Baten Kaitos I&II HD Remaster (14th September 2023)

[EEVILMURRAY]

On 11/4/2023 at 7:57 AM, darksnowman said:

Didn't notice/ do that but I'm not surprised it's in there because those people need no excuse. Earth Children had to flee their homes? Let's celebrate!

I did Lyude's quest last night, which the smaller battles were fun but I knew I had to end up using Lyude in the main battle so started loading up his deck ready for the battle.

Started Mizuti's and it took so many attempts to do that first floor puzzle. I just could not get the timing right. Did the floor below also before retreating back up to level up/class up Mizuti. 

I love the skull equips, +99 resistance to stuff and it only confuses me? Couldn't give a shit about the card numbers, great trade off.

[darksnowman]

I avoided pretty much all battles in Lyude's because I couldn't handle the torment, so what must it have been like for him.  

20 minutes ago, EEVILMURRAY said:

Started Mizuti's and it took so many attempts to do that first floor puzzle. I just could not get the timing right. Did the floor below also before retreating back up to level up/class up Mizuti. 

I love the skull equips, +99 resistance to stuff and it only confuses me? Couldn't give a shit about the card numbers, great trade off.

Is it getting the old grey matter going? Mizuti's was the last one for me, and as I've mentioned, when I saw it and since my party was set, I wanted out of there toot sweet but Corellia forbid me passage to Cor Hydrae unless I did it. 

Haha, yes, I had gaps in the equips but there was something where confusion was the trade-off. I'd no qualms about equipping it either. Unless there were equipment pickups in the final dungeon I probably finished the game in confused status. Worth it.

Edited November 9, 2023 by darksnowman

[EEVILMURRAY]

21 minutes ago, darksnowman said:

I avoided pretty much all battles in Lyude's because I couldn't handle the torment, so what must it have been like for him.  

Apart from the final battle, I think I only used him for the 1-2 enemies before I realised I know it's going to switch him in, so thought I might as well rearrange his tat to the best identical looking brass/woodwind instruments. Which I'm glad I did because Kalas got hit by a death ray, and unfortunately does not have a skull thing yet to equip to him.

[darksnowman]

23 hours ago, EEVILMURRAY said:

Apart from the final battle, I think I only used him for the 1-2 enemies before I realised I know it's going to switch him in, so thought I might as well rearrange his tat to the best identical looking brass/woodwind instruments. Which I'm glad I did because Kalas got hit by a death ray, and unfortunately does not have a skull thing yet to equip to him.

The order I did them in was Xelha > Gibari > Savyna > Lyude so since Savyna and her pass card deck got auto-subbed in previously, that was all the nudge I needed to get Lyude in too. Actually, Savyna's boss was the closest I came to wiping out after Jack who came back for a mo in the cabin on the hill. It was a battle of attrition with her face-down in the sand for the duration, so at least with Lyude I cobbled together some semblance of a functional deck in the hopes he'd chip in as a support act. Don't remember any death ray so it must have been a quick win!

[EEVILMURRAY]

8 hours ago, darksnowman said:

The order I did them in was Xelha > Gibari > Savyna > Lyude so since Savyna and her pass card deck got auto-subbed in previously, that was all the nudge I needed to get Lyude in too. Actually, Savyna's boss was the closest I came to wiping out after Jack who came back for a mo in the cabin on the hill. It was a battle of attrition with her face-down in the sand for the duration, so at least with Lyude I cobbled together some semblance of a functional deck in the hopes he'd chip in as a support act. Don't remember any death ray so it must have been a quick win!

I think that's the order I've done too. Before I dipped back into the tower I thought I'd see if I could skip it as per your request, but if I tried to go to the final bit, Mizuti would chime in that her peeps need saving. Maybe once you start a thread you have to fulfil it. I didn't try it after just finishing one, so maybe it is possible.

[darksnowman]

17 hours ago, EEVILMURRAY said:

I think that's the order I've done too. Before I dipped back into the tower I thought I'd see if I could skip it as per your request, but if I tried to go to the final bit, Mizuti would chime in that her peeps need saving. Maybe once you start a thread you have to fulfil it. I didn't try it after just finishing one, so maybe it is possible.

Thanks for double-checking that. I wonder if they can be skipped prior to having a wee keek at them first. How was the return to Zomsa for you? Maybe I'm giving Mizuti's sidequest short shrift because Savyna's would likely be an annoyance if left to last, too. And Xelha's doors.

[Hero-of-Time]

I really need to get back to this. The performance of the game seems really rough. I can't remember if it was like that on the Cube or whether this port is just a bit rubbish. Knowing Namco, it's probably the latter.

[Glen-i]

4 minutes ago, Hero-of-Time said:

I really need to get back to this. The performance of the game seems really rough. I can't remember if it was like that on the Cube or whether this port is just a bit rubbish. Knowing Namco, it's probably the latter.

It fluctuates and dips a lot more then the Gamecube version.

[darksnowman]

The best slowdown is right at the end.

[EEVILMURRAY]

4 hours ago, darksnowman said:

Thanks for double-checking that. I wonder if they can be skipped prior to having a wee keek at them first. How was the return to Zomsa for you? Maybe I'm giving Mizuti's sidequest short shrift because Savyna's would likely be an annoyance if left to last, too. And Xelha's doors.

I think the boss was alright, just a couple of the puzzles being aggravating of not just walking out and walking back in, but having to sometimes go all the way back to the entrance to top up on more fire, and one of the dog things is always on one of the lift tiles.

In Cor Hydrae naow, and been shafted by Malpercio thrice before loading up the autosave. I did the body gods without issue and levelled up after each one, and first form Malpercio wasn't too bad. But his final form I can't get a handle on. So I'm going to do some training (gonna aim for maybe 5 levels), which is kinda on me because I avoided every large monster on my way around this dungeon, but having to do 5 boss battles and then another 2 stager is exhausting.

Edited November 11, 2023 by EEVILMURRAY

[darksnowman]

4 hours ago, EEVILMURRAY said:

I think the boss was alright, just a couple of the puzzles being aggravating of not just walking out and walking back in, but having to sometimes go all the way back to the entrance to top up on more fire, and one of the dog things is always on one of the lift tiles.

Yeah the boss was a joke. It was the getting there I wasn't a fan of. I don't know if I was thinking about the puzzles wrong but it seemed like one wrong move meant resetting the room. It was very tedious.

4 hours ago, EEVILMURRAY said:

In Cor Hydrae naow, and been shafted by Malpercio thrice before loading up the autosave. I did the body gods without issue and levelled up after each one, and first form Malpercio wasn't too bad. But his final form I can't get a handle on. So I'm going to do some training (gonna aim for maybe 5 levels), which is kinda on me because I avoided every large monster on my way around this dungeon, but having to do 5 boss battles and then another 2 stager is exhausting.

Would have said if you get that far you'd be good to see it out. Likewise in Cor Hydrae I avoided pretty much all encounters though those Master's Hands things gave me the run around quite a few times. Being the final area, it's likely a good spot for experience if you need it. Blue flower at the entrance was it? No idea if five levels more is a good goal. I'd just try to judge it on how quick it is to level to get a feel for where the game expects you to be. 

Not sure if you remember from the GC but there's a lengthy wrap-up when you emerge victorious in Cor Hydrae so you don't want to be too tuckered out because it's not exactly cutscene + roll credits.

[EEVILMURRAY]

4 hours ago, darksnowman said:

 

Would have said if you get that far you'd be good to see it out. Likewise in Cor Hydrae I avoided pretty much all encounters though those Master's Hands things gave me the run around quite a few times. Being the final area, it's likely a good spot for experience if you need it. Blue flower at the entrance was it? No idea if five levels more is a good goal. I'd just try to judge it on how quick it is to level to get a feel for where the game expects you to be. 

Not sure if you remember from the GC but there's a lengthy wrap-up when you emerge victorious in Cor Hydrae so you don't want to be too tuckered out because it's not exactly cutscene + roll credits.

Aye Blue at the entrance, done 1 level for the important people ready. May try one more and then try Malpercio again. Seeing at how much fisting it took for 1 level, 5 levels is a bit optimistic.

[darksnowman]

On 12/11/2023 at 12:52 AM, EEVILMURRAY said:

Aye Blue at the entrance, done 1 level for the important people ready. May try one more and then try Malpercio again. Seeing at how much fisting it took for 1 level, 5 levels is a bit optimistic.

Did you make any better of a fist at it after some bumping and grinding? Xelha will be getting very, er, moist if you get it over the line.

My last autosave has me at lvl 66.

[EEVILMURRAY]

5 hours ago, darksnowman said:

Did you make any better of a fist at it after some bumping and grinding? Xelha will be getting very, er, moist if you get it over the line.

My last autosave has me at lvl 66.

I did a small tour and got the main peeps up one level. I think 5 was a bit ambitious... I'll need to double check my levels, but I think Kalas/Savyna/Mizuti/Gibari are mid 60's, Lyude and Xelha are about 58, because fuck 'em

[darksnowman]

19 hours ago, EEVILMURRAY said:

I did a small tour and got the main peeps up one level. I think 5 was a bit ambitious... I'll need to double check my levels, but I think Kalas/Savyna/Mizuti/Gibari are mid 60's, Lyude and Xelha are about 58, because fuck 'em

Did you regularly dodge enemies up until now? I cashed in all the levels I'd gathered up until Cor Hydrae but otherwise did minimal battling in there. I was concerned a classic divided party section was in the offing and didn't want to be snookered if I couldn't return to the blue flower. I was prepared to be in there for the long haul but when we sent the mini-bosses packing with minimal fuss, it was straight onto Malpercio. No hesitating, especially as he caused me no bother in the previous incarnation.  

Makes it all the more intriguing how we struggled with different bosses.

Did Quzman not give you an Ultimate Card for the family tree?? Don't forget to make sure you've your strongest equips on.

The battle after took me an embarrassingly long time because attack cards just weren't coming out. This is the one with quality slowdown and the hits you take are barely a scratch—would hardly blame you if you've forgotten it since the GC. The way things have gone, you'll likely have that one done in a single round.

Edited November 14, 2023 by darksnowman
;)

[EEVILMURRAY]

12 minutes ago, darksnowman said:

Did you regularly dodge enemies up until now? I cashed in all the levels I'd gathered up until Cor Hydrae but otherwise did minimal battling in there. I was concerned a classic divided party section was in the offing and didn't want to be snookered if I couldn't return to the blue flower. I was prepared to be in there for the long haul but when we sent the mini-bosses packing with minimal fuss, it was straight onto Malpercio. No hesitating, especially as he caused me no bother in the previous incarnation.  

Makes it all the more intriguing how we struggled with different bosses.

Did Quzman not give you an Ultimate Card for the family tree?? Don't forget to make sure you've your strongest equips on.

The battle after took me an embarrassingly long time because attack cards just weren't coming out. This is the one with quality slowdown and the hits you take are barely a scratch—would hardly blame you if you've forgotten it since the GC. The way things have gone, you'll likely have that one done in a single round.

No I mainly took the enemies as they came beforehand, after doing a couple more enemies last night I took Kalas to level 70 and Mizuti and Savyna on 69, but mainly getting some good cards while I was at it, so Mizuti has some beefier spells and Savyna has stronger things to punch with. Maybe it was just my wank decks that were hindering me. I'll give it a go tonight and see how it pays off

I've not done much on the family tree to be honest, I think I've filled 3 portions and that was it. Anyone I came across that needed something I couldn't be bothered to try some stuff/look at an FAQ. 

Just checked on where to get Kalas' Skull Buckle, so may swing by there first so they've all got head swirly things.

[darksnowman]

28 minutes ago, EEVILMURRAY said:

No I mainly took the enemies as they came beforehand, after doing a couple more enemies last night I took Kalas to level 70 and Mizuti and Savyna on 69, but mainly getting some good cards while I was at it, so Mizuti has some beefier spells and Savyna has stronger things to punch with. Maybe it was just my wank decks that were hindering me. I'll give it a go tonight and see how it pays off

I've not done much on the family tree to be honest, I think I've filled 3 portions and that was it. Anyone I came across that needed something I couldn't be bothered to try some stuff/look at an FAQ. 

Just checked on where to get Kalas' Skull Buckle, so may swing by there first so they've all got head swirly things.

Sounds like the donkeywork's done so you should waltz through with those kinds of levels. Weed out your lesser cards and it's a foregone conclusion.

[EEVILMURRAY]

On 14/11/2023 at 8:53 AM, darksnowman said:

Sounds like the donkeywork's done so you should waltz through with those kinds of levels. Weed out your lesser cards and it's a foregone conclusion.

I did try once and looking at an FAQ I know he had 20k health, counting along, once I got to about 12k he started the other attacks. That life draining sword attack ruined me, spammed it like crazy.

I thought I would give it one last try before doing some more levelling up, this time I managed it, he only used the leeching attack once or twice so I only had to do a small bit of catching up, previous battles he pretty much healed more than I did him in previous turns.

The end thing I certainly forgot about, bit silly, but not too bad.

A solid game 

[darksnowman]

Yeah, retrying was my approach to those previous encounters that gave me bother—it always seemed to be down to how battles went rather than levels. I'd played Legend of FF II not long before where dying just meant reloading until victory, so I may have carried some of that mentality over as the random nature of the card battles sort of followed on from the random way battles go in SaGa. Glad to hear you got through it. Malpercio didn't hit me too hard and I always had a green tea or something in someone's hand to top up when he tried something. 

How'd you enjoy the ending(s)? The twist was pretty pointless but all's well that ends well.

Agreed that it's very solid. Some things I'd change and improve but can't be too critical overall. Any gripes don't overshadow all the variety and good aspects of it.

Well now they've released you, is it straight on to Origins?

[EEVILMURRAY]

2 hours ago, darksnowman said:

Well now they've released you, is it straight on to Origins?

Nah, bought Ori on sale so going to have some casual Metroidvania action before going into another RPG

[EEVILMURRAY]

I started Baten Kaitos Origins yesterday. About 30ish mins in and had a few battles and I'm the battle system is weird... There hasn't been any tutorial on it and the help menu is bollocks. There doesn't seem to be a highlighted specific window to pick cards, so I'm not sure if I'm picking attacks to attack or whatever. I picked a leather vest for defence during an enemy attack, then used it during my attack.

[darksnowman]

23 hours ago, EEVILMURRAY said:

I started Baten Kaitos Origins yesterday. 

What's the hurry, MURRAY? I didn't expect Origins to be on the docket this soon. Looks like I'll be playing catch-up. Don't know what the deal is with the battle system in it but I'd expect it to be refined in some way after the first. Glad to hear there's been a few battles inside the first 30 mins.

[EEVILMURRAY]

7 hours ago, darksnowman said:

What's the hurry, MURRAY? I didn't expect Origins to be on the docket this soon. Looks like I'll be playing catch-up. Don't know what the deal is with the battle system in it but I'd expect it to be refined in some way after the first. Glad to hear there's been a few battles inside the first 30 mins.

Refined my anus, it lets you know who is going next, and you can discard from your hand mid battle, but the moment where you can actually select cards remains a mystery.

The missus didn't bother buying Peach Showtime, and I completed Jedi Fallen Order, so I decided to fire it up 😎

[bob]

On 08/04/2024 at 11:23 PM, EEVILMURRAY said:

Refined my anus

 

What does this involve? Is it some sort of surgery? Or a cream?

[Sheikah]

 
What does this involve? Is it some sort of surgery? Or a cream?

Whatever the situation, his anus knows who's going next.