Serenes Forest's Teehee Thread

[BrightBow]

Well, it's just something I thought about, with all this talk about Jagens just now. How it's a good thing when those supposed veteran knights become useless halfway through the game. Even though a veteran knight shouldn't lose to some poor drafted nobodies.

Leveling, stats... they are meant to be simulation systems. But if a supposed veteran can't hold up against cannon fodder enemies, they lose any and all meaning. They might as well not even be there.

Of course in Arran's case that was well justified with that whole "literally mortally ill" thing.

Edited May 19, 2021 by BrightBow

[Interdimensional Observer]

51 minutes ago, Shrimperor said:

I  hear this one in quite a few FE hacks out there

When I think "FE hacks", I think GBA-based hacks, since the GBA is so easy for FE fans to toy with. The combination of Yggdra Union being an SRPG, and suspected ease of transferring sound files from one game on a system to another on the same, would make me think that is why its music has been recycled as much as you say.

 

2 minutes ago, Maof06 said:

I got my ass kicked by a butterfly. OOF

That happens.

Rune Factory: Tides of Destiny has these monster white-golden monsters portals that don't actually spawn any monsters when you approach. If you destroy it, then one monster spawns, it might look totally ordinary, but it is actually significantly higher-leveled. If you don't know this, and the game never tells you I think, you may suddenly be clobbered out of sizable amount of your HP in one hit, possibly dead if you weren't expecting it. I think a Wooly actually killed me this way once or twice, I can't exactly remember.

[Saint Rubenio]

8 minutes ago, BrightBow said:

Well, it's just something I thought about, with all this talk about Jagens just now. How it's a good thing when those supposed veteran knights become useless halfway through the game. Even though a veteran knight shouldn't lose to some poor drafted nobodies.

Leveling, stats... they are meant to be simulation systems. But if a supposed veteran can't hold up against cannon fodder enemies, they lose any and all meaning. They might as well not even be there.

To be fair, Jagen is extremely old. No wonder the guy's lagging behind, the War of Shadows is basically his last hurrah before he becomes too old and senile to even be on the battlefield. On the other hand, someone like Ward is only like, late 40s tops. The man's not exactly in his prime, but he's not a withering old man just yet, so he remains a fair warrior the entire campaign.

And... when you stop to think about it, that's about it, really. For as much fame as Jeigans have of being old paladin guys, the only other super old Jeigan dude is Marcus, who is essentially the same character as Jagen. All the rest are the likes of Seth, Young Marcus, Titania and Frederick who are in their prime, never fall behind and curbstomp the entire game while remaining better than everyone else the whole time. I mean, one can make the case that Jagen doesn't fall behind either in FE11, but that's more forges carrying him than him being OP himself.

Then there's Arran, who's the best designed, the best character and the best justification for the Jeiganism. He's just wonderful. The kind of character I wish I could use the entire game, but then again, if I could, that'd defeat the whole point of why he's great, so I'm fine with just stretching his usability thin. With the right reclasses I've found he's good all the way to Khadein!

...Plus, I once killed Medeus with horseman Arran. It was only hard, of course, but still!

Quote

Of course in Arran's case that was well justified with that whole "literally mortally ill" thing.

Yeah, exactly. Arran best boy.

Edited May 19, 2021 by Saint Rubenio

[Eltosian Kadath]

As of now, I am fully vaccinate...and now I feel the need to sleep.

[Acacia Sgt]

12 minutes ago, Maof06 said:

I got my ass kicked by a butterfly. OOF

You're fighting Ambrosia, I take it?

[Codename Shrimp]

2 minutes ago, Saint Rubenio said:

And... when you stop to think about it, that's about

Gunter?

 

1 minute ago, Eltosian Kadath said:

As of now, I am fully vaccinate...and now I feel the need to sleep.

ayy grats! Rest Well!

[Interdimensional Observer]

1 minute ago, Eltosian Kadath said:

As of now, I am fully vaccinate...and now I feel the need to sleep.

By sheer coincidence, I'll be getting my second dose today as well. Maybe it's a difference in which brand I got, but I didn't have any symptoms from the shot, no tiredness, just the general feeling there was something in my arm.

[Saint Rubenio]

2 minutes ago, Shrimperor said:

Gunter?

Ah yes, I almost forgot. Gunter's an... interesting case, because in Revelation he just instantly falls off, which even for an old guy is utterly ridiculous. In Birthright he doesn't exist, but then in Conquest he just... sort of powers the fuck up while he's in Valm? I guess it might make sense if I knew anything about Valm other than "plot device place that you cannot mention outside, except you totally can because Azura does it immediately after leaving and doesn't vaporize."

3 minutes ago, Eltosian Kadath said:

As of now, I am fully vaccinate...and now I feel the need to sleep.

Eyy, rest well! I've yet to even get a first dose. Starting to wonder when I even will.

Edited May 19, 2021 by Saint Rubenio

[Acacia Sgt]

Over here my age group won't get vaccinated until September apparently. Tsk.

4 minutes ago, Saint Rubenio said:

To be fair, Jagen is extremely old. No wonder the guy's lagging behind, the War of Shadows is basically his last hurrah before he becomes too old and senile to even be on the battlefield. On the other hand, someone like Ward is only like, late 40s tops. The man's not exactly in his prime, but he's not a withering old man just yet, so he remains a fair warrior the entire campaign.

And... when you stop to think about it, that's about it, really. For as much fame as Jeigans have of being old paladin guys, the only other super old Jeigan dude is Marcus, who is essentially the same character as Jagen. All the rest are the likes of Seth, Young Marcus, Titania and Frederick who are in their prime, never fall behind and curbstomp the entire game while remaining better than everyone else the whole time. I mean, one can make the case that Jagen doesn't fall behind either in FE11, but that's more forges carrying him than him being OP himself.

Then there's Arran, who's the best designed, the best character and the best justification for the Jeiganism. He's just wonderful. The kind of character I wish I could use the entire game, but then again, if I could, that'd defeat the whole point of why he's great, so I'm fine with just stretching his usability thin. With the right reclasses I've found he's good all the way to Khadein!

...Plus, I once killed Medeus with horseman Arran. It was only hard, of course, but still!

And on the other side of the spectrum you have old people being magic users (Wendel, Niime, Athos, etc.) so there's no "my age" issues over there. Sure, mechanically they're not Jagens, but still.

[Codename Shrimp]

1 minute ago, Saint Rubenio said:

Starting to wonder when I even will.

Young people waiting for vax in eu be like

[Venger_06]

4 minutes ago, Acacia Sgt said:

You're fighting Ambrosia, I take it?

Some butterflies took me to a caterpillar with a cocoon, which after taking some blows became a giant butterfly.

I thought Claymore was baemore.

[Saint Rubenio]

2 minutes ago, Acacia Sgt said:

And on the other side of the spectrum you have old people being magic users (Wendel, Niime, Athos, etc.) so there's no "my age" issues over there. Sure, mechanically they're not Jagens, but still.

Yeah, magic is often used in FE as an all-encompasing justification for tiny children and rickety old people to fight on the frontlines. I think it works, personally. I mean, it's literally magic, I can accept that old people could probably cast it without much issue if they've the expertise for it.

Edited May 19, 2021 by Saint Rubenio

[Benice]

7 hours ago, Saint Rubenio said:

Hey, sure! This game looks pretty long, I'll probably move to something different afterwards, but it might be handy information for the future.

Ok!

For reference, the order of release for the mainline games (Counting Judgement as well) was Yakuza 1>Yakuza 2>Yakuza 3>Yakuza 4>Yakuza 5>Yakuza 0>Kiwami 1>Yakuza 6>Kiwami 2>Judgement>Like A Dragon and soon, >Lost Judgement

I will skip past the original 1 and 2 and go in order of the series' story progression:

Kiwami 1:

Made in the same engine as Yakuza 0, Kiwami attempted to refine some things from its predecessor, 0, as well as trying to somehow make the original Yakuza 1 a good game. Generally, it is considered to be inferior to Y0, (Well, 0 is considered to be amongst the best, but still, y'get my point) and has just Kiryu as the only playable. He still has the same four styles, but aside from some balance changes and the addition of the legendary Tiger Drop, the combat's roughly the same. If you enjoyed 0, you should enjoy this game, just probably not as much, since it has fewer fighting styles than 0 and has the...Flawed...Majima everywhere system. Notably, you also have much less money than Yakuza 0, as there are no shakedowns, and random enemies don't just drop a million dollars. This is not inherently a bad thing, but it makes it a little more challenging in some ways. It is definitely NOT a RE5 situation of it literally ripping off the previous entry-It is its own game with lots of effort put into it.

The good news for this one is that it is definitively the best way to enjoy Yakuza 1, since the original...Well, sucks. It is the edgy infant from which everything else in the series matured from. Kiwami 1 is a very good remake of a terrible game and has a story that is, while quite generic, very hard-hitting if you've played Yakuza 0. As an aside, the side content and minigames in this one are pretty good.

tl;dr, Yakuza 0 but not quite as good. But it has Tiger Drop.

Benice recommendation: If you want more of Yakuza 0, play this one! It's got Tiger drop as well, one thing that 0 missed. However, it is very similar to 0 and is most often seen as inferior due to how much smaller it is and a few other changes, so I wouldn't consider it a must-play within the franchise if you're looking to be thrifty or save time. Still, it's a pretty good game and has some great side content.

6.5/10, since the combat system is the same as 0, and even though the bosses and stuff like that are all different, it's not a unique experience within the franchise.

 

Kiwami 2

This one is in a different engine than the previous two! The Dragon Engine looks fantastic, has a skill-growth system that is different from YK1 and 0 and features ragdoll physics. The story in this one is really, really good IMO. The ending is sublime. This game features just one fighting style for Kiryu, but it looks like a fun one. There's also the Majima saga, which features Majima as a playable in an optional prequel campaign unlocked as you progress through Kiryu's tale. This one's got some really, really good music as well.

It is a much more stable game than its predecessor in the Dragon engine, Yakuza 6. I would highly recommend this one to be played and not just watched, if only because it is a different experience than the previous two. Because enemy blocking is really potent in this game, weapons are also a little more important now.

Benice recommendation: 9/10, great story, more refined gameplay than Y6, good side content.

 

Yakuza 3 remastered:

I love this game. I love it so much. The cast is much better than I expected it to be.

Sadly, I cannot recommend it. Apparently, this game has the worst gameplay in the franchise. Your attacks have little impact, enemies block too much...It's just apparently not great. It apparently does have the most fun final boss in the series, but I don't think that would redeem it for you. As with Kiwami 1 and most of Kiwami 2, Kiryu is the only playable, and he features just one style. Plus, you are jumping from a 2017 game to a 2008 game, so it's a little jolting. Also, the karaoke is kinda suck. Still, we must be eternally grateful to Y3, since it is the first Yakuza game to have it!

Benice recommendation: 4/10, play it if you wanna play everything this series has since it is very playable, but otherwise just skip and watch a playthrough.

 

Yakuza 4 remastered:

The first game in the series with multiple playables! This one...Well, the story is arguably so bad it's good, but it does introduce some great characters, most notably fan-favorite Shun Akiyama. Each character has their own, distinct fighting style that isn't just what you've seen already, with the exception of Kiryu. While three of these characters return in the colossal Yakuza 5, one of them, Tanimura, does not, so this is your only game to play as him. I also must dock points for the baffling choice not to make Rikiya playable. Oh, and it has a different leveling system than any game thus far.

As a bonus point, this is the first Yakuza game to feature my favorite Karaoke song!

Benice recommendation: 6.9/10, Not a must-play and the story is laughable, but the fighting styles and overall massive improvement of gameplay over 3 can make it worthwhile.

 

Yakuza 5:

Yakuza 5 is the Kaga game of the series. You will mostly likely either hate it or love it.

This game is MASSIVE. Five playable characters, five cities, 21 chapters, and three characters have very large substory/minigame things going on. Three playables return from 4, and this one adds Haruka, who fights only in dance battle rhythm-minigame things, and... The one whose name I can't remember, who is weird in that he's basically a weapons-based character. This game has five parts, and each one has something different to it. Part 1 is a typical Yakuza game, part 2 is a detective and hunting game mixed in with some classic Yakuza, part 3/1 IS A HECKING IDOL GAME, part 3/2 is more of a standard Yakuza game but you get to see Akiyama dance, part 4 is...Weird, and part 5 is basically just a series of boss battles and the like. Some people consider Y5 the best game in the franchise, other people loathe it due to how experimental it is.

Once more, docking a point for Rikiya STILL NOT BEING PLAYABLE DESPITE THE FACT THAT RYUKYU COULD HAVE BEEN IN THIS GAME INSTEAD OF SAPPORO AND THE WEAPONS GUY BECAUSE WEAPON BLOKE IS IRRELEVANT.

Also, the final boss might be the most hilariously pathetic boss I've ever seen in the story department, but I think his fight is pretty good.

Benice recommendtion: 7/10, this one is a huge timesink and only has one never-before-seen fighting style, but it is very unique and has many fans. You don't have to play both this and Yakuza 4, but you can do both.

 

Yakuza 6: The song of life

This is the first Dragon Engine game, and if the ending of this game does not break you, you either have no soul or...I dunno, didn't enjoy this game that much.

This game is sorta infamous for how unstable it is-Not things like crashes per se, but the ragdoll physics do whatever they bloody well please. If you've played Kiwami 2, this game is basically a direct downgrade from it, as the devs hadn't quite figured out the DE. The combat is okay but a little too floaty and light, and the story...Well, I didn't like it that much, but from what I know, the ending is simply legendary. The story wasn't what I was expecting it to be, at least.

Benice recommendation: 5.5/10: Good side content, new city to mess around in, amazing ending, but if you didn't enjoy Kiwami 2, I wouldn't really bother playing this one.

 

Judgdment:

Judgement is a canon spinoff Yakuza game. It features the same gameplay style and is set in Kamurocho as with the other games, but is much more grounded and serious. There is still some levity, but less so than mainline Yakuza. It also only features basically one character from other Yakuza games, and that is the Earth Angel mama.

It also has more things like trailing people, using a drone to spy, etc.. This is the most recently released Beat-'em-up in the Dragon engine...And by nearly all accounts, they absolutely nailed it with this one. The main character has two fighting styles, the ragdoll doesn't interfere, Tiger Drop is as busted as ever and the story seems to be extremely well-recieved. This has nothing to do with the other Yakuza games, so it can be played at any time. Plus, the sequel to this game is coming out in September!

A comparison I would make with this game woud be this game being the Bloodborne to Yakuza's Dark Souls. A lot quicker, deadlier and more linear, (still has some side content and minigames though, don't fret!) but the same meat and potatoes when you get down to it. Even if you didn't like Kiwami 2 or The song of life, this game should still be fantastic.

But yeah. The only problem with this game is that you'll need a PS4, PS5 or Xbox Series X/S to play it. It has yet to come to Steam.

Benice recommendation: 9/10

 

Like a Dragon/Yakuza 7:

The JRPG in the franchise. And you know what? To me, JRPGs look pretty boring. Or, rather, most do: Like a Dragon looks really fun to me, since there's a lot of timing and imputs to make, as well as decent customization. The story is absolutely superb, if not a little bit of a slow burn, the cast is great, the karaoke is pretty dang good, the new city is amazing, and the side content is at the best I've seen in the franchise here. This game isn't perfect, though-The balance is a bit wonky, (one of the strongest attacks in the entire game costs 6 MP, while most high-damage ones cost about 40, and the strongest are about 150-200) the penultimate boss is a bit of a tosspot, 'specially if Ichiban's not at rank 16 in the Hero class yet, and there is a big difficulty spike, but this game succeeds in way too many other places for me to care.

I believe that you don't enjoy JRPGs, but I would give Like a Dragon a chance if you get this far or ever have a hankerin' for some turn-based combat. It FEELS like a Yakuza game: Fights are still quick and brutal, content brims from every alleyway, a deep and rich story...This game is seriously great IMO.

Benice recommendation: 8.5/10. I don't know much about JRPGs, but I think you'd love this game just for the side content.

 

...And there is one more game I have to talk about: The recently fanslated Black Panther/Kurohyo for the PSP! I don't know anything about this game other than the fact that the main character looks like he's an absolute Johnny. Might be worth a look. Much like Judgement, it's a canon spinoff.

Oh, and Dead Souls, but it's reportedly NOT GOOD. And also would be impossible to play without a PS3.

If you don't mind google translate, there are two spinoff games that look cool: Kenzan! for the PS3 which I know nothing about, and Ishin! for PS4, which looks absolutely amazing. Ishin! has four unique fighting styles and is set in the 1860's, I think.

[Acacia Sgt]

Just now, Maof06 said:

Some butterflies took me to a caterpillar with a cocoon, which after taking some blows became a giant butterfly.

I thought Claymore was baemore.

Yep, that's Ambrosia.

Also... only now I realize her "skirt" is composed of venus flytrap like monsters...

[Acacia Sgt]

3 minutes ago, Saint Rubenio said:

Yeah, magic is often used in FE as an all-encompasing justification for tiny children and rickety old people to fight on the frontlines. I think it works, personally. I mean, it's literally magic, I can accept that old people could probably cast it without much issue if they've the expertise for it.

Though it certainly didn't stop you from handing Yubello an big ol' axe, huh. XD

But yeah, it's certainly true. Not that it stops them from having characters like PoR!Rolf around.

[Interdimensional Observer]

2 minutes ago, Shrimperor said:

Young people waiting for vax in eu be like

I thought I remember reading months ago that Europe wasn't "ambitious enough" with their vaccination programs, which I hazard means "didn't buy enough, soon enough".

For the many many many COVID response problems the United States government has had, and still has with the recent mask guidance change, I think I read that the US has been positively aggressive in vaccine acquisition. I'm about the same age as you and yet I'll be fully protected two weeks from today, barring any boosters that might be deemed necessary later. The current vaccine problem for us is the anti-vaxxers and hesitancy, not the supply, which is so large that we're starting to send some extras to other countries.

[Codename Shrimp]

3 minutes ago, Interdimensional Observer said:

"didn't buy enough, soon enough"

basically.

Might be a little political, but as much as pro EU as i am, in that case i sometimes wish Germany should've went all in alone (or with France, or other countries willing to pay) and not waiting for the EU to agree on something.

[Saint Rubenio]

15 minutes ago, Benice said:

Snip

Well, shit! That's a lot to take in. I'll save this somewhere in case I decide to check out the rest of the series in the future. Thanks!

15 minutes ago, Benice said:

The good news for this one is that it is definitively the best way to enjoy Yakuza 1, since the original...Well, sucks.

Sooooo like FE?

15 minutes ago, Benice said:

Yakuza 5 is the Kaga game of the series. You will mostly likely either hate it or love it.

Yakuza 5: Sotenbori 776?

15 minutes ago, Benice said:

The only problem with this game is that you'll need a PS4, PS5 or Xbox Series X/S to play it. It has yet to come to Steam.

Then I'll never play it. I've never gotten a PS or a XBOX, and I don't intend to start now. Too expensive for too little games I'd be interested on. Terrible, terrible investment. Nintendo systems are already very borderline, considering how much I hate Nintendo's business decisions, but there's just enough exclusives that I don't feel too bad about it... Though I certainly didn't get the Switch at launch.

10 minutes ago, Acacia Sgt said:

Though it certainly didn't stop you from handing Yubello an big ol' axe, huh. XD

 

A few battles later

I still regret nothing.

Quote

But yeah, it's certainly true. Not that it stops them from having characters like PoR!Rolf around.

Archer is, oddly enough, another class that they like to use to justify the little kids. Which is a bit weird, because bows aren't exactly easy to use, either. I guess the logic is "they can stay away from the enemy's face, so it suits the little boys who couldn't take a hit"?

Edited May 19, 2021 by Saint Rubenio

[null]

Just now, Saint Rubenio said:

A few battles later

I still regret nothing.

:concern:

[Acacia Sgt]

2 minutes ago, Saint Rubenio said:

Archer is, oddly enough, another class that they like to use to justify the little kids. Which is a bit weird, because bows aren't exactly easy to use, either. I guess the logic is "they can stay away from the enemy's face, so it suits the little boys who couldn't take a hit"?

Ironically it fits when you consider just how long it takes to actually be good at archery.

As the old saying went: "If you want a good archer, start with his grandfather".

Until crossbows made it mainstream.

Edited May 19, 2021 by Acacia Sgt

[Saint Rubenio]

Just now, twilitfalchion said:

:concern:

Fun fact: I posted those nice, nice images in my LP because everyone there is used to my gore shenanigans. I refrained from doing the same here because I wasn't sure people would find it tasteful.

As for why I've posted it now, my only answer is... I have no clue, this is FFTF, gimme a break.

1 minute ago, Acacia Sgt said:

Ironically it fits when you consider just how long it takes to actually be good at archery.

As the old saying went: "If you want a good archer, start with his grandfather".

This would work... for old archers. But then, how many old archers are there in the series? There's Dayan and... Dayan, actually. Everyone else is a tiny kid or a young adult at most.

[Punished Dayni]

19 minutes ago, Eltosian Kadath said:

As of now, I am fully vaccinate...and now I feel the need to sleep.

Let us know if the microchips start affecting your dreams.

Warning: I make vaccination opinions here:

Just now, Shrimperor said:

Might be a little political, but as much as pro EU as i am, in that case i sometimes wish Germany should've went all in alone (or with France, or other countries willing to pay) and not waiting for the EU to agree on something.

And even then the distribution in the combined deals was uneven. Some countries have done really poorly out of them and of course some have done separate deals on their own terms (I think I remember Denmark doing one).

That doesn't even go into what went on with AstraZenaca and their conflicting deals leading to them focusing on the UK contract and underdelivering to the EU.

As for the vaccination issues, I will still argue that the handling of supply internationally has been worth being disappointed in and will end up leading to a more likely scenario where a mutant strain breaches the threshold of being immune and thus forcing us beck several steps in dealing with the virus. Part of the actions that should have been taken could include actions like the TRIPS waiver, but that only removes barriers, it doesn't ensure that there's facilites freed up to manufacture the vaccine, which is why I'm happy to hear Phizer finally bother to use an Irish facility for it, though they clearly took long enough planning it because there's been talk of it for 6 months.

[Benice]

4 minutes ago, Saint Rubenio said:

Then I'll never play it.

It will probably get a port at some point.

[Sidereal Wraith]

2 hours ago, Maof06 said:

Wise words.

...

 

[Saint Rubenio]

Just now, Benice said:

It will probably get a port at some point.

Then there exists a chance that I'll play it.