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Crimson Dragon |OT| This Orta be good

Neifirst

Member
Just mopped up all 1000/1000 Achievements. The no damage medal on the final boss was super frustrating until I maxed out that neutral/void element dragon (which took forever). I also S-ranked every stage along the way. I still have three dragons to max out though in order for my database to be (temporarily) complete. Had so much fun this. Definitely going to be a late entry into my top 10 games of 2013. I think I'll hold off on maxing out the other dragons until they add more to the game. I'll probably try and get some of those challenges done over the next few weeks too (Christ at 100 bosses though...). More updates/content, please!

Congratulations! I just completed my first run through this morning and have earned 790/1000 achievements. Going to go back and start upgrading other dragons - I've only maxed out my starter so far. Did Microsoft ever imply new content would be added? If so, I'll be there day one.
 

Alx

Member
I thought it was mentioned that a patch adding multiplayer would be coming in December, but I don't think it happened yet.
I wouldn't mind simple features like letting you buy low level dragons to start upgrading them again, or at the very least letting you downgrade your current dragons. Once you have all of them maxxed, there's not much to do in the game anymore, except breezing through the levels.
 

Redshirt

Banned
I played a few rounds with my brother, and it's fun.

The wingman is an actual player now, there's no special wingman attack and the levels (at least the one's I tried) have been adjusted, including adding beacons.

I just wish they would have added this earlier. I've beaten the main game, nearly maxed all my dragons and have most achievements -- I'm only missing two medals for Overachiever.
 

bumpkin

Member
Really tempted to give this a whirl after seeing a bunch of positive opinions here. I'm another one of the Knack lovers who can't understand its low review scores. I get the impression that if I dug past Panzer Dragoon games and love RPG hooks, Crimson Dragon should rub me the right way.
 

Timu

Member
Really tempted to give this a whirl after seeing a bunch of positive opinions here. I'm another one of the Knack lovers who can't understand its low review scores. I get the impression that if I dug past Panzer Dragoon games and love RPG hooks, Crimson Dragon should rub me the right way.
It's not as good as those games but for 20 bucks it's worth a try.
 
Looks like the sale is for Gold members only.

Which I am one of, so I am picking this up finally. I was waiting for a sale and a 25% discount isn't huge but I don't want to totally cheap out on my support of the game either since I hope we get more like it. I had already played it some and I think it's definitely worth $15.
 

Gestault

Member
Call me late to the party, i guess, but how was the re-balancing of the in-game economy after the reaction to the microtransactions? Is it fairly respectful of your play-time at this point?
 

JaggedSac

Member
Damn, I would really like a demo for this game. $15 is right at that threshold of wanting to be sure I like it before pulling the trigger.
 

SAB CA

Sketchbook Picasso
Looks like the game's gone on sale for $14.99. Just got my XB1 and will for sure pick it up:

https://store.xbox.com/en-US/Xbox-One/Games/Crimson-Dragon/22562d7e-152c-4b14-8091-c8656dcb7f46

Hmm, I wonder for how long.

As Last week's was Powerstar's Sale, coinciding with it's big content patch, I'd assume Crimson Dragon's will take over this weeks, in celebration of it's patch. So it'll probably last to next Monday Night.

Call me late to the party, i guess, but how was the re-balancing of the in-game economy after the reaction to the microtransactions? Is it fairly respectful of your play-time at this point?

The game was rebalanced to have increased drops even before it came out. And then after that, it was adjusted so that partner dragons would be cheaper to obtain at each level.

The missions are quick, and if you like going for gold medals / S ranks, you should have no issues having all the money you'll ever need. The most disrespectful acts to your time come with hunting for rare antibodies to level up your dragon / unlock new stages, and grinding dragon element changes, if you want a full bestiary. Everything else is pretty short, sweet, and low on real grinding.
 

SegaShack

Member
I was really excited for this game before the X1 launch but the negative impressions scared me away. After watching even more videos of the game I determined there is one thing that bothers me. The commander lady who calls you during the game really interrupts the feel of the environment and game to me. Is there any way to turn her off?
 

Alx

Member
Call me late to the party, i guess, but how was the re-balancing of the in-game economy after the reaction to the microtransactions? Is it fairly respectful of your play-time at this point?

Definitely, if anything it was much too easy to gather money, items and power-ups, I had all my dragons unlocked and most of them maxxed out in no time. At no moment was I tempted to unlock something through a paid transaction.
I think unlocking and upgrading dragons would have felt more rewarding if it was a bit harder.
 

SAB CA

Sketchbook Picasso
I was really excited for this game before the X1 launch but the negative impressions scared me away. After watching even more videos of the game I determined there is one thing that bothers me. The commander lady who calls you during the game really interrupts the feel of the environment and game to me. Is there any way to turn her off?

I haven't seen an option to do so, but I wouldn't really look for it either. She's no different than having your wingmen speak to you in Starfox, or Ace Combat; you're part of a division in this game, so it just comes with the territory.

She doesn't really constantly speak or anything; she pops up to inform on info on missions or story significant monsters, but there's plenty of times in missions where it's simply flight an music that are heard.

Definitely, if anything it was much too easy to gather money, items and power-ups, I had all my dragons unlocked and most of them maxxed out in no time. At no moment was I tempted to unlock something through a paid transaction.
I think unlocking and upgrading dragons would have felt more rewarding if it was a bit harder.

Hmmm. I never found it THAT easy. I often came to times when I was missing a needed mat, and since the Bestiary isn't as full-fledged at it should be, sometimes, I didn't know where I'd have to hunt for it. The cost of changing a dragon to each element as you raise them will also make it harder to keep all mats constantly in stock, if one wishes to be such a completionist.

Upgrades never felt non-rewarding to me, especially since the attack levels actually felt good, (satisfying increase in lockons, explosive effects, extra model pizazz), and I generally concentrated on one at a time, which left other dragons lagging behind.

I loved the fact that enemies that would take 3 minutes to kill would suddenly take SECONDS with the right payload, ampule, and appropriate attack type. THAT might have felt too easy once the initial Thrill is gone, but I guess that's what Insane is for...
 

Subaru

Member
I'm buying a XO this week and I was very excited about this game, until I saw the reviews.
But it seems that game journlalists don't know how to have fun anymore. =[
 

Redshirt

Banned
The reviews aren't fair to this game, but it's not a great game either. They botched the free-flight levels in particular, and the story and voiceovers are kind of terrible.

Still, I had a lot of fun with it, and if you think you might like it, you'll definitely get $15 out of it.
 
The reviews aren't fair to this game, but it's not a great game either. They botched the free-flight levels in particular, and the story and voiceovers are kind of terrible.

Still, I had a lot of fun with it, and if you think you might like it, you'll definitely get $15 out of it.

This is pretty much how I feel about it. It's a 6-7/10 but not a 4/10 for sure. The presentation really brings it down for me. The music is wonderful, though.
 

PG2G

Member
I'm a huge Panzer fan and found the game essentially unplayable due to controls in the first level or two I played.

Maybe I need to give it more time, but it was just bad.
 

nateeasy

Banned
For those of you who are a fan of Crimson Dragon, one of the Xbox One launch titles, you may be pleased to know that a couple of new features are coming to the game. Both multiplayer mode and a new "Insane" difficulty are now ready to be experienced.

Title Update Today.
 

Gestault

Member
The game was re-balanced to have increased drops even before it came out. And then after that, it was adjusted so that partner dragons would be cheaper to obtain at each level.

The missions are quick, and if you like going for gold medals / S ranks, you should have no issues having all the money you'll ever need. The most disrespectful acts to your time come with hunting for rare antibodies to level up your dragon / unlock new stages, and grinding dragon element changes, if you want a full bestiary. Everything else is pretty short, sweet, and low on real grinding.

Definitely, if anything it was much too easy to gather money, items and power-ups, I had all my dragons unlocked and most of them maxed out in no time. At no moment was I tempted to unlock something through a paid transaction.
I think unlocking and upgrading dragons would have felt more rewarding if it was a bit harder.

Thanks for the responses! I'm glad to hear it. This was already on my list of "gonna geddit" titles, even knowing the initial shortcomings.
 

Alx

Member
I'm 50/50 with this one. Is it basically an onrails shooter?

Yes, although you can also move your dragon within the boundaries of the screen to avoid enemy attacks, but he will follow a predefined path. Some boss fights are supposed to be "free flight" but they're not that great and easily confusing.

I think Edge had a decent review of it, even if the final score was quite low : it can be a frustrating game at first when your dragon is weak and you need to get used to the controls (moving and aiming with both sticks). Once you and your dragon are more skilled, the game becomes quite easy and replaying the same levels over and over again is rather soothing.
It's not a game I would recommend to everybody, but I did like it a lot (and will go back to it now that a harder difficulty is available)
 
I'm a huge Panzer fan and found the game essentially unplayable due to controls in the first level or two I played.

Maybe I need to give it more time, but it was just bad.

The controls are better once you unlock a faster dragon. I felt the same way you felt when I first played it. The gameplay sorts itself out in later levels, but I still find the crutch to be the game's presentation. It just feels like a bunch of short levels strung together with a terrible story. The "cut-scenes" are the laziest thing ever especially for a game inspired by something as cinematic as Panzer Dragoon. The game is a huge disappointment overall for me mainly because of this stuff.
 

SAB CA

Sketchbook Picasso
The reviews aren't fair to this game, but it's not a great game either. They botched the free-flight levels in particular, and the story and voiceovers are kind of terrible.

... but I still find the crutch to be the game's presentation. It just feels like a bunch of short levels strung together with a terrible story. The "cut-scenes" are the laziest thing ever especially for a game inspired by something as cinematic as Panzer Dragoon.

I actually didn't hate the story. I think it left a lot of room for expanding the franchise in a multitude of directions. It also ties in well with how the Antibodies work.
I never find it bad to give "world" reasons why "gameplay inspired" story ideas work. It gives a reason to why instances of situations, the same world with growing variations, and obvious, rapid evolution could all occur. At least it's more original than "Hey, here's an unexplored world... GO EXPLORE IT!"
I was quite happy at the end when the game basically told me "this is just one of many adventures left to tell in this universe!" rather than "Errr.. we're not sure if we'll make enough money to go on... so... SOLID GAM OVER!"

And I liked the art for the Cinematics. It's a $15 ~ $20 download. Not a $60 retail title. Given the rough life it must have had as a cross gen development to new hardware, I thought they did rather well.

I'm a huge Panzer fan and found the game essentially unplayable due to controls in the first level or two I played.

Maybe I need to give it more time, but it was just bad.

It'd probably help everyone out if they made the default dragon just a BIT faster. I disliked the feeling that I couldn't just move out of the direction of shots; the early game basically depends on using barrel rolls to dodge.

Free-flight never felt 100% right either, mostly because they don't let you rotate around a central target; it basically just gives you a bit too much freedom of movement, but needs a more limited camera and movement during those sequences.

But I say it's all pretty minor once you get used to it. Dragons grow in speed, and Ampule's will allow you to push your speed earlier, faster. Slower dragons still act sluggish in comparison, but they have the armor, life, and barrel rolls to compensate. The best stages in the game know exactly how to lay themselves out in response to your abilities, and you'll find yourself falling into a perfect feedback of deft motion = perfect success.

Oh, and I've made the comment before in this thread, but the proper use of your wingman also seems to be intended by design. His ability to tag the few enemies you miss, or thin the herd to make the bullet patterns and enemy approach more reasonable and well-laid, is crucial to the gameplay. Taking a weak, medium, or overpowered partner into battle also is almost like an active toggle to difficulty.

I guess many just wanted this to be a PD HD skin, but I really appreciate the ideas they tried to bring to the table in this game. And it's really the chance to see them perfect those that most excites me about the potential series, rather than just "PD IN HD!"

Though I really think they would do well to offer a bonus / unlockable version of the game that is old-school tuned and balanced, too. Most of the work is basically already there!
 

KAOS

Member
The co-op multiplayer is a nice free addition to Crimson Dragon! Kudos to Grounding Inc!!!

I wouldn't mind paying for some future dlc (more dragons, another level, another boss etc).
 

Yuterald

Member
Title update/patch added new multiplayer achievements. Add Unexpected Enemy if anyone wants to try some rounds with me. I'll be on a bit tomorrow, I think.

EDIT: So, tried multiplayer last night with random people and it's pretty fun. I was so excited when I heard a different track in the lobby that wasn't used in the regular game. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think the lobby music is from Side Story, the window phone game. I thought for a second they maybe applied the Side Story renditions of the OST to the multiplayer mode, but I quickly realized that wasn't the case when I launched my first mission. They also added a bunch of new challenges based on multiplayer too. Ugh, so much pressure to get these done and I have like no time for it, hah!

If anyone's interested, I'm looking for a dedicated weekend warrior for getting all S-ranks in mutliplayer mode (as they keep track of your ranks separately). For the next 3 months I can only play games on the weekend due to my crazy work schedule so if anyone's interested, hit me up.
 

Caayn

Member
So is the new insane difficulty exclusive for mutliplayer? I can't find it in singleplayer.

Edit: Woohoo multiplayer achievements in a game that nobody plays online >.> /s
 

bumpkin

Member
Title update/patch added new multiplayer achievements. Add Unexpected Enemy if anyone wants to try some rounds with me. I'll be on a bit tomorrow, I think.

EDIT: So, tried multiplayer last night with random people and it's pretty fun. I was so excited when I heard a different track in the lobby that wasn't used in the regular game. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think the lobby music is from Side Story, the window phone game. I thought for a second they maybe applied the Side Story renditions of the OST to the multiplayer mode, but I quickly realized that wasn't the case when I launched my first mission. They also added a bunch of new challenges based on multiplayer too. Ugh, so much pressure to get these done and I have like no time for it, hah!

If anyone's interested, I'm looking for a dedicated weekend warrior for getting all S-ranks in mutliplayer mode (as they keep track of your ranks separately). For the next 3 months I can only play games on the weekend due to my crazy work schedule so if anyone's interested, hit me up.
I'm in the same boat (game mainly on the weekends), so I'll send you a friend request. If you see one come in from "DaveB1980", that's me.

I decided at the last shot of the gun last night -- since the sale likely ends today -- to give the game a go and bought it. Haven't had a chance to actually play it yet, but hope to do so tonight for a little bit.
 

Amneisac

Member
So I noticed this is/was on sale for $14.99. Is that just unique to this game or was that part of some kind of weekly rotating sale thing MS is doing?
 

Plinko

Wildcard berths that can't beat teams without a winning record should have homefield advantage
So I noticed this is/was on sale for $14.99. Is that just unique to this game or was that part of some kind of weekly rotating sale thing MS is doing?

Weekly sale. Last week was Powerstar Golf.
 

bumpkin

Member
Finally gave the game a whirl after buying it on sale a few weeks ago. First impressions are it's clearly a ported last-gen game, art is great, but the appearance is rough. Though I don 't have big issues with the starter dragon's maneuverability, I do find the camera shifting constantly to be really disorientating. I found it tough to consistently track and lock onto enemies. It makes tasks like catching all the beacons trying.

I don't hate it or regret the purchase, but it definitely has a learning curve; what sucks is the learning involves adapting to the janky perspective all the time.
 
Didn't see this till today but the game has gotten updated with a couple challenges that will unlock what looks like the void variant for each dragon.

Too bad at least one of the dragons are locked behind multiplayer challenges.
 

Caayn

Member
Welp, just completed this game again. The new achievements are glitchy.

The Breaking the Bank achievement which requires you to get a total of 2m credits in your account didn't pop-up till I had 2.227.740.
 

KAOS

Member
I'm very much enjoying this game thanks in part to the variable achievements. I wish i knew how to unlock some of the void dragons as I'm missing some. I also wish i knew how to unlock some of the sub/secodary weapon seeds. I got a powerful panzer breaker sub but I don't know how I attained it. Anyway having fun playing co-op!
 

Alx

Member
Most power-ups are earned randomly while playing the levels, especially by clearing whole groups of enemies or rare monsters. But you can also buy item packs from the shop (don't use real money, you'll get all the currency you need from the game).
 

Timu

Member
I finally beaten it today even though I had the game since day one...man I want to hunt down the 2 Panzer Dragoon games on Saturn now(Zwei and Saga) now as this wasn't anywhere near as good as the original and Orta(barely ok though).
 

Frog-fu

Banned
I suspect this thread will be considerably more livelier in the days to come since it's going to be free with GwG in August..
 
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