So today is the 25th anniversary of the release of Super Mario RPG. In terms of personal experience, this may be the most important game of my life. This was my first RPG and my first Square game. I was (and still am) a huge Mario fan, so I would basically play any Mario game when it came out if I could (I even played Mario is Missing and Mario's Time Machine!).
I was vaguely familiar with Square and the Final Fantasy series through video game magazines (I was an avid GamePro subscriber for like a decade), but I had never really been interested in them. Super Mario RPG changed that.
The game was basically designed to be baby's first RPG, which was a smart move since this was a gateway to the genre for more than just me. The gameplay was simple, but it kept you involved through the Timed Hits system (I wish every RPG had it, for the record). The story was standard Mario fare at the beginning, but then it became something more. You got to team up with Bowser, for crying out loud! The writing was clever, and I think this was the first time I realized video games could tell a good story.
I don't know what got me in the mood to talk about it. I don't know if I could really recommend it to a first time player these days unless you like archaic RPGs because it definitely shows its age these days. I'll still always love it and appreciate it for the new world it opened me up to though.
SMRPG was my first RPG too and should have been the gateway to the genre to me but I was too young and dumb to realize it so it never was more than "a Mario game" to the 6-year old or whatever me and it would take years for me to realize that the reason I loved SMRPG so much (honestly it was closer to obsession, really) was because it was an RPG. Took until Golden Sun and Tales of Symphonia for that realization.
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xp1337: Don't you wish there was a spell-checker that told you when you a word out?
I guess it's been a while since I've last played it but I would think SMRPG largely stands the test of time. It's simple but fun and the story should still hold up. Since the Timed Hits system never really took off it doesn't feel overdone even 25 years later. ---
My bracket looked like random picks compared to his. Congrats to azuarc for winning the GotD 2020 Guru Contest!
SMRPG wasnt my first RPG, I dont think (its hard to remember that far back) but it was one of the first and definitely one of the most formative for me.
Well, I had just turned ten when the game came out, so I think I was at the right age to make the transition to the genre and understand the distinction between RPGs and other games. FFVII was the game that made me a full-blown RPG lover, but I don't know if I take the plunge on it (at least right away) if not for playing Mario RPG.
I guess it's been a while since I've last played it but I would think SMRPG largely stands the test of time. It's simple but fun and the story should still hold up. Since the Timed Hits system never really took off it doesn't feel overdone even 25 years later.
I've replayed it a few times in the last several years, and it doesn't feel quite as sharp. It's still a good game for me. I just think someone playing it for the first time today might not see what the big deal was.
I was 9 when SMRPG came out, but I played a bunch before that I think. Breath of Fire, Secret of the Stars, FFMQ, FFIV, and above all, FFVI. FFVI is the game that really made me an RPG fan. Rented it a bunch, got it for Christmas, and played it a bunch more. Played SMRPG a bunch too. FFVI, CT, and SMRPG were my big SNES RPG favs. ---
I don't see how smrpg can seem that archaic. Maybe just too simple? And the isometric platforming can be a bit strange.
Yeah, I think a lot of it is the isometric platforming. It makes movement feel a bit awkward, and precision jumps are difficult. Regardless, it just feels like a game from a different era. I mean, it IS from a different era, of course, but you know what I mean.
It's Salt Pale boss rush time! Since this is mostly a fanservice section, the boss fights aren't too tough, but it's fun to get to use all these characters together anyway. I don't know if the order is predetermined or based on anything, but we went Estelle, Lloyd, Angie, Duvalie, and Aurelia here. After beating all the bosses, the power of the pales fades and the barrier to the Empyreal Fortress drops, so the Courageous II kicks it into high gear, quite literally, to try to get us inside during the brief period while it's down. Naturally, the Glorious is waiting for us. However, little did I realize that the Courageous II had a Moonstone Cannon equipped, and nobody told Gilbert either, apparently!
With the small ships out of the way, Rean and Crow man their Divine Knights, and New Class VII uses their own Panzer Soldats to defend the Courageous II from the unmanned Aions and Zauber Soldats. Emma puts up a protective barrier and we just blow past the Glorious to successfully land on the Empyreal Fortress. Since everyone else was involved in shutting down the Salt Pales, it's just Class VII for this final mission. It's the first time the two Class VIIs have been together in their entirety since Crow wasn't there at the end of CS3. Machias calls Crow an edgelord, and it's fantastic.
Rean's about to give the big speech before we tackle the final dungeon, but Crow stops him in his tracks. They all agree to give the big speech together, in classic RPG fashion. Even Valimar and Ordine get in on the action! This time, Crow gets the last word, and Rean doesn't get to say anything. I'm cool with it. Oh hey, there's a shard of Black Zemurian Ore, so I imagine I'll be finding at least two more inside! Looking at the main page in the journal, I have 34 unopened chests. Depending on the size of this last dungeon, that's possible, so we'll see if I manage it! I don't think I've ever gotten all the chests in a single run without a guide, so that'll be a nice feat for me if I can pull it off.
Yeah, I've since went on to play every single one of them. I don't where the franchise is now nearly as much as I did a decade ago, but I still like them.
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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.
Friendly reminder that Winter Soldier is a top 5 MCU movie. It's also the least "superhero-esque" movie in the franchise because the characters don't have over the top superpowers. It's mostly a really good action flick.
I meant it as a positive point for people who have MCU/superhero fatigue (such as user SaveEstelle). Plus, I think it has value as a different sort of experience than the average MCU movie, regardless of how good they are. It still has your MCU hallmarks when it comes to banter, special effects, and all that, but with a variation on the formula that makes it stick out.
I don't know if the order is predetermined or based on anything, but we went Estelle, Lloyd, Angie, Duvalie, and Aurelia here.
CS4: Predetermined, I believe. That's the team lineup in alphabetical order from the selection list: A, B, C, D, and E. Also the (boring) order I went through them.
Class VII collectively taking the usual big Rean speech away from him and doing it themselves was a great moment.
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xp1337: Don't you wish there was a spell-checker that told you when you a word out?
All right, let's get back to Cold Steel IV Finale!
Let's see what the Empyreal Fortress has in store for us. The aesthetics here are definitely quite good. We reach an area with three branching paths, and I'm fully expecting us to go split party here, but I am pleasantly surprised to see we're all sticking together! At the end of the first pathway, Lechter and Claire are waiting for us. Ash and Altina insist on being included for this fight. Lechter and Claire talk about how we beat the odds and maybe it was fate, but Millium's all like nah it's because we have determination. They both feel like they're helpless before the power of the curse. Musse wonders why they'd go along with this when their role is to be a tragic sacrifice to the Great Twilight.
Lechter says that's their final role. The Knights of Blood and Iron are the link from this fortress to the war below, and they tell us we'll have to go all out to beat them. But then Rean's like pfffft we don't even need everyone in our group to beat you. Altina insists that Lechter and Claire can't beat their determination because they're so focused on their past mistakes while Class VII looks to the future. Man, even in Lechter's S-Craft he does the walkaway wave. Let it go, man!
After the battle, the party isn't even winded, while both Claire and Lechter are on their knees. I'm impressed! They're both ready to commit seppuku as the price of their failure, but Rean and company were apparently anticipating this outcome and act accordingly. He urges them to see this through to the end because Erebonia is going to need them both once the Great Twilight is over. Lechter tells us that Cedric and Shirley are up next. They wish us luck before collapsing. I wonder if this plays out any differently if you skip out on Claire's invitation from earlier.
When we return to the central garden, Sara decides this is the best spot to set up camp, and so we summon the Divine Knights and Panzer Soldats to be on standby. It's nice that you can quick jump to each section here, which is unusual for a dungeon. We also get a chance to chat with everyone before moving on, which is nice. Ash asks the pertinent question of who thought it was a good idea to pick Lechter as a student council president. Altina admits she feels a little responsible for the current situation because she was the one who brought Cedric to the Vermillion Knight. Fie talks about how she thinks Shirley has been holding back, and Rean says she doesn't resemble the stories Randy has told him about her. Fie says that Rixia knocked Shirley down a peg, so I guess that's more Azure spoilers! I guess this means we'll probably have Kurt and Fie as mandatory members for their boss battle.
Slowly pushing through Utawarerumono. Was finally able to make some decent progress again over the weekend. Just took back the Capital. I almost feel bad for Raiko, he was totally robbed lol. Also omfg at Mirhuj's BETRAYALTON on Mikazuchi. If he really went out like that, that sucks. But just like Vurai I kind of refuse to believe he's dead unless we see him turn to salt. When he found that masked person I was legit expecting it to be the Mikado on some galaxy brain plan though lol. I do wish Raiko went out the way he planned, without fighting, after explaining his motivations to the party. I definitely feel like that'd be a lot better than a surprise fifth akuruka. Speaking of the Mikado though HE LIVES and basically soft confirms Woshis as the culprit as I always suspected. Though I'm not sure I'm going to like the direction this goes with him referring to the Mikado as "Father." We'll see though because it looks like we're off to return to best country Tuskur.
Kuon and Nekone have also had some really great scenes during all this. First Kuon tapping into divine power to lay down the law on the transformed Haku and Mikazuchi and just chewing them out. And then especially later on when Kuon talks to Nekone after the Mikado confirms her suspicious that "Oshtor" is actually Haku and comforts Nekone for all the guilt she feels for everything that's happened.
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xp1337: Don't you wish there was a spell-checker that told you when you a word out?
All right, time for some more Cold Steel IV Finale!
After talking to everyone in the garden (didn't mention it last night because I was too tired toward the end, but Millium's conversation was fantastic), it's time for the second corridor. Once we reach the end, sure enough, Cedric and Shirley are waiting for us. Fie has a great line here when she says, "You know it's bad when Shirley seems like the more sensible one of the two." Cedric's dialogue is really over the top here, even for him. Turns out he deduced that Osborne was Dreichels reincarnated, perhaps through the bloodline they share. Honestly, I can see why this would reinforce Cedric's resolve that he was following the right guy. Shirley's a little disappointed she's not on the frontlines, but she did promise Mariabell she'd see this through to the end.
Cedric is convinced he can tap into the full potential of the Empyreal Fortress, unlike Lechter and Claire, because he's the Vermillion Awakener. He says he wants to make sure not to kill Rean here so he doesn't become an immortal. Not sure exactly what he means by that, but I guess since Rean is necessary for the Rivalries at this point, "fate" would make sure he came back to finish them? I dunno. New Class VII actually praises Cedric's hard work and his fitness to assume the throne someday, but Juna asks him what he's so afraid of in spite of that. Altina says he lacks the compassion and kindness to lead. He's trying to put on this tough guy act to prove he's worthy because he feels inferior to Olivert, I think.
Then Kurt asks the pointed question of if Cedric can really give his all in the Rivalries against Osborne considering he practically worships the guy. This seems to snap something in Cedric and he has flashbacks of good times with his family and Kurt, and then there's a flashback to Osborne and Black Alberich tempting him with power through the Ebon Knight. He finally seems to come back to normal, but Shirley isn't buying this was all him being controlled. He accepted Osborne's offer because he wanted power for himself, and he has to be willing to admit that. Seriously, why is Shirley making so much sense in this game?
Cedric finally admits his jealousy, not just of Alfin and Olivert, but of Rean, Kurt, and all of Class VII. He wanted to become a true hero, but he always felt inferior to Alfin because of how they were constantly compared. Then he blamed himself for Olivert relinquishing the throne on top of that. He felt so helpless when Class VII saved him from the Vermillion Apocalypse and lost Crow in the process. He wonders what might have been different if he hadn't been forced to delay enrolling at Thors. With all that put out into the open, he's ready to overcome his weakness. Gotta admit, it took nearly four full games, but Cedric finally had a cool moment!
The fight is pretty easy though, to be honest. I got them to use their S-Crafts back to back but preempted it with a fully charged S-Craft from Emma, which perfectly reflected against them both. With that, Cedric summons the Vermillion Knight, with some Zauber Soldats as backup. I guess this will be a 3-on-3 battle then! We haven't had one of these in a while! Oh, I even have another Panzer Soldat as a backup? That's handy! The Zauber Soldats are pansies as usual, but Cedric's S-Craft packs a heck of a punch! But once we survive that, he doesn't pose much of a problem.
After the fight, Cedric spirals into self-loathing and denial. Shirley is disappointed. Now Cedric realizes he has to accept the consequences of his actions. Kurt says he and Cedric aren't so different. They both wanted strength to overcome their weaknesses. They just took different paths to get there. Now it's time to put the past behind them and see each other as equals, rivals, and friends. With that, Cedric collapses and the Vermillion Knight's power enters into Valimar. Shirley offers to keep an eye on him so we can move on, although she's pretty drained herself.
Then Rean calls her out for holding back, saying she's been prioritizing protecting Cedric above all else. Shirley says she can't really explain it, but she almost looks at him like a little brother. Then she warns us that Rufus is next, but we might meet Campanella and Mariabell along the way. After that, she passes out, too, and the next area opens.
Frieza asking for a countdown before he transforms and Vegeta counting from 10-1 as fast as possible is perhaps the best gag the show has done thus far.
Back in the garden, everyone is mostly focused on the Rivalry to come, as well as facing down Ouroboros. Jusis says he is mostly grateful for what Rufus has done for him in spite of everything, but he needs to ask him something when they face him. We take the elevator up to the next corridor, and at one point, Machias points out that the area when viewed from above looks like an M and a C. Could it be Mariabell Crois, or just Maria and Campanella? Ash points out that this place is over a thousand years old, so it couldn't be that, but it's gotta be SOMETHING if they're pointing it out, right? Who knows!
In the second area, there's an Ouroboros crest covering a big door, and...a couple of crude drawings of Evil Mishy and a jester on top of that with the word WELCOME plastered over that. This is obviously a message from Maria and Campanella. Juna asks to be on the team for the next battle since Maria betrayed Crossbell and Campanella personally needled her at Orchis Tower during CS3. Rean notices McBurn isn't with them but can sense him up ahead. It's also pretty obvious that neither Maria nor Campanella are taking this battle very seriously. They intend to do just the bare minimum for the Rivalry.
Maria says that she thinks the Rivalries are very well designed and are a perfect reference for her Ars Magna research. Am I supposed to know what that is? I feel like she might have mentioned it before, but that was a while ago! Juna then poses the question of what happened to "taking back" their Phantasmal Blaze Plan. She also has to wonder what exactly Campanella even is. He's apparently looked exactly the same for the past decade, and she has the sense that he's not as much of a troll as he lets on. Altina wonders if he's a homunculus, but Crow doesn't think it's that and he doesn't think he's an immortal either.
Then Juna asks the big million dollar question: Why would people as different as Mariabell, Vita, and Lianne Sandlot all swear their allegiance to the Grandmaster? Plus, Enforcers are basically free to come and go as they please. Why does Ouroboros allow that and seemingly shrug it off like it's no big deal when several members have just quit? Musse posits that Ouroboros is an organization that works to further the Grandmaster's goals, but the members themselves are also part of some grand experiment. Naturally, Maria and Campanella are evasive and won't directly answer the questions, but as a reward for our determination, they promise to go all-out for a change. Maria says she'll share some info about Ouroboros if we manage to win.
The fight is still not too much trouble. I actually manage to take out Campanella before he gets a real turn (he uses his initial turn at the start of the battle to do one of those inverse Brave Orders, but that's it). Maria doesn't fare much better, and I proudly finish her off with a YOU'VE FAILED YOUR INSPECTION from Machias. Once again, I am surprised that all of Class VII is standing and the Ouroboros members actually appear winded, although just for a moment and then they try to flee the scene. Altina and Fie try to bar their escape with Claiomh Solais.
Campanella asks if we really believe we could capture them, and Rean replies that he wishes he could just tell them to get out and never come back more than anything else. However, they promised some juicy info, and they ain't lettin' them leave without givin' up the goods. Campanella admits the Phantasmal Blaze Plan is still in effect, and it's nearly complete, in fact. Once the Rivalries are done, their objective will be met. Presumably, he's referring to the Sept-Terrion of Steel. Celine wondered why Vita wasn't aware the plan had changed, and Maria says she was just too focused on trying to lift the curse to notice. In other words, Ouroboros feigned defeat to Osborne because they determined it would be the best way to get what they want?
Ouroboros is interested in the reformation of the Great One, although it doesn't matter if it gets properly reformed or not. Campanella says it doesn't even matter of the two Sept-Terrions disappear the way the Sept-Terrion of Mirage did. Then he reveals that the driving force behind the Grandmaster's plan is to witness what the Sept-Terrions are capable of when they fall into human hands in this "possible world," and that phrase doesn't escape Emma's notice. Maria says those who are bound to this world can't comprehend the full scope of the plan since not everyone is on the same level as Professor Epstein. So...is this some sort of indirect admission that he's the Grandmaster, or just that he discovered something that the Grandmaster is interested in gaining for himself/herself? Are we talking about some sort of multiverse here?
Anyway, Maria tells us that Rufus is on the next floor up, and Black Alberich is with him. Campanella summons a massive Aion to help them escape, and Maria says they're about to move on to the third stage of the Orpheus Final Plan. On her way out, she tells Juna to tell the SSS that she'll meet them again someday and she's rooting for Crossbell's independence. Whew, that was a lot of plot bombs, but at least it confirmed my theory that Epstein is involved in all this somehow.
The game informs us there's new dialogue back at the garden, so that's where we go. Turns out it's just Alisa and Juna who have new stuff to say, but good enough! The elevator takes us to the tower.
Now we're in the tower moving toward the showdown with Rufus and Black Alberich. When we reach the top, Alisa and Jusis insist on coming along for the next part, naturally. Rufus is introduced as the primary member of the Ironbloods, not a Knight of Blood and Iron. Alberich says that the Ashen Awakener is the only thing they require for the next Rivalry because the Sword of the End still has a role to play. He's also disappointed Campanella and Maria didn't use their Aion to take any of us out, but Rufus says Ouroboros has their own goals, so they can't expect them to be fully invested in Osborne's plans. Alberich says they may have no use for Ouroboros anymore anyway.
Then Jusis decides to call out Rufus for his dishonorable behavior in killing off Arianrhod. He replies that he had a war to manage, so he was simply picking the most efficient course of action. He also expresses his gladness in being able to meet Millium again, even as just a projection from the Sword of the End. Black Alberich seems to think that the Auric Knight can defeat the Ebon Knight if it takes the Sword of the End from Valimar. He says that the Divine Knights were not created equal. There is a hierarchy among them that was established in all the battles they've fought throughout history. Only the Ebon Knight didn't participate in all these duels.
Alberich also says that a Divine Knight will regenerate over time, even if it's destroyed, which is basically what I figured. On the other hand, their Awakeners often end up as undead Nosferatu, which I did not expect. He harkens back to the blade graveyard we saw at the end of CS1, and he says each sword marked the defeat of a Divine Knight. Alberich says that the two Divine Knights that emerged victorious more often than all the others were the Argent Knight and the Auric Knight, followed by the Vermillion Knight, with the Azure, Palatinate, and Ashen Knights trailing the pack. I guess that would explain why Rufus prioritized getting the Argent Knight's power.
Then Alberich says Rean made a mistake in not fully absorbing the Azure Knight because Valimar can't make full use of the other Divine Knights' powers. However, Class VII bands together to give Alberich the classic "you suck" speech. Basically, to sum it up, he underestimated the potential and the value of humanity, even when it came to creating the homunculi. If the Ebon Knight wins and enslaves the world to its will, then life becomes completely meaningless. Surprisingly, Rufus agrees with us, and he says he has no plans to be anyone's slave either.
Rufus pulls out his Holy Sword, and Jusis does the same. Alisa says that she still believes in the love Franz had for her and her mother, and she actually seems to be getting through to him. However, he doubles down on swearing his allegiance to Ishmelga. Then Rufus says this is the last duel he and Jusis will have before he transcends humanity. Not exactly sure what he means, but Jusis is pretty darn ticked by it. The fight here isn't too tough, but I gotta give a shoutout to Alberich's S-Craft because that thing was creepy as heck.
After the fight, Black Alberich briefly reverts to Franz Reinford, and then flees the scene to leave us to face off with the Auric Knight, who also has a couple of lame Zauber Soldats to back him up. Turns out Rufus's goal is to absorb the power of all the other Divine Knights and then become an Immortal before facing off with Osborne. He wants to give his life its own meaning as someone who was unwanted. The Auric Knight puts up a good fight, but it eventually goes down like all the others.
Rufus can't understand why he lost. Jusis says it's because he refused to rely on anyone but himself. Millium says there are people he COULD have relied on, but he chose to go it alone. He had a real bond with Jusis, but even then, Rufus shut him out. Sara drives the dagger home by saying his approach is the polar opposite of Olivert's. Rufus says at least he can be proud he had a part in the formation of Class VII. He tells them that a path to the core of the fortress will open next, and McBurn will be waiting for them. Jusis tells Rufus they'll take things from here, but he needs to knock some sense back into him first and literally does just that.
Back in the garden, the elevator leading to the core is active now. Emma insists on being part of the battle against McBurn. Rean wonders if there's some history there, but Celine tells him to focus on just taking him down for now. Valimar actually expresses some worry about facing McBurn since he can't figure out the source of his powers. With that, it's time to move on to the core.
Speaking of college basketball, since I've been watching some of the conference tournaments on and off I've picked up on some of the NCAA Tournament's protocols and they seem uh.... unwise. You're good to be in if you have 5 healthy players? Like, uh, okay that is the minimum number of players you need but given the risk of injury, fatigue, or foul trouble I feel like you should require teams to have like... 8 players minimum able to play? Maybe 7 if you're truly that desperate and cynical for the money.
I'm not sure any team is going to enter with literally 5 players but it will look so bad if a game is decided by forfeit because something happens during the game that drops them to 4 players.
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xp1337: Don't you wish there was a spell-checker that told you when you a word out?
Syracuse got trolled too. Eliminated by UVA on a buzzer-beating 3 and then UVA immediately withdraws from the ACC tournament because of a positive test also. Though I think they're still expected to sneak in?
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xp1337: Don't you wish there was a spell-checker that told you when you a word out?
We're in the core of the Empyreal Fortress now. The aesthetic is a lot darker and more demonic now, which I dig. It's almost like a Persona dungeon. Even the random encounters here are Persona-esque! Before we reach where McBurn is, Emma says that his power is governed by the Divergent Laws, whatever that means. The game tells me that it will make an exception and allow me to summon Panzer Soldats in the battle against McBurn.
When we reach him, he's already in his Blazing Demon form. Rean calls back to a conversation he had with McBurn during CS2 where he had asked Rean if he was "mixed" and talked about those who have something foreign or unnatural mixed into their bodies. Rean finally understands that the part of him that was "mixed" is Osborne's heart since it's the source of his power and what connected him to the curse. Then Rean says that McBurn isn't even from this world at all, which surprises everyone but Emma and Celine.
Gaius says they were all raised to believe this was the one true world created by Aidios. They can't even contemplate the idea that something exists beyond the bounds of Zemuria. Wait, I thought Zemuria was just the continent, not the world itself? Or is the world just one big landmass like Pangaea? Anyway, Emma says this is an example of the Divergent Laws, which relate to things they can't understand or explain. As an example, she says that no matter how far you try to sail or fly away from the continent, you're literally unable to progress past a certain point. Huh, that's wild. Alisa says this phenomenon supposedly verifies the existence of Aidios, but I'm not sure how!
Oh, I see what she's saying. Anything they don't understand is simply attributed to be the work of a higher power, end of story. Gaius says that the church's stance is to leave things be as long as it's not disrupting the world order. However, the mages and witches of the Middle Ages weren't content with that, so they surmised there must be something else behind all the mysterious events that have occurred throughout history. This is where the concept of Divergent Laws comes from. Sometimes things from beyond this world make it into Zemuria, which screws up the natural order. I guess this would be stuff like Artifacts and the Sept-Terrions. Maybe that's why Ouroboros wants to observe what happens when humans take control of them.
For Sara, the first thing she thinks of is the Salt Pale in North Ambria 28 years ago. There was no evidence it was related to a Sept-Terrion. Gaius says Father Barkhorn investigated it, but there was nothing conclusive about what it was or where it came from, so it was just attributed to Aidios. This kind of stuff gave rise to the D:G Cult, which became obsessed with figuring out the truth behind the supernatural phenomena that appeared in Zemuria by any means necessary. Alisa says they were being controlled by the Crois family the whole time, which would feel like a huge Azure spoiler if I didn't already figure as much...!
McBurn says that the cultists did manage to pull off something amazing by creating Gnosis, which was a drug that freed you from the limitations of this world. McBurn says he's half human, half whatever this creature from the other world is, but he doesn't know a thing about what this other world is like. He doesn't remember anything from before his two halves permanently fused together. Gaius says McBurn is basically a calamity given form, like the Salt Pale.
McBurn says he's existed in this world for 50 years, and he's spent the whole time trying to remember anything about who he is or where he came from. He knew he'd have to return to his original form to do that, but it would annihilate everything around him in the process. However, the Great Twilight and the Rivalries have warped the world so much that he should be able to manage it, and sure enough, he does. He still doesn't have his memories though, so he wants us to fight him and keep drawing more out of him.
Gotta say, it's kind of annoying that every boss seems to hit the halfway point right before they break, and then it completely restores their meter. I guess I should be using break-boosting Brave Orders! That being said, Millium's Brave Order that reduces damage by 90% comes in real handy for McBurn's S-Craft! I do eventually manage to break him though. When he gets down to 1 HP, he puts up some sort of barrier that blocks all damage, so Valimar asks Rean to summon him. I actually have to use the craft form to do so. I was expecting a transition to a Divine Knight battle there!
After the battle, McBurn seems to remember something, and he realizes Campanella's been playing him the whole time. He also says the name Ouroboros is the perfect name for their organization before reverting to his human form. Then he...apologizes to us, which shocks me as much as it shocks all of Class VII! And then he...smiles, whoa. He says he's got a new objective now. He's got a few questions for Campanella, the Grandmaster, Mariabell, and Vita. As a show that he's truly sorry, McBurn gives Rean a Primordial Flame to further power up himself as well as Valimar, who refers to him as Overlord of the Beyond. McBurn warns us that it can probably only use it once.
I gotta admit, that wasn't the way I expected McBurn's character arc to end, but I kinda dig it. Also, all this multiverse stuff is probably going to be dealt with in the Calvard arc, but man, it's pretty crazy how they've basically totally changed the arc of the story going forward. This series always keeps you on your toes, that's for sure. Anyway, we've got to put all this to the side for now because it's finally time to face Osborne.
Before that, there's some new dialogue in the garden. Gaius apologizes for keeping this stuff secret from everyone and says he's had to change his worldview many times since becoming a Dominion. The Septian Church has been portrayed as mostly good up to this point. This is the first substantive negative strike against them. I guess it was bound to happen sooner or later! Still, there are a lot of good guys working with them and for them, so I don't know that it'll turn out to be pure evil in the end. When talking to Emma, Rean recalls something Vita said at the end of CS2 about "the way this world is" when referring to how the Rivalries inevitably are forgotten and then repeat themselves over and over again.
That's all for tonight. Barring an eternal epilogue like CS2, who knows, I might actually finish this game tomorrow...!
My immediate response to that was thinking the world takes place in a computer simulation. Not sure that's what they'll go with, but it would fit (characters are programmed not to think about certain things).
Also Zemuria is just the continent. The people are programmed not to think about what's outside. ---
seems like the S1 finale according to hulu. annie just got captured but managed to enshroud herself in ice. the show has gone in a very cool and unexpected direction, but it's incredibly frustrating how it refuses to give us answers about annie's motivations OR the nature of the titans. she was crying when she was beaten in the forest! we end up with flashbacks for annie that explain NOTHING about anything we care about! it's not explained how she went AWOL for a whole day and made it all the way back! and now she's literally been put on ice...
but yeah, cool fight, and thankfully at least erwin's motivations about the mole/"real enemy" are explained. definitely gives the show real direction to search for the armored and colossus, though i still wanna know what's in that shinganshina basement. ---
yet all azuarc of all sorts are more or less capricious and unreliable - they live in the varying outer weather, and they inhale its fickleness
