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[dallow_bg]

I'm only in Chapter 4 I think but I have a question about endings.

I know there are like 10 specific side-quests you need to complete to see the true ending, does that mean that there are 10 "mini" endings I can see before that? If so, how does that work?

Or is it just the one ending, and after you complete all 10, you then get the 'true' end?

Love this game btw.
Haven't had so much fun with an RPG since late SNES/PSX days. Really good for a jaded gamer like me.

 

[Elfforkusu]

Thanks to Dark Schala and the combined forces of the internets, I got the true ending.

I'm only in Chapter 4 I think but I have a question about endings.

I know there are like 10 specific side-quests you need to complete to see the true ending, does that mean that there are 10 "mini" endings I can see before that? If so, how does that work?

Or is it just the one ending, and after you complete all 10, you then get the 'true' end?

Love this game btw.
Haven't had so much fun with an RPG since late SNES/PSX days. Really good for a jaded gamer like me.

Minor, very very vague "this is how the endings work" spoilers that probably don't need to be spoiler tagged but just to be nice I will anyway:

Spoiler

The sidequests basically map to ending "scenes", so you only get some of the final picture if you didn't complete all of them.

And then after you get all 10, you get a bonus one that ... changes your perspective a bit.

 

[Electivirus]

I'm reading Stocke's lines in Johnny Yong Bosch's voice. Halp.

 

[Spirit of Jazz]

Could anybody give me a hand and tell me what's the cheapest way to import this game to the UK?

 

[Dark Schala]

Thanks to Dark Schala and the combined forces of the internets, I got the true ending.

You're very welcome!

I'm reading Stocke's lines in Johnny Yong Bosch's voice. Halp.

:lol (I didn't think his voice fit the character, really.)

I read them in Chris Patton's voice (Sousuke Sagara, Ayato Kamina) instead. I wanted to use Cam Clarke's voice, but I thought he'd sound more mature and older for the character. <3

Could anybody give me a hand and tell me what's the cheapest way to import this game to the UK?

I wish I could. I saw a few posters from Europe order the game from videogamesplus.ca. I'm not sure how fruitful that would be, though. I am unsure if buy.com would work for you, either. :/

 

[flake]

Could anybody give me a hand and tell me what's the cheapest way to import this game to the UK?

Have you tried play-asia?

Just got my copy...a couple of hours in...really enjoying the combat mechanics and the story choices so far

 

[Taoofberg]

I picked this back up after only playing a few hours near release and it is a lot more enjoyable than I remember. After an extended break I usually feel compelled to restart plot-heavy games but thanks to the Story tab it was easy to refresh my memory.

Could anyone give me an estimated overall playtime?

 

[Volcynika]

I picked this back up after only playing a few hours near release and it is a lot more enjoyable than I remember. After an extended break I usually feel compelled to restart plot-heavy games but thanks to the Story tab it was easy to refresh my memory.

Could anyone give me an estimated overall playtime?

I did most of the sidequests and finished at like 30ish hours, I think. If you don't go back and find them, you could probably shave off a few hours.

 

[XiaNaphryz]

I finished the game this past weekend and managed to get all the sidequests, I think my playtime ended up around 40 hours. I did a bit of grinding at the end just for the hell of it, I think my highest guys ended up around level 62 or so.

 

[Justin Timberlake]

I haven't started the game yet, but now that I know about how the endings work, I'd like to know if there is a spoiler-free way to ensure you get the "true ending?" Would I even want to do that? Is it easy to beat the game and go back to do the sidequests? Is it like 999 where you want to get the bad endings before the good ones? Just how many bad endings are there?

I wanna start the game but I am worried I will fuck things up

 

[hosannainexcelsis]

I haven't started the game yet, but now that I know about how the endings work, I'd like to know if there is a spoiler-free way to ensure you get the "true ending?" Would I even want to do that? Is it easy to beat the game and go back to do the sidequests? Is it like 999 where you want to get the bad endings before the good ones? Just how many bad endings are there?

I wanna start the game but I am worried I will fuck things up

No need to worry; the time-travel structure of the game is such that at any time, even after the final boss, you can go back to get any sidequest or bad ending you missed. Every decision point has a right choice and a wrong choice; picking the wrong one will give you a short glimpse into a bad future and then automatically take you back to the beginning of the chapter you were in, where you can immediately go back to the decision and pick the correct option. It's not like 999; the bad endings don't do much to contribute to the overall story, so you can see them or not as you wish.

The true ending requires the completion of the 10 sidequests which have a possible bad end; the sidequests are listed here. It's just an extra scene, though worth seeing. Finding all the sidequests is not straightforward, and can be a chore to do if you save them all for the end, so if you are going for completion I'd recommend following a walkthrough so you can do the sidequests as you progress through the game. There's no problem with doing them later though, if you want to completely avoid spoilers.

 

[Chesskid1]

got a question about timelines, i'm sure it's been asked but i would like to avoid as much spoilers as possible.

the timelines have started to split.

is there like one main big storyline that you go down, with a few branches then ends...

or is there like several huge branches? ie it splits into two timelines, and one can go on for hours as well as the other.

i ask this because if it's one big timeline and i don't get to an end after a few hours i know this is the main storyline and i should go back to a previous decision and finish the other decision off, and if it's two big timelines i should just pick one and compete it then play the other big timeline.

thank you.

 

[Volcynika]

got a question about timelines, i'm sure it's been asked but i would like to avoid as much spoilers as possible.

the timelines have started to split.

is there like one main big storyline that you go down, with a few branches then ends...

or is there like several huge branches? ie it splits into two timelines, and one can go on for hours as well as the other.

i ask this because if it's one big timeline and i don't get to an end after a few hours i know this is the main storyline and i should go back to a previous decision and finish the other decision off, and if it's two big timelines i should just pick one and compete it then play the other big timeline.

thank you.

Two main timelines. At points in each timeline you won't be able to progress without going a bit of the way through the other timeline. You'll be alternating as you progress.

 

[hypersheep]

There are only two timelines that you will switch between. You will eventually be unable to advance in one timeline and have to play the other one.

 

[GSR]

Been playing through this recently; up to chapter 3 on each timeline now.

Maybe it's just me, but this game seems to scale to the 3DS' screen much better than most others. I guess it's just the sprite/3D mix working well in this case.

 

[Squall ASF]

Phew, finally finished grinding last night at a certain fiery location in Chapter 3. The soldiers gave such great experience and with a means to recharge HP and MP, the opportunity was too convient to ignore. I think I went overboard though...

I now have Stocke, Raynie, and Aht at level 50 with Marco and the other character you get in this chapter close behind. Probably way over leveled for Chapter 3? I have some nice abilities now though, Aht's Cross Star followed by Stockes Heated Blade is NICE. All the G elements with Raynie should be nice too and Stocke just got G Fire right before I stopped. Would you guys say the rest of the game will be a cake walk now? Not that I'd mind, it's cool leveling to a beast and seeing the fruits of your labor. I have 99 First aid kids and countless mana restoratives now too :lol Forgot to check how much gold but it has to be substantial now haha

Anyway, I was going to ask when the game gets better from all the comments I've read on here but the main plot has started unfolding more and the game is vastly more interesting in Chapter 3. I now look forward to uncovering more story I'm just really hoping there's some nice uses for Vanish because it seems like it's really only for avoiding battles right now besides the forced use soon after acquiring it. I think it'd be really neat to have some intense scenes where I can hide with it just in the nick of time.

 

[Tranced Shadow]

Hmm, I'm up to Chapter 4 now and the difficulty's really ramped up...

In one timeline

Spoiler

I'm fighting Garland as Stocke and can't seem to beat him. When he powers up with Warrior's Spirit he just does too much damage

.

In the alternate timeline

Spoiler

The invading forces do way too much damage and knock me off my feet

.

Any tips/recommended levels? Most characters are in the 20s at the moment, with some at the higher end...

 

[SatelliteOfLove]

Hmm, I'm up to Chapter 4 now and the difficulty's really ramped up...

In one timeline

Spoiler

I'm fighting Garland as Stocke and can't seem to beat him. When he powers up with Warrior's Spirit he just does too much damage

.

In the alternate timeline

Spoiler

The invading forces do way too much damage and knock me off my feet

.

Any tips/recommended levels? Most characters are in the 20s at the moment, with some at the higher end...

Use the Push 'n Magic strat (the best setup for defensive fights. key trick), lower his Physical damage with items, and stack some hits together (carefully).

If all else fails, hop into your Timey Wimey Tome to grind earlier scenarios.

 

[..pakbeka..]

I'm getting my ass kicked by the

Spoiler

Master

My party is all in the early 50s and I can get past the first fight, but the second one is always over before I can even do much, any tips?

 

[Dark Schala]

I'm getting my ass kicked by the

Spoiler

Master

My party is all in the early 50s and I can get past the first fight, but the second one is always over before I can even do much, any tips?

Level up some more.

Also... reposting this post I made a few pages ago:

Spoiler

I used Stocke (Lv 70), Aht (Lv 65) and Eruca (Lv 61). They have the highest MAG defense. I had some Shield Seed Pluses in my inventory. I equipped everyone with three Sky Drops, which will prevent status effects. You can buy these in Forgia. I filled up everyone's Mana Gauge prior to engaging. MDEF is the biggest worry here. Forget about bringing up PDEF.

Stocke: Historica, Moirae Manteau (DEF+48;MDEF+41--"The Road to Victory" sidequest), 3 Sky Drops (you can substitute the Satyros Finery for the Manteau if you want to here)

Aht: Oratorio (ATK+25/MAG+30/MDF+20--steal from Thautomaton Boss at Sand Fortress in AH Chapter 5), Mana Cape (DEF+21/MDF+68/SPD-3--Underground Lab), 3 Sky Drops

Eruca: Freikugel Mercy (ATK+25/MAG+90/DEF-15--treasure in Imperial Ruins AH Final Chapter), Luminous Dress (DEF+21/MDF+70/SPD-2--Royal Hall, SH Final Chapter), 3 Sky Drops

I used the Mana Gauge and had everyone Turn Break the spider. Comboed the spider into submission with Dancing Death, G-Fire, G-Frost, Dancing Death, Double Slash, G-Frost... repeatedly until it goes down. It shouldn't get an attack in since you used Turn Break. It's kind of important that you don't get damaged during this battle because the next battle's going to be tough.

If Vainqueur does what I think he's going to do first, he'll either use: a ton of spells on you, try to put your party to sleep, or try to lower your stats. The Sky Drops were equipped to counter this, but it still doesn't help much. I used Polaris and Lunatic with Aht, and a Shield Seed Plus on my first turn (Eruca has Trans-Turn). I decided to take them out one at a time with Dancing Death, Double Slash and G-Frost repeatedly to kill one of them, or you could use G-Frost + any of Aht's Star traps + left/right assault. Don't be afraid of using Tourniquets, Healing Fruits (you can buy these in Forgia), or multiple Shield Seeds Pluses (Shield Herbs also help) if Eruca's Divine Light isn't keeping up. It would also help a little if you used a Magic Herb on Eruca. Either way is fine. It's more of a battle of endurance if anything.

This battle is harder than the final battle. I hope that helps, but I'm sure people have done it differently and more efficiently. The most important thing is leveling up Eruca, imo. I attempted this battle multiple times with an underleveled Eruca and was extremely unsuccessful.

 

[XiaNaphryz]

I'm getting my ass kicked by the

Spoiler

Master

My party is all in the early 50s and I can get past the first fight, but the second one is always over before I can even do much, any tips?

You're probably a bit underleveled, though people have finished this with chars in the high 50s.

I think I used Stocke/Marco/Aht for that one. Have Aht use Polaris and Lunatic. Rely on Aht's star traps and either Stocke or Marco pushing guys into them for offense, while the other guy focuses on healing. Using Marco's Guard Rise isn't a bad idea either if you can sneak one in.

Main thing is you want to avoid getting hit with a status ailment, so be sure to recast Polaris once it wears off. Equipping appropriate accessories could also help here. Any shield seed pluses you have can also be handy.

 

[..pakbeka..]

Thanks for the help guys, I guess I'll do the final dungeon before going back to this fight.

Are shileld seeds plus actually sold somewhere or is there an enemy I can farm them from?

 

[Instro]

Yeah I beat him in the upper 50's-low 60's, so it's certainly doable if you dont feel like leveling up too much. I would wait till after the final dungeon though first.

Spoiler

The Master is a pain in the ass for sure though, it definitely took me quite a while to figure out how to beat him. It just takes the right planning with your skills, particularly Aht's traps in the second phase of the battle, and some luck. My whole strategy was basically going for a quick kill of at least 1 the of 4 and heavily damaging a 2nd one very early on in the battle instead of starting the battle by buffing my characters against the status effects and stuff. It can be done if you place traps in the correct spots. I basically pinned my hopes to him not using those status effect attacks right off the bat, but it seemed like the only realistic way to win that fight without leveling more.

I cant quite remember, but I think the only way to make this work is by saving your turn breaks for the 2nd phase that way you can line up a massive attack at the beginning of the battle.

Stocke/Aht/Eruca for sure should be in your party for that fight, I cant recall who I used for my 4th character.

 

[Dark Schala]

Thanks for the help guys, I guess I'll do the final dungeon before going back to this fight.

Are shileld seeds plus actually sold somewhere or is there an enemy I can farm them from?

There are two bosses from which you can steal Shield Seed Pluses, I believe. Just steal from every boss. One of the bosses is in Final Chapter AH, you'll have to steal from him twice (this enemy has a King Stud and a Shield Seed+). The other boss is in Final Chapter SH. You cannot steal from the Final Chapter SH boss more than once because it is a one time only fight. You CAN steal from the Final Chapter AH boss if you really feel like going back in time repeatedly and then going through that dungeon repeatedly to farm the seeds (and farm King Studs while you're at it).

Others, you find in chests and stuff. Eruca has Divine Light, which does the same thing.

Also, the BEST place to level up is AH Final Chapter in Sand Fortress North , but you have to do it without Eruca. You can level up Eruca later on in another chapter. The Final Dungeon is a nice place too. AH FC Sand Fortress North is a nice place because the enemies are SO easy, it's easy to rack up combos for XP bonuses, and they give lots of XP.

I now have Stocke, Raynie, and Aht at level 50 with Marco and the other character you get in this chapter close behind. Probably way over leveled for Chapter 3?

Anyway, I was going to ask when the game gets better from all the comments I've read on here but the main plot has started unfolding more and the game is vastly more interesting in Chapter 3. I now look forward to uncovering more story I'm just really hoping there's some nice uses for Vanish because it seems like it's really only for avoiding battles right now besides the forced use soon after acquiring it. I think it'd be really neat to have some intense scenes where I can hide with it just in the nick of time.

The end of Chapter 2 AH and Chapter 3 SH were my favourites, just for the way shit started to hit the fan.

You are so overleveled, lol. I didn't have the patience to use that grinding area for a long time. Good on you.

 

[Tranced Shadow]

Use the Push 'n Magic strat (the best setup for defensive fights. key trick), lower his Physical damage with items, and stack some hits together (carefully).

If all else fails, hop into your Timey Wimey Tome to grind earlier scenarios.

Cheers! Currently in SH Ch. 6

 

[..pakbeka..]

I've finally finished the game. Radiant Historia has got to be one of the best JRPGs I've ever played, it's a shame that it has gone unnoticed because it's on the DS.

I didn't think it was possible for a JRPG to impress me as much as it did in the current environment of the industry, it's almost as if this game was designed during the late 90's, early 00's and only release now. After watching the ending I've got to say it's up there with Chrono Tigger to me, I can't really judge wich one I love more, but Radiant Historia certanly has a much more engaging battle system, and it's incredibly simple, it doesn't try to reinvent the wheel, but it makes every battle fun and diferent with such simple innovations. As for its story, I was honestly surprised by how moving it is, since I was expecting it to be the usual JRPG nonsense. Again I compare it to Chrono Trigger, as I consider both to have great stories, but Radiant Historia tells a much more personal tale and traveling back and forth in time helped fleshing out the characters making me grow attached to them as I reached the end.

I was expensive to import this game, but it was much more worth it than I ever expected. I hope that the team responsible for it gets together again for a sequel, or a spiritual sequel.

Right now I'm still missing 3 nodes, but I have no idea wich ones they are, are there any node maps online?

 

[Dark Schala]

Right now I'm still missing 3 nodes, but I have no idea wich ones they are, are there any node maps online?

Your final impressions echo mine.

This fellow on GameFAQs made a Node List: http://www.gamefaqs.com/boards/604160-/58362432. Spoilers, obviously.

And here's a sidequest guide. Since you finished the game, you won't need to worry about spoilers: http://www.gamefaqs.com/boards/604160-radiant-historia/58266464

 

[GSR]

Just got to chapter 4 in both AH and SH. Question: for all the ravings I'm hearing about this game, it's been pretty good but not exceptional thus far. Do things pick up in terms of story later on? So far it's been fairly par for the course bar the time travel thing, so I'm sort of expecting everything to get flipped on its head at some point.

 

[Aeana]

It is done.

When I first tried the game, back when it first came out, I thought it was kind of cool, but it didn't grab me. I was distracted by all sorts of things at that point, though, so I decided I'd give it another shot when things settled down a bit.

I pretty much played straight through over the course of a few days. My general opinion of it has gone up and down. Around chapter 3, the combat began to overstay its welcome with me. The game still insisted that I use Raynie and Marco most of the time, and the general strategy for random fights hadn't changed since the beginning of the game. I was getting awfully tired of grouping enemies into one square and using a spell or something on them. Battles were dead easy but I couldn't even mash through them because of how long they'd take if I didn't put up with the same tedious exercise in each fight. Fortunately, chapter 4 finally shook it up a bit, and I finally got a better party make-up that suited me much better. Fights became much more dynamic and enjoyable, and my opinion of the game was on an upswing after that. After beating the game, my only real lingering complaint with the combat is how so many battles make Aht completely useless. I love her and find her the most interesting to use, so I used her every chance I got, but frequently had to reset when the game decided to throw a boss at me where her skills could not be utilized.

Story was really good, very enjoyable throughout. I don't have a lot to say about this, but it worked really well I thought.

Music... I consider myself to be quite a big Shimomura fan, but one of reasons I wasn't in love with the game from the beginning was because I found a lot of her work that you can hear at the start to be very dull. I'm sure plenty of people disagree, but the Alistel music and the regular battle theme, and especially the Lazvil Hills music are just not very interesting to me at all. Fortunately, there is quite a lot of good stuff later in the game, for which I am quite thankful.

Overall, very good game, glad to have gone back to it and I'd recommend it to anyone.

 

[GSR]

You sound a lot like me. I've only got the last gladiator fight, Master whatshisname, and the final boss to fight, but that describes my situation with this game pretty perfectly.

In particular, the music, while pretty good, felt awfully limited to me. There's like, 15 tracks in the game? They start to get pretty repetitive, and they can feel a little out-of-place, like the one or two times Stocke draws his sword and gives a heroic speech... backed by the standard battle theme. Didn't really work for me.

Also, am I the only one who would seek out large enemy groups with Gafka in my team, use Wind God's Strike, then steal from like six guys at once? So satisfying. And an excellent way to get Divine Waters.

 

[Aveyn Knight]

I didn't use Gafka much before I beat the game, so it was only afterwards that I discovered that broken stealing combo, by which time it was slightly useless.

Anyway, those comments sound kind of like something I'd write as well. It would have been more cool if you got more fun attacks and characters earlier on. For instance, I don't know why it takes so long for Marco to learn stuff like Left and Right Assault...

I didn't like using Aht to begin with, since the traps seemed too fiddly to use, but once you start getting the X Star Traps, there's few reasons not to use her. Although she learns it late, Cross Star also helps to alleviate the issue of grid-filling bosses.

 

[GSR]

Yeah, I was pleasantly surprised by Cross Star, since her other specials that aren't traps were kind of "eh".

Also about the music, I just remembered one big thing that drove me a little nuts: the "sadness" theme. The first time I really remember it being used was

Spoiler

Kiel's sacrifice

, where I thought it worked really well. And then they kept using it, and I was fine with that since there was only the one theme. But then after

Spoiler

you kill Rosch in SH Ch. 3

, there's a completely different, much darker "sad" theme that plays there and I do believe only there. Then it goes back to the other sadness theme for the rest of the game. I've no objection to unique songs for certain moments, but when your tracklist is so short, I'd rather have variety, especially given how often they played the sadness music.

 

[flowsnake]

Around chapter 3, the combat began to overstay its welcome with me. The game still insisted that I use Raynie and Marco most of the time, and the general strategy for random fights hadn't changed since the beginning of the game. I was getting awfully tired of grouping enemies into one square and using a spell or something on them. Battles were dead easy but I couldn't even mash through them because of how long they'd take if I didn't put up with the same tedious exercise in each fight. Fortunately, chapter 4 finally shook it up a bit, and I finally got a better party make-up that suited me much better. Fights became much more dynamic and enjoyable, and my opinion of the game was on an upswing after that.

That was pretty much my problem with it, though I gave up way before chapter 3. Could you go into more detail about how the battles were more interesting later?

 

[SatelliteOfLove]

It is done.

When I first tried the game, back when it first came out, I thought it was kind of cool, but it didn't grab me. I was distracted by all sorts of things at that point, though, so I decided I'd give it another shot when things settled down a bit.

I pretty much played straight through over the course of a few days. My general opinion of it has gone up and down. Around chapter 3, the combat began to overstay its welcome with me. The game still insisted that I use Raynie and Marco most of the time, and the general strategy for random fights hadn't changed since the beginning of the game. I was getting awfully tired of grouping enemies into one square and using a spell or something on them. Battles were dead easy but I couldn't even mash through them because of how long they'd take if I didn't put up with the same tedious exercise in each fight. Fortunately, chapter 4 finally shook it up a bit, and I finally got a better party make-up that suited me much better. Fights became much more dynamic and enjoyable, and my opinion of the game was on an upswing after that. After beating the game, my only real lingering complaint with the combat is how so many battles make Aht completely useless. I love her and find her the most interesting to use, so I used her every chance I got, but frequently had to reset when the game decided to throw a boss at me where her skills could not be utilized.

Story was really good, very enjoyable throughout. I don't have a lot to say about this, but it worked really well I thought.

Music... I consider myself to be quite a big Shimomura fan, but one of reasons I wasn't in love with the game from the beginning was because I found a lot of her work that you can hear at the start to be very dull. I'm sure plenty of people disagree, but the Alistel music and the regular battle theme, and especially the Lazvil Hills music are just not very interesting to me at all. Fortunately, there is quite a lot of good stuff later in the game, for which I am quite thankful.

Overall, very good game, glad to have gone back to it and I'd recommend it to anyone.

I have to admit these are two of the strangest ones to pick out of the OST. DEM MELODIES.

 

[GSR]

Finished the game today. 100% save for the bad endings and Master four-bosses-at-once-what-is-this-shit.

The most solid traditional JRPG I've played in recent memory; definitely a sight better than Golden Sun: Dark Dawn was. The final choice at the end was a nice touch.

 

[leroidys]

So when does this game start picking up? I'm on the mission where I go through the sand fortress in the alternate history. So far, the game gets super respect points for feeling likea long lost snes rpg, but it is seriously dull gameplaywise, and nothing is happening in the plot.

 

[archnemesis]

So when does this game start picking up? I'm on the mission where I go through the sand fortress in the alternate history. So far, the game gets super respect points for feeling likea long lost snes rpg, but it is seriously dull gameplaywise, and nothing is happening in the plot.

If you don't like it by now I doubt you ever will. You'll continue to jump between the two timelines in order to overcome barriers. There are a few really fun alternate endings and some interesting dialog, but the plot stays about the same throughout the game.

 

[Dark Schala]

So when does this game start picking up? I'm on the mission where I go through the sand fortress in the alternate history. So far, the game gets super respect points for feeling likea long lost snes rpg, but it is seriously dull gameplaywise, and nothing is happening in the plot.

Shit starts to hit the fan by the end of

Spoiler

Chapter 2

, if that's what you're looking for. You have to switch between timelines to solve issues between them (ie: get skills to remove obstructions, prevent things from happening, etc). It keeps going like that up until the end.

But if you're finding the gameplay extremely dull... well... You get more interesting characters to use as you progress, but if you're finding it dull no matter who you use, it might not be for you.

 

[djtiesto]

Been playing this the past week or so... not really too much to say but it's freaking great. Really reminds me of a long lost SNES RPG from the mid 90's... could have come out alongside something like Treasure of the Rudras or Treasure Hunter G. Battle system is amazing and was kinda like the idea I had in my head for a cool turn-based system with positioning. Only complaints I have so far are weak animation for a 2D game this day and age, and that I wish they went all-out 2D instead of 3D for the backgrounds (since so far the game doesn't really justify having the 3D, no camera angle changes or any of that jazz)

The music in Allistel town is fantastic, the rest of the music isn't too bad either. Which is good, I was really turned off by Shimomura due to the Bowser's Inside Story soundtrack, but it looks like she still has got it in her.

 

[Reclaimer]

I've never been a huge JRPG fan, but honestly that's mostly because I've been busy playing other stuff (and usually choose an Action RPG over a turn based one) I recently picked up a 3DS after not ever owning a DS, so I'm looking to fill out my games with some of the better DS ones I missed.

Radiant Historia intrigued me for some reason. Is this a good DS RPG to start with, or more for already seasoned fans of the genre? Or is there something else you'd recommend first?

 

[cultureculture]

I've never been a huge JRPG fan, but honestly that's mostly because I've been busy playing other stuff (and usually choose an Action RPG over a turn based one) I recently picked up a 3DS after not ever owning a DS, so I'm looking to fill out my games with some of the better DS ones I missed.

Radiant Historia intrigued me for some reason. Is this a good DS RPG to start with, or more for already seasoned fans of the genre? Or is there something else you'd recommend first?

It's a pretty good choice to start with. It's fun and the gameplay is pretty straightforward without being boring - you won't be struggling with any cryptic, over-elaborate battle systems or arcane skill trees, nor will you just be hammering the A Button like with some RPGs, J or otherwise. And of course, the story is pretty cool too.

 

[AniHawk]

due to jury duty that just won't end, i finally got into this. the music is beautiful, and it's easy to get interested in just one path before switching back to the other. i made it to the end of alternate history 3 when i hadn't even touched standard history 2. the time travel aspect is pretty interesting. i haven't played a game quite like it before.

 

[CruxisMana]

I never paid any attention to this game when I first heard of it, but after seeing this thread bumped up last month and reading through this thread I bought it and decided to give it a go. I actually completed it last week, but didn't have the opportunity to get on GAF and post my impressions of the game. I think most of the pro's of this brilliant game have already been discussed months ago here, so I'm not going to go into loads of detail.

WOW.

I loved how the game handled the time and reality changing elements and how decisions in one timeline affected events in the other. It starts out simple, with the game giving you no other choice but to search for an answer in the alternate timeline, but as the game progresses sometimes the solution becomes almost a puzzle within itself. There are a few moments, in both completing the main storyline and sidequests, when it isn't striking obvious where in time you need to go to in order to get to change the event that you need to, with some trial and error in having to go to the same location, just a few nodes apart, in order for the desired event to happen. The fact that there are no serious consequences for choosing the wrong path is also brilliant. A lot of the time, I found myself going back to nodes just to choose the wrong option, and dooming the planet, just to see the bad ending that would result.

ENDING:

Spoiler

The true ending is definitely the better ending, but the flashbacks to the moments in which the other Sacrifice's realised their desire to help the future of the world was especially touching. The music during the scene (which I think was this piece) was especially amazing. I liked that the completion of the character sidequests gave them their own ending sequence, which was a very nice touch and rounded off each characters development nicely, since I really liked all of the main cast, particularly Aht.

The regular ending seemed a little too straight forward, with Stocke becoming the Sacrifice, so I liked that the true ending changed this. Instead, Teo and Lippiti say how it became Stocke's mission to guide the wielder of the Black Chronicle back to the right path and discover his reason to wish to believe in the future instead of dwelling on the past, which was again touching. I liked the twist on the regular 'hero-saves-the-world' storyline, using the exploration of time and growing character development as the main push for the Sacrifice to wish to save the world, even when this isn't evident as a story element at the start of the game.

Choosing 'Stocke' as the name to be engraved in Historia seemed like the right choice, considering how Stocke himself details that it was Heiss' decision to give him a new life that led him down the path that it did, and gave him a reason to wish to become the Sacrifice. The fact that he never refers to Eruca as his sister, even after finding out, or Heiss as his uncle was another reason to choose his new identity as the one to be remembered.

Even at such a late stage for the DS, this is definitely one the consoles shining highlights and quite easily my favourite jRPG for the DS as well. Can't recommend this game enough. Superb.

 

[R_thanatos]

Currently in chapter 6 standard history ...

LOVING THE GAME .. so glad i'm on holiday to enjoy it even more ..

this game is pretty much what i want from a jrpg these days ( likable cast , serious sidequesting , good battle system , awesome soundtrack )

 

[TheExodu5]

I've never been a huge JRPG fan, but honestly that's mostly because I've been busy playing other stuff (and usually choose an Action RPG over a turn based one) I recently picked up a 3DS after not ever owning a DS, so I'm looking to fill out my games with some of the better DS ones I missed.

Radiant Historia intrigued me for some reason. Is this a good DS RPG to start with, or more for already seasoned fans of the genre? Or is there something else you'd recommend first?

It's the best JRPG I've played in ages. There's also no consequences for making wrong choices, and nothing is missable, which makes it a great game to start with. The music is great, the story is great (from what I've played so far...still not done), the battle system is rewarding. Go for it.

The other DS RPG I would suggest would be Mario and Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story.

 

[AniHawk]

man. this thing just keeps going doesn't it.

 

[stalker]

I just bought the game today from someone in a local message board. It will be one of the last games I buy for the DS and one of the few imports I have. Lots of things to play on the DS but I guess I will prioritze this one for the holidays I start tomorrow. I hope I'll enjoy it, the reviews and gaf-opinions are quite good!

 

[R_thanatos]

finished the game tonight ( got the true ending )

This game was satisfying beyond any regrets .. a delicious Gem for any rpg lover... now off to xenoblade.
Main final boss party ( stocke , raynie, gafka ).... lot of items used ..

Spoiler

What do you mean i can't launch i can't set traps , i can't move this guy and i have to beat it 3 times in a row with increasing difficulty ?


Awesome

 

[TheExodu5]

WHY HAVE I NOT BEATEN THIS!?

I need to kick myself in the ass and get myself to stop buying new games.

 

[Jintor]

I've just started and I'm already very impressed. The position management and combo aspect of the combat is refreshing yet easy to wrap my head around, and the time node-based plot looks interesting. Not to mention all the characters are instantly relatable and interesting, even if the mercs need a little development right now.

Looking forward to the next month or two. Gonna be sweet.