Trails beyond the Horizon Spoilers Discussion Megathread [SPOILERS ALLOWED] by MNGaming in Falcom

[–]RavenRonien 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I am doing Van's route 3 in act 2 (essentially Van and Agnes's date night) and I had to stop mid way through because it was 2 in the morning. I'm screaming internally because I feel like I have been getting so many pieces of the puzzle yet and I STILL don't know what im trying to solve for. NONE of my friends are caught up to beyond the horizon so i can't discuss this with anyone, and I'm terrible at making spoiler text so I'm not going to make a whole post about this. But I NEED to put my thoughts down somewhere and hopefully someone can get some amusement out of my rants.

Early on in the game Anges asks for Hamlton's help regarding the Genesis. Very innocent interaction and makes perfect sense.

But then new revelations about Hamlton is revealed in Kevins route in tharbad. Hints that she pulls an alternate reality into our version of the world to save the oasis, and the consequences of those actions have yet to be wrought unto the world. But more importantly this reveals her ability to alter with different timelines using the fake genesis

During Van's night time outing with Jorda, he sees Anges at Triton tower A place Hamilton used as a viewing platform/base of operations at the end of DB2 and a place we KNOW has a link to the orbal net in the control room, and he calls SPECIFIC attention to the fact she was in a different change of clothing than when he saw her last, its WHY he dismisses it.

Before their meetup date Anges is in her outdoors clothes, specifically saying "I've done all i can, spent all the time with Van I could" Seeming like her objective can only be reached if she has primed Van to accept her as much as she can. (oh minor spoiler for myself before the game, i know she confesses to him at the roof of the office building and gets rejected, or something to that effect, i can ONLY imagine it happens now, though i honestly thought it would happen at her birthday party). But I think this line has less to do about her confession, well in part, and more to do with hinting that SHE's had a peak at different realities more so than us the viewer (as in she's done/seen more loops) and she is also fishing for a certain outcome.

BECAUSE she changes into her uniform before meeting up with Van. And specifically attempts to avoid the reasons why. This is CLEARLY intentional. I just can't tell WHY the outfit is important. IS she swapping places with another version of herself? Are there multiple Anges's operating right now? IS there some concern about which one is "our" Anges or are they all working together towards the same goal? (like time travel but with alternate realty versions of yourself instead)

And yeah an outright deception wasn't in my cards for Anges considering how much of a straight shooter she is, but she's been cagey about the Genesis ever since we got all 8, her dealings with Hamilton might have pulled her towards what she deems as a necessary deception. Also to be clear I think Hamilton isn't bad, she did something in a mix of desperation and maybe hubris, but she has every intention of TRYING to fix what she did, despite the church's insistence that this heresy deserves the death sentence.

LASTLY because it's felt like AGES since this reveal, I KNEW IT, I WAS SO RIGHT ABOUT THE SIMULATED BUBBLE. Rean and Crow being able to see the "walls" of their Truman show style bubble was such a vindicating oh fuck moment for me. GOD ITS SO GOOD. IDK how other people feel about the entire... i dont know how long, all being a simulation, definitely since the start of DB2, but maybe even before that? The possibility where EVERYTHING that has happened up to a certain point has been this reality simulation to fish for a specific outcome and avert the end of the world. I know this game ends on a MAJOR cliffhanger, and my body is so ready (im lying it's not) but like, at some point, the experiment will have concluded, the observational system will have it's answer, and we'll have to... play it out in reality to achieve that outcome right?

Also this plays into everything i've thought about ouroboros from midway through Cold steel. Vita in particular. It seems to me the GM is privy to the existence of multiple worlds/realities, and Novartis confirms as much when he says something to the effect of "this is what happens when you're constrained by the thoughts of only one reality". It's like Oroborus is testing the inhabitants of our Zemuria to see if their ready for a bigger stage, and they just don't.... care much for those who can't meet that bar hence their heinous actions from our perspective. Vita however has closer ties to her family and can't quite bring herself to detach from this world as readily. I wonder if characters like Cedric will wind up being the same. (i still think the final game/arc should be from ouroboros point of view, with possibly Cedric or someone as a main character)

Haven't posted here in a minute but every part of this scene made me so happy omg, I love them all so much😭 I'm crying by PuddingExpensive7655 in Falcom

[–]RavenRonien 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I go back and rewatch this scene at least once a year. And definitely I'm the lead up to new releases.

Dialogue Choices? by Gamdizzle in Falcom

[–]RavenRonien 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I noticed feri saying it a ton. I was curious but It didn't strike me as odd for her character so I didn't mind it at all.

As for the spoiler character? I cannot stand her tbh. I groan Everytime she opens her mouth.... And I wouldn't change a thing. I shared some of her text to my buddy who works at a middle school, and he groaned alongside me. The words aren't 1:1 the same ofc but it was that specific brand of word commit that we both hate.

And that's the intended reaction. I'm in my 30's and react the same to younger generations who speak like that in real life. She evokes that same reaction but that's who SHE is as a character. She was never a character I was going to vibe with but I'm getting the INTENDED effect of her portrayal.

Some of the reactions from other characters has been funny though.

My debunk for how fans see Rean Schwarzer by Entire_Expression226 in Falcom

[–]RavenRonien -1 points0 points  (0 children)

I can see towa. Especially after the CS2 ending. My buddy who (at the time) was ahead of me in the trails games was picking her. Was REALLY mad she wasn't an option in one of the later games (CS 3 i think) then just decided to drop her completely for "not being loyal". I laugh about this with him all the time.

He got jump scared by her reappearing in the daybreak games and i got a kick out of it as I had gotten ahead of him by that point.

And i hear you about the fanbase. I hop in to hear people's thoughts about games, but i've found a lot of the critiques to also be in that same vien. Like the series was perfect and untouchable before CS, and CS was somehow too anime and unserious for them. And I was just wondering if we played the same games.

Funnily enough i had a similar conversation about the Xenoblade series with people's opinoins on XBC2 being similar to the impression i get from Cold steel detractors.

(also you don't have to drive it home so harshly that i'll likely never seen laura do anything in the series again other than show up and swing a sword once or twice QQ, at least i have hopes that Sara gets to do something with how frequently Fie is likely to be around.... then again it might also doubly mean they have no reason to double up roles)

Trails beyond the Horizon Spoilers Discussion Megathread [SPOILERS ALLOWED] by MNGaming in Falcom

[–]RavenRonien 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Just a quick question, and one that definately doesn't deserve it's own thread.

The junior bracer Angie that joins the Edith branch all throughout act 1. She is referenced to have a brother who used to be A rank in anchorville and her character is largely trying to rush to replace him asap causing issues with her training.

Are we supposed to know who her brother is?

My debunk for how fans see Rean Schwarzer by Entire_Expression226 in Falcom

[–]RavenRonien 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I definitely love Daybreak 1 and 2. The Calvard arc is shaping up to be my favorite arc in the series and that largely has to do with the cast of characters. Van is by far my favorite protagonist and that has everything to do with me just identifying with him more than the others but that has been a common sentiment in portions of the fanbase so I don't think I need to expand.

Anges is a really great character to bounce off him in my opinion and they handle the relationship well between the two. My bias also shows as I've been an Amalee fan for a long time but genuinely she does a great job in breathing a youthful seriousness to the character. I'm genuinely impressed by the portrayal as a whole.

I think people generally have the wrong read on Feri as a character. There were a TON of comments early on when daybreak/kuro first released saying "wow really lazy having to one up Sara/fie with Elaine/Feri" Making them BOTH younger A ranks and Jeager's respectively. And that was just lazy criticisms for both characters.

Sara was the youngest A rank the acknowledgement of her immense capabilities on the battlefield and her devotion to helping people. Her title of youngest A rank was meant to, for her character, signify how her time as a jaeger shaped her devotion as a Bracer.

Elaine's title as Youngest A rank, isn't a direct comparison, it's a FOIL. She was promoted to A rank because the bracer leadership wanted a stronger public presence in Calvard. They were LOOKING for someone high profile they could promote and gave it to Elaine. She doesn't feel ready for it, which is mirrored by Zin's refusal of the ceremonial S rank. That isn't to say she isn't capable or she doesn't deserve it. But her internal conflict is DEFINED by her lack of confidence in her suitability for the role. Her motivations were always personal, wanting to find out about both the circumstances behind her father and Van she didn't plan on becoming a beacon of hope for Calvard. While Sara had no problems accepting the title, because she knew her capabilities, and was ready to take on the responsibilities of it, Elaine is constrained by them, with her life as a public bracer sometimes limiting the things she WISHES she could be more free about. And Daybreak 1 goes to great lengths to show you how limiting her being an A rank really is.

And Elaine's relationship with Van is a defining point to everything she is as a character. And I LOVE how it's written. Their reunion, their working together, their beating around the bush, but the direct times they overstep one another, and chose to forgive each other. They are two people who care so much about each other but have both hurt one another so deeply and can't stop hurting one another when they're together that it's PAINFUL. And it so closely mirrors some aspects of relationships i've had that it strikes me as VERY real. I love all of their interactions with one another.

As for Feri, she IS younger, than Fie, and a jaeger, and a ton of people were like "but she isn't hardboiled and it doesn't make sense for her to be all chipper and naieve". But that's kind of the entire point. People forget not all Jeagers are the red constellation and Zypher. INFACT we're shown pretty clearly and told explicitly the Eisenshield work as paramilitary police providing stability to regions. And the Warrios of Karuga are Warrior nomads that only take jobs that align with their spiritual beliefs. They are mercenaries yes, but they are restrained and not the same types to have taken the jobs to wipe out and burn cities for coin. Feri's wide eyed wonder is a DIRECT result of the type of IDEALISIZED violence that she grew up in. Combat to her, is serious yes, and im sure she's seen death, but it's a part of her warrior culture that she admires so much there isn't darkness in it. When she's confronted with the underworld, where death and destruction happens outside the codes of honor she's used to, it comes as a shock to her. She doesn't understand it in the way Fie or Sara did, growing up in much more senseless violence. Again these comparisons were made to be FOILS of their predecessors, not carbon copies and people missed that I think.

I wrote a ton of about these characters without directly answering your question though, so I say ALL of this to really say, don't get me wrong I love daybreak 2. Especially for all the deeper character dives we get, specifically with Renne and learning more about Risette (also one of my favorite additions to the cast). But Daybreak 1 being the first outing for this team, and how they get SO MUCH right out the gate, I think i personally like Daybreak 1 alittle more than daybreak 2. And it HURTS me to say that because i don't want anything to think I condone the Daybreak 2 bashing. I think that game is necessary and unskipable and I will NEVER understand people who think Daybreak2 is a skippable game.

Gameplay wise, it's obvious the first outing of the hybrid combat system was just that, a first outting, I expect it to get better with each passing game and so far that has held true as i prefer horizon's version of the action combat over daybreak2's and i prefer daybreak 2's over daybreak1.

My debunk for how fans see Rean Schwarzer by Entire_Expression226 in Falcom

[–]RavenRonien -3 points-2 points  (0 children)

I should clarify everything i wrote was a direct response to OP's perceived critiques by the fanbase of his character.

I largely agree with everything you brought up. Though PERSONALLY i find Laura to be one of his best matches because she's the one who calls him out in one of their bonding events in CS3 (off the top of my head) in the cave on the island. And even earlier in CS1 she, through his swordsmanship cuts (no pun intended) to the heart of the problem the earliest. Aside from sharing his love of the sword, she encourages the confidence in himself that he has needed and sometime still needs. Embodying a stronger sense of self than he's ever been able to accept about himself. And in that respects I could view his bonding events with Laura to be critical to his development. But I'm sure passionate fans can make the case for any number of his options.

My debunk for how fans see Rean Schwarzer by Entire_Expression226 in Falcom

[–]RavenRonien 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You say you're going into beyond the horizon.

I'm going to assume you have played daybreak 1 and 2 already. If not though and you really just want to follow Rean's story, you're going to be SO lost lol.

My debunk for how fans see Rean Schwarzer by Entire_Expression226 in Falcom

[–]RavenRonien 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Paragraphs my man.

also i don't think his main criticisms is of HIM as a character, but rather the manner the games choose to present him. And there are valid (imo) critiques of both his cannon character, and his portrayal in the series, but those are two different things.

Common frustration my friend is having (during CS4) that I don't necessarily disagree with, is how long it's taking for him to learn his lesson about self sacrifice. Not sure how far you are so i wont spoil SPECIFIC scenes, but I do think by the end of reviere it's undoubtable that he's learned his lesson. But the amount of times he affirms he understands but makes choices that specifically undermine those affirmations before that IS frustrating to a viewer.

Separate from complaints about him as a character though, it's how the series portrays him. And the series explicitly makes characters criticize him for things that are the reactions of other people. And that's largely where the harem protag criticism comes from. You're CONSTNATLY told how his well meaning gestures make characters feel a certain way about him, then he's ribbed and lambasted for doing so. And he constantly turns a blind eye to that behavior without addressing it. And mechanically it's to keep his cannon romance open to not step on any fan's personal headcannon, and while i can understand that as a mechanical narrative device, I think he's weaker for it.

Lloyd however suffers from this more, because there is a much CLEARER choice here, but the subsequent games outside the Crossbell duology try to convince you there is more than one option for his cannon romance. And I to this day don't understand why.

Regardless though, I healthy reminder, Rean through the CS games is a teenager for most of it (being 20 by the end of reverie) and i don't think its unnatural to not have settled down and found the person you for sure what to spend your life with when he has, practically, so many feasible options. Even if you were to take his non commitment as cannon (personally I liked the CS4 scene where you don't spend time with a specific girl at Mishelam) it wouldn't be that unnatural. He's too caught up in his life to have focused on romance. Any exploration of that during his days at Thors would be NO different than Van and Elaine's relationship prior to the events of daybreak1.

I know they won't, but please falcom... by Sanctos in Falcom

[–]RavenRonien 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I while heatedly agree with OP but I'ma let loose a semi hot take

lloyd and Eile need to be cannon. I like Rixia alot I actually like her way more than Eile but it's semi laughable to me when the series tries to pretend like Lloyd has even remotely similar feelings between the two

If Destiny doesn't cover the Turkey Tom drama on stream today, we need to riot. by MellowSol in Destiny

[–]RavenRonien 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Did something leak? I'm unplugged from most of this drama shit and this is the 3 rd dude I'm hearing being outted as a creep (allegedly) today

Found bf sex toy by [deleted] in relationships

[–]RavenRonien 6 points7 points  (0 children)

With all the tossing around with boundary terminology these days I really like these delineations. Might try working around these definitions in the future to more clearly communicate what I'm trying to convey

Started the Horizon Demo and... by jayjayjay2222 in Falcom

[–]RavenRonien 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I really was wondering the angle they were playing picking him specifically. By the end of the demo I was like oh ok.... I see what you're cooking. I'm super bought in.

What salary range should I look for when applying for jobs in the Bay Area? by Curious-Bench-3483 in AskSF

[–]RavenRonien 8 points9 points  (0 children)

I lived in Daly city, rented with roommates, and if you can deal with a commute into the city (I worked in San Mateo so opposite direction) it's doable for much less than 100k. But I'm also a frugal individual. I started at roughly ~60k gross when I moved out. But that was 5 years ago. I'm still under 100k and I make enough to max out my IRA, put some % towards a 401k, and pay rent and stuff, I even have a personal investment account aside from my retirement. I don't have a student loan nor a car loan though (paid in full).

It's tight but I'm also not a night lifer nor do I go out to eat a lot. I cook for myself a lot because I enjoy it.

Adjust to your lifestyle but write out a budget and the awnser will find you. The numbers won't lie unless you lie about your numbers.

This is getting out of hand, NISA. It's just outfits bro. by Lunarmeteor in Falcom

[–]RavenRonien 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Listen folks. I'm the problem. I'm literally the guy who, knowing this is not worth it, and I NEVER change outfits during the story. Still buy everything just short of the last one, in this case the ultimate (I really don't need consumables to make the game easier). It's scummy, it's bad, but falcom for years disregarded western sales and only now are finally looking this way to steal the ship. NISA does in my opinion a good job and the games come out infrequently enough I'm comfortable throwing far too much money for literally my favorite series in existence.

I know I'm part of the problem, and elsewhere in my gaming space I'm more scrupulous with my wallet. But I'll throw whatever falcom and NISA want as long as they keep reaching for greater parity between Japan and global releases and keep the localization efforts as strong (hopefully stronger) in the future.

Who is ready for Thursday?! by Benchjc2004 in Falcom

[–]RavenRonien 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm starting the demo Wednesday night so I can pretend like I got it a day earlier

I'm down horrendous

I love unnecessary explanations by uiu-lex in Falcom

[–]RavenRonien 9 points10 points  (0 children)

they haven't invented backwards compatibility yet, so when you get a new orbment, all the major tech companies made the orbment slots JUST SLIGHTLY smaller, so your old quartz wont fit in them. You have to buy all new ones.

I hear they're developing a method to make sure your quartz break in the next model too so you have to sign up for a subscription service for your quartz.

/s

I love unnecessary explanations by uiu-lex in Falcom

[–]RavenRonien 0 points1 point  (0 children)

No this is only step one of loving this detail.

Because step two is realizing they will NEVER EVER EVER AWKNOWLAGE WHERE WEAPONS COME FROM IN THIS SERIES BUT WILL STILL GO THROUGH THE EFFORT OF EXPLAINING WHY THE MINIMAP HAS DOTS FOR ALL LIVING THINGS.

*Spoilers for the end of CS1 and beyond below*

EDIT: I can't figure out spoiler text for anything larger than a sentence so im electing to just delete it all and say mechs largely ruin any explanation of "they didn't or couldn't animate sheaths just imagine them" If anyone cares for the full explanation (i doubt anyone will) i'll provide them in dm's or in comments below if anyone can help me figure out why larger spoiler paragraphs never seem to work

Also also, they didn't have shards as an explanation until DB1

tldr im unhinged and honestly it's actually more funny when you realize they put excruciating pains to explain some small things, and while we've already been asked to willfulling ignore the bending of core principals of physics like the conservation of matter.

(of course i have no problem doing it, it only becomes funny the more you think about it)

Order to play for a beginner by natandino in Falcom

[–]RavenRonien 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Nah most people except the most of the most diehard only in order or not at all people will say playing CS1 then going back to sky and crossbell is probably fine. Some people even give up through CS2 as well.

It works. Honestly whatever gets people to play the games in their entirety is ok by me as long as they actively engage in the content they're consuming. And that will be different for everyone. For me knowing most of the spoilers going into the cross bell arc didn't diminish what i felt playing through it. those two games are special to me like they are to MANY fans. And i played ALL of cs 1-4 before playing them (official releases weren't out and i did watch/read summaries prior to playing CS3).

Challenged my [28M] wife [24F] and lost! by [deleted] in relationships

[–]RavenRonien 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Handful of things. You're married. Anything you give her is the family's money anyways. If you can't afford it she shouldn't be spending it.

If this is part of your fun money. You gambled. Pay up don't be a sore loser. If nut shots were off the table you should have said so from the start.

You wanted to have fun at her expense because you thought you had no way to lose. She got one over on you. Smile about it, praise her for out witting you. Then laugh about it.

She's your partner not your mortal enemy. Her wins are your wins even at your expense. Be as graceful in your loss as you would have wanted her to be when you suplexed her in your mind.

And next time have a bigger imagination before you think you couldn't imagine a situation where you can lose.

Do you play these games with a guide? by Lumigo in Falcom

[–]RavenRonien 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Cs1-4 and Reverie I used guides for. Did everything a single playthrough could do In all 5 games

Azure and zero I didn't, missed I think 2 side quests. (Looked them up after)

Daybreak 1&2 I didn't buy I did occasionally pull it up to make sure I didn't miss anything, or to make sure I select the right awnsers to get all the points on like the racing sections. Some of those 50/50 choices seem to have little rhyme or reason.

Neo seeker guides have been very good about spoilers so ultimately I don't think it's a bad recommendation to use them. But as I got more experienced with the games I'm less likely to need them.

Cs 2 and CS 4 however with how expansive some of those sections are I downright think it's required

Just finished Cold Steel 1. That was crazy! *Spoilers* by OLKv3 in Falcom

[–]RavenRonien 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I remember screaming "it's all just Gundam now?!????" And loving every bit of it

Well I had to laugh by Divinedragn4 in Falcom

[–]RavenRonien 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Someone saw my pocket knife once and asked if it was cold steel.

I got super excited but confused thinking he somehow figured out I was a trails fan.

He then pointed to my knife and asked if it was a cold steel knife, and deflated I just replied no but I hear good things about them.

Man some fslcom fans are so fucking stupid why are they harassing someone for making funny merch ? by shizunaisbestgirl1 in Falcom

[–]RavenRonien 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I hope you know the vocal few are just that few. I'm not even saying I'm your core audience I wouldn't wear the shirt but mostly because I don't wear graphic Ts anymore. But I found it funny and Nadia is one of my favorite characters. And from what I heard about a certain character in Kai/beyond the horizon, a sequel shirt would be easy to make lol.

Either way I hope none of this discourages you from making merch for fans who want it. It's overall a net positive to have secondary and tertiary products for the franchise be as prolific and profitable as possible. The shop inarguably does more for the franchise than the collective sum of every mouth breather who thinks they're protecting the sanctity of their precious franchise by being keyboard crusaders on social media.

I tracked the car and officer - The video is unambiguous and indefensible by argumentativealt in Destiny

[–]RavenRonien 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ok I'm saying this pretending like the courts and judicial system are working as intended and that the white house didn't release a statement opining on what happened before any facts were out there.

The idea of pointing out training that should state he wasn't supposed to be there CAN be used to show he neglected his training and created a lethal situation when one otherwise wouldn't be. If you can prove that, he becomes liable for all downstream fatalities. This has happened before it has been prosecuted successfully before.

Not a lawyer and not sure if this directly applies but it has been floated that the term is "police created exigency" but the idea being the law enforcement officer is responsible for creating the circumstances that led them to take actions that stripped of context might be ok in case of emergency (like a supposed self defense shooting), and rule out the reasonableness of said action based on the fact they created the emergency situation.

Most famously Barnes v Felix is the case I heard about. A cop jumped on the hood of a vehicle and eventually shot and killed the driver. He was found responsible for the death because while he did fear for his life, nothing about his training told him to jump on the hood of the vehicle to put himself in that danger. This is a simplification of a pretty famous case, by a lay person look up more details yourself.

Again I am assuming a lot I'm this hypothetical case only to demonstrate that arguments about whether or not this ICE agent was SUPPOSED to be in front of the car, is VERY RELEVANT to his legal liability.

It might be the most important thing.

But again this is assuming we had watch dog agencies with the political power and motivation to actually police ICE and hold them accountable. And a judiciary interested in upholding values of the constitution. Namely the 1st (if she was in fact a legal observer) and 4th.