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[RyougaSaotome]

At this point, the only reason I'm not just playing nonstop is because I need to charge my Vita's battery.

Also I remembered something from 3rd that I totally forgot about.

3rd ending spoilers:

Spoiler

When Olivier and Schera have that conversation about him being serious and her thinking about it. I wonder if that'll get mentioned/come up again in this arc, not just Sen.

 

[Kamion]

At this point, the only reason I'm not just playing nonstop is because I need to charge my Vita's battery.

You should move some furniture around so you can play while charging. So weak-minded! You can do anything, Elliot. Anything for Kiseki.

 

[jdkluv]

Spoiler music but OHMAHGAWD

Battle theme #6

Battle theme #7

This is too good. I'm dying. Falcom Sound Team outdid themselves again. I need the OST ASAP.

 

[omgfloofy]

Do the gates in the castle correspond to different characters? I wanted to keep Estelle with my main party, but I'm wondering if she should be with a more story relevant party.

Way belatedly:

To answer your question:

Spoiler

Only the great door that requires Kevin and Ries is plot specific. While you will recognizes all three of the bosses before the final boss, there won't be much in the way of dialogue for them.

Actually, I stand corrected, the right door might have different dialogue with Renne in the party. (Just confirmed in my scenario book, too- it does, it's not crucial but an interesting piece of world building if you hadn't seen the appropriate memory door yet.

Checked for something else, a bit surprised that another character doesn't make a comment on another door. I think you're safe, though. Build your parties as you need to build them- just make sure they're functional as four separate parties.

 

[Aeana]

Unfortunately it's only for the Vita version. They've said nothing about a PS3 patch thus far (unless I missed something). Perhaps the Vita loads will just improve to PS3 level, and they view that as acceptable? We'll see.

EDIT: well, now they've put word of the patch on the game's official site:

http://www.falcom.co.jp/sen/

They don't specify the patch is only for the Vita, so maybe it is for both versions?

Where are you seeing that it's only for the Vita version?

 

[Disgaeamad]

Slightly amazing how they've made it compelling enough to just go around the academy talking to everyone whenever there's new dialogue available. The fact that all the NPCs have unique models and (especially the students) personalities really helps.

 

[Reluctant-Hero]

Thought that my copy was going to be delivered today as I requested it to be released without signature on FedEx's website yesterday. But no, FedEx won't listen to me and insists on a signature.

Lesson learned, always ship packages to my office and never pay for FedEx shipping again.

 

[Aeana]

Hoorayyyy. Preorder bonuses are super hit/miss with Play-Asia, so I didn't expect to get the visual book. A very awesome bonus.

 

[Reluctant-Hero]

Hoorayyyy. Preorder bonuses are super hit/miss with Play-Asia, so I didn't expect to get the visual book. A very awesome bonus.

Nice! Now I'm curious to see if P-A will have sent me the visual book with my Vita LE.

 

[Gunotak]

Hoorayyyy. Preorder bonuses are super hit/miss with Play-Asia, so I didn't expect to get the visual book. A very awesome bonus.

;_;

 

[encephalon]

Way belatedly:

To answer your question:

Spoiler

Only the great door that requires Kevin and Ries is plot specific. While you will recognizes all three of the bosses before the final boss, there won't be much in the way of dialogue for them.

Actually, I stand corrected, the right door might have different dialogue with Renne in the party. (Just confirmed in my scenario book, too- it does, it's not crucial but an interesting piece of world building if you hadn't seen the appropriate memory door yet.

Checked for something else, a bit surprised that another character doesn't make a comment on another door. I think you're safe, though. Build your parties as you need to build them- just make sure they're functional as four separate parties.

Not "belated" at all. I decided to build up my party before I went into the castle.

Thanks!

 

[Aeana]

I don't know if this is true of the Vita version, but before a new animation that hasn't been played recently plays, the PS3 version skips for a second, and it is incredibly distracting/irritating. It makes the game feel so cheap.

 

[encephalon]

I don't know if this is true of the Vita version, but before a new animation that hasn't been played recently plays, the PS3 version skips for a second, and it is incredibly distracting/irritating. It makes the game feel so cheap.

And I thought the issue where the screen "jumps" in SC PSP was annoying. It's beginning to sound like PhyreEngine was perhaps not the best choice ...

 

[omgfloofy]

There's actually been a jump in the graphics display that I never noticed in FC/SC/3rd until I tried to play the Kai HD games in 3D. I actually had to stop because these "jumps" were giving me headaches.

It's any time you move from screen to screen, mainly, but some happened during battles, S-Crafts, etc etc.

 

[RyougaSaotome]

Ok, just finished chapter 1 and I have some theory/spoiler stuff.

SPOILERS FOR ALL OF CHAPTER 1, Sen no Kiseki:

Spoiler

So the final conversation on the train ride back got me thinking about the reason behind Class VII's existence, and why they're being made to do all these tasks that help out random people. Rean points out that they're basically doing Bracer work, and Elliot chimes in that there haven't been many Bracers around lately, something I recall getting touched upon in another game.

So is this Olivier and co's attempt to reintroduce a group of people who fight for the people into Erebonia? What's the end game here? Gaaaaahhhh.

 

[encephalon]

There's actually been a jump in the graphics display that I never noticed in FC/SC/3rd until I tried to play the Kai HD games in 3D. I actually had to stop because these "jumps" were giving me headaches.

It's any time you move from screen to screen, mainly, but some happened during battles, S-Crafts, etc etc.

I've never had it happen during battles or FC. Hardly ever during 3rd. I also found that if I quit the game and restarted it wouldn't do it at first, but sooner or later it would start doing it again. I did get a "loading" screen (overlayed) in a battle once or twice while it was reading from the disc.

Sounds like I won't be turning to the PS3 versions to fix the "jump" problem after all, especially if it's more noticeable. But then again, I want that HD text ...

 

[hongcha]

Where are you seeing that it's only for the Vita version?

All the blogs/tweets about it either didn't mention platform or just said Vita, and some people replied to the Falcom patch tweet with a question of "ok, so when is a PS3 patch coming?", implying it was just for Vita. Here's hoping for a PS3 patch this week!

 

[luka]

There's actually been a jump in the graphics display that I never noticed in FC/SC/3rd until I tried to play the Kai HD games in 3D. I actually had to stop because these "jumps" were giving me headaches.

It's any time you move from screen to screen, mainly, but some happened during battles, S-Crafts, etc etc.

Are you talking about the way the screen shifts to low resolution whenever it plays certain animations or transitions between areas, or is that something else entirely? It really distracted me in the PS3 versions and I assume it's because it's basically emulating the psp versions "underneath" and it's loading the high res assets on top.

On a side note, I read that the pc versions of fc/sc/3rd had better lighting effects than the psp versions. Is the ps3 port identical to pc or is it missing the lighting because it's emulated? I noticed there were things with nice shadows sometimes but..

 

[RyougaSaotome]

You know you're playing a Kiseki game when you spend hours just running around chatting with NPCs cause you wanna see what's going on in their lives. v_v

Edit: Also woh! I had no clue the game keeps a log of the Active Voice events in your journal. You can even play them back! That's super cool.

 

[Disgaeamad]

Edit: Also woh! I had no clue the game keeps a log of the Active Voice events in your journal. You can even play them back! That's super cool.

My reaction to the fact that the notebook has entries for all the NPC students etc with info and their own character art.

 

[Aeana]

Finally starting to play it for real. It's really odd that when a character is first introduced, it says their name and then their voice actor's name right there in-game.

 

[RyougaSaotome]

Spoilers for Sen Chapter 2:

Spoiler

Lol Blue Blanc. You're so goddamn sketchy, just popping out of nowhere like that.

 

[encephalon]

2ch is talking about buying a SSD for the sole purpose of having the PS3 ver. run smoothly ... I'm glad I went with the Vita ver.

 

[Aeana]

Machias is a little bit of a punk.

 

[RyougaSaotome]

Machias is a little bit of a punk.

Totally.

 

[Aeana]

Finished the prologue. Pretty cool so far. Alisa is basically my least favorite kind of character. If they don't do something unique with her, she's going to bother me for the entire game.

 

[RyougaSaotome]

Finished the prologue. Pretty cool so far. Alisa is basically my least favorite kind of character. If they don't do something unique with her, she's going to bother me for the entire game.

Wasn't liking Alisa either till a certain point. She's still not my favorite, but she's much better now.

Also chapter 2 spoilers:

Spoiler

Damn Fie is a fucking badass. Rean hops into save Machias and Jusis, takes the hit while Fie does flips and kills the monsters. What the hell is up with this girl?!

 

[RyougaSaotome]

Sorry for the double post. Just finished chapter 2 and wanted to talk about some stuff.

Complete Chapter 2 SPOILERS.

Spoiler

I really liked how they handled the Jusis/Machias conflict. At the end of the day, Thors has proven time and time again that there's no reason the youngers of both sides can't find a way to live in peace.

Even if the higher ups are planning for all out war.

I'm really curious as to why Blue Blanc has such a vested interest in Class VII. Even Toval isn't so pleased to see one of Oroboros' operatives roaming around in Erebonia. I did like the call back to Joshua and Estelle; put a smile on my face. With Blue Blanc heading back to the capital, I can't help but wonder if he actually has a much larger roll to play in upcoming events.

Also Fie being a Jaeger was actually kind of unexpected. I had assumed that she might have been a child at one of the lodges, so this caught me off guard. It certainly explains her skill set though; I spent a good chunk of the chapter wondering why she knew how to use grenades. Hahaha.

Can't wait to see what's next. So many fist pumping moments.

 

[Disgaeamad]

I love how the title screen part with the train adds more characters as you progress. Seeing the whole party there now is really fulfilling.

 

[publicpwnerer]

I've never understood how people play japanese imports...particularly for JRPG's. Out of curiosity...how many here actually (completely) read / speak Japanese?


EDIT: For clarity...I'm confused with how everyone follows the plot, considering that's one of the integral parts of a JRPG. Is there a fan translation / script online?

 

[RyougaSaotome]

I've never understood the allure of playing foreign language imports. Out of curiosity...how many here actually fully (completely) read / speak Japanese?


EDIT: For clarity...I'm confused with how everyone follows the plot, considering that's one of the most integral parts of a JRPG. Is there a fan translation / script online?

I'm fairly sure that the majority of the folks in this thread playing (or about to play) Sen all know Japanese.

GAF has a pretty sizable number of posters who know Japanese.

 

[A.E Suggs]

So this game for 2020? May as well not even keep up with it, sad too because it looks pretty good.

 

[RyougaSaotome]

I've been spending way too much time running around and talking to NPCs. Already found a few hidden quests that were really cute. Nobody does NPCs like Falcom.

 

[Kamion]

This weekend was hard. The wait... the wait.

 

[hongcha]

Just got my ps3 version! Pretty happy to get the artbook (wasn't expecting it).



I think I'll wait for the patch before playing it, though.

Spoiler

or will I?

 

[encephalon]

Just got my ps3 version! Pretty happy to get the artbook (wasn't expecting it).



I think I'll wait for the patch before playing it, though.

Spoiler

or will I?

Don't kid yourself.

 

[Kamion]

I won't be able to play much before Wednesday evening... Which is sad but also kind of cool because I'll only have to bear those loading times for the first 1-2 Chapters.

Thursday is a bank holiday, I got Friday off... If I'm going to do this, I'm gonna do it right. Yes!

By the way, the Artbook is really cool and the game (both Vita and PS3) has a really thick full color instruction manual. I didn't expect that.

 

[Sitrus]

Still waiting for the game to arrive from Play-Asia. For those already playing, how long is each chapter? And is the loading times really as bad as 20 seconds?

Just about to finish Ao no Kiseki on PSP, what a speedrun...

 

[RyougaSaotome]

Still waiting for the game to arrive from Play-Asia. For those already playing, how long is each chapter? And is the loading times really as bad as 20 seconds?

Just about to finish Ao no Kiseki on PSP, what a speedrun...

Huzzzaaaahhhh!!!!

Um, on the Vita version they're anywhere from 10-30 seconds long at times. Hahaha.

 

[Aeana]

What the hell, dude, I want my 50 mira back.

 

[RyougaSaotome]

What the hell, dude, I want my 50 mira back.

Dude don't even care about your wallet.

Don't even care.

 

[Shouta]

I got my copy of the game and the visual book. So awesome. Now do i want for the patch or not.

 

[Aeana]

I got my copy of the game and the visual book. So awesome. Now do i want for the patch or not.

The load times are tolerable on PS3 IMO.

 

[hongcha]

I played the PS3 version for about a half hour, and here are some brief, mostly technical, impressions:

-Loads aren't bad at all, in fact I could easily play through the game as-is (though I'll gladly take a patch to make things snappier). They range from 3-10 seconds thus far, but exiting a battle has been near instantaneous. No loads for the menu open/close either.

-There's some occasional choppiness in loading dialogue or scenes. Nothing major, but it does give the game a decidedly low budget feel.

-I really like the look of the game. The graphics are simple, but lovely. I enjoy the anime character designs too. Overall the game is a huge step up from the older games in terms of graphics. From what I have seen the PS3 version is significantly higher res and has more detailed character models than the Vita version. The framerate has been a pretty smooth 30fps for the most part.

-The battle system is wonderful thus far. Much like the older games, but it looks and feels a lot better. Very snappy pace too.

-Lots and lots of voice work, which is really nice.

Overall I'm quite pleased!

 

[RyougaSaotome]

Watching Floofy stream the PS3 version over the past few days, I'm amused by how fast the loads are on PS3 compared to the Vita. Hahaha. Need that patch.

 

[Shouta]

Ah, PS3 version loads ok, eh? I guess I'll start playing and streaming it tomorrow.

 

[Jonnyram]

I seem to be working through 3rd at a brisk pace. It's quite a change from FC and SC, but now that the penny has dropped (end of chapter two), things are getting interesting.

Was just randomly looking at Kiseki games' release dates, and spotted a bit of a pattern (lol).
FC (PSP) 2006年9月28日
SC (PSP) 2007年9月27日
3rd (PSP) 2008年7月24日
Zero 2010年9月30日
Ao 2011年9月29日
Sen 2013年9月26日

So, part two of the Erebonia story on 25 September 2014 then? Hopefully I'll be done with Ao Evo by then, whenever that comes out!

 

[omgfloofy]

So, part two of the Erebonia story on 25 September 2014 then? Hopefully I'll be done with Ao Evo by then, whenever that comes out!

Falcom generally releases a game, no matter what the series is, on the last Thursday of September. This is because it's the last Thursday of the quarter. There are occasional exceptions. Ys Seven came out in the middle of September... but if you go back through their calendar, you will definitely see the pattern over their releases in general.

 

[RyougaSaotome]

I seem to be working through 3rd at a brisk pace. It's quite a change from FC and SC, but now that the penny has dropped (end of chapter two), things are getting interesting.

So glad you're enjoying 3rd. It's a helluva game.

 

[encephalon]

It's an Erebonian Empire's story!