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Gar's Gaming Blog (Animal Crossing: New Leaf)

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« Reply #75 on: 17 September, 2009, 02:07:28 pm »

It's more that, with the AI the way it is, every character can trick it into teleporting right in front of them and getting owned.
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« Reply #76 on: 17 September, 2009, 08:40:31 pm »

New entry: Thursday 17th September

Destiny Odyssey III – The Pride of Youth
Unlike those found in Bartz’s story, Onion Knight’s levels have a very clear strategic gimmick: hidden board pieces. All pieces on each level (apart from the Stigma of Chaos and one or two enemies or a chest) are hidden from view until you engage them. This would’ve been pretty difficult, but I have a guide that told me what all the pieces were. Yeah, I guess it was kinda cheating, but still…
Level 1 was pretty easy, and helped me get to grips with Onion Knight’s combat style. There was a 1HP Capricious Thief enemy (Zidane copy) on level 2 that was pretty annoying. He used a Cactuar summon to reduce my BP by 1000, and was really good at dodging my attacks, making it hard for me to land any Brave attacks, let alone an HP attack to finish him. With level 3 came a high-levelled Imitation Despot (Emperor copy), but I decided to play it safe and avoid him for now. I managed to get a decent amount of EXP in that level even without taking him on, and was able to master some of Onion Knight’s attacks, something that I haven’t yet managed with any of the other characters.
Level 4 brought another 1HP Capricious Thief, which was more annoying than the first one because of the awkward stage the fight takes place on: Planet’s Core. This made it even more difficult to land attacks. The boss of level 4, Terra, was pretty easy. I did accidentally get caught in a couple of her HP attacks, but thankfully she seemed very hesitant to use her EX Burst. I was able to wear her down and win the fight, levelling up twice in the process.
On level 5, I managed to beat a level 12 Imitation Despot without sustaining any damage whatsoever. Brave or HP. Though this was partly because the stage (Order’s Sanctuary) gave me lots of room to run around and manoeuvre in. The final boss, The Cloud of Darkness, was pretty easy. She had a pretty nasty-sounding Iron Giant summon, that would halve my BP whenever she hit me with an HP attack during a certain period of time. However, like Order’s Sanctuary, the boss stage (World of Darkness) also has lots of room to move about in, so I was able to effectively avoid her and her huge number of HP attacks (she has more than any other character in the game) until the summon ran out. I finally finished her with Onion Knight’s Sage EX Burst, and went up five levels in the process. And so, Onion Knight’s story ended, with a rather cute image of him and Terra sleeping on the ground next to each other, exhausted by the story's events. I finished by purchasing The Cloud of Darkness from the PP Catalogue. Just two Destiny Odysseys left!

Character Impressions 4 – Bartz and Onion Knight
Bartz
Bartz was pretty interesting to play as. In a way, it was a bit like a retrospective of the characters I’ve already played as, and a preview of sorts for the characters I have yet to use.
Most of Bartz’s Brave attacks combine two attacks from the other Warriors of Cosmos. For example, Reel Impulse starts by him throwing Firion’s axe to draw the opponent close (which I think may even have a longer range than Firion’s attack), then unleashing a combo with Zidane’s Mage Masher weapons. The only Brave attack that doesn’t follow this pattern is Holy, which is entirely copied from Terra. The Brave attacks I tried were good mixture of combos and attacks that start Chase Sequences. Another thing about Bartz’s attacks is that they all have added effects like increasing certain kinds of damage or boosting certain stats, but I personally didn’t really notice any of these.
His HP attacks all come directly from other characters without being combined with any other attacks, similar to the aforementioned Holy attack. They too come with special effects, but again I didn’t notice them. What I did notice, however, was Bartz’s voice changing in tone when he used certain attacks (both Brave and HP). For example, he sounded a bit like Cecil when he used Soul Eater, and his voice became lighter (like Terra’s) when he used Holy, which I thought was a nice touch.
Bartz’s EX Mode was the first one I’ve used that’s had a special EX Mode-exclusive attack. In this case, Goblin Punch. It’s a short-ranged but powerful attack that does Brave, then HP damage, and it’s activated by pressing the R and Square buttons after activating EX Mode. Apparently, if your level is equal to you opponent’s level while using it, the attack becomes even more powerful. His EX Mode also involves him gaining three retro-looking stars over his head to show his Job mastery, which is pretty cool.
Finally, his EX Burst. It has a pretty cool animation that involves Bartz striking his opponent with two weapons at a time (Cecil’s spear & Zidane’s daggers, then Tidus’s & Warrior of Light’s swords, and so on), before combining them into his own Brave Blade for a final strike. In order for the EX Burst to be pulled off perfectly, 4 pairs of D-Pad commands must by input quickly, otherwise he’ll strike fewer times. It wasn’t too bad, but I often found myself getting muddled with the third or last pair. Stupid thumb…

Onion Knight
Playing as Onion Knight was fairly interesting for me, as the very first full fight video that was released after Dissidia’s first trailer was between him and The Cloud of Darkness. Granted I didn’t get to use all of the moves that were in that video, but still… Anyway, Onion Knight’s attacks all revolve around multiple fast strikes (reminiscent of the attacking style in the DS remake of FFIII), and all of his Brave attacks can be chained into more powerful ones or, eventually, HP attacks. Because of this, and because of his relatively small number of “starter” attacks, Onion Knight is able to master most of his initial attacks in roughly half the time it takes for any other character, unlocking more chaining options. Onion Knight’s regular HP attacks don’t chain into anything, but are still pretty good. Their main downside seems to be their relatively short range.
His EX Mode is pretty interesting, simply because he has two of them: Ninja and Sage. Each one also has their own EX Burst, though both attacks follow the same idea. Which form he takes in EX Mode depends on the attack you use, kinda like Cecil changing Jobs when he performs certain HP attacks. Onion Knight becomes a Ninja when he uses close-range sword-based attacks (which increase in power during EX Mode), and becomes a Sage when he uses long-range magic attacks (which fire more projectiles at a time in EX Mode). The EX Burst he uses also depends on what HP attack you used. The “minigame” for both EX Bursts is pretty much the same: select either “Magic” for Sage or “Throw” for Ninja, and then select Holy or Shuriken from the menus of spells and items that appear. Provided you have a decent eye, they’re not hard attacks to pull off.

Next time: Terra’s redemption! A struggle for control!
« Last Edit: 30 September, 2009, 08:09:20 pm by Mayuri Kurotsuchi » Report Spam   Logged

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« Reply #77 on: 17 September, 2009, 11:33:29 pm »

Go Bartz! I would main him if I had this...
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« Reply #78 on: 17 September, 2009, 11:39:01 pm »

Plan to have a collector edition in motion... yuk yuk yuk!

Also, GO TERRA!
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« Reply #79 on: 18 September, 2009, 08:08:09 am »

So Bartz is kind of like a clone character?
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« Reply #80 on: 18 September, 2009, 09:13:52 am »

So Bartz is kind of like a clone character?

Eh, kinda. He sort of puts his own spin on the other characters' attacks. Plus his attacks come from all of the other heroes, so he's not just a direct copy of another character.
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« Reply #81 on: 18 September, 2009, 04:23:23 pm »

Ahh, I see.
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« Reply #82 on: 18 September, 2009, 07:49:52 pm »

New entry: Friday 18th September

The one you've all been waiting for...

Destiny Odyssey VI – Strength For Whom?
For me, the main challenge of this story was properly using Terra’s fighting style, and not the levels themselves. Being a long-range magic user, she’s very different to all the other characters I’ve used so far. Still, I got to see Kefka play a bigger role in cutscenes, which was cool.
Level 1 passed without anything major happening, and I just used it to try and get used to the way Terra plays, like I did with all the other heroes. Level 2 was pretty similar, but it brought a pretty nasty Transient Lion enemy (Squall copy). This guy had only 56HP, but was good at dodging and had a pretty high base BP value. First he would activate his Mandragora summon (which temporarily speeds up BP regeneration after an HP attack), and then come at me spamming his Blasting Zone HP attack. I had to dodge to the side and use an HP attack of my own as soon as possible. I had to do this twice because he had accessories that would leave him at 1HP instead of being killed in one blow.
 There were a few enemies on Level 3 that gave me trouble. First was an Imaginary Phantom (Jecht copy) that kept blocking all my attacks unless I caught it by surprise, then pummelling me unless I could get away quick enough. The biggest problem came from a high-level Transient Witch (Ultimecia copy) that repeatedly owned me. It was here that my opinion of Terra really started to drop. It just really annoyed me that I was getting beaten so easily by an enemy I normally have little trouble dispatching, even if she was more than twice my level. Eventually I was forced to flee and restart the level, avoiding her the second time around.
The final problem of Level 3 came from a Capricious Reaper (Kuja copy). I just found it difficult to avoid his attacks, and he would often easily dodge my own HP attacks. Thanks to him, and the fact that there was no Potion in the level, I was forced to engage the boss with less than half my full HP. Actually, all things considered, the boss battle (against Cloud) could’ve gone a lot worse. I was able to catch him off guard quite a few times, though I also unsuccessfully tried to regain some HP by activating Terra’s EX Mode and taking advantage of the Regen effect. It was unsuccessful because he hit me with an HP attack almost straight after I got out of EX Mode.
Level 4 passed with nothing major happening, but Level 5 had a very similar gimmick to Squall’s levels. There were only a couple of battle pieces and chests visible (along with the Stigma of Chaos, of course), but engaging one of these pieces would reveal an enemy piece right next to your square, forcing you into a battle. In Squall’s levels it was just a way of progressing, but in this level it was more like a trap.
The final boss, Kefka, was actually surprisingly easy, even though he was about five levels higher than me. I mean, he got me down to less than half my full HP, but I was able to avoid most of his attacks just by keeping my distance. He also used up his summon, Magic Pot (which increases your BP so it’s the same level as your opponent’s), very early in the match, so it wasn’t very effective as I still had less than 500BP. I was also able to take advantage of the numerous cramped spaces in the stage (Kefka’s Tower) and hit him with HP attacks where there was much less room to move and dodge in. I didn’t even need to use EX Mode, but I did so anyway to strike the final blow with an EX Burst, just for a more epic finish. And so, Terra’s story came to a close, and I purchased Kefka from the PP Catalogue as a reward.

Next time: Cosmos’ most loyal warrior! The conclusion of Destiny Odyssey!
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« Reply #83 on: 19 September, 2009, 04:24:42 am »

So you don't really like to play as Terra?
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« Reply #84 on: 19 September, 2009, 07:12:40 am »

Not really. My full opinion of her will come later today.
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« Reply #85 on: 19 September, 2009, 11:13:33 am »

Right, I'll wait until then, then.
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« Reply #86 on: 19 September, 2009, 07:38:53 pm »

New entry: Saturday 19th September

Destiny Odyssey I – The Guiding Light
Warrior of Light’s levels are mostly pretty straightforward. The only real gimmick seems to be the number of bosses, five, which is the highest of all the Destiny Odysseys. Another thing that’s rather unique is that Warrior of Light is the only hero to face his primary villain twice in his story.
As always, Level 1 was pretty simple and allowed me to get to grips with Warrior of Light’s fighting style, which I’d already had a taste of in the Tutorial and Prologue levels. The boss battle against Garland was pretty tough, but I managed to win on my 3rd attempt by keeping my distance, wearing his BP down until I inflicted Break on him, then finished it with an EX Burst. Level 2 brought the first 1HP enemy: a Counterfeit Youth (Onion Knight copy). This enemy’s gimmick was to use Carbuncle to reduce my BP to 0 right at the beginning of the fight. I would then have to chase him around trying to land an HP attack (he has very good at dodging, as usual) while trying to avoid his own attacks. The Sephiroth boss fight at the end of Level 2 was much easier than the final boss of Cloud’s story, despite him being 5 levels higher than me, and I finished him off with an EX Burst.
Level 3 was pretty unusual, in that the boss fight was midway through the level instead of being at the end. I had to retry this fight against Ultimecia because I’d been brought down to about half my full HP by other battles in the level. I didn’t need to resort to an EX Burst, and I found that Warrior of Light’s Shining Wave HP attack useful, as it seemed to cancel out most of her attacks. I went up 2 levels after beating her. I was almost finished off by the following Imaginary Champion (Sephiroth copy) and Ephemeral Phantom (Jecht copy) enemies that followed the boss fight, and the Ephemeral Phantom was particularly nasty. This was because he had accessories that converted any EX Force he gathered into BP rather than filling up his EX Gauge, so if he managed to hit me with an HP attack, which he did, he would recover his BP much quicker than usual, allowing him to go for another HP attack almost straight away. This also made him hard to Break, and I had to retry the fight a couple of times. I eventually walked away with 1HP, and got a very poor level score as a result.
I was forced to flee yet another high-levelled opponent on Level 4 and restart the level. This time it was a Counterfeit Wraith enemy (Cloud of Darkness copy). Since this enemy was right next to where a Potion would appear, and I would then be forced into a fight against her if I took the Potion, I then had to be careful to lose as little HP as possible before the level boss. This was made very hard by the presence of another Ephemeral Phantom, like the one from Level 3. This fight was even worse than the previous one because the stage (Crystal World) was a lot more difficult to navigate than the stage in the previous fight, which was a pretty open, flat space (World of Darkness). I eventually beat him after numerous retries and was taken down to around 300HP as a result. After taking out the last couple of enemies (and going down to around 200HP in the process) I decided to go for the Potion anyway and just flee the Counterfeit Wraith fight. I’d get a -2DP penalty, but I was already going to get a bad level score anyway thanks to the retries from the Ephemeral Phantom battle. The boss fight itself, against The Emperor, wasn’t too bad in comparison, though I did have to finish him with an EX Burst. I found that his only HP attacks, the two Flare attacks, weren’t that useful in the narrow spaces of Pandaemonium unless I accidentally ran headlong into them, which I admit I ended up doing a couple of times. The main problem was his Light Crest Brave attack, the shots of which would rebound off the walls, so even if I managed to block a couple of the shots, some others would probably end up hitting me from behind. As predicted, I got a rubbish level score, but I was just glad to get it behind me.
Level 5 wasn’t bad in comparison to the last two levels. It did the same thing as Terra’s final level, having lots of hidden enemies that would ambush me if I engaged any of the visible enemies or chests. I came across another 1HP Counterfeit Youth, which was more annoying than the first one due to being on a more complex stage. The 2nd boss battle against Garland wasn’t as bad as I feared, but just like on Level 1, it took me three attempts to defeat him, levelling up twice over the course of the battles. Like Kefka, he used up his Magic Pot summon when I only had around 500BP, so it didn’t give him much of an advantage, other than making him a bit more difficult to Break. Eventually I finished him with an EX Burst, finished Warrior of Light’s story (also finishing Destiny Odyssey as a whole), and bought Garland from the PP Catalogue.

Character Impressions 5 – Terra and Warrior of Light
Terra
If I’m really honest, I’m not overly keen on Terra. I don’t mind her as a character, she has her ups and downs like anyone else from Final Fantasy, but I found her play style pretty awkward. Maybe I’m just too used to close-range fighters, I don’t know. She’s definitely one of the slowest characters I’ve played as (if not the slowest) and she has poor aerial ability. She just feels generally sluggish overall.
Her Brave attacks could be worse. Most of them have good range, and the only one that doesn’t (Blizzard Combo) knocks her opponent a fair distance away, even if I didn’t find myself using it very often. Most CPUs seemed to have trouble avoiding Blizzara and Fire for some reason (especially Blizzara), which made them pretty useful. I also recognised her Holy attack from playing as Bartz, but I think Terra’s might have a longer range. Holy seemed to be pretty easily blocked, though.
On the other hand, her HP attacks aren’t great. I was only able to try out two of them: Tornado and Flood. Tornado is only really useful in close range, and even then it’s pretty easily dodged. Flood has a better range and is harder to dodge, but it’s still not the best. It’s easier to catch enemies off guard with Flood than Tornado, though. I’ve heard that both attacks are good guard breakers, but as all CPUs tried to dodge away instead of blocking the attacks, I never saw any evidence of that.
I didn’t really use Terra’s EX Mode often, as I didn’t find her Chainspell ability very useful. All that would usually happen is that my opponent would just dodge two attacks instead of one. I never used her Glide ability either. Her EX Burst, Riot Blade, is performed just like Cloud’s (hammer the O button) except that you also need to hammer the left D-Pad button as well. I didn’t use it very often, but I haven’t yet failed to get a Perfect on it. The attack animation is a bit underwhelming, though.

Warrior of Light
Warrior of Light was a nice return to a familiar fighting style after my discomfort with Terra. He’s the general well-rounded character that’s present in just about every fighting game, and he mostly relies on close to mid-range attacks.
The only Brave attack I was able to try that was long range was Red Fang, basically his version of the Fire spell. For some reason, similar to Terra’s Blizzara, a lot of CPUs seemed to find it difficult to block or dodge the attack. It didn’t do as much damage as his more close-range attacks, but it was still a handy thing to have. His other Brave attacks relied on fairly basic sword and shield combos, and some of them could initiate Chase Sequences. One of his aerial attacks actually initiates a Chase Sequence after hitting the opponent downwards
As for his HP attacks, I could only try out two: Shining Wave and Shield of Light, although Shield of Light could be used both on the ground and in the air. Shield of Light is pretty quick, but has a rather short range, making it best to use when catching an opponent off guard, like after dodging or blocking an attack, or after slamming them into a wall, or while they’re recovering in mid-air. I found Shining Wave to be a bit more useful, and it was the attack I tended to finish most of my fights with. It’s reasonably fast-moving, has a long range and it can hit opponents in the air if they’re low enough, but as it’s a pretty thin attack, it can be avoided by dodging to the side if the opponent has enough time. I found that a good time to use it was if the opponent had just used a ranged magic attack, as Shining Wave would often cancel out the opponent’s attack and hit them before they can recover from casting.
Once again, I didn’t really notice Warrior of Light’s EX Mode bonuses, but I found his EX Burst pretty easy to use. All you have to do to get a Perfect is input 6 D-Pad commands when they come up on the screen one at a time.


So that's it. The Last Destiny Odyssey beaten, and also my last blog entry from a while as I'll be taking a little break from Dissidia. I plan to eventually document my experiences in Shade Impulse (the next part of the Dissidia story), but before I do that I'll want to level up the heroes a bit more, not to mention choosing a character to actually do Shade Impulse with. But before I do even that, I have plans with the villain characters I've unlocked...

Watch this space...
« Last Edit: 30 September, 2009, 08:09:43 pm by Mayuri Kurotsuchi » Report Spam   Logged

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« Reply #87 on: 20 September, 2009, 06:02:45 pm »

Ooooh plans.
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« Reply #88 on: 20 September, 2009, 06:05:49 pm »

Yup, plans.
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« Reply #89 on: 21 September, 2009, 12:35:12 pm »

*Watches, his copy of the game playing music for him as he write*
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