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old blue lions stuff

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thought about combining some of my yiga stories with the rewrite so

what if i took this old design for Ramuda (the thief that hid the clothing you can find in botw; i made him be the second founder of the yiga alongside koga) and used him as the boss of the shadow temple?

(in my yiga stories koga is a monk from back when the first calamity happened, after being hunted down by the royal family as their tech was being banned he and Ramuda founded the yiga; ramuda was a researcher and developed a way to seal malice into tattoos to make use of its life preserving and combat enhancing abilities; they used it first on themselves and it wasnt quite right yet the malice wasnt sealed enough within the tattoos and started to affect their mind leading them to get overtaken by their hatred for the royals and attempting to assassinate the king of their time, failing and being killed by the princess, hence the hole in his head, but they didnt die, the malice kept them alive but only in a zombie like way, they werent themselves anymore and were imprisoned in secret by the royal family- koga finished the research and used the more refined tech to do the same to himself which is why he is still alive to this day, side effects being mostly his extreme need for sleep, memory loss and loss of control when a bloodmoon hits)

so my thought was that the shadow temple is located beneath the akkala fort, but extremely hidden and kept a secret, the fortress being made in the first place to have constant control of it to make sure no one can even accidentally discover the dark secret the royal family of the past had kept (similar to the og shadow temple bc tbh it fits well into it all) ramuda being kept in an arena like cell at the end of it as he grew more agressive over time (id want to redesign them for this purpose but not by much, add more rot as they have been down there for centuries, and some sort of shackles, perhaps give him back arms that are shackled and in phase two they break free driven by the rage of recognizing that zelda is of royal blood once you defeat him they fall on their knees and start to disappear, but now that the malice is gone, and although they have no face left yet still recognize koga, weakly reaching for him with one hand, koga grabs it and as ramuda is already half gone his hand tightens the grip before disolving fully

even without spelling everything of this backstory out i think it work well as its clear koga had a personal connection to the person that turned into the boss and i think thats a realyl good thing, gives way more weight to it than just another mindless monster

a little more unsure is where the enigma stone was kept but one idea i had is that it was used to power whatever mechanism was put in place to keep ramuda locked in there, the only reason getting into the shadow temple at all being that it got damaged during the cataclysm and wasnt fully functioning anymore

(totk rewritten project)

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The disguise worked too well

EDIT: Added banana

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Shad Plays Future Redeemed: 📻

Warning a big chunk of this has me theory crafting.

OKAY

What

WHY

How

UM

Radio with Vector branding? Same Vector that made KOS-MOS in Xenosaga?

The radio mentions Project Exodus and mentions an Arc Ship called Icarus, which fits the naming convention of Xenoblade X.

But also name drops DIMITRI? XENOSAGA AGAIN?

Look Na'el and Matthew's Heart to Heart is probably really wholesome and sweet but YEAH NO I WAS LOOKING AT THE SUBTITLES ABOVE.

Some people in the Xenoblade netspace claim that the Xenoblade X nods here are like...just nods and aren't really confirming anything while the Saga stuff should be important.

Look. That's a bias, plus I really think something more deep is going on here. Something that's kinda big? Takahashi is definitely cooking a buffet for us.

What I mean here is, okay okay hear me out. Monolith might be getting the Xenosaga IP back? Namco hardly does anything special with it other than have Tales characters wear the corpse that the games have become.

The last major appearance any Xenosaga character has had was in Xenoblade 2. And then we get this.

We have lore from artbooks that already confirmed the possibility that Vector exists in Xenoblade given they're still responsible for KOS-MOS (And Tel-os too) and with it being in Alpha's memory space it retroactively explains things just like a lot of things.

I don't want to turn this gameplay summary into just a huge theory board but it's like...I GOTTA take a whack at this.

Yes X has aliens and Saga doesn't , big woop. Xenoblade already established alternative dimensions and the possible way to interact with them via things like the Conduit.

What if a Vector exists in a world where there IS sentience beyond Earth? It's possible! Keep in mind that KOS-MOS is canonical to Xenoblade 2, as she's in base game.

Future Redeemed established that all quests you do are canonical as is fighting every Unique Monster.

So Rex at some point woke KOS-MOS.

Its mentioned in the artbook that both battle androids were on the World Tree and fell to the clouds if my memory is correct.

The idea of core crystal technology wasn't nearly at the point it becomes once 2 starts, but given Vector exists...this version of of the company probably used core crystal tech in their designs. Not sure if Klaus believed in open source but like...KOS-MOS definitely knows what the World Tree really is.

Okay yeah I'm scraping just the surface of Xenosaga stuff but like, I feel under qualified to talk about it. Leave that to the diehards.

But X I feel perfectly qualified in.

We see a reformed world in the post credits scene with SOMETHING careening down to it. Saga fans will claim we're looking at somewhere important from their game, but X fans will say its Mira. Meaning what we see falling is either the White Whale...or a Saga Spoiler.

Keep in mind this is a Xenoblade game.

It's probably Mira and the White Whale. Which yes, would be conflicting since "WELL THEN WHY HAVE THE VECTOR STUFF AND MENTION DIMITRI AND ALL THAT?! THERE'S SPACE COLONIZATION. "

X had a lot of Saga blood for sure, but this seems to pretty much hint that something wacky is happening in greater Xenoblade lore.

Earth went BOOM in X, but Klaus destroyed it/split it in the trilogy. So that's the argument people make. How can the reformed world be Mira if earth died a different way in X?

I...I really don't have an answer other than it's possible that Mira has some strange way of pulling other universes peoples in to preserve life because it's core is Origin or something?

Look I'm stretching here I'll admit. But I'm just wondering if time and space warping caused something?

This DLC broke me, Matthew says his full name at the end confirming that the house titles are indeed Last Names and as far as I care, Ortiz is Shulk's and Rodes is Rex's since that's the last names their kids chose to use at least.

They fused into a huge mech. Alpha's second phase belongs in Bayonetta, N actually has pretty damn good writing with depths I didn't expect.

But I'm still not gonna calm down about that DAMN RADIO!

Edit: Okay so after giving more thought, I can see the Xenosaga connections more clearly, and yeah they're important. Namco did snag the copyright to Xenosaga a while back (the Fandom went nuts). And while I don't think the future connections will be as glaringly obvious as some might hope, I do see Namco popping in to allow references moving forward. I expect them to use X substitutes when needed if they can't agree to do __

X definitely is its own separate universe within the multiverse, but I would at least say that hypothetically some characters from X would exist in a Trilogy universe, just not in the same exact roles due to timeline wackiness. (No Elma though, she would break the No Xenoforms rule).

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I just just beat Future Redeemed. I'll need a day to write up my thoughts on it all, but god...it's amazing.

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Shad Plays Future Redeemed: Rex's Many Attempts To Be A Dad

A lot of the quests and prep I did were connected to Rex, so let's begin talking yeah?

I want to talk about the Cooking With Rex quests again, now that I think I've done every quest related in that chain.

The story has made it clear by this point that Shulk and Rex desire to reestablish parental connections with their kids. But while Shulk's attempts go extremely well, with several Nicol and Shulk related quests and story beats showing how excited the boy is to actually work on something with Shulk.

Glimmer however...is another story.

I describe Glimmer as basically being Torna Mythra, a version of the character that Rex never got to deal with. Rex is currently sitting firm in Adam's shoes right now, trying his best to support Glimmer but tripping every which way.

He obviously is trying to win her full favor over by cooking the food she loved back on Alrest. That being food that Pyra cooked. The first two Cooking With Rex quests just make it seem like he's teaching Matthew recipes he knows to expand their options, but every time the party goes to eat...Rex is just standing talking to Shulk right near where the former salvager can observe Glimmer's reactions.

And it's more clear in the third quest, where Rex doesn't even respond properly to Matthew encouraging him to cook again, instead remembering what Glimmer's favorite food is: The Torpedo Wrap (something that is loved by the whole base game party).

But when Rex talks with Shulk at the end of the quest like always, the game makes a bigger point to show he's waiting to hear her thoughts. Even if we never find out what they are...

Then we have the Lute quest, which shows Glimmer basically inheriting an instrument. Unfortunately given it was found without strings they need to make the strings from rare monster intestines. Which while Glimmer can handle the killing she's too squeamish to gut the monster. So Rex offers to do it, telling anyone else who is squeamish to close their eyes. (Nicol thanks you, Master Driver). He's even super supportive of her learning to play, as is the rest of the party.

But there's another character Rex parents, that being Linka, Zeke and Pandoria's daughter. In the quest aptly called "Linka's Birthday" Rex decides to make her one of her favorite foods, which is basically Octopus Balls. Zeke had told him the recipe and you go hunt down the tenticled monster all while Linka is left unaware.

Though it turns out that after she sees it...she comments that Rex killed the wrong monster for the recipe. Despite this, she tries it and enjoys it, mentioning how nostalgic it is for her.

While doing these quests along with a quest that calls back to the mural quests from Xenoblade 2...it made me wonder what Rex did post 2.

He obviously kept Garfront Mercs going, given Linka calls him Boss like every merc called Vandam but...God this is interesting.

As for story progress? I didn't get much, the beat I ended off on today was of the group stopping to rest at the Valak Mountain camp and Shulk mentioning his desire to still see the future somewhat, despite passing up the chance at godhood at 18. A does pretty much say that the future isn't set and even if he knew it could only be the knowledge of a single possibility. It's clear that Shulk's anxiety is at a peek, given he's the only one from the OG game still around.

Riku reassures Shulk that he isn't alone in all of this, and gestures to Lucky Seven, the one Noah will eventually get. And then to the Monado REX+. Basically symbolizing that the hopes, dreams and will of the friends he once traveled with are still with him.

And MMMM, Shulk bemoaning his stress being due to his age and it hurts to hear coming from him. I'm just glad they don't show Shulk and Rex being these perfect people who no longer need character development. Because golly these two still very much feel human.

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No Future Redeemed playthrough journal today, didn't do enough interesting things to warrant an entry unless you really want me to describe trying every little bit of the Affinity System. Today's will be bunched in with tomorrow's.

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Shad Plays Future Redeemed: Ow my feels

I DON'T FEEL PREPARED FOR PRISON ISLAND.

I get the feeling going there and fighting N (as we see in the trailer) begins the Point of No Return.

Shulk and Rex did explain the creation of Bionis and Alrest and showed their knowledge that their worlds used to be one. Basically explaining what Nia does both during the main story and in post game. Though it's evident that the duo don't...really know how to solve the situation beyond killing Mobius.

Two required quests then popped up since of course they do.

One was simply go into a cave and get a rare metal to build an Ether Lift. Huge cave, hard fights. It's Xenoblade 3.

But the other was in my opinion more significant.

Glimmer and Nicol, the two Soldiers saved by Mathew who just so happen to be Rex and Shulk's kids respectively, show their resolve and determination to join the fight against Alpha.

Rex is EXTREMELY against it, given their Oroboros powers are newly awakened and aren't strong enough to fight something as powerful as Alpha, who was able to best Shulk. Rex AND Z.

Then Nicol brings up Riku, because of course he does, and they end up deciding to try and tap into the Oroboros stone Nia left behind. They end up learning that if Nicol and Glimmer get into an intense enough fight, their powers synced with the stone will buff them.

So obviously that means fighting Shulk and Rex. WAIT WHAT? This is the first time a Protagonist of a Xenoblade game has been a boss fight without being questionably canonical (Sorry Elma).

But yeah, Dad Squad really doesn't want their kids to get killed. Even if they're both close to homecoming anyway.

They win and Rex gives his blessing. Following all that though, A talks with both of them privately. Shulk and Rex know that...even if they're strong enough to fight N and Alpha, they're still going to die.

And they make a vow to somehow free them from it because "No child should die before their parents."

More shit happened after this but...I just want to sit on this. In the statues dedicated to Nicol and Glimmer in the City its said they lived way past their terms, surviving until their 80s. So somehow, like Mio in base game, they'll defy death.

But in Mio's case someone took her term end for her, that being M.

Are Shulk and Rex going to take on the burden of their final terms themselves and allow themselves to enter the cycle and die?

Will they die in front of their kids?

Will this explain why they're not in the main story?

I'm scared.

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Trying to play the dlc but everytime they’re on screen together this is all I can think of  

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Shad Plays Future Redeemed: Ah Right This Is A Xeno Game

So I did A LOT of quests, gearing up for the next story objective I had to tackle and a lot of lore got established that developed parts of the older games retroactively.

Given the main base is Colony 9 (the real one), of course Gem Man's Stall exists. And Nicol and Shulk end up repairing it together to study so we can make higher level gems. Father son bonding!

It's here we learn it's custom made, which explains why the Gem Man made us the portable Gem Crafter in 1, it was based on his own design.

Then there's Georgina, the daughter of Paula and granddaughter of Georgino the Curry Master. The gang builds her a cantina and after nostalgicly gathering her 5 Dance Apples, she makes his Curry. And we even get the recipe!

We're allowed to use the Cantina after the quest, but Rex points out there's no point using it given they can just cook at a campsite. But it's here that Matthew learns that Rex knows how to cook and asks him to cook them something they can make later.

So opens a first in a chain of quests "Cooking With Rex Part 1". This is significant as the food he's cooking is one of Pyra's dishes.

I'm gonna guess the other dishes will be her other dishes. But its through this and a lot of other quests that...I noticed something.

Where...are the other party members? During my first play session, I did a H2H where Shulk and Rex talk broadly about Dunban. But they're both using past-tense, as if he's dead. Granted Riki and Dunban being dead makes sense, being 40s and 30s respectively in Xenoblade 1. But it seems everyone else is gone too.

Granted I've just hit Chapter 4, which has A LOT of lore dumps connected. Containing but not limited to:

- A is a split off of Ontos, who has now dubbed Themselves Alpha

- Alpha wants to kill all remnants of the Old Worlds and save only those of the City to create a new world.

- It's due to Alpha appearing in the City withn the hands of Na'el that led to Z making Noah Consol N and attack the city, because he wanted N to use the Sword of the End to kill Alpha. With the promise of bringing back Mio if he did. Holy...shit .

-N...is on our side as a result? But not really? Because this is still N. Mr. Nutjob McYandere Pants. Matthew doesn't want Na'el to get killed, and N straight up threatens that Na'el will die if that's what it takes to earn "Eternity", AKA Mio.

SO YEAH MATTHEW ISNT REALLY HAPPY WITH A, SHULK AND REX FOR HIDING AS MUCH AS THEY DID FROM HIM! RIGHTFULLY SO!

I should also explain that, during that whole moment before Na'el appears and we fight her. Rex explains that while Logos was the Male and Pnuma the Female, Ontos was somewhere in between. It fits the fact that Ontos represents the Holy Spirit, but in another sense means Alvis is genderfluid. Given A is more feminine and Alpha retains the Alvis form. Though given gendered terms are never used for Alpha or A, it's safe to say that...yeah this is our NB rep right here.

That's awesome!

..yeah this post was a lot longer than my first one and I didn't even touch on how Matthew figured out that N is his great-grandfather and his "Eternity" is his great-grandmother all because he recalls having the photo of Noah and Mio at his family home. Matthew isn't as smart as other Xeno protagonists, but he's got some level of intelligence especially when family is involved.

Anyway my thoughts could fill a book, I'm really wondering what Shulk and Rex will explain to our party...

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Shad Plays Future Redeemed: I'M FEELIN' FULL OF BEANS!

Matthew is a great character. I love him.

A is sus and they have visons. That's concerning.

I enjoy getting points to upgrade!

WHY IS RIKU HERE

REX AND SHULK ARE COOL

Also Glimmer and Nicol are their kids, God that's probably awkward...

Plot? Uh...find sister, kill Mobius. Where's Alvis?

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So the Wave 4 DLC for Xenoblade 3 drops on Tuesday. I'm going to sum up my play sessions with it here. I know I didn't fully commit to doing that for the base game but I'm going to try to do do for this.

All Future Redeemed summaries will be tagged as "Liberation and Revenge".

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the monster energy character

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In regards to the previous post, Marth's Trial was way too easy for me? I refused to use the thing as I felt it'd cheapen the fight, yet it's the map I used where I lost the least amount of units? Maybe I'm just too used to the game's mechanics now.

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Marth’s trial theme from Fire Emblem Engage

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tear streaked (ice) fire emblem engage ost