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

(+) Yeah! (+)

Nobody cares, LMS.

also everyone appreciates you saying "I am so blatantly inconsiderate that I refuse to use spoilers and then I will post the spoilers in ALL CAPS to make it easier for you to read"

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

From: LeonhartFour | #250

The first three worlds are Deep Jungle, Wonderland, and the Coliseum, and that's the "recommended" order based on what the game rates each world's difficulty as, but you don't have to go in that order.

Based on difficulty stars the recommended order is Wonderland, Coliseum, and then Deep Jungle.

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SuperNiceDog - 1, pjbasis - 0

Oh, is it?

Hmmm...For some reason, I remember doing it in the order I posted, but it's been while since I've played the game, so I'm probably misremembering because I usually play the worlds in the "recommended" order.

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I usually do Wonderland ---> Deep Jungle ---> Coliseum because to do the recommended order requires another trip back to Traverse Town, and I usually try to avoid the gummi ship as much as possible.

To do Deep Jungle first you would literally have to decide not to land on one of the others and keep on flying.
It's cool when you do it though because when Maleficent says "speaking of which" in reference to the princesses, Snow White appears instead of Alice.

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SuperNiceDog - 1, pjbasis - 0

I may have done Deep Jungle first on a replay or something because of how bad it was and me just wanting to get it over with as soon as possible.

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That's tough!

Maybe this is just because I've only played Proud recently, but those monkeys and the bosses can kill you really easily, like one or two shots and you only get Cure in the Coliseum.

To go there right after Traverse Town would be quite hard.

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SuperNiceDog - 1, pjbasis - 0

Well, I don't play Proud Mode, so...

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

31. Frog (Chrono Trigger)
Quote: “Mine name is Glenn…Cyrus’s hopes and dreams…and now the Masamune, forthwith I shall slay Magus and restore honor!”


Frog is a pretty cool dude. I’m not as big of a fan of Chrono Trigger as most people, but I’ve always liked him, even if his attempts at Middle English are atrocious. I was glad when they threw it out for the DS remake because if you don’t believe you can do it right, then don’t bother. I find it strange that people are so attached to Frog’s “accent,” but I’m assuming they don’t understand the grammatical structure of Middle English because if a person spoke in modern English in a video game with that kind of grammar, it’d even annoy people who aren’t former English majors such as myself! It’d be the equivalent of someone saying stuff like “This guy are sick” all the time! It’s funny once, but all the time? It’d get pretty irritating.

Now that we’ve gotten my English rant out of the way, let’s talk about the fun stuff! I think Frog has a pretty cool design. Yeah, he’s a frog…but he’s also a knight! He has great-looking sprites though and some cool animations, especially when he’s wielding the Masamune, which also looks great. Of course, he has an awesome theme song. He’s not all that useful in battle by himself, but he has some cool Double Techs that I like to use. I usually sport an endgame party of Crono, Frog, and Ayla because they have some good Tech combos, like X Strike and Slurp Kiss.

Frog’s rivalry with Magus is very enjoyable as well. It’s probably one of my favorite aspects of the game, even if it doesn’t get a whole lot of screen time. The first time going to Magus’s castle after you obtain the Masamune is really cool. I also love the FMVs they added in Final Fantasy Chronicles that show Frog opening the way, and then you have the one where they reach Magus’s lair and all the blue flames light up. I also think it’s cool that when you fight him again later, you have the option of killing him or letting him join your party (although I don’t know why you’d kill him unless you really just hate him that much). The ending where Frog goes to confront Magus might be my favorite one (and Frog wins the fight, for the record!). I just think their whole rivalry is well done.

I do enjoy Frog’s storyline as a guy who’s out for redemption and revenge after Magus killed his best friend and made a mockery of him by turning him into a frog. He does sort of lose hope for a while, but once you present him with the reformed Masamune, he’s ready to go! Overall, I think Frog’s a cool guy who has an interesting story, and as a result, he’s my favorite Chrono Trigger character.

Bonus Question: What is your Chrono Trigger party of choice?

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From: LeonhartFour | #258
Bonus Question: What is your Chrono Trigger party of choice?
Crono, Frog, Magus. Unique reply I'm sure!

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We clasped our hands, our hands in praise of a conquerors right to tyranny

Crono, Robo, Ayla.

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"COMMUNITY is back at 8 on the 15th. I have a good feeling about those numbers." - Damon Lindelof

Crono, Frog, Magus

Best team

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You saved science, SuperNiceDog!
Congratulations to the Kentucky Wildcats, NCAA basketball champions!

Yeah I think the fleshed out KH lore is what really gives KH legs and doesn't make it feel like senseless fanfiction, so I'm going to go with the original stuff as being best there.

Edgar is the best FF6 character (and the main character for those keeping score at home-- not Terra or Celes)

Best CT party is Magus Robo Lucca gotta rep that OMEGA FLARE. (more like it's the only team that has a Magus triple tech that doesn't involve Marle... though actually those might be my three favorite characters anyway come to think of it)

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No problem!
This is a cute and pop genocide of love!

Also huh I need to play the DS remake. A big part of the reason I've never been a Frog fan is because of his stupid "accent." I felt like Cyan did it to a point where it was funny but not completely overdone, and Frog was just ridiculous to the point where it became obnoxious.

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No problem!
This is a cute and pop genocide of love!

Crono Marle Lucca


....don't give me that look

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SuperNiceDog - 1, pjbasis - 0

I forgot.... I think it was Chrono and Magus, with interchangeable Ayla and Lucca.

I do remember not liking Frog's choice of spells, so he's usually the one shafted, while Marle and Robo have their day every now and then.

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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: pjbasis | #264
Crono Marle Lucca


....don't give me that look
Well, there's nothing wrong with this combination strictly from a gameplay perspective.

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http://www.miscupload.com/upload/452457071929141623517416.gif

Also aw yeah to working half a shift and getting paid for a full shift because of getting paid time and a half for working a holiday

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

Honestly I cycle out the characters regularly like I do with most RPGs.

When it comes down to the final battle though I tend to take in the "main characters" though, which are usually the ones that make up the initial party.

Other examples would be
Cloud Tifa Barret
Zidane Dagger Vivi Steiner
Lloyd Colette Genis Raine

I probably would have taken Ashley and Kaiden but, yeah

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SuperNiceDog - 1, pjbasis - 0

Cloud/Tifa/Barret and Zidane/Dagger/Vivi/Steiner are good.

But Lloyd/Colette/Genis/Raine? I usually keep Raine around for her healing powers, but my other two are Presea and Zelos usually (or Kratos if he happens to be there instead).

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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!"

I never have to take gameplay balance into account because these games are never that hard.

Heck sometimes in job class games I purposefully give everyone an obscure job just to see how I can manage.

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SuperNiceDog - 1, pjbasis - 0

Seriously who uses Colette and Genis. I can see being a deviant and liking one of them, or using Genis for his gameplay and not liking him, but both?

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No problem!
This is a cute and pop genocide of love!

Yeah, I use Genis for gameplay purposes, but Colette's kinda blah in both gameplay and character.

(although as an embarrassing confession when I replayed Tales of Symphonia a couple months ago I found I don't dislike Genis and Colette as much as I used to)

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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 | #272

(although as an embarrassing confession when I replayed Tales of Symphonia a couple months ago I found I don't dislike Genis and Colette as much as I used to)

Just list a few more characters and this has the workings of an LMS sentence.

That or he ruined the word embarrassing for me.

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SuperNiceDog - 1, pjbasis - 0

I use Crono/Frog/Marle.

...I really liked the box art, okay.

Also, Colette/Genis/Raine, yeesh. Not that I should be complaining, I used Zelos/Kratos, Genis, and Raine for all of my first ToS playthrough. That was bad. Now, I just use Zelos and three other random characters. I try to avoid Genis, because he is so bad. At least, as a character.

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Rank 9, Dr. Peace? Pffft, nothing compared to Rank 1, Dr_Football!
when thinking of Krystal, does GMUN's pants get overcrowded? ~ GMUN

From: pjbasis | #273
From: LeonhartFour | #272

(although as an embarrassing confession when I replayed Tales of Symphonia a couple months ago I found I don't dislike Genis and Colette as much as I used to)

Just list a few more characters and this has the workings of an LMS sentence.

That or he ruined the word embarrassing for me.
Well, it's hard to get toward the workings of an LMS sentence when the word "played" is in there somewhere.

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

zing!

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SuperNiceDog - 1, pjbasis - 0

I actually don't dislike Genis that much, to be honest. Like he has his terrible moments but he recovers to some extent. But I always considered myself slightly deviant on that matter. But let's be honest, if your team doesn't have Lloyd Sheena Zelos it's broken.

Also uhhh random note I started playing CTDS (which I've had for years) because of this topic. Probably a bad idea.

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No problem!
This is a cute and pop genocide of love!

Nothing wrong with CTDS! It's still the same game, just with a new translation, a new ending, and a new dungeon!

Also, while I love Sheena, I'm not as big of a fan of hers gameplay-wise. I always hate having to do that one-on-one duel with her because I don't like the way she plays.

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

I actually manually control Sheena sometimes. She's got the second best gameplay (behind Lloyd of the 9000 hit combo, obviously) for me. Chaining seals together is kinda fun. Regal and Colette feel awkward, Zelos/Kratos are okay but I don't like how their stuff comboes outside of LIGHTNING BL->SUPER LIGHTNING BLADE, Presea is too damn slow (and Presea), and Raine/Genis are casters.

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No problem!
This is a cute and pop genocide of love!

And yeah I was saying "probably a bad idea" cause I for some reason don't expect myself to finish it again. It's been okay nostalgia so far though, even though I just barely (needed to get those silver points for the extra cat and the two toys) entered 600 AD right now.

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No problem!
This is a cute and pop genocide of love!

Presea's the only other character I manually control at times other than Lloyd (unless the party's split up and I can't use him or her). I pretty much agree with you on everyone else, but I like Presea's specials, even if she is slow.

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Colette's angel feathers cancel is some cheap ****. Sheena in battle ugh. meh on Presea.

Zelos Hell pyre all day.

I'm well aware Colette is actually one of the best in battle if you can use her but it's just not very satisfying to pull off even if you're piling on the damage. Just doesn't feel fluid. (and the AI is terrible with her)

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No problem!
This is a cute and pop genocide of love!

31. Nier


I’m not sure why KP was so sure in the last topic that this game wasn’t going to appear on the list, considering he was the one who got me into this game, and we talked about it a ton! In a generation that hasn’t had many standout JRPGs, Nier is a breath of fresh air. Unfortunately, the game didn’t exactly get a great deal of press or praise publicly, so it’s flown under the radar, despite being published by Square-Enix. It took a lot of flack for its graphics, which while certainly not on par with the best this generation has had to offer, really aren’t that bad. Nier had a pretty low budget, which does show at times (like its relatively small world, in which you revisit a handful of locations multiple times), but it makes the most of what it has.

Nier has a unique situation with its main character, in more ways than one. The stereotypical JRPG lead is a bishounen guy in his teens, but in this game, the main character is a middle-aged man. However, the main character was originally designed to be a bishounen guy in his teens, but for whatever the reason, the developers decided to release an alternate version with a middle-aged guy because they thought he would appeal more to western audiences. Japan got both versions (with the 360 version getting old man Nier), while we only got old man Nier.

Regardless, he’s an interesting guy. He’s not really a deep thinker. He is focused on one thing and one thing only: Trying to find a cure for his daughter’s deadly illness, and he doesn’t care what he has to do to find it. While I generally admire that focus, it also kind of irritates me at times because he makes him come across as completely oblivious to the plotline. He has nothing to say about the major revelations that occur at the end of the game, and he throws out this doozy of an ironic statement to the Shadowlord during the last battle: “You want me to understand your sadness? You think I’m going to sympathize with you?” Well, you of all people should considering the Shadowlord is, well, you! I dunno, I felt like there were some missed opportunities by not having Nier react to those revelations.

The rest of the cast is pretty great, too. I talked about Grimoire Weiss in an earlier writeup on the characters list, but Kaine and Emil are great as well. They all work well together as a team, and they have some awesome banter. While the game’s sidequests are hit and miss (and miss more often than not), nearly each one has some sort of unique dialogue between the party, and they’re pretty great. Nier has some good dialogue and outstanding voice acting, and they bring life to the characters. Good chemistry among party members is a big thing for me when it comes to RPGs, and Nier nails it.

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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."

The gameplay is pretty fun, too. It’s an action RPG, so it’s not turn-based. It’s more of a Kingdom Hearts style in which you do most of the work, and your party members contribute a little bit but not much. Although unlike in KH, they never get KO’d if they take too much damage from an enemy, so that’s nice. You also learn various spells over the course of the game. Everyone seems to have their own personal favorite, but I loved using the Dark Lance, personally. The game also has some great bosses. Other than the last boss, I think my favorite was the giant Shade at the Aerie. The aftermath of that fight is really good, too.

Of course, I would be remiss in not mentioning how excellent Nier’s soundtrack is, probably one of the best in any video game. If you’ve never played Nier, you may have heard some of its songs if you follow Ed Bellis’s Video Game Music Contest, but if you haven’t, do yourself a favor and go to Youtube right now and listen to a few songs, like Shadowlord, Song of the Ancients ~ Fate, Hills of Radiant Wind…Heck, any of them. Most of the soundtrack is outstanding. You can thank me later.

Bonus Question: What is your favorite video game soundtrack?

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

Also, now that Bacon has kindly reduced spoiler tags down to just "sp" instead of making you spell out the entire word, I'll try to do a better job of using tags to hide major spoilers in character and game writeups (as I did above) so you people who aren't familiar with the character or the game can read the writeup without fear!

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http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/Sensui22/1248835958206.png

Hell yeah, Nier. I never remember it when I'm coming up with "favorite x games of this generation" or anything, but it really is up there. Voice acting is pretty top notch, too.

Favorite soundtrack is definitely Wild Arms. It's one of the few games I can sit and listen to the soundtrack on its own like an album. Past that, Nier, Chrono Trigger/Cross, and FF7/9, and Xenoblade come to mind.

Which also serves as a pretty similar list to "my favorite RPGs" -- guess soundtracks are pretty important to my experience.

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You saved science, SuperNiceDog!
Congratulations to the Kentucky Wildcats, NCAA basketball champions!

From: LeonhartFour | #285
Bonus Question: What is your favorite video game soundtrack?
Final Fantasy XII

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Mistake you're making - overlooking the fact that we might not want to be saved.

Ugh, the combat is pretty unfun though.

And I never really thought I'd care so much about a game having archaic design until Nier.

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SuperNiceDog - 1, pjbasis - 0

I never really thought I'd care so much about a game having an archaic design until Nier either.

And after Nier, I still don't.

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At least you admitted it has archaic design.

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SuperNiceDog - 1, pjbasis - 0

I'm pretty sure I admitted it in the first paragraph of the writeup.

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

I'm not just talking about archaic graphics.

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SuperNiceDog - 1, pjbasis - 0

I also mentioned that the limitations of the game's low budget showed in other areas.

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Does it take budget to make good level design or combat system?

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SuperNiceDog - 1, pjbasis - 0

I'm sure it doesn't hurt.

But I never really found the battle system to be problematic.

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What is your favorite video game soundtrack?

Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter (same guy that did FFXII, as it happens)

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We are living our lives
Abound with so much information

I think it's annoying when the best strategy is to spam the magic over and over. Especially the fist.

It doesn't really pay to get up close and risk damage when magic replenishes and does so much more damage.

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SuperNiceDog - 1, pjbasis - 0

You don't have to play that way if you don't want to, you know!

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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."

awww yeah Nier

Bonus Question: What is your favorite video game soundtrack?

awww yeah Nier (if Umineko doesn't count)

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Black Turtle did a pretty good job.