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Knack |OT| Playin' Knack in my Tub!

W

WheelHoss1

Member
Glad I added more GAFers to my Friends list. I'm WheelHoss1 there too for any more Knack heads looking to complete crystal collections.
 
J

jwk94

Member
So now that I've beaten the game, what do I do? I want to get some more of the gadget parts and things like that and beat it on Very Hard. Do I go tto new game, chapter select, or what?
 
F

Fushichou187

Member
jwk94 said:
So now that I've beaten the game, what do I do? I want to get some more of the gadget parts and things like that and beat it on Very Hard. Do I go tto new game, chapter select, or what?
Click to expand...

You should try to finish your collections of crystals and gadget parts via the "Continue" option, not the "New Game" because that will reset your collectibles to zero. When you choose Continue you'll start a new game on the same difficulty you beat it in but with your gadgets and crystals intact. No chapter select. You should try for some trophies if you're on Hard difficulty and friend some GAFers so that your chances of getting better loot from the chests increases. Once you're collected everything, including all diamonds to unlock Diamond Knack, then play through Very Hard with DK.

cpp_is_king said:
2/10 on diamonds out of 2 playthroughs. freakin terrible.
Click to expand...

First playthrough, nothing. I'm in beginning of my second PT (Chapter 4 now) and have 4 diamonds from it, 2 of them through that restart farming method. Feel free to add me to add to your diamond haul. The diamonds I've gotten so far will be in 2-2, 2-4, 3-1, and 4-1. Where did you pick up your diamonds?
 
J

Jarsonot

Member
Got to chapter 11 last night (hard). I'm really liking it so far. I can sort of see what the reviewers were saying, and if you don't like the combat it would grow tiresome, but I do like the combat.

I like the variety of worlds, the upgrading, the combat, finding the hidden items, and even the story. It's certainly not the most challenging of games but I like to have something to throw in and "relax" to. I don't regret getting it at all. Now to collect all those crystals! <gulp>
 
S

snorggy

Member
So I've done two playthroughs on normal and one on hard... can you guys access ALL the items i've collected or only the ones from my most recent play through? How does that work?
 
B

binarymelon

Member
I beat the game last weekend and I'm just wondering if people are fairly sure that this will hit the Instant Game Collection eventually. I can actually trade it back in for the same value that I paid for it (minus the taxes) and but would eventually like to play it some more and try and platinum it. I know that no one knows for sure, I guess I'm just hoping for some reassurance.
 
C

cbrun44

Member
binarymelon said:
I beat the game last weekend and I'm just wondering if people are fairly sure that this will hit the Instant Game Collection eventually. I can actually trade it back in for the same value that I paid for it (minus the taxes) and but would eventually like to play it some more and try and platinum it. I know that no one knows for sure, I guess I'm just hoping for some reassurance.
Click to expand...

Even if this doesn't hit PS+, which it will, Knack will be dirt cheap sooner rather than later.

Already $49 on Amazon at this moment.
 
F

Fushichou187

Member
cpp_is_king said:
Apparently diamonds cant be shared sadly. Also been doing some restart farming, im up to 4 now
Click to expand...

That's horrible if true. Has that been officially confirmed or is it still anecdotal since nobody has picked one up yet from a friend? I'm interested also in knowing how the game determines which chest drop from a friend to show you; say you've already played through the game twice and picked up two different items from the same chest, then your friend does their playthrough, opens that chest, which item do they see? Does the most recent drop overwrite the previous one or does it randomly select the drop out of the ones you've logged? If the latter then perhaps there's still a chance that a diamond may drop. Just farmed my 5th diamond from the first chest in 4-3. By far the easiest one to farm since it take about 3min to get to.

If they ever release an update patch for the game the least they could do is patch it so they game knows not to randomly spawn crystals once you already have unlocked that Knack type (like how they handle gadgets) so that farming wouldn't be necessary.
 
C

cpp_is_king

Member
Fushichou187 said:
That's horrible if true. Has that been officially confirmed or is it still anecdotal since nobody has picked one up yet from a friend? I'm interested also in knowing how the game determines which chest drop from a friend to show you; say you've already played through the game twice and picked up two different items from the same chest, then your friend does their playthrough, opens that chest, which item do they see? Does the most recent drop overwrite the previous one or does it randomly select the drop out of the ones you've logged? If the latter then perhaps there's still a chance that a diamond may drop. Just farmed my 5th diamond from the first chest in 4-3. By far the easiest one to farm since it take about 3min to get to.

If they ever release an update patch for the game the least they could do is patch it so they game knows not to randomly spawn crystals once you already have unlocked that Knack type (like how they handle gadgets) so that farming wouldn't be necessary.
Click to expand...

It's anecdotal. People have played in parties together and they will report to their friends when they get a diamond, and they show up at that chest and there's no diamonds. There are other people who have Diamond Knacks on their friends list and those people never see diamonds in treasure chests.

Restart farming seems to be the way to go. I've gotten 3 diamonds and an emerald so far just on my current playthrough and I'm not even in chapter 4 yet.

Also, most diamonds i'm farming take about 45 seconds to get to. Off the top of my head, there's 1-2, 2-2, and 3-3 are all extremely fast to get to. Just skip all the enemies, and when there's a locked gate where you have to kill enemies, use circle triangle.
 
C

cpp_is_king

Member
Using the chapter restart method for farming diamonds makes me really wish I had an SSD in this thing. It takes about a minute per restart just for loading screens. I bet that would be down to 20 seconds with an SSD.
 
C

Cmagus

Member
I played the app for a few hours last night because work was dead and I finished like almost all of my gadgets from the stuff I earned in it last night and I also received a bunch of crystals almost maxed out my brittle knack.The app thing is a really cool idea and really helps although those transforming animations that interrupt the game is driving me insane.
 
K

krae_man

Member
What's the best stratagy for choosing what item to take between what you found and what your friends found?

Just take what's rarest?
 
C

cpp_is_king

Member
Took about 4 hours to get 8 diamonds using the chapter restart method. Ironically, I still need 3 emeralds.

gCovl3Sl.jpg
 
B

Bebpo

Banned
On Chapter 8 and even though I like this, I'm starting to see the complaints about repetition. The game really shouldn't be this long. There's not enough content to keep it exciting past about 6 chapters. The game itself is a really solid foundation with good gameplay systems, nice graphics, and decent kids story. That + 5 hour length = perfect launch game that sets up for fleshed out sequel in 2 years.

At 10+ hours...it's starting to go from "can't put this down and have to play 3-4 levels at a time" to "this is tiring, I'll try to do at least 3 levels at a time so I can move slowly toward finishing this off"

The other thing is that that chapter 7 and the start of 8 have very few secrets. Like every secret area is just sunstones, not items. That really makes the game less fun. Part of the fun, even with the repetition, is seeking out the hidden areas and getting items and building stuff or unlocking forms. That's really fun (although the pacing for unlocking those should've been much faster so you'd get new items to use throughout your first run). But yeah, the city has like almost none from what I could find. Was all sunstones or relics. So the game's been a bit of a bore and I'm still not any closer to finishing any of my items. The only thing I really liked in chapter 7 was the boss fight.

Will see this through the end, but yeah, hoping it picks up a little. Was really enthusiastic about the game for a while, but now it's burning out on me.
 
E

Elvick

Banned
Loved Knack. I don't think the metacritic should be below a 7 personally. I know there's not much to it, but it's just fun to play.

I did have some framerate drops in the city that was often demo'd for the game. You'd think the area that they demo would be one of the best ones in terms of performance. Otherwise, I didn't really notice any problems.

Cmagus said:
The app thing is a really cool idea and really helps although those transforming animations that interrupt the game is driving me insane.
Click to expand...
That's my only real complaint with Knack's Quest, outside of it not being on PS Vita. The transfer would be more straight forward if it were on PS Vita I'm sure. I still don't know how I transferred over my stuff. I wasn't working, then it was. :\

xD (I don't mind that it's on mobile, but not on Vita at all is annoying, but it's Sony. Oversights are what they do.)

The transitions should be patched out, or the amounts per round should be increased on endless mode. It's far too fast to knock out the first two rounds.
 
M

MazeHaze

Banned
I was skeptical about this game, but my cousin wanted to buy me a game to pay me back for something, so I went with this over 2k14, and I love it. If you don't like to die over and over again, this isn't the game for you, but if you dont mind that, the game is great.
graphics are great too. Just that gold orb at the center of Knack, the lighting on it when it moves, good shit.
 
C

Cmagus

Member
Just finished the game on hard and damn its so good I really hope they make a second game. Overall I really enjoyed it the game was certainly challenging but it was a good challenge which I enjoyed.I know some people say Dark Souls but damn I was dying just as much over and over it was so punishing. I also loved the art style it really has a nice Saturday morning cartoon vibe and its nice to see some coulor. Aside from a few bits of slow down a few times they really made a good game I certainly disagree very much with most reviewers.

I wonder what difficulty they've been playing it on because for me it was really challenging for most encounters like you really had to plan for some of them. I wonder how this is on a lower difficulty. The story was good although geared at more of a young audience I had a few chuckles and just overall good moments. Voice acting was really good and the music was pretty decent although I wasn't a fan they reused music from Sly cooper but meh minor gripe.Those end credits are also awesome who knew Knack could really move.
 
weevles

weevles

Member
I tried the demo, and it was fun. Gameplay mechanics are solid. I can see it getting repetitive though if that's more or less all there is.

I do think this will go PS+ for PS4 eventually.
 
C

cpp_is_king

Member
I think I've got the two most difficult trophies now (the one for upgrading all characters, and the one for beating a level without getting hit). So I guess now it's just a matter of time before I get the platinum.

I guess Very Hard might be difficult, but seems like with Diamond Knack it shouldn't be too bad.
 
F

Fushichou187

Member
cpp_is_king said:
I think I've got the two most difficult trophies now (the one for upgrading all characters, and the one for beating a level without getting hit). So I guess now it's just a matter of time before I get the platinum.

I guess Very Hard might be difficult, but seems like with Diamond Knack it shouldn't be too bad.
Click to expand...

That one (needs to be Hard difficulty) can get pretty rage-inducing-- not as much as the 50-hit Combo trophy but still. In hindsight, I should have probably done this on 1-2 since there are tons of sunstones around that you can use to take out mobs from a distance and only two (maybe 3) robots with guns equipped. However I ended up getting this trophy in 4-2 because I thought that the emphasis on stealth kills in that stage synergized well. I was wrong. I got it in the end but it took me about 15 runs to get it.
 
V

Voror

Member
So how does the reset trick work? Is it just exiting out and going back in until you get the item you want or is there more to it?
 
F

Fushichou187

Member
Voror said:
So how does the reset trick work? Is it just exiting out and going back in until you get the item you want or is there more to it?
Click to expand...

That's pretty much it. The chest contents are random so you open a chest and if you don't want the item offered you hit the PS button to exit out, then Option -> Close Application -> Start the game again. The chest you just opened will be closed and you'll have another chance. The biggest drawback though is that when you quit you'll be sent back to the beginning of that chapter. So it's better to do this with chests that are close to the beginning of the chapters and are easy to make quick runs to. I think 4-1 and 4-3 have chests that are super close to the beginning.
 
K

kaching

"GAF's biggest wanker"
Finished my first playthrough last night and I stand by my earlier thoughts from about 3-4 chapters in. It's still a game that doesn't really explore the full potential of the core concept enough, but within the confines of what it does do, it's still a very enjoyable, memorable romp. The endgame in particular really pulls a lot together, conveying the transition from small to massive Knack very well in the span of minutes, the final chapter boss battles are exceptional and even the end credits are actually worth watching.

The final chapter really does highlight the missed opportunities though. Somewhat spoilerish from this point on but nothing too specific about plot:

As massive as Knack gets at this point, you're still being herded down discrete corridors. There is only a very limited nod to Knack's destructive power by scattering a few rigged environmental objects that can be smashed but this game concept really deserves a more comprehensive, dynamic, environmental destruction model.

The game also decides to suddenly throw in a game mechanic in the very last moments of the game that had me almost yelling at the TV because they waited so long to introduce the concept: letting Knack use his relics to form objects in the environment. Unfortunately, it's just as scripted as earlier uses of Knack's relics (as keys mostly) and doesn't give the player any real control other than to trigger a scripted event. But it nonetheless shines a light on what the game could have been capable of.

I hope there's a Knack 2 because I found the game world very engaging in many respects but I also hope Cerny an co. have the ability/resources to significantly expand Knack's potential for both destruction and creation and that we see much more dynamic interplay of these forces in the sequel.

3.5/5

Edit: Meant to also give some credit to the soundtrack. Channels John Williams' adventure themes in a good way. Kept getting an Indiana Jones vibe thanks to a few of the tracks in this game.
 
V

Voror

Member
Fushichou187 said:
That's pretty much it. The chest contents are random so you open a chest and if you don't want the item offered you hit the PS button to exit out, then Option -> Close Application -> Start the game again. The chest you just opened will be closed and you'll have another chance. The biggest drawback though is that when you quit you'll be sent back to the beginning of that chapter. So it's better to do this with chests that are close to the beginning of the chapters and are easy to make quick runs to. I think 4-1 and 4-3 have chests that are super close to the beginning.
Click to expand...

Gotcha. Sounds a bit irritating but worth trying nonetheless if I can try and get Diamond Knack faster. Thanks.
 
C

cpp_is_king

Member
Fushichou187 said:
That's pretty much it. The chest contents are random so you open a chest and if you don't want the item offered you hit the PS button to exit out, then Option -> Close Application -> Start the game again. The chest you just opened will be closed and you'll have another chance. The biggest drawback though is that when you quit you'll be sent back to the beginning of that chapter. So it's better to do this with chests that are close to the beginning of the chapters and are easy to make quick runs to. I think 4-1 and 4-3 have chests that are super close to the beginning.
Click to expand...

Not just those. Almost every chapter under 4 with only 1 or 2 exceptions have very close chests that you can get to in less than 1 minute. I got all 8 of my diamonds that I needed before reaching chapter 5.

If you're thinking about putting in an SSD, do it before you get diamond knack. It will literally cut your time in half
 
F

Fushichou187

Member
cpp_is_king said:
If you're thinking about putting in an SSD, do it before you get diamond knack. It will literally cut your time in half
Click to expand...

I lol'd at the idea of Diamond Knack as pitchman for an SSD in your PS4. Did you swap one in? I'm still rocking the OEM HDD but was planning on picking up a 1TB SSHD because the 1TB SSDs are wayyyyyyy too expensive currently.

kaching said:
The endgame in particular really pulls a lot together, conveying the transition from small to massive Knack very well in the span of minutes, the final chapter boss battles are exceptional and even the end credits are actually worth watching. The final chapter really does highlight the missed opportunities though.
Click to expand...

I'm holding off my own review until I plat the game but I wanted to echo your sentiments here. The final area is pretty well put together and that bit you pointed out-- as well as the times you are Stealth Knack-- show some positive ways in which the series could evolve, but wish they had implemented more of it in this initial outing.

What I will say is that the scale of the final area, with as big as Knack gets as well as his ability to just stomp & swat everything, made me wish they had included an unlockable minigame that plays like old school Rampage with giant Knack and some of the other boss characters. And made it local MP.
 
K

kendrid

Banned
I just played the Knack demo at Target and it was fun. Sure it is simple but I was having a good time. I can see my kids enjoying this (until it gets too hard).

Hey Sony, why isn't the demo available for all of us? I own a PS4 and I had to play the demo at a retail store. That is stupid.
 
C

cpp_is_king

Member
Fushichou187 said:
I lol'd at the idea of Diamond Knack as pitchman for an SSD in your PS4. Did you swap one in? I'm still rocking the OEM HDD but was planning on picking up a 1TB SSHD because the 1TB SSDs are wayyyyyyy too expensive currently.
Click to expand...

I did not. But I clocked the load time from PS4 dashboard to controlling Knack on screen, and it's about 1 minute with stock HDD, and almost all of that is loading screen. It's also about 1 minute to get to treasure chest after a reload, so literally half your time is spent at loading screen. For me it took about 120-150 restarts to get 8 diamonds, so that's about 2-2.5 hours of loading screens. I think an SSD would cut the load screen times down to about 20 seconds per load, so it would have made quite a difference.

I'm already planning on getting the 1TB Samsung Evo SSD (I like to splurge on unnecessary shit, lol), but now I wish I had done it sooner :(
 
K

kaching

"GAF's biggest wanker"
Fushichou187 said:
What I will say is that the scale of the final area, with as big as Knack gets as well as his ability to just stomp & swat everything, made me wish they had included an unlockable minigame that plays like old school Rampage with giant Knack and some of the other boss characters. And made it local MP.
Click to expand...
I keep wishing that Sony would revive the War of Monsters IP. I was hoping some parts of Knack played a but more like that.
 
B

Bumhead

Banned
Still very much considering this for my EU launch pick ups on Friday.

Also looking at LEGO Marvel, seems to fill a similar sort of family friendly local co-op gap between all the sport, racing and shooters I'm buying.

Does anyone have any experience with both games on PS4 and can recommend one over the other?
 
C

cpp_is_king

Member
Here's a protip. When you're starting your playthrough on Hard / Very Hard, play the Knack's Quest iOS game for an hour or so first. You should get 2-3 gadget parts for every single gadget from playing the game. On my first playthrough I didn't even complete my first part until chapter 9. On my second playthrough, after loading up on parts from Knack's Quest, I had finished EVERY PART by chapter 10.

This makes an especially big difference on Very Hard, where you need all that extra stuff.
 
F

Fushichou187

Member
cpp_is_king said:
Here's a protip. When you're starting your playthrough on Hard / Very Hard, play the Knack's Quest iOS game for an hour or so first. You should get 2-3 gadget parts for every single gadget from playing the game. On my first playthrough I didn't even complete my first part until chapter 9. On my second playthrough, after loading up on parts from Knack's Quest, I had finished EVERY PART by chapter 10.

This makes an especially big difference on Very Hard, where you need all that extra stuff.
Click to expand...

Did you play KQ at all during your first playthrough? I'm still waiting to hear if those items I've unlocked can be re-received during subsequent new playthroughs (e.g. Very Hard).
 
C

cpp_is_king

Member
Fushichou187 said:
Did you play KQ at all during your first playthrough? I'm still waiting to hear if those items I've unlocked can be re-received during subsequent new playthroughs (e.g. Very Hard).
Click to expand...

I played KQ during my first playthrough on Normal. Got a bunch of gadget parts and crystals. When I went back into my first playthrough, I clicked Receive Item, but none of the gadget parts showed up on the lsit (since I had already received them through treasure chests).

Later, on my second playthrough on Hard (all gadgets reset to nothing), the Receive Item button was lit up again, so I clicked it and all the gadget parts I had earned from KQ were there, and I was able to take all of them.

I see no reason to think it would be any different on Very Hard.
 
B

Bebpo

Banned
I think it's kind of annoying that knack's quest makes the main game that much better with upgrades coming at a more normal pace. People bought a ps4 to play knack. It should be standalone and they shouldn't feel the need to buy an ios device to get a more normal experience.
 
F

Fushichou187

Member
Bebpo said:
I think it's kind of annoying that knack's quest makes the main game that much better with upgrades coming at a more normal pace. People bought a ps4 to play knack. It should be standalone and they shouldn't feel the need to buy an ios device to get a more normal experience.
Click to expand...

I agree that the way the randomization of drops-- crystals in particular-- is handled gets really frustrating, but all the iOS app does is fast-track gadget parts (crystals are one-time use as far as I can tell). This can easily be augmented by having a number of people in your friends list that are also playing Knack and thereby giving you a much wider choice of options in terms of what you get from chests. Just adding 4 or 5 GAFers alone has netted me a couple gadget parts as well as some much-needed crystals (Emeralds, but no diamonds) a lot faster.
 
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