Serenes Forest's Teehee Thread

[Acacia Sgt]

Okay, Purgatory Ensemble has dropped in Another Eden. Time to update the app...

[Armagon]

15 minutes ago, Lorneus said:

When you said "ways to work around it" did you mean through items, or like the stats get restored between every battle, or you can utilize your depletion of resources to your advantage? It seems like an intriguing system.

In Xenoblade X, you'll be coordinating same-colored Arts between you and your party members to heal HP, among other bonuses. 

Xenoblade X and Xenoblade 2 are the only JRPGs where I can say that healing is seamlessly woven into the combat system (Xenoblade 2 has an actual dedicated healer class and Arts too).

I should mention that Xenoblade games don't really have in-battle items. X does but the most you'll ever use it is to refuel your mech during the final boss fight.

11 minutes ago, Shrimpresident said:

Be more clear next time 😛

I literally said Xenoblade X twice. 

[Acacia Sgt]

> Box says the Rosca de Reyes only has two figurines.

> I'm the one to find both figurines.

Jokes on then, I have zero money to buy the food for Candelaria.

Edited January 7, 2022 by Acacia Sgt

[Armagon]

Ok I'm guessing the game being $10 than previous Gunvolt games (disregarding the discount) is because it's the first game in the series with an English dub.

[null]

 

[TheRomHackist]

5 minutes ago, twilitfalchion said:

 

Certified bop™

[Lightcosmo]

50 minutes ago, Lightchao42 said:

I'll probably find enjoyment in Cold Steel if the plot and characters are interesting

Oh boy. Those words...

46 minutes ago, Shrimpresident said:

Tear, Teara, Tearal, Thelas, Athelas, Breath, Holy Breath, Earth pulse, Seraphic Ring

Earth Pulse busted.

[Interdimensional Observer]

1 hour ago, Armagon said:

and it helps that this game has a killer soundtrack as well

If you didn't notice this on YouTube.:

Not bad to chill to.

1 hour ago, Armagon said:

Ending rankings btw are Kisuke 2 > Momohime 2 > Kisuke 3 > Kisuke 1 = Momohime 1 > Momohime 3

If you couldn't tell from comments yesterday, I actually prefer the 1st endings for both of them. They're not the kind of stuff you usually find in a video game, at least, not of the genres and stuff you know that I play. 

Of Kisuke's 2nd and 3rd, probably 2nd > 3rd as well. I think I prefer Momohime 3rd to 2nd however (no, my current avi has nothing to do with it, I just wanted something different from the usual, and an aged immoral samurai is just that). Although whether one likes Momo 3rd likely depends on one's opinion of Jinkuro, since it's the only one where things don't end badly for him. And overall, I prefer Momohime 2nd and 3rd endings to Kisuke's.

Regardless, the approach to the endings is enjoyable. The game ends the endings treating them like they're folktales, and folktales tend not to have just one version of events. You could treat each ending as a different storyteller's creative flourish upon a mostly unchanging folktale storyline. None bad, none any more true than the others, no alignments or serious choices, it's variety without hindrances.

1 hour ago, Armagon said:

If you're looking for a short and quick game to play, definitely check this one out. 

8/10

I was predicting a 7/10, I'm surprised by it being a point higher than that.

And I'm glad you enjoyed it.

34 minutes ago, Armagon said:

In Xenoblade X, you'll be coordinating same-colored Arts between you and your party members to heal HP, among other bonuses. 

Xenoblade X and Xenoblade 2 are the only JRPGs where I can say that healing is seamlessly woven into the combat system (Xenoblade 2 has an actual dedicated healer class and Arts too).

Which is a concession that I would say was appreciated after XCX. Perhaps it was the near total lack of tutorials, but XCX felt too intended for a veteran crowd by ejecting a boring healbot like Sharla.

Making Repair and Smooth Recovery stronger (especially Repair) might've been enough to elevate the Knife. Sharla had only three direct healing Arts, two if they were sufficiently buffed could've been enough for XCX. And maybe ditch the TP cost of the Photon Saber's Astral Heal, spending 1000 TP on Astral Horizon to make it affect everyone is already substantial, needing another 1000 TP is overkill, although a second healing Art for the 'Saber wouldn't have hurt. An HP regeneration buff that isn't an Aura, or a heal upon taking damage buff, we didn't have those and they could've been fitted in.

The Etrian Odyssey series I've mentioned before as in ways pinnacles of JRPG design (you opinions may vary), despite being intended for a hardcore crowd, always had a dedicated healer class. The Medic, the Monk, the Botanist. It was never absolutely necessary, but excellent for beginners, and still the best healer around, if incapable of doing much else.

Edited January 7, 2022 by Interdimensional Observer

[Lightcosmo]

1 hour ago, Sooks said:

But, the bosses literally deal so much damage, how do I play this game without healing?

Are you not using faint to its fullest? Its busted to hell and back in CS 1 and 2.

[Armagon]

9 minutes ago, Interdimensional Observer said:

Although whether one likes Momo 3rd likely depends on one's opinion of Jinkuro, since it's the only one where things don't end badly for him.

I don't dislike Jinkuro but idk, Momo 3rd just kinda rubbed me the wrong way, even if Momo herself is arguably the happiest in that ending.

Speaking of 3rd endings, Kisuke 3rd is pretty funny. The final shot is him in the American wild west. The game states that Edo is the capital which means this is the Edo period which means the game takes place anywhere between 1603 and 1867. I mean yeah Louisiana Purchase was in 1803 and the expedition was the following year but i'd like to think that it'd be funnier if Kisuke discovered the wild west centuries before America did.

14 minutes ago, Interdimensional Observer said:

Regardless, the approach to the endings is enjoyable. The game ends the endings treating them like they're folktales, and folktales tend not to have just one version of events. You could treat each ending as a different storyteller's creative flourish upon a mostly unchanging folktale storyline. None bad, none any more true than the others, no alignments or serious choices, it's variety without hindrances.

I do really like that a lot. It's not something you see these days, most games with alternate endings go "oh yeah, this one is like the true end, the rest are just normal, bad, etc".

In Muramasa, you could argue all the endings are the true end.

19 minutes ago, Interdimensional Observer said:

Perhaps it was the near total lack of tutorials, but XCX felt too intended for a veteran crowd by ejecting a boring healbot like Sharla.

Honestly i don't even think it's the lack of tutorials (tho it is a factor), it's more that Xenoblade X will kill you. Like the early game is like genuinely hostile, at least that's what it felt like on my first playthrough.

[Benice]

Absolute beauty.

[Acacia Sgt]

19 minutes ago, Armagon said:

Speaking of 3rd endings, Kisuke 3rd is pretty funny. The final shot is him in the American wild west. The game states that Edo is the capital which means this is the Edo period which means the game takes place anywhere between 1603 and 1867. I mean yeah Louisiana Purchase was in 1803 and the expedition was the following year but i'd like to think that it'd be funnier if Kisuke discovered the wild west centuries before America did.

The Spanish, who stablished the Manila Galleons in 1565 linking the Philippines with Mexico, and founded Santa Fe, New Mexico in 1610:

If the guy reached what is now the American Southwest, it was due to traveling on a Spanish ship.

Maybe he was part of the Tsunenaga expedition:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hasekura_Tsunenaga

Edited January 7, 2022 by Acacia Sgt

[Interdimensional Observer]

3 minutes ago, Armagon said:

Speaking of 3rd endings, Kisuke 3rd is pretty funny. The final shot is him in the American wild west. The game states that Edo is the capital which means this is the Edo period which means the game takes place anywhere between 1603 and 1867. I mean yeah Louisiana Purchase was in 1803 and the expedition was the following year but i'd like to think that it'd be funnier if Kisuke discovered the wild west centuries before America did.

Sorry to ruin your silly fantasies of a samurai with a cursed sword busting into saloons and killing cowboy outlaws, but the final boss on his 1st and 3rd endings is a historical shogun. Tokugawa Tsunayoshi, who reigned between 1680 and 1709. Over a century before the Wild West became a thing. Which would've been... maybe starting with the 1849 California Gold Rush? Or perhaps not until after the US Civil War when an end to violent disputes eastward freed the government and populace to focus on filling in the frontier.

Still a possibility Kisuke could've stopped in the British colonies in America. Maybe Kisuke went anti-European and chopped down a few Brits in an indigenous vs. colonists scuffle. Or perhaps he would've visited the vast Spanish possessions in America cue the fight with the demonic aligator in the Everglades that happened to swallow a Spaniard who just so happened to have an exotic sword on his person that they bought from a Dutchman. Could've passed through California/New Mexico/Texas and the rest, not sure what he would've done out there, but I'm sure the Native American communities would've had a few malevolent spirits in need of being cleansed, or violent conflicts between their communities.

 

6 minutes ago, Armagon said:

I do really like that a lot. It's not something you see these days, most games with alternate endings go "oh yeah, this one is like the true end, the rest are just normal, bad, etc".

In Muramasa, you could argue all the endings are the true end.

Indeed. And since you're free to prefer whichever you want as the true one, without any notion of the endings being in direct opposition with each other (Three Houses), there aren't the grounds for the typical fanbase bickering over which is the true true ending. -Not that the game has a big enough fanbase to have disputes.

It seems the Rebirth free DLC endings kept the same approach. Although there are only two per character, and one character's second ending felt more like an odd continuation of the first ending when I watched it.

[Acacia Sgt]

1 minute ago, Interdimensional Observer said:

Sorry to ruin your silly fantasies of a samurai with a cursed sword busting into saloons and killing cowboy outlaws, but the final boss on his 1st and 3rd endings is a historical shogun. Tokugawa Tsunayoshi, who reigned between 1680 and 1709. Over a century before the Wild West became a thing. Which would've been... maybe starting with the 1849 California Gold Rush? Or perhaps not until after the US Civil War when an end to violent disputes eastward freed the government and populace to focus on filling in the frontier.

Still a possibility Kisuke could've stopped in the British colonies in America. Maybe Kisuke went anti-European and chopped down a few Brits in an indigenous vs. colonists scuffle. Or perhaps he would've visited the vast Spanish possessions in America cue the fight with the demonic aligator in the Everglades that happened to swallow a Spaniard who just so happened to have an exotic sword on his person that they bought from a Dutchman. Could've passed through California/New Mexico/Texas and the rest, not sure what he would've done out there, but I'm sure the Native American communities would've had a few malevolent spirits in need of being cleansed, or violent conflicts between their communities.

I see. Welp, no Tsunenaga expedition involved then.

[Interdimensional Observer]

5 minutes ago, Acacia Sgt said:

I see. Welp, no Tsunenaga expedition involved then.

TBF, it's a minor detail, it could've been any Tokugawa shogun and it wouldn't have made a difference. Heck, it could've been a Minamoto/Hojo/Kamakura or Ashikaga shogun and I don't think it would've affected the story one bit.

Still, Vanillaware chose the calm Edo period over the glorified violence of Sengoku and the Ashikaga Shogunate that preceded it. I wonder why. Maybe because having peace across Japan could make for quieter, more personal tales?

Edited January 7, 2022 by Interdimensional Observer

[Acacia Sgt]

2 minutes ago, Interdimensional Observer said:

TBF, it's a minor detail, it could've been any Tokugawa shogun and it wouldn't have made a difference. Heck, it could've been a Minamoto/Hojo/Kamakura or Ashikaga shogun and I don't think it would've affected the story one bit.

Still, Vanillaware chose the calm Edo period over the glorified violence of Sengoku and the Ashikaga Shogunate that preceded it. I wonder why. Maybe because having peace across Japan could make for quieter, more personal tales?

I guess it depends on how strong they enforced the isolation. Since if it's after the 1610's, it could be harder, but not impossible I'd think. They still traded and contacted, if in a very controlled matter, with the Dutch.

Edited January 7, 2022 by Acacia Sgt

[Armagon]

16 minutes ago, Acacia Sgt said:

The Spanish, who stablished the Manila Galleons in 1565 linking the Philippines with Mexico, and founded Santa Fe, New Mexico in 1610:

Well TIL.

16 minutes ago, Acacia Sgt said:

Maybe he was part of the Tsunenaga expedition

He did say he had a ship to catch and-

5 minutes ago, Interdimensional Observer said:

Sorry to ruin your silly fantasies of a samurai with a cursed sword busting into saloons and killing cowboy outlaws, but the final boss on his 1st and 3rd endings is a historical shogun. Tokugawa Tsunayoshi, who reigned between 1680 and 1709. 

...

1 minute ago, Interdimensional Observer said:

Still, Vanillaware chose the calm Edo period over the glorified violence of Sengoku and the Ashikaga Shogunate that preceded it. I wonder why. Maybe because having peace across Japan could make for quieter, more personal tales?

Also allows for a nice contrast I think. Both protagonists are in a pretty violent journey in an otherwise peaceful time.

[Lorneus]

54 minutes ago, Interdimensional Observer said:

Making Repair and Smooth Recovery stronger (especially Repair) might've been enough to elevate the Knife. Sharla had only three direct healing Arts, two if they were sufficiently buffed could've been enough for XCX. And maybe ditch the TP cost of the Photon Saber's Astral Heal, spending 1000 TP on Astral Horizon to make it affect everyone is already substantial, needing another 1000 TP is overkill, although a second healing Art for the 'Saber wouldn't have hurt. An HP regeneration buff that isn't an Aura, or a heal upon taking damage buff, we didn't have those and they could've been fitted in.

These numbers only remind me of my only Xeno experience. I only saw a little bit from my brother's... playthrough?... and the only thing that stayed in my mind for Xenosaga was that the cutscenes were extremely long and the numbers were sky-high even in very early game XD (Though not to Disgaea late-game levels, of course). I was pretty young though, and I'm not even sure if it was Xenosaga 1 or one of its sequels, so my memory is pretty fuzzy. All I know is that it irked my brother the wrong way and he dropped it almost instantly, and I never really got my hands on any Xeno game afterwards. I might consider trying some out eventually.

[Interdimensional Observer]

2 minutes ago, Acacia Sgt said:

I guess it depends on how strong they enforced the isolation. Since if it's after the 1610's, it could be harder, but not impossible I'd think. They still traded and contacted, if in a very controlled matter, the Dutch.

And the Chinese were in Dejima as well, although Dutch > Chinese in diplomatic status in Dejima. Since China was very annoyed that the Shogunate refused to acknowledge Chinese cultural/imperial superiority (b/c the shoguns already had a Japanese emperor to honor and it'd be seen as "unpatriotic" to submit to a foreign power), and they hated the Sengoku era Japanese wako piracy, and then there was the matter of the Korean invasion from years. Because of all this, the Chinese traders were mere mercantile individuals without any higher status. While the Dutch, representing a reputable foreign power the Shoguns lied to themselves were their "vassals", received the privilege of a yearly visit to Edo pay homage to the shogun sitting behind a veil at the far end of a long room. The Chinese were denied this honor, and had to bow before nothing higher than a local official in Dejima, that was all they were worthy of.

We've also Chinese traders and officials visiting the Ryukyu Kingdom, which the Shoguns ordered the Shimazu clan to puppet, without ending its official independence to maintain indirect trade with China. And, we've one Japanese island near Korea, I forget its name, used for trade with Joseon.

Also, the Rebirth translation lists Kisuke as visiting: China, India, Persia, France, England, and America, in that order. So I take it this means he took a westward route. But how does one go from Persia to France? Did he take a ship, or does the 20 volumes of adventures the ending says he experienced include the Ottoman Empire?

[Acacia Sgt]

6 minutes ago, Interdimensional Observer said:

And the Chinese were in Dejima as well, although Dutch > Chinese in diplomatic status in Dejima. Since China was very annoyed that the Shogunate refused to acknowledge Chinese cultural/imperial superiority (b/c the shoguns already had a Japanese emperor to honor and it'd be seen as "unpatriotic" to submit to a foreign power), and they hated the Sengoku era Japanese wako piracy, and then there was the matter of the Korean invasion from years. Because of all this, the Chinese traders were mere mercantile individuals without any higher status. While the Dutch, representing a reputable foreign power the Shoguns lied to themselves were their "vassals", received the privilege of a yearly visit to Edo pay homage to the shogun sitting behind a veil at the far end of a long room. The Chinese were denied this honor, and had to bow before nothing higher than a local official in Dejima, that was all they were worthy of.

We've also Chinese traders and officials visiting the Ryukyu Kingdom, which the Shoguns ordered the Shimazu clan to puppet, without ending its official independence to maintain indirect trade with China. And, we've one Japanese island near Korea, I forget its name, used for trade with Joseon.

Also, the Rebirth translation lists Kisuke as visiting: China, India, Persia, France, England, and America, in that order. So I take it this means he took a westward route. But how does one go from Persia to France? Did he take a ship, or does the 20 volumes of adventures the ending says he experienced include the Ottoman Empire?

Indeed. Ultimately the isolation was not total, they were pragmatic enough to know it'd be a bad idea to do so, hence the limited contact with the near neighbors. Though as it was, they definitely refused to have any more dealings with the Europeans. The Dutch were only able to be the exception since they promised to not try to Christianize the population, as the Spanish and Portuguese tried. In fact, the Dutch in charge of their East India Company helped suppress the Shimabara Rebellion.

It's curious how the Ottoman Empire gets skipped. Since the shortest trip from Persia to France would be to take a ship up the Red Sea, disembark on Egypt, then take a boat in Alexandria to Marseille. Maybe they overlooked it... or he really just passed through without much of note.

[Codename Shrimp]

I can make one big Teehee meme out of the whole chapter loool

6 hours ago, lightcosmo said:

Oh boy. Those words

Lightchaos at the position we all were in one day before disaster struck

Edited January 7, 2022 by Shrimpresident

[Saint Rubenio]

11 hours ago, Shrimpresident said:

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Yeah that moment was a true wtf one. And more F for Okabe and Mayushii

Biggest wtf tho...Mountain Dew

 

That moment when I fail to even mention the funny Okarin joke because I was genuinely disturbed.

Gamma CD better than Steins;Gate lol

9 hours ago, Lorneus said:

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Alright, so did the secret recycultist dungeon and the extra endings. Aubrey's tag photos were amazing. Apart from that however, I found the dungeon as a whole a little underwhelming. It was fun though. The bad end ending song was... jarring to say the least, but it was better than the repeated SFX of both Normal ends. The normal ends are pretty brutal indeed. Though I think using back the "it's a long way down, do you want to jump" line in the bad end was more effective for me. Maybe it was just because I had seen Basil and Omori get stabbed/mangled/murdered repeatedly in White/Blackspace. However I must say that your friends' dialogue for the normal ends is pretty gripping. 

 

9 hours ago, Sooks said:

 

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My favorite part of the alternate endings is the way Sunny deludes himself into thinking a door/room isn’t there after Basil dies, the exact same thing he did with the closest where his broken violin was. It’s such a genius detail in my opinion, it really brings everything together.

The bad ending’s song is a song that’s been associated with Omori for a long time, because it was the song used in the game’s very first trailer.

Also, you remember in the good ending, when Sunny’s dreamworld friends led him to that transparent door that he refused to go in and Shadow Basil led him to Basil’s hospital room? The bad ending pretty much confirms that Sunny’s dream world friends led him to the roof. Yeah… very dark, but very good. And on the bright side, Sunny refuses in that ending. So that’s cool.

 

I've nothing much to add, Sooks has already said all the things I said to him after he finished the game in the first place everything I would've wanted to tell you.

Well, I do have one thing to add: Omori good.

God, I love this game.

9 hours ago, Lorneus said:

Oh, it does that? I didn't even notice, tbh. That's pretty cool, indeed! 

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Lol, actually, at that point in time, I was still wondering about Ruben's "don't forget the promise you made to Basil" and thought it would be something like "Don't leave me alone" cause my memory completely erased any trace of a promise, so I followed Shadow Basil immediately. Turns out I somehow forgot to water the plants on some days though, cause the extra scene didn't happen. And I was sure I did it every time I could too... Oh well, I was still able to see it when trying to confirm if I had all the endings. But that's also a really neat detail! Technically you can see it during the bad end too but only through Headspace, and seeing it in Faraway puts up the viscerality of his desire to escape, especially since that hallucination comes after overcoming Omori.

 

 

Spoiler

To be honest, it's a bit of a shame that the extra scene is missable. After getting an emotional beatdown by the game, seeing that is a much needed break.

 

1 hour ago, Shrimpresident said:

I can make one big Teehee meme out of the whole chapter loool

I am almost afraid to ask you to dew it.

But dew it.

[Codename Shrimp]

6 minutes ago, Saint Rubenio said:

Gamma CD better than Steins;Gate lol

It's cut content from VN that they couldn't fit iirc

And there's a theory that

Spoiler

The evil Kyouma of the 300 is the Original/very first Okabe, and the reason that he has reading steiner.

 

6 minutes ago, Saint Rubenio said:

But dew it.

After lunch/later today then.

Edited January 7, 2022 by Shrimpresident

[Saint Rubenio]

Fuck it. I can't wait any longer.

Hard mode true ending, here I come.

Any suggestions for protag names, people, or do I just call him Derrick?

EDIT: Ass, Derrick doesn't fit... I can only call him Derric. Oof.

9 minutes ago, Shrimpresident said:

It's cut content from VN that they couldn't fit iirc

And yet they could fit that shitty-ass Mayuri ending and then make me chase down flags for an hour.

Ahhhh...

Quote

And there's a theory that

  Hide contents

The evil Kyouma of the 300 is the Original/very first Okabe, and the reason that he has reading steiner.

Huh... Interesting.

Edited January 7, 2022 by Saint Rubenio

[Dayni]

3 minutes ago, Saint Rubenio said:

Hard mode true ending, here I come.

Is this a mod?