Charmian's Journal

Since maybe one or two people want to play the game, I decided to write some notes about playing it.

To get GOOD END (and not be executed), you need to get Edvard's popularity among the nobles and the commoners both above 450. You'll still avoid execution if only the noble popularity is above 450 (as the game notes, this is an aristocracy, so it doesn't really matter what the common folk think XD). You also have to keep shoring up your popularity, because it declines over time.

To raise this popularity, you need to either bribe nobles (to raise noble popularity), donate to the church (to raise commoner popularity) or undertake quests. You can also participate in the arena battles and get 50 points in each category. Most people advise against doing quests because they are a waste of time. Instead, you should go outside and grind against the monsters. You won't increase your stats, but you will increase the number of items you can carry, and also open up new areas, which is important because the later areas will get you a lot of cash so that you can start the bribing. (Hmm, the message this game sends: you can become king if you give enough cash to the right people?)

It's also important by round fifty to get at least some popularity, otherwise Curtis Nile will kill you, but by then, you should be strong enough to get through the arena (you can battle once about every fifty turns), so it shouldn't be a problem.

To raise your relationship points with the guys, you can either socialize with them or give them presents. I think giving them the appropriate presents raises it faster, so then you can just go through all 22 of the scenes that you get (with the guys you can actually start a relationship with (100pt); the ones you can't have fewer scenes and a 45 max of relationship points). You get the scenes at intervals depending on whether you have enough relationship points.

( more rambling )

Playing more Musou Orochi 2: Why does anyone bother trying to get Masamune to join their side, I wonder? It seems they're rather wasting their time. Maybe they were inspired by the first Orochi game or something. The Sengoku portion, BTW, seems like one huge glorification of Shima Sakon, which is fine by me. XD

Speaking of Masamune, am trying to read a Shiba Ryoutarou story about him, which seems to prominently feature the stuff about his mom trying to kill him. I guess we should be thankful that such secondary sources are not available to the English fandom, or Masamune would end up being portrayed as a ball o' angst. (But if you add all the apocryphal stuff together, Masamune has enough issues for four or five people).

Am also reading the Temple of Dawn; a third of the way through, and this book does feel at parts like Mishima is blogging his really awesome mindblowing trips to India and Thailand, although I have no idea whether he at some point really did go there. And then there's a chapter in which the main character's readings into Western theories of reincarnation are summarized. (As with the first two books, the contrast between Honda and my image of Mishima inappropriately looms large in my reading: much of the book takes place in Honda's head, or really, through Honda's head, yet he himself is a self-styled observer figure, and Mishima admires action (or at least this is my image of him). Anyway, more when I'm done w/ the book)

For my own ref: http://www.themystica.com/mythical-folk/articles/zagreus.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zagreus)

I have soooo not read anything related with fandom or even regular internets stuff in awhile (including Tumblr). I don't know if I will EVER get up to date on my LJ flist. XD Admittedly, I'm not really actively in fandom now, so it's not like it makes much of a difference anymore.

On the other hand, I have been playing Phoenix Wright 3, Apollo Justice, and Gyakuten Kenji (the one w/ Mitsurugi as protagonist). Shall write in more detail later, but my capsule reviews.

PW3: Should not, obviously, be played without playing the first two games. I do see the criticism that there was waaaay too much supernaturalism in the last case, but it didn't bother me as much, because by that time I just wanted to see how the story ended.

AJ: Ehhhh. As a mystery/gameplay experience, pretty good, but as a PW game, strange for many "worldbuilding" reasons, and in the last case, far too many things came out of left field.

GK: Am on the last case now, and really enjoying it. (Playing this in Japanese) This is actually not really a game that I'd want to play (as a story) without having played at least the first two Phoenix Wright games (the last is not as necessary). Actually, I wonder what someone who didn't play even the first game would make of it, as the events regarding the last game are only alluded to (although fairly detailed things are alluded to), so if you hadn't played the first PW game, you wouldn't know about just how twisted the relationship between Mitsurugi and his mentor ended up being. (Also, maybe it's just me, but I find some of the things Mei says to Mitsurugi on the subject of the Karuma legacy etc rather weird, but one might not if they only played this game; tho in general one might say the relationship between Mitsurugi and Mei is like a twisted parody of the relationship between Phoenix and Maya (disciple, and deceased mentor's younger relative), it's rather different in some ways, like the rivalry thing). Anyway, more when I'm done.

As I promised sempai, I'm posting on Sengoku Musou fan videos from Nicovideo. XD

Gi Rangers (This is hilarious if you know Japanese, but if you do not, I shall summarize it.)
( summary )

Man, I really need to get around to playing Musou Orochi.