| Board List | |
|---|---|
| Topic | Kamek Ranks & Rates Anything Mario Party Related |
| NBIceman 05/03/20 12:22:14 AM #31 | |
| Topic | Name a user and I will rate them |
| NBIceman 05/02/20 6:04:36 PM #16 | |
| Topic | Kamek Ranks & Rates Anything Mario Party Related |
| NBIceman 05/02/20 5:54:54 PM #12 | |
| Topic | Kamek Ranks & Rates Anything Mario Party Related |
| NBIceman 05/02/20 5:18:25 PM #5 | |
| Topic | What difficulty level do you typically play games on? |
| NBIceman 04/30/20 8:09:41 PM #10 | Usually one step below the hardest difficulty. If it's just Easy vs Normal vs Hard, I generally go with Normal. If you throw in Very Easy and Very Hard to the selection, I'll probably go Hard. --- https://imgur.com/UYamul2 Spurs - Yankees - Eagles - Golden Knights |
| Topic | i have a month of ad-free hulu. quick, what am i watching |
| NBIceman 04/30/20 7:53:28 PM #11 | |
| Topic | Which games have the liveliest towns? |
| NBIceman 04/30/20 5:09:20 PM #17 | FF XII is a great pull. The Trails series is another pretty obvious one. --- https://imgur.com/UYamul2 Spurs - Yankees - Eagles - Golden Knights |
| Topic | reminder that final fantasy 13-2 is a top 5 final fantasy game |
| NBIceman 04/30/20 3:55:47 PM #20 | Dirge of Cerberus was a lot of fun, though. --- https://imgur.com/UYamul2 Spurs - Yankees - Eagles - Golden Knights |
| Topic | If you were a Pokemon gym leader, which type would you use? |
| NBIceman 04/30/20 3:54:34 PM #17 | Fire probably has the highest concentration of Pokemon I really like. --- https://imgur.com/UYamul2 Spurs - Yankees - Eagles - Golden Knights |
| Topic | what are some underappreciated Pokemon |
| NBIceman 04/30/20 1:13:40 AM #3 | |
| Topic | Super Mario Sunshine or Super Mario Odyssey? |
| NBIceman 04/29/20 11:34:21 PM #8 | Sunshine is a bad game. Odyssey, while vastly overrated for my tastes, is not a bad game. --- https://imgur.com/UYamul2 Spurs - Yankees - Eagles - Golden Knights |
| Topic | Fire Emblem Ranking Topic Part 2 |
| NBIceman 04/28/20 11:22:16 PM #14 | Awesome rankings - thanks for taking the time to do all of them and putting so much effort in. Very much enjoyed reading through. Wish I had interesting suggestions for more, but I'm not creative enough. Only thing that occurred to me was just doing some informal discussions on individual units nominated by the readers, but I imagine most of them that have a whole lot to be said about them beyond "they're good" or "they're bad" were covered on one of these lists in some way or another already. Anyway, figured I'd toss in my own rankings of the entries I've played. Path of Radiance >= Three Houses (need to do more playthroughs) > Radiant Dawn > Binding Blade > Sacred Stones > Blazing Sword > Awakening > Shadow Dragon --- https://imgur.com/UYamul2 Spurs - Yankees - Eagles - Golden Knights |
| Topic | ITT post your dad's favorite movie |
| NBIceman 04/25/20 6:18:03 PM #15 | |
| Topic | NFL Draft Discussion Topic |
| NBIceman 04/23/20 10:22:09 PM #59 | Eagles drafting gets worse every year. They couldn't offer a package to Atlanta for them to get Terrell at #21 instead of #16? --- https://imgur.com/UYamul2 Spurs - Yankees - Eagles - Golden Knights |
| Topic | NFL Draft Discussion Topic |
| NBIceman 04/23/20 9:47:33 PM #49 | Bucs jumping one spot, huh? #14 to the Eagles, let's go. --- https://imgur.com/UYamul2 Spurs - Yankees - Eagles - Golden Knights |
| Topic | NFL Draft Discussion Topic |
| NBIceman 04/23/20 7:54:32 PM #7 | If Philly doesn't take a WR in the first I'm gonna lose it. Don't care if they move up for a high tier guy, move down for a slightly lesser guy, or stand pat at 21. Just stop trying to outsmart everyone and take the damn WR, Howie. --- https://imgur.com/UYamul2 Spurs - Yankees - Eagles - Golden Knights |
| Topic | Ok so next we need a Mario Kart 8 rally to take down Skyrim |
| NBIceman 04/22/20 12:00:05 AM #18 | Johnbobb posted... Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed > Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled > Mario Kart 8I'm on board with the CTR respect but putting All-Stars above it is a bridge too far. --- https://imgur.com/UYamul2 Spurs - Yankees - Eagles - Golden Knights |
| Topic | The B8 Wedding |
| NBIceman 04/18/20 12:15:17 AM #38 | |
| Topic | Anagram rates and ranks fictional settings |
| NBIceman 04/16/20 12:37:13 AM #16 | I don't think the world of One Piece actually has a name so I'll just say One Piece. --- https://imgur.com/UYamul2 Spurs - Yankees - Eagles - Golden Knights |
| Topic | What game has your favorite soundtrack ever? |
| NBIceman 04/15/20 4:47:07 PM #25 | DeepsPraw posted... La-MulanaGun to my head, this would probably be my answer as well. Its sequel makes a good case as well, though. A couple BlazBlue games are also solid contenders. --- https://imgur.com/UYamul2 Spurs - Yankees - Eagles - Golden Knights |
| Topic | Gauging interest in a Fire Emblem ranking topic |
| NBIceman 04/15/20 2:48:36 AM #466 | Wait, people like Zephiel? Mr. Generic "War is bad but humanity is worse" Guy? Huh. Anyway, Fir and Geese are underrated units don't @ me. --- https://imgur.com/UYamul2 Spurs - Yankees - Eagles - Golden Knights |
| Topic | Trails in the Sky FC Playthrough Topic of Sorts *Spoilers* |
| NBIceman 04/15/20 2:19:38 AM #26 | ninkendo posted... Just look up a recommended quartz setup because it's not worth trying to figure outwhat the --- https://imgur.com/UYamul2 Spurs - Yankees - Eagles - Golden Knights |
| Topic | What is your favorite Elton John song? |
| NBIceman 04/14/20 3:22:26 PM #17 | Madman Across the Water Funeral for a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding comes second. Also, Your Song sucks, there I said it. --- https://imgur.com/UYamul2 Spurs - Yankees - Eagles - Golden Knights |
| Topic | Gauging interest in a Fire Emblem ranking topic |
| NBIceman 04/12/20 12:12:32 AM #427 | Well, that's a shame. PoR is my favorite FE (for now, at least - Three Houses may overtake it if I ever get around to additional playthroughs) and one of my favorite games overall. Funny thing is that I agree with pretty much all of your criticisms to at least some extent. I guess they just don't necessarily bother me enough to eclipse how pleasant Path feels to play as a total package. The long enemy phases barely even register to me, I find the maps more interesting than you overall even if I agree some are horrendous, and I looooove the cast. I also think the animations are better than they get credit for most of the time, although again, I understand why people don't love them. Different strokes, though! Like I said, I think most of your points are perfectly fair. --- https://imgur.com/UYamul2 Spurs - Yankees - Eagles - Golden Knights |
| Topic | Gauging interest in a Fire Emblem ranking topic |
| NBIceman 04/11/20 8:44:44 PM #413 | I don't remember what, if anything, you've said about Awakening, so I'll put that down as my guess. And my hope, heh. --- https://imgur.com/UYamul2 Spurs - Yankees - Eagles - Golden Knights |
| Topic | How familiar are you with Celeste? |
| NBIceman 04/11/20 4:42:13 PM #46 | One of my all-time favorite games and pretty easily my favorite platformer. --- https://imgur.com/UYamul2 Spurs - Yankees - Eagles - Golden Knights |
| Topic | Gauging interest in a Fire Emblem ranking topic |
| NBIceman 04/10/20 2:40:05 AM #396 | Wow, yeah, that's... even worse than I thought. --- https://imgur.com/UYamul2 Spurs - Yankees - Eagles - Golden Knights |
| Topic | Gauging interest in a Fire Emblem ranking topic |
| NBIceman 04/10/20 1:51:43 AM #391 | Thracia is one of only two games in the series, the other being Fates, that I just don't have any inclination to ever play. I read the LP Archive playthrough of it a while back and that was plenty for me. Then there's the way this game practically tries to bait you into softlocking chapters or entire playthroughs I'd be curious to know what exactly this entails if it wouldn't require too much of your time to go into it at some point. --- https://imgur.com/UYamul2 Spurs - Yankees - Eagles - Golden Knights |
| Topic | Trails in the Sky FC Playthrough Topic of Sorts *Spoilers* |
| NBIceman 04/09/20 4:03:45 AM #3 | |
| Topic | All-Purpose No Wrestling Topic 496: What is Gronk |
| NBIceman 04/08/20 11:14:45 PM #299 | I didn't watch it, of course, but from the discussions I've seen I get the impression that people are more or less coming out on the same side that they did for the Firefly Funhouse and Boneyard bullshit. --- https://imgur.com/UYamul2 Spurs - Yankees - Eagles - Golden Knights |
| Topic | Iceman Finishes Ranking Every Tales Series Party Member |
| NBIceman 04/08/20 9:22:14 PM #69 | I intentionally left out Iron Chef and the damn waiter minigame because they were two things that almost made me not want to put Dahngrest #1. I can kind of forgive the former since I guess it's not like you have to grind anything for it in the town proper, but yeah. Anyway, just some more cleanup stuff. Average Ranking Positions: Phantasia: 63.5 Destiny: 60.7 Eternia: 52.9 Symphonia: 48.9 (The Dawn duo sure drags this down - would be 39.4 without them) Legendia: 69.5 Abyss: 15.8 Vesperia: 38.6 Hearts: 51.3 Graces: 39.6 Xillia: 36.7 Zestiria: 70.1 Berseria: 18.7 So, going by that... Abyss > Berseria > Xillia > Vesperia > Graces > Symphonia > Hearts > Eternia > Destiny > Phantasia > Legendia > Zestiria ... which is very close to what I'd consider my ranking even without that sort of math. I think I'd probably swap Graces and Vesperia because the Graces cast has a big gameplay advantage and DE made the Vesperia cast measurably worse. From there, Xillia and Graces are close. The Graces gameplay edge isn't quite as great, especially factoring in X2, and they're likely a little better as far as sheer entertainment value goes considering they have the funniest skits in the series. Xillia just peaks higher, though. All things considered, I'd probably call them about equal when taken as wholes. And you can see the connective tissue between cast and quality for my overall ranking of the series. Abyss > Berseria > Xillia 2 > Graces > Vesperia > Xillia > Symphonia > Hearts > Eternia > Legendia > Destiny > Phantasia > Symphonia 2 >= Zestiria Legendia jumps a few spots on the strength of its setting, music, and general aesthetic, but Tales ultimately hangs its hat on its characters, and it shows. When their characters are good, the game is good. When they suck, the game sucks. Anyway, thanks again for reading, everyone. Glad so many of you enjoyed it. I plan on doing a ranking for Arise when it comes out as well, and then I'll put that cast in a rough position on this larger list afterwards. Looks like the first topic is gonna be purging soon, so if we have any late-comers that want to see a particular character's writeup, just let me know and I'll be happy to repost it here until I settle on a better way to archive the list. --- https://imgur.com/UYamul2 Spurs - Yankees - Eagles - Golden Knights |
| Topic | When you boost a car |
| NBIceman 04/07/20 2:19:56 AM #2 | Are you talking about jumping a car? Because anytime I've heard the term "boost a car," it's meant "steal." --- https://imgur.com/UYamul2 Spurs - Yankees - Eagles - Golden Knights |
| Topic | Gauging interest in a Fire Emblem ranking topic |
| NBIceman 04/07/20 12:51:46 AM #377 | I'd certainly read it. I haven't commented much on these recent rankings because I just didn't feel like I had much to add, but I've enjoyed them all. I'll probably be able to contribute more for the games in the series on a macro scale - I'm just not nearly as knowledgeable about all the minutiae that's been the focus lately. --- https://imgur.com/UYamul2 Spurs - Yankees - Eagles - Golden Knights |
| Topic | Iceman Finishes Ranking Every Tales Series Party Member |
| NBIceman 04/05/20 8:55:42 PM #67 | Apart from the previous topic (where you also get the benefit of all the people telling me I'm wrong and occasionally explaining why!), not at present. They're just spread across a bunch of different Google Documents. I'll try to collect them all in some kind of central location at some point, but these topics are the best I can offer right now, unfortunately. Very much appreciate the compliment! --- https://imgur.com/UYamul2 Spurs - Yankees - Eagles - Golden Knights |
| Topic | Iceman Finishes Ranking Every Tales Series Party Member |
| NBIceman 04/04/20 7:24:28 PM #59 | Appreciate the kind words, y'all! Smash Master posted... The most deserving to win won, so in the end it checked out, even if there were some questionable choices in the early-mid parts of the list.He's a tough one. Couple of problems, though. One is that I just plain don't like him very much. His angsty aggression routine kinda gets old by the end of the game and a lot of that depth I mentioned only gets explored in supplemental material. The second is that the complaints that get levied against other Abyss characters (only sometimes fairly) where their failure to be forthcoming leads to things going wrong applies much more to him a lot of the time, especially because his reasons for withholding info basically boil down to the fact that he's just a prick. I think he'd fall right outside the top 40. Just above or below Zaveid, who's actually got very similar strengths and weaknesses. --- https://imgur.com/UYamul2 Spurs - Yankees - Eagles - Golden Knights |
| Topic | Iceman Finishes Ranking Every Tales Series Party Member |
| NBIceman 04/04/20 12:48:54 AM #55 | Thanks for everyone that's commented or just followed along with the ranking! It was an exhausting project at times, but I'm glad to have done it. I'll do a couple other little wrap-up things as far as ranking the casts overall and so forth sometime this weekend, but if there's anything else you're curious to know my thoughts on, just shout 'em out. Or give me your own top 10/20/50, whatever. Got plenty of room in this new topic. The final recap... "Demon Fang! Demon Fang! Damn, I must be a genius! DOUBLE Demon Fang!" 1. Luke fon Fabre (Abyss) 2. Magilou (Berseria) 3. Jade Curtiss (Abyss) 4. Zelos Wilder (Symphonia) "Shut up! This isn't about logic!" 5. Yuri Lowell (Vesperia) 6. Jude Mathis (Xillia) 7. Velvet Crowe (Berseria) 8. Guy Cecil (Abyss) 9. Raven (Vesperia) 10. Beryl Benito (Hearts) 11. Alvin (Xillia) 12. Tear Grants (Abyss) If one sword has a power of 100, then using two will make it 200, right? 13. Lloyd Irving (Symphonia) 14. Pascal (Graces) 15. Raine Sage (Symphonia) 16. Eleanor Hume (Berseria) 17. Malik Caesar (Graces) 18. Sheena Fujibayashi (Symphonia) 19. Chalcedony Akerman (Hearts) 20. Natalia Luzu Kimlasca-Lanvaldear (Abyss) 21. Laphicet (Berseria) 22. Rita Mordio (Vesperia) 23. Sophie (Graces) 24. Rowen Ilbert (Xillia) 25. Milla Maxwell (Xillia) 26. Rutee Katrea (Destiny) What could this mean for the tournament?! ...Oh screw this. I'm outta here! 27. Eizen (Berseria) 28. Farah Oersted (Eternia) 29. Richard Barona (Graces) 30. Repede (Vesperia) 31. Presea Combatir (Symphonia) 32. Reid Hershel (Eternia) 33. Chester Burklight (Phantasia) 34. Stahn Aileron (Destiny) 35. Gaius (Xillia) 36. Muzet (Xillia) Ive traveled back in time from next week. Please stop throwing monsters at us. 37. Estellise Sidos Heurassein (Vesperia) 38. Alisha Diphda (Zestiria) 39. Rokurou Rangetsu (Berseria) 40. Will Raynard (Legendia) 41. Keele Zeibel (Eternia) 42. Zaveid (Zestiria) 43. Garr Kelvin (Destiny) 44. Kor Meteor (Hearts) 45. Judith (Vesperia) 46. Ludger Kresnik (Xillia) 47. Mary Argent (Destiny) 48. Leia Rolando (Xillia) 49. Claus F. Lester (Phantasia) 50. Flynn Scifo (Vesperia) 51. Anise Tatlin (Abyss) 52. Kratos Aurion (Symphonia) 53. Ines Lorenzen (Hearts) "You're weak! You're a hack! You're wack." 54. Senel Coolidge (Legendia) 55. Rassius Luine (Eternia) 56. Max (Eternia) 57. Norma Beatty (Legendia) 58. Chloe Valens (Legendia) 59. Hubert Oswell (Graces) 60. Karyl Sheeden (Destiny) 61. Arche Klein (Phantasia) 62. Gall Gruner (Hearts) 63. Karol Capel (Vesperia) 64. Asbel Lhant (Graces) 65. Edna (Zestiria) 66. "No, no, no! Horrible! Terrible! Contrived! What kind of shoddy performance is this? Youre an eyesore! Get out of my sight! 67. Regal Bryant (Symphonia) 68. Kohaku Hearts (Hearts) 69. Cress Albane (Phantasia) 70. Elize Lutus (Xillia) 71. Cheria Barnes (Graces) 72. Lailah (Zestiria) 73. Kunzite (Hearts) 74. Philia Felice (Destiny) 75. Genis Sage (Symphonia) 76. Meredy (Eternia) 77. Mint Adenade (Phantasia) 78. Moses Sandor (Legendia) 79. Dezel (Zestiria) 80. Colette Brunel (Symphonia) 81. Hisui Hearts (Hearts) The reaper and a daemon are shaking their heads at this overwrought monstrosity. Intrinsic worth, zero." 82. Chat (Eternia) 83. Grune (Legendia) 84. Mikleo (Zestiria) 85. Chelsea Torn (Destiny) 86. Patty Fleur (Vesperia) 87. Sorey (Zestiria) 88. Leon Magnus (Destiny) 89. Bruiser Khang (Destiny) 90. Emil Castagnier (Symphonia) 91. Jay (Legendia) 92. Suzu Fujibayashi (Phantasia) 93. Marta Lualdi (Symphonia) 94. Rose (Zestiria) 95. Shirley Fennes (Legendia) --- https://imgur.com/UYamul2 Spurs - Yankees - Eagles - Golden Knights |
| Topic | Iceman Finishes Ranking Every Tales Series Party Member |
| NBIceman 04/04/20 12:43:00 AM #53 | Tales of the Abyss Wrap-Up Im just terribly misunderstood, honest! As much as Luke is a giant part of my love for Abyss, the rest of the cast carries their weight and then some too. Its one of the best examples Ive seen of the party dynamic itself shifting as the game progresses. In the beginning, none of them trust each other. Very few of them like each other at all. A few of them outright despise one another. More than anything, their inability to communicate effectively is what leads to I see the Abyss party get some hate every once in a while because they dont treat Sometimes youll love them. Other times youll hate them. But theyre always compelling. The Abyss party is the best cast of playable characters ever in an RPG. And they were never heard from again...--- https://imgur.com/UYamul2 Spurs - Yankees - Eagles - Golden Knights |
| Topic | Iceman Finishes Ranking Every Tales Series Party Member |
| NBIceman 04/04/20 12:37:20 AM #52 | Ultimately, though, what makes a character especially memorable to me is how well their journey gets across the overall themes of their game (or show or book or whatever), so I should speak to that now. The first is that of destiny vs free will. Obviously, the Score plays a huge part here for the game as a whole, but its not incredibly important as an impetus for Lukes development specifically. What is a much more interesting debate is where the fault of But I also dont think its fair to act like he was completely powerless. Even more important is the second theme. Namco calls Tales of the Abyss To Know the Meaning of Ones Birth RPG, which is a motif that shows up multiple times throughout the game and the one that forms the crux of Lukes post-Akzeriuth development. How can a life have meaning if Its a beautiful story, one thats had an effect on the way I approach my own life at times. People lose sight of it sometimes because they get frustrated by the technobabble or get annoyed at the backtracking or yadda yadda, but the Abyss story is really pretty damn deep and mature, especially by JRPG standards. And it rests on the shoulders of Luke and his grand development from a boy living a meaningless life to a boy desperately searching for a meaning to a man who ultimately realizes thats not something he needs to worry about. Hes the best-written character of an amazingly well-written cast, and I could honestly go on talking about him even longer than this. He went from almost single-handedly making me give up on Abyss forever to being a large part of why I love the game so much, and thats a testament to great development. Hes my favorite Tales character and my favorite video game character, and I even as much as I sometimes temporarily feel like I enjoy Jade or Magilou more, I honestly dont see that ever changing. TL;DR: The best developed character in video game history. Fight me. --- https://imgur.com/UYamul2 Spurs - Yankees - Eagles - Golden Knights |
| Topic | Iceman Finishes Ranking Every Tales Series Party Member |
| NBIceman 04/04/20 12:37:12 AM #51 | #1 - Luke fon Fabre (Abyss) I don't even have a past to lose, but I've still decided that I'm me. It doesn't matter what you think. Here I am. If that's the source of the strength you're talking about, then I won't lose. I dont imagine this is a massive surprise to anyone thats ever paid any attention to me talking about the Tales series around B8. Ive made no bones about the fact that Tales of the Abyss is my all-time favorite video game, and usually when someone loves Abyss that much, its due in large part to Luke. Im no different. I mentioned once or twice that Symphonia was my first Tales game, and while I loved it at the time, its not like I immediately felt like a fan of the series. It was probably a year or two after I finished it before I found a used copy of Abyss at my local Gamestop. I almost didnt buy it, because it was sitting right next to a used copy of Legendia that was $10 cheaper I wonder how long it wouldve taken me to get around to the rest of the series if that one had been my second instead... Anyway, I ultimately chose Abyss, more or less on a whim. Even now, I dont know what exactly it was that led me to that choice. Its not like Id done a whole lot of research on which entries were generally considered the best or anything. Just felt like the right one, I guess. And then I damn near dropped it 1/3 of the way in. I think the only reason I didnt is because I happened to be away from home for a weekend and I hadnt brought any other games with me. I absolutely could not stand Luke, for reasons that are, of course, obvious in retrospect. To tell the kind of story they wanted to tell with him, they had to take a big risk and make him as unlikable as possible in the beginning. And they succeeded. Hes abrasive, ignorant, selfish, impulsive, whiny... Name a negative trait and early-game Luke probably has at least a little of it. It gets to be almost unbearable by the time the party gets to Deo Pass and hes turned up his arrogance and mistreatment of everyone to 11. And then Akzeriuth happens, and A sidebar - I think people miss this little detail when discussing the rest of the Abyss party. Their freezing out of Luke, for the most part, isnt really because they think hes totally to blame. Its more because he insists that he doesnt deserve any of the blame whatsoever for what happened, and while I agree with the prevailing opinion that it definitely wasnt actually his fault, Ive never been able to get on board with the idea that he isnt at least partly culpable. More on this in a bit. Now, post-haircut, a lot of players like to argue that the pendulum swings too far in the other direction and Luke becomes angst incarnate. I honestly dont agree. The angst doesnt really start until the conclusion is eventually reached that Ive even come to appreciate early-game Luke more and more as Ive played through the game so many times, because theres plenty of moments that hint at his inherent good heart. He has a bit of a soft spot for Ion, awkwardly tries to cheer Tear up when she feels guilty over his mothers illness, and of course, feels deep regret for taking human lives (which never completely goes away). His asshole behavior is more of a defense mechanism than anything. Hes a young boy thrown literally across the world into situations hes far from prepared for and cannot possibly be expected to adapt to well, and hes understandably terrified. So he mistreats everyone (Mieu especially, because hes the only thing that he has actual power and control over) just to make it appear as though he has a grip on things. His Deo Pass meltdown comes right on the heels of his first encounter with Asch (which no one else in the cast seems to think is especially strange), being told hes going to be used as an impetus to start a war and then locked up forever, finding out his father figure is being treated as a criminal, and having the enormous pressure of a goodwill ambassador position forced on him. Its little wonder he didnt cope well. Im not gonna spend a ton of time here on the Tear romance because I talked about it plenty for her, but I think Lukes side is done really well. He finds her very attractive from day one and says so multiple times, but has a problem with her attitude. Once he fixes his own attitude, its heartwarming to see his awkward attempts to repay her for helping him in his journey, like the great lengths he goes to to get back her pendant without even really knowing what it is. And hes the star of one of the most genuinely sweet scenes in the whole series, when he simply turns around instead of leaving her side when she says she doesnt want anyone to see her cry. --- https://imgur.com/UYamul2 Spurs - Yankees - Eagles - Golden Knights |
| Topic | Iceman Finishes Ranking Every Tales Series Party Member |
| NBIceman 04/04/20 12:32:37 AM #50 | Page break so I don't have to split Luke between two pages. --- https://imgur.com/UYamul2 Spurs - Yankees - Eagles - Golden Knights |
| Topic | Iceman Finishes Ranking Every Tales Series Party Member |
| NBIceman 04/03/20 6:21:13 PM #49 | Tales of Berseria Wrap-Up Just you wait! Im putting this down in my revenge journal! This is just a fantastic cast, and everyone knows it. Its actually kind of incredible, with how polarizing pretty much everything in Tales is, that we finally got a set of party members that just seems to be universally beloved. Everyone has a defined role in the context of the larger plot and in the group itself, and they all play it well. They have plenty of comic chemistry, but they also have the kind of bonds and understanding with each other to pull off more serious conversations on the (fairly common) occasion that theyre necessary. Velvet and Magilou are unquestionably two of the best characters the series ever produced, and Id put them up among the best in video games as a whole, but so much of that is because of how excellently they play off their castmates. The relationships that these six form all feel so genuine and compelling, and that goes a long way into immersing a player into a world the way Berseria does. And theyre all even pretty fun in battle! Gun to my head, I do still prefer the Abyss offering by a tiny hair, but Magilous Menagerie is an incredible achievement in JRPG parties. The genre is more or less predicated on the idea of a group of misfits coming together to fight for or against something greater than themselves, and there arent many greater examples of that than this cast here. Act. Like. A. Dove. And they were never heard from again...Writeup for Luke coming in a few hours! --- https://imgur.com/UYamul2 Spurs - Yankees - Eagles - Golden Knights |
| Topic | Iceman Finishes Ranking Every Tales Series Party Member |
| NBIceman 04/03/20 6:16:55 PM #47 | Even without all that intrigue, though, Im one of the people who just plain finds Magilou hilarious. Shes a master troll, and the most consistent source of levity in a game thats often pensive at best. Really, the most disturbing part of And man, is the payoff ever awesome. And the last we see of Magilou is Im gonna finish, once again, by shouting out the voice actor. Erica Lindbeck outdid herself with this performance, and its awesome that she seems to really be breaking out in the industry now. Magilou, line-by-line, has the best-written dialogue in the franchise. Her comic relief lines are clever and actually funny, and her serious lines can often be legitimately profound instead of just tryhard, all tied together with prose that isnt often seen in video games, let alone JRPGs. But, like with Velvet, it wouldnt work if they werent delivered right, and Lindbeck throws herself into this character 100% and really brings her to life. Its very obvious that she got a huge kick out of playing such an exaggerated character, and that sort of enthusiasm rubs off. TL;DR: Magilou can be somewhat off-putting, and at first glance she might seem a little cliche or prototypical. But everything about her serves a specific purpose, and when you really stop to consider the role she plays in the party dynamic, her importance to one of the games strongest messages, and the little details that flesh her out, something unique and unforgettable takes shape. Shes an achievement as a party member, and I have no hesitation in listing her among my favorite fictional characters ever. Magikazam! --- https://imgur.com/UYamul2 Spurs - Yankees - Eagles - Golden Knights |
| Topic | Iceman Finishes Ranking Every Tales Series Party Member |
| NBIceman 04/03/20 6:16:51 PM #46 | Alrighty, here we go. #2 - Magilou (Berseria) Let the biting bugs go ahead and eat what they wanna eat! Let the weeds grow where they wanna grow! Some may look down on them and scoff at their foolishness, but their unwavering wills are proof that theyre alive. If thats what you call evil, then I will live and die with evil as my mantra! Remember Jack Sparrows introduction in Curse of the Black Pearl? Grand, heroic music kicking in as he stands proudly aboard his ship, only to have it revealed that its actually a rapidly sinking dinghy that hes just barely managing to keep afloat? He pauses to salute the skeletons of hanged pirates, then casually steps off the mast into Port Royal as the dinghy slips completely below water. Then he ties it up anyway, bribes the harbormaster to ignore him, and then immediately steals the dudes coin pouch. Its widely regarded as one of the best character introductions ever in cinema, and it deserves every bit of it. Within two minutes, weve already got a clear, amazing picture of who the character is. Magilous intro would get my vote for the equivalent scene in video games. I dont think Ive ever fallen in love with a video game character as quickly as I did with her. Berserias opening is dark. It has a whole village turning into monsters, a pretty gruesome child killing, and a grim prison escape sequence. And right in the middle of all that, this happens. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5H24IDKP3lo She effortlessly sneaks up on Velvet (which we already know isnt exactly easy), gives her a creepy, menacing smirk, casually ducks the ensuing slash, and then, in the same motion, launches into a monologue so overly dramatic and laden with rhymes that its practically gibberish, before nonchalantly wandering off to who-knows-where. And Velvet and Seres could not possibly be less interested as its all happening. Seventy-five seconds here give us a lot of information and fascinating questions. We can tell right off the bat that Magilous at least a little bit out of it, but its also clear that she has a dangerous edge to her. Shes imprisoned on an island along with the rest of the worst of societys worst, and somehow her carefree attitude makes her feel more threatening than any of them. At the same time, the lack of reaction from her audience shows how shes going to be regarded by most of the games characters. And, as youll see sometimes, by a decent portion of players. Magilou, to a certain extent, invites archetypal classification. Its very easy to dismiss her as just another party member that hides buried pain and a cynical worldview beneath a thick layer of comedy, and shes so over-the-top about it that it becomes obnoxious and almost cringey. If thats how youd describe her, you wouldnt really be saying anything wrong. But this is one of those times where correctness doesnt imply accuracy. Magilou is an absolutely beautiful character. One of the major themes of Berseria is how it's not only a bad idea to try, but also impossible to succeed in removing emotion from a human being. She is meant to embody that idea. But heres the beautiful part - she may also love people more genuinely and fully than anyone else in the series. That even gets alluded to in Zestiria from the seraph that talks about That facade slips with some regularity, though. She straight-up says at one point that a happy illusion is better than a sad reality, and later that people can fight against pain but not happiness. And although she never really shows it, it definitely bothers her that the rest of the party is still treating her like a nuisance in the mid-game while the other five are developing a rapport, which leads to one of the most entertaining skits in the game with her trying to browbeat Velvet into giving her a nickname in tacit acknowledgement of her importance to the party. Turns out her strategy of distance doesnt work so well when she happens upon a group of people too crazy to be affected by her lunacy. Her inherent empathy shines through on occasion, too - shes fond of Laphicet from the beginning, calling him kiddo and telling Eizen to go easy on him when the subject of mothers comes up, which is the first time she expresses anything resembling concern for anyone, and sometimes it seems like even she has misgivings about the way malakhim are generally treated. Its clear th |
| Topic | Iceman Finishes Ranking Every Tales Series Party Member |
| NBIceman 04/02/20 11:40:46 PM #43 | Ended up being a lot busier than I thought today and I don't want to just toss in the finale late at night, so I guess it's going to actually be tomorrow. Sorry y'all, hope no one was on the edge of their seats for it. --- https://imgur.com/UYamul2 Spurs - Yankees - Eagles - Golden Knights |
| Topic | Iceman Finishes Ranking Every Tales Series Party Member |
| NBIceman 04/02/20 4:21:14 PM #42 | I've considered doing a Trails ranking in, y'know, ten years when I actually play them all. I might be able to pull off a half-decent Sky ranking if nothing else since I'm almost done with Sky the 3rd, but I think I need a little break from ranking projects after this one! --- https://imgur.com/UYamul2 Spurs - Yankees - Eagles - Golden Knights |
| Topic | Iceman Finishes Ranking Every Tales Series Party Member |
| NBIceman 04/02/20 2:50:09 PM #38 | Unbridled9 posted... Also, are you really certain she's a Mary Sue? Usually I define Sues by how much the world warps to accommodate them and I don't recall it being too bad for Rose. Yea, she's got some moments, but a Sue? I don't think so.Zestiria absolutely does warp to accommodate her, both in the context of the game proper and in the meta way that was mentioned where the whole thing was rewritten to make her the main character. And she is the main character by the end - Sorey is just along for the ride. Malevolence flat-out does not work the same way with Rose as it does with every other character in Zestiria or even Berseria. Killing is the worst sin possible, unless Rose does it. Everything that the Shepherd's group does has lasting consequences for the world, unless it's something Rose does, in which case all of the consequences are beneficial if there are even any at all. Zestiria is more concerned with making Rose look good to the player than telling a compelling story. That's the bottom line. And it shows. Maniac64 posted... No mention of Zelos flirting and being able to get items from women? I thought that was really amusing when I played it.It's a fun mechanic conceptually, but the novelty wore off real fast for me. He needs an EX Skill slot to do it, there aren't any really interesting interactions with it because all of the NPCs say the same thing, and it drives my completionist mind crazy to feel like I'm missing out on stuff if I don't grab every item I possibly can with it. Doesn't really affect my opinion of the character either way, so I didn't really think it was much worth talking about. These last few writeups are long enough as it is. --- https://imgur.com/UYamul2 Spurs - Yankees - Eagles - Golden Knights |
| Topic | Iceman Finishes Ranking Every Tales Series Party Member |
| NBIceman 04/02/20 4:57:52 AM #31 | Unbridled9 posted... Yikes. Really rough on Rose there. I really don't get all the hate for her.That reminds me. https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/8-gamefaqs-contests/78413187 Meant to put this in the opening post, but that was the first topic. If anyone's curious to see the writeups for the rest of the list, they're all there. --- https://imgur.com/UYamul2 Spurs - Yankees - Eagles - Golden Knights |
| Topic | Iceman Finishes Ranking Every Tales Series Party Member |
| NBIceman 04/02/20 3:08:34 AM #29 | Down to 2! And one of them's winning the little mini-poll right now, so that's fun. Gonna finish this up tomorrow with these last two drops. For the record, spots 1-3 were all in pretty close contention for #1. They've all occupied it at different times in my head. So hopefully no one's too disappointed! --- https://imgur.com/UYamul2 Spurs - Yankees - Eagles - Golden Knights |
| Topic | Iceman Finishes Ranking Every Tales Series Party Member |
| NBIceman 04/02/20 3:05:35 AM #28 | Theres also his eventual admittance that His best development comes right at the end of the game, though, when he finally starts to forgive himself for And all this is wonderfully contrasted with how freaking funny the dude is, and I have to give a shout out to the incredible voice work of Kirk Thornton for that. Every line is delivered so perfectly. I dont really see people talk about this much, but Jade was the first uber-troll in the series. Its since become a staple of Tales parties, and thats all because of how popular Jade was. But no ones done it better. Hed be the most quotable character in the series based purely on his serious lines in Abyss. When you throw in the jokes and one-liners, its not even a contest anymore. Also, he has a Pac-Man belt buckle. TL;DR: Hes badass, funny, and very well-developed. What more can you ask for? People tend to think of the troll side of Jade first, but theres a really complete character in there as well. --- https://imgur.com/UYamul2 Spurs - Yankees - Eagles - Golden Knights |
| Topic | Iceman Finishes Ranking Every Tales Series Party Member |
| NBIceman 04/02/20 3:05:32 AM #27 | #3 - Jade Curtiss (Abyss) Dont worry, the worst that could happen is we all die. As a younger NBIceman, across my first playthrough or three of Abyss, Jade endeared himself greatly to me with his wit and snark and steadfast commitment to trolling everyone in the entire game. Back in those days, hed have been #1 on this list based purely on those qualities. And Im not gonna pretend theyre not still a huge part of why hes #3 and couldve just as easily been #2 or even still 1. But theres a lot more to the colonel than just that, and I dont think that gets acknowledged enough. For starters, is there any other playable character in the series that gets more respect from the rest of the world, including the antagonists, than Jade? Milla is the only one that gives him a run for his money, but Id still give the edge to the Necromancer. Largo considers him so dangerous that he uses the Fon Slot Seal (a weapon stated to cost about a tenth of a whole nations yearly budget) to incapacitate him, and then You can tell early on that theres just something not quite right about him. Even before he deduces that Its not like his sociopathic tendencies ever completely go away, either - hes just more aware of them and he does his level best to keep them under control. Most of the time, he does a pretty good job of it. Some of his more heartless moments can be seen as mere pragmatism through different lenses, and its undeniable that his cold, detached decision-making saves the party on more than one occasion. Plus, when you look past his disturbingly calm exterior, its obvious that his part in Jades more honest moments are some of the best of the game, and they come out most often in his conversations with Luke in the second half. The first instance is when Luke first finds out what happened with Thats the tragedy of Jades character. Hes really trying to be a good person. It just doesnt come at all naturally to him. But he tries, and Lukes commitment to changing is seemingly what spurs that on. Theres a subtle change in the way he treats the other party members throughout the game thats probably most obvious with Anise in --- https://imgur.com/UYamul2 Spurs - Yankees - Eagles - Golden Knights |
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