Serenes Forest's Teehee Thread

[Saint Rubenio]

Well, well, well.

At least this hack had the decency to warn me, unlike a certain man whose name starts with a K.

9 minutes ago, Interdimensional Observer said:

It's complicated, because Fei Fong Wong, the person whose image you meme'd, is a complicated mess of Freudian and Jungian psychology as creatively interpreted by a Japanese man in the late 1990s.

But, because Xenogears would totally not be your thing at all, I'll try to summarize the important stuff. Fei has Dissociative Identity Disorder, stemming from trauma incurred when he was 4 years of age, the result of him being blessed and cursed with the most special powers on the planet. "The Coward", Id, and "Fei" are the three dissociative personalities. Id doesn't like "Fei" having control over their body, but "Fei" is unconsciously able to suppress Id, barring brief moments in intense situations. In the end, "Fei" unifies his broken psyche and dissolves the other two.

Right, I get it. I... I think.

[Lightcosmo]

10 minutes ago, Interdimensional Observer said:

What was XCX doing in my dreams, and why did L backstab everyone?

Because, everyone is an asscave. That is all.

[Codename Shrimp]

Fast thoughts on Ys 9

• Gameplay mostly better than Ys 8 (which was already amazing), and dungeon design was mostly kino. Solo sections sucked tho. A massive downgrade from Ys 8. Characters played really well though, and White Cat is one of their most fun playable Ys characters yet. Kinda annoying though how you had to get to Inferno to get and actual challenge tho.
• Story and Characters were so-so to good-ish. Game very hard carried by Adol there. But the character arcs and TX-like structure and the game being basically Ys crossbell didn't do it much favor. Should've replaced the boring sidequests with maybe Character (Especially Aprilis, her character atm is like Falcom expected us to know her ''real life'' counterpart instead of making her an actual character) content, and raids with real game play content. Aprilis needed much much more screentime and should've been playable. The way she is atm she's pretty low on my Ys ''heroine'' list. On par with Feena, i think. Much higher than Leeza tho.
• Thank god for the music patch

8/10, will write and post full thoughts later

Killer Final Dungeon Track tho

4 hours ago, DragonFlames said:

Ayy, congrats

Thanks thanks^^

4 hours ago, DragonFlames said:

goddamnit, Dana, why are you so awesome?

38 minutes ago, Interdimensional Observer said:

I feel sorry it's a step back for you after the almost-10/10 Ys VIII

Tbf, i never expected it to be as good as Ys 8, and in the end i still enjoyed Ys 9 alot.

It's just the game structure and flow is very... anti-Ys. Infact, the whole story, right down to the finale is basically Crossbell with an Ys coat of Paint. Right down to the worrying signs about future games (although unlike Crossbell where it was harem and fanservice shit i was worried about for future Trails, here it's the game structure and gameplay:Story ratio i am worried about for future Ys)

I will go in detail about that later.

Edited July 13, 2021 by Shrimperor

[Armagon]

6 hours ago, Shrimperor said:

Looking forward to it.

"See you next mission".

Good job beating it.

4 hours ago, DragonFlames said:

After the baby was born, Ricotta, the youngest member of the playable party, had this to say:

Ricotta might wanna wait a few years but I respect the spirit.

2 hours ago, Saint Rubenio said:

This is the funniest shit.

Goddamn you, guys.

Glad to see my Fei reaction pic took off. Didn't expect it tbh.

2 hours ago, Saint Rubenio said:

How dare you make me Id.

...Whatever that means.

Id is Fei's other personality (the man has multiple personality disorder). This is Id

whereas Fei is a chill dude, Id just wants to murder everything simply because he can and has the power to do so.

It's not every day one of the villains in the story is simultaneously the protagonist (and yeah, Id fights are among the toughest in the game).

34 minutes ago, Saint Rubenio said:

Right, I get it. I... I think.

Haha don't worry about it. Xenogears kinda requires looking at things multiple times to truly get it.

As far as the actual story goes, I have yet to see a game that tops Xenogears for me. Same goes for the protagonist too, Fei has yet to be topped and his romance with Elly is probably one of, if not, the best written romance in video games.

Sadly, Xenogears is dated as fuck so it's a bit hard for me to revisit it.

Edited July 13, 2021 by Armagon

[Lightcosmo]

11 minutes ago, Shrimperor said:

8/10, will write and post full thoughts later

At least you can say with confidence that you enjoyed yourself, and that's whats important of course!

[Codename Shrimp]

5 minutes ago, Armagon said:

Good job beating it

Thanks!

 

Just now, lightcosmo said:

At least you can say with confidence that you enjoyed yourself, and that's whats important of course!

yup, i wouldn't have finished a ~60 hour game in a week otherwise haha

[Sooks]

3 hours ago, Saint Rubenio said:

Well... No, but you can yell at the Earth until you make it angry.

Good enough.

7 hours ago, Shrimperor said:

Congrats!

[Armagon]

I went to see if I could 100% Zero Mission and one of the e-tanks requires you to Shinespark perfectly like six times.

Lol. Lmao. Let's just pretend I got everything.

[Armagon]

Well since I can't 100% Zero Mission, I'll go 100% Samus Returns.

[Interdimensional Observer]

1 hour ago, Armagon said:

whereas Fei is a chill dude, Id just wants to murder everything simply because he can and has the power to do so.

Well, it isn't like you can blame Id. He was created because The Coward couldn't handle his pain and guilt, as you'd expect a 4-year-old not to. And shortly after "birth", Id gets kidnapped to be trained as a murder weapon for the decade, by a man whose ultimate goal involves killing Id at a later date. Hard for him to not hate the world, when he has zero good memories of his own. I wouldn't call him edgy for edgy's sake, telling him "get it over it!" leans towards unreasonably callous, or at least as I see it.

Not to say I don't see Id as a villain. However, given he doesn't accomplish his minimal goal of full freedom from Fei, only a bunch of destruction here and there, maybe I'm slightly more sympathetic to him.

And let's face it, casually shrugging off a battleship that tossed itself on your giant robot was cool.

 

1 hour ago, Shrimperor said:

It's just the game structure and flow is very... anti-Ys. Infact, the whole story, right down to the finale is basically Crossbell with an Ys coat of Paint. Right down to the worrying signs about future games (although unlike Crossbell where it was harem and fanservice shit i was worried about for future Trails, here it's the game structure and gameplay:Story ratio i am worried about for future Ys)

With enough fan backlash, maybe that could be averted. And yet, given the solid scores Ys IX has been getting and to which you agree, it's hard to say there could be a backlash with enough significance.

Maybe the desire to return to a less-serious Adol and or remake Ys V will provide counterweight(s) to the worrisome direction. -But a V remake wouldn't necessarily say anything about future new installments.

Edited July 13, 2021 by Interdimensional Observer

[Saint Rubenio]

I'm doing a really fun prison escape chapter now.

Or, well, it would be fun if I wasn't the stupidest, most brainless shitstain in the whole fucking universe. I keep fucking up in the dumbest ways and it's pissing me off.

...Fuck it, I'll go play some TF2 and I'll deal with this later. The map isn't even that tough, I'm just dumb and angry.

[Benice]

'Morning, all!

[Armagon]

1 hour ago, Interdimensional Observer said:

Well, it isn't like you can blame Id. He was created because The Coward couldn't handle his pain and guilt, as you'd expect a 4-year-old not to. And shortly after "birth", Id gets kidnapped to be trained as a murder weapon for the decade, by a man whose ultimate goal involves killing Id at a later date. Hard for him to not hate the world, when he has zero good memories of his own. I wouldn't call him edgy for edgy's sake, telling him "get it over it!" leans towards unreasonably callous, or at least as I see it.

Not to say I don't see Id as a villain. However, given he doesn't accomplish his minimal goal of full freedom from Fei, only a bunch of destruction here and there, maybe I'm slightly more sympathetic to him.

You're right and he's basically the original Malos. His desire to kill is really all he's ever known.

1 hour ago, Interdimensional Observer said:

With enough fan backlash, maybe that could be averted.

Well it depends on if they want to do Ys 9's format going forward.

This isn't like Zelda, where they explicitly stated that they wanted new future games to be like BotW and while that may bother some, the general public seems to be onboard.

[Acacia Sgt]

Los Malos y los Buenos. Y los Feos.

[DragonFlames]

3 hours ago, Interdimensional Observer said:

Okami is good. Not perfect to me, but still a nice game in need of a sequel, how long are Waka and Amaterasu going to be left hanging on the Celestial Plains? That so-so Okamiden suggested something must be amiss up there. I don't care so much about any faults 'den may have if it made room for a sequel for Ammy. Act on it Capcom!

Agreed on all accounts! Where's Okami 2? xD
And yeah, I agree, it does have some issues, as well! It's still a game I can give a glowing recommendation!

3 hours ago, Interdimensional Observer said:

Athough, in retrospect, I can see why reviewers criticized the combat as breaking the immersion. I get the smoke from a spiritual plane transcendence perspective, but using that as the limiter on the fight arenas yanks you out of the watercolor world.

Not to mention it really restricts freedom of movement, which adds its own layer of trouble, particularly when you're fighting the Five Great Dog Warriors, and they see it fit to make pitfall traps for you to fall into, so they can... relieve themselves on you.

3 hours ago, Interdimensional Observer said:

Also, I thought the final fight was something of an HP sponge. Not like it sinks the game for me or anything. A certain fight against a clockwork demon was the last great fight in the game, I don't care if it was easy (which is a problem with the combat as a whole- but rather too easy than too hard for me).

This is true. I found the final fight still rather enjoyable, but it is not my favorite boss fight in the game, despite all the praise I have for the scene preceding the final phase, and the music that plays during it.
That honor goes to Kyubi, or Ninetails, because of how similar its abilities are to your own. It very much felt like an evil counterpart to Amaterasu.

3 hours ago, Interdimensional Observer said:

The final boss does have some good artwork though, and the concept behind it was very simple, but visually well-executed.

Definitely!

2 hours ago, Shrimperor said:

Gameplay mostly better than Ys 8 (which was already amazing)

Wow! That's... that's surprising, because outside of making it a 1 to 1 copy of Nights of Azure, which Ys 8 is already rather similar to, especially Dana's sections I cannot imagine how they could make Ys 8's battle system even better than it was in Ys 8!

2 hours ago, Shrimperor said:

Story and Characters were so-so to good-ish. Game very hard carried by Adol there. But the character arcs and TX-like structure and the game being basically Ys crossbell didn't do it much favor. Should've replaced the boring sidequests with maybe Character (Especially Aprilis, her character atm is like Falcom expected us to know her ''real life'' counterpart instead of making her an actual character) content, and raids with real game play content.

Yeesh, that does not sound too promising. Especially considering how strong Ys 8 is in both departments.
And the thing about it being Ys Crossbell worries me, too, in light of the conversation we had previously.

Though then again... there IS a very excellent game that takes place entirely in a single town, so it's not like it can't be done well.
Because that game did it well. Well enough for me to consider it my personal all-time favorite.
I don't think I need to say which game I mean at this point. Y'all know me. XD

2 hours ago, Shrimperor said:

Aprilis needed much much more screentime and should've been playable. The way she is atm she's pretty low on my Ys ''heroine'' list. On par with Feena, i think. Much higher than Leeza tho.

Oh, so Miss Chuuni is Adol's main squeeze this time around? That's interesting!

2 hours ago, Shrimperor said:

Much higher than Leeza tho.

Which game is she from?

2 hours ago, Shrimperor said:

Thank god for the music patch

Modern_Falcom_OSTs.txt

2 hours ago, Armagon said:

Ricotta might wanna wait a few years but I respect the spirit.

My exact thoughts. xD

3 hours ago, lightcosmo said:

Morning!

Hi! ^^

---

And while I am still in Okami shill mode, have the theme to my favorite boss in the game:

I absolutely LOVE the design of this thing, too.

Edited July 13, 2021 by DragonFlames

[Saint Rubenio]

There, second try after taking a break. That's really all it takes every time.

And now the game gives me another choice of chapter. Man, branching paths, a timeskip, unique class concepts, bearded pegasus knight... Not to mention something that I've actually never seen any other FE8 hack do: Maintain FE8's main gimmick, the branching promotions. Yeah, imagine that.

Really liking this hack so far. I didn't expect that much from it, but it's pleasantly surprised me. It goes a weeee bit too far with the difficulty in a couple places, but to be fair, I am playing on maddening difficulty, so well, I can't complain. Even with a couple moments where I felt a tad overwhelmed it still runs laps around Three Houses's take on the name.

[DragonFlames]

Just now, Saint Rubenio said:

bearded pegasus knight...

For some reason, reading this made me picture Palla with a full beard.
I am not sure that was a mental image I needed, but it is quite a funny one, so thanks for that! xD

[Codename Shrimp]

So

Ys IX: Monstrum Nox

Many, or all of you, probably know how much i have been waiting for the game, and how excited i was for it. And the game was real fun, considering i finished it in less than a week. Yet with all the fun i had, the game had quite a few points which made the game not as much fun as it could've and would've been, and the biggest of those points is...

The Trailsfication.

The game feels more like a Trails game with Ys gameplay. The structure and story beats of the game hit the same ones Crossbell did, and i was not surprised at all to read later that they were thinking of ''Trails from Zero'' while working on this game, and it shows. And this sadly hurts the game quite alot.

Gameplay

Ys 9 gameplay is an evolution of everything that has been going on since Ys 7, and it's very fun & fluid as usual Boss design is kino, and so is dungeon design. The Monstrum gifts added alot of movement, verticality and battle options and make for a superb gameplay experience. It's Party Ys at it's best. Even if you have to select Inferno to get some challenge, since the game is quite a bit easier than 8, i would rate the gameplay of this entry in my fav. series very high and up there with Oath, Origin and 8.

However...

The Solo sections in the games were terrible. While Party gameplay is a small upgrade over Ys 8, the solo sections were a massive downgrade from Ys 8. They were boring, short, and filled with ''gottem'' moments (Falcom was probably playing Unfair Mario while designing them idk). They were small and boring puzzles with Stealth elements. Not a fan.

All the characters were pretty fun to play with, and Cat one of their best designed Ys characters yet. I switched around the party alot and had fun with all of them.

And the final dungeon here is probably my fav. in the series, however the bosses there are pretty weak, both from gameplay and writing prespective (more on that later).

With all the deserved praise for the gameplay however, the gameplay itself is hurt by the sturcture of the game, and the low gameplay:Story ratio (especially for a Ys game), so i will talk about that next.

Structure

The game, as i said before, follows a Trails (or TX) like structure. At the beginning of the chapter you get quests, then you go explore town, then you do story. The structure is very very rigid and the lack of player freedom is a big negative here...

especially when you consider the fact that you have to the side quests to advance the story. It's either that or grind. Or Both.

Let me explain. 

At the beginning of every chapter, You start with 0 Nox. To advance the story and unlock new sections you have to get 100 Nox. Nox get filled by doing quests and by fighting Lemures (in the city and not in the cool dungeons the game has). Now, you might say that you usually do all quests anyway so it's not that problematic to you, true, and while quests are usually enough to get 100 Nox...

They aren't enough to get you 200. And in every chapter you need the extra 100 to unlock an extra Area. So basically you are forced to grind to explore. Not to mention most quests, aside from those of the final chapter, are honestly more of the boring type, and makes you feel like you are playing Crossbell's SSS more than anything.

And after you collect the Nox you have to do a raid to unlock the next area.

All of that makes for a very rigid structure that makes the game seem more like Trails than Trails itself.

Kinda a shame since they could've locked sections and Areas behind the cool abilities and gifts you get, just like in every other Ys game, instead of forcing the player to do stuff in a certain way.

It's the game's biggest weak point. Especially coupled with the low gameplay:Story ratio of the game, which makes this. I don't get to enjoy it's superb gameplay as much as i would've liked.

Story & Characters

Adol the red. A famous adventurer who has been travelling around, saving countries and the world, but losing Waifus. This time the story takes place in Balduq, Gllia. A country that has been annexed by the Romun Empire, an empire who Adol clashed with multipe times...

And they put a bounty on his head, hence once her arrived at Balduq, he got arrested. The premise of the game is Adol trying to escape the City and regain his freedom, and how he gets involved with the mysteries and myths of said city.

And i gotta say, Adol carries the story and cast very hard. The mystery sorrounding the city and the story, his experiences through the whole series, the people he meets, it makes for an intriguing tale to tell. 

However, the game also falls into the ''cryptic mystery'' trap, wherein many characters know what's going, and keep telling you they know without telling you what it is. Sure it's fun to try and figure out what is going on, and the mystery kept me interested in the story, but one can only take so many ''you'll find the truth soon'' before you roll your eyes.

Aside from the mystery however, if you played Crossbell you will know what's going on in this game. Many beats and story elements and carried over. Even the pacing is very Trails like.

This game also glosses over the myths and legends that are a central point way too fast. Aprilis, for example, should've been playable and should've gotten much more screen time. Her lack of screentime and the lack of focus on the land's myth and legens makes the final chapter enemies really feel meh. In other Ys in the final chapter you usually clash with either characters who have been centeral to the story, or centeral legendary figures, or both. Here the enemies in the final chapter were just... there. This could've been fixed by making Aprilis much more prominent, and delving more into her character and the myster sorrounding her, instead of her just being chuuni most of the game and the often said ''truth soon ™️''. I know her more from her real life counterpart than from the game.

The cast i also find more on the weaker side, and the game's TX like structure in that regard (one character introduction per chapter) doesn't help at all, since the cast lacks a much needed chemistry due to it. Krysha is the one hurt the most in that regard, as she's the one who accompanies us the most, yet her ''chapter'' was probably the weakest in the game.

There were quite a few neat characters moments there (especially later on), and i grew fond of the cast yeah, but honestly...

Adol carried the story and cast pretty hard. And he is the main reason why i ended up enjoying the Story as much as i did. 

And above all else, this game had a very solid ending, which leaves me satisfied despite my numerous complaints. That's the one thing this game has over Ys 8 Story & Character wise.

Also a long time Ys fan i very much enjoyed how much the story relied on older entries and all the references, and it helps the game story quite if you had played the rest of the series.

Music

Gone were the days where Falcom music was the best the industry. Oh the game still has absolute bangers, but compared to other Ys games, their amount is pretty low... 

I recommend you get yourself the music mod if you are able to.

Rating

While not as good as some of the other titles in the series, Ys 9 is still a very solid entry in the long running franchise and i had a blast playing it. While i worry about the future and hope next Ys doesn't repeat the same structure, for this time, i accept it, and the gameplay is still fun as usual. 

8/10

Looking forward to the next book of the adventures of Adol Christin!

@Interdimensional Observer @DragonFlames you might be interested in this!

2 hours ago, Sooks said:

Congrats!

Thanks!

Edited July 13, 2021 by Shrimperor

[Saint Rubenio]

7 minutes ago, DragonFlames said:

For some reason, reading this made me picture Palla with a full beard.
I am not sure that was a mental image I needed, but it is quite a funny one, so thanks for that! xD

I'll be certain to share an image of him. Well, I already did, but he was just in a cutscene without even being named. I just know who he is because he was shown in one of the hack's trailers. According to the recruitment guide, he joins next map.

Yeah, I've been keeping track. Can you blame me? It's a pegasus knight dude with a big puffy beard, how can I not keep track of when that joins?

[Codename Shrimp]

13 minutes ago, DragonFlames said:

Oh, so Miss Chuuni is Adol's main squeeze this time around?

No, she isn't. Far from it.

She's ''Heroine'' in the sense that she's the 'centeral' female Character.

14 minutes ago, DragonFlames said:

Which game is she from?

Celceta. She's the worst

[Armagon]

 

[DragonFlames]

12 minutes ago, Shrimperor said:

you might be interested in this!

Thanks, thanks! A very interesting read, for sure!
My excitement for the game went from "yeah, this seems cool!" to "I'd rather be cautious and reel in my expectations a little" after reading this. Particularly the Trails-y elements, and the restrictions on what you can do and when would probably bother me the most. In general, the weaker characters/story aspect is worrisome.
I love the fact that in Ys 8, I can be like "Alright, I got this new ability, so now I can go to this and that place and see what treasure/area I missed out on" or "Alright, now I got so many villagers, so now I can remove this and that obstacle to explore more".
Sad that Ys 9 seemed to have gotten rid of this.

Still, happy you enjoyed it! ^^

12 minutes ago, Saint Rubenio said:

I'll be certain to share an image of him.

Yes, please!

12 minutes ago, Saint Rubenio said:

It's a pegasus knight dude with a big puffy beard, how can I not keep track of when that joins?

I understand completely!

8 minutes ago, Shrimperor said:

No, she isn't. Far from it.

She's ''Heroine'' in the sense that she's the 'centeral' female Character.

Oh.
Sad times.

8 minutes ago, Shrimperor said:

Celceta. She's the worst

Oh boy!
May I ask why, or should I see for myself when I get to that? xD

[Armagon]

21 minutes ago, Shrimperor said:

Kinda a shame since they could've locked sections and Areas behind the cool abilities and gifts you get, just like in every other Ys game, instead of forcing the player to do stuff in a certain way.

This reminds me of the main critique i've seen people say about Metroid Fusion. Whereas the other games in the series let you backtrack with your new abilities to get new stuff at any time, you basically can't really do it in Fusion until the end and it seems like Ys 9 is like that, no?

[Interdimensional Observer]

17 minutes ago, DragonFlames said:

That honor goes to Kyubi, or Ninetails, because of how similar its abilities are to your own. It very much felt like an evil counterpart to Amaterasu.

They say dogs are the mortal enemies of kitsune, it's very likely they were thinking of that.

DQIV had a curious little village in the middle of nowhere. Sleep in the town as they insist, and the hamlet will be completely gone when you wake up, any peculiarly cheap items you had bought there will be gone and replaced by horse manure. Bring a dog with you from a nearby town, and the foxy fraud is revealed and the scam disappears for good.

 

14 minutes ago, Shrimperor said:

@Interdimensional Observer @DragonFlames you might be interested in this!

Caveats always weigh heavier than the final score itself and the sincere experience in the moment (which can't be conveyed in a review), humans tending pay more attention to what's wrong than what's right. It reads like you could've shaved off a point.

Your dissection leaves me thinking "yeah, maybe I should wait on a sale first". Although I can't say I dislike Trails Mixification if I've never played one. There aren't a lot of new games interesting me ATM, but my gaming laptop purchase assuming one I want is still available by the time I commit will take up a lot of gaming funds. Perhaps for the holidays.

[Codename Shrimp]

16 minutes ago, DragonFlames said:

I can be like "Alright, I got this new ability, so now I can go to this and that place and see what treasure/area I missed out on"

yeah

And this has been a thing since the beginning of the series. Dunno why they did what they did with Ys 9.

Some speculate they are trying to attract (modern) Trails players

18 minutes ago, DragonFlames said:

May I ask why, or should I see for myself when I get to that? xD

you will see haha

3 minutes ago, Armagon said:

This reminds me of the main critique i've seen people say about Metroid Fusion. Whereas the other games in the series let you backtrack with your new abilities to get new stuff at any time, you basically can't really do it in Fusion until the end and it seems like Ys 9 is like that, no?

not really. More like some Areas you can't access even though you the needed abilities you can't access due to stupid nox requirement.

Instead of letting the player wander around and getting scared/rekt by high level monsters (ya know, like Xenoblade. Or Ys 8), they outright stop you from doing so with a visible barrier. 

Considering Ys is exploration to the max (except Origin), this is more than a bit annoying.

4 minutes ago, Interdimensional Observer said:

It reads like you could've shaved off a point.

Honestly, yeah, and i have been thinking it should be a bit lower as well, but the enjoyable gameplay and satisfying ending made it a 8 for me.