nocturnal YL Posted January 28, 2016 Share Posted January 28, 2016 (edited) Yesterday, I've beaten this game, so I thought I'd talk a bit about it. First off, my general impressions: I absolutely love this game. This game doesn't look like a "first HD game attempt" at all. It looks great. I haven't investigated yet, but a glance at my computer monitor suggests this game runs in 720p. I could be wrong on this. The towns are a bit small, but the dungeons are large and lengthy, especially if you aim to reveal the entire maps. The main story is quite good. The later side stories are excellent and satisfying to complete. Tiki's side stories are the best thing I've ever seen in RPGs. Personal experience differ, but I find completing her last sidequest highly satisfying. ATLUS knowledge not required to play this game, but it would definitely help you get used to the magic system. Fire Emblem knowledge may help you understand a few references, but the only gameplay impacts are weapon effectiveness (Sword>Axe, Wind>Flier, and so on) and stats ("it's a General, so it probably has high Def and low Res"). It is Fire Emblem-centric, though. This should be obvious, since you face enemies like Gangrel and Aversa... It goes without saying that the music is great. It may not sound like Fire Emblem music until the end, but it's not bad at all. This game lets you explore the field after beating the final boss (and find out what's happened to the NPCs you've helped thus far), which is a huge advantage to me compared to most RPGs. It also gives very juicy incentive for players to continue playing. You get to inherit your level, money, consumable items and more between playthroughs, although this is disallowed on Lunatic (unlockable difficulty). This game isn't without flaws, though. I find it too hard to replenish EP (since EP-restoring items are rare), Expel and Death magic have limited usefulness (since the player party cannot form sessions out of it), and on a meta level there's the loading time issue and the lack of in-game cutscene viewer. (CORRECTION: Cutscenes are viewable from the second playthrough onward in Fortuna's office.) I'd recommend this to: Tiki fans. If you love Tiki, this game is a must-have. RPG lovers who also like Fire Emblem. RPG lovers who want a (mostly) lighthearted adventure. General Q&As for topics that I think is common: Who are in this game? Itsuki/Chrom, Tsubasa/Shiida, Toma/Cain, Kiria/Tharja, Ellie/Virion, Mamori/Draug and Yashiro/Nabarl are playable (although I'd consider Yashiro a mild spoiler and not put him in the main character list). Maiko, Barry and Tiki are important NPCs with their own side stories. The other characters listed in the website have varying roles and importance. NPCs with requests are not listed here. The enemies are listed here: Garrick, Gangrel, Aversa, Excellus, Abel, Lon'qu.[spoiler=Non-final bosses]There are also Lorenz, Pheros and Cervantes. Bord and Cord also appear, but they aren't what you remember them for. I'm not going to list the final chapter's bosses for now. Is a certain character in the game? If it's a character that isn't from Shadow Dragon or Awakening, no. The other Fire Emblem games contribute only to the weapon names. How long is this game? 6 chapters, 27 side stories, and various minor requests. A strategy guide I've read said 20 hours, while it took me 106 hours (coincidence much?), but I aimed to complete as many play records as I reasonably could. I also completed about 500 battles (which is one of the play records' challenge), if that's any indication. I am a slow player. To put it in a different way, you're expected to reach level 60 by the end. What is session? Session is a mechanism in which characters attack after each other in succession if the first strike is effective. To make this happen, the characters need to have the required skill. For example, Itsuki may start with Ziodyne+1, Kiria may follow with "thunder --> Elwind" and Mamori may then follow with "wind --> Strong Ice Hit". This, coupled with duo arts (which is itself an unlockable element), can lead to massive combos. Side stories and requests? Side stories are missions that involve interacting with a major character. It could consist of just dialogs, finding stuff, or boss battles. Completing these will unlock moves. The player can only take one side story at a time. Requests are mostly fetch quests. Multiple requests can be accepted at the same time. DLC? I haven't bought those. The game can be completed without that, there's no challenge that requres DLC, and nothing in the game other than the title screen menu reminds the player of the existence of DLCs. The DLCs are for getting levels and weapon ranks, but I don't think they are needed at all in the first playthrough. The eShop even warns that getting over-levelled will make the game less fun. Maybe they'll help for the second playthrough's extra requests or Lunatic, since the dungeons themselves don't have enemies above level 60 and relying on the arena or wild enemies can be slow and/or boring. I'll add one more thing: I really recommend against watching the cutscenes or even gameplay before playing the game. Especially for the final side stories of Tsubasa and Tiki. And the final cutscene too. I don't really know what else to say, so maybe you guys reading this can ask me stuff? Mostly spoiler-free guides (Japanese): (If you consider chapter titles and dialog choices spoilers, this isn't for you) http://ds-can.com/fe http://omoteura.com/sharpfe Edited June 27, 2016 by nocturnal YL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michelaar Posted January 28, 2016 Share Posted January 28, 2016 Can you understand Japanese? I'm really excited for its european release so I can play it BTW (Probably the same problem as with Fates, America is getting it way sooner :( ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nocturnal YL Posted January 28, 2016 Author Share Posted January 28, 2016 I can kind of read Japanese. Nowhere close to a "translator" level, but I can get the gist of Japanese text. I'm actually a bit worried about whether this game is hitting overseas, and especially Europe. Hopefully they'll still do it. They don't take back already-announced games frequently nowadays, but still... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avk Posted January 28, 2016 Share Posted January 28, 2016 Thanks for the impression ! It seems in line with the others I've read, but it's nice to see a review from someone on Serenes. If you don't mind, I'll be listing your review in the other thread I'm doing. I haven't played the game but, some comments/precisions : - SMT knowledge is quite easy to grasp after a few moments imo, the names of the spell are special, but you always have the description and the element icon so it probably should not be too difficult to get used to. - FE knowledge doesn't seem necessary at all, but most streamers I've seen didn't seem to pay attention to the class and weapons the enemies have, which is an easy indicator of weaknesses. That's pretty much it for the gameplay part, the nods and references are nice for the rest of the game imo. - I don't know for all Atlus games, but in the recent Persona games, you can also wander around after finishing the last boss, to see how things have turned out, it's their version of an epilogue I suppose. - For the EP items, it seems in line with the games I've played (SMT experts can correct me if I'm wrong), you explore as long as you have EP, when you run out, you go back to the "base" to replenish and then go back to exploring, you have Traport for that in this game. But I can understand why it could be frustrating, reminds me of the weight system in other games. Agreed for Expel/Death, but these are much rarer elements usually in SMT games so it's normal I think ? Plus, most of them are status ailment spells so... can't be used to start Session if you could anyway. - You're missing some other "notable" mirages, but apart from being named, they aren't really that special sadly, I suppose you can count that as a bad point for the game. Jagen, Ogma, Palla, Dolph, Gordin, Linde, Macellan, and probably some others I've forgotten. Plus the last 2 bosses, I'm not naming them since you didn't want to mention them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elieson Posted January 28, 2016 Share Posted January 28, 2016 Is there a NG+ or alternate endings? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avk Posted January 28, 2016 Share Posted January 28, 2016 Is there a NG+ or alternate endings? I think this answers the first question ? It also gives very juicy incentive for players to continue playing. You get to inherit your level, money, consumable items and more between playthroughs, although this is disallowed on Lunatic (unlockable difficulty). I don't think there are any alternate endings, but nocturnal YL can probably answer this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nocturnal YL Posted January 28, 2016 Author Share Posted January 28, 2016 (edited) Thanks for the impression ! It seems in line with the others I've read, but it's nice to see a review from someone on Serenes. If you don't mind, I'll be listing your review in the other thread I'm doing. I haven't played the game but, some comments/precisions : - SMT knowledge is quite easy to grasp after a few moments imo, the names of the spell are special, but you always have the description and the element icon so it probably should not be too difficult to get used to. - FE knowledge doesn't seem necessary at all, but most streamers I've seen didn't seem to pay attention to the class and weapons the enemies have, which is an easy indicator of weaknesses. That's pretty much it for the gameplay part, the nods and references are nice for the rest of the game imo. - I don't know for all Atlus games, but in the recent Persona games, you can also wander around after finishing the last boss, to see how things have turned out, it's their version of an epilogue I suppose. - For the EP items, it seems in line with the games I've played (SMT experts can correct me if I'm wrong), you explore as long as you have EP, when you run out, you go back to the "base" to replenish and then go back to exploring, you have Traport for that in this game. But I can understand why it could be frustrating, reminds me of the weight system in other games. Agreed for Expel/Death, but these are much rarer elements usually in SMT games so it's normal I think ? Plus, most of them are status ailment spells so... can't be used to start Session if you could anyway. - You're missing some other "notable" mirages, but apart from being named, they aren't really that special sadly, I suppose you can count that as a bad point for the game. Jagen, Ogma, Palla, Dolph, Gordin, Linde, Macellan, and probably some others I've forgotten. Plus the last 2 bosses, I'm not naming them since you didn't want to mention them. - Yeah, the naming pattern of the spells can be easily worked out without prior knowledge. - You can easily learn the weapon triangle and weapon effectiveness anyway. Sometimes knowledge in the wrong FE can work against you too; just try attacking a wyvernback unit with a sword. - I haven't played anything from Atlus prior to this, but most non-Atlus RPGs I've tried don't have interactive elements after the final battle. - I didn't name those mirages because [spoiler=]they fall flatly under Chapter 6 (the final regular chapter), just not the final dungeon. It's not really a huge spoiler without context, though. Is there a NG+ or alternate endings? Yes. There's a so-called true ending, and you simply earn it by completing all side stories and talking to all Fortuna members in the Epilogue. You can inherit certain elements after beating the game once (so yeah, New Game+): Optional - Level - Money, items, accessories - Carnage (weapons) - Stage rank and skills - Map (the auto-reveal status of the Wii U GamePad map) Automatic - Posters - Clothings - Shop lineup - Arena rank (but not the coins) - Play records (challenges) and awards - Analysis (enemy info log) You can pick any number of the Optional elements to inherit (except if you start a Lunatic playthrough), but the Automatic stuff will always be inherited (including Lunatic). You cannot switch to or from Lunatic mid-game. Edited January 28, 2016 by nocturnal YL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michelaar Posted January 28, 2016 Share Posted January 28, 2016 Isn't Lon'qu in this game? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phoenix_Kensai Posted January 28, 2016 Share Posted January 28, 2016 Have you played Lunatic? I'm curious how the difficulty is, and how it compares to a standard playthrough. I've never played a Shin Megami Tensei game myself, but I have gotten the impression they can be pretty hard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MCProductions Posted January 28, 2016 Share Posted January 28, 2016 For Tiki fans this is a must buy huh. Subtly glances at Awakening savefile with Tiki married. Glances at phone with a lot of Tiki fanart saved on it. Yeah, I guess I qualify I was actually planning on buying this game because of Tiki and curiosity, mostly Tiki, so it's nice to know the game treats her well. If only she was playable, grumble grumble Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
solrocknroll Posted January 28, 2016 Share Posted January 28, 2016 How do spell names work? We talkin' Zio up to Maziodyne style or Zio to like Thoron style? basically how's the names are they Atlus or FE Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crimson Red Posted January 29, 2016 Share Posted January 29, 2016 How do spell names work? We talkin' Zio up to Maziodyne style or Zio to like Thoron style? basically how's the names are they Atlus or FE ATLUS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nocturnal YL Posted January 29, 2016 Author Share Posted January 29, 2016 (edited) Isn't Lon'qu in this game? He is in. You'll see him late in the game. Have you played Lunatic? I'm curious how the difficulty is, and how it compares to a standard playthrough. I've never played a Shin Megami Tensei game myself, but I have gotten the impression they can be pretty hard. No, and I'm a bit afraid to, since there's the possibility that I'll be stuck in the game. Maybe I'll just try the prologue and get a general impression. Haven't tried Hard, but Normal is quite easy except the sudden difficulty spike in the Excellus fight. (Battles after that are still easy.) How do spell names work? We talkin' Zio up to Maziodyne style or Zio to like Thoron style? basically how's the names are they Atlus or FE Command skills use the Zio --> Ziodyne scheme. Session skills use FE names like Thunder --> Elthunder. There are only two levels of session skills, so you won't see Arctunder or Thoron. (EDIT: Thoron is available as a command skill, but not as a Session skill. Similarly, Fimbulvetr and Excalibur are available too. Those are one level above Ziodyne, Bufudyne and Zandyne.) Expel and Death are exception to this. You'll see command magic named Mir (dark) and Resire (light). Edited January 30, 2016 by nocturnal YL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phoenix_Kensai Posted January 29, 2016 Share Posted January 29, 2016 No, and I'm a bit afraid to, since there's the possibility that I'll be stuck in the game. Maybe I'll just try the prologue and get a general impression. Haven't tried Hard, but Normal is quite easy except the sudden difficulty spike in the Excellus fight. (Battles after that are still easy.) I see, thanks. Sounds like I ought to go with Hard, then, if I ever get to play it... I like my games like I like my women: challenging, but not to the point where enjoying the whole thing is a struggle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avk Posted January 29, 2016 Share Posted January 29, 2016 (edited) - Yeah, the naming pattern of the spells can be easily worked out without prior knowledge. - You can easily learn the weapon triangle and weapon effectiveness anyway. Sometimes knowledge in the wrong FE can work against you too; just try attacking a wyvernback unit with a sword. - I haven't played anything from Atlus prior to this, but most non-Atlus RPGs I've tried don't have interactive elements after the final battle. - I didn't name those mirages because [spoiler=]they fall flatly under Chapter 6 (the final regular chapter), just not the final dungeon. It's not really a huge spoiler without context, though. Well, you have to look at the class AND the weapon, iirc, all Dragonknights use spears in this game (I think people will remember after getting Javelin Rain'd by the Wild Encounters Dragonknights) but you can still guess that it will be weak to Force/Wind and Bows, the mirages changing weapons are mostly the cavaliers and paladins. It's all about being observant, at least that's what I thought when I watched streams and videos. And yeah. I think they could have done better than just name dropping for the mirages, but well, I personally don't think it's that important. For Tiki fans this is a must buy huh. Subtly glances at Awakening savefile with Tiki married. Glances at phone with a lot of Tiki fanart saved on it. Yeah, I guess I qualify I was actually planning on buying this game because of Tiki and curiosity, mostly Tiki, so it's nice to know the game treats her well. If only she was playable, grumble grumble Well, since you are mentioning Awakening, Tiki in the game is the younger version from Marth's games, I suppose you are already aware, but just to make sure. How do spell names work? We talkin' Zio up to Maziodyne style or Zio to like Thoron style? basically how's the names are they Atlus or FE If you are not afraid of slight spoilers (I don't think it's too spoilery), I've tried to list all spells in the game here. There are some FE spells/skills like Horseslayer, Thoron, Nosferatu, but it's mostly SMT spells, Skewer, Myriad Arrows, Ma-dyne, -kaja, -kunda, etc... Most of the Session spells are named after FE spells though, like Wind, Elwind, Thunder, Elthunder... I see, thanks. Sounds like I ought to go with Hard, then, if I ever get to play it... I like my games like I like my women: challenging, but not to the point where enjoying the whole thing is a struggle. Most of the earliest streamers where struggling even in Normal mode, but imo, they weren't playing too well. If you get the game mechanics, the game should be fine in Normal. It's still doable in Hard, but it may requires you to grind at some points. I should remind that I haven't played the game but I watched several hours of gameplay (pretty much multiple playthroughs from the beginning to the end), so take that as you will. Edited January 29, 2016 by Avk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MCProductions Posted January 29, 2016 Share Posted January 29, 2016 Well, since you are mentioning Awakening, Tiki in the game is the younger version from Marth's games, I suppose you are already aware, but just to make sure. . Rest assured, I already knew about this. I just happen to be a rather big fan of young Tiki too. Tho I do prefer Awakening Tiki Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nocturnal YL Posted January 30, 2016 Author Share Posted January 30, 2016 Have you played Lunatic? I'm curious how the difficulty is, and how it compares to a standard playthrough. I've never played a Shin Megami Tensei game myself, but I have gotten the impression they can be pretty hard. Okay, so I did try Lunatic for a bit (up to the middle of Chapter 1 with my party at level 9), and I think it shouldn't be too difficult if you have already finished the game once (which has to be the case, since Lunatic is only available from the second playthrough onwards). If you think you really can't fight on in the later parts of the game, you can gather experience-granting items in the 4th dungeon. Those are very rare, though. Or you can just buy the DLC and collect those items like crazy, although that will take the challenge away from regular battles. I think Lunatic should be beatable. Comparing across genres doesn't make much sense, but Lunatic here requires less thinking than Nohr Lunatic in FE Fates. And now that I've started my second playthrough (I think I'll continue with that Lunatic playthrough, after all), here's a more complete list of what gets transferred or unlocked between playthroughs, not counting the optional transfers (since you don't get them in Lunatic): Enemy information (You no longer have to guess the enemies' weak points) Carnage and Radiant Unity information (the game will show the names and required Performa of the skills you have obtained in the last playthrough, but you still have to earn the Performa from the beginning) Carnage upgrade is available from the start instead of having to wait until after Chapter 4 Play record (challenges) and awards (trophies you get from completing certain categories of challenges) Outfits and posters Play time, and an indication on your save file that says "2nd playthrough" Two new requests that require levels 60~99 (so that if you transfer your level, you'll still find new challenges) The Legendary difficulty in the Arena (contains levels 70~99 enemies) Movie viewer (11 main story cutscenes, 11 side story cutscenes) I also heard that in the 3rd playthrough, a double experience mode can be unlocked, but I'm not anywhere close to being there Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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