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Ah, gotcha. Yeah there's not a whole lot of the Tri-Ace catalogue I can recommend, then. (The DS game is completely different but it's still a cool little thing in its own right. It feels different than most tactics games I've played.) I never played anything past the PS2 era, though. (Also Radiata Stories rules)
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Feb 10, 2014 09:01
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CotP is a pretty different game but it is a really interesting one. I really like how it blends story and mechanics together. There's a in-story reason to do all these various things and the fact that there are three distinct path splits means you can see every bit of content in the game without repeating anything but the first chapter in the game.
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Feb 10, 2014 09:46
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Schwartzcough posted:I 5-stared the dragon by casting Blizzaga to launch him, then switching to dragoon and doing a heavy attack x2 for the jump on his exposed head. That staggers him in about 3 seconds. Then hit his head with froststrike for a while. Repeat as needed. But people are right that Blizzaga does not always launch him. Really, launching and hitting his head seems to be the only reliable way to stagger him quickly, as you can be casting that fast frost spell or Blizzaga all day and it doesn't seem to get the job done. Your abilities aren't random, but the bonuses they get are. That isn't true for the final game, just for the demo. The people wandering around can have strong equipment in it. If you see a person with a @LRFFXIII in their name, or something like that, they almost always have a good piece of equipment. They've added a new piece of equipment to the demo each day as we count down from "13-days left". You really just need to check everyone and you'll find stuff eventually. For example, yesterday they added the "Sickle of the Faithful" (which is lovely, but ya know). Note: this only matters if you want to get sub-eight second times, or 187500+ scores. With no bonuses, and regular weapons, getting 10 seconds, or 187500~ is no problem. Systematic System fucked around with this message at 10:40 on Feb 10, 2014 |
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Feb 10, 2014 09:57
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Pyroxene Stigma posted:That's not what I meant to imply, my bad. I loving loved Valkyrie Profile, ICICLE DISASTERed my way to every ending, been through the Seraphic Gate too many times, I just felt like the DS sequel was going to be a very different game. And VP: Silmeria had already rubbed me wrong, so I moved on. I really liked the combat in VP2. The way it worked moving around the field and how your angle of attack let you break off different parts was genius. So was the bonus timer and leader kill system. Also the plot gives you lots of Brahms and I think he's fun.
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Feb 10, 2014 10:11
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ImpAtom posted:CotP is a pretty different game but it is a really interesting one. I really like how it blends story and mechanics together. There's a in-story reason to do all these various things and the fact that there are three distinct path splits means you can see every bit of content in the game without repeating anything but the first chapter in the game. I usually keep a save after Chapter 1 and before Chapter 2 decisions. Also this thread is making me want to LP VP1, arrgh. I already have a working title.
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Feb 10, 2014 10:22
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I was replaying the demo the other day to try and get the Siegfried garb. First off, how the hell do I do that? I submitted my score, but nothing seemed to unlock. Does it have to be a certain threshold/rank to unlock? Also, after the first battle, it tells me I have a new message, but no way of telling me how to access it. Am I missing something obvious or is that only in the final game?
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Feb 10, 2014 12:34
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You just need to submit a outerworld score to unlock the garb in the final game (no message for it). Also the "new message" thing is a little unclear, but its telling you that you can create messages now (press start on the field).
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Feb 10, 2014 15:29
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Okay, did that when I played through yesterday, so I should have it unlocked when I get the game this week? Groovy. Think I'm going to bow out the thread for the time being. I have zero self-control when it comes to checking out spoilers, and if this is as batshit as everyone says, this is lunacy best experienced unspoilt.
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Feb 10, 2014 15:34
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ApplesandOranges posted:I usually keep a save after Chapter 1 and before Chapter 2 decisions. Do VP2 as well or first since there have been a lot of VP1 LPs, but none of VP2 that I can think of.
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Feb 10, 2014 17:52
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Systematic System posted:Note: this only matters if you want to get sub-eight second times, or 187500+ scores. With no bonuses, and regular weapons, getting 10 seconds, or 187500~ is no problem. What kind of arcane magic do you have to do to beat the boss in ten seconds? I can barely get a minute!
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Feb 10, 2014 18:22
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Anyone see that Square Enix has a special collectors limited edition for final Fantasy X/2 hd? Seems like a big waste of money (and I like collectors editions) for a slightly bigger art book than the one you can get with a preorder on the regular game, a poster and several art cards. It's like 93 bucks (including shipping) for a tiny bit more stuff. Twice the price of just preordering the standard edition. I mean, I know collectors editions are a waste of money in the first place, but this seems to be a lazy attempt, and greedy too.
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Feb 10, 2014 18:24
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Ineffiable posted:Anyone see that Square Enix has a special collectors limited edition for final Fantasy X/2 hd? Seems like a big waste of money (and I like collectors editions) for a slightly bigger art book than the one you can get with a preorder on the regular game, a poster and several art cards. I'm pretty sure it includes a Blu-Ray disc with the entire remastered OST and a few other things as well. Still not worth the money but slightly better.
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Feb 10, 2014 18:34
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Ineffiable posted:It's like 93 bucks (including shipping) for a tiny bit more stuff. Twice the price of just preordering the standard edition. I mean, I know collectors editions are a waste of money in the first place, but this seems to be a lazy attempt, and greedy too. Remember this is the same company that green-lit, All The Bravest. And they are a company at the end of the day - they just want the dosh. Quality be damned! [e]: Missed the other posts. Blu-ray with the OST isn't too bad, I guess. Still not really worth it, though. But collector's editions, what're ya gonna do 
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Feb 10, 2014 18:35
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ShadeofDante posted:I'm pretty sure it includes a Blu-Ray disc with the entire remastered OST and a few other things as well. Still not worth the money but slightly better. Right I forgot about the cd too. Still seems like a lot. But not as much as I originally posted about. I mostly point this out because the drakengard collectors edition is the same price, has a cd (less songs I'm sure), a poster, an prequel novel that had to be translated, and a mess of dlc and two unannounced bonuses. And the game itself is ten bucks more. Oh well, I'm still getting the standard preorder for ffx hd and it'll be worth that much. The box and art book is likely going to turn out to be like how the kh remix one is.
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Feb 10, 2014 18:52
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While I was reading the updates for the Unsung Story Kickstarter, there was an interesting anecdote about the Final Fatasy Tactics' casting system.quote:Q: “FFTA and FFTA2 moved away from Charge/cast times, which I felt heavily took away from the depth of those games. Will Charge/Cast times be a core component of this game? One of my favorite mechanics in FFT was casting time." https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/482445197/unsung-story-tale-of-the-guardians/posts/743272 As for the Kickstarter itself, it's been stagnating beyond the usual post launch valley. A number of backers have withdrawn their pledges because the project is unlikely to hit the Hitoshi Sakimoto and Alex O'Smith/Joeseph Reeder stretch goals. The developer and Matsuno seem to lack a cohesive vision since there have been conflicting accounts on how the game will look and play. This was a very poorly executed Kickstarter by Playdek. Their main goal was to raise funds for a PC version rather than use Matsuno's collaborators to attract additional backers. They probably should have waited a month to put together a proof of concept and have Sakimoto and O'Smith/Reeder as part of the first goal. Or rip off Inafune's pitch for Mighty No. 9 by replacing Big Bad Capcom and Megaman with Square-Enix and Ogre Battle. There's still a chance that a last day push can get it to the minimum goal.
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Feb 10, 2014 18:57
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I backed it. Even if they don't make it apparently they're still going ahead with the mobile version so I'm not even that fussed if it doesn't make it.
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Feb 10, 2014 19:01
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Ineffiable posted:Right I forgot about the cd too. Still seems like a lot. But not as much as I originally posted about. Well, it's a Blu-ray, which is available separately but costs I think 6000 yen (about $60) in Japan. It's "worth it" but only if you define Japanese music prices ($25-$35 for most CD's) as normal and not "gently caress you whatever the Japanese RIAA is called".
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Feb 10, 2014 19:19
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Sunning posted:While I was reading the updates for the Unsung Story Kickstarter, there was an interesting anecdote about the Final Fatasy Tactics' casting system. The gently caress is he talking about? Math Skill didn't have charge times and it worked fine.
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Feb 10, 2014 19:27
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Sunning posted:While I was reading the updates for the Unsung Story Kickstarter, there was an interesting anecdote about the Final Fatasy Tactics' casting system. Huh, go figure. I agree that the casting times added a lot of depth to the "strategy" of the strategy RPG, and why I felt the Advance games felt so shallow and simplistic. I do hope the game gets finished whether or not the kickstarter is funded. It would be pretty depressing to know we got so close to a spiritual sequel to FFT and Ogre Battle, only to have it peter out and die.
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Feb 10, 2014 19:28
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univbee posted:Well, it's a Blu-ray, which is available separately but costs I think 6000 yen (about $60) in Japan. It's "worth it" but only if you define Japanese music prices ($25-$35 for most CD's) as normal and not "gently caress you whatever the Japanese RIAA is called". It isn't just FF10 HD's OST going for $bonkers, FF14's ARR OST is coming out (  ) on bluray for a tidy sum of $50 USD.
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Feb 10, 2014 19:31
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The lack of charge time made casters more powerful, but the biggest problem is that every last one of your characters in FFTA is basically Orlandu if you don't intentional cripple yourself.
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Feb 10, 2014 19:35
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I feel like something is being lost in translation, I think the answer is talking about the cast spell animation prior to the proper spell animation and not the actual charge time of the spells. It's the only way the answer makes sense (loading spell animation assets right before using the spell).
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Feb 10, 2014 20:04
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The only mainline FF games I haven't played yet are FF13 and FF13-2. With Lightning Returns coming up soon I figure I might want to try those out for myself. Am I correct in understanding that the negatives, at least for the first one, are pretty much "linearity; handholding; obtuse story"? I don't really mind any of the three, as long as it's entertaining to play (and the combat system looks interesting, anyway).
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Feb 10, 2014 20:15
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Ciaphas posted:The only mainline FF games I haven't played yet are FF13 and FF13-2. With Lightning Returns coming up soon I figure I might want to try those out for myself. Am I correct in understanding that the negatives, at least for the first one, are pretty much "linearity; handholding; obtuse story"? I don't really mind any of the three, as long as it's entertaining to play (and the combat system looks interesting, anyway). Combat is the highlight and graphics are pretty nifty. Problem becomes combat isn't fully open to you until 16-20 hours in and by that point you're not exactly aching for more and all the side-content is just more fighting. Weapon upgrading and items in general are really, really badly thought out. You will likely find yourself running out of steam around then as the lack of anything else to do and complete lack of story motivation will probably make you feel burned out. FFXIII-2 addresses these issues kind of but utterly breaks the combat in half with any sort of side quests and combat is only enjoyable in FFXIII because of how well tuned all the encounters are for your move sets so, yeah.
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Feb 10, 2014 20:19
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Ciaphas posted:The only mainline FF games I haven't played yet are FF13 and FF13-2. With Lightning Returns coming up soon I figure I might want to try those out for myself. Am I correct in understanding that the negatives, at least for the first one, are pretty much "linearity; handholding; obtuse story"? I don't really mind any of the three, as long as it's entertaining to play (and the combat system looks interesting, anyway). FFXIII offers pretty visuals, a moderately great soundtrack, and an exciting battle system that takes 30 hours before it's fully unlocked for you. The story is gibberish and the pacing is way off, so don't try to enjoy it for that.
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Feb 10, 2014 20:19
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Ciaphas posted:The only mainline FF games I haven't played yet are FF13 and FF13-2. With Lightning Returns coming up soon I figure I might want to try those out for myself. Am I correct in understanding that the negatives, at least for the first one, are pretty much "linearity; handholding; obtuse story"? I don't really mind any of the three, as long as it's entertaining to play (and the combat system looks interesting, anyway). that's correct; 13 does away with all the "fluff" like towns, NPCs, minigames, etc. Another common complaint was that the battle system was too difficult (for an ff game) and that there was no way to break the game and become stupid powerful. 13-2 was the exact opposite and included all the non-linearity and JRPG fluff that gamers blasted 13 for lacking, and was also a terrible game, go figure.
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Feb 10, 2014 20:35
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Ciaphas posted:The only mainline FF games I haven't played yet are FF13 and FF13-2. With Lightning Returns coming up soon I figure I might want to try those out for myself. Am I correct in understanding that the negatives, at least for the first one, are pretty much "linearity; handholding; obtuse story"? I don't really mind any of the three, as long as it's entertaining to play (and the combat system looks interesting, anyway). Pretty much. The combat is ok, but after having the faster paradigm shifts from 13-2 13 just feels glacial(though I thought it was super annoying to watch the little paradigm shift cutscenes the first time around). And don't believe the lies about the game opening up after 20 hours or whatever. Yea you get to an area that isn't linear, but the only thing to do there are hunts.  If you aren't enjoying the game before the 20 hour mark, it certainly won't change your mind and make everything magically better. Also once you get through that area the rest of the game is linear again.
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Feb 10, 2014 20:51
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Ciaphas posted:The only mainline FF games I haven't played yet are FF13 and FF13-2. With Lightning Returns coming up soon I figure I might want to try those out for myself. Am I correct in understanding that the negatives, at least for the first one, are pretty much "linearity; handholding; obtuse story"? I don't really mind any of the three, as long as it's entertaining to play (and the combat system looks interesting, anyway). Combat's pretty fun, once the game lets the shackles off. It hits a nice difficultly curve for the most part, because it's impossible to overlevel - at least until the part where the game opens up anyway. It's flawed in some places, but it feels pretty solid for the most part. The story is garbage. As long as you go in knowing that, it should be pretty okay, assuming you get on with the battle system. Because that's all there is; cutscenes and the battle system. XIII-2, has opposite problems, aside from the fact that the story is still garbage. They tweaked the combat somewhat, and fixed a few flaws that XIII's had, but introduced a few of its own. The combat is still fun, but the difficulty gets rather lost, as it's too easy to become too powerful, unintentionally. There's also minigames and poo poo out the wazoo. Some are fun, most are not.
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Feb 10, 2014 20:54
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CAPTAIN CAPSLOCK posted:Yea you get to an area that isn't linear, but the only thing to do there are hunts. The hunts are also linear in that you have to complete them almost entirely in order. You must beat 14 of them to earn the privilege of riding a chocobo. Later you'll unlock the only branching point in the game where you get sent to a progressive series of fights and can choose to either fight the top or bottom enemy. Oh there is also one non-combat side-quest in the game available when you get to the point where you believe and are promised there is a town* and the name used for the character who the quest revolves around presents a more cogent and interesting question for the FFXIII universe than the entire trilogy. Spoilers: there isn't
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Feb 10, 2014 20:55
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Who cares if there's towns or not. looking up on gamefaqs to go into random house #4 to talk to some NPC's cat to continue the game isn't fun at all.
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Feb 10, 2014 21:04
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Fight Club Sandwich posted:Who cares if there's towns or not. looking up on gamefaqs to go into random house #4 to talk to some NPC's cat to continue the game isn't fun at all. Town in this case is shorthand for opportunity to stop fighting, decompress, do sidequests and interact with the world/environment instead of being pushed constantly forward into fights. Town doesn't mean everyone misses NPC hunts although FFXIII did manage to shove that into its incredibly linear design with the baby-chocobo hunt which is sort of goddamn impressive when you think about it.
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Feb 10, 2014 21:09
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Fight Club Sandwich posted:Who cares if there's towns or not. looking up on gamefaqs to go into random house #4 to talk to some NPC's cat to continue the game isn't fun at all. There needs to be a balance; XIII's "Never interact with anything ever to distract from anything", and XIII-2's "Endless cavalcade of poo poo-to-do" were just two extremes. Things like towns help to give the player a chance to digest the plot, or do something different, or something not necessarily related to the main quest. That sorta thing opens up to world building and the sort...which isn't to say I personally like the particular example you've said, but there are ways of going about it.
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Feb 10, 2014 21:15
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If it weren't for towns, there wouldn't be a gold saucer date scene, and that scene ruled.
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Feb 10, 2014 21:17
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Pesky Splinter posted:Combat's pretty fun, once the game lets the shackles off. It hits a nice difficultly curve for the most part, because it's impossible to overlevel - at least until the part where the game opens up anyway. It's flawed in some places, but it feels pretty solid for the most part. The story is garbage. As long as you go in knowing that, it should be pretty okay, assuming you get on with the battle system. Because that's all there is; cutscenes and the battle system. XIII-2 is also a blatant DLC pump - the total cost for all DLC is somewhere north of $50, and it includes pretty vital stuff like bonus bosses, mini-arcs for other characters, and an outfit that gives Serah pants. I'd still place it head and shoulders above FFXIII, terrible story aside. I never want to hear another voice-over.
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Feb 10, 2014 21:19
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Barudak posted:Town in this case is shorthand for opportunity to stop fighting, decompress, do sidequests and interact with the world/environment instead of being pushed constantly forward into fights. Town doesn't mean everyone misses NPC hunts although FFXIII did manage to shove that into its incredibly linear design with the baby-chocobo hunt which is sort of goddamn impressive when you think about it. Outside of FF8's card game people only complain about lightning dodging or blitzball or raising chocobos so I'm always confused whenever fans list "no minigames" as a con for FF13 Pesky Splinter posted:There needs to be a balance; XIII's "Never interact with anything ever to distract from anything", and XIII-2's "Endless cavalcade of poo poo-to-do" were just two extremes. 13's story was garbage, did anyone really want MORE world building? other genres get by fine without breaks in the gameplay; I don't see why they're so essential to JRPGs
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Feb 10, 2014 21:24
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Oxxidation posted:XIII-2 is also a blatant DLC pump... Oh yeah, I forgot about all the DLC. Didn't they think about putting that in for XIII originally? But were delayed, or couldn't do something or other? Yeah, of the two I prefered XIII-2's overall. It felt a lot freer than XIII vice-hold on what you did. And it had a more proactive antagonist, even if he was rather weak. It felt more satisfying to attack him than Space-Pope. Fight Club Sandwich posted:13's story was garbage, did anyone really want MORE world building? other genres get by fine without breaks in the gameplay; I don't see why they're so essential to JRPGs I was speaking generally, rather than specifically about XIII's world stuff. If you have the world be a barren loving place full of nothing to care about, why are you gonna care about it? What is going to motivate you, the player to continue on? That's part of the reason they have them in RPGs, it's the flow of the thing. Even action games know to pace themselves, at times. Pesky Splinter fucked around with this message at 21:30 on Feb 10, 2014 |
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Feb 10, 2014 21:26
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Waiting until the day they start selling gold and level ups like the Tales of Series.
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Feb 10, 2014 21:29
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Fight Club Sandwich posted:13's story was garbage, did anyone really want MORE world building? other genres get by fine without breaks in the gameplay; I don't see why they're so essential to JRPGs
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Feb 10, 2014 21:30
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Oxxidation posted:XIII-2 is also a blatant DLC pump - the total cost for all DLC is somewhere north of $50, and it includes pretty vital stuff like bonus bosses, mini-arcs for other characters, and an outfit that gives Serah pants. The bundle pack is $17 for everything except the assassin/N7 outfits and the useless preorder weapons.
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Feb 10, 2014 21:39
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Fight Club Sandwich posted:Outside of FF8's card game people only complain about lightning dodging or blitzball or raising chocobos so I'm always confused whenever fans list "no minigames" as a con for FF13 Bringing up lightning dodging is dumb because dodging 200 bolts of lightning is obtuse on any metric. (Was it even hinted at, in-game that doing so got you something special? I don't remember seeing anything.) To use the Triple Triad example for a moment, an important point to note is that it's completely optional. So people who want a distraction get it, people who want to keep going can do so. Taking out the option leaves one group or the other out in the cold.
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Feb 10, 2014 21:44
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