I enjoyed Episode 1, but I liked it in spite of what I felt were a couple of glaring flaws. Oddly, it seems that many of the Ep. 1 fans have latched onto those very flaws (like the hideous 'walking, talking resin kit' CG character models) with a vengeance, and insist that Ep. 2 is 'trash' (or worse) because they were changed for the sequel. While I'm not certain how Namco marginalizing Takahashi is going to ultimately affect the series, I'm far from giving up on it yet. I think I may end up being one of the few people who honestly liked Ep. 1, but happens to like Ep. 2 more. We'll see once I get around to playing.
The things that ep1 fans have latched onto aren't superficial aspects like art or even music (sure ep2's soundtrack is weak but no one really makes a big deal of it). What ep1 fans liked was A. The story, B. The pacing and way the story was told (aka dialogue), C. The character customization, D. The battle system.
Ep2 does a 180 turn in 3 of those 4 areas (the battle system is debatable) and that pisses off a lot of Ep1 fans.
The things that ep1 fans have latched onto aren't superficial aspects like art or even music (sure ep2's soundtrack is weak but no one really makes a big deal of it). What ep1 fans liked was A. The story, B. The pacing and way the story was told (aka dialogue), C. The character customization, D. The battle system.
Ep2 does a 180 turn in 3 of those 4 areas (the battle system is debatable) and that pisses off a lot of Ep1 fans.
the battle system is the most debatable thing IMO, from the fan perspective. cos IMO it's not really that different than the last game's -- it just gives you feedback. what i hate, change wise, is the ability system. it's no longer any fun to raise characters cos everyone has the same stupid tree and you can open up (at least to see, if not actually get) all the skills really early in the game. meh.
The things that ep1 fans have latched onto aren't superficial aspects like art or even music (sure ep2's soundtrack is weak but no one really makes a big deal of it). What ep1 fans liked was A. The story, B. The pacing and way the story was told (aka dialogue), C. The character customization, D. The battle system.
Ep2 does a 180 turn in 3 of those 4 areas (the battle system is debatable) and that pisses off a lot of Ep1 fans.
I consider myself an XS Ep. 1 fan as well, but people can be fans of the same work for very different reasons. As far as the complaints voiced here (by yourself and Duckroll, to be specific), your overwhelmingly negative impressions had me seriously considering taking a pass on the sequel. Only after additional posts gave me more of a context for those criticisms did it become clear that the changes you consider disastrous 'as fans', I would find far less so. (One example that springs to mind are your complaints about
the chase scene where MOMO is driving.
Having seen some footage of the scene in question on a recent demo DVD--I think it may have been from PSM, though I don't recall ATM-- I don't share your violent aversion to it.
If I can accept the fact that the childlike Realians are regularly entrusted with demanding technical tasks in the XS universe, seeing one of them driving a car required no suspension of disbelief on my part.
)
To tell you the truth, I wasn't too big on the pacing in the first game, either. The story itself was intriguing, which is what kept my attention, but it kept my attention despite the plodding pace, not because of it. That's another area where the changes that have been made sound like they'd sit well with me, though the other fans apparently dislike them. And since you mention music, the techno-pop BGM's I've heard in the Ep. 2 footage fit the SF theme of the game nicely, IMO. It also looks like you'll hear them more than once in a blue moon, which is an improvement. The way music was scattered sparsely through Ep. 1 was something I found incredibly disappointing.
About the only thing that does give me a bit of pause is the character customization angle. From everything I've heard so far, it seems reminiscent of FF VII's bland, 'everyone can be kitted out the same way in battle' Materia system. As to how I'll feel about the plot and characterization this time around, I can't say until I've actually spent some time with the game. (I'm not sure how big a difference localization's going to make, either.)
Sorry that went a bit long. It just saddens me to think that I might have passed over Ep. 2 altogether, solely on the basis of comments by a couple of Xenofans whose tastes have turned out to be utterly different than my own (at least where XS is concerned).
I'm a fan of Xenosaga Episode I, but in general, didn't really enjoy the battle system and character customization.
I played it for the story.
I actually also disliked most of the characters, it's just the story was just THAT interesting and some of the characters I didn't dislike, I really liked.
some are the same; some aren't. personally, i never liked the old KOS-MOS and prefer the new one. guess what gamefaqs posters are? NEVER SATISFIED BY ANYTHING. IMO, the old KOS-MOS sounded too old.
of course, i fully expect everyone to hate the new voices even though they hated the old voices, hate english dubbing, apparently hate games, and most relevantly, hate their own lives.
there's a new MOMO, and she actually sounds like a kid, thank god, and not a 40-year-old-woman putting on a cutesy voice. she's not a particularly great actor, but anything's an improvement there, IMO. the new shion sounds a lot like the old shion, and is neither really better nor worse, imo, so i don't really understand the change. there's also a new chaos, but i can't even remember the old chaos, so it's like .. ok, whatever.
most everyone else is the same, or i didn't notice a change. jr. is still a bit of a ham, but i like the voice so it's forgivable.
I like the new voices a lot more than Ep 1. Especially Shion and Momo. So far my only gripe with the game is the terrible loading before and after battles. The skill system is annoying me as well, I dont want all the characters to be clones of each other, now I have to figure who will do what primarily as opposed to the others...in the end though Im just seeing that everyone will end up the same :/
The cutscenes are rather well done so far, the momo car chase I found stupid ever since I saw it last year and I still find it so....
of course, i fully expect everyone to hate the new voices even though they hated the old voices, hate english dubbing, apparently hate games, and most relevantly, hate their own lives.
What's funny in the case of XS (at least Episode 1) is that many of the English voices sound so similar to the Japanese voices that you'd almost swear they cast the same people to do them. OK, maybe that's pushing it a bit, but still, they sound extremely similar in many cases. Junior especially...
KOS-MOS, Shion, and Momo were the only English voices that I really did find a bit annoying in the original game, so I'm glad to hear that they've changed.
I'm unhappy to hear about the lengthy loading, though. That's sure to drive me nuts...
Damn game froze on HD loader. I spent all that time installing it too. The worst part is that you have to sit through the entire opening sequence until you land the AGWS until you realize it won't work. Time to try the compatibility modes and pray there's a scene skip like the last game.
EDIT: Well Mode 1 seems to work well. I only have time to get to the second save opportunity so it isn't far. The game seemed to lock up during scene transitions before and that hasn't happened yet with several different transitions from in-game to cutscenes to CG.
Without any modes enabled, it would freeze as stated above after the initial CG and the AGWS landing.
With Mode 3 enabled I skipped the initial scene which got me to the next scene but it froze shortly after the scene changed from walking away from the destructable environment 'tutorial'.
EDIT #2: Seems that the game freezes with Mode 1 as well. Doesn't seem like there's much hope with this game. Star Ocean 3 also seemed to exhibit the same problems from what I gathered online.
Really? Holy shit even the developers thought it sucked ass! How far are you in the game? Because there's one portion where the music almost killed me literally. >_<
About 3 hours in, I see the problems some folks might have with the pacing...especially if they weren't enthralled with plot since ep1. The flashbacks just seem a bit abrupt and some of the scene transitions aren't good at all. Also, the lip synching is really crappy. Ep 1 was much better in this regard...
Regardless, I'm enjoying it and this is easily the most time I've spent with a non-sports game in one sitting since Xenosaga 1
Haha, well I can't speak for the US version, but in the Japanese one, the lip sync wasn't so hot either in Ep2. Whenever they had closeups you could tell the voices are a little off from the "lip sync". :\
The complaints I had about the battle system are that the enemies have too much HP but aren't difficult, So the battles just drag and take longer than they should (This is especially annoying at some bosses like the final boss). and IMHO there isn't really any challenge to the battle system beyond "find out the break pattern for this enemy!". Though I wouldn't say ep1 was any better in this respect "find the 3 attacks that hit this enemy's weakness!". But I guess since ep1 there's been a bunch of good rpgs with strong battle systems so I'm harsher on it.
Thus far, I'd say that not all of Hosoe's music is bad (heck, the song after the "car ride" is actually pretty damn catchy)...
Sadly, I really do not like any of the battle themes and I found that they are too quiet to really give the battles any spice anyways. Also, battle transitions have been fixed up from the Japanese version and are much faster...but they STILL refuse to play any music until the menu pops up, which makes it all seem kinda akward. Perhaps that's even a bit too kind there. The way it loads each f*cking character drives me crazy. Eternal Arcadia was even worse in that regard, but at least it played music during this loading. XS2 just sits there in complete silence while fading in all characters. Just awful...
Also, I REALLLLLY wish Mitsuda could have taken on this project again (at least partially). As for Kajiura's music, I DO agree that it is used poorly. You can generally hear the music, but it does seem to exist very much in the background when it should actually take center stage. I love the actual soundtrack, so I can almost fill in the blanks when the sound effects become too loud...but it would probably be quite a bit more annoying for someone who had never heard the OST and they would probably assume that the cutscene music isn't really any good.
As for the lip sync, I actually have found it to be much better overall. XS1 had serious problems all the time whereas a lot of the major scenes here seem to look much better in that regard.
I'm not ready to comment on the game itself yet, though...
Really? Holy shit even the developers thought it sucked ass! How far are you in the game? Because there's one portion where the music almost killed me literally. >_<
And bebpo is right, the battles feel a lot more long winded, and not just due the GODAWFUL loading, Ennemies higher HP is definately a factor, but WHO CARES! ILL JUST USE MOMO WHO ALL OF A SUDDEN HAS BECOME THE MOST POWERFUL CHARACTER IN THE GAME..... Not only that but the battles have lost almost ALL interest and whatever depth ep 1 had. Every one is a carbon copy of each other, whats my incentive to use Shion rather than Jr? Fuck her she only has one range of attack! Do I need a healer? Hell no everyones a healer! Same for ether, everyones joining the party! Sure some characters have an innate predisposition towards certain skills but it almost doesnt matter!
I really didnt want to believe they could fuck this up so bad, what the fuck were the guys at monolith smoking??
Monolith Shithead 1: Hey heres an idea! No more money and shops!
Monolith Shithead 2: Awesome! But how will they get items and equipment conveniently!
Monolith Shithead 1: They wont!
*snorts coke*
All I can say im satisfied with are the cutscenes and the story so far.
- Battle System. Dear god, it's so slow and boring. It's like they took the worst parts of Xenogears and Xenosaga's battle system and put it in there.
- Music. I don't like it. Whether it's the song itself or the song fitting with the cutscene. I mean some songs are awesome, but don't fit with what's going on that well. Plus it's not really that epic feeling.
- Lip sync is still bad.
- Development/Skill System. It's annoying and I hate having to check it. I've just set it so I'll only update my skills when I'm before the boss since it's such a pain and pointless. Plus it seems like every character will end up being the same with some minor differences in HP/EP.
- No Progressive Scan.
- No effect on character's levels with importing Episode I data.
Now that's a whole lot against a game, but I'm absolutely adoring it cause;
Pros:
- Story. I am so enthralled into what's going on right now. I just can't wait for the next scene.
- Characters. They improved all the existing characters and introduced some very interesting ones.
- Voice Acting. While MOMO still sucks, everything else has been turned up a notch. So as long as they didn't change Albedo (who was my favorite voice actor and character in XSEP1, we should be good).
- Artwork. All the characters have been improved, especially chaos.
So in the end, I'm really enjoying the game so far. I'll give my next opinion after beating the game. As long as the story stays just as interesting and characters keep doing what they're doing, I'll be happy
The only thing I don't like about the second disc is how
Shion explained what happened after Old Miltia was unlocked. I would have liked to have seen all the stuff about the Federation, the Immigrant Fleet, Second Miltia, and Vector.
Thus far, I'd say that not all of Hosoe's music is bad (heck, the song after the "car ride" is actually pretty damn catchy)...
Sadly, I really do not like any of the battle themes and I found that they are too quiet to really give the battles any spice anyways. Also, battle transitions have been fixed up from the Japanese version and are much faster...but they STILL refuse to play any music until the menu pops up, which makes it all seem kinda akward. Perhaps that's even a bit too kind there. The way it loads each f*cking character drives me crazy. Eternal Arcadia was even worse in that regard, but at least it played music during this loading. XS2 just sits there in complete silence while fading in all characters. Just awful...
Also, I REALLLLLY wish Mitsuda could have taken on this project again (at least partially). As for Kajiura's music, I DO agree that it is used poorly. You can generally hear the music, but it does seem to exist very much in the background when it should actually take center stage. I love the actual soundtrack, so I can almost fill in the blanks when the sound effects become too loud...but it would probably be quite a bit more annoying for someone who had never heard the OST and they would probably assume that the cutscene music isn't really any good.
As for the lip sync, I actually have found it to be much better overall. XS1 had serious problems all the time whereas a lot of the major scenes here seem to look much better in that regard.
I'm not ready to comment on the game itself yet, though...
He said AFTER the car ride, which means the entire dungeon where you're running from the soldiers. dark10x might be bitchy about graphics but at least he pays attention to details.
The only thing I don't like about the second disc is how
Shion explained what happened after Old Miltia was unlocked. I would have liked to have seen all the stuff about the Federation, the Immigrant Fleet, Second Miltia, and Vector.
He said AFTER the car ride, which means the entire dungeon where you're running from the soldiers. dark10x might be bitchy about graphics but at least he pays attention to details.
Ok can someone who has cleared disc1 confirm the following?
In the JP version of the game, during the flashback it shows Albedo using a gun to blow his head off (the actual shot is offscreen) to show off his regenerative powers to Jr. I have heard that in the US version of the game, he uses some energy ball or something retarded instead. Is this true? And when he offs his own head is there still that blood splatter on the wall?
Well I'm like 8 hours in so far. Taking it slow and enjoying it.
The storyline and characters right now are so interesting! Albedo is once again my favorite character!
I'm just right before the
fight with Albedo. First time I got worked. He used ether spear then boosted to use that really strong 300+ (which when ether speared did 600-700+) damage to everyone attack. I'll go back and beat him either later tonight or tomorrow
In general though, unless this game pulls a "star ocean 3", I think it can't be as bad as you guys say cause right now, from a story/character perspective, it's better than Episode I. I'm not liking the gameplay much though.
I finished Disc 1 in 11 hours, if I hadnt bothered with the GS campaign crap and other side stuff, probably couldve done it in 7 or so.
Pretty much everything aside from the cutscenes is a huge dissapointment.
the scene
when miltia blows up
That was damn well done....
So many things wrong with the plotting too. Jesus christ what a clusterfuck.
Still its not Suikoden 4 bad, im managing to "enjoy" my playthrough, albeit constantly asking myself "why would they do this?" who the hell approved this crap" "Wtf is this shit?!"
Wow, 9 hours in and already on Disc 2. Well I don't mind short games.
The story so far is so awesome! I'm getting used to the battle system and enjoying it a bit more. Still though, the story is the driving force to play this game for me so far.
I mean the Jr and Albedo scenes were so interesting!
Does the game get harder? cause I've skipped all the GS campaign stuff so most of my skills suck. I plan to do that on my second play-through. Do you think I can make it with limited skills? Any cheap tactic I can use?
Actually I kinda speculated that this is because they let the cat out of the bag in ep1 by voicing the red testament. So they're purposely not going to have voice acting for masked characters when you should not know their identity yet
It's probably the only negative since the introduction of voice acting. It's a lot tougher to do masked characters unless you use some kinda of voice filter.
I mean the Jr and Albedo scenes were so interesting!
Does the game get harder? cause I've skipped all the GS campaign stuff so most of my skills suck. I plan to do that on my second play-through. Do you think I can make it with limited skills? Any cheap tactic I can use?
There's one hard mecha battle (though put in the 'correct' character and suddenly you can kill the enemy in like 2 hits) and the final boss is a pain in the ass if you're under-leveled and haven't done any of the G2 stuff.
Actually I kinda speculated that this is because they let the cat out of the bag in ep1 by voicing the red testament. So they're purposely not going to have voice acting for masked characters when you should not know their identity yet
It's probably the only negative since the introduction of voice acting. It's a lot tougher to do masked characters unless you use some kinda of voice filter.
