Serenes Forest's Teehee Thread

[Armagon]

@Saint Rubenio  @Interdimensional Observer and everyone else interested: Spain Day 5, 6 and 7. Imma get all of these in one post.

Spain Day 5: Valenca, Portugal/Tui, Spain/Vigo

Spoiler

hehe

You can see the Spanish border town of Tui on the other side.

that's the bridge we crossed. 

 

and now these next set of pictures are in Tui

Honestly Tui felt like a ghost town. Idk what was going on there.

Anyways back to Vigo where i met up with another cousin

I've said it before but Vigo's cozy as fuck and i'd probably live here if you made me choose which part of Spain to live in.

Day 6 and 7: Madrid

 @Acacia Sgt @Newtype06 there's something here you might like to see too.

Spoiler

 

Glass palace was closed unfortunately (also i have no pictures of the Museo del Prado but i went there too)

VENEZUELA

Spain has fallen

The Royal Palace (we never went in)

This next bit wasn't in Madrid, it was some other town i never got the name of. It's where we were staying, there was a festival 

Day 7

This was that Latino festival i mentioned way back.

You haven't lived if you haven't had this.

Colombia

Mexico

Cuba

Brazil and Argentina

and so much more!

Unironically one of the most surprising parts of the trip. Never expected to see Tim Hortons on the other side of the pond.

 

 

And that's that. Obviously this isn't every picture i took. Very much enjoyed the trip and now like months later glad i could share it all with you guys.

1 hour ago, Eltosian Kadath said:

The sad consequences of Dexit, so many old pokemon friends can't be together in the newer games...

What's fucked is that most of the Pokemon end up in the new games anyway. There's only like 60 that don't make the cut.

Really no excuses tbh.

1 hour ago, Eltosian Kadath said:

Discord is far too quick for me, about the only thing I use it for is voice chat with IRL friends where some are too far away to meet.

Discord is cool and i use it a lot but i also like the slower-paced nature of this board too.

 

[Interdimensional Observer]

31 minutes ago, Shrimpica said:

Also remake quite bloated compared to original - or atleast felt that way. The remake does almost everything better, aside from the pacing.

The now-fame of Fate be making the devs think "more of a good thing is more of a good thing"? The Square problem?

31 minutes ago, Shrimpica said:

oops. Sorry.

Not a big deal.😀

31 minutes ago, Shrimpica said:

...Well, i was surprised a certain bad end was still there - even if it was less graphic this time, text was more descriptive than i expected.

Text is only text, this peculiar medium which is interpreted by the eyes, yet replicates what is usually understood by the ears. It's a form that straddles the senses and is fully embraced by neither. Inducements of 🤢 and 😨 you can probably get away with more via text with because of that. -I guess.

31 minutes ago, Shrimpica said:

Well...

Time to do her route and fine out!

Which i heard is quite different from the original. Like really different and not just a "simple remake".

Hopefully it's cathartic/whatever you hope to get out of a VN!😃

 

1 hour ago, Eltosian Kadath said:

I know what you mean, I have been planning on creating a new topic for like three days now, and I keep wasting time, and putting off what will be a fun little thread.

Reminds me I had wanted to make a topic a few months ago, on Tellius...

Spoiler

Some Speculations On Beta-Tellius

 

I’ve been thinking about what we know and don’t know about Tellius in its earlier drafts, before it ended up being the Path of Radiance and Radiant Dawn we know. What remained the same, what changed, what we may infer might have been present or absent.

 

Serenesforest has, very appropriately, compiled the various documents we have on Beta Tellius.

 

Begnion’s Prominence

The Tellius Recollection art books seem to reference the Beta Begnion, once known as Babylon. We know this, given the beta map we have feature the three Great Duchies the final game does not- Persis, Noad, and Est.

The Beta Map also shows Begnion with its duchies and the Razia -renamed “Grann” in the final game- Desert comprising the entire eastern half of the continent.

The presence of the three Great Duchies and the Recollection notes indicate that the Begnion Senate was always going to be important, very imaginably at odds with the Apostle and not under her full control.

Persis and its Duke still very much exist in the final product. Est was likely renamed and became Asmin, since both are islands. Did Noad become something else? It is fairly large, seems like it could’ve been quite relevant, but its name doesn’t resemble anything and it isn’t an island. Perhaps it was Gaddos? A guess for which I have zero evidence. In the final game, Persis and Gaddos are the most prominent Senators, with Asmin supportive of Gaddos.

 

Ike’s Begnion Family

What makes Begnion perhaps even more prominent in Beta Tellius, is that Ike (and Mist) the main character himself, is a Begnion national. Ike’s unnamed father was a Begnion knight, Ike’s unnamed mother was the adopted daughter of the unnamed Duke Persis. Titania a knight serving Ike’s father. Dunno how Beta Begnion’s inheritance rules work, but that could very well have made Ike second in the line of succession to the Duchy of Persis. May as well have been a prince then, as Persis looks bigger than Crimea on the beta map.

 

The Mists of Time

As for Mist, her Making Of profile indicates Ike would’ve been injured at some point, when and how is unknown. Most certainly temporary, I can’t see it being permanent, Mist nonetheless would’ve stepped into the main protagonist shoes, she was perhaps going to be our female Tellius lead, not Elincia as she pseudo-is, nor Micaiah as she came to be. Given the family mystery at the heart of the Beta Tellius story, her having a greater role could make sense.

Mist also would’ve used magic instead of staffs. Mist’s profile says one of her father’s former subordinates, an elderly magic user, taught her. No such person exists among the Greil Mercenaries, assuming they were going to be playable (senior citizens slinging spells is commonplace in Fire Emblem), maybe Soren replaced them?

 

The Black Knight

An enigmatic figure whose great act of infamy in Path of Radiance was the murder of Greil. Did the Black Knight exist in Beta Tellius? No hard evidence is there to say he did.

For one, it seems very unlikely that the Black Knight murdered Ike’s father. The notes say that several years prior, Ike’s dad was arrested and then executed by Duke Persis on grounds of treason (and at the same time Ike’s mother went missing). “Execute” suggests to me that Beta Ike’s Dad was disarmed, had his arms shackled, and probably killed via a beheading. Greil wouldn’t have needed to be dueled under a full moon then, you don’t need the Black Knight for a mere execution.

If the Black Knight didn’t kill Ike’s papa, then what other reason would he have to exist? As the mysterious servant of some figure in the shadows? That’s the only other role he has in the final product.

Thus, without additional evidence to the contrary, I doubt the Black Knight existed in Beta Tellius.

 

Et Tu, Zelgius?

The possible existence or absence of a Beta Zelgius is not intrinsically tied to existence/absence of a Beta Knight. The two I believe are capable of having been separate (if both existed), and then later combined.

Is there any evidence for a Beta Zelgius? Well, the Beorc History notes for Begnion speak of a merging of the various separate feudal forces of Begnion into an “Imperial Army” led by an Apostle-appointed “Great General”. This seems very much like an obvious precursor to Radiant Dawn’s Begnion Central Army -which Zelgius was the imposing commander of.

Did Intelligent Systems already have a specific individual in mind to be the Great General of the Imperial Army? We can’t say either way. Yet it sure is possible.

Zelgius is also defined in Radiant Dawn as Sephiran’s loyal servant. Since a man by the title of Duke Persis existed, perhaps he had a stalwart sword named Zelgius beside him.

Zelgius’s existence in Beta Tellius can’t be determined, yet even a thin strand makes me think he sure could’ve.

 

Perplexing Persis

Duke Persis, the actual name of this man in Beta Tellius is not given. Yet the man who holds this title in the final draft, is Sephiran. A figure of the highest order of importance.

Certainly, the extant notes suggest that Beta Duke Persis was a major villain. The adoptive father of Ike’s mother, the presumed immediate-liege of Ike’s father and the man who appears to have sent him to the gallows. Ike sure would have reasons to intensely hate his grandfather.

And yet, there is so much we don’t know about Beta Duke Persis. Was he still Prime Minister of Begnion? Why did he have Beta Ike’s Dad killed and presumably take his mother captive? Sephiran looks very young and handsome, did Beta Duke Persis look the same? That would be kinda strange if he adopted Beta Ike’s Mom, not enough visual age difference to warrant him calling Beta Ike’s Mom his daughter, more like sister (older even?).

Sephiran’s youthfulness in the final game ultimately stems from immortality from aging, owing to being Lehran the highest servant of the Dawn/Order & Chaos Goddesse(s). If Duke Persis still had that role… well that’d be a lot.

Ike’s relationship with Sephiran is much more limited in the final draft. They meet once early in PoR, Sephy then pulls strings to get Begnion backing Elincia, then they meet again once at the end of the game. In Radiant Dawn, Ike’s lack of memories of his time in Gallia and death of his mother, stem from Sephiran’s magical handiwork. An unexpectedly personal connection, that perhaps tried to restore some measure of the potential bond that existed between Beta Ike and Beta Duke Persis.

 

Dark God Yune?

 

Beta Stefan’s Making Of profile mentions the “dark god” and names it “Yune”. This makes me assume that the entire mythological situation of Tellius was the same in this Beta. A well-intended lie hiding the existence of two coequal goddesses. Stefan’s profile also mentions being descended from a hero who participated in the sealing of Yune (but not Three Heroes specifically), so that too was already decided.

 

Branded Mystery

 

What Beta Stefan’s profile doesn’t mention, is being a Branded. The hatred the Branded are said to endure in the finished game, is the explanation for why Stefan lives in isolation and has a very angst-laden personality. Beta Stefan seems nothing like the man we got. He appears to have been very happy, he lives in seclusion to train, without being surrounded by people impressed by his ancestry. He is also proud to be a Begnionite, which the Official Stefan can’t be b/c of course he would hate a country that doesn’t approve of his existence.

So, was Beta Stefan a Branded? Anti-Laguz discrimination exists in Beta Tellius, so anti-Branded discrimination should too. But then, it doesn’t name Beta Stefan’s ancestor, so did Soane not exist and Beta Stefan was descended from someone else, or was he not a Beast Laguz (although that’d ruin the perfect Beorc-Beast-Bird-Bragon setup of Lehran and the Three Heroes)?

I’m inclined to say the Branded existed, surely somebody at IS had to have thought early about “what if a Beorc and a Laguz mated?”. And with the Apostle’s specialness ultimately the result of being a Branded, Branded are important in the final draft. But we have no indicators for their existence in the early drafts. If only we had a Beta Soren (when was he invented?) profile -which we don’t.

 

The Rest That Lay In the West- Crimea

 

Let’s set Begnion aside for a moment, since there is another half of a continent to talk about.

Let’s begin with Crimea, the primary country of Path of Radiance. What do we know about it in Beta Tellius?

Well, it looks substantially smaller than in the final draft, since Daine/Daein gets crowded next to it. We’re also told that Beorc-Laguz relations were faaaaaar cozier in Beta Crimea than the final game. Ranulf got shoved-spammed in Blood Runs Red, that couldn’t have happened in Beta Crimea reading the notes.

While not in total contradiction with the final game, there is one detail that sure doesn’t seem to fit with Final Crimea. That being- Crimea relies heavily on mercenaries for armies. Soren does mention Crimea is more known for scholars than soldiers early in PoR, yet by the time RD is over, the Crimean Royal Knights sure seem knightly.

Unfortunately, we have no indication that Elincia existed. Surely IS had to have some ideas for rulers of all the countries, we simply don’t have records of them.

Although, with Ike born & raised a Begnionite and his personal troubles linked to Begnion, Elincia and Crimea might not have felt so essential, central protagonist-ic to Tellius as they did in the official version of Path of Radiance that we got.

 

Crimea vs. Daine, Againe?

 

The mention of mercenaries reliance leads me think to Beta Path of Radiance began in Crimea. Why, when Ike was from Begnion? Even setting aside the factoid Beta Crimea hires lots of sellswords, there is the practical matter of Beta Ike’s situation. Being a group consisting of the children and loyal servants of a traitor, even though Begnion is huge, Titania probably would not have wanted to stay in Begnion. The notes don’t say where she formed their mercenary group, but Crimea, as a Beorc country independent of Begnion, it would’ve made a lot of sense.

There is also a beta image of Ike fighting a “Deros” soldier. “Deros begins with “D”, so it could’ve been Beta Daein. The name “Deros” might suggest a different Beta-formulation of Tellius than the one we have all the information on, but it could just be the same.

Daein certainly has the evil-ish kingdom profile in its Beorc History profile. I don’t think any of the information is entirely incompatible with the final game, although the final draft doesn’t ever indicate Daein is irreligious, nor does it speak of the economy the notes mention. As it retains its anti-Laguz stance and Beta Crimea was more openly idyllically pro-Laguz, a war between the countries certainly could’ve been in the books from the start.

As with Elincia, we have no indications of Mad King Ashnard’s existence. And with Duke Persis looming in the background, I think it’s fair to say Ashnard if he existed in the Beta, was never truly the Big Villain of Tellius.

 

The Voyage to Begnion

 

Midgame Path of Radiance consists of Ike, Elincia, & co. leaving their refuge in Gallia and sailing around the southern half of the continent to end up in Begnion and get the Apostle’s help for fighting Daein.

Was this going to be in the books for Beta Tellius? Well, it would involve briefly seeing Gallia, which is significantly smaller in the Beta, especially if that huge island actually belongs to Beta Phoenicis. And we’d get to see the much-bigger Beta Phoenicis if Ike had to set sail in this story.

However, there is one issue when things hypothetically landed in Beta Begnion. Ike is just a mercenary in Path of Radiance, in Beta Tellius, he is the son of a traitor. Would he get arrested right away? Well, maybe not. Assuming a Beta Elincia, she could’ve provided Beta Ike with diplomatic protection. I doubt lying would work for Ike, being the adoptive grandson of Beta Duke Persis, there should be someone in the imperial court who knows what Titania and Ike look like.

Which brings the attention back to the Beta Duke. Sephiran as said before is Prime Minister, and atop of that, he is Sanaki’s beloved father figure. Beta Stefan’s profile names Sanaki, she existed in the Beta. Although we know nothing else about her, maybe Micaiah didn’t exist and Sanaki was Branded? Maybe the Sanaki that existed was the older Sanaki of whom we have both art and even an ingame 3D model? -Yet we know nothing.

If Beta Sanaki and Beta Duke Persis had such an official & cozy relationship, then you’d think that, since it was BDP who ordered Beta Ike’s Dad arrest and death sentence, she’d be very willingly go along and arrest Beta Ike if requested. Which throws the entire idea of Ike & co. sailing to Begnion in the Beta seem… dicey.

On the other hand, perhaps BDP wasn’t Prime Minister. Being one of the three great Dukes ought to be sufficient clout, no need for the position. Perhaps Beta Sanaki was her unused adult version, who wouldn’t have at all needed a pseudo-regent like Sephiran. Perhaps, Beta Sanaki considered BDP just another Senator who she had to get along with to govern, but often had disagreements with. Perhaps Beta Sanaki was willing to independently set aside any personal issues between Beta Ike and BDP and work with the noble-turned-mercenary.

Ike during his canon trip to Begnion in PoR is known for his infamous outburst. If the voyage existed in the Beta, then Beta Ike would’ve had reasons to be angry at Begnion beyond toying with Elincia. Ike and Sanaki have something of a rocky chemistry, which could’ve been even rockier if he lost personal faith in Begnion owing to his circumstances and he used to be her subject.

 

Birds and Massacre

 

Leanne’s Making of profile speaks of the Serenes Massacre. The Herons as in the actual duology being massacred and leaving only a few royals behind. Things differ however, in that Leanne escaped to Phoenicis instead of being put into magical slumber only to be awakened in Chapter 17. Leanne also lost her voice as a result of the Massacre’s trauma, an alternative silence to her lack of mastery over the Common Tongue. Tivarn (Beta Tibarn) was also Beta Leanne’s fiancee, though a “Kilge” -perhaps a Beta Naesala- was mentioned to be a childhood friend of her’s.

PoR’s midgame Begnion chapters culminate in some reconciliation between Beorc and Laguz in the SerenesForest, about as big in the Beta as it is in the final game. Leanne’s discovery plays an important role in this. Without her sleeping in the blackened woods, could Beta Tellius have had such mini-story?

Oh, and Beta Tellius has a much bigger Phoenicis, but no Kilvas. The islands that became Kilvas certainly existed, just as part of Phoenicis. No Kilvas… it isn’t that important for Tellius as we know it. We lose a few Raven encounters in the midgame, we lose the rivalry between Tibarn and Naesala, and we lose a Blood Pact. Kilvas as a later addition makes sense. An attempt perhaps to add some flair (along the lines of the Kingdom of South Thracia?)?

 

Always A Duology?

 

We have hints, one could argue, of the Crimea-Daein War. We have Beta Ike’s parents’ death & disappearance tied to Beta Duke Persis. A giant Begnion so lavish in detail that not fighting it seems like it would’ve been a waste of writing. We have the Serenes Massacre. We possible evidence of Ashera vs. Yune.

This is a lot. Almost all of which ended up in the final draft. Which led Intelligent Systems to split Tellius in two- Path of Radiance to handle the C-D War and Ike’s personal story, Radiant Dawn to showcase Begnion in all its glory and infighting and reveal the truth of the mythos.

Thus, it could be argued that Intelligent Systems was always intending to make two Tellius games. By this point in time, Archanea, Jugdral, and Elibe had all shown IS had made two Fire Emblem games per continent. In those instances, the second game was unplanned, here, perhaps IS aimed to make a pre-planned duology?

To attempt arguing the contrary speculative position, it wouldn’t been entirely impossible to fit everything into a single game. One could make the Crimea-Daein War go on only for the earlygame, after which Begnion chooses to flex its muscles and invade the western countries. Fighting for the rest of the game would then involve Ike+Crimea+Gallia (an easy alliance with the stronger relations between Beta Crimea and Beta Gallia)+Phoenicis and maybe Daein vs. Begnion. Things head eastward, confronting Ike’s familial mystery, Begnion politics, Beorc-Laguz matters, until a final godly (+Goldoa, can’t forget Dheg) showdown on the island Est where the Tower of Guidance probably used to lay. …Though this still would be a lot to fit in some 30 chapters.

 

Why the Changes? -Ike’s Situation

 

Getting back to Beta Ike, why is it that he lost his Babylon/Begnion’s birth & upbringing? Why did his parents become Daeinian and himself be born in Gallia and raised in Crimea? Why did Elena die from the Medallion and Greil live until the Black Knight slew him? Why was the family connection between Ike and Duke Persis severed?

Maybe it was simply too much? Again, we don’t know very much about Beta Duke Persis, but with all the things he could’ve been based on the final draft, tying Ike’s parents to him might’ve been overload.

Alternatively, Ike’s relationship with Begnion might’ve been an issue if the writers found themselves logically stuck in the Crimea-Daein war. How to advance the mystery around Ike’s family if the attention for so much time is spent in the northwestern corner of the continent? Maybe a midgame trip to Begnion would’ve had Ike carefully try investigating what had happened? -But then would there be room for Laguz-Beorc relations/discussion of the Massacre? Again, potential overload.

As it stands, Ike’s parents became Daeinian, which works better for Path of Radiance. Ike’s mother is long dead, her killer, his father. Greil dies to a Black Knight of Daein in Gallia, whom Ike defeats in Crimea. It’s all resolved by the time the Crimea-Daein War is over, no need to find Duke Persis and make him talk.

The severing of the Beta ties might’ve allowed for a much cleaner resolution of certain things within a single game. And it also could’ve freed up IS somewhat on Ike, Begnion, and Duke Persis did in general, no longer having them so personally bound together.

 

More Familial Sheer Speculation

 

Thinking on it, why did Beta Duke Persis adopt Ike’s Mom? Well, thinking on many things, I can visualize a very bold possible hypothetical answer.

Well, Elena and Lehran are apparently very similar names in Japanese. If BDP was Lehran, Servant of the Goddesses, then why would he adopt Beta Elena?

Elena is notable for having enough Order in her to withstand holding Lehran’s Medallion. But is that… a watered-down version of what she once was?

Mist inherited her mother’s ability to hold the Medallion. Beta Mist could also use tomes. We have no indications whatsoever that Micaiah existed in the Beta. So, was it possible that Beta Lehran as Beta Duke Persis, adopted… his many-greats granddaughter?

Thus, Ike inherited the physical might of his father and ancestor Altina. Mist inherited the order of her mother, and the magical aptitude of her ancestor Lehran. (Although such a speculative interpretation of Beta Mist would not have included the clairvoyance and hand-healing Micaiah had.)

Ike & Mist’s Father’s sudden execution then may have unplanned. Perhaps he discovered the forbidden truth of Altina & Lehran and the two goddesses. Or worse, Greil realized Lehran wanted to bring forth Ashera’s judgement. Daddy-In-Law couldn’t persuade Beta Greil to keep silent, so he had no choice but to concoct the treason charge in order to kill him as dead men tell no tales? Elena could’ve been informed by her husband and had to be captured for the same reason.

-Yes, this all should mean at least Mist was probably Branded, which her Making Of profile does not mention. But then, maybe the Brand came later? It’s only a little physical mark, something easy to add later to the story.

If the Brand came later, would also possibly allow Stefan to hide who his real ancestor was. Given he’s a swordmaster, maybe the idea was that he was that he had some Altina blood in him, albeit not enough to qualify as imperial royalty. Yes his name is Soanevalcke, but I’m sure Soane was a Laguz even racist Beorc could acknowledge as venerable enough to be worth naming a child after.

If only we knew when Soren was invented, the boy who very visibly in all his art bears a Brand. The notion that Mist, not Micaiah, was going to the True Apostle, could be deemed more feasible if Soren was a later invention, after which one could speculate Mist and Ike got stripped of their hypothetical Lehran ancestry.

We also need to address the matter of how Beta Elena, if Lehran’s descendant, was adopted by him. She couldn’t have been a baby/young child at the Massacre, unless it was further back in chronologically.

 

Southwest Shapeshifters- The Beta Laguz

 

Why would Ike & co. need to go to Begnion for an ally against Daine? The Laguz History entry for Gallia states 20% of its citizens are Beorc. In the final draft, there was Soren and the old man who taught him magic, and Greil's little family, so it's not impossible for a few Beorc to reside in Official Gallia. Yet, a whopping 20% of the population? That's insane, as rosy as Beta Crimea letting Laguz walk around in broad daylight.

With Beta Gallia-Crimea relations so good, I don't think it had to be the case that Gallia would stay neutral during the Daine invasion of Beta Crimea, as the final draft has it. Surely, having the backing of Gallia should've been enough to stop Daine, it would then be possible Ike would never have to leave for Begnion. 

Although, given in the final draft Gallia has never fought a war outside of its sea of trees until Radiant Dawn, it's conceivable a hypothetical Gallian-Crimean defensive pact doesn't trigger fast enough to save the Beorc kingdom from the Daine blitzkrieg. This is supported by the Laguz History mentioning the lack of a centralized Gallian army. Beta Gallia failing to assist Beta Crimea then enters a stalemate at its border, officially at war with Daine this time, instead of neutral but fending off Daein skirmishes as in the finalized PoR. Ike then leaves for Begnion to acquire the support Crimea needs for liberation, that of the world's largest and organized army.

 

Goldoa's detail of note in the Laguz History is the mention of Dragonstones. While Laguz Stones exist, those it seems were a remnant from when at least the Dragon Laguz were just like Manaketes.

 

Since Kilvas came about later, the Phoenicis and Kilvas Laguz History descriptions don't describe anything unusual. Kilvas is also peculiar, because the Dragons and the Beasts all belong to a single country, the Ravens being separate from the Hawks is the oddity. The Herons being magical, fragile, and peaceful makes them more understandable as a separate nation.

 

Looking at the Laguz History for Serenes, it would appear that the Massacre may not have been as complete as in finalized Tellius. It says less than one-hundred survived the Massacre, most of whom ended up as exotic pets of the Senate. Now, Herons are very fragile, they can die easily, the final draft makes that very clear. Yet the Senators would presumably want to keep their rare possessions alive, and so you'd think a few dozen would still be alive at the time of the start of Ike's story. A much better outcome for the Herons than the four canonical survivors.

...But the process of reorganizing these thoughts into something more readable for others felt like too much effort.😅

Edited April 12 by Interdimensional Observer

[Codename Shrimp]

8 minutes ago, Interdimensional Observer said:

The now-fame of Fate be making the devs think "more of a good thing is more of a good thing"?

I think it's less that and more Nasu being Nasu XD

And well, it was probably in dev/writer hell or something considering how long it took and the fact that the current remake is only reame of half the original VN - the remake of the other half will be released later...probably 2027 or so lol

8 minutes ago, Interdimensional Observer said:

Hopefully it's cathartic/whatever you hope to get out of a VN!😃

Thankies o7

[Armagon]

11 minutes ago, Shrimpica said:

And well, it was probably in dev/writer hell or something considering how long it took and the fact that the current remake is only reame of half the original VN - the remake of the other half will be released later...probably 2027 or so lol

FF7R moment.

[Armagon]

It's here!

[Interdimensional Observer]

1 minute ago, Shrimpica said:

And well, it was probably in dev/writer hell or something considering how long it took and the fact that the current remake is only reame of half the original VN - the remake of the other half will be released later...probably 2027 or so lol

Dream of the Red Chamber was it?😛 I did see some comments last year maybe where someone questioned the placement of one character's route in the second half instead of the first.

 

27 minutes ago, Armagon said:

 

Cloudy sky and greenery makes me think Ireland.😆

The church is nice too.

32 minutes ago, Armagon said:

...Something about the stained glass here looks very modern, and out of place.

35 minutes ago, Armagon said:

And that's that. Obviously this isn't every picture i took. Very much enjoyed the trip and now like months later glad i could share it all with you guys.

Thanks.😀

5 minutes ago, Armagon said:

It's here!

Before you open it- do what I do and wash thy hands thoroughly. Sacred tomes are not made to be touched by filth. Or follow Judaism (not like Xeno hasn't ever borrowed a word or three from the old faith) and never touch the pages themselves.

I've never owned a physical art book for any game. -But I do like 'em.😄 Why can't more devs do like Odin Sphere and Okami and include free digital copies in the games?

[Acacia Sgt]

Okay, time to continue wrapping up the Bose stuff.

Hmm, really wish the game did had full-party EXP distribution. Even a fraction for the benched members would've been acceptable.

[Codename Shrimp]

14 minutes ago, Interdimensional Observer said:

I did see some comments last year maybe where someone questioned the placement of one character's route in the second half instead of the first.

Sacchin's?

That one we didn't get a route of in OG, but it makes more sense she's far side rather than near side, since her scrapped route in the original was supposed to be far side afaik

[Armagon]

12 minutes ago, Interdimensional Observer said:

.Something about the stained glass here looks very modern, and out of place.

Yeah i think that pic was from Madrid and it got mixed up with the Valenca ones.

 

[Venger_06]

All that's left is to do the endings now. I didn't even know how to put it in photo mode before this mission. Who would have thought that my screenshots would come out in much better quality, huh? /s

I think this will be my new pfp

22 hours ago, Armagon said:

(idk about Cyberpunk) i like the overall look but the lines under the eyes bring it down. 

It's her cybernetics, I chose this style to match the blue eyes (and the rest of the cybernetics would take away from the freckles). Look at my male V for example

I can't show the rest of his body without showing his dick. Cyberpunk character creator be like that

22 hours ago, Armagon said:

No don't you see, that requires me playing USUM.

Best gameplay since B2W2. If you don't have SuMo on your mind, it's a great time.

1 hour ago, Armagon said:

Spain has fallen

Now I know why Ruben hates the politicians who let this happen

1 hour ago, Armagon said:

Brazil and Argentina

>la hispanoamericana

>brasil

?????????

We're truly everywhere

Anyway, cool sutff. Wish I did something like this. How much longer will your trip last?

20 hours ago, Interdimensional Observer said:

Only one romance candidate per sexuality is it? I can understand the choice to restrict, but maybe too narrow indeed for a big WRPG.

And there's also the elephant in the room: many believe that the novels would be released to all players initially, but the rushed release caused them to cut corners. Things like Kerry being canonically bisexual in the tabletop game and Male V's voice lines during Judy's romance exist in the game files (but were dummied out) give credence.

3 hours ago, Shrimpica said:

1 hour ago, Shrimpica said:

Also remake quite bloated compared to original - or atleast felt that way. The remake does almost everything better, aside from the pacing.

So... the Fate-ification of Tsukihime is finally complete?

1 hour ago, Shrimpica said:

Which i heard is quite different from the original. Like really different and not just a "simple remake".

It remains true to its spirit

My biggest fear is that they'll censor Hisui and Kohaku's routes

2 hours ago, Eltosian Kadath said:

I like the fiery red hair, and the sprinkling of freckles was a great choice. Also I like that the outfit looks functional enough that I could actually believe they would be swinging a Katana around.

Thanks. I think the only thing I'm still not satisfied with are the boots. They're the only white boots I found in the entire game, but their look is a bit...off?

[Eltosian Kadath]

 

1 hour ago, Shrimpica said:

Rest is for the weak, Ciel

 

 

1 hour ago, Interdimensional Observer said:

...But the process of reorganizing these thoughts into something more readable for others felt like too much effort.😅

Even in this form it is an interesting little read through...although I get it. I remember never getting around to responding to Jotari's themes thread for a similar reason. The thread I was delaying this time was just because I had to tell myself to stop gushing and just push something out (which my little venting here actually got me to do with my new minor character appreciation thread).

Also I think I will hide away all my comments on the spoilered stuff in my own spoiler tab.

Spoiler

 

1 hour ago, Interdimensional Observer said:

May as well have been a prince then, as Persis looks bigger than Crimea on the beta map.

Oh how much is Ike a noble discord would be gone with this princely revelation.

 

1 hour ago, Interdimensional Observer said:

 

As for Mist, her Making Of profile indicates Ike would’ve been injured at some point, when and how is unknown. Most certainly temporary, I can’t see it being permanent, Mist nonetheless would’ve stepped into the main protagonist shoes, she was perhaps going to be our female Tellius lead, not Elincia as she pseudo-is, nor Micaiah as she came to be. Given the family mystery at the heart of the Beta Tellius story, her having a greater role could make sense.

I would have been down to have a generation 2 style permanent protagonist change. Let Mist be the new lord after Ike's execution 😛 

 

1 hour ago, Interdimensional Observer said:

 

If the Black Knight didn’t kill Ike’s papa, then what other reason would he have to exist? As the mysterious servant of some figure in the shadows? That’s the only other role he has in the final product.

Thus, without additional evidence to the contrary, I doubt the Black Knight existed in Beta Tellius.

They could have just gone full Darth Vader then, with the Black Knight having the big reveal that yes, he is Ike's father...

 

1 hour ago, Interdimensional Observer said:

(although that’d ruin the perfect Beorc-Beast-Bird-Bragon setup of Lehran and the Three Heroes)?

Bragon...lol. I don't know if that was intentional or not, but I think its funny either way.

 

1 hour ago, Interdimensional Observer said:

 

Oh, and Beta Tellius has a much bigger Phoenicis, but no Kilvas. The islands that became Kilvas certainly existed, just as part of Phoenicis. No Kilvas… it isn’t that important for Tellius as we know it. We lose a few Raven encounters in the midgame, we lose the rivalry between Tibarn and Naesala, and we lose a Blood Pact. Kilvas as a later addition makes sense. An attempt perhaps to add some flair (along the lines of the Kingdom of South Thracia?)?

It was always a bit weird how only the Birds split up their kingdoms like that unlike the Beasts and Bragons...although you do touch on that a bit later I guess.

 

1 hour ago, Interdimensional Observer said:

 

We also need to address the matter of how Beta Elena, if Lehran’s descendant, was adopted by him. She couldn’t have been a baby/young child at the Massacre, unless it was further back in chronologically.

Even in the original it felt like they were fudging the timing of thing with the apostle and massacre incident, so I don't see how this would be all that different.

 

 

[Armagon]

9 minutes ago, Newtype06 said:

It's her cybernetics,

Ahh gotcha.

3 minutes ago, Newtype06 said:

>la hispanoamericana

>brasil

?????????

We're truly everywhere

To be fair, it'd be strange to have a Latin American festival celebrating Latin America and not include the biggest country/strongest regional power in the region.

4 minutes ago, Newtype06 said:

How much longer will your trip last?

Oh this was months ago, i just now got around to posting the last set of pics.

• Day 1
• Day 2
• Day 3
• Day 4
• The actual Day 5 (i was there for eight days, not seven)

 

[Acacia Sgt]

RIP Newtype, shackled at the bottom of the gravity well...

[Acacia Sgt]

 

[Acacia Sgt]

Oh, that manga I was reading (that I admittedly forgot to keep bringing up) seems to be getting an anime adaptation.

https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2023-12-28/akuyaku-reijo-tensei-oji-san-manga-listed-with-anime/.206007

Nice.

[Lightcosmo]

a mod of XCX to preserve online functions was recently released, impressive.

[Acacia Sgt]

I suppose it can now be a "might as well"... but I never trusted myself on installing those kind of things.

[Codename Shrimp]

22 hours ago, Venger_06 said:

My biggest fear is that they'll censor Hisui and Kohaku's routes

i wouldn't be that worried - the Arc backalley scene is still there, even if toned down. This is thankfully not a Realta Nua situation

Edited April 13 by Shrimpica

[Armagon]

Star Fox 64 (3D) is a game of all time. Let it be a lesson in that not everything you liked in childhood holds up.

Also i'm deleting Citra off my PC lmao. No need for it now that my 3DS is modded. I went and got Star Fox, Kirby Triple Deluxe and Project X Zone 2 cause i wanna replay that on real hardware.

7 hours ago, Shrimpica said:

i wouldn't be that worried - the Arc backalley scene is still there, even if toned down. This is thankfully not a Realta Nua situation

Is there a reason why things would be censored in a remake? Beyond like outright sex scenes (actually Baldur's Gate exists so nvm).

[Acacia Sgt]

1 minute ago, Armagon said:

Is there a reason why things would be censored in a remake? Beyond like outright sex scenes (actually Baldur's Gate exists so nvm).

Change in guidelines, perhaps.

To bring an example, the 3DS remake/port of Dragon Quest VIII censored a few of Jessica's outfits. Why? Because the CERO system went through various changes since the original PS2 release. The original costumes were acceptable for an A (equivalent of ESRB's E) rating back then... but not anymore. So they had two options. They bumped the rating to B (equivalent to ESRB's T), or the outfits were changed to conform to the new A rating guidelines. They chose the latter because they wanted to keep it the same rating.

So, one such example.

[Interdimensional Observer]

9 minutes ago, Armagon said:

Star Fox 64 (3D) is a game of all time. Let it be a lesson in that not everything you liked in childhood holds up.

-You've trashed literally the only Star Fox game that all the franchise's fans can agree is good.

So, proportionally, what you've said is more devastating than your remarks on Jugdral, Super Metroid & Prime 1, ALttP & OoT, and Persona. Impressive.

...Not like I mean to disparage for thy personal opinions. I was just wasn't expecting this out of nowhere after midnight. (I wouldn't say I have fondness for Star Fox, despite playing 64-Adventures-Assault growing up. Just some familiarity.)

Edited April 13 by Interdimensional Observer

[Saint Rubenio]

On 4/12/2024 at 3:08 AM, Armagon said:

Honestly Tui felt like a ghost town. Idk what was going on there.

Rural Spain is not doing well.

On 4/12/2024 at 3:08 AM, Armagon said:

Spain has fallen

Not to worry, I expected nothing good out of... Madrid, anyways. Ew.

On 4/12/2024 at 3:08 AM, Armagon said:

This next bit wasn't in Madrid, it was some other town i never got the name of. It's where we were staying, there was a festival 

Possibly El Escorial. There's a number of dormitory cities surrounding Madrid. Probably because living there is impossible with the average Madrid wage.

On 4/12/2024 at 3:08 AM, Armagon said:

Unironically one of the most surprising parts of the trip. Never expected to see Tim Hortons on the other side of the pond.

Don't underestimate the insidiousness of American exports.

On 4/12/2024 at 4:38 AM, Venger_06 said:

Now I know why Ruben hates the politicians who let this happen

They allowed the anime fester within our lands. We used to have an inquisition, you know. How the mighty have fallen.

[Lightcosmo]

8 hours ago, Interdimensional Observer said:

-You've trashed literally the only Star Fox game that all the franchise's fans can agree is good.

What about Star Fox Adventures?

[Interdimensional Observer]

24 minutes ago, Lightcosmo said:

What about Star Fox Adventures?

Is it even a Star Fox game? It's an 3D action-adventure that began its life completely devoid of anything Star Fox, and then at a suggestion of Miyamoto, Fox got thrown into it later.

As a Zelda-esque game... I never actually made it past the Cloudrunner Palace as a child, but is it great or anything? Seems to be more adequate than amazing in the general "objective" reception. The Arwing segments feel tacked on too, which only makes sense given the game's development.

Also, in the past year I recently rewatched some of Adventures. The first time Fox sees Krystal... whoever wrote that should be fed to a RedEye.😑

[Lightcosmo]

3 minutes ago, Interdimensional Observer said:

Is it even a Star Fox game? It's an 3D action-adventure that began its life completely devoid of anything Star Fox, and then at a suggestion of Miyamoto, Fox got thrown into it later.

As a Zelda-esque game... I never actually made it past the Cloudrunner Palace as a child, but is it great or anything? Seems to be more adequate than amazing in the general "objective" reception. The Arwing segments feel tacked on too, which only makes sense given the game's development.

Also, in the past year I recently rewatched some of Adventures. The first time Fox sees Krystal... whoever wrote that should be fed to a RedEye.😑

I actually have no idea. Fox is in it, to say the least, so it clearly counts! lmao

I only watched it played once, so I really can't say, I just wanted to mention it! XD