General JRPG Topic

[JSND Alter Dragon Boner]

TFW a nuclear bomb tier news just hit EOX

Localization when

[Interdimensional Observer]

3 hours ago, JSND Alter Dragon Boner said:

TFW a nuclear bomb tier news just hit EOX

Localization when

No links? 

You mean this news about all old class illustrations being available as DLC in the game? And that it'll be free, but only for a month after the game releases?

Let me do the math, starting with a list:

Spoiler

Missing classes:

1. Hexer
2. Troubadour
3. Dark Hunter
4. Alchemist
5. Landsknecht (EO1-2 versions, might be sold separately)
6. Beast
7. Yggdroid
8. Wildling
9. Hoplite
10. Gladiator
11. Monk
12. Arbalist
13. Buccaneer
14. Bushi
15. Medic (EO4 version, possibly EO2 as well)
16. Runemaster
17. Dancer
18. Sniper
19. Fortress
20. Botanist
21. Shaman
22. Masurao
23. Rover
24. Necromancer
25. Warlock
26. Dragoon
27. Fencer
28. Maybe they'd also sell the Story Mode teams of the Untolds?

For the sake of having a round number, and factoring in that they might sell the Medic's and others' artworks from each game separately, we say say 30 individual pieces of DLC. At the stated 100 yen each, that would translate into ~$27 USD. 

This means if you're into cosmetic DLC, even when you factor in Atlus's love for sales (which I doubt EOX would get coming at the end of the 3DS's life), it is still a better deal to buy the game at full price. I like the cosmetics, so I think I will go full price.

And thinking on what I could do with some of the old class artwork, maybe I could use artwork Hoplite with a Highlander!Protector, or should the classes be swapped? 

[JSND Alter Dragon Boner]

5 minutes ago, Interdimensional Observer said:

No links? 

You mean this news about all old class illustrations being available as DLC in the game? And that it'll be free, but only for a month after the game releases?

Let me do the math, starting with a list:

  Hide contents

Missing classes:

1. Hexer
2. Troubadour
3. Dark Hunter
4. Alchemist
5. Landsknecht (EO1-2 versions, might be sold separately)
6. Beast
7. Yggdroid
8. Wildling
9. Hoplite
10. Gladiator
11. Monk
12. Arbalist
13. Buccaneer
14. Bushi
15. Medic (EO4 version, possibly EO2 as well)
16. Runemaster
17. Dancer
18. Sniper
19. Fortress
20. Botanist
21. Shaman
22. Masurao
23. Rover
24. Necromancer
25. Warlock
26. Dragoon
27. Fencer
28. Maybe they'd also sell the Story Mode teams of the Untolds?

For the sake of having a round number, and factoring in that they might sell the Medic's and others' artworks from each game separately, we say say 30 individual pieces of DLC. At the stated 100 yen each, that would translate into ~$27 USD. 

This means if you're into cosmetic DLC, even when you factor in Atlus's love for sales (which I doubt EOX would get coming at the end of the 3DS's life), it is still a better deal to buy the game at full price. I like the cosmetics, so I think I will go full price.

And thinking on what I could do with some of the old class artwork, maybe I could use artwork Hoplite with a Highlander!Protector, or should the classes be swapped? 

being able to use Old Man Dragoon again is like super hype lol

[DragonFlames]

Soo... I've been playing a lot of Radiant Historia: Perfect Chronology and I have to say... aside from the story and the characters, which are both pretty fantastic, the game itself really isn't all that great. The combat gets pretty dull after a while and the fact that you are sometimes given no clue at all as to what to do to complete or even GET certain sidequests - IMPORTANT sidequests that you absolutely HAVE to complete to get the best ending at that - was the straw that breaks the poor camel's back. I'm currently on Chapter 4, already locked myself out of an important quest, and I will probably get back into it someday, but for now, I really can't motivate myself to do it. And I'm really sad about it, too, because, as stated before, the story and characters are really, really well done. Heck, even some side characters are pretty interesting.

I REALLY enjoy SMT: Strange Journey Redux, though.

Edited May 25, 2018 by DragonFlames

[Tamanoir]

10 minutes ago, DragonFlames said:

Soo... I've been playing a lot of Radiant Historia: Perfect Chronology and I have to say... aside from the story and the characters, which are both pretty fantastic, the game itself really isn't all that great. The combat gets pretty dull after a while and the fact that you are sometimes given no clue at all as to what to do to complete or even GET certain sidequests - IMPORTANT sidequests that you absolutely HAVE to complete to get the best ending at that - was the straw that breaks the poor camel's back. I'm currently on Chapter 4, already locked myself out of an important quest, and I will probably get back into it someday, but for now, I really can't motivate myself to do it. And I'm really sad about it, too, because, as stated before, the story and characters are really, really well done. Heck, even some side characters are pretty interesting.

I REALLY enjoy SMT: Strange Journey Redux, though.

Playing on Easy Mode really adds quality of life. You can just automatically get rid of all the random encounters, which avoid you to concentrate on the good thing.

And I also hope you did chose to play the Complete version immediately. Because otherwise, you'll have to play it all beofre getting the final ending. And I can imagine it geting quickly boring.

I had to use a guide both time tbh (I played the original a while ago, and the remake recently.)

[DragonFlames]

5 hours ago, Tamanoir said:

Playing on Easy Mode really adds quality of life. You can just automatically get rid of all the random encounters, which avoid you to concentrate on the good thing.

And I also hope you did chose to play the Complete version immediately. Because otherwise, you'll have to play it all beofre getting the final ending. And I can imagine it geting quickly boring.

I had to use a guide both time tbh (I played the original a while ago, and the remake recently.)

I think I'll have to use one, too, sadly. For first playthroughs, I usually like to do it without any kind of guide and see what I can come up with. For example, I got the Neutral Route in SMT IV without one on my first playthrough, which I am rather proud of.

[Armagon]

1 hour ago, DragonFlames said:

For first playthroughs, I usually like to do it without any kind of guide and see what I can come up with.

I'm the same way, when it comes to the main story anyway. When it comes to sidequests, i don't mind looking up a guide (though i do mind when the sidequests are vague as shit and a guide is your only chance *cough* Xenoblade 1 *cough*)

 

_____

Speaking of sidequests, to spark more discussion is this thread, what are some of your favorite and least favorite sidequests.

One of my favorite sidequests is actually a chain of sidequests in Xenoblade Chronicles 2 called "We Meet Again", followed by "Insurgent Investigations", then "Farewell, Good Friend" and finally, "Bana's Revenge" The chain starts out normal enough. A simple fetch quest. But then it becomes a murder mystery and the chain ends with you toppling a political terrorist organization.

In Trails in the Sky SC, the sidequest that really stood out to me was in Ch.8 where

Spoiler

the Jaeger Corps take over the Jenis Royal Academy and you have to liberate it. It ends with you fighting Gilbert, who still shows up in Sky 3rd, despite having no relevance to the plot. But the reason i liked that sidequest was because it was directly affected by what was going on in the main story.

Then this next one's odd but there was a website that allowed you to create your own sidequests for Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time/Darkness/Sky and i had so much fun with that and i totally didn't use it to get all of the Legendaries, no sir. I totally did.

 

But as for my least favorites, there's one in Xenoblade 2 called "Bearing her Soul" which, narratively, is fine. But gameplay-wise, oh boy. It's just Merc Mission after Merc Mission after Merc Mission. It's by far, the longest amount of time i've spent in any sidequest ever. The only good part of it, aside from the narrative, is that it's useful for filling out the Affinity Charts of Blades. I also had not a good time with Xenoblade 1's sidequests because they're all vague as shit and fuck going through Valak Mountain trying to find two Ice Cabbages. It took me 6 hours to find one.

The sidequests in 7th Dragon III: Code VFD aren't that great either. Mainly because i did them all but i remember nothing about them, even though i still remember the story.

Edited May 25, 2018 by Armagon

[Interdimensional Observer]

7 hours ago, DragonFlames said:

Soo... I've been playing a lot of Radiant Historia: Perfect Chronology and I have to say... aside from the story and the characters, which are both pretty fantastic, the game itself really isn't all that great. The combat gets pretty dull after a while and the fact that you are sometimes given no clue at all as to what to do to complete or even GET certain sidequests - IMPORTANT sidequests that you absolutely HAVE to complete to get the best ending at that - was the straw that breaks the poor camel's back. I'm currently on Chapter 4, already locked myself out of an important quest, and I will probably get back into it someday, but for now, I really can't motivate myself to do it. And I'm really sad about it, too, because, as stated before, the story and characters are really, really well done. Heck, even some side characters are pretty interesting.

I only played the original DS version, but yes, the combat is a bit too traditional and plain, it was definitely a weaker spot of the game. Once Eruca got... I think it was called Burst Light, I could use that to wipe out entire battles of weaklings all at once. As for sidequests, well the original doesn't have the extra good ending, and I don't know if you're stumbling on the quests for that, or only those for the better version of the original ending. I don't recall exactly how obscure the sidequests for that one were, but I think I did it mostly without any form of guide, I think I did use one for the Raynie confession sidequest, and probably also the paint one now that I remember it.

Which reminds me, I'm not exactly fond of the artistic redesign for Perfect Chronology. Marco I'll admit got better, but the rest of the main crew, at best they remain comparable, at worse, Eruca. She went from a blonde curly short-haired girl, very unusual in anime, to a generic long-haired one. You can her old style made her look like a grandma, but at least it was distinctive.

Gameplay-wise, the extra content does from a distance appear to add some good filler, and difficulties are always appreciated.

By the way, whats your opinion on the soundtrack?

[Tamanoir]

1 hour ago, Interdimensional Observer said:

I only played the original DS version, but yes, the combat is a bit too traditional and plain, it was definitely a weaker spot of the game. Once Eruca got... I think it was called Burst Light, I could use that to wipe out entire battles of weaklings all at once. As for sidequests, well the original doesn't have the extra good ending, and I don't know if you're stumbling on the quests for that, or only those for the better version of the original ending. I don't recall exactly how obscure the sidequests for that one were, but I think I did it mostly without any form of guide, I think I did use one for the Raynie confession sidequest, and probably also the paint one now that I remember it.

Which reminds me, I'm not exactly fond of the artistic redesign for Perfect Chronology. Marco I'll admit got better, but the rest of the main crew, at best they remain comparable, at worse, Eruca. She went from a blonde curly short-haired girl, very unusual in anime, to a generic long-haired one. You can her old style made her look like a grandma, but at least it was distinctive.

Gameplay-wise, the extra content does from a distance appear to add some good filler, and difficulties are always appreciated.

By the way, whats your opinion on the soundtrack?

SOmeone had a Long Hair Fetish on the team, that's the only explanation for Eruca's redesign. (there's actually a redesign of her with Short hair by the same artist. ) Because it's not only her wo is redesigned, but the text details her long, flowing hair at many point as well.
It's pretty wierd honestly.

The extra content is interresting because while it only adds things to the story, it actually modifies greatly some characters greatly, and as such makes the whole story more... optimistic. The redesign actually fit this new narrative quite well, even if we really lose a lot of originality (and that's something quite important for me in general.) There's alsp Marco's crazy look in one of the bad ending that was quite disturbing.

Obviously there's the new "true ending"

Spoiler

Stocke returns and he will leave happily ever after with Rayne, among other things

But also some other major charcters, most notably Hugo :

Spoiler

First of all, you encounter Noah in this game. And he's actually a pretty good game. Havig him as a real character changes lots of things. Noah wasn't a character in the original, just a puppet, a myth. Humanizing him (litterally) does gives a different aspect to the game.
Hugo is alos one of the character you can save from his death. And he reveals that Noah was actually still alive this whole time, he have a revelation and leaves with Noah on his own journey.

As you can see, it's a pretty different narrative that is presented here.

It's really interesting to analyze actually. That's a refllection on story telling I never really had before.

[DragonFlames]

22 hours ago, Interdimensional Observer said:

I only played the original DS version, but yes, the combat is a bit too traditional and plain, it was definitely a weaker spot of the game. Once Eruca got... I think it was called Burst Light, I could use that to wipe out entire battles of weaklings all at once. As for sidequests, well the original doesn't have the extra good ending, and I don't know if you're stumbling on the quests for that, or only those for the better version of the original ending. I don't recall exactly how obscure the sidequests for that one were, but I think I did it mostly without any form of guide, I think I did use one for the Raynie confession sidequest, and probably also the paint one now that I remember it.

Which reminds me, I'm not exactly fond of the artistic redesign for Perfect Chronology. Marco I'll admit got better, but the rest of the main crew, at best they remain comparable, at worse, Eruca. She went from a blonde curly short-haired girl, very unusual in anime, to a generic long-haired one. You can her old style made her look like a grandma, but at least it was distinctive.

Gameplay-wise, the extra content does from a distance appear to add some good filler, and difficulties are always appreciated.

By the way, whats your opinion on the soundtrack?

When I read about that one by accident (I wanted to look up another quest), I realized I had already screwed up on at least one occasion and I am not sure if you can go back and rectify your mistake or not.

I'm fine with Eruca's design, personally. I think it looks really pretty.

Though they weren't exactly trying to hide that Stocke is in fact her brother Ernst, did they? That's what I'm guessing, at least, from the way they interacted.

The soundtrack is pretty darn fantastic. As expected from an Atlus game.

[Tamanoir]

7 hours ago, DragonFlames said:

When I read about that one by accident (I wanted to look up another quest), I realized I had already screwed up on at least one occasion and I am not sure if you can go back and rectify your mistake or not.

I'm fine with Eruca's design, personally. I think it looks really pretty.

  Reveal hidden contents

Though they weren't exactly trying to hide that Stocke is in fact her brother Ernst, did they? That's what I'm guessing, at least, from the way they interacted.

 

The soundtrack is pretty darn fantastic. As expected from an Atlus game.

You can rectify any mistakes. That's the main point of the game, after all.
However, sometimes, it can take a while.

[Zapp Branniglenn]

Interesting if true. I'm not a Tales guy but I know a lot of people missed out on this one since the PS3 version was never localized.

[DragonFlames]

40 minutes ago, Glennstavos said:

Interesting if true. I'm not a Tales guy but I know a lot of people missed out on this one since the PS3 version was never localized.

I had the XBox 360 version and loved it. I would love a PS4 remaster with the PS3 content added in.
I now have "Ring a Bell" stuck in my head. Thanks, Tales of Vesperia...

On a slightly different note, I have bought The Alliance Alive and I love the game, but... the Chapter 25 boss can go suck a big one. I've tried him 5 times now and each time he just insta-kills me with his stupidly OP AOE move. He can also shrug off 6 Final Strikes worth ~1,2k damage with ease. What the hell, game? What the actual hell?

[Armagon]

So anyone who's played Vesperia, how's the gameplay like? I'm trying to find that one Tales game where the gameplay finally clicks with me, because that sure didn't happen with Phantasia and Abyss. It kinda happened with Zestiria but i only played like an hour of it and i hear the gameplay gets worse as the game goes on.

[Modamy]

6 minutes ago, Armagon said:

So anyone who's played Vesperia, how's the gameplay like? I'm trying to find that one Tales game where the gameplay finally clicks with me, because that sure didn't happen with Phantasia and Abyss. It kinda happened with Zestiria but i only played like an hour of it and i hear the gameplay gets worse as the game goes on.

It's been a while since I played Vesperia, but I remember the gameplay being really solid and not too bloated by mechanics like some Action RPGs can be. It might not be your thing since you didn't like Abyss, but Vesperia is basically a more polished version of Abyss' gameplay without the elemental circles.

[Armagon]

2 minutes ago, Modamy said:

It's been a while since I played Vesperia, but I remember the gameplay being really solid and not too bloated by mechanics like some Action RPGs can be. It might not be your thing since you didn't like Abyss, but Vesperia is basically a more polished version of Abyss' gameplay without the elemental circles.

Ah, so the combat is still 2.5D like Abyss was then? Or is it the general same mechanics as Abyss but in 3D? If it's the latter, i probably have a higher chance of enjoying it (part of the reason why i don't really enjoy Phantasia and Abyss is because i feel that the combat being limited to a 2D plane just doesn't work right).

Though i wouldn't pay full price for the remaster. I'd likely wait for a sale/price drop or hopefully a demo comes out.

[Modamy]

5 minutes ago, Armagon said:

Ah, so the combat is still 2.5D like Abyss was then? Or is it the general same mechanics as Abyss but in 3D? If it's the latter, i probably have a higher chance of enjoying it (part of the reason why i don't really enjoy Phantasia and Abyss is because i feel that the combat being limited to a 2D plane just doesn't work right).

Though i wouldn't pay full price for the remaster. I'd likely wait for a sale/price drop or hopefully a demo comes out.

Yeah, Vesperia used the linear motion battle system, but you could free run and considering Zestiria allowed the player to make free run the default I wouldn't be surprised if the remaster added that as well. Vesperia just feels smoother than Abyss with a lot more combo potential, although your mileage may vary depending on which characters your playing as. Several of Vesperia's characters use two different weapon types and their attack speed and damage and I believe some of their artes change depending on the weapon.

Also if Phantasia is your only experience with fully 2D games in the series I would recomend trying Tales of Eternia (or Tales of Destiny 2 stateside (even though there is an actual Destiny 2)). While I think the cast in Eternia is the weakest in the series, the gameplay is really fast paced and evident that the 2D games after Phantasia and Destiny 1 just got way better.

[Soledai]

You literally can't do worse than Tales of Destiny 1 in terms of 2D. Even snes Phantasia plays better.

Speaking of, the best 2D tales w/o language barrier if you need to know, are Tales of Phantasia X and Destiny remake, otherwise yeah, I agree with Eternia

Also as for the topic, ToV remaster is cool, but I already have the PS3 version at my disposal......

[Armagon]

35 minutes ago, Soledai said:

Speaking of, the best 2D tales w/o language barrier if you need to know, are Tales of Phantasia X and Destiny remake, otherwise yeah, I agree with Eternia

36 minutes ago, Soledai said:

Tales of Phantasia X

That's Japan-only. Not that it matters if it has an English patch though.

I'm guessing Phantasia X is the definitive version of the game?

 

[Modamy]

33 minutes ago, Armagon said:

That's Japan-only. Not that it matters if it has an English patch though.

I'm guessing Phantasia X is the definitive version of the game?

 

Phantasia X is the definitive version with a much updated battle system, but there is only an english menu patch. It seems like most fan translators of the Japanese only Tales games called it quits.

[eclipse]

3 hours ago, Armagon said:

So anyone who's played Vesperia, how's the gameplay like? I'm trying to find that one Tales game where the gameplay finally clicks with me, because that sure didn't happen with Phantasia and Abyss. It kinda happened with Zestiria but i only played like an hour of it and i hear the gameplay gets worse as the game goes on.

Check out Berseria.  None of that armitization nonsense, either.

---

ABOUT DAMN TIME TALES OF VESPERIA CAME TO MY PS4!  I've heard good things about it.  I want to play it.

[Soledai]

2 hours ago, Armagon said:

That's Japan-only. Not that it matters if it has an English patch though.

I'm guessing Phantasia X is the definitive version of the game?

Blame mobile amigo

anywho, yes. it's also got a "job system" for the two original characters and it's... Interesting

[illegal knight]

...phew... so many interesting JRPG lately despise their own flaws and weakness. Made me almost forgot that I'm still waiting the next "arrival" of the True Runes. Now about 20 from 27 True Runes has been appeared so far....

[Rapier]

15 hours ago, Armagon said:

So anyone who's played Vesperia, how's the gameplay like? I'm trying to find that one Tales game where the gameplay finally clicks with me, because that sure didn't happen with Phantasia and Abyss. It kinda happened with Zestiria but i only played like an hour of it and i hear the gameplay gets worse as the game goes on.

Phantasia and Eternia feel very different from the "modern" Tales of games. Back then the series disappointed me because I expected a truly free control over chars and gameplay similar to Summon Night 2, but instead it meant I could press a buttom and have a character run and stab someone automatically. I wasn't amused.

Until I played Tales of Hearts (japanese exclusive only) and Dawn of the New World, that is, and its action packed gameplay really got me into it.

[Modamy]

21 minutes ago, Rapier said:

Phantasia and Eternia feel very different from the "modern" Tales of games. Back then the series disappointed me because I expected a truly free control over chars and gameplay similar to Summon Night 2, but instead it meant I could press a buttom and have a character run and stab someone automatically. I wasn't amused.

Until I played Tales of Hearts (japanese exclusive only) and Dawn of the New World, that is, and its action packed gameplay really got me into it.

I’ve always despised the semi auto mode of all the tales games and turn it off the first moment I’m able. Phantasmagoric and Destiny were special in the series for the fact that they didn’t let you turn it off right away. You had to find a freaking manual item to turn it off. In Destiny it was a key item, but in Phantasia it was something you had to equip on the character you were playing as. And don’t even get me started on the fact I’m the gba game it was only obtainable from only side quest in the game just before the final dungeon. 

Seriously all the work to unlock that side quest just to unlock a basic gameplay mechanic.