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PrinceBrightstar
Feb 6, 2016, 10:56 PM
While I wait for the translation team to continue work on the story for Phantasy Star Online 2 Episode 3 I've started up a let's play for the original Phantasy Star. You can check it out below.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CPhAIsR2Aog

A big shout out to BenoitRen who helped me years ago on what I did the intro for the let's play on.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LI5XApU1rvY


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fGe2nXA5NrU


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNyTCRa7fJo


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=geBS2Gkk-0Y


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_DuDYf9p0s


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4bVTferJFIY


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C0OGjItijh8


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6hm1STTz0GA


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QEQGnGkVsOk


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ap6mZsaOU-0


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pww3g47Bc5g

Zorafim
Mar 4, 2016, 09:24 PM
I'm three episodes in, and I noticed you said you did a speed run? Is that the one I saw on SpeedDemoArchive?

Brightstar! Oh my god it is you! I've never been able to talk with a speed runner before. I'll be interested in seeing how you play this game compared to how I would do it. Already I'm impressed that you have all the steps and maps memorized, though our general strategy doesn't seem to be much different than what I would do. I probably would have bought more equipment before heading into the Naula cave so I could earn more money and exp in there, but I guess grinding beforehand and waiting until the next tier is quicker?

Zorafim
Mar 5, 2016, 01:11 PM
Just finished the fourth episode, and do you really have a four hour segment of grinding after playing for just over an hour?

Zorafim
Mar 6, 2016, 02:22 AM
Just finished the fifth episode. Why did you go after the crystal? Does that do anything besides weaken Lassic? Why did you go into Medusa's tower when the laconium axe is useless? And why did you get most of the way through the level cap before you really started the game?

Zorafim
Mar 6, 2016, 12:41 PM
Oh. Episode 6 explains why you bothered with the Laconium Axe.

PrinceBrightstar
Mar 6, 2016, 11:42 PM
Wow quadruple post. Wasn't expect that to happen!

My intent behind this one is not to do a speed run. If that was the case I wouldn't be stopping to talk to everyone, but it should be obvious that multiple elements are showing up from my speed run. Let's also not forget that speed run is over 10 years old at this point. If I ever were to try another run, it'd probably be in PSU. Also there's a reason I'm talking to everyone, and that'll be revealed after I finish the let's play.

I don't go to Medusa in the speed run because like you said, Medusa is an optional boss. I just didn't want to leave anything lying around. If not dealt with lore wise they'd still be menacing Palma even after Lassic and DF are dead. I just find it funny you can take them out without even needing the mirror shield. The crystal doesn't do anything, I just didn't think it'd be fun to speak to Damor, then go back to town to get healed and then climb up again in the same segment. Plus I'm trying to make this unique compared to other let's plays that might have come before. In the speed run I also only grinded for about an hour there and another 30 minutes or so on Motavia I think.

Regarding memorization, it's not like that. I've got a set of maps pulled up on another screen. I guess I'm just familiar enough with the route that I don't need to look that often. (and you'll see a mess up I make in episode 8 regarding Motavia once I get that edited.) I'm targeting 11 episodes in total as of right now if I've planned things correctly.

Zorafim
Mar 7, 2016, 02:34 PM
That's probably a big flaw of the first two phantasy star games. You just can't proceed without studying maps and even having them up. The only way for me to enjoy PS1 is if I have a world and dungeon map up at all times. The Generations remake actually makes this worse by increasing the number of events that only happen if you talk to someone, and even requiring you to talk with them multiple times before the flag is tripped.

Doing all the events makes sense. Talking with everyone in a town definitely makes sense in a let's play, since knowing all the information the game has to tell you is one of the most fun parts of old RPGs. It didn't occur to me that doing Medusa's tower is something fun that the fanbase would enjoy seeing. And the axe is actually helping a lot more than I expected.
I think when I normally play (on emulator), I savestate my way through the tower and rope my way to victory for that little boost.

I still don't get why you spent four hours grinding. Most of the fun in RPGs is struggling with resource management, and having a way out if you don't have enough. I feel like grinding makes an RPG less fun, both because of the monotony of the act and how it removes challenge from the game. Obviously you still need to grind for spells and equipment, but I feel like getting to 22 was overdoing it.


And yes, quadrupedal post. Nobody posts in this subforum, so who cares about normal etiquette. Past the first few episodes you always had something to comment on, so why not?

PrinceBrightstar
Mar 16, 2016, 02:25 PM
Oh trust me, you'll see my method of "save states" to avoid encounters soon enough when I go on my tour of Dezoris. Part of the reason I grinded for so long is so I could prepare myself as best I could for the final boss. I'd rather get it out of the way early on. It's just my style of play I guess. Plus without doing that I couldn't have been able to come up with this route that most Let's Players would never run into, making mine a unique experience. Also the final boss even at that level can two shot a character in a single round so I wanted to have at least some assurance I wouldn't be reloading over and over.

Zorafim
Mar 17, 2016, 11:22 AM
This run motivated me to start up my own run. I got Odin and tried to do either the Iron Fang cave or the Cake cave, but no amount of leveling and gearing got me strong enough to handle it. Three hours after I started I stopped.
I forgot how archaic this game was. PSIV, proper knowledge of the battle system and level placements could mean you can get to the end without any grinding. But the skill cap in this game is so low, the only thing you can do is grind. Considering that, it makes sense that you would grind as much as you did. It becomes much more watchable if you don't have to spend time between villages to grind for money, not to mention time lost on deaths.

So, you already replaced the axe. Makes sense, the laser gun is by far the best weapon in the game. Does more damage than the fire spell for free, against every enemy. The cases where the axe beats it out are so rare and inconsequential there's no point in keeping it around.
I always wondered about old games. Balancing them doesn't seem that hard, yet there's always one thing that's obviously better than everything else.
That being said... Uhg that sound!

PrinceBrightstar
Mar 23, 2016, 09:06 PM
Though I leveled up to 22 in the grinding session, I think by the time I was done with the speed run, I was only 17 or 18 with Alis. I think it took around 30-40 reloads before the RNG gave me what I needed to finish the game.

Episode 8 added.

Zorafim
Mar 28, 2016, 03:51 PM
The next section is my favorite part. Something that I love about old RPGs is the reign of freedom they have compared to newer RPGs. Being able to pick and chose where you go next is a lost art.

PrinceBrightstar
Apr 9, 2016, 04:01 PM
Episode 9 posted.

Not all games are like that. You got to pick and choose where you went in Final Fantasy XIII-2 depending on how you unlocked things, and Lightning Returns basically had 4 separate story lines separated by the areas (sometimes intertwining) you could go to which were all essentially open to you as soon as you got past the first few opening scenes. I think it's more a case of having an open ended story that's lacking where the only way to really progress things is to go where the game tells you to go. Even in this, you still have key points you need to hit such as gathering all the items you need and the final boss doesn't move around dynamically. Sadly you're likely to only see that in a table top RPG like D&D/Pathfinder

Zorafim
Apr 15, 2016, 12:04 PM
I'm not saying she's an ice digger.
But she's not stopping for those hilled shivers.

That portion is so satisfying. You go from not being able to survive more than a few fights at a time, to being able to traverse an entire planet without rest. It's less satisfying in the remake since you're forced into going into certain caves before going to the next ones, so seeing you plow through these caves was great.
Did you get the diamond armor already? I must have missed that.
I laughed when you replaced the iron armor with the Laconian armor. From the worst armor to the best in one shot. I wonder how much of an improvement that was.

I'll be looking forward to you going through the final stretch. I remember that being a pain.

One reason I'm glad for watching this is seeing how you use Noah. I thought he was pretty useless since he can't cast many spells. And I was pretty much right! He's just kinda carries around until he's needed, though he's pretty low maintenance so that doesn't hurt too much.

If you're interested in a parody comic, check this out. (http://www.pso-world.com/forums/showthread.php?t=217049) Goes through the entire game, just finished.

devilxhunterr
Apr 15, 2016, 04:05 PM
dat ps xD

devilxhunterr
Apr 15, 2016, 04:06 PM
u play with pc ?

PrinceBrightstar
Apr 19, 2016, 04:40 PM
Yes, as described in the first episode I'm playing it on PC for the ease of capturing footage.

I was aware of that comic, but I hadn't followed it that closely. Glancing at the last few pages quickly I think there was a missed opportunity to allude to Copto.

I got the diamond armor after the grinding session.

Episode 10 is out.

Zorafim
Apr 22, 2016, 09:18 AM
And you went from being able to walk through an entire planet without rest, to having to run from everything just to keep your strength. The balance in this game is wonky.

Funny thing about the Generations remake: the two fights you have before Lassic are each harder than Lassic himself. You pushed aside the gold dragon like the nothing he was, but I died three times against him in the remake (there's a save point right before you fight him). Then a black dragon part way through the castle. Then Lassic, who's a pushover by this point.

PrinceBrightstar
May 7, 2016, 08:50 AM
I'm not stopping at just this game, I'm going to go through the whole series, and I do plan to cover the Ages 2500 games at some point so I'm sure I'll experience that.

Final episode uploaded.

Zorafim
May 10, 2016, 01:59 PM
I remember my kill on Lassic. Alis ran out of MP. I had no way of getting off the island.
It took months for me to get a gameshark to hack her some MP so I could finish the game.

It seems like when you run away from an enemy, the chance of you running into the same enemy in the same spot is increased. Do you think that's just coincidence, or intentional?

I thought Falz and Lassic had a guaranteed chance of dodging all melee attacks. That's why the gun is better than the axe in my experience. But, I guess it's just a high chance of dodging, plus incredible defense. So the gun is still better anyway.

Your "pitfall" was timed perfectly.


So Phantasy Star 2 next? I'm interested in seeing your strategy for that game. It seems like it has to be brute-forced through, like PS1.
And you're doing Phantasy Star 3? I wouldn't wish that on anyone.

PrinceBrightstar
May 10, 2016, 10:44 PM
More a case of editing on the pitfall. I was just trying to be funny. I record my mic audio separately from the game audio since that allows me to be a little creative every now and then.

No kidding on 2, that game is even more of a grind fest, and you want to figure out your final party and level only them. I'm sure everyone's familiar with Whistle hunting that has gone through that one. (Unless you're doing a TAS at which point you beat the game in under 13 minutes https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZOd_qjUAblU ) That's not what I'm doing though.

Just to be clear, I'm not only looking at main series games. There are technically 14 games can be called part of the Algol timeline. (Over 25 in the whole series.)

I've got the next one in mind but before I start into it I need to finish up Undertale, and I've committed to Mighty No 9 already on my channel. But an old project of mine will hopefully resurface before then. It'll explain why I'm going through the whole series.