Quinn Angstrom
Initial impressions of GuJian 3: Very positive!
Quinn Angstrom
It's an Action RPG where the emphasis is on the action half
Quinn Angstrom
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
Quinn Angstrom
It lets you start fucking around with gameplay very quickly, no massive initial slog of cutscenes
Quinn Angstrom
the animation isn't AAA level, it's a bit janky around the corners
Quinn Angstrom
but the game's characters and world are BEAUTIFUL
Quinn Angstrom
The first area, Amber Reach
The first area, Amber Reach
Quinn Angstrom
the capital of Skyelk, a great kingdom within the spirit realm
the capital of Skyelk, a great kingdom within the spirit realm
Quinn Angstrom
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
Quinn Angstrom
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
Quinn Angstrom
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
Quinn Angstrom
meanwhile Skyelk's Trigrams are waning, leaving it vulnerable to demon invasion
Quinn Angstrom
a lot's going on very quickly
Quinn Angstrom
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
Quinn Angstrom
and isn't above lying about being a wizard to troll rich punks into reforming
Quinn Angstrom
Xuange (the king of Skyelk) is just. unbelievably cool
Quinn Angstrom
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
Quinn Angstrom
the translation quality isn't great but whatever
Quinn Angstrom
camera sometimes flips out in corners
Quinn Angstrom
overall it's like... it's not a AAA game, it's a A game
Quinn Angstrom
but it's priced accordingly so hey
Quinn Angstrom
Princess Emily
I think that's where Beiluo's martial arts school is
Niamh Vibes
This looks delightful
Quinn Angstrom
which would make the trek part of your training
Quinn Angstrom
one of the story's core virtues seems to be that you need to work hard to improve
Quinn Angstrom
even when the king has magical powers beyond Beiluo's mortal comprehension, he got them by training and cultivating spiritual power for years
Quinn Angstrom
nobody is born invincible, you work for it
Quinn Angstrom
Beiluo's establishing, defining moment as the protagonist
Quinn Angstrom
is after beating up a rich kid who was like assaulting peasants and threatening to kill dogs and shit
Quinn Angstrom
Rich Kid: Swordsmen as great as you are all nice guys, right?
Quinn Angstrom
Beiluo: Swordsmen as great as me also know a lot about sorcery. Do your ears itch
Quinn Angstrom
Rich Kid, experiencing the power of suggestion: Oh god, they do, what did you do to me
Quinn Angstrom
Beiluo: There are venomous insects from the south. They live in your ears now and won't leave until you reform
Quinn Angstrom
Beiluo is not a sorcerer and does not command venomous insects
Quinn Angstrom
he was just fucking with him
Master Chieve
huh
Quinn Angstrom
combat is all on the world map, it's kind of similar to FF7R in a few ways
Quinn Angstrom
enemies spot you, you take out your sword and get to work
Master Chieve
Historical evidence suggests that if I get this game I will not finish it
Quinn Angstrom
I'll stream some at some point
Master Chieve
But I'm curious even so
Quinn Angstrom
there's a kind of fascinating scene in the prologue where Xuange is trying to get Beiluo to accept the throne and is like
Quinn Angstrom
"Fine, here's your sword, we'll duel and if you win you don't have to be king"
Quinn Angstrom
and the way it plays out
Quinn Angstrom
you get the sense that they've done this a lot of times already
Quinn Angstrom
Beiluo just fighting endlessly for the right to not be king and always losing
Quinn Angstrom
and part of the appeal is just that I know
Quinn Angstrom
fucking NOTHING
Quinn Angstrom
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
Quinn Angstrom
it's all fresh
Master Chieve
$15
Master Chieve
fuck it
Quinn Angstrom
oh right
Quinn Angstrom
when it shows you two options after clicking play, and they're in chinese
Quinn Angstrom
pick the second one
Quinn Angstrom
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
Master Chieve
got it
Quinn Angstrom
some combat tips, because this game is mcfucking hard
Quinn Angstrom
- 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
Quinn Angstrom
- Also once you unlock it, do NOT neglect the block button
Quinn Angstrom
it is very important especially in boss fights
Quinn Angstrom
yellow marker = blockable attack, red marker= unblockable attack