Also my wife happened to be watching the last episode of DBZ with me, and they showed Gohan peeing for some reason. She was weirded out by it, naturally, and she told me later she Googled why they were allowed to show a little kid's weiner on TV.
She was also watching me play CS4 last night, and her one main takeaway is that Cedric is a spoiled brat.
Not finished or anything (I am in the Black Workshop) but something just happened that aaaaaaaaaaaa
oh my godddddddddd it's happening "Duvalie has temporarily joined the party." Team C is the unlikeliest party and I never want it to go away. Duvalie still the best lmfao her Celine reaction was priceless.
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xp1337: Don't you wish there was a spell-checker that told you when you a word out?
Argh, my wife got so close to getting through on that last PS5 wave.
Anyway, in Trails From Zero Chapter 3, the three team battle race between Lloyd/Randy, Joshua/Estelle, and Wazy/Wald was amazing. Is it possible to lose if you make the wrong choices? Also we get a glimpse of Randy's true power and a hint at his background, so that's cool, too.
Hmm, finished Fragments in CS4, which had a lot of fun hype stuff, but I wish this game would stop with the anti-climaxes. In Act 1-3, we got Estelle and Lloyd and everyone appearing and saving everyone in a super epic fashion, and then everyone just... ran away. And then in Fragments we got Aurelia and Vita and everyone appearing to save everyone and then the just... run away. Why not have the main cast slowly defeat some of the villains as they go through the game rather than saving all of them for the finale? I feel like that's a much better way to pace it. CS2 had this problem as well, IIRC.
There was some real fun stuff in there - Duvalie and Crow finally deciding to join the good guys was great, and fighting with Rean's party was real fun. Exploring with three separate parties was good stuff in general, and I feel like they did a good job mixing it up with cutscenes as we went along. Not that into most of the villains here though. Making Angelica an evil mind-controlled villain was an awful choice, and Georg/George gets lamer ever time he shows up on screen. It feels pretty difficult to understand all their motivations at this point, too. I feel like someone (Georg?) said something at one point like "they'd all be on our side if they knew what we did" and it's like... okay? So why not just explain it to us and get us all on your side? Blah. Fun to play through it all though (other than the battle with Rean, with that abysmal song playing. What an awful track. Worst song int he game so far). ---
I, too, have now finished Fragments in CS4. Which was indeed very hype.
Which is fitting given how much CS3 and CS4 are following the flow of CS1 and CS2 so this was basically the next iteration of CS2 Intermission which was also a high point. Before all that though I once more challenged my nemesis - that damn cryptid in the Eerie Woods. I had given him a shot at the start of Act 1-3 before we left for Crossbell and while I made some decent progress eventually he'd get me when I exhausted my ability to throw up various mitigation things. Or he just started vanishing people because argh why aren't Dark Pendulums craftable. But anyway, this time around with Renne and KeA in tow (and more critically more levels and Dark Pendulums from Crossbell) he wasn't much of a problem.
Anyway, Black Workshop is where all the hype was. Little disappointed we couldn't keep Renne for this even though she honestly doesn't really have any business there. Could have tagged along on the chance Tita was there tbqh. Teams A and B were eh because Team C was where it was out. Ogre Rean is, as always, a blast whose voice distortion I love. The tattered coat and the way he holds his sword were very nice touches. And seeing just how broken he is at this point is pretty powerful. Poor Celine though, for three games and change she managed to hold out, but in the end the power of anime was too much and she was forced to embrace her destiny as a magical catgirl. I forgive it because the various cast reactions to it were priceless. Duvalie the champ for the "Pathetic as usual-WHO THE HECK ARE YOU!?" second place to the OG Celine reaction-er Machias "HOW DID THAT HAPPEN?" Crow and Duvalie joining the party was amazing as were basically all the active voice events in this section. Had some fun trying out the various linked victory quotes among this quartet as well. Being Duvalie is suffering.
As for the bosses. loooooooooool Angelica lives. Man no one dies in Trails anymore. It was Loewe then the Celdic manager and then death ceased to exist in Zemuria. Looking forward to seeing how the Courageous crew took no casualties from a midair sabotaged explosion in the future. Guess the masks are mind control? Also I guess George knows his anime and had his memories as a Gnome erased to attend Thors to maintain his cover until Crow dying triggered them back? Sure, okay. Meanwhile Best Team got the actual threats in McBurn, Ines, and Ennea. Except actually Celine's order is OP so like even McBurn's S-Craft does like 2500 damage against its full power.
New Class VII v Rean was a pretty good scene/fight too. I was actually really surprised Crow didn't show up in the connected mental world thing that brought Rean back to his senses. I was also lowkey hoping Duvalie would too and continue to express her exasperation over how the hell she was included in the link too. It was a nice scene though. Unfortunately seems like Valimar's brain got fried so he can no longer talk. how is osborne as strong as arianrhod i am calling bullshit. Also why can he wield a sword that only the chief of the Gnomes can? I know Alberich calls him "Master" but like... isn't he the chief? Also dammit Osborne, Alberich got so into his villainous monologue he was about to drop some information on us until you told him to shut up. The exchange between him and Alisa was pretty brutal though.
...Okay Rean is just BS. Somehow detecting that Thomas and Vita were working on a plan to enter is already pretty sketchy but how do Emma and Gaius just know what to do here? I guess technically the background lore on ARCUS Combat Link has like some sensory sharing or whatever but still! Damn Aurelia was about to win Cold Steel IV here until Osborne and Arianrhod called their Divine Knights. The GOAT remains the GOAT. tbqh if she had her Custom Soldat I think I take her still.
Damn Crow and Duvalie left us but not before Duvalie continues to be the best. "You're not even a swordsman, Vita!" and "Can you guys not flirt right on top of me like this?" Aurelia knows greatness when she sees it and tries to recruit her too lol. Eh, not a fan of Rean's new outfit get me the tattered coat back as a costume please. Hell, I'll even settle for the regular version of his CS3 coat. Guess we're going to Bryonia Island to find Crow (and probably Duvalie.)
Aside from all this, it seems that Towa and Empress Priscilla are in Ordis, Alfin and Tita at Valflame Palace, and Tio and Elise at Leeves based on the scenes that cut to them. ...Those are some odd combinations really. Like why would Osborne split up Alfin and Priscilla? How does word not get out about Tio even if Leeves is under heavy guard? I have questions!
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xp1337: Don't you wish there was a spell-checker that told you when you a word out?
You know, I actually started harboring a deep suspicion that Aleister was an undercover Bleublanc back in Part 1 because at one point Aleister's dialogue with Count Altheim updates and he goes 200% Bleublanc with "struggling against adversity is the essence of beauty" type stuff and Count Altheim is like "...what the?"
you're too damn good at this mate >_>
Re: Act 1-2: I really wish Shirley wasn't the voice of reason there. I really don't understand how she transitioned from the kill-em-all nutjob in Azure to this.
Also completely agree re: Juna's retort. "You're just a normal girl" is something I am sick of reading in Japanese media. IMO, it's a bit softer in the original Japanese ("I don't think you realize how much of a normal girl you are."), but that trope needs to die in general. ---
Nonsense. "Testing" is for when you're still guessing--and now, I have no need to guess. -- Agatha, Girl Genius
Act 1-2: Yeah, Shirley's shift in characterization is weird. I preferred her Azure characterization too and her seemingly "mellowing out" doesn't seem to make much sense. It lends itself to moments like the end of that part where she is the voice of reason and that's nuts because it's Shirley... but honestly Cold Steel!Shirley is waaaaay more chill so it isn't really as much of a statement as it would have been in Azure. I'm curious if there's an actual reason for it but I'm doubting it.
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xp1337: Don't you wish there was a spell-checker that told you when you a word out?
I blame Haruhi Suzumiya, who secretly does want to be a normal girl (or at the very least she doesn't want to be treated like a freak for having unusual interests, which is why she's drawn to Kyon. He treats her like he treats everyone else). Don't try to be Haruhi, Japanese media, because you can't.
That being said, I do understand Juna's point, even if she didn't convey it in the best way. "Don't pretend like you're above it all, like you're some indifferent Chessmaster. You can't be okay with sending millions of people to their deaths" is the general sentiment she's trying to get across, but she does it in such a roundabout way. Thankfully Musse is perceptive enough to understand what she means...!
or at the very least she doesn't want to be treated like a freak for having unusual interests, which is why she's drawn to Kyon. He treats her like he treats everyone else
This hits the nail on the head, I think. "I want everyone to treat me like I'm normal" is a much more interesting motivation than "I want to be normal." ---
Nonsense. "Testing" is for when you're still guessing--and now, I have no need to guess. -- Agatha, Girl Genius
Huh, I didn't know they were making a sequel to Ready Player One (appropriately titled Ready Player Two). I enjoyed the first book, so I might get this one, too.
Okay, time for some Cold Steel IV Act 1 Chapter 3!
Roselia says there are only two singularities left to find: One in Crossbell and another under Heimdallr. Naturally, Juna wants to go to Crossbell, and the rest of New Class VII is on board with that. Old Class VII volunteers to give us two from their group so that it's 7 and 7 going to each location. Hopefully I get to choose again! We'll have to see if anyone else in Old Class VII can fish! For this free day, we're back in control of Juna again. Around town, Altina and Alisa are sharing what they know about the Black Workshop since they share a connection there. Altina says she's starting to remember her memories from her time there, including that Black Alberich and Professor Lughman are the same person. I barely remember that guy at all...!
Alisa says she wishes she had been able to see him, but she feels like he was deliberately avoiding that. Altina proposes the idea that Black Alberich may not be her father, and Alisa says that he's definitely nothing like the father she knew. Huh, I hadn't considered that possibility because Sharon and Alisa's mother seemed to be convinced they were the same guy.
I happen upon a sidequest where they ask Juna to teach some kids about Erebonia (its culture, its trends, stuff like that), and I get to invite another New Class VII member to help me. I figured Musse would know the most about that sort of thing, so I picked her. I guess it probably doesn't matter though! Oh ho, looks like Machias is the latest fishing candidate. That kinda fits him, I think. He says that Alisa took it up not too long ago, too. I might have my Crossbell party then! I talk to Ash and one of his lines wanders outside of the speech bubble, for some reason! He does give some good advice about reading stuff that's outside of your comfort zone once in a while though.
CS4: Yeah, Alisa and Machias can fish now too. the competition intensifies. As for the teaching quest, I took Altina and it worked out so I assume it's fine no matter who you take. Question might change though? Altina ends up talking about the pancake shop in Leeves she liked to eat at and the selection is to get its name correct. Somehow I doubt Musse talks about that lol.
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xp1337: Don't you wish there was a spell-checker that told you when you a word out?
Wandering around town some more, we learn a little about Emma's mother, who was a wandering witch who died young trying to save some people. Jusis and Gaius reminisce about their clubs and talk about where their old members are now, which is neat. Kurt and Laura are training together. After all that, it's time to head back to the Saint-Gral Labyrinth for round 3. We find a trial chest for Musse/Ash inside, which powers up Musse's Brave Order. The boss here isn't too tough despite its status effects, and then we're done for the day.
We depart Eryn on user SaveEstelle's birthday as a fine reminder that he will never play this game. Before we head to Crossbell, we have to decide which two Old Class VII members to take with us. One of them has to be Alisa or Jusis due to their intel and connections in the city, which works out just fine since Alisa's a fisher now (although it'll hurt not taking Jusis all the same). Fie, Sara, and Elliot are going to Heimdallr to prevent you from picking them twice in a row, I guess.
New Class VII isn't sure how we're getting to Crossbell, but Alisa and Emma seem to have worked something out. We talk to Roselia and discover she's planning to meet with Thomas about a potential alliance, which is interesting. Apparently, we'll have to be without our Panzer Soldats this time, although I imagine we'll find another one while we're in Crossbell. I choose to take Alisa and Machias with me, as painful as it is to leave Laura, Emma, and Jusis behind. It's for the good of fishing, I have to tell myself. Our magical mode of transportation this time is...heck yeah Josette. I wasn't ready for that, nice bit of fanservice. Don't expect she'll be able to join the party though, sadly. Elliot and Fie wave facing forward, which is nice.
Josette reveals that Leeves is her hometown and it actually used to belong to the old Capua barony, which is cool info. However, Josette claims Liberl as her home now, not Erebonia anymore. Doesn't look like Kyle or Don will show up this time around either, although Josette says they're the president and vice president of the delivery service, although she's just a branch manager. Juna gets to walk around the airship for a bit while we try to navigate Erebonian airspace.
Of course, you knew we wouldn't make it to Crossbell without a hitch, and we run across the Third Imperial Division at a standoff with the Republican Army over the border airspace between the two countries. Apparently, the Republican airships are a Baten Kaitos class, so they probably suck. We try to duck below their line of sight through the clouds, but Emily and Theresia spot us aboard one of the Erebonian airships, although they're more worried about Calvard than us, thankfully.
Eventually, we're able to land safe and sound, but we're pretty far outside the city, near Tangram Gate. It's okay, now that I've been playing Trails From Zero, I know my way around! Unfortunately, we also landed near Pleroma Grass, and it summons a Magic Knight, which is extra bad news since we have no Panzer Soldats at our disposal. Oh wow, Alisa can summon an Orbal Gear. Glad I brought her along! Man, I've missed YOU'VE FAILED YOUR INSPECTION. We defeat the Magic Knight, but it damaged the Bobcat II in the process. Josette sends us on ahead and assures us they'll get it fixed in no time.
When we get onto the main road, we're able to see the now-completed Tangram Fortress, which is said to rival Garrelia Fortress in scale, featuring eight railway cannons. We also have to hide from military trucks on their way to Armorica Village, for some reason. Alisa says they've set up a camp in the area for basic training.
Now let's get back to Cold Steel IV Act 1 Chapter 3!
When we arrive in Crossbell City, we're on East Street, and we check in at the tavern there to make it our base of operations. Then we cut to the familiarly annoying song that accompanies Jonas, who says there are five new Armored Divisions now. Jonas is now dressed like a character from The Bouncer and wears glasses now, it seems. Not sure who this blue-haired girl is supposed to be. Have I met her in Trails From Zero yet? She talks about Rixia and Ilya, so is she from Arc en Ciel? She talks about THOSE guys, whoever that is, and Jonas says they just got back from Calvard. He says he hasn't been able to get much of an update from Tio about Erebonia, and they've lost contact with Schera. THOSE guys can't be Ouroboros or Rufus and company since Jonas lists them separately, so I'm not sure who he's talking about.
Then we cut to Grace making a sneaky phone call in the Harbor District in front of the newly minted Conscription Office. She's talking to some dude named Reins (presumably not Roman) about the mastermind behind Crossbell and the invasion scheme. Everyone's being so cryptic!
The next day, we have a strategy meeting before we head out on the town. Alisa mentions there's a rumor that Rufus has disappeared. We're allowed to visit the Entertainment District this time, so they've expanded from Cold Steel III. We can't visit the Downtown District, which has now been renovated to house the higher ups in the Imperial Army. Now it's called the Uptown District, go figure. And now Neinvalli is on East Street, to boot (although was it already there in CS3 since you couldn't go downtown there either?). The Bracer Guild's all locked up, just like everywhere else in Erebonian territory. I see some NPCs in places I'm not used to seeing them in Trails From Zero, too! This is kinda wild.
Not sure who this blue-haired girl is supposed to be. Have I met her in Trails From Zero yet?
Probably not then. If you had I think you'd have made the connection. I think you meet her soon-ish but that's just a gut feeling?
LeonhartFour posted...
She's talking to some dude named Reins
CS3: He's a reporter who spent a good chunk of CS3 suffering as Vivi's minder. He intro'd in Crossbell tho so I'm actually a bit surprised you haven't met him but I don't feel like scouring NPC videos to see if he didn't show up until later but I thought he was just one of Grace's coworkers. pyre might have a fresher memory.
LeonhartFour posted...
We can't visit the Downtown District, which has now been renovated to house the higher ups in the Imperial Army. Now it's called the Uptown District, go figure. And now Neinvalli is on East Street, to boot (although was it already there in CS3 since you couldn't go downtown there either?)
CS3: Yeah, Downtown District was closed for renovations when you visit in CS2 and Neinvalli was moved to East Street back then. It wasn't clear what it was being renovated for at that time though so what it became is new info.
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xp1337: Don't you wish there was a spell-checker that told you when you a word out?
I don't think you meet Sully/the blue haired girl until late in Trails from Zero and even then I think it was in an optional quest. It's not until Azure that she reaches full character status.
The reporter is treated as a minor NPC for most of the Crossbell games but is there for the entire time. I'm pretty sure he was usually following Grace around. (He does feature heavily in a quest towards the end of Azure though which is honestly one of the more memorable quests in the series for me!) I believe his name has also been translated as Raines in some of the other games. ---
I didn't do guru this year but azuarc can be in my sig anyways.
CS4 Act 2-1 Still early in this though, just cleared Bryonia Island [Location Name].
The dream is real Duvalie joined the party! no bully duvalie tho class vii. lmao "do you even have a plan to get off this island?" And then I got Rean's tattered coat as a costume. I'm not usually a costume person but I will make an exception for this! I do wish Duvalie didn't have her Master Quartz locked though, that's the only flaw. Oh well, it's not the worst but it prevents me from giving her Scorpio. Haven't done anything past this though other than walking around the Merkabah a bit to check new equipment and play Juna in VM and Pom. lol Juna was basically running a super aggro version of my CS3 first playthrough deck with the Archer and Blaze combos. actually kinda scary being on the other side of that when she just played 3 of them in one term to up its ATK up to 9. Good thing I had that Penguin with Seal up and a bunch of crystals on the map to cheese with it. She was also the toughest Pom opponent yet but I've never been great at these games to begin with. I see we have Bonding Events once more and man what a stacked lineup from the jump. Fie, Duvalie, Altina, Crow, and Musse. Musse is the easy pass but with 3 bond points that is like the cruelest decision. I mean, I'll save/reload to see them all when I next play but argh.
Mac Arrowny posted...
Hmm, I wonder if Osgilliath Basin is where the Act 2-1 spoilers? Kinda? Great One Battle happened.
Looking at the map and factoring in how Emma said it was a singularity location it almost has to be I think. You can pretty much draw a straight line connecting Bryonia Island and the Nord Statue with Osgiliath Basin in the middle. And on the full map Osgilath Basin definitely gives off a kind of "Impact Crater" type impression.
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xp1337: Don't you wish there was a spell-checker that told you when you a word out?
