Pandora's Tower |UN-OT| The Rainfall Comes To An End

Only put a very short time into it, but so far the controls are a bit iffy and the game is ugly as sin :( Characters seem likeable enough, and the story is intriguing though.
 
I'm buying the game this friday at the same time I'll buy Soul Hackers and Luigi Mansion DM. This is going to be a nice week-end.

Thanks to all the people at XSEED for bringing it here. I already have the PAL version but I'll double dip to encourage the move! :)
 
Cheska said:
Only put a very short time into it, but so far the controls are a bit iffy and the game is ugly as sin :( Characters seem likeable enough, and the story is intriguing though.
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Ugly as sin? For a Wii title? I mean, compared to HD games, sure, I can see where you're coming from... but for a Wii game, I actually think it looks pretty amazing. The amount of detail in the environments is quite astounding, and character animations and facial expressions are all very meticulous. I wouldn't say it pushes the hardware to its limits, of course, but I do think it uses it well to create a very immersive atmosphere.

As for the controls, you'll probably get the hang of them pretty quickly. The game is thankfully very responsive, and while striking a balance between regular attacks and motion-controlled chaining can be a bit awkward at first, it becomes second nature after very little time has passed and works extremely well.

-Tom
 
I have all three operation rainfall games next to eachother. It is a weird sight to see when I thought there was no hope of having any of them. Love them all
 
Eh might just order a copy from the site on Friday if I can't find one in store, don't like using credit card. It's cheap enough, I guess I'll splurge a bit now so I won't pay $50-60 later.
 
Retishi said:
They all get their product from the same distributor in Canada, it's just a matter of how much of a priority each retailer puts on getting it to their customer as quickly as possible. GameStop/EB Games will always be the quickest since not only is that their major competitive advantage over the other retailers, but they've been doing it for so long they got it down to a science.
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I guess that's fair enough. :(

Well, it further cements my position to not pre-order XSeed games from Best Buy in the future, anyway.
 
wyrdwad said:
Ugly as sin? For a Wii title? I mean, compared to HD games, sure, I can see where you're coming from... but for a Wii game, I actually think it looks pretty amazing. The amount of detail in the environments is quite astounding, and character animations and facial expressions are all very meticulous. I wouldn't say it pushes the hardware to its limits, of course, but I do think it uses it well to create a very immersive atmosphere.

As for the controls, you'll probably get the hang of them pretty quickly. The game is thankfully very responsive, and while striking a balance between regular attacks and motion-controlled chaining can be a bit awkward at first, it becomes second nature after very little time has passed and works extremely well.

-Tom
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Well, perhaps that was a little harsh considering I'm still early on, and the last Wii games I played were Skyward Sword and Xenoblade. It does seem like it gets better as you progress through the tower, it certainly has more color to it than The Last Story.

Using the chain to grab out of reach items and enemies is great and an addictive tool :)
 
Wow, this game is really good! Anyone who enjoys Falcom style action RPGs should be all over this.

They totally nailed the Wiimote useage too, it's perfect. It's a ton of fun to chain something up with the IR pointer then swing it around with the nunchuck. This is the kind of thing I was looking for when the Wii first launched, the Wiimote controls belong here it's not just waggle for the sake of it. In fact throw in a bit of platforming and this is totally the Castlevania game that Konami were somehow too stupid to make.

Really great atmosphere, too.
 
From completing the PAL version, I can tell you all that this game is entirely about the boss battles and the dungeon design. Ordinary combat is forgettable, but never bad. The story is decent, but felt as though it could have been more ambitious considering how they allude to such a larger and more interesting world.

Have fun in the last dungeon--it's pretty devious.

I've yet to play Xeno (have had it on my shelf for well over a year but have yet to get around to it) but I felt that Pandora's Tower was much more worthwhile than The Last Story. It's great that more people get the chance to enjoy it now.
 
I was finally able to pick up a copy on my lunch break. Guy said he only got in 5 copies - all pre-orders. I'm guessing this is going to be a pretty small print run.
 
Went to gamestop a moment ago and finally got a copy of it.

FINALLY THE TRILOGY SET THAT IS OPERATION RAINFALL IS COMPLETE!

Going to play it in a bit and see how it is.
 
For anyone who had played it, is it recommended to go with remote and chuck or classic pro controller?

I know Xenoblade and Last story most recommend the controller.
 
so is this game actually good? I didn't really keep up with critical reception for this or for the Last Story, for that matter.
 
Jawmuncher said:
For anyone who had played it, is it recommended to go with remote and chuck or classic pro controller?

I know Xenoblade and Last story most recommend the controller.
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You definitely want to go with the Wiimote and nunchuck combo, because you're aiming a cursor frequently.

This game is super addictive. I love the action combat, traversal and the weird ass plot.
 
The GameStop I went to only had 1 extra copy that wasn't preordered, which I snapped up. This game is definitely going to be hard to find once the initial shipment sells out. Unlike Xenoblade though, I doubt it'll have the ability to command high ebay prices later on.

Unfortunately this game's going to have to sit in my backlog while I finish Luigi's Mansion and a few other games, but I'm probably going to bump it up the list and play it sooner rather than later.
 
Got my copy today, will be playing tomorrow. Been excited to play it since it released in Japan.

And now to be sad that Fatal Frame 2: Wii Edition will never come to America it seems...
 
Htown said:
so is this game actually good? I didn't really keep up with critical reception for this or for the Last Story, for that matter.
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My copy of Pandora hasn't arrived yet, but from what I've seen the reception of both seems to be mixed.

Pandora isn't meant to be a JRPG revolution like the other two. Somebody was comparing it to Illusion of Gaia and that's probably pretty fair. However, it's got the strongest and most unique story of the Rainfall games (based off spoilers I've read).

The Last Story has a lot of great ideas and a fantastic battle system, but it's also thrown together really poorly. The story's a total mess. There's no grinding, but it's still too easy to get poorly-balanced stats. And there's some graphical issues as well.
 
Razlo said:
You definitely want to go with the Wiimote and nunchuck combo, because you're aiming a cursor frequently.

This game is super addictive. I love the action combat, traversal and the weird ass plot.
Click to expand...

Sounds good remote combo is the way ill go
 
Played up to and beat the first boss - I really like it and find the gameplay concept with a combination of hack n' slash and strategic use of the chain in combat to be refreshing and inventive.

I like the level design so far, and for a Wii game of this apparent budget think it looks fine. Not sure yet about art direction on the enemies and bosses but the first tower environment is very nice. Gameplay is a bit stiffer than it could be for an action combat game, but it's not terrible or anything.

It really feels like Ganbarion was straining to punch above their weight here, this kind of game is pretty ambitious.
 
Finally!

I literally never thought I would see the day.

J5vhDqd.jpg
 
Picked up a copy today and I'm liking it a lot so far. I've been using the CC with it but I might try out the Wiimote tomorrow to see if I like it better. I'm way more into this than Last Story and it feels great. It looks pretty good too and it makes me realize that you don't need new tech to make good games. Who the hell needs another generation when stuff like this is still coming?
 
doctorcdcs said:
has anyone else read this?

http://www.destructoid.com/psa-pandora-s-tower-has-a-game-freezing-bug-251984.phtml
(warning: there might be spoilers, not sure since I didn't want to ruin anything for myself)


something we should be worried about?
Click to expand...

Nothing too major, not a save corruption save or makes progress impossible. When you unlock Tower 13, go to Tower 13 at least once before trying to go to Tower 11 or 12, as for some reason this causes the game to freeze and you'll have to restart.
 
L Thammy said:
The Last Story has a lot of great ideas and a fantastic battle system, but it's also thrown together really poorly. The story's a total mess. There's no grinding, but it's still too easy to get poorly-balanced stats. And there's some graphical issues as well.
Click to expand...

Whaaaaaaaat?!?! The story in The Last Story is not a mess at all -- in fact, it holds together better than just about any other JRPG storyline told in the past decade! The complaints people have about it tend to be that it's too "small" a story, focused on overly ordinary people doing overly ordinary things, but I think that's part of its charm. Its characters are believable and relatable, and its events are all given appropriate weight and backstory to fit into the game world without seeming contrived or convenient. It's one of those rare instances where you have a story told with absolutely NO plot holes and NO irrelevant details, and as a result, it's very no-nonsense, concise and extraordinarily immersive. At least, to me.

Either way, calling it "a total mess" makes no sense at all. That suggests a story rife with pacing issues and plot inconsistencies, whereas The Last Story is more like a meticulously-crafted short story with no filler.

Also, I'm going to have to strongly disagree that it's "too easy to get poorly-balanced stats," as frankly, I don't see how that's even possible. The Last Story may be a lot of things, but (save for some optional scenarios) challenging is not one of them -- it's a story to be experienced, not an obstacle to be surmounted, and it's very generous with its "extra lives." I really can't see the majority of players winding up with poorly-balanced stats at all.

Getting back on topic, Pandora's Tower is indeed a very different game from The Last Story -- it's longer, more action-packed and less story-centric. Illusion of Gaia is a fair comparison, though I think it might be more appropriate to compare it with a top-notch Castlevania game that bases much of its dungeon design around the hookshot from Zelda.

-Tom
 
Wow, this is so beautiful... :)

Finally, all three oprainfall titles have been officially released.. :D

Too bad it's hard to find Xenoblade for a decent price anywhere. :(
 
Just bit the bullet and ordered this game today in case it's a limited print and becomes hard to find. With this game being bought, I too join the club of having all the Operation Rainfall games. It's too bad I won't be touching this game for a while. It's also a shame that the NA edition didn't have a special edition version like the PAL version does but oh well.

I'm really grateful that Operation Rainfall was a success and brought these games to North America. Also, thank you XSeed for bringing The Last Story and now this game to North America. I hope the game sells decently. *Big Boss salute*
 
It amazes me that Reggie didn't go all out and bring these to the US sooner. It seems like it would've been a great way to show hardcore gamers that Nintendo is "all in" and that it's ok to buy a Nintendo console and use it.
 
Went to gamestop to get Soul Hackers and ended up picking this up instead. After the whole Xenoblade bs I didn't want to risk missing out on this. Now I just need to track down a semi reasonably priced copy of Xeno.
 
I am also eagerly awaiting this game to complete my Operation Rainfall collection. I wonder what the point of Amazon's Shipment Tracking is when it doesn't give you any useful information. My game shipped from KY on Mon...and that's all I know. Not very optimistic it will arrive in time for this weekend.

Game looks really cool, though. Reminds me of a Disney Princess movie done by David Cronenberg. Looking forward to it.

Amazing how these three Operation Rainfall games have nothing in common except that the US almost missed out on all three of them; and that they, at least Xenoblade and The Last Story, are some of the best games on Wii.
 
Completed the second tower and really diging the art style and the music. Especially during boss battles. Plus the way you work with the girl your trying to save really adds a additional connection to the player versus just being a point of the plot. Really digging it :D
 
I just finished the first 2 dunge...errrr...towers, and I can't say I'm very happy with the game so far. It feels like a Zelda game stripped down to a barebones level. Selecting a tower from a menu with no overworld, dungeons are the focus of the game and yet thus far they are uninteresting and have no puzzles to speak of, and the bosses are "hit the glowing weak spot" bores. Of course, this is my impression after only 2 towers, so who knows, maybe it just starts slow!
 
Mega Man's Electric Sheep said:
I just finished the first 2 dunge...errrr...towers, and I can't say I'm very happy with the game so far. It feels like a Zelda game stripped down to a barebones level. Selecting a tower from a menu with no overworld, dungeons are the focus of the game and yet thus far they are uninteresting and have no puzzles to speak of, and the bosses are "hit the glowing weak spot" bores. Of course, this is my impression after only 2 towers, so who knows, maybe it just starts slow!
Click to expand...

It does get better, but the first two dungeons are still quite excellent, so... I'm actually thinking this may not be the game for you! If it doesn't catch your interest within the next dungeon or two, I'd say it's not likely to do so at all.

-Tom
 
Hey Tom, can you speak at all as to what kind of print run this game received? I don't expect exact numbers, of course, just wondering if this might become hard to find sooner than later.
Already got my copy, though.
 
Urgh. The concept for this game sounds awesome, but I'm not sure that I want it yet.

I don't want to be spoiled on the story, so does anybody with the game know a good youtube video that won't ruin it for me? I just want to see how the game plays.
 
DidntKnowJack said:
Hey Tom, can you speak at all as to what kind of print run this game received? I don't expect exact numbers, of course, just wondering if this might become hard to find sooner than later.
Already got my copy, though.
Click to expand...

I'm... not really sure what I can say here. It wasn't printed in pessimistically low quantities, if that's what you're asking, and I don't think it's going to become particularly rare or hard to find, but that really all depends on how many people buy it. If it sells really poorly, it'll be easy to find... and if it sells out, we'll probably do a reprint and it'll be easy to find then as well... but if it's somewhere in the middle -- not enough to warrant a reprint, but enough that there aren't many copies left on shelves -- then yeah, it could get pretty hard to find.

Ideally, we'll print and reprint just enough copies of it so that everyone who wants the game can get it... and then by the time it does go out-of-print and get hard to find, it'll be because everybody already bought it.

We're certainly not going to make it an intentional rarity or anything, though. That's not our style.

Urgh. The concept for this game sounds awesome, but I'm not sure that I want it yet.
Click to expand...

If the concept sounds awesome, and the trailer footage looks cool to you, then chances are you'll enjoy the game. I'd say go for it.

-Tom
 
So does Elena ever actually make bed covers? Gave her the red and patterned fabric so far, asked her to make a bed cover and nada happens.

I am on the 6th tower now and the towers designs are definitely getting better.

The only thing I am not liking so far is the crafting time sink. I have already spent over half my current playtime backtracking in order to collect materials for weapon strengthening and item crafting.
 
timetokill said:
Urgh. The concept for this game sounds awesome, but I'm not sure that I want it yet.

I don't want to be spoiled on the story, so does anybody with the game know a good youtube video that won't ruin it for me? I just want to see how the game plays.
Click to expand...



Honestly man, I'm digging it. The premise sold me and the controls are pretty novel. They're not perfect but they work and the balance of systems is borderline superb. There's a learning curve when playing with the CC and the graphics mix pretty good art with some drabber tones. Still, the looks works well and the voice acting/score ties the aesthetic together well.

Also, with a great premise, the storytelling could be better. The writing never really grabs on but at least the characters outside the lead hit their marks to a relative degree.




I'd say the game is rogue-like-y?
 
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