Part 1: DEM Beginnings

Holy shit, I'm starting a new LP already!? Goddamn it, I need a busier schedule. Anywho, we're starting Breath of Death VII: The Beginning in this LP, so let's dance.



To start things off, we're in a post-apocalyptic world.



When you think about it, it seems a lot of older RPGs take place in a world where things definitely used to be better. We've all heard these arguments before, but it's still kind of interesting to think about.



Expect a few references here and there, plenty of jokes here and there, and a lot of me trying to be funny all over the place.



Our world for this adventure just hasn't seen better days; it is being run pretty much entirely by the undead, so it's definitely seen better days. Or maybe not. I'm not sure how the undead are at governing things.



Thirty seconds in and things are already fucked over.





I like the idea of having to save the screwed over world by completely fucking it over, even harder.







Don't look at me like that; some parts of this game are kind of hard, okay?



Meet our protagonist! There's no renaming here, so here's another LP where I won't see anyone renamed Bowser.





Dem is about kicking ass and taking names.



turned on the Thoughts-Subtitle-O-Matic.



But not talking. He's a skeleton, so he doesn't have a tongue. That makes the process rather difficult.



...Isn't he already dead?



Nah, I'm good on that. I've played before.



Ugh.



I'm actually using a PS3 controller that my computer thinks is a 360 controller.





This was originally released on the X-Box Live Arcade, under the Indie section, and was ported to PC later.





...Why am I showing you this? You don't care! You're reading this so you don't have to play the game!





Before we do anything else, let's go chat up this NPC.



For he gives us a breakdown of our different stats and what they mean and govern.



Shaddup, Dem, I'm trying to be informative here.



: physical attacks and Will determines your defense against magic attacks.

: (But I already knew all this...)



Ah, but you don't know your own stats!



Dem is your basic starting RPG character; he's good at hitting stuff and being hit in return.



Techniques use MP, but are generally more physical based, while Spells are magic based. Dem doesn't have any spells right now, but his two Techs are good to start with. Multi-Hit will hit an enemy twice, while Deathblow deals more damage based on how high your combo has gotten, but will break the combo.



I'll cover what that means in a little bit.



Save points fully restore your MP; HP is fully restored after battles and you regain a certain amount of MP based on how well you kicked ass (i.e., how fast you finish the fight).



And we can also save anywhere we want to, but only the save points will restore all MP.



: (Only a fool looks down upon an enemy before he has beaten them into submission.)



: and then regain all his lost MP in the blink of an eye.



Not even fifty images in, and characters are already stealing my lines.



Combat is super simple; there's not even any animations.



Each round, the monsters will gain 10% more strength, so it's in your best interest to finish fights as fast as you can, otherwise you'll be getting your shit wrecked harder and harder.



Dem's basic attack will do a good amount of damage, but let's check out his techniques.



Two hits, each for slightly lower damage than our regular attack, and only costs 5 MP. We'll start with this.



The game will tell you the HP of all enemies you fight, so I no longer have to worry about looking that up.





Being your basic, first enemies, Trolls are nothing to be afraid of.



Hell, they even have turn-wasting moves.



10% doesn't always seem like much, but after three or four rounds, that really starts to add up.





But it only takes a couple of rounds for our first fight to end.



Gold is our currency for this adventure, in case you weren't aware we were going fully old-school.







With each level up, we get to choose a bonus, which can be extra stats, new abilities, new spells, passive abilities; all that sort of stuff. Generally, I'm going to try and build each character as they come, so Dem is going to get more physical, multi-hitting moves. These both are spells, but I choose Fire Flurry, since it will add three to the combo, as well as doing a little more damage than Fireball, even if it is slightly more expensive.





Continuing on, we spy our first two treasure chests.





There's a Potion option in the menu of battle; they'll restore all HP, but if I remember right, they're finite within the game. They're best used for "Oh, shit, I'm nearly fucked!" situations than anything else.





Are you ready to rock!?











abilities reset your combo after using them!



Well, that is certainly a big hammer.



But, we're going to follow the game's advice and build up our combo.



The Chief Troll has 180 HP, so we just killed him 33% in one round.



He hits a little bit harder than his minions, but he's still nothing to be afraid of.



Now, I could just use another Fire Flurry and finish him off, but let's do this with some style.



Deathblow is a touch pricey, but it gets stronger based on your combo. It'll break the combo, but it's meant to be a finishing move.



Look, it'll be more impressive later. Just wait until we have a full party of four, building up tons of combo each round, and then I bust it out.





Until then, let's look at our next level up.



The other option is +10 MP and +20 Magic; I go with the Strength and Vitality boost, since that's what Dem specializes in.



adventurer!



And then we're transported outside of the cave. Let's hit up the town. There's nothing else to do and we have to move the plot forward somehow.





Palad-Lennus? Apparently this is a reference to the SNES RPG Paladin's Quest, which was called Lennus in Japan? Hell, I dunno.



This is a reference to Resident Evil 4, though. I can tell you that without a doubt.



It's a weapons and armor shop; we can't buy potions, so these are the only shops we'll be visiting.



I don't know no staff users!



Each character has their own weapon type and armor type; Dem uses swords and shields.



I pick up the Iron Sword and Mirror Shield here, since Dem's Will is a little lacking.



After equipping them both, I go and explore the town. Heading south leads us to the Inn.



Which are free and act as save points, but without being shiny pillars of light.





In the town square, there's a couple of people to talk to.



I'm not sure how this skeleton speaks without a tongue, but, details...



What? I wasn't going to make a portrait for two words.



zero.

I already explained this, but thank you, Rozari. It's an important thing to keep in mind.



Probably. I'll probably also be the first one to rob you blind.







Damn! My plan has been foiled by a locked door!





This is good advice, beyond it being obvious. You can regen a good amount of MP if you win a battle quickly, and kicking the shit out of an enemy also means your ass gets kicked less. It's a good situation all around!



Lufestpolis?

Lufiapolis? A reference to Lufia, perhaps?



Whatever, let's hit the bar.



I bet Dem is a whisky man.





This is far more amusing to me than it should be. I just love the thought of a badass skeleton warrior drinking chocolate milk. It's so to me.



You need to figure out how the hell these guys are speaking, Dem. It's gotta be a ton better than just having your thoughts on Subtitle-O-Matic.



Who's the chick at the end of the bar? Dem, go flirt with her, using elaborate hand gestures and interpretive dance!



: (Huh?)

: Where are my manners! I forgot to introduce myself! How embarrassing! I'm Sara the historian! I'm on a quest to explore ancient ruins and uncover the secrets of the past and you're just the bodyguard I need! So what do you say?

: (Wait, what?)

: So you'll do it! Wonderful! The first ruins I want to go visit are to the east, but before we do anything we should probably talk to the townspeople for tips and explore the countryside for fun and profit!



Hmm, could be. She's certainly forward with what she wants. And we're not doing anything better.





Assume I made a joke about boners and skeletons or something.



And so she has! She's our magic user.





These are kind of like Double Techs in Chrono Trigger, and they're pretty powerful.



Sara is about using magic, and healing allies.



She also has a Technique called Research, which raises her Magic by 50%. She has stuff available to buy in the shop, but I blew my money on Dem, so...Yeah. We'll get back to that.



Now, let's embark on our epic adventure to discover ruins, gain profit, have fun, and maybe save the world!



Oh, yeah, Sara is a ghost. I forgot to mention that.



We now have the broad strokes of the story! We're going places in just the first update!



I mean, not anywhere further than this right now, since it's break time, but we're going places! But that's for next update!

Stay tuned!