Board 8 > Leonhart Presents: 50 Characters, 50 Games, 50 Moments - Part 2 [lists]

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Final Fantasy XII Spoilers in Message Detail

Bonus Question: What is your favorite Final Fantasy XII moment?

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http://images.cheezburger.com/completestore/2011/8/22/2094c2de-bae8-4f5b-9f27-67eaff0aaeaf.jpg

Ahh FF XII. I love that game, haters be damned.

Anyway, favorite moment was the Belito hunt. Didn't saw THAT coming. Also, almost all of the Hunts were fun. Only Yiazmat was boring.

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My Little Phineas and Ferb: Summer is Magic!
Aww, I lost to SuperNiceDog, Winner of the Rivalry Rumble Guru Contest

From: LeonhartFour | #084
If the journey is just padding, you're doing it wrong.

Nope. Sometimes the journey is just unmemorable time passing.

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My Little Phineas and Ferb: Summer is Magic!
Aww, I lost to SuperNiceDog, Winner of the Rivalry Rumble Guru Contest

From: Natwaf_akidna | #102
Anyway, favorite moment was the Belito hunt. Didn't saw THAT coming.

Remind me which one that was? Was that the one where you have to find the guy who's taking out the other hunters?

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From: Natwaf_akidna | #103
Nope. Sometimes the journey is just unmemorable time passing.

That means you're doing it wrong.

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http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lo22vfguji1qzxr43.gif

From: LeonhartFour | #104
Remind me which one that was? Was that the one where you have to find the guy who's taking out the other hunters?

Yeah.

From: LeonhartFour | #105
That means you're doing it wrong.

There's nothing interesting to sight see on the way, my companions (if any) are no fun, and the obstacles are just... there.

Bah.

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My Little Phineas and Ferb: Summer is Magic!
Aww, I lost to SuperNiceDog, Winner of the Rivalry Rumble Guru Contest

From: Natwaf_akidna | #106
There's nothing interesting to sight see on the way, my companions (if any) are no fun, and the obstacles are just... there.

Bah.

Three signs that it's been done wrong, yep.

But yeah, that hunt was pretty awesome.

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Feel free to enjoy trashes like godawful journeys then. I for one will not "make the best of it", if there's nothing to make the best of.

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My Little Phineas and Ferb: Summer is Magic!
Aww, I lost to SuperNiceDog, Winner of the Rivalry Rumble Guru Contest

Or I'll enjoy good journeys and good destinations, like FFX.

Or Miles Edgeworth's correct character progression...!

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"Why must we always choose between certain death and probable death?"
"I'm in an epic battle to the death, FIGURE IT OUT YOURSELF!"

... ooooohhhhh, now I remember what started it.

I'm not talking about FF X, actually >_>

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My Little Phineas and Ferb: Summer is Magic!
Aww, I lost to SuperNiceDog, Winner of the Rivalry Rumble Guru Contest

The board was dead there for a bit...!

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"The great GF...Bahamut."
"...GF? I...? Using my powers...It is you humans...I fear..."

Yeap.

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Aww, I lost to SuperNiceDog, Winner of the Rivalry Rumble Guru Contest

My favourite FF12 moment is probably the same as yours.

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James - Board 8's Resident Warm And Safe, Slipper-Wearing User
& The Cream of Porcupine Tree Fanboyism

What is your favorite Final Fantasy XII moment?

Putting it back into its game case.

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http://s3-ec.buzzfed.com/static/enhanced/web04/2011/12/4/12/enhanced-buzz-wide-5065-1323019200-17.jpg

What is your favorite Final Fantasy XII moment?
Ashe picking her nose.

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Oh, I am one yet many.

So negative!

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http://i.imgur.com/eqOQs.gif

35. Zack Fair (Final Fantasy VII)
Quote: “ You’ll be…my living legacy. My honor, my dreams…They’re yours now.”






It’s impossible to discuss Zack Fair without talking about his death because it’s the crux of his character, so you gotta start with the necessary linkage to those scenes, both the Crisis Core and original Final Fantasy VII versions. It’s interesting to note that neither of his death scenes features any kind of music (I know there’s music during the fight and right after he dies in Crisis Core. I’m referring strictly to his farewell speech to Cloud in this case). I’m not sure if that was a deliberate decision in both cases and if so, what sort of effect they wanted that to have, but it’s worth mentioning, at least.

In any event, I was a Zack fan even before Crisis Core! He probably wouldn’t have made this list without it, but his death scene in FFVII was still really well done, I thought. It might be my favorite optional/bonus scene ever. I absolutely love the very end of the scene where Cloud slowly crawls up, just as it starts raining (because rain makes EVERYTHING better), takes hold of the Buster Sword, and slowly stretches his arms upward as if screaming as the camera pans back to show Midgar. It’s a very emotional moment, and one that puts the final cap on Cloud’s past, because I know I was wondering what the heck happened to Zack and how he ended up with the Buster Sword. It’s just a moving scene because it was such a tragic end to the life of a man with dreams, ambitions, and all the talent in the world, only to be gunned down by the company he had worked so hard for.

The Crisis Core adds some nice touches to the scene as well, and not just Zack’s death speech about how Cloud was going to live for the both of them and be his living legacy (something Cloud took a bit TOO literally). I love the part where Zack sets Cloud down by the rocks and then walks off to face the Shinra soldiers. Then the camera switches to Cloud’s point of view watching him walk away and he reaches out his hand toward him. That was really cool. I was kinda surprised Square made Zack’s death such a violent, bloody scene. I didn’t think they would go that route. By the way, he’s a pretty hardcore dude. Even on the verge of death, he seemingly effortlessly hands the Buster Sword to Cloud with one hand, who can’t even lift it off the ground himself with two hands.

There’s so much more I could say about all of this, but we’re pressed for space here, so we’ll move on! He’s got other cool things to talk about, too! I love Zack’s “I want to be a hero” mentality, because it reflects my own desires to be a hero, in a way. And yes, I would say that Zack became a hero! I like his upbeat attitude, too. Even when things go wrong, he always seems to remain optimistic. He manages to take everything in stride, and he doesn’t let it ruin him. I like his cocky and cool demeanor as well. It makes him a likable and charismatic guy, and it kinda reminds me of Disc 1 Cloud (I wonder why…!).

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Another thing I really like and respect about Zack is his friendship with Cloud. Zack was a SOLDIER First Class, while Cloud was just a regular Shinra guard and SOLDIER reject. Yet Zack never acted like he was better than him or too good to be associated with him. He treated Cloud as an equal and as a friend. “We’re friends, right?” And even when Cloud was essentially a vegetable, Zack still did his best to take care of him and protect him when it would’ve been easier to abandon him or pass him on to someone else’s care. I also love that little scene they added to Advent Children Complete where Cloud is on the verge of defeat against Sephiroth, and Zack shows up in his mind to encourage him, reminding him to protect his honor as SOLDIER above all else. Then he goes, “Well, you never were in SOLDIER, but it’s what’s in here [tapping his chest with his fist, obviously] that counts.” That was a nice addition to the Complete version there, one that highlights why Zack is such a likable guy.

Bonus Question: What is your favorite optional scene in a game?

Whoa, two post write-up (barely). Too hard to talk about something I love as much as FF and limit it to one post, I guess...!

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http://images.cheezburger.com/completestore/2011/8/22/2094c2de-bae8-4f5b-9f27-67eaff0aaeaf.jpg

Oh darn, I meant to post that writeup on this account. Oh well.

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Well, now that I'm getting ready to leave for work, I'm sure people will come around to participate...!

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Guess who I am!
http://gifsoup.com/webroot/animatedgifs3/1345748_o.gif

Bonus Question: Who is your favorite character in the Mega Man universe?

It used to be X but what I've played of the Zero series changed it to him instead. That redesign is awful but the Zero series is hands down superior to the alternate universe in which the MMX series goes on from 5 after Inafune stops spearheading them. I probably won't touch X6-8 again, honestly.

Bonus Question: What is your favorite multiplayer game to play locally with your friends?

That's pretty much all I enjoy multiplayer-wise! Probably Brawl, although Dynasty Warriors 4 had some good laughs. Twisted Metal 2 and Black was good fun, Melee was of course good fun before Brawl, I played through... I think it was Star Ocean 2? Entirely with a friend, although that could be wrong depending on if it's allowed. I remember it being a similar enough sort of game, and no, Leon, it wasn't a Tales game.

Bonus Question: Who is your favorite bad guy turned good guy?

Beyond the shadow of a doubt, Damar from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. So damn good. Stop reading if you're ever gonna watch, but otherwise here goes:

SPOILERS FOR A TELEVISION SERIES WHICH ENDED THIRTEEN YEARS AGO LAWL




His journey is pretty amazing to watch as far as secondary characters who only show up four out of seven seasons into a series are concerned. I know it sounds kind of cliche in writing, but all the rather haunting scenes toward the end of the show where he's drunk, his hair is a mess and he's staring into the mirror with a glass of Cardassian alcohol in his hand... just chilling. It's such a cheer when he stands up to the Dominion and makes one of the show's best speeches to his oppressed people.




END SPOILERS FOR A TELEVISION SERIES WHICH ENDED THIRTEEN YEARS AGO LAWL

Bonus Question: What is your favorite aspect of the Assassin’s Creed series?

The period-specific elements. I'm an absolute sucker for these things, even the dramatized ones.

Bonus Question: What is your favorite Final Fantasy XII moment?

Exactly what you listed for exactly the same reasons. That game desperately needed to be able to give Daisuke Watanabe a few more months with the retooling if that was his work because whoever wrote it... nailed it.

Boy, that's a good Zack write-up, but I still don't like Crisis Core very much. God, what it could have been for me if someone else had written it and the convoluted crap got shelved.

Bonus Question: What is your favorite optional scene in a game?

Same as yours. That's still Zack's finest, just that whole optional FFVII gig, even with the admittedly good stuff he was occasionally given in CC. Cloud standing in the rain and fade out... so good.

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"Later..." <Toonami> <4/1/2012> <Never Forget> ~SCP~
http://img.imgcake.com/Jeffzeropngus.png

Optional scene, I'm gonna go with meeting Luzzu outside Djose Temple. To be fair the answer's probably Zack's scene same as yours, but I thought I might as well offer something different!

Also, Zack too low.

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James - Board 8's Resident Warm And Safe, Slipper-Wearing User
& The Cream of Porcupine Tree Fanboyism

Zack's a bit high, really.

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"Later..." <Toonami> <4/1/2012> <Never Forget> ~SCP~
http://img.imgcake.com/Jeffzeropngus.png

The concert in Chrono Cross.

So epic. I didn't even get in during my first playthrough, so I thought it was just something that never happened.

First time I actually saw a game go through with the idea of something like that.

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SuperNiceDog - 1, pjbasis - 0

Whoo participation

Time to listen to The Price of Freedom until I fall asleep

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"I couldn't stand a day without a past or future. I need to live each moment to keep fighting here and now."

What is your favorite optional scene in a game?

Hmm... most recently, Radiant Historia and all the bad ends. XD At Journey's End.

But pretty much most unlockable true endings.

Ooh, and then there's the NIS series' worst ends.

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Aww, I lost to SuperNiceDog, Winner of the Rivalry Rumble Guru Contest

Oh hey, I found the MMX Collection for PS2 on Amazon for 15 bucks, so now I can finally play MMX4-7, whoo!

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"Stay with me until the end. Please."
"Not until the end. Always."

35. Shadow Hearts


We’ve already talked a bit about Shadow Hearts on the Moments list, but let’s talk about the game as a whole. Probably the main selling point of this game is its atmosphere, which is incredible. It’s very dark, ominous, and mysterious. There’s a sense of “Who knows what the heck this game is going to throw at me next.” Shadow Hearts features some seriously messed up stuff, like the village of cannibals and the orphanage. This game was released right around the same time as Final Fantasy X, although you’d never know it looking at the graphical difference. All the same, sometimes I think Shadow Hearts’s rougher graphics contribute to its atmosphere.

Shadow Hearts has a solid cast of characters, led first and foremost by Yuri Hyuga, our Rude Hero, whose cocky and brash demeanor belie just how troubled he really is. He’s been cursed with the fate of a Harmonixer, someone with the ability to fuse with monsters and take on their forms. This makes for a really awesome gameplay mechanic, as Yuri has a wide array of forms he can take with various powers. He’s just so fun to use. In addition to this, Yuri also hears a strange voice in his head that tells him where to go and what to do, and it is very persistent and bothersome if he tries not to listen. The whole reason he’s on the train at the start of the game is because of that voice. Yuri struggles with self-doubt and guilt as a result of his past, embodied by a character known as Fox-Face. How he deals with his various problems is one of the things that makes Shadow Hearts a great game.

While Yuri is the star of the show, there are others who are quite good as well. Alice is a good female lead character with a pure desire to save those she loves, even if it means sacrificing herself in the process. While she may seem weak and frail physically, she has a resolute will that cannot be broken, which kinda reminds me of Yuna. Roger Bacon/Albert Simon or whatever you want to call him (although the real Roger Bacon is great, too. I love the part where you meet him and try to name him, it’s hilarious) is a pretty good villain as well (as long as you ignore what SH2 did to him anyway). He has a good presence and gives off a good vibe of “Man, how are we supposed to beat this guy,” which is great for a villain. The other supporting characters don’t have major roles in the story, but I like Margarete and Keith quite a bit. They’re fun characters to use in battle.

Speaking of, Shadow Hearts’s battle system is simple but fun. I like the Judgment Ring and how you can use it to land critical hits on a regular basis if you’re good enough with it. It keeps you engaged in the battle, at the very least. The characters have some good special moves as well, some of them borderline ridiculous, especially Margarete’s, but that’s what I love about them. Every party member has its uses, although I would assume for most people, parties consist of Yuri/Alice/someone else (usually Keith for me, sometimes Margarete).

As far as the story goes, I really like it, although it doesn’t really pick up until the very end of the Asia arc with the SH1 moment I talked about in the other writeup. Europe is fantastic though and is really where the story shines. You don’t really deal with a lot of major plot points in Asia. They’re introduced during that part, but they aren’t really explored and resolved until you get to Europe, stuff like Yuri’s past, what that voice in his head is all about, who Albert Simon really is and what he’s after, and things like that. The game starts slow, but Europe is a blast from start to finish. It’s the second half of the game that lands Shadow Hearts on this list. It’s that good.

Bonus Question: Which game has your favorite atmosphere?

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"So cold. I am always by your side."
"There ain't no gettin' off of this train we on!"

From: LeonhartFour | #127
Oh hey, I found the MMX Collection for PS2 on Amazon for 15 bucks, so now I can finally play MMX4-7, whoo!

No, it only goes up to 6. Er, wait. Do you own 7?

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"Later..." <Toonami> <4/1/2012> <Never Forget> ~SCP~
http://img.imgcake.com/Jeffzeropngus.png

Bonus Question: Which game has your favorite atmosphere?

There are a lot of close contenders but probably Xenogears.

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"Later..." <Toonami> <4/1/2012> <Never Forget> ~SCP~
http://img.imgcake.com/Jeffzeropngus.png

From: Jeff Zero | #129
No, it only goes up to 6. Er, wait. Do you own 7?

No, I don't. I thought it went up to 7 but not 8.

Oh well, I've heard bad things about 7, so it's no big loss, I guess.

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Guess who I am!
http://gifsoup.com/webroot/animatedgifs3/1345748_o.gif

Shadow Hearts hello

Best RPG.

That one really close local friend of mine who I met on GameFAQs is literally the only person I know who's ever said something positive about 7, but he actually really likes it. Strange.

I haven't played it myself. I've beaten 1-6 and seen some of 8 though.

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"Later..." <Toonami> <4/1/2012> <Never Forget> ~SCP~
http://img.imgcake.com/Jeffzeropngus.png

There's also a Mega Man Zero Collection for DS that I was not aware of, but it's like 30 bucks used, so I'll wait for a price drop on that one.

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From: LeonhartFour | #134
There's also a Mega Man Zero Collection for DS that I was not aware of, but it's like 30 bucks used, so I'll wait for a price drop on that one.

I recently bought it. I love it so far. But damn is it hard.

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"Later..." <Toonami> <4/1/2012> <Never Forget> ~SCP~
http://img.imgcake.com/Jeffzeropngus.png

You ought to play Shadow Hearts sometime, Jeff, if you haven't. I think you'd enjoy it.

And I think I need to get more handheld games. I don't think I've even played a console game since I got this job. I like handheld games because I can play them in short spurts. That's one of the things I love about Ace Attorney, really.

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"Stay with me until the end. Please."
"Not until the end. Always."

Shadow Hearts is on the list. I could make a mock-LMS post right now but I'm not feeling particularly dramatic. Or depressed.

Handheld gaming is going great for me with all my bus-ride time. I'm making impressive inroads into the colorful world of Mother 3.

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"Later..." <Toonami> <4/1/2012> <Never Forget> ~SCP~
http://img.imgcake.com/Jeffzeropngus.png

Bonus Question: What is your favorite aspect of the Assassin’s Creed series?

This is a bit hard for me to choose, there's just so much in the AC series that I like. I'll have to go with leaps of faith, it truly is a great experience.


Bonus Question: What is your favorite Final Fantasy XII moment?


When the game ended tbh. I honestly shelved the game temporarily because I grew extremely bored when I was playing it (stupid Archades). It just felt like an enormous chore to play and I was pretty relieved that I had finished it.


Bonus Question: What is your favorite optional scene in a game?

FFIX. Marrying Quina and Vivi has become a habit now.

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I do because I can.....and because I'm bored.
http://www.yourgamercards.net/trophy/a/Micer101.png

Bonus Question: What is your favorite optional scene in a game?

FFIX. Marrying Quina and Vivi has become a habit now.

Oh my goodness, so good.

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"Later..." <Toonami> <4/1/2012> <Never Forget> ~SCP~
http://img.imgcake.com/Jeffzeropngus.png

Which game has your favorite atmosphere?

Atmosphere?

Hmm. Infinite Space and the the Wild Arms series come to mind.

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My Little Phineas and Ferb: Summer is Magic!
Aww, I lost to SuperNiceDog, Winner of the Rivalry Rumble Guru Contest

Favorite atmosphere in a video game for me probably goes to Super Metroid or The Wind Waker.

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Currently Playing - StarCraft: Brood War

Shadow Hearts, pretty good game.

Favourite atmosphere, I don't know! Maybe Heavy Rain? That game had a lot of problems, but it absolutely nailed its atmosphere at least, in my book.

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James - Board 8's Resident Warm And Safe, Slipper-Wearing User
& The Cream of Porcupine Tree Fanboyism

Haha, the Vivi/Quina "wedding" was something else indeed

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"I couldn't stand a day without a past or future. I need to live each moment to keep fighting here and now."

Whew, it's been a long day.

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Final Fantasy IX Spoilers in Message Detail

Bonus Question: What is your favorite Final Fantasy IX moment?

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"But you have been given freedom. Freedom to be...outside."
"I am lightning...the rain transformed."

Kuja's introduction.

That was the moment for me when "s*** got real."

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http://i498.photobucket.com/albums/rr345/Rakaputra/pjbasis.png
SuperNiceDog - 1, pjbasis - 0

What is your favorite Final Fantasy IX moment?

Been awhile. Anytime an Esper appears. Even when they get their asses kicked.

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My Little Phineas and Ferb: Summer is Magic!
Aww, I lost to SuperNiceDog, Winner of the Rivalry Rumble Guru Contest

Yeah, FFIX's FMVs are still pretty impressive nowadays.

Anyway, the first time we get to explore the world. I simply loved the setting.

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Proud ValHellen x Maha_Bufudyne shipper.

Espers?! Methinks you've been playing a bit too much of VI or XII...!

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So many great moments, like with all the best FFs. Probably Vivi talking to 288 in Black Mage Village.

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We are living our lives
Abound with so much information