SCOURGE'S PROFILE

Ohh, sexy.
Notice that I've already got a continue option. That's from playing, and beating, this game twice before. Yeah, this ain't my first rodeo, which is why you folks will be picking the classes of my adventuring buddies. Self-imposed challenge for the win.
Anyways, I guess I'll be going with New Game, so this LP can have a point.
Let's fire 'er up.

The first time I saw this screen, I freaked out because I thought the entire game was going to be in black and white. Even after looking at the game profile images. I was not the brightest bulb at the time and it's the same today. I guess the entire point of LPing an indie game is so the creator can have loads of feedback, but Kentona's got more than enough of that. So I'll be playing this like I would a commercial game. I won't offer advice or ruthlessly mock story, characters, or gameplay. In short, I'll try to show some respect. *gasp* Respect? In an LP? This is crazy!
And, if you haven't noticed, this isn't your average LP. I'll only be doing videos for boss fights, due to a shitty microphone and recording setup.
Let's get that picture to text ratio back to where it should be.

I'll watch the introduction, of course. This is one of my favorite openings simply because it's so, well, nice. There's no in media res, like many other games have, there's no long exposition; there's just a cool pan of the world map and some credits. Speaking of which, that area behind the sword is Paranor. It'll become very important later.

Speaking of credits... Ranmaru Mori sounds like the evil priest from the second Indiana Jones. Temple of Doom, right? He sounds evil, but he makes some pretty good graphics, I guess. I have no idea where this area is. South of Tyrsis, maybe? I haven't played this for a while, and I always get lost on the World Map anyways.

And there's the Pit of Peril, home to one of the fabulous Elfstones. Those let you change class. I'll be heading there the second I get a ship. We're just to the north of our first hero. Wait, that might not be the Pit of Peril. Don't listen to me; I'm just some guy with a keyboard and a poor sense of direction. After a brief shot of a guard heading south to a small cabin, or maybe before, I suck at time too, we have this lovely splashscreen.

I'd like to think of the children, but my lawyer says that's what got me into this mess in the first place. Pedophilia jokes aside, I like the shout out to Dragon Quest IV. And those sexy looking borders. We'll be seeing this screen a few more times; it shows up at the beginning and end of each chapter. Nice framing device.
Following the guard, we enter a small cabin in the woods and see the next exchange.

But first, do you have an inhaler? This asthma crap is killing me!
And yes, our first hero is indeed a woman. I missed the Huntress comment the first time, and ran around with a blue haired transvestite named Arthur until I decided to restart. Moving on,

Looks like the hide tags hate youtube.

Fuck yah.
Where have all the good men gone?
Ahem, sorry....

Holdana, and yes I'm using the default names, is a badass of the third degree. Just ignore that bow comment. Holdana's best weapon is a sword that would make Cloud Strife blush. And that whole magic thing is incredibly true. Holdana gets access to Thordain, which Kentona might as well have named Game Breaker spell, because that's what it is. Holdana, despite being a butch loner, is my favorite out of the four heroes because she's got the humblest beginnings and best character. She doesn't get many lines, but I always imagined her as a deadpan snarker character, staying calm and collected while making Bond one liners and kicking demon ass.

Don't mind if I do. First thought, it's time to loot this place. Everything that isn't nailed down goes in my pockets. First things first though.

Appearance is everything, they say. Notice the guard has apparently gone into time out. I always thought it was strange that he just stays here and wanders around your house for the entire game. You'd think he'd need to go get that asthma checked out or at least report back. Anyways, time for lootin'

Aw yeah. There's another one in the pot behind me (Heh, medicinal herb in a pot) and that's all there is hanging around here. Holdana doesn't have any money, so we head outside armed with her medical marijuana supply and a utter lack of direction.

Bite me, Mom. Note the well in the upper right hand corner. We can go down it, but there's nothing there but annoying enemies that grant almost nothing in terms of EXP or Gold. I will grind like a fiend later, but it's suicide to try the fights on the world map with only one character and poor weaponry and armor. For now, let's hit the world map and head straight for Castletown, the real name of which escapes me. It might be Norsland, but I think that's the name of the country.
Holdana's modest hut is just a tile or two to the south of this screen. Not much to show here, but I'll take a second to explain terrain on the world map. The plains, what Holdana's standing on, are simple. They have an average encounter rate. Forests, which you can see to the north and south, have a slightly higher encounter rate. I think they slow you down a little too, but that might just be lag. Then we have the hills, right behind the castle. The encounter rate in hills is quite high, and I'll take steps (ba dum tish) to avoid them whenever I can. Finally, for now, we have the mountains and sea, which are impassable until we get an airship or regular ship. Stepping into the town, we're rushed along to the palace.


They're really sick of living in a place called Helminsk, but I can't do anything about that.
My fingers are itching to search underfoot on that tile behind the throne. Hidden treasure senses tingling...

Sir, yes sir! I, Ragnar Holdana, will hunt down this missing children and then immediately return to my simple lifestyle because there's no way this will lead to any greater conflict!

Onwards! And, yeah right. If my predictions are correct, I'm gonna wind up with nothing but Mesmers and Bards for support. But first, hidden treasure time!

YES. ONE DOWN, NINETY-NINE TO GO.
If I can track down 100 of this suckers, which is pretty damn hard, I can get the Lightsabre, which kicks nine kinds of ass. Let's finish looting this place and head downstairs for some game mechanics and the end of this update.


Yeah, baby! The hunt for treasure goes quite swimmingly. There's some modest start game loot in here, nothing too special. The real prize is the knife in the underwater chest, which costs a whopping 80 gold. I'll probably give it to Holdana, who was made for tanking.

There's more treasure downstairs, but I'll need the Magic Key first. Shoot. Chatting with NPCs in the castle reveals basic game mechanics, such as how to search underfoot (Press Shift) and some other stuff.


Pictured: Other stuff.
I like how there's no bullshit deus ex machina in this game though. The Goddess shows up in the form of statues and revive and uncurse spells cast by her followers. She doesn't step in to save the day or to conveniently provide exposition.

Pictured: Blatant lies.
Fuck this random guard. Paladins are the WORST fighter class. They have shit growth, poor spell selections, and little versatility. God help the player who decides to take a Paladin instead of a Druid. Of course, I'll probably wind up with one in each party, since you folks are picking my companions.

I steal a Blaze Scroll from the old man at the top of the stairs, and we have a short chat.


Chekhov's Out of the Way Location?
Not a great story though. I am disappoint. That's all I'll be showcasing in the castle. There's some random loot lying around, and a few NPCs to chat with, but let's close off this update with a trip to the barracks.

Well, here we are.
NEXT TIME!
~GRINDING!
~PARTY SELECTION!
~EQUIPMENT!
~SIDEQUESTS!
~AMAZING FEATS OF STRENGTH!
~ECCENTRIC WELL DWELLERS!

And, before I forget, here's how we're choosing Holdana's party. There are three open slots; first three to comment get to choose the class, name, and gender of her three party members. You can find the list of classes here. Gender and name are pretty obvious.
Here goes. Hope this manages to catch on.
Oh, and I won't be accepting any clones. I will not be building a party of three Mesmers and Holdana, thank you very much.