MARREND'S PROFILE

If all the item does is teleport you to one specific location, then, yeah, that should be doable as a Common Event, using Map Transfer. I don't know which RPG Maker engine you are using, so, I can't be more specific as to how to go about doing that.

author=halibabica
ANYWAY, if anyone knows how to convert those to a playable format, I might be able to ID those songs by finding their titles in the folder. Any ideas?

This program?

Was... anybody even using RPG Maker Unite in the first place? It's not even listed on our engine page!

So, y'all remember Suikoden 2? Even if you did not shame on you, you could transfer over data from your clear game save (or the closet thing to it) from Suikoden to get a few in-games things to happen. One of them is to enable the "McDohl" side-quest. However, if a character died outside of a plot event within the context of an army battle in Suikoden, they would stay dead for Suikoden 2 as a point of world building. Or, at least, this is my understanding of it. I've not actually confirmed this, nor am I willing to test this theory by making specifically bad decisions and getting possibly plot-relevant characters dead.

There was a transfer data function in Suikoden 3, but, it felt much more limited. This may have been in no small part because the number of returning characters from Suikoden 2 and/or Suikoden were also limited. However, I recall reading a rumor about Lucia making a quip about the name of the headquarters if one decides to name it "Dunan". I don't know if this is a function of transferring data from Suikoden 2, and properly reading the army's name from that game, or if this is hard-coded in some way.

Considering the above, this game is even more limited than Suikoden 3. The message window indicates that the player unlocks a swimsuit costume for Ziggy, KOS-MOS, and the Professor. The Professor wasn't even a character I interacted with during my LP of Xenosaga Episode 1, but, one gets this bonus either way, apparently.

I always wanted to believe that there was something beyond this. Like an extra level or two, as well as bonus skill and tech points to modify/customize your characters to be at least a little bit better off than players coming into the series new/blind. Call me a little curious, but, I did some unsaved comparisons of stats both with and without data transfer. The most immediate difference I can tell is a bonus of 2970 skill points on chaos if you do transfer. I feel it's highly likely the other party members from Xenosaga Episode 1 get a similar bonus.

Anyway, let's start up this game, and watch the opening FMV, because of course it opens with an FMV. Would it be a Xeno game if it didn't? So, we're inside some kind of room, with a video feed reporting a realian uprising. The camera shows us a man adjusting his uniform in preparation, as he listens to the report. At some point, a man in military garb shows on the screen. For series veterans, they will recognize this man as Helmer. He goes on to say that there will be further reports of failing model numbers by tomorrow, but, all the soldier wants to know is what any of this has to do with the mission, and why he was chosen, despite being a realian himself. This realian, Canaan, was designed by Vector, and Helmer's been given assurances by the CEO of Vector, Wilhelm, that Canaan would not be affected.

This assurance aside, Canaan is not alone on this mission. This cues the entrance of the navigator, who is another familiar face for series veterans, chaos. Canaan is initially dismissive, saying that no ordinary person can fly that thing. Which, of course, is why he's here. It would be really really nice to know what the hell they are even talking about.

We find out pretty soon, as the next part of the scene is a launch sequence for the ES Asher. Gone are the AWGS of Xenosaga Episode 1, and if I want to be frank, good riddance. This was one of the few good decisions this game makes, as ES craft are more akin to Gears than AGWS ever were. The cutscene continues as the Asher comes under fire, and preforms some maneuvering as it fires off it's cannon to take out foes. Once ammo is depleted, it rams the cannon into the last foe, detaching the cannon in the process. After taking out all incoming foes, the Asher lands smoothly. This is a fairly impressive cutscene, but, the video from the aforementioned list of cutscene videos has it's audio crapping out after only 11 seconds and never seems to recover from what I can tell. I did what I could to find an alternate, but no dice. I even installed OBS to record it myself, but, I'm certainly no expert in this matter. Also, while my locker is spacious, the file size was a bit concerning.

The next cutscene is Canaan getting something of a second debriefing from chaos. Of course, their mission is to locate the URTVs and, if possible, access the U-TIC mainframe and retrieve the Y-Data, because of course, the Federation wants the Y-Data. Who doesn't? Canaan's curiosity is raised when choas mentions that they might be running a little short on time. While Cannan knows the URTVs are the Federation's trump card against the U-TIC Organization, he might not be aware of the inherent dangers to using URTVs. Or that the Federation government is blind to those dangers. One gets the impression that the underlying message here is that desperate times call for desperate measures.

As a small aside, while the voice actor for chaos in Xenosaga Episode 1 did an okay enough job, the person who's voice acting for chaos in this game is a lot easier to listen to, and just really mellow and laid back. Which I feel was the right decision for this character.

The cutscenes done for the moment, we take control of the Asher on Old Miltia. Yes, Gear dungeons are back, baby! Er, anyway, in case the title of this session wasn't blatant enough about it, this entire section is a flashback to 14 years prior to the events of Xenosaga Episode 1. More specifically, this is set during the Miltian Conflict, which Xenosaga Episode 1 had repeatably pointed to as being a rather big event in it's universe.

If this were Xenosaga Episode 1, the soundtrack would die off as soon as regular gameplay is ensued, and there would be the white noise of military confrontation in the background. This game, however, uses it's soundtrack more often than it's predecessor did. This sometimes has mixed results, as we will see/hear going forward. However, for this area, we have...



...this song while putzing about, and it's at least okay. A save point is not far ahead, and there's a mini-tutorial about the use of save points. While I haven't been playing all that long, I'll still use it. A few destructible objects (and a mini tutorial about how to destroy them) later, and it's cut scene time again. More background from chaos, explaining that that the system that controls the Zohar was initially designed for teleportation, but, each attempt at using said system generally resulted in death. There were very small chances of survival, but, the subjects always displayed symptoms of a mental breakdown.

Helmer postulated that even URTVs, which were supposedly created to counteract that very system, could likewise be infected. If they suffered a mental breakdown, then the Zohar, itself, would spiral out of control, and that would lead to all kinds of craptastrophes naming land.

After this cutscene the game has chaos warn players of an AWMS unit ahead, and we engage in our first combat in the game.



This works very similar to fighting in AGWS in Xenosaga Episode 1, but, let's do a quick rundown of the systems regardless. Regular attacks are done with Square and Triangle. Square initiate a melee attack, with Triangle initiating a ranged attack. These moves accumulate both Boost and the ES' personal Stock gauge. Unlike Xenosaga Episode 1, Boost is a resource accessible across the entire party rather than being a personal resource of a unit. Units still cannot be boosted if they appear in the turn window, but, I respect the decision to have Boost as a party-wide resource as a quality of life upgrade.

Stock is a new resource that is used for the Tech Attacks in regards to the ES. The normal maximum amount of Stock is 200, but, I recall there being an accessory that ES can equip to make this value higher. Normal attacks make the value rise by 50, with the Stock command making it accumulate by 100.

I will note here the lack of a Guard command anywhere in this game. It was effectively replaced by the Stock command. The effect of the Stock command on foot isn't necessarily all that much different while than it is in ES. However, unlike Guard, Stock doesn't actually provide any defensive options. Conceptually speaking, it's a "gather power" move, so, it's not like it providing defense would make sense. However, it would have been nice if they included a Guard-like state for Stock.

Another thing I will note is the main party menu...



...in comparison to the same menu in Xenosaga Episode 1...



...and notice something odd. It's not the change in number of menu options that worries me, but the lack of money display. This is a little funny to me, because I swear I once saw LockeZ arguing on Discord not all that long ago that on-hand cash isn't actually relevant information until you hit a shop, or at least be in a situation where the variable can be manipulated one way or another, and that it doesn't need to be displayed on the main party menu. Maybe have it appear in the items menu, if at all.

Whither the development team of Xenosaga Episode 2 agreed with this assessment or not, the truth of the matter is that there are no shops in this game. Anywhere. We'll certainly visit more civilized sections of the galaxy later in the game, yet, not a single one will sell me goods, nor will allow me to dispose of unwanted goods. You only acquire items either by finding them on the field, getting them from quests, stealing (I forget if this is even an option in this game because I never use it) or enemy drops. As for disposing unwanted/unneeded items, well, too bad, I guess? It's a weird design decision to make for an RPG, and one would hope that the game is designed around the fact that there are no shops. This LP probably will see less item use than most regular plays, so, I cannot really speak on this matter any further.

Back to the game, the game throws a few more tutorials our way concerning Boost, Stock, and environmental traps. Traps in Xenosaga Episode 1 were few and far between, but, when they did appear, they were at least somewhat useful. The traps in this dungeon provide some benefit, but, they will fall off the radar entirely later on. Right, onto the next cutscene!

The Asher is walking along the city streets, minding it's own business, until a bright light appears, and a certain song...



..is heard. Canann hears it, and is initially unaffected. Asher is then found by Federation mechs, and is fired upon. An IFF signal is broadcast, but, the pilots have all gone insane. Asher's melee arm gets blown of from the oncoming attacks. Then, even Canaan is beginning to feel the effects of the Song, with chaos pleading for him to close his mind to the Song. So much for Vector's assurances! The troops move forward guns at the ready, but are destroyed mysteriously. The camera pans across another mech...



...that looks suspiciously like Heimdal from Xenogears? Canaan recovers enough to wonder who that other unit is. Working together, the infected units are defeated one by one until only Asher and the newcomer remain. The light and Song also dissipate. We are then properly introduced to...



...Jin Uzuki. chaos and Canaan attempt to recruit Jin to help them complete their mission, and he gives their situation a good think before agreeing. The rest of the dungeon is on-foot, but, before we delve deeper, let's hit up that handy-dandy save point. I'll note that Jin's skill points is 600, which is where chaos would be if we didn't transfer data. However, he starts with Medica and Refresh L already learned. The initial tutorial for on-foot battles...



...is pretty minimal, and only covers basic attacks, and the Zone system.

The Zone system is new to this game, so it bears some explanation. The basic concept is that a Zone relays a height in which an enemy, or attack, can hit. Speaking in broad terms, a character/attack in Zone C is on ground level, with Zone B being mid-level, and Zone A is in the air. Square attacks hit Zone B, and Triangle attacks hit Zone C. You can break an enemy's defenses if you hit a certain combination of Zones, and is the main mechanic by which enemies are defeated.

Circle attacks are also possible, and are generally available if a character has at least one Stock. chaos' Circle attack hits Zone C, and afflicts the "down" status if the enemy's defenses broken. Enemies that are downed can only be attacked by C-Zone attacks, but, every character can hit those zones with Triangle attacks. Likewise, Jin's Circle attacks hit the A-Zone, and afflicts the "air" state if their defenses are broken. Being in the air is kinda similar to the "down" state except only attacks that can hit the A-Zone are possible instead of C-Zone attacks only being possible. However, the number of attacks that can hit the A-Zone are more limited in scope to the Circle attacks of Jin, KOS-MOS, Jr, Shion and MOMO.

This means that if I'm not careful, or paying attention, I can smack a guy up with Jin, while choas is Boosted. Then, when chaos gets his turn, all his regular attack options will be grayed out. He may still affect the target through ethers, if he has any that are relevant, but, this "can't take a regular attack action" is one of my main gripes against this combat system.

While I might have a number of issues about Shadow Hearts - From the New World's combat system (screw you, Judgement Ring), it also had a zone system. However, you could more easier direct what zone to attack, and no character was locked into attacking specific zones like they basically are here.

The next tutorial is about Duel Techs. This game does away with character-specific Tech Attacks, and has Duel Techs instead. To be able to pull off a Duel Tech, one character needs to be the active battler, and the other character needs to be Boosted. They both also need a certain amount of Stock to be consumed as part of the cost of the move. The fact that each Duel Tech can only be used once per battle is what makes me steer away from using them. It just feels wrong. The amount of preparation you need to set one up isn't insignificant. Maybe the idea is that it's a "finishing move" and you should only need to use them once. However, as somebody who loved to spam Tech Attacks in Xenosaga Episode 1, it just incredibly off putting to not also have them in this game, and see Duel Techs effectively replace them.

A few mooks later, and we come across yet another cut-scene. Here, Jin posits that U-TIC is using this realian uprising as a cover to acquire the Y-Data, because of course, U-TIC wants the Y-Data. Who doesn't? He goes on to explain that all known phenomenon seems to come from a certain area of space, and that space is described only in the Y-Data. Among other tidbits of data, no doubt. This is just solidification as to the value of the Y-Data to newcomers of the series, which is nice to have, but, playing the preceding game is most certainly preferred.

Another save point after this, which I use. Thanks to the cheat codes, both Jin and chaos are maxed out in regards to skills. The passives I've got equipped involve a 30% status resistance, a 50% chance for Stock to increase by 2 instead of 1 when I use the Stock command, starting battles with 1 Stock, and the ability to Boost my characters even if they are already in the turn window. I find no enemy patrols between that save point, and the next cut-scene. So. Boss fight?



Well. That's a pretty big yes in my book. The actual fight doesn't actually take too long, but there is a following cutscene where Margulis and Jin go at each other that's pretty amazing. The two duel on the ground, and even in the air for a bit. A brief respite were Margulis mouths off to Jin, then the two swordsmen raise their blades against each other again, sending forth a charge of energy from the blades. Jin passes out from the blow, and Marguils, while still very much standing, is bleeding from his right eye. It will be scarred for life. Jin recovers enough to jump to safety as the structure they were on crumbles and falls, with Marguils following suit. Thankfully, this baddass cutscene seems more stable.



Jin takes out the data card he's been handling that will supposedly expose some facet of truth behind this conflict, and installs it into Canaan's database before tossing it into the void, then leaping forth, possibly to engage with Margulis again. Another earthquake, and something big looms on the horizon. However, this is where the flashback, and the chapter, ends. It's as good place as any to call this session a wrap as well. What's going to happen next? Find out next time, on the Xenosaga Episode 2 LP!

Reposting these here for record keeping.

Original thread

synechron
Hello, I was looking for a game I've found some years ago, but at the time it was too scary for me to try. I was curious to try it again. But I can't remember the name.

I think it was quite an unknown game. It was very aggressive game with skeletons dancing and some sort of different kind of skeletons in a sort of hellish looking setting. You couldn't save unless you were able to talk to a specific skeleton and I also remember they were a screamer near the beginning.

I don't recall as well that there was a particular story or gameplay, more like exploration and random aggressive scary stuff. If anyone has any idea, what this game could be? Thank you!

Original thread

Chaos157
Hello! Can you help me identify the title of this horror RPG game? The YouTuber Manlybadasshero played this game but I cannot remember it.

I do not know if this RPG horror game is made with an RPGMaker engine but it has the same style as most RPGMaker video games (The Witch's House, Misao, Ao Oni, etc.) such as being top-down, being anime in style, etc.

This RPGMaker horror game that I cannot remember is about a hypocritical male who treats a socially-awkward shy otaku girl very badly. The boy is an asshole to the otaku girl. As the game progresses, the players find out that the hypocritical male is actually an otaku himself who is obsessed with a cosplayer girl. Then, the hypocritical male finds out that the cosplayer girl he obsesses over is actually the otaku girl he bullies after the otaku girl revealed herself to be the cosplayer girl.

One of the endings of this game is the hypocritical male being disgusted by the fact that the cosplayer girl is actually the otaku girl he bullies which resulted in him treating and rejecting the cosplayer girl in a horrible way. This led to the cosplayer girl committing suicide. So what is the name of this RPG horror anime game?