Board 8 > SaveEstelle & LeonhartFour in New Houses: Anniversary Edition [SELF]

(+) Yeah! (+)

Leonhart4 posted...

He's tried to play it before and not gotten far.

Speaking of, it's almost time for Episode Yuffie.

Have they said how much it costs yet?
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Yeah, 13 Sentinels holds back just enough that you can't totally piece it all together too quickly.

Mac Arrowny posted...

Have they said how much it costs yet?

I haven't seen a price yet.

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The Mana Sword posted...

wait are you actually playing ff7 for the first time

I assume you were just doing a replay

Its like my fifth time starting the game at all, but my first time getting past like Fort Condor (which is extra bizarre because the only other mainline FFs I havent played at least like 80% of are 15 and 11 (havent played 11 at all))

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The Office (British version) Season 2 Episode 2 complete!

Okay, the employee evaluation scene between David and Keith was gold. I think David kinda works better as the straight man, but they don't let him play that very often.

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LeonhartFour posted...

Okay, the employee evaluation scene between David and Keith was gold. I think David kinda works better as the straight man, but they don't let him play that very often.

one of the most iconic scenes in the show!

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Castlevania Season 4 Episode 2 complete!

This felt more like a setup episode where they're reminding you of everyone's goals and motivations in case you forgot them. One thing I did forget is how gruesome the violence can be at times.

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hit sub-1:50 on a lttp randomizer seed today

gonna be a pro soon

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Wow, that's pretty awesome. I wish I had the drive to get good at something like that.

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my drive for that kind of stuff comes and goes, I've played the rando on and off and even tried speedrunning the vanilla game for a bit. we'll see how long this burst lasts, but I'm pretty happy with how quickly I've cleaned up my runs after only being at it for two weeks.

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Do you play in any randomizer tournaments?
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no, I'm hardly good enough for those yet, but if I end up keeping this up and can get my average time to the 1:40 range I'd like to enter one.

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Finally knocked out my main obstacle in getting all of the Triple Triad cards in FFXIV by getting Tidus's!!

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13 Sentinels: Yakushiji, Fuyusaka, Kisaragi, and Amiguchi.

Yakushiji: Fluffy is just the best sarcastic asshole, he's great. Liked that Yakushiji overcame the impulse to claim she's acting for Juro's sake and is doing this for her own wishes. Fluffy also laid some of his cards on the table about what he's actually having Yakushiji do here, seems like he's installing those glowing Sentinel summon spots on his targets. I was also pretty sure there was something up with whether he was seen by everyone or not but I hadn't pinned down if it was only Yakushiji who could see him or if a few scenes on Fuyusaka's end were trying to demonstrate that there was some unknown condition that let some people see him but not others - IIRC an early scene has Kisaragi say she never saw a cat, etc. - but it's looking like only Yakushiji can see him at the moment.

Kisaragi: The big reveal here was Universal Control with Shinonome theorizing and Sekigahara basically confirming that the mainframe can tamper with memories and control people's lives to maintain the masquerade of a normal world. I think this piece works very well with a number of the theories I've floated so far. Also, damn, it just vanished Miwako that's some brutal shit. I've been spending a lot of time trying to figure her out because I've come to the conclusion that the game isn't "wasting" characters and she was one of the more obvious "so what's her purpose for moving this story forward" characters still on the board. The screen cropping her out during Kisaragi accidentally contacting her Sentinel AI self (I assume) and the ensuing group discussion had me super suspicious (one of my many barely formed ideas was she was some alternate Kisaragi - they both have braids!) that maybe she was Universal Control's monitor blending into the cast in plain sight. So now the question is why was she kept from returning? What does she know that the mainframe doesn't what the others to know?

Fuyusaka: This opened up Fuyusaka's story again and based on the % I figured this would be the last bit and it was. Immediately Universal Control comes into play when Sekigahara and Fuyusaka confront Morimura and she reveals she's a data copy of the real Morimura created by Universal Control. Sekigahara also asked Fuyusaka to go back 16 years with him (and if 426 wasn't mostly solved by now I'd be raising red flags at that) and seems to have given up and passed his Sentinel on to Fuyusaka. In any event, that's my first story cleared.

Amiguchi: Whoa now it seems like good fortune I did that Kisaragi event when I did because Universal Control returns. The Midnight Channel leads him and Takamiya to the edge of the world but the real highlight of the session was the very last bit I did before I stopped - Amiguchi's point of view of the time Kurabe came to his house. I was immediately curious how this would appear given what I now know about Shiba. But the real wham was when all of a sudden Kurabe handed him the video tape because we know now. Also damn that video with Ida/426/Kisaragi.

Will pick up with more Amiguchi next time.

Overall: Ooookay, so my current thing is trying to sort out the different plans here. There's Project Ark which is apparently a plan to save humanity by sending some people to a new world. This sounds like the terraforming project with maybe the added detail that something happened to Earth so it's now more significant than "just" terraforming? Honestly, I'd be best served by using the event viewer to rewatch a few key scenes - mostly future Shinonome's recording to herself and the Ida/Morimura conversation that Sekigahara overheard - but I'm kinda just here for the ride so I haven't bothered to do so and might not. So relying on my super poor memory I'm thinking that this is all taking place on the Shikishima Interstellar Station thing. The "loop" the cast is in is Universal Control simulating a bunch of NPCs outside the "compatibles" to maintain the illusion of a normal world. What I'm trying to remember really and why I mention why I probably ought to rewatch those scenes if I actually want to solve this is I recall future!Shinonome going into some detail about what she did to the plan. She accused Ida of lying and that they were the only ones left so it sounds like she learned the truth somewhere and decided to alter the plan. But without rewatching it I can't recall if the loop is literal as in the terraformers are repairing destroyed sectors off-screen and the cast is in some literal loop, possibly involving cloning and memory transplants to facilitate it (reloading backup memories from this Sector 0 that seems to be outside the loop). Argh I've hurt my head trying to figure this out from memory.

Anyway, moving on to Fluffy. I'd actually been considering it possible he was another instance of 426 that jumped to Yakushiji since she's always hanging out with Kurabe so there'd likely be opportunity and chronologically I think Fluffy first pops up when 426 jumps to Kurabe so it kinda lines up. I am liking my idea that 426 is trying to help the cast and I think the same is true for Fluffy. Based on 426 apparently telling Sekigahara how to transfer Sentinel control to Fuyusaka and Fluffy giving people the means to summon Sentinels it sounds like they're trying to give the cast the means to choose their own fates. From my shaky recollection of the Ida/Morimura conversation I'm guessing it's an all-or-nothing move where if they fail it's not recoverable because they'll be breaking the loop so there's no longer a chance to reset the world. Trying to figure out how Universal Control and Inaba factor in. UC seems hostile to the group but I'm not yet clear on why it might be while Inaba professes to be in support of the Ark Project.

Okay I've been rambling for way too long and even I'm not sure what I've been saying for like half of this post now so I'm just going to stop lol.

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This game is so good. Just when you think you've figured it out, it manages to throw you for a loop.

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Yeah. Like I said in there I'm mostly just going along for the ride. Like I am thinking about the story and how it fits together of course, both as I play and with some of my free moments when I'm not but really these posts are probably the most serious I get at actually putting the whole puzzle together so it just seems like a huge mess where I spend the rest of the time before the next post thinking "Oh wait, what I posted was dumb because x, y, and z would contradict that." but that's the fun.

But this is generally how I approach stories like this, I enjoy being taken on the ride and being surprised so I usually don't dedicate serious time trying to solve actual mysteries. (Most game mysteries aren't that tough of course so they can be "solved" trivially like "Who is the traitor in a Tales game", etc.)

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Sounds like the new Ratchet and Clank is pretty good

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Yeah, I'm not actively trying to solve stuff while I play either because I enjoy the thrill of being surprised by the twists and the emotional moments. It's more fun that way for me. I might try to connect pieces together based on what the game has already told me, but not much beyond that.

The Mana Sword posted...

Sounds like the new Ratchet and Clank is pretty good

I would expect no less. Can't wait.

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It's too bad the PS3 ones aren't playable on newer systems.
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Yeah, they should port the PS3 games sometime. A Crack in Time is still one of my all-time favorites.

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The Office (British version) Season 2 Episode 3 complete!

Man, Neil really brings out the worst in David, doesn't he? Tim's look at the camera in that awkward silence was great though.

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LeonhartFour posted...

Tim's look at the camera in that awkward silence was great though.

tim looking at the camera is one of my favorite things about the show in general tbqh. martin freeman commented that the office almost ruined his career because in later productions, he just kept wanting to look at the camera all the time lol

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Yeah, Steve Carell has said the same thing, too, haha. It's probably a hard habit to break.

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Castlevania Season 4 Episode 3 complete!

Still feels like we're building up to the main plot of the season. Hopefully it picks up soon!

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I am glad the SSS gets a car in Azure so I don't have to go to bus stops anymore. It'll make quick travel outside Crossbell easier.

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Man, Feros is so creepy. It's kinda cool seeing a fresh reaction to it.

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You'll have to talk to Fai Dan about that.

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13 Sentinels: Amiguchi, Shinonome, Ogata, Hijiyama

Amiguchi: This was pretty much just Amiguchi's PoV of Yakushiji shooting him. What was new though was after when he flew 2 km above the city and ended in space. Strengthens the space station theory!

Shinonome: Found Takamiya who reminded Shinonome of the time she shot and apparently killed Ida after finding the logs Ida left above wanting to revive Kisaragi and planning to reset the world to do so. Really interested in that shift that Shinonome, Takamiya, and Ida returned from at the beginning of the flashback! I assume that'll be on Takamiya's end once I can lift the lock on her story.

Then it was time to fight a few more battles to unlock

Ogata: Aww yeah, hyped for the return to this. Wasted a bit of time looking for Kurabe before noticing Shinonome had appeared. Following them on to the train and found them passed out and Ida saying the pills they were taking was poison. This was actually where I first got suspicious of this world's nature because I had just seen Shinonome shoot Ida. Got confirmation that it was indeed Okino running the loops here and chasing him led to the reveal that this whole loop is in Ogata's head as Okino is forcing him to dig up the information out of his own head. Well, that also answers my question about how the time loops involved here were so out of line with the other established rules of time shifting elsewhere. Back in and Kurabe finally reappears and is in full Izumi mode and we learn that Minami of all people has the key - I admit I didn't see that coming. He tells Ogata to keep this from Okino because Izumi's totally got this and Okino will probably do very bad things to Minami if he learns she has the key. Once more into the loop and Kurabe is back to normal and hands us a note from Izumi telling us which train and car to board so we do... to find Yakushiji. Peak LMFAO at Yakushiji's "[My contact's] a cat, so..." and "He's a talking cat trying to save the world." Fluffy the GOAT. This... also strengthens my theory that Fluffy might be another instance of 426 given Izumi and Fluffy seem to have arranged this. Anyway, looks like Yakushiji shoots Ogata in the real world and then alters the program but the story is locked so the presumed escape will come later.

Hijiyama: Haven't been with him since his prologue and given his direct involvement with Ogata's situation this seemed like the natural next place to visit. A bunch of trolling from Okino and the "reveal" that it was Yakushiji who introduced Hijiyama to yakisoba pan. lol at the music swell there and how he only knows her as "Yakisoba Pan Angel." This also leads right into how she contacted Ogata above because she shoots him too lol. Will really lol if the power of yakisoba pan proves stronger than Fluffy's magic gun and allows him to truly regain the memory of being shot and potentially disrupting Fluffy's plan.

Anyway, stopped there and next up will be Miura and then I think a bunch of fights because I don't believe I'll be able to lift any more locks without fighting like 10 battles.

Overall: I think the "sides" in this game are a bit clearer now. Ida wanted to reset this world so he can transplant future!Kisaragi's memories into the next iteration of her and avoid the whole android dilemma thing (Meaning Future Shinonome's sabotage that apparently created the endless loop came prior to this and that betrayal by Ida she refers to is something else). Izumi and Morimura had dodged at least once cycle with Sector 0 but Morimura died somewhere along the line per Fuyusaka's story so it's probably just Izumi left from a previous cycle (though maybe Ida did too before he got shot by Shinonome there). Izumi/426 I think is looking to break the cycle of loops and earn freedom for the cast. Fluffy... is either an instance of 426 or... possibly Universal Control and decided that he's just gonna see what happens. If he is UC that explains how he keeps tampering with memories, both of Kurabe and just generally by turning Sentinel events into gas explosions and stuff for the public. If Fluffy isn't UC then I'm not sure yet, the first few suspectsthat came to mind have pretty good alibis IMO.

Still think I'm missing critical pieces because a few things don't fit to my liking (Inaba in particular) still but I feel a bit more confident in this than most of my previous guesses.

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Heck yeah Yakisoba Pan Angel

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Heck yeah Hijiyama

xp's posts make me wish italics didn't mess with spoiler blocks...
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Mac Arrowny posted...

xp's posts make me wish italics didn't mess with spoiler blocks...

Oh. I can try to remember to not use italics from now on! Sorry!

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Yeah I try to use all caps for emphasis in spoiler blocks because of the way italics breaks it up but I forget sometimes

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I don't talk about personal stuff too often, but my mom and stepdad are getting divorced. They signed the papers today. Their 25th anniversary was a month ago. I never really thought of him as a "dad" per se, but he's been in my life since I was 9 or 10 years old. It's just weird to think that he won't be around anymore.

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The Office (British version) Season 2 Episode 4 complete!

My favorite part was just watching Tim's reactions behind Gareth and the tech guy as they tell ridiculous and obviously made up stories.

And David's public speaking gig was about as painful as I expected.

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Castlevania Season 4 Episode 4 complete!

Pairing Alucard with Saint Germain is an interesting move, especially considering what they revealed in this episode. Now you have my attention.

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Dragon Ball Z Episode 120 complete!

Okay, I gotta say, I'm loving this cocky attitude from Trunks. Although he did say he'd give Frieza 5 minutes and I guess that means time does pass differently on Namek than Earth...!

(My wife is low key annoyed that Trunks one-shotted Frieza after we had to sit through 20 episodes of Goku/Frieza lawl)

Also oh my word Bulma just shut up

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green streamer beated in paper mario

is it worth it to do any sidequests before beating the game? any major rewards for the heart ups, for example?/are they tedious?
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I didn't bother to go back and do any of the sidequests before beating Origami King so I can't give you an answer to that. I just know you don't need it to beat the game...!

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Trunks is pretty great

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Leonhart4 posted...

Dragon Ball Z Episode 120 complete!

Okay, I gotta say, I'm loving this cocky attitude from Trunks. Although he did say he'd give Frieza 5 minutes and I guess that means time does pass differently on Namek than Earth...!

(My wife is low key annoyed that Trunks one-shotted Frieza after we had to sit through 20 episodes of Goku/Frieza lawl)

Also oh my word Bulma just shut up

it does do a pretty awesome job of selling trunks though! the scene of frieza's vision splitting is so iconic
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i think the MWC explanation for the goku/frieza fight was that it did take 5 normal minutes, they were just fighting super fast and they slowed it down an extreme amount so we could see what was happening.

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I thought it was because Frieza misjudged how long it would take so the fight was actually a bit longer than 5 minutes.
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Just a bit.

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Loki Episode 1 complete!

This was the one MCU show I was looking forward to, and it did not disappoint. Super hyped about where this is going.

also my wife was super geeked out she understood the D.B. Cooper reference before they explicitly stated it because she listens to multiple crime podcasts

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13 Sentinels: Miura and a bunch of fights. Much shorter report as a result.

Miura: So I assume 2188 Miura and Minami were an item based on the previous scenes we've see them in and this confirmed it... along with the bombshell that 2188 Takamiya is Minami's mom! Also Gouto Chihiro-napped 1945 Chihiro but we knew that from his side already. Seeing little Chihiro talk like Morimura is a bit jarring though lol! Also, huh, Okino told 1945 Tamao some of the truth before bailing on that Sector. Looks like next time I can visit Miura's path we'll be hunting down Sekigahara.

Then, as I knew from the lock description it was time to - in the immortal words of Eren - "Fight. Just fight." Had to get to 2-5 to lift locks on Ogata and Minami and the 10 fights from 1-5 through 2-5 comprised the rest of my session. Think I'm getting a much better handle on the battle system (Sentry Guns and Interceptors OP), though some weird stuff was going on in 2-5 where a turn for someone would come up and it would switch off them despite no input from me. idk if it's a glitch or just my controller dying/sending false signals... it is pretty old at this point afterall. Got a ton of Mystery Points during all this and have almost unlocked all the Analysis Files I had. Something like 10 left locked.

That said, some interesting stuff here on the story end was Inaba radioing in and saying she's going to connect to the mainframe and get Universal Control to not destroy the world. Curious to see if we'll see some build up/context to that on story side stuff I can get to before heading back for more fighting.

Next time will be Ogata, Minami... and maybe some others depending on if that lifts some of the other locks.

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F/GO: The siren call of temptation compelled me to roll on Arjuna Alter's banner. I had allotted 10 tickets to this and expected nothing but kinda wanted Asclepius at least. The tickets gave me nothing so I was like "Okay let's multiroll 3 times it'll be fine." ...Got Asvatthaman but no Asclepius so I was like... "Okay make that 5 times" and got him... and at this point I had talked myself into "Okay, okay, so like the Anniversary will be over 200 SQ we can push this to 10 rolls if we have to." On the 7th roll got Arjuna Alter. So, yay, now I have a top-class damage dealer.

Only I'm not in a good position to level him right now so I think I'll just wait for the anniversary in about a month since it'll have the magic "go right to max ascension" button. Only now I gotta farm these dumb Eggs of Truth. I mean, I already was simply because they're a new material so I figured I'd spend at least until the next event doing so but these drop rates are atrocious. I'll need 30 in total and I'm at 14 (I had previously used 5 to get Karna's SSJ costume whoops lol.) Eh, at least that's enough to get one skill to 10. Hopefully I can get to at least 20 by the anniversary.

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Egg rates are bad but you should be able to get 1 a day. I managed to get 1 Asclepius in 1 ten roll.

Heck yeah Interceptors and Sentries. I never did that much fighting at once though haha.
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Yeah, the game would occasionally switch off of a character for no discernible reason for me, too. Never figured out what caused that.

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Whew, after five and a half months, I am finally all caught up on the Office Ladies podcast! Good thing I work a job where I can just listen to stuff all day!

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Dragon Ball Z Episode 121 complete!

So Trunks has to be from the future. I've heard of Future Trunks, but I assumed it was an alternate version of the character, but maybe this is him. And I'm guessing he's probably descended from Vegeta based on how he keeps staring at him.

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god i hate this on rails shooting part
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Dragon Ball Z Episode 122 complete!

Wow, what a dark timeline. Even Goku is no match for Covid-19, and Vegeta ends up having a son with Bulma, who is somehow the last survivor of them all.

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