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

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« Reply #90 on: 21 September, 2009, 02:42:48 pm »

Awesumz.
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« Reply #91 on: 29 September, 2009, 06:09:51 pm »

New entry: Tuesday 29th September
Okay, so here’s how it’s going to go: Before I attempt the first chapter of Shade Impulse, I want to get all the Heroes up to at least level 30. And since I don’t want the Villains to get left behind, I’m going to level them up to at least level 30 as well. Now, since all of the Heroes are already between levels 10 and 20 as a result of their respective Destiny Odysseys, I’m going to start by getting all the Villains up to at least level 20, and I’m going to do this by going through the enemy lists for Destiny Odysseys and simulate those fights in Quick Battle mode. Now, on the one hand this will be easier than the actual Destiny Odysseys as my health will be completely replenished between each fight, but on another hand I won’t get any EXP bonuses (just the EXP I get during the actual fights) and I won’t be able to build up a full EX gauge over a series of battles, as it will always be empty when I start each fight. Also, because of the rules of Quick Battle, every opponent I fight will have a summon, while in the Destiny Odysseys summons were usually reserved for Bosses.
To make up for the lack of EXP bonuses, I’m going to make the fights a little more difficult by only fighting opponents that are at least the same level as me, unless it’s for practice purposes. As another twist, for each enemy encountered in each Destiny Odyssey, I will instead fight its respective opposing character. To explain: If the character list was to say that I was going to fight a level 7 Imaginary Soldier enemy (Cloud copy), I would instead fight a level 7 Sephiroth. If I was meant to fight a level 12 Capricious Reaper (Kuja copy), I would instead fight a level 12 Zidane, and so on. As I do this, I will also be posting character impressions of them here, two by two like the Heroes. I’l also be doing them in the same order as the Heroes, so it’ll go Sephiroth, Golbez, Jecht, The Emperor, Ultimecia, Kuja, Cloud of Darkness, Kefka, and Garland bringing up the rear.

So yeah, that’s the Villains. After that, I’ll set about levelling the Heroes up, and possibly going through some of their stories again to pick up Summons and stuff, or get better ratings and scores. After that I’ll level up the Villains some more. Once all my characters are up to at least level 30, I’ll be starting Shade Impulse.

I’ll be posting my first set of character impressions, Sephiroth and Golbez, tomorrow, and I hope to post my impressions of Jecht and The Emperor soon afterwards. So until then…
0:15 - 0:21
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« Reply #92 on: 29 September, 2009, 06:12:09 pm »

Sounds like a very good plan does that.
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« Reply #93 on: 29 September, 2009, 06:15:32 pm »

Thanks.

BTW, I wanted to find a shorter video, but I couldn't find one of the little bit I wanted, so I had to get the whole sketch.
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« Reply #94 on: 30 September, 2009, 08:10:23 pm »

New Entry: Wednesday 30th September

Character Impressions 6 – Sephiroth and Golbez
Sephiroth
So here we are, the first of the Villains. Sephiroth is a good character to start the Villain side with, as he seems to serve as a bridge of sorts between the straightforward fighting styles of the Heroes, and the more technical styles of the Villains. This is because while he’s pretty much a regular melee fighter, albeit one with a great attack range due to the length of Masamune, his Brave attacks rely on timed button presses to maximise their power. Take his most basic attack, Reaper, for example: It requires you to press the O button (or whatever command it’s assigned to) three times, but as each of Sephiroth’s strikes hits multiple times, you need to press the button right at the end of each strike but not waiting so long that the combo finishes prematurely. If you press the buttons too close together, he only gets a couple of hits for each strike, and the attack as a whole only gets a fraction of its full strength. It’s pretty easy to get the timing though, hence why I said Sephiroth was a good introduction to the Villains, just as Cloud serves as a good introduction to the game’s basics.
Now, being a melee fighter means that Sephiroth relies on sword attacks, but his reach makes up for his relative lack of ranged Brave attacks. However, he does later learn some moves that release energy waves from his sword. Should these waves connect, he then teleports closer to the enemy and strikes them again. Yet another of this Brave attacks involves him suddenly dashing through his enemy from a mid-range distance and striking them. The only non-sword-based Brave attack of his that I’ve come across, and his only primarily ranged attack, doesn’t do a huge amount of damage and is pretty easy to avoid.
As for HP attacks, I was only able to try out three of them: Octaslash, Scintilla and Hell’s Gate. Octaslash (which can eventually be used both on the ground and in mid-air) was the attack I used most, as it seemed to be the hardest to avoid (and it looks pretty damn cool). The main gimmick of Scintilla seems to be the fact that it starts with a Guard, so it’s good for catching opponents off guard if you can get the blocking timing right. Hell’s Gate was probably the least useful of Sephiroth’s HP attacks, and it’s his only aerial one until he gets the mid-air Octaslash at level 13. It consists of a downward stab reminiscent of the attack he uses to kill Aerith in the original FFVII. The main problem is the it’s easy to dodge, especially in mid-air, but it’s pretty satisfying when you do manage to connect with it. You also need to remember to hold down the Square button (or whatever it’s assigned to) for as long as you want to attack with it, otherwise he’ll just pull out of it all and you won’t even reach your target.
Sephiroth’s main EX Mode bonus is his Heartless Angel attack, activated by pressing the R and Square buttons while in EX Mode. This attack has a pretty long casting time, but if it’s successful, your opponent’s BP will immediately be reduced to 1, setting the up for an easy Break. Easy provided you can hit them before they hit you anyway. You can move around while using it (Sephiroth hovers in the air while casting), but I wouldn’t recommend it unless you know your opponent won’t catch up to you in time to interrupt the move. His EX Burst is pulled off in exactly the same way as Clouds: Hammering the O button. Should you get a Perfect on it, and there’s really no reason why you shouldn’t, then Sephiroth will not only strike the opponent, but also knock them into a huge fireball that expands as Sephiroth poses in front of it, echoing the classic image from the original game with him standing in front of an inferno as he burnt Nibelheim to the ground. Say what you like about Sephiroth, but you can’t deny he practically oozes cool.

Golbez
Golbez was quite a bit more complex than Sephiroth. All of his Brave attacks consist of two parts and attack at multiple ranges at once. Not only this, but most of the (four out of six, to be precise) can chain into HP attacks upon mastery, though I haven’t managed to see this yet. Golbez’s Brave attacks are pretty hard to describe, as each has its own patterns and controls, but you have to be careful using them, as most are pretty easily dodged. I personally find it’s best to treat Golbez primarily as a melee figher, since all of his attacks can be used close- range as well as mid/long-range, but that’s just my preference.
Golbex only has two non-chained HP attacks, and both are available right from the beginning: Nightglow and Genesis Rock. Nightglow, the ground-based attack, can be dodged fairly easily, but if it does hit, it sends the enemy flying straight upwards, often smacking them into the “ceiling” of the level and adding Wall Rush damage. Genesis Rock, the aerial attack, is harder to dodge to the point of being inescapable at close-range or when used directly above or below the opponent, unless of course they activate EX Mode to break the combo. Even if they dodge the spinning rocks of the initial attack, they’re still in danger of being hit as the rocks fly outwards from Golbez in the second part of the attack, though that part is easier to dodge. Plus, Golbez has a pretty cool quote when using that attack (“Time to part…” *the rocks spin and fly outwards* “Farewell…”).
Like Sephiroth, Golbez has an EX Mode only attack: Black Fang. The nature of the attack is also very similar to Sephiroth’s, except that it causes an instant Break on the opponent instead of just reducing their BP to 1. As a downside, however, it has a longer casting time and you only gain the accumulated Stage BP instead of gaining any of the opponent’s BP. His EX Burst, Twin Moon, is pulled off in the same way as Cecil’s (inputting three pairs of commands) but for some reason I found it easier, and I only failed to get a Perfect once. Maybe I just got more practice, I don’t know. It’s a pretty cool animation though, as the Shadow Dragon he fuses with during EX Mode freezes the opponent before Golbez himself bombards them with flaming meteors.

Next time: A burning brawler and a cold-hearted schemer!
« Last Edit: 01 October, 2009, 01:47:16 pm by Mayuri Kurotsuchi » Report Spam   Logged

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« Reply #95 on: 02 October, 2009, 07:27:13 pm »

Okay, since no-one seems to have commented on my last entry...

New entry: Friday 2nd October

Character Impressions 7 – Jecht and The Emperor
Jecht
And so we reach one of the epitomes of videogame manliness: Jecht. He’s actually one of the most difficult-to-use-properly characters I’ve played as so far, and from what I hear, he’s second only to Exdeath in difficulty to master. Jecht has by far the fewest number of attacks of any character in the game. Even when he’s learned all his moves, he only has three Brave attacks (one of which can be used both on the ground and in the air) and three HP attacks (one of which can, again, be used both on the ground and in the air). However, this is made up for by the fact that Jecht’s fighting style revolves around combos. The strength and nature of the attacks Jecht Rush and Jecht Stream depends on the commands entered and the timing of their entry. If done correctly, with spot-on timing, each combo can lead straight into an HP attack, making it very hard for the opponent to attempt to dodge or block. The initial attack and HP finisher can also be charged to make them more powerful, though this naturally makes them easier to dodge. The timing of the command inputs is why Jecht is such a hard character to get used to, as the window for entering the next command is very small, and it’s not made easier when you happen to Break an opponent or a summon is used in mid-combo. Jecht’s other attack, Jecht Block, is a guard that’s apparently almost impenetrable, even against attacks that would normally cause a Defense Crush. It’s not invincible, though, and requires you to know the correct block timing.
As for Jecht’s HP attacks, I didn’t find them very useful unless they came at the end of one of the aforementioned combos. They’re both relatively easy to see coming and Triumphant Grasp, the aerial HP attack I tried, often only really works if the opponent is right in front of you, as Jecht drops fairly sharply towards the ground during the attack.
Jecht’s main EX Mode bonus is that he can carry out full combos even if he misses a hit. So even if the opponent manages to dodge the first attack, he can carry straight on and do the rest of the combo. I didn’t find myself using this very often, though. His EX Burst, is carried out just like Tidus’s: pressing the O button at the right time on a gauge, except that Jecht has to do this twice. It’s a pretty badass-looking attack, though, and it definitely suits him. To summarise, Jecht is a decent character if you use him right, but doing so takes a lot of practice. I personally think it’s worth it, although that could just be my Jecht fanboyism shining through. Come on, how can you not like a guy who finishes some of his combos by saying “Don’t cry, now!”, throws meteors at people like they were footballs, and has a possible defeat quote where he says “I gotta sober up…”?

The Emperor
Emperor Mateus of Palamecia, to use his full title, was a very unusual character to get used to. His play style revolves entirely around laying traps for his opponents, such as mines or magic crests that ensnare the opponent or fire projectiles. You really have to take advantage of any mistakes your opponent might make. After a few shaky battles, I eventually developed a strategy that was able to carry me through the rest of my fights with him. I would basically stay a reasonable distance away from my opponent and wait for an opportunity to catch them in his Thunder Crest technique, such as when they were dashing toward me. This Brave attack is a magic circle that’s “drawn” on the ground, and if the opponent gets too close to it, it traps them in the circle and constantly drains BP for a few seconds. I would usually follow this up by laying a Landmine on top of them just before Thunder Crest released them. Most battles basically consisted of doing this multiple times, sometimes using his ranged aerial Light Crest from a distance if necessary, until I gathered enough BP to finish them off with a single HP attack or EX Burst. The only HP attacks I was able to try out were his two Flare attacks. In the air, the Flare is orange and stays where it is, hanging in mid air, but on the ground the Flare is light blue and slowly tracks the opponent for a long time. I tried to use them at close-range as often as possible because otherwise they’re fairly easy to avoid. As a result, I often used the ground Flare in conjunction with Thunder Crest. I do think maybe I rely on Thunder Crest a bit too much and I get the feeling I’m not really using him properly as a result, but hey, I get by.
The Emperor’s EX Mode bonus is just like Firion’s, except that he has “Blood Magic” instead of “Blood Weapons”. Since none of The Emperor’s attacks seem to release much EX Force, I often had to hang around and wait for EX Cores to appear to build up my Gauge properly. Once I’d done that, however, I’d catch the opponent in Thunder Crest again, enter EX Mode, then deal them a Flare attack right in the face. This would of course lead to an EX Burst where I’d hopefully deal a lot more damage and, as a result, regain a lot of health. His EX Burst is carried out by inputting button commands as they light up on the screen, which is pretty easy as the indicators are pretty big. It’s a rather cool animation as well, but I’m still not entirely sure what actually goes on during the attack. Instead, here’s a video to show you and round off the entry:



Next time: The sorceress of time and a graceful poet!
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« Reply #96 on: 05 October, 2009, 12:32:13 pm »

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« Reply #97 on: 05 October, 2009, 12:41:06 pm »

I'm currently playing them too, now that I finished the game (Terra rules!). So far, my preference is for offensive characters (Exdeath can go to hell the Void).
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« Reply #98 on: 05 October, 2009, 12:43:50 pm »

Exdeath is probably the hardest character I've had to use so far (his section is coming next), but I have to say I didn't find Terra much better. I really don't see what all the fuss is about with her.
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« Reply #99 on: 05 October, 2009, 12:53:15 pm »

Let's say she makes the final battle a breeze...

I have yet to master everyone, so I may change my point of view. For now, I found the other two extensively played character of mine either boring (Kefka, winning every match the same way: fire>fire>trine, EX mode for 95% accuracy) or just not my style (Warrior of light. I don't like his attacks, but I haven't unlocked everything, so...).

Next one I will try extensively are Bartz, Jecht, Kuja and Sephiroth, are they were the ones I liked the most after tests.
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« Reply #100 on: 05 October, 2009, 12:56:58 pm »

Well isn't Terra pretty much just Blizzard>Blizzard>Flood? You could say that about any character.
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« Reply #101 on: 05 October, 2009, 01:01:26 pm »

Sorry, overlooked the entries...

Sounds good, they're still good reads.
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« Reply #102 on: 05 October, 2009, 01:03:18 pm »

I actually have a deeper approach with her, senting meteor from close range is something even the computer doesn't compute, as using holy combo but not using Ultima (as they tend to get out of it, don't ask how) but instead double meltdown (short charge then instant) them afterward as they are too high up to dodge a medium speed followed by a fast attack (there's a roof where they want to dodge)
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« Reply #103 on: 05 October, 2009, 01:05:42 pm »

I actually have a deeper approach with her, senting meteor from close range is something even the computer doesn't compute, as using holy combo but not using Ultima (as they tend to get out of it, don't ask how) but instead double meltdown (short charge then instant) them afterward as they are too high up to dodge a medium speed followed by a fast attack (there's a roof where they want to dodge)

And someone else could equally have a deeper approach with Kefka. It's simply personal preference.

And I haven't started Shade Impulse yet, so my highest character (Jecht) is only level 24.


Sorry, overlooked the entries...

Sounds good, they're still good reads.

Thanks.
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« Reply #104 on: 05 October, 2009, 01:17:26 pm »

Shade impulse is 4 chapters long and you will finish level 60 or so. Then, three new chapter will be opened, two rather easy, another completely insane (Lowest level is 95, highest 110!).

About Kefka, he lacks options in close combat, at least with computer, as they block like god. I am pretty sure a fight against an human player would be better as you can mess with them, but seeing as fighting online is out of the equation, I only have CPU to fight against.
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