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[YianGaruga]

The more I play the more I like the game. In the beginning I would just clear a few floors at a time and play in short bursts, but currently the game has me hooked and I play it a lot more. It's a really good example of a handheld RPG done right, you can play it for as long as you want but there are good places to stop at the beginning of each new floor. Not to mention being able to save anywhere.

The music got progressively better as well. Both versions of the Cave's music are fantastic, but as with all tracks so far I prefer the 8-bit version. The only complaint I have so far is (tower completionist spoilers)

Spoiler

that there are chests and areas that can only be accessed with the warp spell, without the game even giving you a hint. I would like that hour I spent exploring back .

 

[ys45]

Finished the game yesterday , man I love Falcom games endings are always short but sweet .

So, Dela mode is freaking hard from what I hear ?
Might try it tonight to see how it is .

So I died 33 times and got 88% of map completion (was not really trying to 100%) and it took me 16h47 to beat

Spoiler

I'm a Calculating Savant according to the game

 

[YianGaruga]

Just finished with Ares. 18 hours, apparently I'm a "bloodthirsty savant". I ended up with 99.7% completion even though I double checked everything.. not sure what happened there :/
Unless there's something to unlock I'm not going to go back and check. I'll defnintely try Dela Mode next.

 

[Augemitbutter]

i think i'm nearing the end too. love how varied floor design is in the last stretch. also dat soundtrack. good to experience these tracks in context.

i was surprised to see

Spoiler

the casino down there. lol.

 

[YianGaruga]

Just to be safe I'll put this in spoiler tags because it's about Dela Mode:

Spoiler

7 hours later I'm finished with Dela Mode and it was fantastic! I didn't expect something like that. That's something that would've been sold as $10 DLC these days (and honestly I'd say it would be worth it). Really enjoyed the changes and difficulty, even though I had to take breaks since it was exhausting at times.Loved the cute customization items as well. I had to look up a few things to get 100% on EX9 because I missed that you could give the crystals to the merchant and thus couldn't complete that one room with the slime blocking your way. I though the crystals were used for the chest puzzle and since it did work like I tried it I had no reason to think otherwise.

Overall, I really liked Brandish a lot. Things I didn't like were

- Too many breaking floor tiles... The fact that Dela Mode has almost none of these makes it 100x better
- Weapon durability. It really adds nothing to the game since weapon strength is really not that important and just has you managing your inventory a lot.
-

Spoiler

Warp magic being required for 100% completion of some floors. I don't see how this is a good idea.

Some things I liked:
- The bosses, especially the last ones. Very exciting battles
- Healing potions recovering 100% health instantly. I wonder why not many other RPGs balance health and damage around that, because I think it works perfectly here.
- Auto-mapping with the option to edit things. A place to take notes would have been nice.
- Graphics and music (8-bit all they way except for the last area's theme)
- Combat, while it could have used a few more variations, was satisfying

I'd pay another $10 for another expansion on the level of Dela mode right now.

 

[Lostconfused]

Strong hands, haha what an appropriately awful pun.

 

[Menchi]

Any update on EU release?

 

[wyrdwad]

Any update on EU release?

We'll have an update soon-ish (though probably not before a couple other announcements). Sorry for the continued delay -- I think we'd forgotten how time-consuming EU paperwork can be.

-Tom

 

[Yuterald]

Man, there's a puzzle in this game that was complete sour business. Lowered my super-stoked levels down a notch and I'm bummed. I hate when I see shit like this...early-to-mid game spoilers...

Spoiler

That puzzle on Tower F9...my brother and I have been playing this game simultaneously and he actually got to it before I did (I'm not even there yet still). He was getting frustrated with it, so since I was getting close to that floor, I figured I'd take a gander at the riddle and we both just couldn't figure it out. I don't know if it was how it was translated (Tom!) or if that's just how it was written originally, but it just went completely over our heads. In fact, we over-analyzed the shit out of the puzzle and were coming up with solutions that were, in our opinion, cooler and more interesting than the actual solution. Fart, man.

There's nothing more pace-destroying than a stupid riddle that insults the intelligence of the player. I feel like a total bone-head after reading the solution and honestly, it sort of dampened my thoughts a bit on the game. =(

 

[wyrdwad]

Man, there's a puzzle in this game that was complete sour business. Lowered my super-stoked levels down a notch and I'm bummed. I hate when I see shit like this...early-to-mid game spoilers...

Spoiler

That puzzle on Tower F9...my brother and I have been playing this game simultaneously and he actually got to it before I did (I'm not even there yet still). He was getting frustrated with it, so since I was getting close to that floor, I figured I'd take a gander at the riddle and we both just couldn't figure it out. I don't know if it was how it was translated (Tom!) or if that's just how it was written originally, but it just went completely over our heads. In fact, we over-analyzed the shit out of the puzzle and were coming up with solutions that were, in our opinion, cooler and more interesting than the actual solution. Fart, man.

There's nothing more pace-destroying than a stupid riddle that insults the intelligence of the player. I feel like a total bone-head after reading the solution and honestly, it sort of dampened my thoughts a bit on the game. =(

Is that the

Spoiler

35

puzzle? If so,

Spoiler

the original Japanese for it centered around a homonym on the word "sango," which can mean numerous things but can also be read as "three-five." Since there's no equivalent homonym in English (no word sounds close enough to "three-five" or "thirty-five" to be included in a clue without being an absolute dead giveaway), I had to improvise -- specifically so it WOULDN'T insult the player's intelligence, in fact, since a direct equivalency of the Japanese would've been waaaaay too easy in English.

It definitely seems to be a divisive puzzle, though, but I'm not sure there was any other way I could've phrased it in the space I had. Especially since programming changes weren't possible, meaning the solution itself was more or less set in stone.

-Tom

 

[Seda]

I thought the

Spoiler

53

puzzle was pretty straight forward.

Spoiler

What was the clue, "Three on the left, five on the right?" When I saw the calculator-like digit layout I knew what to do

 

[Augemitbutter]

Man, there's a puzzle in this game that was complete sour business. Lowered my super-stoked levels down a notch and I'm bummed. I hate when I see shit like this...early-to-mid game spoilers...

Spoiler

That puzzle on Tower F9...my brother and I have been playing this game simultaneously and he actually got to it before I did (I'm not even there yet still). He was getting frustrated with it, so since I was getting close to that floor, I figured I'd take a gander at the riddle and we both just couldn't figure it out. I don't know if it was how it was translated (Tom!) or if that's just how it was written originally, but it just went completely over our heads. In fact, we over-analyzed the shit out of the puzzle and were coming up with solutions that were, in our opinion, cooler and more interesting than the actual solution. Fart, man.

There's nothing more pace-destroying than a stupid riddle that insults the intelligence of the player. I feel like a total bone-head after reading the solution and honestly, it sort of dampened my thoughts a bit on the game. =(

i was stuck there too see http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=149167628&postcount=329 the good news is that you're done with the worst part. only honest fun left.

 

[Lostconfused]

I thought the

Spoiler

53

puzzle was pretty straight forward.

Spoiler

What was the clue, "Three on the left, five on the right?" When I saw the calculator-like digit layout I knew what to do

Clearly a lot of people didn't with how many complaints there are in this thread. That puzzle had me stumped for a week.

Thinking about it, it's probably the wording that suggests that the fewest number of switches pressed is the right answer. This leads to seeing the wrong solution to the puzzle.

 

[Augemitbutter]

that's precisely it.

 

[wyrdwad]

Clearly a lot of people didn't with how many complaints there are in this thread. That puzzle had me stumped for a week.

Thinking about it, it's probably the wording that suggests that the fewest number of switches pressed is the right answer. This leads to seeing the wrong solution to the puzzle.

Well, but that's the whole point. The wording is designed to make you think outside the box in order to find a solution. It's one of the tougher puzzles in the game, but I don't think it's unfair -- just a little different.

I thought it worked pretty well, personally, but I'm sorry to everyone who got stuck there if you found it un-fun. And if you have any suggestions on how it could've been better handled in English, I'd love to hear them -- it's always good to know what works and what doesn't, for future consideration.

-Tom

 

[Lostconfused]

Well, but that's the whole point. The wording is designed to make you think outside the box in order to find a solution.

Yeah that's the problem, it made me think too far outside the box. When the solution was to just maybe flip the box over on its side or something.

 

[wyrdwad]

Yeah that's the problem, it made me think too far outside the box. When the solution was to just maybe flip the box over on its side or something.

Er, OK... but what does that actually mean?

-Tom

 

[YianGaruga]

The mentioned puzzle was completely fine to me. I was stuck for a few minutes trying out combinations but after a while, since there were absolutely no other hints to be found and the puzzle giving no feedback, it was relatively clear to me that the solution would be straightforward and not some obscure pattern. I liked it. And even if I got stuck it wouldn't have been a huge issue to me, I would've looked up the solution in an FAQ and felt a bit stupid, but that's not the fault of the game.

 

[Lostconfused]

Er, OK... but what does that actually mean?

-Tom

Solution to the problem

Spoiler

I think like a lot of other people I've been entering the solution 35 incorrectly. I spent most of my time by pressing the switches that are not part of the number. Since that's the wrong way it made me think that my guess of 35 was wrong not that I was solving it incorrectly. That lead to a whole lot interesting waste of time like mapping out the room in detail, looking up numeral fonts for digital displays, playing around with drawing switch patterns in the map. Really a whole lot of useless waste of time, it probably took me several hours to figure out just to actually hit all the switches to draw 35.

On the other hand yay finally done: Calculating savant, 23 hours with a 95% map completion. Only took 3 weeks or more.

The mentioned puzzle was completely fine to me. I was stuck for a few minutes trying out combinations but after a while, since there were absolutely no other hints to be found and the puzzle giving no feedback, it was relatively clear to me that the solution would be straightforward and not some obscure pattern. I liked it. And even if I got stuck it wouldn't have been a huge issue to me, I would've looked up the solution in an FAQ and felt a bit stupid, but that's not the fault of the game.

Poorly made puzzle is most certainly the fault of the designer.

 

[YianGaruga]

Solution to the problem

Spoiler

I think like a lot of other people I've been entering the solution 35 incorrectly. I spent most of my time by pressing the switches that are not part of the number. Since that's the wrong way it made me think that my guess of 35 was wrong not that I was solving it incorrectly. That lead to a whole lot interesting waste of time like mapping out the room in detail, looking up numeral fonts for digital displays, playing around with drawing switch patterns in the map. Really a whole lot of useless waste of time, it probably took me several hours to figure out just to actually hit all the switches to draw 35.

On the other hand yay finally done: Calculating savant, 23 hours with a 95% map completion. Only took 3 weeks or more.


Poorly made puzzle is most certainly the fault of the designer.

It's not poorly made just because you couldn't figure it out though. I made the same mistake you mentioned in the spoiler part and got it right after that.

 

[Lostconfused]

It's not poorly made just because you couldn't figure it out though. I made the same mistake you mentioned in the spoiler part and got it right after that.

It is poorly made if a player gets stuck for several hours longer than you planned that puzzle to be. From a design perspective when people behave outside of intended or expected manner the designer failed. Well maybe it was the intention that it was a near game ending puzzle, what do I know.

 

[YianGaruga]

It is poorly made if a player gets stuck for several hours longer than you planned that puzzle to be.

I disagree with that as well. That just says something about the difficulty of the puzzle, not about the quality of its design. There's not even a lot to design here and the hint that was given told you everything you need to know to arrive at the solution. Some people solve it quickly, some people take a bit longer. Aside from giving you even more hints and trivializing it, there really isn't a lot more you can do.

 

[Lostconfused]

I disagree with that as well. That just says something about the difficulty of the puzzle, not about the quality of its design.

You got to help me separate the two here because this statement is incomprehensible to me.

 

[Ricker]

A blue fountain behind a chest in a dead end...am I missing something here...? lol

 

[ys45]

Yeah that's the problem, it made me think too far outside the box. When the solution was to just maybe flip the box over on its side or something.

Glad to see I was not the only one on this puzzle.
I don't consider myself good at puzzle so I started thinking all kind of stuff and tried way too many things .

I ended up watching someone doing the puzzle on a original Brandish run (PC or whatever Japanese PC name it was on ) on Youtube.

 

[YianGaruga]

You got to help me separate the two here because this statement is incomprehensible to me.

What exactly? That a puzzle is difficult and takes some time for you to figure out doesn't mean it's a bad puzzle. Why would those even be the same thing.

 

[AwRy108]

Grabbed this game based off a GAF recommendation from one of the "I just got a Vita--recommend me some games" threads. Wow, I'm in love! Got to start playing on Sat. morning, and I'm already on Tower Floor 3 or 4.

My only MAJOR complaint so far: you can't get 100% on some floors without going up a few floors and then returning via a different entrance. I don't mind the notion, but it's handled poorly b/c there's no indication that this is the case--I wasted 15 min. scouring for missed wall cracks, illusion walls, etc., only to reference an FAQ that explains that you can't get 100% without going up the next few floors.

The game spends the first 25% of the experience teaching you how to explore with the goal 100% completion, then breaks its own rules with not even a warning. Had I played this without access to a FAQ, I probably would've quit out of the frustration of not knowing what I was doing wrong; turns out, I wasn't doing anything wrong--the game just broke the rules it spent the last 4+ hours teaching me...

Anyone else annoyed by how this was handled?

 

[YianGaruga]

Grabbed this game based off a GAF recommendation from one of the "I just got a Vita--recommend me some games" thread. Wow, I'm in love! Got to start playing on Sat. morning, and I'm already on Tower Floor 3 or 4.

My only MAJOR complaint so far: you can't get 100% on some floors without going up a few floors and then returning via a different entrance. I don't mind the notion, but it's handled poorly b/c there's no indication that this is the case--I wasted 15 min. scouring for missed wall cracks, illusion walls, etc., only to reference an FAQ that explains that you can't get 100% without going up the next few floors.

The game spends the first 25% of the experience teaching you how to explore with the goal 100% completion, then breaks its own rules with not even a warning. Had I played this without access to a FAQ, I probably would've quit out of the frustration of not knowing what I was doing wrong; turns out, I wasn't doing anything wrong--the game just broke the rules it spent the last 4+ hours teaching me...

Anyone else annoyed by how this was handled?

When I couldn't complete a floor 100% I would just go on and come back later, so the completion happened naturally for me. I see how it can be annoying though, and sadly the game pulls an even worse move on you later on.

If you want to know so you won't get even more frustrated:

Spoiler

There are 1 or 2 floors in the Tower which can only be completed with warp magic.

 

[AwRy108]

When I couldn't complete a floor 100% I would just go on and come back later, so the completion happened naturally for me.

How did you remember which floors you had to return to? Did you write it down, or is there something to reference in the game that I'm not aware of?

I see how it can be annoying though, and sadly the game pulls an even worse move on you later on.

If you want to know so you won't get even more frustrated:

Spoiler

There are 1 or 2 floors in the Tower which can only be completed with warp magic.

Thanks for this. Any chance you recall which floors this pertains to? It would be nice to know going in, so I might end up referencing the FAQ if you're not certain.

 

[Lostconfused]

What exactly? That a puzzle is difficult and takes some time for you to figure out doesn't mean it's a bad puzzle. Why would those even be the same thing.

Because the puzzle took too long to be figured out? If a puzzle is made for entertainment the designer probably has some form of time frame in which it will be solved. If you say you don't want the puzzle to be too easy then obviously you mean you don't want it to be solved in 10 seconds or less, or maybe one, or the moment someone sees it. You are probably not making a puzzle that demands years of someones time to be solved either.

That floor puzzle could have been made without any hint what so ever, it can still be solved. You just have to try all the combinations of switches possible until you get to the right one.

 

[YianGaruga]

How did you remember which floors you had to return to? Did you write it down, or is there something to reference in the game that I'm not aware of?

Thanks for this. Any chance you recall which floors this pertains to? It would be nice to know going in, so I might end up referencing the FAQ if you're not certain.

You can flip through floors on the map screen with L and R

I looked the floors up so you don't spoil yourself on other things

Spoiler

Tower 6 requires Warp Magic for 100% and while you can get 100% on Tower 9 without it, there is a chest that you can see but not reach without Warp. You can buy Warp for 150k on Tower 8 so you better start saving

Because the puzzle took too long to be figured out? If a puzzle is made for entertainment the designer probably has some form of time frame in which it will be solved. If you say you don't want the puzzle to be too easy then obviously you mean you don't want it to be solved in 10 seconds or less, or maybe one, or the moment someone sees it. You are probably not making a puzzle that demands years of someones time to be solved either.

That floor puzzle could have been made without any hint what so ever, it can still be solved. You just have to try all the combinations of switches possible until you get to the right one.

You can't design puzzles in a way that everyone takes the same amount of time without making it absolutely trivial. I enjoy puzzles that make you think a bit, even if I get stuck for a day. There was a puzzle I got stuck in for weeks in Mystic Quest back in the day without internet. It's still one of my favourite games ever. I guess we'll just have to disagree here.
And as I said, the puzzle gives you exactly the right amount of hints. Saying nothing would be stupid as it would be trial and error, but the hint gives you all the onformation you need so you don't have to resort to that.

 

[Seda]

I can only speak for myself, but I thought the clue (the combination of the text and the button layout) was enough to give away the solution without being obvious.

 

[AwRy108]

You can flip through floors on the map screen with L and R

I looked the floors up so you don't spoil yourself on other things

Spoiler

Tower 6 requires Warp Magic for 100% and while you can get 100% on Tower 9 without it, there is a chest that you can see but not reach without Warp. You can buy Warp for 150k on Tower 8 so you better start saving

Thank you for this! Looks like I have to save up a lot of $ before Tower 6, or just plan on returning later on. The spoiler-free heads-up is much appreciated.

 

[Lostconfused]

And as I said, the puzzle gives you exactly the right amount of hints. Saying nothing would be stupid as it would be trial and error, but the hint gives you all the onformation you need so you don't have to resort to that.

Clearly this is not true by the number of complaints surrounding this puzzle in this thread.

 

[YianGaruga]

Thank you for this! Looks like I have to save up a lot of $ before Tower 6, or just plan on returning later on. The spoiler-free heads-up is much appreciated.

I had to go back because I didn't expect it to be required, but if you start saving now it shouldn't be too difficult to reach it. Thankfully, the spell is awesome for the rest of the game as well and makes many things a lot less tedious.

Clearly this is not true by the number of complaints surrounding this puzzle in this thread.

As I said, we have to agree to disagree here. I enjoyed the puzzle as did others, who agree that it gives you enough information.

 

[jdkluv]

I'm just going to leave this here...

This is the very same plaque for the SNES version, and I don't recall seeing anyone complaining about this one even though it's way, wayyyyy more cryptic than the English PSP plaque (which is even less confusing than the Japanese one, since it literally reveals the answer). The weirdest part is that the original PC-98 version also used

Spoiler

"sangō"

, so I can't help but wonder how Koei ended up with... this.

The only thing I can come up with is that they wanted to mean

Spoiler

35

with the

Spoiler

SE

in

Spoiler

Southeast

, which is just... what the hell Koei.

 

[Lostconfused]

The only thing I can come up with is that they wanted to mean

Spoiler

53

with the

Spoiler

SE

in

Spoiler

Southeast

, which is just... what the hell Koei.

Spoiler

Yep. If you stand at the door and look at the dial it would be SE if you flip it around its 35 from the door you enter the room. It's the same shape.

I am not sure if it would have been an easier or more difficult puzzle, but it avoids making suggestions as to which switches need to be pressed which is the problem with the PSP translation. At least in my opinion.

 

[Item_Screen]

I'm stuck on Fortress 2F. I read there is supposed to be a switch somewhere to open all of the doors but I can't find it after searching for the past hour. I have a green key but I don't think I can use it yet.

Edit: less than one minute after posting this I figured out what to do.

 

[Yuterald]

Well, but that's the whole point. The wording is designed to make you think outside the box in order to find a solution. It's one of the tougher puzzles in the game, but I don't think it's unfair -- just a little different.

I thought it worked pretty well, personally, but I'm sorry to everyone who got stuck there if you found it un-fun. And if you have any suggestions on how it could've been better handled in English, I'd love to hear them -- it's always good to know what works and what doesn't, for future consideration.

-Tom

No worries, Tom. I know you probably did your best with the translation. I blame the designer(s) more so in this instance. If anything, it was that first line on the plaque that threw me off the most, the one that said something along the lines of, "need not step on every switch" or whatever.

Yeah that's the problem, it made me think too far outside the box. When the solution was to just maybe flip the box over on its side or something.

Yes, exactly. I consider myself a really fucking seasoned dude when it comes to puzzles and shit and between my brother and I, this one just flew right over our heads. Seriously, some of the ideas we had were so fucking out of left-field, but how am I supposed to know what the developers were thinking? I think logic puzzles (especially ones where there's a vague riddle involved) are risky business (which is the main reason why I dislike La-Mulana). There's a way to do them and there's not a way to do them and Falcom fucked up with this one, in my opinion.

First thought we had was that maybe you had to push down all but 3 on the left and 5 on the right (taking that first line of the plaque into consideration). Then we started to think that the floor tiles had something to do with it. There were two different-colored floor tiles in that Tower and it seemed like there was a path/pattern at times when looking closely at the floor and which tile surrounded said switches. We tried so many different ideas including going clock-wise/counter clock-wise around the room only stepping on the darker floor tiles while hitting the respective amount of switches, etc. Christ, there could have been so many solutions to that "riddle" based on how the room was laid out. That wasn't even all of what we tried either!

But it's whatever, water under the bridge. Just a shame because shit like this really turns me off and I went over a week without playing the game because of that room.

 

[AlexVu]

Truly a huge pleasure to see this many people enjoy Brandish (and other Falcom games). I'm a few dungeons short from finishing Ares Mode, and I'm absolutely in love with the game so far, especially with the level design. Honestly, we need more games like this. Falcom used to be pretty creative with its games, the bump system in old Ys games, Brandish, or Sorcerian to name a few. Really hope Falcom will start doing that sort of stuff again.

 

[Tizoc]

This game started out slow for me but as I went exploring later floors I ended up liking it more.

I am at floor 8 and while the music is nice, having to hear the same tune for 1+ hour is kinda...lame lol.

Regardless I'm enjoying the game but I'd rather classify this as an Adventure/Dungeon Crawler game than an action game. Really like the 'puzzle' elements of the game so far.

BTW should I drop gold on armor and stuff? Doesn't seem to be worth it after I found a shield I bought a few minutes ago, in one of the rooms >_>;

EDIT: Just beat Dinque now that was a neat boss fight.

 

[Tizoc]

How the hell am I supposed to kill this 2nd boss, fucker moves so fast...

 

[Lostconfused]

But it's whatever, water under the bridge. Just a shame because shit like this really turns me off and I went over a week without playing the game because of that room.

Yep pretty much the same thing. Thought the same thing about the room layout as well, this puzzle could have definitely used an environmental hint besides the way the switches are laid out.

BTW should I drop gold on armor and stuff? Doesn't seem to be worth it after I found a shield I bought a few minutes ago, in one of the rooms >_>;

You can find almost every item in the game that is sold in shops. I think warp magic is probably the only thing really worth getting early.

 

[Tizoc]

OK finally made it to the tower. Managed to kill 2nd boss on my 2nd try lol.
I hate getting lost, doubt I'd 100% the entire game's maps but whatevs it is fun so far.
How many floors is the Tower again?

 

[wyrdwad]

It is poorly made if a player gets stuck for several hours longer than you planned that puzzle to be. From a design perspective when people behave outside of intended or expected manner the designer failed. Well maybe it was the intention that it was a near game ending puzzle, what do I know.

People will always get stuck on something, though, and there will always be a handful of people who "behave outside of the intended or expected manner." That's the nature of any puzzle in any game. If you design a puzzle that's so easy it can be solved by absolutely everyone, you've basically watered down the experience for those who enjoy a really good brain-teaser -- it's a situation where there will always be someone winding up disappointed, unfortunately.

Hell, whole games were built on the concept of puzzles that are extremely difficult and time-consuming to solve -- La-Mulana being the most recent I can think of, and Myst being the most popular.

I think logic puzzles (especially ones where there's a vague riddle involved) are risky business (which is the main reason why I dislike La-Mulana).

Speak of the devil! I guess different perspectives, and all that, as I presently rank La-Mulana as my #1 favorite game of all time. I *loved* the cryptic obtuseness of it, and felt beyond satisfied every time I solved one of its crazy-hard puzzles. I'd love to see more games like it.

(Incidentally, the "southeast" solution from the SNES version was actually pretty clever on Koei's part. Even more cryptic than the one I went with, but really interesting! Props to them for a well-considered puzzle localization.)

How many floors is the Tower again?

Another 10.

-Tom

 

[Tizoc]

10 floors shouldn't be too much trouble, bring on the bosses!

Spoiler

How do I trigger Headless? I must know!

 

[Lostconfused]

People will always get stuck on something, though, and there will always be a handful of people who "behave outside of the intended or expected manner." That's the nature of any puzzle in any game. If you design a puzzle that's so easy it can be solved by absolutely everyone, you've basically watered down the experience for those who enjoy a really good brain-teaser -- it's a situation where there will always be someone winding up disappointed, unfortunately.

Hell, whole games were built on the concept of puzzles that are extremely difficult and time-consuming to solve -- La-Mulana being the most recent I can think of, and Myst being the most popular.

And was I playing La-Mulana and didn't know it? I somehow managed to forget to attach a mouse to a sony handheld for all the point and clicking that's happening.

I must have missed the note where this is a puzzle or a point and click adventure where the puzzle has to be a dominating feature of the entire game.

Sarcasm aside. Why shouldn't this puzzle be too easy? So what if it is watered down. The majority of the gameplay and mechanics are centered around an entirely different form of puzzle solving and exploration and experimentation.

 

[YianGaruga]

And was I playing La-Mulana and didn't know it? I somehow managed to forget to attach a mouse to a sony handheld for all the point and clicking that's happening.

I must have missed the note where this is a puzzle or a point and click adventure where the puzzle has to be a dominating feature of the entire game.

You seem very upset about a single slightly difficult puzzle that you couldn't solve.

 

[Lostconfused]

You seem very upset about a single slightly difficult puzzle that you couldn't solve.

Nah I am upset by you and your posts and your inability to see how the current state of the the puzzle drags down the overall quality of this game.

 

[YianGaruga]

Nah I am upset by you and your posts and your inability to see how the current state of the the puzzle drags down the overall quality of this game.

Well it absoultely doesn't for me. It's not an objectively bad puzzle. I enjoyed it very much and wouldn't have had a problem with it even if I failed to solve it. It's a matter of perspective and when I fail to solve a puzzle I usually see the fault in my ability unless it is EXTREMELY obtuse and stupid, which this one wasn't.