|
Finished it tonight. I liked it? I think? Some assorted thoughts: Man, if CS1 and 2 were obviously supposed to be one game, 3 starts screaming at the top of its lungs that you're gonna have another game about halfway through Chapter 3. Even that early on, it's obvious that you're not gonna settle things with the sheer number of antagonists they've roped into the game, and it's almost hilarious how little they actually make you interact with the assorted villains of the game. The Jaeger King is built up to be this awesome, super dangerous foe, but you literally never interact with him outside of playing cards once until you actually fight him for the first time in *checks notes* the second to last fight before the final boss. Say what you will about having bosses go "lol no actually you lost" but at least having to fight them multiple times helps sell me on the idea that yes, this is a person who could absolutely gently caress me up given the right circumstances. Actually getting a win against Arianhod and the Stahlritter in Chapter 3 feels good - you've fought Duvalie multiple times in the series so far, and here she is at her best with all her friends...and you still gently caress them up. And they react like they lost because they *did*. On the character front, no real surprises here. Old Class VII is pretty much exactly who we left them as (minus Gaius, but even then he's not much more interesting), and new Class VII is a mixed bag. Kurt and Ash are boring as sin for opposite reasons, and Musse is....there, I guess. When the mask comes off, she's great, but unfortunately 90% of her interactions in the game are repeatedly telling you just how much she wants to gently caress Rean and while it's good for a few jokes here and there (mostly flustering Alisa, Elise and Alfin, etc), it misses the mark way more often than it hits and it drags down what could have been a really good and interesting character. Altina grew on me significantly, and Juna was far and away the best character in the game. Alisa and Emma both get a few really good scenes, especially near the end of the game, but Juna's big scene in Chapter 2 is still my favorite in the entire game. The plot is...a mess, to put it mildly. This is probably a by-product of getting split into two games, but there's cliffhangers and then there's whatever the gently caress that ending was supposed to be. To make matters worse, the preceding 60 hours or so are, if not completely pointless, largely unrelated to the overall Erebonia plot, and it isn't until Heimdallr that things start actually picking up. I don't think it's an exaggeration that literally half of everything pre-final chapter could have been cut and the game would have been no worse for wear. The gimmick of "play with the kids, then plot happens, now play with the old class vii" wore out its welcome by about Chapter 2, and more focus on the new Class VII, potentially with having the old classmates cycle in and out like Tio, Agate, Lechter, etc. would have gone a long way to making the game pick up the pace a bit. And seriously, what the gently caress is with the final chapter. I get that it *sort of* implies that Osborne has some kind of mind control power or whatever, but what the hell was that procession in the final chapter. The main academy shows up to fight you because...uh, Cedric said so? The Ironbloods, all of whom were helping you kill Cryptids *literally yesterday*, are just like "Yep, we're gonna stop you. Sucks but that's how it is!". Even loving Duvalie sees what's going on by the end, and is like "Yeah, no I'm out." Kurt and Juna impotently screaming "what the gently caress is wrong with all you, why are literally all of you okay with this" is one of the most relatable scenes in the entire game, tbh. Funnily enough, despite the massive cliffhanger, I think I'm ready for a break, actually? Hopefully we get some news on Ys IX soon, but really, I could go for Tokyo Xanadu 2 as a nice pallete cleanser before diving into CS4. 7/10, probably would not ever play again, but glad I did all the same.
|
#
¿
Dec 2, 2019 04:04
|
|
|
|
| # ¿ May 21, 2024 04:46 |
|
|
That could be part of it, yeah. I bounced of Sky 1 like three times before I finally finished it, and that third attempt wasn't until after I got through Cold Steel 1 and 2 first. I remember my friend literally begging me to try Cold Steel 1 because she thought it would be more up my alley than Sky 1's extreme slow burn.
|
|
#
¿
Dec 2, 2019 04:52
|
|