I seem to recall that I went into what something like that means. It was one page back, even. It was a spammy post. I'm surprised it could easily be missed.
And I have seen several points in this thread where people have let their hate for Rean completely blind them to points of foreshadowing.
I seem to recall that I went into what something like that means. It was one page back, even. It was a spammy post. I'm surprised it could easily be missed.
And I have seen several points in this thread where people have let their hate for Rean completely blind them to points of foreshadowing.
The foreshadowing of his self sacrificing flaws is so obvious and overt that im not even bothering to talk about it
Its not interesting either that his core character flaw is blantantly telegraphed anyways.
Im trying to dig for interesting aspects here. Maybe they will do something crazy with that particular thread but its clear when they dropped those lines from Jusis and Laura that they werent going to double down on it anytime soon
Because it's CS2, I've been trying to hint throughout the thread that you get a lot of changes for Rean in that game, whereas CS is a lot of setup. This is what I've been trying to say for the whole thread. lol
I mean, if you want to judge Estelle based on FC alone, she'd come across as a ditzy, vapid heroine that needs Joshua to resolve most everything, when SC teaches you absolutely otherwise and turns her into the amazing heroine she is.
In a game that's clearly the first part of two, it's kind of silly to make 100% judgment on a character when the first game isn't even finished. Especially in a case where Rean is far, far more integral to the plot. Estelle was involved in FC/SC, but because she chose to be.
Rean is only involved because he's part of it, even though he doesn't want to be. That's the difference.
Because it's CS2, I've been trying to hint throughout the thread that you get a lot of changes for Rean in that game, whereas CS is a lot of setup. This is what I've been trying to say for the whole thread. lol
I mean, if you want to judge Estelle based on FC alone, she'd come across as a ditzy, vapid heroine that needs Joshua to resolve most everything, when SC teaches you absolutely otherwise and turns her into the amazing heroine she is.
In a game that's clearly the first part of two, it's kind of silly to make 100% judgment on a character when the first game isn't even finished. Especially in a case where Rean is far, far more integral to the plot. Estelle was involved in FC/SC, but because she chose to be.
Rean is only involved because he's part of it, even though he doesn't want to be. That's the difference.
Beat the game last night. Was up WAAAAAY later than I expected to be.
Anyhow, time for a ton of black bars.
The festival stuff was fun, even if I felt it did last a bit long. I thought that the concert itself was kinda disappointing. The game really could have either had an anime scene for the concert, or done a bit more with it. It really felt like Falcom biting off more than it could chew in many regards. Like they wanted to do more with it, but just couldn't.
In more important character stuff though
I ran around like a madman on the 24th trying to find Alan and Bridget. Finally found them on the roof of the school. Ya did it you crazy kids, you did it. Probably one of my most satisfying moments in the game honestly.
What the game did almost better than TitS is the NPC arcs. Because the game was set in a school, you just had a lot more time with a lot of the characters. That makes it especially moving
post WMD attack. Seeing everyone's reacltion and how listless the campus felt after the destruction of Garrelia reminded me of how things felt post 9/11. Falcom did an amazing job of capturing that feeling of not knowing what was going on, waiting for news, waiting to see what is going to happen next, how everyone's life will change, etc.
And that ending. Man waiting for CSII is gonna be painful, but it should be out this year at least.
I think CS gives you more of the main cast now because you're going to need it by the end. Trust me. This structure is part of what makes the cliffhanger and CS2 such a good game.
Rean is going to have some opportunities to show himself, but you'll definitely see it more in the next game.
I can't really go into it more because of CS2 spoilers. As I said, he's ensnared by the plot, whether he wants it or not.
Speaking of Rean foreshadowing, certainly people didn't miss the part where he said he was going to have to use a (ch. 1)
hidden move on the gargoyle. I highly doubt that was his S-Craft, given that we have already seen his S-Craft in the prologue and it was a remarkably normal flaming sword strike. Plus, the camera zoomed in on his eye in a kind of suspicious way.
What I mean is that those elements are often folded into one character. She doesn't have that dark past so her character doesn't have the problem of multiple aspects clashing. They don't have to spend time developing that for her and folks don't have to associate it with her either. All you see is her journey of growth which is largely a positive journey to most people. Sure, she has some flaws but they're relatively minor and aren't vying for time on screen at the expense of the good stuff. If anything, they improve her character more than they really detract.
The more facets a character has, the more complex it becomes to write them. That's often the downfall of a lot of RPG protagonists. There are too many balls to juggle so writers just end up dropping some of them at some point.
Hm, I can't think of a time where emotional complexity or having a past full with intrigue was the downfall of an RPG protagonist, unless you could supply some examples for me. Most I can think of have been simple to the point of being insulting.
I can see where you're coming from where having a multifaceted past can in a sense "choke" character progression into a single route or style. Estelle isn't fighting against her past or anything like that, so largely what you see is what she is... but that's perfectly fine. I would still hesitate on calling Estelle's negative traits "minor" though, in the context of the story it's ingrained to her dialogue so it feels a bit too general of a statement...
Asbel is stupid, gullible and feels completely useless unless he's protecting his friends (which sounds innocuous enough but the game beats this character trait repeatedly into the ground). He's a walking, talking anime cliche who brings down the IQ of the rest of the cast just by being in the same room as them (and since the rest of the cast isn't terribly bright either, that's saying something).
Asbel is stupid, gullible and feels completely useless unless he's protecting his friends (which sounds innocuous enough but the game beats this character trait repeatedly into the ground). He's a walking, talking anime cliche who brings down the IQ of the rest of the cast just by being in the same room as them (and since the rest of the cast isn't terribly bright either, that's saying something).
There's a few good ones but the series has just gotten worse as its gone on, recycling the same themes and concepts. I'd say the last one I really enjoyed was Tales of Vesperia, and that's mostly because its lead doesn't fall into the most obnoxious tropes.
There's a few good ones but the series has just gotten worse as its gone on, recycling the same themes and concepts. I'd say the last one I really enjoyed was Tales of Vesperia, and that's mostly because its lead doesn't fall into the most obnoxious tropes.
Grrr that game had one of the best starts and worst turn around ever
And i was seriously bummed that Yuri was plot bound to the fucking blonde(or pink can't remember) right after he clicked so well with the wyrmrider chick
Yup. As solid as Vesperia is, it fell into the same trap most Tales games fall into, which is that the last third is always the weakest and feels the most tacked-on.
I am only in chapter 3, but so far I like Rean. To me he is believable. I like it that he isn't overtly arrogant, and not an asshole. He knows his situation and he deals with it without bitching and moaning about it. I also really like that he is pretty quick on the uptake realizing things that the player realizes. That was probably my biggest gripe with Estelle, like even painfully obvious stuff was completely over her head, though I guess she was at least consistent. I like a character to show growth, and it seems that Rean does that so far. And I feel like he is self-aware enough to realize that, spoiler tagged just in case,
they are grooming him as the leader of the group and for potentially more, and as such he needs to act the way he does.
I guess a lot of this can change as the game goes on, but so far I definitely disagree with him being blank.
Yup. As solid as Vesperia is, it fell into the same trap most Tales games fall into, which is that the last third is always the weakest and feels the most tacked-on.
Hm, I can't think of a time where emotional complexity or having a past full with intrigue was the downfall of an RPG protagonist, unless you could supply some examples for me. Most I can think of have been simple to the point of being insulting.
I can see where you're coming from where having a multifaceted past can in a sense "choke" character progression into a single route or style. Estelle isn't fighting against her past or anything like that, so largely what you see is what she is... but that's perfectly fine. I would still hesitate on calling Estelle's negative traits "minor" though, in the context of the story it's ingrained to her dialogue so it feels a bit too general of a statement...
It's not the downfall of the character in the story but more so in the view of the players.
I'd say Tidus from FFX is one of those characters who's past issues were a big reason folks didn't like him at all despite his in general attitude being not too bad. Squall is a good example of how it adversely affects the personality of the character.
There are probably more but those are the ones that come to mind right away. It's a bit easier with anime because of how much more anime there is.
And yeah, that's the reason why Estelle is so popular. There's nothing wrong with it but it's just a unfair comparison to put another side by side with her. The writers don't have to wrestle with her characterization. I think her flaws are pretty minor on the scope of what we're talking about. If we're strictly talking about her character and personality, then they aren't. But in the overall scope, they don't hinder the goodwill towards her character like say Tidus' daddy issues and other stuff does for him, lol.
Asbel is stupid, gullible and feels completely useless unless he's protecting his friends (which sounds innocuous enough but the game beats this character trait repeatedly into the ground). He's a walking, talking anime cliche who brings down the IQ of the rest of the cast just by being in the same room as them (and since the rest of the cast isn't terribly bright either, that's saying something).
Actually I've grown to love Asbel after watching a few Tales of Festival live skits where everyone, including his seiyuu, makes fun of his character for mamoru-ing
"You're forbidden from saying protect!"
"What?! Are you saying I can't say anything at all?!"
Actually I've grown to love Asbel after watching a few Tales of Festival live skits where everyone, including his seiyuu, makes fun of his character for mamoru-ing
"You're forbidden from saying protect!"
"What?! Are you saying I can't say anything at all?!"
No wonder Elliott's S-Craft seemed so weak. I was wondering about that, since Kloe's S-craft in SC was weak as shit too. Do they change the formula to use ATS for those characters in CS2?
No wonder Elliott's S-Craft seemed so weak. I was wondering about that, since Kloe's S-craft in SC was weak as shit too. Do they change the formula to use ATS for those characters in CS2?
He's at least in that general vicinity. He's certainly not as bad as the worst examples of light novel protagonists, but he definitely has a few too many of the typical bits those characters have. But he's nowhere near as bad as a character like Shirou.
He's at least in that general vicinity. He's certainly not as bad as the worst examples of light novel protagonists, but he definitely has a few too many of the typical bits those characters have. But he's nowhere near as bad as a character like Shirou.
Rean is kind of boring, but he's pretty inoffensive when compared to more egregious JRPG protagonists. I think his VA does a nice job too. He could be way more grating with a different read.
If you think that bad then you'll like the festival chapter even more. The second game is better by a bit but in some boss cutscenes it's like a slideshow whenever there's a lot of aura effects and explosions.
I like Rean. He's not your typical gung-ho anime protagonist (that would be Lloyd over in Crossbell as far as I know). He's indecisive, mellow, lets other people push him around, but at the same time he isn't a reserved introvert; he steps forward to get things done when they need to be done and he loves his friends to a fault, to the point where he makes them feel awkward and they feel uncomfortable around him. It's funny how he doesn't realize this, either, because there's a few times when others are overtly cheesy in their "we're friends and friends stick together" sort of lines, and Rean feels just as uncomfortable, then gets called out for it. He doesn't like being called leader, or being roped into Student Council, or any of that. I really get the sense that Rean just wants to go to Thors and blend in while living a normal life, but his desire to be nice to other people supercedes that. It's also not fair to compare him to Estelle, who has had two games of character growth, while we've only seen the one here. And then there's the ending,
where Rean most definitely gains a character specific "quirk" and shows some real, raw emotion when he's forced to leave his friends behind. In fact, his relationship with Crow was one of the best in the game. The two of them really felt like they had a nice junior/senior relationship, and the scene at the festival cemented that. Rean sounded like his feelings were destroyed when he found out what kind of person Crow really is.
He comes off as a teenager who doesn't know what he wants from life, and this especially shows in him letting other people decide things for him all the time and wanting to pander to other people's desires. It also ties directly into his self stated reason for coming to Thors in the first place.
The tension between Crossbell and Erebonia (and Calvard, for that matter) has always been there. With the events transpiring at the end of Cold Steel, the focus shifts drastically from international affairs to domestic affairs, as you might understand. For that reason, Crossbell isn't much of a focus in Cold Steel II. Unlike the outward focused Erebonia, always looking for opportunities to expand, Crossbell is more concerned with itself and its freedom, and thus declares its independence during Cold Steel's Chapter 6. Of course, before and after that Crossbell has its own share of affairs, much like Erebonia will have in Cold Steel II.
Without resorting to spoilers, does that make some sort of sense?
What made it so obvious to you? Because it wasn't if you would've come from Ao.
This thread of black bars remind me of the (Trails in the Sky SC endgame spoiler)
It was way too easy to put two and two together. Here are the clues:
-Someone told me the cover art of CSII's OST is a spoiler
-His name is C
-Crow conveniently disappears
-Crow joins at the same time as Millium, who works for The Reformists, so it would make sense for him to join as an insert for the opposing faction (the characters also hint something is up with this)
-He's not with the protagonists in any Cold Steel II promo art
Ya know I was gonna whine soooo hard if in CS2 ya didn't get ta pilot mechas but it turns out I dun gotta worry about it, an even got to give it a try earlier then expected!
Instead of dancing with Laura I spent my time after the party with Crow.
I made a huge mistake.
Oh ya... nearly 68 hours. Despite being such a small game, the animation skipping, and fast travel, this ended up being the second longest rpg I've played with DQVIII coming up just ahead of it. Dun even wanna imagine how long it takes peeps who run around doing all the side stuff an npc chattin'!
Towa was overly important in this game for doing very little plot wise.
Just for some clarification, if anyone knows:
Did Crow, Angelica, Towa and George make up Class VI? Is that why they went from V to VII? They mention doing field studies the year before, and testing the ARCUS units, but they don't ever really expand on their relationship beyond that and being friends.
Towa was overly important in this game for doing very little plot wise.
Just for some clarification, if anyone knows:
Did Crow, Angelica, Towa and George make up Class VI? Is that why they went from V to VII? They mention doing field studies the year before, and testing the ARCUS units, but they don't ever really expand on their relationship beyond that and being friends.
