Dear god, did that give us a lot to chew on and increase our hype levels for Calvard. I'm now feeling a bit silly for some recent comments about Longlai being a place in the East when it turns out that it's actually on the eastern fringe of Calvard, but how was I to know? 😉

Yun's training of 'Hime' and the existence of a 'Zeroth Form' plus whatever Ikaruga is up to has suddenly made Yun even more interesting than he already was. I get the strong impression that the 'Black God' style the rank and file used is meant to be one of the styles that Yun synthesized into his own Eight Leaves, which is why Rean recognized their stance as being so familiar. And if the descriptions of those fights are anything like what we're going to get in the gameplay next arc, I'm expecting some really fun combat.

Renne's episode by contrast was a lot of buildup in more subtle ways, except for the brickbat to the face that was the Verne interlude. I wasn't expecting her to show up (I figured from the title that it would be some new character who'd be a next-arc protagonist) but I don't really mind her showing up again in the same way that past arc characters generally do. I expect Aramis will be sort of like Jenis as a location we'll visit and which will have some story role but it won't be the focus like Thors was. No way they do the same idea twice in a row, especially since Aramis is a very different type of school.

And then we got our Obvious Major Character lead-in with the final segment. I'm a little annoyed that Elaine seems to have beaten Estelle and Joshua to breaking Sara's record* but other than that it was more interesting foreshadowing of Calvard's criminal underworld with Heiyue being pressured by emerging rivals, drugs and the other tensions we've come to expect. Definitely shaping up to be an eventful arc. And that new music at the very end was a nice teaser of things to come, just like the post-credits scene with Lapis shows off the new engine.

 

* They were described by Elie as on the verge of an A-rank promotion a year before Elaine's and that was before their actions in CS4, how has the guild not gotten around to promoting them yet? And when is Estelle getting her own (non-fishing) title, huh Falcom?

I actually think Elaine is not going to be the main character since she herself says at the end of her episode that she's not a hero, but she's getting ready for when the hero appears. That said, if Falcom actually releases a game today starring an adult woman who can drink alcohol, fight her way through a den of kidnappers alone, and has a defined love interest, I will jump for joy. The writing in all three episodes is also excellent, and gives me hope for future games. 

Given Aramis is also mentioned as where Elaine went to school, I think it's definitely going to play a major role in the story, and I'm curious about the other members of Renne's student council. I also added 2+2 and came up with 500 so I'm wondering if any Herschels have studied there.

It also seems to me that the material that her weapon is made of is going to be a plot element - given the Zemurian arms race, weapons that can break metal (I kind of got the impression they might be Mixed, but who knows) might be a reasonable way for Calvard to reestablish deterrence against Erebonia/threats from the east.

Another question I have is whether the next arc will actually provide details about the nature of Zemuria and the history of Epstein/orbment development - based on what they've shown so far and with McBurn so prominent, I'll be really disappointed if they don't give us hard details.

- I did say 'major' character and not 'main' character, didn't I? 😉 Aside from the points you raised, she's a bracer and I can't imagine Falcom repeating protagonist groups for Calvard, or again generally until we get another game like Hajimari. But yes, I'd be down for a protagonist like her, or even just another female protagonist more broadly.

- Yeah, I'm expecting the Aramis student council to show up at least to the same extent that Jenis' did in Sky. On the Herschels, I remember that her family tree has roots in the East but I can't remember if they confirmed that any part of it spent time in Calvard... but I could see that being the case.

- Maybe Hime, but the impression I got is that the nameless ninjas and Kurogane were just using styles that Rean was completely unfamiliar with (one that threw him off because it was almost but not quite Eight Leaves in some ways, the other because of the weapon) but Ikaruga's a big fat question mark in general. The description of the sword makes it sound like it's an heirloom but not something on the line of Kernviter, so a weapon Calvard could have a stock of is definitely possible. Between Zemurian Ore and the alloy that the Aions are armored with, we've got some exotic metals already so one more wouldn't be surprising.

- Related to that, the whole conversation between Renne and Tita about the technology alliance and Verne cutting off all contacts is huge. If they think they can go forward entirely on their own, Calvard must have something big up their sleeve.

Since Hamilton is the last of Epstein's disciples, the arc would be a good time to go into details on the early Orbal Revolution, maybe not completely but at least giving us some good stuff to work with. Well, unless it turns out that Novartis is the fourth discipile of Epstein that nobody liked, or his rival. I don't think we actually know how old Epstein was when he made his breakthrough. See also, the crackiest of crack theories that the human that McBurn merged with was Epstein, if the latter was a young genius.

I had somehow gone all this time not getting spoiled about C. However, there is another major revelation I assume made late game that had me assume Rufus was the true identity of C. I remember in the Japanese trailer it made it seem that scene where C grabs Lapis and jumps to the airship that he still had his mask on, so I assumed that his true identity would remain a mystery much longer

Most of them come down to being fun, with a few being a bit more stand out. Of course one of my favorites is going to be the Bright family vacation, and having Estelle just be herself and seeing the whole family together for once. It was a feel good moment seeing Renne call Cassius dad, only to see her go back to Cassius as a way to tease him. Having both Renne and Estelle as sources to pick on him must be rough, but makes the family dynamic so much fun. Also, Gilbert as usual is always a blast.

The blessings to our future one was a huge stand out. Having a little walk through memory lane between Olivert and Schera with was nice, seeing their wholesome relationship was already great. That end with Bleublanc giving his well wishes and that note from Luciola was the cherry on top to really hit the emotions high.

Lastly, of the three text based Calvard ones, the one with Renee was a stand out. I'm surprised in some ways how Renee continues to pop up and continues to have importance. I assume partly it has to do with her popularity, though not sure where she is in the polls with the general fanbase. With Reverie, we've seen that she is in her own way being a part of the Haysworth life, but is firmly a Bright and doesn't have a way to go back to her old family to be a Haysworth. Still, from her interaction with Novartis, she is very protective of them, and you see there's still a part of her with the "Angel of Slaughter" inside her.

The day dream with her shows that in full force. She has a demeanor of being a prim and proper Lady, and she has confidence and capable of showing an air of nobility. However, when the moment comes in to fight people, she clearly has a love in overwhelming her opponents, and putting the fear of Aidios into her victims. Even with that though, she has the want of living a normal life with friends. She is indeed still very complex and there's parts of her previous life that still remain and may never go away completely.

The Day Dream with Osborne's memories I am conflicted about. On the one hand, it definitely expands on his thoughts to make him more realized. It does make him more tragic than how I felt about him at the end of CS 4. However, these thoughts and feelings would have been better served being built up in some way over the course of the whole saga, fleshing him out overtime. As is, this feels like a course correction that was done too late to really fix the problem at hand, at least personally.

Even before this game, Rufus has always been an interesting character. In the first half of the Saga, he is a force of charisma that makes it hard to hate him, no matter which side he takes. You have a moment here and there where his mask slip slightly to show that he takes some glee in how he uses those for his own gain, especially with the Duke at the end of CS 2. It's not until 3 and especially 4 that his true nature is shown, and that moment he stabs Arianrhod that any chance of still liking him goes out the window.

Despite all that, there is a tinge of humanity you can still see in some ways. Even if for show and a way to look good, he still goes out of his way in CS II to assure Rean when in custody that no harm will befall Ymir or his classmates. There's also his relationship to Jusis, which is a complicated one. Growing up, Rufus was the model of what a Noble could be in Jusis's eyes, and he respected Rufus a lot and learned a lot from him. Even with everything that went on, Rufus was still a brother to him, and there was a bond between them that couldn't be shattered.

Reverie does a great job of finally getting into Rufus's head space. This man who was proud and seemed to have a large presence and ego was just a person broken on the inside. Like Jusis, subjugated to the horrors and expectation Noble society placed on him, and with the only person he felt connected to was Osborne, a man who couldn't be a good role model for him. He was a product of the environment he was thrusted into, only able to depend on himself. As such, he used his usual tactics to set about doing Osborne's final wish.

The greater part of his character is despite being more open about his terrible personality, there is still a charm to him that people become attached to him. To some extent with Nadia and Swin, both put into a terrible environment and able to escape it, and with Rufus's promise of riches could have the easy life. They come to respect Rufus because of that similar background, trying to move forward in their own way. However, the bigger relationship is with Rufus and Lapis.

Lapis has huge pride in being a Rosenburg doll, but underneath, is scared and uncertain about who she is and why she exists. This hits Rufus hard, as he grapples with the same internal conflict, and while prideful like Lapis, is unable to express himself. Whether intentionally or not, he is able to push Lapis in the right direction. Even though the heartfelt moment where he finds the correct Lapis is undercut a little with the reveal of the transmitter, his message and continue support still helps Lapis a lot.

By the end of the game, he finally comes to realize that despite all the bad, while the name Rufus Albarea will invoke anger and hate to most, there are those that care about him. So at the end, while he may lose his home, his name, his money, he finally gained a sense of self and purpose, and can move on to do what good the rest of his life will allow him.

While not quite as effective as Richard, the game did manage to balance him out a good bit and wrap up his arc pretty satisfyingly. In some ways, I feel like Rufus would have been a better overall antagonist for the Erebonia saga. He was a product of the various problems Erebonia faced, and had a much bigger presence overall that could've made everything satisfying I feel. Whereas Osborne, while in concept was interesting, just did not have the presence and build up to be satisfying.