Lurker > KamikazePotato

DeathChicken posted...

Akihiko's answer to being mugged by a guy with a gun and a guy with a knife was to kung-fu them while waxing poetic about not being able to find worthy opponents. Just saying, *that* is his personality in a nutshell

Yes, this
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Black Turtle did a pretty good job.

Akihiko uses his own physical strength instead of a Persona because it's what he does. He trains and he moves fast and he likes punching things. He still loses to Yu, because a Persona means a lot more.

Mages aren't inherently stronger than physical fighters but Personas aren't magic, and they in fact are inherently stronger than people in general, by a lot

Guns don't wreck harmonizer users in Devil Survivor, you fight people with guns and win

Beating Kefka is a gargantuan 16-man affair, and Nyx is stronger than Kefka regardless

Ryu's status in mercs topics these days is stupid, he's gone from one of the more underrated mercs to being one of the most overrated
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Black Turtle did a pretty good job.

Ryu would break his fist on a Persona. They're extremely far above anything he has or ever will deal with.

Mitsuru MAYBE trains some but the vast majority of her time is spent on strategy and being a leader. She's just insanely talented at everything.
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Black Turtle did a pretty good job.

'Akihiko prizes his own physical strength' -> 'Akihiko's Persona doesn't add much to him' is a huge logical leap. Akihiko likes training his body because it means a lot to him on a personal level, not because his Persona doesn't matter anymore. Having a Persona is a HUGE deal and effectively makes the user's physical prowess matter a lot less. Almost everyone in the Persona series is completely untrained before getting a Persona, but upon getting a Persona they become capable of great things. Case in point: Mitsuru is likely stronger than him and she doesn't train at all. One of the strongest party members in P4 is Yosuke, and he works at a supermarket. Personas are mental projections.

Without a Persona, Akihiko is more or less a B-tier Street Fighter. With a Persona he can fight the physical embodiment of death.
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Black Turtle did a pretty good job.

Akihiko would easily beat Ryu unless you think he's enough of a meathead to ignore his Persona so they can have an HONORABLE DUEL.

Personas are strong.
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Black Turtle did a pretty good job.

I mean are we talking Yu with a Persona? Cause that easily beats Ryu

Also *in canon* Yu beats Akihiko. Might best Mitsuru as well. The robots are too much though, they're obviously really strong.
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Black Turtle did a pretty good job.

Personas are not magic. 'Silence' is the universal RPG lingo for not being able to use skills. It has nothing to do all the lore explicitly stating that Personas are spiritual. Dumb argument.
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Black Turtle did a pretty good job.

DeathChicken posted...

Everyone stomps poor Kanji, at least in Arena. He's nearly everyone's first boss

Which is really weird as he solos a biker gang before even getting a Persona. He got worf'd in the fighting games badly.

Also, I would say what people's Ultimax comments on Akihiko were but basically all anyone comments on is his lack of a shirt. Same with Yukari and her superhero outfit. Teddie and Marie are just considered weird. People respect Chie but she isn't in the upper tier.
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Black Turtle did a pretty good job.

DoomTheGyarados posted...

I like how Joker is the very definition of a legit 5 upkeep merc in P5 but people always actin' like they be scrubs.

With all that said, I think that's overselling things somewhat. The Phantom Thieves are awful thieves that get forced into fights constantly, but they still try to focus more on stealth and sneaking around than combat. The P3 group is specifically a shadow extermination group with more experience so I still put them a cut above.
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Black Turtle did a pretty good job.

Oh, and both in the manga and in the Ultimax quotes Aigis/Labrys are considered very strong. Aigis stomps Kanji once she gets serious.
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Black Turtle did a pretty good job.

DeathChicken posted...

Story mode in Arena is a little odd since...well, it's obviously Yu's chapter so he's going to beat everyone, but the dialogue tends to reflect how the fight probably went in 'canon', like Yu commenting on Chie beating him silly. And everyone insulting poor Yukiko

Funny thing about that - I checked some of the end fight quotes in Ultimax recently, and everyone in there is terrified of Yukiko, about as much as they're scared of someone like Mitsuru. Even in victory people go "OH MY GOD SHE BURNED EVERYTHING"

Some other tidbits from that:

-Yosuke's foot-in-mouth syndrome makes a lot of people shittalk him, but on the rare moments they comment on his strength they talk about how strong he is, Elizabeth in particular mentions that
-Everyone is impressed like crazy with Yu
-People are terrified of Mitsuru
-Of course, people are terrified of the Velvet Room chicks even more
-Junpei is by far the most shit on, all people talk about is how telegraphed and wonky his attacks are
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Black Turtle did a pretty good job.

DeathChicken posted...

That's doubly hilarious since Yosuke is Yu's first fight in Arena and after losing Yosuke says something like "Jesus dude try holding back, you almost killed me"

The manga presents Yosuke in an extremely good light actually - basically he's really strong but his personality deficits hold him back. He nearly one-shots Chie and Yukiko when he finally works up the motivation to fight him. Yu is a close match, and he has an assist because Yu took a bad hit from Akihiko in their fight, but yeah he wins that too. In the final fight against Shadow Labrys, he sucks in the beginning because of his self-doubt but once his friends cheer him up he fights almost on par with Aigis in their joint effort to defeat Labrys.

Also, some of the other results that happened there:
Aigis > Kanji
Mitsuru > Naoto

Yu > Akihiko was also a nailbiter. So yeah, in general I think P3 is supposed to be stronger. They have more experience and were in harsher conditions.
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Black Turtle did a pretty good job.

DeathChicken posted...

If I recall Arena's story correctly Yu actually loses to Labrys, then Aigis kicks her ass to save him. He's pretty much made out to be a step below P3 Guy in combat (actually all of the P3 folks are implied to be a step above the P4 bunch just due to experience)

This is mostly irrelevant to the topic at hand, BUT in the official manga adaptation of Persona 4 Arena, Yu beats Akihiko, but then loses to Yosuke. In fact, Yosuke more or less solos the Persona 4 cast, he and Aigis are the ones left standing at the end

Yosuke for Mercs
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Black Turtle did a pretty good job.

nOT THE DOGS :(
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Black Turtle did a pretty good job.

It's amazing how many deus ex machinas Laphicet has that somehow don't feel cheap. Ability to sense earthpulses from across the world? Sure. Special anti-Immoninat powers? Fine by me. Can burn away malevolence? Why not. Can control his own exorcist? That too. None of it feels like a deus ex machina though. It just works.

Also this little baller sacrificed his compass without a second thought. What a surprisingly fantastic character.
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Black Turtle did a pretty good job.

Niiiiice. I always liked FF12's music style a lot, glad to see they're expanding on it.
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Black Turtle did a pretty good job.

Hey guys I found some pretty good Velvet fan art

https://pics.onsizzle.com/hey-anger-why-do-you-always-wear-that-mask-anger-3153754.png
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Black Turtle did a pretty good job.

"STOP WHINING"!

10/10 segment of scenes. Actually the story in general has been 10/10 ever since Aball 2.0 happened. Think this is a good stopping point, I'm really tired as-is. Quick thoughts:

1. Phi you the best
2. Was I supposed to understand everything about Magilou's past with Melchior? It was vague and I don't think I comprehended all of it.
3. This entire game bets everything on executing Velvet's character well, and somehow that bet paid off. Props to the voice actress too.
4. I didn't know this was a prequel to Zestiria - also never played Zestiria, which explains why I sometimes feel like the game is talking about something I should already know about.
5. The piano song that plays in dramatic scenes is nice.
6. I'm glad the game didn't gloss over how Velvet would be the outright villain of the story if it wasn't for the whole "turn all humans into emotionless zombies" thing. Hell, even then it's close! I'm definitely interested to see how Velvet acts after this. She was brutally forced to examine all the awful things she did up to that point. She's still going to continue on with her mission because pain doesn't go away that easily, but...hmm.
7. I'm not entirely sold on Laphi being 'alive'. I was hoping the game wouldn't revive him in any way whatsoever, so that his death could remain a constant grounding element for the story. Stll, if they had to do it, this was the best possible way to go about it.
8. Arthur backstory scenes were good. Was internally hoping I got to see more before the story started to wrap up and there it is!
9. RIP Oscar and Teresa, that was actually really sad.
10. Phi you the best.
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Black Turtle did a pretty good job.

As someone who is in the middle of playing/loving Berseria I'm kind of jealous right now!
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Black Turtle did a pretty good job.

Dear lord the shit hit the fan so hard and so quickly
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Black Turtle did a pretty good job.

foolm0r0n posted...

She does fuck you though

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IstQEy_G0Yg&t=0m41s
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Black Turtle did a pretty good job.

Futaba = best character
Kawakami = best girl

Futaba is too much like a little sister. It just ends up weird.
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Black Turtle did a pretty good job.

Makoto is an inferior choice compared to

https://i.redd.it/5zisdzzk071z.jpg
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Black Turtle did a pretty good job.

Civil War = best superhero movie
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Black Turtle did a pretty good job.

Eternal Lockpick is very good. There's chests in mementos too, remember.
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Black Turtle did a pretty good job.

Jakyl25 posted...

Yeah, chain of events:

--Santorum says green energy options like solar or wind power aren't reliable because sometimes it's dark or not windy

--Someone calls him stupid

--Santorum responds about how sad it is that liberals are criticizing him for "stating the obvious facts."

This is also one of the weirded effects of the current era - in that I feel like a goddamn genius. Not by my own merits, no. I'm far from a genius. But in an era of anti-intellectuallusm, believing in climate change and vaccination apparently puts me above the curve!

I have no other way to describe the feelings that quotes like that give me.
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Black Turtle did a pretty good job.

It's a very strange feeling to look back at the 'extreme' scenarios I imagined would happen as a result of a Trump presidency, and realize that all of those scenarios have been outdone within half a year
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Black Turtle did a pretty good job.

Jakyl25 posted...

Please stop, media

Unrelated to the original but on the subject of media:
I saw FOX the other day for literally 30 seconds and that was still long enough to hear them talking about this "MUSLIM criminal". They were close to yelling the word. It felt like a parody.
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Black Turtle did a pretty good job.

https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/wonder_woman_2017

The curse was broken...?
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Black Turtle did a pretty good job.

Nominate: *insertFF7spoilers*.com
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Black Turtle did a pretty good job.

NowItsAngeTime posted...

Progress?

Been busy. Going to play a lot tonight
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Black Turtle did a pretty good job.

Jakyl25 posted...

Maybe someone else can play devil's advocate and do a better job explaining Seph's POV? What about the history of the world might lead him to believe that major climate change (of any sort) is readily adaptable?

There is no devil's advocate for this. Stop humoring it.
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Black Turtle did a pretty good job.

Thanks to global warming, the weather channel has no chill.

I'm sorry.
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Black Turtle did a pretty good job.

One Who Gets in Our Way
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Black Turtle did a pretty good job.

They're the best in the series by far
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Black Turtle did a pretty good job.

Based on statz, Last of Us and Witcher 3 are the strongest in that category.
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Black Turtle did a pretty good job.

Has a meme ever materialized faster than this?
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Black Turtle did a pretty good job.

covfefe
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Black Turtle did a pretty good job.

HOW IS IT STlLL UP
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Black Turtle did a pretty good job.

redrocket_pub posted...

KamikazePotato posted...

Give me a cheeseburger and ketchup and I will be happy anytime and anywhere.

But...

You can get a cheeseburger from literally anywhere else (literally literally) and it will be at least twice as good.

There is no such thing as a bad cheeseburger. There are only delicious cheeseburger and even more delicious cheeseburgers.

I was raised on McDonalds. You aren't taking that away from me anytime soon.
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Black Turtle did a pretty good job.

redrocket_pub posted...

Oh no...


Even by the standards of fast food...

McDonald's is exceptionally gross :(

Give me a cheeseburger and ketchup and I will be happy anytime and anywhere.


Jakyl25 posted...

KamikazePotato posted...

Yes, basically that

Where do you rank Trump's classic campaign move of "Is powerful enough to send a sitting Governor out on McDonald's runs"

It's the policy choice of his I agree with the most. By a wide margin.
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Black Turtle did a pretty good job.

Except it wouldn't just be McDonalds food, it would be AT the McDonalds

I'd be wearing a sleeveless shirt and jeans and they'd probably be wearing a suit

Someday
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Black Turtle did a pretty good job.

Yes, basically that
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Black Turtle did a pretty good job.

Jakyl25 posted...

Continuing thought on the Trump not drinking thing, it's kind of hilarious that he loves to dine in the most expensive, sophisticated restaurants and his meal is a well done steak and a Diet Coke.

Living the dream!

I'm being entirely serious when I say that my biggest dream is to be famous, rich, and influential enough to force bigwigs to have important meetings with me at McDonalds.

I love McDonalds.
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Black Turtle did a pretty good job.

colliding posted...

I loved this game. It's probably my personal favorite Tales game.

It's easily my favorite so far. Some things (mostly as a result of what appears to be a low budget) bring it down and prevent it from being one of my all-time favorites, but the strengths are reeeeally strong.
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Black Turtle did a pretty good job.

How has it not been deleted yet?
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Black Turtle did a pretty good job.

This is not the greatest roster
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Black Turtle did a pretty good job.

SantaRPidgey posted...

Anagram posted...

Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon, Fire Emblem Awakening, and Fire Emblem Fates

Ok so 0 reason to get this.

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Black Turtle did a pretty good job.

Paratroopa1 posted...

LordoftheMorons posted...

It may vary from subject to subject, but I don't think it's really to anyone's benefit to try and teach, say, a math class without homework. You're not gonna learn how to do integrals just by hearing a lecture.

I mean I'm talking about K-12 here - college is a totally different subject imo

In K-12 though I already was doing a ton of work in-class - doing homework was just like, redundant. I understand that doing something multiple times helps you drill it into your head better but I had no need for it, class time was already enough to do this

I don't agree with this at all. Not everyone can learn as quickly as you. I struggled on several subjects that I needed homework to reinforce.

I don't disagree that the amount of homework students have can be excessive, but it is definitely something that should exist.
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Black Turtle did a pretty good job.

Oh yeah, Berseria is also a great choice
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Black Turtle did a pretty good job.