Board 8 > SaveEstelle & LeonhartFour in New Houses: Final Fantasy Music Edition [SELF]

(+) Yeah! (+)

My first thought with that is the orchestral version of One Winged Angel, which takes a solid song and makes it great. Felt like what the song should've been.
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Yeah, I considered OWA, too. It's a song that feels like there's so much you can do with it and it still sounds really good.

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Paper Mario: The Origami King beated! Fun game, although that may have been the single dumbest villain motivation I've ever seen! Still, definitely a step in the right direction for the series and worth a play if you're a Paper Mario fan.

Mario RPG rankings: The Thousand-Year Door > Super Mario RPG > Bowser's Inside Story > Paper Mario > Super Paper Mario > The Origami King > Partners in Time > Superstar Saga > Dream Team >> Sticker Star

yeah I'm that weirdo who thinks Partners in Time is good

that being said I'd say I enjoyed them all except for Sticker Star

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The motivation is great because its so stupid.

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Thousand Year Door > Bowser's Inside Story > Paper Mario > Super Mario RPG > Partners in Time > Superstar Saga > Super Paper Mario > Origami King > Dream Team > Color Splash > Paper Jam > Sticker Star

I too enjoyed all but Sticker Star.

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It's not even just the motivation being dumb! You didn't even bother to read what he wrote on you?

I mean, I get it. It's meant to be silly, so I don't hold it against the game. I was just amazed that this is what they came up with!

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I always forget Paper Jam even exists! Maybe someday I'll give it a try.

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I am the resident FFXIV snob on a musical Discord that pointed me here, and I'm more inclined to go for Orchestral Mobius than Liberi Fatali, as it ties together a few themes from the Alexander raid.

After that, maybe APOCALYPSIS NOCTIS from FFXV?

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Oh I need to get back to Paper Jam too

There was a pretty hard boss (the wiggler one) maybe like 5-10 hours in and I think I put the game down after dying a few times

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Thousand Year Door > Super Paper Mario > Paper Mario > Superstar Saga > Dream Team > Partners in Time >>>>>>>>>>>> Bowser's Inside Story

All good except for Bowser's Inside Story which for the life of me I will never understand why it is so well beloved. Though it's also worth pointing out all of the later Paper Mario games are missing because I haven't played them.

As far as FF orchestral arrangements go, I think I'll always have a soft spot for this one

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FAiFyvro5-4
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TTYD > PM > Origami > BIS > Superstar Saga > Sticker Star of the ones I've played.

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Bowser's Inside Story is beloved because it's RPG Bowser in a leading role and RPG Bowser is Nintendo's single greatest asset

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aI_Tds1keyY

New Nier Replicant video out. 9 minutes long, and I think the first display of the English voices. We got Liam O'Brien and Laura Bailey back as Weiss and Kaine oh yeah!

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It's weird seeing and hearing baby face Nier in that video.

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Yeah, I definitely had a shock when I first saw him there. Like "...am I forgetting a character that could be instead?" shock.

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I've seen some people say the game's writing works better with brother Nier? Not sure if that'll actually be true, but it does make me more interested in this.
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I think the game as originally drafted was meant to have brother Nier as the main, and then papa Nier was shoehorned in specifically for the American release.

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Yeah, wasn't it a SE decision that Father Nier would better appeal to American gamers or something for sales purposes? Or is that some rumor that took a life of its own?

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I'm not sure what the reasoning behind two different Niers was. It's possible it was the other way around and big bro Nier was added to appeal to a Japanese audience.

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In Japan, it's brother on PS3 and father on 360. In the US it was father on both PS3 and 360. Not sure if they gave an interview about it, but I'm pretty sure it was a "for Americans" thing.
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Anyway, WandaVision Episode 6 complete!

Wow, there's a lot to unpack in that episode.

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All right, let's play some Cold Steel IV Act 3!

Working our way through the Draco Sanctuary and the first one we run into is Leo. Huh, I wasn't expecting to fight him alone. He gives his backstory of how he used to be from a small central eastern village, and Rutger saved them from a bunch of bandits, so he swore his loyalty to him until the day he died. So when Rutger died first, he didn't know how to handle it, so he accepted Alberich's offer. Leo isn't nearly as tough by himself, and I'm guessing Xeno is next.

Sure enough, Xeno is waiting for us on the other side of the sanctuary. Everyone acts like we fell into a trap even though all he did was stand there, and we beat Leo before him, too, so we knew he was here! Xeno apparently feels guilty for bringing Rutger back from the dead. He tells us the story about how he was sent as an assassin to kill Rutger ten years ago, but even after he beat Xeno down in one shot, he invited him to be part of Zephyr and destroyed the organization who had sent him. Like Leo, he puts up a decent fight, but he goes down fairly easily.

When we reach the altar, Rutger is waiting for us with the Palatinate Knight. Fie approaches the fight with a bracer's mentality, and Rutger is pleased that leaving her in Sara's care turned out to be the right choice. Rean asks him why he's here, and Gaius says he knows Rutger knows what awaits all immortals who are defeated in the Rivalries. Ash is upset that the Jaeger King would let himself be used as a pawn of the Black Workshop, and he can't exactly deny it. He's not really in favor of what Osborne and Alberich are doing because the end of the world is bad for business. Fie says he's doing this because he's a jaeger, and jaegers don't fight for what they believe in. They follow the money, plain and simple. It's the only way of life they know.

First we've gotta beat Rutger in regular combat. Dude has a crapton of HP! Feels like he uses his S-Craft a bunch, too, but after a long battle, he goes down. Now it's time for the Rivalry itself. Rean is a bit reluctant at first, but Fie tells him that no matter what happens, she'll have no regrets. She's done her part. The Palatinate Knight is good at dealing damage, but with it being a 2-on-1 battle, we prevail in the end. Rean tries to channel power back to Rutger to keep him from dying, but he ain't interested in that. He knows it's his time to bow out, and he couldn't ask for a better way to go out. Plus, he lived long enough to see Fie grow up, and he tells her that she changed his life for the better. Fie thanks him and calls him dad, and Rutger says that's the best farewell gift he could've gotten. With that, he fades away and the power of Zector enters into Valimar, which changes his appearance.

With that, the chapter ends with an S rank, aw yeah! That's all for tonight.

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The confrontation and aftermath with Rutger was really good. Fie the MVP of 3-1.

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The move speed increase in the Mario 3D world port is kind of jarring. Its almost too fast.

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I've always heard the fun of 3D World is the multiplayer. Is it still good as a single player experience?

I guess I could get my wife to play with me.

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I think multiplayer Mario is an absolute nightmare, so yeah I prefer it single player.

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NSMB multiplayer is garbage and SM3DW multiplayer is fantastic
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3D World was definitely good single player.

I don't know what it was but I liked it much more than 3D Land and every NSMB game.

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3D Land and the NSMB games are fine but they just don't feel "inspired" for lack of a better term.

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SM3DL is good, but World is basically better in every way. It's a great game.
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Day 19: Best Non-Uematsu Track
Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII - The Price of Freedom
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOJ91H4mraU

I kept thinking through X and XIII's OSTs since those seemed to be the most obvious candidates (as someone who isn't overly familiar with XIV's soundtrack, that is), but then I remembered this gem. I feel like this has to be the answer for me. It's just so good.

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I mean, in theory this would be Who Brings Shadow for me because if I gave it best song it would apply here, but if I strike all the songs I've used thus far to avoid repeats...

Price of Freedom is honestly a good call. That said I've used and/or mentioned a ton of songs so far so in the interests of bringing up a song I have yet to name-check... Final Fantasy XIII-2 - Ruined Hometown

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Started up Super Mario 3D World. Playing as Luigi, naturally, but I have to get used to his lack of traction again. Not sure I get the point of the cat powerup other than being able to climb walls, but I'm sure they'll find more uses for it!

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Ultima would be my non-Uematsu pick, though I could pick one of the mobile game tracks too. Type 0 (the song) is really good in its best parts, though it's a little uneven.

Not entirely sure which FFX songs were Uematsu and which weren't. Sunleth Waterscape probably a safe choice here. Apocalypsis Noctis a good alternate.
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I don't know enough of the non-Uematsu OST's (FF14 in particular) to say with any degree of confidence, but I quite like Sunleth Waterscape and Price of Freedom. Also I think there's a song performed by Bump of Chicken in Type-0 that I like?
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3D World was a great single player experience imo. I have no multiplsyer experience with it, but I really enjoyed it.

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Cold Steel 4 - Act 2. Goodbye Angelica. You'll be in the bench forever. Hope I never have to use you

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It's pretty amazing how in that group Crow, Angelica and George are all unlikable bottom tier characters and yet Towa is like top 3 character, most precious thing you want to protect at all costs.

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Let's continue with Cold Steel IV Act 3!

It's time for another free day, but first, we deal with the aftermath of Rutger's death. Fie has emotionally accepted what happened now, and even Xeno and Leo are ready to help us out now that we've taken on the power of the Palatinate Knight. Now it's time to start thinking ahead to facing off with Arianrhod, and Duvalie is mentally preparing herself for it. She plans to try to convince her to stay on to help them if they win, although I don't expect it to work out that way for her either.

Olivert informs us that Schera, Agate, and Toval have some new stuff to share with us. They say there's a giant pillar of light shooting out of the wetlands of Crossbell, meaning the sanctuary has been moved again. There's no barrier blocking access to it either since there's only one Gargantua class ship. That means we're headed back to Crossbell for the first time in forever. Sharon makes her services available to us whenever we desire, so that's handy. We've also got some new requests we can work through. Alfin and Elise join the party for this next segment, so I'll have access to their Brave Orders. We have no required battle members though, so the randomizer gives us Machias, Altina, Ash, Sharon, and Randy.

We've also got five new bond points, and it looks like it's mostly good options to choose from this time, so figuring out who misses the cut will be tough! There are only two new sidequests this time, one from Toval in Alster and one wanted monster. I imagine at least one optional sidequest will show up, too, like last time. Wandering around the ship, I catch Sara and Angelica talking about Zin and Kilika. I decide to put off bond points until the end this time, but I decide to talk to each one to get a hint at what they're going to be about to help me make my decisions. I also find an optional sidequest talking to Stark. Sidney and Kairi are currently on the surface helping out the main campus with their medicinal needs, but they need a couple of ingredients first.

I can play Pom Party with Gaius now. It takes me several tries to beat him as I continue not to understand how their S-Craft moves do more damage to me than mine do to them! Oh well, it maxed out my bond with Gaius, so whatever. I stumble upon another sidequest in the Courageous II, this time between Wayne and Jessica. He's trying to improve his fighting technique, so Rean calls in Laura and Duvalie for some intense study sessions. I actually have to control Jessica and Wayne for this part? Thankfully, they both seem to take it easy on me since they only use regular attacks, so I'm able to win.

That's all for tonight.

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https://www.cbr.com/mass-effect-romanceable-characters-ranked/

Just saying.

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FFDragon posted...

https://www.cbr.com/mass-effect-romanceable-characters-ranked/

Just saying.

they got the bottom 5 right at least

Liara #1 no thanks

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Day 20: Best Song from a Game You Haven't Played
Final Fantasy XIV - From the Heavens
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EMhANHI9YhA

Oh hey, this is another category I could've given to The Price of Freedom! But nah, I'll give it to Final Fantasy XIV. I went back through the archived topic where I ranked user nominated FF music, and this was the highest rated FFXIV song I had on the list. It's a slow burn, but when it eventually reaches the climax of the song, it's really good.

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Not sure what to pick for this one, considering that there are later days for handheld and mobile exclusives...though I guess Type 0 isn't handheld exclusive anymore, so I can go with something from that.

Final Fantasy Type 0 - Type 0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ZkP29WPQpg

gets real damn epic as it goes, love that final phase
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yeah I could go Price of Freedom for handheld exclusive too but I guess I'll have to find something else for that day!

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Liara/Tali 1/2 is unfortunate, I agree.

But Jack top three covers for that.

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AoT S4E6 watched.

You know, Titans were always "magic" in a sense, but War Hammer seems even more than most with its weapon/spike creation from nothing. Remote piloting seems cool too. Eren gonna be broken if he eats it as it appears he will soon do. Also, you know Eren has gone too far when even Mikasa is basically telling him "what the hell have you done"

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I think we've officially reached the stage in this FF music challenge where I'm either going to double up or have mentioned my answers in passing already which is unfortunate. So let's see if I can dig deep and find a new one for at least one more day.

Final Fantasy XV - Hunt or be Hunted

there we go.

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Hunt or Be Hunted is a good one, although Careening Into Danger is probably my favorite FFXV battle theme (aside from Apocalypsis Noctis and Aquarius, of course).

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what if Ive played every final fantasy game

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you lose the challenge, obviously

it's a kaizo-style trap to punish completionists

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