#ff9 for 60?!

[maryse127]

I have a very dangerous brain that is like "we didnt spend 45 euros on a dress last week because the store didnt have it in our size and we were to lazy to order online so now we can spend 45 euros on Other Things"

[freyayuki]

Final Fantasy Record Keeper Labyrinth Dungeons Clears Part 2

In the Final Fantasy Record Keeper (FFRK) mobile game, there are still a lot of fights in the Labyrinth Dungeons that I have yet to clear.

After hearing the news that Final Fantasy Record Keeper was gonna end its service on September 29, 2022 (I talk more about that in another post), I wanted to finish as much of FFRK’s content as I can.

I know it doesn’t really matter, but still. For now, I don’t want to say goodbye to Final Fantasy Record Keeper yet. Heck, I wish this game didn’t have to end, at least not anytime soon.

Anyway, so I started going through the Labyrinth Dungeons, checking each quest and looking to see which ones I’ve already cleared. Will try to do the ones that I haven’t cleared yet. Also trying to see if I can sub-30 these fights.

Labyrinth Dungeons Info

The Labyrinth Nexus fights in the Labyrinth Dungeons come in 2 quest levels - 580 and 650.

There are fights that require you to bring a Final Fantasy realm team and fights that require either physical or magical elemental teams.

Labyrinth Nexus S4, Part 3 Info

The boss of this fight is called Taharka. Final Fantasy 9 chars get Record Synergy for these fights.

Depending on the number of chars with Record Synergy in your party, your chars will be able to deal more damage and the damage that Taharka deals will be lessened.

If you bring a char with no Record Synergy (a.k.a an off-realm char), their damage will be reduced. Having at least 4 FF9 chars is recommended for this fight.

Quest Level 650 Taharka Fight

The first time I tried clearing the quest level 650 Final Fantasy IX Taharka fight was a long time ago.

And the only reason I bothered to take on this quest back then was because we got a Labyrinth Dungeons campaign. This included time-limited missions that required players to clear some of the Labyrinth Dungeons quests in order to get some rewards.

For this fight, my team was:

Zidane Tribal from Final Fantasy IX

Kuja from Final Fantasy IX

Eiko Carol from Final Fantasy IX

Vivi Ornitier from Final Fantasy IX

Cait Sith from Final Fantasy VII (#ad)

Zidane, Kuja, and Vivi served as my DPS. Eiko was my healer. Cait Sith was my support and buffer. He can heal too. He’s the premier support for mages and mind-based attackers.

Kuja and Vivi deal magical damage while Zidane deals physical damage. Kuja’s element is dark, Vivi’s is lightning and ice, and Zidane’s is wind.

It’s been a long time since I did this fight so don’t remember all the exact details about how it went anymore. But IIRC, when I took on Taharka, only had 1 Awakened Arcane Soul Break (AASB) for Zidane. Now I have 2.

For Vivi, had his ice and lightning AASB and his ice and lightning Synchro Arcane Soul Break (SASB). Now, IIRC, I also have his fire AASB.

For Kuja, only had one of his AASB. Now I also have his Dual Awakening Soul Break (DASB).

For Eiko, IIRC, had her Sync and now also have her AASB. For Cait Sith, have all of his most relevant relics, including his Sync and AASB. Honed his AASB to the max so it can be used twice per fight instead of just once.

Since my Final Fantasy IX realm team was so lacking, wasn’t really surprised that I failed to win against Taharka. At least I actually managed to get pretty far. Was able to get Taharka down to 54.1% HP before all my chars died.

IIRC, this was enough to get me some of the time limited rewards associated with this quest. You get all the rewards if you beat Taharka.

If you’re able to deal at least 30% or more damage to Taharka, then you get 1 Realm/Elemental x11 ticket. If you’re able to deal at least 60% or more damage to Taharka, then you get 1 mythril.

After that, my plan was to wait until I can get more and better relics before trying this fight again. Unfortunately, never got ‘round to taking on Taharka again. And now I’ll never be able to because it’s all over now.

Final Fantasy Record Keeper just ended its service. Was hoping to be able to try the Taharka fight again before the end but unfortunately, wasn’t able to.

Labyrinth Nexus S3, Part 5 Info

The boss of this fight is called Hell House. Final Fantasy VII chars get Record Synergy for these fights.

Quest Level 580 Hell House Fight

I’ve already cleared the quest level 580 version of the Final Fantasy VII Hell House fight before. I talk more about that in another post.

Then we got another Labyrinth Dungeons campaign. This happened way before FFRK gave its end of service announcement. And this was different from the campaign mentioned above with the Taharka fight.

Anyway, one of the time-limited missions for this particular campaign wanted us to master 2 Labyrinth Nexus fights with a difficulty of 580 in order to get 1 mythril.

Since I’d already cleared the quest level 580 Hell House fight, I would have preferred to try a different Labyrinth Nexus quest but - well, it’s been a while so don’t remember anymore exactly what happened.

Maybe I didn’t have enough time to try out a different fight. Maybe I just felt like doing the Hell House fight again. Whatever the reason, I ended up taking on the quest level 580 version of Hell House again.

My team was:

Genesis Rhapsodos from Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII

Sephiroth from Final Fantasy VII

Barret Wallace from Final Fantasy VII

Vincent Valentine from Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII and Final Fantasy VII

Aeris or Aerith Gainsborough from Final Fantasy VII

Genesis served as my main DPS. Sephiroth and Vincent were my secondary ones. Barret was my support and buffer although he can deal a bit of damage as well.

He and Vincent were also in chage of lowering the enemy’s resistance to the fire element so my DPS can deal more damage.

Aerith served as my healer. She can also speed up the party and reduce the delay of their physical attacks.

Genesis, Sephiroth, Barret, and Vincent deal physical fire elemental damage. Well, Sephi has dark relics too but I’m using him as a fire DPS for this fight. My plan is to only use his dark-type Soul Breaks once I’ve already used up all of his fire BDL relics.

Vincent is a hybrid DPS so he can deal either physical or magical damage depending on how he’s geared and which stat is currently higher.

Have multiple BDL relics for the aforementioned chars. And my Final Fantasy VII Historia Crystal is at the max level of 120.

Since this fight is only quest level 580 and since my FF7 realm team is pretty stacked, this battle was pretty easy. Was able to get the win in 26.75 seconds.

Don’t remember anymore what other Labyrinth Nexus I did but I was able to get the mythril reward for mastering 2 quest level 580 fights.

Labyrinth Nexus S2, Part 1 Info

The boss of this fight is called Snow Giant. He is weak to the fire element. There are 2 versions of him, one that’s weak to physical fire and another that’s weak to magical fire. Well, there are 4 versions of him if you’re also counting the 2 quest levels.

Physical-Weak Quest Level 580 Snow Giant Fight

Decided to take on the physical-weak, quest level 580 version of Snow Giant with the following team:

Genesis Rhapsodos from Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII

Sephiroth from Final Fantasy VII

Barret Wallace from Final Fantasy VII

Aeris or Aerith Gainsborough from Final Fantasy VII

Balthier (Ffamran mied Bunansa) from Final Fantasy XII

Balthier served as my fire Chain Soul Break (CSB) holder. Didn’t need him for the Hell House fight since we can just use the Final Fantasy VII Roaming Warrior realm Chain. Also have Barret’s FF7 Chain if needed.

Balthier deals physical fire damage and he can help imperil the fire element. Aside from his Chain, also have a few of his Soul Breaks, including one of his Awakenings.

Did this fight a few days or so before the end of Final Fantasy Record Keeper. By then was really rushing and trying to finish as much of FFRK’s content as possible.

I really wish we had more time so I’d have been able to do more. As it was, unfortunately wasn’t able to finish everything in FFRK. I talk more about that in another post.

Anyway, was able to clear the quest level 580 Snow Giant fight in 25.80 seconds. Just like the quest level 580 Hell House fight, the quest level 580 version of Snow Giant was pretty easy.

And my physical fire elemental team is really good. By now, also have new relics for some of the chars on my fire team. And they all have their Hero Equipment and Hero Abilities and such.

Genesis Rhapsodos from Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII Relics and Stats List

Currently, Genesis is my absolute, most fave Final Fantasy VII char. He’s the reason why I started playing Final Fantasy Record Keeper. Have all of his relics and he’s as fully built as possible.

True Arcane Soul Break (TASB) or Arcane Dyad Soul Break (ADSB), LOVELESS

Limit Break Overstrike (LBO) or Limit Break Over Flow (LBOF), Light of Doom

Synchro Arcane Soul Break (SASB), Purgatorial Wave

Awakened Arcane Soul Break (AASB), Genesis Rhapsody

Arcane Overstrike Soul Break (AOSB), SOLDIER’s Epic

Ultra Soul Break (USB), Apocalypse Genesis

Glint+ Soul Break 1 (G+1), Epic of Creation

Glint+ Soul Break 2 (G+2), Epic of Heroism

Glint Soul Break (G), Epic of Destruction

Default Soul Break, Laceration

Legend Materia 1, Rhapsodic Recitation

Legend Materia 2, Project G Creation

Legend Materia Relic (LMR), Fierce Opposition

Since the game was about to end already anyway, went ahead and fully honed all of Genesis’s Soul Breaks that can be honed instead of waiting until I get more dupes. I talk more about that in another post.

Other than that, Genesis is already fully maxed out in every way. Well, except with regards to his Magia Crystals. But that’s always been a slow-going process.

I thought that I’d always have time and that I’ll eventually be able to max out all of Genesis’s Magia Crystals but unfortunately, now that FFRK is ending soon, that’ll never happen anymore.

Sephiroth from Final Fantasy VII Relics List

Have the following relics for Sephiroth:

Limit Break Chain (LBC), Woven Bond: Sephiroth - Dark

Limit Break Overstrike (LBO) or Limit Break Over Flow (LBOF), Dark Illumination

True Arcane Soul Break 1 (TASB1) or Arcane Dyad Soul Break 1 (ADSB1), Super Nova or Sunburst

TASB2, Jenova

Synchro Arcane Soul Break 1 (SASB1), Demonic Lord

SASB2, Crimson Octaslash

SASB3, Dark Carmine Blade

Awakened Arcane Soul Break 1 (AASB1), Stigma

AASB2, Underworld Guardian

AASB3, Flames of Nibelheim

Arcane Overstrike Soul Break 1 (AOSB1), Setting Sun

AOSB2, Purgatorial Flames

Ultra Soul Break 1 (USB1), Heartless Angel

USB2, Zanshin

USB3, Crimson Lotus

Overstrike Soul Break (OSB), Heaven’s Light

Glint+ Soul Break 1 (G+1), Shimmer Flash

G+2, Fervent Shadow

Glint Soul Break (G), Jenova’s Might

Burst Soul Break 1 (BSB1), Reunion

BSB2, Octaslash

Super Soul Break 1 (SSB1), Black Materia

SSB2, Transience

Unique Soul Break, Nibelheim Nightmare

Unique Soul Break, Hell’s Gate

Unique Soul Break, Shadow Flare

Default Soul Break, Oblivion

Legend Materia 1, Fallen Hero

Legend Materia 2, Jenova’s Echo

Legend Materia Relic 1 (LMR1), Fateful Secret

LMR2, Apocalyptic Hero

LMR3, Cruelest Cut

LMR+, Refinement (Sephiroth)

Yeah, I have basically all of Sephi’s relics. The only one I’m missing for him is his Dual Awakening Soul Break 1 (DASB1), Awoken Octaslash. I really hate that I wasn’t able to get this.

And it’s definitely not for lack of trying. When Sephiroth’s Dual first showed up in Final Fantasy Record Keeper, I tried pulling for it.

I talk more about that in this post, but the main point is that, sadly, no matter how many times I pulled on the banner said Dual was featured in, was never able to get it.

Went 10 pulls deep on that banner, spending hundreds of mythril, until I was all out, and yet I couldn’t even manage to get all the relics featured there.

Was really frustrated and annoyed about that. Still am, really. Eff the crappy, trashy rates on this game. And now that FFRK is ending, I’ll never be able to get Sephiroth’s Dual. Sigh.

Aerith Gainsborough Relics List

Have the following relics for Aerith:

Dual Awakening Soul Break (DASB), Awoken White Materia

Awakened Arcane Soul Break 1 (AASB1), Star Pulse

AASB2, Planetary Pulse

Ultra Soul Break 1 (USB1), Hidden Bloom

USB2, Innocent Cure

Glint+ Soul Break 1 (G+1), Refreshing Breeze

G+2, Star Whisper

Burst Soul Break 1 (BSB1), White Materia

BSB2, Prayer of Salvation

Super Soul Break (SSB), Pulse of Life

Unique Soul Break, Planet Protector

Unique Soul Break, Fury Brand

Unique Soul Break, Dragon Force

Unique Soul Break, Healing Wind (VII)

Default Soul Break, Seal Evil

Legend Materia Relic (LMR), Flower of the Slums

Legend Materia 1, Daughter of the Ancients

Legend Materia 2, Motherly Protector

Was able to get all of Aerith’s relics, all except for her Synchro Arcane Soul Break (SASB), Blue-Eyed Sentinel. Too bad I was never able to get this before. And now I’ll never be able to because the game is ending already. Sigh.

Physical-Weak Quest Level 650 Snow Giant Fight

After taking on the quest level 580 version of Snow Giant, decided to try his quest level 650 version next.

I’d already tried this fight before. It was a long time ago, and IIRC, also only did so because there was another Labyrinth Dungeons campaign. This one included time-limited missions that required players to clear the Snow Giant quest.

Wasn’t able to get the win back then though. Only managed to deal 80.3% damage to Snow Giant before the fight ended. IIRC, my team was Genesis, Sephiroth, Barret, Balthier and Aerith.

Unsurprisingly, that was also my team when I revisited this quest. This time was able to get the win. My clear time was 42.15 seconds.

Too bad I missed out on the sub-30. Unfortunately, never got the chance to try this fight again before FFRK ended.

Anyway, one of the rewards that I got for clearing this quest was some Record Board tiles for some chars being unlocked. Too bad Genesis isn’t one of those chars.

Sephiroth is one of those chars though. And, IIRC, Vincent and Barret are included as well.

For Sephi, 2 Record Board tiles got unlocked. One is called Fire Harmony - Physical. Its effect is:

Increases physical fire damage by up to 5% based on the number of allies infused with the power of fire.

The second tile is called Dark Harmony - Physical. Its effect is:

Increases physical dark damage by up to 5% based on the number of allies infused with the power of the dark.

So I spent the resources needed to unlock these tiles for Sephiroth, Vincent, and Barret. I think Balthier got this too.

Can’t remember for sure anymore. Since Final Fantasy Record Keeper just ended, can’t double-check this info on my account anymore.

The only thing I know for sure is that Genesis doesn’t have these new tiles but Sephiroth does.

Genesis was supposed to eventually get these new tiles too but now that FFRK is all over, that will never happen. Sigh. It’s really unfortunate that a lot of things will never happen now. Really wish the game didn’t have to end.

Conclusion

So what about you? Have you done any of the quests in the Labyrinth Dungeons? What do you think about these fights? What do you think about the fact that Final Fantasy Record Keeper is all over now? Feel free to share your thoughts and opinions by leaving a comment below or by reblogging or replying to this post.

Notes:

screenshots are from my Final Fantasy Record Keeper game account

[wayfaring-bones]

“Motivation? Hardly know em. Procrastination? Yeah we’re close. Distracting myself with new things now that’s a time old secret.”

[capsicrew]

semi-live reactions to the LL;

Okay well, I think I'll just summarize.

All notes below the cut.

As expected, the live letter is focusing on job adjustments and additions. -They're trying to make major abilities across all jobs maintain a 60 or 120-second cooldowns, with some exceptions. With the intention being to align more of those "burst windows," in parties, especially in endgame raiding/content. -They re-emphisize that not all abilities will be on these 2 timers and YoshiP specifies Ley Lines will remain 90 seconds and regrets BLM being "neglected" lmao. "Everybody gets their burst, then I come in 30 seconds later with my lay lines"

Okay, job action video before they get into specifics, lets see what I can spot lmao;

[originally I had all my reactions to the trailer here, to keep organized, I'm combining that with the specific job notes]

That was a lot, sorry lmao. I think instead of typing more, I'll just add notes about the jobs as they go in depth after my first impressions above ^ Sounds like Summoner has the most hype with the audience. They made a comment that Summoner is now Ultima Weapon lmao.

Job Class notes: Tanks; -I guess using certain buffs in combination with certain skills increases their benefit? Not very specific, but I guess an incentive to think more about which cool downs you use and when and in concert with other skills. -Combo chains will no longer be broken when using ranged attacks. Nice! Sounds like this is being added to melee dps as well. -Looks like both Phys and Magic Damage will differ and be an important aspect? They sure talk a lot about this but I'm not sure the practical application. I guess just in determining to use tank skills that decrease either phys damage or magic damage? I guess they just adjusted some stats through the game and are just saying the numbers will be different so raiders don't piss themselves.

YoshiP is a cat boy lmao. Yoshi-nyan dskjfl lmao "I'm 48 years old!"

-Paladin: Trailer: [Looks like updates to skills and attacks with new graphics, or just new skills. Don't know PLD well enough to say for sure. Looks like Passage of Arms also included an attack of some sort while the PLD was immobile. 3 new attacks that look like AOEs that rain swords down on the enemies in various forms.] -Requiescat is no longer depending on MP value. -Ah, the sword-rain is a new 3-part combo starting with Confiteor (the level 80 PLD skill) -Gap closer is now 20y instead of 15y. -No drastic changes otherwise. About what you can expect from ShB with just other tweaks to match overall gameplay changes.

-Warrior: Trailer Reaction: [Has a cooldown that gives you little fire embers aesthetically. Looks like base combo attacks might get buffed.] -Abilities that increase damage are now extended (and even triggered) by the AOE combos. (instead of having to weave-in, like, Storm's Eye in the middle of a combo, especially for AOE combos) -Onslaught and Upheaval no longer drain the Beast Guage. They're now on a charge-use basis, I guess? And Onslaught will have a new combo move. -New skill being added when using Inner Release. Inner Release now has 60s cooldown, increasing use-frequency.

-Dark Knight: Trailer: [New/updated aoe attack, and can cast a shield on a single party member. Frey summon looks more in synch, but I haven't used that a lot so idk if that's different.] -Salted Earth will now just be placed at your feet (instead of being a placable aoe), and now combos into a new move. YoshiP admitted to having a macro to do this pre-EW, so they all decided that was silly. -lmao, Fray/simulacrum will also be sure to learn new skills as the player does. -Single-target defense buff. -Delirium cooldown decreased to 60s. -Gap closer also increased to 20y, like PLD.

-Gunbreaker: Trailer: [Either I don't play GNB enough or most of it looked the same except one cartridge aoe skill at the end lol. They do have a 3rd cartridge that can be stored, though.] -The Gnashing Fang+Savage Claw+Wicked Talon (lvl 60 skills that use a cartridge for the first skill) combo will now be reduced to a single action that switches between the 3 skills, to reduce the space it takes on the hot bar. -Continuation will now (only?) follow Burst Strike. I'm not 100% sure if they're saying Continuation is getting an additional action to follow Burst Strike and will also combo with the Gnashing Fang combo, or if it's JUST Burst Strike, now. -Getting a 3rd cartridge, as I noticed. -Gap closer also increased to 20y.

Melee DPS: -Feint will now decrease both physical and magical damage on the target, but the physical debuff will be more potent. (sounds like Addle will get a similar change) -Again, combos will not be broken by using ranged attacks. Consideration for when phys dps needs to move away from targets for aoes and such.

-Dragoon: Trailer reaction: [Got some flasy moves that look like new aoes, but mostly just new attacks looks like. Summons two dragons for some kind of ultimate end-combo move. And has a flowery attack that reminds me of FF9's dragoon flavor with Freya] -Increasing the AoE rotation. A lot of jobs could use this, so this was on my hopes list for EW. -Adding new actions if you do your base rotations right. lmao They comment on how flashy they are, which is true. -Sounds like many skills are being increased in power rather than adding a bunch of new skills to fill our hotbars. -Blood of the Dragon will now be a trait, rather than a skill that needs to be kept up constantly. (nice!) -Spineshatter Dive (DRG's earliest gap closer) will now have 2 charges instead of the one use, for increased mobility. -Lance Charge (self damage buff) has recast time decreased to 60s. Battle Litany (party crit buff) recast decreased to 120s.

-Monk: Trailer: [Has a new gauge added to its other, but no greased lightning gauge. Collecting more stickers ala BRD and SAM. Looks like their gap closer was updated to stack or be used multiple times quickly. Impressive looking attacks and aoes, but I don't play MNK enough to comment much lmao. Hope its less tedious!] -DAMN LOOK AT THAT JOB ART -Greased Lightning gone forever, so; -Chakras unlocked at a lower level. -New system; After using Perfect Balance, the player can use a new skill called Masterful Blitz. How the Blitz executes and what it does will change depending on what skills the player uses while using Perfect Balance. (much in line with Sabin's Blitz skill in FF6, it sounds to me). -Sounds like the player needs to use skills with some thought to maintain a balance of yin and yang chakras. Sounds like the translator is trying her best, but I think it'll come across better with some practice or seeing it in action better than the job trailer. -Oh, they are going to show a video-- -Showin off Thavnarian a little bit, lol -Each skill seems to have a specific association when used in Perfect Balance, that then add to either Yin or Yang (not final names sounds like). And if you get a charge of each, the next use of the skill unleashes a larger attack. I guess it's similar to trying to get three specific suits as AST. -I guess more/better info to come during the media tour. -Perfect balance with have a 2-stack charge, charging every 40s. -Sounds like some or more MNK skills will have their directional requirements removed to make this new system more manageable. -Shoulder Tackle (gap closer) is being removed, and is being replaced with a new gap closing action. Sounds like it wont do damage, but can be used to close the gap between both enemies AND allies (like Aetherial Manipulation with BLM). It comes with 3 stacks! Thats a lot of movement at once, with 30s recharge per charge.

-Samurai: Trailer: [Looks like Meikyo Shisui (the buff that lets you use your sticker-granting skills without doing the full combo) either has a massively reduced cooldown, a way to refresh it faster or just a second charge. Looks like the same is true of Tsubame-gaeshi (the skill that lets you use a sticker-using skill a second time)(I swear I don't have these names memorized, I only know their pictures. I'm looking them up). Possibly a new attack that uses meditation stacks, or I just forget what the level 80 skill looks like. Finishes with some kind of massive attack. So just lots of deeps for SAM.] -Mid-combo attacks that grant buffs can now also be obtained from aoe skills as well, like WAR. So that you don't either have to perform a single-target combo in the middle of fighting multiple targets, or don't have to just go without those buffs. -I was correct; Meikyo Shisui and Tsubame-gaeshi now each have 2 stacks. -You also get the mid-combo buff if you use the final move of a combo under the effect of Meikyo Shisui. Nice nice! Exactly things I wanted for SAM.

-Ninja: Trailer: [omg, a skill that grants auto-Huton I love it <3. Either Bushin now ends with a finisher skill (like automaton queen), or NIN has a new ranged attack. Oh shit!! A gap closer that actually does damage! Looks like it combos off of Raiton (lightning ninjutsu). Oooh, and there's a second follow-up lightning attack as well! NIN is gonna be interesting!] -New actions linked to Raiton (lightning ninjutsu), Doton (dot ninjutsu) and Huton (that ninjutsu you need to have on all the time for decreased weaponskill cooldown) being added. -Single action to apply the effect of Huton added * 0* <3 <3. Both applies it and resets the timer. -Additional actions added while under the effect of Bunshin (the level 80 skill). For just ninjutsu, I think? -Tried to not get the ninjutsu actions even more complicated. No 4th sigil lol. -Shadow Fang (ogcd dot skill) is removed :(

-Reaper: Trailer: [Starts with some kind of charge attack? Gap closer leaves behind a portal (very neat!). Guage looks like a combo of MCH+DRK. You need 50 of the "heat guage" to summon the void monster. The monster didn't come out of the portal that was left behind, but it disappeared when the monster appeared. Oh, the gap closer is more like NIN's Shukuchi, or maybe like SAM's movement options. The Reaper teleported "backwards" and left another portal, used a couple ranged attacks then TP'd right back to the portal. Very neat. Looks like the monster never stays out permanently, but is summoned in a few ways, finishing with a timer that upgrades attacks. Kinda like DRG with dragon imagry.] -Reiterates that attacks are done with the scythe and the avatar in combination, or "serve as the avatar's vessel" to use more powerful attacks. -Has party utility, granting a buff or two. -"Unique and specialized actions give them an edge in specific combat situations" ??? Seems to refer specifically to the portal movement skill. Shukuchi+Aetherial Manipulation. -MCH-like UI tracks two guages: the Soul Guage on top in red, which slowly fills and is used to use attacks in tandem with the avatar. The Shroud Guage is on bottom in blue, and fills as attacks using the soul guage are used. Once it fills up, it allows you to become the avatar's vessel to do even bigger attacks. Very similar to the Automaton Queen in use, it sounds like. -The one I called the DRK-looking seems to actually be more like SMN's Bahamut gauge, and simply acts as a timer to tell you how long you'll have the avatar using you as a vessel. -Switched to the video. Tiny Lala reaper lmao. -Looks like the portal ability works like DNC's An Evant--you charge in a single direction for a set distance, but Reaper has the ability to port back to it for a certain amount of time. Looks like 15 seconds with maybe an additional effect if you do it within 10 seconds? -Oh! The movement skill is actually two actions that allow you to "en avant" forward OR backwards, then teleport back -Looks like the character very visually changes form while acting as a vessel for the avatar, including equipment and some evil eyes. More than just the glowing eyes WAR has for inner beast. -Mentioning that with the gauges, the job isn't really one you charge up to a burst like others, but is rather just a building crescendo. -They're not talking about it, but it looks like the "you are the vessel" gauge either expires based on a timer OR the execution of a certain number of big attacks. -There's gonna be a couple positional-based skills, but just ones involving the avatar. Similar to DRG which only has, like, 2. -Sounds like a fun job, I'm please looking forward to it. -No LB3 shown yet. YoshiP comments that the "big flashy move" Zenos uses in the Benchmark trailer is basically the Reaper's LB3.

--break time--

Ranged DPS: -Just the comment about phys dps # values changes that they've already been saying. -Timers on Troubadour, Tactician and Shield Samba have been decreased to 90s.

-Bard: Trailer: [New addition to their gauge, looks like 3 icons that keep track of what songs have been played. The gauge also says what song is currently playing, though idk who needs that. New cone aoe, looks like--Maybe an aoe version of Refulgent Arrow? Some kind of buff or party skill that uses the 3 saved icons from playing each song once, no indication of what it does. Finishes with either a new move or one that combos off of Apex Arrow, the last skill brd learns in ShB.] -Why does she look so surprised in the art? -As I noticed, playing each of the 3 songs once each grants a new action for a party-wide buff. -New action to follow-up Apex Arrow, as I also noticed. -Battle Voice cooldown reduced to 120s (from 180 :o! ) She also says Wanderer's Minuet, but that's one of the base songs already on a timer of 80s?? That doesn't seem right.

-Machinist: Trailer: [Some kind of large shotgun! Looks like an ocg aoe, but they used it very shortly after bioblaster, so its not on the same cooldown as air anchor/bioblaster. Standard combo might have slightly new animation--the bullets look like they're hitting harder or smth but it might just be a trailer thi--there are cars behind him lmao tHEY HAD CARS IN GARLEMALD THIS WHOLE TIME. Anyway... OH SHIT It looked like they just shot a bunch of BUZZ SAWS!  Oh, and they just used Drill. They have Drill AND Air Anchor. Oh, Queen Automaton's final move looks bigger.] -New Skill; Chain Saw! (many folks were expecting this after they started theming many of the MCH skills after Edgar's skills in FF6. Chain saw was basically the only one missing) -As I noticed, new action for Automaton Queen. No word on the missing Bishop... -Reassemble will have 2 charges (!) They then specifically advice to keep it constantly in use lmao -Job is mechanically the same, but there will be some ability updates (like that shotgun).

-Dancer: Trailer: [Looks like they get some kind of scremin berd that does some feather attacks but doesn't cost a feather guage. Looks like a follow-up combo with Saber Dance as well. Improvisation seems to have a follow-up or possibly a new effect when it ends. Not clear what it does.] -Instead of the single-target and aoe skills having separate effects, they will be shared between the two versions. (presumably; originally you needed different weaponskill buffs to execute Reverse Cascade (single) or Rising Windmill (aoe), but now their combo moves can activate a buff to use either of them). -New actions added after successfully using Technical Finish, Improvisation and Devilment. -Again, job is mechanically the same--mostly just some tweaks and evolution into level 90. -AoE weapon skills will transform into the dance step buttons the way the single-target ones do. -Espirit gauge will fill more consistently rather than randomly.

-brief complaint about BRD's songs not applying to the BRD themself. They've gone with "no comment at this time." YoshiP-lease

Casting DPS: -Like Feint, Addle has been changed to reduce both magic and physical damage dealt by the target, with the magical debuff being more potent.

-Black Mage: Trailer: [Has a new addition to the guage that looks like a larger fire/ice needle. Activated when they switched to Astral Fire from Umbral Ice via Fire 3. Looks like they used it to cast some very nice looking fire/ice attack that refreshed the timer on Astral Fire. The special new needle also activated when they switched from A.Fire to U.Ice. The Ice move they used to switch was also new, though they still had Blizzard 3, which they opened with. Looks like Freeze granted 3 ice needles instead of 1. The new fire/ice move was also used in U.Ice mode and refreshed the timer. New fire move transitioning back to A.Fire, which they use instead of Fire 4 in standard rotation--new aoe? Flare, Despair and Xenoglossy appear to be the same.] -Enochian is now a trait! It is automatically applied when under the effect of either A.Fire or U.Ice! Rejoice! Apparently this was a long-ruminated decision. -As I noticed, new actions are available while switching correctly between A.Fire and U.Ice. Apparently its more than just the fire+ice attack. -BLM is considered "pure dps" like SAM, so they focused on its attacking ability rather than other party utility. They specify "no raise" lol -Firestarter/Thundercloud procs have had their timers extended. -Fire 2 and Blizzard 2 are each going to get buffs, increasing AoE damage. They joke about the japanese names for what is basically now Fire 5 and Blizzard 5 and what their offical names are, lmao. They had to go to the "FF Brand Committee" to nail-down the japanese names of these spells, with no precidence of spells of this level. Sounds like he's leaning towards High-Fira and High-Blizzara rather than, like... Firgyo or something completely different, lol. -Sharpcast now has a second charge.

-Red Mage: Trailer Reaction: [Has 3 buttons added to magic meter, which filled with melee attacks (both the aoe one and the normal single-target combo). Jumped back with what looked like a brief healing bubble. All 3 charges spent on what looks like an aoe version of verholy/verflare (verdispair?). Verholy looks like it was buffed, or is possibly an aoe version, and Scorch (the final rdm combo) looks updated as well, and is followed by a big aoe-lookin move that does damage in a wide row between the rdm and the target, similar to DRG's Nastrond.] -New action coming after Scorch, as I pointed out. Lots of thorns. -Verflare, Verholy and Scorch will now all be AoE attacks, added as part of the AoE rotation [in addition to their current use?] -Adding a party-wide defense buff. Probably that verassylum-looking skill I noted. Apparently its just called "Magic Barrier" rather than something fancy or ver-y, lol -Amount of mana in the guage used for weapon skills has been reduced. Manafication seems to add a full use of the melee-skills for free, rather than affecting the mana gauges. -Potency of Displacement and Engagement will become the same value, so there's no dmg loss in making the right choice.

-Summoner: Trailer: [Right off the bat I see they have a carbuncle instead of an egi? Curious about the update to the Bahamut gauge which looks like it has a stop-light of gemstones under it--same colors as ifrit, titan and garuda. Standard attacks with some updated graphics, so just, like, Ruin 5 or smth. Summoned Bahamut right away, no "Dreadwyrm Trance" phase. Bahamut seems to have a new attack. oh SHIT OH SHIT. NO EGI, MOTHERFUCKER JUST SUMMONED GARUDA REAL. Garuda appears briefly and uses a big attack. She's gone, but the emerald button is now Garuda and has a timer--all of the summoner's attacks look different, and the carbuncle is using the garuda-themed attacks. Summoned Titan now! Uses Landwaster, and now all the summoner's attacks are earth-themed. I Think I know where this is going-- Yeah, there's Ifrit with Hellfire, and now all fire-based attacks, which appears to include a gap-closer and a follow-up melee attack. Carbuncle stayed the same color throughout, so I think we'll still keep the carbuncle glamors, maybe get more colors I hope? Summon Phoenix looks the same.] -Summoner completely reworked for the 4th expansion in a row apparently, they can't keep getting away with it-!! -DoTs GONE! No Bio. No Miasma. I guess too many people complained about it. -As mentioned, Egis are gone, and the summoner now fully summons Ifrit, Garuda and Titan. Okay, they are not literally the Primals, but are nicknamed; Ifrit-Ruby, Garuda-Emerald and Titan-Topaz. Just mostly for lore-compliance... summoning is bad in this world. -Again, as I noticed; the Summoner's abilities are augmented depending on which has been summoned. -I guess they largely wanted to address the down time between summoning bahamut and phoenix where you're just standing around casting Ruin 3. -Base rotation is as I outlined above; You summon Demi-Bahamut, which gives you the power to summon the 3 primal-gems in turn, augmenting attacks as you go, then ending with the summoning of Phoenix, which lets you then summon the three primal-gems again, then back to Demi-Bahamut. No more 50-step opener or w/e lmao -Order doesn't matter--they did Garuda, then Titan then Ifrit in the trailer, but they can be summoned once each in any order. They emphisize planning on when you want to have each summon (including Bahamut and Phoenix) during fights and different phases. -Actions on the hotbar will change automatically as each primal is summoned, rather than needing 4 or so different set-ups, lol. -Summoner will keep Resurrection. But apparently it only just BARELY survived. -Display size is customizable for the carbuncle, but is only client-side. Also for each of the summons. YoshiP has some very small primals. Tiny-Titan is especially good, lol -Sounds like all glamors for the carbuncle/egi will remain, including the primal egis. The Emerald Carbuncle is used in the trailer and the live letter video because its what YoshiP likes most. -Each summon has 2-stacked special skills executable while summoned, such as Ifrit's gap-closer and melee move. -Summoning the primal-gems has a little bit of casting time to offset the amount of power behind them. Sounds like Ifrit has a longer cast time than the others, so maybe they're each slightly different. -All of Titan's attacks are instant-cast, while Garuda leaves an aoe floor dot at the target (which was an egi skill previously). -apparently did their best to not turn SMN into BLM 2 lmao

Healers: -Adding single-target buffs to all healers. -Reduced cast time for offensive spells (!!!) -Limit break area has been increased to 50y lmao, then the guy applauds it. As someone who has suffered the shorter range... I get it. -As they said before, they're splitting between 2 "pure" healers (WHM and AST) and 2 "barrier" healers (SCH and SGE) -Decreased cast time for certain healing skills, nice!

-White Mage: Trailer: [Glare II. Oh, looks like they planted some kind of flower on the battlefield? WHM Earthly Star, maybe? Looks like it explodes in a wide range of healing magic either periodically or with certain triggers (looks like it took damage from an enemy aoe and responded with an auto-medica or something). Finally an update to Holy that isn't *quite* as blinding. ...okay, now I watched it again and its still pretty blinding lmao] -Adding a "functionally and visually distinct" restorative field action. So... Earthly Star for WHM. -Beyond the global changes, though, little is changing about WHM, it will be relatively the same, being the base "pure healer." -Update to Holy, which also helps add lillies to the job gauge. -Fluid Aura, if you remember that, has been removed lmao. -Divine Benison is gaining a charge.

-Astrologian: Trailer: [Looks Minor Arcana just draws one of the 2 minor arcana cards, rather than "transforming" a currently drawn card. This card has its own space on the guage, so it can be held while continuing to draw/use regular cards. Oooh, a very nice looking buff to Gravity, which is followed by an attack(maybe also a buff like Assize?) that looks like shooting stars overly a wide range--very pretty. Some kind of shield or delayed heal--looks similar to SCH's Excognition.] -Being changed into a "pure healer," as has been discussed. -Diurnal and Nocturnal Sect are both being removed, and actions that were affected by this will now only have their Diurnal Sect effect. -Neutral Sect (level 80 skill) will have its effect slightly adjusted to add barrier effects to the adjusted skills. -Divination is receiving some adjustments. Now it can be used under "normal circumstances" ??? -I guess its including new enhancements for the user depending on the seals used? Not very clear on these points. -Redraw is no longer a charge action, and can only be used once after using Draw. -Adjustment to Minor Arcana, as I noted above. -New AoE spell that heals allies and damages opponents (the shooting star skill). Largely to balance with WHM having a great aoe in Holy, but making it different enough that the 4 different healers still have individuality.

-Scholar: Trailer: [My main. Adlo either gets buffed or might have a new animation. Looks like they used Sonsolation without transforming the fairy into Seraph. Updated basic attack, Broil III or w/e. Looks like a new aoe heal/shield or update to Succor. Power/animation update to Art of War. ... that's it??] -Oooh, a new ability that increases the party's movement speed--like Pelotan, but keeps its effect during battle. They don't say exactly how much faster compared to Sprint and Pelotan, but says it wont stack with Sprint. Apparently the base action is meant to be a damage reduction buff with the added benefit of speed increase. -SCH was aleady their base for "shield type" healers, so it's largely the same with more focus on the shields and barriers. -Getting a "powerful enhancement" that can be cast on a single party member. -That's it. :(

-Sage: Trailer: [Not sure what to say since this is new. Appears to use a gauge resembling a cross between BRD's and AST. Graphics on attacks look very nice. Cool beam attack! Ooooh, and a gap closer?? Looks like they also have an instant-cast aoe that damages opponents and heals party members.] - "Possesses all the actions essential for a barrier healer." Thanks. -Seems to have increased number of skills that attack and heal/shield allies simultaneously. Seems to work similar to AST's Synnastry--you specify a party member and when you attack, that party member gets passive heals. -Has a DoT that... applies when it feels like? -Adder's Gaul. Some charge in the job guage that powers instant-cast skills. -Also the gap closer. They say it's a very technical job and difficult to explain in just words. -Looks like the Sage's gauge is passively filling constantly, even outside of battle, until it fills 3 charges. -The Synnastry-like skill (Cardia) can target the self as well. Like a constant Regen as long as you're dpsing. Useful for solo-play. -I guess you have the one base attack, but can press a button that augments it into the DoT version. And it seems it can augment other attacks as well--looks like changing one skill from a base healing move to a shielding move or adjusting how aoe heals or attacks appear. -Looks like it's a decent amount to memorize and use, but no more than some other jobs, and it looks pretty fun in that technical aspect! -Lots of comparisons to Gundam from the chat regarding the sfx, lol

Huh, nothing about BLU. Weird.

-YoshiP about choking seeing how long it took them to get through the first part lmao

--break time--

-Reiterates/clarifies that Summoners will retain their egi glamors.

Battle Adjustments: -Raid Finder for Savage duties will specifically search for one pure healer and one barrier healer each. -Normal Duty Finder will remain the same, regarding healers (just one healer queue).

-In the Party Finder, people making parties can specify pure/barrier healers for the party they're making. -Addition to Party Finder to filter for players that have "yet to receive weekly completion rewards." -Searching for parties will now exclude parties you cannot join due to their "one player per job" requirement. Based on YoshiP's experience playing lol

-"Trials with weapon drops will now drop a weapon coffer in addition to the original weapon reward." Folks will still get a direct drop of the weapon, but also there will be a coffer for folks to vote on loot for weapons. -Final parts of hard raids up to 3.5 (Bahamut normal and Savage and Alexander Savage) will drop a weapon-specific coffer in addition to its original loot -High-end raids through SB will drop gear coffers as well in the same way Eden Savage does.

-"Conditional enhancements" can be separated in their own category on the HUD. Proc-type buffs (firestarter, straight shot, etc.) These elements can also have their sizes changed individually if you want them to be more noticeable.

-Improvements to "ground target functionality." -Includes an option to prevent the target from moving beyond it's placable range. We play with controllers, so idk how much this applies.

-New HUD element in the party list that shows which letter target (or # ally) the party members are targeting when they cast spells/abilities. -They specify its main uses are to see which target in a group the party is targeting easier or; -even better; can show which party member a healer is currently hard-casting Raise/Resurrection/Etc on so the other healer can know they're being raised and target another party member or w/e. -Doesn't work for instant spells/abilities because the element wouldn't have enough time to show up, lol

-players with 0% HP will have an empty health bar above them, which originally only showed if someone had the "always show health bar" UI setting, rather than "only when HP is below 100%"

-Unreal trials going away for a bit. Oh no, I'm very concern... -Just because of the raised level cap and the job adjustments, before they tweak the unreal trials to fit the new changes. -Planned to return in 6.1 -No comment on the rewards only available from doing this.

-Belts gone. Can't wear 'em. Can't get 'em. No new notes on this. -The Very Special Belt you can get in Eureka: Pagos for a speed boost will be replaced with a ring and can be exchanged for the belt. -After 6.0 releases, you can no longer extract materia from spriritbound belts; buy or sell belts; use belts for leves or supply missions or use coffers that contain only belts (from quest rewards). -But you can still RETRIEVE fused materia in belts. Belts can still be sold to npc vendors, be desnythesized, used for expert deliveries or be... thrown away. -PANTS FRALL DOWN NOW -More Downscaling of values. I don't really care about this.

-HQ Item Removal??? -"Prevents the unintended procurement of HQ items via gathering and other activities, reducing overall inventory bloat." -Gathered items, enemy drops, Tokens and Non-craftable materials "obtained from certain content" will no longer come as HQ. -Pre 6.0 HQ items will stay HQ, but they will no longer provide bonuses when crafting. -Crafted items (including crafted items only used for crafting, like flour or ingots) and Gear will still be available as HQ. These HQ items will remain functionally unchanged. -Gatherer skills that used to increase HQ will now be adjusted, mostly to affect item yield instead. Fishers will be adjusted as well. The catch's size will still be taken in consideration. -And, of course, Quests, challenge log entries and achievements that require HQ items will be changed accordingly -More details in next Live Letter

-Aethernet Updates: :o -Adjustments to teleportation fees. -No more upper limit to teleportation fees. :) pain -Teleporting across the world will be over 1200 gil, but teleporting to Norvrandt, the fees will be cheaper -Fees to nordvrant are considered via map distance between mor dhona and the crystarium -Other fees have been reduced, so closer teleports will be much cheaper. -In game economy. [ancientaliensmeme.jpg] -Updates to the Aethernet UI, sure. Will include a more detailed list and a map to help with navigation. -Progress towards Fisher's Intuition will remain even after logging out. Fair. Weird time to log out, but things happen.

-Data Center travel system scheduled to come after 6.0 but before 6.1.

[pidayforpi]

Rigmor of Cyrodiil is a wasted golden opportunity

(I should probably only post this on reddit, where people will understand. But...I feel like posting this here as well. Probably no one will understand.)

TL;DR, I give this mod a 60/100.

This is a review of the Skyrim mod Rigmor of Cyrodiil. This is the first time I have written a review for a mod. I thought of whether I should do it (let alone post it online), but since Rigmor of Cyrodiil (let’s call it RoC, not Republic of China) has a special place in my heart, I will do it just for this mod.

———————————————————————————————

First off, disclaimer. I...

...haven’t played the prequel Rigmor of Bruma. I will probably play it, but not soon because I need a rest.

...also haven’t played the sequel “Dragonchild”.

...don’t really care about the “lore” aspect. Skyrim is the only Elder Scrolls game I have played, so I can’t say I am familiar with the ES lore myself.

...also don’t really care about time-sensitivity. I am talking about modern slangs used in the mod. It just doesn’t bother me.

...don’t care about character stereotypes. It’s not easy to think of unique character settings all of the time. Cliché and a bit boring they may be, character tropes are hard to be avoided.

...don’t care about my character being forced to be the character the mod intents for me to be. I play a male/khajiit/friend-type character in my playthrough. I also haven’t touched the Skyrim main quest, so I am technically not a Dragonborn. I know many people get bothered by the limited choices/forced role-play aspect of the mod. But in my opinion, my character is just a character I lend to the mod. The mod is the story. The mod author is the storyteller. I don’t and don’t need to have any say about my character. I am just here to listen to the story.

———————————————————————————————

Overview (spoilers, of course)

RoC, as I see it, is a romance/politics/adventure genre of story. A quick description of the story:

The first part of the story revolves around Rigmor being forced to sign a legal document due to her noble status of her hometown Bruma. Being a free spirit, Rigmor just wants to sign the document, leave, and continue her carefree adventure with her boyfriend Bobby.

However, when she is in the capital, she is framed to be a traitor, as she is supposed to be the legal queen of the empire due to her family history. Thus, the current “bandit king” (who took the throne by force) and the queen Morag want to get rid of Rigmor to protect their own power.

You (the MC) has to rescue Rigmor from exile, and during the journey on Roscrea (?), you both learn that Morag is behind all of this conspiracy, including bribing Akaviri vampires and Tsaesci samurai with human flesh, and the reason behind her immortality is that she (1) is a vampire -> (2) is Molag Bal (I think?) -> (3) is relying on a soul gem powered by the souls of children.

Back home in Bruma (with the help of a pirate old friend and his crew), Bobby (who betrays Rigmor) and his men are attacking Bruma along with the central imperial government. You fight back, and capture Bobby.

After briefly settling the attacks on Bruma, you start your attack on Morag. To destroy her, you travel through the mountains to a ruins, along with a girl with the power to destroy the soul gem with her arrow. You raid the ruins, destroy Morag (Molag Bal), and go back to the base camp.

You suddenly fall into a near-death situation due to Morag’s curse, but is later saved by the goddess Alessia. When you wake up, war has already begun between Bruma and the imperial government. You, Rigmor and the protectors of Bruma launch a counterattack, successfully driving the imperial soldiers away and winning the war.

At the ending, you and Rigmor march into the imperial palace once again (the place where Rigmor sign the document), and kill the illegal bandit king (who fakes an armistice to assassinate you and Rigmor). You and Rigmor thus become the king and queen of Cyrodiil, when Rigmor announces she is pregnant with the next Dragonborn. The story ends.

———————————————————————————————

Obviously this is a very brief run-through of the plot of RoC. I omit many small encounters both intentionally and unintentionally, because that would be a lot (examples include...

-Rigmor falling sick on Roscrea

-The battle between locals of Roscrea and Akaviri

-The battle between the pirate crew and Akaviri

-The chancellor asking for peace between Bruma and the capital

-A mysterious old priest

-A wood elf general offering help to Rigmor, who hates elves due to her father being murdered by elves (I think it has something to do with Rigmor of Bruma the prequel?)

There are probably a lot more of these things in RoC, but I just can’t remember, nor will I list them all out.)

At first, RoC gives me a very good first impression.

Actually, in general, RoC is pretty enjoyable in its first quarter (not first half, mind you). That is, the first 2-3 hours of gameplay. I will say what I like about RoC in the next section, where I list what I like and don’t like in RoC.

I first started the mod last year in April. However, I stopped at the ship ride sequence back to Bruma due to study. I wanted to marathon the mod, but it was taking up too much time.

After finishing my public exam, I started the mod again (from the beginning) this year in July. I think it took me...2 weeks to complete it (to be fair, I have other things to do).

Even after finishing it, RoC still is a gem in my eye. Unlike any other Skyrim (story) mod I have played, RoC caught my eye. I have never been hyped by a mod. It’s just a shame how it progressed towards the end. It started with a pretty good image, but kept going downhill as I played it.

———————————————————————————————

Things I like about RoC

1.Thing I like the most about RoC: Beautiful.

And I mean that on multiple layers (so that probably concludes most of the things I like about RoC).

Assets: The world of Cyrodiil is beautiful. I use no ENB, only a weathers mod (that has some reshade I think), and it’s still beautiful. I took a lot of screenshots throughout my gameplay, because the scenery is just so wonderful. Be it the wilderness on the Table Mountain, or the bustling Imperial City...It’s crazy. The only mod (I have played) that beats RoC in terms of aesthetics is Malsea.

(Yes I know (some of) the assets are borrowed from Beyond Skyrim. But that doesn’t stop them from being beautiful.)

Screenplay: The scenes of RoC are beautiful. This is actually what caught my attention when I first played RoC. The signature scenes are overlooking Cyrodiil with Rigmor on top of a tree, and Rigmor devastated with her fate in front of her childhood “secret base”. These two scenes are crazy powerful. I have never seen such powerful, sentimental scenes in a video game, let alone a Skyrim mod. Even without playing RoB, I could feel the emotions: Only because she’s born to a noble family, Rigmor has to endure all of those matters. Later, it’s even found out that not only is she chosen by mortals, but she is also chosen by the gods. Sometimes, perhaps, Rigmor may even prefer the wandering, dangerous life in Skyrim to the boring, controlled life in Bruma.

Also beautiful are some of the dialogues written. Example is when the Chancellor Blackwell describes Rigmor being tortured when she’s arrested. When her hair is cut, when her clothes are torn...I could picture the whole scene and feel the sadness of Rigmor.

Characters: Rigmor is beautiful. No, I don’t mean her physical appearance. Rigmor actually reminds me of Princess Garnet from FF9 (you can call me a Zidane): A princess yearning for freedom but caught in a destined tragedy. On the other hand, her personality makes me think of Tifa Lockhart from FF7: A seemingly strong, yet emotional young woman. That’s why I think RoC is a tragedy and its ending is a sad one. Rigmor just wants freedom, but throughout the story she’s pushed around by others (arrested, forced to save the country, bare a child, only due to her family history and fate). In the end, she’s trapped in an even harsher cage: As the queen of Cyrodiil, how can she possibly run away? The story of RoC destroys the life of Rigmor, forcing her to accept the fate bestowed upon her. Her life is a tragedy, a beautiful tragedy.

Also brilliant is the voice-acting. Most of the main characters are professionally voiced. Rigmor, Bobby and Morag Sethius (?) are my favourite. I don’t find many mods that are voiced, let alone professionally voiced.

Story: The story (to a certain extent) is beautiful. RoC is a story-oriented mod and we all know it. The story is extremely detailed. Almost all side characters have character development to a certain extent. There are many dialogue scenes for character developments, such as Rigmor and you talking about the past, as a comparison to the sad present life you are experiencing now. Side characters have backstories, such as the orc warrior and her partner from the Burma Fighters’ Guild. Old, recurring characters have (I assume from RoB?) stories that detailed why they are in the position they are in now (such as a character becoming a Jarl in Skyrim). That fills up many plot holes, to the point of developing the holes to hills.

(Mind you, detail is also a problem in itself. I will discuss it later.)

The story is rather unique and not very lore-heavy (in its first quarter, at least). A pet peeve of mine when finding Skyrim story mods is the massive amount of lore in these mods. Stories that revolve around Dwermer, Daedra (etc.) immediately put a slightly bad taste in my mouth. In my opinion, lores are unnecessary, complicated and boring. I don’t care about a non-lore-friendly story. I just want a story that connects to me in a personal level, talking about issues that we, as real-life modern human beings, can relate to.

That’s why RoC’s story gave me a breath of fresh air when I first played it. Rigmor’s story is extremely relatable at first: Being forced to do something you have been running away from. You strongly want to continue running away, but you know the problem will come back to bite you, or others will suffer the consequences for you. Should you run? Or face it? I think many of us have, unfortunately, experienced this dilemma in real life.

Relatability is a very important aspect in storytelling. You have to let the readers relate to the main character on a personal level, so that readers can feel the emotions themselves. We don’t face celestial invasions or supernatural disasters in our everyday lives, so Skyrim lore-friendly story mods are more often than not non-relatable.

That’s what makes Rigmor’s story stand out (initially, I will talk about how the story goes on later).

2.Effort.

No matter you like the mod or not, you have to admit a lot of effort is put into the mod. A lot. RoC is very long, almost like an official DLC, or even a brand new video game. We have a huge map. We have many locations. We have many cutscenes. We have voiced characters. We have composed music. The programming alone is crazy effort. We have to give applause to the team making RoC (and RoB). They really put a lot of time and sweat into making a free Skyrim story mod.

Also give a big hand to the voice actress of Rigmor. She has voiced thousands of lines for one character. And the writers, as well. Millions of lines written in books, notes, dialogues.

All these efforts are not lost on me.

I can never make a Skyrim mod myself, so I admire all modders in the community. For team Rigmor, you surely deserve a seat as one of the most important modders of Skyrim.

———————————————————————————————

Things I don’t like about RoC

1.Thing I don’t like the most about RoC: Long. Too long.

The problem is not the mod duration. The problem stems from the awkward pacing and tension.

I would like to make a comparison between two video games to demonstrate this problem: Okami and Persona 5. For people who have played these two games, you may understand my opinion better. I assume most have not, so I will not spoil...much.

(ok there will be spoilers i will keep it as small as possible)

(you can skip this section if you just want to see the mod look for the “Back to RoC...” subtitle)

(also for people who have played and loved okami please don’t kill me i know a lot of people love that game)

(also i’m aware that is a kid’s game, but i’m judging it in terms of story pacing)

———————————————————————————————

Both games are of similar length, mind you. I used a year to complete Persona 5 (with school and study, of course), but I lose count of how long I used to finish Okami (I finished it this May).

This is because Okami was...sadly, getting boring. And this is due to its unbalanced pacing.

Games, or long stories in general, should have an ascending pacing and atmosphere up until the climax. The actions should get faster and faster. The missions should get more and more important. Little exception.

For Okami, I feel like the story was loosely planned. As if the story was being forced to extend when the developers realised the story was not long enough.

From the start, it is stated that Orochi is the main menace of the world. Then you would assume Orochi to be the final boss, or at least the second final boss, right?

The part up to Orochi is great. You save a local village, another village, and proceed to the capital of Japan. Neat.

Then the showdown comes down between you and Orochi. The battle is epic. Very dramatic (though a bit stupid for comic relief). I thought the game finale was at hand, given the fast pacing and the tense atmosphere.

But no, there are still at least 3 bosses until the final boss.

Then what is the tension all about?

The next boss (Kyuubi/Ninetails) also has a pretty good buildup. It leads to the deaths of two rather major characters, and you have to destroy it in its lair. Awesome.

But it’s still not the second final boss.

I stopped after the attack on Kyuubi, because it’s getting too long and boring. I felt like the story was never ending, and my patience was running dry. You kept giving me high tension, only for it to be a fraud. Similar to how the goal of the marathon keeps shifting backwards.

When you give me something that wows me, I will beg for more wows, stronger wows, until the finale.

It’s like competition. You try a 10km marathon, you then want to try another, and the next one will be a 15km.

You try a 15km marathon, you then want to try another, and the next one will be a 25km.

You win your friends in a chess game, you want to win the community.

You win the community, you want to win the country.

You win the country, you want to win the world.

Stories and games are like this too. If you give me cheap fast-food steak after I have tried a prime angus beef steak, I feel nothing. If you continue to do so, I will feel bored. Until you give me something better (or, at least equal).

That’s also why I think the ending of Okami is rather...simple. The tension before is too high, that the ending feels like it was rushed. There isn’t any buildup between the second final boss and the final boss. I beat both bosses in one day. You just...go.

I believe Persona 5 is no shorter in length than Okami. Then what made me so intrigued in Persona 5 that I followed it nonstop for a year? Pacing and atmosphere done right.

The first boss (basically a tutorial one) is a school teacher. Okay.

The second boss is a nation-famous artist. Great.

The third boss is a crime lord/gangster boss. Awesome.

The fourth boss is your future teammate. Cool.

The fifth boss is a world-famous entrepreneur. Magnificent.

Just from the status, do you see an ascending importance from each boss to each boss? From a nobody to someone everyone knows. You are evolving from a local hero to a world hero.

Although the fourth (and sixth) boss is a nobody again, they are linked to you personally. If you don’t do something, you will be in trouble. You face direct danger.

The seventh boss is the second final boss. They are the person the game hypes to be close to the final boss (similar to Orochi in Okami), and right after beating them, the final boss is at hand.

Not to mention the increasing linkage and pacing between the bosses.

Linkage-wise, in Okami, every boss is a separate monster. No linkage otherwise.

In Persona 5, the first boss has nothing to do with the main plot other than facilitating your awakening and forming your cool team (not really a spoiler the trailer shows it).

The second boss and third boss also have little to no importance to the main plot other than making you a greater hero (this is, however, a part of the main plot).

The fourth boss’ mother investigated the power you are using to beat bosses, and died because of her investigation.

The fifth and sixth boss are parts of the conspiracy of the seventh boss. And the seventh boss is your destined arch-enemy as shown by the game.

The final boss is the reason behind every boss you have beaten.

The linkage grows stronger and stronger from each boss to each boss, making you want to continue playing to find out the mastermind behind.

The pacing does a good thing to keep you focused as well. From first to fifth bosses, there are celebrations and fillers between the bosses. But from the sixth to final, no chit-chat whatsoever. One boss, onto the next. The breaks from first to fifth bosses are also really just breaks. Short and simple. One event per intermission. These breaks also give clues to future events, such as you seeing your future waifu teammate while watching fireworks after the third boss.

———————————————————————————————

Back to RoC...

Now you know the importance of pacing and tension, let’s discuss about RoC as a case study.

I believe (from many reviews online) that the unbalanced pacing is the reason why many players do not enjoy RoC. The weird pacing hurts the enjoyment of RoC a lot (I will say a -25 point goes to that).

There are many occasions where the tension is broken and the pacing halts to a crawl, mostly using dialogues. For example, the excessive use of military strategic conferences. These conferences are boring, whenever they are placed. When you put these conferences in between battles, it feels weird and extra boring. I know it is realistic for conferences to be held to discuss what to do next, but these conferences are just too long.

Times I think RoC has had weird pacing and tension (in terms of chronological order, of course including but not limited to):

-The escape on Roscrea. There are many times you both take a breather and chat. I get that it is used for the character development of Rigmor, but that’s just too much.

-Rigmor falling sick. This whole section feels unnecessary. I get they want to include Alessia (the witch-doctor of Rigmor) as part of a foreshadowing, but with you needing to gather ingredients for the Alessia and listening to her (fake?) backstory, it takes up a lot of time.

-Sabotaging the supply of Akaviri vampires and saving human slaves (on the way home to Bruma on the pirate ship). I get that they want to include that in a realistic, strategic sense, as well as show the kindness of Rigmor to save the innocent, but again, it’s not really that important, yet takes you a lot of time.

-Military conference back at Bruma, and the meeting with Chancellor Blackwell. Bruma is under attack. The tension is high. I recommend just get to the fighting part. More dialogues hurt the pacing in such a dire situation.

-Rigmor (and Blackwell) meeting with an imprisoned Bobby. I get that is for Rigmor to officially cut ties with Bobby, but in times of war, doing that slows down the pacing.

-During the expedition (to destroy Morag Sethius), too many breaks.

-After destroying Morag Sethius, any sequential military meetings (or human problems, except wars) seem boring. You just slain a Daedra. There’s nothing more exciting than that.

-Character developments for the Fighters’ Guild side characters right before the finale...? (I don’t want to be mean but I hate that)

These unnecessary (or unnecessarily long) interactions before or in a high tension situation harm the story very much. I don’t feel anything for these interactions. If you give me more of these, I will only feel bored. Until you give me something that wows me.

I think one of the general problems with the pacing of RoC is that a very high tension event is placed in the first half of the story. I am talking about the rescue of Rigmor. Rigmor is in a life-and-death situation, either she will be killed by men or demons. Saving Rigmor, bringing her home is (at least, to me) very important and put me on the edge of the seat. Therefore, after that, I assume the story will pick up its pace, and the ending is coming soon. But that is not the case.  There are still 10+ hours of playthrough, not to mention the story slowing down multiple times with the aforementioned “breaks”.

I will feel bored, until you give me immense danger again like you did with the rescue of Rigmor. Putting the Rigmor rescue arc in the near beginning forces you to pick up the pace and end the story quickly.

Another problem with the awkward pacing is a logical one. A significant example is the expedition arc. I don’t want to be mean, but aren’t you saving the world? Why are you always taking a rest? Even have time for Rigmor to take a bath? Another example is right before the finale. You have the empire at your mercy. Why do you still have time to ask a side character about her backstory? Don’t you want to get the war done? Aren’t you afraid the empire will launch a counterattack?

2.The Ending.

The problem is not that the ending is a sad one. The problem is of atmosphere and logic.

Although, having a sad ending will undoubtedly decrease enjoyability. After all, who doesn’t like a feel-good ending? With the already low enjoyability of RoC, having a sad ending surely add salt to the wound.

Atmosphere-wise, unless you really investigate the story, the ending doesn’t seem like a sad one. You don’t see Rigmor devastated with being forced to be the queen. The ending is progressed quickly without much buildup. The credit scene uses a...very epic remix of the Dragonborn theme. It looks...awkward. Similar to if Thanos snapped half of your favourite superheroes to oblivion, they and the other half are emotionless. No tears. No anger. No awesome, encouraging last words.

Logic-wise, I think neither you nor Rigmor would accept the ending. Both you (through dialogue choices) and Rigmor have always showed immense disgust with fate forcing them to do what they don’t want to. There are many occasions where both of you are like “screw the rules and prophecies”, even right before the finale. Then why would you two suddenly become so submissive and accept fate? You become the empire, while Rigmor becomes the queen and bears the Dragonchild.

You can say you both “mature” (even though I personally don’t think accepting whatever life puts onto you is being “mature”), but this is not shown. Rigmor and you, up to the ending, still refuse to accept fate. But the moment you enter the palace, you both suddenly mature and accept the thrones. This transition feels extremely sudden and weird.

3.Technical Problems

I seldom find technical problems the bane of my enjoyment. But when the problems are game-breaking, that is a problem (a famous example being Sonic ‘06).

Bugs: There are quite a number of bugs in RoC, either guaranteed or easily encountered. A significant example of guaranteed bugs is the Mara shrine scene. Again, I don’t want to be rude, but this is the first time a (serious mod, not joke) mod requires me to use console command to solve a bug. Immersion-breaking is not the problem. The problem is that if I did not know how to solve it, I couldn’t continue. I didn’t even know the command “TIM” (Toggle Immortal Mode) before I looked up on how to solve the Mara shrine bug (“TGM” doesn’t work for that situation).

Easily-encountered bugs are a lot in RoC. These bugs can break your quest, making you unable to continue your story. Examples include:

-Running from the trolls and giants on Roscrea. I think the game wants you to guide them through thin ice, so that the monsters will fall. But it just didn’t work for me. In the end I had to manually kill all the monsters (because Rigmor kept fighting/being attacked by the monsters).

-The meeting with Mr Bear. Because the meeting is placed right after a battle scene, Mr Bear will often be still in its “battle mode”, making you unable to interact with it. Worse if you (accidentally) past through the cave before the cutscene between Rigmor and Mr Bear (due to the lack of directions). I encountered this bug where Rigmor was on the other side of the mountain, yet the cutscene with Mr Bear still hadn’t finished. I had to use two third-party mods to solve this bug (by literally carrying Rigmor over the mountain).

-The battles on the sea. Did the mod team test-run the mod, or invite beta testers to test-run the mod before releasing? Given the narrow battle area and large amount of enemies, people going overboard (falling off the ship into the sea) is extremely easy. Worse when Rigmor or any quest characters have fallen overboard. I had to, again, use console command (“kill”) and a third-party mod (unlimited jumping) to kill every enemy that went overboard and get back onto the ship.

-Rigmor dying. I’m serious, this is possible. There should be an option where you can toggle her essentiality (?), but the option had to be unlocked through console command (at least for me). “Resurrect” console command will break Rigmor. A quest-given shout that should be used to resurrect Rigmor doesn’t work. Why don’t we just make Rigmor essential in the first place?

-Technically not a bug, but the game is sometimes too clueless for you. I’m okay with handholding, but not with no handholding at all. Lack of quest markers, vague directions, no signs that a cutscene is continuing...All these sometimes make me clueless as to what I should do. And it hurts the gameplay enjoyment. The large amount of flags (conditions you need to fulfil before the quest can continue) also lead to a lot of bugs, as you can easily miss those flags (such as talking to a certain person).

My recommendation for anyone who wants to try the mod is to save frequently. Not quicksave. Save. Especially before any battle scenes.

Difficulty: The mod is just too difficult. I play on Adept (default difficulty) because I want to experience the difficulty mod authors intend for you to have, but even that is too difficult for me.

Whenever there is a battle, it is almost always a large-scale one. Having a ton of enemies rushing at you makes surviving extremely difficult, let alone eliminating all enemies. I had to use a third-party (rather) OP spell to eliminate the enemies, or I would have to use whosyourdaddy God Mode. Unless you have a powerful character, or you play at a lower difficulty, legit combat is near impossible. Again, did the team test-run the mod at least once? Or is the mod supposed to be played at a lower difficult/with a very strong character?

———————————————————————————————

That’s all I have to say about Rigmor of Cyrodiil. It will always have a special place in my Skyrim gaming experience. The concept is great and unique, but the problems in execution just hurt the overall enjoyment of the mod. I will not advise against playing the mod. If you have time, please experience it for yourself, if story-oriented mod is your cup of tea.

This is the first non-fiction passage/review I have written (well, outside of school and exams). Thank you for reading!

(16-7-2020 ~ 17-7-2020)

[fiyabwal]

I love when games trick players into thinking they discovered something fun only to realize "oh jesus fuck not safe NOT SAFE"

Or with games that reward exploring suddenly throwing a trap room or letting you wander into an area you are 100% NOT ready for.

Like in FF9 on the first disc when you make your way under the mountain through a passage on your way to Burmucia, and you just see a rope leading out of the cave and you go up and its just this high up mountain pass that leads nowhere but looks cool and you think you found a secret, and then your screen swirls and its a fucking level 60 grand dragon that one shots your entire party and laughs at you.

[captainkupo]

but you'll pay 60 bucks for a gameboy game?

its a full remake not just a port, i wanted a physical release of ff9, id pay 20 for a physical version of it on switch

But also yes

[masonsystem]

man i am waiting for my brother to do ff9's final dungeon for the past 3 days he has been grinding like a maniac he has got freya's dragon crest to 9999 damage and 68 frogs almost everyone is level 60 PLEASE DO THE FINAL DUNGEON ALREADYYYY

[mayonnaiseandbread]

NOW ON #SALE! ONLY $60 + s/h ● https://squareup.com/store/mayonnaise-and-bread/item/quina ● #QUINA on #9x12 #acrylicpaper • ● #ffix #ff9 #blumag #eat #finalfantasy #rpg #classick

[just-absolutely-super]

my only complaint about FF9 is that when you use a phoenix down the characters only get 1-10 HP

then the boss attacks them again and WELP LOOKS LIKE I HAVE TO USE ANOTHER PHOENIX DOWN AND HOPE THEY DON’T DIE AGAIN

[xmydaysinmilanx]

1 to 75 because why not xd

1. First console you’ve ever owned? PS12. First game you played? Possibly Tekken or Spider-Man for the PS13. Favorite childhood game? I cannot choose one!4. Longest consecutive hours you’ve played a game? I honestly have no idea. Maybe 6 hours approx as I would have dinner and bathroom breaks etc. 5. Game with the best soundtrack? I adore the soundtrack of Final Fantasy X but I think the 13 series was composed beautifully.6. An underrated game from within the last few years? The Jak series. Jak 2 and 3 are excellent games.Think of a hard edged Spyro combined with Grand Theft Auto and you get Jak 2/3. 7. Most disappointing game you’ve played? Final Fantasy 12. The visuals are astounding but I could not take to it at all.8. The game with the best atmosphere/scenery? 7 has a lot of potential in the remake. X has beautiful scenery with plenty of places I’d like to visit in game. I adore Macalania Woods!9. Last game you played? FF XIII. 10. Prefer PC or console? Console, never owned a desktop.11. Have you written any fanfic or made any fanart? Fanfic ‘ideas’ yes but have not branched out into the writing world yet.12. Most bizarre game you’ve ever played? Non strike me as being ‘bizarre.’ There are elements in FF 7 and 13 that are quite strange. Oh and Necron in FF9 - okay.13. Scariest game you’ve played? Abe’s Oddysee freaked me out, must say lol. 14. Do you watch playthroughs online? If I am really stuck on configuring strategy. 15. Favorite animal in a video game? Donald Duck, Kingdom Hearts series.16. The best year in gaming you’ve experienced? The 2001-2006 era. I was younger and so it feels more nostalgic. 17. Have a video game themed background or lockscreen? Of course.18. Worst game you’ve played? I find games such as Call of Duty quite the yawn fest.19. Hardest game you’ve ever played? Lightning Returns on normal mode is pretty challenging due to the time constraints. Also many of the enemies in XIII are tough nuts to crack. Not really sure though.20. Favorite publisher and/or developer? Square-Enix21. If you had to play one game for the rest of your life, what would it be? FF722. If you could turn one game into movie, which would it be? X would be an awesome film. 23. Favorite genre of video game? RPG24. Ever cried because of a video game? Which one(s)? Only one. The ending of XIII. Games do impact me emotionally but I just don’t necessarily cry over them.25. Proudest accomplishment in gaming? Training the golden chocobo in FF7, I managed to win a game of Blitzball (which I hate lol) ONCE by pure chance. Oh and Anima in X. I did pretty well in GTA Vice City come to think of it and I was only 12. 26. How often do you play online? Co-op? Never really played a game online but FF14 ARB intrigues me. 27. Have you gotten any friends into gaming? I do not believe so.28. Who got YOU into gaming? My mum’s boyfriend at the time introduced me to Spyro/Spider-Man games before gifting me X. I’ve been hooked since.29. Watch cutscenes or skip them? Watch unless it’s imperative to progress in the game. I’ll skip if I am re-doing a mission/boss and I can’t  be arsed to watch a scene over again. 30. On average, how long does it take you in the character creation screen? Very little time.31. Game with the best theme song? Kingdom Hearts Simple and Clean is a classic.32. Do you cosplay? I wish but I do not have the confidence.33. Favorite female npc? Maybe Yunalesca. Kinda hard to decide haha.34. Favorite male npc? Maybe Axel from the Kingdom Hearts series.35. Best protagonist? Cloud Strife although, it’s really hard to pick. I also admire Serah Farron and Lightning.36. Best antagonist? Sin/Jecht is pretty ‘up there’ isn’t he? I also love Sephiroth.37. Ever been made fun of for playing video games? Nope, only other things haha.38. Have you tried a game, hated it, then tried again, and loved it? FF XIII really bored me then I tried again a year down the line and have loved it since.39. Do you play for achievements/trophies? Nope.40. Favorite voice actor? David Gallagher (Riku), Adam Croasdell (Ignis), 41. Gone to a midnight release before? Nope.42. A game you will never forget (in a bad OR good way)? FF7.43. Favorite sidekick or companion? Ignis44. Do graphics matter? Nope.45. Do you like funny or more serious games? Elements of comedy and seriousness in one. 46. Always, sometimes, or never use subtitles? They’re always on.47. First person or Third person? Third.48. A game you’ve always wanted to play but have never gotten to it? FF14 A Realm Reborn. Oh, also World of Final Fantasy and some DLC’s for XIII-2.49. A game you haven’t played in forever, but want to replay? 7 but I always hold it off because I want my experience to be magical each time.51. First character you’ve had a crush on? Tidus.52. A game you will always stand behind, and support no matter what? FFXIII and 13-2.53. Your most immersive game? Eh none of note.54. A sequel you really want? FFXV-2 >_> Ignis as lead!55. How much time, on average, do you play in a week? Depends, sometimes none at all sometimes an hour or two 6 days a week lol56. Do you tell people irl that you play video games? Yep57. What is an overrated game you’ve played? FF8/FF9/FIFA/COD58. Ever have someone walk in on a sex scene between you and you LI? Nope59. A game you are looking forward to this year? Not sure if they’re out this year but KH3 and FF7 Remake!60. The game you are best at? Fairly good at X and 7.61. A game you know everything about? FFX/7/13/13-2/KH1/KH262. Would you want to work with video games when you are older? Voice acting lol63. What’s a game that has inspired you? They all have in their own way64. Describe your favorite video game using only three words? Nostalgic, Intriguing, Haunting.65. Any favorite screenshots of games? Check my page haha.66. Game with the yummiest looking food? FFXV - I’VE COME UP WITH A NEW RECIPEEEEHHH!67. Most violent game you’ve played? GTA lmao68. An older game that you’ve just recently gotten into? I’ve already played games over a decade old or more!69. Your first LI? Is it bad I am unsure what these initials stand for?70. Do you play any mobile games? Nah71. A game you can’t stop talking/thinking about at the moment? FFXV72. Have any guilty pleasure games? Not really guilty pleasures lol73. A game with the best fandom? FFXV and KH or sure74. Which game has the best lore? X75. Do you focus on main storyline/quest or do sidequests first?  I do all.

[weather449]

好きなキャラクター100(厳選版)

好きなものを100個書くことにより自分と向き合えると昔見たので一度試したんですが、そのとき途中からウルトラマンの怪獣ラッシュになったので今回はルールをつけて厳選して実施したいと思います。

ルール

・キャラクターの定義は『言語を話せる』

・()内は出典となった作品

・ひとつの作品から１名のみ選出

・連番はあくまで連番

・好きな、なので嫁は除く

・選定基準は性格か顔

それでは行ってみましょう。

1 ジン(王ドロボウJING)

2 シャノン・カスール(スクラップドプリンセス)

3 明日葉 郁(保健室の死神)

4 桑原 和真(幽☆遊☆白書)

5 相良 佐之助(るろうに剣心)

6 クルツ・ウェーバー(フルメタルパニック)

7 デュオ・マックスウェル(ガンダムW)

8 黒桐 幹也(空の境界)

9 福部 里志(氷菓)

10 セッツァー・ギャッビアーニ(FF6)

11 マリベル(DQ7)

12 フクロウ(ノエイン)

13 李 紅蘭(サクラ大戦)

14 テッド(金色のガッシュ！)

15 白澤(鬼灯の冷徹)

16 レット(RAVE)

17 ディードリット(ロードス島戦記)

18 響 良牙(らんま1/2)

19 竹本チエ(じゃりン子チエ)

20 パプリカ(パプリカ)

21 エルミナ(ぷちぷりユーシィ)

22 美墨 なぎさ(ふたりはプリキュア)

23 カノン(WA2)

24 湯水スグル(鉄鍋のジャン！)

25 佐倉 京四郎(京四郎)

26 ルシオラ(GS美神)

27 ニギハヤミコハクヌシ(千と千尋の神隠し)

28 ライオ(冒険王ビィト)

29 煙(ドロヘドロ)

30 川奈 昴(君は淫らな僕の女王)

31 奈良 シカマル(NARUTO)

32 タマ(たまはな)

33 鋼棍のシェル(中華一番！)

34 無免ライダー(ワンパンマン)

35 坂本ジュリエッタ(エアマスター)

36 水野 燕(大好きが虫はタダシ君の)

37 メロー・イエロー(ブギーポップシリーズ)

38 オマリー(おしゃれキャット)

39 ドジャー(オリバー)

40 宮園 かをり(四月は君の嘘)

41 上杉 景子(レッケン！)

42 乙姫 タロウ(ドラゴンドライブ)

43 黒神 くじら(めだかボックス)

44 アルノー・G・ヴァスケス(WA4)

45 タップ・オセアノ(機甲戦記ドラグナー)

46 オレルド(パンプキンシザーズ)

47 R(ロケットマン)

48 坂口 亜梨子(僕の地球を守って)

49 フロルベリチ��リ・フロル(１１人い��！)

50 ガルフォード(侍魂シリーズ)

51 水原 可奈(Q.E.D.証明終了)

52 百目鬼 静(XXXHOLiC)

53 スバル・リョーコ(機動戦艦ナデシコ)

54 ピンク(PINK)

55 ラム(うる星やつら)

56 パイク(エリア５１)

57 一乗寺 賢(デジモンアドベンチャー02)

58 ナイツ(NiGHTS)

59 グウェンドリン(オーディンスフィア)

60 バティド・バランタイン(グリムグリモア)

61 ジタン・トライバル(FF9)

62 シーブック・アノー(ガンダムF91)

63 シシド(逢魔ヶ刻動物園)

64 マフリー・チェットリ(ポストガール)

65 黒百合 空亜(12DEMONS)

66 風間 美利(爆球連発スーパービーダマン)

67 矢村 大一(ぼくらの)

68 中山 りあ(侵略する少女と嘘の庭)

69 新島 良次(地獄堂霊界通信)

70 上杉 秀彦(ペルソナシリーズ)

71 宮城 リョータ(スラムダンク)

72 ロム(マシンロボ クロノスの大逆襲)

73 ポップ(ドラゴンクエスト ダイの大冒険)

74 フェニックス一輝(聖闘士星矢)

75 宮ノ下さつき(学校の怪談)

76 素敵なお兄様(学校怪談)

77 衝撃のアルベルト(ジャイアントロボ)

78 クラース・F・レスター(TOF)

79 エルメス(キノの旅)

80 ミニス(サモンナイトシリーズ)

81 伊達 京介(The Soul Taker)

82 ノロイ(ガンバの冒険)

83 朽木 冬子(殻ノ少女)

84 小金井 薫(烈火の炎)

85 フィー・カーマイケル(プラネテス)

86 伊集院 炎山(ロックマンエグゼシリーズ)

87 プリシス・F・ノイマン(スターオーシャン2)

88 黒き風(FF:U)

89 我妻 善逸(鬼滅の刃)

90 卑怯番長(金剛番長)

91 マース・ヒューズ(鋼の錬金術師)

92 トッペマ・マペット(クレヨンしんちゃん)

93 チーク(シリウスの伝説)

94 ブラック羽川(化物語)

95 間 黒男(ブラック・ジャック)

96 広瀬 康一(ジョジョの奇妙な冒険)

97 萩原 子荻(零崎シリーズ)

98 ゲイン・ビジョウ(キングゲイナー)

99 モラン・シェトランド(LAST EXILE)

100 結城中佐(ジョーカーゲーム)

[smokeybrand]

Level Up

I’m a massive fan of RPGs. I usually don’t play games just to “have fun” but to be entertained and to be entertained, i need some sort of pathos and resolution to feel fulfilled. Except for Basketball games. Ball is life but i digress. I didn’t always play RPGs. I actually got into them rather late in life. Up until i was in the 10th grade, i passed on them hard. I mean, i knew what they were, mostly because i admired the art and creativity, but i always assumed they were boring. Back then, when you said RPG, you thought of tabletop DnD games. I had played DnD as a younger youth and it was corny so i hard passed on the entire genre. That was a mistake

When i was, like 15 or 16, my brother bought home Final Fantasy IX from a friend and i figured, “What the hell? I’ll give it a shot. Change of pace from the fighters and sports games or whatever.” Yo, i have a goddamn revelation. FF9 was my first real RPG and my first real Final Fantasy game. And it was GOOD. So f*cking good! Zidane’s odyssey changed my entire perspective of narrative in games. I was legit shook that something so campy, could be so profound and emotional. I needed more. Within a year of playing FF9, i had played the entire line up until X. XI was online and it would be a few year before i got into that one but the rest were f*cking phenomenal. Sure, the quality of the gameplay varies wild between titles but the narratives never really disappointed, they were never not uninspired. The characters, the world, the circumstances and interactions; they were always so rich. This is what i needed in my games. This is what i wanted to experience. This is exactly what i had been missing for years! But it was Final Fantasy VII that made the most impact. VII became one of my All Time favorites. It is exactly what an FF game should strive to be. Also Sephiroth. F*cking Sephiroth, man... Because of FF, i went out and bought Kingdom Hearts, day one. Like, my brothers and i saw a commercial and i instantly got in a car, drove to my local Gamestop, and dropped 60 on the game. I’d never done that for anything in my life but FF left that great of an impression on me.

One of the things that my lady and i have in common is our love for these games. She was light-years ahead of me in that regard so when we hooked up, i had a legit library to work my way through. Man, i played some real gems like Breath of Fire V, Dragon Warrior VII, Disgaea 2, Ar Tonelico, the Hack series, particularly G.U.,and Wild Arms 3. I first played Chrono Cross when we first started dating and Legend of Dragoon not long after that. One of the first things i bought her as a gift was Digital Devil Saga and, similar to the firs time i played an FF game, i had an emotionally experience. DDS was the my first experience with a MegaTen title and i LOVED it! That sh*t was unique, and wacky, and grim, and ended on one of the lowest notes in gaming. And if you know me, you know i’m about my tragedy, man. This sh*t was right up my alley and i began to work my way through them sh*ts. Eventually, i got to the Persona series and my first title in that line was Persona 3. My god, the tragedy in that one is profound. Just like my discovery of FF VII, P3 became one of my all-time favorite games. And then Persona 5 happened and i had to do a comparison to figure out which i loved more. It was P3 but P5 is the closest of seconds. Also Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne but that’s not a Persona game. You should still play it. It’s f*cking amazing.

I would be remiss not to mention my adoration for the Tactics end of this spectrum. Tactics games are just that; tactics titles. It’s like playing a games of chess with pretty graphics and real consequences. The field is set up like a board, characters and attacks can move in a set pattern, and usually there is a job system you can evolve to get better options. They’re f*cking incredible and almost always has Super deformed art in gameplay. It’s adorable because these titles almost always deal with war and loss but they’re little adorable sprites wouldn’t never lead you to believe it. I touched on that a little bit with my mention of Disgaea but there were two, solid titles, that changed me entire perspective on these types of games. The first was Final Fantasy Tactics. Anther FF title, right? f*ck yeah, these things are great, man, and Tactics is one of the best! The War of lions needs to be experienced by anyone who calls themselves an RPG fan. It’s f*cking ridiculously deep and that narrative would put actual, golden age, European history to shames.

The second title? Fire Emblem: Awakening. Holy sh*t! This is another one my brother put me on. He got one of them on the old GBA ad sore by it. I never got an opportunity to play but i did pick up a 3DS on the suggestion of my lady because of Tharja. Yes, i bought a game because of a female character that my chick suggested i’d like, because Tharja reminded her of herself. My lady is a little bit conceited and she was a alot-a-bit right because Tharja definitely reminded me of her.  I adored our in-game interactions because they felt like interactions i’ve had in my real life relationship. It was ridiculous but it got me into the series and i am thankful for that. The thing that sets FE apart, though, is Permadeath. You lose a guy in battle, you lose a guy for real so you have to be on your sh*t. You have to be a great general or all of these characters you love will die. Forever. It’s super real out here in this War against Grima. Play More Fire Emblem. You’ll thank me later!

Play more JRPGs, man, they’re f*cking spectacular. American RPGs like Dragoon Age or DIablo or Jade Empire are okay, so are the Euro RPGs like The WItcher. Oh, god, The Witcher! Just, play more Witcher. Those are all great games but they are so different than what got me in to the genre as a whole. I mean, i think they’re fun but the narratives are almost never as good and they are heavy on the fantasy/medieval world aspect. I’m not a huge fan of that aesthetic so it takes a something really special for me to actually engage and that usually doesn’t happen with the ARPGs. American sensibility focuses too much on the builds and technical aspect of games, rather than character development or narrative. They all try to emulate that tabletop experience which i never really got into. Often times, to eschew even that, ARPGs skin their games with another, more popular genre completely. Mass Effect is a great example of this. ME is an RPG. It hits all of the hallmarks; rich world, endearing characters, sprawling narrative, magic (or Biotics because science) enhanced combat, a leveling system, and an absolutely dope protagonist. But ME is a goddamn shooter. It’s a cover shooter like Halo or COD, set in future-space times. Mass Effect is f*cking amazing (The first three. Andromeda was disappointment) RPG but Bioware made it a shooter because ‘Murrica! I mean, i’m not mad, the narrative and Tali, was more than enough for me to distract, but, bro, really? Still, Mass Effect gives me hope for Cyberpunk, an RPG with a shooter skin, made by the guys who made The Witcher series. F*cking full circle, bro!

RPGs are f*cking amazing. They effectively blend narrative and development with fun gameplay and strategy. That sh*t is rare in the game world. Hell, even my beloved fighters and sports titles are doing it. NBA 2K releases a story mode in all of their titles now tht emulates the superficial RPG experience. You have an antagonist or rival to defeat, a leveling system that has been corrupted by microtransactions, and a n actual narrative you follow. In a basketball sim. Hell, Mortal Kombat and Injustice have some of the richest lore in gaming now! It’s insane how far these titles have come. Their influence has been profound on gaming as a whole and i love how bright the future is for these things.

[press-a-repeatedly]

Final Fantasy XV: A Royal Pain in the Butt

by Zul Edwards

Final Fantasy. For years this beloved series was the standard bearer for what an RPG should be. The absolute titans of creative storylines, stellar graphics, innovative battle systems and fun side quests that have been, and still are, emulated to this day. Some of my absolute favorite games of all time are in this series; FF9, FF6, FF4, and FF10, just to name a few. However, I think it’s safe to say that reputation has changed over time for the worse. For the past several years Final Fantasy has shifted in my eyes. Once a series that used to fill me with joy when I heard those two glorious F’s next to each other, to an eye rolling, groan-inducing disappointment that just makes me want to scream out one giant F instead.

I know you can hear the theme playing in your head.

Two years ago in November 2016, Square-Enix’s latest installment in the Final Fantasy series, Final Fantasy 15 was released. Now this game had one of the craziest and longest development cycles in recent gaming history. I won’t get into it fully here but trust me when I say, it sucked. Over ten years from the initial reveal of what was once called Final Fantasy Versus 13, to what ultimately came out as Final Fantasy 15. It went through so many changes and took so much time I think I always knew in the back of my mind that there was a very slim chance it could actually live up to the years of anticipation and hype surrounding it. And I hate to say, I was right. Final Fantasy 15, despite, having years of development, backed by one of the most successful companies in gaming with a pedigree of games that would make other studios blush, was an absolute letdown when it first landed in my lap.

FF15 started out promising enough, the opening scene and first few hours were rather enjoyable. Getting to know the characters, playing a seemingly simple story (for a Final Fantasy) of main character, Prince Noctis, going on a road trip with his friends and bodyguards to get married was a novel concept and initially got me engaged (heh) in the game. The combat was simple and flashy, yet satisfying, the graphics are amazing, from character models to the environment they’re all top notch, and getting to hear classic FF songs as you drive around your royal cruiser, taking in the breathless countryside was truly delightful. However, the initial hours could only do so much and the chinks in the armor grew and spread until the metaphorical wheels came off the Regalia and slammed into the side of a mountain. As you progressed, the flashy battles became repetitive button mashing affairs, often made worse by the unruly camera, the open world gameplay became more and more linear, the story became less and less interesting, and the focus shifted from a sweet bromance between sweet bros to hours of the main character trudging through hallway after empty hallway in a giant boring factory, by himself, ultimately ending with a rushed and seemingly incomplete final area. It was baffling how this game took so long to come out and yet, it still felt unfinished and unpolished.

Stand by me.

Final Fantasy 15 became what I believe is the gravest sin in gaming; a chore. I was no longer excited after coming home from work and seeing what Noctis and the boys were up to, and what delicious 3D meals I could feast my eyes on, I was instead dreading the obligation I had gotten myself into. I felt I only had to beat the game for beating the game’s sake and not for my own enjoyment. And beat it I did. Unsurprisingly, I ultimately I felt nothing from the ending except the relief it was finally over and that I could finally go back to playing The Witcher 3 for the 100th time.

However, I was assured by people on the internet that if I only watched the movie that came alongside the release, or the anime mini-series, or the three DLC missions with your side characters, or the novel or the manga or the interactive wedding dress simulator or any other supplementary content that existed outside of the base game, I would enjoy it more. Ehhh no. Now call me crazy, but I don’t think playing games should require you to have additional homework assignments alongside them to understand who crucial characters are or even what important plot details are to have a “complete” version of the game. I think if said content wasn’t in the game, then it’s unrealistic for the developers to assume you would go out and consume all this extra stuff just to understand the basic storyline. For me, it’s safe to say out of the tin, in its original form, Final Fantasy 15 was truly an incomplete experience, and dare I say, a bummer.

So why am I writing this? I didn’t enjoy the game, it’s been two years and that’s the end of it right? Well recently, after ignoring any and all news from the game, I’ve been seeing that Final Fantasy 15 has been redeemed. That the once poor excuse for a game has been re-released and risen to his kingly status in an exceptional way. That the pauper had finally become a prince. Final Fantasy 15: Royal Edition for consoles and Final Fantasy 15: Windows Edition for PCs had come out and all was right with the universe. New features, new cutscenes, new story missions, fleshed out ending areas, trimmed down linear segments, better driving mechanics and much, much more, all fixed and ready for you to purchase for $15 if you own the base game already, or $50 fresh and sealed in plastic.

The King is dead. Long live the king.

Now, I’m a simple man. I like my beer cold, my music loud, and my vidya games to be released with all their crucial story content and critical character information in their original release. I don’t, however, like when I have to pay $60 for what is essentially a BETA version of a game, and only after a studio hears all the feedback of how the game was confusing and sub-par, change it, then re-release it to us again for a small fee. Oh, thank you, Square-Enix, how kind of you to make us pay again for a final version of your originally flawed, incomplete game. “But, Zul”, I hear you clacking at your keyboards, “Square is only trying to do the right thing! They’re going back and fixing their mistakes! They could have just left the game as it is and not done anything to make it better!” Ok. Sure. That is true. This story could have ended in November 2016 with the game being released, it sucking, and then them moving on and assuring us the next Final Fantasy would be bigger and better and coming soon in the year 2055. I, however, don’t believe this a valid argument.

It’s true that gaming has changed over the years, from popping in a cartridge and playing immediately, to popping in a Blu-Ray disc and waiting hours to download bloated patches on day one. Games can be fixed, upgraded and changed as soon as you purchase them now. Studios do this all the time, hell, even The Witcher 3 looks and feels completely different from its debut with updated menu interfaces, graphical upgrades and combat tweaks. The difference being, most studios won’t make you pay for these changes and tweaks. Most studios ADD onto their original games with new side quests, extra harmless cosmetics and/or un-crucial story missions. Most studios, won’t charge you extra to play a game you already own, for it’s “complete” edition. Now I understand development for a game costs money and time and that developers and artists should be reimbursed for their dedication to their craft and that gaming is a tough and tricky business. However, I personally don’t believe it's fair for developers to release something that they (probably) know is flawed and unfinished only to give us the enviable privilege to finally play what they originally intended for a “low, low fee” at a later date.

Now, this probably isn’t the first instance of this happening. I’m not a gaming historian and I don’t do research. I’m just a guy who likes video games. This might not even be the most egregious instance of something like this happening, however as a life-long supporter and defender of Final Fantasy and Square(Enix) this just felt like a total dick move. Final Fantasy and the company I had grown to love over the years just aren’t the same thing anymore. What happened to the Square that released FF 7, 8 and 9, all stellar games with amazing characters, stories, locations and music, seemingly back to back all within a three-year window? Instead, we get release dates for when a teaser trailer is going to drop five seconds of footage on us for a game that promises to come out sometime before the eventual heat death of the universe. Final Fantasy went from gripping tales of love and heroism, sweeping epic stories and some of the most bombastic or heartfelt music to ever grace my eyes and ears, into just… meh. Final Fantasy 13 and all its terrible spin-offs, Final Fantasy 15, and now the vaporware that is the Final Fantasy 7 Remake, are just ugly reminders of how far the mighty Square have fallen from their original top of the industry. It’s ironic, and almost poetic Final Fantasy tier writing, how Noctis’s ultimate ascent to the throne, simultaneously deposed Square Enix as the kings of RPGs for me.

Images via thefinalfantasy.com and dailydot.com