Serenes Forest's Teehee Thread

[Saint Rubenio]

13 minutes ago, Armagon said:

Teehee 🤝 Brightbow

Despairing over the 30 days of wait till the sequel they're waiting for comes out

[Sidereal Wraith]

14 hours ago, twilitfalchion said:

Oh Emperor...not again...

 

[Interdimensional Observer]

I can't believe the DLC crossdressing mission slipped in an implied "Huckebeins look like Gundams" joke. But then, since they wrote the (Second) Huckebein Incident like a decade ago, Banpresto has shown a willingness to write this into things. That was the real and unexpected laugh of the silly little battle.😄

Only one mission left and Chapter 6 ought to be done nearing the 100 hour mark. Due to the -unusual for SRW- use of enemy level scaling, I'm already starting to enter the 80s. No wonder they had to raise the level cap to 200. I'm not saying I'll be reaching that, but breaking 99 is definitely going to happen.

 

10 hours ago, Acacia Sgt said:

Not quite. CloudxAerith had some evidence in-game, even if, to be fair, part of it was a consequence of "Cloud appropriated Zack's life to a degree" happening, and that included Zack's romance with Aerith. Which is why to a certain point Aerith was interested in Cloud too. But yeah, her death stops that from ever actually developing, while she gets to reunite with Zack within the Lifestream, and Cloud gets to be with Tifa. Win-Win... kinda.

That was me being dramatic and joking for the heck of it. I know some obsessive animosity has been generated by Tifa vs. Aerith, but the point was more it's more or less FF's only shipping war. And an imperfect one at that b/c Zack and Aerith's death.

Leaves me curious how FFVII Alternative Timeline Sequel is going to resolve things. With Zack being alive, Aerith can have her black back spikes squeeze and Tifa the blonde forward spiky. 'Course the best outcome is to fully indulge in the splendor of profuse overwrought 4k AAA platinum mega dramatic fantasy, and declare an open relationship between all four characters, Square could get away with it and still have it regarded as a masterpiece of writing.

 

2 hours ago, Armagon said:

See, this is a good example of the Square Enix curse. Sci-fi JRPG that does not interest me in the slightest and it does not help at all that it feels like a poor man's Xenoblade.....in the same year that a Xenoblade game is coming out.

TBF, Star Ocean hasn't been "good" for a while. I get the impression that the franchise peaked with SO3 (2003) and afterwards faded away, with 4 being somewhat lacking, and 5 cheaply made and even worse. Leaves me wondering why SE continues funding the franchise at the second-rate tier, why not drop it entirely or do the opposite and go bigger?

4 hours ago, Armagon said:

Yeah and like, there's no door to your room in 5 (and 4 but it's a castle) and I would imagine that it's not as soundproof as Selphia's castle is.

I actually don't recall any doors inside any of the prior RF protagonist houses. RF2 was nice enough to place the beds in their own rooms on the second floor apart from the kitchen and forge on the first floor, but probably b/c 2D top-down hand-drawn-ish perspective and graphics, they didn't show any doors for those rooms. I guess that's why KylexWife never had any babies after the first.

[null]

32 minutes ago, Armagon said:

me glad that it is bc I have time to beat XC1

[Saint Rubenio]

YEEEEEESSS

BENCHABLE MARIO IS CONFIRMED

[Sidereal Wraith]

4 minutes ago, Saint Rubenio said:

YEEEEEESSS

BENCHABLE MARIO IS CONFIRMED

 

[Saint Rubenio]

So my impressions on the event.

- Mario seems to be in all the clips of combat, but there are some glimpses of overworld exploration without Mario following along. Fairly certain this does confirm benchable Mario, but I suppose there's a chance he's forced in battles but not in the overworld... Nah, I'm worrying over nothing, that'd be dumb. They made me wait for it, but near the end I spotted a clip with Rabbid Rosalina, Rabbid Mario and Luigi on the battlefield. No Mario to be seen. Niiiiice... Forced rabbid is not deconfirmed, but I would imagine it's likely gone as well. Worst case scenario, forced Rabbid wasn't the big problem, it was forced Mario that screwed with the customizability in the original game. I am beyond pleased to see it's gone.

- ...That doesn't mean I'm going to forever bench Mario. He actually looks super cool in this game. Not only does he akimbo wield guns, he actually does something not a lot of games do - he uses his guns to shoot at separate targets. Wow. They made Mario cool. Mario. Who plays as Mario in Mario spin-offs? Looks like Ubisoft Italy has the answer!

- Playable Bowser with a bazooka. Amazing.

- AHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA THE EDGY RABBID IS CALLED EDGE AAHAHAHAHAHAHAH I love it, I love it so fucking much, best Mario game. How did Soliani manage to deliver that name with a straight face...?

- ...Sucks to be a Yoshi fan, though. Looks like both him and his rabbid version got the boot. And they barely even existed in the original... Oof.

- It appears the entire cast of characters might be available from the start? Oh that's incredible. No more waiting a whole chapter for Loogi! And the rest.

- Grant Kirkhope again as the composer... I don't like that much. Banjo Kazooie composer or not, the first game's soundtrack was pretty forgettable.

- NEVER MIND THEY ALSO NABBED YOKO SHINOMURA AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

- Davide Soliani is the coolest man and Ubisoft does not deserve him and his team. I felt he was speaking directly to my heart when he was talking about how they wanted to "go crazy" with the combat system, "beyond what is usually seen in the turn-based genre".

Edited June 29, 2022 by Saint Rubenio

[null]

 

[Sidereal Wraith]

The thing I find funny about this series is that the Kane series already exists...has existed for almost 50 years now.

 

Edited June 29, 2022 by WraithReborn

[Venger_06]

I have finished my finals. It's time for more Papers, Please.

[Sidereal Wraith]

3 minutes ago, twilitfalchion said:

 

Is that Julia, Twilit!?! If so:

 

[Saint Rubenio]

lol I just checked Davide's Twitter. He says he always buys games made by his team. Seriously, this man is a treasure, what is he doing working for Ubisoft?

Also, he's extremely savage towards Grant Kirkhope for some reason. I swear half his twits are him roasting that guy. Maybe that's why the absolute madlad got Shinomura, just so he could bully Kirkhope by telling him she makes radder songs than him.

Anyway, as it turns out, Boweegee is still a range specialist. Even more than before, in fact - whereas in the original he had relatively middling damage to compensate for his insane damage, now he deals more damage the further he is from his target. Ah, fuck, why'd the release date have to be October 20 and not June 30?

Also the internet is going to waifu the shit out of that poor edgy rabbid. You know it, I know it, everyone knows it.

1 minute ago, Newtype06 said:

I have finished my finals. It's time for more Papers, Please.

Citation time.

[Saint Rubenio]

The most badass sniper since Sylvis.

Well, you can consider me successfully hyped. Now to wait till October.

[Punished Dayni]

59 minutes ago, Saint Rubenio said:

- NEVER MIND THEY ALSO NABBED YOKO GODDAMM SHINOMURA AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

>ComEdge on MeGreenlovanimple and Chun Lian intensifies

Also FIFY

2 minutes ago, Saint Rubenio said:

The most badass sniper since Sylvis.

Well, you can consider me successfully hyped. Now to wait till October.

Not gonna lie, the fact that the first game is going up on Game Trials and I'm actually curious enough to try it may be a spark of hope to you on it's own.

 

[BrightBow]

1 hour ago, twilitfalchion said:

 

 

[Benice]

1 hour ago, Newtype06 said:

I have finished my finals. It's time for more Papers, Please.

Congrats!

[Saint Rubenio]

lol I just read a comment pointing out that this is pretty much Super Mario Galaxy 3.

Ubisoft just delivered what the fans have been wanting for before Nintendo. Go figure.

1 minute ago, Awoken Dayni said:

>ComEdge on MeGreenlovanimple and Chun Lian intensifies

Yoko never disappoints. And to be fair, while I did bully him for the forgettableness of the first game's OST, Kirkhope can muster stuff like this and the entire OST of Perfect Dark. If he can be more consistently good this time around (IE stop trying to rip himself off with Banjo Kazooie, I swear he used the same leitmotivs in M&R1) for his side of the soundtrack, this is going to be wonderful.

...And then there's the third musician. Gareth Coker. I hadn't the faintest idea what this man has done. Listening to some of it... I'd say he's a fine pick as well. Luck accompanying, this will be a kickass assortment of music.

1 minute ago, Awoken Dayni said:

Also FIFY

Good catch. I can't believe I misspelled Yoko Goddamn Shinomura's name so badly.

1 minute ago, Awoken Dayni said:

Not gonna lie, the fact that the first game is going up on Game Trials and I'm actually curious enough to try it may be a spark of hope to you on it's own.

Go ahead! It was a pretty good game on its own right. Even though by the looks of it, it's going to be the VS1 to Spark of Hope's VS2. Hey Soliani, maybe you could hit me up with a beta test copy of this too?

[null]

this art legitimately makes me happy in such a childlike way lmao

what nostalgia can do

[Saint Rubenio]

I can commit suicide in Unmetal by punching missiles.

[Sooks]

I finally S-ranked that mission. I’d love to say it was a thrilling test of my skill that I just barely won, but it was actually me slowly grinding out 1800 enemies before proceeding with the race. Eugh.

Three Hopes spoilers (although I have a feeling it’ll interest Ruben not that he’s hiding himself from three hopes spoilers)

Spoiler

Byleth being playable isn’t even remotely surprising, but I am positively surprised that Jeralt is playable, and presumably on all three routes. And he has supports with Byleth and Leonie. Interesting.

It looks like they’re pulling a Hanneman with Alois, since he’s hanging around base but it looks like he won’t be playable. RIP Alois.

 

3 hours ago, Newtype06 said:

I have finished my finals. It's time for more Papers, Please.

Congrats on finishing your finals!

[BrightBow]

Xander on the main page. I'm surprised the "Justice is an illusion" guy was not in Heroes yet.

[Punished Dayni]

1 hour ago, Saint Rubenio said:

...And then there's the third musician. Gareth Coker. I hadn't the faintest idea what this man has done. Listening to some of it... I'd say he's a fine pick as well. Luck accompanying, this will be a kickass assortment of music.

The main music guy for Ori, neat.

1 hour ago, Saint Rubenio said:

lol I just read a comment pointing out that this is pretty much Super Mario Galaxy 3.

But it's a completely different genre.

10 minutes ago, BrightBow said:

Xander on the main page. I'm surprised the "Justice is an illusion" guy was not in Heroes yet.

Well, base form's been in the game for ages, it is a little strange they didn't give him a legendary alt before now though and I thought that was weird for years.

[Armagon]

Well that's the Live A Live demo, doing all the available chapters. I'll give my first impressions on each of them (@Saint Rubenio tagging you for this since you probably want to see, @Awoken Dayni you too):

Distant Future:

• You get to play as a cute little robot that i named Wall-E because he reminded me of that until i realized later that those weren't treadmills.
• I 100% see the Alien inspiration
• The trial here was basically just a long-ass cutscene and the only bit of gameplay was the minigame you could do. I really hope this chapter isn't just a cutscene. I'd like some gameplay please.
• See, despite me wanting sci-fi JRPGs, the sci-fi part of this game did not do the best first impressions. Like literally nothing happens and then the demo cuts off, that's exactly what a demo should do yes sir /s.
• Did not expect the Bri'ish voice acting tho, that's neat.

Twilight of Edo Japan:

• So this is basically Undertale when you think about it, what with allowing you to progress without killing anyone or just going full genocide. Don't know how this will affect the story, i killed one dude and i got a pop-up that said "lives taken: 1" and i'm not sure if higher is better or worse.
• I think these stories overall might have multiple endings depending on what you do? More on that later.
• This one is visually the best looking of the demo chapters
• This one also just demo ends but at least you got to do stuff in it

Imperial China:

• See now this one's the good shit! The concept of an old master teaching his disciples in the art of kung fu, and said concept being reflected in the gameplay by having the shifu be maxed out, is actually really great. Worried that it might make battles a bit too easy tho, i was never in danger of losing any.
• Of all the demo chapters, this one felt the most "complete" so to speak. Like when the demo cutoff point hit, i was like "yeah this is where i'd end it too".
• Based on the wording, it seems like this one at least also has multiple endings, depending on which of your disciples becomes your successor.
• Hong's introduction scene is literally just that scene from Kung Fu Panda where Po does a perfect split all so he can reach the upper drawers where the snacks are.

General

• Combat actually reminded me of Pokemon Mystery Dungeon in how the turns, even when moving, is so seamless. I liked setting the ground on fire and then staying out of the enemy's reach as they burned to death.
• Too early to tell how good the combat actually is tho, tho i like it.

Overall, i think the only one of the three demo stories that had me fully engaged in it was Imperial China, like by a significant margin, i really enjoyed what i played of that one. The other two might be more interesting but the demo....didn't do them justice (this is not a problem exclusive to Live A Live, a lot of demos don't do the game their promoting justice). And of course, i can't say anything about the chapters that weren't available. Gameplay-wise it's alright so far.

For obvious reasons, this game will not be a day 1 purchase and I don't think I'd get it at full price anyway but eh, I'll put it on the list. 

Live A Live does come out the literal day before my birthday tho so if anyone wants to give me a free game...

Edited June 29, 2022 by Armagon

[Saint Rubenio]

1 hour ago, Sooks said:

Three Hopes spoilers (although I have a feeling it’ll interest Ruben not that he’s hiding himself from three hopes spoilers)

  Hide contents

Byleth being playable isn’t even remotely surprising, but I am positively surprised that Jeralt is playable, and presumably on all three routes. And he has supports with Byleth and Leonie. Interesting.

It looks like they’re pulling a Hanneman with Alois, since he’s hanging around base but it looks like he won’t be playable. RIP Alois.

 

I already know the entire playable cast. Was the first thing I checked, because I was afraid they'd do what they did.

Spoiler

That is a neat addition to the cast, I will give them that much.

I can confirm what you said on the second line is true, by the way. IntSys going for the ol' reliable "old man doesn't sell therefore old man not playable." For... some old men, at least. Then other old men got to be playable. Seriously, why are Hanneman and Alois not playable? They're such bizarre exclusions. "Everyone is here! Except for these two we just randomly decided to cut for absolutely no fucking reason!" Did they run out of time? This another Jeritza situation? What happened...?

...And Judith got screwed again. Considering her background and what people say about her the two times she's mentioned, I bet she'd probably be quite the badass if Fodderland would just let her exist.

 

16 minutes ago, Awoken Dayni said:

The main music guy for Ori, neat.

That's the name I see mentioned the most in regards to him. I have never heard of that franchise, but again, I listened to a bit of his work and it sounds pretty great.

16 minutes ago, Awoken Dayni said:

But it's a completely different genre.

Who cares, there's star bits.

3 minutes ago, Armagon said:

Well that's the Live A Live demo, doing all the available chapters. I'll give my first impressions on each of them (@Saint Rubenio tagging you for this since you probably want to see, @Awoken Dayni you too):

Distant Future:

• You get to play as a cute little robot that i named Wall-E because he reminded me of that until i realized later that those weren't treadmills.
• I 100% see the Alien inspiration
• The trial here was basically just a long-ass cutscene and the only bit of gameplay was the minigame you could do. I really hope this chapter isn't just a cutscene. I'd like some gameplay please.
• See, despite me wanting sci-fi JRPGs, the sci-fi part of this game did not do the best first impressions. Like literally nothing happens and then the demo cuts off, that's exactly what a demo should do yes sir /s.
• Did not expect the Bri'ish voice acting tho, that's neat.

Twilight of Edo Japan:

• So this is basically Undertale when you think about it, what with allowing you to progress without killing anyone or just going full genocide. Don't know how this will affect the story, i killed one dude and i got a pop-up that said "lives taken: 1" and i'm not sure if higher is better or worse.
• I think these stories overall might have multiple endings depending on what you do? More on that later.
• This one is visually the best looking of the demo chapters
• This one also just demo ends but at least you got to do stuff in it

Imperial China:

• See now this one's the good shit! The concept of an old master teaching his disciples in the art of kung fu, and said concept being reflected in the gameplay by having the shifu be maxed out, is actually really great. Worried that it might make battles a bit too easy tho, i was never in danger of losing any.
• Of all the demo chapters, this one felt the most "complete" so to speak. Like when the demo cutoff point hit, i was like "yeah this is where i'd end it too".
• Based on the wording, it seems like this one at least also has multiple endings, depending on which of your disciples becomes your successor.
• Hong's introduction scene is literally just that scene from Kung Fu Panda where Po does a perfect split all so he can reach the upper drawers where the snacks are.

General

• Combat actually reminded me of Pokemon Mystery Dungeon in how the turns, even when moving, is so seamless. I liked setting the ground on fire and then staying out of the enemy's reach as they burned to death.
• Too early to tell how good the combat actually is tho, tho i like it.

Overall, i think the only one of the three demo stories that had me fully engaged in it was Imperial China, like by a significant margin, i really enjoyed what i played of that one. The other two might be more interesting but the demo....didn't do them justice (this is not a problem exclusive to Live A Live, a lot of demos don't do the game their promoting justice). And of course, i can't say anything about the chapters that weren't available. Gameplay-wise it's alright so far.

That's exactly what I meant when I said Distant Future was not a good pick for the demo. It is a slow, plot-based chapter with almost no combat involved. It does not work if you cut it off before it moves past the introductory segment, so it's a terrible chapter for the demo.

Twilight of Edo Japan is awesome, but... well, it's too open. It's very exploration-based, which means there's no good point to cut it off. So, as you said, it just ends.

Imperial China was always one of my favorites. Lei best girl.

3 minutes ago, Armagon said:

For obvious reasons, this game will not be a day 1 purchase and i wouldn't even get it until after i'm done with Xenoblade 3 which will uh.....probably take me a few months? Cause i won't just stop at beating the game lol.

Ahhhh, hundred-hour JRPGs. I sure do love having my entire free time for half a year taken by this one game. Hope the gameplay loop is good enough to last that long.

3 minutes ago, Armagon said:

Live A Live does come out the literal day before my birthday tho so if anyone wants to give me a free game...

Give me your address, bank account, credit card numbers and your parents' social security number. I will send you 60 bucks so you can buy Live a Live.

[Armagon]

3 minutes ago, Saint Rubenio said:

It is a slow, plot-based chapter with almost no combat involved

Noooooooo

It's like the literal reason I don't play VNs unless they have game in them.

But at least this is just one sixth (how many stories are there) of the game.

4 minutes ago, Saint Rubenio said:

Twilight of Edo Japan is awesome, but... well, it's too open. It's very exploration-based, which means there's no good point to cut it off. So, as you said, it just ends.

Yeah it did feel more open than the others. Which makes sense given the mercy or no mercy angle it's going.

I can vibe with that.

5 minutes ago, Saint Rubenio said:

Imperial China was always one of my favorites.

Ruben like the story where the old man is the main character, what a surprise.

Jokes aside, I was not expecting it to be that based, I'm pleasantly surprised.

Like I said in the edit, I probably won't get it full price but it's on the radar, which I can't say the same for like 98% of Square's library. I'm confident I'll enjoy China but not sure about the rest yet and it's Square Enix (albeit, a remake of an older game of theirs) so I don't want to spend $60 just to only enjoy one of the six stories.

7 minutes ago, Saint Rubenio said:

Ahhhh, hundred-hour JRPGs. I sure do love having my entire free time for half a year taken by this one game. Hope the gameplay loop is good enough to last that long.

100+ hours spent on Xenoblade 1 (on 3DS)

400+ hours spent on Xenoblade 2

120+ hours spent on Xenoblade X

It do be like that sometimes.