Lia's BK tweets archive - 2021-04-22: Mintaka, Giacomo, Baelheit and Shanath's plotting, Hassaleh, Nusakan Thornwood

Lia @liareplaysbk · 09:56 PM · Apr 22, 2021 Permalink

Onwards to hopefully getting the hell out of Mintaka. But first, let’s go check on that thief who fell into Camilla’s house...

Lia @liareplaysbk · 10:17 PM · Apr 22, 2021 Permalink

OKAY, SURE, the housekeeper is beating the guy up with a giant fork and having a ton of fun, this seems perfectly reasonable.

Housekeeper: “I’ve been having a really rough week, and I’m taking it all out on you!”

Housekeeper: “Ohh, ho ho ho ho!! This feels great! I never knew I was so into this.”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 10:18 PM · Apr 22, 2021 Permalink

Skeed is also still terrible but no one should be surprised at that.

Skeed: “Oh, you’re the one from before... Back again? You have entirely too much free time.”

Skeed: “This is an excellent example of both criminal and behavioral psychology. A valuable lesson indeed.”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 10:30 PM · Apr 22, 2021 Permalink

What the heck is even going on with that trade system. Gonna file that under headaches and figure it out later.

Lia @liareplaysbk · 10:40 PM · Apr 22, 2021 Permalink

Millie’s battle animations and barks are what I’ll politely call “a lot”.
Continuing the series of Alfard Douchebags We Did Not Miss, young Giacomo was already a fashion disaster.

Giacomo: “I’ll see to it that the Service’s tarnished name is washed clean... in blood!”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 10:42 PM · Apr 22, 2021 Permalink

I see that we’re going for healthy group dynamics between playable characters again, GOOD

Milly: “I just can’t bear to see weak people getting picked on.”

Guillo: “The wench thinks she’s coming with us.”

Guillo: “Are you sure? I could feel her evil vibrations from twenty feet away.”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 10:44 PM · Apr 22, 2021 Permalink

No planar reflections in the wall this time. If someone who has the thing on console can confirm, I’m curious if this is the emulator. Shouldn’t be, considering how those are implemented.
That or Sagi’s a vampire, your call.

Sagi standing in front of a glossy wall, without a reflection.

Lia @liareplaysbk · 10:47 PM · Apr 22, 2021 Permalink

This game also has too many mechanics, and carries on the proud Baten Kaitos tradition of mediocre husbands who should get dumped by their wives.

Upgrade screen, showing that combining an Ice Dagger with some Water will produce a new magnus.

Drunkard’s Wife: “Quit being such an intolerable boozehound from morning till night! Go out and get a job!!”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 11:07 PM · Apr 22, 2021 Permalink

There’s... a lot going on with this skyliner.
- There’s a door, unlike EW ships and their weird teleport system.
- The pilot’s clearly not human?
- NOTE THE GIANT CHUNK OF MEAT

A large fish with a small building around it. At the front is a niche with what looks like a fishperson holding a cartoony chunk of meat in front of the fish’s face.

Lia @liareplaysbk · 11:08 PM · Apr 22, 2021 Permalink

We also continue the tradition of Kids Explain Game Mechanics That The Grown-Ups Don’t Get.

Child: “It’s called a warp flower, and it has mysterious properties.”

Child: “This flower leads to the oldest of bethels, a church at the very edge of the world.”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 11:11 PM · Apr 22, 2021 Permalink

This is something EW actually did VERY little of: moving completely away from the party to show us things we-the-Spirit can’t possibly see.
Kind of a big deal, it has implications for how the story and its misdirections are handled.

A large circular room with complex machinery. Empire Solider: “Lord Baelheit. Master Shanath is here to see you.”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 11:15 PM · Apr 22, 2021 Permalink

*headache intensifies*
So Shanath is the guy who killed the Emperor, which means he’s lying to Baelheit, who was apparently plotting the Emperor’s demise anyway but not yet, except didn’t he send us to kill him, also WHAT ISLAND LEVITATION SYSTEM and why is a child here

Baelheit: “Where have you been? I thought I told you to stand by during the operation!”

Shanath: “My apologies. Adjustments to the continent’s levitation system took longer than expected.”

Shanath: “But does it really matter, milord? The emperor’s death is hardly what I’d call bad news...”

Baelheit: “I needed him alive! It’s too soon to reveal my hand.”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 11:17 PM · Apr 22, 2021 Permalink

Sure, keep throwing more moving parts at this, confusion was in short supply

Baelheit: “One more thing. During the operation... we found one.”

Shanath: “But none of the soldiers involved in the operation are on our list.”

Baelheit: “Precisely. Which means it must have been someone from the missing list.”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 11:18 PM · Apr 22, 2021 Permalink

Proceed to WHAT darnit

Shanath: “May I begin with Diadem and Sadal Suud, then?”

Baelheit: “You may proceed with Anuenue as well. Do it quickly.”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 11:20 PM · Apr 22, 2021 Permalink

Back to the skyliner where our party is having a completely normal ti- GUILLO NO

Guillo, eyes blazing red: “Sagi, can I eat her?”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 11:23 PM · Apr 22, 2021 Permalink

Yeah, sure, acknowledge the trope and try to have us buy that as legit, in THIS franchise of all things.

Milly: “Oh, you know the rest. The sheltered girl usually winds up running away from home, right?”

Milly: “So I took a page out of that book and put all I knew behind me...”

Milly: “And that’s when I stumbled across you two and your little predicament.”

Milly: “All I want is to see the outside world. Please take me with you! You don’t mind, do you?”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 11:26 PM · Apr 22, 2021 Permalink

Sagi: patronizing. Guillo: extremely rude (in a way I love, don’t get me wrong). What a pair.

Sagi: “Aww, what’s the harm? She’s all by herself. I bet she feels so helpless.”

Guillo, eyes blazing red: “Helpless?! Oh, that explains how she trounced the same soldiers that had US at the ends of their blades.”

Guillo: “You could drop a ton of bricks on her, and the bricks would be helpless.”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 11:27 PM · Apr 22, 2021 Permalink

Also: WTF worldbuilding. Or upcoming puzzle mechanic, who knows.

Child: “I saw a balloon-gator on my way here! They deflate if they run into any thorns.”

Child: “But for whatever reason, they still like living in thorny places. It’s such a mystery!”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 11:30 PM · Apr 22, 2021 Permalink

Did I somehow miss a gender select for the spirit or are we always “he” in this one? I didn’t see an option.

Lia @liareplaysbk · 11:34 PM · Apr 22, 2021 Permalink

PRETTY

A thorn forest with large blue flowers. Title card: “The Nusakan Thornwood”.

Lia @liareplaysbk · 11:36 PM · Apr 22, 2021 Permalink

After that is a bit of chatter, with actual introductions and a solid entry for Captain Obvious Of The Month.
The paramachina we saw were grey and obviously machine-like but somehow people think Guillo is one? Maybe I’m not the only confused one here.

Sagi: “Actually, Guillo’s not a paramachina at all.”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 11:37 PM · Apr 22, 2021 Permalink

And on this exquisite bit of passive-aggressively saying that Sagi looks a bit dull, we go back to the world map and save.
Next time... getting to whatever Sheratan is, I guess?

Milly: “You don’t look like the type that would lie.”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 11:47 PM · Apr 22, 2021 Permalink

It’s interesting how much more overly goofy this game is compared to EW. That had no shortage of humor or open silliness at times - Parnasse, anyone? - but it still landed very differently.

Lia @liareplaysbk · 11:49 PM · Apr 22, 2021 Permalink

By being a prequel it also sets itself up for a lot of “... and somehow that never came up 20 years later?” but I’ll keep those nitpicks for when I’m further into the game.