Serenes Forest's Teehee Thread

[Sooks]

Okay! So after quite a few attempts against Luciola, I thought “what if I took out Kevin and swapped him with Kloe?” so I did,

And after many Lichtkreises and tomatrio sandwiches, I won. First try with Kloe in the party, in fact. God, she’s so good. That was actually a good boss fight, because it punishes you for mindlessly spamming AoE arts.

Time for the fourth floor, and presumably 

Spoiler

Renne

. I could bring Tita along but I highly doubt there will be an exclusive scene, so I’ll just grab Kevin.

[Sooks]

Oh also,

Spoiler

I’m like 99% sure Luciola isn’t actually dead because 1. She’s an enforcer and 2. How would that scene play out if you didn’t bring Schera? Just “oh, you beat me, okay bye then, what’s good writing?” I mean, I guess they could just not bring her back regardless but again, enforcer.

 

[Interdimensional Observer]

39 minutes ago, lightcosmo said:

I put FF6 on the lower end and most hail it as a god among FF games. 

Even at the time, V had better combat. And regarding the characters, the game hasn't aged well. FFVI desperately needs a serious remake that adds nuance to the combat and modern characterization for the characters, what worked over two decades ago doesn't necessarily suffice now.

 

33 minutes ago, Armagon said:

So the Omega Pirate is a badly designed boss fight 👍

Crazy how the only two good boss fights so far have been the Parasite Queen and Flaaghaara.

I too was disappointed by it only taking four Super Missiles to kill the Omega Pirate. Like, why is it so weak for a boss so late?

One of the developers said the Omega Pirate was going to be a boss, but not the boss of the Phazon Mines. When Kraid got cut at the last minute, the Omega Pirate must've taken his role.

 

I also want to mention a little detail they removed from the Trilogy version of MP1, yet strangely preserved for MP2 Trilogy.

When Samus charges her Arm Cannon, it can't contain all its energy. The Power Beam has streaks of light coming out, Wave has arcs of electricity moving over the Arm Cannon, Ice causes the Arm Cannon to freeze over, and Plasma has embers rising from it. Shown here, followed by what you're used to (along with the water ripple effects absent in Trilogy).:

And speaking of the Omega Pirate and release changes, another minor difference between the GameCube NTSC and GC PAL/Trilogy version of the game.:

I love the Phazon Suit BTW, the colors are wickedly sleek. Although it originally had a different color scheme:

Changed because Phazon = destructive and aggressive, these colors didn't say "evil" enough. Ignore the missing arm.

Edited July 17, 2021 by Interdimensional Observer

[Armagon]

3 minutes ago, Interdimensional Observer said:

I too was disappointed by it only taking four Super Missiles to kill the Omega Pirate. Like, why is it so weak for a boss so late?

Oh. It was kicking my ass.

Well it was less it and more of it being a pussy and calling for help every time you knock it down. That and i lost a lot of health because i kept running over the Phazon cause you can't see when you're locked on to the big boy. I did do the Power Bomb trick but it was inconsistent and i only had 4.

Doesn't matter tho, let's just pretend i beat it and i got the Phazon Suit and now let's pretend i got all the mcguffins because i have downloaded an 100% save.

[Interdimensional Observer]

4 minutes ago, Armagon said:

Oh. It was kicking my ass.

Well it was less it and more of it being a pussy and calling for help every time you knock it down. That and i lost a lot of health because i kept running over the Phazon cause you can't see when you're locked on to the big boy. I did do the Power Bomb trick but it was inconsistent and i only had 4.

Weird, I'm not sure if I stepped in any Phazon during the fight. And I mostly ignored the minions, rotating beams in a hectic environment when I don't need to was not something I was going to do. I blew off its armor without problems without Power Bombs, just Super Missiles. I survived the fight with about half of my energy reserves remaining.

[Acacia Sgt]

FFVI for me is still fine. Though certainly giving it a retouch ain't a bad idea either.

[Armagon]

5 minutes ago, Interdimensional Observer said:

Weird, I'm not sure if I stepped in any Phazon during the fight. And I mostly ignored the minions, rotating beams in a hectic environment when I don't need to was not something I was going to do. I blew off its armor without problems without Power Bombs, just Super Missiles. I survived the fight with about half of my energy reserves remaining.

See, the thing is, I went for Super Missiles for his armor but because there's no patter to his absorption, it was all for naught. So annoying.

Also the 100% save is after the Meta Ridley fight. Oh well.

[Interdimensional Observer]

30 minutes ago, Acacia Sgt said:

FFVI for me is still fine. Though certainly giving it a retouch ain't a bad idea either.

That's 'cause you're used to old school JRPGs. I don't mind it terribly myself (though it can depend on the franchise, old SMT is worse than old FF and old DQ), but I think of the younger generations and I largely ask for changes to appeal to them. Timeless classics can't be timeless if people stop loving them.

 

24 minutes ago, Armagon said:

Also the 100% save is after the Meta Ridley fight. Oh well.

Meta Ridley was okay. I lost once, and still took a good deal of damage on the second attempt.

The first phase was fairly easy, although I didn't dodge every attack that came my way. My main issue was the amount of time Ridley spent unassailable in the distant skies, with its quick flyovers for bombing runs also outspending the homing of Super Missiles. 

Once it dropped to about 1/3rd of its health and the wings (whose glow in the gray skies reminded me of the XCX Telethia at night) disintegrate, the fight got tougher. So much charging at Samus, with the tail whip that comes after pretty much undodgeable if you don't get out of the way in the first place. Yet Meta Ridley on the ground is only vulnerable during the less-used fire-breathing attack, which involved waiting a while. I remembered Wavebuster is effective on Ridley, and although it strangely wasn't doing any damage at times, the Wavebuster did manage it to keep it stunned and hurting long enough that by the time I was drained of missiles, I needed just few Plasma Beam shots to finish it.

Overall, not a bad fight, but probably not great.

Edited July 17, 2021 by Interdimensional Observer

[Sooks]

Okay so, 4th boss fight done. It was back to easy.

See this time, the boss did actually do significant damage sometimes, but it was almost always single target and so it was really easy to get around. Only one of the enemies, the much weaker one, actually had multi target attacks, but they didn’t do much (other than the S-craft of course). It required almost 0 thinking, so I think I would label that as easy.

I don’t know if I want to finish the game tonight, because it’s late and I have a good feeling the final boss will take years.

[Armagon]

Aw and here I thought I'd get to do an escape sequence. 

Anyways, the Metroid Prime's second phase was easier than it's first. The only issue I had with it was that sometimes Prime wouldn't show up on any Visor or at least I couldn't see him.

Review soon.

Also I know it's GameCube graphics slightly remastered for the Wii but Samus, please put your helmet back on. Your human model is eugh.

5 minutes ago, Interdimensional Observer said:

So much charging at Samus, with the tail whip that comes after pretty much undodgeable if you don't get out of the way in the first place.

Tbf, Ridley's tail whip has always been a bitch to dodge.

[Armagon]

Metroid Prime 1 review:

You know what, i'm just gonna come out and say it: Metroid had a rough transition to 3D. Everyone always regards Metroid Prime as one of the best Metroid games and it kickstarted a whole debate over which style of Metroid is better. But honestly, Metroid Prime is just a rough game that tried too hard to just be Super Metroid but in 3D (which granted, there wasn't really any other reference at the time).

To start with the positives, i do think this game is an alright first attempt at what it was trying to do. Rough, but there was legitimate potential. And early on, the game is actually pretty good. Combat is nice, the game manages to achieve the same atmosphere that Super had and it was generally really nice to see Samus' missions from the first person perspective. I really liked scanning those logbooks and getting the story and worldbuilding through a non-traditional way (pour one out for those poor Space Pirates who attempted to replicate Morph Ball technology only to be met with fatal results). Oh and the Wii motion controls actually worked really well. Very nice.

But i played through the game more and more, the cracks started to show and where it's most apparent is in it's backtracking. Backtracking is a Metroid staple but in the 2D games, it was fine because you moved through the areas pretty fast. But my God, if you're gonna make me backtrack in an FPS, either give me teleport stations or don't make me move slow as shit. Why is backtracking in an FPS even a thing? This is particularly at it's worst during the Phazon Mines (worst area in the game btw) where you have to backtrack like three different times to like three different areas. And to make matters worse, once all is said and done, once you've gotten every major upgrade, you still have to backtrack to get 12 pointless mcguffins in order to let you access the final area. I wasn't gonna do that btw, i just went and downloaded an 100% save cause lol. It also just doesn't help that this game is trying too much to be Super Metroid but in 3D. Super Metroid is already the weakest of the 2D Metroids but at least Super Metroid played really nice and really only had the "what the hell do i do now" moments that drag it down. Metroid Prime has those same moments plus tedious backtracking and quite honestly boring bosses. Never seen a Metroid game drop the ball on it's bosses like this before.

It's honestly a shame cause like i said earlier, Metroid Prime does start out strong. It just sorta, falls apart the more you play and while i have more Metroid games i have yet to play, i can say, as of this review, that this has been my least favorite Metroid experience so far.

6/10

See you next mission.

Edited July 17, 2021 by Armagon

[Codename Shrimp]

7 hours ago, Armagon said:

Adol will only settle down with one who shares his same passion of adventuring

Settling down by not settling down xD

5 hours ago, Sooks said:

Luciola

Iirc she's the one i had the least trouble with lol

Or was it Walter.

Those 2 were the easier ones iirc xD

Anyway you are now approaching point of no return. If you need to buy anything, do it now

Edited July 17, 2021 by Shrimperor

[DragonFlames]

Whew boy!
I missed nine whole pages, because of Ys VIII!
But man... what a game. What a fucking good game. "Good" is almost an insult. That's how much I like it right now!

I am... reasonably sure I can finish it in my next play session today.
Unless I decide to grind out the trophy to get every skill to max level, for which I only have Past!Dana left (but with her, I can't equip any of the very useful Skill EXP Up accessories, so... that's gonna take a bit! xD).
And I also have to resist the temptation to do all hunts and raids first, since that's an achievement you can get, as well.

Anyhow, I reached what I think is the final dungeon.
And I think this is the final dungeon, because this is the most 3D Falcom-game final dungeon that ever 3D Falcom-game final dungeon'd:

This is by far the best-looking one!

And there is a twist to this as well: this isn't the only area. You also have four different areas, each one pertaining to one of the four Wardens of Evolution, whom I THOUGHT would be the bosses I have to face, and... well, they kinda are, buuut... at the same time, not really. See, the thing is... the Wardens of Evolution are not actually villains. In fact, they seem willing to help out or at least let you try and stop the Selection and Rejection process known as the Lacrimosa (even if they don't believe that it can be done). What you are fighting are representations of their psyche as they fell into despair after the reveleation that the Lacrimosa is inevitable, and cannot be stopped.
In fact, two of them outright THANK you for defeating their psyches. And I love it! Instead of the generic "oh, defeat the entire group of main villains you faced throughout the game because they are evil", you're doing something different, and I love it!

And the Ura = Sarai thing that I called from the second Ura first showed up, because games in general kinda suck at keeping those things secret, and this is now the third time I've seen the 'mysterious masked/hooded person that has their voice changed to mask their true identity is actually someone you know' twist in quick succession (twice in Ys) was resolved in a way I hadn't thought it would be, but at the same time, it was the only way it could have gone. And I love that, too!

Also, the boss fights were fun.
And also, also... I got what is probably the last Past!Dana part in this game (luckily, I can go back to her at any time I please), and... remember this girl that I wondered what her deal is?

Well...

Turns out someone at Falcom must've been a Fire Emblem fan, because not only does she say this:

And yes, she is actually ancient... and also long dead. This is her ghost.

But also, she's a legit dragon (in a neat reversal of conventions, whereas other games call dinosaurs dragons, or at the very least put them in the same category, dragons in Ys 8 are called/put in the same category as dinosaurs)

And she's also the best boss fight in this game by a huge margin. Like... Holy shit, that was amazing! Legitimately one of the most enjoyable boss battles I've ever had, with perfect music to boot! AND it's a dragon! What more could a Draggy want? XD

So good, in fact, that she is easily a candidate for my top three boss fights ever!

This game is... something! XD
I'll wait until I've actually beaten it to make my final judgement, but so far, this is a VERY strong candidate for my personal top ten games, if not even top five!

Edited July 17, 2021 by DragonFlames

[Codename Shrimp]

Just now, DragonFlames said:

Unless I decide to grind out the trophy to get every skill to max level, for which I only have Past!Dana left (but with her, I can't equip any of the very useful Skill EXP Up accessories, so... that's gonna take a bit! xD).

fyi, there's a post game dungeon. 

1 minute ago, DragonFlames said:

oh hey it's the Azure Tree

 

1 minute ago, DragonFlames said:

But man... what a game. What a fucking good game. "Good" is almost an insult. That's how much I like it right now!

Hehe glad you are enjoying the game i personally consider closest to perfection^^

3 minutes ago, DragonFlames said:

Turns out someone at Falcom must've been a Fire Emblem fan

i had the same reaction lmao

4 minutes ago, DragonFlames said:

And she's also the best boss fight in this game by a huge margin.

Yup. I consider her the real final boss because the actual one...

 

btw, did you do most of the quests, especially Dana's one? You need it +200 Fame for true ending iirc

[DragonFlames]

1 minute ago, Shrimperor said:

fyi, there's a post game dungeon. 

Oooh! Nice!

1 minute ago, Shrimperor said:

oh hey it's the Azure Tree

Nah, that one stands in Seren Garden. XD

2 minutes ago, Shrimperor said:

Hehe glad you are enjoying the game i personally consider closest to perfection^^

Definitely!
In terms of exploration, this game comes really close to being my ideal JRPG.
But final thoughts after I've beaten it, haha! ^^

3 minutes ago, Shrimperor said:

i had the same reaction lmao

XD

I don't even mind it too much, because I consider Io a really good character in her own right!

4 minutes ago, Shrimperor said:

Yup. I consider her the real final boss because the actual one...

Well, one thing's for sure. The actual final boss has a tough act to follow!
Because man, that Io boss fight... so good! What's the battle theme called? Because I really liked that one!~

6 minutes ago, Shrimperor said:

btw, did you do most of the quests, especially Dana's one? You need it +200 Fame for true ending iirc

I did EVERY quest! xD

But Dana's was... something else, alright.
Just this line from Olga:

Spoiler

Gut-punch.

[Codename Shrimp]

2 minutes ago, DragonFlames said:

What's the battle theme called? Because I really liked that one!

 

2 minutes ago, DragonFlames said:

Gut-punch

Well, you wanted Eternia to die after the meteor...

XD

[DragonFlames]

3 minutes ago, Shrimperor said:

 

"She's using Gratika. One hit and I'm done for..."
Luckily not the case, but needing to use transformations to match and counter hers was such a genius move! I love it!

Also, this might just be my favorite Falcom track. ^^

3 minutes ago, Shrimperor said:

Well, you wanted Eternia to die after the meteor...

XD

XD
I maintain, the city surviving the meteor was weird! But at the very least it got somewhat explained!

Also, I actually liked Olga (I regret calling her as the main villain when I first saw her), and she was Dana's friend, so that line hit right where it hurts. xD

Edited July 17, 2021 by DragonFlames

[Codename Shrimp]

7 minutes ago, DragonFlames said:

Luckily not the case, but needing to use transformations to match and counter hers was such a genius move! I love it!

It felt like a classic Ys battle. Solo, form transformations, etc

7 minutes ago, DragonFlames said:

Also, I actually liked Olga (I regret calling her as the main villain when I first saw her), and she was Dana's friend, so that line hit right where it hurts. xD

Eternia deserved better...

Well, not those who turned on Dana xD

[DragonFlames]

1 minute ago, Shrimperor said:

It felt like a classic Ys battle. Solo, form transformations, etc

I think the most classic-Ys-esque boss fight to me was against the boss in Baja Tower, since it had the top-down perspective and bullet hell aspects and everything (only difference is that you fight it with a full party).

But this one very much nailed the other aspects classic Ys had!

3 minutes ago, Shrimperor said:

Eternia deserved better...

Yeah...
They really did a good job showing how the entire kingdom is on its last legs, and that they are very close to dying off, and that there's not a damn thing you can do to change it. Really good stuff!

Though the entire sadness of the atmosphere was somewhat lifted by a programming oversight I discovered that had a quite funny result. I present to you: Furniture Dana!

XD

5 minutes ago, Shrimperor said:

Well, not those who turned on Dana xD

Yeah, those guys are, or were... idiots. But not entirely unrealistic!

[Codename Shrimp]

1 minute ago, DragonFlames said:

They really did a good job showing how the entire kingdom is on its last legs, and that they are very close to dying off, and that there's not a damn thing you can do to change it. Really good stuff!

 

yeah

good stuff

but depressing stuff ;_;

1 minute ago, DragonFlames said:

Furniture Dana!

lmao

2 minutes ago, DragonFlames said:

same energy XD

2 minutes ago, DragonFlames said:

Yeah, those guys are, or were... idiots. But not entirely unrealistic!

It's very realistic. Still doesn't mean i can't hate them XD

Also

Solomon Shrine vibes

 

Adol and Dana are so in tune with each other, they get a similiar song for their ''final'' dungeons xD

[DragonFlames]

Just now, Shrimperor said:

yeah

good stuff

but depressing stuff ;_;

Definitely!

1 minute ago, Shrimperor said:

same energy XD

Yeah! XD

1 minute ago, Shrimperor said:

It's very realistic. Still doesn't mean i can't hate them XD

True, haha!
I hate them, too

2 minutes ago, Shrimperor said:

Solomon Shrine vibes

Oh yeah, now that you mention it! Heh, that's a funny similarity!
Both of these themes are great, too!

2 minutes ago, Shrimperor said:

Adol and Dana are so in tune with each other, they get a similiar song for their ''final'' dungeons xD

Shrimpy: I ship it.
XD

[Codename Shrimp]

1 minute ago, DragonFlames said:

Shrimpy: I ship it.

I ship them so hard, i

let this equipped the whole game even though there were better items come late game xD

3 minutes ago, DragonFlames said:

Heh, that's a funny similarity!

i bet it was itnended xD

[DragonFlames]

2 minutes ago, Shrimperor said:

I ship them so hard, i

let this equipped the whole game even though there were better items come late game xD

Aww, that's sweet! xD

3 minutes ago, Shrimperor said:

i bet it was itnended xD

100%!

Oh, also!
During the last night mission, I saw utter insanity- XD

Check the minimap, and all the enemy symbols around. This is like Musou-level enemy density right here. XD
I wish I had a full Extra gauge here. Hummel's special would have been HUGE!
Thankfully, I only needed to run away, but still!

[Codename Shrimp]

Also Crimson Figher, which obviously refers to Adol, plays for Dana boss fights. like... xD

 

1 minute ago, DragonFlames said:

Check the minimap, and all the enemy symbols around. This is like Musou-level enemy density right here. XD

Oh yeah that quest

That was alot of trouble

[DragonFlames]

1 minute ago, Shrimperor said:

Also Crimson Figher, which obviously refers to Adol, plays for Dana boss fights. like... xD

Well, in my case, Adol wore green for a while. XD

1 minute ago, Shrimperor said:

Oh yeah that quest

That was alot of trouble

But also a lot of fun!
I got a lot of mileage out of Hummel's special here. That thing's range is insane.

The chase at the end was stressful though, haha!