Lia's BK tweets archive - 2020-10-27: Celestial Tree

Lia @liareplaysbk · 08:36 PM · Oct 27, 2020 Permalink

Let’s go climb a tree and eliminate an awkward amount of local wildlife again, yay!

Lia @liareplaysbk · 08:42 PM · Oct 27, 2020 Permalink

I might have mentioned this before, but my spoken English comprehension was markedly weaker last time I played this, and the combat barks don’t come with subtitles. Understanding them better is mostly extra cringe, but sometimes...

Lia @liareplaysbk · 08:43 PM · Oct 27, 2020 Permalink

Sometimes, you give Gibari a camera, and get to hear “I’ll capture this tender moment” right before he whacks the shit out of the monster with his oar.

Lia @liareplaysbk · 08:48 PM · Oct 27, 2020 Permalink

Speaking of the barks, MAYBE Savyna shouldn’t get “Don’t mess with Lady Death” in her finisher intros until we, you know, learn that’s who she is. Arguably it doesn’t make sense for now, but still.

Lia @liareplaysbk · 08:51 PM · Oct 27, 2020 Permalink

(As in, we haven’t yet heard of “Lady Death the infamous Imperial special forces agent who did a whole lot of murdering-on-demand”)

Lia @liareplaysbk · 09:28 PM · Oct 27, 2020 Permalink

Savyna, as mentioned a while back, is a brawler. Her weapons are claws, iron knuckles, etc, she requires being a bit faster than the rest of the cast.
Her outfit is also Textbook Combat Heels And Other Nonsense, which is... especially bizarre considering her characterization.

Combat screen, showing Savyna’s hand of cards.

Lia @liareplaysbk · 09:36 PM · Oct 27, 2020 Permalink

It’s nonetheless Baten Kaitos The Game Of Weird-Ass Looks, so she still gets asymmetrical boots and wings that look like an even brighter peacock tail. But, yeah.

Lia @liareplaysbk · 09:38 PM · Oct 27, 2020 Permalink

Either way, we climb the tree, murdering everything along the way because they drop decent gear, and locate Mayfee, cornered on a platform by an angry floating shrimp.

Kalas, off-screen as the camera focuses on Mayfee hiding from a monster: “...! There she is!”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 09:47 PM · Oct 27, 2020 Permalink

Get there, murder the shrimp, get confirmation that Mayfee’s there to get a flower to bloom.
She’s not exactly the sharpest tool in the shed, especially compared to the obnoxiously smart kids we’ve met so far.

Kalas pouncing on the floating monster with his sword out.

Savyna, after the monster is gone: “...What were you thinking, coming up here all alone?”

Mayfee: “I came up here to find a Celestial Flower bud, to make it bloom somehow.”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 09:49 PM · Oct 27, 2020 Permalink

This bit’s interesting. By now we’ve only seen Savyna as super-strong and confident, if mysterious and SuspiciousTM, but this suggests there might be some baggage somewhere.
(Also pretty strong Mom Energy)

Mayfee: “Savyna, I wish I was strong and brave like you.”

Savyna: “Strong and brave like me? You’ve got quite an imagination, I’m not really so...”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 09:50 PM · Oct 27, 2020 Permalink

We take her with us instead of dropping her off back at camp, because we’ll need her Keeper powers to open the door.

Savyna: “Besides, when we get to the top we’ll be needing Mayfee’s help. She’s a Keeper, you know.”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 10:32 PM · Oct 27, 2020 Permalink

I thought we’d established that breaking seals IS A BAD IDEA.
Via the power of glowing spirographs and green butterflies, the door is now unlocked. Unlike Mayfee I’m pretty sure about what awaits inside: pendant laser, ominous doomtalk from a weird creature, boss battle.

Savyna, to Mayfee, in front of an ornate door blocked by tree branches: “Can you remove the seal?”

A glowing spell spawns green butterflies in front of the sealed door.

Mayfee, in front of the now-uncovered door: “You’re going into the tree’s core. There’s no telling what could happen.”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 10:33 PM · Oct 27, 2020 Permalink

But that will all be NEXT TIME, because instead we go back down to level and class up everyone now that we have enough gear to not need to fill our decks with trash.
Which will be my excuse for a quick aside about characterization via item descriptions... or lack thereof.

Lia @liareplaysbk · 10:39 PM · Oct 27, 2020 Permalink

The Class Up items are supposed to be things of great importance to the characters. But for most of them they end up themed without much detail, e.g. Xelha gets bird statues, Gibari gets sea stuff.
Lyude, however, gets... a “symbol of fiery rage”. Huh.

Falcon Statue Magnus in the Gathering.
Description: “Required for raising Xelha’s Class level to 4. Once targeted by a falcon’s keen eyesight, its prey is doomed.”

Heartlight Candle Magnus in the Gathering. Description: “Required for raising Lyude’s Class Level to 4. An ever-burning candle, symbol of fiery rage.”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 10:43 PM · Oct 27, 2020 Permalink

Similarly with the finishers, they’re deeply individual, but most of them don’t tell us that much beyond combat style and “aesthetics”.
Unless we’re talking about Lyude, again, whose Sforzando is him “giving in to his rage, usually kept in check by rationale”.

Shadow Wing Magnus in the Gathering. Description: “Darkness-based finishing move masters by Kalas. Releases a wave of shadowy ravens that swarm and tear the enemy to shreds.”

Soul Flash Magnus in the Gathering. Description: “Light-based arcane spell mastered by Xelha. Raises Meemai above her head as a focus for her energy, bombarding the enemy with explosive spheres of light.”

Sforzando Magnus in the Gathering. Description: “Darkness-based finishing move mastered by Lyude. He gives in to his rage, usually kept in check by rationale, repeatedly striking the enemy in blind fury.”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 10:44 PM · Oct 27, 2020 Permalink

It’s weird that they don’t do this a LOT more, because there’s room there for plenty of characterization and/or storytelling. But at least at this stage Lyude’s the exception.
(It’s not subtle either. His Light finishers are distance attacks, his Dark ones are melee. A N G S T )

Lia @liareplaysbk · 10:48 PM · Oct 27, 2020 Permalink

Either way, next time we go through the door, tackle the third End Magnus guardian, and get some major character drama I have been looking forward to for a while. Lyude’s going to start shit and it’ll be GREAT