[To Become an Elitist [Playlogs FE1-5] [currently playing: Thracia 776]]

15 minutes ago, Jotari said:

I went to Hannibal first, but his beard is actually a different style to what seems there. Looks like you fluffed it up a bit.

Actually, I took his FE5 beard lol

16 minutes ago, Jotari said:

You could always have four people stand on either side of him to incapacitate him and then conquer Connaught and have him vanish into the gameplay abyss instead of dying.

True enough.

[To Become an Elitist [Playlogs FE1-5] [currently playing: Thracia 776]]

9 hours ago, Jotari said:

There. Now Genealogy is perfect. At least that's what I wanted to say, but Ruben's bearded Hawk image is now broken so I had to do this myself and I'm not good at it.

...Wait, is it? I didn't delete it at all!

Look, there it is! Musta been Serenes/Discord (where I uploaded it) acting up.

Well, for curiosity's sake, here's my version.

Honestly, don't sell yourself short, I like yours too. The full-ass Hannibal beard is funny but yours suits him better. Like, I could actually believe that being his actual design if I didn't know better.

9 hours ago, Jotari said:

And to just keep sharing my ideas that no one asked to be shared, my suggestion for Asaello getting a more original backstory was to just include him here as an enemy bossman here even if Faval still exists. And to pay him to join you Beowulf style if Faval doesn't exist.

That'd been a fun idea. Separating the subs from the actual characters without feeling like it "overrides" anything, so to speak. Only problem is that I'd be sad about having to kill Asaello and get the generic anime teen archer instead. But then, I wouldn't have that problem, because I'd have had meteorites murder Bridget.

9 hours ago, Interdimensional Observer said:

I've more liking for Trav' than Arv', that is certain. I don't love Travant's portrayal, it has a few issues, one of the better villains in Genealogy overall.

I agree with this, pretty much.

[Serenes Forest's Teehee Thread]

9 hours ago, Armagon said:

Is it me or has this chat been in a lull lately? I haven't seen Guardian in a while too.

People come and go. That's as true online as it is in real life, I suppose.

3 hours ago, Interdimensional Observer said:

Decline is okay, but if totally dies, it means back to zero social existence for me.

There's other welcoming communities out there. You'd need to seek them out, though, and take the always scary first step of making yourself known.

...And you'd probably need a discord. Forums like this in general have been on a steady decline for a long time. Discord servers are all the rage now, and unfortunately they're not as visible as places like this.

If it comes to that, though, try finding discord servers for games/franchises/whatnot that you like. You have a baseline that most everyone in there's already going to have a shared interest.

[To Become an Elitist [Playlogs FE1-5] [currently playing: Thracia 776]]

1 minute ago, ping said:

He's probably the son of one of the constipated bossmen. I realise that Asaello's eyes aren't quite Brock-levels of squint, but maybe that's what you get when you mix those genes with those of your average big-ol'-eyeballs anime girl.

Interestingly enough, he's squinty in both his official artwork and his unused FE5 portrait, but in FE4 he's not squinty. He's doing more of a side-eye.

1 minute ago, ping said:

People will also either ignore or rationalise any degree of puppy-kicking and baby-stabbing as long as the villain is cool enough. Some people will say that the Joker has a point (truly, we live in a society). Name any fascist organisation in a post-apocalyptic setting and you'll find somebody writing an essay why they're actually most moral faction (you see, in a world with extremely limited resources, slavery is prefe--).

Reminds me of a friend telling me all about how the Legion of Fallout New Vegas were his favorite faction, interesting and effective for one reason or another.

Then I met them and five minutes later I had enough of their shit and performed sequence-breaking so I wouldn't have to help them whatsoever.

3 minutes ago, ping said:

I'll say that I do like Travant because of the reasons you said. It's nice to have a villain with somewhat grounded ambitions in a story where the villain is literally satan. And despite what he says in this chapter, he didn't even stab baby Altena when he was given the chance. But he really feels like his most interesting conflict was that with the Empire, which hardly comes into play in the actual plot. Sure, he's being opportunistic, but we're just going from fighting the Empire to fighting Trabant. There's no exciting fight between three factions, trying to play one enemy against the other.

Yeah, I agree, it'd been way cooler if Travant sent his recolored cronies and Altena after Connaught when Blume was still kicking and you had to beat them to the punch or they take Connaught from you and you lose.

Interestingly enough, there's a moment in Thracia 776 where they... sort of do this? Except it's not as cool as it'd been if they did it here. Oh well.

[To Become an Elitist [Playlogs FE1-5] [currently playing: Thracia 776]]

1 hour ago, ping said:

Don't be so hard on him. Asaello also has higher Str than Feval (12+40% vs. 10+25%). The boy is trying his best to overcome the nepo advantage that Feval has.

I do prefer his face. Instead of generic-ass anime teen, he's a squinty boy, which is slightly less generic-ass.

1 hour ago, ping said:

Ah.

Quote

Fighting Bloom

Bloom: Ha! So long as I wield the Book of Mjölnir, what reason would I ever have to fear the likes of you?

With Arthur

Bloom: And what are you? Wait... could it be...?
Arthur: Bloom! I've waited years for this moment! You took my mother and sister from me, and today you'll finally pay!
Bloom: Gah... Impudent whelp! Just try me!

With Leif

Bloom: Oho! Quan's son, I presume? You somehow still live on... I'm almost impressed.
Leif: King Bloom! You've tortured my people for long enough! Prepare to die at last!
Bloom: Hmph! A likely retort, but only one of us will die this day, and it will never be me!

With Tine

Bloom: W-wait... Tine?! How dare you betray my many kindnesses...
Tine: I-I'm sorry, Uncle...

Yeah, I didn't get any of these. Arthur because I warped him home to sell his Paragon band, and the other two probably would've been one-shot by Mjölnir if I had tried.

(Leif should not acknowledge Blume as "king", imo)

I find it funnier that these people have quotes with Blume in the chapter where Blume can't die. So much for revenge.

1 hour ago, ping said:

"The villain is almost sounding like he might have a point! Quick, have him stab a baby to keep the black/white contrast nice and sharp!" - writers everywhere

People still love Travant. Which, I mean, can't really blame 'em for it. Travant's miles ahead of basically every other gen 2 villain by having a semblance of a personality and a few grey undertones.

[To Become an Elitist [Playlogs FE1-5] [currently playing: Thracia 776]]

10 minutes ago, ping said:

 

"Well, you or Travant, but he's kind of a dick."

He doesn't have that protagonist hair.

10 minutes ago, ping said:

Rumor has it

I like how you have a song for every random expression.

13 minutes ago, ping said:

__

[HP 135% | Str 25% | Mag 50% | Skl 35% | Spd 60% | Lck 85% | Def 30% | Res 12%]
Skills: Pursuit
Weapon Level: Bows (*)
Major Ullur blood

It's a bit of a shame that Patty and Faval have inverted inheritance only for items, not for their stats. Not that Faval would've gained a massive Str growth from that (Bridget only has 30% Str herself), but still - that's a lot of Mag on a character who can never ever use that stat.

Of course, Yewfelle boosts Faval's Atk immensely anyhow, although it has to be added that he isn't terribly accurate with it. I can definitely see that even without looking at his bad Str, Holyn, or really any dude with a better Skl stat than Azel, would make a better father for Faval specifically. Of course, he can swap to the Killer Bow for accuracy... but if he has to do that, this Azel!Faval really becomes just a shitty version of Lester, who hasn't exactly been the star of the show to begin with.

With my incredibly limited experience with this game, I still dare to question the First Mate's authority on eugenics a little. He lists Jamke as Bridget's most desirable hubby, but with Yewfelle being as inaccurate as it is, Holyn really makes a strong impression on me - especially because his Holy Blood also helps Patty quite a bit by giving her Brave Sword access before promotion. I wonder if Lex/Ayra + Holyn/Bridget might be overall a stronger pair of pairs than Holyn/Ayra and Jamke/Bridget...?

Meanwhile, Asaello has accost at base.

...I don't think it does much to keep him from been godawful.

13 minutes ago, ping said:

: "Keh... You rebel scum..."

: "We... We've been defeated so easily...? King Blume... I beg your forgiveness..."

They should've had him reveal he's Chagall's bastard child in his death quote, and never allude to it in any capacity again because, after all, it does not matter.

14 minutes ago, ping said:

What a nice young lady. And by "nice", I mean "awfully nonchalant about the death of her brother", of course.

Before it was "those Friege kids are such fine youths." Now it's "that Ishtar is such a fine youth." Nobody to share the title of Nice Villain with anymore. Nobody to hog HER spotlight. Good for her!

16 minutes ago, ping said:

: "Come, Ishtar. I need you."
: "Y-yes, milord! Anything you wish!"

You know, she could've at least suggested warping back to Connaught and giving Mjollnir back to her dad so he stands a fighting chance against the army that beat her. Would've given Julius a chance to be a jerk and Ishtar the opportunity to once again show how nice she is and how much she cares about her family.

...But at this point I'm just nitpicking. There's really no need to go for such stretches when Ishtar's nicest moment is still yet to come.

18 minutes ago, ping said:

No convo with Leif, though. But Seliph has one:

: "Y-you! You're Sigurd's whelp... You won't leave here alive!"
: "I believe that's my line, King Blume. You've nowhere to run this time!"
: "Curses... I'll drag you down to the grave with me, whelp!"

I think he has a convo with Leif but it's only in the previous chapter, for some reason. Did you get it? I wanna say no but I might be misremembering.

20 minutes ago, ping said:

: "Now's our chance to help ourselves to the north, starting with Manster! Altena! I leave the capture of Manster to you. I'll send General Coulter with you. If anyone stands in your way, suppress them without a second thought. I don't care if it's a little kid with a wooden stick. Cut them down."
: "Hold on a moment, father! I'm as eager to challenge the Empire as you are, but killing innocents makes no sense at all! We'd be much better served forging an alliance with the liberators. We're already surrounted by enemies. Why make more?"
: "Altena! I have no interest in one of your little lectures. Keep your mouth shut and do as you're told!"
: "But, Father-"

"I'm going to be the one to liberate Thracia and unite it into one glorious nation! All right, Altena, go and murder civilians for no reason."

22 minutes ago, ping said:

__

Look at these two. They make such a duo. The only way it could've been funnier is if they were both the constipated guy.

[Serenes Forest's Teehee Thread]

9 hours ago, Capt. Fargus said:

Eiyuden Chronicle...

Anyone here tried it?

It's not out quite yet. I'd been following it with some interest but I have a number of concerns. Will likely wait on it.

8 hours ago, Interdimensional Observer said:

Eiyuden Chronicles is a spiritual successor to Suikoden, which was a series of PS1&2 turn-based JRPGs by Konami. Suikoden is notable for having 108 Stars of Destiny to recruit- the many heroes (not all playable, some do things like run shops in the heroes' home base). Suikoden usually was down-to-earth by fantasy JRPG standards, focused not saving the entire world, just one country/region usually, with neighboring countries maybe doing a little intervention, but not being visited or anything. Gameplay-wise, they tended to be on the easy side of JRPGs. I've played some of them and watched others. Suikoden does have its fans, with the general favorite of the franchise being Suikoden 2, hence what interest Eiyuden Chronicle has been attracting.

This is a good summary of the situation.

[To Become an Elitist [Playlogs FE1-5] [currently playing: Thracia 776]]

9 hours ago, Shanty Pete's 1st Mate said:

Oh you meant this guy? Yeah, tbat works, I guess. He does sound a bit "desperate" to be Hawk, though. Hawk should be a "trusted lieutenant" to Ced, IMO. Someone just as calm, cool, and collected as his boss.

He's sick of holding back his wondrous power. Ced insists it's important to his plans, but in reality he is just jealous that Hawke's self-made power is greater than his inherited big boy blood, so he doesn't let him do anything.

[To Become an Elitist [Playlogs FE1-5] [currently playing: Thracia 776]]

1 hour ago, ping said:

 

Ruben, I think your usual portrait analysis skills might fail you here.

Hmmm...

It's the handsome man with the giant hair. He's the playable there, clearly.

2 hours ago, ping said:

So is Hoshido vs Nohr just the worse sequel to Leonster vs Thracia? Hell, Thracia's king even kills his enemy counterpart in an ambush and kidnaps - sorry, adopts - their child afterwards.

Yeah, another moment of modern FE drawing inspiration from the old and doing it worse, I guess. Though in that case, it seems like the primary inspiration were the unfulfilled ambitions of the Arran/Samson split.

2 hours ago, ping said:

: I have a bad feeling about this, Seliph... Is Leonster well guarded?"
: "I believe so, but then again, reinforcing it further certainly wouldn't hurt. Should I send them some support?"
: "Do it."

That's beautiful. No witticisms, it's just beautiful.

2 hours ago, ping said:

__

And this is said group, led by who I believe is Chagall, and not even a simple recolour. Being able to use a Brave weapon in both melee and ranged is quite dangerous, especially paired with Pavise, although we have a number of characters that can survive two hits from Chaghammad without too much trouble.

I'm also relieved that the Bishop is just a healer, not a status staff user.

Eyup, you're correct. That is indeed just Chagall. Made fun of this before, but I'll do it again because... seriously, why reuse Chagall? Macbeth was right there! He's the height of forgettableness, after the Verdane gang! I guses he looks a tad too "old noble" like for a general, but... Then just reuse the mustache guy for the 3rd time, or heck, constipated dude for the 8th time. It's better than reusing Chagall!

2 hours ago, ping said:

Ready to ride against Leonster is a group of horsies led by Izana's biggest rival for the Best Hair trophy of the year.

He'll lose.

Oh, and this guy? Another of the game's never-reused faces. Right next to Chagall 2. It's like they did it on purpose.

2 hours ago, ping said:

__

In the easternmost part of the map, we have a trio of village-destroying villains - at least I assume that the Rogue is going to be part of that, too. In any case, he's probably a prick. Because the two villages nearby are in a cul-de-sac separated from the road between Manster and Meath by a mountain range, Fee is the obvious character to save them, so adding effective weaponry against her is a little mean.

That'll teach me not to find Alec a nice Peggy Sue for a girlfriend.

Hermina would've had no problem.

2 hours ago, ping said:

Jackson 

Michael?

2 hours ago, ping said:

: "Move in on Alster Castle! We've nothing to fear from these rebels! If anyone dares to question my command, come forth and allow me to relieve your neck of your head! ...No volunteers? Good. Attack!"
: "Good, everything's ready. Men, we tear through Leonster's defenses in one fell swoop! We'll not let Muhammad's men put us to shame!"
: "It is time, then... Fotla, Eriu, shall we proceed? We'e no room for error this time."

Man, Muhammed even inherited Chagal's penchant for decapitation...

Dang, maybe it really was intentional.

...Still don't know if it was the wisest joke to make, but...

2 hours ago, ping said:

That is how the internet works. It's unfortunate that he can still override that by portraying me as the crying wojak and himself as the chad.

If he dares, simply deploy a "ur mom" on him.

1 hour ago, BrightBow said:

I do appreciate how after his first defeat, he doesn't come back any stronger and instead is now a mere shadow of his former self.

Also puts the power of the divine weapons into perspective.

To be pedantic, he's not really a "shadow of his former self", he's the exact same guy minus the legendary. Your second point stands, though.

[To Become an Elitist [Playlogs FE1-5] [currently playing: Thracia 776]]

8 hours ago, Shanty Pete's 1st Mate said:

Oh boy, I can't wait for her writing to be consistent, and not vacillate wildly between and within chapters!

I do have to give this to Blume: Tinni notwithstanding, he is probably the most moral member of his family. It's him or Ishtore, but Ishtore amounts to a throwaway bossman and I really do not trust this "fine youths" fella when he puts Ishtar in the same sack, so who even knows there.

5 hours ago, Shanty Pete's 1st Mate said:

Oh huh, I forgot about this. My despise for Rewarp, as a narrative feature, must have obfuscated the memory.

...At least it wasn't Julius ex machina this time...

 

5 hours ago, Jotari said:

That's the funny thing, I think they explicitly say that Julius isn't using a staff to warp around and using his own powers...and then Bloom also earlier warped away without explanation as to how. I guess we should conclude he was using a staff because Julius is specifically stated not to, but when no self warping staff exists in the game then it's a bit of a weird...I don't know if gameplay story segregation or integration is the right term here. A weird thing. Let's just say that. Or, just that he had a secret return ring in his inventory and Connacht was actually his home castle.

Ishtar was using a rescue staff. There, solved.

1 hour ago, ping said:

Actually, Sand tiles are functionally identical to standard Plain tiles. Desert tiles are a separate category 🤓

Small terminology error, Ping wins, Shanty Pete loses.

[To Become an Elitist [Playlogs FE1-5] [currently playing: Thracia 776]]

8 minutes ago, ping said:

Beginner's mistake, Ruben. A chapter featuring Hannibal would never be called "The Wyvern Knights of Thracia", now would it? Meanwhile, "For Whose Sake" is clearly a rhetorical question with only one sensible answer.

Oh but you're so right, though.

[To Become an Elitist [Playlogs FE1-5] [currently playing: Thracia 776]]

24 minutes ago, ping said:

Wait, Hannibal only joins in ch.9, and Hawke doesn't exist for me. Or did I miss you being a huge Faval fanboy?

Uhhh...

See, something funny just happened. I uh, completely forgot there's a map between this and Thracia proper. I had a feeling I was forgetting something, so I went to the wiki to check, saw the next map is called "The Wyvern Knights of Thracia" and just sort of assumed "yeah, next up is Thracia then."

Sheesh.

[To Become an Elitist [Playlogs FE1-5] [currently playing: Thracia 776]]

8 minutes ago, ping said:

I think this reduces the list of mums that might have died at Belhalla to... Ayra and Sylvia. And because we won't get any information about Sylvia, lemme check the wiki real quick...

Quote

Silvia survived the Battle of Belhalla, but surrendered her infant children Lene and Coirpre to a convent in Dahna before disappearing.

Hm. Only Ayra, then. And Ethlyn, if you count Travant's ambush as part of the overall battle.

Arvis is sexist.

8 minutes ago, ping said:

: "King Blume and his queen, Hilda, have got two children between 'em: Ishtar and Ishtore. Ishtar's ruling over Manster right now, and Ishtore's posted at Fort Melgen, both doing Blume's dirty work. Unlike their folks, they're fine youths. You'll be sure to face 'em sooner or later... Be on your guard, stranger."

[4500 gold -> Leif]

Yeahh, it's pretty clear that you're expected to visit these sooner.

Fine youths, yes. I'm sure this claim won't be put into question by Ishtar's actions later on.

11 minutes ago, ping said:

: "Lord Seliph! What an honor it is to meet you at last. I'm Leif, the son of King Quan of Leonster."

That's not quite right, is it? When Quan and Ethlyn were killed, Quan's father was explicitly still alive, if in poor health, so Quan should still have been *Prince* of Leonster.

Thracia 776 confirms in its opening scroll that Leif's grandfather died after Quan, too. So no, that's not quite right.

13 minutes ago, ping said:

That's the power of love! And charm! And leadership!

I wish I'd had charm in my run.

22 minutes ago, ping said:

 

As far as gameplay is concerned, the map was half bad, literally. The beginning was nice (RNG for Shanan notwithstanding) with its multiple little skirmishes - then, Melgen was boring - then, enemies appearing in both Alster and Darna was interesting again - and then the last part of the map was pretty boring again.

Not to worry, the next map is way better. I mean, I recall it being about as boring as all of gen 2 gameplay-wise, but the most important character joins the army there.

[Serenes Forest's Teehee Thread]

14 hours ago, Capt. Fargus said:

Wagner and Henning from Binding Blade spring to mind. Lol

Every game should learn boss design from Binding Blade. Henning stays with just about everyone who plays the game. Now that's what you call a memorable boss.

[To Become an Elitist [Playlogs FE1-5] [currently playing: Thracia 776]]

16 minutes ago, Shanty Pete's 1st Mate said:

Also the premier cause of death a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away...

Medically, she's completely healthy. For reasons we can't explain, we're losing her. We don't know why. She has lost the will to live.

 

 

 

 

 

 

So uncivilized.

16 minutes ago, Shanty Pete's 1st Mate said:

The remake should have Laylea, in particular, emphasize her higher Strength growth by giving Bramsel a broken nose before she gets sent to the dungeon.

That's a wonderful idea. I hope Maeda is reading this.

[To Become an Elitist [Playlogs FE1-5] [currently playing: Thracia 776]]

1 hour ago, BrightBow said:

The constant improvements of the advisor is really nice. I mean, we went from Malledus to Jagen to Levin to August until we finally arrived at nirvana with Eugen.

Eugen: The best part of TRS without even being playable.

24 minutes ago, ping said:

Ah. No, I'm not familiar.  I think the only FE fangames I played somewhat recently were Project Ember and The Sacred Rubens.

Fair enough.

24 minutes ago, ping said:

Now that you mention Alear's fear of the corrupted, I do remember that. I think my impression was more that Alear is especially sensitive to the "corruptedness", not that they are simply more fearful than other characters.

Yeah, that's what it ended up becoming after the executive meddling.

25 minutes ago, ping said:

Funny you mention this, Johalvier and Larcei are already married by the end of ch.7.

Pretty much to see if I can get Johalvier somewhere with some favouritsm. Since Larcei is filthy rich thanks to innate Paragon, she can make sure that he'll always be able to arena with the Paragon band, and maybe even another ring or two if required. Once Leaf promotes (probably start of next chapter; he's at 10.97 by the end of ch.7), I might even put the Pursuit band on Johalvier instead of Arthur or Tinny.

Ayyy Johalvier appreciation. Make my guy into a warrior to... still fall behind because lol infantry in FE4, but hey.

[To Become an Elitist [Playlogs FE1-5] [currently playing: Thracia 776]]

21 minutes ago, ping said:

Whoops... I meant "Astria" ( = Astram), but as somebody who occasionally watches competitive StarCraft 2, my mind went to this fellow. I don't recall any threats of decapitation uttered by him, though.

For me, it brings the mind to FE fangame Sun God's Wrath. Don't recall if you played that one or read my LP of it, but without delving into detail, suffice to say that game's protagonist, Astrea, indulges in some... strategic decapitation at one point.

22 minutes ago, ping said:

I remember Alear being a coward near the start of the game... which lasted roughly 30 seconds and I don't remember a second time this came up. Can't have the player insert display actual weaknesses, now can we?

It comes up, very subtly, a few other times where corrupted are concerned. Alear's terrified of them. However, it's all very lowkey, and for the most part they're just "protagonistic protagonist." Again, the writers wanted to really push Alear's cowardice and their growing out of it in the story, but the higher-ups said... well, yeah, the bolded part, pretty much. Thanks a fucking lot. Hope they're happy now that Engage is widely regarded as one of the worst stories in FE.

24 minutes ago, ping said:

(I suppose I wasn't clear enough, but was referring to that same line. I, as a translator, would've absolutely gone for "Mystletainn is aching for blood." there, unless Ares has an even better line somewhere)

That's probably the wording a FE4 remake would go with, to be consistent with Owain/Odin. Unless, of course, they too forget, which wouldn't surprise me that much.

24 minutes ago, ping said:

Ah. That answers my previous question.

To be fair, the monocle is a rather major advantage.

[To Become an Elitist [Playlogs FE1-5] [currently playing: Thracia 776]]

9 minutes ago, Jotari said:

>.> ...I hate how close to being right you are

If it helps, basically the only thing Reptor has going for him is the rad monocle and not being surrounded by more interesting family members. He's less boring but more by context than any merit of his own.

9 minutes ago, Jotari said:

I like it for what it does for Lewyn's character. In that the whole messianic myth is something artificially arranged by Lewyn to help bring about victory. Unfortunately Seliph just doesn't do anything with it himself. Doesn't embrace it, doesn't reject it, doesn't feel stressed about it, doesn't feel cocky about it. He's such a frustrating character that Seliph. I like how he acts in pretty much every conversation he has, but he's just lacking any kind of cohesion to have a core character or a proper arc leading him to be just so god dang bland. Putting me in the situation where my favourite Fire Emblem narrative has my least favourite protagonist (including all those modern avatars...but not including Itsuki, because no one's more bland than Itsuki).

Sometimes stories are more than the sum of their parts. Not that uncommon to have a story you love with a protagonist you just don't jive with.

[To Become an Elitist [Playlogs FE1-5] [currently playing: Thracia 776]]

Whoops, two updates!

On 4/2/2024 at 3:23 PM, ping said:

I probably don't need to reiterate that this isn't exactly my favourite character archetype. A few bonus points, I suppose, for cutting her losses and not insist that Shanan is totally into her.

Anyway - I wasn't aware that there's a second Brave Sword available, and this early, too. I don't think I'll keep it on Seliph, though. He has about 70 kills on his Silver Sword at this point, and while the Brave Sword is much more reliable in dishing out that extra damage, there's a few other characters that wouldn't mind grabbing it. Leaf, who is using the inaccurate Silver Blade as his hard-hitting option, or Nanna, who doesn't have any hard-hitting melee sword at all right now, or even Patty after she promotes (and this second Brave Sword honestly is a pretty good argument for Holyn!Patty).

I don't recall if this is a thing with her sub.

...Yeah, seems like it is. Neat.

On 4/2/2024 at 3:23 PM, ping said:

Not everything about that scene is bad. It made me think of the music video for Everlong, so that's what I'm listening to right now.

Yeah, not quite an enemy on the level of Clement, this guy.

On 4/2/2024 at 3:23 PM, ping said:

: "So you're the rebel army... This is where your insurrection ends! So long as I, General Liza, draw breath, you shall never reach Melgen!"

: "Ahhh... Ish... tore..."

Well, as I said last update - Liza is not particularly tanky.

Goodbye, recolor of a decently interesting character despite her two lines in the whole game.

...They really shoulda done more with her, honestly.

On 4/2/2024 at 3:23 PM, ping said:

: "You... You vermin! How dare you slaughter Liza like that! You'll have no mercy!"

It's a neat detail that Ishtore's battle (and death) quote change depending on whether or not you killed Liza before facing him. He's obviously not much of a character, given how little time he has spent on-screen, but he seems to work decently well for what he's supposed to do.

Next turn, Forseti. Adept. Dead Ishtore.

: "Liza... I..."

Yeah that's a pretty neat detail. This alone makes him beat Blume, which means he's officially the most forgettable member of his entire family. (Sorry, Jotari)

On 4/2/2024 at 3:23 PM, ping said:

 

So I know that Ishtore is going to come up again, which could change my opinion on him to the better or worse, but I think that in this short segment, he... works. Lewyn's comment that, no matter how affable Ishtore may have come across, he's still fighting for an utterly despicable cause, is a nice change of pace from the usual Camüh sob story, that war is so cruel because it forces good people to kill each other.

One thing people give Gen 2 Lewyn credit for is that he doesn't mince words. He's... not quite as good at that as Thracia 776's brilliant main advisor, but he's getting there. Certainly beats Malledus.

On 4/2/2024 at 3:23 PM, ping said:

Also *sigh*, but for the very different reason that I'm going to have to remember which witch is which.

: "I want you to show these rebel pigs just what it is that the Empire can do!"
: "Yes, milord. Leave it to us. We will never let you down, milord. The rebels shall be destroyed quickly, cleanly, efficiently and utterly. Excuse us, milord."
: "Hmm! Everything depends on you.

Okay, before it wasn't as poignant, but now it really is the time to make the joke.

On 4/2/2024 at 3:23 PM, ping said:

That entire part is filled with so much dumbassery. Ares for thinking Bramsel wouldn't try anything with Laylea once he was away, Jabarro for not even trying to employ just a tiny wee bit of finesse so as not to end up on the receiving end of the dEmOn bLAdE, Bramsel for being Bramsel and Laylea... eh, Laylea's not really done anything wrong here.

On 4/2/2024 at 3:23 PM, ping said:

[HP 130% | Str 90% | Mag 5% | Skl 20% | Spd 30% | Lck 50% | Def 40% | Res 30%]
Skills: Pursuit, Adept, Vantage
Weapon Level: Swords (*), Lances (C)
Major Hezul blood

And here is Ares, who goes right from red to blue without the intermediate green step. Very considerate of him.

I'm happy to announce that, at this moment, his cousin Dermott actually has better stats - specifically, 7 points more Str (and +8 Lck, lol) and roughly similar numbers otherwise. But of course, Mystletainn makes that announcement moot. Its stat bonuses don't look too exciting at first glance - but because it also grants Ares the Critical skill, the +20 Skl matters a whole lot more than just for the accuracy. In addition to the 32% crit chance, Ares also has a 28% chance to proc Adept, which means that with every swing, Ares basially flips a coin to see if he does any bonus damage.

And, of course, even without a proc, Ares just hits really damn hard. Holy weapons tend to do that, and with a 90% Str growth, he's only going to hit damn harder.

In the final chapter I was basically done with this game's gameplay so I just threw Ares at everything with Shannan's backup and the game played itself. Le that be a testament to how hilarious this guy is.

On 4/2/2024 at 3:23 PM, ping said:

I also have to mention that, as somebody pointed out, Ares's mum must've been an incredible badass in her own right. Eldigan didn't have any skills whatsoever (outside of Mystletainn's Critical), so Ares inherited all three of his skills from her.

She was the continent's greatest warrior. Alas, she was taken by the greates affliction in anime middle ages: Grief.

On 4/2/2024 at 3:51 PM, RPGuy96 said:

Let me interest you in a game called Berwick Saga, made by one Shouzou Kaga...

Yes, let's talk about that...

54 minutes ago, ping said:

I know we're working on fundamental Fire Emblem logic here, but Tinni really seems to be Nino-in-Cog levels of not being appropriate to be sent into battle. "I never did want to fight..." - "Awesome, that means now you can fight... for us! Against your uncle!" An uncle who admittedly is a complete piece of shit, unlike Lloyd/Linus, but still.

Being fair, her mother's Hilda.

54 minutes ago, ping said:

Out of curiosity, I checked the wiki if Ares has any convos with Leaf. Nope. And really, all Ares needs to complete his Astrea cosplay is a Paladin wife with blue hair and awful stats.

Not entirely sure what the reference there is, but Astrea is a name that brings a different image to my mind.

54 minutes ago, ping said:

More seriously, I think this convo could've done with at least a little reference to Lene/Leylia. She's the one who first gave Ares doubt about the whole "Sigurd and Eldigan were enemies so grim, their enmity will span genearations!!" mindset, after all.

But what if dead already?

54 minutes ago, ping said:

: "Nngh... No... Darna is mine... All... Mine..."

Unlike Clement, you will be swiftly forgotten.

54 minutes ago, ping said:

OK, when I said in an earlier update that Seliph had "messianic" vibes, I wasn't aware of this conversation. But since I think I remember who is talking to Seliph here, that seems to be literally the case. Hm. Not sure how to feel about that.

Funny how this is basically the same as Engage's avatar worshipping. Yeah, the game acknowledges it, and that's cool. Doesn't make the protagonist any less of a bore. Except Alear has a few moments where they show a personality - and more were intended, but the executives forced the writers to make them more saccharine because what if otakus can't relate as much. Seliph... Yeaah... He sure is a character!

54 minutes ago, ping said:

Honestly, as trite as the whole "rescue your crush, all badass-like" story was, I don't mind Ares and Leylia as characters too much. It helps their case that their gen 1 equivalents were Lewyn and Sylvia.

They do beat Lewyn and Sylvia's dynamic, that much is true, and without Lene's portrait being an issue, we can safely call this one of the things gen 2 has over gen 1.

We'll get to the other one. When the time comes, you'll have to bear(d) with me.

54 minutes ago, ping said:

I can't say how the two's respective advantages weigh against each other, of course. Lene has potential inheritance (in particular the Knight Ring; I'd assume that Seliph would still call dibs on the Leg Ring), so she doesn't even need to go through the arena all that much. Leylia has Charm, obviously an excellent support ability, but we'll see how likely it will be in future chapters to have her actually apply it, between her frailty and the fact that it's a Dancer's job to move adjacent to characters who already acted, and then send them away from herself.

To be honest, yeah, Lene has her own advantages. It's more that they're close enough, and then the other child of Sylvia is way worse than his respective sub. One's got innate paragon and a unique item you can only get from him. The other needs a horrible pairing that isn't any good for him otherwise just to be able to get paragon - and considering what class and level he joins with, he needs it.

54 minutes ago, ping said:

...If I was in the translator's shoes, I'd totally see if I could smuggle in an "aching blood" somewhere. Even if it's just Mystletainn aching for blood.

I mean, he basically already says that with slightly different wording. Let's not forget, the Odin Dark shtick already is a reference to this. Remember Missiletainn?

1 minute ago, Jotari said:

As the world's only Bloom stan, I resent that statement. Tinny says Bloom was nice to her in her final chapter conversation with Arthur (contradicted somewhat by her blaming him for her mother's death in her battle quote with him in the following chapter, which itself is oddly contrasted with her battle quote in this chapter where she actually apologizes to him, I blame the rebels for poisoning her mind against the righteous and noble house Friege).

I'll give you this, I don't get why she's singling him out in that conversation. I thought it was primarily Hilda that ruined Tailtiu's life?

[To Become an Elitist [Playlogs FE1-5] [currently playing: Thracia 776]]

10 hours ago, Shanty Pete's 1st Mate said:

This would later provide inspiration for the central conceit of Three Houses.

The game where two of the characters are childhood friends, and the other is just some rando they barely know that has no story relevance whatsoever. Genius!

10 hours ago, Shanty Pete's 1st Mate said:

Totally unrelated to what you were saying, but I just noticed that these two have practically the same haircut. Maybe Shannan has been the one cutting Seliph's hair? Alternatively, Oifey's been on haircut duty, but he only knows one way of styling it.

Them and half the cast besides. It's just a really popular style in Jugdral.

10 hours ago, Shanty Pete's 1st Mate said:

I could forgive all that, if they didn't make him another boring general. He's not wearing armor, but a robe. Making him a Bishop, or maybe a High Priest, would be much more suitable, in my opinion. Especially if he's supposed to be in charge of the "holy city of Darna".

Oh, he was an armor? I forgot that.

10 hours ago, Shanty Pete's 1st Mate said:

Speaking of "beard", something looks off... Hm...

...Oh, that's it! You've got a tan now! Had a nice vacation, I take it?

I don't know what you're talking about.

[Serenes Forest's Teehee Thread]

50 minutes ago, Shrimpy -Limited Edition- said:

I was about to, but you pulled a Kyouma

HYYYYYYYYYUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU

[Serenes Forest's Teehee Thread]

4 minutes ago, Shrimpy -Limited Edition- said:

you just beat those chicken allegations like a champ

10/10

Who has ever dared call me a chicken, cheep cheep cheep cheep?

4 minutes ago, BrightBow said:

Adel looks a bit too much like Wang Fire for my taste, though.

Maybe he is Wang Fire. You ever stopped to consider that?

1 minute ago, Sidereal Wraith said:

 

Okay that's incredible, thanks Wraith.

[Serenes Forest's Teehee Thread]

8 minutes ago, Shrimpy -Limited Edition- said:

Have that Ward as your pfp

Sorry, you were saying?

4 minutes ago, BrightBow said:

Perfection.

I was actually kind of impressed by how many of them rock the look. Rosalie and Paramythis should adopt it permanently.

[Serenes Forest's Teehee Thread]

I'd been sitting on this for a while. Never had a good opportunity to share anywhere.

But, today seems like a good opportunity for it. You see... I've improved the cast of everyone's favorite FE game, Berwick Saga.

Check it out.

Spoiler

 

[To Become an Elitist [Playlogs FE1-5] [currently playing: Thracia 776]]

7 minutes ago, ping said:

It's common enough that kids and subs have the same dialogue that the wiki.org has that as the default ("All second-generation characters and their substitutes have identical dialogue except where noted. Second-generation children are used, except where substitutes have unique dialogue."), but there's stuff

Yeah, I forgot to clarify but I know there's some stuff. It's just... well, that there's enough for that note to be possible is just kind of lazy.

5 minutes ago, ping said:

or Tristan and Dalvin having a little crisis together (TL;DR: "Oh my god we both suck so much") in this chapter if both of them are below Lv.10.

Ahahaha! Oh yeah, I remember that one. They were right to be concerned, too, because the both of them were by far my worst units. Dalvin ended up dying in the final chapter to keep an absolute behemoth of a boss I didn't want to confront at all from capturing my first castle, and Tristan was so lame I made a disparging edit of his final stats. I don't know where that one went.