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Knack |OT| Playin' Knack in my Tub!

i had a question, so when you beat the game you can play through again or select chapters and maintain your items you found. but do i have to start a new game to play as a special knack, like vampire knack or whatever the others are with emerald, diamond, ect. and if so, would i still be able to have my items? like the secret detector?
 

Xenon

Member
i had a question, so when you beat the game you can play through again or select chapters and maintain your items you found. but do i have to start a new game to play as a special knack, like vampire knack or whatever the others are with emerald, diamond, ect. and if so, would i still be able to have my items? like the secret detector?

No, your items only exist in the current save which is locked on whatever difficulty you started with. In order to play as another Knack you have to make a new save and start from scratch.

Edit: It was not a very well thought out system.
 
No, your items only exist in the current save which is locked on whatever difficulty you started with. In order to play as another Knack you have to make a new save and start from scratch.

Edit: It was not a very well thought out system.

that's a bummer, i guess i'll have to do a little more grinding. i at least wanna get my emerald knack.
 

Elvick

Banned
Just need to beat the game on hard and very hard for my platinum.

For those who've beat the game on these difficulties, how frustrating is it? So far I've been doing well, I'm on hard and at the first real boss. Using Diamond Knack obviously.

How much harder is very hard? Because so far, hard with Diamond Knack feels more or less like normal with Basic Knack.
 

mrklaw

MrArseFace
In the knack ios app, is there any trick to getting gems, or is it just random? I have a bunch of the gadget parts already so if I get then in the app they are wasted.

Also, which gadgets are recommended? I think there are at least two that can't be equipped at the same time
 

diablos991

Can’t stump the diablos
Just need to beat the game on hard and very hard for my platinum.

For those who've beat the game on these difficulties, how frustrating is it? So far I've been doing well, I'm on hard and at the first real boss. Using Diamond Knack obviously.

How much harder is very hard? Because so far, hard with Diamond Knack feels more or less like normal with Basic Knack.

My first run-through was on Hard. It was definitely challenging, but wasn't too bad overall.

I would imagine having all the relics and stuff would make things easier.
 

Elvick

Banned
In the knack ios app, is there any trick to getting gems, or is it just random? I have a bunch of the gadget parts already so if I get then in the app they are wasted.

Also, which gadgets are recommended? I think there are at least two that can't be equipped at the same time

Combo Meter and the Slow down one are the ones you're thinking of. Combo Meter is better, unless you suck at avoiding damage so can't keep up the meter to get more damage.

Personally, I try to get the sunstone extenders. Extra (4th) gauge, and the one that gives double energy. And the gadget that gives you sunstone energy from enemies, and the relics from sunstones when you're low on health.

My first run-through was on Hard. It was definitely challenging, but wasn't too bad overall.

I would imagine having all the relics and stuff would make things easier.
So you haven't played very hard yet?

I guess if I need to, making very hard a co-op experience could also help a lot.

Those are the most useful ones to me. Those + Diamond Knack = Easy Challenges.
 

Noi

Member
Just need to beat the game on hard and very hard for my platinum.

For those who've beat the game on these difficulties, how frustrating is it? So far I've been doing well, I'm on hard and at the first real boss. Using Diamond Knack obviously.

How much harder is very hard? Because so far, hard with Diamond Knack feels more or less like normal with Basic Knack.

If you're using Diamond Knack, Very Hard is still pretty easy. I've survived hits with him on that difficulty that would have one-shooted Basic Knack on Hard.
 

nikos

Member
The more I play this game, the more I can't stand it.

First, it feels as if every enemy or game mechanic that is against you is just a gimmick. After you're blind-sided by something once, it's easy to pass the second time. It doesn't feel like a matter of skill the first time around, but rather a cheap shot that you don't see coming. This causes lots of frustration when it occurs over and over.

The environments are so sterile and bland that even hidden walls/items stand out. This causes me to keep punching impenetrable walls, hoping they would have at least put something legitimately secret there, but there's nothing.

Speaking of punching, the combat is pretty basic and boring. There really isn't anything to say about it.

Speaking of basic and boring, that pretty much sums up the game's characters and story. I couldn't care less about any of the characters, and the story is very mediocre so far.

I'm on Chapter 10 and I have no desire to even finish the game at this point. It's a shame because this was one of my most anticipated launch titles.
 

mrklaw

MrArseFace
If you're at chapter 10, why not just finish it? Or if it's a physical game, just trade it in - not every game will be liked by everyone, and knack does seem to be quite polarising.

I'm enjoying it a lot more than I expected. The enemy variety keeps you on your toes (I disagree about the blindsided thing, it is usually fairly easy to get them to show their attack moves without being hit, and the you can adapt).
 
The more I play this game, the more I can't stand it.

Normally I'm a staunch advocate of finishing what you started, but this is your leisure time, your free time we're talking about. If you can't stand something, ffs just stop playing it and play/do something else.

First, it feels as if every enemy or game mechanic that is against you is just a gimmick. After you're blind-sided by something once, it's easy to pass the second time. It doesn't feel like a matter of skill the first time around, but rather a cheap shot that you don't see coming. This causes lots of frustration when it occurs over and over.

Is it really that you got "blindsided" by something or that you just didn't approach it the right way? I can't remember many encounter setups where I felt the attacks came out of nowhere. I'd approach an area-- usually able to see what's coming up due to the pretty incredible draw distance in Knack-- and figure out what I was in for. The only thing I wouldn't know is which one of the enemies would go for me first. Once I sorted that out, it was just a matter of timing things right-- "easy to pass the second time", as you put it-- but a gimmick? Fuck, then all enemy encounters in all games are gimmicks. The gimmick is that they are trying to kill you.

The environments are so sterile and bland that even hidden walls/items stand out. This causes me to keep punching impenetrable walls, hoping they would have at least put something legitimately secret there, but there's nothing.

I agree that there was very little thought put into making things seem "secret"; everything was very telegraphed. But if you caught onto this right away like you said, why were you disappointed that punching random walls didn't yield anything? You couldn't have been surprised.

Clearly we had different experiences, and likely expectations going into this game. I enjoyed it for what it was, not what I wished it would be. But Knack is certainly a title where YMMV is extremely appropriate.
 

Grinchy

Banned
The more I play this game, the more I can't stand it.

First, it feels as if every enemy or game mechanic that is against you is just a gimmick. After you're blind-sided by something once, it's easy to pass the second time. It doesn't feel like a matter of skill the first time around, but rather a cheap shot that you don't see coming. This causes lots of frustration when it occurs over and over.

The environments are so sterile and bland that even hidden walls/items stand out. This causes me to keep punching impenetrable walls, hoping they would have at least put something legitimately secret there, but there's nothing.

Speaking of punching, the combat is pretty basic and boring. There really isn't anything to say about it.

Speaking of basic and boring, that pretty much sums up the game's characters and story. I couldn't care less about any of the characters, and the story is very mediocre so far.

I'm on Chapter 10 and I have no desire to even finish the game at this point. It's a shame because this was one of my most anticipated launch titles.

Yeah, the game blows. I got $45 from selling it on Amazon and I don't miss it one bit.
 

nikos

Member
Normally I'm a staunch advocate of finishing what you started, but this is your leisure time, your free time we're talking about. If you can't stand something, ffs just stop playing it and play/do something else.



Is it really that you got "blindsided" by something or that you just didn't approach it the right way? I can't remember many encounter setups where I felt the attacks came out of nowhere. I'd approach an area-- usually able to see what's coming up due to the pretty incredible draw distance in Knack-- and figure out what I was in for. The only thing I wouldn't know is which one of the enemies would go for me first. Once I sorted that out, it was just a matter of timing things right-- "easy to pass the second time", as you put it-- but a gimmick? Fuck, then all enemy encounters in all games are gimmicks. The gimmick is that they are trying to kill you.



I agree that there was very little thought put into making things seem "secret"; everything was very telegraphed. But if you caught onto this right away like you said, why were you disappointed that punching random walls didn't yield anything? You couldn't have been surprised.

Clearly we had different experiences, and likely expectations going into this game. I enjoyed it for what it was, not what I wished it would be. But Knack is certainly a title where YMMV is extremely appropriate.

The reason why it feels like a gimmick to me is because it's more of a trial and error experience.

For example, a platform just fell as I jumped onto it. I didn't know that was going to happen until it did. The second time, I knew it was going to happen and it was simple to pass. Another example would be, as you mentioned, the order at which enemies attack. The first time you go in, you might get blind sided but the second time you'll be able to rush through and quickly kill enemies in the appropriate order.

After a while, this becomes very frustrating and stale to me. I feel like I'm constantly being tricked rather than being faced by an enemy that takes skill to defeat. I guess that's the type of game it is though.

The reason why I continue to punch walls that don't obviously hide collectibles is because I'm still hoping that the devs put something less conspicuous in the game. This doesn't seem to be the case though, so I should probably stop doing it.
 

bumpkin

Member
just started yesterday and played 'til chapter 6.
really like it so far.
I've played through it twice, I'm on a mission to collect those elusive diamonds. I'm so freaking close too; have 9. One more and then I can rip shit up as Diamond Knack! The problem is it feels like I've been stuck at nine forever.
 

TheTwelve

Member
Getting my butt handed to me because I chose to do Vampire Knack in Extra Hard mode.

Now I'm stubbornly determined to beat it even if it takes me a month.
 

Elvick

Banned
For example, a platform just fell as I jumped onto it. I didn't know that was going to happen until it did.

The reason why I continue to punch walls that don't obviously hide collectibles is because I'm still hoping that the devs put something less conspicuous in the game. This doesn't seem to be the case though, so I should probably stop doing it.
Wat... it's obvious what will and won't fall. I don't know how you couldn't know what would fall.

I'd like to know if you get the treasure chest related trophy your first go around. Bet you won't.
 
This is another title like Sonic: Lost World that didn't get the best reviewa, but I still want to play it. I wish they had another "Buy 2, Get 1 Free". I wqould pick those two up with another game.

Are there any plans for a sale on this? Probably not.
 

TheTwelve

Member
After a while, this becomes very frustrating and stale to me. I feel like I'm constantly being tricked rather than being faced by an enemy that takes skill to defeat. I guess that's the type of game it is though.

Yeah the combat falls right between quick attack/jump and run stuff you see in Sonic and the strategy and thought per enemy you'd see in God of War.

I think people haven't quite seen this before and therefore conclude that they don't like it.

Personally, I think it's thrilling.
 

Kssio_Aug

Member
Im really enjoying this game....... until the tanks appears!
What a f* tedious and stupid kind of enemies!! Hate them! =///
 

Bebpo

Banned
I never played one of these match 3 games before (well, outside the original Puzzle Quest), but Knack's Quest is pretty fun. Don't have much to add besides that.


Re: tanks:

Small ones, just circle around them. Big ones. Stay out of the electric field, dodge the shot, pound -> repeat.
 

Dunlop

Member
While I personally feel this game looks generic as hell, I went to download a demo for my kids to try to see if they would dig it an I would pick it up for xmas

only there is no demo on PSN

what...the...f@ck?

I know like the PS3 they are not forced but I figured at least first party titles would have demos
 

Kssio_Aug

Member
I never played one of these match 3 games before (well, outside the original Puzzle Quest), but Knack's Quest is pretty fun. Don't have much to add besides that.


Re: tanks:

Small ones, just circle around them. Big ones. Stay out of the electric field, dodge the shot, pound -> repeat.

Yeah, im at the chapter 8 already, I got the strategy to kill them at the 3rd chapter (or 4th, im not sure). Its just that they are very annoying! But maybe its because I started playing directly in hard, so they pratically 1 hit kill me with everything they do and they are pretty damn agressive. But little by little im dealing with the enemies.. but the tank for me, is always the one that gives me more trouble (specially the big one).
 

Elvick

Banned
Beat hard. Didn't have too many problems (using Diamond Knack, he's a godsend).

It's surprising that the platforming changes slightly depending on the difficulty chosen.

Just very hard left for the platinum.
 
I have been playing through on hard trying to get every chest, missed one on chapter 12-3, can't do nothing but start over again to get all the chests right?
 
While I personally feel this game looks generic as hell, I went to download a demo for my kids to try to see if they would dig it an I would pick it up for xmas

only there is no demo on PSN

what...the...f@ck?

I know like the PS3 they are not forced but I figured at least first party titles would have demos

There is evidence that demos often have a detrimental effect on sales.

However, in the case of Knack, given the poor reviews, I would imagine a demo could only help.
 

Frumix

Suffering From Success
Honestly I think this is the hardest game I played all year.

Cheapest maybe. It's completely honest with enemy patterns not matching and hit priority not being a thing which is why it's not in your favor at any point. Keeping up the combo meter is nigh impossible because a whip guy might have sneezed at you while dying or an arrow might've come from offscreen or you simply recoiled into a bomb from an attack. Some kind of blocking move would've helped a lot.
 

spats

Member
Beat the game yesterday, on easy. I read about cheap bullshit deaths and whatnot, so I just wanted to experience the game without getting super frustrated. It was fine for the most part, but felt like needed another five to six months of work. The start was frustratingly slow, but got a lot more fun towards the end. Had one hard lock during the entire playthrough.

I wouldn't mind a sequel to this, to be honest.
 
Hovering around this thread as I determine whether to finally pull the trigger on this. I've almost completed KZ:SF so I'll need something new to play soon. Can anyone tell me what the negatives are with this game? Things people here have found frustrating or disappointing?
 
Hovering around this thread as I determine whether to finally pull the trigger on this. I've almost completed KZ:SF so I'll need something new to play soon. Can anyone tell me what the negatives are with this game? Things people here have found frustrating or disappointing?

Negatives for me are:

-Not enough variety in Knacks move set
-Game looks downright ugly at points
-Story and characters are pretty forgettable, but that's expected for this type of game
-Game got a bit stale near the end for me, felt like it dragged on too long
 

Elvick

Banned
Hovering around this thread as I determine whether to finally pull the trigger on this. I've almost completed KZ:SF so I'll need something new to play soon. Can anyone tell me what the negatives are with this game? Things people here have found frustrating or disappointing?
Climbing is unresponsive. Mostly just getting onto a wall you climb. Luckily, this is very very minimal (the climbing itself, not the unresponsiveness). Probably also why it doesn't work too well.

Picking up things is similarly unresponsive at times as well.

Getting crystals after having complete sets is really annoying and makes the grind for Diamonds tedious. When it's faster to just exit the game and reboot and go through the level to a chest again, you know you should have rethought how the chests worked. Even just a little.

Combat is fine. I don't find it cheap really. 99% of the time it's my fault for not getting the timing right. The other 1% is when an enemy manages to move down from where you are, thus off screen (only applies to certain areas, mostly larger 'arenas') or when there are ranged enemies to the right of you off screen and you can't see them while you're walking that direction. Offers a nice challenge, but feels fair to me.

The timed and combat challenges added some nice extra content.

I personally enjoyed the story and enjoyed the art design.

Generally the performance was fine. I didn't have any crashes. I did have some framerate drops in the city, the stage that was often demo'd to us pre-release. I didn't notice in any other chapters.

Stealth Knack is a bit under utilized. And the size is too often taken out of your control for the story/level design.

I personally love the game. Think there's a lot of potential for improvement if they did a sequel. I really wish reviewers weren't so unfairly harsh on it, because I can't help but feel that'll be a huge factor in if it gets a sequel or not. Any sequel would be met with mockery now, since people love to jump on a bandwagon of negative opinion rather than try something for themselves... or just not have an opinion on what they've never played...
 

TheTwelve

Member
Hovering around this thread as I determine whether to finally pull the trigger on this. I've almost completed KZ:SF so I'll need something new to play soon. Can anyone tell me what the negatives are with this game? Things people here have found frustrating or disappointing?

The only negative I see in the game is that you really have to play it in hard mode for it to be good.

I imagine the game would be mundane in easy or normal.
 

Elvick

Banned
The only negative I see in the game is that you really have to play it in hard mode for it to be good.

I imagine the game would be mundane in easy or normal.
Disagree, but I'm usually not that great at video games these days due to lack of focus. Had a fun time on normal.
 

mrklaw

MrArseFace
Just finished the game on normal. Really enjoyed it, and for some reason my wife enjoyed watching me play - I think the story was interesting enough. Not sure I'll do more playthroughs, still have less Han half the gems for any of the different knacks, and no diamonds. Will try coop with my kids though, and will probably replay that last chapter to show my daughter, she'll like that one.
 

netguy503

Member
Hey, can someone answer a question for me. I heard all relics and parts are lost when you start a new playthrough but why then are people going after diamonds on hard mode when they still have very hard to beat. Is the diamond the only thing that transfers over? And can diamonds be gotten on normal mode or below because I haven't run into one diamond yet (I beat the whole game on normal, on my second playthrough on normal).
 

Elvick

Banned
Hey, can someone answer a question for me. I heard all relics and parts are lost when you start a new playthrough but why then are people going after diamonds on hard mode when they still have very hard to beat. Is the diamond the only thing that transfers over? And can diamonds be gotten on normal mode or below because I haven't run into one diamond yet (I beat the whole game on normal, on my second playthrough on normal).
Nothing transfers over in a new game, apart from unlocked Knack skins. You'll still get those crystals and stuff though.

You can have multiple save files. Which I wish I knew earlier.

I got diamonds on normal. I'm sure they're on easy too, but I didn't get any when I played easy (rushed through easy to get the trophy for getting all the chests, since you have to do it in one run).
 

netguy503

Member
Nothing transfers over in a new game, apart from unlocked Knack skins. You'll still get those crystals and stuff though.

You can have multiple save files. Which I wish I knew earlier.

I got diamonds on normal. I'm sure they're on easy too, but I didn't get any when I played easy (rushed through easy to get the trophy for getting all the chests, since you have to do it in one run).

So I've unlocked emerald Knack on normal. I can use him on hard? I heard he's the best Knack outside of diamond. Thank you for the response.
 

Elvick

Banned
Sweet Jesus this game is hard. Granted, I started it on Hard since I do most games but damn. Doesn't help checkpoints suck.
I like them, not too far apart, not too easy.

If they were after every 'section' ie; every battle "arena" and every platform section, then it'd make it even more tedious. Since then you'd feel more compelled to simply button mash until you get it right. And eventually you probably would.

Encouraging mindless play would make a simple game like Knack tedious. Forcing you to pay attention makes it better. Without a real punishment, there's no incentive to really pay attention.

And someone else in here, or somewhere on neogaf was complaining they were too close together already. xD

Only issue with 'checkpoints' for me, is they don't save. So you can't end there. You have to wait until a new chapter starts. Sucky.

So I've unlocked emerald Knack on normal. I can use him on hard? I heard he's the best Knack outside of diamond. Thank you for the response.
Yes!

And if you had all the gadgets on normal already, if you keep that save just load it up and do the challenges (timed/arena) with the benefits of those gadgets. Pretty handy.
 

mrklaw

MrArseFace
Any difference in what secret chests pay out or any of the timed challenges based on difficulty? Would it be better for me to try to get some trophies with a replay on normal with the benefit of some gadgets, or restart on easy with nothing? Don't have any gem knacks yet

Can I do chapter select on my continued game?
 

bebop242

Member
You can only start another game with the current difficulty to keep your gadgets. Start a new difficulty, you start over with the collectibles.

Also in chapter select, treasure chests are missing. No farming in chapter select.

Really bad setup.
 

Elvick

Banned
Any difference in what secret chests pay out or any of the timed challenges based on difficulty? Would it be better for me to try to get some trophies with a replay on normal with the benefit of some gadgets, or restart on easy with nothing? Don't have any gem knacks yet

Can I do chapter select on my continued game?
The chests payout randomly. It's pretty tedious since it repeats crystals you don't need anymore. They shouldn't have did it that way and it would have solved the tedium of it. Not as bad to just have to play through twice or w/e it would take.

The best way to farm them is to find a chapter (during regular play, since chapter select has no chests) that is close to the start, get the chest, see what's in there, don't confirm if you don't need/want it, exit the game, restart the game, go back to the chest, rinse repeat until you get what you want. Chapter 2-1 has quick/easy to get to chests for example, and it has 3 in total.

Extremely tedious. Wouldn't be so bad if crystals would carry over into other difficulties so you could just attempt it by legitimate means of progression. But... nope.

Trophies are easiest on easy. Most of them are doable on chapter select, where you can pick and you have access to your savefile's gadgets this way.

Challenges have set difficulties. I did them all with Diamond Knack + Full Gadgets, I had some problems with the 2nd Battle Challenge for some reason, and a few of the timed ones require more than others. But it's doable. At least the way I did it. I'm sure it's harder with basic Knack or some of the other Knacks.

Grinding out crystals is probably what you should do on normal. If you start on easy, then you'll also be getting gadgets from the chests. And you don't want to waste the time (though you could make it up with battles going faster/less deaths... all depends). I had to go through the game two full times. One regular play through. Then farming method. Very tedious. And I had 3 Diamonds to begin with. I still had emeralds and the sun Knack to get. Got Sun Knack quick, emerald... and got my last Diamond by Chapter 3 something in a 3rd playthrough. Bleh.
 
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