Part 4: Episode IV: The Bottom of the Barrel
Episode IV: The Bottom of the Barrel
When last we left our hero, he'd waded through several less than interesting gameplay mechanics and finally arrived at the much discussed castle. With that said, let's continue...
Welcome to
To greet our arrival, we have a couple of new enemies. First, this little fellow: The Bazuu. Or lizard dudes, as they're known as to friends. Lizard dudes pack a bit more of a punch than Zombies or Three-Eyes. They also have a much longer reach, as they're equipped with huge axes as their weapons of choice.
But, as a trade-off, they're also much slower than even your token rotting corpses. As such, they're one of the easiest enemies in the game to Issen. Well, they're quite slow...for the most part.
If enough distance is put between these little guys and Sam, they'll take a cue from everyone's favorite
Often accompanying lizard dudes are their big, boar looking brothers, the Barabazuu. Their battle tactics are along the lines of 'camp out at exit. Wait for hero. Cut hero's goddamn head off with ten foot axe.'
And, if that isn't working, they can also chuck said axe until tactic one comes into play. These guys hit like a mach truck and are pretty damn quick on the strike, despite their near stationary field movement. They also take also have more hit points than a handful of lizard dudes or zombies.
As much of a drag hanging out with Ganon's fat slob of a cousin and rejected character designs from Soul Calibur is, the main castle itself is a bit unwelcoming to Sam at the moment. Seems we're going to need another weapon upgrade.
Or maybe a bottle of sake, a rag, and a torch. But, I think that's thinking a bit too far into things.
To the east of the main courtyard, past the big guy with the axe, we find...more zombies. Color me shocked.
More importantly, there's an actual surviving soldier. There's a handful of soldiers you can rescue in the early portion of the game. But, they quickly fade out.
I've got a question, here. Now, remember back to the intro movie? All of the enemy Nobunaga's army was battling were dressed in the same uniform as the zombies. Meanwhile, all of Nobunaga's men were in the same outfit as the 'good guy' soldiers peppered through the early portion of the game.
Now, I could see the losing army getting resurrected as zombies, since Nobunaga is a dick. But, why would another army Nobs is against be in the same outfits as his loyal human soldiers? Was it just a common armor of the period?
Or maybe I am just thinking into this too much and Capcom just farmed out two uniforms to be used in a cool FMV they commissioned another company to do...
For the assist, the thankful soldier sticks his hand in a bush next to him and offers our hero some shrubbery. Glad to be of service...
Well, that's a bit more useful. And, we just happen to have been lugging around the means to get down there.
...for a good twenty minutes now, no less.
A short distance down the moat, we find an ominous, torch lit cave which apparently none of the inhabitants of the castle bothered to check out, despite rumors of people getting fucking eaten by demons in it being common banter...
This whole region seems to be the personification of
Anyhow, next to the big, mean Boss Fight Here door, there is another one of those Code Puzzle Boxes.
Another one we are completely incapable of solving... Thanks, Capcom. I always like assurances I'll have to backtrack when the game is less than a half hour in.
I also upgraded Shiden to Level 2, for shits and giggles. Mostly because I'd prefer to battle tougher with slightly less power in my attacks but greater rewards, than have an easier time battling weak enemies just to level up.
Sam steps through the big old Boss Fight Here gateway.
It actually takes Samanosuke a couple of seconds to notice this...
What was he doing up there, anyway? Changing a lightbulb?
"Sorry, but she's in another castle."
"Son of a bitch!"
"What do they taste like when they're sad?" "You ever had lasagna?" "Err... Once or twice." "I mean, not like good homemade lasagna. Like... Pre-made stuff. Like, Olive Garden lasagna." "Eww." "Think that, but more salty." "Forget I asked."
Sam manages to skillfully evade Osric's attack, this time. Despite the Shrek Gauntlet only giving him the ability to kill demons and eat their souls... I don't think an agility boost was in there but...who's to argue with plot devices?
Unfortunately, the door doesn't fair quite as well... Poor 'Boss Fight Here' door... What did it ever do to anyone?
Despite his size, Osric attacks faster and stronger than anything else, thus far. But, luckily Sam can now block attacks that one-shotted him just less than a hour ago.
Well, mostly block them...
Despite his speed at attacking, Osric does have a fatal flaw. A guy that size doesn't exactly turn on a dime.
Also, demons and lightning bolts, much like electronics, do not mix. They did put out a demon surge protector in 1564. But it was too little, too late for poor Osric.
Having a helmet that covers half your eyes probably wasn't doing you any favors.
So ends Osric the Giant. He died as he lived. With the camera focused dead center on his crotch.
So, what's that? Like a two block walk from here? That's not much of a threat. No need to be a jerk, Sam.
Education Station:
"Welcome back. I'm Dr. Cyrus Norman."
"And I'm Dr. Albert Wesker." "Excuse me? You're not who I was booked with." "What does it say on your scheduling card?" "I am commissioned for an informative seminar with one Dr. Albert W." "Indeed." "Oh, whatever. You can't be worse than the last one. Was he fired?" "He's taking a leave of absence. Something about a conflicting project that needs attention." "Fine, fine. Of what field are you an expert, Dr. Wesker?" "Super science, viral cultivation, political science, optometry, and Shakespeare." "Shakespeare?" "Indeed I am... I...have a lot of free time between projects... Today's topic of discussion will be the character of Osric." "The giant ogre like demon?" "Quite. Osric is a reference to William Shakespeare's play, Hamlet. In it, Osric is a courtier who invites Hamlet, the protagonist, to a fencing match with Laertes, the brother of Hamlet's love interest, Ophelia." "I see. It runs a parallel to how the Osric of our narrative sparks the protagonist, Samanosuke, to his fateful quest." "Parallel...?" "Yes. You know, the name ties together the similar roles of the two narratives." "..." "What?" "It's just a fucking name. You look too much into things."Tune in Next Time For:
Science!
Liver!!
Camp!!!
Bonus Content:
Osric Pre-Fight Cutscene
Raizan Magic Attack Demo
Osric Death Cutscene