Let's Play: Cthulhu Saves the World

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Hello Playgrounders.

So, it's been bugging me for a while, but I can remember when I was a child and young teenager spending a lot of time playing video games and having a great time. Yet now, I have games that I haven't even opened, consoles that are collecting dust. I've lost this hobby of playing video games and I don't know how it happened. So I'm trying to get back into playing, and since I've enjoyed watching and reading the Let's Plays of others, I figured I might try doing one myself, maybe a couple if it isn't too much of a hassle.

The game I've chosen to start with is Cthulhu Saves the World (http://store.steampowered.com/app/107310/). It's an RPG, designed with the spirit of the SNES era and with a strong resemblence to Dragon Quest games, and with a light-hearted lovecraftian feel that pokes jokes at it's own genre. So far I'm having a blast.

This is my first time doing a let's play so feedback, advice, criticism are all appreciated. I do know I messed up on the volume levels of the first two videos, it should be a bit better from part 3 onwards.

So, hope you enjoy! :smallbiggrin:

Playlist (http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLV96NeFM7dD3IUm8SYnKYdn1_-ltaUqrv&feature=view_all)

Part 1: Cthulhu Gets a Groupie (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Zf7b4kLkjU)
Part 2: Kill the Heroes! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zE4sCm9-os0)
Part 3: Enter Miskatonia (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9XB50wj6HM)
Part 4: Cthulhu vs. Ninja Ghost! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SNPYfjb9qKg)
Part 5: Going Around in Circles (http://youtu.be/RuwVRwMtCLY)
Part 6: Zombie Dancers! (http://youtu.be/kZw7x0JYLzg)
Part 7: Custom Tombstones! (http://youtu.be/xRiMGRnFPd0)
Part 8: Crispy Zombies (http://youtu.be/_OejunQyq5I)
Part 9: Cthulhu vs. Nyarlathotep (http://youtu.be/a-RK_4rvdbI)
Part 10: The Temple of Loot (http://youtu.be/l6gTa8xEpho)
Part 11: Lost in the Woods (http://youtu.be/serbIZtOddU)
Part 12: We...Died!? (http://youtu.be/mNIj7uJ8MdQ)
Part 13: Beam Me Up! (http://youtu.be/HQ1JPQc2W4Q)
Part 14: One Small Step for Old Ones... (http://youtu.be/-ScdSLGpbuI)
Part 15: Cat Fight! (http://youtu.be/PCeTfz9qk94)
Part 16: The Graveyard of Loot (http://youtu.be/z5-jRQfMIsY)
Part 17: Smashing Tombstones (http://youtu.be/9bWqyLvQc-4)
Part 18: Quarantine Zone (http://youtu.be/d0F4KgiUi7I)
Part 19: Waterlogged (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xkGz6dBjk2E)
Part 20: Surprised by Shoggoths (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5UVxvMLMTQ)
Part 21: Duck and Cover (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5YJjQ73-9b8)
Part 22: (N)Ice Loot. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qcz-tsE4uKI)
Part 23: From Ice to Fire (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12xlUd1ccKw)
Part 24: Cliffhanger! (http://youtu.be/qoFwwPQYqrQ)
Part 25: A DRAGON! (http://youtu.be/VIenhOoagAE)
Part 26: Not Supposed to be Here (http://youtu.be/63hxIOkwMPY)
Part 27: A Dress for Umi (http://youtu.be/emn4RS3DEP0)
Part 28: Where's the Magicite!? (http://youtu.be/65xhtE7P8gI)
Part 29: Dagon Goes Down (http://youtu.be/ODpGFoyzRmE)
Part 30: Summoners are Broken (http://youtu.be/U2nt5dyZQ2o)
Part 31: Home Sweet Home (http://youtu.be/s82QSA7EFlI)
Part 32: Return of the Heroes! (http://youtu.be/yDr2Av7ihh8)
Part 33: Finale (http://youtu.be/JOmTjycwtWY)

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New Part
Part 5: Going Around in Circles (http://youtu.be/RuwVRwMtCLY)
Cthulhu has trouble navigating the circular passageways of the Hall of Heroes.

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New Parts
Part 6: Zombie Dancers! (http://youtu.be/kZw7x0JYLzg)
Cthulhu gains the Sword of Heroism, then the party head to a town that's been overrun by a Zombie Rave.

Part 7: Custom Tombstones! (http://youtu.be/xRiMGRnFPd0)
Cthulhu and company continue the exploration of zombie-infested Dunwitch and come accross a powerful female necromancer.

Part 8: Crispy Zombies (http://youtu.be/_OejunQyq5I)
With October the necromancer joining the group, Cthulhu and company slaughter their way through zombies searching for Nyarlathotep to stop his evil chaos.

Part 9: Cthulhu vs. Nyarlathotep (http://youtu.be/a-RK_4rvdbI)
Making their way to the edge of Dunwitch, Cthulhu faces the crawling chaos in a showdown.

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Up to part 12

Part 10: The Temple of Loot (http://youtu.be/l6gTa8xEpho)
Cthulhu and company make a quick detour to a temple on the side-road before entering the haunted forest.

Part 11: Lost in the Woods (http://youtu.be/serbIZtOddU)
The deviousness of the dungeon designers is once more apparent as the Cthulhu struggles to navigate through the Haunted Woods

Part 12: We...Died!? (http://youtu.be/mNIj7uJ8MdQ)
At the end of the forest Cthulhu and his party of noble souls is sorely tested against the forces of savagery (Or ex-girlfriends as the case may be). And fails the test. Thank goodness for make-up exams.

[ShneekeyTheLost]

Quite an amusing LP of a game which can only be described as a... cult hit.

I rather find it amusing how the fourth wall is used mostly as a revolving door, and your commentary only makes it more entertaining.

Also, while going through your LP, I find a lack of making a 'use tentacles on the zombie-cheerleader' hentai jokes... disturbing.

[Pink]

Thanks!

It's definitely less a forth wall and more of a window in this game. Though what else can you expect from Cthulhu then bending the fabric of the narrative.

Ah, I knew I was missing joke material. I shall try to keep a better eye out for Hentai punchlines.

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Another week, another three videos

Part 13: Beam Me Up! (http://youtu.be/HQ1JPQc2W4Q)
Finishing the exploration of Providence, Cthulhu and company investigate a case of intergalactic cattle rustling, only to get abducted themselves.

Part 14: One Small Step for Old Ones... (http://youtu.be/-ScdSLGpbuI)
Cthulhu and the gang, with their new party member Paws, explore an alien ship that is very cool with lazers beams and teleportation pads and sofas and scratching posts and litter boxes!

Part 15: Cat Fight! (http://youtu.be/PCeTfz9qk94)
Making their way to the Bridge of the invading space vessel, the party square off against an evil twin of one of their own!

[ShneekeyTheLost]

Amusing as always.

This game sure seems to punish you for taking your time. In fact, it's almost better to go full alpha strike on opponents to get a first-round kill for maximum mana regain.

You don't need to use pierce when using your Laser Sword, which automatically bypasses defenses already. Use Flame Blade for less mana consumption.

Also... Darth Cthulhu... epic win.

[T.G. Oskar]

Yes and no.

It may seem like so in the first few levels, but after a while, you get the Mystic Rain Unite ability, which means all characters get 5 MP each turn. It WILL take a while, tho.

Besides, the best idea is usually to find a save point and look for fights until you run out of them. That way, when you get to the boss encounter, you'll be clear of all battles. Since Save Points restore all MP, you can beat them without wasting that much MP.

When I played the game, I was focused on building up DoT attacks (Call Kraken, Flame Rain and others), and then focus on keeping all characters alive and buffed. Generally, the amount of damage often offsets the bonuses to stats gained each turn.

It's an interesting mechanic, though: all enemies get stronger each turn, and beating battles faster means better MP regen, so you get an incentive for ending battles quick. It doesn't mean you can't use your own playstyle, tho.

Also: Insane isn't as hard, but that's only if you do level grinding. Then again, the way it's set, level grinding is actually recommended.

[Pink]

I have to say I'm really enjoying the combat style this game presents. Enemies becoming more dangerous over time, and making it about MP efficiency instead of HP recovery are some nice twists that change up the feel of a classic turn based rpg combat system. I'm also rather enjoying the Tree level up system. Sure, each character is an archetype but you still get a big choice in how to customize them, and it would certainly encourage me to play again and make different decisions.

I've yet to intentionally grind for levels in this game. Typically the maps have me walking around in circles that I reach the 25 encounter point almost exactly when I reach a MP restoration point. Mazes confuse me :P

Thanks for checking this out. :smallsmile:

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Another week, another three videos!

Part 16: The Graveyard of Loot (http://youtu.be/z5-jRQfMIsY)
With a new pathway open, Cthulhu and Cohorts enter the eastern portion of the continent, and find another random dungeon with treasure, this one decorated with tombstones.

Part 17: Smashing Tombstones (http://youtu.be/9bWqyLvQc-4)
Cthulhu continues his desecration of the resting place for the dearly departed, more loot is gathered, and then a boss fight happens.

Part 18: Quarantine Zone (http://youtu.be/d0F4KgiUi7I)
As Cthulhu and his groupies explore the city of Kingsport they find the city within the grips of a vicious plague. They must venture to a southern temple to recover mystical healing waters, and get a new party member along the way.

[ShneekeyTheLost]

As amusing as always. Don't forget the super outfit in that first town you got to that was like fifty thousand, since you now have about that much cash on hand.

[Pink]

As amusing as always. Don't forget the super outfit in that first town you got to that was like fifty thousand, since you now have about that much cash on hand.

Thanks mate!

I haven't forgotten about the dress, but I'm afraid that it's actual cost was closer to 500,000 gp. To help save up for it though, I'm probably not going to be buying many new items from towns. The game tends to give new equipment that's superior to store bought stuff in the dungeons. The next town&dungeon area I'm going to skip the weapon&armor store, do the dungeon, and then come back to compare equipment to see if I'm right.

[Pink]

One month anniversary special: five videos this week!

Part 19: Waterlogged (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xkGz6dBjk2E)
Continuing their quest for the mystical healing waters of the water shrine, Cthulhu and company play around with plumbing to travel further into the shrine.

Part 20: Surprised by Shoggoths (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5UVxvMLMTQ)
TEKELI-LI! The guardian of the sacred waters is none other than a Shoggoth who wants to lay tentacles on Cthulhu's groupie. We can't let this insult go unavenged.

Part 21: Duck and Cover (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5YJjQ73-9b8)
The Tentacled Terror arrives at the town of Alhazred and gives some sagely advice in regards to volcano eruptions.

Part 22: (N)Ice Loot. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qcz-tsE4uKI)
A third Temple of Loot! This one ice themed. Which party member will get the latest and greatest in magical arms and armor?

Part 23: From Ice to Fire (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12xlUd1ccKw)
Leaving the Ice Cave with shiny new equipment, Cthulhu's company of adventuring souls enter into the volcano and deal with all sorts of fire based enemies.

[tyckspoon]

It doesn't make a huge difference- most of the battles are pretty easy in this game, especially with Dacre making you functionally immortal- but you should give the Pierce attack a try in your next boss fight. That 'ignores defences' property makes it more powerful than most other attacks, at least if the memory of my own playthrough is accurate.

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Part 24: Cliffhanger! (http://youtu.be/qoFwwPQYqrQ)
The once simple seeming dungeon descends into a maze that Cthulhu and companions must endure.

Also, until November 1st, Cthulhu Saves the World is available on steam (http://store.steampowered.com/app/107310/) for $1, and this deal is bundled with another RPG from the developers. This game is really awesome and for the price of a candy-bar this should be a no-brainer decision.

[Pink]

Part 25: A DRAGON! (http://youtu.be/VIenhOoagAE)
It's a dragon. A. Dragon. It's a DRAGON! OMG!

[ShneekeyTheLost]

Part 25: A DRAGON! (http://youtu.be/VIenhOoagAE)
It's a dragon. A. Dragon. It's a DRAGON! OMG!

Ember was a man.... er I mean, he was a DRAGON MAN... or maybe he was a DRAGON... but he was still EMBEEEEERRRRRR!

[Pink]

Part 26: Not Supposed to be Here (http://youtu.be/63hxIOkwMPY)
With Ember the dragon flying the party around, Cthulhu enters a cave surronded by mountains, and faces some very difficult enemies in the quest for more loot!

[ShneekeyTheLost]

You know, this reminds me of my attempt to play original Final Fantasy and get everyone advanced by level 10. This means rushing to the city in the crescent lake to get the canoe (which means beating Litch), then going through the Ice Cave for the aircraft, then going through the Castle of Challenges for the Rat's Tail. By level 10. Both the Ice Cave and the Castle of Challenges are rediculously hard. Plus, the Castle of Challenges, you have to get both to and from it from the only landing place on the land mass it is on. Although at least tents help there.

You just have to Play Smart(tm). You had a good idea with Cuthulu Defending, the Taunt ability he picked up several episodes back did a good job of keeping the casters alive, particularly October so she could get her Fire Storm off, which is really only useful if it gets two or more shots off (otherwise Fireball/Tempest is more cost efficient).

Sharpe would have likely also done well as a 'party tank', with his self-heal and buff ability that he has. IIRC, he's also got Taunt with Defend. Then you have Cuthulu Dark Strike when you get a Dragon, Umi Flood and October Flame Storm/Tempest.

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Part 27: A Dress for Umi (http://youtu.be/emn4RS3DEP0)
After destroying a Black Hole and relieving the Astral Cave of its valuables, Cthulhu does something he's been waiting to do since part 3...Buy Umi a dress.

[ShneekeyTheLost]

Well, I was going to post a response about favorite video game music, then realized I couldn't pick just one and had gone on and on... then eventually decided to just go start this (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=260566) thread.

[Pink]

Wow, cannot believe a little comment question hath inspired such a cool VG music thread. I need to broaden my own answer and jump into it when I get a chance. :smallbiggrin:

Part 28: Where's the Magicite!? (http://youtu.be/65xhtE7P8gI)
Cthulhu and companions enter the Marsh Gold Foundry of Innsmouth, seeking to destroy the diabolical Dagon who dares to desire the devotion of Cthulhu's crazed cultists.

[ShneekeyTheLost]

Hmmm... warms of mooks vs a few hard-hitters...

On the one hand, easily slaughtering your opponents gives you a sense of superiority. For the first few times. Then it becomes a boring and monotonous grind.

On the other tentacle, hitting your head against a wall repeatedly doesn't get you anywhere, and having to expend all of your resources just to survive can make you wonder if you need to go level-grind elsewhere first.

What what gets really annoying? Lots of mandatory battles. Not just random encounters, but ones that take a lot of time, some resources, are nothing new, and you aren't even really wanting to grind. But for some reason, you have to fight them anyways. Basically, if you can't take them out in a turn or two, and you can't run from them, and you get a metric ton of them, that's a boring and merciless grind.

By contrast, Cuthulu Saves the World has a cap on random encounters, which is an interesting mechanic for preventing players from grinding up and making the game trivially easy. And it does kind of make sense. I mean, even with a cult as big as Cuthulu's, there's only so many cultists that can hang out in one building before you start violating fire code for occupancy levels.

And yea, the place does rock the whole Magicite Factory vibe.

"Where does Magicite come from?"

"Well, when a wizard hates an esper very much..."

[Pink]

Yeah, the random encounter cap is pretty awesome as is the, in general, low encounter rate. Compared to some games where you go seven steps before a battle, CSTW seems to be closer to 15-20 steps, so the pacing feels better. However it does come with the tradeoff that you can't run away from any battles.

In CSTW at least, I'm preferable to one big enemy. With more enemies, it seems that they almost work smart and gang up on one person and knock them out. With fewer enemies, I can see where the damage is heading and heal up if need to, or just nuke the big guy.

[ShneekeyTheLost]

Yeah, the random encounter cap is pretty awesome as is the, in general, low encounter rate. Compared to some games where you go seven steps before a battle, CSTW seems to be closer to 15-20 steps, so the pacing feels better. However it does come with the tradeoff that you can't run away from any battles.

In CSTW at least, I'm preferable to one big enemy. With more enemies, it seems that they almost work smart and gang up on one person and knock them out. With fewer enemies, I can see where the damage is heading and heal up if need to, or just nuke the big guy.

Quite true, however by that same token Flood + Tempest can take care of swarms of mooks quite readily. Backed up by Tentacles from both Cuthulu and the cat, if necessary. A single more powerful enemy tends to require several turns to take down, meaning lower mana regen rate.

[tyckspoon]

By contrast, Cuthulu Saves the World has a cap on random encounters, which is an interesting mechanic for preventing players from grinding up and making the game trivially easy. And it does kind of make sense. I mean, even with a cult as big as Cuthulu's, there's only so many cultists that can hang out in one building before you start violating fire code for occupancy levels.


Sidenote: CTSW does in fact allow you to grind if that's what you want to do- you can voluntarily trigger as many fights as you want from the menu, even after you run down the random encounter counter. What the counter does is prevent you from grinding and massively over-leveling *unintentionally*, as might happen if, say, you get lost easily like our dear thread host.

[Slipperychicken]

In "Enter Miskatonia", the part with the man in the blue robe...

The guy in a blue robe who speaks gibberish is saying something like "In his house at R'lyeh, dead Cthulhu waits dreaming." It's an eerie chant (in a fictional language) which Cthulhu's worshipers say, and means that eventually the Great Cthulhu will rise and drive all mankind insane/warp-reality/apocalypse, but is still sleeping in the underwater city of R'lyeh for now. But since Cthulhu actually woke up in-game, that's why he said "I'm not sleeping anymore!" It's funnier if you read the books.

[Pink]

Yeah, I haven't read many of Lovecraft's longer works, mostly some short story stuff, so I'm probably flubbing a lot of the references, but that's where I have wonderful people point out what I've missed. :smallsmile:

Part 29: Dagon Goes Down (http://youtu.be/ODpGFoyzRmE)
Cthulhu defeats one of his greatest rivals and becomes a true hero...Then things get messy.

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Part 30: Summoners are Broken (http://youtu.be/U2nt5dyZQ2o)
With a new party member in tow, the Company of Cthulhu visits another bonus dungeon before visiting R'lyeh. The results prove a bit disastrous.

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Part 31: Home Sweet Home (http://youtu.be/s82QSA7EFlI)
After an unfortunate incident with a summoner and his protectors, Cthulhu decides to visit R'lyeh and see who's been squating there since his absence.

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Part 32: Return of the Heroes! (http://youtu.be/yDr2Av7ihh8)
In the heart of R'lyeh, Cthulhu and his companions encounter the same three adventurers that dared try to stop him when he first awoke and rose from the sea. Exactly the same.

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Part 33: Finale (http://youtu.be/JOmTjycwtWY)
Over thirty sessions of gaming come down to this. Who is the creature lurking in Cthulhu's domain? Will the Narrator allow a happy ending? And most important, can they defeat the Bonus Boss!?

Well, sixty days from when the first video was released, here is the last part of Cthulhu saves the world, my first LP. It's been a learning experience, and has certainly served the goal of getting me back into the habit of playing video games. I want to thank anyone who's taken the time to watch and comment on this, you've made this a whole lot of fun to do, and I'll probably be doing quite a few more LPs. Thanks!

[tyckspoon]

To answer the question you asked yourself at the end of the video.. yes, you could have beat the Soulcaster's group earlier. The extra levels and top-end gear you got from the last dungeon didn't hurt, but the reason you got wasted so hard the first time was clicking through the turns so fast that you didn't seem to notice it was the Alchemist that was killing you until you were already dead (same thing you did with the big beetle-monsters, incidentally, not noticing they were smacking the entire party until it nearly killed you.) Rearranging the party and playing defensively would have worked just as well then- there is pretty much nothing in the game that will be able to kill you through Regen All + double Heal Alls. You might have had to spend more turns throwing Potions or having Sharpe or Cthulu Taunt, but you'd have gotten through it after you burnt down the Alchemist and got rid of his AoEs.

[Pink]

To answer the question you asked yourself at the end of the video.. yes, you could have beat the Soulcaster's group earlier. The extra levels and top-end gear you got from the last dungeon didn't hurt, but the reason you got wasted so hard the first time was clicking through the turns so fast that you didn't seem to notice it was the Alchemist that was killing you until you were already dead (same thing you did with the big beetle-monsters, incidentally, not noticing they were smacking the entire party until it nearly killed you.) Rearranging the party and playing defensively would have worked just as well then- there is pretty much nothing in the game that will be able to kill you through Regen All + double Heal Alls. You might have had to spend more turns throwing Potions or having Sharpe or Cthulu Taunt, but you'd have gotten through it after you burnt down the Alchemist and got rid of his AoEs.

Heh, I do have a nasty habit of clicking through things a bit too fast. :P

I suppose my thoughts when I faced them the first time was, that they were clearly an optional boss with no reward. There was no treasure chest in sight, the entire dungeon had been taunting you with no treasure. It seemed like one of those boss fights that were stronger than the final boss just as an extra challenge, so I didn't try again at the time (Though I think I wouldn't have been able to do it without two healers in the party either. My damage output got significantly higher, and it would've been difficult to overcome the soulcaster's healing, and the longer the fight goes, the harder the enemies hit and the less one healer is able to keep up. )

That being said, since there was a reward, it strikes me as weird that they made the fight a fair bit more difficult than the final boss. What is the point of becoming stronger after beating the hardest fight in the game afterall? I'd have much preferred the Azathoth fight as the optional one and these fellows as the final boss if that were the case. If there is a boss more difficult than the final boss, beating it should be it's own reward. (Unless there are even harder optional bosses after it).