Serenes Forest's Teehee Thread

[Sooks]

Hey I actually beat the boss itself this time! I mean I lost in the end, but still.

[Lightcosmo]

24 minutes ago, Sooks said:

Hey I actually beat the boss itself this time! I mean I lost in the end, but still.

Congrats! I don't know what it's for, but congrats!

[Robert Stewart]

26 minutes ago, Sooks said:

Hey I actually beat the boss itself this time! I mean I lost in the end, but still.

Keep going, I'm sure you'll get it!

And then you'll be ready to do a Primrose solo 😈

[Robert Stewart]

4 hours ago, Benice said:

Speaking of, what did you think of Cold Steel? I think it's on the switch, so it's sorta on my radar.

Late, and no one asked me, but CS is fine. The story is IMO weaker than Trails in the sky and the Crossbell duology, but the gameplay is more "fun", I guess.

CS generally tends to streamline some elements of gameplay from earlier in the series, which i guess isn't that unusual for RPG series.

In terms of the Switch, the only CS games on it are CS3 and (soon) CS4. CS3 isn't the worst entrypoint into the series, but I guess there's worse places to start.

I would still generally recommend you play the Sky games first though. Not just from any kind of requirement to play "in order," but because I genuinely think they're better games. They're on PC, but they're old PSP ports. Meaning you don't need a good PC to play them. And as a Weirdo Who Uses Linux™️, I can confirm they work flawlessly in Wine, which should help you out if you're a Mac OS person too.

[Interdimensional Observer]

2 hours ago, Armagon said:

The problem is also that Cold Steel has made it super clear that Falcom does not have the balls to kill off any character who was ever playable at any point. Killing off characters doesn't necessarily make something good and I've gone on record saying how I don't like it when a long-term party member is permanently removed from the party through death or otherwise, even if the story justifies it, but I can't see Falcom going for a story where you might end up murdering your friends.

Especially when their death has horrible execution. A death sequence lasting seven minutes wherein the dying character talks to themselves the entire time is so bad it's worth making a voodoo doll of whoever let it into the final draft.

Admittedly, only the first Shin Megami Tensei and the first Devil Survivor (but only one route of five) have permanent long-term party member death/departure. The rest of the games with alignment choices in the franchise are either Hero + Heroine who will follow you no matter what you choose, or your only allies are the demons by contract and everyone else is an NPC. SMTIV and IV Apo did try to integrate the other characters in a more lesser, automatic gameplay role, but it's short of actual playable status. 

 

3 hours ago, Father Shrimpas said:

so definetly no murdering friends xD

How about a good clean brainwashing then? You don't have to kill them, you just have to erase their free will.😊

 

1 hour ago, Sooks said:

Because the system with boosts and breaks means you actually have to put some level of thought into encounters to end them quickly

It was kind of tedious to me. Drag out encounters too much and they're not so fun. Whats the point to them if they are totally mindless? Well theres a complex critique here of the JRPG genre, but I've neither the mind nor mood to tackle it. Would limiting the number of encounters per area altogether and thus reduce each game to a finite number of battles be in some way detrimental to the spirit of the genre? Thats where I'd start, but I don't want to hop on this train of thought.

[Sooks]

17 minutes ago, lightcosmo said:

Congrats! I don't know what it's for, but congrats!

A really hard boss! 😄

15 minutes ago, Robert Stewart said:

Keep going, I'm sure you'll get it!

And then you'll be ready to do a Primrose solo 😈

I mean I do like Primrose... we’ll see.

And I did keep going, I’m at the boss again!

5 minutes ago, Interdimensional Observer said:

It was kind of tedious to me. Drag out encounters too much and they're not so fun. Whats the point to them if they are totally mindless?

Octopath was kind of tedious or normal jrpgs? I think that normal jrpg enoucters, from what I have played, are almost entirely mindless, but they take so much longer than regular combat that it puts me to sleep.

[Armagon]

14 minutes ago, Robert Stewart said:

The story is IMO weaker than Trails in the sky and the Crossbell duology, but the gameplay is more "fun", I guess.

I agree with this take. I know I'm in the minority but I really do prefer how Orbments were handled in Cold Steel compared to how they were handled previously and I'd want it to stay that way but I have no idea how anything is gonna work in Kuro.

Only thing that sucks about Cold Steel gameplay is mecha (which at first I was onboard with but I eventually realized they are just gimmick fights with little variation) and Enrage status in CS3/4, a status that sucks shit and I have no idea why they thought it was ok.

12 minutes ago, Interdimensional Observer said:

Especially when their death has horrible execution. A death sequence lasting seven minutes wherein the dying character talks to themselves the entire time is so bad it's worth making a voodoo doll of whoever let it into the final draft.

I feel like this is a reference to something.

5 minutes ago, Sooks said:

Octopath was kind of tedious or normal jrpgs? I think that normal jrpg enoucters, from what I have played, are almost entirely mindless, but they take so much longer than regular combat that it puts me to sleep.

I'm not Observer but I have to say I did find Octopath's battles kinda tedious. Again, only played the demo but it's really appearent that the combat does not have solo in mind and how much this affects you will depend on what story you do. Picked an attack-based character? No problem. Picked a support-based character? Lol.

.....I don't think I'll never not be salty that Primorse's first boss fight took me 15 minutes not because I was bad but because the combat just wasn't designed for solo.

Edited December 21, 2020 by Armagon

[Sooks]

I OFFICIALLY MADE IT PAST THE FIRST PHASE! From what I have heard, this phase is actually much easier if you know what you’re doing, so let’s hope it goes well...

Although I kind of got lucky that the boss chose to use a skill that killed all of its summons when it did. I’m not even sure what benefit it gained from that.

6 minutes ago, Armagon said:

I'm not Observer but I have to say I did find Octopath's battles kinda tedious. Again, only played the demo but it's really appearent that the combat does not have solo in mind and how much this affects you will depend on what story you do. Picked an attack-based character? No problem. Picked a support-based character? Lol.

.....I don't think I'll never not be salty that Primorse's first boss fight took me 15 minutes not because I was bad but because the combat just wasn't designed for solo.

I.... actually had a lot of fun trying to manage Ophelia’s first chapter with just her (she’s who I picked first). Same with Primrose in the demo. Guess I’m just the same kind of crazy as Robert Stewart 😛

I can easily see how what I like about Octopath could make it tedious. It’s a pretty thin line between thoughtful and tedious, imo.

Edited December 21, 2020 by Sooks

[Shrimpica]

17 minutes ago, Interdimensional Observer said:

How about a good clean brainwashing then? You don't have to kill them, you just have to erase their free will.😊

 

YOKOSE

Why was this a thing....

19 minutes ago, Robert Stewart said:

They're on PC, but they're old PSP ports

Correction: They are originally PC games. The PSP version are the ports

5 minutes ago, Armagon said:

Enrage status in CS3/4, a status that sucks shit and I have no idea why they thought it was ok.

Because Modern Falcom is the worst at balancing stuff. They can't balance anything.

And depite Enrage fights are still easier on Nightmare than Sky normal mode.

[Robert Stewart]

8 minutes ago, Armagon said:

Enrage status in CS3

Was this in CS3? I must have missed it.

I didn't have much difficulty with bosses in CS3 because I could I could always trivialize them with Sledgehammer and other Brave Orders. 😅

[Interdimensional Observer]

38 minutes ago, Sooks said:

Octopath was kind of tedious or normal jrpgs? I think that normal jrpg enoucters, from what I have played, are almost entirely mindless, but they take so much longer than regular combat that it puts me to sleep.

Octopath was a little tedious, particularly when you first arrive in a new area and need to smack enemies with everything until you determine their weakness.

Again, it's a double-edged sword. Not enough thought, what's the point? Why not have a game consist entirely of boss encounters to push it to one extreme? Too much thought and setup, and encounters become too consuming of mind and time and it takes forever to make it through a game. How to balance this, are limitless encounters worth keeping? I don't know, and presently I don't want to think too much on it.

 

33 minutes ago, Armagon said:

I feel like this is a reference to something.

I know it'd be weird to watch a death sequence without context, but if you want to know exactly what I'm referring to, here it is. Taken from the Xbox 360/PS3 JRPG Eternal Sonata. (And no, this scene has absolutely nothing to do with the entire game being a dream in the mind of a dying composer, and I haven't the faintest idea why an early-mid 1800s Franco-Polish composer would dream of cutesy-ish anime characters.) SPOILERS since it's a death scene, obviously.:

Spoiler

Skip to the one-minute mark to get past some fluff, to the stuff right before the death happens. And then, enjoy.

Add to this that the character who perishes had been around for maybe three dungeons? I forget exactly, but it wasn't that long in the context of the entire game.

When I played the game some years ago, I thought this was very bad. Was I wrong? Do I exaggerate on its lack of positive qualities?

Edited December 21, 2020 by Interdimensional Observer

[Sooks]

And I beat that phase... in two whole turns. Well then. What did I learn? Winnehild’s Battle Cry is so insanely broken.

But anyway

VICTORY CHEEEEEEEEER

6 minutes ago, Interdimensional Observer said:

Octopath was a little tedious, particularly when you first arrive in a new area and need to smack enemies with everything until you determine their weakness.

Again, it's a double-edged sword. Not enough thought, what's the point? Why not have a game consist entirely of boss encounters to push it to one extreme? Too much thought and setup, and encounters become too consuming of mind and time and it takes forever to make it through a game. How to balance this, are limitless encounters worth keeping? I don't know, and presently I don't want to think too much on it.

Maybe I just like a bit more thought and setup than the average person.

Edited December 21, 2020 by Sooks

[Shrimpica]

ninjacave.png

I fucking hate that map

[Interdimensional Observer]

Just now, Sooks said:

Maybe I just like a bit more thought and setup than the average person.

Nothing wrong with that, and to each their own.

I made it through Octopath, using the hidden jobs to make the fourth chapter bosses a breeze because by then I was kinda finished with it, but I think I bought a little too much into the hype around the game. For a game that attempts to be 16-bit old school, it isn't bad, I can't say it rides on nostalgia or was made without effort, it's just not a personal favorite.

[Robert Stewart]

10 minutes ago, Sooks said:

VICTORY CHEEEEEEEEER

Congrats!

8 minutes ago, Sooks said:

What did I learn? Winnehild’s Battle Cry is so insanely broken.

Indeed. Hits multiple damage types, and easy to damage boost with the 1 HP strategy.

[Sooks]

Welp, now I can put my old save to rest. I’ll finish up Crimson Flower and then who knows? I might even actually play Octopath again, from the beginning. Before I quit though, I’m gonna look through the in game journal at all the story scenes, since I forgot all the stories. I know I could play again and then go around and grab every character and go through all that nonsense again, but that final battle was mentally taxing that I don’t think I’ll want to go through it again for quite a while.

3 minutes ago, Father Shrimpas said:

ninjacave.png

I fucking hate that map

Language!

1 minute ago, Interdimensional Observer said:

Nothing wrong with that, and to each their own.

I completely agree!

1 minute ago, Interdimensional Observer said:

I made it through Octopath, using the hidden jobs to make the fourth chapter bosses a breeze because by then I was kinda finished with it, but I think I bought a little too much into the hype around the game. For a game that attempts to be 16-bit old school, it isn't bad, I can't say it rides on nostalgia or was made without effort, it's just not a personal favorite.

I mean I absolutely loved it and I wasn’t around when all the old school games were. I do really like the art style, though. I also used the hidden jobs though. 😬

[Sooks]

Just now, Robert Stewart said:

Indeed. Hits multiple damage types, and easy to damage boost with the 1 HP strategy.

Yep. One Winneheld’s Battle Cry with Olberic on one HP with fortitude and a lion dance up, as well as some pretty good weapons (and max BP) and that was all it took to defeat the boss. Well, that and the Winneheld’s Battle Cry I used to defeat all the other enemy parts of him that prevent his main self from taking damage.

[Eltosian Kadath]

14 minutes ago, Father Shrimpas said:

I fucking hate that map

I understand the hate, but I have generally found that once you can make the first area outside the L shaped starting room safe, you have won the map. Don't get me wrong, that early bit is really tricky, but only having to reset an early part of the map makes it more palatable.

[Shrimpica]

9 minutes ago, Eltosian Kadath said:

I understand the hate, but I have generally found that once you can make the first area outside the L shaped starting room safe, you have won the map. Don't get me wrong, that early bit is really tricky, but only having to reset an early part of the map makes it more palatable.

It's less the difficulty (I don't remember resetting much on it, if ever, honestly) and more how slow it makes me play. I just go full camp mode because debuffs and poisons and stuff could make you miscalculate pretty fast.

So i just lock Saizo in the bottom room and go on my wary way with other units slowly and surely.

The picture you saw is of turn 20 xD

I finsih most maps in the series (aside from FE4) in like ~10 turns

Edited December 21, 2020 by Father Shrimpas

[null]

Perfect way to start holiday break. 😄

[Lightcosmo]

Just now, twilitfalchion said:

Perfect way to start holiday break. 😄

Congrats on that and have fun!

[Armagon]

54 minutes ago, Robert Stewart said:

I didn't have much difficulty with bosses in CS3 because I could I could always trivialize them with Sledgehammer and other Brave Orders. 😅

I tried that but I could never get it to a point where I was trivializing bosses.

But yeah, Enrage was in CS3. And I found it very annoying. Stat buff that also restores like half HP and can be applied multiple times in a battle? No thanks.

59 minutes ago, Interdimensional Observer said:

Taken from the Xbox 360/PS3 JRPG Eternal Sonata. (And no, this scene has absolutely nothing to do with the entire game being a dream in the mind of a dying composer, and I haven't the faintest idea why an early-mid 1800s Franco-Polish composer would dream of cutesy-ish anime characters.)

Generally one would not want their story-based game to take place in a dream unless it really makes sense in context. I doubt this is Inception.

1 minute ago, twilitfalchion said:

Perfect way to start holiday break. 😄

Ayy that's awesome.

[Lightcosmo]

So the upcoming Pyra/Mythra figures start at $177 before tax... yikes.

As a fan, I gotta buy em.

Edited December 21, 2020 by lightcosmo

[Eltosian Kadath]

...I know I shouldn't start another LP, but...I am so tempted to LP a Pokemon Crystal Nuzlocke...

Its hard not to get inspired by Jaiden animation's Nuzlocke videos, and I almost started this before...well I guess I did start the run, my original plan was to do a smaller thing here, but...well... I started to roleplay, and that isn't a small thing to convey, but I didn't want to start another LP, but...

Its just so tempting...I mean she even named one of her Pokes the same, and I want to share that story...

hmm...

 

[Acacia Sgt]

Well, I've done it. It's made it past the point I stopped like two or so years ago when I last played Jak II. I'll be finishing this playthrough this time around!