NA PSN Sale - Fantasy Flash Sale (Goes Live 6/26 or 6/27 - Ends 6/29)

Sword Art Online is...well I really don't know.

I put 15+ hours into it and it felt like nothing happened. Characters kept getting introduced, there were all these scenes, and the plot was just ?????????? The bulk of my play-time was spent in an apparently entirely optional area. I didn't even discover the area I was supposed to go to until the 13 hour mark.

The combat is interesting, sort-of action-MMORPG. I say sort-of because it's not really free. You can't just run around and dodge everything, you have to properly use your skills and evade at the right moments.

The cast is just the worst. So many girls and all they do is fawn over the main character. It's to the point where I'd get disgusted. Sometimes I just want to be left alone so I can figure out what I'm supposed to do, but dozens of things are happening and all the waifus (and an actual virtual wife?? and a kid?!?!?!?) are hassling me.

The story of the game is...not the strongest part of the package; the large world and interesting combat mechanics are why many like myself really enjoyed the game :).

Regarding the story, look at the following:
-Takes place in a VR MMO, but the characters cannot log out due to that feature being locked out by the creator.
-Leads to everyone going into a panic, but coming to the realization that they need to beat the game to be free (which is 100 Floors of dungeons).
-Main character Kirtio was a beta tester for the game before its launch, so he is skilled with its systems
-He meets his harl....I mean, cast of female friends across the anime
-Gets close to a female player named Asuna and they become 'married' in-game.
-Their 'daughter' is a AI program that they encountered in one of the anime's episodes, who they took in as their 'real' kid
-Final battle in the anime was in Floor 75 and in the anime, after the fight with the creator of the game, it ended, with everyone going free
-This game (Hallow Fragment) takes place in an different reality, where the game DOESN'T end, it just goes on and glitches out
-The cast of the anime have to deal with this and continue through the floors until they beat the final boss on Floor 100
-Character introductions are very clouded, so I will explain them here: Sinon was bought to the world due to a glitch during VR therapy. Leafa (Sugu) was brought to the game on her own will; used a friends NerveGear (the things they use to play SAO) and loged in to see her brother/cousin. Strea is a 'new' player in the game world but is a AI program similar to Kirtio's daughter; originally a mental-health montaring program in the game but was brought out with the other players after the 'glitch'. Philla is a player affected by the 'glitch', who after 'killing' another player, is locked in the Hallow Area (the first playable area in the game you see) and you work with her to fine a way out for her
-Everyone knows Kirto is married to Asuna but they don't care because they all want him :l. Hey, the game creators couldn't fix everything from the anime XD.

Hope this clears things up for you as outside of the story, the core game is very solid.
 
Am I able to transfer content from PS4 to Vita (let's say if I want to get Valkyria Chronicles 2), or do I have to hook my PS3 back up?
 
Am I able to transfer content from PS4 to Vita (let's say if I want to get Valkyria Chronicles 2), or do I have to hook my PS3 back up?

You can only transfer data from PS3 to Vita, not from PS4 to Vita. Surprised Sony didn't do this yet, but the PS4 store cannot download content from PS3/Vita yet :l.
 
The story of the game is...not the strongest part of the package; the large world and interesting combat mechanics are why many like myself really enjoyed the game :).

Hope this clears things up for you as outside of the story, the core game is very solid.
Thanks for the write-up.
 
Thanks for the write-up.

No problem :). The story is.....very confusion at first due to the game expecting you to watch both S1 and S2 of the anime, but I hope my post helped somehow :).

A point I forgot to mention is this; the Hallow Area (the large open part of the game) and Alcard (Floors 75-100) are segregated in terms of game progression.

Hallow Area is the 'hard' part of the game, with high level foes roaming about and is the place you go to for strong gear, powerful swords and just level grinding. It also has its own story with Phila you need to complete in order to have her be part of your party/unlock events in Alicard.

Alicard is the 'normal' part of the game; you go into the fields, take on side quests from the quest NPC, and fight through the dungeon until you find the place's boss. After you do all of that, you pair up with a party member and you join a 'raid' to fight the boss. You gain bonuses if you land the last hit and if no one dies (as 'death' is a real death; you can't revive anyone. That is a huge reason why that is a big deal in the anime).

It's best to do them one at a time; get your footing in Alicard first in understanding the core combat systems/controls/party system. Then, go to the Hallow Area again (by the time your each say, Floor 80-82) then focus strictly on clearing the story for that while also exploring it to find powerful gear for the final stretches of that area.

My last suggestion is taking advantage of the multiplayer mode system, where you, a party member and four AI players can go into the Hallow Area and fight it out. The best part is that any EXP and Levels these AI players get, caries over to the single player mode. Fast way to level grind honestly XD.
 
Do you like the Neptunia games and idols?

I haven't played the game, but I would guess if the answer to both those things is yes, you'd probably like it.

Never played them. Mostly because there's too many of them.
 
Thinking of buying:

Tales of Hearts R
New little kings story

Got the bolded myself and I will share my thoughts on the tittle from an early post I made on it in the PSN Thread.

Put an hour into Tales of Hearts R and its good so far :).

The visuals are solid; nothing that amazing but they look very colorful and clean. And with the game being native res (I think so?) and running at a very smooth frame rate, the visuals work great for the game :D. Music wise, the game is good too, with the battle theme being cool.

Combat system here is great though; it feels a bit like Smash Bros. to me; you have the Up button the D-Pad to jump, the X button for basic attacks, O button for special attacks and you Square for blocking/dodging attacks. While it isn't exactly like Smash Bros., its close enough to it for me to really enjoy the combat system :). Once I fully grasp its mechanics, that should be the highlight of the game for me.

The leveling systems are also very interesting, as you have a lot of customization to play around with; you gain points when you level up (10+ points per level) and those points can be applied to one of five parts of your Spira (Heart). Each part covers a different thing and even you don't fully level a part, you still get something from each point you apply to it, leading to a lot of options for leveling up. You even get special gear if you do it well; I fully leveled to two parts, and they connected, leading to me gaining a very powerful sword for Kor (the main character) to use in combat.

The story is....generic, abet with some charm and personality thrown into the mix. Plot of 'main character fucks something up and goes on a quest to do things right' with a dash of 'parental figure dying at the beginning' and even the 'love interest' being shoved into the game not even 20 minutes in.

But that isn't a bad thing; with those 'core' things in place after the first half-hour, you can see the translator's efforts to make the game have character come though. Each character has there own little quarks and you do get a sense of growth. Even only an hour in, I'm starting to see that, so I'm interested to see what happens next :).

Overall, really glad I got this; great summer RPG to play through alongside VC2 (and I never played those types of games before....should be fun :)).

Hope this helps you out if you are interested :).
 
Got the bolded myself and I will share my thoughts on the tittle from an early post I made on it in the PSN Thread.



Hope this helps you out if you are interested :).

Thanks :) Im playing thu MGS2 HD atm (was $7) and hoped 3 would have a sale again >.>
I had a love/hate relationship with Symphonia for gamecube (grindinggg) but really want this game esp. for this price (I skipped the 3DS Tales game because it was imposable to get cheap in PAL land)
 
Thanks :) Im playing thu MGS2 HD atm (was $7) and hoped 3 would have a sale again >.>
I had a love/hate relationship with Symphonia for gamecube (grindinggg) but really want this game esp. for this price (I skipped the 3DS Tales game because it was imposable to get cheap in PAL land)

I got the MGS HD Collection for the Vita...man, a good two years ago (was part of a great JP Game sale on NA PSN) and only put a hour in both MGS 2 and MGS 3 :l....gotta go back to those.....

Never played Symphonia but I heard some good things about it :).

Glad you are looking forward to playing the game :D. It's my first 'Tales of' tittle, so I'm really happy with that being my 'first' jump into the series.
 
Which Neptunia games to play and in what order? I have them all but haven't started as I don't know which to play as there's remakes too I'm so confused dome are on Vita some on PS3 but not all on both... I have both consoles so dunno which ones which. There's dance singing ones too and other stuff to make it even more confusing.

Also same for Atelier series. I have these too on PS3 but there's plus versions and dunno which to play in what order, talk about making it as confusing as possible for the customer.
 
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Okay. Any other PSP/Vita title that's really worthwhile to get?

I already got SAO, Monpiece.

Is Fate: Extra a legit good game? A bit curious about the Fate series.
 
Got the bolded myself and I will share my thoughts on the tittle from an early post I made on it in the PSN Thread.

Hope this helps you out if you are interested :).

Thanks a lot for sharing your impression as this is what I look for with Tales games. Quirky casts, fun battle system and nice music score. I only got Tales of Hearts, but might get Game of Thrones if I enjoy the first chapter.

My vita back catalogue keeps growing and I vowed to never buy a game in a long time on Vita. I suppose I cannot keep my promises with these type of sales.
 
I'm really surprised that there's so little talk about Rack N Ruin, both in this thread and on GAF itself. It looks to me like A Link to the Past turned into a shmup, which is why I don't understand why there isn't a 1000+ reply thread about it based on concept and art alone.

Does it suck? Or is it just so far off the radar for gamers? Or is it the stupid name?
 
Which Neptunia games to play and in what order? I have them all but haven't started as I don't know which to play as there's remakes too I'm so confused dome are on Vita some on PS3 but not all on both... I have both consoles so dunno which ones which. There's dance singing ones too and other stuff to make it even more confusing.

Also same for Atelier series. I have these too on PS3 but there's plus versions and dunno which to play in what order, talk about making it as confusing as possible for the customer.

Re;Birth1, 2, and 3 (out next week) for the Vita are remakes of Neptunia 1, Mk2, and Victory respectively on PS3. The Re;Birth games are recommended over the PS3 games, especially Re;Birth1 over HDN1 because most people think that the original is garbage. I'd recommend against playing them back to back, as they are honestly kind of same-y.

For the spinoffs:
-Neptunia PP is a visual novel, not a rhythm game. I haven't played it.
-Hyperdevotion Noire is a strategy RPG. It's unfortunately pretty dull, and not very challenging even on the hardest difficulty.
-Neptunia U is a 3D beat em up. It's pretty good if you know what you're getting into.

The only shred of continuity between Neptunia games is between Mk2 and Victory, and it is minor enough that you can ignore it. Everything else is self-contained. (Nep U flat-out starts with a "This game is non-canon" disclaimer.)
 
Which Neptunia games to play and in what order? I have them all but haven't started as I don't know which to play as there's remakes too I'm so confused dome are on Vita some on PS3 but not all on both... I have both consoles so dunno which ones which. There's dance singing ones too and other stuff to make it even more confusing.

Also same for Atelier series. I have these too on PS3 but there's plus versions and dunno which to play in what order, talk about making it as confusing as possible for the customer.

Atelier: Plus versions are just enhanced Vita ports of the originals (except Rorona Plus, which is a larger overhaul and also available on PS3). The order goes like this:

Arland Trilogy: Rorona, Totori, Meruru
Dusk Trilogy: Ayesha, Escha & Logy, Shallie

Hyperdimension I'm less familiar with, but I think you can probably skip all the old ones and go straight to the Re;Birth series (Re;Birth 1, Re;Birth 2, Re;Birth 3). The latest game in the series is out only in Japan, so for now sticking to Re;Birth games is the easiest rule of thumb to follow.
 
Okay. Any other PSP/Vita title that's really worthwhile to get?

I already got SAO, Monpiece.

Is Fate: Extra a legit good game? A bit curious about the Fate series.

Tales of heart r. I already own it physically and am thinking of double dipping.

For old school fun, bonk and new adventure island. I just picked up the latter myself, I already own bonk.
 
Added a bunch of games to play on my new Vita:

Fate Extra
Soul Sacrifice
Valkyria Chronicles 2
Tales of Hearts R
Sword Art Online

Loving the Vita, should have bought one sooner.
 
Should I buy GoT, even though I won't have time to play it for months... Or do we think it will go on sale again in the future?
 
Okay. Any other PSP/Vita title that's really worthwhile to get?

I already got SAO, Monpiece.

Is Fate: Extra a legit good game? A bit curious about the Fate series.

The PS3 section has PSP games on sale, grab them if you like old school platformers.
 
Re;Birth1, 2, and 3 (out next week) for the Vita are remakes of Neptunia 1, Mk2, and Victory respectively on PS3. The Re;Birth games are recommended over the PS3 games, especially Re;Birth1 over HDN1 because most people think that the original is garbage. I'd recommend against playing them back to back, as they are honestly kind of same-y.

For the spinoffs:
-Neptunia PP is a visual novel, not a rhythm game. I haven't played it.
-Hyperdevotion Noire is a strategy RPG. It's unfortunately pretty dull, and not very challenging even on the hardest difficulty.
-Neptunia U is a 3D beat em up. It's pretty good if you know what you're getting into.

The only shred of continuity between Neptunia games is between Mk2 and Victory, and it is minor enough that you can ignore it. Everything else is self-contained. (Nep U flat-out starts with a "This game is non-canon" disclaimer.)

I held off buying vita neptunia because I heard the story for ps3 is different/better. For $6 I would still pick up the cost one even though I have it on ps3.
 
I held off buying vita neptunia because I heard the story for ps3 is different/better. For $6 I would still pick up the cost one even though I have it on ps3.

Everything is better in the Vita version of Rebirth 1. No one with a sane mind will get close to the PS3 version.
 
I'm really surprised that there's so little talk about Rack N Ruin, both in this thread and on GAF itself. It looks to me like A Link to the Past turned into a shmup, which is why I don't understand why there isn't a 1000+ reply thread about it based on concept and art alone.

Does it suck? Or is it just so far off the radar for gamers? Or is it the stupid name?

Yeah, Rack N Ruin looks pretty cool but there doesn't seem to be a ton of interest in it. There's some Youtube videos where it looks really cool, I'm semi-tempted to pick it up near the end of the weekend. The general consensus appears to be that it's a good game but that there's a fair amount of backtracking and it can be easy to get lost.
 
Picked up Game of Thrones, the two Tales of Xillias and Tales of Hearts R.

Vita is overstuffed with JRPGs I don't have time to play - one day it will be my retirement gaming stash.
 
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