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Coxswain Balls posted:The quests were alright and probably helped by the lack of voice acting, but I really liked the way the main plot was told with the data pods and how Rico's log entries got creepier the deeper you went. The reveal that the ruins were really a spaceship, and then the additional reveal that the spaceship was imprisoning something was really cool. I also liked how in Episode II the data pods started transitioning from log entries to live transmissions in the lab. It felt kind of like System Shock and PSO2 never really had that feeling of dread as you learn more about the conspiracy. Yeah, that kind of almost environmental storytelling is something I haven’t encountered since. I was really disappointed that none of the following PS games continued the trend. I guess it’s hard when the setting is populated with a lot of people, though. I came to appreciate PSU’s setting after accepting that it was just a different genre, more Star Wars than Alien, but the actual story was... well, it wasn’t for me. PS Zero was more up my alley, even if it was more “anime,” because it was more similar to PSO in that the characters are still discovering the world. The PSO plot connections probably helped too. It also wasn’t as high on the Animu Scale as PSU or especially PSO2. PSO2’s plot (well, most of it) is something that I feel could have worked if it was executed better and without every character being an anime cliche. The setting was interesting and the planets were mostly unique until Harukotan, and on paper the overall premise works. And while I’m not a fan of the direction it took for episodes 4 and 5 it did have its own unique takes on those genres and I admit was pulled in for the latter parts of 5 and 6. I’ve only played up until the first ryuker device in NGS but outside of the cookie cutter anime cast it seems fairly inoffensive to be honest. People crash landing on a planet that’s being attacked by mysterious aliens isn’t the most interring thing in the world but it doesn’t seem terrible to me... yet.
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Jun 13, 2021 11:13
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Fighting Bujin with Wired Lances is a lot of fun. Just two assholes zipping back and forth trying to land a hit on each other.
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Jun 13, 2021 11:17
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I mean, PSO2's literal opening chapter is some absolute true cliche poo poo involving a mysterious stranger and anime love interest with amnesia and while the story as it goes is pretty genre standard in tone, the actual plot beats are pretty fuckin' out there after that so NG has some room to grow from where it's at. I'll also always respect PSO2 for having a plot that tried to give a sense of narrative purpose to the endless joblike repetition that is a themepark-MMO, even if it wasn't really effective and paring it down for later consumption was probably the right call.
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Jun 13, 2021 11:25
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There's not a lot of game in this game. It's fun to dash and jump and do the new combat, but you have two or three mandatory missions (that aren't Make Number Go Up) before the game gives you a To Be Continued message. After that, you're supposed to engage with the impossibly laggy combat to increase your level enough to do the hourly fight because that's all there is. I know PSO2 is all about repeating missions for drops, but this game isn't even that. This is a demo, not a finished game. PSO2's original release may have also been barebones, but that was a long time ago and this is an ostensibly new product.
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Jun 13, 2021 11:41
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i honestly kind of respect episode 4 for trying to make a big joke out of how anime it could possibly get while then eventually trying to get you to take it seriously
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Jun 13, 2021 11:58
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why don't you kids like ethan waber
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Jun 13, 2021 11:58
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CYBEReris posted:i honestly kind of respect episode 4 for trying to make a big joke out of how anime it could possibly get while then eventually trying to get you to take it seriously I respect episode 4 for being a dumb reverse isekai before swerving into SMT. It was surprisingly fun.
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Jun 13, 2021 12:10
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Episode 4 had the most thought and planning put into it and it shows
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Jun 13, 2021 13:19
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I do have to admit Mother Cluster grew on me, and the PS2 references were well done. Maybe I would have enjoyed the story more if it wasn’t PSO.
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Jun 13, 2021 13:22
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Jun 13, 2021 17:23
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quote:- The story. Didn't this series used to be known for having some of the most engaging stories of it's time? Like what happened? This is F-level plot garbage. I'm not asking for Final Fantasy XIV quality of story but something somewhat engaging would be nice. I mean Aina doesn't even seem all that troubled learning that her father died... Great writing. It's really obvious that being able to play as a giant Gundam is an afterthought to the story and it's really funny. Do I want something to eat? No? I don't have a mouth! Or organs. It's also funny that the one chunky gundam body has what clearly looks like a hatch in the center, and that the ranger's little hop and shoot skill is seemingly just as fast as running, keeps me in the air forever, and I can target anything anywhere accurately doing it, so I can just jump off a cliff and get a few minutes of hangtime and kill stuff RBA Starblade fucked around with this message at 17:39 on Jun 13, 2021 |
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Jun 13, 2021 17:34
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kirbysuperstar posted:why don't you kids like ethan waber Never trust a guy on a hoverboard.
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Jun 13, 2021 17:54
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Potato Jones posted:There's not a lot of game in this game. It's fun to dash and jump and do the new combat, but you have two or three mandatory missions (that aren't Make Number Go Up) before the game gives you a To Be Continued message. After that, you're supposed to engage with the impossibly laggy combat to increase your level enough to do the hourly fight because that's all there is. I know PSO2 is all about repeating missions for drops, but this game isn't even that. This is a demo, not a finished game. Agree with this. I was operating under the assumption that the beta would be a fraction of the game's content. Still, what's there is good, and it's free. I'm treating it like a single player game. If I can get 20-30 hours of enjoyment out of it then that's fine by me.
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Jun 13, 2021 17:59
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RBA Starblade posted:It's really obvious that being able to play as a giant Gundam is an afterthought to the story and it's really funny. Do I want something to eat? No? I don't have a mouth! Or organs. I believe the PSO2 lore is that the CAST gundam suits are basically futuristic cyber-wheelchairs for humans whose bodies aren't strong enough to contain their "photon power". You've still got all the typical fleshy bits underneath. In fact in NGS you can even take your helmet off and let your CAST's hair flow free in the wind.
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Jun 13, 2021 18:07
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RPATDO_LAMD posted:I believe the PSO2 lore is that the CAST gundam suits are basically futuristic cyber-wheelchairs for humans whose bodies aren't strong enough to contain their "photon power". You've still got all the typical fleshy bits underneath. Well, less cyber-wheelchairs and more "forcibly converted into a cyborg because having a fraction of your power was better than you dying". It's never really clear how much of the original body needs to be left though; I know Zig at least gets cut in half and they're able to put him back together again ok.
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Jun 13, 2021 18:23
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Nemo2342 posted:Well, less cyber-wheelchairs and more "forcibly converted into a cyborg because having a fraction of your power was better than you dying". It's never really clear how much of the original body needs to be left though; I know Zig at least gets cut in half and they're able to put him back together again ok. It may vary wildly, and in some cases may be less 'forcibly converted' and more 'we can save the life of this chunky salsa!'
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Jun 13, 2021 18:37
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I always assumed CASTs were more of a "your body is dead or disabled so we uploaded you into a robot" situation.
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Jun 13, 2021 18:47
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How does that explain the female casts who are just normal ladies with some glowy arm+leg braces attached though
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Jun 13, 2021 18:54
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RPATDO_LAMD posted:How does that explain the female casts who are just normal ladies with some glowy arm+leg braces attached though Those are just very detailed robot bodies.
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Jun 13, 2021 19:05
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RPATDO_LAMD posted:How does that explain the female casts who are just normal ladies with some glowy arm+leg braces attached though They were nerds when they transitioned and the women just wanted to be pretty robots and men wanted to be gundams. Understandable.
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Jun 13, 2021 19:09
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Also its impossible to know if they were women before transitioning into a gundam or fat gently caress goon before transitioning into a pretty girl. I know which I'd choose if given the chance.
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Jun 13, 2021 19:11
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RPATDO_LAMD posted:How does that explain the female casts who are just normal ladies with some glowy arm+leg braces attached though  
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Jun 13, 2021 19:16
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Way back in the original series most of the android characters looked even more human aside from some odd metal chunks bolted to their ears and jawlines. It was the style at the time. The transforming version of Wren from Phantasy Star 3 who could turn himself into vehicles would be a goddamned riot in NGS.
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Jun 13, 2021 19:19
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You're not familiar with the work of JIS, I take it? https://twitter.com/JisPso2/status/1341696511843790848?s=19 https://twitter.com/JisPso2/status/1396077853972697092?s=19 https://twitter.com/JisPso2/status/1380693639106424835?s=19 https://twitter.com/JisPso2/status/1376084553329074178?s=19
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Jun 13, 2021 19:27
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Back in the bad old days, before the story got streamlined, there was a lobby quest where a dude asked you to play matchmaker and
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Jun 13, 2021 19:40
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Rockstar Massacre posted:let's be real though, FFXIV and TOR both also have mostly garbage storylines that only get a pass for awarding some sad sense of narrative to the dead air MMO. I don't understand why people keep saying this. FFXIV story is fantastic and in the running for one of the best in the series.
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Jun 13, 2021 19:41
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punk rebel ecks posted:I don't understand why people keep saying this. FFXIV story is fantastic and in the running for one of the best in the series. Yeah clearly y'all haven't played Shadowbringers because that might be one of the best FF stories ever done, with an extremely well developed antagonist TulliusCicero fucked around with this message at 19:53 on Jun 13, 2021 |
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Jun 13, 2021 19:47
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sir if you would jusut play it then you would surely agree with me.
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Jun 13, 2021 19:53
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TulliusCicero posted:Yeah clearly y'all haven't played Shadowbringers because that might be one of the best FF stories ever done, with an extremely well developed antagonist I'm sure it is, I'll have to get back to you after all the back and forth between the Waking Sands and whatever the game wants me to beat up next.
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Jun 13, 2021 19:58
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Nemo2342 posted:Well, less cyber-wheelchairs and more "forcibly converted into a cyborg because having a fraction of your power was better than you dying". It's never really clear how much of the original body needs to be left though; I know Zig at least gets cut in half and they're able to put him back together again ok. I 'member Risa saying in her story that there once was a sickly human girl with her name, but she considered her to be a different person. Also, I miss Risa. I always make sure to visit her when I'm loving around in PSO2 for whatever reason. 
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Jun 13, 2021 20:01
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I don't know anything about the PSO2 story but I do know that the awful "story quests" were still taking me loving hours to complete even though I was skipping all of the scenes.
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Jun 13, 2021 20:01
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Leveling battle power is a pain in the rear end. Why not just lock this behind player level instead? Need 1100 battle power for the next portion of the quest line and I'm stuck at 971. GUESS I'LL GO MINE SOME ORE.
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Jun 13, 2021 20:11
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Diephoon posted:Also, I miss Risa. I always make sure to visit her when I'm loving around in PSO2 for whatever reason. Little annoyed that the Risa chain accessory (and all chain accessories really) is so awkward to place on my character in the salon since it's all that we left of Risa in NGS. No matter how I angle or resize it the drat thing kinda just floats in midair off my torso.
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Jun 13, 2021 20:13
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Is there a trick to getting augments to work? I just keep getting told there's a connection error.
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Jun 13, 2021 20:25
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Carmant posted:I was operating under the assumption that the beta would be a fraction of the game's content. It was. The fraction just happened to be 2/3. I mean, I get it that maybe people expected more content at launch based on how PSO2 NA rolled out or maybe how other games handle things, but this really is not the kind of game PSO2 is. Play for a couple weeks when there's new stuff, then maybe log in occasionally for a few months, and then come back again when there's new content added every 3 months or so. Repeat for 5-10 years. That's the PSO2 model. I guess it isn't for everyone. Kortel posted:Leveling battle power is a pain in the rear end. Why not just lock this behind player level instead? Need 1100 battle power for the next portion of the quest line and I'm stuck at 971.
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Jun 13, 2021 20:30
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Surprise Noodle posted:It can be a little frustrating, but it's really a better version of the "expert" system JP PSO2 has had for years. Makes it way less likely people will show up to challenging content undergeared and expecting everyone else to carry them. It can be annoying but it is a necessary evil. You should always keep your gear up to date. Stux posted:sir if you would jusut play it then you would surely agree with me. You don't comment on a story being good or bad without actually playing the game first, yes.
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Jun 13, 2021 20:41
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punk rebel ecks posted:I don't understand why people keep saying this. FFXIV story is fantastic and in the running for one of the best in the series. because as far as I'm concerned when I'm talking about the story in a videogame, an important question is "what am I doing and why am I doing it?" and in every MMO including FFXIV the answer is "tedious bullshit that should be much shorter, to extend the content pipeline so I'm encouraged to keep playing between iterations." The bits of novella and cinema between that stuff isn't the only thing that counts as story. If I'm being asked to write for a character in the setting, I need means and motive- if it's gonna be boring MMO bullshit, give me a reason. To be stronger, like a shounen anime? Fine, but then actually write that story. I wouldn't give PSO a pass on this either but 1) it's free 2) it's actually fun to play moment to moment 3) every iteration of PSO has at least tried to answer my big question above. I don't like MMO's much as a whole, it shouldn't surprise anyone.
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Jun 13, 2021 20:42
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I feel like we needed some kind of a hook for our character to tease us with why we're here, instead of just 'Hello, I landed from space and have a talent for kicking rear end. Point me towards your enemy.'
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Jun 13, 2021 20:53
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punk rebel ecks posted:It can be annoying but it is a necessary evil. You should always keep your gear up to date. you assumed anyone who didnt like it just hadnt played it yet :p
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Jun 13, 2021 20:56
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Rockstar Massacre posted:because as far as I'm concerned when I'm talking about the story in a videogame, an important question is "what am I doing and why am I doing it?" and in every MMO including FFXIV the answer is "tedious bullshit that should be much shorter, to extend the content pipeline so I'm encouraged to keep playing between iterations." I don't get what FFXIV would be deficient in there, it has more "means and motive" and connective tissue than a lot of even single player Final Fantasy games did.
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Jun 13, 2021 20:59
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