• Welcome to Talking Time's third iteration! If you would like to register for an account, or have already registered but have not yet been confirmed, please read the following:

    1. The CAPTCHA key's answer is "Percy"
    2. Once you've completed the registration process please email us from the email you used for registration at percyreghelper@gmail.com and include the username you used for registration

    Once you have completed these steps, Moderation Staff will be able to get your account approved.

Hey guys! Crystal blue is in the air. We'd better stay inside! Let's Play Terranigma!

Back to Let's Play < 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 >
  #1  
Old 11-06-2013, 03:38 PM
Tunlan Tunlan is offline
Has shaved and is happy.
 
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: Germany
Posts: 436
Default Hey guys! Crystal blue is in the air. We'd better stay inside! Let's Play Terranigma!



Hello everyone and welcome to my LP of Terranigma! BEAT was nice enough to allow me to take over for him.

I first played Terranigma back when it was released here in Germany. I loved it back then and am still a fan of the game, although a recent playthrough reminded me why I have played it about 4 times but only beaten it once before. But we will get to that much later.

Since I assume that quite a few people here haven’t played the game, I am going to go into some of its gameplay elements in detail and hope I can show you what makes this a good game and – in my opinion – a fitting if very, very flawed end to the Tenchi Souzou series of games.

Since this is my first LP (and one of my first post’s on Talking Time in general), I am going to rely on two other people to help me play through this game: my good friends Yomi and Kark! They will help me make sense of the storyline and provide snark whenever appropriate… which is very, very often. Especially later on.

Speaking of which, let’s see what those two jokers are up to right now!

--- Meanwhile ---



"Finally! Look, Yomi, there is only one left! We are almost done"

"It's about time…"

Kark: "Alright, let's get this over with and place the final s…"

"STOP RIGHT THERE!"

Kark: "Wha?"

Police: "We finally got you!"

Kark: "Uh… Who are you again?"

Police: "Neotokio Police Force. And we know exactly who you are. You are Karc!"

Kark: "Hey Yomi, did you hear that? They know my name. See, I told you people would remember our many adventures!"

Police: "You are under arrest!"

Yomi: "It was only a matter of time…"

Kark: "What? Under arrest? WHY?"

Police: "As if you didn’t know."

Kark: "Seriously, I have no idea!"

Yomi: "I could hazard a few guesses…"

Police: "Maybe this will refresh your memory"
  #2  
Old 11-06-2013, 03:41 PM
Tunlan Tunlan is offline
Has shaved and is happy.
 
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: Germany
Posts: 436
Default



Yomi: “Uh oh”

Kark: “What’s this? WANTED? “KARC” aka “Dark KARC”, “KARC Yetislayer”, “KARC the Deceiver”…”

Yomi: “Oh, “KARC the Destroyer. I like that one. Let’s see. The “Sorrow of Sylvain”. Oh yeah, that one I totally get... Too bad they misspelled your name…”

Police: “You are wanted across the world for the crimes you have committed!”

Kark: “Crimes? All I have been doing is travel the world, trying to do good deeds and help people. I am not a criminal!”

Yomi: “I don’t know, Karc. What about those things we did in Loire?”

Kark: “What? I only tried to make the town a better place for everyone!”

Yomi: “What about Nirlake?”

Kark: “Oh come on! I was nowhere near Nirlake at the time of the incident!”

Police: “Sir, calm down, put down your weapon and step away from that altar! We will be happy to take your statement… since we are currently waiting for backup anyway…”

Kark: “Fine, but you will have to take my statement here and it better not take long. I have a planet to save.”

Police: “Of course you do, sir, of course you do.”

Kark: “See, it all started when…”
  #3  
Old 11-06-2013, 03:43 PM
Tunlan Tunlan is offline
Has shaved and is happy.
 
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: Germany
Posts: 436
Default

Well, things might look bad for our friend Kark, but don't worry. I am sure by the time our story reaches that point, we will have collected enough evidence to show that Kark is completely innocent a victim of circumstance probably the lesser of two evils!

Join me, my friends, on the Adventures of Kark, scourge of the underworld and the greatest criminal Earth (Terra?) has ever seen!

Current wanted level:
Table of Contents:

Chapter 1: Outset

Chapter 2: Resurrection of the World

Chapter 3: Resurrection of the Genius

---

Additional updates (mechanics, German translation, etc.)

Last edited by Tunlan; 04-06-2014 at 01:32 PM. Reason: Wanted Poster & ToC
  #4  
Old 11-06-2013, 03:47 PM
Tunlan Tunlan is offline
Has shaved and is happy.
 
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: Germany
Posts: 436
Default



We are off to a good start!



Screenshots really can’t do this justice, especially since we are missing out on the awesome beating heart sound! So, here is a link to the video version.



Lightside and Darkside. They are the original odd couple!



Oh look, the Enterprise opening!
  #5  
Old 11-06-2013, 03:49 PM
Tunlan Tunlan is offline
Has shaved and is happy.
 
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: Germany
Posts: 436
Default



If you are only looking at the screenshots, you are missing out on a nice haze effect in the background.

I really like this opening. It establishes the mood quite well. It reminds me a bit of the awesome opening of Breath of Fire II.





And we have one of the most amazing / interesting title screens and box arts I have ever seen. I remember that when I first saw this screen (and the box art), it would take me a second or two to figure out what exactly is going on there, perspective-wise.

Last edited by Tunlan; 11-06-2013 at 04:25 PM.
  #6  
Old 11-06-2013, 03:52 PM
Tunlan Tunlan is offline
Has shaved and is happy.
 
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: Germany
Posts: 436
Default



Here we are. Chapter I: The Outset. The game has 4 chapters of varying length. Each of them has a specific goal, although it is not always explicitly stated in the chapter (especially Ch. 3).



Elle: Are you all right? Kark. You looked like you were having a nightmare.

Kark: I’ve been having these strange dreams. Day in, day out, always the same dream.

Kark, I never expected you would say such things. You should go outside. Crystal blue is in the air and it’s very pretty. They should help get your mind off bad dreams.

Apparently, Kark has been having nightmares for a while now. Luckily, by day everything seems better:



But first, let us save the game. Well, as you already saw, we are dropping the default name of Ark and sticking with the name Kark, which was used in BEAT’s LP.

MUSIC: Crysta
  #7  
Old 11-06-2013, 03:54 PM
Tunlan Tunlan is offline
Has shaved and is happy.
 
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: Germany
Posts: 436
Default

In the next room, we find two of Kark’s friends. Or family members? It is never quite clear what all these people are doing at the elder’s house and it does not appear that they live anywhere else (since there are not enough houses in the village).



Kark is not a big fan of people gossiping about him and Elle, so he does what he does best: throwing things.

Kark: I may have overreacted a bit, but that does not make me a criminal. Besides, it only happened once.

Well….



Kark: I actually tried to give her the vase! I just dropped it accidentally!

Of course. It is not like ruining everyone’s dinner is a habit of yours or anything…

  #8  
Old 11-06-2013, 03:56 PM
Tunlan Tunlan is offline
Has shaved and is happy.
 
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: Germany
Posts: 436
Default

As you can see, our friend Kark has a bit of a reputation. But I am sure that everyone is still amiable towards him!



One vase throw later:



Kark: Come on! He totally deserved that one!

In the next room, we find even more people who have nothing to do (except wait for dinner, I guess).



Tell us something we don’t know!



There we go! Let’s have a look, shall we?



Ok, that is actually spooky. I think it is time for some fresh air. Let’s explore the town!
  #9  
Old 11-06-2013, 03:59 PM
Tunlan Tunlan is offline
Has shaved and is happy.
 
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: Germany
Posts: 436
Default



… or not. Better go see the elder then. It seems to be important, after all.



Knowing our friend Kark, I think we all know what the correct choice is in this situation. “Excuse” it is.



People underestimate the nefariousness of chickens. Just ask Link! The elder isn’t buying Kark’s excuse, so I guess it is off to the weavers’ to apologize…

So… should we head directly to the weavers’ or instead wander around town for a bit? Why am I even asking? WWKD?



We learn about fishing and once again hear about this crystal blue thing. Apparently, nobody can agree on what exactly it is. Someone at the elder’s house mentioned that the elder said that crystal blue is “the tears of the outside world”. Fascinating! And quite beautiful, actually.

Last edited by Tunlan; 11-06-2013 at 04:27 PM.
  #10  
Old 11-06-2013, 04:00 PM
Tunlan Tunlan is offline
Has shaved and is happy.
 
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: Germany
Posts: 436
Default

Oh, shops. I wonder what they sell…



A weapon shop! We will keep that in mind for later. — I mean, so that we won’t go there! Because the last thing Kark needs is a weapon…



Well, I don’t know if it harms the crops. But the pumpkins can talk. That is worrisome…

Going to the mill, we learn a bit more about the town. It appears that people don’t have much of a sense of history or seem too sure about what they are doing every day:



I wonder what awaits Kark upstairs:



Oh look! A switch! I wonder what happens if Kark presses it.



This might be a good time to leave…
  #11  
Old 11-06-2013, 04:02 PM
Tunlan Tunlan is offline
Has shaved and is happy.
 
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: Germany
Posts: 436
Default



Once again, we are reminded that the people of Crysta have an interesting attitude towards history and spirituality.



Apparently, Kark is a bit of a role model for the younger kids. As long as he is just teaching them how to jump, that shouldn’t be a problem.



*Sigh* Of course.

Anyway, we go into the next room, where a girl is worried about a nightmare she had in which everyone in town turned to ice - which really seems like a minor worry considering the very real threat posed by Kark to the people of the town. Which seems to be a bit of a running theme… Even the local fortune teller seems to agree:



Alright, time to face the music. Off to the weaver’s.
  #12  
Old 11-06-2013, 04:04 PM
Tunlan Tunlan is offline
Has shaved and is happy.
 
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: Germany
Posts: 436
Default



* Kark honestly apologized. Achievement unlocked!* Look at the new and improved Kark! Apparently Elle hasn’t heard that Kark has turned a new leaf yet!

In the next room, we find four girls embroidering:



These girls also appeared in Illusion of Gaia and will again appear at a later point in this game. And no, they do not react to people throwing vases at them. How do I know? Umm… intuition! Kark would never throw objects at children.

Back to the elder to report Kark’s success! And how much of a better person he has become!



Perfect! People who need help in order to open a door. Kark to the rescue! So, how does one go about opening a blue door? A blue keycard perhaps? Should we hit it, kick it, yell at it? If only there was something around to help us with our probl…
  #13  
Old 11-06-2013, 04:06 PM
Tunlan Tunlan is offline
Has shaved and is happy.
 
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: Germany
Posts: 436
Default

Oh, look! A vase!



Success! The elder will be happy to…



Huh. Oh well. No harm in checking out the basement, I guess. After all, it sounded like someone needs help!

MUSIC: Sad



Shiny! Unfortunately, it hurts Kark when he gets too close (which I didn’t manage to screencap since he was flickering.)

  #14  
Old 11-06-2013, 04:09 PM
Tunlan Tunlan is offline
Has shaved and is happy.
 
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: Germany
Posts: 436
Default

Well, mysterious voice, no one is calmer than the new and improved Kark. As easy as eating pancakes!



And we release… this.

For once, Kark echoes our sentiments.

Yomi: Hey!

MUSIC: Yomi

Yomi is nice enough to explain why … he (?) was locked away.



Luckily, Kark is nothing if not not innocent. Yomi advises us to follow him using the ’SELECT’ key. Inside, we find the game’s inventory system, consisting of:

The central room - containing settings, maps, a guidebook (I.e. The game’s manual) and the magic system. A weapons room (Yay!), an armor room. (Also yay!), the item room. I will show more of these rooms in later updates. In general, there is little point to this in-game explanation of the inventory system. What’s nice is that Yomi is the cursor we use to select different options. In some parts of the game, that is the only time we actually see Yomi for many hours of gameplay. (Which makes him a bit like Friday in Landstalker, I guess. Except for the inventory part, obviously.)

Before we leave, Yomi advises Kark to check the weapons room.



Apparently, it is a weapon. And it seems to be sort of representative of all weapons in general. Considering how our choices have turned out so far, Kark wisely decides NOT to accept this burden.
  #15  
Old 11-06-2013, 04:11 PM
Tunlan Tunlan is offline
Has shaved and is happy.
 
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: Germany
Posts: 436
Default



Deciding not to pick up the weapon earns Kark a nice little insult. Well, I guess that’s that. We should probably leave the box and…



KARK!

Kark: What? It called me a peasant! Nobody - and I mean nobody - calls me a peasant!

*Sigh* Smooth move, McFly. Anyway, back to the plot!



Elle comes by to check up on us, unfortunately, something appears to be wrong (besides the little flying cotton candy monster sidekick, I mean).



Elle appears to be frozen! Yomi seems to know what is going on, but is kind of vague on how to fix the problem. So Kark sets out to find the elder, hoping that he can shed some light on what is going on.
  #16  
Old 11-06-2013, 04:14 PM
Tunlan Tunlan is offline
Has shaved and is happy.
 
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: Germany
Posts: 436
Default



Seems the whole “being frozen” thing was not limited to the basement. And the elder is none too pleased about it…



So he gives us a choice. Let us review Kark’s track record so far…. Considering everything he has done, do we really think he is the right person for this job? Personally, I am voting ‘No’ here.



Well, that’s it for this LP of Terranigma. Thanks for joining me! I am sure they will make a sequel with a different main character who will feel up to the challenge and…

...

Alright. Fine!



Kark decides to help the people. After all, there might be more vases out there somewhere - potentially remaining unthrown - forever…

(Incidentally, the Crysta theme has now changed to the “Sad” theme for the time being)

Awaiting us outside is a gate to the - well, the outside I guess.



Five towers await us! Onward, towards glory!
  #17  
Old 11-06-2013, 04:18 PM
Tunlan Tunlan is offline
Has shaved and is happy.
 
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: Germany
Posts: 436
Default

Thanks for joining me for our first update. I know the first update is way too long. One of the reasons I am reluctant to cut what might usually be considered inconsequential chatter is that that is kind of what the Tenchi Souzou games are about. Not the chatter, but the people chattering... chatting... talking. As a result, the first update is way more verbose than it should be. Don’t worry, I will try to streamline the next updates!

I am still getting the hang of this LP thing, so any feedback is welcome. From now on, I am going to highlight the conversations that I consider most important, but will not screenshot every one of them, especially since some of them are quite repetitive / redundant. But if you want, I could either transcribe them or summarize them. In general, outside of the towns there is very little dialogue. And I only wanted to capture so much of Crysta since it feels very otherworldly - especially the crystal blue and the people’s lack of knowledge about their own world.

I will also try to divide the updates as best as I can into ones that focus more on action and dungeons and ones that are more about the world and its inhabitants. In later updates, our pal Professor Wiki will be of great aid to this LP, especially when there is not much else going on. In addition, the German version of the game has some differences in its translation that I will point out whenever I feel that they are particularly interesting.

At the end of each update, I will also tally the crimes / misdemeanors committed by our friend Kark and update his notoriety via the Wanted poster. The reason for this is that Kark is not your typical RPG hero, and some of the things he does are a bit questionable.

Kark: Technically, you are the one making me do them.

Shush!

Finally, I will also try to add any additional material I can find, although concept art for this game seems to be rather sparse. Not to worry, though. I have access to the German Player’s Guide and can entertain you with its magnificent artwork… like these images of our friends Yomi (or “Fluffy”, as he is known to us Germans) and Kark, for example:

  #18  
Old 11-06-2013, 04:20 PM
Tunlan Tunlan is offline
Has shaved and is happy.
 
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: Germany
Posts: 436
Default

Kark’s crimes so far:
  • Vandalism
  • Theft
  • Assault
  • Breaking and entering (opening the blue door)
  • Inciting violent behavior in minors
  • Destruction of public property (a mill)
  • Disturbance of the peace
  • Opening Pandora’s Box
  • Activating a Weapon of Mass Destruction Paralysis


End of Update - NEXT TIME:

> Towering Inferno! - Kark gets his hands on some weapons-grade magirock and breaks into some towers!

Last edited by Tunlan; 11-21-2013 at 01:43 PM.
  #19  
Old 11-06-2013, 09:06 PM
recentteen14 recentteen14 is offline
Manticore Drinking Tea
 
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: I dunno where I am O_o
Posts: 517
Default

I'm liking this already. One thing I would change is stitching the images together so you can fit more into one post, and possibly use closer to the image cap (20 IIRC) per post, but other then that looking good so far.
  #20  
Old 11-06-2013, 09:24 PM
aturtledoesbite aturtledoesbite is offline
earthquake ace
 
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: Baton Rouge, LA
Pronouns: Any
Posts: 18,013
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by recentteen14 View Post
the image cap (20 IIRC)
Plus five.
  #21  
Old 11-07-2013, 12:11 AM
Shifter Chaos Shifter Chaos is offline
Lvl 1 BSEng, Lvl 99 BSer
 
Join Date: Oct 2013
Posts: 208
Default

I am so excited to READ through this game... I really wish this came out here in Canada back in the day, and having seen HCBailly play through it, I was seriously jelly. From one new Let's Player to another, good luck!
  #22  
Old 11-07-2013, 10:06 AM
Tunlan Tunlan is offline
Has shaved and is happy.
 
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: Germany
Posts: 436
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by recentteen14 View Post
One thing I would change is stitching the images together so you can fit more into one post, and possibly use closer to the image cap (20 IIRC) per post, but other then that looking good so far.
Thanks for the info. I will keep that in mind for the next update. I was still editing the text and deleting screenshots during the update, so having multiple screens instead of stitching them together was useful. I don't know why, but I somehow assumed the cap to be around 15. I will try to make the next updates a bit longer (and also a bit more cohesive) now that I know I can include up to 25 images.


Quote:
Originally Posted by Shifter Chaos View Post
I am so excited to READ through this game... I really wish this came out here in Canada back in the day, and having seen HCBailly play through it, I was seriously jelly. From one new Let's Player to another, good luck!
Thank you very much and good luck to you as well! One of the reasons I wanted to do an LP of Terranigma was because I felt that it is a game that a significant number of people either did not play at all or at least did not play when it was released originally.
  #23  
Old 11-07-2013, 10:18 AM
Loki Loki is offline
Your wild heart glitters
 
Join Date: Jun 2007
Pronouns: He/Him
Posts: 17,105
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Tunlan View Post
Stunning!
  #24  
Old 11-09-2013, 04:55 AM
Bunk Moreland Bunk Moreland is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: USA (for now)
Posts: 8,479
Default

I love this game's soundtrack. The actual game is pretty good, too, even if it's not my favorite ARPG. I kind of want to get the Japanese versions of these now that I live in Japan, but to be honest, this one (and Illusion of Gaia) are kind of expensive for SFC games. Soul Blazer's pretty cheap, though.
  #25  
Old 11-09-2013, 09:23 AM
Tunlan Tunlan is offline
Has shaved and is happy.
 
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: Germany
Posts: 436
Default Towering Inferno

Allright! Welcome back to the Adventures of Kark! Today’s challenge: Tower 1. The Tower to end all Towers! Well, not really. That’s probably Tower 2. Or 3-5. Who knows.



This is the overworld map of... the Underworld. The effect on the crystal ceiling is really nice, scrolling as you walk along the ground. I really like it. It gives you a real feeling of claustrophobia. It seems to mirror the overworld, but not necessarily specific locations, I think.

(Music: Underworld)

Off to the tower. Unfortunately, Ark only wears his stylish traveling on the map (and the game’s cover art).



We get a nice establishing shot of the tower, which looks quite foreboding. But at least Kark is having fun!

(Music: Gate)



Classic Kark… Kark has no time for smalltalk! Kark has a village to save!



Testing our fate is what we do best! Let’s go!
  #26  
Old 11-09-2013, 09:29 AM
Tunlan Tunlan is offline
Has shaved and is happy.
 
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: Germany
Posts: 436
Default

Note: This update is sort of heavy on gameplay mechanics. But since there is not much else going on in the first tower, I figured I’d just explain the combat mechanics here.



Oh no! Enemies. What shall we do? Hey, wasn’t there a battle guide in the box? (Spoiler: Yes, there was).

(Music: Tower)





Looking at these screens really hurts my eyes. Must be the transparency + the tiles of the floor within the Box. Yomi needs a new interior decorator.

(Note: I really wish I could share these animations with you, but my recent attempts at capturing them as GIFs have failed miserably. Since I don’t know what the internet etiquette on appropriating other people’s work is in these matters, I’ll just link to a site that has the attacks in GIF form. You can also see the animation of Ark entering Pandora’s Box, which happens every time you press Select.)

Alright, that should do it!

Some personal thoughts on the different attacks. I hope the information is accurate, some of the details are a bit hazy right now. If I am wrong, feel free to correct me:

Attacks do different amounts of damage to different enemies. As the manual explains, “Spinner” generally does more to flying enemies, for example. And the more complex maneuvers - especially “Slider” - do more damage in general.

“Rushing” is quite useful but I rarely use it, since you pretty much have to first push the enemy against a wall and you leave yourself open for attacks by other enemies. (German version fun fact: the German version calls this attack “Amoklauf” - or “Killing Spree”. They probably would not use that word these days…)

“Spinner” is probably the attack I use the least. It never seems quite worth it, damage wise. I’d rather be rushing the enemy and keep on the move with “Slicer” or “Slider”.

“Slicer” is an interesting attack. It is useful because you basically run an enemy through and as long as the attack animation lasts, you are basically invincible (a fact hinted at in the German Player’s Guide). If you time it right, you can be out of an enemy’s attack range, turn around and just slice through them again. You can also use it to dodge attacks in general, even ones that cannot be be blocked with “X-Guard”.

“Slider” (German: “Funkenpflug” - “Spark plough”) is the strongest attack you have. If you look at the screenshots above, you can see that the flame starts out blue and then turns red. Both phases can deal damage, so that you can deal double damage, provided you time it right and the enemy’s hit zone is large enough. In contrast to “Slicer”, however, you can take damage more easily so that sometimes jumping into a group of enemies can lead to you getting trapped in a group of enemies when your attack is interrupted. Nevertheless, it is the attack I use most of the time. Mainly because it looks cool and I never get tired of it.

“X-Guard” is just guarding yourself from projectile attacks. And it works really well for some attacks and is a must for some monsters and bosses. Having an effective way to block is something this game has in common with Illusion of Gaia. I sometimes forget to use it, to be honest. Maybe I am too used to defensive maneuvers in RPGs and Videogames being useless?

The flow of the combat is one of the reasons why I actually enjoy playing this game instead of “sort of rushing through dungeons and hoping the storyline continue soon” - which is what I do with many other RPGs. For me, it is just fun to fight enemies in Terranigma.

Hmmm. Wasn’t there something I was supposed to do? Oh, right. Kill monsters! (In this case, “Purple Huballs”. They are not really noteworthy)



The game kindly shows you the damage you are dealing. And then the enemies explode. So much fun!

Last edited by Tunlan; 11-09-2013 at 10:29 AM.
  #27  
Old 11-09-2013, 09:38 AM
Tunlan Tunlan is offline
Has shaved and is happy.
 
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: Germany
Posts: 436
Default



On the next floor, we find a couple of Huballs and a new enemy type. Hello there, little fella!

Kark: He looks nice! I think I call him Whisp! Let’s be frien...



Kark: Alright, no more Mr. Nice Kark!

Getting toasted stuns Kark for a while. Since he cannot be attacked during this state it doesn't really matter. He can't get stun-locked or anything.

(Now imagine a battle scene too gruesome to be captured in screenshots…)



After quickly dispatching of the Whisp (an act I totally failed to capture), we continue to check out the balcony and find something interesting.

Kark: Hey Yomi! Remember? That was the first Magirock we found! All the fun we had with Magirocks… all the crazy stuff and…

Yomi: Oh, right. And so it begins… I wouldn’t exactly call the whole Magirock / magic thing “fun”, by the way.

Kark: ... So true! Good times!

Kark? Hello? Kark?

Yomi: Don’t bother. I think we lost him…



Killing a Whisp in the center of the room releases a Soul. Souls being depicted as glowing blue-white orbs is of course one of the signature features of the Tenchi Souzou games.

We will encounter quite a few of them throughout our journey, although (mild spoiler) they disappear pretty much after we reach a certain point in the game. And I think it is at that point that the game loses a lot of its Tenchi Souzou-ness.



And releasing the soul helps us advance in the game. The door to the next floor opens!



On the next floor, we find these guys. “Living Statues”. As you can imagine, they are slow, strong and have high defense and HP. Putting our faith in the combat guide, we will use “Rushing” against them after hitting them a couple of times to get them closer to the wall.



Killing them gives us a level-up. And turns the background pink! I wonder what that means? It is a mystery…

(Well, what it means is that I disabled the background layer to make a gif of Kark’s level-up animation and forgot to take ‘real’ screenshots in addition to the ones without the layer).

I won’t show other level-ups in detail, although I might point out significant stat changes. Interestingly enough, the stat changes are not random but rather fixed. For an overview, check out this overview on the Terranigma Shrine. (Note: These may not be completely accurate. I remember reading in one FAQ that in one level-up you actually lose points in one stat and one level later you get 8 points to make up for it, I guess.)

The Strength Mirror in the Box shows us our current stats including the bonus we get from our weapons and armor (+3 each). Keeping track of your stats can be quite important, since leveling in Terranigma is a bit different than it is in other games - or at least the difference between individual levels is.

Sometimes you will reach a new area and only do a single point of damage, but then you level-up once or twice and will deal with enemies easily. I haven’t found a useful breakdown of the stat system online, but I think this description is accurate:

Quote:
Terranigma uses a SUBTRACTIVE system. What's this mean? It means this:

(attack - defense) x constant = damage

This doesn't work out too well. A single levelup often means the difference between doing 1 damage per hit to something and doing 10. If you're 2 levels behind, you may be slowly killing monsters at 1 damage per strike for a while, praying that you'll gain a level before you die. Then, when you hit the right level, those monsters suddenly die in a few seconds.
(Information taken from: http://www.gamefaqs.com/snes/588784-...s/review-12886)

Since our pal the “Living Statue” (who is called “Chaos Guardian” in German, which I think sounds more awesome) has 22 HP and we do 1 or 2 with “Rushing”, you can see that suddenly doing 6 or 8 damage would make a huge difference.

As far as I can tell, the same is true for enemy attacks. During my last playthrough I used a cheat to raise my defense to the highest possible stat, and even lower level enemies still did more than 1 point of damage, which indicates that they have a minimum amount of damage they will always deal, no matter how god-like Kark has become by that point.

Well, I think that’s it for today and… oh, right. We still have a tower to complete. Ooops.

Last edited by Tunlan; 11-11-2013 at 02:51 AM. Reason: Edited because How the heck did I manage to major in English and still make so many mistakes?
  #28  
Old 11-09-2013, 09:45 AM
Tunlan Tunlan is offline
Has shaved and is happy.
 
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: Germany
Posts: 436
Default

Back to the tower climbing!



Another kindly soul tells us that there is more to life to killing.

Kark: Yeah, well, that’s just, like, your opinion, man.

Ignoring the soul for now we instead spy a treasure chest! The chest contains an S. Bulb, which restores some of our HP. Incidentally, that reminds me of something important I forgot so far:



Pressing the L Button while hovering over an item explains its use. Many weapons have special abilities. In the case of our Crystal Spear it constantly heals us. Which is why we won’t need to rely too much on healing items for the time being!



Oh, what’s that?! Someone broke a window and Kark’s not responsible? Heresy! (Or something like that)



And we get to climb up the outside of the tower! I have nothing to add here, really. I just love the graphics.

What I did not point out yet, however, is the way the location titles fly in. This also seems to be the reason why it is almost impossible to change the terrible 16x16 spacing of the game’s font to make looking at the text more bearable. There is a Romhack that is supposed to fix the text, but all it did was break my game.



On the next floor, we fight some more Huballs (“H�llenschrecker” - “Hell Frighteners”(?)*), get some more Magirock, …

Kark: Alright!

…jump down some ledges, and destroy some statues.

(*German translators - some of whom also published the German version of Nintendo Power - were sort of notorious for their flowery translation - especially of creature / enemy names. I don’t know if they more accurately reflect the Japanese names, but I quite often find them more interesting and creative.)



On to the next floor!



Oh, look. Some guy. He looks important!



Kark: Thanks for the info, Guardian-man! Keep up the good work. Guarding things. From someone. Somehow. Well, I think we should be…



Kark: Damn.

(Music: Boss)



So Kark gets to kill some Red Huballs. I mainly use Slider for this. First I try to lure them so around so that they stand in a line and then slide through them. Again, the damage effect makes it difficult to capture this. All you can see is the damage Kark does. If you like, feel free to imagine that Kark is blindly stabbing the air. Stupid air! What a jerk…

Last edited by Tunlan; 11-09-2013 at 10:36 AM.
  #29  
Old 11-09-2013, 09:52 AM
Tunlan Tunlan is offline
Has shaved and is happy.
 
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: Germany
Posts: 436
Default



Well, helping Earth is somehow going to help the village of Crysta. So let’s go and resurrect the planet!



This had better be good…



And it is. It truly, truly is. I highly recommend watching the video, but if you can’t or don’t want to, here is a summary:

We start with the planet Earth descending on Kark in a strange chamber while the symbols of the Zodiac float in the background. After all of that, can you honestly blame the guy for having a bit of a god complex? He is holding the world in his hands. Should HE be the one to have this power? No. Definitely not. But it’s too late for that!

Kark: Gee, thanks for the vote of confidence…

Hey, my job won't be done until the header image of this LP - you sitting on top of the world - frightens people.

(Music: Stars)



We then zoom out from the Earth. After that, an image of the continent we are currently resurrecting fades in. Meanwhile, the music that is playing has a sort of lullaby-like vibe to it.

(Music: The Gift)



We then get a nice shot of snow falling which turns into a scenic view of the Himalayan mountain range.

(Music: Awakening of Earth)



Finally, the continent is added to the world map - which right now is quite empty. I always liked the way the statement is phrased. It has something very historic about it.

Quote:
Professor Wiki Info: I think the statue might be the Buddha statue at Bodh Gaya, in India. Could be a different statue, of course. The other image is most likely a temple of Ancient Greece, like this temple of Hera at Selinunte. Any correction / clarification is appreciated!
Thanks Prof. Wiki!

(Music: Underworld theme, again)

Terranigma’s cutscenes are probably some of the most stunning I have ever seen, particularly in the context of the game. Their look is just so different from what you are used to when playing SNES games and they provide a nice contrast to the rest of the game’s graphics, which are more conventional.



Oh, and finally finally, we get a shot of some of the people we have resurrected with our actions. In case you forgot: These are the four slave laborers embroidering girls, Elle and Elle’s mother.

Kark: Score! Elle is back! Whelp, I am done with this!

What? I… hmmm… Well, we’ll see…

Last edited by Tunlan; 11-09-2013 at 10:39 AM. Reason: Professor Wiki Stuff added
  #30  
Old 11-09-2013, 09:56 AM
Tunlan Tunlan is offline
Has shaved and is happy.
 
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: Germany
Posts: 436
Default

We are not quite done yet!

After getting kicked out of the tower (probably for breaking the window. Which we totally did not do!), we go back to Crysta to talk to some of those recently revived people:



(I just noticed that the music has now changed back to the Crysta theme. FYI.)

Being frozen seems to be quite similar to being asleep. The whole idea of people feeling as if they had been asleep for a long time is mirrored later in the story.



Kark: At last! Some recognition for my good deeds!

You mean for fixing the mistake you originally made?



I am sure that will come in handy later.

Well, I think we should go on to the next tower…

Kark: Nope. As I said: Elle is saved. I am done here. There is nothing you can do to convince me to keep going with this.

Hmmm. Too bad. Oh well.

Hey, remember that Magirock you picked up? I wonder if there is something we can use it for…



Oh, look! A Magishop! Hmm, FireRing and IceRing. Do you desire that, Kark? Do you?

Kark: I… fine, I’d really like a FireRing. Still, there is no way you can convince me to…

(Obvious jump cut joke in 3 - 2 - 1: )



Kark: Wheeeeeeeeeeee!

Yomi: *sigh* I hold you responsible for this, you know?

Remember Yomi: FireRings don’t kill people. People kill people…

Yomi: You are both insane….
< 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 >
Top