What Games Are You Playing: 2008

[Captain K.]

Grefter is right.  FF4 was ass, even when it was new.

[metroid composite]

FFT mini-update

Just finished Dorter 2.

Mr Dagger stayed in Thief until Move+2, then I figured I should start thinking about unlocking Ninja, so he went to Knight and then Monk.  Currently back in Thief to give Thief spillover to the Lancer who nearly has Move+2, and also pick up stuff like Secret Hunt and Steal Heart for himself (though Dagger damage is seriously starting to lag--still the 20 that it was when I first unlocked Thief).

Mr Spear has been hanging out in Lancer--I gave him Level Jump 2 just to avoid counters for now.  I eventually decided on Bronze Armor, Bronze Helmet as the most cost-effective to HP armor in Chapter 1 (used the same setup for Mr Dagger's brief stay in Knight, too).  In particular, Bronze Armor (30 HP) costs 800, compared to Linen Curiass (20 HP) that costs 600, and Chain Mail (40 HP) that costs 1,300.  Bronze Helmet (20 HP) costs 500, compared to Iron Helmet (30 HP) that costs 1,000.  Granted, optimal equipment would be better, but this was enough to get their HP significantly higher than the rest of the team, which generally means they didn't get targetted.

Mr Gun got Auto Potion, then Hi-Potion, and shortly before Fort Zeakdon all regular Potions were sold off.  I'm wresting between having him spend more time in Chemist (so that others get Hi-Potion) and having him spend more time in Mediator (so that he gets more than just Invitation).

Ramza is still an Oracle with Black Magic, and still carrying the damage of the party, and still using almost exclusively Bolt and Ice rather than Yin Yang.

In battles, I didn't have any real trouble until Lenalia Plateau, which I lost despite having Auto-Potion.  I went back and learned Silence Song on Ramza, and played a bit more defensive--Silence Song still kinda failed--the mages lined up, and it hit 1/3 of them, missing the one Wizard that got Hasted by the terrible-faith Time Mage.  The wizard caused a lot of carnage, but I was eventually able to set up a defensive position behind a few meatwalls.

Wiegraf was a joke.  Granted, it didn't help that I invited a Monk first turn, but she was also 40 brave, 70 faith, and standing in Ramza's spell radius, so it mostly turned Delita into a Phoenix-down idiot.

Zeakdon I reset on twice, not because I had lost, but because Ramza had his brave dropped.  I reshuffled the party putting the Move+2 Monk on Ramza's side, and then was able to win fast enough.  What I never did once in three tries, was manage to redirect a Wizard spell onto Algus, or see Algus Auto-Potion; kinda weird.

What really got me at the start of Chapter 2, was that Alicia and Lavian actually have worse armor than I do (well...okay no, I think one of them had the bronze set).  Still, I had to steal from Gafgarion to upgrade my intentionally cheaply-equipped Lancer.  o_O.  Anyhow, off to get a Javellin.

[Ultradude]

Pokemons Sapphire: Been speeding through this just for the sake of having actually beaten a gen 3 game. Just beat Flannery with relative ease. Current team of Marshtomp, Sableye, Swellow, Breloom, Linoone, and a recently acquired Lunatone. Fun stuff but a bit easy so far.

[Niu]

Disgaea3- Watch all the endings, the game is done for now. I must say, the game is just sending out toooo much yaoi sparks between Mao and Almaz. God, why does Sapphire has to exist anyway? Without her, I could be making claims that Mao and Almaz are a legit couple. Blargh, I mean. The entire ch.7 sounds like Almaz is dumping Sapphire for Mao in my ears in the first place. Curses curses curses you Saphhire, you barely did anything to the plot anyway!!!

[Meeplelard]

Yeah, you aim for comic books as your standard, you're going to get a lot of people dying and coming back to life. A lot.

Never thought of that way, but you are entirely correct.

So what's that make FF2 where characters constantly die and DON'T come back? A Shakespearian Tragedy, except the main characters live in the end? (Thus not a tragedy at all...)

[metroid composite]

FFT

Just beat Golgorand

Mr Spear got Level Jump 8 just after Goug (though forgot to learn it right away).  He also finally has enough Chemist spillover for Hi-Potion, and I haven't bothered to learn it due to upcomming X-Potions.  Oh, he also got Move+2 from spillover partway through Chapter 2, which helped.

Mr Knife switched between classes unlocking Ninja.  I realized that even with Green Beret he'd deal more damage unarmed, so I went with that (granted, he has 75 brave--started at 70, got to 74 from battles, and +1 from the Mediator, and I was wearing Diamond Armlet to immune Slow).  Ninja itself feels a bit anticlimactic so far--I guess it outdamages Lancer, barely....

Mr Gun has guns now.  Also finally got Move+1 through Squire spillover (didn't happen until...Goug?  It was surprisingly late).  Getting people spillover Chemist JP is fine and all, though he's kinda running out of Chemist abilities to learn.  Being the token Mediator seems to guarantee being the lowest level character in the party.  Baiting the enemies into hitting the one player with Auto-Potion is also pretty effective.

Ramza...He has half a dozen Yin Yang abilities, the best stick available, and he's still using almost exclusively level 1 black magic.  The enemies keep clustering in + patterns....  Granted, Silence Song has come up a few times (due to the pre-empt potential).

Agrias came with Crush Punch--neat!  On paper she's very weak right now (44 is her best damage output right now?)  In practice she doesn't feel all that bad.  As with Ramza, multitarget helps, and her status doesn't hurt either.  Granted, the party was winning just fine without her, so...dunno.  She also has a long way to go (really needs Gained JP Up and Move+1).

So far I've invited a Ghoul (got a Gust out of it now), Bull Demon, and Uribo.  Granted, I got it backwards and thought Revenants got Zorlin Shapes (whereas they get Mythril Guns), so I may just boot the Gust when I actually start breeding.

[Grefter]

Point that Edge wasn't the last of his clan or whatever, last member of the royal familly I guess and the whole castle being completely totally burnt out made me forget if there was any other ninja types out there (For serious, did they ever show any other people from the country though?  All I remember is the burnt out castle).

Tragedy can still have the lead not die, cause well everyone else being killed is kind of shit.

FF4 stuff obviously wasn't a rant about how bad FF4 is, it was setting a reference point, you all know how much I despise FF4 plot, that was just framing stuff up for a perspective on how completely and totally devoid of play G3 plot was.

I liked G3 gameplay, don't let the rant fool you, that stuff was fucking pimp for someone who enjoyed G1 and 2 combat systems tons (and mocked the hell out of the respective plots just as much, which is for me as much fun as the gameplay).  G3 is fine as a game, you know the gameplay bits and whatnot.  As a plot?  It is the dregs.

G3 > FF4 because well at least it A) has frame skip and B) has gameplay worth 5 cents.

[Taishyr]

Yeah, you aim for comic books as your standard, you're going to get a lot of people dying and coming back to life. A lot.

Never thought of that way, but you are entirely correct.

So what's that make FF2 where characters constantly die and DON'T come back? A Shakespearian Tragedy, except the main characters live in the end? (Thus not a tragedy at all...)

To me, that's the definition of a tragedy.

[Grefter]

Yeah, it is like getting a 9 in ten pin bowling.  So close, yet so far.

[Cmdr_King]

You pretty much have to kill your leads/have them fail to qualify as Tragedy in the classical theater sense.  This doesn't really work with a video game (control these guys for 20+ hours just to have them fail/all die off without your say so?  Yeah no.), although I suppose FFX comes close-ish.

Though obviously you can have tragic elements, like killing everyone BUT your main characters in FFII >.>

[Grefter]

I would like to prove you wrong, but nothing springs to mind because I am not the theater buff I should be.

I need to track down some kind of actor to prove me right (and he will do so or it gets the hose).

[Taishyr]

I'm sorry, but when people I don't like fail to die it is a tragedy and when they do it is a comedy. When I am unsure it is drama.

[Cmdr_King]

Well yeah.  But I"m talking about Tragedy, not tragedy.  Capitals are important.

[InfinityDragon]

Tragedy where the main character doesn't die: Oedipus Rex.

And Taishyr's definition of Tragedy and Comedy is also right.

[Grefter]

Thank you ID.  I knew there was a reason I kept you.  (Come to DL Con 3)

[InfinityDragon]

Sadly, you all scheduled DL Con 3 at the same time I'll be taking the Bar Exam. I'll be stabbing voodoo dolls of some people at the breaks during that exam.

[Anthony Edward Stark]

Point that Edge wasn't the last of his clan or whatever, last member of the royal familly I guess and the whole castle being completely totally burnt out made me forget if there was any other ninja types out there (For serious, did they ever show any other people from the country though?  All I remember is the burnt out castle).

Yeah, there's a whole town full of them in a cave under Eblan. I always remember them because the first time I got there, I was about five inches from death and out of items (fuck you, I got lost).

[Grefter]

OOOOOHhh right now I remember.

[Clear Tranquil]

S03-

Glad you liked the game Jo'ou.

Reached floor 117 of post game Sphere. Wow w/o item creation 4-D post game fights actually keep you on your toes. Several game overs so far mostly due to enemy mass spammage of Stone Rain pinning my characters in place on floors 101 - 112 and Lightning Strike from floors 112. Managed to defeat the floor 115 w/th my double fol bonus bar still intact (more Triple Kick + Kaboom spammage) though. Almost have four million fol now. Another million or so and I'll be able to buy Santa's Boots and then sleep at an inn to gain more Tri-Emblems. Seriously considering switching Nel out for Fayt. Nel's best moves are being either parried or when they aren't come up against enemy resistance/absorb. I just recently picked up Ethereal Blast and I think that ignores enemy evade and there's also Air Raid which I know for sure does.

[Meeplelard]

I said Shakespearian Tragedy, first of all, not just Tragedy.  In those, I seem to recall just about always the main dies in HIS Tragedies.

I'm aware Tragedy just requires a tragic downfall where the character ends up in shit (be it cause they die, or are in a situation which sucks beyond measure, like Oedipus Rex where he cuts out his eyes and becomes an old beggar.)  None of these fit FF2 though.  Its just "Bunch of characters give your life, you succeed in taking down the empire, things are nice and happy, slight reminisce of those who gave their lives only so they can appear in the ending!"

Tragedy...really doesn't fit in.  Frionel, Maria and Guy all started off pretty much bottom barrel (kids running from soldiers who then get their asses kicked), end up as renowned heros of a rebellion.  Can't really see that fitting into a tragedy.

I thought Comedy vs. Tragedy is Comedy ends on a completely positive note, Tragedy ends in a negative one (to over simplify things; there's whole definitions of them blah blah), at least from the stand point of the main characters.

[Taishyr]

No, Oedipus Rex is a kickass comedy. Up there with Romeo and Juliet, though that one could have used less cheese and whine.

EDIT: Right, he actually survives until Colonus, doesn't he? Blargh, shows how well I remember those. Point still stands, though Creon needed to die too.

[Sierra]

Creon gets his in Medea, if I recall correctly, and a right nasty death it is if my memory's not tagging the wrong character.

[InfinityDragon]

Right, he actually survives until Colonus, doesn't he?

Moreover, Oedipus isn't the tragic character in Oedipus Coloneus, seeing as how Zeus absolves him of his sins at the end >.>

Creon gets his in Medea, if I recall correctly, and a right nasty death it is if my memory's not tagging the wrong character.

Different Creon. Creon in the Oedipus stories is the King of Thebes. The Creon who burns to death while trying to save his daughter from Medea is the King of Corinth. King of Thebes Creon gets killed by Lycus.

[Taishyr]

...Good point, that was a sad moment in the Coloneus books. How dare he be absolved! Still, funny series, I should reread them.

[Shale]

For some reason I feel compelled to talk about video games in this topic. Hell if I know why.

Phoenix Wright 4: Purchased, first case finished. Good so far. Follows PW3's lead of actually making the first case matter, and it wasn't insultingly easy (although there was still too much hand-holding, just not PW1 or PW2 levels of it). This should be fun.