Onigashima
Initial impressions of GuJian 3: Very positive!
Onigashima
It's an Action RPG where the emphasis is on the action half
Onigashima
You've got basic light/heavy attacks you can chain together, a really responsive bayo-style dodge, blocking that you can time to do counterattacks, and super moves that take meter you build by hitting enemies
Onigashima
It lets you start fucking around with gameplay very quickly, no massive initial slog of cutscenes
Onigashima
the animation isn't AAA level, it's a bit janky around the corners
Onigashima
but the game's characters and world are BEAUTIFUL
Onigashima
The first area, Amber Reach
The first area, Amber Reach
Onigashima
the capital of Skyelk, a great kingdom within the spirit realm
the capital of Skyelk, a great kingdom within the spirit realm
Onigashima
even the shitty village in the mortal realm looks great, those MOUNTAINS
even the shitty village in the mortal realm looks great, those MOUNTAINS
Princess Emily
I love the houses way up the fucking cliffs, that's gotta be a trek
Onigashima
The story is of two twin brothers, one the king of Skyelk and the other raised in the mortal realm as a humble sword instructor
The story is of two twin brothers, one the king of Skyelk and the other raised in the mortal realm as a humble sword instructor
Onigashima
the king is dying from a mortal wound inflicted by a demon and is trying to convince his brother Beiluo, the protagonist, to succeed him
Onigashima
meanwhile Skyelk's Trigrams are waning, leaving it vulnerable to demon invasion
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a lot's going on very quickly
Onigashima
Beiluo is a fun protagonist, he's big about honest hard work and hates entitled people
Beiluo is a fun protagonist, he's big about honest hard work and hates entitled people
Onigashima
and isn't above lying about being a wizard to troll rich punks into reforming
Onigashima
Xuange (the king of Skyelk) is just. unbelievably cool
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solos a kaiju in the prologue while doing shit like diving at mach 10 through a golden portal only to emerge on the kaiju's back walking serenely towards its core at an unhurried pace
Onigashima
the translation quality isn't great but whatever
Onigashima
camera sometimes flips out in corners
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overall it's like... it's not a AAA game, it's a A game
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but it's priced accordingly so hey
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Princess Emily
I think that's where Beiluo's martial arts school is
Niamh Vibes
This looks delightful
Onigashima
which would make the trek part of your training
Onigashima
one of the story's core virtues seems to be that you need to work hard to improve
Onigashima
even when the king has magical powers beyond Beiluo's mortal comprehension, he got them by training and cultivating spiritual power for years
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nobody is born invincible, you work for it
Onigashima
Beiluo's establishing, defining moment as the protagonist
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is after beating up a rich kid who was like assaulting peasants and threatening to kill dogs and shit
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Rich Kid: Swordsmen as great as you are all nice guys, right?
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Beiluo: Swordsmen as great as me also know a lot about sorcery. Do your ears itch
Onigashima
Rich Kid, experiencing the power of suggestion: Oh god, they do, what did you do to me
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Beiluo: There are venomous insects from the south. They live in your ears now and won't leave until you reform
Onigashima
Beiluo is not a sorcerer and does not command venomous insects
Onigashima
he was just fucking with him
Villain
huh
Onigashima
combat is all on the world map, it's kind of similar to FF7R in a few ways
Onigashima
enemies spot you, you take out your sword and get to work
Villain
Historical evidence suggests that if I get this game I will not finish it
Onigashima
I'll stream some at some point
Villain
But I'm curious even so
Onigashima
there's a kind of fascinating scene in the prologue where Xuange is trying to get Beiluo to accept the throne and is like
Onigashima
"Fine, here's your sword, we'll duel and if you win you don't have to be king"
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and the way it plays out
Onigashima
you get the sense that they've done this a lot of times already
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Beiluo just fighting endlessly for the right to not be king and always losing
Onigashima
and part of the appeal is just that I know
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fucking NOTHING
Onigashima
I don't know the series, I don't know the mythology at play, I've never played a big name Chinese video game at all
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it's all fresh
Villain
$15
Villain
fuck it
Onigashima
oh right
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when it shows you two options after clicking play, and they're in chinese
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pick the second one
Onigashima
I don't know what they are but I know just enough kanji to read that the first one says "china" in it and the second one says "outside of china" in it
Villain
got it
Onigashima
some combat tips, because this game is mcfucking hard
Onigashima
- once you unlock it, absolutely do use Inspect to find items as much as possible. In the early parts of the game at least, healing items are at a premium and free healing is sparse
Onigashima
- Also once you unlock it, do NOT neglect the block button
Onigashima
it is very important especially in boss fights
Onigashima
yellow marker = blockable attack, red marker= unblockable attack