The Last To Post Wins!

[Armagon]

21 hours ago, Interdimensional Observer said:

The choice for the GameCube, reading a different interview, stemmed entirely from the general absence of RPGs on the system. Call it charity, call it seeing a potentially profitable commercial void to fill?

That's also possible. The GameCube didn't really have that many JRPGs. There was

• Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door
• Path of Radiance
• The Baten Kaitos duology
• Pokemon Coloseum and Gale of Darkness
• Tales of Symphonia (but that wasn't GameCube exclusive, was it?)

and that was basically it. Oh, there was that one Final Fantasy spin-off. Fuck, i forget the name but i know it got remastered on Switch recently.

Now that i think about it, NIntendo went three console generations getting the short end of the stick when it comes to JRPGs. The N64 had like, none. There was Paper Mario and that was basically it. EarthBound and Fire Emblem were planned on it but those projects got scrapped and moved to the GBA instead. The Wii didn't have many JRPGs either, which is why Operation Rainfall was so heavily campaigned, which brought over Xenoblade Chronicles, Last Story and Pandora's Tower to the West. Then there's Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World. Radiant Dawn of course. The Wii U also didn't have too many JRPGs but that was more of just the Wii U not having a lot of games in general. It really wasn't until the Switch that Nintendo consoles started having a good supply of JRPGs again, especially since the Switch has overtaken the Vita as the JRPG machine (Vita's JRPG library is bigger but the Vita's also dead). 

21 hours ago, Interdimensional Observer said:

They missed an opportunity for a crossover with XC2 as I see it. Guillo would've made a perfect inclusion to the Blade lineup, being himself a construct. Knuckle Claws would have been his definite weapon choice. Light would have been appealing for his element since it is so scarce, with only Mythra and KOS-MOS being non-DLC options for it. Ice would have been his most likely element, were it not for Ursula. But that'd be easily corrected by moving her to Bitball and purging Dahlia because poor visual design, or Ursula or Dahlia moves to a different weapon type lacking an Ice Rare Blade, like Ether Cannon. They could've made it "another Guillo" like KOS-MOS, and added a Sagi recolor for Rex to the Land of Challenge to match. Guillo might not be Sagi, the main lead, but he is pretty damn important (as you'd hope with only three PCs), so getting the Blade treatment when adding in the rest of considerations would've made sense for him over his human companion.

-But thats just me, and I have a peculiar liking for Guillo.😀

I would've definitly loved to see a Baten Kaitos Blade in Xenoblade 2. Especially since it would've fit in with the aesthetics. Any chance of Guillo having Twin RIngs instead of Knuckle Claws though? Because there aren't any Rare Twin Ring Blades.

12 hours ago, DragonFlames said:

Thank you!

No problem. Always happy to help.

10 hours ago, Acacia Sgt said:

Ahahaha, I remembered this was a thing:

.... and then I'm like, "Wait, that ship blew up with Viral as the only survivor". Oops.

Yeah Squidward being in Gurren Laggan is funny and all but there's something i need to point out

 

 

10 hours ago, Strullemia said:

Even though I don't care for the new Pokémon game, the anime certainly does interest me!

World tour across the Pokemon world is definitly an interesting premise. I haven't seen the anime yet but i'll jump in and see how the Gen 8 anime is like. I guess winning the League allowed Ash to finally age. In reverse, appearently.

[Acacia Sgt]

42 minutes ago, Armagon said:

That's also possible. The GameCube didn't really have that many JRPGs. There was

• Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door
• Path of Radiance
• The Baten Kaitos duology
• Pokemon Coloseum and Gale of Darkness
• Tales of Symphonia (but that wasn't GameCube exclusive, was it?)

and that was basically it. Oh, there was that one Final Fantasy spin-off. Fuck, i forget the name but i know it got remastered on Switch recently.

Now that i think about it, NIntendo went three console generations getting the short end of the stick when it comes to JRPGs. The N64 had like, none. There was Paper Mario and that was basically it. EarthBound and Fire Emblem were planned on it but those projects got scrapped and moved to the GBA instead. The Wii didn't have many JRPGs either, which is why Operation Rainfall was so heavily campaigned, which brought over Xenoblade Chronicles, Last Story and Pandora's Tower to the West. Then there's Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World. Radiant Dawn of course. The Wii U also didn't have too many JRPGs but that was more of just the Wii U not having a lot of games in general. It really wasn't until the Switch that Nintendo consoles started having a good supply of JRPGs again, especially since the Switch has overtaken the Vita as the JRPG machine (Vita's JRPG library is bigger but the Vita's also dead). 

If SRPG's count, the GameCube also had SRW GC; and the N64 had SRW 64. Sure, Japan-only; but they were there. Speaking of SRW, the Wii also had SRW NEO.

... it comes to my attention SRW actually skipped the Wii U.

Oh, and outside SRW, I do know there was Ogre Battle 64 and Aydin Chronicles. Still very few; but it wasn't just Paper Mario!

44 minutes ago, Armagon said:

 

Yeah Squidward being in Gurren Laggan is funny and all but there's something i need to point out

 

Does it really matter where the pic comes from?

[Armagon]

16 minutes ago, Acacia Sgt said:

f SRPG's count, the GameCube also had SRW GC; and the N64 had SRW 64. Sure, Japan-only; but they were there. Speaking of SRW, the Wii also had SRW NEO.

Yeah, SRPGs count. Of course, Japan typically gets more JRPGs than the West does, for obvious reasons.

17 minutes ago, Acacia Sgt said:

Does it really matter where the pic comes from?

Yes

Nah, I was just messing around. 

[MisterIceTeaPeach]

I considered N64, GameCube and Wii all as party consoles. They had barely any JRPGs. And the only reason I still own my Wii is because of FE10. 

I am positively surprised how many great JRPGs have been released for the Switch. So many that I cannot play them all. And series which have been more or less Playstation exclusive like Atelier got even a port for the Switch. It is definitely a trend I like to see. 

[Acacia Sgt]

Overall, it can all be traced to the Playstation. They hoarded the RPG's, which then continued into the PS2 and PS3.

On the other hand, Nintendo did kinda pushed them away back then, with stuff like sticking to cartridges and stuff. That's why developers like Square migrated to Sony, after all.

[Interdimensional Observer]

2 hours ago, Armagon said:

Tales of Symphonia (but that wasn't GameCube exclusive, was it?)

It started as an exclusive in 2003, but got ported to the PS2 with extras as soon as 2004 (not unlike the fate of Tales of Vesperia, an Xbox 360 exclusive that a year later got its improved edition on PS3). And yet:

This got replaced with something generic in the ports.

 

2 hours ago, Armagon said:

I would've definitly loved to see a Baten Kaitos Blade in Xenoblade 2. Especially since it would've fit in with the aesthetics. Any chance of Guillo having Twin RIngs instead of Knuckle Claws though? Because there aren't any Rare Twin Ring Blades.

The closest Guillo comes to that is lifting an ice disk out of the ground and chucking it at the enemies during his Sigil Cry special. So no, not really, as much as I'd like another Twin Rings Blade. (This wouldn't be a problem if they just got rid of generic Beast Blades/swapped their weapons to other things to continue existing, this way the weapon type would be exclusive to Dromarch. No other main character Blade has this sharing problem. And Tanks only have two weapon types, why does Healer need three?)

Guillo punches a bunch during cutscenes, even if gameplay he's the "mage" of the group and pelts the bad guys with magic. His equipment Magnus look like claws, gloves, and katars (things you grip in your hand for stabbing people), the game sometimes calls them "Sophias".:

Although they could've used Mizuti from Eternal Wings for a Dual Rings user, since they have one chakram already.:

Spoiler

But the idea of having Mizuti over Kalas or Xelha would override any pretense of story importance being the determining factor for getting in. It'd be purely a choice made on gameplay considerations, which is therefore pretty unrealistic. -Or so I'm influenced by Smash.

It'd be like hypothetically throwing Sharla over Shulk in XCX.: 

• I'd actually like Sharla more than Shulk in XCX, if she gave Sniper Rifles another Art or two (and I'd assume Shield for her melee weapon b/c ReynxSharla), and Sniper Rifles would like that. It'd also better your chances of getting Sniper Rifles from enemies a little, since your current team's weapon types have increased drop rates.
• Shulk on the other hand, assuming he used the standard weapon types and gave Cross two new Arts, would have to be a Longsword user b/c big and two-handed like the Monado. But Longswords already have enough good stuff, they don't need Monado Armor/Speed/Buster/Purge.
• But, Sharla isn't close to equal in story importance with Shulk, she's the designated healer, who happens to fill in some narrative at Bionis's Leg and then later on.

On the sheer hypothetical of Mizuti anyhow, I'm not quite sure element they'd get. Going by the element of their 9th finisher Magnus, their last, it's Chronos, which doesn't exist in XC2. Its name is "Planet Soul", so how about the Earth element?

Edited November 26, 2019 by Interdimensional Observer

[Acacia Sgt]

3 minutes ago, Interdimensional Observer said:

This got replaced with something generic in the ports.

Oh yeah, that was an amusing detail.

This reminds me of a fanfic I read where the thing was an actual working GameCube.

[Interdimensional Observer]

Just now, Acacia Sgt said:

This reminds me of a fanfic I read where the thing was an actual working GameCube.

Sounds more realistic than the Nintendo Entertainment System Knitting Machine I read about this morning:

[Acacia Sgt]

Aw man, now that I got reminded of it, I wanted to read that thing again... but I can't.

The thing is, the "door mechanism also works like a GameCube" thing was from a fanfic that was basically a collection of fanmade skits. While it hasn't been updated in years... it's still over 400 chapter big; and the chapter titles don't always tell exactly what they're about, so it's going to be a chore reading through them to find it.

It's this one. It's overall a very funny collection of skits, so might as well share it.

[Armagon]

8 hours ago, Acacia Sgt said:

On the other hand, Nintendo did kinda pushed them away back then, with stuff like sticking to cartridges and stuff. That's why developers like Square migrated to Sony, after all.

Ironically, technology has advanced to where cartridges are better than discs now.

8 hours ago, Interdimensional Observer said:

Guillo punches a bunch during cutscenes, even if gameplay he's the "mage" of the group and pelts the bad guys with magic. His equipment Magnus look like claws, gloves, and katars (things you grip in your hand for stabbing people), the game sometimes calls them "Sophias".:

Alright yeah, Knuckle Claws definitly makes more sense. Or perhaps they could make him a bit more unique. Like with Shulk, who's weapon type is basically a Shield Hammer but one that specializes in attack. So Guillo could be Knuckle Claws but one that specializes in defense, to make up for defense Blades only having two weapon types.

8 hours ago, Interdimensional Observer said:

Sounds more realistic than the Nintendo Entertainment System Knitting Machine I read about this morning:

But why?

[Interdimensional Observer]

54 minutes ago, Armagon said:

But why?

Which is why it only had one public event showing. And the one time a guy at Nintendo's marketing team had to showcase using it, the higher ups gave him told him about it only 30 minutes in advance. How would you market this?

1 hour ago, Armagon said:

Ironically, technology has advanced to where cartridges are better than discs now.

Cartridges had advantages in lower load times back then too, and the 64 had some technical advantages, not to call the PS1 weak.

But, it was the storage space that got Sony its RPG lead. Fitting the entirety of FFVII on the 64 would've needed tens of expensive cartridges I think. A lot of that would be the CGI cutscenes I believe, but you can't get rid of those, they were the cutting edge of awesome-looking things back then. Only fools did without them, and only idiots stayed in 2D- which made Castlevania: Symphony of the Night so exceptional for its time. That was before the modern appreciation for 2D games with pretty aesthetics.

Final Fantasy VIII has four Discs, each of which ends with a battle with a Sorceress -except Disc Three, which cuts right before the battle with one, despite it being in the exact same dungeon as the boss ending Disc Three IIRC. Given (sadly) how little content is on XG Disc Two, I would expect that if you dropped the opening with that captain on a ship and weird naked lady looking at a shooting star, you'd have a one-disc game.

Nintendo still had the technological lead with the GameCube, but the mini-discs still left them with space issues. I've heard people complain about the Skies of Arcadia GC port having worse audio than the Dreamcast original, due to audio compression to fit the game on a single mini-disc. So, it was inheriting the legacy of the PS1 and no spacial limitations at all that made the PS2 the preferred RPG console for its generation.

 

1 hour ago, Armagon said:

Alright yeah, Knuckle Claws definitly makes more sense. Or perhaps they could make him a bit more unique. Like with Shulk, who's weapon type is basically a Shield Hammer but one that specializes in attack. So Guillo could be Knuckle Claws but one that specializes in defense, to make up for defense Blades only having two weapon types.

Just throwing out more ideas, since you bring up Shulk. Milly could work in a similar vein as him and Fiora (a Dual Rings rebranded as Knives). Milly's weapon of choice is dual maces, with a lot of her equipment Magnus being called "Cudgels". That would explain why her Spirit Battle in Smash gives the enemy an Ore Club- but her maces are way smaller than that- closer to Fiora's Knives and Elma's Dual Swords. Volt would be her most likely element, and for a tiny touch that pops in my head, give one of her Arts Topple.

Also, I just took a look at Sagi and Milly's Spirits in Smash, since I don't have the game myself, ugh. Yeah, the full body official art that got in is more like offal art. And yet, their ingame portraits look better:

Only they got in as Smash Spirits, nobody from Eternal Wings. Looks like The Valedictory Elegy would be the reason why.

[MisterIceTeaPeach]

On my way home I saw through GameStop's windows an used Wii U for 49 €. I do not know much used it is that the price is that low, or otherwise this console has lost all its never existing worth. Imo the most pointless Nintendo console in existence (because of lack on (good) games) aside of the virtual boy which never has been released as far as I know. 

[Karimlan]

53 minutes ago, Zemuria said:

.... aside of the virtual boy which never has been released as far as I know. 

The guys from Pawn Stars were able to play with one in a really old episode of the show.

 

[MisterIceTeaPeach]

Wait, these two actually bought finally something worth for its price!? 

It feels like a miracle to see that happen.

 

I learn more about the value of videogames

 

[Karimlan]

4 minutes ago, Zemuria said:

Wait, these two actually bought finally something worth for its price!? 

From a Virtual Boy message board:

Quote

The guy asked for $200 for it, but they offered him $80 and he took the deal. They probably looked up what it was worth before they saw it because $80 is near the going price.

They showed some of the graphics from the console, and it obviously had the lens issue, but I guess it wasn't so bad that it wasn't worth buying.

At the end of the episode, they had the Old Man play Mario Tennis, and he actually thought it was kind of cool.

 

[MisterIceTeaPeach]

What I tried to say is that these two have made so many bad deals from what I have seen yet. 

Of course this one is an exception, especially since the customer accepted Big Host's suggestion at once. 

Regardless they showed me that I was wrong. 

[Acacia Sgt]

Huh, a Virtual Boy appeared in Pawn Stars? Hmm, an episode I haven't seen....

[DragonFlames]

Random question: Why is it that in Fire Emblem Three Houses, if a stat gets screwed, it's usually Speed? Caspar hasn't gained a single point of Speed in 10 levels (he got one as a promotion bonus, though), neither has Linhardt - though with him I don't care too much, because he's bench/Adjutant-fodder anyway.
Edelgard, Lysithea, and Byleth have stopped levelling it somewhere around the 10-12 Speed mark. F***ing why?!?
Also, how do you all feel about making Edelgard a Swordmaster? I kinda want to try that out for funsies (and to fix her terribad Speed), actually.

In some weird/good news: Petra is tankier than Ferdinand right now. Yep. I don't know what it is about the guy, but he always ends up as THE worst unit whenever I play Black Eagles. No wonder I dislike him so much. Goes on and on about how he's better than Edelgard but then ends up being the worst combat unit in his class. He's like Lorenz and Ingrid in that regard.

[MisterIceTeaPeach]

I loved watching Pawn Stars when I had a TV. One of the very few TV series of the 21th century which have been entertaining but also instructive. 

 

 

I am before the final chapter of Black Eagles in maddening. Hubert and new unit died, but they are absolutely not essential for the game. I would have an easy win, IF Edelgard was not a main character. Her speed is pathetic, but Idk why this game put her in the fucking terrible armor class which does not even give her a good skill for mastering it. The +30% evasion for mastering falcon knight / wyvern lord class is way to success. In general Black Eagles is the weakest class. I do not know, if I could beat it without recruitments. Only Petra and Ferdinand (besides Byleth) are decent combat units in lategame. 

[Armagon]

 

@DragonFlames because crossing over the series about cute girls doing alchemy with ancient Chinese warfare makes complete sense.

1 hour ago, Interdimensional Observer said:

Given (sadly) how little content is on XG Disc Two, I would expect that if you dropped the opening with that captain on a ship and weird naked lady looking at a shooting star, you'd have a one-disc game.

The opening cutscene of Xenogears always interested me. It's significance is revealed in Disc 2 but what i remember is that that cutscene was of the highest quality compared to all the other animated cutscenes in the game. Even the voice acting wasn't too bad (Xenogears' English voice acting was horrible, what little there was of it).

2 hours ago, Interdimensional Observer said:

So, it was inheriting the legacy of the PS1 and no spacial limitations at all that made the PS2 the preferred RPG console for its generation.

And yet, Xenosaga Episodes II and III still required two discs each. Episode I was just a single disc only but i remember when i was emulating the games, Episode I was 6 GB. Episodes II and III's discs were 3 GB each, so in total it was 6 GB each so i wonder what resulted in those games being split. Though maybe emulation isn't a good measure for how much storage a game actually needs.

2 hours ago, Interdimensional Observer said:

Also, I just took a look at Sagi and Milly's Spirits in Smash, since I don't have the game myself, ugh. Yeah, the full body official art that got in is more like offal art. And yet, their ingame portraits look better:

Oh definitly. I recall the same thing being the case with Eternal Wings. Character portraits looked much better than official art.

1 hour ago, Zemuria said:

On my way home I saw through GameStop's windows an used Wii U for 49 €. I do not know much used it is that the price is that low, or otherwise this console has lost all its never existing worth.

The Wii U is still the only console where you can play Xenoblade X so it still has some worth left. 

55 minutes ago, Karimlan said:

The guys from Pawn Stars were able to play with one in a really old episode of the show.

Never saw the specific episode but i remember tuning in to watch Pawn Stars with my dad when i was younger.

 

[Armagon]

Bringing back a classic.

[Karimlan]

4 hours ago, Zemuria said:

I loved watching Pawn Stars when I had a TV. One of the very few TV series of the 21th century which have been entertaining but also instructive. 

I find myself watching a lot of stuff from the History channel (save for Ancient Aliens).

[Armagon]

2020 please hurry up so i can see these places in HD.

[Interdimensional Observer]

You ask for too much, albeit it shall be given. Plus a shoulder formerly beta.

All I ask for is the title screen in HD. Nothing better than leaving the game on the title screen, listening to the main theme, watching the grass blow in the wind, and the progression of day to dusk to night. And so the hours pass, so the music goes from tranquil beginnings and careful rhythm, to sorrow that strains the heart, to running free with boundless joy, to denouement and rest in the night.

 

Minor listing:

1. XC1 Main Theme
2. TtGC Title Theme
3. MONOX
4. Where We Used to Be

Where We Used To Be is too soft, though it has admirable notes, but the rest are strong. I have to pick XC1 for the best because of the title screen's perfect fusion with the theme. It's a real hard choice for second place. TtGC is gentle, but about a minute in, it starts hitting the sentimental emotions well.

MONOX is, no surprise given XCX is the oddball, very different from the other three. It begins with some electronic notes to its classical instruments, which behind the electric beats builds up over time. Then it gets to the strings which give it a reflective, perhaps sentimental touch. Then the cymbals clash and the epic and the awe is embraced in a lightning rush, which slows into the constant thunder of the rest of the track.

And yet, the sentimentality wins out for me. To be fair, Once We Part Ways is an underrated track of XC1 to me. 

[Armagon]

45 minutes ago, Interdimensional Observer said:

All I ask for is the title screen in HD. Nothing better than leaving the game on the title screen, listening to the main theme, watching the grass blow in the wind, and the progression of day to dusk to night. And so the hours pass, so the music goes from tranquil beginnings and careful rhythm, to sorrow that strains the heart, to running free with boundless joy, to denouement and rest in the night.

Some people have been wanting to see the title screen change as you progress though the game, much like it did in Xenoblade 2 and honestly i don't want that. Xenoblade 1's title screen is just perfect because of what you described. You always hear people joke around about how they "can't get past the title screen" in their favorite game but Xenoblade 1's title screen is the only one where i'd actually just sit there and watch. No starting the game.

45 minutes ago, Interdimensional Observer said:

Minor listing:

1. XC1 Main Theme
2. TtGC Title Theme
3. MONOX
4. Where We Used to Be

That's actually my same listing as well. Interesting thing about Where We Used to Be though is that it's the Xenoblade theme with the most uses of it's motiff in different songs. Elysium in the Blue Sky, Elysium in the Dream, the final notes of One Last You, the World Tree theme also has it the motiff mixed in and the first theme of the final area has it as well (if you were to speed it up by 2x, it's more obvious). Xenoblade 1's main theme has it's motiff used in the final notes of Prolouge B and Shulk and Fiora. The Beginning of our Memory (the TTGC main theme) is pretty much an instrumental version of A Moment of Eternity. MONOX is the only one that doesn't have it's motiff used anywhere else though i could be wrong.

On the subject of Where We Used to Be, the reason i'd put it in last place is because it really lacks that impact that other Xenoblade main themes had. If Elysium in the Blue Sky or even Elysium in the Dream had been the main theme, i'd put it much higher. 

Edited November 27, 2019 by Armagon