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Blue Dragon (Xbox360) |OT|
- Thread starter duckroll
- Start date
AgentOtaku
Member
duckroll said:
F U C K YES!
Merovingian
Banned
dark10x said:I'd love to be talking about the game myself, but they insisted on region locks once again.Hopefully SOMEONE will come up with a method for circumventing these locks in the future.
I can't praise Sony enough for removing region restrictions from the PS3.
Yeah yeah
Anyway, how's the game story for those who are far into the game? Are the characters fun?
Jonnyram said:
Whoa, they actually figured it all out, cool! Oh and :lol at the 0 point achievements. I really like the extra effort they put into planning these achievements because they remind me a lot of the Dead Rising ones, instead of the usual boring achievements in most Japanese X360 games.
Merovingian said:
The storyline itself is good, but not the focus of the game. The characters and especially the places you will visit are very charming and fun. If you enjoyed 16-bit RPGs like FFV and Chrono Trigger the game's story will appeal with you quite a bit. It's not complicated and filled with plot twists like more recent FF games or some darker JRPGs, but instead the characters are honest and simple but still have their own personalities and background stories. I *really* like the places you get to visit in the game because the variety and little details really make it a joy.
DCharlie
And even i am moderately surprised
Jesus - YOUR X360 is broken too! *runs*
this is a running joke after the last time Bebpo had technical issues with his X360. But anyways :
i'll not mention anything about slowdown or lack there of - in truth, i was simply doing it because i felt bebpo was being a drama queen about how bad it was and was , IMO, seeming to knock people off the game.
Not much futher progress here - made it to the ZOMG parts pictured before ,
will post links for the curious
although the big wide open adventure thing isn't really there (i feel a little too hemmed in) , the big driving force is seeing where you end up at this point. The game does look stupidly good imo.
Links of somewhat later parts for the curious/ghei/bi :
Battle - interesting regular enemy (enemy spoiler )
Battle - interesting enemy smacks Maro hard (enemy spoiler )
Got Wood? (location spoiler)
Still got wood? (location spoiler)
Drawings on walls (location spoiler)
Talk to me... (location spoiler)
More wall art (location spoiler)
Yet more wall art (location spoiler)
How is the world handled, by the way?
That is, how are the maps constructed (from a loading point of view)? Town structure (size, number of load points on average, indoor areas), world map, dungeons, etc. I'm really curious about that, actually.
Not that loading would really be a huge issue (I loved Tales of the Abyss, afterall, and that game suffered from some pretty serious loading issues), but the lack of it adds a lot of polish.
BenjaminBirdie
Banned
Anyone want to spoilerize those zero point achievements in English? Or did I miss that.
The first one awards you an achievement (heh) for being caught in a surprise attack more than 50 times and the second is for running away from battle over 50 times. That's actually pretty brilliant, really. 0pt achievements are something I've yet to see in any other game.BenjaminBirdie said:
BenjaminBirdie
Banned
dark10x said:
Dead Or Alive 4 had some srushingly demoralizing ones. Lose 5 in a row, lose 20 in a row, drop from C level to D, D to E, and E to F. All 0. All cruel.
"Achievement Unlocked! Awesome! What'd I...Oh **** that's just rude."
BamYouHaveAids
Member
You should play DOA4 you get 0pt achievements for losing 5x and 10x in a row. You also get 0pt achievements for getting D E and F ranks. Anyway those screens look fantastic.dark10x said:
Edit*
Damn you! *shakes fist*BenjaminBirdie said:
You to!Blimblim said:
dirtmonkey37
flinging feces ---->
duckroll said:
We need to get the hyperbole police out then, because this exageration is scaring the **** out of me. Framerate problems that affect the gameplay, bother me (the charging up thing). If it doesn't, I couldn't care less.
I don't care if the game drops "the odd frame" every once in a while. It's fine, it's normal, it's okay. As long as it doesn't hinder the gameplay itself, I'm fine.
Robobandit
Member
Anyone have any opinions of the Japanese xbox 360 core system?
NCSX seems to be selling the blue dragon core bundle for $295... pretty tempting proposition with Gears of War and a number of other games being Region Free
NCSX seems to be selling the blue dragon core bundle for $295... pretty tempting proposition with Gears of War and a number of other games being Region Free
dirtmonkey37 said:
Nothing affects gameplay. At all. It's a turn-based rpg, tech stuff might bug some who are videophiles, but you're choosing commands from a menu and watching them play out. The tech issues will not effect your opinion of the game one bit. Even though I'm a picky videophile, if I review the game after finishing it I wouldn't even take .01 points off for the tech stuff as that's not what makes the game good or bad in the slightest.
Sorry if I made it seem like some tech issues would render the game unplayable or something.
I absolutely love Blue Dragon and I'd like everyone in the world to buy the game, so I don't mean to be scaring anyone off it because I mention a few tech niggles I see while playing.
I just cleared disc2 at 24 hours and man, I'm REALLY loving this. All doubts about how this falls apart after first impressions like Grandia 3 is totally gone now. I'm really happy with the dungeons, the boss fights, the scenario, the gameplay system, etc. I decided to reload a save game from an hour before after being stuck on the boss and replay some bits, go off adventuring other parts of the world map chunk I was in, changed my Categories around and got the skills I would need for the boss fight later, and I tried to do the optional sidequest Bebpo mentioned. I couldn't though because I was still trapped in a part of the plot that wouldn't let me do certain things. I hope that sidequest is still on disc3 later! ^^;
Overall I feel I've missed quite a few things on disc2 as compared to disc1, and based on content alone, they're very comparable. The game doesn't seem to be ending anytime soon, so disc3 should be just as long. Also, as the game opens up more and more, you'll realize that going back and exploring old areas is still rewarding because of chests or areas you couldn't access previously, and the game looks to have a good chunk of optional content overall as well. Good stuff!
Overall I feel I've missed quite a few things on disc2 as compared to disc1, and based on content alone, they're very comparable. The game doesn't seem to be ending anytime soon, so disc3 should be just as long. Also, as the game opens up more and more, you'll realize that going back and exploring old areas is still rewarding because of chests or areas you couldn't access previously, and the game looks to have a good chunk of optional content overall as well. Good stuff!
charlequin
Banned
duckroll said:
Woot!
This is sounding like a really great success. I'm really wanting to play this game now, which is gonna drive me to get a 360 eventually, and it's increasing my hope for Lost Odyssey too (maybe MS just forced them to put out a demo way too early....) Glad to hear everyone's liking the game so much!
intheinbetween
Member
does anyone know what mean each category? or for what it is for?
intheinbetween said:
I don't really understand what you're asking, but I'll try to help. You can set the category of each character's shadow in the "Kage" section of the menu. Each character starts with a different set of categories already unlocked, and you'll be able to change freely between those. When characters reach certain level milestones like lvl20, 25, 30 and so on, a new category will be unlocked (you can choose which one to unlock when that happens).
Basically the categories are like a job system. They don't rank up by EXP but by SP (Shadow Points) instead. Enemies give EXP and SP when defeated. Each category has its own base skill which you will always have when equipping that category and it has it's own base stats. These base stats will improve as that category ranks up as well. When you hit certain rank milestones for each category you will also gain skills. These skills can then be equipped on the skill slots you have regardless of what category you're in.
intheinbetween
Member
duckroll said:
yeah sorry, i was asking for the meaning of each ability for the shadows, you know the sword, wing, armor, blue orb, etc.. icons. i know when you reach some level you get the chance of unlocking a new category, and ranking up each category give you some new skills, but sadly i don't know what are they really for, and i'd like to know at least what does each category means, or what are their skills for
thank you
intheinbetween said:
Oh okay... let's see...
Hope that helps. Now I'll summarize the Categories in a little detail to try to help you:
SWORD
This is the main offense class. If you're making a character a fighter character this is pretty important. Skills you gain in this Category include stuff like まほうけん (Magic Sword) and なぎはらう (Nagiharou) which are skills which will appear in your combat menu in a battle if equipped.
Magic Sword is the base skill for the Sword category so when you're in that category you don't have to equip it. Basically for any attack spell that you already have, you can use the Magic Sword attack for. Think of it as an elemental aided physical attack. Just like with spells, you can use any Magic Sword when you have the Sword category equipped, but when you are equipping the skill while using another category, you can only use the Magic Sword attacks up to whatever level of the Magic Sword skill you have gained so far.
Nagiharou is a physical attack that hits all enemies in a horizontal row, but with less damage than a normal attack. As the level increases for this, it does more damage and becomes closer to being able to replace your normal attack completely.
Other skills in SWORD are HP吸収 (HP absorb) which gives you a percentage of damage you deal with a normal attack, クリティカルダメージUP (Critical Damage UP) which increases the damage multiplier for a critical hit, and MP吸収 (MP absorb) which does the same thing as HP absorb but for MP instead.
WHITE
This is pretty much the white mage job from Final Fantasy games. As you can see, Sakaguchi isn't very creative with naming. ホワイトマジック (White Magic) is the base skill here, and also has levels. The levels once again only matter if you're equipping it on another category, because when you are in this category you have access to any White Magic spells you have found or bought.
Useful spells in this category include stuff like アイテム効果アップ (Item effectiveness up)and 連続アイテム (Concurrent item use). The first one increases the effectiveness of items when used by the character with the skill equipped, and the second one allows the character to use two items in a single turn. For a healer, skills like these are really helpful.
When you're high enough in rank you will also learn ホワイトジェネレート (White Generate) which, when equipped will regenerate the HP of that character as you move on fields. This ONLY works on fields and dungeons, so if you're in a town you still have to use an inn. Don't be a cheapass.
BLACK
This is the black mage job! Woo hoo! ブラックマジック (Black Magic) is the black equavilant of White Magic and works the same way so I won't repeat. This is the base skill for BLACK.
Other skills in this category include ブラックジェネレート (Black Generate) which regenerates MP instead of HP, and is helpful because an offensive mage will usually use up much more MP. Later on you also get a skill called 最大MP+25% (MAX MP +25%) which is pretty self explainatory... I hope!
BARRIER
Barrier is one of the two support magic categories in the game. バリアマジック (Barrier Magic) is the base skill, and works like all other sorts of magic class skills. Barrier magic in general will be stuff like shield and shell. Stuff that create barriers to protect you in battle.
The other skill to look out for is バリバリア (Bari Barrier) which is a field skill. When a character has a field skill equipped, you can set up to two field skills on your LB and RB buttons in the field menu (RT). The Bari Barrier creates a shield around your character on the field and will destroy weaker enemies instantly and still net you EXP and SP. Be warned though, this still takes up MP - it's not a free skill. There is a number after Bari Barrier to indicate how strong it is, you get stronger versions as you rank up.
Another skill you'll get is 魔法の壁 (Magic Wall) which is a Statistic skill. This specific skill ensures your Magic Defense statistic is the same as when you have the Barrier category equipped. Because the base magic defense stat in the Barrier category is higher than in other categories, this skill will allow you to keep the buff if you wish while in another category.
MONK
This is very similar to the Monk job in Final Fantasy games. The base skill in this category is チャージアタック (Charge Attack) which allows you to charge your normal attack just like you can charge spells. The longer the charge, the more damage you deal. It's really quite powerful.
Other skills include the field skill コイオーラ (Koi Aura) which when used makes enemies chase you, カウンター (Counter) which gives the character a % chance to do a counterattack when hit, and ヨガ (Yoga) which is an active skill in battle which allows the character to recover HP. Yoga is also a chargable skill.
POWER
Power is the other support magic category. パワーマジック (Power Magic) is the base skill, and covers mostly status spells. Things like Quick, Slow, Frog, Sleep, etc all fall under Power Magic. Another skill in this category is 効果時間+50% (Time Efficency +50%) which allows the character to pull off spells faster.
ARMOR
Armor is actually quite an original category even though the skills are more or less some of the stuff that the Monk could do in FF games too. Basically in this game the Monk category is much more offensive, with the defensive elements split into Armor.
This category has skills like かばう (Cover) where the character will have a % chance of protecting an ally when attacked, マジックディフェンス (Magic Defense) which raises your magic defense when guarding, 最大HP+25% (MAX HP +25%) and 戦士の壁 (Warrior's Wall) which is a statistic skill that matches the defense stat with the Armor category.
I just realized I have no idea what the base skill of Armor is.... shows how much I've used it... haha.
ASSASSIN
This is probably my favorite category. It's pretty much the Thief job in FF, but more fun! The base skill is セキュリティ (Security) which prevents enemies from stealing from that character. Skills you get early on are ぬすむ (Steal) and シビレダマ (Numb bomb). Steal is an active skill in battles, you have to select it. Numb bomb is a field skill that throws a bomb which paralyzes enemies affected by the blast on the field. This makes it really easy to get back attacks or to evade enemies.
Other interesting skills include 交渉術 (Bargain Skill) which gets you better prices in shops when equipped, 忍者のこなし (Ninja Vessal) which matches your speed stat to that of the Assassin category and ステルス (Steath) which is a field skill that makes you invisible.
Later on you will also gain skills like ぶんどる (Plunder) whereby you will automatically attempt to steal when doing a normal attack, and 遠距離攻撃 (Range Attack) which allows you to freely target enemies in the back row as well with any physical attack.
COMBINATION
This is a special category which is VERY important. The base skill is アクセサリ+1 (Accessory +1) which allows you to equip special equipment on an extra slot. These are equipment which would otherwise be unequippable because they do not fall into the "Bracelet", "Ring", "Necklace" or "Earring" equipment sections.
The next important skill this category provides is スキル+2 (Skill +2) which is actually skill +1, since you have to equip this skill and it gives you 2 more. In reality you're only getting one more skill. False advertising!
As you rank up this category, both Accessory+1 and Skill+2 will increase into Accessory+2 and Skill+3, Skill+4, etc. This makes the category very worthwhile exploring even though it doesn't actually have any real skills of its own.
intheinbetween
Member
wow, wow and wow!! thank you so much i was waiting for that, heh. i'm very sorry for disturbing you with this.
BenjaminBirdie
Banned
OMG. Give Duckroll some kind of effing award. I wont have the game for months and I am like RIVETED.
Robobandit
Member
Duckroll, Blim or Bebpo:
Do you know if there have been as many reports of Japanese 360s breaking down as there have been in the US? (proportionally, of course.. seeing as MS hasn't moved even a fraction of the systems there :lol )
I'm very tempted by the $295 Blue Dragon Bundle at NCSX.com and I was thinking of biting on it. However, I'm leery of the 360 breaking down and me not being able to get it repaired.
Also, does anyone know the status of using a US hard drive add-on with a JP console? Thanks!
Do you know if there have been as many reports of Japanese 360s breaking down as there have been in the US? (proportionally, of course.. seeing as MS hasn't moved even a fraction of the systems there :lol )
I'm very tempted by the $295 Blue Dragon Bundle at NCSX.com and I was thinking of biting on it. However, I'm leery of the 360 breaking down and me not being able to get it repaired.
Also, does anyone know the status of using a US hard drive add-on with a JP console? Thanks!
If the japanese systems were as bad as the US/PAL ones I think it would be known by now. Remember the first few japanese Xbox systems that scratched the DVDs. It was basically nothing, and it was huge in Japan...
But still, my friend who bought my japanese 360 alongside his got unlucky and already sent his 360 6 times to MS. I count myself really lucky on that one.
Hard drives are region free.
But still, my friend who bought my japanese 360 alongside his got unlucky and already sent his 360 6 times to MS. I count myself really lucky on that one.
Hard drives are region free.
Mefisutoferesu
Member
Oh they're as bad as the US systems! Otherwise that would suggest that Microsoft is aware of the problem at production, but not taking the effort towards fixing it on the US side. That's a class action lawsuit waiting to happen.Robobandit said:
There, finally done. I really hope that helps people out because I know how it feels to be playing a Japanese RPG without really understanding the language just because it looks so good and you don't want to wait for it in english. It was many, many years ago but I still remember! :lol
The Innocent X
Banned
My JPN 360 is quieter than my PAL one, and has never locked up, unlike my PAL
Robobandit
Member
Thanks guys. I may go for it once I get the check I'm expecting this week.
intheinbetween
Member
duckroll, thank you so much for the explanation, this is really helpful.
BlueTsunami
there is joy in sucking dick
The modeling is fantastic. Everything looks cohesive and together not like random polygons and art assets mixed together. Art + Technology = **** Yeah
charlequin
Banned
duckroll said:
You rock mightily! That was awesome.
Am I right in thinking that this game really seems to hearken to the SNES era of RPGs in terms of system complexity and storytelling?
dirtmonkey37
flinging feces ---->
Bebpo said:
Oh, that's fine!
I'm so happy now. My apprehension has ceased to exist. But does it affect the "charge" meter?
intheinbetween
Member
lol at those Kero bugs, they're so funny
Greenpanda
Banned
The ability/job system sounds promising -- thanks for the info, Bebpo
dirtmonkey37
flinging feces ---->
duckroll said:Oh okay... let's see...
Hope that helps. Now I'll summarize the Categories in a little detail to try to help you:
SWORD
This is the main offense class. If you're making a character a fighter character this is pretty important. Skills you gain in this Category include stuff like まほうけん (Magic Sword) and なぎはらう (Nagiharou) which are skills which will appear in your combat menu in a battle if equipped.
Magic Sword is the base skill for the Sword category so when you're in that category you don't have to equip it. Basically for any attack spell that you already have, you can use the Magic Sword attack for. Think of it as an elemental aided physical attack. Just like with spells, you can use any Magic Sword when you have the Sword category equipped, but when you are equipping the skill while using another category, you can only use the Magic Sword attacks up to whatever level of the Magic Sword skill you have gained so far.
Nagiharou is a physical attack that hits all enemies in a horizontal row, but with less damage than a normal attack. As the level increases for this, it does more damage and becomes closer to being able to replace your normal attack completely.
Other skills in SWORD are HP吸収 (HP absorb) which gives you a percentage of damage you deal with a normal attack, クリティカルダメージUP (Critical Damage UP) which increases the damage multiplier for a critical hit, and MP吸収 (MP absorb) which does the same thing as HP absorb but for MP instead.
WHITE
This is pretty much the white mage job from Final Fantasy games. As you can see, Sakaguchi isn't very creative with naming. ホワイトマジック (White Magic) is the base skill here, and also has levels. The levels once again only matter if you're equipping it on another category, because when you are in this category you have access to any White Magic spells you have found or bought.
Useful spells in this category include stuff like アイテム効果アップ (Item effectiveness up)and 連続アイテム (Concurrent item use). The first one increases the effectiveness of items when used by the character with the skill equipped, and the second one allows the character to use two items in a single turn. For a healer, skills like these are really helpful.
When you're high enough in rank you will also learn ホワイトジェネレート (White Generate) which, when equipped will regenerate the HP of that character as you move on fields. This ONLY works on fields and dungeons, so if you're in a town you still have to use an inn. Don't be a cheapass.
BLACK
This is the black mage job! Woo hoo! ブラックマジック (Black Magic) is the black equavilant of White Magic and works the same way so I won't repeat. This is the base skill for BLACK.
Other skills in this category include ブラックジェネレート (Black Generate) which regenerates MP instead of HP, and is helpful because an offensive mage will usually use up much more MP. Later on you also get a skill called 最大MP+25% (MAX MP +25%) which is pretty self explainatory... I hope!
BARRIER
Barrier is one of the two support magic categories in the game. バリアマジック (Barrier Magic) is the base skill, and works like all other sorts of magic class skills. Barrier magic in general will be stuff like shield and shell. Stuff that create barriers to protect you in battle.
The other skill to look out for is バリバリア (Bari Barrier) which is a field skill. When a character has a field skill equipped, you can set up to two field skills on your LB and RB buttons in the field menu (RT). The Bari Barrier creates a shield around your character on the field and will destroy weaker enemies instantly and still net you EXP and SP. Be warned though, this still takes up MP - it's not a free skill. There is a number after Bari Barrier to indicate how strong it is, you get stronger versions as you rank up.
Another skill you'll get is 魔法の壁 (Magic Wall) which is a Statistic skill. This specific skill ensures your Magic Defense statistic is the same as when you have the Barrier category equipped. Because the base magic defense stat in the Barrier category is higher than in other categories, this skill will allow you to keep the buff if you wish while in another category.
MONK
This is very similar to the Monk job in Final Fantasy games. The base skill in this category is チャージアタック (Charge Attack) which allows you to charge your normal attack just like you can charge spells. The longer the charge, the more damage you deal. It's really quite powerful.
Other skills include the field skill コイオーラ (Koi Aura) which when used makes enemies chase you, カウンター (Counter) which gives the character a % chance to do a counterattack when hit, and ヨガ (Yoga) which is an active skill in battle which allows the character to recover HP. Yoga is also a chargable skill.
POWER
Power is the other support magic category. パワーマジック (Power Magic) is the base skill, and covers mostly status spells. Things like Quick, Slow, Frog, Sleep, etc all fall under Power Magic. Another skill in this category is 効果時間+50% (Time Efficency +50%) which allows the character to pull off spells faster.
ARMOR
Armor is actually quite an original category even though the skills are more or less some of the stuff that the Monk could do in FF games too. Basically in this game the Monk category is much more offensive, with the defensive elements split into Armor.
This category has skills like かばう (Cover) where the character will have a % chance of protecting an ally when attacked, マジックディフェンス (Magic Defense) which raises your magic defense when guarding, 最大HP+25% (MAX HP +25%) and 戦士の壁 (Warrior's Wall) which is a statistic skill that matches the defense stat with the Armor category.
I just realized I have no idea what the base skill of Armor is.... shows how much I've used it... haha.
ASSASSIN
This is probably my favorite category. It's pretty much the Thief job in FF, but more fun! The base skill is セキュリティ (Security) which prevents enemies from stealing from that character. Skills you get early on are ぬすむ (Steal) and シビレダマ (Numb bomb). Steal is an active skill in battles, you have to select it. Numb bomb is a field skill that throws a bomb which paralyzes enemies affected by the blast on the field. This makes it really easy to get back attacks or to evade enemies.
Other interesting skills include 交渉術 (Bargain Skill) which gets you better prices in shops when equipped, 忍者のこなし (Ninja Vessal) which matches your speed stat to that of the Assassin category and ステルス (Steath) which is a field skill that makes you invisible.
Later on you will also gain skills like ぶんどる (Plunder) whereby you will automatically attempt to steal when doing a normal attack, and 遠距離攻撃 (Range Attack) which allows you to freely target enemies in the back row as well with any physical attack.
COMBINATION
This is a special category which is VERY important. The base skill is アクセサリ+1 (Accessory +1) which allows you to equip special equipment on an extra slot. These are equipment which would otherwise be unequippable because they do not fall into the "Bracelet", "Ring", "Necklace" or "Earring" equipment sections.
The next important skill this category provides is スキル+2 (Skill +2) which is actually skill +1, since you have to equip this skill and it gives you 2 more. In reality you're only getting one more skill. False advertising!
As you rank up this category, both Accessory+1 and Skill+2 will increase into Accessory+2 and Skill+3, Skill+4, etc. This makes the category very worthwhile exploring even though it doesn't actually have any real skills of its own.
Wait you're telling me you can assign any one of your characters to a particular class? And specialize them all????!?!!! THAT IS AWESOME!
BenjaminBirdie
Banned
dirtmonkey37 said:
Can you level up every Dragon in every class and create a party of Super Dragons?
dirtmonkey37
flinging feces ---->
BenjaminBirdie said:
Yeah, that's my next question.
Damnit, I always assumed assassin was just ninja and I've been wondering where the thief category was all this time. I'll have to start unlocking it at my next /5 level.
duckroll, you mentioned being able to open the coloured barriers - is that
by any chance? I only have lv1 so far, but haven't tried it on that kind of thing.
duckroll, you mentioned being able to open the coloured barriers - is that
tied to the bari barrier skills