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Do the dungeons and outdoor areas in this game ever go beyond little 1-2 screen areas that just have a main path and a couple short detours with chests? I only played the demo and read the LP of the first one.
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Aug 28, 2023 13:51
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I feel like the dungeons are noticeably bigger in II than I, but they're never huge.
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Aug 28, 2023 13:58
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Yeah that feels accurate. Like most dungeons are larger than a couple of rooms but not by much. Some of the storyline ones feel like a nice size especially later on in the game but most of the side dungeons are on the small side. The outdoor areas feel large though since they are all interconnected and there's a lot of secrets to find. So you'll be exploring them a couple times over usually and finding new things all over the place, be it quests/npcs/side-bosses/etc. Like the game is already 80 or so hours as it is. So you don't have to worry about the game being too short. But if you like massive dungeon crawls you'll probably be a bit disappointed.
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Aug 28, 2023 14:51
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Finished the game(minus the superboss on ??? island, which I don't think I have the patience for) and overall really enjoyed it. The last boss with all 8 characters was really fun, Armsmaster Hikari/Arcanist Osvald were my main DPS chararacters, along with Partitio(Hired help is ridiculous) The beginning started off fairly slow and creaky but mid and late game were much more interesting once you had every character and could rotate jobs around. Most annoying thing by far is the random encounter rate, really upped the tedium especially when walking through older zones. Honestly just cut the random encounter rate by like 30% overall and make the mobs give 30% more XP and call it a day.
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Aug 29, 2023 02:57
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I'd say the dungeons are fun to explore and have just enough secrets to make them interesting but don't go in expecting some kind of labyrinthine dungeon crawl.
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Aug 29, 2023 09:43
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exquisite tea posted:I'd say the dungeons are fun to explore and have just enough secrets to make them interesting but don't go in expecting some kind of labyrinthine dungeon crawl. Trying to imagine this without a map and just thinking of playing Bards Tale back on the Amstrad again Nightmare flashbacks
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Aug 29, 2023 13:33
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To set expectations around dungeons appropriately, in Ozzy's chapter 5 I was stunned to discover the dungeon actually had a second screen. Speaking of that, just got pasted by that boss. First final chapter and first game over. This isn't a complaint as such since I like the challenge but this game really loves giving bosses extra turns as a difficulty modifier lol. I'm glad it's maintained it's challenge though. Haven't been able to sleepwalk through most boss encounters. Team toot are all mid forties now so I'm gonna wrap their final chapters over the next week or so and then move onto the b team, provided BG3 doesn't murder all my game time. This is still my favorite game of the year.
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Aug 29, 2023 15:34
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unattended spaghetti posted:To set expectations around dungeons appropriately, in Ozzy's chapter 5 I was stunned to discover the dungeon actually had a second screen. I had the same reaction. Though I thought a few other dungeons ended up longer than I expected too. Like a couple of the later dungeons in Throne's story come to mind as well.
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Aug 29, 2023 15:48
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unattended spaghetti posted:This is still my favorite game of the year. Yeah, even months later I find myself thinking about this game. The music, the stories and sidequests, the worldbuilding, I feel this game did everything perfect. In comparison FF16 (a similar amount of hours to OT2 for a full playthrough) really doesn't register to me after a couple weeks even with going through NG+. I'm excited to go in for a second playthrough but this year's just jam packed with other games. It's definitely going to compete with BG3 for me I think, at least I'm waiting for the latter to come out on PS5 before putting real time into it.
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Aug 29, 2023 16:37
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FireWorksWell posted:Yeah, even months later I find myself thinking about this game. The music, the stories and sidequests, the worldbuilding, I feel this game did everything perfect. In comparison FF16 (a similar amount of hours to OT2 for a full playthrough) really doesn't register to me after a couple weeks even with going through NG+. I'm excited to go in for a second playthrough but this year's just jam packed with other games. Yeah if anything could knock it outta the top spot it would be BG3 for me. I’m waiting on PS5 as well. One more week. Not to pick on the person above who didn’t dig on the path actions, but I absolutely love them. Every little characterful detail that the path actions express, with what is honestly a pretty limited toolset, always leaves me wanting more. Like, when NPCs have certain things in their inventory, it’s emblematic of who they are, or ties back into the info you can get from them, or expresses something small and elegant about their place in the ecosystem of the broader town. The way that all the little stories interweave and point to the other characters in the towns is also incredible. And the game knows when to break mold, too. Like the kid that has the STufFeD ToY which for all intents and purposes is an unobtainable item, but tells a weird, creepy, grim little tale, relegated to just that one NPC. There’s no part of this game that wasn’t fussed over to an insane degree. Rarely do I ever feel like replaying a JRPG, but I could see myself going back through this one, because there’s depths here that I haven’t even vaguely approached in this playthrough. The mechanics are immensely exploitable, and there are so many ways to create the experience you’d like to have, without feeling like you’re missing something. It’s a wealth of goddamn riches, Octopath II is. A game of tiny details that add up to an exquisite whole. Also, I’m wondering if the Throne stuff y’all wanted me to check in on is in her Chapter 4, because her dad wanting her to kill him just feels like the typical anime frenemy dynamic. Unless of course he’s immortal for some reason? The way he talked, it was as though she was breaking some kind of curse or something. And I guess there’s the fact of her real father to contend with. Interested to see how that goes. Suitably thrilling pair of boss fights with her parents though.
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Aug 29, 2023 17:22
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unattended spaghetti posted:
I agree 100%. There's so much attention and care put into every bit of this game. Even with stuff that you won't see unless you really look under every rock. Throne stuff Chapter 4 is a pretty significant turn in her story. Not gonna say anything more because you should experience it as it is but yeah that's probably what people were trying to direct your attention to. JuniperCake fucked around with this message at 19:16 on Aug 29, 2023 |
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Aug 29, 2023 19:12
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FireWorksWell posted:Yeah, even months later I find myself thinking about this game. The music, the stories and sidequests, the worldbuilding, I feel this game did everything perfect. In comparison FF16 (a similar amount of hours to OT2 for a full playthrough) really doesn't register to me after a couple weeks even with going through NG+. I'm excited to go in for a second playthrough but this year's just jam packed with other games. I'm weird and rank FF16 over OT2 but that's mostly because I just really enjoyed FF16's story. OT2 is still my 3rd spot in personal GOTY though (#1 is Armored Core 6 ATM). I should probably actually finish OT2 but robomurder...
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Aug 29, 2023 19:28
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BG3 is very good (and a lot more replayable) but it also shipped with more bugs/sequence-breaking issues and it overheats my poor laptop. So OT2 still holds that top spot for me this year.
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Aug 30, 2023 10:29
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Ozzy chapter 5 down. Second time around I barely even got hit. Didn't test first time but I'm glad one true magic can be multi hit with the scholar buffs. It made all the difference. I barely used it the first time because of how expensive it is. Cool ending. Got the rest of team toot to finish up then it's on to the B team. Harvey is such an awesomely smut villain and good lord that voice actor sells it so well. Sometimes the line between cheese and good is conviction in delivery. Quick Ochette question. I picked up this ice revenant enemy in that dungeon but it seems I can't summon it? Does it have a bp requirement I'm missing or something? unattended spaghetti fucked around with this message at 17:54 on Aug 30, 2023 |
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Aug 30, 2023 15:54
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Some monsters, including revenants, can only be summoned at max boost.
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Aug 30, 2023 15:59
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Bongo Bill posted:Some monsters, including revenants, can only be summoned at max boost. That's what I figured thank you.
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Aug 30, 2023 17:52
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Specifically it's the ones with max stars that require full boost.
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Aug 31, 2023 06:34
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I just got the ship and accidentally said yeah I’ll fight this giant shark and fight it I did for forty minutes but I pulled it off. MVP was this random flower seller I Allured that restored 40 sp every time Agnea danced. Osvald did 95% of the damage while Partitio just stuffed him with BP. Good times.
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Sep 1, 2023 16:46
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Mzbundifund posted:I just got the ship and accidentally said yeah I’ll fight this giant shark and fight it I did for forty minutes but I pulled it off. MVP was this random flower seller I Allured that restored 40 sp every time Agnea danced. Osvald did 95% of the damage while Partitio just stuffed him with BP. Good times. Nice, now keep in mind that you'll run into that shark a decent amount while out on the boat.
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Sep 1, 2023 18:23
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Combo posted:Nice, now keep in mind that you'll run into that shark a decent amount while out on the boat. Could I have kidnapped it if I had Ochette
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Sep 1, 2023 18:25
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Mzbundifund posted:Could I have kidnapped it if I had Ochette The normal mob version? Yes, very much so.
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Sep 1, 2023 18:27
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Yup, it works for all areas with mini-bosses like that. Gotta beat the boss form once but the random encounter version that shows up afterwards can always be caught.
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Sep 1, 2023 18:29
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Oh is that how you fulfill the hunter license quests? I brought Ochette to Castii’s fight vs the sand lion but couldn’t kidnap it. Can I get it if I go back there or is the quest referring to a totally different quicksand monster
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Sep 1, 2023 18:34
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Mzbundifund posted:is the quest referring to a totally different quicksand monster Yes, and it is capturable (after you beat it once), but also iirc the hunter license quests are only looking for kills, not captures.
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Sep 1, 2023 18:42
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Mzbundifund posted:Oh is that how you fulfill the hunter license quests? I brought Ochette to Castii’s fight vs the sand lion but couldn’t kidnap it. Can I get it if I go back there or is the quest referring to a totally different quicksand monster In this case I'm pretty sure it's the latter. There's another dungeon with a quicksand monster that guards a powerful spear, that's the one for the hunter quest iirc
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Sep 1, 2023 19:02
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Ah ok thanks. On the subject of monsters, what determines the damage dealt by captured monsters and guided/allured/etc NPCs? Do they benefit from the equipment or buffs of their summoner?
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Sep 2, 2023 07:44
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Mzbundifund posted:Ah ok thanks. On the subject of monsters, what determines the damage dealt by captured monsters and guided/allured/etc NPCs? Do they benefit from the equipment or buffs of their summoner? They have their own stats, the only way to affect their damage is by boosting as well as breaking or debuffing their target(s).
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Sep 2, 2023 09:28
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Only Ochette left on team Toot. Just some random assorted story thoughts. Throne: What the gently caress? That lived up to the reputation y’all gave it. But, well, I don’t think it’s winning any awards for plot construction, other than the fact that it’s a profoundly gross left turn that makes some kind of sense. I’m glad though that they had the guts to let Throne’s ending be the bitter pill that it is. And I think it could only work in a game like this with an anthology structure. Can’t imagine the internet tears had she been a protagonist in a more mainstream RPG. There’s some threads in that I feel are left dangling, unless I’m an idiot. I don’t really understand how her mom fits into the picture. I don’t know where she came from, and I also don’t know how Throne’s psycho dad ended up in the village with all the vessels. I’d hope the wrap up would clear some of this stuff up, but I guess only time will tell. Lost Seed though? Tremendous. This game knows its strengths and when to hit you hard. That entire environment utilized everything that makes this game special in how it presents Lost Seed to the player. Haunting, and had me going wtf all the way up to the last boss. Also, dungeon too big for the encounter rate but that’s a minor complaint. Her final boss went down like an utter chump. Second phase triggered after turn one, and he died right after. I tried to sandbag it to give Throne the final hit. I didn’t even get to hear what she yells at the boss if you max boost her. That’s how quick it went. Temenos’s final chapter was satisfying in the sense that it was predictable, but cathartic. I think his story suffers from a couple matters of structure. First, there’s the issue of tone and genre. It starts a mystery, turns into an archaeological expedition, and then becomes a revenge plot. Because of that structural inconsistency, I think the narrative kinda fails to stick for me. For a game that’s extremely good about economical plot delivery, one that doesn’t waste any words, it really hosed up in his story specifically. Giving Caldina a tragic backstory as a flashback twenty minutes before the moment reckoning wasn’t a great move. I’m sure there’s a reason, especially since she’s descended from the ancient people or whatever, but as an attempt at pathos it’s pretty perfunctory, which is kinda disappointing. But the thing is, Temenos, as a character, is all aces all the time. He could get a side game and I’d play it in a heartbeat. Like all Octopath II’s characters, he’s a few distinct character traits rolled up and bluntly presented, but those traits are just an excellent blend. The catty snark, the silent judgment, the utterly placid delivery, it all works so well and saves what would have otherwise been my second least favorite story, just behind Ochette’s. Only just got the boat and five characters left to finish up. But BG3 is preloaded and ready to go in less than an hour or something so I think I’m taking a break from this. Cant’ wait to see the rest though.
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Sep 2, 2023 15:56
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re: loose ends: some new side quests unlock every time you finish a story.
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Sep 2, 2023 16:04
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unattended spaghetti posted:Temenos discussion Yeah, I agree with all of this. I'd say his story might be my least favorite overall (it is hard to pick a least favorite) but he's definitely my favorite main character of the 8.
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Sep 2, 2023 16:13
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I really hope OT3 keeps up the trend of jumping ahead a few centuries in terms of tech and setting. I'd love to see these jobs and fantasy ideas in a flashy neon 80's setting.
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Sep 2, 2023 16:24
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Zaggitz posted:I really hope OT3 keeps up the trend of jumping ahead a few centuries in terms of tech and setting. I'd love to see these jobs and fantasy ideas in a flashy neon 80's setting. Like Live-A-Live, one era at a time. And then a ninth game to bring all 64 characters together.
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Sep 3, 2023 06:17
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Neddy Seagoon posted:Like Live-A-Live, one era at a time. They can call it Octopath Traveller 64 and instead of using HD-2D they can make it a high fidelity rendition of all of those classic N64 RPGs instead of all those classic SNES RPGs now excuse me while I take a big sip of water and look at a list of classic N64 RPGs
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Sep 3, 2023 06:37
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If you think about it, Paper Mario's aesthetic is basically already built on the same principles as HD-2D.
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Sep 3, 2023 08:02
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Neddy Seagoon posted:Like Live-A-Live, one era at a time. Exíntatésserapath Traveler doesn't roll of the tongue quite so easily...
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Sep 3, 2023 10:43
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Just did Osvald chapter 4 and wow does Osvald have a rough life
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Sep 3, 2023 19:36
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Harvey is a bastard man.
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Sep 3, 2023 20:00
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It sure is some tonal whiplash going from an Osvald chapter over to an Agnea one. Oh no a mean bodyguard who might punch me anyway here’s my uncle the Archmage of Monte Cristo who taught me how to set people on fire with my mind
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Sep 4, 2023 01:35
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unattended spaghetti posted:Only Ochette left on team Toot. Just some random assorted story thoughts. I think the general response to Throne Ch. 4 is wait, what? what??? and while Lost Seed is a cool weird place, it feels like it and the uh "plot" are from a different (or earlier version) script just slapped onto the end of Throne's story. The overarching story once you've done the 8 doesn't do anything to change that sentiment for me. Throne is also weird in that it gives you the choice to do Mother or Father first, but unless Mother second is totally changed I can't see it working nearly as well as Father second does. It's not like Ochette where the order doesn't matter, so idk why they even had it as a choice.
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Sep 4, 2023 23:20
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I finished the game and loved it. I was on the fence about it since OT1 was fun but not amazing, this was way better all around. the characters are great and the cross-party interactions were sorely missing not sure all the finale twists worked for me, but they served the purpose of tying the individual storylines together while delivering some concluding wtfs. and of course tons better than the first game's finale highlight of the game: destroying the magitek steam locomotive over Partitio's saxophone theme lowlights of the game: too many random encounters, being way over-leveled and over-geared, completely forgetting who Tanzy and Tsuki were by the endgame ??? of the game: why and how were they going to build Dolcinaealand on the front line of an active warzone in retrospect, probably the funniest thing in the finale is how petty and uncoordinated most of the masterminds were. most notably Claude passing on becoming the vessel and loving off to run his inter-generational murder royale. the resurrection largely went as intended so I guess that was all fine!
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Sep 11, 2023 22:32
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