megaTEN (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
tenshinoakuma) wrote2011-07-23 02:10 pm
tenshinoakuma) wrote2011-07-23 02:10 pm
(no subject)
Apparently there was a storm last night and I didn't notice.
Doesn't look so bad? Here's the same cactus viewed from the other side.
Yeah.
Okay so it occurs to me that the "fencer" part of Onion Knight's fighting style in Dissidia might not just be for show, despite the fact his sword doesn't appear to be the right type of sword for it. But he does use the sword one handed, while keeping his other hand free. I don't recall whether he stands side on when he attacks (though I guess it's not really relevant and I can't expect perfection in game mechanics based on FF7:AC physics), but I do recall that he does takes a step forward (with his front foot) when he uses does Multi-Hit (the ground melee attack). Fencing doesn't seem so practical against an opponent that's like. A monster, though, and I think some of his attacks (like Blade Torrent) are at odds with the fencing style, even ignoring the fact most of Onion Knight's melee attacks are slashes rather than thrusts. (Actually, there might be thrusts in his Bravery-Bravery attacks, but since I don't use them at all, I haven't seen the animations enough to tell.)
(It should be noted that the artwork for the Onion Knight job class in FFT uses a sabre, which is used in fencing.)
I actually think it might be because Onion Knight hasn't had formal training. At least, he probably hasn't. If we continue my theory from one of my earliest posts that Onion Knight's home village was kind of isolated, I imagine the 4 orphans would have only really been taught the basics of swordplay. Especially when they're mostly fighting monsters, now people. So first and foremost, his knowledge of the sword is based off his experiences fighting monsters, where everything is instinctual. Sure, they managed to survive, but I think it was very much do or die, taking risks and leaving openings in a kill or be killed scenario. But since there are 4 of them, and I imagine they worked really well together, having grown up together and fought together.
Then along came the crystals, which granted knowledge and skill in things they had no knowledge of before. I think, for Onion Knight, he tried to learn as much as he could from the crystals, but it's hard when you're teaching yourself things you don't know much about. I don't think the knight or viking or dark knight classes would have appealed to Onion Knight, since those are heavier and slower classes, and his greatest strength is his agility. So I think fencing would have appealed to him, because of the focus in footwork and thrusting attacks, meaning he's finding weak points to attack, rather than trying to slash or chop things through brute strength he doesn't have. I think having a formal, clean fighting style also appealed to him because it makes him look more refined! More knightly!
Here's where it gets to be a weird anomaly, because I'm saying Onion Knight comes from the original FF3 verse, where the "onion knight" class is really their default job class, meaning there isn't a 'fencer' job he can learn from. But Dissidia is obviously different because he can cast magic where he couldn't in the original FF3.
Another Onion Knight player is in a game at the same time as some of the orphans from the FF3 DS remake, and they solved the issue by saying that Onion Knight is actually the spirit that resides in the crystal that Luneth, Arc, Refia and Ingus received when they rescued the 4 Onion Kids. In other words, Onion Knight is the physical embodiment of the Onion knight job class of FF3 DS. I actually really, really like this idea, and explains why he can't remember his name and stuff the same way WoL can't remember his. Unfortunately, it's a bit too late for me to use this idea.
But anyway, the point I was trying to make earlier is that Onion Knight is trying to polish up his fighting, trying to clean up his stances and stuff because he can see that it helps him to improve his ability, which is where the fencing stances come from. But it's also hard to pull back from habits that have become ingrained in him, so he needs to consciously think about things like keeping his stance stable. But when push comes to shove (or when he gets overconfident), he'll slip back into his old ways, which is where stuff like charging forward (Blade Torrent) comes from.
I mean, no matter how you look at it, he's going to have this weird unorthodox mish mash, and unfortunately not everything in playing him in Dissidia translates perfectly into RP (running circles around characters until they make a move is not a viable strategy!!). But I think this combination of formal and informal makes sense. I mean, I'm still probably overthinking things anyway, but I kind of like doing that.
But while I'm talking about how Onion Knight fights, I have to admit, I really like watching him fight in Dissidia, especially his spells. It's very ummm. acrobatic? And very physical. Stuff like him spinning around and kicking the last meteor when he casts Comet, or him jumping on his sword to create a shockwave that forces a great piece of rock out of the ground when he casts Quake, or him doing a flip in the air for the detonation of Flare. All his attacks are very... animated! Very fun to watch.
Doesn't look so bad? Here's the same cactus viewed from the other side.
Yeah.
Okay so it occurs to me that the "fencer" part of Onion Knight's fighting style in Dissidia might not just be for show, despite the fact his sword doesn't appear to be the right type of sword for it. But he does use the sword one handed, while keeping his other hand free. I don't recall whether he stands side on when he attacks (though I guess it's not really relevant and I can't expect perfection in game mechanics based on FF7:AC physics), but I do recall that he does takes a step forward (with his front foot) when he uses does Multi-Hit (the ground melee attack). Fencing doesn't seem so practical against an opponent that's like. A monster, though, and I think some of his attacks (like Blade Torrent) are at odds with the fencing style, even ignoring the fact most of Onion Knight's melee attacks are slashes rather than thrusts. (Actually, there might be thrusts in his Bravery-Bravery attacks, but since I don't use them at all, I haven't seen the animations enough to tell.)
(It should be noted that the artwork for the Onion Knight job class in FFT uses a sabre, which is used in fencing.)
I actually think it might be because Onion Knight hasn't had formal training. At least, he probably hasn't. If we continue my theory from one of my earliest posts that Onion Knight's home village was kind of isolated, I imagine the 4 orphans would have only really been taught the basics of swordplay. Especially when they're mostly fighting monsters, now people. So first and foremost, his knowledge of the sword is based off his experiences fighting monsters, where everything is instinctual. Sure, they managed to survive, but I think it was very much do or die, taking risks and leaving openings in a kill or be killed scenario. But since there are 4 of them, and I imagine they worked really well together, having grown up together and fought together.
Then along came the crystals, which granted knowledge and skill in things they had no knowledge of before. I think, for Onion Knight, he tried to learn as much as he could from the crystals, but it's hard when you're teaching yourself things you don't know much about. I don't think the knight or viking or dark knight classes would have appealed to Onion Knight, since those are heavier and slower classes, and his greatest strength is his agility. So I think fencing would have appealed to him, because of the focus in footwork and thrusting attacks, meaning he's finding weak points to attack, rather than trying to slash or chop things through brute strength he doesn't have. I think having a formal, clean fighting style also appealed to him because it makes him look more refined! More knightly!
Here's where it gets to be a weird anomaly, because I'm saying Onion Knight comes from the original FF3 verse, where the "onion knight" class is really their default job class, meaning there isn't a 'fencer' job he can learn from. But Dissidia is obviously different because he can cast magic where he couldn't in the original FF3.
Another Onion Knight player is in a game at the same time as some of the orphans from the FF3 DS remake, and they solved the issue by saying that Onion Knight is actually the spirit that resides in the crystal that Luneth, Arc, Refia and Ingus received when they rescued the 4 Onion Kids. In other words, Onion Knight is the physical embodiment of the Onion knight job class of FF3 DS. I actually really, really like this idea, and explains why he can't remember his name and stuff the same way WoL can't remember his. Unfortunately, it's a bit too late for me to use this idea.
But anyway, the point I was trying to make earlier is that Onion Knight is trying to polish up his fighting, trying to clean up his stances and stuff because he can see that it helps him to improve his ability, which is where the fencing stances come from. But it's also hard to pull back from habits that have become ingrained in him, so he needs to consciously think about things like keeping his stance stable. But when push comes to shove (or when he gets overconfident), he'll slip back into his old ways, which is where stuff like charging forward (Blade Torrent) comes from.
I mean, no matter how you look at it, he's going to have this weird unorthodox mish mash, and unfortunately not everything in playing him in Dissidia translates perfectly into RP (running circles around characters until they make a move is not a viable strategy!!). But I think this combination of formal and informal makes sense. I mean, I'm still probably overthinking things anyway, but I kind of like doing that.
But while I'm talking about how Onion Knight fights, I have to admit, I really like watching him fight in Dissidia, especially his spells. It's very ummm. acrobatic? And very physical. Stuff like him spinning around and kicking the last meteor when he casts Comet, or him jumping on his sword to create a shockwave that forces a great piece of rock out of the ground when he casts Quake, or him doing a flip in the air for the detonation of Flare. All his attacks are very... animated! Very fun to watch.