The Last To Post Wins!

[Acacia Sgt]

That doesn't really explain.

[Interdimensional Observer]

9 hours ago, DragonFlames said:

Also, what the heck is that dumb looking thing?

When I first heard about Yggdroids (Yggdrasil + Android), I was really excited by the idea of the class, but they botched it visually. I don't get why they chose to make two of them look "female", but the other two look like machines devoid of gender altogether. They needed to pick and choose the design direction- more anthropomorphic, or not at all. The one Yggdroid NPC in EOIII looking at her is definitely "female".

 

The EOIII classes number 12 in total, none, in terms of names and visuals, are copied from EOs 1 or 2. The classes are:

Spoiler

The classes that showed up in Etrian Odyssey Nexus:

• Ninja- The same jack-of-all trades as in EON.
• Zodiac- Same as in EON, your mage.
• Sovereign- Your buffer, like in U2 and Nexus.
• Farmer- Great for grinding EXP and money, kinda weak in combat. So same again.
• Shogun- Mixture of support and offense.

 

 

 

The classes that didn't return in EON:

• Gladiator- Frontline damage dealer with maces or swords.

• Hoplite- Protector by another name, but they use spears.

• Buccaneer- Pirates who are speedy offense. Given a rapier, they can followup on Cut/Stab/Bash attacks, given a Gun, they can followup on Fire/Ice/Volt attacks attacks.

• Wildling- Your binds and ailments specialist- like the Hexer and Arcanist. Can fill empty team slots by summoning animals, each of them being able to inflict a different bind/ailment.

• Arbalest- Carries a crossbow, more the Gunner replacement than the Survivalist.

• Monk- Your dedicated healer, with a limited physical offense selection.

• And the Yggdroid- A very mixed bag of skills: Fire/Ice/Volt Bots for support damage and defense, Rocket Headbutts/Punches/Jumps, and the high risk-high reward HP Cannon. 

 

Do note that although there are 12 classes, you can only have access to 11 on any fresh playthrough. Yggdroid and Shogun are not available at the start of the game. You'll get one or the other based apparently on who you side with after the 2nd Stratum I think- a slight narrative split.

 

Edited October 24, 2019 by Interdimensional Observer

[Armagon]

Artwork like this makes me (and a lot of other Gunvolt fans) have a headcanon where the entire series is just like, a TV series. Each game is a season and when it's done, the characters just hang out until the next season.

[DragonFlames]

1 hour ago, Interdimensional Observer said:

When I first heard about Yggdroids (Yggdrasil + Android), I was really excited by the idea of the class, but they botched it visually. I don't get why they chose to make two of them look "female", but the other two look like machines devoid of gender altogether. They needed to pick and choose the design direction- more anthropomorphic, or not at all. The one Yggdroid NPC in EOIII looking at her is definitely "female".

 

The EOIII classes number 12 in total, none, in terms of names and visuals, are copied from EOs 1 or 2. The classes are:

  Reveal hidden contents

The classes that showed up in Etrian Odyssey Nexus:

• Ninja- The same jack-of-all trades as in EON.
• Zodiac- Same as in EON, your mage.
• Sovereign- Your buffer, like in U2 and Nexus.
• Farmer- Great for grinding EXP and money, kinda weak in combat. So same again.
• Shogun- Mixture of support and offense.

 

 

 

The classes that didn't return in EON:

• Gladiator- Frontline damage dealer with maces or swords.

• Hoplite- Protector by another name, but they use spears.

• Buccaneer- Pirates who are speedy offense. Given a rapier, they can followup on Cut/Stab/Bash attacks, given a Gun, they can followup on Fire/Ice/Volt attacks attacks.

• Wildling- Your binds and ailments specialist- like the Hexer and Arcanist. Can fill empty team slots by summoning animals, each of them being able to inflict a different bind/ailment.

• Arbalest- Carries a crossbow, more the Gunner replacement than the Survivalist.

• Monk- Your dedicated healer, with a limited physical offense selection.

• And the Yggdroid- A very mixed bag of skills: Fire/Ice/Volt Bots for support damage and defense, Rocket Headbutts/Punches/Jumps, and the high risk-high reward HP Cannon. 

 

Do note that although there are 12 classes, you can only have access to 11 on any fresh playthrough. Yggdroid and Shogun are not available at the start of the game. You'll get one or the other based apparently on who you side with after the 2nd Stratum I think- a slight narrative split.

 

Oh, that's very interesting. Agreed on the visual botch, though. The extra classes in EOIV were much better looking (Arcanist especially looks great).

A comment/rant on the Sovereign class in EON:
They lost their best skills in Link Order and Link Order II. In EO2U, Arianna (and the class in general) was really good precisely because of these two skills. In case you don't know what they do: they activate at the beginning of the turn and each time you use an elemental attack with a character in that same row, they'll follow up with an elemental attack of that same element against the same enemy. Link Order targets one foe (best used on bosses), Link Order II targets the entire group (best used for random encounters).
In my opinion, the removal of these two skills has nerfed the Sovereign pretty hard, as their buffs only ever target their own row and these buffs are the only thing can ever do, while other classes (like the War Magus, Hero or Shogun) offer much more versatility.

[XRay]

I win for now.

[DragonFlames]

You think you do, but you don't.

[Interdimensional Observer]

7 minutes ago, DragonFlames said:

A comment/rant on the Sovereign class in EON:
They lost their best skills in Link Order and Link Order II. In EO2U, Arianna (and the class in general) was really good precisely because of these two skills. In case you don't know what they do: they activate at the beginning of the turn and each time you use an elemental attack with a character in that same row, they'll follow up with an elemental attack of that same element against the same enemy. Link Order targets one foe (best used on bosses), Link Order II targets the entire group (best used for random encounters).
In my opinion, the removal of these two skills has nerfed the Sovereign pretty hard, as their buffs only ever target their own row and these buffs are the only thing can ever do, while other classes (like the War Magus, Hero or Shogun) offer much more versatility.

The Link Orders really were useful for followup damage from Fafnir, or an Alchemist/someone with Formula Grimoires. Considering randoms are far from weak in EO (my second run of V has had me suddenly slaughtered just as I'm about to clear a 5th Stratum floor one too many times), Link Order II was very beneficial. But it's worth noting that the Link Orders didn't exist in EOIII, just Nexus's Element Bomb I. 

Sadly, they got rid of a glitch found in the Japanese version of Nexus. Dauntless Order- the "survive a fatal hit" skill of Sovereigns- had a 100% activation rate at all levels. Two characters spamming that (maxed for 250/100 HP heals) could make a fight very difficult to lose. International version fixed it, the endure rate is now between 40-70%.

[DragonFlames]

10 minutes ago, Interdimensional Observer said:

The Link Orders really were useful for followup damage from Fafnir, or an Alchemist/someone with Formula Grimoires. Considering randoms are far from weak in EO (my second run of V has had me suddenly slaughtered just as I'm about to clear a 5th Stratum floor one too many times), Link Order II was very beneficial. But it's worth noting that the Link Orders didn't exist in EOIII, just Nexus's Element Bomb I.

Yeah, EOV was pretty brutal with its random encounters, particularly on Stratum 5. One of my gripes with V is actually that there are noticeable difficulty spikes with each new stratum that basically force you to stop what you're doing and level up for a bit if you don't want to panic each time an encounter happens. My personal "most annoying enemy" award goes to those damn moles from Stratum 2.
I didn't know Link Order wasn't a thing in EOIII. Since they took the classes from their games of origin, I guess its understandable that these skills are missing.

11 minutes ago, Interdimensional Observer said:

Sadly, they got rid of a glitch found in the Japanese version of Nexus. Dauntless Order- the "survive a fatal hit" skill of Sovereigns- had a 100% activation rate at all levels. Two characters spamming that (maxed for 250/100 HP heals) could make a fight very difficult to lose. International version fixed it, the endure rate is now between 40-70%.

If they kept that glitch, I would have taken a Sovereign along and taught them that skill. 40-70% seems a little unreliable for something you'd want/need to help out in a pinch.

[Codename Shrimp]

Victory
POST!

[XRay]

My victory now!

[Codename Shrimp]

Yamete! Watashi wa Victory!

[DragonFlames]

I won, I won! W-I-N!

the original quote is "we won", but I'm just one person, so... yeah.

[Acacia Sgt]

Time for another five-second victory...

[DragonFlames]

[Codename Shrimp]

 

[XRay]

My turn to win.

[Codename Shrimp]

 

[Armagon]

Reminder that Jesus Christ is in the Xenosaga trilogy.

[Interdimensional Observer]

5 hours ago, Armagon said:

Reminder that Jesus Christ is in the Xenosaga trilogy.

In what capacity exactly?

I'm a little surprised Xenosaga would do this, Shin Megami Tensei throws the term "Messiah" around frequently, but it never goes as far as to specifically mean the Christian messiah. Although SMT uses pure religion/mythology, while Xeno just use terminology and symbolism loosely, which is a major difference.

 

 

 

 

I decided to ahead and start Nexus anyhow. I spent possibly up to an hour on my characters colorations and names. Lorag the teenage female Hero. Karino the teenage male Ninja, Danteh the female bewildered Harbinger, Junchi the red hate boy Farmer, and Naishe the long-haired girl Zodiac. My guild name Timlea.

Timlea is the first letters of Etria, Lagaard, Armoroad, Tharsis, Iorys, Maginia- every EO town. Lorag is Lora + Morag, with red hair just because I liked it, even if it and the white armor make her look more like Lora. Karino is Karol + Kirino. Danteh is Dana + Enteh, with blue hair like the both of them. Junchi is Jun + Eikichi. And Naishe is Anais + Aishe. All derived from games I've played recently.

 

First labyrinth is a rough start, as it tends to be in EO. Already, I'm having initial qualms with a frontline Ninja, it can't exactly dodgetank to start, and Tackles from those muscular flies OHKO it, at first, even normal hits from the koalas OHKO'ed it. Once I have the Memory Conch, it's going to somebody who could, if I needed it, be an alternative front row unit. But with time and investment, maybe frontline Ninja can be good, though the need to buff dodging skills takes Skill Points that could have otherwise been placed into its offense.

 

 

 

This is Wild:

And so is this:

Made by someone's mother.

[Acacia Sgt]

Little relation, or maybe not; but the Jesus mention I got reminded of Terranigma.

Also... I'm kinda not surprised to know Xenosaga did that (admitedly, I probably learn it already years ago).

Edited October 25, 2019 by Acacia Sgt

[Armagon]

2 hours ago, Interdimensional Observer said:

In what capacity exactly?

I'm a little surprised Xenosaga would do this, Shin Megami Tensei throws the term "Messiah" around frequently, but it never goes as far as to specifically mean the Christian messiah. Although SMT uses pure religion/mythology, while Xeno just use terminology and symbolism loosely, which is a major difference.

Jesus only appears in a flashback but he has an expanded role detailed in Perfect Guide. As such, his actual role in the story is never explained in the game itself. I'll put it in spoilers in case you don't want to see it.

Spoiler

Where Xenosaga Jesus deviates from Bible Jesus is that the former's miracles were actually created by chaos (the character). Jesus himself was just human but he was really good at being able to guide the hearts of the people. Wilhelm, who at the time may have been either Emperor Tiberius or Pontius Pilate (likely the former since Wilhelm prefers to be at the top of the command chain) ordered Jesus' death. The torture and crucifixion likely followed the same route as told in the Bible.

Wilhelm shouldn't have done that however, as Jesus' death permanently doomed humanity, preventing them from ever ascending to the Upper Domain. Also, Abel's Ark (this thing)

appeared when Jesus died.

 

On the subject of religion in Xeno, i do like how supportive it kinda is. While i wouldn't say most JRPGs treat religion as a bad thing, it's not secret that "kill God" is the end goal for a lot of them. But Xeno's like "hey, religion is cool" and for the most part, it's never portrayed negatively. Even when it comes to God, with the exception of one, Gods in Xeno are benevolant. 

Edit: oh yeah, i forgot another interesting tidbit about Xenosaga Jesus Christ. After humanity is forced to leave Earth, the calendar adopts a new time period: TC or Transcend Christ. Xenosaga Episodes I and II takes place in 4767 TC and Episode III takes place one year later. If we're going by our time, Xenosaga takes place somewhere between 6000 and 7277 AD (or somewhere between the 61st and 73rd Century).

 

Edited October 25, 2019 by Armagon

[Interdimensional Observer]

2 hours ago, Armagon said:

On the subject of religion in Xeno, i do like how supportive it kinda is. While i wouldn't say most JRPGs treat religion as a bad thing, it's not secret that "kill God" is the end goal for a lot of them. But Xeno's like "hey, religion is cool" and for the most part, it's never portrayed negatively. Even when it comes to God, with the exception of one, Gods in Xeno are benevolant.

Part of the problem with the overabundant "Kill God" trope might stem from these games originating in Japan. Coming from a land of polytheism sort of permits gods to be less than perfect, even if I'm not exactly familiar with inherently "bad" Shinto deities if they exist- Izanami Goddess of the Underworld called Yomi I guess? Do games from the West use the trope anywhere near as much as Japanese games do? Demons they'll have fun with, Norse and Greco-Roman gods too, and Church conspiracies, but slaying the Abrahamic God?

Regarding other games, mostly JRPGs:

• Tales... well they sorta painted organized religion as hopeless with Symphonia and Abyss, despite sympathies being stated therein. Tales of Xillia was okay-ish on religion though, you do play as the leading Summon Spirit's human incarnation. 
• Final Fantasy from all I've played really messed it up with 10, and from what I've read seems to have done edgy-terrible with Tactics, and seems to be very anti-gods with its 13. It's a bit shameful Square can't learn from Xenogears's usually good handling of things barring crucified Chuchu.
• Luminous Arc 1 was a game that effectively dumbed down the "kill God" concept to its tropey essence without any trappings of trying to save religion. But, at least it's lighthearted anime-ish about it, and not edgy, though depending on your perspective, that might make it worse.
• Dragon Quest is fairly kind to the Almighty/Goddess however, the benefit of it being a lighthearted franchise with a simpler good vs. evil mindset.
• Okami might be a 3D adventure like Legend of Zelda and therefore not qualify in this, but it is kind to religion, being you are a deity.

And then there is the fairly unique case in the JRPG world of Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga 2. I'll throw this in box in case it doesn't interest you. It's special circumstance that deviates from usual SMT God treatment (the usual is cruel and bleak).:

Spoiler

While communing with God (a process that pushes one's body to its limits can only be done for a few minutes at most), a character suddenly sends a massive quantity of negative emotions to God, causing the Sun, where God is located, to begin consuming the Earth's data- the foundation of all existence.

The heroes hurry to go and confront God before it devours the entire planet, and eventually they proceed to fight it. However, this isn't a fight to kill God, for God is beyond human understanding and power, the fight is just a trial to prove to it humanity is worth saving- a final battle being a necessity of a video game.

During the final battle, God's enemy title is "God Brahman", which indicates this isn't a Judeo-Christian interpretation of God. In fact, God's form I recognized from an art history class is derived from Shiva iconography in Hinduism. When the final battle is won, God disappears and the main character is suddenly all alone absorbing a bunch of information and experiencing revelations, one of which they speak is "I am God".

Knowing the basics of Hinduism that I do, the ultimate reality of existence is called Brahman (Brahma means the Hindu creator god of the Trimurti- the trinity including Preserver Vishnu and Destroyer Shiva, Brahmin means the priest caste), the soul in Hinduism is called the Atma. One popular belief is Brahma-Atma, that an individual's soul is a piece of true existence, one only need achieve the right mindset to realize this and attain enlightenment and salvation. Digital Devil Saga seems to accept this belief.

So, the main character effectively ascends to enlightenment having fought the God they are part of, and thus ends the devouring of the Earth, with all returned to normal. In a sense, this Brahman-Atma belief explains how negative emotions caused God to devour the Earth in the first place, since if one is part of God, one can influence God's actions if they are communing with it -which was the entire point of the EGG Installation where the God-communing happened in the first place. 

 

Edited October 25, 2019 by Interdimensional Observer

[Acacia Sgt]

Yep, now I'm fully thinking on the Quintet Soul trilogy here.

[XRay]

Lalala...

[WeAreNewcastle1053]

VICTORYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY