|
Barudak posted:Yeah its a very serious problem with having your tutorial and making it engaging. Although Chrono Trigger exists so any game should at least be half that cool in the first hour. Point taken on Chrono Trigger, that had a pretty fantastic start with the Fair and all the stuff you could do in it. But even then directly after that in 600AD is more typical tutorial-esque basic stuff up until you reach 2300AD and the game finally kicks it up to high gear and never lets up.
|
#
?
Sep 18, 2013 22:27
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 25, 2024 07:38 |
|
|
Rascyc posted:There's a couple of ways to play the game as far as composition and characters. Don't feel like you have to control a specific character or anything (although there are some that function WAY better in player controls, like Riki and the spell caster chick). Also don't think you have to use the holy trinity of tank-dps-healer either. You can pretty much field whatever and be fine as long as you understand your mechanics. Quoting for emphasis here. Early in the game you get a dedicated healer, and it's so very tempting to always keep her in the party. The problem is that she's bad at adding to the party gauge, has terrible synergy with other party members during chain attacks, and her damage output is poo poo. All she does is make fights last twice as long as they should (so you end up taking more damage, which reinforces the idea that you need a healer). Bench your healer the first chance you get, equip all the skills that heal you after chain attacks, and you'll quickly find that she's an unnecessary crutch that sucks all the fun out of battles.
|
|
#
?
Sep 18, 2013 22:28
|
|
|
Dr. Video Games 0031 posted:The lovely "kill x monsters" mmo quests are at least instantly redeemed upon completion so you don't have to track down a dozen NPCs. I never bothered to do all of them, I just grab all the ones I see and then complete them as I move forward in the story. If they're out of the way or whatever, I never did them. It never felt overbearing or especially bad to me. Just extra rewards for doing stuff you'd otherwise by doing anyways. There are some actually pretty good side quests with their own plot lines that aren't bad. Only the quests picked up from generic NPCs like "Village Guard" are instantly redeemed. Anything from a named NPC you have to return to them and 90% of those are "Bring me x Monster Skins" or the like. And to return to them you need to remember where they hang out and what time of day they are there because that's not recorded in game in any way. There are some more interesting quests but a lot of those are gated behind either fetch quest chains and/or area affinity so you're gonna need to do a lot of bullshit if you ever want to see the better side content.
|
|
#
?
Sep 18, 2013 22:28
|
|
|
Cardiovorax posted:Jesus. I think I'll just stop right now and save myself the agony. If you're allergic to optional side quests then yeah, you should stop playing the game. There are a lot of optional side quests. You can ignore all of the other good things about the game and just stop because somewhere there's an option to do a side quest that you're ignoring. edit: The side quests are handled really poorly, that's indisputable. But they're side quests. I just can't comprehend how their presence can discourage you from playing.
|
|
#
?
Sep 18, 2013 22:29
|
|
|
Amppelix posted:Say you want Shulk's extra skill tree quest in Colony 9. How do you get the quest? Why, raise Colony 9's affinity! How do you do that? Do all of the sidequests. For doing sidequests, you are rewarded with more sidequests, and only reason you are doing any of this is for the ulti-sidequest, Colony 6, which I'm pretty sure requires something approaching 100% completion to itself complete. Yeah, that would be the main problem with the game's sidequests. I loved Xenoblade, but man those sidequests seriously drag the game down. I'm glad I won't have to deal with any of that bullshit when I inevitably run through NG+.
|
|
#
?
Sep 18, 2013 22:29
|
|
|
Dr. Video Games 0031 posted:If you're allergic to optional side quests then yeah, you should stop playing the game. There are a lot of optional side quests. You can ignore all of the other good things about the game and just stop because somewhere there's an option to do a side quest that you're ignoring. As is pointed out, pretty neat content is gated behind those sidequests including skill trees. That may be enough to frustrate someone into not wanting to bother.
|
|
#
?
Sep 18, 2013 22:30
|
|
|
Million Ghosts posted:You guys are really making me want a Wii for Xenoblade. I do not have the money for this, stop it. If you have a decent enough computer there's apparently an emulator that runs it pretty well. Then you'd only need to buy or borrow the game itself. I've been thinking about a trying a new play through with the neat graphical tweaks it can do. Edit: missed a few posts I see. Joshlemagne fucked around with this message at 22:49 on Sep 18, 2013 |
|
#
?
Sep 18, 2013 22:35
|
|
|
Is there a non-spoiler way to know which sidequests are worth doing?
|
|
#
?
Sep 18, 2013 22:38
|
|
|
Super Jay Mann posted:But even then directly after that in 600AD is more typical tutorial-esque basic stuff up until you reach 2300AD and the game finally kicks it up to high gear and never lets up. Even then you have things like double techs fairly quickly and have to address relative positioning with those.
|
|
#
?
Sep 18, 2013 22:41
|
|
|
Dr. Video Games 0031 posted:edit: The side quests are handled really poorly, that's indisputable. But they're side quests. I just can't comprehend how their presence can discourage you from playing. Kidding aside, I'm not really down with a million sidequests just so I'll have the money or XP to finish the rest of the game. Can you just ignore all those quests and be fine? Because combat doesn't seem all that demanding outside of bosses, but also not really all that necessary.
|
|
#
?
Sep 18, 2013 22:43
|
|
|
Cardiovorax posted:Hello, my name is Cardiovorax, and I have a problem with completionism. If you don't do any side quests at all you might be a little bit underleveled but honestly even doing half of the side quests saw me overleveled for most of the game. You can definitely get through the whole game without really doing any.
|
|
#
?
Sep 18, 2013 22:50
|
|
|
The Xenoblade sidequests can all be done rather quickly, it's just the minimap sucks for quest locations.
|
|
#
?
Sep 18, 2013 22:51
|
|
|
I never did a single side quest and the game was still easily like 50 hours and felt like a full game. I really can't emphasize enough that the game is totally playable without side questing. You end up doing a lot of walking through the zones just because they're that big, and you'll fight a lot along the way. Experience is scaled if I recall correctly so no worrying about your levels. One of the neat advantages of not doing a side quest is that you will be on level for the bosses, so they'll at least kind of feel like boss fights although I never wiped on a story boss though to the best of my memory. Rascyc fucked around with this message at 22:54 on Sep 18, 2013 |
|
#
?
Sep 18, 2013 22:52
|
|
|
Cardiovorax posted:Hello, my name is Cardiovorax, and I have a problem with completionism. Definitely, you don't need to do any quests at all and you'll still be fine. Doing quests overlevels you quite a bit actually, so skipping them keeps the battles balanced (Also, XP/AP/SP is scaled, so you're not really going to fall behind). You might run into some money problems later, but if you're not doing quests then you can just sell the crap you pick up after battles.
|
|
#
?
Sep 18, 2013 22:52
|
|
|
You can easily get by without doing sidequests for like 90% of the game (and that'll still last you a good 50 or so hours, so it's not like all the content is relegated to sidequests). That said, I didn't do any sidequests past the very beginning of the game, and in the last 10% or so of the game the enemy level curve suddenly starts shooting up faster then your level, and because of the stupid system where if you're so many levels under an enemy you suffer large penalties to hit and avoid, I ended having to grind a fair bit for every boss. Admittedly, I don't think I was very good at Xenoblade, so you could probably win the fights despite the penalties, but it's still a very stupid system.
|
|
#
?
Sep 18, 2013 22:57
|
|
|
Cardiovorax posted:Kidding aside, I'm not really down with a million sidequests just so I'll have the money or XP to finish the rest of the game. It's the other way around. Your XP and gold will be generally fine if you complete whatever you happen to come across naturally. If you try to be a completionist it will be staggeringly, staggeringly easy.
|
|
#
?
Sep 18, 2013 23:02
|
|
|
Stelas posted:It's the other way around. Your XP and gold will be generally fine if you complete whatever you happen to come across naturally. If you try to be a completionist it will be staggeringly, staggeringly easy. Yeah, this. It's frustratingly easy to make Xenoblade into a game where losing is impossible. 
|
|
#
?
Sep 18, 2013 23:04
|
|
|
Stelas posted:It's the other way around. Your XP and gold will be generally fine if you complete whatever you happen to come across naturally. If you try to be a completionist it will be staggeringly, staggeringly easy. This must be why enemies suddenly became hard again in the final dungeon, since I completely ignored most of the sidequests after the Big Plot Event a few hours prior. Except for Bana the Betrayer because it's one of the best capstones to a long-running sidequest chain in any JRPG.
|
|
#
?
Sep 18, 2013 23:05
|
|
|
If you're using a softmodded system or Dolphin, you can also considering using cheat codes if you just want to see the rest of the story. I don't usually resort to it, but I'm glad I did in this case because I wasn't enjoying it at all and otherwise wouldn't have bothered finishing it either. Then again, I still didn't think it was worth the time.
|
|
#
?
Sep 18, 2013 23:09
|
|
|
ImpAtom posted:Yeah, this. It's frustratingly easy to make Xenoblade into a game where losing is impossible. Yeah, making a system where accuracy is based on levels and the difference of a few levels can make hitting impossible kinda blows! Especially when you're given a ton of sidequests and it turns out that welp, doing a bunch can overlevel you easily. Definitely something that could use fixing and I hope the sequel does that.
|
|
#
?
Sep 18, 2013 23:27
|
|
|
I really want to see what the "sequel" or whatever that upcoming Monolith "X" game is. I wonder if they'll show anything at TGS.
|
|
#
?
Sep 18, 2013 23:30
|
|
|
Dr. Video Games 0031 posted:I really want to see what the "sequel" or whatever that upcoming Monolith "X" game is. I wonder if they'll show anything at TGS. The game doesn't even have a name yet and last they said it's coming mid to late 2014 in Japan supposedly.
|
|
#
?
Sep 18, 2013 23:32
|
|
|
Stelas posted:It's the other way around. Your XP and gold will be generally fine if you complete whatever you happen to come across naturally. Hahaha no. If you generally ignore the side quests you'll typically end up 3+ levels under the next boss's, which is enough to make winning basically impossible without extreme preparations that take far longer to accomplish than grinding out those 3 levels in the first place.
|
|
#
?
Sep 18, 2013 23:34
|
|
|
U-DO Burger posted:Quoting for emphasis here. Early in the game you get a dedicated healer, and it's so very tempting to always keep her in the party. The problem is that she's bad at adding to the party gauge, has terrible synergy with other party members during chain attacks, and her damage output is poo poo. All she does is make fights last twice as long as they should (so you end up taking more damage, which reinforces the idea that you need a healer). Bench your healer the first chance you get, equip all the skills that heal you after chain attacks, and you'll quickly find that she's an unnecessary crutch that sucks all the fun out of battles. Her main damage thing is the middle, combos-with-anything, type, so by the time you get back around to her she'll be hitting like a freight train.
|
|
#
?
Sep 18, 2013 23:36
|
|
|
Zereth posted:Chain attacks when controlling the caster (Melia? Haven't played in a while) are great, too. The AI in Xenoblade is generally pretty good, but man it has no idea how to control Melia. The difference between her utility when controlled by the AI and the player is night and day (if memory serves.) She's also really fun to play, for that matter.
|
|
#
?
Sep 18, 2013 23:41
|
|
|
Head Hit Keyboard posted:Hahaha no. If you generally ignore the side quests you'll typically end up 3+ levels under the next boss's, which is enough to make winning basically impossible without extreme preparations that take far longer to accomplish than grinding out those 3 levels in the first place.
|
|
#
?
Sep 19, 2013 00:05
|
|
|
Nalmontes posted:I think it was the sidequests that prevented me from beating Xenoblade. It felt like I had to do every single one. You don't though. You don't have to do sidequests. They are on the side and you can drive right on by them. The game is perfectly fine not doing any sidequests and in fact it is probably better. The same goes for every game ever (except for fun plot sidequests like Mass Effect loyalty missions and the like).
|
|
#
?
Sep 19, 2013 02:38
|
|
|
Doing sidequests makes Xenoblade very easy. There are some interesting ones that make you go to places you might not think of going to, though.
|
|
#
?
Sep 19, 2013 02:41
|
|
|
Growlanser: Wayfarer Of Time. I see why people were saying this was only okay, but so far I'm really into it. The graphics aren't so good, for sure, but it's an RPG, I can get past that. The anime portraits and cutscenes are actually pretty well done on the other hand, even if the art style is kind of weird. The battle system is just different enough that it keeps me interested. I mean in practice it boils down to the same keep attacking state that most other JRPGs do, but it's presented more interestingly and your party/enemies die fast enough that it at least keeps it somewhat tense in harder fights. Spell fusions are also cool and probably need to show up in more games. The writing is awful, like someone said. Luckily for me, it's the special kind of awful that makes it seem like an overly dramatic Saturday morning anime and thus I find it both hilarious and endearing. I'm sure the plot will twist all kinds of stupid places and I can't wait.
|
|
#
?
Sep 19, 2013 05:19
|
|
|
Do you guys think Skyrim is a good RPG? What other games are like it?
|
|
#
?
Sep 19, 2013 09:20
|
|
|
Skyrim is a massively immersive game, and very good in my opinion. Some people will hate on it because of [reasons] but it's popular for a reason. I also never got into the other Elder Scrolls games at all, but spent around 60 hours on Skyrim (and some of my friends have done 200+). I have not played the expansions (DLC) but I definitely will. The best time I had with the game was the first few weeks where I was literally just exploring this new, huge world, uncovering different locations, seeing beautiful countryside and what not. It's epic. Similar games would include Fallout: New Vegas (but of course that is post-nuclear and not fantasy) and Morrowind/Oblivion. Fallout 3 is also excellent, but New Vegas is superior. EDIT: I really wish I was playing Skyrim again for the first time. Exploring that world and sinking hours into just being there and checking everything out was a phenomenal experience. I don't know how I'd get that again in a video game now. It was the first Elder Scrolls game that grabbed me, after Oblivion and Morrowind failed to hold me for more than an hour. Any suggestions? BadAstronaut fucked around with this message at 09:46 on Sep 19, 2013 |
|
#
?
Sep 19, 2013 09:43
|
|
|
BadAstronaut posted:Skyrim is a massively immersive game, and very good in my opinion. Some people will hate on it because of [reasons] but it's popular for a reason. I also never got into the other Elder Scrolls games at all, but spent around 60 hours on Skyrim (and some of my friends have done 200+). I have not played the expansions (DLC) but I definitely will. The best time I had with the game was the first few weeks where I was literally just exploring this new, huge world, uncovering different locations, seeing beautiful countryside and what not. It's epic. This may not be your boat here but how about trying the old RPG classic Betrayal at Krondor? There is a good amount of exploration and you get rewarded for going off the beaten path quite well. It's not a particularly difficult game if you do all that exploring though, since you tend to be severely OP because of all the extra fights you get into and all the money you're rolling in. The story is pretty good as well, good enough the original author of the book series its based on took the game as canon. You can find it on gog.com as well.
|
|
#
?
Sep 19, 2013 14:09
|
|
|
Yeah, I've played a bit of it (and got it on GOG  ) but am more keen for something newer. Cool thing is I've never played Dragon Age, so while not quite the same as Skyrim/Krondor, that could at least tide me over on the PC RPG front (because I'm currently loving Dragon Quest V on my 3DS...).EDIT: Isn't there some or other mod to play Oblivion or Morrowind together or some poo poo? I mean, I just though Oblivion was... my god, so dull and uninteresting. I have not put many hours into it as it just did not grab me. I played Skyrim for 50x longer. If there is some way to improve Oblivion or Morrowind to make them bearable today, then hey... maybe that is an option. But I own Oblivion (the maxed out version on Steam with all the content, I think) and it seems a waste that I can't get much value out of it at the moment. BadAstronaut fucked around with this message at 15:15 on Sep 19, 2013 |
|
#
?
Sep 19, 2013 15:13
|
|
|
My enjoyment of Oblivion improved immensely when I used Oscuro's Oblivion Overhaul. It removes the obnoxious level scaling, while carefully making everything a certain level. So the bandit caves right outside of town have weak enemies, while a fort far from civilization will have stronger enemies. The mod also adds new dungeons, new enemies, new weapons, and lots of hidden chests. I have a great time with the mod when I use Oblivion XP as well, but any leveling mod works great with it.
|
|
#
?
Sep 19, 2013 16:00
|
|
|
Could I simply use that on its own? Is it pretty easy to mod the Steam version as it is?
|
|
#
?
Sep 19, 2013 16:02
|
|
|
I haven't played Oblivion, but the Steam versions of New Vegas and Fallout 3 run on pretty much the same engine, and they run fine with mods. Shouldn't hurt to give it a go.
|
|
#
?
Sep 19, 2013 16:04
|
|
|
Oblivion still isn't good even after you put a billion mods into it, but I guess OOO makes it ever so slightly more tolerable because you can actually level non-combat skills without loving yourself over permanently.
|
|
#
?
Sep 19, 2013 16:14
|
|
|
If you're even thinking of trying Oblivion you should just play Nehrim instead, which is 1000x better and doesn't involve mucking around with getting mods to work together. Because honestly even if you fix most of Oblivion's gameplay problems with an overhaul mod (OOO or Fransicsos or any of those things), the story and main quest are still super garbage and the world feels incredibly stale and boring.
|
|
#
?
Sep 19, 2013 16:22
|
|
|
And Nehrim is stable, solid, worth playing etc etc? I don't need to play Oblivion itself for any particular reason.
|
|
#
?
Sep 19, 2013 16:24
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 25, 2024 07:38 |
|
|
BadAstronaut posted:And Nehrim is stable, solid, worth playing etc etc? I don't need to play Oblivion itself for any particular reason. Not everyone will like it because it's a Gothic-inspired German RPG with everything that entails but yeah totally. edit: Man, if you haven't played Gothic/Gothic 2, those are some games that are good at sucking you in.
|
|
#
?
Sep 19, 2013 16:27
|
|
