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[ironchair]

I was honestly scared this game might be too hard, since I'd never played a Vanillaware game and they seem notorious for making games harder as an artificial means of making them longer. Glad that's not the case : )

 

[Boogalogist]

So has anyone decided to cancel their preorder or wait until the game is cheaper due to this thread? Because I'm thinking about that now. Some of the things posted in here have killed my hype just a bit, and I feel like my money might be better spent elsewhere for the time being. Not writing the game off completely, just feel like I might want to hold off for a while and pursue other games.

If anything, this thread reinforces my decision to buy this game MOAR. C'mon join us! We'll have lotsa fun....like in the WO3 thread!

 

[RyougaSaotome]

I was honestly scared this game might be too hard, since I'd never played a Vanillaware game and they seem notorious for making games harder as an artificial means of making them longer. Glad that's not the case : )

Nah. It's definitely not difficult in the same way as previous VW games.

Pretty much everything can be overcome if you choose to grind a bit.

I don't recommend doing it that way, but it's totally possible.

 

[DracoBlade]

The NA artbook is softcover, I'm afraid.

Spoiler

Japan always gets the good stuff Oh well, Not the end of the world I guess.

 

[SlasherJPC]

Completed the game with the Wizard, took me 16-ish hours. Game is plenty long and content filled imo.

 

[fionel]

Finished the game last night at the 13 hours mark. In retrospect, I stand by my previous sentiments about the game's replayability, or rather, the problems with trying to replay this game like an old school BEU.

Some people worry about the grinding aspect. I'd say it's probably not necessary. If you're good with these games it's very possible that you can play and finish all the stages in one linear fashion with no grinding. BUT, most bosses on B route need to be defeated under a time limit in order for them to drop a talisman that you need to fight the last boss. I suppose that will prove to be difficult without a little grinding. I myself have redone perhaps around 10 stages or so to finish sidequests and benefitted from a few extra levels and loots, and even then I had to retry a few bosses to get them under the time limit. It might have been easier if I played with a group of friends though.

This game pays more than homage to D&D Shadow over Mystara as over half of the bosses draw inspirations from bosses in that game not only in their designs but also in their attack patterns. As much as I love SOM, I have to admit bosses in the latter half of that game were poorly designed gameplay-wise as they are too difficult or not fun to fight without exploiting certain gimmicks/tricks. The overhaul given in their DC "reincarnations" - if I may call it such - creates intense moments in battle and I was overall very satisfied with all the bosses in this game. It will put a smile on your face if you were ever a fan of SOM.

 

[Caerith]

Does anyone have an English (non google-translate) list of the names for skills and runes?

 

[Chiaroscuro]

videogameplus.ca just sent me an e-mail saying my pre-order was shipped (and of course charged). Shouldn´t the game be out only on August 6th or something like that?

 

[Bombless]

videogameplus.ca just sent me an e-mail saying my pre-order was shipped (and of course charged). Shouldn´t the game be out only on August 6th or something like that?

Got the same email. This is wonderful news, that means I'll normally have the game before I leave on holiday (with PS3 in tow) muahahaha!

 

[Kincaido]

Canada always getting games early ;_;

 

[JStein0222]

Completed the game with the Wizard, took me 16-ish hours. Game is plenty long and content filled imo.

Would love to hear some Wizard impressions! I'm thinking he'll be who I'll play as first

 

[Hasemo]

Would love to hear some Wizard impressions! I'm thinking he'll be who I'll play as first

Think Shadows of Mystara Wizard but without the time stopping during the spells.

AoE attacks hit really hard, although the strongest ones have stupidly long charge time (Meteor Shower, I'm looking at you).

On the down side, having to charge your MP every 3-4 circle attacks is annoying, but the destruction you unleash makes up for it.

 

[evil_ash_xero]

So, where do you guys think this ranks with other BEU?

I actually only like a few games in the genre a lot. Bare Knuckle 2 and 3, TMNT IV, Guardian Heroes, Double Dragon Advance, and some Capcom games.

How does it compare?

 

[Caerith]

Think Shadows of Mystara Wizard but without the time stopping during the spells.

AoE attacks hit really hard, although the strongest ones have stupidly long charge time (Meteor Shower, I'm looking at you).

On the down side, having to charge your MP every 3-4 circle attacks is annoying, but the destruction you unleash makes up for it.

There are three ways to recover MP, right? Charging, MP-on-hit, and MP-on-kill? How do they stack up?

 

[Hasemo]

There are three ways to recover MP, right? Charging, MP-on-hit, and MP-on-kill? How do they stack up?

MP on hit with your square attack and kills, yeah.
I didn't get those two to higher levels because I preferred to use my skill points on active skills.

How do they stack up? If you hold square you charge MP, if you hit someone with a square attack you recover a bit and if you kill someone you get some mp recovered as well, that's it.

 

[Caerith]

MP on hit with your square attack and kills, yeah.
I didn't get those two to higher levels because I preferred to use my skill points on active skills.

How do they stack up? If you hold square you charge MP, if you hit someone with a square attack you recover a bit and if you kill someone you get some mp recovered as well, that's it.

So, do you think if I put my points into on-hit instead of charge that I'd be fine? Or is charge pretty much mandatory?

 

[See You Next Wednesday]

So has anyone decided to cancel their preorder or wait until the game is cheaper due to this thread? Because I'm thinking about that now. Some of the things posted in here have killed my hype just a bit, and I feel like my money might be better spent elsewhere for the time being. Not writing the game off completely, just feel like I might want to hold off for a while and pursue other games.

What things that turned you off the game?

 

[Storm Chamber]

From the videos I watched in Youtube, framerate drop in Vita is really really bad (around 10-15 FPS). Does it happen frequently? I hope it doesn't as it would ruin the experience for me.

Link to this.

 

[Espada]

So, do you think if I put my points into on-hit instead of charge that I'd be fine? Or is charge pretty much mandatory?

Over on GameFAQs they posted a list of all the classes' kills and what they do. I looked at that and the 4Gamer wiki (Google Translate), and found out that Concentrate accelerates magic charge, and Mental Absorb grants you MP for every enemy you kill. It even broke down the mechanics of each move.

Example: Concentrate at level 6 speeds up MP charge by 30%. Mental Absorb at level 4 restores 24MP per enemy killed.

Personally, I'd go with both. They sound pretty essential for keep MP up. It's super common to see lots of downtime for Wiz and Sorcerer in gameplay videos.

Edit: I'm still not clear on how mages work in this game, though. Their reveal videos made it seem like Wizard and Sorceress have distinct elements, but every gameplay video they're using all of them. Do they have access to 95% similar stuff?

 

[Caerith]

Over on GameFAQs they posted a list of all the classes' kills and what they do. I looked at that and the 4Gamer wiki (Google Translate), and found out that Concentrate accelerates magic charge, and Mental Absorb grants you MP for every enemy you kill. It even broke down the mechanics of each move.

Example: Concentrate at level 6 speeds up MP charge by 30%. Mental Absorb at level 4 restores 24MP per enemy killed.

Personally, I'd go with both. They sound pretty essential for keep MP up. It's super common to see lots of downtime for Wiz and Sorcerer in gameplay videos.

Yeah, I saw the 4gamer info, but a lot of it is relative-- like, 30% faster doesn't say much if you don't know the base rate.

I'm a bit wary of on-kill, since it doesn't seem like it would be useful against a boss (when you don't have waves of mooks to farm MP on). I suppose I'll see if on-hit will let me machine gun my MP to full between nukes, or if charge will have the least downtime.

Edit: I'm still not clear on how mages work in this game, though. Their reveal videos made it seem like Wizard and Sorceress have distinct elements, but every gameplay video they're using all of them. Do they have access to 95% similar stuff?

I believe they both have basic magic attacks, the element of which is determined by the element of their equipped staff. Beyond that, they both have equippable books for their unique spells like Blizzard (S) and Storm (W).

 

[Riposte]

What XP/loot based RPG isn't easy with grinding?

This doesn't excuse any game, it just reveals an ugly trend in videogames.

 

[Espada]

Yeah, I saw the 4gamer info, but a lot of it is relative-- like, 30% faster doesn't say much if you don't know the base rate.

That's a damn good point, though the mp charge rate seems to be quick already. Definitely something to ask of people who have the game.

I'm a bit wary of on-kill, since it doesn't seem like it would be useful against a boss (when you don't have waves of mooks to farm MP on). I suppose I'll see if on-hit will let me machine gun my MP to full between nukes, or if charge will have the least downtime.

Well, it'd let you breeze through stages without much concern for MP. I just looked up Extract on 4Gamer you need to reach Level 4 before it starts giving you double digit MP bonuses. You're right that this is better for bosses. It's interesting that the only one they recommend is Concentrate.

I believe they both have basic magic attacks, the element of which is determined by the element of their equipped staff. Beyond that, they both have equippable books for their unique spells like Blizzard (S) and Storm (W).

Okay, so they have:
The square button basic magic attacks (the equivalent of everyone else's standard weapon attacks). No MP required.
The circle button attacks that are tied to the elemental staff equipped. MP required.
Tomes with limited uses but huge power.

So what you're upgrading on Wizard and Sorcerer are the power of the staff and tome attacks?

 

[Mistouze]

Got an email from videogamesplus.ca saying that my copy of the game was shipping. Is it typical of games release in the US to be one week before the official date? Good thing I have Pikmin 3 to play while waiting for this.

 

[Boogalogist]

Finished the game last night at the 13 hours mark. In retrospect, I stand by my previous sentiments about the game's replayability, or rather, the problems with trying to replay this game like an old school BEU.

Some people worry about the grinding aspect. I'd say it's probably not necessary. If you're good with these games it's very possible that you can play and finish all the stages in one linear fashion with no grinding. BUT, most bosses on B route need to be defeated under a time limit in order for them to drop a talisman that you need to fight the last boss. I suppose that will prove to be difficult without a little grinding. I myself have redone perhaps around 10 stages or so to finish sidequests and benefitted from a few extra levels and loots, and even then I had to retry a few bosses to get them under the time limit. It might have been easier if I played with a group of friends though.

This game pays more than homage to D&D Shadow over Mystara as over half of the bosses draw inspirations from bosses in that game not only in their designs but also in their attack patterns. As much as I love SOM, I have to admit bosses in the latter half of that game were poorly designed gameplay-wise as they are too difficult or not fun to fight without exploiting certain gimmicks/tricks. The overhaul given in their DC "reincarnations" - if I may call it such - creates intense moments in battle and I was overall very satisfied with all the bosses in this game. It will put a smile on your face if you were ever a fan of SOM.

This is an EXCELLENT write up! Makes me feel that DC is EXACTLY what I want....a deeper and HD version of SoM.

Thanks!

 

[Caerith]

Got an email from videogamesplus.ca saying that my copy of the game was shipping. Is it typical of games release in the US to be one week before the official date? Good thing I have Pikmin 3 to play while waiting for this.

Not counting places breaking street date, it's more common for places to ship the game early enough that you'll get it on launch day. Amazon will probably ship theirs on, say, August 3 so people will have them by August 6 (if you opted for 2-day).

That's a damn good point, though the mp charge rate seems to be quick already. Definitely something to ask of people who have the game.

Yeah, that's why I think I'll try out the level 1 versions of each myself before putting any points in. While it's important to have MP, I don't want to put a single point more than necessary into MP recovery if those points can be spent on damage and survival instead.

Well, it'd let you breeze through stages without much concern for MP. I just looked up Extract on 4Gamer you need to reach Level 4 before it starts giving you double digit MP bonuses. You're right that this is better for bosses. It's interesting that the only one they recommend is Concentrate.

I'm very wary of any and all guides recommending how to build your character within a week of a game's release. There's not been enough time to really test all the skills, but human nature means whatever gets said first becomes indisputable dogma and The Only Way To Play (Lest Ye Be Gimped).

Okay, so they have:
The square button basic magic attacks (the equivalent of everyone else's standard weapon attacks). No MP required.
The circle button attacks that are tied to the elemental staff equipped. MP required.
Tomes with limited uses but huge power.

So what you're upgrading on Wizard and Sorcerer are the power of the staff and tome attacks?

It looks like skill points are just to upgrade the tome attacks, making them stronger and giving you more uses of them. For instance, the Sorceress skill Create Food generates 4 pieces of food at level 1 and can be used 5 times; at level 4, it generates 7 pieces of food and can be used 7 times, so upgrading from 1 to 4 jumps you from 20 food to 49 food.

The other attacks I think are affected only by your equipped staff.

 

[Mistouze]

Not counting places breaking street date, it's more common for places to ship the game early enough that you'll get it on launch day. Amazon will probably ship theirs on, say, August 3 so people will have them by August 6 (if you opted for 2-day).

I'm shipping it to europe so that makes sense. I'm more used to shops getting the game 1-2 days before the release date where I live, 1 full week seemed a bit much but I'm not going to complain if I can play this next week.

 

[irriducibile87]

videogameplus.ca just sent me an e-mail saying my pre-order was shipped (and of course charged). Shouldn´t the game be out only on August 6th or something like that?

Got an email from videogamesplus.ca saying that my copy of the game was shipping. Is it typical of games release in the US to be one week before the official date? Good thing I have Pikmin 3 to play while waiting for this.

I preordered there too and got no email yet

 

[HT UK]

VGP have despatched my copy to the UK

 

[Mistouze]

I preordered there too and got no email yet

I placed my order on the 23rd of July. If you placed yours before maybe check your spam folder?

 

[irriducibile87]

I placed my order on the 23rd of July. If you placed yours before maybe check your spam folder?

I placed mine on June 28th (I'm Italian).
There's nothing in my spam folder, I always receive their emails normally.

Guess I'll have to wait

 

[fionel]

This is an EXCELLENT write up! Makes me feel that DC is EXACTLY what I want....a deeper and HD version of SoM.

Thanks!

Though that was also exactly what I wanted, you might be disappointed going in with solely such expectations. As you must also realize unlike SoM, they have incorporated RPG elements like leveling/loots/sidequests into DC. These elements and some flawed design decisions make it hard to play it in a linear fashion, and also makes it difficult to do simple replay sessions with different characters. As such this game is structured quite differently than SoM.

I think you just have to walk into this game knowing exactly what to expect. I think people who expect a hack'n slash with replay value centered around loots will be bound to be left feeling unsatisfied with the contents. But if you expect this to be like an old school BEU with RPG elements, I think the length is reasonable because BEUs can feel repetitive no matter how you cut it if your stages are way too long. (hey at least they didn't reuse the same backgrounds over and over again like in Odin Sphere and Muramasa).

 

[Qvoth]

ok so apparently the labyrinth of chaos is not just 9 levels like i previously mentioned!
this is great!

 

[Laughing Banana]

Soooo... how's single player?

Possible to solo the game as squishy folks like the Wizard or Elf?

 

[Young Magus]

Soooo... how's single player?

Possible to solo the game as squishy folks like the Wizard or Elf?

I would like to know of this information as well...

 

[Boogalogist]

I'm sure I'll be fine. I've replayed SoM hundreds of times without the XP progression and loot.

 

[thetrin]

I would like to know of this information as well...

I'm playing only single player and it's pretty awesome. Once you start reviving NPCs you find, you can either fill your party out with them, or they'll just join your game while you venture into dungeons. It's basically an offline simulation of the online experience.

 

[Qvoth]

clearing normal mode no doubt each class can do it easily

 

[Chris R]

Is there an unlockable alternate art style? Combat and game mechanics look cool but some of the character art is a major turn off :|

 

[thetrin]

Is there an unlockable alternate art style? Combat and game mechanics look cool but some of the character art is a major turn off :|

Why yes. They totally put in an alternate art style so you can ignore the painstaking hand painted characters that took several years to make.

 

[Mrfb17]

VGP have shipped mine to UK too! I always like to think they make an effort when they see the Rocksteady Studios Delivery address too haha

I'm off on holiday next week so i hope i get it before then, Muramasa turned up within 4 days last time so fingers crossed i'll be able to play on my flight!

 

[Djin1979]

Does the game have a new game + ? How is the infernal difficulty ?

 

[SmokyDave]

I wish I hadn't read this thread. Many of the perceived negatives are actually positives to me and now the wait is even more unbearable.

Why yes. They totally put in an alternate art style so you can ignore the painstaking hand painted characters that took several years to make.

I just did one of those weird sounding nose-snort-laugh things.

 

[2+2=5]

I can't wait for it! !'m so excited(and i just can't hide it)!
I hope to get my canadian import copy as soon as possible!

 

[Laughing Banana]

I'm playing only single player and it's pretty awesome. Once you start reviving NPCs you find, you can either fill your party out with them, or they'll just join your game while you venture into dungeons. It's basically an offline simulation of the online experience.

clearing normal mode no doubt each class can do it easily

Hmmm, nice. I prefer to play solo and I don't like to play as bash-bash-bash characters like Dwarf or Amazon. Dunno about the Knight.

So if the game is doable with Wizard/Sorceress/Elf solo then it's a definite plus.

Is there an unlockable alternate art style? Combat and game mechanics look cool but some of the character art is a major turn off :|

This a real silly thing to ask and you should feel bad.

 

[Caerith]

Does the game have a new game + ? How is the infernal difficulty ?

Hard is new game +, and Infernal new game ++.

This a real silly thing to ask and you should feel bad.

I don't know, I wouldn't mind seeing alternate mounts. Why ride a fire-breathing dinosaur when you could have one of these?

 

[mcmmaster]

VGP have despatched my copy to the UK

From the UK as well and was interested in importing from that site, do you know how long shipping takes to arrive to the UK as there only seemed to be one default shipping option and it was pretty cheap.

EDIT:

Muramasa turned up within 4 days last time

Are you shitting me, 4 days after shipping and it arrived in the UK? I'm importing right naooowww from VGP... any idea how customs charges fare?

 

[2+2=5]

OMG OMG OMG VGP despatched my copy too(to Italy)!!!!!!!!!
I can't wait!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[HT UK]

Are you shitting me, 4 days after shipping and it arrived in the UK? I'm importing right naooowww from VGP... any idea how customs charges fare?

4 days is crazy, I hope Dragon's Crown is that fast.

Last I heard, people rarely get customs charges when ordering from VGP. I think they used to undervalue the packages or mark them as gifts.

 

[mcmmaster]

That's great to hear, just gone and put my order through

Glad I've got both a Japanese (nin-nin-game) & American (VGP) game import site now that label parcels as second hand/gifts to ignore the customs charge, Dragon's Crown & JoJo All Star Battle are going to be too much to handle next month

 

[irriducibile87]

OMG OMG OMG VGP despatched my copy too(to Italy)!!!!!!!!!
I can't wait!!!!!!!!!!!!!

What ?!?!
They must hate me specifically