And You and I (Day 99)

I've been playing Lost Odyssey off and on for the past few days because it's been bugging me that I've owned it for so long and haven't finished it. If it were a bad game I wouldn't mind, but it's actually pretty good, although not without its flaws. 

I think what I lost most about it has nothing to do with the gameplay at all. The protagonist is Kaim Argonar, an immortal man who has lived for a thousand years, although most of his memories are lost to him. Sometimes, certain places or events will trigger memories of his travels. These memories play out as animated text over static backgrounds--which sounds like a cheap gimmick but somehow Lost Odyssey makes it work, primarily because these segments are so well-written. I'm reasonably sure that these memory sequences were penned by a single author rather than a collaborative effort of the writing team.

These memories chronicle Kaim's travels. One story details a festival, the meaning of which has been lost to time. He wants to make sure the festival's purpose lives on--because he was there to witness the great earthquake that rent the town asunder some two hundred years prior. Another discusses a little girl who never tells the truth and is ostracized because of it--but she only lies to mask her despair. I became more invested in these tales than the plot of the game itself, which concerns itself with wars and "magical energy." 

It's been a long time since I originally played the game since I purchased it around the time it released in 2007. The graphics are a little dated, but since I spend a lot of time playing games much older than it, I certainly don't mind. The art style is appealing, even if I'm skeptical about the wardrobe choices of some of the main characters--but that's a common theme in Japanese RPGs, new and old. What's most dated, however, is the traditional turn-based combat system. This was considered somewhat antiquated even in 2007. Personally, I'm accustomed to turn-based combat and random encounters, but Lost Odyssey doesn't bring a ton of flavor to the tradition.

Like the SquareSoft classic Final Fantasy IV, characters are arranged into rows in combat. Characters in the back row take less damage--although unlike its predecessor, there is a mechanic that increases damage taken by the back row as the front row loses HP. Other than that, the combat is very traditional. Actions are chosen for all characters at the beginning of each turn instead of in real time, so combat does lose some of its immediacy compared to most of the Final Fantasy series.

There are only two major mechanics that distinguish Lost Odyssey from other RPGs: one is in the way your characters learn skills and the other is the Ring System. Although most characters will learn skills as normal through leveling up, immortals like Kaim will learn their spells from mortal party members. By shuffling the members of your party, you can teach Kaim (and others) a large variety of different spells, though Kaim in particular is a poor spellcaster. 

 

The Ring System is very simple as well. Whenever you use a basic attack on an enemy, you are prompted to hold down the left trigger and release it when two rings line up on screen. Perfect execution is rewarded with more damage. As you progress through the game, you collect various different components that allow you to craft new rings, each with varying effects. So far I've only acquired the Bruiser Ring, which just increases damage dealt. I'll write more about this as I progress further into the game.

Lost Odyssey's gameplay is vanilla, but JRPGs aren't often purely focused on gameplay. The story--especially Kaim's dream sequences--is interesting, but I'm not sold on the characters just yet. Although the dream sequences do flesh out Kaim's character extremely well, they feel detached--separate from the game itself in a lot of ways. It feels unfair to judge the protagonist based on these sequences and not on his actions in the game itself. 

High Life (Day 98)

Man, I thought I'd be resuming my playthrough of Lost Odyssey today, but I have been glued to my computer screen for the past--oh, 14 hours?--playing Pokemon Showdown. The speed of the gameplay and the incredibly user friendly interface have led to an almost incurable addiction. All of the team compositions I've wanted to try over the years are now at my fingertips--and evidently all the Smogon articles I've read during that time have paid off. My win rate has been surprisingly decent.

The novelty may eventually wear off, but I'm now almost ready to go to sleep and I'm still playing. I've fallen in love with some Pokemon that I only had a passing familiarity with before. Avalugg's ability to tank even super-effective moves and counter with double power Avalanches has been invaluable. Chesnaught's ability to shut down physical attackers with Rocky Helmet and Spiky Shield and then wear them down with Leech Seed really fits with my playstyle. Similarly, Breloom's staying power with Toxic Orb + Poison Heal and Leech Seed/Drain Punch is terribly frustrating to play against--luckily, it seems I'm the only one doing it.

I've also had a lot of success with Malamar, the new Psychic/Dark type. It has unremarkable (although solid) stats, but what really makes it stand out is its hidden passive ability Contrary. With this ability all stat changes are reversed--boosting moves like Swords Dance would reduce his attack two stages, rendering those moves all but useless. However, Malamar has access to the extremely strong 120 base power Fighting move Superpower. What balances out this move on most Pokemon is the fact that it reduces your attack and defense one stage after each use. On Malamar, his stats are raised instead, making it an extremely powerful boosting tool.

With his (I believe) unique Psychic/Dark typing, Malamar is only weak to Bug and Fairy and immune to Psychic. Unfortunately, he has no other resistances--but with repeated uses of Superpower he will be capable of tanking strong physical hits. I feel like Malamar is particularly strong with Baton Pass support. I've been passing him speed and attack boosts from Ninjask and occasional Substitutes from Vaporeon so that he can dig in and start bulking up. With Superpower, Psycho Cut, and Dark Slash, he has very respectable coverage on a variety of types. If set up properly he is almost impossible to stop.

The last slot on his moveset is Malamar's signature move, Topsy-turvy. Similarly to his hidden ability, Topsy-turvy reverses stat changes, but in this move's case, it can be used on enemies. If an enemy sweeper were to stack a couple of Swords Dance boosts on himself he might find himself dismayed to have this move used against him. Instead of having quadruple attack, he would now have 1/4th instead, generally forcing a switch, giving Malamar a free Superpower (unless they switch in a Ghost type).

Basically I am saying that Pokemon battling is a lot of fun, especially when all the tedious bits are surgically removed. I imagine I'll be using this website off and on for quite some time!

Instant Crush (Day 97)

I think I might be more or less done with Pokemon Y now, unless I get a wild hair to try to complete the Pokedex. That's not even possible until the Pokebank comes out in December--it allows you to upload Pokemon from previous games and download them to X and Y. I assume you can also upload Pokemon from this newest game as well. I was actually curious if I could upload all of my important Pokemon, delete my save file, and start a new game. I wouldn't mind doing that at all, but I guess we'll just have to wait and see what features the service offers.

I'm not done with Pokemon in general though. I've been browsing Smogon for advice on strategies, movesets, and EV spreads on different Pokemon for years now, but only last night did I investigate the online simulator the site endorses. It's called Pokemon Showdown and is entirely browser-based. Despite this, it is animated and even includes music from the games! I was taken aback at how high quality the program was--and how easy it is to set up your own team that adheres to their rules. 

The most popular tier of competitive play (according to Smogon) is called OU, which stands for Overused. The name almost has a negative connotation for me, but it is the most diverse and widely-played format on the website. All Pokemon that fall into tiers below it are legal for play as well. These tiers are, in descending order, Underused (UU), Rarely Used (RU, and Neverused (NU). These Pokemon are generally outclassed by other similar Pokemon or rely on very niche strategies that are extremely reliant on proper support. Each tier allows the use of Pokemon in any tier below it.

OU essentially alllows you to use whatever Pokemon you want--although you'll have a much easier time against skilled players if you stick to using Pokemon from the OU tier. The only Pokemon that you cannot use are relegated to the Ubers tier, which is primarily populated with Legendary Pokemon--obtainable generally only from special events in the game. In Gen V, the Ubers tier was entirely populated with Legendaries with only 2-3 non-Legendary Pokemon. Like the OU, it allows the use of any and all Pokemon in tiers below it. Some lower-tier Pokemon have unique strengths that allow them to combat the extremely powerful Pokemon in the tier.

I've only played a few matches on the website so far, but I can see myself spending a lot of time on it, experimenting with different team comps. I've always been a bit of a hipster (or Johnny in MTG terminology) when it comes to competitive games. I always try to get odd, off the wall strategies to work. It pains me to use strategies that are considered universally strong and popular. I'm trying to not fall into that habit as much these days, but the tendency still remains. 

Enter (Day 96)

--

He felt like muscles might burst under the strain as he struggled to support his weight in the relative darkness of the tunnel. It was difficult not succumbing to despair as he regarded the sheet of sheer rock ahead of him. Shafts of dim light could be seen filtering through it, however--there was definitely something on the other side. Considering how late it must be, Terakiel could only imagine he was seeing tiny shafts of moonlight. He was inches away from the outside world but completely walled off from it.

A wordless groan escaped his lips as he shifted his weight. The journey up had been enormously strenuous and now he had nowhere to go. Gripping tightly to the rock formation, Terakiel probed the rocks above him experimentally. Perhaps they were not as solid as he first imagined. Although it seemed the rocks were not entirely structurally sound, they were more than sturdy enough to break through with the strength of one man. If he'd had tools he might be able to break through with some time--but even then, it would be an extremely difficult task to do one handed.

"Aisen!"

There was no answer, of course. And what would he be able to to do to help? Even if he had decided to follow, there was little hope he would make it this far. The man had been squeamish about traveling down a narrow corridor; this tunnel might well provoke him into passing out. In a fit of frustration, Terakiel punched the tightly packed rocks ahead of him and he was showered with dust for his efforts.

 He couldn't let it end like this. He acknowledged that he deserved no better, but is life as no longer his only concern. Aisen was an innocent bystander that he had unwittingly transported into the midst of an unforgiving wilderness. Worse still, he had coerced him into exploring the depths of this cave--for no other reason than because he'd had a feeling it might be important. If he died here, then what then? Aisen would find his way out of the cave after some time, and then he'd be stuck. Maybe he'd eventually find his way to civilization, but--there was no guarantee.

There was no point in leaving things to chance. There was no point in stubbornly refusing to rely on the resources he had available either. He had done bad things with the terrible, unpredictable energies that he had access to, but with time perhaps he could learn to control them. Aisen seemed to know of those who had managed to reign in and control those forces. If he had the power to do so, it would be irresponsible not to try.

Terakiel glared daggers at the wall of rocks blocking his escape route. He felt himself floating away once again to that black, starless world. He struggled to maintain his grip on the rock formations and simultaneously not lose himself on the physical plane. He clenched his other hand into a tightly balled fist and concentrated on the cold, sickly hunger that always lingered beneath the surface.

This would require more energy than lighting a fire. As disgusted as he was with the idea, he would have to do what he had only done once before. He knew it was possible to break through those rocks--the destructive power of his energy could likely break through any material a man could name. He was terrified of what he was about to do but also recognized that it was his only option. There was no going back. If he let go of that rock formation for whatever reason he would tumble to his death. If he passed out from the strain. . .

It didn't matter. This was his only chance--and Aisen's only chance. A low shriek escaping his throat, Terakiel thrust his hand violently up into the rock formation and suddenly felt his hunger dissipate. For a split second, nothing happened. Then, fire ran through his veins and the tunnel was cast in bright violet light. For just a moment, the details of the tunnel could be seen in sharp relief as an unearthly bolt of wild, untamed energy snaked out of Terakiel's outstretched hand. The wall of rocks exploded into dust, showering the man's face with dozens of tiny pebbles.

Groaning, Terakiel struggled to keep his grip on the rock formation. He wasn't done yet. He couldn't afford to break down or to pass out. He had to pull himself out of the tunnel. He had to find a way to get back to Aisen, but there was no time for that now. His arm was in a tremendous amount of pain from having supported his weight for so long and if he didn't concentrate on getting out then his effort would be for nothing.

With his free hand he wildly explored the outer rim of the hole he'd created. There was much more light now, but it was still relatively dim. He couldn't make out the details of the outside world he'd revealed. After only a moment he discovered a handhold and grasped it as well as he could. He would have to use both hands to pull himself up--and there was no use in waiting around. Although the pain in his left arm was unbearable, he let go of the rock formation and grasped the handhold with it. A wave of cold fear gripped him as he realized how precarious his position was--but he dismissed it ruthlessly.

Planting his feet on the wall of the tunnel to support himself, he hurled himself bodily up onto the lip of the hole he'd created. Grunting with the effort, he managed to scrabble up onto the surface of what he hoped was the outside world. With a great sigh, he rolled onto his back, finally out of the tunnel, immensely relieved to finally be able to rest his excruciatingly tired arm.

Although he had to find a way to get Aisen through that tunnel, Terakiel had no plans to move from that spot for the next few minutes. He stared at his right hand. Only moments before that hand had birthed a bolt of violent lightning capable of breaking through solid rock. Why was he responsible for such terrifying power? For what reason was he given this dubious gift? He had the potential to destroy other human beings effortlessly--the thought of others having access to that kind of power was terrifying. How was such a thing regulated in the outside world?

Terakiel was broken from his reverie when he noticed that he was not looking at the night sky, but the roof of a very large cavern. He slowly rose to a sitting position and examined his new surroundings. The room was bathed in ambient light, but it was not clear from where it originated--but what drew his attention most was at the center of the cavern. It was a planar stone.

Hell's Winter (Day 95)

Man, my brain is totally not even working today and caffeine doesn't seem to be helping. I feel like on average my motivation and creativity have been higher lately, but I still have those days where I'm not sure how I managed to tumble out of bed. Today is one such day. I'm eager to return to my story, but I don't want to do it the disservice of half-assing it. I know if I forced myself to update it today then my work would be subpar. I have ideas about where I want things to go but I don't think I have the ability to express that accurately in my current state of mind.

I'm hoping that I feel better by tomorrow, because at 5 PM, I already feel like this day is a lost cause. I haven't felt the urge to do much of anything other than eat today. I'm feeling similarly to how I did when attempting to start work on a paper in college classes--which is not good. This is supposed to be a liberating experience for me. I can express myself freely here, on anything I want to discuss for as long as I like. Sometimes, unfortunately, I don't have anything left to express! It's not a daily thing, though, so at least there's that.

It's possible I didn't get enough sleep. That's been a recurring problem recently, for a variety of reasons. The temperature in this room fluctuates wildly, and my cat, although I love him, scratches wildly at my door when its closed and tends to pester me constantly when he's in here. I don't really keep track of when I go to sleep anymore, so it's hard to say if I got a good 7-8 hours or not.

Ugh. I really need to get out of the house. The Florida trip was good for me, but its positive benefits haven't lingered. I've still not heard back from any of the places I've applied to (and admittedly I should apply to a lot more) but it's hard for me to have motivation, despite lamenting the fact that I'm completely broke. Motivation isn't something that I can just force myself to have--and no one else can do it for me either. But I also can't just wait for it to fall into my lap. I'm the only one that can do it, but I can't figure out how to make myself want it. There are certainly things that I want, but when any of those things require significant effort, I wilt.

I was feeling pretty determined a couple months back, but for some reason I've just kind of. . .lost it. How do I get that back?

Father Midnight (Day 94)

I think I am going to take a break from the story today! For some unexplainable reason I feel very sleepy and listless--something even the sweet embrace of caffeine is doing little to remedy. I assume I didn't sleep well, and I woke up pretty late in the day. I'm just not off to a great start today. However, I have been reading some interesting things about some of the news from Blizzcon.

Heroes of the Storm is Blizzard's answer to the MOBA genre, a competitor for Riot's League of Legends and Valve's Dota 2. It features characters from all of Blizzard's flagship franchises, Diablo, WarCraft, and StarCraft, including such favorites as Jim Raynor, Diablo himself, and the Lich King. I expect we'll see others like Thrall, Zeratul, and several of the generic Diablo classes. Although we don't know everything yet, it would appear the gameplay differs from Dota and LoL in that the primary objective isn't to destroy the opposing primary base. There may be a slew of secondary objectives required to complete matches, much like in World of Warcraft battlegrounds. I'm completely fine with them changing up the tried and true formula, so long as I'm able to cut people in half with Illidan Stormrage.

News about the new WoW expansion also hit today. It's called Warlords of Draenor and reimagines the world first visited in The Burning Crusade--before the events that led to it being shattered into different regions. The zones will evidently be designed from the ground up. Although no new races or classes have been announced, the level cap is being raised to 100 and most if not all of the basic character models are being overhauled. This has been a long time coming, because some of them are extremely dated in 2013--especially the tauren race.

Despite the mixed reception to recent World of Warcraft content, I've always been at least a casual fan of the game. When I have the disposable income, I enjoy leveling and exploring the new content they have to offer. I may not always agree with Blizzard's design decisions, but I certainly enjoy their lore and aesthetic enough to continue consuming their product--though not on a permanent basis. If I have the cash available I'll definitely be giving my paladin and warrior another spin on Warlords of Draenor. 

As far as other Blizzard content goes, I'd definitely like to give Hearthstone a try as well. I can't imagine it would ever be as deeply engrossing as Magic: the Gathering, but it does have the notable benefit of being digital and not a huge money sink. I'm told it's also far simpler, so it may not take as much of an investment to learn and play. The reception to it seems positive overall, so I'll definitely be giving it a try if I get the opportunity.

Rise to Glory (Day 93)

--

Try though he might, Aisen could not glimpse anything beyond a few feet into the tunnel before him. He held the flickering flame out as far as he could, but its light was engulfed by the darkness within. The Strander had been gone for some time now and he was worried. He had called up to him only a few minutes before but there had been no answer. Of course--that didn't necessarily mean anything. The oppressive walls of the cavern had a way of muting the sound of his voice. He might be perfectly safe and just had not heard.

Was he calling down to him now? Had he traveled too far down the tunnel and gotten stuck somehow? Aisen was mortified for a moment when he realized that his companion could be calling for help and he just wasn't able to hear. He strained his ears to listen for muted yells, but there was nothing. He was growing more restless by the second waiting at the tunnel's opening.

"I should go after him," he whispered to himself, although he scarcely believed his own words.

Just traveling through the narrow corridors on the way to that cavern had made him intensely uncomfortable. Although he'd spent plenty of time outdoors, he'd never been much for tromping through dark and mysterious caves. He'd sensed there was something important here--or else he would have never dared to venture inside. He imagined the walls of the cave collapsing violently in on him just about every moment. It was a startling phobia that he very much wished he could dismiss.

He longed for the wide open spaces and warm climate of Danatha and wondered momentarily if he would ever see it again. He harbored no resentment toward the Strander for what he had done--it was clear it had been accidental. He was afraid of what wonderful things he could accomplish. Aisen could only speculate, but he imagined whatever society the poor man belonged to must frown on communing with the Strand. Still, it was an exceedingly strange location for a planar stone. Many societies were built around locations containing them--but here, there was not a living thing in sight.

Time was stretching on, and still no sounds came from the tunnel. Why was he waiting here? Clearly Terakiel had not found a dead end or he would have turned back long ago. It made the most logical sense to dismiss his irrational fears and climb up through that hole. It made a lot of sense. But he still did not want to do it in the slightest.

Holding the ghostly flame aloft, Aisen examined the perimeter of the cavern. It was possible there was another route that was somewhat less terrifying. The only other opening in the entire room was indeed larger--but it was blocked off by tightly packed rock formations. Given enough agility, a man might be able to wriggle his way through to the passage, but it would mean crossing the river, a feat they'd both been avoiding for some time. It was a lot of effort to go through and it there was no guarantee that it connected to the other passage--and even if he did try it, Terakiel might return while he was gone.

That really only left Aisen with one reasonable option. He had to conquer his fear and climb up through that hole. If Terakiel had found something then he would have to do it anyway. Why not get a head start and save some time? He couldn't turn back now--he had no idea where he was and little enough idea how to survive in the wilderness. Despite Aisen's healthy supply of akser berries, Terakiel seemed to have a better idea of how to brave the wilds. After all, he'd been doing it long before Aisen came along.

"Well. . ." Aisen inhaled. "I suppose there's no avoiding this."

He hesitated. How easily would he be able to crawl through the tunnel holding the Strander's flame? Terakiel had somehow made his way through that dark passageway without light, but Aisen wasn't sure his stomach could handle that. Sighing profoundly, he dismissed his concerns and flung the ball of fire a few feet up into the tunnel, where it came to rest soundlessly, seemingly having no effect on the terrain beneath it.

Steeling his resolve, Aisen pulled himself up into the mouth of the tunnel, taking care not to snag his piriol cloak on any of the rocks jutting out of the surrounding walls. He crawled his way a few feet forward and snagged the flame. He swallowed. I cannot believe I am doing this.