CS4: Yeah, that's the moment Rufus goes full heel because that was despicable. Jusis with the A+++ voice acting again when he calls him out though. All the scenes around Arianrhod are so good. The pre-fight reveal of her motives is one thing but then the party slowly convincing her not to die, and finally "Sometimes parents must lie to their children." man I started tearing up then. o7 Arianrhod. The Ouroboros mourning party was touching too, especially since like you said, even Campanella seems sad in his own way. And yeah, Arianrhod's S-Craft is excellent, one of my favorites in the series.
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xp1337: Don't you wish there was a spell-checker that told you when you a word out?
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.
Link looking like the underdog going into the finals! Just the way he likes it.
I'm not sure he's ever been an underdog in a final before! I feel like he was still the favorite even against L-Block, but maybe it had shifted by then.
Eh, L-Block was the favorite overall I think, board 8 might have been misleading, making it seem closer than it was because we tried to use stats to argue for Link.
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Guinness Book of World Records is the name of the diary that belongs to azuarc, the winner of the Game of the Decade II guru contest.
Eh, L-Block was the favorite overall I think, board 8 might have been misleading, making it seem closer than it was because we tried to use stats to argue for Link.
I don't know if most people really felt L-Block could actually win until the semifinal match because that was the first time it was really dominant. I don't remember what the consensus was at that point.
Another weird thing about this contest is that they presumably distort it themselves by having writeups above the matches and following up with rally tweets for underdogs:
(Also in general twitter polls are gonna be weird since the group of people seeing them will likely shift considerably from match to match based on what Twitter's algorithm is showing in peoples' feeds)
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
I don't know if most people really felt L-Block could actually win until the semifinal match because that was the first time it was really dominant. I don't remember what the consensus was at that point.
Yeah, but that result was what it went into the finals with!
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Guinness Book of World Records is the name of the diary that belongs to azuarc, the winner of the Game of the Decade II guru contest.
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.
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.
CS4: Just a small hint in regards to tickets. All in all you should be able to acquire 9 total. I think you're at 7 right now, right? If so, I think that's good. After you use a few and you meet up with Cassius a few people move around and some new subevents open and you can grab the other tickets.
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xp1337: Don't you wish there was a spell-checker that told you when you a word out?
CS4: Just a small hint in regards to tickets. All in all you should be able to acquire 9 total. I think you're at 7 right now, right? If so, I think that's good. After you use a few and you meet up with Cassius a few people move around and some new subevents open and you can grab the other tickets.
Yeah, whenever things change and people move around, I explore some more as a rule of thumb.
excuse me how long do you think the hundred days war was
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AoT S4E8 watched. Man of all the people Gabi could have shot it had to be Sasha. Also, man Jean has been on a long journey for me. He started as a character I didn't like and now he's basically acting as the voice of the only sane point of view here. Though to be fair it sounds like the Scouts are pissed at Eren and wanted no part of this but still. Also this Zeke betrayalton I'm not sure what to make of it, Levi should just take him out I can't see it leading anywhere good.
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F/GO: CCC event (story) beated. Pretty good singularity. Messed around in the Beast III/R fight and ended up with Story Guest!Melt getting the finishing blow which felt very fitting.
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xp1337: Don't you wish there was a spell-checker that told you when you a word out?
Don't worry, most of the attractions don't give unique experiences based on who you bring.
The fortune telling's probably the most interesting one? It has variations based on the character, though half of it's the same no matter who you pick. ---
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!
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!
Leonhart4 posted...
I'm thankful I don't feel the urge to be a completionist. It makes my gaming life much easier.
CS4 Eventide - I have 7 tickets and 9 girls. This is a problem.
No worries, you end up with 9 tickets if you find the 4 that aren't handed to you at the start. They should be: The drinking contest sidequest, feeding the cat the right fish (you can fish for it there if you don't have it), beating Toval in VM, and finally talking with Anton after you do the story scene with Cassius.
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xp1337: Don't you wish there was a spell-checker that told you when you a word out?
Alright. Got all 9. Lucky ladies were Altina and Emma at Ferris Wheel, Alisa and Sara at fortune-telling, Juna and Musse at Horror Coaster, Alfin with fireworks, Laura and Towa with Drinks. I just wanted to see as many of the invitation scenes as possible. Like I don't want a romance with Altina at all, but I knew her scene before the invitation would be heartwarming. And it was.
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.
