Let's Play: Kagero: Deception II

Elfir · #61 06-27-2008, 06:08 AM

Don't let Deadmoon escape!! Oh and pump the fatman full of Triple Arrows please? If nobody else has suggestions to use up the rest, I kinda want to see what Rolling Bomb is like...

I liked this update. Pants had to put more effort into her hobby.

Zithuan · #62 06-27-2008, 12:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zarathustra

Your opinion may've been colored by these assholes.

When I worked at EBGames, that music video was featured on "EBTV" one month, so every 2 hours... I'd hear the song again. Sadly, that was one of the relatively better songs we had to suffer through.

It was so dumb for Tecmo to change the name from the Japanese original: Kagero II: Dark Illusion. As a fan of the series, working in a game store, and looking at the upcoming releases list on a daily basis, the name "Trapt" didn't even register as anything to care about. It wasn't until the manager's meeting that year, when I found Tecmo's booth and asked if they were ever going to make another Deception game that I found out.

Elfir · #63 06-27-2008, 12:45 PM

Took a glance at the gamefaqs reviews for that one: More of the same! Yaaay! Except Princess Allura is the main character. :/

Zithuan · #64 06-27-2008, 05:57 PM

Not many trap requests after last chapter, but there was a 2nd request for Rolling Bomb, and I also picked up the oldest entry in the backlog: Power Magnet.

Hornstein: What do you mean?

Deadmoon: Maybe they’re all dead.

Hornstein: You must be kidding.

Deadmoon: I am kidding, but… something’s wrong.

Deadmoon: Let’s check out the rest of the castle.

Hornstein: You go if you want… I’ll wait here.

Hornstein: I will not willingly antagonize the King.

Deadmoon: Do as you wish.

PANTS starts in the throne room, and it looks like it’s just Deadmoon for now.

Deadmoon: HAGANE! I will be able to use you, after all.

Deadmoon’s ranged attack is a homing energy ball that can’t simply be sidestepped. Hagane is a ninja, which means he is the fastest enemy seen so far, can hide like Statz could, and even has a ranged attack.

PANTS runs to the corner where the Power Magnet is set up, and catches herself and Deadmoon in it. While immobilized, you can still set off traps, so Deadmoon takes a Spring Floor powered trip to the floor spikes in the King’s throne room. Why does he even have those there? I can imagine the king holding court and a random guard or nobleman getting impaled.

Seeing how slow he is to get up, I realize there’s no point in starting the Spike Rock rolling; a 2nd Floor Spike hit will finish him off. Odd choice of dying words…

With Hagane’s speed, the best plan is to duck into the foyer, set some traps, and back out to allow time to charge.

Hagane backflips away from the Spring Floor, landing behind PANTS. Since, Large Explosions are the only surefire way to take out ninjas, the Rolling Bomb was aimed right where he’s going to land. And there’s an adjacent Powder Box.

PANTS is able to outrun the explosion, but that means she isn’t able to get a good look at the rolling of the bomb, or the double explosion. Oddly, I don’t get the Initial Trap bonus for Rolling Bomb, so I guess I’ll have to use it some more for that reason, too. Ninjas dodge most traps that could put them into a combo, have very low hp and don't live too far into a combo, and have a bad habit of hitting you, negating the “No Damage Clear” bonus. Ninjas are probably the worst opponents for your Ark total at the end of a mission.

Time to go see what Hornstein is up to. There wasn’t a strong consensus on his fate, but I’m inclined to spare him.... Doesn’t mean I can’t rough him up a bit first though.

Zithuan · #65 06-27-2008, 05:58 PM

Rolling bomb is pretty slow….

So we might as well make sure Hornstein can’t get away.

The coward then starts walking to the front door, despite the back door that he just came through being much closer. *sigh*

Whoa! Time out! I wouldn’t have let him live if I knew he was going to start spreading crazy rumors like that. Damn.

Notice Hagane died to a “Large Blast” without giving credit to the Rolling Bomb. I’m going to have to experiment a bit to see how I can get the Initial Trap bonus for that one.

Matia: No. The King wasn’t there. He must have escaped.

Deadmoon: I see. He’s hiding somewhere.

Deadmoon: That means that the King still hasn’t found out who’s been killing the Timenoids.

Matia: No, sir. Actually, your double was killed by the girl at the west castle.

Deadmoon: Is that the girl we’ve kept alive because you said we might need to use her someday?

Matia: Yes, sir. That was my mistake. I never dreamed the girl had connections to the King.

Deadmoon: That’s ok. I’m sure the King’s unaware of my involvement… and besides, no one has died by my hand… I used mercenaries.

Deadmoon: However, I am a bit surprised that she was able to kill my double so easily.

Deadmoon: The Kind could get rid of me so very easily. Which means… he may have been deceiving me all this time. I’m not even sure now whether humans can really become Timenoids.

Matia: Yes, sir. But, who is this girl anyway? Who is she really working for?

Deadmoon: I don’t know.

Deadmoon: The only thing I’m sure of is that she’s nothing but trouble.

Deadmoon: Matia… Can you kill this girl without the doubtness of King?

Matia: Yes, sir. I won’t fail this time.

Deadmoon: I’ll leave it to you.

Deadmoon: I never thought Keith would stop the TMD hunt to find the grail! If the Red Blood could be found I’d pin this on them!

Ricard: Set the bombs?! I didn’t know that was his duty.

Aria: Shhhh! You’re too loud. Deadmoon might use the bombs in his deal with the King!

Aria: Only Legral himself can deactivate the bombs. Meanwhile it’s business as usual. Understood, Ricard?

Ricard: Understood. I’m to distract the girl. But, I don’t understand why all this is necessary.

Aria: Deadmoon’s double and Hagane were killed.

Aria: You’d better use someone mighty tough to handle her.

Great, another thief. And Legral is immune to being blown up.

HTML Code:

		Place	Damage	Charge	Cost
Attack Wall	Wall	10	6	1200
  Wall violently thrusts out, throws victims 4 squares away.

Triple Arrow	Wall	26	5	2600
  Three arrows shoot in sequence from mask on the wall.

Flash Bomb	Floor	0	4	800
  Flash blinds victims standing within 1 block.

Smash Floor	Floor	25	6	4100
  Floor springs out, throwing victim 8 blocks.  (you can aim)

Iron Ball	Ceiling	80	10	3600
  Iron ball drops, rolls, bounces off walls, and throws victim.

Confuse Gas	Ceiling	0	6	600
  Gas seeps out, confusing victim.

Lava Vase	Ceiling	55	3	2400
  Vase drops on victim's head, causing intense injury.

Vat		Ceiling	20	2	1200
  Vat drops on victim, enraging victim for hours.

We have 3003 Ark to work with, and the last 2 traps in the backlog are Lava Vase and Triple Arrow. Any requests?
Attack Wall and Flash Bomb! Please?

Next… “Chapter 7: Deception”

Elfir · #66 06-27-2008, 06:08 PM

*rolls bomb*

"the doubtness of King"

ow ow ow

Fatman's a big fat liar. Poor PANTS. ;_;

*boom*

Zithuan · #67 06-28-2008, 10:08 PM

No lengthy plot exposition this time! In fact, I only transcribed a single line of dialogue for this entry.

Remember when I said we need to check the map at the beginning of each mission? This is a good example why. If I run after Ricard, I’ll likely encounter Aria in the hallway.

I have this new Lava Vase, and the enemies this chapter are all either fast enough to dodge it, or immune to bomb-type traps (which I think this might count as). I go ahead and use the same type of strategy that worked on Deadmoon, to see if we can’t get a Vase on Aria’s head while we’re both being pulled by the Power Magnet.

How disappointing. Even though it registered as a “Bull’s Eye” hit, no vase on her head. I guess Magnet + Vase doesn’t work as a combo.

Aria can’t get pulled against the Magnet (and thus have it count as a hit) since PANTS is in the way. I go ahead and set off the Heavy Claw that magically only hits her, even though we’re both in the same square. I think Bear Trap style traps would do the same if two enemies were on the same square.

Wounded, Aria slowly approaches to try again with the attack, but she is too slow to dodge the second Lava Vase attack. Incidentally, seeing the Lava Vase in action convinces me that I don’t think I’ve ever actually used it before. Also, that’s a pretty good amount of Ark for a non-combo trap hit with no other bonuses.

As will be the pattern for most of the rest of the game, as one enemy dies, another shows up. Looks like Ricard is hiding somewhere. Jerk.

Ricard was hiding behind the Powder Box in the foyer, and flees into the throne room as soon as he saw me. Whatever, it’s easiest to first deal with the enemies who don’t run.

Legral stops under the Lava Vase trap to roll a poison gas grenade at us. The good news is that he's not immune to it like I feared he might be, the bad news is we both hit each other. “SICK” is your standard damage-over-time status effect that goes away after a little while. There goes the 500 Ark for No Damage Clear.

Since the Lava Vase does act like other Vase traps in compelling the target to walk forward, you guys know what happens next – Spring Floor into those Floor Spikes. The spikes impaling him as he flies over them is worth an obscene amount of Ark. I don’t mind taking that damage so much anymore.

Zithuan · #68 06-28-2008, 10:09 PM

I’ve learned my lesson from last time, don’t take any chances when trying to kill a thief.

Ugh! You know what?! Get back up so I can kill you again for that horrible pun! Still no Initial Trap bonus for Rolling Bomb, by now I have to wonder if it’s even possible.

Hornstein: The King’s in hiding to avoid being killed by her… we must kill her to protect him. I believe you can do it.

WTF?! That freaky Voldo-looking dude says, “Uuuuuhh” and Hornstein replies to that with, “What a kind son!” That family disturbs me greatly…

This time, Hornstein dies!

HTML Code:

		Place	Damage	Charge	Cost
Attack Wall	Wall	10	6	1200
  Wall violently thrusts out, throws victims 4 squares away.

Triple Arrow	Wall	26	5	2600
  Three arrows shoot in sequence from mask on the wall.

Flash Bomb	Floor	0	4	800
  Flash blinds victims standing within 1 block.

Smash Floor	Floor	25	6	4100
  Floor springs out, throwing victim 8 blocks.  (you can aim)

Iron Ball	Ceiling	80	10	3600
  Iron ball drops, rolls, bounces off walls, and throws victim.

Confuse Gas	Ceiling	0	6	600
  Gas seeps out, confusing victim.

Vat		Ceiling	20	2	1200
  Vat drops on victim, enraging victim for hours.

We’ve got 4426 Ark, so we can afford anything on the menu.

Next… “Chapter 8: Test of Loyalty”

PapillonReel · #69 06-28-2008, 10:17 PM

The vat has a lot of comedic potential. I say go for it.

EDIT: No, wait, go for the Smash Floor! If you can, try and use it in conjunction with the Spring Floor.

Ample Vigour · #70 06-28-2008, 10:17 PM

I want to rock out to SMASH FLOOR

Hornstein's homicidal turn confuses me. Also, who would raise a house full of orphans into bloodthirsty mercenaries? These characters confuse and enrage me! ARRG!

PapillonReel · #71 06-28-2008, 10:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ample Vigour

Hornstein's homicidal turn confuses me. Also, who would raise a house full of orphans into bloodthirsty mercenaries?

Ample Vigour · #72 06-28-2008, 10:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PapillonReel

Mr. Potato Head really let himself go.

FFT, right?

Zithuan · #73 06-28-2008, 10:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PapillonReel

The vat has a lot of comedic potential. I say go for it.

EDIT: No, wait, go for the Smash Floor! If you can, try and use it in conjunction with the Spring Floor.

You can't have 2 floor traps placed at once, so unless the 2nd Floor trap charges very quickly (Spring Floor takes 6 seconds), it'd be nearly impossible to combine the two.

That's what Attack Wall is for!

PapillonReel · #74 06-28-2008, 10:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zithuan

You can't have 2 floor traps equipped at once, somewhat limiting the amount you can toss people around.

Awww nuts.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ample Vigour

FFT, right?

Yep. Barinten, specifically.

Elfir · #75 06-28-2008, 10:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ample Vigour

Hornstein's homicidal turn confuses me. Also, who would raise a house full of orphans into bloodthirsty mercenaries? These characters confuse and enrage me! ARRG!

I know I would!!

Zithuan · #76 06-28-2008, 10:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ample Vigour

Also, who would raise a house full of orphans into bloodthirsty mercenaries?

It just occurred to me that PANTS was kidnapped (orphaned?) and raised to kill people. Maybe that's just what orphanages are all about in this world.

I am now (more) terrified of Angelina Jolie.

Ample Vigour · #77 06-28-2008, 10:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zithuan

I am now (more) terrified of Angelina Jolie.

You shouldn't have said that in public. Now you're on the list.

Zithuan · #78 06-30-2008, 12:58 AM

Another chapter with very little plot before the action. I’m ok with that!

This is an interesting room, but not where we want to be right now. Whenever the game starts you in the same room as an opponent, it’s almost always the best course of action to retreat.

Not burdened by heavy armor, Delfina is the first to arrive. Doesn’t it somewhat defeat the purpose of having a bodyguard if you’re just going to run out ahead? Delfina's ranged attacks get caught on the corner of the doorway, so she can't hit PANTS until she enters the room. Lordred enters first, so we set off the Power Magnet, and resist the urge to use the Smash Floor on him…

This is the first time Power Magnet has pulled an enemy all the way to the wall, so only now do we get the Initial Trap bonus! The Smash Floor had been saved for Delfina since her ranged attack + low hp + healing abilities means she should die first. Sadly, the Smash Floor lobs her right over the Lumber Saw. Yes, this dungeon has one too.

As usual, Spike Rock, and Rock-type traps in general, make good finishers. Disturbing family, didn’t I say?

By now, Lordred has just gotten free of the Power Magnet, so PANTS runs back to the room she started in to see what it has to offer.

Knights love this leaping overhead slash that is very predictable and easy to dodge.

This massive guillotine blade automatically drops on anyone (including PANTS) passing under it, walking or otherwise.

Lordred’s bio said he was “fearless of arrows and small bombs,” but that only applies while he’s standing and can block the arrow or guard against the blast. While prone, he’s just as vulnerable as any other enemy. Some opponents do have true immunity to fire or other elements, however.

With Delfina and Lordred both gone, Hornstein and his freakish “son” Diva the Psycho show up. Psychos (yes, that’s his Class) have a jump attack like Knights do, but are faster and usually land behind you. Fortunately, the low railing along the steps are too much for him to jump over, so he won’t get a chance until he has a direct path.

Smash Floor normally throws an enemy 8 squares, but going uphill reduces the distance to 6 squares in this case. I honestly wasn’t expecting that barrel to do so much damage, but I won’t complain.

Zithuan · #79 06-30-2008, 01:00 AM

Frame 1: the Lava Vase is falling, Frame 2: Diva is instantly standing up! Press Wall has the same effect (as I found out the hard way) of standing up a prone opponent. I continue to be amazed by the Ark multiplier Lava Vase must have. Thanks guys for suggesting it, I went nearly 10 years before finally seeing how good it is! Also, I didn't know if Lava Vase would even work on an enemy that wasn't standing.

Mad with impotent rage, Hornstein trundles towards us, heedless of the trap at his feet. Smash Floor hurls him to the bottom of the room where a Rolling Bomb waits for him.

Most explosions launch the victim into the air – directly up if they are centered on the blast. The Lava Vase attaches to his head in midair to finish him off.

Having lots of targets to hit really multiplies the Ark!

Deadmoon: Have you found the King yet?

Matia: I’m sorry?

Deadmoon: Don’t you see?

Deadmoon: The immortal TMD can simply hide to avoid our plans for them.

Deadmoon: We’ll die waiting for them to strike. They can easily hide to avoid our threat easily.

Matia: ……

No, Matia, I don’t know why he used “easily” twice in one sentence either.

Deadmoon: Then maybe we should simply declare we’ve deposed the King?

Deadmoon: We’ll draw him out. And deal with him on our terms.

Deadmoon: Don’t we have some unfinished business with the girl?

Matia: Hehe… not yet… but Legral dealt her a well-placed bomb under the altar.

Matia: He died before delivering the detonator. But tampering will also deploy the bomb …and blow the girl away with it.

Matia: But who can we afford to lose on a suicide mission?

Deadmoon: I see.

Deadmoon: Of course.

Deadmoon: There were some Hornstein’s men that wanted to become members of our troops.

Volcano: OK! Let’s win this for our new leader, Master Deadmoon!

This next chapter is tough. Not only do we face 5 opponents with varying abilities, we have a secondary objective to prevent them from reaching the altar behind the throne room.

Fortunately, we have lots of Ark to upgrade our trap selection.

HTML Code:

		Place	Damage	Charge	Cost
Attack Wall	Wall	10	6	1200
  Wall violently thrusts out, throws victims 4 squares away.

Triple Arrow	Wall	26	5	2600
  Three arrows shoot in sequence from mask on the wall.

Flash Bomb	Floor	0	4	800
  Flash blinds victims standing within 1 block.

Iron Ball	Ceiling	80	10	3600
  Iron ball drops, rolls, bounces off walls, and throws victim.

Confuse Gas	Ceiling	0	6	600
  Gas seeps out, confusing victim.

Vat		Ceiling	20	2	1200
  Vat drops on victim, enraging victim for hours.

6209 Ark is enough for at least two or three new traps, so what should we splurge on?

Next… “Chapter 9: Ignorant Greed”

PapillonReel · #80 06-30-2008, 01:15 AM

Go for Attack Wall, Iron Ball and Flash Bomb for maximum fun.

Merus · #81 06-30-2008, 02:32 AM

...this game is messed up.

Zithuan · #82 06-30-2008, 11:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Merus

...this game is messed up.

It gets worse. Chapter 12 is particularly... difficult... if you're trying to get the "kill everyone" ending.

Elfir · #83 06-30-2008, 11:09 AM

You still didn't get my Triple Arrow! Hard to aim or not, it's that or I tell you to get Confuse Gas. And that one just sounds retarded.

Pajaro Pete · #84 06-30-2008, 06:44 PM

So Pants just wiped out an entire family. How nice. PS1 era dialogue is so amazing, sometimes I miss it.

Zithuan · #85 06-30-2008, 09:19 PM

And so it begins. Mucro is on the west side and has a straighter path for PANTS to intercept. Goatbone is on the east, but will run away if he sees us. Neither can be ignored, but we’ll go set something up for Goatbone first.

One nice thing about Flash Bomb is that is has a radius, so as soon as the door opens, the enemy is in the area of effect. We may or may not be able to catch Goatbone with it before he runs, but the Flash Bomb isn’t the critical element here.

Looks like the Flash Bomb got him, so he’ll just stand in the open doorway for his vision to clear while a giant pinball rolls towards him.

No time to stick around and finish him off, we have to run back to deal with Mucro and trust that Goatbone is now sufficiently wounded to slow down his race to the altar.

PANTS makes it back to the foyer barely in ahead of Mucro, and immediately uses the Power Magnet to cover the entire doorway.

Iron Ball is magnetic, that alone makes it (debatably) the best Rock-type trap. Iron Ball has another unique property that doesn’t come into play here, but will probably feature later this chapter.

Next up is Claire, who has the courtesy to use the front door. Goatbone hasn’t made too much progress, so we’ll go see if we can’t finish him off.

Goatbone is already climbing the stairs, but bizarrely decides to turn around rather than keep going. Doesn’t he know what’s going to happen?

That’s how I roll.

Unfortunately, Claire gets to the foyer before PANTS does, and we really didn’t have traps set up to handle an enemy standing in the middle of the room. After dodging her first crossbow bolt, we both rush for the door, and Claire kicks me in the head for trying to get past her.

Zithuan · #86 06-30-2008, 09:21 PM

I’d love to know how you fire a crossbow bolt at a 135 degree angle away from where it’s aimed. It’s another poison attack, and in the green haze, I can’t see her next shot to dodge it. Meanwhile, she’s standing just outside my Power Magnet range.

After ducking out the door and coming back in, Claire steps into Power Magnet range, and gets the familiar Spring Floor trip to the Floor Spikes.

A quick look at the map reveals that Dorcas is almost here, so it’s time to retreat to the altar room. Claire is slow to get up, and pays the price.

The altar room has a nice balcony that overlooks where Dorcas will enter, but it looks like Volcano may arrive nearly the same time…

Volcano shows up first, and of course the traps are set assuming Dorcas would arrive first. PANTS runs down the steps to hide in a corner and hope the bad men go away.

Dorcas had almost no choice but to step into the path of the Power Magnet, but PANTS can’t believe her good fortune when Volcano walks into the Magnet’s field as well. The Magnet does not cover the base of the steps, so he could have evaded it were he more careful.

Power Magnet to pull an enemy over floor spikes, followed by a Spring Floor to launch them back over the spikes almost feels like cheating.

There’s an Iron Ball in place to finish off Dorcas, who has the ability to bleed up steps! Pay no attention to the clipping in that last frame.

I’m sorry for the lack of variety in killing people, I’ll try to better next time. How many of you have ever had occasion to say that?

Deadmoon: We have few men left. We can’t sacrifice any more to this. We must kill the girl ourselves, Matia.

Deadmoon: It seems that I’ll never become King unless I do this myself.

Zithuan · #87 06-30-2008, 09:22 PM

Well at least these guys know about the bombs and won’t blow up the castle.

HTML Code:

		Place	Damage	Charge	Cost
Spike Wall	Wall	35	5	2400
  Spiked Wall thrusts out, stabs and throws victims 3 blocks away.

Triple Arrow	Wall	26	5	2600
  Three arrows shoot in sequence from mask on the wall.

Blast Bomb	Floor	50	7	2400
  Explosive flame spreads across 1 block & pushes victim 3 blocks.

Cold Claw	Floor	25	5	2000
  When Iron blades pin victim’s feet, cold air gushes up and freezes victim

Lift Floor	Floor	25	4	1900
  Floor rises, pressing victim against ceiling.

Spark Rod	Floor	45	6	1900
  Rod zaps victim, electrifies water and other electric traps.

Evil Breath	Ceiling	0	4	1200
  Evil magic gas slows victim and lowers his defense

Vat		Ceiling	20	2	1200
  Vat drops on victim, enraging victim for hours.

Buying Attack Wall unlocked 2 new traps, Flash Bomb unlocked 2 new traps, and Confuse Gas unlocked 2 new traps, for a total of 6 new traps to choose from. I figure I’m overdue to pick up Triple Arrow by now (per Elfir’s request) but there’ll be 1935 left over to pick up something new.

Next… “Chapter 10: Darkness Falls”

PapillonReel · #88 06-30-2008, 09:27 PM

I will be disappointed if you don't choose Lift Floor.

Ample Vigour · #89 06-30-2008, 10:09 PM

GOATBOOOOOOOONE!

=(

Definitely lift floor. When do you run into a ceiling fan?

Alixsar · #90 07-01-2008, 04:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PapillonReel

I will be disappointed if you don't choose Lift Floor.

Man, this game is getting ridiculously hard, huh?