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[Captain N]

Blim..you had told me before that you played on both systems with a memory card that has your gamertag on it..can I use the same harddrive or nay?

 

[Merovingian]

Is the game still easy (very acessible in comparison to FFXII for example) 30 hours in?

This is very important to me.

 

[DCharlie]

But does it affect the "charge" meter?

not sure if it's been explained elsewhere but will plod through how the charge works :

the charge meter goes up at a different rate per shadow and is somewhat different in terms of timing in each battle - it's not slowdown as such - it's done to make it difficult to get the big bonuses with certain shadows (imo at least!)

how the bar works :
fer instance :

> = your bar when you hold A button
-- = the bar
A thru B = timing of attackers
xx = 'sweet spot' where you get extra power/more effect


So , you may get a nice simple bar like this :

A= Shu, B= Jiro , C = enemy 1
|-------------A---B------xxxx--C-|

what happens when you :
|>>>>>----A---B------xxxx--C-|
fairly normal power, the attack will happen right away

|>>>>>>>A>>-B------xxxx--C-|
more powerful than previously, the attack will happen after A's turn.

|>>>>>>>A>>>B>>--xxxx--C-|
yet more powerful, but will come after A and B's turn

|>>>>>>>A>>>B>>>xx>x--C-|
the sweet spot - extra power/effect (for instance white wind will effect more surrounding enemies) - comes after A and B's turn

|>>>>>>>A>>>B>>>>>>>>C>|
powerful attack, but will come after A and B and C's attack

|>>>>>>>A>>>B>>>>>>>>C>|> - you go too far
default lowest value attack - will start right away

This isn't just for attacks either - HP/MP regain spells and buffs work in the same way.

I like it ! it's fun!

the bar changes per battle - so you can end up with some thing like

A - jiro
B - maro
C - Shu
1,2 onwards = enemy

|--A---1---B---2--3---x4xx5x--C--6--7--|

 

[Bebpo]

Actually the sweet spot just does random useless crap like making spells cost less or attacks do 'slightly' more damage. It's actually there to fool players and trick them into only doing 1/2 charge attacks when they could be doing full charge attacks for double the damage. Since my characters are buffed enough to withstand any enemy attack I just have all five characters do a full charge so as long as one or two of them actually get their attacks off, the attack will kill all the enemies in 1 hit and end the battle.

 

[DCharlie]

Actually the sweet spot just does random useless crap like making spells cost less or attacks do 'slightly' more damage. It's actually there to fool players and trick them into only doing 1/2 charge attacks when they could be doing full charge attacks for double the damage. Since my characters are buffed enough to withstand any enemy attack I just have all five characters do a full charge so as long as one or two of them actually get their attacks off, the attack will kill all the enemies in 1 hit and end the battle.

really, it does ?

when i do it with black wind attack i consistantly attack everyone in the group rather than just 1-2 people. strange. Perhaps i'm just getting lucky.

 

[dirtmonkey37]

not sure if it's been explained elsewhere but will plod through how the charge works :

the charge meter goes up at a different rate per shadow and is somewhat different in terms of timing in each battle - it's not slowdown as such - it's done to make it difficult to get the big bonuses with certain shadows (imo at least!)

how the bar works :
fer instance :

> = your bar when you hold A button
-- = the bar
A thru B = timing of attackers
xx = 'sweet spot' where you get extra power/more effect


So , you may get a nice simple bar like this :

A= Shu, B= Jiro , C = enemy 1
|-------------A---B------xxxx--C-|

what happens when you :
|>>>>>----A---B------xxxx--C-|
fairly normal power, the attack will happen right away

|>>>>>>>A>>-B------xxxx--C-|
more powerful than previously, the attack will happen after A's turn.

|>>>>>>>A>>>B>>--xxxx--C-|
yet more powerful, but will come after A and B's turn

|>>>>>>>A>>>B>>>xx>x--C-|
the sweet spot - extra power/effect (for instance white wind will effect more surrounding enemies) - comes after A and B's turn

|>>>>>>>A>>>B>>>>>>>>C>|
powerful attack, but will come after A and B and C's attack

|>>>>>>>A>>>B>>>>>>>>C>|> - you go too far
default lowest value attack - will start right away

This isn't just for attacks either - HP/MP regain spells and buffs work in the same way.

I like it ! it's fun!

the bar changes per battle - so you can end up with some thing like

A - jiro
B - maro
C - Shu
1,2 onwards = enemy

|--A---1---B---2--3---x4xx5x--C--6--7--|

Woah! that's awesome! I like the concept. Nice post by the way, too.

So you have to do this "charge" thing for every attack right? And if you have to do it for every attack, then how can the attack of the player whose turn it is be delayed until after the attacks of "A" and "B" ? So you're delaying one character's action to make it more powerful when his turn comes around?

 

[john tv]

The sweet spot shortens the time until your next turn, too, so theoretically you could be attacking more often versus going for one big attack. I wouldn't say it's useless--it just gives players more choice in coming up with their battle strategy, which is always a good thing.

 

[dirtmonkey37]

The sweet spot shortens the time until your next turn, too, so theoretically you could be attacking more often versus going for one big attack. I wouldn't say it's useless--it just gives players more choice in coming up with their battle strategy, which is always a good thing.

So it doens't increase the power of your attacks when you hit the "sweet spot?"

 

[Jonnyram]

DC, wind attack increases size depending on the amount of charge, not the sweet spot itself. So if you have a full charge bar, it will be biggest.

The sweet spot decreases MP usage and makes your next turn sooner. I don't think that's a bad deal, personally I also didn't realise that the bar will come back down again if you keep pressing, so you can time it both ways if it's easier.

 

[DCharlie]

The sweet spot shortens the time until your next turn, too, so theoretically you could be attacking more often versus going for one big attack. I wouldn't say it's useless--it just gives players more choice in coming up with their battle strategy, which is always a good thing.

indeed - plus you get the bars where it is like....

|-1----A------x2xxB----3---C--|

you can release right away and attack enemy one - so you might want to gamble that you've got enough power to take out no. 1 rather than allow a second attack....

in the situation where 1 is a particularly dangerous enemy , 2 is very dangerous, you could be faced with the gamble or trying to get the sweet spot JUST before 2's turn, hoping that A doesn't attack any damaged characters or choses to buff, leaving B to take out enemy 3 meaning C gets a chance to remove 1.

In truth, at the moment there aren't too many difficult battles - there are a couple of monster battles that can get a bit hairy (

Spoiler

multiple squds + multiple armoured sharke fencers for instance

) but i'm hoping as the enemies get harder the system will come more and more into play.

I'm guessing that disk 1 might just be the extended tutorial, disk 2 is where it gets a bit tricky, and disk 3 is where the fun really starts.

Given the howls of "ZOMG" coming from Mrs C's room , disk 2 gets a lot better, or that vibrating ear cleaner i found in her room has a dual use....

 

[Sinatar]

Sounds like the RPG equivalent of Active Reload.

 

[DCharlie]

DC, wind attack increases size depending on the amount of charge, not the sweet spot itself. So if you have a full charge bar, it will be biggest.

ah - so i really was just getting luck with the effects! Huzzah for not reading the manual.

thanks Jonny + Bebpo.

 

[Tenacious-V]

Sounds like the RPG equivalent of Active Reload.

I was thinking the exact same thing.

 

[Bebpo]

Yeah, some spells like wind or shell expand rather than power up as the charge bar fills. With Monk you can actually get two seperate skills: charge attack & charge something-else. One makes your damage go from 1x-3x as the bar fills and the other makes the radius of the attack go from single enemy to all party as the bar fills.

For fun here is a little over-powering technique I made up:
-Equip charge attack skill (or just be a monk)
-Equip charge radius attack skill
-When you attack charge the bar to full....3x damage against all enemies.

Now to make it even more fun:
-Equip magic sword skill (or just be sword w/charge attack skill equipped)
-Equip charge radius attack skill
-When you do magic sword charge the bar to full. If hitting an element weakness...6x damage to all enemies.

Throw in these two for a fun addition:
-High chance of critical
-High damage on critical

And now you might be hitting up to 12x damage on many of the enemies in a single hit

Sorta unnecesary at this point but I think stuff like that will help on the final dungeons. Stacking skills is my favorite part of the system, overpowering my characters to the max without griding at all is something that gives me great pleasure

Sounds like the RPG equivalent of Active Reload.

Sorta, but to be honest I've never had a character get two turns in before an enemy even if I hit the spot which quickens their next turn. Likewise I can't recall an enemy getting two attacks in after I begin charging for any attack. So it's not like getting the sweet spot gives you two attacks instead of one. It's probably more like 1.5x and that's why I prefer a full bar at 3x damage instead of 1.5x turns with 1.5x damage

 

[DCharlie]

Sorta unnecesary at this point but I think stuff like that will help on the final dungeons. Stacking skills is my favorite part of the system, overpowering my characters to the max without griding at all is something that gives me great pleasure

well, i'd guess that they need to do something to make things more challenging or things might get a bit stale.

I've done a small amount of fiddling, but i'm hoping that disk 2 onwards it's going to introduce some more tricky fights.

I mean - don't get me wrong - it's fun and i love the game to death right now - but i don't want it to be too much of a walk in the park.

 

[intheinbetween]

duckroll, you mentioned being able to open the coloured barriers - is that

Spoiler

tied to the bari barrier skills

by any chance? I only have lv1 so far, but haven't tried it on that kind of thing.

i was wondering the same question,

Spoiler

but in the second DVD, you arrive to an underground robot town, where you unlock the blue coloured barrier after beating a boss

so i guess you will unlocking the rest of them as you progress in the game

 

[Bebpo]

well, i'd guess that they need to do something to make things more challenging or things might get a bit stale.

I've done a small amount of fiddling, but i'm hoping that disk 2 onwards it's going to introduce some more tricky fights.

I mean - don't get me wrong - it's fun and i love the game to death right now - but i don't want it to be too much of a walk in the park.

Yeah, I'm midway (?) through disc 2 and with one "ground" (not even "grounda") I'm wiping out entire enemy teams of 6+. I just fought a big ferocious boss and with 5 characters I one on the attack of the 5th one so the boss battle didn't even make it to round 2. The game is just jokingly easy at this point and again I haven't done any grinding (about 20 hours total gametime).

Right now to create some artificial challenge and learn useful skills I'm dropping all five members to jobs that are < level 10 and working them up. That basically dropped my stats in 1/2 and makes it a little more challenging for now.

It definitely has a "my first jrpg" feeling in the difficulty scale and a tougher difficulty would be about all I could ask for outside of a fast-forward button at this point.

 

[Munba]

What about story/scenes overall so far? Some 'memorable' events like old ages?


Munba

 

[GHG]

Was reading a new review for the game ---> http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=151265

And they say its 1080p. Is this true?

 

[duckroll]

Was reading a new review for the game ---> http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=151265

And they say its 1080p. Is this true?

Nope. From the box: 480i/480p/720p/1080i.

 

[GHG]

Thanks, thought it sounded a bit too good to be true.

 

[Orodreth]

Nope. From the box: 480i/480p/720p/1080i.

Wasnt it included in the list of games ( like doax2 ) that would do 1080p when Microsoft announced the component/vga upgrade and the hd-dvd thingy?

 

[charlequin]

I took a break from plowing through the insane DQ thread to pop back in over here and just note that I'm listening to the sound samples from BD for the first time and ZOMG. I'm a big fan of Uematsu's, but I was feeling like he was played out lately -- his compositions on FF X are good, but his arrangements are terrible, like he never learned how to use instruments other than beeps.

What the heck happened? The Blue Dragon music is incredible. I've got BAD BUT BAT playing right now and I'm totally into it. It's been clear in this thread for a while that Sakaguchi is "back"

Spoiler

bitches

but I'm so, so happy to hear Uematsu writing really awesome music again.

Fake-EDIT: Ian Gillam is a great choice for this boss theme, his vocals are so damn goofy! :lol

 

[Hitler Stole My Potato]

After the DS thread...

"Help me Blue Dragon. You're my only hope."

 

[duckroll]

Wasnt it included in the list of games ( like doax2 ) that would do 1080p when Microsoft announced the component/vga upgrade and the hd-dvd thingy?

I don't know where people keep getting this from. There are no 1080p games on the Xbox360. If someone tells you there is, they're lying. DoAX2 isn't 1080p either.

 

[The Innocent X]

I don't know where people keep getting this from. There are no 1080p games on the Xbox360. If someone tells you there is, they're lying. DoAX2 isn't 1080p either.

Or, to look at it another way, all 360 games are 1080P.

 

[Dr. Kitty Muffins]

This is the closest console gamers will get to Dragon Quest now that DQ is DS bound. I wonder if this will help push sales or encourage more Toriyama art based games in Japan?

 

[GhaleonEB]

This is the closest console gamers will get to Dragon Quest now that DQ is DS bound. I wonder if this will help push sales or encourage more Toriyama art based games in Japan?

Dunno. Related, if you really want to stretch, you could argue that it could indirectly help the 360 by DQ NOT heplping the PS3. :lol

 

[clashfan]

Dunno. Related, if you really want to stretch, you could argue that it could indirectly help the 360 by DQ NOT heplping the PS3. :lol

I agree with you. DQ on DS helped Nintendo but it seem to also help the 360 by hurting the PS3. Anyone have updated sales numbers for Blue Dragon?

 

[Dr. Kitty Muffins]

Dunno. Related, if you really want to stretch, you could argue that it could indirectly help the 360 by DQ NOT heplping the PS3. :lol

Oh, by no means am I trying to imply it would become a million seller in japan. But I would think that more hardcore DQ fans would want to buy it.

Now if Microsoft could get FF to go multiplatform, they will have had two major obstacles moved out of their way.

 

[GhaleonEB]

Oh, by no means am I trying to imply it would become a million seller in japan. But I would think that more hardcore DQ fans would want to buy it.

What you're saying makese sense. But then, I've long lost the ability to predict the Japanese gaming tastes. I continue to be utterly mystified by the entire market over there.

 

[Orodreth]

Or, to look at it another way, all 360 games are 1080P.

Maybe it was missunderstood when i read that but i think there was some talk about it when the "upgrade" was announced.

If it was only a PR fancy thing to throw a pun at Sony i dont know. I even dont care as my Tv doesnt support that res

 

[McBacon]

http://www.play-asia.com/paOS-13-71-93-49-en-70-1rkk.html

Gashapon

 

[intheinbetween]

duckrollo, Bebpo, i can't believe but i'm stuck at the fight where

Spoiler

you have to break the robot's guard, any help will be much appreciated xD

 

[duckroll]

duckrollo, Bebpo, i can't believe but i'm stuck at the fight where

Spoiler

you have to break the robot's guard, any help will be much appreciated xD

Which fight is this?

Spoiler

If it's the one at the Robot Factory with the red robots that turn on the guard, you can just escape.

 

[intheinbetween]

yeah duckroll, that's the fight i'm talking about, and oh man...

Spoiler

i thought i had to break their guard, and i was trying all the possible combinations of skills, hits, magics, and items to break it.. so you just have to run away?

i was hitting my head against the wall because i didn't get the point of this battle

 

[GhaleonEB]

I agree with you. DQ on DS helped Nintendo but it seem to also help the 360 by hurting the PS3. Anyone have updated sales numbers for Blue Dragon?

I think the day one figure was 73k, split between the game and the bundle, but I don't know how many of each. Someone said anecdotaly in the Media Create thread that the game seemed to be generating lots of interest and was still selling briskly over the weekend. We'll get software numbers tomorrow, hardware the next day.

 

[Bebpo]

yeah duckroll, that's the fight i'm talking about, and oh man...

Spoiler

i thought i had to break their guard, and i was trying all the possible combinations of skills, hits, magics, and items to break it.. so you just have to run away?

i was hitting my head against the wall because i didn't get the point of this battle

hehe, yeah when you first attack them Shuu will yell out

Spoiler

"we can't do any damage, let's just run away for now!"

. Definitely a point where understanding the dialogue helps

I'm actually around there myself. Saved a the mid-point of that dungeon last night.

 

[duckroll]

Yeah, one thing about playing Blue Dragon without understanding the game is that you miss out A LOT on the flavor text during battles. Some of them are pretty informative or just cute/funny. There are also nice little details in the game, like have you ever wondered why Shu doesn't have the escape command in battles?

 

[intheinbetween]

well, that's so embarrasing.. i've been comparing kanjis from my magic & item lists with the name upon each enemy, and it could be worse, because i could have wasted a pair of hours in that battle and finally left the game for days if you haven't told me that... so, THANK YOU again guys hehe

i didn't know that Shu doesn't have the escape command.. but now i know heh

 

[Blimblim]

How do you escape from a fight? From what I read you can do it in the battle menu with every character except shu?

 

[Robobandit]

Yeah, one thing about playing Blue Dragon without understanding the game is that you miss out A LOT on the flavor text during battles. Some of them are pretty informative or just cute/funny. There are also nice little details in the game, like have you ever wondered why Shu doesn't have the escape command in battles?

Well, looking at Blim's videos, it looks like he would refuse to back down from a fight. Probably something like "Running away is for girls!"

 

[duckroll]

How do you escape from a fight? From what I read you can do it in the battle menu with every character except shu?

It's the final command in the menu for all characters except Shu. The reason Shu doesn't have an escape command is because

Spoiler

right from the start his catchphrase is "I WON'T LOST!" and his headstrong characteristic means he will never run from a battle ever.

 

[intheinbetween]

well, BlimBlim, it looks like we'll have to get the game again as soon as the PAL version (or maybe the korean one if it comes with english subs) comes out, at least to know what's the story "really" about heh

 

[Blimblim]

It's the final command in the menu for all characters except Shu. The reason Shu doesn't have an escape command is because

Spoiler

right from the start his catchphrase is "I WON'T LOST!" and his headstrong characteristic means he will never run from a battle ever.

That'll teach not to just use one character to check all the menu option.
Ho well, not that I ever even thought about running away so far, I'm at the mural village right now (beautiful stuff btw, I'd like to know who did all the drawings) and still look for a really difficult fight, even for a jrpg n00b like me. I'm not complaining though, I'd rather go forward and see more beautiful levels than grind my way by running in circle
GOTY for me so far, been a long time since I so wanted to play a game when I'm doing something else. The game itself is fun, and even it wasn't I would still play just to check some more awesome graphics and music.

well, BlimBlim, it looks like we'll have to get the game again as soon as the PAL version (or maybe the korean one if it comes with english subs) comes out, at least to know what's the story "really" about heh

That was the plan anyway for me I've already done that for eM (loved the game) and N3 (why did I pay again for... this I'll never know)

 

[intheinbetween]

yeah, i thought that before getting this japanese version. anyway i hope MS release Blue Dragon in collectors edition box, or something like that, because that would rock!

i hope MS announces the release dates for USA and Europe soon.

 

[duckroll]

AIRSHIP GET! WORKS ON WORLD MAP! BEAUTIFUL!

 

[pilonv1]

Photos please!

 

[intheinbetween]

sweet! can't wait to get it!

 

[GhaleonEB]

AIRSHIP GET! WORKS ON WORLD MAP! BEAUTIFUL!