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[citan]

Hi all, was wondering of $50 is worth it for Growlancer? I've never played it, and I know I'm certinaly not paying $90 for the special edition.


Thanks.

 

[Mejilan]

Dunno, but I DID preorder the 90 dollar beastie!

Somehow, I think it'll be better than FFXI, which I got for the same price, however! ;p

 

[Soul4ger]

Worth it.

 

[Suikoguy]

these are action rpgs?

 

[carbonbased]

Strategy-RPGs.

 

[Shouta]

Those two games for 50 bucks are definitely worth it. They`re in the same game mix category as Arc the Lad, not quite SRPGs but not quite RPG. It uses a strategy engine (if you need an example of a similar engine, all I can really think of is the upcoming FFXII and maybe KOTOR) for battles but movement and interaction is like a standard RPG outside of battle. I`m almost done with Growlanser 1 and I REALLY enjoy it. Brisk game that doesn`t feel extremely long and battles move at a sharp pace. If G2 and G3 follow suit with G1, they`ll lean more towards light strategy.

 

[RevenantKioku]

Shouta, I have no idea how good your Japanese is, but how hard would you say it is to read the story? Or is it pretty story light? I'm weighing between Growlanser or Tales of Phantasia for my next play.

 

[Shouta]

Growlanser is the spelling ;p.

Anyway, it`s fairly rough on the Japanese later on into the story with a lot of kanji being tossed around but it`s a bit easier to follow because of the voicing (allowing you to look up words in the dictionary alongside kanji if need be). The story itself is easy to follow but I`m not sure how much you`ll understand when it comes to some of the back story. There can also be a few places where you get "Gaijin locked" (got this term from a guy who wrote a quick guide to Growlanser 1 on the gamefaqs Growlanser forums, means you get stuck because you can`t read Japanese). Oh and if you can, I`d HIGHLY recommed playing G1 on emulator.

 

[RevenantKioku]

Why with the emulator? Not that I'd be able to anyway.

 

[Kumiko Nikaido]

This vaporware game charade has gone on 3 years far too long. Someone kick Vic in the nuts now.

 

[Scott]

This vaporware game charade has gone on 3 years far too long. Someone kick Vic in the nuts now.

3 years? These games weren't even announced to be coming over until E3 2002, with Growlanser 2 being scheduled for a 2003 release.

It was ready to come out in June/July of last year, until SCEA hit them with a rejection for the title, which ended up leading to the bundle idea. Then they had to wait until Growlanser 3 was complete (early 2004), and then get reapproval; and as you can tell by the missed March release date, they ran into more kinks with that.

So really, it's only been delayed a year now, and there's lots of obvious reasons behind the delays (unlike Lunar ). And now thanks to the bundle idea, we're getting both games for the price of one, and a few improvements to the graphics that were shoehorned into the deal. I think that's worth the wait, no?

 

[Shouta]

The emulator is a better idea because it runs the game faster on the whole (from what I hear) and the addition of better loading in general. You can also use the save states which is mighty helpful for skipping certain dialogue sections to get to certain battles you might need to redo rather than treading through the dialogue again.

 

[MoxManiac]

3 years? These games weren't even announced to be coming over until E3 2002, with Growlanser 2 being scheduled for a 2003 release.

Then he should be kicked in the nuts for expecting us to shell out $50 for an old ass game instead of bundling them. At least SCEA is good for something.

 

[Mejilan]

I wish we could have gotten the original.

And hey, some of us ARE getting both games for about the price of TWO games. ;p

 

[Shouta]

The original is pretty fun. I`ll write something up when I get back to Seattle and after I finish the game (almost done)

 

[Grizzlyjin]

I'm one of those freak that pre-ordered the $89.99 special edition. Damn, I'm such a sucker for gifts. The watch is what sent me over the edge...

 

[Mejilan]

I'll look forward to the read, Shouta.

Grizzly, some of us (me) are just plain suckers.

 

[Shouta]

I actually use my Arc The Lad pocketwatch all the time (I even have it on me here in Japan). I hope the Glanser watch is about as nice.

 

[Mejilan]

So, you're another sucker?

 

[Shouta]

I`ll probably get it to give them 40 extra bucks so they don`t farking die off on us. Don`t need another company going under.

 

[Shouta]

Oh and if you have any questions about Growlanser 1 that can be answered in a short burst, go ahead and ask ;p.

 

[Mejilan]

I'm with you on them dying off.

Quick question. Is there anything I need to know about the first that's pertinent to the other 2?

I do not know how sequential they are.

 

[Shouta]

The 2nd game occurs 2 years (IIRC) after the first game and has several characters that appear as characters that are choosable as sub-characters (in edition to the primary ones) I have the character guide and I can tell you which ones specifically appear as sub-characters in the game but the WD site also has 3 characters from G1 on it. Carmaine, Xenos, and Ernest are all G1 characters and had varying roles. Carmaine is the hero of G1, Xenos is a sub-character in G1. He also has a sister named Karen. Ernest is/was an Imperial Knight for the kingdom of Burnstein in G1.

Edit: Also, G1 focused on Rolandia (It`s characters being Rolandian primarily), one of the 3 kingdoms in the Growlanser series. G2 focuses on Burnstein.

 

[Scott]

Then he should be kicked in the nuts for expecting us to shell out $50 for an old ass game instead of bundling them.

Well, after Arc the Lad Collection, Vic didn't want to do anymore collections/bundles for awhile (if at all), so I doubt he gave it much more than a passing thought when he picked up the series. Plus with SCEA's policy on PSOne + PS2 bundles (ie: they're not allowed), it gave him even less reason to consider it.

And besides, how old were these games at the time? I was under the impression Growlanser 2 was a 2001 release, and 3 was in 2002, putting the games at 1 or 2 years old. Not much different from La Pucelle: Tactics, really.

And hey, some of us ARE getting both games for about the price of TWO games. ;p

Well, hey, at least we have a choice now. And speaking of, I'm still undecided on which version I'll be getting... :\

Don`t need another company going under.

Jeeze, no kidding. I was getting worried there these last few months, as nobody had heard from WD or even Vic since April... But with the new site updates, and an actual release date for Growlanser, it seems they're back on track.

And I hope Growlanser does well for them, or that they can branch off into other platforms (like they were thinking about), whatever works to keep them around really, as there's always room (and need) for companies like them.

 

[Shouta]

As for actual story elements, if there are some present in G2 that are from G1, I`ll probably keep a thread up to date so if anyone has questions about story from G1, they can ask in there when the game is released.

 

[MoxManiac]

I'll probably get the deluxe version too, in all my hypocritical glory.

Lord save me.

 

[Shouta]

Well, I picked up Growlanser 4 yesterday so I really don`t mind giving them some extra money. ;p