Tales of the Abyss Second PT Part Three
So pretty much all the way through Tales of the Abyss now. I meant to type more periodic updates but I tended to be preoccupied with the job application/writing, with the occasional bout of playing. And now that the weekend has arrived (and half-way ended. I swear two days is not nearly enough) I decided to get some major playing done. So I’ve reached about 70 hours in my file (for a point of reference my save from the first PT at Mushroom Rock Road with Asch in the party is at 71 hours) and am almost completely done.
I’ve been filling in and getting costumes I wasn’t able to receive last time, though I’ve read there is a glitch with Luke’s Berserker title not appearing on New Game+ which really just sucks. However, I did get Natalia’s ‘Beloved Princess’ costume which is just epic.
I’ve definitely been understanding the story more as I go, and am able to empathize and relate to Jade all the more. (Because Jade is seriously awesome.) I love the plot of the game, and the characters are just awesome. I haven’t encountered any fatigue either, so I think this will be a straight-shoot file.
Difficulty is on the easier side, with the occasional bout of “oh nooeess”. But I’ve still only died like three times (twice against the solo battle with Asch on Eldrant…yeah.). I’ve also been utilizing Anise so much more than last time. I’ve also gotten the hang of her playstyle, while not my favorite, is still entertaining and she’s a good front-liner while my others are casting.
I’m not sure why Natalia’s CPU is kind of stupid though. I mean, seriously. Not the worse, but she is just…wow. She’ll use Healing Force at the tail end of a battle, when her physical attack could have killed the enemy and saved her TP. Yeah.
A couple of choice notes:
-The Sword Dancer 3 was actually pretty tough. I was having to spam Life Bottles until Jade hit overlimit…used Indignation…and massacred the SD in one hit! And the reward? 11.63 GRADE. Hellz to the yeah.
-Indignation is just friggin awesome. It looks cool too. Jade is win.
-It was painful trying to get all the Fonic Hymn to 50 uses, though Judgement’s came pretty easily. Seriously, just spamming Judgement on the return trip to the Absorption Gate was enough to seriously rank up like 40 uses. Innocent Shine is one of the most epic Mystic Aretes ever.
-I love Brilliant Overlord and Noble Roar, but hate the prerequisites to use them. Astral Rain is probably one of the weakest Mystic Artes in the game. Meanwhile, Anise’s “Final Fury/Dying Moon” combo Mystic Arte isn’t the most powerful, but she can use it like every other battle. Lost Fon Drive is similarly difficult to use…but at least Luke get’s the Ion Extension…when Ion is in the party, that is.
-Still feel bad for poor Florian. : (
-Guy: No matter if the entire world turns against you, I’ll stay by your side.
Okay, so like…that was also said in FFVIII in the most romantic context possible. So. Yeah.
-Asch/Natalia is not my favorite, but I can definitely see it now.
-Asch’s death still made me tear up : (
-I love the God-General’s new uniforms near the end of the game, especially Legretta and Synch’s.
-Started the Replica Factory of the Abyss. Managing through it decently, though the boss with Arietta/Largo/Sync/Legretta came suddenly and was pretty difficult. And the lack of a save point! Jeeze. I actually used like six life bottles during it, but it was a fun match. Luke managed to use Lost Fon Drive on Largo, which brough him down to Synch’s max HP level. Arietta didn’t go down as fast as I hoped, but Sync was the last one alive. Beat ‘em though, so…yay!
-My strat is pretty much the same across the board. I hate when computer controlled allies use my items in any game, so item usage is off, while OL is also off, so I can try to save for Mystic Arte at an appropriate time. TP Consumption is down too. Everyone is at 25% except for Tear and Jade who sit happily at 50% (until a Boss, where everyone goes to 100%)
-While I got through everyone’s coliseum match relatively easily. That is, except Jade. In fact, despite being the most possible member of the party, he is perhaps the hardest character to challenge the Arena with from the entire Abyss cast, as well as the Symphonia cast. (Genis and Raine have access to Reducer, Concentrate, and Quick Spell making solo battles pretty easy to handle) I started trying a standard three hit combo followed by Electric Strike, which would form a low level Green FOF. I had a yellow cryst on it though, so it could enable a FOF transformation even at a low level. So then I’d spam Lightning Tempest. But it just…didn’t really work. Not to mention Jade is like the only character who can’t heal himself. (I have Drain Magic changed to add an HP effect, and it’s maxxed out from the last PT, but it just…didn’t work…) I finally managed to do it with the Spell Memory skill. So even if he got hit while casting, as long as he cast the same spell again it would pick up from where it left off. (And it went even quicker due to the same spell twice skill) Of course, this meant taking damage, and I had to time it right so I could use Mystic Cage on the second encounter with those damn birds, and that took a few tries…
-Speaking of birds. I hate the little cawing bird enemies in this game. It’s annoying to target them, and it’s hard to hit them period unless you’re Luke or Guy. The second arena encounter with Natalia was easily her hardest fight. (ironically, the third arena battle was easy for almost everyone…except Jade. It was his most difficult encounter because the enemy would sometimes not be stunned by spells. And usually the goal was to get off Prism Sword for maximum damage, and utilize the FOF field for Lightning Tempest.
-Things left to accomplish in this PT:
-Finish the second half of the Replica Factory.
-Collect Tear’s “Monster Hunter” tile
-Finish Nebilim sidequest and defeat Nebilim
-Defeat the Tales Team Cameo battle in the Arena
-Finish game.
I had forgotten that Resident Evil 6 was going to be coming out soon, so I think instead of playing through Legendia like I was originally planning, I will be picking up the RE series again until Persona 4 Arena comes out. More details to come.