PixyJunket
Member
Goodness, Yuterald, you're making many tingles happen.
Now all I can do is play the waiting game with Nintendo of America. For now.
Now all I can do is play the waiting game with Nintendo of America. For now.
Pandora's Tower |OT| - Black is Beautiful
- Thread starter Shiggy
- Start date
I hope NA gets this game. I would surely double dip if it makes it over here (which I'm sure it will). Gotta show my love and support for titles like these!
I don't know what your expectations were, but I wouldn't say that the gameplay is "nothing special". Sure, it's no Bayonetta, Devil May Cry, Ninja Gaiden, or even God of War, but it's certainly not without its merits. As I've mentioned in my previous post, if you've enjoyed games like Rygar and Castlevania on the PS2 then you will know what to expect and feel right at home. Even then, Pandora's Tower still provides some fresh and unique gameplay mechanics that I haven't really seen in many other action titles.
The kinds of things you can do with the chains in this game are pretty interesting too. You can bind enemies together and hamper their movement, some enemies don heavy armor which can be ripped off, and flying fiends can be bound to posts so they can't fly away, etc. You can also build tension with your chains to deal massive damage. There are certainly some cool ideas with the combat. Add ideas like this on top of light RPG elements and item/material crafting and there is definitely more than meets the eye.
So I'm also able to play this for a short while now. Just beat the first master and well, the combat feels a bit sluggish and confusing.
Right now, I feel a bit bad about buying this game, but let's see how it evolves. Watching the cutscenes almost made me vomit :/
One question: Helena is said to be not the only one being cursed. How can those people ever be "rescued" when she eats all the meat?
Right now, I feel a bit bad about buying this game, but let's see how it evolves. Watching the cutscenes almost made me vomit :/
One question: Helena is said to be not the only one being cursed. How can those people ever be "rescued" when she eats all the meat?
I think you misunderstood a cut scene. I'm pretty sure there have been people who have been cursed before. It's not that there are other cursed people alongside Elena at the moment. It's more like there have been cursed people in the past. Everything is explained very well throughout the game so keep playing if you are confused about certain things. The game world is INCREDIBLY thought out and detailed, by the way.
nincompoop
Banned
I played a little bit of this last night, just up to the first tower. I'll have to mess around with Dolphin to try and find a setup that works better (it stutters like crazy.) My first thoughts are
1) Way too many cutscenes (although they are very well-made.)
2) The basic plot setup seems like a complete ripoff of Shadow of the Colossus
3) The game is gorgeous and controls really well
1) Way too many cutscenes (although they are very well-made.)
2) The basic plot setup seems like a complete ripoff of Shadow of the Colossus
3) The game is gorgeous and controls really well
Ah thanks.
A different question: Are all the bosses boring waggle-fests?
And, the time limit is annoying. I thought you'd be set back to the milestones, now I need to do the entire tower again?!
I think it's also funny that even my mother (who really doesn't know anything about videogames) said that the game looks really bad. And there's not even a HD console in that household.
The bosses can only be damaged by the chain. There are story/plot reasons for this too. I actually really like how your standard weapons don't do damage to the Masters.
The time limit is not a big deal. They give you plenty of time to dig around and explore the towers. If you manager to rip 1 or 2 Servant Flesh (which I can't imagine anyone NOT doing) from a trip to a tower then you will never run into problems. Also, you don't have to explore the "entire tower again". There are ladders/doors all over the place that you can unlock which are shortcuts to higher floors, etc. The design of the towers is extremely well done so I don't know how you are finding problems with them.
Also, I don't think the game looks "bad" either. Sure, it's not the prettiest game on the Wii, but it certainly isn't embarrassing looking or anything like that. Dude, it sounds like you are really out to get this game. Did you make up your mind beforehand that you weren't going to like this game? It seems like you are giving it an awfully hard time.
HiddenAway
Member
I'm slowly getting into the game now. One thing for the early adopters though. (Regarding tower 1 - OCD related)
There's a chest within the first 4 rooms on the ground floor that is really high up and seems completely inaccessible with no hookable points in the room. If you've got this chest, can you give me a hint on how I can get to it? Does it become accessible later on in the game?
I just noticed that you can press C to deal more damage. It was a bit annoying before that.
I don't know. I was in the boss fight in tower 2 and then I ran out of time; and then I had to start from before the point of ever visiting that tower. I'd like to explore the tower in its entirety and thus took my time. I just didn't know that the boss fights were a point of no return.
I knew beforehand that it was looking kind of bad, especially with the FMV cutscenes that look really great. My expectations might've been a bit high after just having finished The Last Story. But well, those are my first impressions, not everyone will praise every game just because it's a Wii exclusive; there just wasn't much noteworthy in my first two hours with the game.
After replaying the second tower the gameplay does feel a bit better, especially when knowing that the boss fights aren't pure waggling
finally I got some free time and were able to finish tower 1 - 5. 1 and 2 weren't particularly unique or great, 3 was a step up, and 4 + 5 were really fun. I also like the crafting system. It's very basic, but at the same time offers much variety.
So far I've created a plate armor, and I think it's pretty good. Not sure about the weapons yet. I am not a fan of standard Items, so I plan on switching the sword at some point, but having it upgraded right from the start makes it a little bit hard to just ditch it :/
about the grafics: At first It looked really strange, but there is a certain elemt to it that I really like. The Observatorium with the scar in the background looks gorgeous, kinda brings me back to xenoblade, which is always nice.
That may sound strange to some, but I think it does look better than TLS. It's vibrant and colorfull and except for tower 1 and 2, it really looks distinct and not like tls's copy and paste caves.
moving on...
So far I've created a plate armor, and I think it's pretty good. Not sure about the weapons yet. I am not a fan of standard Items, so I plan on switching the sword at some point, but having it upgraded right from the start makes it a little bit hard to just ditch it :/
about the grafics: At first It looked really strange, but there is a certain elemt to it that I really like. The Observatorium with the scar in the background looks gorgeous, kinda brings me back to xenoblade, which is always nice.
That may sound strange to some, but I think it does look better than TLS. It's vibrant and colorfull and except for tower 1 and 2, it really looks distinct and not like tls's copy and paste caves.
moving on...
I just 100%'ed the game tonight! 50 some hours logged, everything seen and done! I don't know about the rest of you, but it's easily become my favorite game on the Wii. I made a Youtube video to showcase and detail my full completion of the game. I also share some impressions about the game. Enjoy!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pINg0E9a6vw&list=UUoZh1WkTS4MLixJ6oSYM3nw&index=1&feature=plcp
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pINg0E9a6vw&list=UUoZh1WkTS4MLixJ6oSYM3nw&index=1&feature=plcp
There are some very minor spoilers. I don't show any endings, bosses, or anything like that. I mainly discuss completion things, like what I would consider a complete save file.
The best way to grind for money is in the 11&12th Tower. There are these little henchman enemies that can drop Silver (common) and Gold coins (rare) which can be sold for 200 and 800, respectively. If they don't drop these two profitable items they instead will drop Heavy Coins which is usually worth about 70, on average.
Other than that after I crafted 1 of every piece of equipment/accessory (for completion and performance sake) I literally sold off my ENTIRE inventory of materials and items (sans some of the higher end healing items, like Ambrosia). I had more than enough money to purchase all of the gifts and anything else I need at that point. These two options are your best bets, there really isn't a super efficient way to make money though. 100%'ing the game definitely requires a bit of grinding.
can I still get those 100% stuff after I beat the last boss? because I really don't want to be spoiled at all, even minor stuff. I just completed tower 6 and even the first minute of your video spoiled something new to me -_-
I am gonna watch it after I beat the game.
btw: if anyone else is interested in buying it, the limited edtion is only 43 now on amazon.de
I am gonna watch it after I beat the game.
btw: if anyone else is interested in buying it, the limited edtion is only 43 now on amazon.de
That's exactly the feeling I got while playing this game! It's like I'm playing a forgotten game from the past and I love it.
Axelstream
Member
The impressions of this game kind of remind me of Nier, which JonStark brought up on the last page, in the vibe and strengths/weaknesses. Anyone have anything to say about that?
kunonabi
Member
Finally got around to playing Pandora's Tower. Honestly If I can't get anymore classic Castlevania games or CV titles that play like CV64 I would want them to play like PT. Current CV games pay the faintest of lip service to platforming so PT really isn't that far off. While I really enjoyed Castlevania Judgment, IGA really is out of touch if he couldn't figure out how to do a Castlevania game on the wii that wasn't an arena fighter.
after 4 intense playing sessions over the weekend, I finally beat the game at 75% (I guess that is normal?). It took me longer than expected, which is always nice. I don't know how much time it took exactly, but it felt longer than tls for sure.
I am not sure what I can add what hasn't already been said. I am kinda sad to say that, I only bought it because it had a pretty box, the limited edition was "cheap", and I wanted those coins. Now after I've beaten it, I think it was worth the price, even more so than tls, which was imho the weakest of the 3 games. Xenoblade still remains untouchable at the top, as it is my game of the millenium thus far, but pandoras tower came closer than I'd have guessed.
Its on of those games that you will remember for a long time, It really left an impact. The first 1 or 2 dungeons were kinda meh, but from the 3rd on, they became better and better and more and more fun to explore. the 10th and the 11/12 in particular were fun, especially if you like a link to the past mirror world stuff.
Every time I completed a new dungeon, my first though was always "why couldn't konami do something like this with their castlevania games? ". I am glad the fighting system was simple and not loaded with combo shit, I really HATE that stuff (dmc, gow etc..). I am not sure if the fights were that well balanced, some enemies felt really weak and easy, others were too strong, and their appearance didn't concur with their strengh. Like those little monkey guys, they were annoying as shit. It always felt like my strongest attacks should break their combos, but they were always able to attack me, it felt somehow disconnected, and not how it's supposed to be.
Now after watching the 100% Video, I got the feeling that I've bearly scatched the surface... I got the 4th ending, I will go for the 5th, but I think I will skip 1 - 3... I am not even sure how I could lower my affinity that much. I didn't get the 4th weapon... and seems like I missed some recipes, those armor / robe stuff was new to me.
I probably will return to the game once more this weekend to unlock those red doors, and after that I will move on to the next game.
anyway, I am glad I had the chance to experience this game, and I am glad NoE brought it over and even rewarded players who bought all 3 of them a special gift.
(Now only Fatal Frame 2 is missing for my final wii collection)
I didn't care to do a spell check so please excuse any typos.
I am not sure what I can add what hasn't already been said. I am kinda sad to say that, I only bought it because it had a pretty box, the limited edition was "cheap", and I wanted those coins. Now after I've beaten it, I think it was worth the price, even more so than tls, which was imho the weakest of the 3 games. Xenoblade still remains untouchable at the top, as it is my game of the millenium thus far, but pandoras tower came closer than I'd have guessed.
Its on of those games that you will remember for a long time, It really left an impact. The first 1 or 2 dungeons were kinda meh, but from the 3rd on, they became better and better and more and more fun to explore. the 10th and the 11/12 in particular were fun, especially if you like a link to the past mirror world stuff.
Every time I completed a new dungeon, my first though was always "why couldn't konami do something like this with their castlevania games? ". I am glad the fighting system was simple and not loaded with combo shit, I really HATE that stuff (dmc, gow etc..). I am not sure if the fights were that well balanced, some enemies felt really weak and easy, others were too strong, and their appearance didn't concur with their strengh. Like those little monkey guys, they were annoying as shit. It always felt like my strongest attacks should break their combos, but they were always able to attack me, it felt somehow disconnected, and not how it's supposed to be.
Now after watching the 100% Video, I got the feeling that I've bearly scatched the surface... I got the 4th ending, I will go for the 5th, but I think I will skip 1 - 3... I am not even sure how I could lower my affinity that much. I didn't get the 4th weapon... and seems like I missed some recipes, those armor / robe stuff was new to me.
I probably will return to the game once more this weekend to unlock those red doors, and after that I will move on to the next game.
anyway, I am glad I had the chance to experience this game, and I am glad NoE brought it over and even rewarded players who bought all 3 of them a special gift.
(Now only Fatal Frame 2 is missing for my final wii collection)
I didn't care to do a spell check so please excuse any typos.
kunonabi
Member
Yeah those monkey things give me more trouble than any other enemy so far. I'm digging the boss fights and I really like how they handle relationship sim stuff. Seeing the house become more homey and all the unexpected scenes are really clicking for me. I doubt the game will match the TLS for me but I could easily see it becoming one of my favorite wii games. It's simple but really satisfying.
I registered PT and have not received any emails about the coins for registering all operation rainfall games. what gives?
I recieved my last email regarding the coins on Wed, 02. May 2012 19:00:30. I guess that was the deadline to get those coins. Have you registered your games before that?
The email said something about waiting for further instructions around the first week of june.... so I guess if you haven't recieved anything by than, you won't get some. (which sucks obviously)
Kontergurke
Member
I registered PT and have not received any emails about the coins for registering all operation rainfall games. what gives?
I registered my game on Sat., 19th May, and I did receive multiple confirmation mails. Are you sure you didn't forget to register TLS and XC as well?
When did you register yours?
Anyway, I beat the game yesterday and thought it was pretty well done, but I really would have preferred if there were any kind of items or abilities that you pick up during the game to access new places or to combat stronger enemies.
One question:
I've seen the game Rygar mentioned at least two times in this thread and, now that I've beaten PT, I was wondering if I should try Rygar next? Would you recommend it nowadays or did it age poorly, and which version would be best (Wii or ps2)?. Ps2 version is way cheaper, not sure if the Wii redesign is worth it.
Finished the second tower today. Don't have a lot of time to play it, at least not for long stretches, but the "timer" and limited inventory sort of encourages short chunks of gameplay.
Anyway, it's pretty fun so far. Though the muddy texture quality and jaggies are astounding. Dolphin has spoiled me.
Anyway, it's pretty fun so far. Though the muddy texture quality and jaggies are astounding. Dolphin has spoiled me.
ThankeeSai
Member
Picked this up yesterday after seeing it in my local Blockbuster
This post pretty much sums up my thoughts and I particularly agree with the bolded parts. How this is rated 12, Ill never know.
Anyway, really liking it so far. Love the combat and the *ahem* unusual story. Finished last nights session as I was just about to begin the 3rd tower.
Its just ..odd.
Disturbingly odd.
This post pretty much sums up my thoughts and I particularly agree with the bolded parts. How this is rated 12, Ill never know.
I just beat the second boss, and i'm frankly awed by this game.
It might be because of the fact i enjoy some kind of horrific stuff (Cannibal Holocaust is my favorite movie ever), but seriosly this game really struck me.
It's an amazingly obscure fairy tale, with some very disturbing situations and revolving around very deep themes like love and corruption.
The atmosphere is top notch, the universe is damn fascinating, and the gameplay while not being stellar is good fun.
It's like a blend of Rygar, ICO, Shadow of the Colossus, Mermaid in a Manhole (from the Guinea Pig series) and european folklore all mixed with a very japanese taste.
I find two things particularly notable:
1) the fact that Nintendo published something so dark, mature and shocking... Pandora's really, really far from the usual Nintendo game.
2) the PEGI 12 rating is RIDICULOUS: the game is pretty graphic and even more repulsive, so this classification is completely random.
I'll keep on playing, but i'm already in love.
Too bad that this gem won't be played by the vast majority of gamers.
Anyway, really liking it so far. Love the combat and the *ahem* unusual story. Finished last nights session as I was just about to begin the 3rd tower.
Its just ..odd.
Disturbingly odd.
Adam Prime
hates soccer, is Mexican
So my brother just bought a PAL copy for me for my birthday, $65 shipped! Damn! I felt bad for him, I didn't pay that much for Last Story and Xenoblade PAL and those games were both worth $65. So already this game has some high standards to live up to...
Anyways, just played the first ten minutes. I skipped just about every cut scene (I've read this thread enough to know what's going on) until the first time when you revisit the tower to give the meat back to the girl. At this time, my daughter walks into the couch and asks me what I'm playing... right when they show the cutscene of the mutant girl eating the meat! lol I quickly hit skip cutscene, and said "This game isn't for little girls... let's go swimming now."
Game seems pretty cool, reading all the impressions in this thread makes me believe that I will probably end up enjoying this game's combat (I hate DMC and GoW memorize button combos).
My only question right now is will I play this over Masaurma Demon Blade? Might have to start splitting time between the two, because this game does seem very compelling at the moment. And my brother just dropped freaking $65 on the game, ouch! He's a good kid.
Anyways, just played the first ten minutes. I skipped just about every cut scene (I've read this thread enough to know what's going on) until the first time when you revisit the tower to give the meat back to the girl. At this time, my daughter walks into the couch and asks me what I'm playing... right when they show the cutscene of the mutant girl eating the meat! lol I quickly hit skip cutscene, and said "This game isn't for little girls... let's go swimming now."
Game seems pretty cool, reading all the impressions in this thread makes me believe that I will probably end up enjoying this game's combat (I hate DMC and GoW memorize button combos).
My only question right now is will I play this over Masaurma Demon Blade? Might have to start splitting time between the two, because this game does seem very compelling at the moment. And my brother just dropped freaking $65 on the game, ouch! He's a good kid.
I can't believe this OT has only 5 pages! I just finished the game and I really, really enjoyed it. This game should get more recognition, is definitely a lot better than The Last Story story-wise and gameplay-wise (TLS had an amazing battle system, but so damn underdeveloped and easy, a total waste).
I think I'll play it some more for the different endings, but I really can't find a good walkthroug to unlock them all and was wondering if anyone could outline to me the situation without being too spoilerish
Anyway, get this game, it's one of the best action jrpg hybrid of the generation.
I think I'll play it some more for the different endings, but I really can't find a good walkthroug to unlock them all and was wondering if anyone could outline to me the situation without being too spoilerish
Anyway, get this game, it's one of the best action jrpg hybrid of the generation.
I can't believe this OT has only 5 pages! I just finished the game and I really, really enjoyed it. This game should get more recognition, is definitely a lot better than The Last Story story-wise and gameplay-wise (TLS had an amazing battle system, but so damn underdeveloped and easy, a total waste).
I think I'll play it some more for the different endings, but I really can't find a good walkthroug to unlock them all and was wondering if anyone could outline to me the situation without being too spoilerish
Anyway, get this game, it's one of the best action jrpg hybrid of the generation.
There's a handy spreadsheet on GameFAQS for the endings and all the other stuff. I reccomend you to check the event list to see all the cutscenes.
http://www.gamefaqs.com/boards/620591-pandoras-tower/62694030
What ending you get depends on your affinity with Elena and how many pieces of Master flesh you have given her. Below are the requirements which do spoil when (which chapter) the endings occur.
S affinity level 8 or more Final chapter
A affinity level 6 - 8 Final chapter
B affinity level 4 - 6 Final chapter
C affinity level 3 - 0 Final chapter
D affinity level 1 - 0 Give her the 9th piece of Master Flesh.
Game Over Let her convert into the beast anytime
A affinity level 6 - 8 Final chapter
B affinity level 4 - 6 Final chapter
C affinity level 3 - 0 Final chapter
D affinity level 1 - 0 Give her the 9th piece of Master Flesh.
Game Over Let her convert into the beast anytime
wakajawaka
Member
So yeah, I started the game and so far it's good although something about it all feels odd. And I don't really like going against time :/
I have a question. Does the ending change or something if you feed too much meat to the girl? Like I had to go back once in each tower to fill the "monster gauge" thing up again. Can you do it all the times you want or is there a punishment for this?
I have a question. Does the ending change or something if you feed too much meat to the girl? Like I had to go back once in each tower to fill the "monster gauge" thing up again. Can you do it all the times you want or is there a punishment for this?
Nice to see someone else playing this overlooked game
Don't forget to pack some Divinity Shards to be able to teleport back instantly, though you should save them for later levels and only use them when it's really necessary as they are rare.
You can feed her as many times as you want, there's no punishment. The ending depends only on the affinity level and on how many pieces of Master flesh you give Elena.
Below are the requirements fot the different endings which do spoil when (which chapter) the endings occur
ending S affinity level 8 or more Final chapter
ending A affinity level 6 - 8 Final chapter
ending B affinity level 4 - 6 Final chapter
ending C affinity level 3 - 0 Final chapter
ending D affinity level 1 - 0 Give her the 9th piece of Master Flesh.
Game Over Let her convert into the beast anytime
ending A affinity level 6 - 8 Final chapter
ending B affinity level 4 - 6 Final chapter
ending C affinity level 3 - 0 Final chapter
ending D affinity level 1 - 0 Give her the 9th piece of Master Flesh.
Game Over Let her convert into the beast anytime
EDIT: Also, before trying to raise your affinity level, you should let Elena transform into a monster at least 11 times and let the monster gauge get really low at least 2 times so that you get all the cutscenes.
V)Elena changing into monster form 1 scene 1/ Elena changing into monster form 1 The number of times Elena changed into monster form is less than 5 times /Aeron coming back from any tower to trigger this scene
W) Elena changing into monster form 1 scene 2/ Elena changing into monster form 1 The number of times Elena changed into monster form is between 6-10 times /Aeron coming back from any tower to trigger this scene
X) Elena changing into monster form 1 scene 3/ Elena changing into monster form 1 The number of times Elena changed into monster form is more than 11 times /Aeron coming back from any tower to trigger this scene
Y) Elena changing into monster form 2/ Elena changing into monster form 2 /Aeron coming back from any tower, go to the basement to trigger this scene (the monster meter must be quite empty)
Z) Elena changing into monster form 3 / Elena changing into monster form 3 /Aeron coming back from any tower, go to door next to the inventory box to trigger this scene (the monster must be almost empty)
You may also want to keep the affinity level low on your first playthrough so that it will be easier to get all the endings.
wakajawaka
Member
Thanks a lot, now I will be exploring the towers more, I had the gauge to the limit a couple times because I wanted to use as few meats as I could. Well, at least that made me able to watch a few of the scenes in your list
NP.Thanks a lot, now I will be exploring the towers more, I had the gauge to the limit a couple times because I wanted to use as few meats as I could. Well, at least that made me able to watch a few of the scenes in your list
Elena's transformations can be really painful to watch. I felt really bad when I intentionally let her turn into a monster to be able to see all the cutscenes and 100% the game.
wakajawaka
Member
I've got another question about the (I think) last part of the game
So I broke all the chains in the light/dark towers, only have the boss/es to beat. The question is: Is this the last chance to boost Elena's affinity? Because I think it's not in the margin for the best ennding. I can see 4 points in the affinity bar
I think so, but you shouldn't be aiming for the best ending, as it will only make it harder to get the other ones: you will have to lower Elena's affinity (almost) all the way down to 0 to get one. Just beat the game and save. With a completed file you can skip to certain points in the story, so it's easy to obtain all the endings.
KennyLinder
Member
Do you have to use the Wii Motion controller with this, or can you use the Classic Controller?
You can use the classic controller
You will be doing a lot of aiming, so using a Wiimote is recommended.
As they told you you can use a Classic Controller just fine but the game is designed around the wiimote, both for aiming and pulling stuff. It really adds to the experience imho.
KennyLinder
Member
OK thanks guys. Will stick to waggling then
Talladega Knight
Member
amazon uk ships games internationaly now?!?
Directly from them I believe, though the price went back up. For awhile it cost 30-40 USD SHIPPED to get the Limited Edition. Granted, it's a somewhat lame LE, just a Steelbook and artbook (and giant all-of-Europe manual if you're weird and count that), but still.
wakajawaka
Member
You can't screw endings by missing items or things like that, the only thing that affects endings is your bound with the girl. It seems that people think that it's easier to have her on low affection to see the worst endings and then raise it, than have the affection gauge on the top and then lower it. Thing is when you finish the game you can keep on playing with some little extra content and you can jump between chapters.
In my case I got the second best ending and just youtubed the others.
Keep the affinity as low as you can otherwise you will have to reply quite a bit to get the worst ending. You should also see all her monster transformation cutscenes (those happen when you are late) before you try rising affinity. Check some of the older posts for more detailed info.
Jawmuncher
Member
So are we going to use this thread or can I make a UNOT in the main forum for the US release?
Edit:this is so dead I'm making a UNOT for tomorrow
Edit:this is so dead I'm making a UNOT for tomorrow
IrishNinja
Member
this is still my impression, from what im seeing
is this one a Gamestop exclusive? wondering if i can sit it out & grab later when it pricedrops/B2G1 or if i should be worried about scarcity
lazybones18
Banned
nope
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