|
Tae posted:The GBC DQ games were really good. Yes. However, playing from the start every time and trying to complete the game in one sitting because you had the Japanese version and somehow never found the Save function felt pretty hopeless at the time.
|
# ? Jan 9, 2015 15:00 |
|
|
# ? Jun 6, 2024 06:19 |
|
There was a Shannara RPG/Adventure game in the 90s that was decent only because Legend Entertainment was behind it.
|
# ? Jan 9, 2015 16:54 |
DARKSEID DICK PICS posted:This is the answer. That's the Sword of Truth series. It's absolutely abhorrent, avoid at all costs. gently caress Goodkind and his Randian fantasy bullshit. On the subject of RPGs based on books, anyone have any strong opinions on Return to Krondor? I played the poo poo out of Betrayal as a young creature and I've always been curious about the sequel.
|
|
# ? Jan 9, 2015 17:10 |
|
I remember playing through all the main FF games a few years ago, back when I actually had some free time. It was really interesting, seeing the series evolve through the decades. Even something tiny that's taken for granted these days (like, if two characters target one enemy and the first character kills it, the second character doesn't actually attack open air anymore, amazing!) make such a big difference. I distinctly remember FF2 being the worst, getting through that was such a pain in the rear end.
|
# ? Jan 9, 2015 17:14 |
|
MockingQuantum posted:gently caress Goodkind and his Randian fantasy bullshit. It's a solid game. Ugly graphics but an above average CRPG.
|
# ? Jan 9, 2015 17:34 |
|
I'd really recommend skipping XIII, it's just really bad in all areas. You can play the later games without knowing the plot, just wiki it if you really get confused. XIII-2 I found fun, and has similar combat but you get 2 permanent dudes and a pokemon as your third so you can fight with all sorts of FF monsters. The story is pretty silly, I thought it was funny in a bad movie way. I've heard good things about Lightning Returns but I haven't had a chance to try it yet. Edit: vvvvvvvvvvvvv Haha thanks. I swear it looked right when I posted. Lord Banana fucked around with this message at 18:59 on Jan 9, 2015 |
# ? Jan 9, 2015 17:35 |
|
Lord Banana posted:I'd really recommend skipping XII, it's just really bad in all areas. You can play the later games without knowing the plot, just wiki it if you really get confused. You mean XIII, I got really confused after reading your first few sentences.
|
# ? Jan 9, 2015 17:40 |
|
FFXII is a bad game too. It's super slow, has a terrible combat system, too much combat, bad sidequests, way too large areas for the slow run speed and all plot and character elements are more interesting in concept than in practice. At least XIII has a good combat system.
|
# ? Jan 9, 2015 18:08 |
|
You have called 13 better than every game mentioned here.
|
# ? Jan 9, 2015 18:11 |
WrightOfWay posted:FFXII is a bad game too. It's super slow, has a terrible combat system, too much combat, bad sidequests, way too large areas for the slow run speed and all plot and character elements are more interesting in concept than in practice. This is very much one person's opinion, but most of his points are valid. YMMV, 12 is probably in my top three FF games.
|
|
# ? Jan 9, 2015 19:06 |
|
WrightOfWay posted:FFXII is a bad game too. It's super slow, has a terrible combat system, too much combat, bad sidequests, way too large areas for the slow run speed and all plot and character elements are more interesting in concept than in practice. It's a Matsuno game and he's never made a bad game.
|
# ? Jan 9, 2015 19:17 |
|
Zuhzuhzombie!! posted:It's a Matsuno game and he's never made a bad game. Good post right here
|
# ? Jan 9, 2015 19:23 |
|
So I'm starting Jade Empire up, and I'm curious as to how important starting stat distribution is.
|
# ? Jan 9, 2015 19:32 |
|
Zuhzuhzombie!! posted:It's a Matsuno game and he's never made a bad game. I'm sorry you're trapped in a time loop that ends in 1998.
|
# ? Jan 9, 2015 19:36 |
|
TARDISman posted:So I'm starting Jade Empire up, and I'm curious as to how important starting stat distribution is. Jade Empire is crazy-easy. Don't stress about it. Pick whoever you like.
|
# ? Jan 9, 2015 19:37 |
|
ImpAtom posted:Jade Empire is crazy-easy. Don't stress about it. Pick whoever you like. Sweet, thanks.
|
# ? Jan 9, 2015 19:52 |
TARDISman posted:Sweet, thanks. Also if you get the gun style from the englishman the game become hilarious.
|
|
# ? Jan 9, 2015 19:54 |
|
The White Dragon posted:I'm sorry you're trapped in a time loop that ends in 1998. If you're suggesting Vagrant Story is a bad game, I'll have to ask you to step outside.
|
# ? Jan 9, 2015 19:54 |
|
It's a good fantasy action movie that is also unfortunately a video game.
|
# ? Jan 9, 2015 19:55 |
|
My favorite part about playing Jade Empire on the Xbox was the load times were so atrociously long that the tournament was the single worst part of the game since you had to load twice between battles and since the game was so easy the fights took like 15 seconds and followed by 6 mins of loading. RIP
|
# ? Jan 9, 2015 19:57 |
|
Oh yeah, I definitely maxed that englishman's gun because shooting karate mans and making them explode never gets old. It basically makes it a game of reenacting the the "sword guy vs. Indy" fight from Raiders of the Lost Ark over and over.
|
# ? Jan 9, 2015 20:22 |
The White Dragon posted:I'm sorry you're trapped in a time loop that ends in 1998. The first half or so of FF12 before Matsuno quit/got fired/had a nervous breakdown was pretty great. Some nice worldbuilding, some decent characterization and backstory, and then basically it all fell apart or felt really underdeveloped, and holy poo poo why did they leave all the good gambits until the end of the game.
|
|
# ? Jan 9, 2015 20:48 |
|
TARDISman posted:So I'm starting Jade Empire up, and I'm curious as to how important starting stat distribution is.
|
# ? Jan 9, 2015 20:48 |
|
Wild Arms 3 is hilariously bad sometimes. They've got the basic engine for running, but then decided it was good enough for precise "platforming" between swings and rotating gears. Then they made 20 puzzles that involve pushing and dragging blocks, and no one thought that maybe having "dash forward" and "grab block" set on the same button is not a good idea when running off the puzzle area resets everything. The best part so far was installing the biggest cannon onto the sand boat and one-shotting everything including the boss you're supposed to fight on it. Clive critting regular bosses for a quarter of their HP was fun, too. I'll continue pumping cash into his gun's shot power.
|
# ? Jan 9, 2015 20:50 |
|
Clive's damage output is hilariously absurd. Although later in the game going for no-weapon fighting is actually very valid and hilarious.
|
# ? Jan 9, 2015 20:54 |
|
The White Dragon posted:It's a good fantasy action movie that is also unfortunately a video game. I tried replaying Vagrant Story recently and it holds up terribly. Practically every single boss has a single gimmick you need to use do any real damage which strongly discourages any experimentation or character building and the equipment system is both horribly obtuse and time consuming. The visual style holds up fantastically and the plot is a pretty cool fantasy Metal Gear Solid but actually playing the drat thing is a tremendous drag.
|
# ? Jan 9, 2015 20:55 |
|
ImpAtom posted:Clive's damage output is hilariously absurd. I really liked the spell that gave you a attack increase for every hitpoint you were missing, that poo poo was insanely broken and fun to use and completely outclassed the conventional damage buff you got much later and seemed like it was meant to be an upgrade.
|
# ? Jan 9, 2015 20:59 |
A Steampunk Gent posted:I tried replaying Vagrant Story recently and it holds up terribly. Practically every single boss has a single gimmick you need to use do any real damage which strongly discourages any experimentation or character building and the equipment system is both horribly obtuse and time consuming. The visual style holds up fantastically and the plot is a pretty cool fantasy Metal Gear Solid but actually playing the drat thing is a tremendous drag. It was a giant drag when it came out too and the equipment system was even worse since there weren't a billion FAQs explaining how this fundamental gameplay mechanic/system works. I remember getting through the forest maze thing, finding the dragon, doing a whole 1 point of damage to the boss, dying, then saying fuckit because going through that forest maze sucked.
|
|
# ? Jan 9, 2015 21:04 |
A Steampunk Gent posted:I tried replaying Vagrant Story recently and it holds up terribly. Practically every single boss has a single gimmick you need to use do any real damage which strongly discourages any experimentation or character building and the equipment system is both horribly obtuse and time consuming. The visual style holds up fantastically and the plot is a pretty cool fantasy Metal Gear Solid but actually playing the drat thing is a tremendous drag. Whoops. I just bought this on PSN with my Christmas funbux. Oh well, I'll just walk it with a guide and try to enjoy it? Maybe?
|
|
# ? Jan 9, 2015 21:10 |
|
MockingQuantum posted:Whoops. I just bought this on PSN with my Christmas funbux. Oh well, I'll just walk it with a guide and try to enjoy it? Maybe? It not even really that hard, all you need to remember is that every enemy is weak to one of the three main weapon types (piercing/edged/blunt) and everything else is just bonuses on top, despite the game actively trying to make you think that the attunement thing, where weapons get better against certain enemies as you kill more of that enemy type, is more important. And the buff/debuff/elemental magics are the most useful things in the entire game.
|
# ? Jan 9, 2015 21:12 |
|
A Steampunk Gent posted:I tried replaying Vagrant Story recently and it holds up terribly. Practically every single boss has a single gimmick you need to use do any real damage which strongly discourages any experimentation or character building and the equipment system is both horribly obtuse and time consuming. The visual style holds up fantastically and the plot is a pretty cool fantasy Metal Gear Solid but actually playing the drat thing is a tremendous drag. I'm a big fan of Vagrant Story, but this is still true. Vagrant Story is like my favorite game that I never want to play.
|
# ? Jan 9, 2015 21:13 |
Schwartzcough posted:I'm a big fan of Vagrant Story, but this is still true. Vagrant Story is like my favorite game that I never want to play. Oh man, I could sit down and make a list of those games that would make me question the meaning of life.
|
|
# ? Jan 9, 2015 21:14 |
|
A Steampunk Gent posted:I tried replaying Vagrant Story recently and it holds up terribly. Practically every single boss has a single gimmick you need to use do any real damage which strongly discourages any experimentation or character building and the equipment system is both horribly obtuse and time consuming. The visual style holds up fantastically and the plot is a pretty cool fantasy Metal Gear Solid but actually playing the drat thing is a tremendous drag. When I played it I thought it was neat to keep experimenting and finding that one weakness then use it to turn the fight and overpower an enemy that had given me trouble. I disliked how much you could spam healing, though. I must have cast that spell 5000x more than any other.
|
# ? Jan 9, 2015 21:19 |
|
Vagrant Story's mechanics aren't HARD, they're just obtuse, critical to dealing enough damage to handle most of the harder enemies, and the game makes zero effort to explain them at all. That coupled with the fact that most of us played it when we were like 11 and were expecting it to be more like Final Fantasy 7 means that a lot of people think it's harder than it actually is.
|
# ? Jan 9, 2015 21:20 |
|
The second most important thing about Vagrant Story beyond keeping one of each weapon type is risk management. Literally.Zuhzuhzombie!! posted:It's a Matsuno game and he's never made a bad game. Matsuno's departure was announced late in the game's development but I wonder if he had total control over the project how much of it would be different. My biggest annoyance with FF12 is that the plot wants to be something grand but never moves past a shonen action story. It reminds me of the Star Wars prequels where you have this big war and political maneuvering as stage dressing but the plot is straight up good guys fighting evil guys. FFT devolved into a generic evil-religion-demons-bullshit story but it always framed itself as a character drama (same with Vagrant Story to a lesser extent as there were like 5 named characters). FF12 wants to be heavy, it wants high stakes and drama but hell if I can remember anything about the story besides a villain with dumb hair. SelenicMartian posted:Wild Arms 3 is hilariously bad sometimes. They've got the basic engine for running, but then decided it was good enough for precise "platforming" between swings and rotating gears. Then they made 20 puzzles that involve pushing and dragging blocks, and no one thought that maybe having "dash forward" and "grab block" set on the same button is not a good idea when running off the puzzle area resets everything. It's such a mish-mash of odd mechanics. I like puzzle dungeons in RPGs but not when I'm fighting the camera and controls. Even with the second-long pause before you dash I'll have the camera in a position I can't see so I just bump into the block and fall off the edge. Most of those millennial puzzles were maddening for this reason. By the time most of the world map opened I looked up a guide for the hidden treasures which got me enough avoidance-whatever ability that I could ignore most encounters. Baby Babbeh posted:Vagrant Story's mechanics aren't HARD, they're just obtuse, critical to dealing enough damage to handle most of the harder enemies, and the game makes zero effort to explain them at all. That coupled with the fact that most of us played it when we were like 11 and were expecting it to be more like Final Fantasy 7 means that a lot of people think it's harder than it actually is. The final boss is pretty trash with his 1-hit-kill-unless-you-block-it-within-a-1-second-window. But yes, replaying VS a few years ago and it wasn't as difficult as I feared. There's some terrible moments, like dungeons having 1 save point but with 2-3 bosses inside, and some wonky map design (dear game designers don't magically lock poo poo behind me, that's loving annoying) but it's not that difficult of a game. al-azad fucked around with this message at 21:28 on Jan 9, 2015 |
# ? Jan 9, 2015 21:23 |
|
al-azad posted:FF12 wants to be heavy, it wants high stakes and drama but hell if I can remember anything about the story besides a villain with dumb hair. Really? In a thread full of JRPGs, and you think THIS is "dumb hair"?
|
# ? Jan 9, 2015 21:39 |
Schwartzcough posted:Really? In a thread full of JRPGs, and you think THIS is "dumb hair"? Especially because Seymour has the hair he does.
|
|
# ? Jan 9, 2015 21:46 |
|
al-azad posted:The final boss is pretty trash with his 1-hit-kill-unless-you-block-it-within-a-1-second-window. Protip: right before he launches his ultimate attack, switch to shield built for magic and dark resist, that cuts the damage it does in half and you can switch right back to your standard weapon immediately afterwards. But genereally, Vagrant Story wasn't that hard once you figured what to do but it was still just really boring and unfun. The boss fights being reduced to 'this is the one where I use piercing + frost damage' 'this is the one where I use blunt + fire damage' isn't great design, especially in a single character rpg where that's the entirety of the fight.
|
# ? Jan 9, 2015 21:54 |
|
Also Vayne is actually a pretty cool villain with a decent motive which contrasts well with Ashe and fab hair. Shame FFXII was basically Fetch Quest: The Game and he barely got any time to shine. I mean I guess they really wanted their epic treks through the game's incredibly impressive environments but there had to be a happy middle ground.
|
# ? Jan 9, 2015 21:59 |
|
|
# ? Jun 6, 2024 06:19 |
|
A Steampunk Gent posted:Protip: right before he launches his ultimate attack, switch to shield built for magic and dark resist, that cuts the damage it does in half and you can switch right back to your standard weapon immediately afterwards. To be fair, a lot of the fights in VS were based on timing your chains, and deciding what chains to use and how long to do it. You could keep doing guaranteed damage if you could keep the chain going, but your Risk would get super-high until the boss could one-shot you. It wasn't purely "pick weapon type". The issue was that in addition to blunt/edged/piercing, you had different weapon hilts that worked worse/better with different weapon types, and different gems to insert, and each weapon ALSO had about 19 different attributes for both elements and enemy types that would go up and down. Also, you had a limit on the number of weapons you could carry. So you could end up fighting an enemy that's weak to blunt, but your only blunt weapon has horrible elemental and enemy-type attributes against what you were fighting. The weapon system was just too clumsy and bloated.
|
# ? Jan 9, 2015 22:00 |