MadokaAngelWing
Neo Member
Is Arc the Lad any good?
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I quite enjoy it, to be honest. It is a Working Designs game, after all. I'm a fan of the studio. I like the main character a lot, they develop him quite well.
Fights play out like more like in a tactical rpg than regular jrpgs. But exploration is your standard jrpg fare. It works very well. Characters have more than one weapon type and you can swap mid-battle.
Equipment also levels up in fights. Other than the main story, you get to hunt strong monsters for both good and crappy rewards. There are also tasks and secret characters to find via side content.
If you play the second game, I suggest that you import a save file from the first game. It offers some additional stuff. One big point: I beat the first game in 15 hours, but AtL2 is much bigger. Probably 60+ hours to do most stuff. One thing that I like is that the game has many tracks, even if most of them are short. Another thing is that the visuals of the game are very appealing to me.
I know what I wrote is rambling, but in short, yes. I like the series. Turn-based, tactical combat. Good exploration with lots of side content. Sounds and looks good.
MadokaAngelWing
Neo Member
I was curious because I've seen it available as a psone classic on the ps3 psn store and I was debating getting it
gtrwll
Member
IMO despite the occasional controversy and some minor flaws XC2 is one of the best games ever made. The emotional impact was so massive. I'll probably get back to my NG+ after I finish Fire Emblem: Three Houses.
Scopa
The Tribe Has Spoken
gtrwll
Member
MadokaAngelWing
Neo Member
I recently got Odin Sphere on ps3 out of mild curiosity but I'm having fun
Rya.Reisender
Member
Played lots of stuff lately.
SaGa Scarlet Grace - Still didn't really pack me. I figured it's a game you can start, do two battles and then you lose all motivation and stop again, until you feel again to fight two more battles.
Light Fairytale Episode 1 - This one was really enjoyable. The art style and writing is closest to the original FFVII that I've ever seen. Unfortunately the game has some heavy balance problems (stat growth is random and if you are unlucky the game can become unwinnable because randomly your STR and INT didn't increase and then you only deal 0 damage to a boss) and it's also only 2 hours long. But apart from this I found it to be very enjoyable.
Grimoire Heralds of the Winged Exemplar - Man this game has ancient control schemes. I originally quit it after 2 minutes because of the horrible UI and how annoying combat input was solved. Then I gave it another chance and somehow learned how to play it. It was enjoyable for a while. But then the game started threwing tons of "instant death" and "equipment break" effects at you, which basically requires you to restart. Having to restart every second battle ruined the game for me, so I gave up for good.
Cthulhu Saves Christmas - Unfortunately far worth than Cosmic Star Heroine. There are way too many options in combat right off the bat and the fact that three of the options are randomly placed makes it really hard to find the command you want to use, while at the same time the combat is easy enough that you could also just not worry about it. Felt a bit boring and is not very enjoyable to play. The christmas map art is nice, though.
Alliance Alive HD - This one is really good so far. Didn't play it too far yet, but combat is enjoyable and especially the dungeon design is amazing. Really feels exciting to explore every corner and look at every object. Probably my RPG of the year 2019, but let's see what I think about it if I'm 5 more hours in.
SaGa Scarlet Grace - Still didn't really pack me. I figured it's a game you can start, do two battles and then you lose all motivation and stop again, until you feel again to fight two more battles.
Light Fairytale Episode 1 - This one was really enjoyable. The art style and writing is closest to the original FFVII that I've ever seen. Unfortunately the game has some heavy balance problems (stat growth is random and if you are unlucky the game can become unwinnable because randomly your STR and INT didn't increase and then you only deal 0 damage to a boss) and it's also only 2 hours long. But apart from this I found it to be very enjoyable.
Grimoire Heralds of the Winged Exemplar - Man this game has ancient control schemes. I originally quit it after 2 minutes because of the horrible UI and how annoying combat input was solved. Then I gave it another chance and somehow learned how to play it. It was enjoyable for a while. But then the game started threwing tons of "instant death" and "equipment break" effects at you, which basically requires you to restart. Having to restart every second battle ruined the game for me, so I gave up for good.
Cthulhu Saves Christmas - Unfortunately far worth than Cosmic Star Heroine. There are way too many options in combat right off the bat and the fact that three of the options are randomly placed makes it really hard to find the command you want to use, while at the same time the combat is easy enough that you could also just not worry about it. Felt a bit boring and is not very enjoyable to play. The christmas map art is nice, though.
Alliance Alive HD - This one is really good so far. Didn't play it too far yet, but combat is enjoyable and especially the dungeon design is amazing. Really feels exciting to explore every corner and look at every object. Probably my RPG of the year 2019, but let's see what I think about it if I'm 5 more hours in.
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drganon
Member
I player the ps4 version. It's a pretty sweet game in my opinion. I got close to platinuming it, but gave up around 80% of the trophies.
MadokaAngelWing
Neo Member
I only have 4 platinum trophies FF15, Undertale, Cyberdimention Neptunia 4 Goddesses Online, and Bloodstained Ritual of the Night
Dom1niqu3
Neo Member
The game is just so polished and the art style is incredible, combat is fluid and dynamic the upgrade system is fun without being tedious, and the story is awesome. One of the best games on my PS Vita.
Jooxed
Gold Member
I just started digging into octopath after putting it down when it first came out. Finishing up everyone’s chapter 2s and moving on to 3s I forgot how charming the game is. I remember being initial disappointed about the 8 different stories, but what a gorgeous little game with a fun battle system.
Katsura
Member
I could use some advice as a newcomer to the Legend of heroes world. I've completed most of Cold Steel 2 but when the cinematics for the divertissement came up i was completely lost. I got the distinct feeling i was supposed to know who those people were but i have no clue so i saved and quit the game
Should i hold out on playing the final part of CS2 until i've played earlier LoH game? It feels kinda strange playing 2 characters who are clearly important in the worlds lore without having any clue who they are
Should i hold out on playing the final part of CS2 until i've played earlier LoH game? It feels kinda strange playing 2 characters who are clearly important in the worlds lore without having any clue who they are
Katsura
Member
Finished Trails of cold steel 2
As far as gameplay is concerned everything is an improvement over 1. They added even more depth to a battle system which was plenty deep. I also really enjoyed the free roam part. It made the world feel even bigger
The story ramps up a lot and i loved it. Sadly, it's let down by the ending which was completely unnecessary and didn't fit the rest of the story at all. Hopefully, ToCS3 manages to tie it up so it makes more sense
Speaking of which, now i have a dilemma. I'm very tempted to break my Sony boycott just to play 3 but i'm going to hold out at least for the Switch version which should release fairly soon. However, i'd love to keep going with my current save but since there is no western pc release planned that i'm aware of and i don't read moon runes, it's going to be hard not to just get it on the Switch
Meanwhile, i've started Trails in the sky to better understand the lore. It's fun so far albeit very different and it certainly lacks some QoL features. It's also harder which i'm enjoying
I've also started Divinity Original sin 2 on the side. It seems like it has a lot of potential but it's very slow paced. Some of the battles takes forever. I really wish there was a way to speed up battle gameplay. Also, i'm struggling a bit with all the characters in my party being very unlikeable. Great looking game though and the story is pretty interesting so far so i will keep it as a side game for now
I grabbed Atelier Sophie in the Steam winter sale. It's my first time playing an Atelier game and i'm kinda torn on it. The crafting system seems like it's fun and the combat is serviceable but so far the dialogue is really bad and i'm not a huge fan of the town being made up of tiny instances
As far as gameplay is concerned everything is an improvement over 1. They added even more depth to a battle system which was plenty deep. I also really enjoyed the free roam part. It made the world feel even bigger
The story ramps up a lot and i loved it. Sadly, it's let down by the ending which was completely unnecessary and didn't fit the rest of the story at all. Hopefully, ToCS3 manages to tie it up so it makes more sense
Speaking of which, now i have a dilemma. I'm very tempted to break my Sony boycott just to play 3 but i'm going to hold out at least for the Switch version which should release fairly soon. However, i'd love to keep going with my current save but since there is no western pc release planned that i'm aware of and i don't read moon runes, it's going to be hard not to just get it on the Switch
Meanwhile, i've started Trails in the sky to better understand the lore. It's fun so far albeit very different and it certainly lacks some QoL features. It's also harder which i'm enjoying
I've also started Divinity Original sin 2 on the side. It seems like it has a lot of potential but it's very slow paced. Some of the battles takes forever. I really wish there was a way to speed up battle gameplay. Also, i'm struggling a bit with all the characters in my party being very unlikeable. Great looking game though and the story is pretty interesting so far so i will keep it as a side game for now
I grabbed Atelier Sophie in the Steam winter sale. It's my first time playing an Atelier game and i'm kinda torn on it. The crafting system seems like it's fun and the combat is serviceable but so far the dialogue is really bad and i'm not a huge fan of the town being made up of tiny instances
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ROMhack
Member
Haven't myself but that's kinda what I thought. I think coming to it from Earthbound might be a bit disappointing as it seems more conceptual rather than fleshed out. Must have been interesting at the time though.
Rya.Reisender
Member
Alliance Alive is pretty good. It's like a streamlined SaGa game. The damage calculation is a bit unbalanced, though. Also it has section where you can choose active party members, but later on forces you to use all of them again, making it fairly easy to get stuck if you don't grind. That was a bit of an annoyance for me (in fact I quit the game at that point because I was too lazy to reload my 1 hour old save and go grind). Apart from that though the game is really well designed. It has really cool dungeon design and interesting world map exploration.
Ni No Kuni (the first), I found pretty enjoyable. It's basic Studio Ghibli as game. Really good writing, fun simple monster catching gameplay, probably one of the best "casino mini game" implementations I've seen and overall a good experience. Too bad the second game was so much worse.
Octopath Traveler?
Also Undertale/Deltarune if you haven't played that yet.
Golf Story is also cool, but probably doesn't count as JRPG.
Katsura
Member
Fire Emblem, Disgaea 5, Valkyria Chronicles 4 are the big ones that comes to mind. There is also Mercenary Chronicles which is like a budget Final Fantasy Tactics. Don't expect much from the story but if you like the type of gameplay there is plenty of content at a cheap price. Special shoutout to Brave Dungeon. It's from the guys who made the Dark Witch games on 3ds. It's lots of fun albeit very basic but it's also very cheap and i certainly enjoyed playing it. You can unlock various secrets and new game+ in usual Dark Witch style
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Terra Torment
Banned
I miss the old school Super Nintendo style RPGs.
In other news, my namesake is Terra from final fantasy 6 and I have her tattooed on my arm.
In other news, my namesake is Terra from final fantasy 6 and I have her tattooed on my arm.
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RydonStarLives
Member
I agree. I find myself constantly going back to the basics. 8 or 16 bit RPGs in the NES, SNES, or Genesis. There's just something about those kinds of games. Hard to put my finger on it, but it can't be denied.
Bigrx1
Banned
You may like Another Eden - worth trying. I hate mobile games but that one hits SNES jrpg niche for me a bit.
Katsura
Member
I'm in the early parts of Zestiria (i think? Just left the artisan town right at the border) and i'm struggling to keep going. The combat is weird and it feels like i'm doing more running than anything else. On the other hand, some of the skits and cutscenes are great
The scene where the seraphims first talk to Rose was hilarious
Katsura
Member
Oh man, i kind of envy you. So much to get lost in in that game. Sure there are obvious Bethesda style flaws but i never really had an issue ignoring those because there is so much fun to be had in the world
drganon
Member
Yeah that was pretty funny. The skits in the tales series are a nice feature in general.
Bigrx1
Banned
I've heard good things about these games, may have to pick it up. Is it a full fledged game or just like a small 5 hour thing?
I think that I will beat it in around 7-8 hours. It's not deep or anything, but it's charming and higher level enemies can be tricky. It's a good palette cleanser, considering that the other 3 rpgs that I am playing are quite serious in tone. Be prepared for a lot of cat puns, though! Meow thinks that it's the purrfect game for cat lovers.
Scopa
The Tribe Has Spoken
What Secret of Mana remake do you mean?
Pallas
Member
The remakes on the PS4/Switch, secret of mana and Seiken Densetsu 3/Trials of Mana were remade.
Scopa
The Tribe Has Spoken
Secret of Mana isn’t a remake, it’s a port. Same with the others, if you are talking about Collection of Mana.
Seiken Densetsu 3 is getting remade, but it’s not out yet.
Pallas
Member
Secret of Mana was remade and the original was ported iirc. Wasn’t sure if SD3/ToM was released yet or not(it’s not, apparently)
Scopa
The Tribe Has Spoken
I had no idea SoM had a remake. Released last year, no less. Not sure how I missed this.Secret of Mana was remade and the original was ported iirc. Wasn’t sure if SD3/ToM was released yet or not(it’s not, apparently)
The Steam page for it has an age warning, lol. Why?
bronk
Banned
I really want to play Alliance Alive HD
Katsura
Member
So i've never been a huge final fantasy guy. Until now, the only ones i've played are 3, 7 and Tactics. Oh and a bit of that terrible FF themed monster hunter clone on 3DS. I'm about 10 hours into FFIX and i'm really struggling to understand why people love this game so much. Navigation is a pain anywhere except the overworld. Those pre rendered 3d scenes makes it so easy to miss something or to get stuck on a corner. I feel like i'm constantly fighting the system just to move around. The story is nothing special so far though i expect a twist or 2 somewhere down the line. The combat is sooooo slow with all the pointless animations and navigating the combat menus is extremely clunky. Not a big fan of the ATB either. In the past 10 hours i don't seem to have any resemblance of a fixed party, with characters being switched in and out constantly which makes me hesitant to gear them up since they could be removed from my party during the next cutscene. Save points and shops appear at a very inconsistent rate. Even worse, the game design almost had me completely stuck at one point because i had to use 2 side characters neither of which had very good gear and one being severely under levelled. It took me at least 10 attempts to get a lucky preemptive strike which finally enabled me to win the battle and get xp for both guys. Of course, minutes later, one of them was removed from my party again. It should not be possible to get completely stuck in a RPG. That is just poor design in my opinion
Am i missing something? Does it get better? Why do so many people love this game? I replayed Tactics not too long ago and that game is still as much fun as it was on release. I will say though some of the characters are pretty funny like Vivi and Stein
Am i missing something? Does it get better? Why do so many people love this game? I replayed Tactics not too long ago and that game is still as much fun as it was on release. I will say though some of the characters are pretty funny like Vivi and Stein
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jshackles
Gentlemen, we can rebuild it. We have the capability to make the world's first enhanced store. Steam will be that store. Better than it was before.
It doesn't sound like you're missing anything - the game is pretty much exactly like you describe but I feel like this game gets the most "nostalgia goggles" treatment from everyone. I'm a huge fan of the franchise, and even I feel like it's probably one of the worst games in the series (outside of the music, which is ace), mostly for the reasons you mention.
Does it get better? If your complaint is that your party keeps getting swapped out and that you don't have time to develop your character's levels / skills, then yes it gets much better after the first 15 hours or so. The entire "first disc" (and part of the second one) is really just introducing the characters and bouncing around the story. Eventually, the entire party comes together (for the most part) and you get to pick/choose your active party members (not always, but typically). Most people who look back on this game fondly are really forgetting what a pain in the ass the beginning of this game is. I feel like most people see it as the "only true Final Fantasy on the PS1" just because it didn't have 7 or 8's modern setting. If your chief complaint is that the battles are too slow, I'd say the modern re-releases are worth checking out because they have a 3x speed mode which helps but definitely removes a lot of the old-school charm.
There are a lot better Final Fantasy games out there that are far less archaic and cumbersome. But at 10 hours I'd say you're probably about 1/2 to 2/3rds of the way through the janky beginning, if you feel like powering through.
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Katsura
Member
Awesome, thank you. I can deal with the slow battles and since i can look forward to having a more consistent party i will power through it. Side note, what FF games would you recommend for someone who's spent a lot more time with DQ than FF? I'm not particular about the setting as long as the game is good
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