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[Beowvlf]

I'm looking into one of these two from Nippon Ichi to help pass the time before Disgaea 2, but I can't quite decide which to get. I'm not sure if I want to get both, as that might be a bit of an SRPG overload, but if both are really worth it, please say so.

I'm finding myself leaning towards Makai Kingdom, as I've heard a lot of good things about it. Which in your guys' opinions is the better buy?

Oh, and which would be easier to get? I know Makai isn't as old, and isn't that rare yet, but is there much difference between the two in the difficulty in finding a copy?

 

[Companion Cube]

I'd go with Makai. And Pucelle can be found easily on the cheap I believe.

 

[Drinky Crow]

Makai Kingdom. La Pucelle is quite possibly the most tedious SRPG* ever created, with boring special effects and ugly portraits. It places an extreme emphasis on grinding for levels, and the Dark World has to be the worst implemented grind mechanic ever. The elemental streams are also a pain in the ass, and I say this having played and ENJOYED Hoshigami's Session system.

(* I'm excluding the true bottom-of-the-barrel crap like Eternal Eyes and Vandal Hearts 2, of course.)

 

[Baron Aloha]

Makai Kingdom

 

[TheMissingLink]

Grid-4-LIFE! Can't stand the sphere-system. I think I'm in the minority, though. So, naturally, I'd say go with La Pucelle.

 

[G-Fex]

I want to stop playing la pucelle and start on Disgaea.

Is it wrong of me to do so?

 

[slayn]

all I can tell you is that I absolutely love disgaea, but could not get into makai at all. the 3d sphere system I thought was really awful compared to a grid and greatly lessened the amount of thinking required in how I want to position my characters.

I didn't play very much at all because I grew bored very quickly, but in what I did play there didn't seem to be much of a story or even character interaction. The game seemed to mostly be about taking no name characters of your creation into randomly created levels and womping on enemies.

never tried la pucelle.

for those that have played all of em, any idea if I'd like phantom brave or not? I've not really been told much about that one. Not looking for long explanation, just one sentence or something as to why would be great.

 

[Rayven]

...La Pucelle is quite possibly the most tedious SRPG* ever created...

holy shit, I agree with drinky-san.

 

[MrDaravon]

La Pucelle is a horrible, horrible game. I like Nipponichi, although I haven't finished Disgaea, but I went back and tried to play La Pucelle for a few hours, and it just sucks.

 

[CompositeMolar]

I really liked La Pucelle but I mostly played with the story characters. I didn't play Makai or Phantom Brave yet but I also really enjoyed Disgaea.

 

[Prospero]

If you've played both Disgaea and Phantom Brave, then you may find that Makai Kingdom doesn't live up to either of those, since its mechanics are pretty much recycled from both those games. However, Makai Kingdom is much less exploitable that Disgaea and Phantom Brave, for what it's worth.

It's short, though--unlike Disgaea and Phantom Brave, which got 80 hours each from me and occasional revisits, I finished off Makai Kingdom in less than 40 and didn't have the urge to play anymore.

 

[callous]

The elemental streams are also a pain in the ass

I basically stopped playing because of this delightful feature. I'm glad to hear it isn't in the other NiS games. I've kind of been avoiding them thinking it was the same system. I could have asked a little sooner, but La Pucelle just scared me off the whole company.

 

[HomerSimpson-Man]

I basically stopped playing because of this delightful feature. I'm glad to hear it isn't in the other NiS games. I've kind of been avoiding them thinking it was the same system. I could have asked a little sooner, but La Pucelle just scared me off the whole company.

Really? There is a trick to the elemental streams that makes them easily abusable which made it more enjoyable for me, summons/combos galore!!

 

[callous]

Really? There is a trick to the elemental streams that makes them easily abusable which made it more enjoyable for me, summons/combos galore!!

I played maybe 4 battles. The whole thing was just ghetto, and I'm the world's biggest Japanophile. Well, top half, anyway

 

[May16]

Makai Kingdom

Amen.

 

[Bebpo]

Anyone who says La Pucelle is crazy.

I freaking love Nippon Ichi games and I have a huge tolerance for SRPGs no matter how bad they are, but La Pucelle was so ungodly slow and boring that I got like 4 chapters in and dropped it. I mean I don't blame N1 for it because it was their first big PS2 SRPG and they've only gotten much much better since then.

But it's like watching a crappy student film of a great director. It's neat to see the roots of their style, but that doesn't make it any less crappy to watch.

 

[Beowvlf]

Ok, it's pretty obvious La Pucelle isn't looked upon favorably (which probably explains why it's kinda cheap on eBay, didn't notice that before), but I want to know more opinions on Makai.

Is it worth it? It certainly looks awesome, and I've heard the humor and story are great. Is there anything more worth my money (other than Disgaea of course, already have that) cause I'm only planning on purchasing one SRPG for the next while? I'm thinking I want to buy it, but I want some reassurance on it first. I'd especially like to read opinions from Bebpo, callous and Baron Aloha.

Help me out fellas!

 

[The End]

Ick.

Grab Front Mission 4 instead. Highly underappreciated SRPG.

 

[Bebpo]

Ok, it's pretty obvious La Pucelle isn't looked upon favorably (which probably explains why it's kinda cheap on eBay, didn't notice that before), but I want to know more opinions on Makai.

Is it worth it? It certainly looks awesome, and I've heard the humor and story are great. Is there anything more worth my money (other than Disgaea of course, already have that) cause I'm only planning on purchasing one SRPG for the next while? I'm thinking I want to buy it, but I want some reassurance on it first. I'd especially like to read opinions from Bebpo, callous and Baron Aloha.

Help me out fellas!

Did you like Disagaea? Makai Kingdom is basicaly a low budget game in the style of Disgaea with about 10x the freedom in battles and some really fun additions like vehicles and buildings.

Gameplay-wise I'd go Makai > PB > Disgaea > ......... > La Pucelle. But story-wise I'd go Disgaea > Makai > PB > La Pucelle.

 

[Prospero]

Is it worth it? It certainly looks awesome, and I've heard the humor and story are great. Is there anything more worth my money (other than Disgaea of course, already have that) cause I'm only planning on purchasing one SRPG for the next while?

If you like SRPGs for their strategic complexity as opposed to their level grinding, then Growlanser Generations is a much better buy than Makai Kingdom (or Phantom Brave or Disgaea, for that matter).

If you like SRPGs for the level grinding, then you're probably better off putting more hours into the Nippon Ichi games you already have, or getting Phantom Brave if you don't already have it, or waiting for Disgaea 2. I found Makai Kingdom's customizability to be a step back from Phantom Brave's--most weapons can't be modified, for example. Makai Kingdom adds vehicles to its gameplay, but they're so underpowered, cumbersome on the battlefield, and tiresome to upgrade that they're rendered strategically useless. Though I said above that Makai Kingdom isn't very exploitable, it's still unbalanced--I suspect it'd be pretty easy to blow through the game using an army of nothing but magic users, e.g. Basically, it's gameplay is a mix of things from earlier games, but it doesn't have much new worth noting.

This isn't to say that Makai Kingdom is an absolutely horrible game--it just seems kind of halfassed compared to the other two Nippon Ichi games I've played, and made on a lower budget. The story isn't much to speak of, and I didn't find it to be that funny. I'd say that if Disgaea's a 9/10, and Phantom Brave's an 8/10, then MK is a 7/10.

 

[Beowvlf]

Did you like Disagaea? Makai Kingdom is basicaly a low budget game in the style of Disgaea with about 10x the freedom in battles and some really fun additions like vehicles and buildings.

Gameplay-wise I'd go Makai > PB > Disgaea > ......... > La Pucelle. But story-wise I'd go Disgaea > Makai > PB > La Pucelle.

I love Disgaea, and your second paragraph just convinced me; I'm snagging Makai ASAP. Much appreciated Bebpo.