Lurker > SeabassDebeste

preemptive reality check: the next case might rival E2-2 in length (or at least approach two thirds of its length, lol)

but if you're doin' it right (and you have been so far!) it should feel significantly less awkward

[hype]
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yet all sailors of all sorts are more or less capricious and unreliable - they live in the varying outer weather, and they inhale its fickleness

eh, i'm not sure the next case is difficult enough - lots of people call it a piece of cake
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yet all sailors of all sorts are more or less capricious and unreliable - they live in the varying outer weather, and they inhale its fickleness

Let's do this!
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yet all sailors of all sorts are more or less capricious and unreliable - they live in the varying outer weather, and they inhale its fickleness

E2-2 and E1-5 are the two cases with the worst 'please god just end' syndrome, but they evince it so differently.

E1-5 doesn't really add any more gameplay. Instead, you know the endgame, but for some reason, you just keep being kept off the climax and hamstrung by the fact that your evidence is coming in via stupid messengers.

E2-2... is just super-confusing. The part leading up to the introduction of Dogen was probably about as long as the entirety of a case like 1-2. But no end is ever in sight. It feels like a marathon of undetermined length, with an unclear cadence of where the highlights are. You'd think that a case would feel like the stakes get noticeably higher as they go, but instead you go from Dogen to these interruptions by Courtney/Debeste, and then for this SERIOUS BUSINESS video turns out to be an adorable bear.

I will say that even if it doesn't feel like it, you're finally in a section that I'd say approaches endgame. <_<
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yet all sailors of all sorts are more or less capricious and unreliable - they live in the varying outer weather, and they inhale its fickleness

SovietOmega posted...

....and then a bear walks into the room and confirms that one of the guards is actually Jay.

Best

SovietOmega posted...

To
Be
Continued

...good lord this case is threatening to make E 1-5 seem short.

Ayyyyyy lmao
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yet all sailors of all sorts are more or less capricious and unreliable - they live in the varying outer weather, and they inhale its fickleness

SovietOmega posted...

Turns out that "Barks at me a lot" was secretly this case's most important detail. Shame the game had to blatantly spell it out beforehand, but I get that this is still an early case and that the format doesn't make dog barking something you could pick up on easily as the player.

how did this play into the logic?
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yet all sailors of all sorts are more or less capricious and unreliable - they live in the varying outer weather, and they inhale its fickleness

Tfw you know the bump isn't going to be an update but click anyway
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yet all sailors of all sorts are more or less capricious and unreliable - they live in the varying outer weather, and they inhale its fickleness

honestly, it's by far the #1 reason that this arc is this highly ranked!
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yet all sailors of all sorts are more or less capricious and unreliable - they live in the varying outer weather, and they inhale its fickleness

oh didn't know anyone was still following

23. Jon the Wildling (Season 3)

Key points: Qhorin Halfhand is dead. Ygritte takes Jon to defect to Mance Rayder, who plans to assault the Wall in a pincer move. Jon scales the Wall with Ygritte and the Magnar of Thenn, but he's unable to kill an innocent civilian on the south side. His betrayal evident, Jon barely escapes with the help of Bran's direwolf and makes it to Castle Black.

The most shocking thing about Jon joining the Free Folk is... he's somehow less unlikable. This could be the role opening up - in a world of black and white, Ygritte's redness injects much needed color - or it could be due to Kit Harington's improving acting skills.

In any case, the Wildling threat is completely different from that of the White Walkers. We get to know them as a civilization. They've got mammoths and giants, but they speak the Common Tongue, and in general, they just want to be safe. It's an old trope to learn that the 'others' are people like you and me, but early-season Jon is such a stuck-up a****** that watching him soften up is extremely gratifying. Helps that he and Ygritte are so wonderfully paired. 'You know nothing, Jon Snow.'

The most magnificent sight of this, of course, is The Climb. In a rare instance of completely unrelated storylines overlapping, Jon and Ygritte's journey to the summit of the Wall is overlaid with by far Littlefinger's best moment - that legendary 'chaos is a ladder' speech. And yet amid all that nihilism, we get Jon and Ygritte scaling and climbing this vision of pure beauty.

Book points: Honestly, it's been a while for both book and show, but I was really happy with this adaptation. You can hardly blame the showrunners for the fact that Jon's internal monologue isn't capable of repeating 'You know nothing, Jon Snow,' or for the fact that I wasn't 100% sure of Jon's allegiance. One change that I did like - Mance outright rejects Jon's claim that he's upset about being a bastard. Instead, Jon's purpose is altered to fit with the Big Picture stuff that defines him in later arcs - the fact that he recognizes who the true enemy is.
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yet all sailors of all sorts are more or less capricious and unreliable - they live in the varying outer weather, and they inhale its fickleness

Sorry to hear about your financial squeeze. Best wishes from here.
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yet all sailors of all sorts are more or less capricious and unreliable - they live in the varying outer weather, and they inhale its fickleness

Hope that those real life events are of a positive sort, buddy. Don't sweat the case, we'll (somehow) live.
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yet all sailors of all sorts are more or less capricious and unreliable - they live in the varying outer weather, and they inhale its fickleness

this playthrough certainly got e2-2'd
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yet all sailors of all sorts are more or less capricious and unreliable - they live in the varying outer weather, and they inhale its fickleness

not a writeup, but next is JON THE WILDLING from season 3
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yet all sailors of all sorts are more or less capricious and unreliable - they live in the varying outer weather, and they inhale its fickleness

SovietOmega posted...

It is around this point that I am feeling the case is starting to go on a bit long. I gave it a pass before given the scope and necessary character establishment, but introducing new cameo characters at THIS stage? How much further is this thing really gonna take?

lmfao

prepare yourself
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yet all sailors of all sorts are more or less capricious and unreliable - they live in the varying outer weather, and they inhale its fickleness

okay, last contentless bump

writeup in the next two days or bust
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yet all sailors of all sorts are more or less capricious and unreliable - they live in the varying outer weather, and they inhale its fickleness

Ah, you were talking outside of testimony. That's fair.

And yeah, Sebastian mainly just has a great fan-translated name with great initials.
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yet all sailors of all sorts are more or less capricious and unreliable - they live in the varying outer weather, and they inhale its fickleness

I don't remember ever getting chewed out by Courtney in E2-2. She didn't beat herself, but she presented little more resistance than Sebastian once she actually presented her argument IIRC.

Also, Sebastian's first testimony is probably my favorite part of E2-2, where his whimsical 'Huh?' music plays over the normal Confrontation theme.
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yet all sailors of all sorts are more or less capricious and unreliable - they live in the varying outer weather, and they inhale its fickleness

video gimmick is a little silly and doesn't see the greatest use in AAI2, but it's kinda fun
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yet all sailors of all sorts are more or less capricious and unreliable - they live in the varying outer weather, and they inhale its fickleness

oh man a dogen fan

i'll fetch the parachutes for anyone who needs one
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yet all sailors of all sorts are more or less capricious and unreliable - they live in the varying outer weather, and they inhale its fickleness

augh
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yet all sailors of all sorts are more or less capricious and unreliable - they live in the varying outer weather, and they inhale its fickleness

mind-blowing - had no idea!
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yet all sailors of all sorts are more or less capricious and unreliable - they live in the varying outer weather, and they inhale its fickleness

yeah, though come to think of it, gendry's pretty against the idea to begin with, it's the girl who's coming on to him much more so
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yet all sailors of all sorts are more or less capricious and unreliable - they live in the varying outer weather, and they inhale its fickleness

SovietOmega posted...

Oldest prisoner? Ties to Edgeworth? It can only be one person....especially given the whole redemption theme that was plopped onto us way back when we were becoming an assistant.

Hello...Kar....Sirhan Dogen. o_O

lmfao, the absolute worst
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yet all sailors of all sorts are more or less capricious and unreliable - they live in the varying outer weather, and they inhale its fickleness

SovietOmega posted...

Aside from the dead body, he saw a dog there too. Big and black...kinda like the one we saw earlier.

the haunted look in sahwit's eyes here is the absolute greatest
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yet all sailors of all sorts are more or less capricious and unreliable - they live in the varying outer weather, and they inhale its fickleness

actually never mind - debeste part of the case is sebastian's testimony - did he see that with courtney's introduction?
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yet all sailors of all sorts are more or less capricious and unreliable - they live in the varying outer weather, and they inhale its fickleness

Sahwit cameo best part of the case! And yeah, massively unexpected.
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yet all sailors of all sorts are more or less capricious and unreliable - they live in the varying outer weather, and they inhale its fickleness

You seem awfully by debeste punny names!
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yet all sailors of all sorts are more or less capricious and unreliable - they live in the varying outer weather, and they inhale its fickleness

SovietOmega posted...

Aka, permitting himself to temporarily, under some perceptions of reality, to be placed among the subset of beings notable for not being placed at the apex.

it'll never catch on...!
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yet all sailors of all sorts are more or less capricious and unreliable - they live in the varying outer weather, and they inhale its fickleness

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Courtney

Plenty of use as a surname!
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yet all sailors of all sorts are more or less capricious and unreliable - they live in the varying outer weather, and they inhale its fickleness

It's an awkward last name, but it's around the same tier as 'April May' or whatever in terms of two first names.
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yet all sailors of all sorts are more or less capricious and unreliable - they live in the varying outer weather, and they inhale its fickleness

jay elbird has such a great character design

SovietOmega posted...

Also something about reporting to "That person" who remains nameless because it manufactures cheap drama.

lol
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yet all sailors of all sorts are more or less capricious and unreliable - they live in the varying outer weather, and they inhale its fickleness

based on your use of the letter Z, you might mean 'sleazy' ... !
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yet all sailors of all sorts are more or less capricious and unreliable - they live in the varying outer weather, and they inhale its fickleness

Theme music kinda is what's snazzy!
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yet all sailors of all sorts are more or less capricious and unreliable - they live in the varying outer weather, and they inhale its fickleness

well put, you've articulated why i loved this case so much

interested to see your reactions to case 2

tip that may define expectations by format: don't try finishing this one in a small number of sittings like case 1. seriously, don't try to exhibit heroic stamina here.
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yet all sailors of all sorts are more or less capricious and unreliable - they live in the varying outer weather, and they inhale its fickleness

Presenting the fingerprints on the bullets was what I was referring to. So satisfying.

I love Knightley's breakdown. But in fairness, I think that all of his animations during testimony are awesome. It's interesting that he looks like a loser, and he is one, physically speaking- but he's actually pretty worthy of his 'chess player' motif.
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yet all sailors of all sorts are more or less capricious and unreliable - they live in the varying outer weather, and they inhale its fickleness

SovietOmega posted...

Really, I just love how Knightley has turned our logic against us. We're fighting him, the situation, and ourselves, all at the same time.

yessssssssssss the love he so richly deserves
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yet all sailors of all sorts are more or less capricious and unreliable - they live in the varying outer weather, and they inhale its fickleness

(E2-1) worth it for the decisive evidence!
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yet all sailors of all sorts are more or less capricious and unreliable - they live in the varying outer weather, and they inhale its fickleness

Psh. Awful taste aside, I was referring more to the fact that the plot grinds to a halt in E1-5. Even if you feel the other cases run too long, it's almost all action-driven.
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yet all sailors of all sorts are more or less capricious and unreliable - they live in the varying outer weather, and they inhale its fickleness

you think that e2-2 and e2-3 are as long as e1-5?

i guess it's not entirely unreasonable but they don't grind to a halt as stupidly as e1-5 does
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yet all sailors of all sorts are more or less capricious and unreliable - they live in the varying outer weather, and they inhale its fickleness

Not having played AA6, AAI-2 is by far the longest game of the DS era. That said, I don't think there's any single case as monstrous as E1-5... and this case won't go on too much longer, if you were having doubts about trying to finish.
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yet all sailors of all sorts are more or less capricious and unreliable - they live in the varying outer weather, and they inhale its fickleness

SovietOmega posted...

Even still, it is always fun to see a character beat the rules not by breaking them, but circumnavigating them

Recurring theme this game.
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yet all sailors of all sorts are more or less capricious and unreliable - they live in the varying outer weather, and they inhale its fickleness

hype - this is the good part

(and it's fine that you haven't; it's better to play in release order anyway! i still haven't gotten round to AA6 yet. do you plan to get a 3DS?)
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yet all sailors of all sorts are more or less capricious and unreliable - they live in the varying outer weather, and they inhale its fickleness

SovietOmega posted...

Wouldn't be an AA game if we didn't get a rundown on ballistic markings. They're like a gun's fingerprints, you know.

I seem to remember later games referring to them as 'rifling' marks or something. Have you played AA5?
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yet all sailors of all sorts are more or less capricious and unreliable - they live in the varying outer weather, and they inhale its fickleness

I like waiting 'til I've checked everything else and talked to everyone before examining the corpse. That's been my MO in Danganronpa, too!
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yet all sailors of all sorts are more or less capricious and unreliable - they live in the varying outer weather, and they inhale its fickleness

SovietOmega posted...

Who apparently might very well had assassinated the president under the right circumstances. Just how more crazy is this gonna get? XD

And we're still on Case 1!

SovietOmega posted...

I'm blowing up chess pieces with words under a time limit. Wtf game have I stumbled into?

Also yesssssss. I love people's first reaction to LOGIC CHESS. I also love that the game doesn't baby you.
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yet all sailors of all sorts are more or less capricious and unreliable - they live in the varying outer weather, and they inhale its fickleness

That wraps up another tier!

RAMSAY CUTTING OFF YOUR DICK TIER
50. Brienne and Podrick's Not-So-Excellent Adventures (Seasons 4-5)
49. Daenerys in Qarth (Season 2)
48. Drowning in the Water Gardens (Seasons 5-6)
47. The Great Ranging (Seasons 2-3)
46. Theon Becomes Reek (Seasons 3-5)
45. Sam the Slayer (Seasons 3-5)
44. Steward Jon Snow (Season 1)


WAIF SMACKING YOU IN THE BLIND FACE TIER
43. Sam Reaches the Reach (Season 6)
42. Ramsay Rules Winterfell (Season 6)
41. Cersei Versus the Faith (Season 6)
40. The Lady of Winterfell Returns (Season 5)
39. The Chained Dragon Queen (Seasons 4-5)
38. Tyrion and Jorah Tour Essos (Season 5)
37. The House of Black and White (Seasons 5-6)
36. Tyrion Runs Meereen (Season 6)
35. Rise of the Kraken (Season 6)


OLD NAN MAKING YOU s*** YOUR PANTS TIER
34. All Those That Deny That Are My Foes (Season 2)
33. Renly's Ambitions (Seasons 1-2)
32. Bran's Flight North (Seasons 3-4)
31. The King and the The Kingsroad (Season 1)
30. Robb and Bran Manage Winterfell (Seasons 1-2)


BINGE-WATCHING GAME OF THRONES, BUT WHILE YOU'RE FREEZING AND UNCONSCIOUS TIER
29. The Great Lannister Conspiracy (Season 1)
28. Daenerys Joins the Dosh Khaleen (Seasons 5-6)
27. As High as Honor (Season 1)
26. Return to the Riverlands (Season 6)
25. Bran Becomes the Three-Eyed Raven (Season 6)
24. Arya Chills with the Brotherhood Without Banners (Season 3)

Hint for the next: I don't know anything to put here.
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yet all sailors of all sorts are more or less capricious and unreliable - they live in the varying outer weather, and they inhale its fickleness

24. Arya Chills with the Brotherhood Without Banners (Season 3)

Key points: Arya, Hot Pie, and Gendry get kidnapped by the Brotherhood Without Banners, who claim to serve the smallfolk. Just when things are going well, Sandor Clegane falls into the Brotherhoods' clutches and reveals Arya's identity. The Hound wins a Trial by Combat against Beric Dondarrion, but Beric rises from the dead. With the Brotherhood selling Gendry to Melisandre and Hot Pie leaving, Arya runs away from them.

The Brotherhood Without Banners don't seem to do much that affects the plot. They appear suspiciously, but they claim to be the good guys. It turns out that, as you might expect, they're not entirely good - what with the ransoming of Arya planned, the robbing of the Hound, and selling off Gendry. That's the most frustrating part of them by far - the fact that they weren't enemies, and yet you couldn't trust them anyway. As for the most frustrating part of the arc - that Arya can't really let loose, and that in the end, the story doesn't progress much here.

Still, they provide some good television. The Hound makes his return here after seemingly vanishing from the show at the end of Season 2. His being robbed is actually kind of sad, despite being a ruthless killer, when you remember how he won that money - that noble standoff against his brother to save Loras Tyrell during their joust. The trial by combat is predictable but delectable thanks to the fiery sword and Sandor's immense physicality. And of course, with the resurrection, you have Arya's one moment that reminds you that she's just a child: 'Could you bring back someone without a head?'

It bears asking, what the hell was that with Melisandre and Arya? We still don't know how that's gonna pay off. But with Arya back in the Riverlands and Melisandre, perhaps we'll have this question answered in Season 7...or we'll have another outrigger canoe shooting situation like in Lost.

Book notes: I was surprised to find how much was cut in the show from the BWB storyline. There's a lot more warmth in the books with the stable boy from Winterfell greeting Arya. You have that crone's creepy prophecies that foreshadow Balon's death and the Red Wedding. And you have Gendry surviving to meet Brienne later (plus a moment where he considers sleeping with his half-sister, lol). Anyway, I'm glad for the abridged version, but retaining a bit more warmth here would've been good, IMO.
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yet all sailors of all sorts are more or less capricious and unreliable - they live in the varying outer weather, and they inhale its fickleness

Hypest of hypes!
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yet all sailors of all sorts are more or less capricious and unreliable - they live in the varying outer weather, and they inhale its fickleness

sorry about being so flaky with this - we will definitely continue soon
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yet all sailors of all sorts are more or less capricious and unreliable - they live in the varying outer weather, and they inhale its fickleness

up
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yet all sailors of all sorts are more or less capricious and unreliable - they live in the varying outer weather, and they inhale its fickleness