Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 - Final Fantasy/Persona inspired FRPG

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4090 Chad said:
I believe it to be one of the best soundtracks in a video game ever
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Swimming around as Esquie with "Déchirer la toile" in the background is what actually made me invested in the world. There is such a melancholic beauty to the entire thing.
 
4090 Chad said:
@Null regarding your tweet about video game music. I will once again shill this game because I believe it to be one of the best soundtracks in a video game ever
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It's definitely up there. Especially if a month at #1 album for Classical music on Billboard is any indication.

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A lot of the stylistic choices and musical technique are very French, for the better. Lorien Testard really came out of nowhere and dropped 8 hours of fire. My favorite track of the lot probably has to be Duelliste. Indulge in my music spergery for a bit.


The progression of the song maps well to that of the fight itself. The track opens up with imposing drums, strings, and vocals with an air of dread to them. It immediately transfers into building cautious tension. Instead of moving into a loud and rich sound, it moves into a hopeful yet somber chorus. At this point in the fight, you're probably close to the second phase of the fight and/or managing your damage as the song lulls for a bit before picking back up to repeat from the beginning.

But this time it's different. That air of dread is dissipating and instead, the drums, strings, and horns build into a rich wall of sound. This time, you're no longer on the back foot; you're winning. As the fight comes to a close, the chorus repeats once more, giving way to a much more triumphant and confident tone. I'm not entirely sure and haven't gone back to see, but I'm pretty sure the track loops when you land the final hit so that it always hits the chorus during that kino execution sequence.
 
Croaking Spider said:
I'm pretty sure the track loops when you land the final hit so that it always hits the chorus during that kino execution sequence.
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Correct, there's actually a hidden loop that plays only during the end battle scene, and that one usually samples the most triumphant part of the battle track. And I believe there's one for each and every battle theme in the game, meaning Lorien actually composed >12 hours of music or more easily.
 
Croaking Spider said:
It's definitely up there. Especially if a month at #1 album for Classical music on Billboard is any indication.

View attachment 7617722

A lot of the stylistic choices and musical technique are very French, for the better. Lorien Testard really came out of nowhere and dropped 8 hours of fire. My favorite track of the lot probably has to be Duelliste. Indulge in my music spergery for a bit.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=2VOTvyZ68WI
The progression of the song maps well to that of the fight itself. The track opens up with imposing drums, strings, and vocals with an air of dread to them. It immediately transfers into building cautious tension. Instead of moving into a loud and rich sound, it moves into a hopeful yet somber chorus. At this point in the fight, you're probably close to the second phase of the fight and/or managing your damage as the song lulls for a bit before picking back up to repeat from the beginning.

But this time it's different. That air of dread is dissipating and instead, the drums, strings, and horns build into a rich wall of sound. This time, you're no longer on the back foot; you're winning. As the fight comes to a close, the chorus repeats once more, giving way to a much more triumphant and confident tone. I'm not entirely sure and haven't gone back to see, but I'm pretty sure the track loops when you land the final hit so that it always hits the chorus during that kino execution sequence.
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To which, our dear Sneeder will reply dryly :
"BuT iT iS fReNcH, eWwWw!"
 
Kane Lives said:
Correct, there's actually a hidden loop that plays only during the end battle scene, and that one usually samples the most triumphant part of the battle track. And I believe there's one for each and every battle theme in the game, meaning Lorien actually composed >12 hours of music or more easily.
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Today I learned. He's a hell of a composer, and Alice Duport-Percier's performance adds a lot. She blends contemporary and classic singing styles together well. I'm normally not one for opera because, while it's impressive on a technical level, I find it grating to listen to after a while. Alice on the other hands sings in a very mellow yet rich tone and uses her opera training mainly to enrich the peaks. She has an especially strong vibrato. If I had to draw to a counterpart in the industry, it would be Tarja Turunen from Nightwish. Different genre, very similar style.
 
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I loved the music so much that I bought the soundtrack, which is something I rarely do these days. It's one of the top 5 video game soundtracks I've ever heard, and I've been collecting great game music since the late 80s like the OST to Ys Book I and II for the PC Engine.

I haven't finished all the side activity (yet) but I completed the main story. I used to paint in oils a lot so the visuals immediately appealed to me. I lost track of how many times the story/music made me teary-eyed and for sure it's going to be my GOTY unless something mind blowing comes out near the end of this year.

What's funny is that I have several unfinished turn-based RPGs because I get bored of the mechanics, but not with this game. I wouldn't have played it if it weren't for my friends assuring me that I would love it.
 
King Of Braves said:
That's a fairly extreme response to someone going "I like this thing and I want to see (person) also like this thing I like."
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That's more or less the definition of a cuck.
Fair point though, maybe I shouldn't have called that cuck a cuck.

I just never understood why you would watch someone play a game, instead of doing it yourself, or act like some groupie and hype on some fag with a camera while he plays it, sitting in your cuck chair at the PC and spamming emoticons.
Same goes for Null. You guys know that just because he owns the site, you don't have to gobble his dick, right?

Anyway, I'll see myself out, as I don't want to derail the thread any further.
 
DeadwastePrime said:
>he didnt master the bog standard jrpg combat mechanic but with dodging and parrying
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I also hated the combat and I've played almost exclusively turn-based/strategy/tactics games for at least 15 years, since I got old. If it was inconsequential dodging/QTE-upon-hit mechanics like Super Mario RPG it'd be fine. The issue is it's all-or-nothing - complete the QTE or deal no damage, hit the parry or lose 3/4s of your health. It's Soulslike in this demand to be perfect or die, which I hate.

It's doubly painful because I love everything else about the game. The story is better than anything released from the entertainment industry in 15-some odd years, the music is stellar, the voice acting killed it, the art & direction & cinematography are absolutely phenomenal. It hurts that I can't experience it more because the combat is "one mistake & you die" turbo-gamer twitch mechanics. Won't climb the Endless Tower or see the Painting Workshop or deal with the dragon, to say nothing of the super-boss. There's a lot left for me to see in the game but going back to try is an exercise in frustration, not fun.

Apparently part of my issue is I didn't get Maelle's super-weapon early on. I played spoiler-free so I didn't know that was a thing; now to get it I have to beat an absurdly tough miniboss who stomps my brains in. You can only run headlong into a brick wall so many times before stopping.
 
Probably ⏰ but it seems like they snuck and uploaded remastered versions of the OST to Youtube? Was listening to Une vie a Peindre and noticed everything sounded way more crisp. I'm picking up little details and musical flourishes I hadn't even noticed before. This OST really is an 11/10.
edit: I've never heard the final track on Nos vies en Lumiere before. Absolutely beautiful.

 
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Bought it finally. Challenging but fun. I love the Baguette outfits on Lune and Sciel.

Currently in Yellow Harvest. I was trying to see if I can break without Gustav. But the fucking mime....Maelle has a break skill that requires virtuoso stance but every time I use its not breaking the mime......
 
Scarlett Johansson said:
Bought it finally. Challenging but fun. I love the Baguette outfits on Lune and Sciel.

Currently in Yellow Harvest. I was trying to see if I can break without Gustav. But the fucking mime....Maelle has a break skill that requires virtuoso stance but every time I use its not breaking the mime......
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Did you fill the break bar? Because mimes take so little damage, the bar really only fills by dodging and parrying. And, again because they take so little damage, you really need that bar to be full to actually break them.
 
King Of Braves said:
Did you fill the break bar? Because mimes take so little damage, the bar really only fills by dodging and parrying. And, again because they take so little damage, you really need that bar to be full to actually break them.
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IIRC, mimes have two stance. The first is when they set up their defensive wall (appropriately telegraphed by them doing that buff at the start). You may notice you're not doing much damage at this state. I'm still unsure what actually breaks it, but parrying enough times seem to work. Maybe an incredibly overlevelled party or some really wacky one shot build can just bruteforce it as well.

When that wall breaks, then your attacks will deal normal damage.
 
Kane Lives said:
IIRC, mimes have two stance. The first is when they set up their defensive wall (appropriately telegraphed by them doing that buff at the start). You may notice you're not doing much damage at this state. I'm still unsure what actually breaks it, but parrying enough times seem to work. Maybe an incredibly overlevelled party or some really wacky one shot build can just bruteforce it as well.

When that wall breaks, then your attacks will deal normal damage.
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Yes an overlevelled party can easily kill them without breaking. except for the king asshole mine.
 
Scarlett Johansson said:
Bought it finally. Challenging but fun. I love the Baguette outfits on Lune and Sciel.

Currently in Yellow Harvest. I was trying to see if I can break without Gustav. But the fucking mime....Maelle has a break skill that requires virtuoso stance but every time I use its not breaking the mime......
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Do you not pay attention to the game? Did you not read the skills? You know you can open a journal and look up mechanics right?

Anyway, here's the bullet points
- every enemy has a break bar (yellow line)
- almost all damage does break damage (makes yellow line go larger) , with some doing more then others, usually saying so in description
- once the break bar (yellow line) reaches a threshold, that is indicated by a yellow star ✨ appearing on the bar, you can then break your enemy
- only certain skills and pictos can break, and you see this by reading the description or looking at the ✨ icon on the skill


Early game, you can break without Gustav, but you need to invest plenty into the other characters, with some skills being mediocre.
For example, Maelle as breaker requires a long setup and using an expensive skills, and Lune needs either 4 stains or heavy investment into the Earth skills, both of which are difficult early.

King Of Braves said:
Because mimes take so little damage, the bar really only fills by dodging and parrying.
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When fighting mimes, especially early, you need to only parry.
Later on, you can invest in break damage and rape their asses.

Kane Lives said:
I'm still unsure what actually breaks it, but parrying enough times seem to work.
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What do you mean?
Once their break bar is full and you break the mimes, then their gay little wall crumbles and you deal actual damage.
Early on, since you have no break investment, your best choice is parry, since they do large break damage.
Later on, Lune throwing some rocks at them is enough to break those fags.
It's all about break damage, nothing complicated.
 
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