Serenes Forest's Teehee Thread

[Saint Rubenio]

All right, it's a new day. The sun is shining. Grass is green. I'm doing this. I'm beating this boss without taking damage.

7 hours ago, Newtype06 said:

Ruben played Dragon Age: Origins, so he's a friend in my eyes 👍

Ayyyyy!

[Lightcosmo]

It feels good to beat a bullshit battle every now and then. ❤️

[The Roger The Paladin]

It does not bode well that after so long of having Misha commit suicide or just flat missing with the sleep edge that I just gave up and let a recruitable character die this time. If she wants to be dead that bad... she can be dead. But breaking my rule the chapter before Xavier appears... knowing that his recruitment is supposed to be hard, I fear the worst is yet to come.
I've got an undamaged sleep edge seeing as Misha refused to take a hint. So there's at least that.

[Armagon]

Classification of Xenoblade 3 enemy categories. Elites are stronger than Normals and then you know the drill with UMs. Lucky Monsters, on the other hand, are like Normals but they will drop rare items.

But visually they don't look any different. 

[Punished Dayni]

  In which Hilda gets beaten.

Repeatedly.

1 hour ago, The Roger The Paladin said:

It does not bode well that after so long of having Misha commit suicide or just flat missing with the sleep edge that I just gave up and let a recruitable character die this time. If she wants to be dead that bad... she can be dead. But breaking my rule the chapter before Xavier appears... knowing that his recruitment is supposed to be hard, I fear the worst is yet to come.
I've got an undamaged sleep edge seeing as Misha refused to take a hint. So there's at least that.

I cannot pretend to be ready to get Xavier legit ever.

[Saint Rubenio]

1 hour ago, The Roger The Paladin said:

It does not bode well that after so long of having Misha commit suicide or just flat missing with the sleep edge that I just gave up and let a recruitable character die this time. If she wants to be dead that bad... she can be dead. But breaking my rule the chapter before Xavier appears... knowing that his recruitment is supposed to be hard, I fear the worst is yet to come.
I've got an undamaged sleep edge seeing as Misha refused to take a hint. So there's at least that.

Xavier depends greatly on whether or not you have a sleep edge. If you do, it's... relatively simple. Relatively. You just have to make sure that your sleep edge user doesn't have the ability to double or crit the knights, and then you're set. As long as the RNG cooperates.

If you don't have a sleep edge, it's basically impossible. So uh. Yeah.

Edited May 11, 2022 by Saint Rubenio

[Lightcosmo]

1 hour ago, Armagon said:

Classification of Xenoblade 3 enemy categories. Elites are stronger than Normals and then you know the drill with UMs. Lucky Monsters, on the other hand, are like Normals but they will drop rare items.

But visually they don't look any different. 

I like their icons for the classifications!

Aw, too bad, no unique model for enemies...

[null]

 

[Benice]

'Morning!

[null]

 

[Elina]

I love these ancient kitties!!

[Punished Dayni]

3 minutes ago, Elina said:

I love these ancient kitties!!

Wonder what's being used to keep their attention, in each pic they're staring in the same direction.

Do you know when these were taken by the way?

Edited May 11, 2022 by Dayni

[Elina]

1902 in Canada

https://picryl.com/media/the-globe-kittens-hs85-10-13446-5-044c4f

Edited May 11, 2022 by Elina

[Shrimpica]

 

[Interdimensional Observer]

Another chapter over, the dungeon was too dark and I had to use Third Eye often just to see where the walls were. Midboss was the easiest thing in the game, though the actual boss of the dungeon hit hard and was unorthodox to approach. When I was fighting a few optional Lemures in Balduq, the game twice almost froze, things paused entirely and it would take a few seconds for a few more frames to happen and then a few more seconds and a few more frames. After about perhaps a half-minute things did return to normal, and thankfully the near-crashes haven't happened again.

With Balduq proper fully accessible, I went out of my way to collect every flower petal, open every chest, and read all the graffitis. I'm noticing most characters have their character notes unfilled in the journal. If any are permanently missable, well, I already missed the very first quest, so it's not like this run could be 100% anyhow (I don't understand why side quests even become unavailable in this game).

I also noticed Renegade's voice actor is the same NEO TWEWY's Fret, which is odd given the two individuals in question are very different in terms of personality. And I can't believe it took me this long either to realize Adol is Bravely's Tiz.

Playing just one game nonstop is getting a little monotonous, particularly when it's so formulaic. Chapter start with some questing and Nox collecting, Grimwald battles, explore a little, dungeon with a midboss and boss, a chunk of plot. And yet, I'm feeling a little like an alcoholic, in the sense that Ys is drowning out the self-loathing I frequently find myself mired in when I stop playing. It's that insidious false sense of having done something meaningful by making "progress" in a video game that might be temporarily improving my sense of wellbeing, since it's being frustratingly stunted IRL that drags me down.

Edited May 11, 2022 by Interdimensional Observer

[Shrimpica]

6 minutes ago, Interdimensional Observer said:

I don't understand why side quests even become unavailable in this game

 

7 minutes ago, Interdimensional Observer said:

Playing just one game nonstop is getting a little monotonous, particularly when it's so formulaic

Trailsfication moment. If you remember, it was one of the things i heavily complained about when it comes to the game

It's a Trails game with a Ys skin.

7 minutes ago, Interdimensional Observer said:

And yet, I'm feeling a little like an alcoholic

Ys in general do be like that 😄

[Interdimensional Observer]

1 minute ago, Shrimpolaris said:

Trailsfication moment. If you remember, it was one of the things i heavily complained about when it comes to the game

It's a Trails game with a Ys skin.

Ah, so that's what you meant. I've been wondering what concerned you. Either I don't remember or you didn't say what specifically was Trails-esque. (I did notice the one side quest with the title "A Legend of Heroes", I was afraid they were going to do some kind of unserious cameo with that.) I was fearing what you feared about the future of Ys was some kind of plot thread that is left ominously unresolved at the end of IX, and that things in Ys will go on for another 12 games with no end to the overarching story's end in sight. Unless I haven't gotten to that yet.

[Shrimpica]

7 minutes ago, Interdimensional Observer said:

Ah, so that's what you meant. I've been wondering what concerned you.

Yeah. Ys game usually are much more free for a lack of a better term to explain it.

Like Ys 8 also had quests and a hub, for example, but it was integrated well with the survival plot and it wasn't formulaic like that, at all. Older Ys games had quests but not with a time limit.

In Ys 9 alot of quests are there just because, and the fact that extra content each chapter is locked behind 200 Nox means you have to grind. The 100 Nox requirement to advance the plot basically forces you to do the quests. Quests which usually are quite boring aside from the final chapter ones imo.

Ys 9 completely lacks the adventure feeling Ys games (aside from Origin due to it's status) are known for

7 minutes ago, Interdimensional Observer said:

was fearing what you feared about the future of Ys was some kind of plot thread that is left ominously unresolved at the end of IX, and that things in Ys will go on for another 12 games with no end to the overarching story's end in sight.

Well, Ys does have an overaching plot going on, but unlike Trails it's more in the background (much more in the background even) and each Ys game resolves it's main plot 'nicely'. There're stuff Ys 9 hints at for the over all world, and even stuff you might recognize from Ys 8, but it's more a thing for long time Ys fans and lore fanatics like me, and won't hamper your enjoyment of a single game too much xD

Ys 9 ending is very satisfying, dw 😉 

It's the main reason i scored it a 8 instead of a 7. Reverse Ys 8

Edited May 11, 2022 by Shrimpolaris

[Acacia Sgt]

Okay, kept playing through the Floating Empire. Started with the South section first. The Armored Tank + is an interesting boss in concept, considering, as the name implies, it's an upgraded version from the Battle Tank fought in the first Rune Factory. Design is similar enough to make it obvious.

That done, now I'm tackling the East section. Also the Eating Contest is coming up... well, that will be for next time.

[Saint Rubenio]

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

THE FINAL BOSS HIT ME WITH ONE HIT LEFT BECAUSE I GOT GREEDY

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH

[Shrimpica]

rip

[Saint Rubenio]

 

4 minutes ago, Shrimpolaris said:

rip

Not to worry. Pulled it off again.

[Shrimpica]

Grats!

[Lightcosmo]

Oof, its starting to get warmer here!

[Interdimensional Observer]

1 hour ago, Shrimpolaris said:

Yeah. Ys game usually are much more free for a lack of a better term to explain it.

And there was a lot of optional backtracking in Ys VIII, which is sorta freedom related. With IX, once you finished with a region or dungeon, you'll never really need to go there again.

1 hour ago, Shrimpolaris said:

Like Ys 8 also had quests and a hub, for example, but it was integrated well with the survival plot and it wasn't formulaic like that, at all. Older Ys games had quests but not with a time limit.

Castaway Village was definitely better than Dandelion/Balduq. Balduq is bigger, and I like the gliding and running up walls, but the sense of community in VIII is so much stronger.

Cities IRL are filled with anonymous people who you cannot realistically become close to, even if there is a group or three within it that you do feel a real sense of belonging within. Rural communities being smaller, can be much more close-knit so the theory goes. Everyone on Seiren being literally everyone who survived the shipwreck and three others was as small as it could get. Everyone needed to contribute to society at that small a scale to keep humanity afloat. Each person you found was significant. Then you add in the very real Primordial threat beyond the village that could destroy it at any time. Threats from without create solidarity within.

It would be nearly impossible for Ys IX with its backdrop to replicate the community feels of VIII. For one example of what I sorta mean, Blacksmith Shota might not be a badly-written kiddo, but there are dozens or hundreds of other blacksmiths in Balduq, he just happened to be the one who got to join the heroes' retinue. And even with this city vs. stranded limitation, I'm not sure if IX has tried as much as it could have for its NPCs.

Speaking of community feels, Armagon totally needs to play VIII given his love of Xenoblade NPC communities.

5 minutes ago, Shrimpolaris said:

Ys 9 completely lacks the adventure feeling Ys games (aside from Origin due to it's status) are known for

The choice of setting- a prison city, might be to blame. It's too urban for a good adventure, the places Adol has seen so far are too samey. Seiren was a mysterious uninhabited island by contrast, it's day and Nox. 

Maybe one way they could've -with a radical rewrite- made Balduq more adventurous and strengthened the absent sense of community, would be to hit the entire city with a transdimensional curse. By which I mean...

After Aprilis shoots Adol early in the game, Balduq and the surrounding plains are whisked away into a pocket dimension, as a giant Grimwald Nox hits everything and everyone. Lemures roam the city, many humans are unable to cope with the altered atmosphere and fall into a harmless coma, from which they shall only emerge once the curse is broken. Thus, the awake population of Balduq dwindles by like 60-80%, much of the city is abandoned to the Lemures who feast on those who are conscious. The Romun soldiers and Hieroglyphs try to keep the surviving populace safe, while the Monstrums are the only ones with the power to figure out what has gone wrong and fix it.

-The great issue with this drastic fundamental rewrite I'm spitballing is Balduq Prison. If humanity is on the brink and the population shrunk, who can afford to operate a giant prison complex? It wouldn't make any sense. If anything, the prison would return to being a fortress as the game says it used to be. Balduq Prison would become the new hub of the game, the highly-defensible and compact stronghold where the city's survivors able to reach it gather for protection. The gazillion tunnels which Adol and the other Monstrums used to break into the prison in the actual game, now become their tunnels out of the prison into the city itself, as the cursed landscape leaves a lot of the bridges in ruin and debris and random magic crystal spikes make walking out the prison's front doors and traveling everywhere from there practically impossible. Whatever the bad guys are planning in Balduq Prison, now has to be done without a population of not-prisoner people noticing, though duh duh duh!, they eventually do.

This rewrite would undermine, nay annihilate, the prison and prisoner and mysterious heroic outlaws aspect of Monstrum Nox. A certain somebody I don't yet understand couldn't really exist in this scenario. These themes are rather important, but I don't think my hypothetical alternative undermines everything Ys IX focuses on. If anything, it's strengthen the whole "curse of the night" aspect. Though the rewrite might be too similar to Lacrimosa of Dana's setup when I think about it.

54 minutes ago, Shrimpolaris said:

In Ys 9 alot of quests are there just because, and the fact that extra content each chapter is locked behind 200 Nox means you have to grind. The 100 Nox requirement to advance the plot basically forces you to do the quests. Quests which usually are quite boring aside from the final chapter ones imo.

Personally, the quests aren't too tedious. They don't take that long despite whatever bore they might be. The Nox given is plentiful enough that you don't need to fight that many -thankfully very brisk- battles after finishing them all to hit 200.

I was going to do the quests anyway, I just would've liked the chance to choose when I want to. Though I can see someone loathing the concept. It's the Grimwald Nox/Eos battles that annoy me much more, I didn't love them in VIII, and IX hasn't changed that. If anything, them starting sooner in the story and being more important upfront has increasingly soured me on them. 

Speaking of gameplay in general, on the whole "Aprilis ain't playable" thing, I was thinking a hypothetical fix to that would've been to delete Raging Bull, who is probably the most meaningless of the characters narratively. We then make Renegade Bash type, as magic projectiles aren't very physical anyhow, no reason it had to be Pierce, and this makes room for Aprilis as the 2nd Pierce. Raging Bull is just another Sahad gameplay-wise anyhow, maybe Aprilis could've been more distinctive from Hummel than Raging Bull from Sahad, particularly if we gave her a second flintlock pistol. The only issue is that we'd now be lacking a big, wide, strong, and slow weapon type. Maybe altering Renegade away from projectile-heavy to a big laser-emitting magic staff would be the solution to that new problem.

1 hour ago, Shrimpolaris said:

and even stuff you might recognize from Ys 8

"Might"? How could I not when it could literally smack me in the face?😝

Adol will always have that the ring I got from having Lacrimosa save data equipped. Dana shall never be forgotten.

1 hour ago, Shrimpolaris said:

It's the main reason i scored it a 8 instead of a 7. Reverse Ys 8

Given my scoring system, a 7 or 8 seems likely from me as well.