Jarlaxle

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Everything posted by Jarlaxle

  1. Download Link: https://tinyurl.com/lpf7ozy // YouTube Preview Playlist: https://tinyurl.com/lou9okf Welcome to the Hard Mode version of Lufia. While I did finish this years ago, I didn’t release it outside of JCE3000GT’s forum since I wanted to give it a thorough second-pass. Despite the delays my perfectionism paid off as there were plenty of areas in the latter half of the game that needed extra difficulty. This hack makes all of the enemies tougher and has been tested every step of the way for balance. Compensation for the extra difficulty is provided in the form of item drops for every single foe in the game, and more generous drop rates for existing drops (with a few superior changes here and there). Each of the main characters received a slight buff mostly in the MP department, and some items are cheaper as well. Later in the game the tougher monsters start giving a lot more EXP for greater rewards. This is by no means a ‘insane difficulty’ mod but rather something in the middle. The original game was pathetically easy since you could arrive in a new area with new monsters and wipe them all out with a single spell. Some areas might seem significantly harder but it will likely be more a case of you not previously witnessing the abilities of your enemies since they die before they get a chance to use them. It is now worthwhile to use a little strategy and vary it throughout the game, and in each new area learn which monsters are the greatest threat in the various formations and thus the ‘priority kill(s)’. With careful planning it is still not that hard to keep your characters alive; I’ve only ever experienced one ‘game over’ and that was solely due to not healing when I should have. Magic still seems overpowered but this is metered by the fact that your MP is limited; thus you’ll have a much easier time if you ration it out, using only one big spell per battle early on. Try not to hoard Miracles and Ex Potions/etc, as I did so in both play-throughs and the first time I had about 80~ wasted Miracles; however it is worth saving 30~ for the final dungeon. It is essential to heal your characters after every battle, and given how inexpensive Potions are you should try and only use them to heal outside of battle so that you can save all of your MP just for battles. Carry three or more stacks of 99 Potions early on so that you can make it through tougher dungeons and conserve your MP thus. Later in the game it is less of an issue, and I tend to use a few healing spells and top up any excess with Potions. The Wind Flute item has been nerfed in that it doesn’t heal all of your characters in battle, however you can now use it outside of battle for free healing. It is found in the final level of the Old Cave, which will be too tough to handle for quite some time; although if you’re getting sick of healing with items and such you could always use Smoke Balls to avoid battles and go get the Wind Flute as soon as you gain access to a ship (I didn’t bother). I’ve also included my extensive Changelog document which shows the various new monster stats as well as their item drops which is conveniently broken up into each area of the game as you come across them. It is worth studying when you get to a new area so you can see if there are any items you want to aim for. I’ve also documented the minor character and magic/item changes I made. The prologue characters have been nerfed somewhat, and since the monsters are also tougher it is now no longer a cakewalk; although it’s still not exactly challenging. It’s actually worth exploring and nabbing all the items with Maxim, however! Stat buffs and debuffs make your life much easier, so learn to experiment with the various spells there was no point using in the original game. You can buy Plum Cider early on for a decent cheap attack boost, and once money is no object carry around 99 Power Gourds at all times. ‘Arrows’ and attack items quickly become useless in new areas, so it is best to use them as soon as you get them rather than hoarding them. I assume every player will fully explore each dungeon and grab all the treasure; I highly recommend Sleipnir2000’s walkthrough at GameFAQs (https://www.gamefaqs.com/snes/588452-lufia-and-the-fortress-of-doom/faqs/60795), as well as the timings for visiting the Old Cave (aside from the final level). Grinding isn’t required, excluding right at the start of the game which is standard for even easy games which have a tough beginning (such as Breath of Fire). Fighting a few extra battles when you are close to level-up doesn’t really count either. Grinding is pretty much pointless since if you fall behind there are various high-EXP Metal Slime-esque monsters such as the Mimics and Redcore/etc monsters which give crazy-good rewards. I usually made an effort to kill 3-5 of them in each area, but there is no need to go any further than that. If you want more help or want to check out some videos of the Hack, you can check out my YouTube preview playlist (https://tinyurl.com/lou9okf). It is not a full Let’s Play, but it will showcase various areas from the start of the game up until you get your ship, as well as various boss battles. Check them out for more hints and tips that should help you out. Awesome: I haven’t tested it, but I can’t see why this wouldn’t work with Vivify93’s ‘Restored’ Hack, which removes censorship, adds item descriptions and several other cool changes (it might even make the final boss tougher; happy for someone to confirm this in the future). TL;DR: Complete Lufia Hard Mode! Check out my preview videos for more information! Download Link: // YouTube Preview Playlist: https://tinyurl.com/lou9okf ---------- Acknowledgement: This was all made possible thanks to JCE3000GT’s Lufia Editor. It took me a crazy amount of time to make, but it wouldn’t exist without his editor. What’s Next: See Suikoden Hard Mode thread.
  2. Lufia Hard Mode (Complete)

    https://tinyurl.com/lpf7ozy Leads to Google Drive, where there is a Download button near the top-right of the screen. Enjoy!
  3. I’ve started working on a Hard Mode for the PSX tactical RPG Saiyuki Journey West, which was a bloody fun and overlooked title that came out toward the end of the original Playstation’s lifespan. Some consider it a Final Fantasy Tactics clone, and it definitely has a lot of similarities. However, it lacks the customisation elements, as each character has their set class and special abilities. In my mind this is a lot more fun, not necessarily better than FFT but well worth playing in any case as a top TRPG. However, also similar to FFT, the game does become pretty damn easy, and the bosses tend to be pretty lacklustre when you’re overpowered. Here’s a quick list of the main changes I’ll be making for this Hard Mode: ~ Tougher enemies and bosses (naturally). ~ ‘Mini-boss’ creatures in most battles that don’t have a boss. ~ A slight MP boost for each character as compensation. ~ You start the game with 6 Werepoints instead of 5, as above. ~ Dojo battles will also be more difficult. ~ I’ll try and make the sidequest random battles more fun, possibly with better rewards! ~ I just might sneak in a second Star Ore near the end of the game, if possible… ~ Archers in particular are more of a threat with increased movement. I’ve already edited and tested all battles up to the ‘Advanced’ stage of the Dojo at Ko Lodge; so I’ve only really just started. Depending on dedication and other projects, it could take 6-12 months in the best case scenario, but likely longer. I’d really love to try my hand at making a Hard Mode for Legend of Legaia as well. Plus I’ve still got Warsong and Langrisser II hovering around 70%~ complete just begging for a second pass and project resumption… :bouncy Unfortunately there is no bestiary for this game, so I’m slowly going through the game noting down base stats, and then making my changes per battle and testing them as I go. There is a high risk of burnout down the track, hence I might swap between projects here and there to limit any downtime. >_@ Anyhow, here are some early-days screenshots: ^Sanzo's initial obstacle! Still a pushover compared to the mighty Centipedes. ^The first Mini-boss Thief, with a higher level as a reward; and one less 'Move' to slow his aggressive charge toward Sanzo. (Went from 5 to 4; not reflected in this picture). ^These tough lackies have a taste for bacon, so be careful with 'guest' Hakkai in this one! ^The first 'beginner' Dojo battle; I won't be too cruel with the easier matches.
  4. Apologies for the long delay, but I finally resumed this project and am near the end of Chapter 2 (which is massive when including all the Dojo battles and Post battles, whoa). If you're interested in seeing my playthrough of the current content, I'll be live on Twitch with it in about nine hours from now (https://www.twitch.tv/Traz). I'll only be playing two hour segments once a week, so that will give me plenty of time to keep up with the hacking. Been looking forward to showing it off for a long time.
  5. Sorry been slackin' on the hackin'! I was on a roll, but then Twitch streaming happened. >_< Hit a bit of a wall with Chapter 2, but smashed all the optional battles out of the park. I assume most folk will skip a lot of the Dojo and random battles//etc, but as a perfectionist, I had to make sure every single battle was made tougher, haha. Hoping to resume the project soon. Once I get back into it I'll let you know @MysticLord I can thankfully add new enemies to battles which is awesome, but I can't add new buried//visible treasure for compensation, sadly, despite knowing where all the treasure data is. I can change existing treasure though, so that's better than nothing. Really want to get back into it and finish it, so I can move on to Breath of Fire (SNES) and then Wild ARMs, haha.
  6. Lufia 2 - Age of the Sinistrals

    Niiice, will give this a go at some point. I've never actually played Lufia II since I could never get past the first game due to savage boredom when it became too easy. But I did finally finish it when I made my own hard mode for it. So now I'm finally ready for Lufia II and this looks like the best way to do so. Cheers for the top effort, @praetarius5018! Will play through it on Twitch when I run out of my own hard mode projects, if you don't mind. Several months away, in any case.
  7. Hiatus Coming To An End

    Goodo, mate! I'm getting more into hacking these days, after relying on awesome editors for the last five projects I've worked on. Keen to learn more and forge ahead with the likes of Legend of Legaia, Wild ARMs and beyond! Just a pity that it takes 200+ hours over 6-12 months to do so, and we humans have only a limited time on this Earth! >_< And I should get around to adding Discord for this joint, after only recently installing it in general.
  8. Vagrant Story Zenith

    Nice one mate, I look forward to checking it out. Always happy to see more hard mode or rebalance projects. Cheers for the effort!
  9. G'day fellow Rom-Hackers, just thought I'd invite you all to check out my first ever Twitch stream next Saturday (August 19th)! I'm aiming to start around 9PM AEST (UTC+10) which is probably early in the morning for any yanks, but I'll be going for at least four hours, and possibly a few hours after that playing Halo co-op with a mate from the US. You can find a link below to my Twitch Channel which I've already filled out with plenty of info, feel free to Follow me to find out when I go live! Below that I've also made a trailer for the first game I'll be playing there. Wasn't sure how I could add to the Stream thingamajig. I'll be showcasing my Hard Mode for Langrisser II, which I started way too long ago and need to finish, and then likewise with Warsong. I'm about halfway through Chapter 2 of my Saiyuki Journey West Hard Mode project; bloody tons of battles when you include the copious Dojo and Post battles. Once I run out of my own projects to play through, hoping to test out the work of others around here on Twitch, if ye don't mind! https://www.twitch.tv/TrazFromAustralia https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2IGsYc0iKAk I'll be testing all my new equipment this weekend (mixer/microphone/webcam/etc) and if all goes well I might even have an unofficial first stream on Tuesday, starting my 'Tales of Tuesday' stream where I'll play through the entirety of the Tales of... series, starting with Tales of Phantasia (PSX) Hard Mode! Hope to catch some of you there. Cheers!
  10. Project Update: Chapter 1 Complete! ~ 9 out of 9 Story Battles. ~ 6 out of 6 Dojo Battles. ~ 9 out of 9 Post//Sidequest Battles. (Includes Random Battle). All 24 possible battles have now been given the Hard Mode treatment, and have all been tested and documented. The last story battle is definitely a worthy challenge and excellent end to the chapter (so to speak). The last two post sidequest battles are an excellent way to get Lady Kikka caught up in levels, and the final Dojo Master battle should get her and Sanzo up to level 20 with ease. No grinding has been required whatsoever; although I did fight the Post random battle a second time to get Kikka her first two levels. While I haven't discovered how to add *new* treasure to battles, I can edit existing treasure (which is awesome). Probably even better news is that I can add new enemies to a battle, and they do appear properly! During the first chapter I've changed several enemies, but only felt the need to add one extra enemy in the final sidequest battle. The bandits now have a pet Centipede, and if you think that is strange then you've probably never played Vandal Hearts! If those bandits can have pet giant bats, then Saiyuki bandits can have a pet giant centipede, damn it!
  11. Download Link: https://tinyurl.com/y8pqvbdd // Twitch Channel: https://www.twitch.tv/Traz After all these years, Suikoden Hard Mode is here. Thanks to Starwin’s editor I was able to work on this over the last few months, and it’s finally ready. This is a middle-of-the-road Hard Mode as opposed to an Insane Difficulty ragefest (so there’s plenty of room if someone wants to make a Super Hard mode). All enemies and bosses in the game have been made stronger, and it has been fully tested from start to finish (and retested in numerous areas). If you are familiar with my Hard Mode version of Lufia, then you’ll know that I offer compensation for the harder difficulty. Medicines now have a maximum quantity of 9 instead of 6, and Mega Medicines now have a whopping 6 instead of 3; and Antitoxins/Needles went from 4 to 6. On top of this, all item drop rates have been made much more generous as well as new drops added here and there, with bosses almost always giving something good. Your initial characters have had a very slight HP boost as well as some equipment added for Ted to allow you to more safely get your first few levels; it could be dangerous with just Tir and Ted in the original game, but now the two can really only handle a pair of BonBons by themselves. There is no way around this if you wish to take on the optional sidequest for a Prosperity Crystal, but it’s naturally much easier if you skip it; although since you’re playing Hard Mode, who would want to? While ‘Let Go’ allows you to run away guaranteed, for Hard Mode purposes the idea of clearing a dungeon is fighting every enemy encounter along the way, where the attrition challenge is to not use too much magic that you run out too soon. Rationing out your MP is important to safely conquer a dungeon. I normally get most of the treasure, and then retreat for healing before taking on the boss, having already ‘cleared’ the dungeon so to speak (at which point using Let Go is justified). Aside from that I’ll generally only use Let Go when the experience is irrelevant. All changes in the game have been thoroughly documented, so be sure to check it out if you’re interested and to see if there are any item drops you might like to target. I also noted my party’s levels below some of the boss statistics. Almost all enemy formations have been increased throughout the game, so it isn’t just a case of tougher monsters; there are more of them too. Please check out my fully-voiced playthrough on YouTube (link above) if you need help or would like to show support, as there will be plenty of hints and trivia mentioned in each video as well as the comments. I’ll upload new 30~ minute parts every Friday and Sunday. This will be my ‘second-pass’, so minor changes will be made along the way if I notice any enemies could use a further buff. What’s Next: I plan on finishing my Hard Mode versions of Warsong and Langrisser 2 for the Genesis, and might do a voice-acted Let’s Play for the latter. Both are excellent TRPGs and well worth playing through the vanilla versions if you haven’t already as some consider them difficult enough already for casual players. I might revive my Breath of Fire II project afterward, and then move on with Breath of Fire III unless someone else does so in the meantime! Acknowledgement: This wouldn’t have been possible without Starwin’s awesome dedication making the editor, so thanks again, if you happen to see this.
  12. Suikoden Hard Mode (Complete)

    Forgot to initially include the download link. >_> (Although it's in the YouTube description as well). Yeah this is for the NTSC version which made the most sense for compatibility even though I've always used the PAL versions. I used the V1.1 version as a base, so I'm not sure if it would allow you to patch a 1.0 Suikoden. If I remember correctly, NTSC Suikoden II data works with Suikogaiden? And naturally for Suikoden III. Starwin said he might look into III; so a Hard Mode for that would be bloody ace. Which is Aussie-speak for 'quite decent'. I'm a perfectionist so you can rest assured that it has been thoroughly tested and well-documented. I'd be keen as hell to make a more middling Hard Mode for Suikoden II as well if an editor is ever made, as good as it is to have Choirboy's S2 Hardcore ragefest. >_> Plenty of room for both!