Based on the description she's part of the same bionics lab where Quatre works as a lab assistant and her current focus is on the development of the XIPHA. Also, she's done exchange work with Epstein, the ZCF and Seiland so great things are expected of her.
Huh, this is a pretty fascinating combination, irrespective of whether she becomes a big bad or not. One aspect of the worldbuilding that I always found fascinating was the biological/spiritual interaction between combat orbments and the user. The Capel entry in Sky FC mentions a 'Resonance Effect' that allows humans to cast arts and there's text confirmation that the stat increases through Atk, Def and later Master Quartz are all part of the feature. Looking at this woman's portfolio, she seems tailor made to explore the nature of the human/combat-orbment connection. And she certainly seems qualified to explain how that Power Rangers transformation feature works, that is, if she isn't the one who developed it in the first place.
I have a feeling that the whole 'Resonance' thing got started as a Gagharv in-joke since the Resonance Stones of Cagesong operate like a prototype for Quartz, and they decided to run with it as an explanation for how the tech works because why not.
And yeah, this would be a good point for Falcom to go into more detail on the subject.
@yotaka Nice theory. The Nizari Order of Assassins does share some key description with the Organization. The questions that I have after reading this are:
Is the “Garden” the assassins from the East referred to in CS4 since Alumut was a middle eastern city-state during the Middle Ages?
Does this mean that <A> is predominantly a religious organization? I think one of the guys in the trailer looked like he had gnosis eyes.
Is the “Garden” the assassins from the East referred to in CS4 since Alumut was a middle eastern city-state during the Middle Ages?
The ones that Nielsen talks about when discussing the revolution? There would be some good thematic parallels with the Nizari there so it's possible the Garden/A is that old and was involved. We know that Yin was also active then and we don't (currently) have any reason to suspect a link between them and the Garden so that would make for multiple assassins. Seeing how we have multiple groups operating (or once operating with the Moonlight Horse) in the Republic, it's not much of a stretch to imagine that the revolutionaries who employed assassins went to multiple sources. It also wouldn't be surprising for the Garden to have some history and we're only just starting to hear about them due to the parts of Zemuria we've seen so far being on the fringe of their sphere of interest.
Does this mean that A is predominantly a religious organization? I think one of the guys in the trailer looked like he had gnosis eyes.
I noticed that too and it's one reason I had to guess that man would represent The Tower. I dunno if it is Gnosis eyes for sure but it sounds like the sort of thing a group like the Garden would like to get their hands on and the Cult was heavily involved in Calvard so it's possible a connection existed that let them eventually get their hands on the more refined version of the stuff. Or Mariabell is funding her continued collection of Rosenberg dolls with drug sales.
Speaking of Gnosis eyes, I'm waiting for the reveal that Quatre wears color contacts to hide the golden irises that he should have.
At a guess, I would assume it's going to be something along the lines of 我流 (self-taught/freestyle) since Bergard is a bit wild as a character with something of an outlaw flair.
Looking at the trailer, it seems Van's not going to be alone in fielding a cyber-fairy or transforming, and the theme this time seems to be fairies... If Isselee is an anagram of Seelie I'm going on strike.
Well, we got a ton of new character reveals on the website, plus profiles for the five shown on the livestream. This includes adding new sections to the Character page, with the Eastern Quarter segment having three empty slots. I'm guessing Cao, Jack and Halle will go in those.
Paulette: Aged 27 and the daughter of Victor who runs the long-established bistro Montmartre in Edith's old town. She has a gentle presence and saintly manner, especially for regular customers. She also works as the manager of the building the bistro is located in, which is how Van knows her through the establishment of his office. She had some other job previously but returned to her father's store six years ago with her newborn daughter in tow. Voiced by Hara Yumi.
Yume is 6, innocent and energetic. She helps out at Montmartre and is beloved by regular customers and other tenants of the building, including Van. Her father is absent and Paulette hasn't told her why. She enjoys spending her time with her mother and grandfather at the bistro. Voiced by Naganawa Maria.
Latoya Hamilton: Age 74, emeritus professor at the centuries old college at Basel and the former chief advisor to the Verne Company. blabla. One of the late Professor Epstein's three disciples and a firm believer in the need for orbal technology to be spread even to the most remote regions, she has worked hard on behalf of the Republic. Three years previously she resigned her professorship and position with Verne to pursue research abroad, leaving matters to her favorite pupils such as Esmeray and Quatre. Voiced by Inoue Kikuko.
Kasim Al-Fayed: Aged 27, the top fighter in the Khurga Warriors Clan and Feri's older brother. While looking cool and relaxed he possesses exceptional fighting ability and leadership skills. He separated himself from the clan and now lives in distant Ored working as a manager for MTSC. Voiced by Umehara Yuuichirou.
Well, I guess we know that's definitely not Carna in the video now... xD He's got some kind of crazy blade made by Marduk by the looks of it. Oh, and he mentions the Garden/A in his screenshot, talking to Gilliam about how they're keeping an eye on things and he can't help but sense A's influence.
Dingo Brad: Aged 28, a writer for the gossip magazine Meld, with handsome features and an intellectual demeanor. He travels around Calvard and doesn't hesitate to use whatever methods he needs to in order to obtain information. He has connections to the underworld by way of Spriggans who he sometimes uses as information brokers. Voiced by Shingaki Tarusuke
Actually, it's possible that the magazine he works for is named Merde, which would be an unprecedented degree of truth in advertising for a gossip mag... even if we know that one article he wrote for Hajimari was accurate. xD
Albert: A 16 year old first-year student at the prestigious Aramis High School and in charge of finances for the student council. Excelling at both school and sports and with high morals, he and Agnes have been friends since Sunday School. He's in love with her and as a result he sometimes acts aggressively towards Van who's spending a lot of time around her. Voiced by Saitou Souma.
Odette: The same year and age as Albert and also on the Aramis student council, in the role of secretary. She's from a good family from the capital she's also brimming with curiosity and upbeat and is another childhood friend of Agnes. She's realized Albert's feelings for Agnes and divides her time between teasing him and making sure he doesn't get in trouble. An avid reader of gossip magazines, she eagerly passes news on to Agnes. Voiced by Kanemoto Hisako.
EDIT: Falcom has gone with 'Ashen Lu' for Xin's sister, the other names are given as Esmeray Archette, Gilliam Thorndyke and Nina Fenly. Also Roy Gramheart but we got that one confirmed with the Hajimari Visual Collection.
I guess it's not too surprising that jaeger wasn't Carna, lol. But that weapon...looks like he's toting a rail gun or something!
Got a good laugh at Agnes' friend. Oh Classmate-kun; as if you stand a ghost of a chance against MC privileges. It's an NTR future for you, my man.
I still hold out hope that Falcom won't go for the cliche that the protag needs to have all important female characters lusting after him. I actually get a a strong lone-wolf air from Van and while that's obviously not going to last, I can picture him as a guy who eschews romantic entanglements on principle and is adept at deflecting such interest.
Yeah, I'm thinking that while Agnes may be the heroine of the story, if they're going to give Van a romantic interest it's (eventually) going to be Elaine rather than her. For one thing, they're not eight years apart in age.
Oh, I could be massively overanalyzing this but something else caught my eye: Yume's name is written with an accent aigu as 'Yumé'. If this was in translation I'd expect it to be an 'emphasis goes here' clue for non-Japanese speakers a la what the translation of Murakami's Dance Dance Dance did for Ame, or Kingdom Hearts did for Namine, but Kuro's primary audience can read the katakana and doesn't need the help. So I wonder if the accent mark is some sort of attempt on Paulette's part to make her daughter's name sound more French 'Calvardian' and less Eastern. Just because we haven't heard about racial tensions in the Republic in Kuro news doesn't mean the issue vanished in the year or so since CS4.
There's also a possible similar case in the (confirmed to be multiracial) Nina Fenly, if her last name is derived from Fenli. A quick check shows it's a female given name as 粉莉, and Falcom's played fast and loose with that before. Ahem, 'Klose'. Immigrants changing their names to sound more like the culture they're adapting to (or having them changed by officials) has historical precedent, so I wonder if Falcom's going to at least touch on the subject here.
I guess it's not too surprising that jaeger wasn't Carna, lol. But that weapon...looks like he's toting a rail gun or something!
I'm thinking a bladed weapon (no doubt with some kind of crazy features) based on the bit below the MTSC logo and the apparent shape of the business end of the weapon, plus the grips don't seem terribly conducive to holding that thing in a firing position. Then again, Shirley's Testarossa doesn't look comfortable to hold when using its ranged options either and she did just fine.
Now we have cleaner shots of the Spriggan Edition goodies.
Aside from the already seen Sister Ortesia we've got two districts (Vantaille and Saiten, or something like those), mention of a Dirk Memorial Park (presumably that would be the Sheena Dirk mentioned in Azure) and we have the not-Eiffel Tower which, based on some French via Japanese may be 'Triom' as in the Arc de Triomphe, which seems like the sort of thing Falcom would do. There's at least one other major district that's apparent from the image but the name isn't readable aside from the last syllable.
Also, Van is apparently ordering wine off the menu. I hope he's not going to be irresponsible and offer that to the underaged girls across the table. Actually, assuming that Calvard follows the Japanese model like Erebonia evidently does, Aaron's underage too. Given that Van seems to be Zemurian Sam Spade, I suppose it was inevitable he'd be drinking something, and maybe the traditional whisky just isn't Calvardian enough. xD
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8N9l2TUYdcc
Whole bunch of images from the mini ost video and apparently another Gralsritter. Maybe even a Dominion? Interesting that they're not bothering to hide their identity, but I'll miss playing guess the Dominion if that's the case. Gotta wonder if there'll be any secret bad guys, given we've seen the non Society foes, the Enforcers and, presumably, an Anguis. I suppose there could be others waiting in the wings, but if they're putting everything up on front street like this, there's got to be a big swerve coming somewhere.
The guy in the armor is giving me some serious Emperor vibes, even if it doesn't look the same. Did we ever get a good look at him without the helmet in Hajimari; I forget. That said, it wouldn't make much sense for him to be here if Swin and Nadia aren't.
Also, the more I hear the OP, the more I'm digging it!
I know it's a bit early, but boy am I fiending for that full length trailer!
Observations from the images:
- Move over Princess Cecilia and Kurtia, a new challenger has arrived.
- Barkhorn Bergard on a motorbike. Okay, I didn't see that coming but the metal image is kinda hilarious.
- I'm trying and currently failing to figure out what the main enemy in that one screenshot should be romanized as (the second part of the name looks like the German word Frau but the first is throwing me off) but the spikey eye thing near it looks like it's one of the Infernal Castle enemies from CS2.
- It looks like Ortesia has a really big templar sword and I'm guessing the person next to her is either the Fourth or Eleventh Dominion, since those two numbers were teased in Hajimari.
- Van, why are you hanging out in a strip club? And why is the Garden member I guessed as Hierophant dancing on a pole?
- The tattoo that one guy has is taunting me. I know it's probably saying something interesting but it's just not clear enough to read the text. Meanwhile the other members of that group that show up during the song are looking good and crazy. I wonder where the hell the scene with the last one takes place because the patterns behind him resemble some of the the True Reverie Corridor areas as well as the grid pattern of the Arts Drivers we've seen.
- Looks like Grendel gets a whole new selection of Crafts from Van and perhaps some sort of combo system, since there's the 'I, II, III' menu above the CP bar.
- Vanlaine vibe intensifies.
Gotta wonder if there'll be any secret bad guys, given we've seen the non Society foes, the Enforcers and, presumably, an Anguis. I suppose there could be others waiting in the wings, but if they're putting everything up on front street like this, there's got to be a big swerve coming somewhere.
Yeah, there's definitely some footwear getting ready to fall once the game is out. That said, I can still see the Garden being the main antagonist through to the end and only finding out they're not the real arc villains after the final dungeon.
The guy in the armor is giving me some serious Emperor vibes, even if it doesn't look the same. Did we ever get a good look at him without the helmet in Hajimari; I forget.
Not as such, but we got enough of a look at him from the Three and Nine art and Hajimari to know that they're different people. The Emperor has entirely different hair and eye color, for one. There is some concept art of the Emperor without the helmet on, but it's rough designs so they don't show him in his final state.
That image with the drummers is clearly inspired by Chinese tanggu. And considering that the main performer is using jian, this has to be Aaron in his crossdressing, sworddancing role. My, my, he looks completely different with black hair. I wouldn't have recognized him without those hints.
Barkhorn Bergard on a bike with tinted googles. Just when I thought the guy couldn't look more like a boss, Falcom proves me wrong.
So pegging Ortesia as female Agate proves more correct than I could've hoped.
I think it's been commented on before, but Nightclub Lelouche? Really Falcom? And we see Aaron and Van walking straight toward it. Thinking about it, this might be the first Kiseki game with both male protag and his designated male companion being both on the 'bad boy' side. Rean/Crow and Lloyd/Randy were both straightlaced do-gooders and the older bad boy aniki.
I dig this more mature protag already and there are good reasons for a 24 year old healthy male to hang out in a strip club. It's the darker, seedier version of a bar/tavern, which is a good place to collect info while enjoying the view. Fits his Spriggan profession perfectly. Kondo already said that Kuro is the darkness to Hajimari's light and I really hope the story will reflect it down to its core. As much as I love the other protags, Falcom has this tendency to depict them as too purely good for my taste. Besides, it gives Van one more card to play to dismiss any possible affection from Agnes. "Try later when you grow up, girl."
Kasim, notable Jaeger corps or not, a big bro should never make his little sister look so miserable.
And we finally get the first in-game picture of Renne. Seriously, those question marks aren't fooling anyone.
Pauline's dad has one intimidating mustache. I dare say it surpasses Cassius'. *ducks away form the pitchforks*
Well, that screenshot with Van and Ellaine gives off a pretty solemn vibe. Please Falcom, give us a non-optional, mature romance. Spare us the choose-your-girl mechanic.
Oh, since I didn't do it earlier, my best guess at the minimal-context titles for the Japanese song names:
The End of the Nameless Nightmare (Short Ver.)
Domain of Deadly Play
Other Side of the Cloudy Sky
Welcome to Montmartre
The Threshold of Daybreak
Also while all this fun was going on with the music, we got the names for the shop-specific costumes: MTSC Battle Maid Dress (Risette), Khurga Shamaness' Garb (Feri) and Calvardian Old Regime-style Dress (Agnes). The latter two give us some cultural hints and I'm especially looking forward to learning more about the Khurga and this mystery goddess of theirs. The word used for Feri's costume is used for shrine maidens in Japan (who assist a priest) but it can also be used to refer to a shaman(ess) or medium, so the term doesn't tell us much about her religion on its own.
That image with the drummers is clearly inspired by Chinese tanggu. And considering that the main performer is using jian, this has to be Aaron in his crossdressing, sworddancing role. My, my, he looks completely different with black hair. I wouldn't have recognized him without those hints.
Nice spotting on the drums. And yeah, I figured that had to be Aaron since one of the first things we were told about him is that he does sword-dances in a female role. The term used is one from kabuki drama and a quick check shows that it's also a feature of Chinese operas so that's probably more where Falcom's drawing it from.
I think it's been commented on before, but Nightclub Lelouche? Really Falcom? And we see Aaron and Van walking straight toward it. Thinking about it, this might be the first Kiseki game with both male protag and his designated male companion being both on the 'bad boy' side.
You will go into that nightclub, yes you will . I'm waiting to see if they throw in any other references to the show or not, since they're not spelling it the same way it does but it's also not quite written like the real (family) name or the French adjective. And yeah, we haven't had that setup before, the closest we've come is Kevin who's more on the 'bad boy' side of things but he doesn't have a Designated Male Companion to hang out with... though from what we know of Ein I suspect she's not the best influence on her charges and I could easily imagine her inviting herself along if Kevin went to a nightclub, or being the one to drag Kevin to one. I mean, we know that Wazy introduced Gaius to alcohol and Ein was his mentor in turn so... xD
And we finally get the first in-game picture of Renne. Seriously, those question marks aren't fooling anyone.
It's like how they're treating Bergard's identity; they know that we know it but are stopping just short of actually admitting 'yes, he's Barkhorn'.
Well, that screenshot with Van and Ellaine gives off a pretty solemn vibe. Please Falcom, give us a non-optional, mature romance
This. I'm really hoping Van and Elaine become a couple by arc's end and if Agnes does develop a crush on Van at some point, he gently shoots her down. I'm getting those vibes right now and hope I'm reading it right.
Also while all this fun was going on with the music, we got the names for the shop-specific costumes: MTSC Battle Maid Dress (Risette), Khurga Shamaness' Garb (Feri) and Calvardian Old Regime-style Dress (Agnes).
Calvardian Old Regime? This sounds politically loaded. As for the Khurgas, I'm really curious how the Septian Church relates to them. They were shown to be very tolerant until now, but they also managed to merge their faith with the religious practices of those with different spiritual roots. But having a completely different main goddess makes any syncreticism effort by the Church much, much harder if downright impossible.
Nice spotting on the drums. And yeah, I figured that had to be Aaron since one of the first things we were told about him is that he does sword-dances in a female role. The term used is one from kabuki drama and a quick check shows that it's also a feature of Chinese operas so that's probably more where Falcom's drawing it from.
Interesting. Is the term in katakana or kanji? Just curious because the first thing that comes to mind when I hear Chinese Opera is 京剧, or Peking/Beijing Opera. Also gives Aaron's crossdressing role another cultural dimension. Early Peking Opera's female roles were all played by men and the practice continued even after the communist revolution. I'm sure though that Kabuki has similar practices.
And yeah, we haven't had that setup before, the closest we've come is Kevin who's more on the 'bad boy' side of things but he doesn't have a Designated Male Companion to hang out with... though from what we know of Ein I suspect she's not the best influence on her charges and I could easily imagine her inviting herself along if Kevin went to a nightclub, or being the one to drag Kevin to one. I mean, we know that Wazy introduced Gaius to alcohol and Ein was his mentor in turn so... xD
Let's hope the last Kiseki arc is a Church arc so we can enjoy Gralsritter shenanigans to the max.
