Chinese Paladin LS III

[tulee]

Just to remind you all: The author of this campaign is Vanspirit. The campaign is posted on hiveworkshop on her behalf with her express permission.
The campaign was originally posted here:

https://www.zhihu.com/people/tongyu-35-91

Permission From Author

This is a campaign from the Chinese warcraft 3 community. Hopefully we can "give back" in the sense that by sharing many campaigns from their community, it will inspire Hiveworkshop creators to make more campaigns, and then the chinese language community can play those campaigns when the Chinese translators bring Hive campaigns to their community (so in this way, they can benefit also).


Important:
Because the maps are all considered one map, make sure to save often because you cannot just restart a mission from the custom campaign menu as it is all considered 1 big connected map mission.

If you just want to play for the story and are not interested in the gameplay, you can use Liu Su's invisibility spell / passive movement speed spell to quickly move through the maps.

The final mission seems to still work fine if you do not pick up all 5 Spirit Pearls during your journey, but just to be safe, still pick them up.

Go close to NPCs and right click on them to talk to them.

At Yuzhou, you need to right click on one of the NPCs (Ning Huan, near the top right of the map) in order to continue.

On T3 of the Tower of Trials (Red Snake Monsters), Vanspirit included a cheat (type "VV") which opens the door directly to the boss room (just walk straight up the middle path to it).

On the final mission, it you will be able to see the Demon Lord, Chong Lou, on the map. Do not move him, or it might bug the final cinematics.

 

[cleavinghammer]

My opinion isn't much different from the second:

Music was good, though it often didn't play (probably a patch issue).

Combat is similarly repetitive, though not having to go to the battle screen does make it faster. Just whosyourdaddy through them all and you won't lose much.

Story can be a bit confusing due to the language barrier (replace "fairy" with "Immortal" and it's a bit easier to understand), but engaging overall.
There's a lot of plot hooks that unfortunately don't go anywhere (

Spoiler

Dongfu's brother

, the

Spoiler

"scheming Imperial court"

that's only mentioned in conversations, whether they ever went back to bury

Spoiler

the real Dongfu's

body...), and while the ending makes sense it can leave you unsatisfied.

Terrain is usually pretty to look at (the final level especially is quite spectacular), though the camera being stuck on the character means it's hard to focus on. Minimap is messed up though.

NPC lines really helped with the atmosphere and the RPG feel.

Good overall.


For completeness' sake, here's the typos I found:

Hidden

Press ESC key to determine the content of each dialogue -> Press ESC key to advance the dialogue



Intro:

finish the third party earlier, -> finish the third part earlier,

Shu Moutain's sword craft -> Shu Mountain's sword craft

scoundrel themself -> scoundrel themselves



Luo Xingmen

giant tripod -> giant basin maybe since it's not a tripod. It's also called a Ju Dingchu.

There's a message from (null)

Potions shop only sells one potion.

Revival item has no name or tooltip.

Master Guimei and Feng Shuang etc operate -> Master Guimei and Feng Shuang and their underlings operate


Approach to Ancient Forest

What's the stele say?


Ancient Forest:
Recesses -> Depths?

Something's flinging fireballs from offscreen.


Yuzhou

dead pig meat -> ... as opposed to live pig meat? You're sick, lady.

Custom music kicked in at random.

Didn't get all the NPCs, triggered the end cutscene by accident.


Nanshan

Guestroom should be better marked.


Desert Village

Suddenly, portraits!


Molten Cave:

Molten Cave Upper -> Molten Cave Upper Level / Upper Molten Cave (same for the lower level)

Custom music played once, then silence, then back to default music.

... That's Reimu. You used Reimu of all people to represent a fire demon? Mokou is right there!!!

NPC dialogue doesn't change once the cause of the heat is gone?


Tower of Trials

If it's a tower, why are we going down? Maybe call the floors -1, -2 etc.


F3

Backtracking XXVI: The Return Of The Revenge Of The Son Of Backtracking Part 43: So Much Backtracking

Opened gate should regularly ping instead of just once until the corresponding mechanism is activated.


HQ level:

you can see that person's next reincarnation life. -> you can see that person's next reincarnation.

Ghost level:

A wandering spirit from what place? -> ?


Fengdu:

why are the curses not working? -> ?

Liu Su, lets relax today -> Liu Su, let's relax today

there only live a few -> there live only a few


Forest:

when I was younger-> when I was younger.


Yuzhou

Return to the Luo Xingmen branch in Zhenjiang and report on the completion of your task.

so he/she can look after it. -> so they can look after it.


After more than 10 years of reading books written by the sages, a person can become a minister in three to five years. “Scholars are the most useless people” is very true. It is better to be stained by wealth. To work hard is to be at ease. -> what?

god -> gods

What's with all the sentences ending in ~? Is it an accent?

They are both swords and dust -> ?

Meaningless, meaningless~. -> ?

and gain a new interest -> ?


Nanshan

lock ghouls up in? -> lock up ghouls in?

If god is determined to live an untranquil life, then we need to work hard to change everything, and make our lives happy and substantial. -> ??? If the gods are determined that we live an untranquil life?

I addition -> In addition

while the curse was not complete -> before the curse was completed?


Desert Village

most of the carrying weapons -> most of them carrying weapons

people are destined to be victorious over heaven -> ?


Tower of Trials

matrix -> ?


Crystal Cave

since she is demon. -> since she is a demon.


Untranslated:

you cannot stand the yinqi here

If I go to the Daoshan, then the Daoshan will self-destruct. If I go to the Huotang, then the Huotang will shrivel up.

linglong hair crowns

Gold is the father, wood is the mother, zhen is the older brother and cash is the younger daughter

Azoth is not something mere money from the Human Realm can buy! Ancestor Kaishan from Shu Mountain turned many Ye Lianjiu(s) into Azoth

also known as Taishang Daode Tianzun. There is also the Yuanshi Tianzun and the Lingbao Tianzun. The three of them are collectively referred to as “the three Qingzunshen”. -> so are these titles or names?

Red Iron Sword: Tiemu

Sun Outage Scythe: lingjiao

Qingling Cangjiao Blade: Wenrun Qingmang

Tianhui Beidou: Beidou

Feiwen Huanri: changhong

Divine Arm Bow, Spirit Bao, Xuanyuan Bow: Nope

Ziqing Yu Ronggao: It has the mysterious effect of baigu shengji.

Soft Teng Armour -> made of soft teng

True Yuan Cloak: It has an enhanced true yuan ability. It is said to be able to fuse together with the zhenqi of the wearer.

Ruiri Lintian Crown: wandao ruiqi.

Baicao Shoes：Shoes that are woven together with Baicao.

Yarn Dress: Made from Cansi


Items

Iron Sword: blocks -> ingots

Cloth Gown: sewed -> sewn

Longquan Sword: sword forger -> swordsmith

Wan Shi: even firmed that steel -> even harder than steel

Red Ring Armour: Linked together into a ring with wire. Linked into soft armour ring by ring. -> Linked together into soft armour with wire ring by ring.

Bronze Goggles: goggles -> breastplate


Jingang Bracer: the power of Jingang.

Yarn Dress：Made from Cansi

Phoenix Pattern Cloak: A cloak this is said to have been woven by Lady Weaver. -> that is said to (also, who's Lady Weaver?)

Fengtou Silk Shoes: There are silk Fengtou decorations

Wish Match Hair Band: varieties of jiefaling hair

Tricolour Metal Strip Band：A ribbon woven together with Zijin, Chijin and Huangjin gold strips

Nine-Fold Dress: The dress for Tian Hou.

[

 

[deepstrasz]

Approved based on @cleavinghammer's titan worthy post.

---

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If you're not satisfied with the review and wish another opinion, contact the other reviewers or use the staff contact:
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[tulee]

Fixed the grammar/spelling/missing translations Cleavinghammer mentioned.


Thought I would add some notes I wrote down from when I first played this campaign:

Hidden

Luo Xingmen Base
Ok, so we use Zhui Yu to smash though all the enemies easily in this map. The cinematic part is fantastic--- Are those the models from the Chinese Paladin game series (when Zhui Yu looks at Liu Su's future reincarnation)? Also, is this mirror the one that was stolen from the Fairy Realm, the one they discussed in the first campaign during Bingdian Bohe's story with Shu Weng/Weng Shu?
Why did Liu Xingmen or the minor Demon Chi Wu steal it? What was the purpose of it, besides being a vehicle for the plot?

Also, I though the enemy Demon would be someone like Mie Meng from the first campaign. This Demon is a complete stranger, and we have not encountered him before, so I thought it was strange that someone we have never met would be the final enemy of this series.


Ghost Realm
I enjoyed the dialogue between Lan Wu and Liu Su. Do they meet again in the Chinese Paladin game series? It seems their bond was very tight, even though they had no blood-relationship.



Huang Quanlu /Fire Region
This is a very frustrating map, since it is very difficult to find the right path to the correct floor. Actually, all the triggers leading to the floors from 5 and above should have been disabled until we beat the first boss. I got lost in the higher-number floors many times even though there was nothing I could do there yet (the second boss only activates after the first boss is defeated).


Feng Du
Ok, a town.


Ancient Forest Region
Is that thief (Bashu Bandit/Li Hankong) the same one that tried to steal from Zhui Yu in the first campaign?
Why is Li Hankong being modest about taking the fruit, when he needs it to save his mother!!! “I cannot accept this”…


Yu Zhou
Good NPC dialogue. Just out of curiosity, I thought these monks were all Taoists (Daoism), but they seem to say Buddhist mantras. Which religion/philosophy do they mainly practice?
So, wait, is Liu Su jealous of Ning Huan (Jiang Xiaoxie's classmate)? But he is too stupid to know Xiaoxie likes him, so why would he be jealous?



Nanshan Garden
Ha-ha. If there is a night scene, then there must be some love dialogue between Liu Su and Xiaoxie!
Also, it was interesting that Bingdian Bohe was a fairy/part fairy. All the NPCs in her hometown(ZhangZhou I think) from the first campaign all made hints that she was a fairy based on her beauty.



Tower of Trials (Red Snake creatures)
Ok, this is the most evil map I have ever encountered in all the campaigns I have played. Basically, each row has 9-10 gate opening mechanics, and there are 4 rows, so approximately a total of 36-40. The map is huge, and running from one to another takes almost 2 full durations of the Windwalk-type spell that Liu Su uses to increase speed/become invisible to monsters.
So, in total, players will spend 80 minutes in this map just running from one place to another. I mean, I do not understand the design of this mission. The only thing it accomplished was driving me crazy. Additionally, I actually mistakenly walked into a room that I had previously already opened. I did not even realize this at first, but later I realised I was doing the same ones I had previously done, but there was nothing I could do, since I could not remember where the last room I had visited was and the old rooms still ping the map like a new room would.
I mean, the only reason I did not give up was because the story was really interesting, and I wanted to know what would happen next. I do not understand the reasoning for including this type of map into the campaign.



Crystal Cave
Ok, so now we finally understand why Zhui Yu was using Dong Wanqi's identity. Suddenly many things in this campaign made sense. Originally, I thought she possessed the body of the original Dong Wanqi or something.
The real Dong Wanqi only said she was attacked while travelling from Xiyu or Zhongyuan, but never identified the attackers. Was it her brother who organized the attack/assassination?



Luo Xingmen Base Final Map

Ok, it was a good ending. I liked how the terrain of the map had changed, it made it look more beautiful and more suitable for the final boss fight map.
I personally think the order of the bosses should have been changed. Currently, it is Yu Fei- Dong Zhaoyun- Feng Shuang- Guimei Gaoyang- Demon boss.


I think the first 2 should have been changed because the order should be least important character to the most important character for the order of the bosses. Yu Fei should have been second, because we learn much about her personality in all the campaigns, whereas we only see Dong Zhaoyun (Dong Wanqi's brother) 1-2 times, and even though he represents the connection between the imperial court and Luo Xingmen, he is less important in this story than Guimei's sister, so I think he should have been the first boss fight. And we did not know much about the final Demon boss, so he should not have been the last fight.

And why did Yu Fei call Liu Su a traitor? Actually, only Zhui Yu disobeyed an order. The only thing Liu Su did was not die.

I liked Guimei Gaoyang's speech about why Luo Xingmen became evil, since it was so hard to self-cultivate into becoming a fairy/immortal, so they chose to work with the Imperial Court due to greed.


Ending
Ok, whenever I see a time skip in a story, I feel sad. Seeing this time skip between this map (with Liu Su already dead) and the previous map made me feel sad. This feeling was multiplied because it said at the end that Vanspirit made this map in 2009, which is 15+ years ago. Oh my goodness, time passes fast!

I want to know why Liu Su, Jiang Xiaoxie and Bingdian Bohe had to live in recluse, since no-one would have been looking for them (Luo Xingmen was destroyed by the Demon Lord Chong Lou at the end).


How did the love story of Liu Su and Jiang Xiaoxie develop if Bingdian Bohe was there living with them the entire time? And did they not have any children? If Bingdian Bohe is a fairy/part fairy, does that mean she won't reincarnate because she will live forever?



General Points
I liked the idea of reincarnation, and I am guessing that this is a "prequel" to the Chinese paladin game series? I tried to look up the name of Liu Su's next reincarnation that Zhui Yu mentioned. It seems that he is the main character of the Chinese Paladin 3 game series? I wish I could play it so I could find out the ending for Liu Su.



There were many plot points of the Liu Su campaigns that were hinted at, but nothing came out of them, such as the "Ghoul King" possibly escaping Shu Mountain in the future, or a fight between the Demon King Chong Lou and Liu Su (rematch from when Liu Su was Fei Peng in his previous life).



There was a serious plot point that was not resolved at all, and that was the issue of if Ghouls are bad or not.
Examples:
The owner of the Fire Spirit Pearl was living in peace for almost 100 years without causing trouble to anyone.
NPCs talked about how bad things happened when Suo Yao tower was made to keep Ghouls trapped there.
In the Tower of Trials, Qing Hui talks about how they should not harm Ghouls unless Ghouls try to people.
But, we still kill every single Ghoul we meet. The only Ghoul we don't kill is that monkey ghoul companion of the Bashu Bandit (Li Hankong).


Overall, this campaign series Vanspirit made was really fantastic. I loved the story and the music.