. First his mom, then his dad (from the Gae Bolg no less), a girl that he met at Fornstrand, Emma (mother-figure), who knows how many civilians and soldiers, and Rush (unless he's really not dead). Not to mention how much pressure he felt when he became Marquis at his age (19 at game start). It's kinda funny how he isn't completely/outwardly suicidal or depressed by the end of the game.
The game also falls into a lot of Wild Mass Guessing. So... the Conqueror is the Warden and Rush is the Activator? What's that supposed to mean? AND WHY ISN'T THERE AN ULTIMANIA TO EXPLAIN IT?! Maybe that official guide can help out... but only the Japanese one. 990 pages > 200~300 pages from here, so it's bound to contain more info, and it's sanctioned by Square-Enix... And if all the Remnants were activated, then they would go OM-NOM-NOM on everyone on the planet. Huh. That sounds... ew. And the page is pretty much on the spot about Rush's behaviour towards Irina. It's practically psychotic, kinda like Nero and Kyrie (only not quite as bad...). At least Irina can hold her own on the field, whether she has a polearm or the Nightbloom equipped.
27 Nov 2009
Rush is... pretty dumb.
Holy crap I actually hit a wall in TLR. BR 40 and the command "Don't be afraid to die!" keeps popping up. I guess that's what I get for trying to keep my BR from going up too quickly. Probably should've stayed on that quest longer to grind out more stats. Well, got through it eventually. Hinnah and Hannah were the biggest stumbling blocks because of the fact it was a dual boss with them using Twin Snowpetal every few turns. It hurts, and freezes some of my units. Oh, and about 3000 damage per union per use. Surprisingly, it missed an entire union on one attempt. Switching in Emmy as Union Leader instead of David helped a bit. All the other ones weren't as bad...
Anyways, moved on. And screwed up while I was at it. Missed Duke Ghor's little quest so little Rush doesn't get to learn Traps. They don't seem that useful in the first place... Only the Land Mine does any sort of damage, and it could take a while before he can learn that. At least, until New Game++. Still learning the mechanics of the game, so it'll take a while anyways.
So... There's also a character that's a little on the kooky side. Wyngale. He's uh... quite the blood knight. Just check out his quotes and the quest "The Fallen." Not to mention his Union name? "Wyngale and Buddies." Uh... yeah. Only recruited him because he can use EVERY Arcana available in the game. He seems to be a little more broken than his 360 counterpart, but it's balanced out because everything in the PC version being stronger. He also lost 2 wield styles, which is a moot point when he has all those mystic arts to choose from. Just need to steer his equipment in the right direction (mystic focus) to get his effectiveness even higher when he's the union leader. But yeah, the unique leaders are pretty interesting.
SO. I'm going to try to finish the game as quickly as possible right now because I'm just running through it. The 3rd playthrough and beyond are probably going to be either Hard mode or low BR runs for fun. I know that I was doing that with RS.
Anyways, moved on. And screwed up while I was at it. Missed Duke Ghor's little quest so little Rush doesn't get to learn Traps. They don't seem that useful in the first place... Only the Land Mine does any sort of damage, and it could take a while before he can learn that. At least, until New Game++. Still learning the mechanics of the game, so it'll take a while anyways.
So... There's also a character that's a little on the kooky side. Wyngale. He's uh... quite the blood knight. Just check out his quotes and the quest "The Fallen." Not to mention his Union name? "Wyngale and Buddies." Uh... yeah. Only recruited him because he can use EVERY Arcana available in the game. He seems to be a little more broken than his 360 counterpart, but it's balanced out because everything in the PC version being stronger. He also lost 2 wield styles, which is a moot point when he has all those mystic arts to choose from. Just need to steer his equipment in the right direction (mystic focus) to get his effectiveness even higher when he's the union leader. But yeah, the unique leaders are pretty interesting.
SO. I'm going to try to finish the game as quickly as possible right now because I'm just running through it. The 3rd playthrough and beyond are probably going to be either Hard mode or low BR runs for fun. I know that I was doing that with RS.
23 Nov 2009
RasuRemu!
So uh... It took pretty much the entire break and then some to get the thing assembled and running. In my main blog I also expressed my rather tame annoyance at how I had no sound. Not going to go into detail here, but it took some fiddling around before I got the right drivers I needed to get it working. As it turns out... I CAN HAVE 8-CHANNEL SOUND! THAT'S SO AWESOME *CONTINUES TO GUSH* *ahem* Problem is... I can't afford something like that, and neither do I have the room or patience to deal with the cables. I may need to look into a cooling system, or you know, close up the system already to ensure better airflow. Now to figure out what happened to DMC4's sound. Something up with the drivers I have, or are the configurations in-game a little botched?
Also, what's up with Athlum's barkeep?! Yeesh... Jealous of Rush and David's interactions? Although... I found it kinda funny (and cute) that David gave Rush a flower. Specifically, Irina's favourite. Well, I'm nearing the half-way point. Already got Emmy on the team, made 3 unions (still keep losing one or two in major fights), finishing up some side-quests before they close up. At least it's not as strict as Romancing SaGa's Event Rank system... where every fight you get into advances the story timeline. You just need to get them done before a specific story point! ... That's all I'll type for now. The fact that I've made it to that point in under a week with tons of item grinding and that little quest exploit?
Strawberry, melon, lemon, grape. Finally, Rodin answers the question about Bayo's lollipops. Well, I knew that the red ones were strawberry because Luka mentioned it to Cereza. Yellow is usually lemon (except for the odd time when it's BANANA) and purple is grape. The green could have been several different ones; melon/honeydew, lime, green apple. Yay, it's all cleared up now! Except for the story. Will probably have to play a few more times before fully getting it. And "The Gates of Hell" officially closed shop. Because of that, the downloads have been made available regardless of the number of points you have. Nabbed the screensaver and put it on the new computer. Not that it would matter since I put the system on Stand By or shut it down if I'm not using it.
Also, what's up with Athlum's barkeep?! Yeesh... Jealous of Rush and David's interactions? Although... I found it kinda funny (and cute) that David gave Rush a flower. Specifically, Irina's favourite. Well, I'm nearing the half-way point. Already got Emmy on the team, made 3 unions (still keep losing one or two in major fights), finishing up some side-quests before they close up. At least it's not as strict as Romancing SaGa's Event Rank system... where every fight you get into advances the story timeline. You just need to get them done before a specific story point! ... That's all I'll type for now. The fact that I've made it to that point in under a week with tons of item grinding and that little quest exploit?
Strawberry, melon, lemon, grape. Finally, Rodin answers the question about Bayo's lollipops. Well, I knew that the red ones were strawberry because Luka mentioned it to Cereza. Yellow is usually lemon (except for the odd time when it's BANANA) and purple is grape. The green could have been several different ones; melon/honeydew, lime, green apple. Yay, it's all cleared up now! Except for the story. Will probably have to play a few more times before fully getting it. And "The Gates of Hell" officially closed shop. Because of that, the downloads have been made available regardless of the number of points you have. Nabbed the screensaver and put it on the new computer. Not that it would matter since I put the system on Stand By or shut it down if I'm not using it.
12 Nov 2009
Still going at Bayo
Alright, I have a bit of a "break" coming up so I'll try to get one or two more LP posts up on Sunday. HOWEVER... I'm thinking about restarting it because I'll be getting my new computer hopefully soon (within the next 2 weeks) so I don't have to contend with the crappy 320x240 resolution while editing. Still, I don't have anything that could help with recording stuff from the PS3. In fact, I'm afraid of blowing a fuse at this point. No idea how much power running both the PS3 and PC (graphics card and all) would eat up. Anyways...
Next up, getting through normal mode in under 3 hours to unlock an accessory. It's actually somewhat conflicting too. I want to get the time under 3 hours, but I also want to Platinum everything. Maybe I'll Platinum normal while speed-running through Hard? Sure, it's suicide, but it's for the Bangle of Time. I can skip the Alfheim gates since I'm not too concerned about ranking at this point in time and I'm completing them on Normal for the Platinums. I can deal with that at a later date, or just deal with it on Non-Stop Climax mode.
Also, holy crap I want to play Uncharted 2 just to look at the sparklies. No, I don't care that I happen to suck very badly at those types of games, I just want to explore what they've created in-game. And laugh at Nate's silly dialogue because it's actually kinda funny in and out of context. Much better than the narm usually present in the games I play since they're translated from Japanese. ... But I actually like some of the narm too. Hm.
Next up, getting through normal mode in under 3 hours to unlock an accessory. It's actually somewhat conflicting too. I want to get the time under 3 hours, but I also want to Platinum everything. Maybe I'll Platinum normal while speed-running through Hard? Sure, it's suicide, but it's for the Bangle of Time. I can skip the Alfheim gates since I'm not too concerned about ranking at this point in time and I'm completing them on Normal for the Platinums. I can deal with that at a later date, or just deal with it on Non-Stop Climax mode.
Also, holy crap I want to play Uncharted 2 just to look at the sparklies. No, I don't care that I happen to suck very badly at those types of games, I just want to explore what they've created in-game. And laugh at Nate's silly dialogue because it's actually kinda funny in and out of context. Much better than the narm usually present in the games I play since they're translated from Japanese. ... But I actually like some of the narm too. Hm.
5 Nov 2009
I haven't even scratched the surface yet...
I'm going to have to try it out... Holding either L1 or L2 during a cutscene. Wonder what that does? Well, I tried it but I don't know exactly which cutscenes it affects. But at least I found all the pieces for the ice skates, Odette! Makes moving around so much easier~ OK, the controls do end up a little slippery for kicks, but oh well.
Well, I finished the game. Just farming around for materials to create more items for the higher difficulties. It's more of a "just in case" measure for the time being. Didn't finish on Normal because of those golden Glory and Grace angels. So... I just switched over to Easy Auto to blast right through it so I can take on the various chapters at my own pace. There are a lot more asshole-ish type enemies in this game than I thought. Kinship, Grace&Glory, Glorious&Gracious, and several others. The very last fight was kinda funny. It involves going into space... Much like the first part against Mundus. Sooooo.... It was a technicolour battlefield from out of nowhere! Not that I mind though.
It also seems that there are other weapons to discover. I still don't have the rocket launcher tonfas, the whip, GUN NUNCHUNKS, light saber, Ebony&Ivory, laser guns, and maybe something else I'm missing. Uh... yeah. Should really get moving on unlocking them and the costumes. Want to run around in a kimono~ ... Wonder what else is there to unlock.
Also, let the fan idiocy begin. Already comparing who would be better in a fight: Dante or Bayonetta. Thing is, if we don't go by the game mechanics binding them (for game balance issues, obviously), then it would probably be an even fight. But why would they want to kill/fight each other in the first place? Personally, I think that Dante could take the fight. Sure, Bayo's pretty strong herself, but she also lacks instantly healing from near-fatal attacks and gaining some amping from a transformed state. Chances are, she can't survive being skewered as many times as Dante while just shrugging it off like an annoyance. Oh, and he survived a headshot, at close range, by a handgun? Both have time-related abilities (Witch Time and Quicksilver/Time Bangle), which makes slowing down or freezing time a moot point. The 2 guns vs. 4 guns argument doesn't work that well considering how quickly both can fire their respective firearms. Although... I believe Kamiya said that Bayo would win, but that's probably because he doesn't want to say anything bad about his newest game. Or because he's not sure about how powerful Dante is now. Afterall, he doesn't change his appearance according to the Devil Arm he has equipped anymore. So... who knows. DMC1!Dante does have the possibility of losing though. Then again, it seems like the comparisons might have died down a bit now. They're going to start right back up in January, I bet.
On another note: 3D DOT GAME HEROES IS OUT IN JAPAN AND THEY HAVE A TEMPLATE SHARING THING! Well, more like you can share the Character Edit data. Looks like its region-locked, considering that the it's based off the save data and carrying the BLJM code. Come on already! Tell us who has it for the North American release! And I can already imagine players screaming "RICHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARD!" because of the Metal Wolf Chaos reference.
What? THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA CAN BE CREATED FOR THE GAME BECAUSE HE'S THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. OK, that made no sense whatsoever, but that game not being localized also doesn't make much sense. Too bad you can't just blow stuff up in a spectacular fashion just for the hell of it in 3DDGH. And some people got their mitts on a certain disc that contains limited edition character files, one named "green hat." Wonder who that could be...
Well, I finished the game. Just farming around for materials to create more items for the higher difficulties. It's more of a "just in case" measure for the time being. Didn't finish on Normal because of those golden Glory and Grace angels. So... I just switched over to Easy Auto to blast right through it so I can take on the various chapters at my own pace. There are a lot more asshole-ish type enemies in this game than I thought. Kinship, Grace&Glory, Glorious&Gracious, and several others. The very last fight was kinda funny. It involves going into space... Much like the first part against Mundus. Sooooo.... It was a technicolour battlefield from out of nowhere! Not that I mind though.
It also seems that there are other weapons to discover. I still don't have the rocket launcher tonfas, the whip, GUN NUNCHUNKS, light saber, Ebony&Ivory, laser guns, and maybe something else I'm missing. Uh... yeah. Should really get moving on unlocking them and the costumes. Want to run around in a kimono~ ... Wonder what else is there to unlock.
Also, let the fan idiocy begin. Already comparing who would be better in a fight: Dante or Bayonetta. Thing is, if we don't go by the game mechanics binding them (for game balance issues, obviously), then it would probably be an even fight. But why would they want to kill/fight each other in the first place? Personally, I think that Dante could take the fight. Sure, Bayo's pretty strong herself, but she also lacks instantly healing from near-fatal attacks and gaining some amping from a transformed state. Chances are, she can't survive being skewered as many times as Dante while just shrugging it off like an annoyance. Oh, and he survived a headshot, at close range, by a handgun? Both have time-related abilities (Witch Time and Quicksilver/Time Bangle), which makes slowing down or freezing time a moot point. The 2 guns vs. 4 guns argument doesn't work that well considering how quickly both can fire their respective firearms. Although... I believe Kamiya said that Bayo would win, but that's probably because he doesn't want to say anything bad about his newest game. Or because he's not sure about how powerful Dante is now. Afterall, he doesn't change his appearance according to the Devil Arm he has equipped anymore. So... who knows. DMC1!Dante does have the possibility of losing though. Then again, it seems like the comparisons might have died down a bit now. They're going to start right back up in January, I bet.
On another note: 3D DOT GAME HEROES IS OUT IN JAPAN AND THEY HAVE A TEMPLATE SHARING THING! Well, more like you can share the Character Edit data. Looks like its region-locked, considering that the it's based off the save data and carrying the BLJM code. Come on already! Tell us who has it for the North American release! And I can already imagine players screaming "RICHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARD!" because of the Metal Wolf Chaos reference.
What? THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA CAN BE CREATED FOR THE GAME BECAUSE HE'S THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. OK, that made no sense whatsoever, but that game not being localized also doesn't make much sense. Too bad you can't just blow stuff up in a spectacular fashion just for the hell of it in 3DDGH. And some people got their mitts on a certain disc that contains limited edition character files, one named "green hat." Wonder who that could be...
31 Oct 2009
*insert extreme annoyance*
So... I've clocked about 4 hours of Bayonetta already. It was apparent within the first few minutes of play that this game was not seriously optimized for the PS3's architecture. WHAT THE HELL WAS SEGA THINKING?! Not saying that it's completely unplayable, but it's just a disappointment knowing that it's not up to par with the 360 version. It's a good game, but could be MUCH better. Like... I was hoping for an HD install to cut down on load times because of the Blu-Ray's lower peak read speed. Did we get one? Nope. Loading times like that are completely unacceptable. Not even Tales of the Abyss was that bad, and it was ripped pretty badly for the load times. The Ryu Ga Gotoku team would have been PERFECT for this if they weren't so busy working on the 5th game, which I can't blame them for and damn if I'm not intrigued by the series now. BUT NO, THEY JUST HAD TO HAND IT OFF TO A THIRD-RATE TEAM (or so I heard).
This also reflects quite badly on Platinum. Pretty sure that they're not very proud of the port, and they should have taken the reins earlier to ensure quality or at least demanded that a better team to take charge. Or better yet... delay the game to polish it up. A LOT. Going between the 360 and PS3 is not a simply matter of conversion. I have no idea how to program, and even I understand this concept. The PS3's CPU is a complete monster compared to typical processors. One main core with 6 split mini-cores, while the 360's is a triple-core system IIRC. There's no need to even get technical with this. Just looking at that already presents a HUGE number of complications. Now, if they had something like Capcom's MT Framework, which they used for Lost Plant, biohazard 5 and Devil May Cry 4, it would have been easier to go back and forth AND have the flexibility to optimize for each system. And even maybe even port it to the PC for fanatics. That being said...
...
THIS GAME IS AWESOME!
Yeah, could be (well, should be) a lot better because of technical issues plaguing it, but for what it is, it's a really well made game. Thoroughly amused by the Ookami, Viewtiful Joe, Mad World, biohazard, and Devil May Cry references I've caught so far. There may be quite a few I've missed because of visual cues or I haven't played the game that's being referenced before. But I'm only up to the 4th chapter, so I'm not that far into it. Actually, I'm kinda stuck. Mostly because I REALLY suck at this game and my pride is just refusing to let me go to a lower difficulty level. And mostly because I don't want to spend 20 hours on Easy Automatic learning how to play the game. But hey, at least I'm getting better at using Witch Time! I just need to learn how to use everything else now! ... Yeah, I suck at this. It's like learning how to play a completely different game from DMC. Yes, some experience would be helpful, but it's quite literally a completely different beast to tame. If it ran a little faster, maybe I wouldn't be having this much trouble...?
Dante turned into a historian/journalist/paranormal investigator! Actually, that's incidentally what Kamiya wanted him to be in the first place: a paranormal investigator. Also laughed at Bayo insulting the black and white guns, calling them toys. Ebony&Ivory are also black and white, but are specially made for Dante. One for quick drawing and fire, the other for accuracy. "Antonio Redgrave" was the name of the guy who left a bunch of notes all over Vigrid. "Tony" is a nickname for someone named "Antonio." Incidentally, I know someone who's named Antonio but goes by Tony. So... Tony Redgrave, AKA Dante, is in the game. The name is also on Dante's guns, but it was never really elaborated upon, other than the now retconned to non-canon novel. Bayo also shouts "HENSHIN A-GO-GO BABY!" during a rather amusing sequence. Enemy surfing on lava! Also insults a flying enemy... with "Flock-off, featherface!" Gee, I wonder who said that... Right! Dante to Gryphon! There's also the 20 year thing... Dante lost his remaining family 20 years before DMC1 started. Bayo was woken up 20 years before her game starts. Bayo falling to the ground produces butterflies. Ammy (Amaterasu) moving sprouts flowers. Both are girls~
I think that's enough gushing for now. I wouldn't be too surprised if both Bayonetta and Devil May Cry took place in the same universe, just that events are happening at different time periods, or just on different continents. Of course, this is just wild mass guessing on my part. This IS Kamiya after all.
This also reflects quite badly on Platinum. Pretty sure that they're not very proud of the port, and they should have taken the reins earlier to ensure quality or at least demanded that a better team to take charge. Or better yet... delay the game to polish it up. A LOT. Going between the 360 and PS3 is not a simply matter of conversion. I have no idea how to program, and even I understand this concept. The PS3's CPU is a complete monster compared to typical processors. One main core with 6 split mini-cores, while the 360's is a triple-core system IIRC. There's no need to even get technical with this. Just looking at that already presents a HUGE number of complications. Now, if they had something like Capcom's MT Framework, which they used for Lost Plant, biohazard 5 and Devil May Cry 4, it would have been easier to go back and forth AND have the flexibility to optimize for each system. And even maybe even port it to the PC for fanatics. That being said...
...
THIS GAME IS AWESOME!
Yeah, could be (well, should be) a lot better because of technical issues plaguing it, but for what it is, it's a really well made game. Thoroughly amused by the Ookami, Viewtiful Joe, Mad World, biohazard, and Devil May Cry references I've caught so far. There may be quite a few I've missed because of visual cues or I haven't played the game that's being referenced before. But I'm only up to the 4th chapter, so I'm not that far into it. Actually, I'm kinda stuck. Mostly because I REALLY suck at this game and my pride is just refusing to let me go to a lower difficulty level. And mostly because I don't want to spend 20 hours on Easy Automatic learning how to play the game. But hey, at least I'm getting better at using Witch Time! I just need to learn how to use everything else now! ... Yeah, I suck at this. It's like learning how to play a completely different game from DMC. Yes, some experience would be helpful, but it's quite literally a completely different beast to tame. If it ran a little faster, maybe I wouldn't be having this much trouble...?
Dante turned into a historian/journalist/paranormal investigator! Actually, that's incidentally what Kamiya wanted him to be in the first place: a paranormal investigator. Also laughed at Bayo insulting the black and white guns, calling them toys. Ebony&Ivory are also black and white, but are specially made for Dante. One for quick drawing and fire, the other for accuracy. "Antonio Redgrave" was the name of the guy who left a bunch of notes all over Vigrid. "Tony" is a nickname for someone named "Antonio." Incidentally, I know someone who's named Antonio but goes by Tony. So... Tony Redgrave, AKA Dante, is in the game. The name is also on Dante's guns, but it was never really elaborated upon, other than the now retconned to non-canon novel. Bayo also shouts "HENSHIN A-GO-GO BABY!" during a rather amusing sequence. Enemy surfing on lava! Also insults a flying enemy... with "Flock-off, featherface!" Gee, I wonder who said that... Right! Dante to Gryphon! There's also the 20 year thing... Dante lost his remaining family 20 years before DMC1 started. Bayo was woken up 20 years before her game starts. Bayo falling to the ground produces butterflies. Ammy (Amaterasu) moving sprouts flowers. Both are girls~
I think that's enough gushing for now. I wouldn't be too surprised if both Bayonetta and Devil May Cry took place in the same universe, just that events are happening at different time periods, or just on different continents. Of course, this is just wild mass guessing on my part. This IS Kamiya after all.
28 Oct 2009
:3
So... Bayonetta will be here in about 2 days. Maybe. All I know is that it'll be here soon-ish. Yay for breaking street dates (even though it's illegal) and early shipments from Japan. And to think that people have already finished the game and are moving on to unlocking costumes. I only really like the kimono one so far...
OK... Time to finish up that paper!
OK... Time to finish up that paper!
25 Oct 2009
Video stuff
You know... I've always been fascinated by audio/video tech. Makes me wonder why the hell didn't I go into that instead of the life sciences (other than the fact that I'm decent in it and have no experience in the other). In fact, one of my friends actually called me out on it, asking why I'm sticking with biochem and nutrition (even though I've never said that I was interested in nutrition) when my interests clearly laid in game development, computers and generally improving the tech around the house.
Why am I typing this up? Because... I recently ordered an S-video cable after HOW LONG HAVE I BEEN GAMING?! Really should have gotten one when I got the PS2, but never really thought about it because of the graphical jump. Everything then just looked prettier and shiny (was 13, can't really blame me). And now? The jump to HD from SD is just insane, especially the CLARITY of the games. Even then, most games have the option of running at 480p or 720p outputs, although some are actually running at sub-HD levels. Anti-aliasing and other techniques really help mask that, and most people wouldn't know the difference anyways unless they hook it up to something to get the hard evidence. Besides, it also adds unnecessary fuel to the console wars when games are ported or optimized for a certain system. Mind you, I only have a PS3 simply because of how it suits my gaming habits: tend to play Japanese(-only) games, and also doubles as a Blu-Ray player. Wouldn't mind having a 360 actually, but that would mean I'd need both an NTSC-U/C and NTSC-J system to cover what I want to play. Oh, and maybe move to Japan for some demos. Not worth the effort, really.
Now, where was I going with this...? Right, tech stuff. While I do have the option of using the HDTV, I'd have to fight against my parents for it, and that would be an auto-loss on any given day. The only way to secure it is to wait until my mom's out for at least 2 hours. So... my other option is using the TV I'm watching right now: a rather large and OLD CRT. It's so old that I think that it's been in the house for about 15 years already. To put that into perspective, I'm currently 21. Not that anyone needs to know that
Now, the set-up is something of a home theatre, although I can't take advantage of the sound system (nothing's long enough), I CAN improve on the image quality. The composite cables are actually from the PS1 era, so you know that Sony's cables can last if you take care of them properly. Then again, that can be said of almost everything. Almost. What really pushed me over the edge was the fact that there's this little connection that always bothered me: "S-Video". Never really knew what that was, never bothered asking until now. I don't remember how or why, but I stumbled across these pages about fixed screen ratios and other things about playing classics on the new TVs without them looking like absolute crap. Now, my classic systems are locked up for the most part, simply because the controllers don't work and I can emulate them on a PSP. If I were curious enough to use them on the HD, I'd go back to those pages and start making a set-up for myself. Now if only I can find new/barely used working SNES controllers. Still need to beat Super Mario World because someone was "smart" enough to erase all the files.
And to think that I used to play on this old TV with mono sound and that weird one (and funny metallic smelling) wire for both audio and video. Again, I'd have to fight my parents to play on a better TV. It was the RF connector that I used first for the SNES. Never owned an NES, and it still looks ugly compared to the Famicom, but I'm pretty sure that my relatives that had one used the composite video. Of course at that time, I never noticed any sort of degradation of video and sound. I bet that if I went back to it while comparing to other set ups, scientific method of course, that I would be able to see and hear differences. Then the parents got a new TV, and passed on the older (and somewhat angry) one, which then switched over to composite video. It's an improvement, but I never noticed. Why? Other than the fact that I'm pretty near-sighted. Large, curved screen. And the fact that CRTs mask certain things about sprite work, making them not look as harsh with their sharp pointy pixels. Seriously, compare playing on an emulator to playing on a CRT. The GameBoy emulator I'm using even has an option to soften the display, and it looks much closer to what I remember seeing on the actual thing. This continued well into using the N64/PS1, then PS2, and now the PS3. At least until my cable arrives in the mail! OK... I also have a Wii, but I'm still waiting for other games to come out since no one's playing Brawl on my Friends List (and I'd much rather play them in-person).
1080p looks awesome, so I have no problem with that. 480i/480p is acceptable, since it's what I've played with for so long. It's just that 720p capable games downscaled to 480p is incredibly painful to read if not done right. Disgaea 3 and Demon's Souls are EXTREMELY guilty of this. Never had I ever had to squint so much just to read numbers, and numbers are incredibly important in these types of games! Devil May Cry 4 got it right with the text size. Then again, a game like that doesn't really need too much text. Sub-titles were readable. MGS4 gave me a bit of trouble, but it wasn't too bad. Hopefully the S-Video cable will improve things. I really want to get back into playing Disgaea 3, but after 200+ hours of squinting? No thanks. Doubly so for my recordings. Don't want stuff to look like crap after being trashed around by YouTube's converters.
I type too much.
Why am I typing this up? Because... I recently ordered an S-video cable after HOW LONG HAVE I BEEN GAMING?! Really should have gotten one when I got the PS2, but never really thought about it because of the graphical jump. Everything then just looked prettier and shiny (was 13, can't really blame me). And now? The jump to HD from SD is just insane, especially the CLARITY of the games. Even then, most games have the option of running at 480p or 720p outputs, although some are actually running at sub-HD levels. Anti-aliasing and other techniques really help mask that, and most people wouldn't know the difference anyways unless they hook it up to something to get the hard evidence. Besides, it also adds unnecessary fuel to the console wars when games are ported or optimized for a certain system. Mind you, I only have a PS3 simply because of how it suits my gaming habits: tend to play Japanese(-only) games, and also doubles as a Blu-Ray player. Wouldn't mind having a 360 actually, but that would mean I'd need both an NTSC-U/C and NTSC-J system to cover what I want to play. Oh, and maybe move to Japan for some demos. Not worth the effort, really.
Now, where was I going with this...? Right, tech stuff. While I do have the option of using the HDTV, I'd have to fight against my parents for it, and that would be an auto-loss on any given day. The only way to secure it is to wait until my mom's out for at least 2 hours. So... my other option is using the TV I'm watching right now: a rather large and OLD CRT. It's so old that I think that it's been in the house for about 15 years already. To put that into perspective, I'm currently 21. Not that anyone needs to know that
Now, the set-up is something of a home theatre, although I can't take advantage of the sound system (nothing's long enough), I CAN improve on the image quality. The composite cables are actually from the PS1 era, so you know that Sony's cables can last if you take care of them properly. Then again, that can be said of almost everything. Almost. What really pushed me over the edge was the fact that there's this little connection that always bothered me: "S-Video". Never really knew what that was, never bothered asking until now. I don't remember how or why, but I stumbled across these pages about fixed screen ratios and other things about playing classics on the new TVs without them looking like absolute crap. Now, my classic systems are locked up for the most part, simply because the controllers don't work and I can emulate them on a PSP. If I were curious enough to use them on the HD, I'd go back to those pages and start making a set-up for myself. Now if only I can find new/barely used working SNES controllers. Still need to beat Super Mario World because someone was "smart" enough to erase all the files.
And to think that I used to play on this old TV with mono sound and that weird one (and funny metallic smelling) wire for both audio and video. Again, I'd have to fight my parents to play on a better TV. It was the RF connector that I used first for the SNES. Never owned an NES, and it still looks ugly compared to the Famicom, but I'm pretty sure that my relatives that had one used the composite video. Of course at that time, I never noticed any sort of degradation of video and sound. I bet that if I went back to it while comparing to other set ups, scientific method of course, that I would be able to see and hear differences. Then the parents got a new TV, and passed on the older (and somewhat angry) one, which then switched over to composite video. It's an improvement, but I never noticed. Why? Other than the fact that I'm pretty near-sighted. Large, curved screen. And the fact that CRTs mask certain things about sprite work, making them not look as harsh with their sharp pointy pixels. Seriously, compare playing on an emulator to playing on a CRT. The GameBoy emulator I'm using even has an option to soften the display, and it looks much closer to what I remember seeing on the actual thing. This continued well into using the N64/PS1, then PS2, and now the PS3. At least until my cable arrives in the mail! OK... I also have a Wii, but I'm still waiting for other games to come out since no one's playing Brawl on my Friends List (and I'd much rather play them in-person).
1080p looks awesome, so I have no problem with that. 480i/480p is acceptable, since it's what I've played with for so long. It's just that 720p capable games downscaled to 480p is incredibly painful to read if not done right. Disgaea 3 and Demon's Souls are EXTREMELY guilty of this. Never had I ever had to squint so much just to read numbers, and numbers are incredibly important in these types of games! Devil May Cry 4 got it right with the text size. Then again, a game like that doesn't really need too much text. Sub-titles were readable. MGS4 gave me a bit of trouble, but it wasn't too bad. Hopefully the S-Video cable will improve things. I really want to get back into playing Disgaea 3, but after 200+ hours of squinting? No thanks. Doubly so for my recordings. Don't want stuff to look like crap after being trashed around by YouTube's converters.
I type too much.
Another few!
Got the Red Dragon after about 79 arrows to it. It's probably a lot closer to 73 arrows though since I missed a few times, but I used 79 for the venture. Not too bad for only using a Compound Long Bow +1. It's now up to Sticky Compound Long Bow +3. Should really get going with farming Shards and Chunks of Spiderstone.
Got through 2-2 so I can finally start forging the more advanced weapon branches. The Dragon God however... Keeps punching me out, so I'm not too keen on approaching that fight for the next little while. Almost did get to the second harpoon launcher thing. Also, I'm surprised that Warding was effective against the Dragon God's punches. Thought that it would go straight through the defense and outright kill me. The fire breath still does, which is what is now preventing me from finishing the damn level. Still, getting roasted without getting punched out is already a vast improvement. Now all I need to do is just, well, RUN FASTER AND SMASH THOSE PILLARS. Then run away. Really fast. Damn it, I should have focused more on Endurance for more stamina and not so much on Strength since most of my weapons aren't modified by that stat. Whoops. Not to mention that I'm being more and more like an archer than a mage.
Tower of Latria has been completely finished, but I didn't manage to get it to PWWT, so I missed out on a few things. Killed off the Leechmonger in 5-1, but wary of going into 5-2 because of the poison swamps. I don't know how many arrows I should carry with me before dealing with it. Also don't have any Colourless Demon's Souls to upgrade the Adjudicator's Shield, nor do I have any Blessed weaponry or the Regenerator's Ring. I DO have the Black Leather set for higher poison resistance. The Shrine of Storms is going to be hell. I only meant to push it into Black WT, but dying another time pushed it all the way to PBWT. Got the Black Phantom Satsuki on my tail now, meaning that I can't proceed any further until I finish my little duel with him. Can't get hit once or else... Not to mention that I have to finish fighting him before finishing 4-1 to get to 4-2's boss to get the Soul for the "Second Chance" miracle. Shouldn't forget that I haven't rescued Saint Urbain yet. Guess I should farm 1-3 until I can get enough Souls to bring my magic stat up to 24 for the Epee Rapier. That's going to more useful since I can hide behind my shield while making jabs.
Bayonetta will be here in about a week's time! And I won't have Demon's Souls on hand since I'm lending it to a friend.
Got through 2-2 so I can finally start forging the more advanced weapon branches. The Dragon God however... Keeps punching me out, so I'm not too keen on approaching that fight for the next little while. Almost did get to the second harpoon launcher thing. Also, I'm surprised that Warding was effective against the Dragon God's punches. Thought that it would go straight through the defense and outright kill me. The fire breath still does, which is what is now preventing me from finishing the damn level. Still, getting roasted without getting punched out is already a vast improvement. Now all I need to do is just, well, RUN FASTER AND SMASH THOSE PILLARS. Then run away. Really fast. Damn it, I should have focused more on Endurance for more stamina and not so much on Strength since most of my weapons aren't modified by that stat. Whoops. Not to mention that I'm being more and more like an archer than a mage.
Tower of Latria has been completely finished, but I didn't manage to get it to PWWT, so I missed out on a few things. Killed off the Leechmonger in 5-1, but wary of going into 5-2 because of the poison swamps. I don't know how many arrows I should carry with me before dealing with it. Also don't have any Colourless Demon's Souls to upgrade the Adjudicator's Shield, nor do I have any Blessed weaponry or the Regenerator's Ring. I DO have the Black Leather set for higher poison resistance. The Shrine of Storms is going to be hell. I only meant to push it into Black WT, but dying another time pushed it all the way to PBWT. Got the Black Phantom Satsuki on my tail now, meaning that I can't proceed any further until I finish my little duel with him. Can't get hit once or else... Not to mention that I have to finish fighting him before finishing 4-1 to get to 4-2's boss to get the Soul for the "Second Chance" miracle. Shouldn't forget that I haven't rescued Saint Urbain yet. Guess I should farm 1-3 until I can get enough Souls to bring my magic stat up to 24 for the Epee Rapier. That's going to more useful since I can hide behind my shield while making jabs.
Bayonetta will be here in about a week's time! And I won't have Demon's Souls on hand since I'm lending it to a friend.
17 Oct 2009
Two more Demons down!
OK, made to to Soul Level 22 and it's getting much more expensive than anticipated for raising stats now. Time to just finish 2-1 with using as few items as possible then hop onto the server for 1-2 and watch those (not so) poor souls get roasted. Never mind. Just sniped with Soul Arrow, Compound Longbow+2 and hiding behind a pillar. 2-1's actually pretty nice for farming some materials, although it seems like I've already missed 2 of those crystal geckos. Also beat the boss there, so the fire-breathing armor spider is no more. Off to 3-1, Tower of Latria! I REALLY HATE THOSE MINDFLAYERS. HOLY CRAP THEY CAN ALMOST ONE SHOT ME.
I should probably start worrying about my World Tendency. World 3 is getting pretty dark, while Boleteria's practically white. World 4 isn't too bad, but apparently it being pure black is the best for farming both souls and materials. Gotta stop freaking out against those dual-wielding katana black skeletons. The white ones are easy enough now, but the black ones are still a problem. Maybe I'll snipe them from a distance since my longbow is pretty strong for now. And I have way too many arrows. Actually, it still takes too many arrows to kill, and too much time as well. One shot makes it move, so you have to wait until it gets into range again before you can take another shot at it. Killing it DOES net you about 1000 souls. Going to keep farming to buy the Ring of Avarice from the singing woman in the Tower of Latria. Only need about 45000 more souls! It's not too bad since my Soul Level's pretty high now. Maybe I should take on that Red-Eyed knight?
I wonder where that red dragon went... I sniped it with over 100 arrows, but it flew off, so I don't know if I can find it to kill it off for good. It's still scorching stuff in 1-2.
I should probably start worrying about my World Tendency. World 3 is getting pretty dark, while Boleteria's practically white. World 4 isn't too bad, but apparently it being pure black is the best for farming both souls and materials. Gotta stop freaking out against those dual-wielding katana black skeletons. The white ones are easy enough now, but the black ones are still a problem. Maybe I'll snipe them from a distance since my longbow is pretty strong for now. And I have way too many arrows. Actually, it still takes too many arrows to kill, and too much time as well. One shot makes it move, so you have to wait until it gets into range again before you can take another shot at it. Killing it DOES net you about 1000 souls. Going to keep farming to buy the Ring of Avarice from the singing woman in the Tower of Latria. Only need about 45000 more souls! It's not too bad since my Soul Level's pretty high now. Maybe I should take on that Red-Eyed knight?
I wonder where that red dragon went... I sniped it with over 100 arrows, but it flew off, so I don't know if I can find it to kill it off for good. It's still scorching stuff in 1-2.
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