Part 78: Final Chapter - Update # 8 - We sail beyond sunset

Update #8 - We sail beyond sunset

: This update includes three videos, and the third one is a must watch. B-but you might as well watch the other two. Start with this one, k?

Youtube / Viddler



: The best bits of the soundtrack play throughout this update, merging into each other.













: Just as our heroes are about to start navigating the Forbidden Land labyrinth, they hear a familiar caveman whoop.





: And a familiar beep boop.



: And (sigh) a familiar annoying voice.



: But just as we're about to find out what the benchwarmers are doing in the final dungeon (my guess? Busting in to deliver a totally unnecessary and irrelevant rant about archaic translation standards), the door behind us slams open!







: ...
Even if I'm beaten... I'll keep on living...





: Cue up Odio's theme, and get ready for an epic villain rant.



: Until the distant future!
In times of peace...



: With every declaration, another statue awakens, and another hero must face it.

: In all places!
And all times!
The impetus of all conflict!



: It is hatred...



: If you're wondering as to who's speaking here... so am I.









: And now, for a word from previous contributors, doing the sci-fi chapter:



At least, until this song kicks in.

: This time around, the Live a Live theme keeps playing, overriding the Odio themes.

: Everything within the ship must work in harmony. I was built to maintain harmony. Therefore, my will is absolute. Nobody will stand in my way. Anyone who tries...will be terminated!







Why do I love this chapter? This is why I love this chapter.



: The Kung-Fu chapter:

: Sammo, Yuan! Watch me!! Shaq Fu's final technique...



: Hehehe... A pointless gesture!

: The Whirlwind Fang!

: Foolish child!



: The Mecha Chapter:




"Now!
The Great Inko Buddha statue shall bring us unto salvation!"




At this point, the statue starts eating all the birds in the courtyard.


On a more technical note, both the Inko Buddha statue and Buriki Daioh are applied as just background texture elements.




"We can do this..."



: The Caveman Chapter

So hey. Remember how the Ku Tribe was sacrificing Bel as a tribute to their god?



Yeah, about that?



[s] He's pretty hungry.

And then like a bonehead I missed a shot of this, but that headress? Gori throws it at him. Nice job.

: Allow me to correct that:







: The Wrestler Chapter



(At this point, a wind effect accompanies the music. Feel free to imagine this.)



Mystery Man: I am not impressed, though. The competition was not exactly stellar... I gave them... quick deaths. First was that amateur, Namcat, and that Lucha wimp... I twisted Tula's joints in ways nature never intended! Then Max, and that fatass, Iaukea... And the geezer, whatever his name was. They were weak... so they died! Now, you fight me...!



(It's almost as if there's some kind of recurring theme with these boss names... nah, it's probably nothing.)

Mister T: ...



Mister T: You didn't fight them. You just slaughtered them!

(The music cuts out here.)

Mister T: Namcat's ashiwaza... Great Asia's Lucha... Tula's armlocks, Jackie's strength... Morgan's power, and Seishi's technique! And my anger...!




: The Cowboy fight actually gets a slightly different, abridged, intro from the one we got last time:









: Doesn't matter how many rats you hustle up...! You won't be able to win against a Gatling Gun!!!

: Redundantly, the Ninja Chapter



: Hehehaha, over here!



: Allow me to reiterate how much I love Ryoma's jump here.

: Behold! Cower before the sublime form of he who would shall rule the Land of the Rising Sun!





: If I ever felt like writing an extensive essay about the games theme and message (which I might at some point) I would start by pointing out that with all due respect to the power of friendship, each of the heroes must stand completely alone, lacking even the companions some of them had in their original chapters.





: Not that that's much of a problem. As the presence of the regular fight theme instead of Odio's haunting theme or the implied challenge of Megalomania may indicate, if you've paid the least bit of attention to your characters in the final chapter (and how else would you get here) these fights should be easy enough.



: Case in point - I was merely upgrading Sphere's stats with his Upgrade skill, trying to recall which attack would put those increased stats to good use...



: When Sphere accidentally killed the ship's mainframe with his automatic counter attacks.
...
Moving on.





: Odie Wang Lee, old buddy, what's up?



: Did you notice that I can use the ultimate Shaq-Fu skill more than once per fight now?



: Each blow does 500 damage to... oh wait, you're dead in two hits without even touching me. And I had such an elaborate taunt ready to go, at that...



: You can argue about the best musical composition in Live a Live (I'd go with "Wings that Don't Reach" myself, but I'll admit that there are a lot of viable alternatives) but not a single one is quite as good at getting you into a "let's kick ass" mood as this one:



: This time I want to get a proper fight out of it and check out each of the Buriki Daioh's weapons





: Though really, punching the giant owl and then stomping on him is fun, satisfying, and effective.





: Goodbye, giant metal friend. We only had a fleeting moment to get reacquainted with your awesomness.





: Bam Bam's fight is the only one I've managed to lose on my first runthrough.



: You see, his ultimate attack lowers all his stats, so you want to use it as a finisher, rather than the one and only move in the fight (also why I don't like using Bam Bam to take on the final boss).



: Once I figured out that the big guy needs to be softened up a bit first, Bam Bam handily dispatched the last dinosaur.





: This is the most cathartic of the boss fights. Olbright can be a huge bitch to overcome in Mr. T's chapter, since the wrestler can neither grind nor trick his way into becoming more powerful.



: With just a few levels under our belt, Olbright's most awesome attacks



: Do this. When they don't miss outright.





: Sunset starts right in the Gatling gun's line of fire. We could move him next to O. Dio and take him down the usual way...



: But I'd rather find out whether the Hurrican Shot trumps the Gatling Gun.



: It does.





: Finally, Obama completes his assassination mission...





Viddler / Youtube

: And Odio's incarnations collapse one by one.





: Why can't I win!?
Isn't it my destiny?!



: What's the difference between you and I!?

: I... I would kill anyone, blindly, as long as the order was given...



: The world cannot be changed by force. Such ideas only lead to more death and sadness. Ryoma Sakamoto taught me that the only way we'll be able to change the world... is if we can place our trust in each other!



: Trust... people. I think... someone told me something like that, a long time ago...
...
When I die, you'll be able to return to your worlds.
But... Don't forget...
Anyone can become a King of Demons. As long as hatred still exists, in any world, in any time.



: Poor Orsted fades away, and we get a bit of repetition for emphasis:





: Sphere cheeps his appreciation and teleports away.

: Thank you, Gramps!

: At least I have a place to go home to!

...
L....
LOVE!

: As far as catchphrases go, I really prefered SWEET.

: I will continue my quest... to be the strongest!

: Life goes on...





: Watch This:

Youtube / Viddler





: The land is... actually a bit darker now. But I guess it's in peace.





: Back in his own time, Bam Bam is waiting nervously outside his room...



: Did I mention that one of my issues with the Caveman Chapter was the lack of gifs to capture the excellent comedic timing and expressions?





: Skipping to the far future, the crew is a bit busy when Sphere wanders in...



: And he's welcomed with open arms.



: In an old dojo on top of a mountain, a new generation is being trained in the ways of Shaq-Fu.





: Sunset is on his way... wherever, when suddenly:



: I don't think this one requires any elaboration.









: Hiccup arrives just in time to witness a new an exciting experiment.





: Poor Watanabe, even the credits continue the tradition of shitting on him.



: And Obama stands ready to foil any pesky assassins aiming at Ryoma.

: The final theme is a six minute mixture of various motives from the game and... I get a little something in my eye every time it plays.

























: The only time the credits and a character attack juxtipose. Quite appropriate.











: Sphere has the scariest music cue during his little scene. By the way, are you hitting all the cues at the right moment? We have calculated the optimal browsing speed for the appropriate musical moments to cue up, and sincerely hope you're following along at the approved pace, LP comrade.

















................

And those were the Live a Live's credits. Given the hardware limitations, it's as epic a sequence as could be, and whenever I watch it I'm astounded by how many talented people brought together their art, ideas and effort together to create this game.

This LP took a long while to finish - far longer than I've initially planned lo all those many years ago. I certainly couldn't have finished it without the help and patience of fellow goons (and the translation team, of course, thanks for the reminder). Thank you for that, and I hope you've enjoyed the LP.

And hey - the dawn will always break through the dark of night!