Board 8 > Jeff Zero & Leonhart in Different Houses: Life Will Change Edition [JZLF]

(+) Yeah! (+)

I think my main problem with the prologue of Persona 5 is that it takes too many trips into the first Palace before you can actually explore it and finish it on your own.
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It's weird. Ann is really good when she's the only girl on the team. It just feels like she gets pushed to the peripheral after Makoto and Futaba join.
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I actually remember Leon saying he was sure he was gonna be able to finish the first dungeon and I was silent because he had like two more trips to go
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Yeah I liked Ann a lot at the beginning but she kind of fell off. Doesn't help that her social link was terrible either.
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Eh, her Confidant thing is fine. Not great, but not bad.
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She has the worst Confidant of any party member.

With School Rumble, I'm surprised anyone would be excited about the ending getting adapted/officially translated, especially since it's an unhappy ending where no one ends up with anyone.
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That's not entirely true because Tenma and Karasuma definitively end up together, despite the mitigating circumstances. The ending is a mess, sure, but the final third of the story is really, really good.
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also I guess Karen and Imadori end up together too if you count School Rumble Z, although a lot of people don't

looks like Mikoto and Hanai got together too based on Kobayashi's new chapters
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Ann's S-Link is definitely one of the weakest. I was super disappointed with it.

As for me, I think I might try to start Tales of Zestiria tonight or tomorrow or otherwise very soon. time to finish zestiria (and probably berseria lol) before jeff zero even plays symphonia again.
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just you wait Symphonia

we're comin' for ya

Kenny and I been waitin' for ya
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Zestiria? The superior anime or the inferior game?
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the inferior game of course

only fitting for a series of INFERIOR BEINGS
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Tales of Berseria so good. But I can't imagine Leon liking Velvet.
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Tales of Berseria so good.

I was going to make a post about it in here when I finished, but then I got swamped with this research paper I've been writing, and I've been sitting right before the last dungeon (presumably) for like a week now.
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BK_Sheikah00 posted...

But I can't imagine Leon liking Velvet.

Oh yeah I was going to say this in my post to lmao.

Like, honestly Berseria is now my favorite Tales game I think, but I could never recommend it to Leon despite him probably being the one in this topic who has talked about the series the most?
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Well, I'll get to Berseria I just gotta play Zestiria first. Abyss and Xillia 2 will be hard bars to clear though.
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Who or what is Velvet?

Also Abyss good game

I have Xillia, too, but haven't played it.
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Velvet is the protagonist of Berseria.

And that's all I know.
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On the other hand I think he would love Eleanor
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bad protagonist huh

that's a paddlin'

In School Rumble news, I am generally on Team Yakumo (although I'm not an Eri hater; I like her a lot, actually), but I think the school play episode is the one situation where she's clearly in the wrong. It's also the one time she feels like a Mary Sue to such a degree that I end up feeling bad for Eri because Yakumo just refuses to let her win, even if it means kinda ruining the play. This is actually one of the rare times though where Yakumo's emotions actually get the better of her and she actively engages in the love triangle for the first time. It's a turning point in her character, in a way.

In Mary Sue related news, I decided to Google search the term, and under "People also search for," the top five options are Rey, Hermione, Bella Swan, Slenderman, and Voldemort.
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Well, I really like Velvet--I just don't think you would based on comments you've made about other things.

Also school play was easily the best part of the School Rumble anime imo. Yakumo and Eri the best.
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Season 2 in general is pretty fantastic. One of my favorite moments is when Eri is asking Harima some questions about girls because Tenma thinks Yakumo likes Harima, and his every answer is supposed to be about Tenma but also applies to Eri, so she naturally starts thinking he's talking about her, too. Then Eri asks him what hairstyle he likes, and he says that he loves pigtails...only for Yakumo to enter the room wearing pigtails for literally the only time in the entire series. I don't know what it is about that gag, but it kills me every time.

but yeah if you love Harima/Yakumo/Eri that's why you need to pick the manga back up because it only ratchets up from there
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Velvet is a great character. But the world sees her as a villain, so I don't think you'd be ok with that.
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I don't really mind if the world sees her as a villain as long as she's not actually a villain. One of the big things about Joker in Persona 5 is that he's seen as a no-good outcast of society, but he's actually pretty heroic.
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LeonhartFour posted...

Season 2 in general is pretty fantastic

Pretty much.

To be quite honest, I didn't even like the series that much during season 1. Like it was still okay, but that was about it, and I almost never even bothered to watch season 2. Then one day like 4 months later I randomly decided to watch more of the show and now I love it.
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Season 1 has its moments. The beach trip is excellent. Harima is just really good throughout, and so is Yakumo.

But season 2 is around the point in the story where Kobayashi realized Harima/Eri/Yakumo was where it's at and he pushed Tenma/Karasuma/Harima into more of a sideshow.
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Apparently I'm the only person who ships Harima and Tenma...
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I'm sure you're not the only one. You're definitely a pretty small minority though!

oh hey pyre have you ever watched Toradora

I know you're a big fan of Yui Horie and she voices my favorite Toradora character. Toradora is one of the few anime where I think I actually prefer the subs to the dub because Ryuji's Japanese VA is just too perfect for the role (and the English VA honestly wasn't great).

Mac's post about Harima/Tenma made me think of Toradora but I don't really want to say why if you haven't seen it.
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LeonhartFour posted...

oh hey pyre have you ever watched Toradora

I know you're a big fan of Yui Horie and she voices my favorite Toradora character. Toradora is one of the few anime where I think I actually prefer the subs to the dub because Ryuji's Japanese VA is just too perfect for the role (and the English VA honestly wasn't great).

Yes I have seen Toradora and it just might be my favorite anime of all time... >.>

Minori is pretty great though yeah. I've actually been meaning to watch the dub one of these days though. I was pretty skeptical since I thought a dub would do a bad job with Minori and Taiga, but I actually liked what I heard from the trailer at least.
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But yeah, I was one of the few people in Toradora who thought the show was about Ryuji/Minori and I was utterly disappointed when it swerved into Ryuji/Taiga. I mean, I guess I should've known better, but still!

Toradora's English dub is pretty solid aside from Ryuji. Taiga is Morgana, and Ami is Ann. Minori's English VA might be the best one, actually. She's Chiaki in Danganronpa, too, if you've played that (Taiga is Asahina and Ami is Kyoko).
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But...The name of the show...
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again yes I should've known better

but the plot was so much better when it was about Ryuji/Minori instead
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I don't know if I'm just getting old or if my recent lack of rest is just catching up to me but I think that makes three days in a row passing out on the couch, two of them in the middle of playing P5.
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heck yeah first chalk dodge

eat that stupid teacher
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the top five options are Rey,

Man, Emprise du Lion is such a cool zone in Dragon Age: Inquisition. I'm past the point I reached on my aborted late-2015 replay now, so I'm experiencing stuff I hadn't encountered since my first file. Now that I know what to expect from the game -- the crazy amount of MMO-esque exploration, I mean -- I can appreciate the regions for what they are. Emprise du Lion is a prime example. It's pretty, for one thing. One of Inquisition's prettiest zones. It's got real momentum, too. You're pushing the Red Templars back bit by bit, all the way to Sahrnia Quarry, where you learn all the terrible stuff they're doing. Then there's Suledin Keep and Imshael.

I also chose not to go here for the first time until my party was level 19 this time. The fights have been intense. I'd gotten used to coasting through the game like a broken FF8 (outside of dragon fights, of course) because I became so overleveled, but level 19 fights at Emprise du Lion are a legitimate challenge. I had to actually think again for several hours last night. It was awesome. And, man. That Imshael fight. I wasn't in danger of getting a Game Over, per se, but I was definitely given a good battle.

I also gained my first trophy for the game from the year 2017. All the rest are dated late 2014 and then whenever the DLCs came out through 2015. o-o;

I did Wicked Eyes & Wicked Hearts the other day but I still have the bulk of Here Lies the Abyss to do. I like to get started on that one as soon as Act 2 begins because Crestwood is a good first new place to go. But then I double back, do a bunch of other stuff like Exalted Plains (augh) and Emerald Graves (yay), do WEWH, and then scour the Western Frontier and stuff. Here Lies the Abyss just feels more climactic. I do The Descent next to pad out the main story a bit more (even though it's obviously tangential to the main threat).

Got most of the loyalty missions in, too. Can't do Leliana's, Blackwall's, Cole's, Varric's, or wrap up Cullen's yet though.
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Jeff Zero posted...

the top five options are Rey,

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Every now and then, I get this urge to replay Skies of Arcadia, but at the same time, I can't really overcome the hassle of hooking the Wii back up just to play it.

I wish Sega would port this game to literally anything else, and I would buy it.
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oh man just saw that the last volume of the School Rumble main series comes out on the 15th

HYPE

Hopefully we'll get School Rumble Z, too.
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Started Zestiria.

initial impressions~

...is sorey a real name? i feel like it isn't but maybe it is and i am just poorly informed of the many different names of the world. still think this is a case where localization should have stepped in

Other first impression, man coming off of games like Nier Automata this feels so slow. Sorey should consider becoming an android. I got an item off the first boss that sounds like it increases my movement speed so yay? It also says it can be upgraded. very yay? but still boo that it's locked behind things like this

Also, it might be worse coming from the Trails marathon and Nier Automata but lmao this dialogue. "fox-man" u kiddin' me Zestiria? and lmao that guy's face and voice. That said, it's mostly that one guy. Alisha seems pretty good and Sorey and Mikleo as well.

NPCs have indicators that you can see if they have something new to say or you've already heard it. this. is. a. GAME CHANGER. oh my god i have always wanted this and a game has finally done it. (i'm sure other games have before but whatever)

Also, when I first got onto the world map proper I decided to go explorin' rather than go to the town like I was supposed to. Sorey and Mikleo were killed by squirrels never to be heard from again. rip in peace.

i feel like there's more i meant to say but i can't remember right now. I feel like I'm getting a hang of a lot of the various systems now and I think I basically just finished the extended prologue and things were definitely looking up as I neared the end of that.
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Sorey just makes me think of the way Canadians say "sorry" and I feel like it should always be followed by an "eh?"
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The basketball episodes in School Rumble are so good

I kinda wish the anime had given more screentime to Yakumo's classmates like Satsuki here (and Sarah throughout the show) because Inaba and Togo's sister are pretty cool, too.
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Sorey autocorrects to sorry. Given the tepid reception I've seen to Zestiria, this will never not be funny to me.
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Benefit of NG+: Being able to clear a Palace in one go.

Disadvantage of starting over from the beginning: Having to hear Morgana's disturbing "You're so gorgeous, Panther" refrain a million times over because you don't have Futaba yet.
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Kinda random, but to my surprise, the more I think on it, the more I think 3rd has solidified its lead over SC in my mind. Man, I get all these warm, fuzzy feelings when I think on The 3rd even now. Usually I'm more prone to initially getting caught in the moment and placing a game a bit higher than I ultimately will have it end up when I try to judge right after I finish it.

<3 that game

Kevin and Ries the best
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it's the price you pay for being free of Futaba's "Bonafide Mona-fied"
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I almost never used Morgana in my party once I could take him out so I don't know that I heard that more than once or twice.

I just slapped Morgana with an SP boosting accessory and used his healing spells whenever I needed them.
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Oh hey, finally got that low-level Persona I missed my first playthrough, so now I can progress past the twins' Confidant thing once I reactivate it.
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Hmm...Looks like that Christmas gift from Makoto doesn't auto-level up Confidants if you have a matching Persona. It just gives you more points. Oh well, still pretty handy to have!
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Also, I've already done a few things I didn't do my first playthrough, like using the bathhouse, doing a crossword puzzle, and training at home.
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Oh man, Sonic Mania comes out on Tuesday. I'll probably take a break from Persona 5 to play that for a while. Should be great!

Also, the Switch I ordered over a month ago still hasn't gotten here. Apparently, it just isn't meant to be...!
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