Serenes Forest's Teehee Thread

[Lightcosmo]

Also, didn't they technically nod to Jin by XC2 creating... Jin, who wields the same weapon type?

[Lightcosmo]

He even has kinda the same "rigid" style, what with the crisp slashes and whatnot.

[Armagon]

38 minutes ago, Lightchao42 said:

T-elos being shilled is just a side effect of her being evil KOS-MOS, i.e. the only other Xenosaga character whose existence is acknowledged nowadays. As such she would likely appear just as much regardless of how plot relevant she is. Justice for Shion!

That's a fair point.

20 minutes ago, lightcosmo said:

Also, didn't they technically nod to Jin by XC2 creating... Jin, who wields the same weapon type?

Nah, just the same name.

Now Xenosaga Jin is actually a nod to Xenogears Citan.

[Interdimensional Observer]

*Yaaaawn* I didn’t go to sleep last night until after 4:00 AM. Fury and frustration are too powerful. That’s two restless nights in a row where I was possessed by emotion. I want resolution, I need someone professional to shout my soul at. Though my fluency with the written word immeasurably surpasses my proficiency with spoken language, it cannot replace a vocalized cry from the heart. I rarely yell, though I think it could more satisfyingly drain the surging energies within, particularly if it left my voice raspy and sobbing by the end. (I also think I could use cooling bedsheets, my legs were uncomfortably warm the whole night, they need to vent almost as much as my atman does.)

 

1 hour ago, Armagon said:

I see. And i'm guessing what's her face (who actually kinda looks like Az here) who arrived in the EF with him is the female lead pick?

Nope! Alfimi (or "Alchemie", depends on the translation) is from a totally unrelated game. Her and Axel being paired together is original to Original Generations, which makes it sorta unusual in this regard.

Unfortunately, OG Gaiden (no, not the Famicom game) is necessary is to fully understand Axel & Alfimi's relationship to each other. And that's still stuck in rising sun runes. I know the gist of it secondhand, and I could compare it to a situation you know very well.

1 hour ago, Armagon said:

Oh wait, the OGs aren't mainline? Huh.

....well i suppose it wouldn't be the first Namco franchise to do that.

The original 1991 Game Boy Super Robot Wars had no originals in it. 2nd SRW released later that year added the first three Banpresto Originals- two villains, one hero. Original Generation 1 for GBA didn't come about until 2002, by which point, Banpresto had created enough original characters that, after adding in a few additional characters, they could form an independent game.

The essence of SRW is crossover, thus justifying the existence of Original Generation, but the crossover at its inception was anime mecha-franchises. The rarely broken "1 new SRW game a year" tradition applies solely to non-Original Generation games. -Not that there are enough Banpresto Originals being added via mainline to justify annual releases, so OGs need the spacing to amass enough new heroes and villains for plotlines. Banpresto puts enough faith in their originals that they do make a little sellable merchandise for them, and they did toss a bunch of Originals into SRW30's DLC. Not to mention, GBA OGs 1&2 and the first Endless Frontier were the only officially translated titles prior to 2016, they've got a few international fans like myself who learned of the franchise via them. -Just because the OGverse isn't mainline, doesn't make it some neglected redhead left-handed middle stepchild.

[Sooks]

Well, the podracing level in this one is kinda lame.

I’m also getting super distracted by all the side collectibles every which way, which is to be expected of a collect-athon. Although this one seems to be more exploration and collectible focused than any of the previous lego games, which is nice.

Edited May 1, 2022 by Sooks

[Sidereal Wraith]

13 hours ago, Benice said:

(In reference to the Steam reviews, not you)

I’m glad to see that my taxes aren’t being wasted on your education Benice.

[Venger_06]

Man, this WYBO was such a letdown...

[Saint Rubenio]

14 hours ago, Sooks said:

Hiking is nice.

Phone Serenes isn't.

Anyway, when abd why did my phone lose over 50% of its battery?

14 hours ago, Sooks said:

The bad news is I have no idea what order I want to play through the movies in. Like at all.

I mean, it probably doesn’t matter that much, but I’m indecisive.

Eh, for nostalgia’s sake I can start with the first one, like in The Complete Saga, and see how I feel after that.

Skywalker Saga, huh? A fair choice too.

Play OG until Empire, then Sequels until Last Jedi. That is the fastest way to Rebel Friend.

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Too late, but tell me this next time I’m looking for something not RPG/SRPG 😛

No, then you must play the platformer I like

1 hour ago, Sooks said:

Well, the podracing level in this one is kinda lame.

I thought it was ok. It was no F-Zero, but then, what is?

1 hour ago, Sooks said:

I’m also getting super distracted by all the side collectibles every which way, which is to be expected of a collect-athon. Although this one seems to be more exploration and collectible focused than any of the previous lego games, which is nice.

I always say it. This game's a collect-a-thon.

[Sooks]

3 minutes ago, Saint Rubenio said:

Skywalker Saga, huh? A fair choice too.

I was feeling a little nostalgic after getting back from that meet up but also wanted something new and actually good so it seemed like a nice option. Which was also 70 bucks to get the extra-characters-edition on ps4, but it wasn’t my money anyway.

3 minutes ago, Saint Rubenio said:

Play OG until Empire, then Sequels until Last Jedi. That is the fastest way to Rebel Friend.

Gonk droid better.

3 minutes ago, Saint Rubenio said:

No, then you must play the platformer I like

Ah, that one sounds good too… damn you, teehee!

[Acacia Sgt]

3 hours ago, Armagon said:

Yeah i noticed when i started the game but it was then i realized you have to unlock the entries. Which makes sense, but i was expecting like some initial background info haha.

Well, if everything was unlocked from the start... it'd be A LOT of info to go through, haha.

3 hours ago, Armagon said:

Good to know. In hindsight, a world map makes sense cause we have a flying ship as our base of operations. 

Well, battleships have been a thing in SRW since SRW 2, but it was still linear. Even with ones around the DreiStreiger's size, though I think DreStriger is one of, if not the, largest battleship in SRW yet. As you may have noticed, or soon would, Battleships and their Captains are, mechanically wise, the Lord units of SRW.

[Benice]

'Morning!

[null]

 

[Lightcosmo]

2 hours ago, Sooks said:

but it wasn’t my money anyway

I know its not my place or business, but what do you mean by this? 

[Interdimensional Observer]

I am loving the forest trail I sorta knew existed, but never thought casually walkable behind my house. Taking a morning stroll through there was sylvan bliss, it was zen.🧘‍♂️🧘‍♀️l I happily and rapidly -neither believing in nor intending offense to Pure Land Buddhism- recited Namu Amida Butsu, the one short little prayer I know well, for the sake of heightening my wonderful sense of serenity. (I know, it's a little odd to use words invoking a being liberated from the cycle of desire, when the source of my currently most pressing anguish is a desire to acknowledge I might have desire.) As soon as the meditative meandering was over though, I stumbled into a mundane household quarrel not concerning me. "Realllly? You're ruining my tranquility!😅 I don't wanna hear it.🙉" -Such were my thoughts. Amazing how 5 hours, four spent in slumber, can see one's state of mind change so starkly.

I then spent about two hours of nonstop raking of fallen leaves said through patch of suburban wilderness. I could see additional connector footpaths through the woods, all I had to do was clear them out. Working up a sweat as I raked, I recited the nembutsu cheerily, finding in this little silly passion of physical labor, another form of peaceful contemplation.

 

2 hours ago, Acacia Sgt said:

though I think DreStriger is one of, if not the, largest battleship in SRW yet.

Shhhhhhhh! Battleships of the OG kind aren't supposed to have known sizes! I noticed it throughout OGs, be they enemy, NPC, or playable; a civilian transport or a true warship, size and weight were always missing from these units' entries. It doesn't surprise me, as it avoids the problem of someone thinking "Wait, how a ship XYZ meters-tall contain AB amount of units between KL and MN sizes?".

-Unless you're telling me SRW30, unlike OGs, lists the ships' measurements.😆

Edited May 1, 2022 by Interdimensional Observer

[Sooks]

24 minutes ago, lightcosmo said:

I know its not my place or business, but what do you mean by this? 

The game was a very generous gift.

[Acacia Sgt]

22 minutes ago, Interdimensional Observer said:

Shhhhhhhh! Battleships of the OG kind aren't supposed to have known sizes! I noticed it throughout OGs, be they enemy, NPC, or playable; a civilian transport or a true warship, size and weight were always missing from these units' entries. It doesn't surprise me, as it avoids the problem of someone thinking "Wait, how a ship XYZ meters-tall contain AB amount of units between KL and MN sizes?".

-Unless you're telling me SRW30, unlike OGs, lists the ships' measurements.😆

Yes, we actually do. It was in the Famitsu article that first revealed it.

https://www.famitsu.com/news/amp/202108/06229013.php?__twitter_impression=true

It's 2km in length! Even the SDF-1 of Macross was only 1.4km long. So yep, it's pretty big. Unsurprisingly perhaps, both were designed by the same person. Though, it looks like the length is the only measurement they gave out.

Hahaha, some SRW games do address that anyway. Some games bring up how the Daitarn 3, which is like 100m tall, has to be strapped to the side of the battleship, because it can't fit into the hangar. SRW A, which usually employs two battleships, the Argama/NahelArgama/RaCairam and the Nadesico, has a map where you can't deploy a whole lot units at first, because the Argama was damaged and thus they put all the mechas in the Nadesico... and in such a way no one could deploy out at first, pft. Except for the few that could, so they get forced deployed, and only a few turns later you can deploy more units.

Edited May 1, 2022 by Acacia Sgt

[Armagon]

Playing MMZ2 during break

5 hours ago, Interdimensional Observer said:

Nope! Alfimi (or "Alchemie", depends on the translation) is from a totally unrelated game. Her and Axel being paired together is original to Original Generations, which makes it sorta unusual in this regard.

So basically Axel is a self-insert hanging out with an established character. 

5 hours ago, Interdimensional Observer said:

Just because the OGverse isn't mainline, doesn't make it some neglected redhead left-handed middle stepchild

Yeah i agree, i was moreso poking fun at how Namco did something similar with Tales. 

4 hours ago, Sooks said:

Well, the podracing level in this one is kinda lame.

No music L.

3 hours ago, Sooks said:

Which was also 70 bucks to get the extra-characters-edition on ps4, but it wasn’t my money anyway

I got the DLC too by which i mean i just paid for Mando.

Fucked up how the Razor Crest is in the game for free but you have to pay real money to play as The Mandalorian. 

2 hours ago, Acacia Sgt said:

As you may have noticed, or soon would, Battleships and their Captains are, mechanically wise, the Lord units of SRW.

That makes sense.

I'm guessing the avatar character also counts here?

[Acacia Sgt]

1 minute ago, Armagon said:

So basically Axel is a self-insert hanging out with an established character. 

SRW OG protagonists are not self-inserts. So it's more like the OG protagonist of one SRW game, and an OG character (actually antagonist that can change sides) from a different SRW Game.

1 minute ago, Armagon said:

That makes sense.

I'm guessing the avatar character also counts here?

Nope. You can let them get defeated and game continues. SRW as a whole is a story-driven series, so there's no permadeath. There is a money penalty for every unit that is defeated at the end of a map (the repair costs basically, which you can check them in their status screens), but other than that... whether the defeat of any given unit is a Game Over depends on the map. So sometimes it may be the protagonist (avatar doesn't really qualify for SRW OG characters, really), sometimes another characters. Only the battleships are 100% never allowed to be defeated, basically.

[null]

 

[Interdimensional Observer]

1 hour ago, Armagon said:

So basically Axel is a self-insert hanging out with an established character. 

Well, I wouldn't call him a self-insert, he has his own personality. Two of them actually.

1 hour ago, Armagon said:

I'm guessing the avatar character also counts here?

Unless the map requirements say they can't get blown up or else Game Over, they can. Destruction is a small hit to your funds. One or two unit losses per map won't bankrupt you, not that you want to make a habit of it.

As for who can't get destroyed, it basically always all or at least some of the people who are a mandatory deploy for a given map. Forced deploys usually mean they're getting some plot development during that battle.

-This doesn't mean you have to use the entire cast. SRW has an EXP curve, it keeps anyone from getting ~5 levels above the current enemies. Kills provide the most EXP, and with Gain/Cheer applied to a unit beforehand, an underleveled character can easily get 500+ from a KO (500 being the amount all SRW levels require). A couple stat points on a pilot won't make a huge difference anyway, and mechs having their own stats puts a much higher minimal combat-readiness floor on weaker units than in FE. You can freely shuffle around some mech Parts too, slapping a Biosensor for +20 Mobility (evasion) on a dodgy unit that's been force-deployed and then moving it to a different machine for the next mission is a valid option.

Edited May 1, 2022 by Interdimensional Observer

[Saint Rubenio]

I wonder how feasible an ironman of Exit Fate would be. There's 75 characters, after all. I already feel like I've obtained a multitude and I'm not even halfway through. And even Daniel isn't essential. He can't be removed from the party, but he can be relegated to the entourage slots. Unless there are two more forced units and they're all dead, you could bench him if he dies, too. Hmm.

Anyway, I'm looking forward to recruiting this guy.

For two reasons. First, I'm curious what weapon he'll use. Characters in this game have a set weapon that can be upgraded at blacksmiths. But then, what will this guy use? I don't see him swinging a sword. In fact, the only thing I do see him using is just straight up a gun. Which... honestly, wouldn't surprise me that much, from this game.

The other reason is that his fashion sense is ab-so-lute-ly impeccable. Trenchcoats are the snazziest piece of clothing that's still semi-socially acceptable to wear in the modern world. He pulls that green coat in flying colors. When I have him on my team,

2 hours ago, Sooks said:

I was feeling a little nostalgic after getting back from that meet up but also wanted something new and actually good so it seemed like a nice option. Which was also 70 bucks to get the extra-characters-edition on ps4, but it wasn’t my money anyway.

10 bucks more expensive than on Steam.

Thanks, consoles.

2 hours ago, Sooks said:

Gonk droid better.

Eh, fair enough.

2 hours ago, Sooks said:

Ah, that one sounds good too… damn you, teehee!

Mwahahahah!

19 minutes ago, Interdimensional Observer said:

I am loving the forest trail I sorta knew existed, but never thought casually walkable behind my house. Taking a morning stroll through there was sylvan bliss, it was zen.🧘‍♂️🧘‍♀️l

Walking in nature does that to ya. It's a great thing.

16 minutes ago, Sooks said:

The game was a very generous gift.

Oho, well, that's very nice of the gifter!

[Saint Rubenio]

YES I finally beat the incredibly difficult optional boss to recruit Richard. It was the power of Deke!

...No, actually. Deke got one-shot almost instantly. It was a combination of Myst being a better mage than the wizard and Lichtenheim and Griever being hilariously powerful together. A supports in this game are something else. Lichtenheim was getting two and sometimes even three turns per cycle, his speed was so absurdly high.

Glad to get that out of the way, finally. I probably won't use Richard, a regular archer is too mundane for this game, but it's nice to have him. That, and the boss's experience has singlehandedly got Deke to catch up in levels. Which is great.

Edited May 1, 2022 by Saint Rubenio

[Interdimensional Observer]

1 hour ago, Saint Rubenio said:

Walking in nature does that to ya. It's a great thing.

Shugendo- a Shinto-Buddhist sect, whose practices involve ritualized mountain hiking. -Mentioning this for the next time you take a hike, just to have it in mind. (Do not confuse Shugendo with "shunga"! That's Japanese for, well, feudal pornography.)

...And as I was in the process of typing this, my laptop all of got buggy. By which I mean, a tic was crawling on the screen. One of those petty problems of a stint through the natural world. 😅

That I have a sizable enough area behind the old backyard for this is great. No need to waste a half hour or so getting somewhere to chill, excellent for one as sloth-like as myself. Amazing what a little sunshine, warmth, tall trees, fallen leaves and the rest of the organic assemblage does for the senses. I even lucked out and saw a group of perhaps six or seven deer dashing in the distance.

[Sooks]

I finished Episode 1. It was great to find out that the final level, “Now This Is Podracing” is actually a better podracing level than the podracing level itself, and that the OG level sucked on purpose to create a meta commentary accurate to the established lore that flying a fighter jet/spaceship is better than pod racing.

I’ve decided I’m going in chronological order, so on to Episode 2.

[Saint Rubenio]

You know, when I was told I was going to meat the headmistress of a university, I really did not expect her to look like this.

Spoiler

The hell's that? She looks like a comic book serial killer.

I love it. She looks wonderful. I want her in the team. So far, roughly 80% of characters with portraits have become part of the team, or are confirmed to be recruitable. I'd say my chances here are pretty good.

This game's characters all look so... interesting. I love it. I know the artstyle is the, uh, divisive kind - I've seen as much online, but I've grown really fond of it. Occassional uncanny valley aside, semi-realistic with extreme design variety is right up my alley.

This entire game's right up my alley, honestly. I don't think I've ever played a traditional JRPG that appeals to my highly erratic preferences quite like this one. Not to say that this one is completely traditional, it has its quirks (which are what make me love it, of course), but it's definitely the most traditional out of the five JRPGs that I can say I enjoy. It toes the line, so to speak.

I can only hope it keeps this up. 14 hours now, still going strong.

17 minutes ago, Interdimensional Observer said:

Shugendo- a Shinto-Buddhist sect, whose practices involve ritualized mountain hiking. -Mentioning this for the next time you take a hike, just to have it in mind. 

Maybe I will take a moment to say a prayer, just for the heck of it. It might be difficult, considering the most prayer I know is four verses of the Lord's Prayer,

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(Do not confuse Shugendo with "shunga"! That's Japanese for, well, feudal pornography.)

...Uuhh... Yeah, I'll take care not to.

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...And as I was in the process of typing this, my laptop all of got buggy. By which I mean, a tic was crawling on the screen. One of those petty problems of a stint through the natural world. 😅

Bahahahahaha... That's a great pun.

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That I have a sizable enough area behind the old backyard for this is great. No need to waste a half hour or so getting somewhere to chill, excellent for one as sloth-like as myself. Amazing what a little sunshine, warmth, tall trees, fallen leaves and the rest of the organic assemblage does for the senses. I even lucked out and saw a group of perhaps six or seven deer dashing in the distance.

Yeah, that's pretty lucky. My area is rural, certainly good for strolls, though not quite forestal. Too many private properties for that. Not many homes, but artificial forests, harvest grounds and the like. Still nice, but it'd be nicer to have a proper forest.

4 minutes ago, Sooks said:

I finished Episode 1. It was great to find out that the final level, “Now This Is Podracing” is actually a better podracing level than the podracing level itself, and that the OG level sucked on purpose to create a meta commentary accurate to the established lore that flying a fighter jet/spaceship is better than pod racing.

Better storytelling than regular Star Wars.

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I’ve decided I’m going in chronological order, so on to Episode 2.

Enjoy the extremely weird version of Obi Wan in this chapter. I believe he's the only jedi in the game with a cloak that isn't the cool attached cloak that most lego jedi have. It's an odd inconsistency that bothers nobody but myself, because I'm a weirdo even if I'm not a Star Wars fan.

Edited May 1, 2022 by Saint Rubenio