Serenes Forest's Teehee Thread

[Armagon]

You know what? Fuck it, let's spice this playthrough up even more. No maps! I will get by off of memory and directions from the NPCs. 

I may set a conditional for activating towers but for now, let's just fuck around and find out.

[Acacia Sgt]

Okay, beat the fake Castlevania III party.

... I didn't even noticed when Fake Grant was defeated, pft. He truly gets the short stick just about every time.

Okay, area's been 100%. Next, the Anti-Chapel.

[FlyingKitsune]

1 hour ago, Lightcosmo said:

Everyone playing Engage with mods cause the game is missing something without em. Xd

Yeah, you can't play with a protagonist Veyle in base game

[Acacia Sgt]

Okay, defeated Medusa. Went through most of the area, but went back to the Reverse Colosseum to save. I think that's it for tonight. Will continue tomorrow.

[Interdimensional Observer]

Bonta-kun is great.

I was smiling silly through the entire conversation in fumoffu translation.🤣 Sousuke being innocently always deadly serious and utilitarian made it all the better that it was him beneath the suit, rather than it being a cutesy mascot AI robot or something. The animations are yet again expressively top-notch too.

A frolicking nonsense beach scene was a change of pace, although Bonta was by far the best part (the Akito stuff was a tad WTF), I dare not imagine what the scene would have been had I not unlocked it.

-Yet the game just had to toss in the Tekkaquartet for a brush of serious on this silly episode. Surprisingly handled it better than I expected to, despite the late deployment from the battleships resulting in Will being rather low across the board. The subsequent battle was unusually only two waves of enemies, unlike what become a standard of three. That let me spend all my SP to quickly take out the Gradosian commanders yet again. With these two battles concluded, the Radam and Grados have finally lost a general apiece, they're slowly starting to stop with the whole constant retreat thing.

 

6 hours ago, Acacia Sgt said:

Heh, gotta make use of those debuffs, huh.

I do wish they available on more than each debuff being on a single unit. But they are very good. I saw Master Asia got debuffed to a mere 50 Mobility (I didn't calculate how large a decline this was), Dragon Fire halves enemy weapon attack greatly improving survivability, and Rust Tornado = lower armor = more damage = no brainer. Nobody so far resists any of them either, as long land and pack enough punch to not be nulled by a barrier.

6 hours ago, Acacia Sgt said:

and still no Tequila Gundam, smh. T was a good chance! Considering El Dora Team was there and all...

Tequila production is up as a random factoid. 530 million liters made from 1.8 metric tons of blue agave in 2022, double that of 2010. Two-thirds of which gets exported, much of it to Mexico's northern neighbor.

6 hours ago, Acacia Sgt said:

Layzner Mk. II was never used. It was a planned concept that never got to be used. It has instead showed up in extra material like SRW, and in Another Century's Episode. It's like Great Zeorymer in that sense. Scrapped concepts reused years after the fact.

So like, it would've been Layzner > Enhanced Layzner > Layzner Mk II. SRW made it a branch upgrade instead, rather than the second upgrade it was meant to be.

Scrapped upgrades but used in SRW? In that fantasy world where XG gets into SRW, they better add El Crescens and El Seibzehn. 

Thank you once more!😀

2 hours ago, Acacia Sgt said:

... I didn't even noticed when Fake Grant was defeated, pft. He truly gets the short stick just about every time.

Doesn't he hang out on the ceiling, drops a few knives, and gets back up there when you knock him down? I don't remember any cooperation among the fakers, but Grant I have the lingering impression was particularly incongruous with the other two.

 

6 hours ago, Armagon said:

Skyward Sword also just has a good narrative and i think with the soundtrack, it hits better than most Zelda narratives.

It was okay for me initially. The three minutes spent a school setting in retrospect are rather weird for a Zelda game. But, then things soured for me later.

I can't recall exactly how I felt, but I'd fallen in love with the pre-SS Zelda mythos, and I didn't adore the introduction of Hylia. -I don't like her as being actively chosen by the Golden Goddesses to guide this world, I prefer the GG to be aloof creators above the concepts of good and evil, Hylia is inherently good. I'm okay with Breath of the Wild's shift towards Hylia, as an active goddess of goodness makes perfect sense for being worshipped. And I suppose then it's fine that the Golden trio are regarded by the people as being on their side -even if in truthful reality they've long since stopped caring about the affairs of Hyrule, and could vanquish Ganon for all eternity with their pinky toes b/c creating the world out of primordial void >>>>>>>>>>> the power of the Triforce, Ganon and Hylia combined. -But then I should remind myself that LoZ is an all-ages low-plot video game franchise, not something intended for armchair theologians like myself.😆

Furthermore, I was and still kinda am anti-Zelda timeline. So to deem all Links, Zelda, and Ganondorfs reincarnations and attempt to bind together the timeline with SS as the starting point (even if it has a hero before its own hero), well that didn't sit well with me either. There is no need to bind them all together, it's bound to be tenuous, curse the fans who wanted this so. -Although, TBF, Nintendo started it when they claimed OoT would be the Imprisoning War of ALttP's backstory, and then Wind Waker happened. 

While I do like Girahim, Groose... I don't dislike him and I can see why he would have a following, but ehhh, I don't think he never clicked for me.

6 hours ago, Armagon said:

Speaking of, this is the first game i can say where most of the dungeon themes were actually good.

I know you mean music here, but aesthetically, I did like the South/East Asian religious aesthetic theme of the Ancient Cistern.

SS going with technology in Lanayru might've laid some groundwork for BotW in retrospect.

[Acacia Sgt]

8 minutes ago, Interdimensional Observer said:

Bonta-kun is great.

I was smiling silly through the entire conversation in fumoffu translation.🤣 Sousuke being innocently always deadly serious and utilitarian made it all the better that it was him beneath the suit, rather than it being a cutesy mascot AI robot or something. The animations are yet again expressively top-notch too.

A frolicking nonsense beach scene was a change of pace, although Bonta was by far the best part (the Akito stuff was a tad WTF), I dare not imagine what the scene would have been had I not unlocked it.

-Yet the game just had to toss in the Tekkaquartet for a brush of serious on this silly episode. Surprisingly handled it better than I expected to, despite the late deployment from the battleships resulting in Will being rather low across the board. The subsequent battle was unusually only two waves of enemies, unlike what become a standard of three. That let me spend all my SP to quickly take out the Gradosian commanders yet again. With these two battles concluded, the Radam and Grados have finally lost a general apiece, they're slowly starting to stop with the whole constant retreat thing.

Ahahaha, Bonta-Kun is always worth using it. Specially since just about every boss has unique quotes when fighting against it. Fumoffu!

8 minutes ago, Interdimensional Observer said:

I do wish they available on more than each debuff being on a single unit. But they are very good. I saw Master Asia got debuffed to a mere 50 Mobility (I didn't calculate how large a decline this was), Dragon Fire halves enemy weapon attack greatly improving survivability, and Rust Tornado = lower armor = more damage = no brainer. Nobody so far resists any of them either, as long land and pack enough punch to not be nulled by a barrier.

I don't think anyone resists debuffs. Or if they do, I didn't noticed what exactly made them resist them. Then again, been long to remember.

8 minutes ago, Interdimensional Observer said:

Tequila production is up as a random factoid. 530 million liters made from 1.8 metric tons of blue agave in 2022, double that of 2010. Two-thirds of which gets exported, much of it to Mexico's northern neighbor.

How amusing that it was that of all thing they chose to name Neo Mexico's Gundam. And then the space colony is a giant sombrero. XD lolololol

And still peeved they haven't graced SRW yet... but you'll see. In my fan SRW idea, where I do have G Gundam as part of the roster, Tequila Gundam will show up!

8 minutes ago, Interdimensional Observer said:

Scrapped upgrades but used in SRW? In that fantasy world where XG gets into SRW, they better add El Crescens and El Seibzehn. 

Thank you once more!😀

Hey, it could happen... hopefully. Though we'd likely to see XS first in a mainline SRW than XG, admittedly. Still, it's great for SRW to allow for unused concepts their time to finally shine.

8 minutes ago, Interdimensional Observer said:

Doesn't he hang out on the ceiling, drops a few knives, and gets back up there when you knock him down? I don't remember any cooperation among the fakers, but Grant I have the lingering impression was particularly incongruous with the other two.

I didn't noticed. First thing I did was spam the "drain HP" spell, and it seems depleting the MP bar was enough to kill him off. Fake Sypha and Fake Trevor still needed a few attacks in after the spell spam.

Edited April 13, 2023 by Acacia Sgt

[Saint Rubenio]

8 hours ago, Shrimpy -Limited Edition- said:

  Hide contents

You said something? Ü

What boomers think a young person with a phone looks like

7 hours ago, Armagon said:

..and now, the time has come

I have not touched this game since i beat in 2017.

At long last.

Breathing.

Good luck breathing. Don't fall off too many cliffs.

7 hours ago, Wartortle94 said:

So I'm stuck on the final boss in Majoras mask. He's so hard

If there was a Zelda game I'd play, it'd probably be Majora's. Never did get around to it, but it seems like the most interesting Zelda to me.

...though the one I played the most is Zelda 2. It came with my 3DS, played it a lot as a kid. Never did beat it, but hey. Error was there.

3 hours ago, FlyingKitsune said:

I find it funny that reverse recruitment mod gets you the 3 oldest characters right off the bat.

Y E S

This is 100% my next run. Look at that beautiful, beautiful line up.

3 hours ago, Acacia Sgt said:

Vander in Shambles.

Alas. What we gain in age, we lose in facial hair.

I gotta ask the modder to make a version where Vandad is there instead of the loli. We call it, Reverse Recruitment but Good.

3 hours ago, Lightcosmo said:

Everyone playing Engage with mods cause the game is missing something without em. Xd

I mean, I am using exactly one mod that's purely cosmetic and two QoL little patches. I don't think the game is missing that much.

Just, the ability to dress up my guys is just too important to pass up on.

2 hours ago, FlyingKitsune said:

Yeah, you can't play with a protagonist Veyle in base game

Yes, that is most definitely the only reason anybody would ever use this mod. Ever.

Edited April 13, 2023 by Saint Rubenio

[ping]

9 hours ago, Eltosian Kadath said:

Such foresight with that clever berry play.

Hindsight, really Darkrai put two of my Pokemon to sleep, so I reloaded and prepared a bit. The "foresight" is that at some point, I used the Berry Pots for a few growth cycles. I even have nine Lum Berries stocked!

9 hours ago, Eltosian Kadath said:

Too bad random TMs means you can't salvage her with Shadow Ball (and perhaps other special coverage, like Psychic and Energy Ball...)

The best she can do is Mist Ball (replacing Payback) and Judgement (replacing Swagger). Not terrible, of course, especially Judgement, but I don't think you get Plates in HGSS before you got all 16 badges. 100 base power is still 100 base power, but it's STAB-less and with no super effective coverage. Mist Ball is honestly pretty eh, Sp.Atk debuff notwithstanding, with only 70 base power and 5 PP.

[Codename Shrimp]

4 hours ago, Lightcosmo said:

Everyone playing Engage with mods cause the game is missing something without em. Xd

Nah, more like to spice things up, ya know?

We already finished the base game after all, some of us more than once, even

Edited April 13, 2023 by Shrimpy -Limited Edition-

[Saint Rubenio]

Ohhh

I just realized now, my plan is not viable. I wanted to make Vandad a high priest so he could both cast magic and throw hands, but punch proficiency isn't available until way later unless I taint the run with Tiki.

...sheesh, it's just so transparent what they did with the DLC here. Oh well. Sage Vandad it'll have to be. I can always have him reclass later.

[Sidereal Wraith]

How Wraith wakes up every morning:

 

[Lightcosmo]

6 hours ago, Saint Rubenio said:

I mean, I am using exactly one mod that's purely cosmetic and two QoL little patches. I don't think the game is missing that much.

Just, the ability to dress up my guys is just too important to pass up on.

I think this speaks for itself. This should have been in the base game tbh. It adds way more choices for the player to have fun with.

5 hours ago, Shrimpy -Limited Edition- said:

Nah, more like to spice things up, ya know?

We already finished the base game after all, some of us more than once, even

Should this even be the proper mentality? Shouldn't the game be able to stand on it's own?

[Interdimensional Observer]

7 hours ago, Acacia Sgt said:

Hey, it could happen... hopefully. Though we'd likely to see XS first in a mainline SRW than XG

Xenosaga runs into one narrative problem they're gonna have to work around. Earth has been "lost" for a very long time (reasons not entirely unsure -I still haven't finished it after all! 😆), yet humanity has spread through the cosmos since then and has even established a large space federation.

Dimension-linking is the easy if perhaps boring solution. But, if we bend Xenosaga's narrative a bit (after all, when does an adapted storyline not flex for SRW?), we could perhaps go with the old "highly advanced ancient civilization" which spread through space. This we would then pair with some spatial distortion around the Solar System, making it impossible for people elsewhere in the universe to notice it until fairly recently. Being intergalactic humans, Xenosaga's most readily imaginable initial inter-license linkages for establishing an SRW-licious integrated matrix of a world, would be whichever Basically Human Aliens are around and trying to conquer the Earth- Gradosians, Pentagonians, Boazanians, Bharmians, Vegans, Wulgaru -not the Jovians b/c they're way too close to the blue & green old home-, you know what I mean. Deeper linkages are beyond me right now.

Having thought of Xenogears before, we run into the same issue of needing to have gotten humanity long into space beforehand the present day. I think we could brush out Xenogears' technically-existent intergalactic humanity, as it's completely absent from the narrative despite presumably still existing, outside of important backstory. All we strictly need is one shipload of humans sent out into the vast darkness at least 10k years ago with a very special cargo and for them to have been advanced enough to do this. Can Nadesicoan wormholes allow for time travel backwards? That would be very convenient, we could write the Jovians as experimenting with some dangerous experimental technology within the past 100 years, order it discarded, and such a reverse-time wormhole means that 10000 years could then have readily passed while not having passed at all. -But then that risks by implication contamination of the entirety of the Super Robot Wars's plot by time-wimey nonsense, the writers would have to keep out the possibility of any other instances of people going to the past.

Yet the bigger quandary with Xenogears however, is that we really need an alien planet on hand. The mental gymnastics that could leave one out are not something I'm willing to attempt ATM. This said, you did say before that V has three Earths being visited, and what's the difference between another Earth and an alien planet? All we need is an answer for why a planet from another place in the universe is suddenly within the Solar System, maybe we can borrow or invent for the Banpresto Original aspect of the game some other group's advanced teleportation technology. Thinks on links, yet again, intelligent aliens are a ready option. After all, if they're trying to conquer the Earth, they ought to be interplanetary civilizations already and have gone after spheres closer to home. Tweak things so that the Xenogears planet caught the attention of say two rival alien civilizations and that they have established some competing territorial claims and bases thereon -but XG humans have to have been the first to have reach said planet. Xenogears must be featured alongside with G Gundam or I riot, Grahf and Master Asia must meet.

...You know, I couldn't always have imagined writing out such theoretical considerations. This is only possible from experiencing more SRWs, getting a measure of familiarity with other licenses, seeing how IPs are made to bend their stories and mix among other mech-having series. It is an expansion of the mind's creative capacities, and I am quite grateful my initially-hesitant leap from OG to mainline SRW has made this possible.😊

Edited April 13, 2023 by Interdimensional Observer

[Lightcosmo]

1 minute ago, Interdimensional Observer said:

I still haven't finished it after all!

Get to it, then! We always need more XS players to come to the series' defense!

[Interdimensional Observer]

8 minutes ago, Lightcosmo said:

Get to it, then! We always need more XS players to come to the series' defense!

After Super Robot Wars J. -The first playthrough, it won't have to wait for me to have done my second J run.

At my current no-lifeing rate of play and near-complete disregard for the irritation level of my eyes, I should have J done before the month is over. I'm done with 35 out of 52 battles right now. I started it on the 5th, so that's about four battles per day for the past eight.

How curious I found myself unable to play XS for long sessions, and could find the abundant cutscenes leaving me a tad antsy for gameplay action. Yet I've had no qualms with sitting through the many many many words of J, have devoted an easy six hours per day to it, and have lovingly enjoyed it all while doing this. If only my mentality towards Xenosaga was the same as it is for SRW.

[Armagon]

8 hours ago, Interdimensional Observer said:

The three minutes spent a school setting in retrospect are rather weird for a Zelda game.

I do think it was neccesary for really establishing Link and Zelda's relationship. The motivation to save Zelda in this series has never been stronger. If we compare

• Ignore the first two
• LttP Zelda is more of a plot device than anything
• OoT Zelda does actually have a role and her being Sheik definitely was a big talking point. But Link still didn't really know her.
• Oracle Zelda was shoehorned in. 
• Wind Waker has a bigger motivation in saving your sister than saving Zelda
  • However Phantom Hourglass increases the rescue Zelda motivation, as you actually know her by now. Helps that Tetra is pretty cool in Wind Waker too
• Minish Cap was the first Zelda game to establish the two as childhood friends. I'd say Minish Cap is the first game in the series where the motivation to save Zelda is strong as you have a personal connection there.]
• Twilight Princess has the same thing with Ocarina of Time: you don't really *know* Zelda. Midna's the real princess here (apparently the manga goes full Link/Midna at the end)
• Spirit Tracks is weird because Zelda is already there with you. I mean yeah she's a ghost but as far as thing are concerned, the situation isn't as dire yet. You at least know she's alright so the motivation is more rescuing her body than rescuing her, if that makes sense.
• Skyward Sword does the Minish Cap thing, except it expands on it greatly. 
• ALBW, much like it's prequel, has Zelda be more of a plot device than anything. 
• BotW entirely depends on if you went after the memories or not. Although i'd imagine that saving Zelda in Tears of the Kingdom is a stronger motivation since you know her already.

8 hours ago, Interdimensional Observer said:

I did like the South/East Asian religious aesthetic theme of the Ancient Cistern.

That was a theme with the dungeons in Eldin too. Lanayru is the only region that didn't really have that sort of thing, instead opting for magitech.

7 hours ago, Saint Rubenio said:

Don't fall off too many cliffs.

Too late.

 

[Acacia Sgt]

46 minutes ago, Interdimensional Observer said:

Xenosaga runs into one narrative problem they're gonna have to work around. Earth has been "lost" for a very long time (reasons not entirely unsure -I still haven't finished it after all! 😆), yet humanity has spread through the cosmos since then and has even established a large space federation.

Dimension-linking is the easy if perhaps boring solution. But, if we bend Xenosaga's narrative a bit (after all, when does an adapted storyline not flex for SRW?), we could perhaps go with the old "highly advanced ancient civilization" which spread through space. This we would then pair with some spatial distortion around the Solar System, making it impossible for people elsewhere in the universe to notice it until fairly recently. Being intergalactic humans, Xenosaga's most readily imaginable initial inter-license linkages for establishing an SRW-licious integrated matrix of a world, would be whichever Basically Human Aliens are around and trying to conquer the Earth- Gradosians, Pentagonians, Boazanians, Bharmians, Vegans, Wulgaru -not the Jovians b/c they're way too close to the blue & green old home-, you know what I mean. Deeper linkages are beyond me right now.

Having thought of Xenogears before, we run into the same issue of needing to have gotten humanity long into space beforehand the present day. I think we could brush out Xenogears' technically-existent intergalactic humanity, as it's completely absent from the narrative despite presumably still existing, outside of important backstory. All we strictly need is one shipload of humans sent out into the vast darkness at least 10k years ago with a very special cargo and for them to have been advanced enough to do this. Can Nadesicoan wormholes allow for time travel backwards? That would be very convenient, we could write the Jovians as experimenting with some dangerous experimental technology within the past 100 years, order it discarded, and such a reverse-time wormhole means that 10000 years could then have readily passed while not having passed at all. -But then that risks by implication contamination of the entirety of the Super Robot Wars's plot by time-wimey nonsense, the writers would have to keep out the possibility of any other instances of people going to the past.

Yet the bigger quandary with Xenogears however, is that we really need an alien planet on hand. The mental gymnastics that could leave one out are not something I'm willing to attempt ATM. This said, you did say before that V has three Earths being visited, and what's the difference between another Earth and an alien planet? All we need is an answer for why a planet from another place in the universe is suddenly within the Solar System, maybe we can borrow or invent for the Banpresto Original aspect of the game some other group's advanced teleportation technology. Thinks on links, yet again, intelligent aliens are a ready option. After all, if they're trying to conquer the Earth, they ought to be interplanetary civilizations already and have gone after spheres closer to home. Tweak things so that the Xenogears planet caught the attention of say two rival alien civilizations and that they have established some competing territorial claims and bases thereon -but XG humans have to have been the first to have reach said planet. Xenogears must be featured alongside with G Gundam or I riot, Grahf and Master Asia must meet.

...You know, I couldn't always have imagined writing out such theoretical considerations. This is only possible from experiencing more SRWs, getting a measure of familiarity with other licenses, seeing how IPs are made to bend their stories and mix among other mech-having series. It is an expansion of the mind's creative capacities, and I am quite grateful my initially-hesitant leap from OG to mainline SRW has made this possible.😊

Oh, it could certainly be doable. Even without resorting to multiple Earths/worlds for it. SRW T did this with the Astragius Galaxy from VOTOMS. It had that an ancient civilization built a portal that connected the Solar System with Astragius. People moved over to Astragius, but then the civilization fell or the portal temporarily stopped working or something (and I believe some dimentional shifting also happened, since the UND did something to move the ruins that housed the portal to the Moon in order to use them if I recall), and both places got cut-off again, to the point neither side remembered.

So something similar could be done.

Hahaha, it can certainly be fun talking about this sort of thing, eh? As what little tidbits of my fan story idea can attest, heh. Which is the pinnacle of years of playing or at least looking up the story summaries of lots of SRW games, plus already having years of experience of fanfic writing, hahaha.

Edited April 13, 2023 by Acacia Sgt

[Armagon]

"Man Tears of the Kingdom looks like DLC" fellas rn

[Armagon]

Samurai Ganondorf is not something i realized i needed.

"Finally, a worthy opponent. Our battle will be legendary"

[Saint Rubenio]

I am way too tempted to taint the run and get Tiki just so I can make Vandad a high priest. I wouldn't even have to get the full Tiki chapter's worth of experience or the silver card, I can just use this instead. I kinda want to be able to say this was a DLC-less run, but on the other hand... I mean, how gamebreaking is making Vandad a high priest instead of a sage at this point of the game, really? It'll be hard enough just making him work at all lol

[Codename Shrimp]

3 hours ago, Lightcosmo said:

Shouldn't the game be able to stand on it's own?

But the game stands up on it's own!

Mods just spice replays up a bit since playing the same thing over and over...nah. 

[Acacia Sgt]

Never felt I had to with FE. Not when I could just use different characters and stuff. Specially with Engage offering lots of different team combinations when you factor Emblems and inheritable skills for different builds and playstyles.

Granted, I won't replay Engage, but the option's there.

[Saint Rubenio]

Fuck it. Fun > purity. High priest Vandad is a go. Now to make him work... Somehow. 6 base speed, sheesh, this is gonna be a toughie...

[Acacia Sgt]

El Fray Tormenta de Elyos.

[Lightcosmo]

18 minutes ago, Shrimpy -Limited Edition- said:

But the game stands up on it's own!

Mods just spice replays up a bit since playing the same thing over and over...nah. 

That's fair enough!