The speculation is that there will be another game set in Erebonia because they haven't answered all of the questions yet.
Sen was originally one game but they had so much content they had to split it into two games, as I recall. A third game would be the "2nd game" technically.
The speculation is that there will be another game set in Erebonia because they haven't answered all of the questions yet.
Sen was originally one game but they had so much content they had to split it into two games, as I recall. A third game would be the "2nd game" technically.
Considering the pacing of the FC half games, splitting that further in half sounds not too appealing! ^^;
Maybe they'll do a transition game like 3rd which wraps up the remaining plotlines (like how The 3rd wraps up the remaining SC plotlines) while being something unique and setting up the next few series entries.
Then again I'll be pretty bummed if I'm not partying around in
Ehh, I dunno really. I feel like the Sen arc could easily be done with now. There are questions left, yes, and they could make a new game... but the real ending of the game made me think they're going to move on for now. They could address the questions other ways. So yeah put me down for "not convinced" on a new Erebonia game right away.
Ehh, I dunno really. I feel like the Sen arc could easily be done with now. There are questions left, yes, and they could make a new game... but the real ending of the game made me think they're going to move on for now. They could address the questions other ways. So yeah put me down for "not convinced" on a new Erebonia game right away.
Without knowing anything about Sen's subplots, could they move on to the next series but still answer the remaining mysteries/plot points about Erebonia in a non-Erebonia game? I mean since the Kiseki series is all connected plot-wise I'd think they could wrap up stuff from one arc in another arc no problem.
Considering the pacing of the FC half games, splitting that further in half sounds not too appealing! ^^;
Maybe they'll do a transition game like 3rd which wraps up the remaining plotlines (like how The 3rd wraps up the remaining SC plotlines) while being something unique and setting up the next few series entries.
Then again I'll be pretty bummed if I'm not partying around in
Ehh, I dunno really. I feel like the Sen arc could easily be done with now. There are questions left, yes, and they could make a new game... but the real ending of the game made me think they're going to move on for now. They could address the questions other ways. So yeah put me down for "not convinced" on a new Erebonia game right away.
Without knowing anything about Sen's subplots, could they move on to the next series but still answer the remaining mysteries/plot points about Erebonia in a non-Erebonia game? I mean since the Kiseki series is all connected plot-wise I'd think they could wrap up stuff from one arc in another arc no problem.
Yes, they could definitely do that. Especially since some of the unanswered questions relate to characters who have been present across multiple arcs to begin with.
On Ch.4, enjoying it; Ch.3 was a lot of fun in the end. Reminded me of Ch.3 in Sora FC with the bridge town and boat excitement. Was kind of bummed at the Interlude though,
figured the whole point of sticking in an interlude would be to jump the story to somewhere else and present interesting world-building info; not walk around babysitting a green haired kid for an hour.
I'm not really that big on kids in games. So I'm not sure if this kid is gonna drastically lower my impression of Zero for the remaining chapters. Once they ditched her at the start of ch.4 everything was fine again.
I should probably wait until I finish it to make general impressions of the narrative, but so far one big difference between Sora FC and Zero FC is that Zero seems to have a much smaller cast and smaller world. It's very well connected and I'm totally enjoying it but by The 3rd, Liberal Kingdom has sooooo many named/portrait characters making up the world, which is one of its strongest points. I feel like the fact that Zero has to borrow a bunch of Sora characters just highlights how few named/portrait characters make up Crossbell. Plus the world map seems smaller and playable cast seems much smaller. I dunno, I'm fine with Crossbell arc being a more tightly knit smaller story than Sora, and it's impressive how they're making an entire rpg about a single living and breathing city, but I also kind of miss the huge fleshed out world of Liberal and I hope Sen is a bigger scale, especially since the Empire is a much bigger continent. Though I worry that because Sen I/II is full 3d and 3d is expensive, it'll be the smallest scope Kiseki game yet :X
At the start Ren is talking with the old puppet maker guy and Ren says something to the effect of "here I thought the organization (Ouroboros) would be involved" and old man guy says "This is a special area Crossbell, neither the Church nor Ouroboros comes here. The church forbids knights from coming to Crossbell and Ouroboros hasn't dispatched any Agents here"
What? So basically the two major overarching plotlines in the series (Church & Ouroboros) are not going to be involved in Zero/Ao? That they spent 4+ years of Kiseki on an area that doesn't advance the main plotline?? Hopefully this is just a red herring and Ao delivers on the overarching plotline movement (I'm fine with the FC games being localized stories about the area; but by the end of each country arc I expect the main kiseki plotline to really move). Coming into Zero/Ao I figured there'd be a major Ourboros pillar involved in each arc and an artifact of the goddess that they're after. Kind of episodic stories in the background of the foreground political & local tales.
Kiseki has basically 4 major overarching plots:
1) The political climate between the countries
2) Ourboros' plan
3) The Church (I guess the one spoiler thing I'm kind of interested in is what country is the church HQ located in? Because I have to imagine that will be an very interesting entry. Not really looking forward to Calvard much as outside the nice asian visual style it'll have, it doesn't seem that interesting compared to the Imperial political war and wherever the Church HQ is.)
4) The hi-tech past and what happened to it
Anyhow, this is all rhetorical. I don't want to know. Looking forward to how the Kiseki plot moves in the 3 remaining games after Zero. Will go through this final chapter this week and hopefully the ending has some neat teaser for some interesting overarching plot like how Sora FC ended with Wiseman.
I mark the game and the chapter! Should be good enough for anyone playing to know when it's ok to read and if you're past that point chapter noting should be enough to refresh the memory
Also I really do think Zero no Kiseki is more enjoyable after playing Sora no Kiseki The Third.
Seeing how they work in the spiritual/astral world stuff from The 3rd (returning enemies [demons and such; SKULL CANNON], the higher elements is very cool, the extra status stuff on the queue bar). It's not essential, but I think it'd suck to jump from SC to Zero without playing The 3rd.
I'm right there with you Bebpo, but at the same time I find the new storylines that were introduced to be interesting, and they add to the complexity of the world. At this point, the Kiseki series has so many ongoing storylines, though, that it's starting to be hard to keep track of everything. They heap on so much with each game and then we tend to only get a resolution for the actual characters of the game while stuff continues on past them. That's just the Kiseki pattern. I really wonder if they plan to delve head-first into some of the long-running plots anytime soon or if they plan to do the development in the slow incidental style they've been using for the foreseeable future.
Falcom tweeted about it earlier this week. If I remember correctly - apart from some bug fixes - they added some additional combat notes and a counter for the enemy art cancellation.
Finished it tonight (these games have long ass final dungeons, took me like 3 days to get through). I have some very slight reservations about the game and it's place in the franchise as whole, but wow, that was a damn good rpg. These guys really know how to do endings. Extremely satisfying and yeah the music was super good.
I'm also crazy impressed by how small the team is that keeps pumping out these Kiseki games every 2 years. Looking at the credits it's like 4 programmers, 10 artists, a writer, a director, a producer, some sound and CG guys, but overall probably like 20 people in under 2 years were able to make a meaty satisfying 55+ hour jrpg with everything from great visuals to a huge scripted story with good battles (found the battle balance pretty much perfect in this game; just challenging enough not to be a pushover, but not annoying).
Looking forward to playing Ao later in the year. Thankfully (spoiler for ending)
There's no real cliffhanger here like Sora, so don't feel any particular need to jump straight to Ao. Might even play Nayuta in the summer first (otherwise will probably play Nayuta after Ao and before I play Sen. Still not really sure why they didn't just make Nayuta canon but a completely separate and unrelated storyline (like much of Zero/Crossbell). Just feels kind of a waste that there's a Kiseki-ish game that won't add anything to the Kiseki world at all in its narrative.
Also this game is a great city police simulator. I really like how the cast is like "government job officials"; they did a good job making it feel different than playing as the Bracer Guild.
Also, what was up with those lvl.35/40 chests in the world whereas by the time you're at the "point of no return" early in ch.5 your party is only going to be around lvl.31/32. Do they really expect you to fight chests 5+ levels over you?
And while the resolution of Ren's arc in 3rd and here is nice and very well done in the ending, it's a little odd that Tida wasn't in Zero since her flashback in 3rd is all about her building a mech to help her chase and be able to match Ren.
Oh and in the final dungeon I found a pair of boots called "Harmonia Boots"...I wonder if that's a nod to the franchise that it seems the political side of Kiseki is fairly inspired by (Suikoden). Never heard the term Harmonia used in Japanese culture before outside of the country we never got to visit in Suikoden.
Oh oh and one of my favorite things about Evolution version is that Lloyd's VA is Simon from Gurren Lagann and he's basically the same character so the way he channels that badass sense of justice "never give up, keep pushing forward, break through the heavens" vibe kept giving me Simon flashbacks, which was cool. Great VA and fits the role perfect. The VA for Sergei's spot on too.
Been listening to samples of the original OST and in some places it's way better than the arranged version found in Evolution (and some are better in Evo).
For example, I think the original is a lot better here:
Really happy that JDK Band is progressive and sells their soundtracks on amazon at reasonable prices. Picked up the original soundtrack and gonna listen to it for a few days and enjoy the differences. Such a good soundtrack! Kiseki OSTs just keep getting better each game.
Eh, some of the stuff in Evo arrange sounds way better like Formidable Enemy up there. Anything that's supposed to be "cinematic" or "grand".
Probably has to do with which one you heard first and all, but going through both I'm probably liking 75% of the Evo versions better with a neat original tune here and there where something was lost in the arrange.
I do agree that in these games with arrange soundtracks, there's absolutely no reason not to give a choice.
Glad you hear you loved Zero like that, and I agree with you both on the soundtrack comparison.
I did jump straight into Ao after Zero, even after the final 12-hour sprint, and played for 2 hours before my eyes in particular indicated it was time to stop. Though Zero doesn't tie-in Ao like FC did, once you start Ao, there's no time to brake anymore. Ao delivers.
Really happy that JDK Band is progressive and sells their soundtracks on amazon at reasonable prices. Picked up the original soundtrack and gonna listen to it for a few days and enjoy the differences. Such a good soundtrack! Kiseki OSTs just keep getting better each game.
Actually Sound Team jdk composes the music. jdk Band is just a cover act of freelance musicians who specializes in Falcom arrangements, such as (many of) the ones you heard in Zero Evo.
And just for the heck of it, check out my uploads of both Zero PSP and Zero Evo for better image/audio quality. I also include in the description who did what whenever I can. [/shameless shilling]
I feel like there's so much I want to talk about re: Story/setting/world/characters in zero, but I think it's premature until after Ao. Will post a lot after Ao most likely!
They also seem a lot younger with the new face portraits. I mean in FC Evo Joshua and Estelle now look like 12/13 year old kids and I was under the impression they were more like 17/18 teenagers in FC.
They also seem a lot younger with the new face portraits. I mean in FC Evo Joshua and Estelle now look like 12/13 year old kids and I was under the impression they were more like 17/18 teenagers in FC.
From my impression of their (Japanese) voices, I assumed an age range centered around 14-16. But the removal of smug_estelle.jpg, exasperated_estelle.jpg and estelle_this_dumbass.jpg is a terrible crime.
I'm so torn about this. I love the game but for someone who already played it on PSP and PC is it worth it? Every playthrough is such a huge undertaking
The new PC version is great and I was fine with this being my last playthrough before finally moving on to SC, now I feel like I'm missing out though at the same time some things seem to be a step backwards.
Everyone wants to own the best version of the games they love and this is one of those cases were there doesn't seem to be a version that is the absolute best.
From my impression of their (Japanese) voices, I assumed an age range centered around 14-16. But the removal of smug_estelle.jpg, exasperated_estelle.jpg and estelle_this_dumbass.jpg is a terrible crime.
The Japanese voices sound even more high-pitched than the Zero and Ao versions of her. I hope it's just the PV and not how she sounds in-game. If she does, she's going to sound like my aunt.
The Japanese voices sound even more high-pitched than the Zero and Ao versions of her. I hope it's just the PV and not how she sounds in-game. If she does, she's going to sound like my aunt.
Oops. I should have said "Japanese voices in the first version of the game". Even though they're just battle voices.
Though they are reusing the same Japanese voice actors/actresses for Evolution. Estelle's voice has always been a bit high, and Joshua sounds like he always does. Maybe I judged their ages more on XSEED's excellent dialogue writing instead?
I'm so torn about this. I love the game but for someone who already played it on PSP and PC is it worth it? Every playthrough is such a huge undertaking
The new PC version is great and I was fine with this being my last playthrough before finally moving on to SC, now I feel like I'm missing out though at the same time some things seem to be a step backwards.
Everyone wants to own the best version of the games they love and this is one of those cases were there doesn't seem to be a version that is the absolute best.
Honestly it would depend on how much the game has changed from the original. If I find that Evolution doesn't really have that many "profound" changes (aka buffing/adding bosses or improving quests or adding quests or streamlining the
final dungeon
) then I won't feel bad about missing out.
I won't lie though... I'm a huge sucker for games that have been re-tuned by developers many years down the line. Just the fact that Estelle
starts with Hurricane
is one small change that's enough to make me a little sad that we're likely to never get the game. It sets a precedent!
I've been listening to the soundtrack for about two weeks now and it's had a real lasting impact. I'd say the soundtrack in Zero finally brings the series music to the level of FF or Megaten in quality RPG composition. Such a good soundtrack.
Also it got me thinking how nice some of the little nods to the world they've built were in zero, namely the one line reference by Randy to
Casino Jack from the mini-scenario in 3rd when talking about gambling skills (something like "but I'm no Casino Jack" when the party mentions Randy's a good gambler) Stuff like that makes me really happy.
I've been listening to the soundtrack for about two weeks now and it's had a real lasting impact. I'd say the soundtrack in Zero finally brings the series music to the level of FF or Megaten in quality RPG composition. Such a good soundtrack.
I'm kind of surprised by both posts! 3rd was a step in the right direction and the best version of the Sora sound (those goofy battle tracks in FC/SC ^^, but the jump out of Sora to Zero was several leagues of step up.
I dunno, I didn't care for most of Sora's sound and 3rd was the only ost I liked out of the trilogy, but it wasn't like "I need to buy this ost" good for me. Was just good. Zero is like Ys level battle themes and FF level melodic stuff.
Aeana, I respect those choices, but I still greatly prefer the style of Zero. The Sora battle music all sounds like it should be for casinos, beatmania tournaments or chocobo races. It's got all this energy and fun but it's all wacky. Zero's probably a little more traditional jrpg mold, but that's what does it for me.
I like how all the tracks you linked were composed by the same person: Ryo Takeshita. I think the 3rd's soundtrack is the best in the series, and I firmly believe that a large part of that was because of his contributions to the score.
Here's a list of all the tracks that Ryo Takeshita composed for the 3rd (that I know of - there *could* be even more in there!). All of them were confirmed by Takeshita himself through Twitter interactions between him, me and a friend.
Fighting Right On is one of the tracks that got me into this series; it's one of the relatively few VGM tracks that I'd call "perfect"; skull-crushing riff, C3->Moog solos, twin guitar attack...just perfectly plotted out and executed.
Thanks to the long weekend, I've been able to progress through Sen no Kiseki nicely.
Right now, I'm on the second day of Chapter 5's field trip to
Legram
. Though the chapters are structured rigidly, I know there's always one such field trip to look forward to. I also really enjoyed
Heimdallr
in Chapter 4, though it pushed my Vita to its limits at times.
What I love most about this game is its emphasis on history. In particular the Dark Ages, which has barely been touched upon so far.
There's also a lot of mystery with even more foreshadowing going on, but though I've managed to collect many of the 'puzzle pieces', I can't really predict where the story is heading to (apart from what I know from Zero/Ao). I'd expected to have developed that puzzle-solving skill after having played 5 Kiseki titles but Falcom just loves to have ourselves twist our pretty little heads over it.
And how much NPCs dialogues did you follow? It seems like for FC you didn't read that much but for SC you read a big bunch. I myself finished FC at around 50 around. doing all side quests and reading a bunch of NPC dialogues. I can't imagine what it would be like with SC...
