Lurker > LeonhartFour

All right, back to Cold Steel IV Finale!

Okay, I decided to use my three Zemurian Ore weapons on Rean, Crow (since I figure he'll be required for at least part of this last dungeon), and Laura. Now it's time to begin the operation. We get quick looks at characters all over the continent and the movements for Operation Jormungandr and Operation Mille Mirage as everything prepares to go down. I like how we get quick artwork images for a bunch of characters from past games, including Kevin, Ries, and Anelace. This is a sizable stretch of time where I don't even need to touch the controller!

Finally we cut back to the Courageous II as it's time for Operation Shining Steel to begin infiltrating the Salt Pales. We can pick any of the five teams to start, but once we do, we have to see it through to completion, so no switching on the fly like other split party dungeons. We also get some remote Brave Orders depending on which team we're controlling. I decide to work my way from least favorite to favorite, so it's Angie's team first. The weird thing is that even for characters I've had in my party before now, their equipment and orbment setup is predetermined and locked, which is a bummer.

The individual area of each Salt Pale is pretty short. At the end of Angie's group's area, we encounter an Aion which Roselia says was created because of the unusual spirit vein activity, but that's where we stop for now. Next up is Duvalie's team. It's kind of weird having Xeno, Leo, Ines, and Ennea as playable characters! I do enjoy all the banter between the groups as we progress. At the end, Duvalie's group encounters something that looks like a Black Workshop creation, except it's made from organic materials. Next up is Aurelia's group. It's so wild having playable Victor and Vita. They also find an Aion at the end of their route. I love how Toval is freaked out by how unbothered everyone else is at the prospect of fighting it.

Next up is Lloyd and the SSS, and they get the Dark Dragon, nice. Finally, it's Estelle and crew. They wind up with the Aion from Hamel, fittingly enough. Renne mentions this fight can serve as revenge for what happened to Pater-Mater, which I guess is more Azure spoilers! I was kinda wondering what happened to that thing!

The rest will have to wait until tomorrow.

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Dragon Ball Z Episode 76 complete!

I swear if they bring Piccolo back just to kill him off again right away I'm gonna be a little disappointed

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yeah as a Cowboys fan I'm good with this

Russ is an upgrade sure but I don't know if it would be better for the team overall with what we'd have to give up to get him

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Oh right, I forgot there was an extra room in the Castle of Mirrors because I was just opening the map in each area and looking for the symbol for quests or special events.

there we go

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Oh right, forgot about that. Grabbed the item there. Now I've gotten enough for two ultimate weapons with a couple left over. I'm assuming you can find some more in the final dungeon like in previous games.

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It's time for some more Cold Steel IV Finale!

So we need to find this new spot. The main hint we have is southwest Lamare, and the farthest south and west on the map is the Auros Coastal Road. Sure enough, there's the entrance to the Sanctus Shrine. I'm trying to remember if this thing has been here the entire game and was just inaccessible or not. Well, according to the characters when we get there, this is new, so I guess it hasn't been here before now! Despite meeting all the criteria, Rean says this doesn't feel right, but then Toval shows up and offers to help out.

This shrine is like a couple of others where it's not really a dungeon but just a straight shot to the end. I imagine that'll change once we find the "sanctuary" proper. At the deepest part, we find the shadowy remains of the now nameless Holy Beast of Earth, and he speaks to us. He says he bears no ill will toward Rean because it's merely fate, and he has no intention of interfering with us. He just wants to bear witness to the Great Twilight. However, Toval says that Rean and company are trying to eradicate the curse, and so the Holy Beast of Earth offers to challenge us. If we can defeat him, he'll show us how to remold destiny, which sounds handy!

This actually proves to be a tough fight as his S-Craft initially wipes out my first party (which he used right after he completely healed everyone, which I thought was a kind gesture, but I guess not...!), but my second party is able to buckle down and win the battle. Afterwards, Argres regains the use of his name. The Ebon Knight had tainted him with its curse, so that was why he had sealed himself away in the Gral. Argres isn't sure if the Ebon Knight expected this outcome, or if Rean has exceeded his fate, but either way, he expended what life force he had left. Before he dies, Argres bestows the last fragment of his strength upon us. He calls it the Earthen Prison. On its own, it won't be enough to overcome the Great Twilight, but he thinks it can be of use. No one is sure how to use it though, but Rean figures he'll know when the time comes. Turns out that's it for that quest, no dungeon or anything!

I think that's about everything, but I didn't get the trophy for completing every sidequest, so I decided to check and see if I missed anything or if something unlocks later or something. Turns out there was a friggin' hidden monster in the Geofront in the last part of Act 3, how lame. I don't remember anything popping up for the Geofront as new at any point, so I didn't bother to check it out, bah. I did manage to get the trophy for the max Thors unity grade though, at least.

More later.

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All right, more spoilers for me to avoid, but in the meantime, it's Cold Steel IV Finale!

There isn't all that much to see in Leeves, surprisingly. Rosine is paying a visit to the kids in town again, and we get one last enigmatic prophecy from Beryl. Celestin is also heading up a committee with the Makarov, Mary, Aurier, Edel, Hugo, and George about their roles for Operation Shining Steel. Similarly, there's a whole lotta nothin' happening in Ordis, too! We happen upon a meeting between Governor Regnitz, Count Egret, and Marquis Ballad, but not much else. On the bright side, I do manage to get the last recipe and trigger the trophy for that, aw yeah! I did run into a bit of a snag when trying to give food to Edel and Ismelda because I apparently have forgotten to give them each one recipe, but since I have nothing new to offer them, I can't access the drop down menu to figure out which one I'm missing! I don't want to remake everything (especially since I don't have enough ingredients on hand and I ain't grinding for them), so I guess I won't get those extra accessories. In better news, I capture the last landscape photo for Rex at Juno Naval Fortress.

Next up is Sandy's request in Alster. Before we head there, I manage to find a Black Zemurian Ore shard in the Osgiliath Basin where we fought that cryptid before. Anyway, Sandy wants to hold the Harvest Festival as a way to boost people's spirits. They need us to run to a few different places collecting the necessary items. One stop is at Bryonia Island, where I also manage to find another shard of Black Zemurian Ore. Anyway, Toval is invited to attend, and Schera and Mueller eventually herald the arrival of Alster's own Olivier Lenheim. We also get a touching scene where Olivier visits the site of his childhood home.

After all that, we get a call from Toval, saying the head of the Gralsritter asked him to look into something, namely Devils who've appeared with the onset of the Great Twilight. He thinks they might be drawn to a certain type of power, and he says that Matteus, Arios, and Rixia are all involved in this as well. KeA and Beryl also informed Toval that we've been creating ripples in the fabric of fate. All we have to go on is that this place is located at a sacred shrine in the southwest of Lamare.

But that'll have to wait until later.

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Dragon Ball Z Episode 75 complete!

seriously guys stop wasting time and make those wishes fast

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Dragon Ball Z Episode 74 complete!

Goku literally saves the day by throwing a frog.

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also it looks like the new dubbed episode of Attack on Titan didn't come out today, which is unfortunate

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Yeah, Sephiroth is a bit slow, but I thought he was really fun to use. He's a destroyer of worlds in spirit battles!

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Hulk and the two Spider-Man movies aren't on there, but I think those are due to licensing agreements since Marvel had outsourced their movie rights to other companies.

I already own Homecoming on Blu-Ray and I wouldn't mind getting Far From Home, too, since I'm a big Spidey fan anyway and I don't mind supporting the franchise.

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I know Iron Man 3 is one of the less popular MCU movies, but I always thought it was cool that a large chunk of the movie is set near Knoxville (where I went to college), and there's a news van from Chattanooga (which is right next to my hometown), although there is no News Channel 5 there.

For the record, my wife wanted to re-watch the MCU movies because of WandaVision. She thinks she hasn't seen all of them, but she doesn't know which ones she hasn't seen, so we're just watching all of them (except for Hulk because it's not on Disney+ but that's no major loss).

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Anyway, enough of that! More Cold Steel IV Finale!

We're off to Crossbell to find Diana after I pick up Juna and Randy. We talk to the clerk at Tallys' General Store, and she said that Diana came there to buy some honey. She used to be a regular a decade ago, and now they outright confirm she's Elie's mom. The clerk says Diana was supposed to contact some people back in Milsante, but she never did. That's when the Junior SSS appears. Momo saw her turn a corner, but when she followed after her, she had completely disappeared. Ryu says this isn't the first disappearance in the area lately either. There were three others before Diana.

Afterwards, we contact the rest of the SSS to help us with the search. I guess this is meant to be a "closure" type of sidequest for the Crossbell team like the Hamel sidequest was for the Liberl team. Now we're out investigating the missing people, and it does feel an awful lot like Trails From Zero now! Although we're kind of limited where we can go during this section, we ask the relevant witnesses and then we have a Q&A section as we try to narrow down the answer to the mystery. I was able to answer them all correctly, and now we're headed to the Geofront near Station Street, just like old times! Speaking of which, it's the old Geofront music!

And much like in the Hamel sidequest, everything suddenly turns red and mysterious. Going through the Geofront is pretty fun as we rescue all the missing people. Eventually we find Elie's mom and we have to fight another one of the Seventy-Seven Devils. The fight is pretty easy, and we get a nice reunion scene with Elie and Diana. Afterwards, the final Pom Party opponent is revealed, and it's Tio! We get a really nice Master Quartz for beating every opponent, too!

Next up is Bridget's request. She's meeting with Alan at the boat dock near Crossbell, and he's got some Zauber Soldats with him. Apparently, Alan plans on replacing Rean as the new national hero in this war against Calvard. Rean recruits Patrick to help us snap Alan out of the hold the curse has on him. Patrick thinks Alan is still subconsciously bothered by the fact that he's a commoner and Bridget is a noble, so her parents don't approve of their relationship. Ferris surmises that maybe Alan believes becoming a national hero will prove he's worthy of her.

The game warns me that a high level Divine Knight battle awaits me. They manage to get most of the Thors class to come along to help snap Alan out of it. Patrick gives Alan a verbal beatdown, and then Rean calls in Valimar, this time sporting his old tachi instead of the Sword of the End. Patrick mans a Spiegel to help even the odds a bit. The Zauber Soldats are still a pushover, even when we're outnumbered. After the battle, Bridget slaps some sense into Alan, quite literally. I guess this sidequest was closure for the Thors crew. Even Beryl randomly shows up out of nowhere, which gets lampshaded in a great way. This is also the quest that allows me to achieve the top rank!

And that's it for tonight.

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pjbasis posted...

For some reason I had a higher opinion of that final battle before, but it pretty much just sucks.

Bowser in a Bathtub is the worst final boss ever, and I have maintained this stance for nearly 20 years now!

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Let's do a little more Cold Steel IV Finale!

Made it to the top of Stargazer's Tower and defeated the cryptid, which triggers the trophy for getting all the lost arts quartz. That's it for Crossbell for the time being, so let's move to East Lamare, where we take out the wanted monster in Einhel Keep first. In Milsante, we trigger a sidequest where Diana has gone missing. She went to Crossbell for a business trip two days ago, but she hasn't returned yet or contacted anyone saying she's been delayed. The two store employees think she really went to Crossbell to visit her family, so they want us to go look for her. Rean says we'll need Juna and Randy for this quest, so I guess I'll be heading back sooner than I expected!

But we'll do that later.

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WandaVision complete!

Good final episode, good show. A couple of climactic battles and a poignant moment at the end.

Next up is Falcon and Winter Soldier in a couple weeks!

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Time for some more Cold Steel IV Finale!

More Erebonia exploration! On the beach at Mishelam, all the fishing club members are trying to catch the Grand Lakelord, which is apparently where the family gets its name, and it's what's been destroying the aquatic ecosystem lately. I still have to catch the last special fish near the hospital, and in the process, I get the final volume of Three & Nine from Kargo, which triggers the trophy for getting all books, aw yeah. I also got some Master Quartz for getting over 80% of profile and battle notes logged. And then I get a Black Zemurian Ore for reporting all the books to Dorothee, nice. And then I catch the Grand Lakelord and that's the fishing notebook down, too!

At St. Ursula, we're allowed to briefly meet with the Emperor after his successful operation. Our final Crossbell stop for now (by the way, I can't seem to find a way to enter Orchis Tower. What's the holdup?) is Stargazer's Tower. First, I beat the final Trial Chest and unlock the trophy for that one. Now I'm starting to wonder if I'll get the trophies for every quest and every chest. I've got about 60 treasure chests unopened, but I've always had a quartz that shows the location of chests on the map equipped, so I don't think I've missed any, but it's possible.

More later.

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Searching for blue coins trying to get to 120 Shines is what made me turn on Sunshine by the end.

If they'd just used those blue coins to make a couple more worlds, I'd probably think more highly of it.

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All right, time for some Cold Steel IV Finale!

Still exploring Crossbell. Hey, there's Fran and Noel's mom. I run into the Hayworths, but Renne isn't with them, so now I'm not sure where she is. Xeno and Leo are talking with Ashleigh at Neinvalli, getting what they need for their raid. Sully is hanging out with Jona, and they let us know that the elevator to the Thaumaturgical Sector is wide open and isn't being guarded for some reason. Sounds like we need to check it out.

Irina and Gwyn are at the RF branch in Crossbell. They've stopped production of the Zauber Soldats, but the Imperial Government is putting more on them than they can realistically produce overall, so they're in a bit of a pickle. I finally find Renne on the East Crossbell Highway talking to Harold, and they actually make plans for their families to meet up once all this is over, which was nice. With that, we can finally move on to Hamel. Once we trigger the sidequest, everything goes red, literally. The Liberl crew says it reminds them of Phantasma.

Oh nice, Joshua takes the party lead here, just like old times. We encounter a bunch of ghosts who turn out to be the manifestations of the memories of Hamel, like in Phantasma. This raises the question of who the mastermind is behind all this. We encounter Joshua's and Ash's parents, and how they each handle seeing them was really good. We find one of the Seventy-Seven Devils waiting in the village, and Rean suspects the anomalies in the spirit veins (as well as the appearances of the Empyreal Fortress and the Salt Pales) are allowing creatures from other planes to pass into this one. Loewe's sword is glowing with a strange light now, apparently having been revitalized by the Great Twilight. After the battle, we get a brief message from Loewe's spirit in the sword and then everything returns to normal.

Let's get back to exploring Erebonia, Crossbell specifically. We find Ines, Ennea, and Bleublanc in the Wetlands, and they've set up a memorial to Arianrhod. It provides a nice photo op (with their permission, of course).

More later.

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https://twitter.com/MarkMaske/status/1367539961352892418

the first thing the Ravens have done that I'm actually kinda on board with

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Big Ben's coming back for another year of bad offense

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Okay, let's get back to the Cold Steel IV Finale!

We're done with the Courageous II, so now it's time to explore the rest of Erebonia. I visit Dreknor Fortress, and we're actually welcomed inside now. Turns out Zechs is here visiting General Craig and Neithardt. We're informed that the 3rd Division is to head to the frontlines through North Ambria and the 4th Division through Liberl, and they're to overcome any resistance they met with force. Neithardt urges us to stop the war before this happens. It was nice to have Elliot in the party for this one because we get some extra dialogue with his dad.

The Bobcat II is parked outside the gate that leads to Hamel, and Josette is talking to Estelle, Joshua, and Agate. They wanted to pay their respects at Hamel before everything goes down, but we need Tita and Ash in the party first, so I run back to the Courageous to get them. Then we have to hunt down Renne in Crossbell (I'm guessing she's there to meet Harold and his family), so I guess I'll head there next!

But that'll have to wait for another day.


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All right, it's time for some Cold Steel IV, Finale Edition!

Still exploring the Courageous II. We get a cute little convo between Rean and Laura about their time together the night before. I assume this happens with whoever you choose, but it was cool. I find Rex and Munk establishing a comm link with the Arc Royale and we get to hear from other Thors graduates we haven't seen in a long time, like Klein and Lambert. I can now play Musse in Pom Party, and I manage to beat her on the first try! Only one person left! I wonder who it is.

I find a sidequest where Stark wants to show his appreciation for all Crow has done for him, and Rean suggests challenging him to a game of Vantage Masters. Stark invites Rean to observe the match, which naturally means I have to actually win the game myself. Darn it, I nearly went the whole game without having to play Vantage Masters! At least Stark has a ready-made deck. Oh, upon losing, I can either retry or proceed as if having won. Wow, a blatant cheating option, but I'm guessing you get bonus AP for actually winning! It takes a few tries, but I do eventually win on my own. Upon winning, the prize he asks for is Crow treating him and Rean to a meal in Jurai after the war is over. Crow reminds him not to ask the impossible, but Stark chides him for having given up already. So are we moving toward an ending where Crow somehow stays alive even after the Rivalries end? Regardless, it gives Crow the motivation to look beyond his situation, so that was cool.

That's all for tonight.

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Attack on Titan Season 4 Episode 8 complete!

My wife and I were both highly upset about Sasha getting killed. Also, it looks like Eren went rogue and used his leverage as an indispensable Titan to force the Scouts to attack Marley to get him back. I wonder what's made him so emotionally dead inside to begin with, although we saw traces of him heading down that road at the end of season 3.

And I do not trust Zeke at all. I don't know how they convinced him to go along with their plan (or it kind of sounds like this was his plan all along and he convinced them to help him), but he's definitely got some ulterior motive beyond helping the Eldians be free.

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I thought Watt wanted to play for a Super Bowl contender

unless he thinks him going there now makes them Super Bowl contenders

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Dragon Ball Z Episode 70 complete!

Featuring Frieza's magical breath.

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All right, let's move on with Cold Steel IV!

The Great War begins. The water textures here, however, are not great. Everyone has departed from Mishelam and we're back on the Courageous II. We're getting ready to have the strike teams take down the Salt Pales, and then the Courageous II will charge in once the barrier is down. But first, we have some requests we can take care of while we're on standby in addition to cryptids and Magic Knights appearing.

Then the finale's title pops up: Scattered Petals, Dying Flames. We have no required members for this part, so we'll let the randomizer do its work. It gives us Rean/Laura/Elliot/Musse/Alisa/Ash/Sharon. Not bad. I get notifications that the situation in western Erebonia has changed completely, and I can also explore Stargazer's Tower. Oh, and Millium has a Brave Order available if Jusis is in the party now. Then we get a call from Thomas saying that the final volume of the Black Records has been deciphered. It's basically a summary of Cold Steel IV that tells us that the ending is unclear, so thanks for that!

Let's explore the Courageous II first. We have three new requests, one in Alster from Sandy, one about Alan from Bridget, and a wanted monster request. I come across a conversation between Gaius and Mueller about Kevin, saying how he was involved in both the Liberl and Crossbell incidents. I guess I can count on him showing up in Azure then...! I opened the map and it looks like literally every location in the game is available to me now, although not all of them have new content. Sara, Towa, and Michael bring up Vice Principal Heinrich, and Sara echoes my thoughts in that this is the first time I've even thought of him in forever. Perhaps the biggest shocker here is that Rean actually said something bad about someone (even if he did quickly follow it up with a "benefit of the doubt" statement). Towa's also a little on edge because she realizes the conclusion of this operation will mean the perma-death of Crow, for real this time.

Victor and Roselia have an interesting conversation talking about the original Arseid, named Shion, who witnessed Lianne Sandlot's resurrection. He apparently got to experience these memories because of his time under the control of the Gnomes.

More later.

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All right, more Cold Steel IV Eventide Edition!

Still working my way through all these scenes. Most of the stuff is the other character thanking Rean for being Rean. And Rean being Rean, he deflects as if he really had nothing to do with it and heaps all the praise onto the other character. It's a bit formulaic at this point of the series, but I do enjoy Rean's tendency to try to find the good in others. Altina's and Ash's were particularly good though. They stood out a bit from the others. I thought it was interesting that Juna, Altina, and Alfin just invite you straight out, while you have to choose the others as Rean.

I'm scoping out these accessories, too, to figure out which ones are the best. I never cast arts with Rean, so I'm less likely to want the ones that boost those, but they'd be really good if I had made him a magic user! There are a couple that boost CP gained even over the Gladiator Belt and a couple that nullify all ailments in addition to boosting some stats, so I'm keeping an eye on those. Juna's seems pretty darn great, too!

There were only a couple of characters I couldn't max out by this point, but I wonder if I could get them there if I use them for multiple attractions. I can't tell how much each attraction boosts affection ratings. The only ones I'm missing are Musse, Celine, and Duvalie. The last one is lamentable, but I can live without the other two.

After finishing the ferris wheel at long last, I go to the Castle of Mirrors next, where there are only six options this time! I really hope Beryl turns out to be something special instead of just someone with clairvoyance that no one can explain. I think it would make things more fun in the long run. Regardless, the different fortunes turn out to be pretty neat. I think Sara's and Crow's were my favorite of this bunch. Next up is the Horror Coaster, which is another "anyone can do this" one, but thankfully, there's really nothing unique about the experience for each person and I have zero desire to play this mini-game over a dozen times, so moving on!

So now we'll move on to the cocktail mixing one. There are seven options for this one. It's a bit simplistic, but I did enjoy seeing what each character came up with here. Then we've got the sparklers, which also has seven options. And with all that out of the way, it's time to start moving things forward. In this round, I picked Altina, Laura, and Sara.

Heading back to Cassius, he tells Rean he has a letter for him from Ka-Fai. He says that Rean has reached the end of the Eight Leaves style, and he's going to serve as a stand-in for Ka-Fai as a final test. The letter says that Rean has to "conquer himself" in order to advance to the next level. Cassius pulls out a sword, which is a bit of a shock! It's not his personal sword, but it belongs to Alan Richard, who I'd forgotten was an Eight Leaves practitioner at all! Cassius says he will soon be changing his form into what Rean fears most deeply...which means he should just stay Cassius. That fight against him in Trails the 3rd was the most nerve-wracking experience in the series for me, and this might be no different...! Rean plans to demonstrate his mastery of the Seventh Form, which is the Void (X-Death would be proud). Then they repeat a form of the Persona mantra of "He is I, and I am him."

Naturally, the form Cassius takes is that of Punished Rean. I have to use all of his S-Crafts to prove my mastery of them all, and it unlocks a new S-Craft, which is pretty friggin' sweet. It's basically just a storyline fight, but it was pretty cool. Upon winning the duel, Cassius reads a scroll that says Rean has been granted the title of Divine Blade and is now permitted to take on disciples of his own. He tells Rean he will be Ka-Fai's final direct disciple, and he accepts that responsibility. Then we see all of Class VII was watching from afar, and naturally, their first order of business is to give him a new nickname. I actually kind of like Millium's suggestion of Divine Blade of Zero to go with the Seventh Form, and it kind of pairs with her being the Sword of the End.

Now it's time to see what's changed. Now Makarov and Mary are hanging out, and they finally commit to being together forever, so that was nice. Then it looks like Thomas has moved on to a new bromance, this time the one between Toval and Michael. Schmidt is looking over Franz Reinford's notebook from when he was a disciple. After watching our duel, Aurelia is fired up and challenges Bardias to a duel as well. Neithardt and Fiona are enjoying a nice dinner together. Anton finally reunites with Sharon and...doesn't totally screw it up, which is the biggest shocker of the series thus far. And he's so happy about it that he gives me an extra ticket, aw yeah. Vincent is still struggling with his feelings for Margarita, and Mint finally reunites with the rest of the Wind Orchestra. Olivert is reunited with Mueller, and their interactions are still great.

Now it's time to spend the rest of my tickets. I have just enough tickets to spend on all the romance options, looks like! After all that's done and I'm ready to move on, I get an orbmail from Claire to meet her in the wetlands. First thing Rean asks is what's with the new outfit, and Claire says it's a uniform for the Knights of Blood and Iron. Now that Operation Jormungandr has started, there's no need for the RMP, it seems. Claire apologizes for not being able to change and draws her gun on him, but Rean calls her bluff and says he hasn't given up on her yet.

Claire can't handle the idea that none of them hate her because she clearly hates herself for what she's done and what she's doing, but then Millium shows up. She says that she's still an Ironblood, so she's gotta look out for Claire. She's convinced that she and Rean will be able to get through to them. Claire and Lechter, maybe, but the others I'm not so sure about...! Claire promises she won't show any mercy next time they meet, but she says it with a smile on her face. It seems like meeting Claire here was optional, so I wonder what changes down the line if you ignore her message. It's kinda crazy how Millium has been better in the short bursts she's appeared in this game than she was in the three previous games (well, aside from taking Altina's place at the end of CS3 anyway, that's definitely her best moment)!

After ending the free time, Rean heads to the wharf and happens to overhear a conversation between Olivert and Schera. I notice in the list of all the people Olivert says have supported him, Cedric is conspicuously absent from it...! Then he proposes to Schera and I assume she says yes, but we don't hear her response! Now it's time for Rean's choice! I wasn't expecting Rean to teacher-zone Juna, that was great. Alfin's was honestly kind of cute. I'd be okay with her being the canon over Alisa, at least! But after watching Alisa's scene, it feels pretty clear what they want the canon couple to be! Altina's VA absolutely nailed her scene. Fie's "Get a clue" line delivery was excellent, too, and we learn her birthday is August 31st! Sara's was all right, really nothing special. Emma's was cute, but there can only be one. There's always only been one, and that's Laura.

And with that, Eventide is complete!

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Cold Steel IV Eventide Edition!

I'm trying to go through all the attractions with everyone to see all the unique dialogue, so this might take a while. The scenes basically play out the same way, regardless of who it is, but I still need to see it all! I haven't even finished the ferris wheel yet, but thankfully, not all of the attractions let you pick everyone! You also get a special item if you've maxed out everyone, so that might play a factor in who my final choices are. You can make a date with someone you've maxed hearts out with, too. This might require multiple save files in order to see everything, but I'll figure it out somehow!

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More Cold Steel IV Eventide!

Sara/Sharon trigger a sidequest in which I have to recruit competition for a ladies drinking contest. They specifically request Aurelia and Schera, but I can pick the other participants at my discretion. Rean suggests no one in Class VII would be able to handle it, so I don't have to worry about any of them. I don't know if there are bonus points based on who I choose or if there's a limit to who I can invite, but I'm not gonna worry about it. I recruit Cecile, Lucy, Edel, Roselia, and Duvalie (this won't end well for her).

We've got nine total, so it looks like they'll be broken up into groups of three, tournament style. We've got Sara/Schera/Sharon, Roselia/Aurelia/Duvalie, and Cecile/Lucy/Edel. Aurelia wipes the floor with Roselia and Duvalie. Edel prevails over Cecile and Lucy. Sharon pulls off the upset after Schera drank too much before the contest. In the final, Sharon, Aurelia, and Edel run the establishment out of alcohol before a winner can be declared. Olivert shows up with an amazing callback to Trails in the Sky with the anti-drunk/hangover cure medicine from when Olivier and Anton tried to outdrink Aina (and still failed, Aina unstoppable). That completes the sidequest and I get another ticket as a reward, aw yeah.

Now we're in the amusement park proper. Machias/Patiry have opened a stall together to pay for Kargo's medical bills. So are all these scenes designed to get ships sailing for every character? Seems so! Even Rean is lampshading it. Emma/Alisa/Louise/Celine are getting ready to tackle all the rides, but we learn that Louise is a Mishelam Wonderland expert of sorts. Ash is trying to convince Tatiana to ride the Horror Coaster (it should still be called the Roller Ghoster imhotbqh).

Laura/Fie/Jessica are somehow treating this whole experience as a training opportunity. Vincent/Margarita try to take their relationship up a notch, but Vincent still can't figure out what to make of her ever-changing appearance. Estelle/Joshua/Renne are making the most of it, or at least Estelle is while the other two try to keep up. Renne challenges me to a game of Pom Party, and I realize I somehow missed someone since there's a spot above her name that hasn't been unlocked, argh. Or maybe it's someone else in the park I just haven't talked to yet. I hope that's all it is because it'd be a bummer since I've been trying to be thorough.

Rosine/Bridget/Ferris are in the Castle of Mirrors hoping to get readings from the fortune teller. Ada/Sidney are waiting at the ferris wheel for others to show up, but Sidney realizes this may be his chance. Olivert and Schera are drinking it up (well, mostly Schera) and they bring up Aina, who would be the easy winner of this drinking contest if she were around, hands down. Olivert invites me to play Pom Party, and sure enough, he's the missing entrant, whew.

Juna is hanging out with her family as they watch the latest Mishy show, completely riveted. Tio and Jingo are also entranced by the plot twist that Mecha Mishy is Mishy's long-lost brother who is also now a robot for unexplained reasons. Randy is having a phone conversation with Mireille, and I guess they're dating. I suppose I'll have to wait until Azure for that development! Crow/Towa/George/Angelica finally have their big reunion, and it's mostly Towa ripping their faces off for the stupid stuff they did throughout the series (and she's probably justified to do so!).

And with that, I think I've seen all there is to see, so now it's time to use those tickets.

But that'll have to wait until tomorrow.

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All right, let's get back to Cold Steel IV Eventide Edition!

Continuing to wander around seeing where everyone is and who they're with. Saving the tickets until the very end. Rean finally has the courage to try Freddy's cooking and he recovers 200 CP! Jusis is hanging out with Millium's astral projection, and she talks about how their affection for her played a big part in her ability to come back, even in this form. Then she glomps Jusis somehow and also somehow she can play Vantage Masters.

Altina/Wayne/Leonora/Stark plan to ride the Horror Coaster and then hit the food stands. Elliot/Fiona are shopping together and she decides to buy charms for him and Neithardt, with whom she is now officially in a relationship, so that's good. Becky/Hugo reveal that Kleist & Co. owns Mishelam Wonderland now and so he's conducting a personal inspection. Patrick/Celestin discuss their accomplishments in the war effort, and Patrick earns a promotion in Celestin's book from "Young Master" to "Lord Patrick."

Emily/Theresia/Edel/Dorothee reveal that Vandyck reassigned Emily and Theresia to an independent raid force so they could help the other Thors graduates with this operation.Aurelia/Bardias/Mary discuss Mary's love and proficiency in the arts, as well as prodding her about Makarov, naturally.Musse/Alfin/Elise are discussing clothes, as Alfin and Musse intend to give Elise a wardrobe makeover. Gaius/Linde are hanging out again, so maybe she can become his squire or something?

I get an extra ticket from feeding a cat at the wharf, aw yeah. Kenneth/Annabelle are fishing together, of course. Speaking of which, he said that special fish was at Elm Lake, but then I couldn't catch it because of storyline requirements at the Stella Sanctuary. Was I supposed to do that in a different way? Oh wait, I can still ask him about it, so I guess not all hope is lost, whew!

Valimar is at the wharf, and they discuss his past Awakeners because he's finally recovered all of his memories. He only knew Dreichels as a prince, but he finds it satisfying and amusing that he's praised as Father of the Renaissance. Then Rean asks Valimar what he thinks of the reincarnated Dreichels, and he says he senses no trace of him being manipulated or possessed by Ishmelga, which is interesting. I do wonder what will happen to Osborne at the end of all this.

Kurt/Aurier/Sully discuss how Sully helped Kurt's mom and Mueller escape the Imperial Defense Force on their way here. Neithardt/Mueller/Thomas are eating at the restaurant as Thomas gushes over their bromance. Vita/Duvalie/Roselia (in her adult form) are also at the restaurant as they celebrate Lianne Sandlot's memory. Sandy/Maya/Kairi/Fritz are celebrating the fact that this fancy restaurant is all-you-can-eat for free.

Cassius/Viscount Arseid discuss how they became friends during the guild raids four years ago. They also discuss a duel Victor had with Arios and how Cassius could somehow hold his own against them with just his staff. Cassius says he's got more to discuss, but he tells Rean to spend all his tickets first.

Going to break up these posts since there's so much here.

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WandaVision Episode 8 complete!

Only one more to go! Interesting move saving the origin story for the penultimate episode, but I suppose it makes sense in this case.

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Now let's play some Cold Steel IV Eventide Edition!

It's a true Mishelam Wonderland. I don't even know where to begin! We have some fun pairings:

Agate/Tita planning their evening at the park
Michael/Toval lamenting the strong women in their lives who drink them under the table
Makarov/Schmidt discussing Olivier's artifact, which Schmidt is loath to use, but he can't deny its practical applications. Then Mint runs in with Mary's father on the phone, apparently having broken the news of their relationship to him, and even Schmidt chides him for not tying up loose ends with his relationships.
Josette/Lucy/Kaela talking about how Don and Kyle helped get the rogue Hercules members back to Calvard, as well as Josette and Kloe apparently still being hung up on Joshua despite that door being closed a long time ago
Pablo/Gustaf/Valerie playing with sparklers on the beach
Lloyd/Elie/KeA/Cecile talking about the Emperor's surgery and Rean and Lloyd commiserating over their reputations with women

And that's just the beginning. More later.

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xp1337 posted...

is link going to activate plucky underdog mode?

those Mario cheaters will just DDOS Twitter if he tries

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https://www.theringer.com/2021/2/26/22291974/best-video-game-character-bracket-final-mario-vs-link

got the first vote lawl

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They just retweet anyone who uses that hashtag or replies to one of their tweets about the contest.

But yeah, they certainly don't care that much about consistency because they don't even get the social media polls up on time!

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Let's begin the next part of Cold Steel IV!

The Empyreal Fortress is the final stage of the Empire's curse, and the narration says the true nature of the white spires was clear to those who have ties to the church. They were nearly identical to the Salt Pale, which is what I was thinking of when Bardias mentioned the North Ambrian Disaster. I remember that report from Trails in the Sky the 3rd because of how utterly creepy it was (and also because of how Weissmann died). However, these things are merely remnants of the original, and they don't turn everything around them to salt, thankfully. They're linked to the fortress somehow, and there's also a multi-layered barrier around it.

The Courageous II got a message from George, explaining to them what Alberich had just said earlier. Although it pre-dated the Great Collapse, it had been hidden away in a space-time distortion that was caused by the Great One's creation. The Gnomes have apparently been working on the thing in secret for the last thousand plus years trying to connect it to the Salt Pales and set the stage for the Rivalries. What makes this thing ideal for that anyway? That isn't explained.

We all decide to spend our last night before war partying it up at Mishelam for some reason. Roselia, Emma, Vita, Gaius, and Thomas all combined their powers to create a barrier around it. I guess this is the moment of truth where Rean will have to choose his one true love. Before that, we review Operation Shining Steel, which seems to be a plan to destroy all the Salt Pales in hopes it'll let us access the fortress, which seems as good a plan as any! They think if they can take control of the Rivalries before the Great Twilight reaches its climax, they can derail Osborne's plans. Musse thinks they'll welcome Rean inside since they need him to finish the Rivalries.

The Liberl team and the SSS each volunteer to take out a Salt Pale to clear the way for us. The Stahlritter also throw their hat into the ring, and Xeno and Leo decide to team up with them. Angelica and Sharon also volunteer for duty, and Roselia and George opt to lend them a hand. Not to be outdone, Aurelia apparently volunteers to solo the last one. She says Bardias will be in charge of the first day of the war since it'll mostly be scouting and strategy anyway, but they expect all eight fronts to erupt into full-scale war on the second day. Oh, looks like Vita, Victor, and Toval will be helping Aurelia, too. Will I have to control all of these groups, or will it just be done via cutscene?

All of those people are gathered at Mishelam, with one final surprise in store as Cassius decides to drop in as well. Sure enough, all the dudes say Rean's got some confessin' and committin' to do before the night's over. We get the next section's title: Eventide - Night of Promises. Much like the end of CS3, I've got five tickets to use, and who I can invite depends on what attraction I decide to use them on.

But that'll all have to wait for another day.

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Cold Steel IV Act 3 complete!

It's Divine Knight time! Somehow I have access to the entire party as partners, which is nifty. I roll with Alisa and Laura for their CP boosting and Alisa's healing abilities. Arianrhod is very strong, but having a 2-on-1 advantage certainly comes in handy. Randomly, this just occurred to me, but in order for Valimar to properly stand up to the Ebon Knight, won't he eventually have to absorb Ordine, which would kill Crow? I guess we'll cross that bridge when we come to it!

For now, it's the aftermath of beating the Argent Knight. It's time for Arianrhod to start fading away and giving power to Rean. She says their victory was due to their trust in their allies, implying that Duvalie was right and she should've trusted them. Roselia starts chewing her out for deciding it's time to give up, and Juna says they'll need her help to stop this war if it gets out of their control. It looks like they're slowly convincing her to stick around. She says she would've been content to die in the presence of those carrying on Dreichels' will, but she's remembered how precious life is.

And then out of nowhere, it's Rufus. He stabs the Argent Knight from behind and somehow the power stops going to Rean and goes to him? This feels like a rather cheap loophole! He didn't actually win a fair and square duel! Roselia tries to incinerate Rufus, but to no avail as he effortlessly absorbs her magic. Rufus says they shouldn't let their guard down in a war, and old legends have no place in this modern day war. He talks about some sort of omen about Operation Jormungandr starting tomorrow and says he'll see us at the final stage before taking off. Okay, I've actually been a fan of Rufus up to this point because he generally doesn't act outright evil, but wow, that was just an all-around bad move on his part. Arianrhod deserves better than this crap, and she even says so herself! Now it's time for the tearful goodbyes as she gives what little strength she has left to Valimar.

With that, we're warped out of the Stella Sanctuary back to Crossbell. Emma and Celine say that while Valimar looks the same, he feels different. Sure enough, he begins to speak, as does Millium. Her power freed them from the hold the curse had on them. Of course, Campanella has to be the buzzkill and ruin the happy moment. Although it turns out he's having a rare moment of sentiment, as he, Vita, Bleublanc, Joshua, and Renne show up to say their farewells to Arianrhod and reminisce about what kind of person she was.

Campanella says it was a shame Ouroboros had to lose a pawn as valuable as Arianrhod for the sake of the Rivalries, but he figures the Grandmaster won't mind too much in grand scheme of things. He seems to be genuinely surprised he feels sad about her death. Vita takes this opportunity to ask what Rufus meant about an omen and the final stage. Renne assumes it has something to do with why McBurn and Shirley aren't around. Campanella isn't exactly in a giving mood, so he won't answer her question and takes off.

Suddenly, there's a giant flash in the sky, and it knocks Rean and Crow to their knees. I'm guessing this is the "omen" Rufus mentioned. The Courageous II shows up and Towa says something strange is happening all over the Empire. It started at the Osgiliath Basin, and so we cut there to see...something. It looks like a floating island/city like the Liber Ark, but it also has eyes like Ameno-sagiri from Persona 4. Apparently, there's a bunch of them showing up in different cities. Bardias Wallace says it looks just like the thing that destroyed North Ambria.

Cedric says this is their ultimate weapon in the war against Calvard and calls it the Empyreal Fortress. This thing apparently kicks the curse into high gear. Alberich says the Gnomes built it 1,200 years ago and also calls it the Tuatha de Danann, which was also the name of the Mithril submarine in Full Metal Panic, if I remember right! It's hard to forget a name like that. Anyway, Alberich says this will be the location of the final Rivalry. All the Ironbloods are dressed in black body suits with white overcoats now for some reason.

Thus ends Act 3, and I got an A for the chapter. I'm pretty sure I got one of the questions wrong during the Alster sidequest, so I think that was what cost me the S rank.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TNGkkVqpUes

they're also doing this for some reason

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https://www.rpgfan.com/2021/02/25/final-fantasy-vii-remake-arrives-on-ps5-in-june-free-upgrade-for-ps4-owners-and-an-all-new-story-episode

From user SaveEstelle.

If only I liked Yuffie, I'd be more excited about this.

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Dragon Ball Z Episode 69 (nice) complete!

Be careful what you wish for, Captain Ginyu!

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Let's play some Cold Steel IV Act 3!

Moving on in the Stella Sanctuary. Next boss is Ines, who thinks that the playing field is even now that we have Duvalie. You think a lot of yourself, huh. Crow has a great line to this effect: "The sass is strong with this one." Duvalie drops a reveal that Ines used to be a bracer and belonged to a disgraced military family. She apparently couldn't tolerate the idea that bracers couldn't meddle in political affairs, so when she saw Arianrhod mercilessly execute a criminal ringleader to protect innocent people, she realized this was the person she needed to follow. All the Stahlritter were enamored by her sense of justice, which is why Duvalie needs to know why she's doing this.

We have to defeat a couple of archaisms again, but unlike Ennea, Ines fights alongside them. The archaisms are no problem, but Ines proves to be quite annoying because she repeatedly uses a craft that has perfect shield and HP regen, as well as canceling out her break damage, so it prolongs the fight a good bit, but she eventually goes down. Afterwards, Juna thinks it's strange Ines was a bracer but joined Ouroboros. Fie says that donations and outside financial aid are what keep the guild going, but it doesn't mean they're always driven by justice. It was good to have Fie here to provide some additional commentary. Duvalie says that people's ideas of justice vary and even clash at times, but that's why she's here.

Now it's finally time to face the woman, the myth, the legend herself. She's wearing her helmet again, declaring that she is not Lianne Sandlot. She is now the Seventh Anguis of Ouroboros, the faceless Awakener of the Argent Knight. Right now, they are fellow challengers in the Rivalries. Rean says Arianrhod knows what true evil looks like, so he doesn't understand why she joined Ouroboros and why she's helping them destroy the world. She replies that it's a combo of her pride, regret, and something she couldn't remove from her heart (presumably her love and devotion to Dreichels).

Arianrhod explains that Dreichels feared the darkness of the Ebon Knight would haunt his soul for eternity, so she chose to wait for his reincarnation to ensure his fears didn't come true. Around the time she learned the truth about Osborne, she received an invitation to join Ouroboros. She didn't intend to join them, but they told her of an imminent catastrophe that would befall the world. She attempted to intervene, but Osborne bonded with the Ebon Knight before she could stop him. With that, she joined Ouroboros, with the goal of one day winning the Rivalries and destroying Ishmelga once and for all. All the characters are impressed with her goal, and I kinda agree with them! I wasn't expecting for her to come out of this looking good, and somehow she has!

Upon hearing that, Roselia appears and asks Arianrhod why she never told her any of this. She said that Dreichels told her humanity has to solve their own problems instead of relying on higher powers. He didn't want to repeat the mistakes they made with the Sept-Terrions. Plus, he was too proud to beg for help in the first place. In reality, it was the same for Arianrhod. She couldn't bring herself to place such a heavy burden on someone she considered a dear friend. Now Duvalie feels like she understands. She sacrificed herself for the future of the entire Empire. She had no desire to bring about the Great Twilight, but it was the only way she could accomplish her true goal.

However, while Duvalie respects Arianrhod's kindness and compassion, she feels she's made a serious mistake. This involves all of them, so she was wrong to try to bear the burden alone. With that, she removes the helmet, intending to put Duvalie's resolve to the test. She tells us we have no idea of the true horror of the Ebon Knight's curse, and time is running out. Rean activates ogre mode before the fight even starts to prove he's game enough to match Arianrhod's resolve.

This is a long fight because she has a lot of HP. Her S-Craft was pretty fantastic. Her Saint's Aura is crazy because it ups all her stats AND heals 50,000 HP! She made us earn the win and Duvalie got the last strike in, so that was nice!

Gotta go for now, but hopefully we can finish this part off later tonight!

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oh I get it, with the Bears defense, Wilson wouldn't have to do nearly as much offensively, but he'd still be running for his life

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yeah the Bears is the puzzling option out of the four

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also reports are Wilson would only consider a trade to the Cowboys, Saints, Raiders, or Bears

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https://twitter.com/DanGrazianoESPN/status/1365029931055464461

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https://www.theringer.com/2021/2/25/22291964/the-best-video-game-character-bracket-the-elite-eight

Link vs. Tony Hawk next round is the real test of an all-fictional character battle

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Now for some more Cold Steel IV Act 3!

Closing in on the Stella Sanctuary. We get to explore an area of the wetlands we couldn't get to before since the IDF is no longer guarding the area. There's a conversation between Duvalie and Randy about how this area was where the Stahlritter nearly fought the SSS when they were looking for some bracers. Something else to look forward to in Azure! The Stella Sanctuary feels like the Fire Temple mixed with the Time Temple. I like the aesthetic of this place, and Duvalie even gives the motivation speech this time instead of Rean, which was cool.

The first person we run into is Ennea. Duvalie has a conversation where she says she left in order to ascertain what Arianrhod's true intentions are, and she won't let anyone stand in her way of discovering them. Ennea mentions that she was a D:G test subject (although she doesn't mention it by name), and the only good thing that came of it was her ability to use an orbal bow. Duvalie and Arianrhod were the ones who rescued her from it. The other party members whisper about the cult but still don't actually say the name. I guess it's a "that which must not be named" thing now, although Gaius said the church assisted in wiping them out, so I suppose that means it's gone now.

This boss battle is similar to the one against Gareth earlier because Ennea isn't actively on the battlefield but working from the background as we fight some archaisms. After taking them down, Ennea joins the battle directly. She isn't too tough to beat, and she wishes Duvalie good luck on her journey before passing out.

That's all for tonight.

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Today's results:

Mushroom Kingdom Division

(1) Mario 25742 (92.95%)
(5) Miles Tails Prower 1953 (7.05%)

Mario 50.00%
Miles Tails Prower 7.05%
Geralt of Rivia 5.80%
Ms. Pac-Man 4.60%
Big Daddy 4.45%
Clementine 3.35%
Sephiroth 3.02%
Albert Wesker 2.11%

(6) Bowser 10141 (36.61%)
(2) Donkey Kong 17560 (63.39%)

Donkey Kong 50.00%
Bowser 36.61%
Scorpion 29.46%
Michael Vick 29.07%
Chun-Li 21.18%
Batman 19.88%
Frogger 18.58%
Ezio Auditore 17.61%

Hyrule Division

(1) Link 22241 (82.76%)
(4) Arthur Morgan 4633 (17.24%)

Link 50.00%
Luigi 21.53%
Bo Jackson 19.50%
Arthur Morgan 17.24%
Nathan Drake 16.97%
Cloud Strife 13.70%
Johnny Gat 5.47%
The Prince of Persia 4.86%

(3) Lara Croft 10845 (39.55%)
(2) Pikachu 16574 (60.45%)

Pikachu 50.00%
Lara Croft 39.55%
Kirby 32.63%
Joel 18.11%
Doom Slayer 16.64%
Max Payne 16.17%
Agent 47 14.64%
Goose 11.98%

Mobius Division

(1) Sonic the Hedgehog 16990 (64.13%)
(4) Pac-Man 9504 (35.87%)

Sonic the Hedgehog 50.00%
Pac-Man 35.87%
Cortana 17.91%
Trevor Philips 17.40%
Leon Kennedy 11.86%
GLaDOS 10.85%
Marcus Fenix 9.95%
Sam Fisher 8.41%

(6) Yoshi 17682 (64.46%)
(7) Ryu 9747 (35.54%)

Yoshi 50.00%
Fox McCloud 36.04%
Kratos 36.00%
Ryu 35.54%
Mike Tyson 34.27%
Crash Bandicoot 31.11%
John Marston 28.43%
Gordon Freeman 15.84%

Milky Way Division

(1) Master Chief 14697 (56.13%)
(4) Samus Aran 11486 (43.87%)

Master Chief 50.00%
Samus Aran 43.87%
The Oxen 39.94%
Ryu Hayabusa 27.12%
John Price 20.63%
Commander Shepard 17.80%
Auron 15.55%
Dante 12.14%

(6) Tony Hawk 16179 (58.18%)
(7) Mega Man 11631 (41.82%)

Tony Hawk 50.00%
Tom Nook 47.90%
Mega Man 41.82%
Solid Snake 38.00%
Princess Peach 35.56%
Ellie 27.66%
Bayonetta 15.26%
The King of All Cosmos 7.40%

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http://i2.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/001/080/145/638.png
https://imgur.com/WqDcNNq