Feel free to post up impressions of your progress through the game, but perhaps spoiler tag the details just to be on the safe side.
OH SHHIIII-That ending has really got the ol' noggin' joggin', because if it's implying what I think it's implying, then it was all just a possible timeline (I've not progressed past that point yet). I'm starting to really buy into the idea that CS1 & 3's openings were not actually the events that we end up playing through later in the game. If so, that's one hell of a long game Falcom was playing. I'm also somewhat regretting playing this on very easy - all I have to do is sneeze on enemies and they fold, but it's probably preferable to bumbling my way through more than I already am.
Yes, anyone posting please tag where in the game you are, as a courtesy. It might get a bit messy with the Cross Story mechanics so perhaps noting which route you're on too?
SpoilerPrologueGotta say I was a little surprised at the liberation of Crossbell being all wrapped up in an hour or so. What's the rest of this route gonna be abo-OH SHHIIII-That ending has really got the ol' noggin' joggin', because if it's implying what I think it's implying, then it was all just a possible timeline
<snip>
I'm also somewhat regretting playing this on very easy - all I have to do is sneeze on enemies and they fold, but it's probably preferable to bumbling my way through more than I already am.
I'm playing on Hard and just watched floofy start on Normal, the difference is quite apparent so I imagine Very Easy's even moreso. For me, the boss went into its Exaltation state with over a third of its health left. With floofy it was one hit away from death when it did.
And a minor thought on the start of Chapter 1.
<goes back to playing>
Well, pushed a little further head
I feel rather silly now: I was fully expecting this chapter to open and reveal that everything we just saw hadn't happened. Welp! I guess this is in fact the prime timeline.
So, from what I could gather, Zin is the new, or soon to be, S-rank bracer? The big lug's come a long way! I guess this also means we know who the super badass of that arc's going to be. I wasn't quite able to parse what they were saying about the young A-Rank person, though. Google translate is a fickle beast.
Minor thing, but I think I prefer the old Akashic Arm.
I also wasn't expecting to be able to switch routes so early into the game. I guess I was under the impression you were just railroaded for a while, but as soon as it popped I found myself wracked with indecision... Which eventually lead me to...
On the gameplay side of things, one thing that struck me as odd was some of New Class VII missing crafts, only to learn them after gaining a level or two. Why even bother jumping through that hoop? It's also interesting to note that while they have both their S-Crafts, Rean only has his second from CS4, but there's clearly space for another. I find it hard to imagine how they could possibly top that one, so it'll be interesting to see if it just gets an upgrade like S-Crafts in the 3rd did. Also, what's the name of his new self-buff? I was wondering if there'd be a story reason for it, but I guess it's no different than Lloyd or whoever else having one.
SpoilerChapter 1: LloydSo, from what I could gather, Zin is the new, or soon to be, S-rank bracer? The big lug's come a long way! I guess this also means we know who the super badass of that arc's going to be. I wasn't quite able to parse what they were saying about the young A-Rank person, though. Google translate is a fickle beast.Minor thing, but I think I prefer the old Akashic Arm.
The A-rank situation isn't as clear. I was expecting it to be Estelle and Joshua but if so I'd have expected them to be named since most of the people in that scene know them.
I'm sort of mixed, I liked Wazy's finish better in the original where he's in the enemy's face but I like everything leading up to the end in the new animation.
SpoilerChapter 1: Rean, up to first major boss fightI've been trying to keep an eye and ear out, but Rean's Divine Blade title hasn't been dropped yet, has it? Up to this point, anyway. I'm keeping my ears open for any "___ no kensei."On the gameplay side of things, one thing that struck me as odd was some of New Class VII missing crafts, only to learn them after gaining a level or two. Why even bother jumping through that hoop? It's also interesting to note that while they have both their S-Crafts, Rean only has his second from CS4, but there's clearly space for another. I find it hard to imagine how they could possibly top that one, so it'll be interesting to see if it just gets an upgrade like S-Crafts in the 3rd did. Also, what's the name of his new self-buff? I was wondering if there'd be a story reason for it, but I guess it's no different than Lloyd or whoever else having one.
One thing I didn't realize at first is that there's a measure of consolidation in the Crafts as well. Altina merged her healing and buffing Crafts into a single one. With the S-Crafts I've seen several of them get incremental upgrades to theirs that made the originals stronger than their second S-Crafts so presumably the latter will get buffs later on as well. For Rean's, the online manual for the game actually shows a status screen for him with two S-Crafts and while it's blurry as hell it looks like his second is some version of his Seventh Sword, so he'll probably relearn it with some buff and then Unfathomed Blade will get its own late-game upgrade to make it the stronger again. Though with All-Cancel I think I'd keep that one on my S-Break trigger even if it loses out in damage for some part of the game.
His self-buff is the same Spirit Unification as in 2/3 (and not the 'Ogre Unleash' from 4), there's a comment about it to the effect that some of his power still remains but it doesn't have the psychological effects it did before.
And a few thoughts on stuff that's a bit later:
Also, I wasn't expecting the Emperor and Garcia to be supporting Rufus' effort, though I suppose I should have guessed the former since if you look closely you can tell it's him in the Geofront messing with that terminal.
But the thing that really weirds me out is where these people came from. We see everyone making preparations so the ceremony isn't interrupted and it's hard to imagine how they slipped a large group of soldiers and Zaubersoldats past the combined eyes of Arios and the Brights, Dudley, Sonya and the Gralsritter, plus the electronic eyes of Jona. And more importantly, KeA didn't sense anything.
And a few thoughts on stuff that's a bit later:
SpoilerCh1 Lloyd endingEven when you know it's coming, Rufus arriving to rain on everyone's parade is a huge kick in the teeth. It's not clear what effect is being used to mess with the citizens' heads (it looks like the curse but it's being triggered by Masked Ilya dancing) but oh god is it creepy. I have a suspicion that since it visibly fails to work on people like Dudley, Fran and the Gralsritter there's some emotional component at work and the fact that the people just saw the SSS fall to Rufus made them vulnerable to whatever it is.Also, I wasn't expecting the Emperor and Garcia to be supporting Rufus' effort, though I suppose I should have guessed the former since if you look closely you can tell it's him in the Geofront messing with that terminal.
But the thing that really weirds me out is where these people came from. We see everyone making preparations so the ceremony isn't interrupted and it's hard to imagine how they slipped a large group of soldiers and Zaubersoldats past the combined eyes of Arios and the Brights, Dudley, Sonya and the Gralsritter, plus the electronic eyes of Jona. And more importantly, KeA didn't sense anything.
I'm also wondering why Novartis is involved, since you'd figure the Society would be done with this neck of the woods.
I do wonder what Rufus is even thinking, though - while his group is certainly formidable, I don't really see the Empire and Calvard letting them do whatever they want and they have a lot they could bring to bear against his band of rogues.
I'm rather enjoying what I've played of the Cross story system. It's neat hearing about events in one route, then seeing them play out in another - it's almost like the Crossbell/Cold Steel thing, but in one game. Also cool seeing the same event, but played out from a different perspective. Like one person sensing someone watching them, but you don't get to see who, then playing another route and getting the other side of it. Plus it's nice to just jump to someone else when I feel like changing things up. I feel like CS4 might've benefited from this, honestly. Additionally, breaking away from the rigid formula of the last 4 games is quite refreshing. I can never quite tell how things are going to go and that's great!
They've also mercifully cut down on post-battle rescues so far and when it does happen it's in a more interesting way that doesn't involve the bad guy(s) getting up again.
SpoilerThe sameI'm also curious how on earth Rufus alone took on a group that counts amoung its number a Dominion, Randy and Rixia. I think Noel even remarked on it, so there must be some shenanigans afoot. That, or prison yard workouts are a hell of a thinI'm also wondering why Novartis is involved, since you'd figure the Society would be done with this neck of the woods.
For Novartis, my impression is that he's not actually involved directly but he had an idea what was coming and decided Crossbell would be a good place to test... whatever he's up to this time. The guy's a Mad Scientist with capitals and everything.
And yeah, the way the Cross Story mechanics are working is a lot of fun, though deciding which route to start on next has presented a dilemma at times. And it's quite nice if you want to take a break from one and can hop over into a parallel story.
Swin's got a neat new mechanic with his Marking effect and it's spammable too. And Nadia's a lot of fun, though her voice is taking a bit of getting used to since she always sounds like she's about to nod off. With C, I saw his first Craft name (Soul Eater) and my first thought was 'Wait, C is Riku from Kingdom Hearts?!'. And... then the segment ends with the last shot from that early teaser movie. I did find it really interesting that 1) C was expecting the trunk but didn't know what was in it and 2) The line from the demo movie about 'the box that contains either hope or disaster' was something he actually says.
Just starting Chapter 2 now.
SpoilerThe sameI'm also curious how on earth Rufus alone took on a group that counts amoung its number a Dominion, Randy and Rixia. I think Noel even remarked on it, so there must be some shenanigans afoot. That, or prison yard workouts are a hell of a thinI'm also wondering why Novartis is involved, since you'd figure the Society would be done with this neck of the woods.
SpoilerChapter 1 Lloyd endYeah, something is Not Right there. We were able to beat him up with Class VII and Jusis was able to punch him out in epic fashion (a nice contrast to CS2 when he solo'd Class VII) and he was nowhere near that strong. And his lackeys are clearly weird since there's no way they got that strong in a month. I think it was Randy who commented on the aura he sensed around them too, which may or may not be related to what the girl who is totally not Ilya did to the bystanders.For Novartis, my impression is that he's not actually involved directly but he had an idea what was coming and decided Crossbell would be a good place to test... whatever he's up to this time. The guy's a Mad Scientist with capitals and everything.
I'm less and less convinced of this as I type it out lmao
Well, now I've had a chance to mess around with the Reverie Corridor
Aside from that, there's quite a bit to do between exploration and the little mission objectives they give you. I had to laugh that they still found a way to keep the BP/DP/AP system present in this game. It's a little contrived, but I can't say I really mind too much.
I really didn't expect Magical Girl Alisa to have as much story as it does. I was assuming it'd be a throw away mini game, but they spent some time on it! Also, either I suck at shmups (yes), or it's a bit harder than I thought it'd be. I may have wiped to the first level's end boss...
Oh God, trying to do Beryl's quiz when you can't read Japanese is pure suffering. I did it, though. Against all odds, I managed to pull through. Don't know that I have it in me to do any more of them if there are any. I just hope it's not a requirement for some super secret Star Door 14 type of thing.
Going by what floofy's said about liking the original Reverie Coridor, I think she's gonna love this one when she gets to it. They really fleshed it out this time around. I suppose if this is going to be the swan song for this battle system, this is a great way to just let you go wild with a crap ton of characters and everything else the place offers. You could sink A LOT of time into it.
I'm also loving how many old S-Crafts are coming back as regular crafts. One in particular may as well BE an S-Craft with how they animated it.
Yeah, floofy really loved the Corridor. I made a prediction that she wouldn't leave it in the stream where she hit that point and... I was right. She spent four or five hours running around in there and that was without doing the two story Episodes she unlocked. xD
...not that I can blame her, I may have spent all morning resetting the first level and running through it to get Silver Sealing Stones and try my luck with the chest rewards. Errr, all yesterday morning. I probably should be getting to sleep, shoudldn't I?
And yeah, S-Crafts returning as regular Crafts is an interesting way of doing it and the ones I've seen so far are practically S-Craft levels of animation; I think I know exactly which one you had in mind.
Oh, and I beat Chapter 2 and started in on Chapter 3...
Now we know it was Ilya surprise-kicking Rixia that had her looking so shocked in that teaser. It seems she doesn't need to be wearing that mask to be affected by whatever it is, but it's definitely her since we saw in the Episode that someone left the thing for her to find. And then Zeit showed up to save the day, good boy!
Oh, and the fight beforehand? I totally called that the first part was going to be only one section so I conserved my BP and CP and I'm glad I did because the real fight was brutal. I did not get that RP reward and since it took me about twice as many turns as I had to beat them properly I wasn't inclined to retry.
And then there's C's mask breaking and it was Rufus. Dammit dammit dammit. Maybe I can feed him to a monster every couple of fights now that he's unmasked. I don't care that he was apparently intended to be a victim of 'his' troops, he still killed Arianrhod and I am not letting that go. But this does at least explain why literally everyone who thinks about the end of CS4 mentions that 'Rufus' doesn't seem to be acting like he did back then. So the new question, who's pretending to be him, why and how.
Yeah, floofy really loved the Corridor. I made a prediction that she wouldn't leave it in the stream where she hit that point and... I was right. She spent four or five hours running around in there and that was without doing the two story Episodes she unlocked. xD
...not that I can blame her, I may have spent all morning resetting the first level and running through it to get Silver Sealing Stones and try my luck with the chest rewards. Errr, all yesterday morning. I probably should be getting to sleep, shoudldn't I?
And yeah, S-Crafts returning as regular Crafts is an interesting way of doing it and the ones I've seen so far are practically S-Craft levels of animation; I think I know exactly which one you had in mind.
Oh, and I beat Chapter 2 and started in on Chapter 3...
SpoilerChapter 2 end (all routes)The repeated Class VII/C fights where you switch sides halfway through were all kinds of fun and getting to abuse Valiant Rage with Rean's crew in the last of them was extremely cathartic. Also, after having to deal with Millium and Jusis' barrier-spamming from the other side I can now appreciate how enemies feel when fighting them. xDNow we know it was Ilya surprise-kicking Rixia that had her looking so shocked in that teaser. It seems she doesn't need to be wearing that mask to be affected by whatever it is, but it's definitely her since we saw in the Episode that someone left the thing for her to find. And then Zeit showed up to save the day, good boy!
Oh, and the fight beforehand? I totally called that the first part was going to be only one section so I conserved my BP and CP and I'm glad I did because the real fight was brutal. I did not get that RP reward and since it took me about twice as many turns as I had to beat them properly I wasn't inclined to retry.
And then there's C's mask breaking and it was Rufus. Dammit dammit dammit. Maybe I can feed him to a monster every couple of fights now that he's unmasked. I don't care that he was apparently intended to be a victim of 'his' troops, he still killed Arianrhod and I am not letting that go. But this does at least explain why literally everyone who thinks about the end of CS4 mentions that 'Rufus' doesn't seem to be acting like he did back then. So the new question, who's pretending to be him, why and how.
Oh boy, she's never seeing the ending, is she lol? I've not caught up with floof's streams yet, so I've not seen much footage of the game from other people, so I'm curious: are character sealing stones random? I got Angie in my first and Toval in my second. Same thing with Episodes, although I'm not sure if I should say what ones I got, just in case it's deemed too spoilery. Not that they've been anything wildly spoilerific.
Both old Rufus and C have the exact same pose when they finish their S-Craft
His first craft is clearly a court fencing move and is almost exactly the same as one of Jusis' crafts... and maybe even old Rufus, but I forget.
Also, both of their S-Craft cut ins are green.
I'm really interested to see what becomes of Rufus by the end - if he gets to walk away, it'll be somewhat of a bitter pill to swallow given what you mentioned.
Given that I'm playing on very easy, I've totally forgotten about Valiant Rage lol. I'm curious how much it helps on the harder difficulties. That said, I've used it so little I'm not even sure what it does.
So, was Cao helping out Rufus and friends, because he saw which way the wind was blowing and just wanted to side with whomever he calculated would keep him and his affairs chugging along nicely without any problems? Oh and does Ilya have a new name now the she's had her heel turn? If not, I name her Killya.
There's a thing that happens in Rean's route in Chapter 3 that I'm looking forward to your reaction to. I think you'll know it when it happens.
I gotta say, with the way chapter 3's been going, if things keep up like this, Hajimari is definitely creeping up the ol' ranking list, I tell you what.
Speaking of the corridor. I do hope it turns out to be high hour count replay bait like lufia 2's ancient cave. Id love that &$&#£÷*.
ESPECIALLY if falcom wants to rework battle mechanics in the next kiseki game+. If it isnt like that already they should at least make a dlc mini-expansion so it can act as one.
Well, you can reset every floor to respawn chests and enemies, so I'm guessing you'll like it. Plus with the ridiculous anount of characters you'll have at your disposal, there'll be a lot to mess around with there, too.
If it isnt like that already they should at least make a dlc mini-expansion so it can act as one.
So far it seems like it pretty much is. You can reset the dungeon just like in CS2 although you can only get a certain number of the special Sealing Stones. But all the chests reset, the bosses respawn and the level layout is randomized. It already feels like the kind of thing you could replay for ages to unlock everything or just to have fun with your party combinations.
If that wasn't enough, the October 1 update sounds exactly like what you're thinking of. Kondo hinted a while back that there would be a True Reverie Corridor EX added later, one of the last updates provided more details. Apparently there will be more levels to explore, more characters, more Episodes and the level cap will be raised. So tons more content.
I've not caught up with floof's streams yet, so I've not seen much footage of the game from other people, so I'm curious: are character sealing stones random? I got Angie in my first and Toval in my second. Same thing with Episodes, although I'm not sure if I should say what ones I got, just in case it's deemed too spoilery. Not that they've been anything wildly spoilerific.
It seems to be that way, or rather it's semi-random. floofy got a different character and I got someone else still but other people in the chat mentioned getting Angie. What appears to be happening is that there's a pool of characters so the same general group of characters gets unlocked at the same time. I'd bet that when you reset the Corridor the character assigned to the Sealing Stone is determined and once you get the stone who you get is fixed. I tried reloading a few times and always got the same result out of it. For Episodes, let me give you mine (and the characters I've seen) and you can compare:
SpoilerCH2 endI was a little surprised at how relatively early they revealed who C was, but I'm sort of glad they did so I don't feel too bad about being spoiled. It's a little like Yin/Rixia in Zero in that regard. I also have to say, when you take a step and think about it, they really telegraphed it:Both old Rufus and C have the exact same pose when they finish their S-Craft
His first craft is clearly a court fencing move and is almost exactly the same as one of Jusis' crafts... and maybe even old Rufus, but I forget.
Also, both of their S-Craft cut ins are green.
I'm really interested to see what becomes of Rufus by the end - if he gets to walk away, it'll be somewhat of a bitter pill to swallow given what you mentioned.
Given that I'm playing on very easy, I've totally forgotten about Valiant Rage lol. I'm curious how much it helps on the harder difficulties. That said, I've used it so little I'm not even sure what it does.
So, was Cao helping out Rufus and friends, because he saw which way the wind was blowing and just wanted to side with whomever he calculated would keep him and his affairs chugging along nicely without any problems? Oh and does Ilya have a new name now the she's had her heel turn? If not, I name her Killya.
There's a thing that happens in Rean's route in Chapter 3 that I'm looking forward to your reaction to. I think you'll know it when it happens.
Another thing about the reveal, Falcom was sneaky and must have forced Rufus to stay with his masked costume when they recorded the trailer scenes (voice effects included) since the early footage showed him still masked but in the actual game it's been broken by the time his group flees the scene. Well played Falcom...
Oh boy, Valiant Rage helps so much on Hard. If nothing else the free BP is incredibly useful in fights when you're short a few and having trouble unbalancing enemies and once you get a big party the damage really adds up. The Arts version I haven't used too much yet and the healing effect is a nice panic button but it doesn't work if characters are down and you're below the minimum number to trigger it. It's kind of like Azure's Burst in that respect.
Yep, Cao Lee will do what's best for Heiyue. Ilya doesn't seem to have a name-change like Angelica did but some of the people in Crossbell when Rufus and co are sneaking around referred to her by a new nickname: The Twilight Dancer. It's not the same word as the Great Twilight though. Kind of a pity, I was looking forward to seeing what other Wagner name they'd pull out of their hats since all the other Gnome titles were from there.
I'm in Rean's route now that I hit the stopping point for Rufus (of course he's got a mirror fragment too) so whatever it is I'll probably find out soon. Unrelated note, Lapis hiding behind Rufus whenever Nadia gets scary or when Imelda offers to buy her is both hilarious and adorable. And so was her introducing herself to Ken and Nana. 'Lapis: Well of course, I am a beautiful Rosenberg doll!' 'Swin: Please ignore her, please.'
Also hilarious: Just how anime-esque the Magical Alisa story is, right down to a next episode stinger. And some awful puns with the Stahlritter duo's titles. I can't wait to see Duvalie show up in there.
...Duvalie, Duvalie. Oh god, I just realized something. There's a scene we saw in early screenshots where she's with C. Assuming Falcom pulled the same stunt as in the trailer and he's 'really' unmasked there, I'm very curious what Rufus could possibly say that would convince her to not either immediately attempt to apprehend him or possibly just stab him in the face. I don't think she's forgetting who murdered Arianrhod any more than I am.
I gotta say, with the way chapter 3's been going, if things keep up like this, Hajimari is definitely creeping up the ol' ranking list, I tell you what.
Agreed wholeheartedly. xD
Ah, my episodes were the exact same, so perhaps those are set in stone. Sealing stone, you might say. I'll see myself out.
So, I think I goofed about the scene I was mentioning and it actually takes place in chapter 2.
That said, Chapter 3 definitely has some stuff I'll be interested in seeing your take on xD
Team C has really ended up being such a great group. Their chemistry's awesome and even though I'm only translating a little here and there, their personality (especially Lapis and Nadia) really shines through, even if I don't always check what they're saying. A certain rating system was a great running gag. My only disappointment was not getting a whole game for them to carry, but I'll takes what I can gets.
The wait for the localization is going to be rough!
