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evilmiera posted:Can't seem to find this in the thread, but someone was "inspired" by Quest for Glory and made a game called Heroinne's Quest which is actually oddly good so far. At least I am having fun sneaking around the local bar boozing up the captain of the local guard for his keys, while training my stealth skill. I'm playing this and it's a somber Norse QFG ("All I ever wanted was to pick apart the game/put the pieces back together my way" -Crystal Shard Game Studios). The writing is better, like the slapstick is about as terrible and there are still really dumb geeky references that serve no purpose (like the one earlier In This Post) but it feels more together. I actually kind of miss the unavoidable Sierra deaths you got just from interacting with the world and it doesn't feel quite the same without the Random Zany ROFL fluff stuff. It also looks like serious butt but it's FREE so whatever I am The Worst Thief bc I put all my points in the wrong places but I don't want to start over bc I have 100 points in Stealth and I think Fast Talking too so I'm just poking around doing all the character nonspecific World puzzles I can. The books in the library are a simple substitution cipher but if you don't feel like working it out: You have found a few books on cryptography, explaining how to write incomprehensible texts, as well as how to decipher them. lol idk I like this game but I liked the QFG games a whole lot, even if I would never want to go back and replay them. I just like having a new place with new rules to explore in a way that is familiar.
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Dec 29, 2013 16:32
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evilmiera posted:Yeah, the game is a bit rough around the edges in some places, but the VA is not as bad as you might find in other indie adventure games, and they have the QfG thing down to a near science. Now all I have to figure out is how to get into the thieves' lodge via that weird alphabet on furniture puzzle same letters: gtsladenor I don't think I'm missing any I've tried the obvious stuff 'steal' 'den' 'door' (though I suspect that it doesn't want you to repeat letters) and the only answers I can think of that uses all the letters are weird nonsense stuff like 'lords agent' and 'god rentals' It's not really holding your hand on this one, like it's not clear how to finalize your entry. The reset lever? Using the door itself? I kind of just want to tell the obvious guildmaster guy how I know where it is and hope he gives me a hint but that doesn't seem...thiefy edit: ok I acted on the leverage tip and popped the lock. There's a balance beam and a dartboard and a bunch of quest notices and I want in there but it's not going to be that easy. Maybe there's other stuff I need to do first?? edit 2: 'later dongs' MPLS to NOLA fucked around with this message at 17:50 on Dec 29, 2013 |
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Dec 29, 2013 17:20
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Rascyc posted:I don't think it's that fair to call EO4 super simplistic unless you just mean the dungeon design in comparison to Wizardry's dungeons. Then yeah, they mailed it in a bit on the dungeon design compared to the previous installments. The class mechanics and such are above average in complexity and you can do a lot of fun builds though, which is really what drives most discussions about EO. Uh yeah EO4 is way LESS simplistic and has much more interesting and fun party dynamics than SJ. SJ is also way more grindy and repetitive and has very, VERY bad boss and encounter design. Also still way more prone to being able to abuse the hell out of 1-2 skills to beat everything, like SMT games frequently are. Dungeon wise, EO has always been pretty weak I'll certainly agree. All of the games tend to have a handful of small areas where the dungeons are interesting, but mostly at best it's just each floor has 1-2 very simple gimmicks, plus learning FOE patterns. And yeah the drawing your map thing is just a weird gimmick, I don't mind it but I'm certainly not crying that they've added a mode for the game to do it itself.
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Dec 29, 2013 18:36
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I was looking for an RPG to play on my brand new PS3 (on top of already playing Kingdom Hearts. Sue me) so I went for a PSN store binge and noticed three PS1 titles I've always been curious about but never played. Namely, Parasite Eve 2, Vagrant Story, and Grandia. Now, I'm aware those are all very different games, and I'm not sure how much of an RPG Parasite Eve actually is, but does anything stand out from these three in their favor or unfavor? Further questions: I know people like Grandia 2, but is the first one just too old/simple to enjoy? Is Vagrant Story unplayable without sinking significant time into learning its systems and subsystems?
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Dec 29, 2013 18:37
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I tried playing Vagrant Story last year and it's really good, but it's super clunky. The subsystems don't seem too bad, but you'll be going into menus every minute or so to change weapons and whatnot and there's a significant load time when you do. It desperately needs a remake with a quick weapon switching mechanic.
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Dec 29, 2013 18:45
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Grandia 1 is the best game in the series by a decent margin (though 2 is not bad either), but if it's the same old PSX version, it's kind of a lovely localization. Especially the voice acting. Worth trying though, it's a very classic jRPG. Vagrant Story is not that hard to get the jist of what you need to finish it. There are a ton of mechanics going on but you can safely ignore like 50% of them. The one thing you will HAVE to do though is get stupidly good at comboing (which is all timing), because if you are good enough at that you can pretty much stomp anything in the game regardless of your gear. And yeah the menus are awful and there's no fast-swapping which the game desperately needs. I would guess a PSN release would at least remove a lot of the load time going into menus though, which would help a lot.
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Dec 29, 2013 18:48
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Vagrant Story is probably the hardest of that set to give a solid recommendation, despite its critical acclaim. Your enjoyment of it is heavily dependent on system mastery (there are some arguable ways around this but they're really just different systems to master and kinda tedious to boot). It's also in dire need of a remake with a modern control scheme, there's just a an excessive amount of repetitive menu jockeying needed to play it well. Grandia is a lighthearted Game Arts game in all its goofy glory. There are systems to master but they mostly come down to watching the time gauge and knocking your enemies out of attacking when you can. I haven't played it since it came out but sprite based games on the ps1 tend to age well. Parasite Eve 2 is one of my favorite games on the system so I may struggle to be objective here. The old school Resident Evil controls might put you off a bit but once you get used to it there's so much content in what's otherwise a fairly short game. It's designed to be replayed, with a few different endings and a lot of guns and spells that you just won't appreciate til you turn up the difficulty on later runs. Your protagonist is a veteran cop who gets downright sassy sometimes and doesn't take much poo poo from anyone you run into. There's a lot of little details to check out and Aya tends to have something to say about them.
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Dec 29, 2013 19:10
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Amppelix posted:I was looking for an RPG to play on my brand new PS3 (on top of already playing Kingdom Hearts. Sue me) so I went for a PSN store binge and noticed three PS1 titles I've always been curious about but never played. Namely, Parasite Eve 2, Vagrant Story, and Grandia. The only good Parasite Eve game is the first, IMO. PE2 isn't *that* bad compared to 3 but it edges a lot closer into Resident Evil Clone territory and suffers a lot as a result. Vagrant Story is a really interesting game that needs to click for you before it becomes enjoyable. It hasn't aged super well but like Final Fantasy Tactics the worldbuilding is really engrossing. The three things you need to understand that the game doesn't really tell you much about are weapon affinities, attack types (slash/pierce/blunt), and the VATS-like area targeting that allows you to hit weakpoints and debuff enemies in different ways. Learning about these through a FAQ or something makes the game a lot more enjoyable, although the menu and load times will always be a bit on the painful side. Half the battle is preparing; carefully crafting your weapons to deal with your enemies will make the experience a lot smoother. Grandia is a simple whimsical adventure with interesting combat and very little pretense.
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Dec 29, 2013 19:21
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Thanks for the replies, everybody! In the end, I bought PE2. I played through the first level, and I'm having fun after some initial confusion. The boss especially was pretty clever. I'll probably buy Grandia too, though. My self control amounts to nothing.
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Dec 29, 2013 21:49
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I was thrown off a bit when I first played PE2 as well, since at the time I hadn't played a Resident Evil game. Once I did play some of those and came back to PE2, I had a much better time of it. 1 does trump 2 though in the "creepy-rear end CGI scenes" department, but they're still both worth playing. Just ignore 3rd Birthday. We don't talk about 3rd Birthday.
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Dec 29, 2013 21:52
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Well, I'm a terrible sucker and bought Grandia too, but it was already worth it for the moment where I realized that they're censoring alcohol into coffee.  "Hmm. What's that? Coffee?" "Oh, that must be my uncle's doing. He always sneaks into my room to drink so my aunt doesn't notice." And then there's the "cafe" which is only open at night and serves "great coffee and beautiful women". This is now my favorite censoring trick of all time, and I can't wait for the inevitable scene where someone gets drunk.
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Dec 29, 2013 23:56
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Amppelix posted:Well, I'm a terrible sucker and bought Grandia too, but it was already worth it for the moment where I realized that they're censoring alcohol into coffee. Didn't Earthbound do that too in a couple cases, or am I completely mistaken?
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Dec 29, 2013 23:58
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Is White Knight Chronicles worth owning now that the servers are gone?
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Dec 29, 2013 23:58
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Amppelix posted:Well, I'm a terrible sucker and bought Grandia too, but it was already worth it for the moment where I realized that they're censoring alcohol into coffee. My favorite early RPG censoring trick is Final Fantasy Legend 2's Edo world, where they're trying to crack down on "banana" trading. E: Also talking about drinks, SNES Shadowrun with everyone kicking back in bars with iced teas. iastudent fucked around with this message at 00:03 on Dec 30, 2013 |
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Dec 29, 2013 23:59
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Dross posted:Is White Knight Chronicles worth owning now that the servers are gone? It wasn't worth owning when the severs were up.
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Dec 30, 2013 00:05
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Read the WK chronicles LP in the LP forum to see the bullet you are dodging.
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Dec 30, 2013 00:29
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a medical mystery posted:The only good Parasite Eve game is the first, IMO. PE2 isn't *that* bad compared to 3 but it edges a lot closer into Resident Evil Clone territory and suffers a lot as a result.
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Dec 30, 2013 19:56
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iastudent posted:My favorite early RPG censoring trick is Final Fantasy Legend 2's Edo world, where they're trying to crack down on "banana" trading. I always just assumed it was like Long Island Iced Teas and the future is a horrible corporate dystopia with a very metrosexual taste in mixed drinks.
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Dec 30, 2013 20:01
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Cardiovorax posted:It's a lot more fun, though, because you get to blast evil mutants with your psychic eyelasers. PE1 also lacks PE2's ridiculous amount of gun porn. The first game has more guns but the second makes them a lot more memorable.
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Dec 30, 2013 20:21
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dis astranagant posted:PE1 also lacks PE2's ridiculous amount of gun porn. The first game has more guns but the second makes them a lot more memorable. As useless as it is at that point in the game, the 100-round SMG you get from revisiting Douglas in Dryfield was way too much fun to use.
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Dec 30, 2013 20:28
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MPLS to NOLA posted:same I THINK the proper term to use is either lodge or lode or somesuch. I had to use magic to figure out which bits to poke at, namely the sixth sense spell you can get from a book in the library if you have magic trained . But that's not required to actually push the letters and get the right answers, so it might be ok to just cheese that.
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Dec 30, 2013 20:30
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iastudent posted:As useless as it is at that point in the game, the 100-round SMG you get from revisiting Douglas in Dryfield was way too much fun to use. You actually get that before you leave, since it's the reward for not loving up everyone's favorite boss. It can be pretty useful for a good while if you have the armory keycard, even if it is a bit heavy to aim at fast enemies.
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Dec 30, 2013 20:55
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dis astranagant posted:PE1 also lacks PE2's ridiculous amount of gun porn. The first game has more guns but the second makes them a lot more memorable.  I have real difficulty deciding whether I like PE1 or PE2 more, personally. PE1 had the more epic, large-scale plot and, of course, Daniel Dollis, but PE2 was just so loving batshit and full of personality that I can't help but really like it. They're both really good.
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Dec 30, 2013 22:04
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I think, on the whole, PE2 is a better game. It's a bit more dynamic and well designed and has more variety. PE1 has a lot going for it. (Gun customization being a big one here) but I don't think it holds together as well as a game. It's just held back by the immensely slow pace, the relatively short length and combat tends to be a little more one-note. I like PE1's atmosphere and general tone a lot more though.
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Dec 30, 2013 22:08
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Man I thought everyone hated PE2 because it departed a bit from PE1. I only played through PE2 once and remember enjoying it, but I don't remember anything else. Maybe I should replay it now.
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Dec 30, 2013 23:20
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Rascyc posted:Man I thought everyone hated PE2 because it departed a bit from PE1. I only played through PE2 once and remember enjoying it, but I don't remember anything else. Maybe I should replay it now. Well, a lot of people did because it was a pretty big departure, but it's been quite enough time that nobody really has strong feelings about it anymore. Especially after Third Birthday.
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Dec 30, 2013 23:23
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I think I hated PE2 for about an hour when I was 14 and then it clicked for me and I've replayed it at least a dozen times since. I introduced it to a friend a couple years ago and he liked it so much that he binged like crazy and beat it on all 4 difficulties within about 2 weeks. I will say that if I ever find a game with gun customization half as crazy as PE1's I'll probably disappear for weeks dicking around with it.
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Dec 31, 2013 00:27
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evilmiera posted:I THINK the proper term to use is either lodge or lode or somesuch. I had to use magic to figure out which bits to poke at, namely the sixth sense spell you can get from a book in the library if you have magic trained . But that's not required to actually push the letters and get the right answers, so it might be ok to just cheese that. The answer is lodge because that's what the game explicitly calls the place. It's actually pretty simple and straightforward, but only after you get told the name. The trick, of course, is to realize that you don't actually need to use all the letters. "later dongs" is my favorite though. I think I spent about half an hour trying out different combinations only to find out that the game basically tells you the answer right away after a thief steals your things at night and you follow him/her - which is the point when you're actually supposed to enter the guild, I guess. (I'm playing a rogue myself.) I also believe you get a higher score for solving this puzzle the proper way. CrookedB fucked around with this message at 01:13 on Dec 31, 2013 |
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Dec 31, 2013 00:48
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dis astranagant posted:I think I hated PE2 for about an hour when I was 14 and then it clicked for me and I've replayed it at least a dozen times since. I introduced it to a friend a couple years ago and he liked it so much that he binged like crazy and beat it on all 4 difficulties within about 2 weeks. Ever play Resonance of Fate? I've never played Parasite Eve but I find it hard to believe that it's crazier than RoF's gun customization. 
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Dec 31, 2013 00:57
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Yeah, but its customization was way linear and seldom really felt like it was accomplishing anything beyond sticking a huge clip on to bump your damage. Everything else just made a gauge spin minutely faster.
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Dec 31, 2013 01:00
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I liked RoF but it did have a definite lack of attaching bayonets/flamethrowers/lasers to your rifle. Or rifles for that matter.
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Dec 31, 2013 01:02
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I liked RoFs. It was 'linear' but it was basically a game about figuring out how to fix as many upgrades as possible in a defined space which is fun on its own.
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Dec 31, 2013 01:02
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Not enough submachineguns that fire shotgun shells that replace each pellet with a tranquilizer dart.
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Dec 31, 2013 01:06
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dis astranagant posted:Not enough submachineguns that fire shotgun shells that replace each pellet with a tranquilizer dart. That's only if the cyanide doesn't get them first. 
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Dec 31, 2013 01:10
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Resonance of Fate was such a weird thing. A team like tri-Ace actually getting to make a new JRPG IP on an HD console is rare, let alone getting it localized, and I had a blast with it. I remember having fun with the episodic story, and Nolan North was fun as Vash. Did anyone ever try Infinite Undiscovery? I've literally never seen any word of mouth about it.
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Dec 31, 2013 11:53
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Baltazar Robotnik posted:Did anyone ever try Infinite Undiscovery? I've literally never seen any word of mouth about it. It's like a really janky (jankier) Star Ocean.
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Dec 31, 2013 12:05
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Stelas posted:It's like a really janky (jankier) Star Ocean. That sounds really gross, if Last Hope is any indication.
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Dec 31, 2013 12:06
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It's not quite Last Hope levels but it's certainly like someone set out to do a fantasy RPG in a Star Ocean style and just kind of botched it or only got halfway. An incredibly unlikable cast, a pretty dull plot, I guess some okay battle mechanics but they didn't really impress me.
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Dec 31, 2013 12:07
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Hmm, I thought the plot was alright, but I might be forgetting the finer details, it's been a while. Though it's forever tainted my gamerscore to end in '4' or '9' because there's a 49-point achievement for something, then a 1-point achievement for beating the bonus boss on the hardest difficulty. Also I really want to repost this gif from the Games thread - 
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Dec 31, 2013 13:09
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Polsy posted:Hmm, I thought the plot was alright, but I might be forgetting the finer details, it's been a while. Though it's forever tainted my gamerscore to end in '4' or '9' because there's a 49-point achievement for something, then a 1-point achievement for beating the bonus boss on the hardest difficulty. Oh hey, it's the exact moment I turned the game off.
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Dec 31, 2013 13:10
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