Board 8 > Quinton and Leonhart in Different Houses: Magic Fate/Ball Edition [JZLF]

(+) Yeah! (+)

And I just want to love Mass Effect 3 in peace but I still get hundreds of emails a day from disgruntled fans

okay like two a year
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Ass Class is short for Assassination Classroom.

Nothing to do with asses! Not sure if that's better or worse for you though.
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I know what it's short for
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also I think The Last Jedi took a cue from Unwound Future because there's a scene here where Layton rigs up a slot machine to shoot a boatload of coins at people who have actual guns and somehow runs them off
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wow

look at all that empty space

what a bunch of amateurs
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we refuse to sell out with ads

we just

happen to

not know what else to put down there is all
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In the event that you were serious, I do think Flying Witch is a show you would like. Also almost definitely Plastic Memories based on reputation, though I haven't seen it myself.

Edit: Well actually I'm not sure they have dubs so that might be a deal-breaker, but yeah
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I enjoyed Plastic Memories but from what he's said about arguably similar shows in the past I'm not sure Leonhart would like it.
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One of my least favorite things in Layton games is when you use all the hints and they still don't help, but the last hint is like, "Once you do all these things the answer should be staring you straight in the face!" And I still don't see it.

I've realized I'm terrible with shape puzzles, which makes sense since I hated geometry.
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Like when everyone's making fun of Apollo for missing something, and then even he's like "nah I got this..."

And I'm like...oh shit I don't know what they're talking about
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I'm actually okay with occupying that space with Ace Attorney because I don't like being too far ahead of the protagonist. I like the surprise of figuring it out when they do, or even after they do.
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The more annoying thing about hints is when they just put random facts in the hints instead of actually helping you with the puzzle
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Arti posted...

The more annoying thing about hints is when they just put random facts in the hints instead of actually helping you with the puzzle

Oh yeah, I remember this one with some of those ball puzzles in Diabolical Box, but at least they warn you ahead of time not to waste your time expecting the hints to actually be hints.
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Oh I forgot to post this last night but I watched The Last Jedi. Definitely the most ambitious Star Wars film, which I can respect even if those ambitions sometimes missed their mark. I think there were more hits than misses though, and it was always a pretty exciting movie even during the times when it didn't make sense thematically. Overall definitely one of my favourite Star Wars films, though I admit I've never been a huge fan of the series the way a lot of people are.

5 > 8 > 3 > 6 > 7 > 1 > 4 >>> 2. Haven't seen Rogue One.
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Mobilezoid posted...

I enjoyed Plastic Memories but from what he's said about arguably similar shows in the past I'm not sure Leonhart would like it.

Which show were you thinking of that LeonhartFour didn't like?
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Team Rocket Elite posted...

Which show were you thinking of that LeonhartFour didn't like?

It wasn't that he didn't like it, it's more that Plastic Memories shares certain aspects and he didn't like those aspects in the other anime. This is going to be hard to talk about because even if I'm vague anyone who has seen one of these two animes will likely instantly guess spoilers about the other one once they see my reasoning. They might even be able to guess just from the name itself. I'll spoiler tag the name of the anime Leonhart had seen and my explanation separately for that reason, but check at your own risk I guess

Name: Your Lie in April

Reasoning: Specifically, Leonhart felt the predictability of the plot in YLiA made it hard to care about a certain character. Plastic Memories has a similar predictability and really relies on the viewer caring about a character
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wow I don't think I've ever seen someone put A New Hope that close to the bottom
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Anyway, I finished chapter 3 of Professor Layton and the Unwound Future. Not a ton of plot progression here. The plan was to go to Chinatown, where evil Layton has his headquarters, but we got derailed and now we're going back to the past to talk to Chelmey about the time machine demonstration. Layton sees that girl whose nose is always red (and we learn her name is Claire), prompting a flashback that shows that his trademark top hat was a gift from her, which would explain why he never takes it off. Layton even begins to wonder if she's been brought to this period via time travel as well since she apparently shouldn't even be alive now.

Also if it turns out Future Luke isn't real Luke there may have been the first major hint just now when I got the parrot. Future Luke doesn't attempt to talk to the parrot himself but asks present Luke to do it. I figure the easiest test to see if he's the real Luke is to see if he can talk to animals. It's weird that in a game where everything seemingly fantastical has an explanation, Luke being able to talk to animals is just accepted as fact and never questioned.
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LeonhartFour posted...

wow I don't think I've ever seen someone put A New Hope that close to the bottom

I'd have ANH third from the bottom, if that helps. I feel like I've seen a good number of lists with it above only 1 and 2.
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LeonhartFour posted...

wow I don't think I've ever seen someone put A New Hope that close to the bottom

wow confirmed leon doesn't read my posts

i have it last

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Anyways, I've been playing Xenoblade 2 the last two days. Still not totally sure to make of this game. Feels like I'm playing a game that's a downgrade of X - especially graphically. As if it were designed for portable mode or something. Camera can get pretty wonky, especially in tight areas. I could make a list of QoL modificiations I'd make already to greatly improve/streamline things. Also not totally sold on the story/characters/writing yet but it's still very early so there's hope - feels off so far though.

With all that out of the way though, I'm still enjoying it a lot. I don't totally "get" combat yet, but it's pretty fun and the music has been great thus far. Also the boss theme is downright amazing.
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xp1337 posted...

wow confirmed leon doesn't read my posts

i have it last

I'd have probably deleted such terrible things from my memories

in fact I think I just did it again
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xp1337 posted...

Anyways, I've been playing Xenoblade 2 the last two days. Still not totally sure to make of this game. Feels like I'm playing a game that's a downgrade of X - especially graphically. As if it were designed for portable mode or something. Camera can get pretty wonky, especially in tight areas. I could make a list of QoL modificiations I'd make already to greatly improve/streamline things. Also not totally sold on the story/characters/writing yet but it's still very early so there's hope - feels off so far though.

With all that out of the way though, I'm still enjoying it a lot. I don't totally "get" combat yet, but it's pretty fun and the music has been great thus far. Also the boss theme is downright amazing.

A lot of weird design choices for sure

I'm in chapter 6 and still really don't care for the main character. Most of the rest of the cast are fine, though.
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I typically see ANH somewhere in the top three on most every list I see on the net so it's interesting to see a few folks have it so close to the bottom. My friend Kiria has it like second to last too but she's crazy about aardvarks and Monster Rancher and likes mocchi a LOT so I never expected so many people suddenly agreeing with her ranking.

Another interesting thing: I'm noticing that people who self-identity as NOT big Star Wars fans are responding really well to TLJ overall. It makes sense considering TLJ uproots certain expectations bigly. I am not really a hardcore fan myself (it's one of my favorite franchises but I don't dip my toes very far into the expanded media nor join dedicated sites/forums/programs etc like I do with, say, Star Trek) but I personally rank it somewhere closer to the middle. My reasoning has nothing to do with it uprooting expectations though; I just find it too uneven to hit the top spots. But anyway, there's obviously going to be exceptions like me to any rule, but a lot of the time I'm seeing militant fans call it trash and more easygoing casual semi-fans hailing it in their top 3 and I can generally see why.

xp, between your comment about Xenoblade 2's graphics and the fact that the game features a gacha-based mechanic for its Blades, I honestly think you're right that it's designed portably first and foremost. I keep picturing millions of commuter Japanese people on trains tossing time into the Blades thing while looking over one-another's shoulders like "YOU HAVE KOS-MOS? YOU ARE SO LUCKY, STRANGER!" It all feels rather 2017 in gaming to me and not in a great way.

(I know very little about the plot/characters though and I would like to keep it that way until I play it but hearing that it's a return to more regular narrative presentation and characterization a la XB1 makes me happy.)
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Jeff Zero posted...

Another interesting thing: I'm noticing that people who self-identity as NOT big Star Wars fans are responding really well to TLJ overall.

Hype...rising?
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I'm probably in the same general league as Jeff Zero when it comes to Star Wars fandom, but I really liked it.

I'm also generally pliable and easy to please. Even when it comes to stuff I don't like (and there are things about TLJ I don't like), I just accept them and move on rather than getting stuck on why they're bad or trying to head-canon them out of existence. I prefer to focus on what I like more than what I don't like, so I guess I'm more tolerant of things that are technically "flawed" but have a lot of good things going for them (like my favorite game FFVIII, for instance).
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^5 focusing on things we like rather than dislike

Life is too short
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that's not to say I couldn't come up with detailed posts on stuff like why FFX-2 Yuna's characterization is completely at odds with FFX Yuna or why one particular moment in Apollo Justice that pjbasis will perhaps experience soon is terrible

I can certainly elaborate on something's flaws. I don't pretend they don't exist. I just like them despite the flaws.
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And I cannot deny (nor should I!) that the decreased characterizarions of B'Elanna and Tuvok in later seasons of Star Trek: Voyager isn't detrimental to the show, even as standout characters like Seven and The Doctor are given meteoric rises in screentime and narrative relevance. I don't pretend the sidelining isn't real, I just try to make the most of the net positives which still push seasons 4-7 over 1-3!
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I just love analyzing and critiquing things.

Good, bad, it's all fine. I do prefer imperfect things that do some things really well than things that do everything solidly (Cross > Trigger) but hey.
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Eh, with Chrono Cross, it has good stuff in it, but I've never wanted to replay the game since I beat it. It's not strong enough in areas I'd like it to be strong in to counterbalance that.

I'm not a huge Chrono Trigger fan either though.
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Chrono Trigger top 15 game

Cross I haven't been able to get back into since its first few years which is a shame since it's aesthetically absolutely lovely
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I do still have this Chrono Cross related account though

good times
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I can't believe I didn't push for Serge in that contest.

I didn't realize what kind of chaff would get in.
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pjbasis, use the Chaff Grenade!
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XB2 feels like it has a lot more cutscenes than XB1 so far. I wonder how long it's been since we've had such a cutscene-heavy RPG?
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Mac Arrowny posted...

XB2 feels like it has a lot more cutscenes than XB1 so far. I wonder how long it's been since we've had such a cutscene-heavy RPG?

April 2017
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Hmm. P5 has a lot more standing around talking scenes, which don't quite feel the same? I dunno.
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It's got a lot of cutscenes, too.
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Mac Arrowny posted...

XB2 feels like it has a lot more cutscenes than XB1 so far. I wonder how long it's been since we've had such a cutscene-heavy RPG?

Even if I end up hating XB2, I'll have to commend Takahashi on one key thing: he's finally gone back and made a very cutscene-heavy game...

...and finished it
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Jeff Zero posted...

but hearing that it's a return to more regular narrative presentation and characterization a la XB1 makes me happy

weird considering X was superior

Jeff Zero posted...

Mac Arrowny posted...

XB2 feels like it has a lot more cutscenes than XB1 so far. I wonder how long it's been since we've had such a cutscene-heavy RPG?

Even if I end up hating XB2, I'll have to commend Takahashi on one key thing: he's finally gone back and made a very cutscene-heavy game...

...and finished it

xenosaga 3 wasn't that long ago

for a given definition of finished

and long ago i guess
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Yeah, 3 was 12 years ago. That's a long time!
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In Fate....stay night, Saber and Shiro continue to butt heads over him coming home late, not asking for her help when he needs it, and not taking the fight to other Masters and Servants, to the point that she eventually sneaks out while he's sleeping to attack Ryudo Temple, where Assassin is waiting.

Also, everyone wants to walk Shiro to school, which hurts Sakura's feelings at first, but thankfully he's able to get everything sorted out, so that's a big relief. Rin even tries to run Sakura off again later on, but she stubbornly refuses to give in and charges in to make dinner anyway. Heck yeah, fight for your screentime! Don't let your sister of all people take it away from you! Even when she finds out Rin's going to be staying with Shiro, Sakura tells him she's not worried and she has complete faith in him. At the very least, she probably doesn't have to worry about Rin since we're not on the UBW route this time...! I guess her primary rival in love this time will be Saber, because who else is there? Well, I guess there's crazy teacher lady, but I doubt it. Plus, Shiro and Saber keep bickering like an old married couple all the time here.
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There's one other lady Shirou has a romance with in the sequel VN, but I'm not sure if you'd guess who!
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I'm not sure I'd like to guess who because I'm not sure there are any other appealing options

also I started spoilering stuff now because it feels like we're hitting a divergence point (or getting very close to it) in F/SN compared to UBW, so I wouldn't read anything else I post about it until you catch up, Jeff Zero
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Duly noted. I'm watching episodes 16 through 18 or so tonight (that is the plan at least)
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On Fate/Stay night UBW, DAMMIT, TO THINK I ALL BUT DISMISSED MY "CRAZY THEORY PARAGRAPH" OUT OF HAND WHEN I LITERALLY MENTIONED ARCHER BEING SHIRO AS ONE OF THE POTENTIALITIES! Did I miss something up until this point in the story, either here or even in Fate/Zero, in which a character stated that a heroic spirit could be from the present or future, too? Because thinking otherwise was why I originally said he might be Kiritsugu; that'd be the past, at least, even if it'd be the super-recent past. But then when I started getting carried away, noticing the similarities between Shiro and Archer and wondering if went a step further and they're literally the same person... wow, time paradox stuff, huh? No wonder my friend esurio loved this story so much! I'm looking forward to learning even more about this. I'm also wondering if this Archer even exists in the Saber route! That'd be nuts if he didn't but given how much I've heard Fate/Stay does differing paths well, I wouldn't be totally surprised.

Oh man, oh man, oh man. So much get hype with this reveal. I meant when I said I'd have been fine with Archer just being some guy from another era, but honestly I was really hoping he'd be either Shiro or Kuritsugu. Somehow, given how much I love Shiro ("MEET ME IN THE FOREST.") I'm able to forgive Archer for a lot of his tomfrakkery now just knowing that it's him. I was really getting tired of the guy lately until this twist but now he's interesting again.

I haven't even mentioned the Ilyasviel flashback stuff. Super tragic. Although it's one of those cases where I really wish this were more like a 50-episode anime because it would have given her more build-up within this story instead of dropping it all like an atom bomb on someone I'd care a lot less about if it weren't for Fate/Zero. (Still, 26 episodes. 3 of which are double-length. 29 is pretty freaking sweet for a show with a budget like this one. But that's just me. That's how I always am. I want more. Do more with the world, develop things a bit more slowly, so on, so forth.) Gilgamesh versus Berserker was as good as I'd hoped. Also, Shinji just blurting out Gilgamesh's name, lol. I expect Gilgamesh is going to be this kid's end. I expect he'll enjoy it, too.

And of course there was the showdown with Caster, freeing Saber, Rin's amazing moment where she forges a pact with Saber, Shiro being awesome fighting the good fight against a close quarters combat master, all of it was great. Lancer keeps helping our heroes out but we saw Lancer tied to Kirei earlier. Since I've seen Fate/Zero I know the full extent of how diabolical such a union could be -- and possibly for Lancer himself too if he isn't completely in on this. Does Lancer just have the worst luck or what? I guess I'll find out soon.

I'd been craving a bloodbath and I'm starting to get one but not entirely in the ways I'd expected. Taking poor Ilyasviel out of play already was more than the Caster-and-her-master one-two punch I'd anticipated. Now Shiro and Saber and Lancer are off to rescue Rin. But with Gilgamesh stalking around, and given his ties with Kirei, and considering Lancer... oh man.

Nice dawn panorama outside the church btw!
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Nah, they never state in F/Z that a heroic spirit can be from the future. It's just a natural assumption you'd make that they can only be from the past until you find out who Archer is.

It's a really cool twist though.
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Yeah, like, I was definitely beginning to wonder and that's why I threw that particular potential plot arrow up against the board in an earlier write-up. But it felt somewhat unlikely since it had never been confirmed whether or not such a thing could occur. And I'm pretty glad it isn't stated until the reveal too because it would have made things a heck of a lot more obvious.
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To clarify my Fate character opinions given that reveal: I consider Archer to be a distinct character from Shirou and like him quite a bit
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