Apparently getting one question wrong in the week long test is enough to bump you down to the 700 range and the game registers that you did "poorly?" Geez.
During the period before the exams, when you're running around, talking to certain people like teachers you get bonus points in certain areas (from what I can tell only used toward this specific event). Basically it just rewards you talking to lots of people.
Also, complete conjecture but WHATEVER. Chapter 4 spoilers/theory bullshit:
I didn't talk about this on here. I had my breakdown on twitter this weekend, though. Though, I'm glad to know that I helped break Ryouga on twitter regarding this, too.
Do not look behind the spoiler tag unless you've finished chapter 4 - and definitely do not look at the links.
(EDIT: cut my spoiler for a second to edit the post.)
I didn't notice this at first. You should give credit to my friend who watched my stream and recognized it. Uh... the floor in the catacombs (link 1 below!) has a certain similarity to the floor design in Phantasmagoria in 3rd (link 2!).
It looks like they're going to take the opportunity to make his relationship between his sister and him weird. : ( Falcom, please ...
The subset of Japanese fans that lament the "move from 2D to 3D" is really strange for a series that ... has always been 3D ... with sprites rendered in 3D.
During the period before the exams, when you're running around, talking to certain people like teachers you get bonus points in certain areas (from what I can tell only used toward this specific event). Basically it just rewards you talking to lots of people.
I commented to someone earlier saying that I think Sen is "okay" to play if you haven't played the series, so far. However, you will not get the atmospheric "where's that other shoe?" feeling that the game is SO GOOD at giving without that background, I don't think.
Since seeing certain patterns in chapter 4 and knowing other things that have been done in other chapters, the game is fantastic, but it leaves a very unsettled and uncomfortable feeling in the end. And I know that it's COMPLETELY intentional. It's a massive "waiting game" setup. You're waiting for everything to kind of 'happen.'
Might change with Chapter 4 but there hasn't been anything in 1-3 so far that absolutely requires you to see what's going on in Zero to follow. Helps to know what folks are talking about at times for sure but required? No way.
That's what I was saying. At this point, I'm thinking that what this game is relying on is the anticipation of things to come for its intensity. It's possible to enjoy the game, but you don't get anything NEAR the unsettling aspects that make it show that what things are building isn't good at all.
I think you will get some of the build up, even without familiarity to the series, but anywhere near as intense as I've experienced it? No, not at all.
Kondo's already confirmed a new Kiseki game for 2014. Besides, it's the 10th anniversary of the series. I would be surprised if Falcom didn't jump at something for that milestone.
Halfway through Chapter 3 and heading to the highlands. Some speculations regarding Sara and that maid below.
It seems pretty obvious that Sara and Sharon had a not so friendly relationship in the past. I am guessing that Sara might've been high level Bracer (based on how she seems to know the Toval guy) prior to becoming an instructor at Thors, while Sharon is/was a terrorist member or...something along that line?
On another note, it looks like Falcom simplified the whole Orbment system?
Absolutely fantastic in almost every regard, really; 83 hours of pure solid enjoyment. I didn't manage to do everything, but came pretty close to it, and was 4 AP off of the top rank by the end (which means I missed 14 in total).
I've seen lots of complaint about the academy setting in this thread and how Erebonia is being 'wasted' on it, but Falcom really took this setting and turned it on its head. The way the special classes work towards introducing you to different places within the empire is probably one of the best ways in which they could've done so, and it really gives the game that FC feel to it. You're essentially travelling around in the same manner as Estelle and Joshua did, watching the characters develop as events take place at where they're currently residing, and it just feels so good seeing it all happen the way it does. I was slightly worried about some characters at the beginning of the game (and especially since they dragged the Rean and Alisa thing out), but by the end I loved the entire cast as is usual for a Kiseki game thanks to said developments.
Something I've mentioned earlier in the thread too is that it's amazing just how much effort Falcom put into the NPC students at Thors and those related to them. Providing you talk to them whenever possible, you get to witness them develop as the game progresses too and it actually makes you care about them, especially when doing non-mandatory quests for them. This is first game in which I've felt compelled to talk to every single NPC at every possible opportunity, and would enjoy doing so too.
Obligatory mention about the music as well, because I really can't believe they somehow managed to top Ao's soundtrack and continue the tradition of the music improving with each new entry in the series. The battle themes, the event themes, the 'chilling out at the academy' themes, all of it is just so good. At this point I can't even imagine how good the sequel's soundtrack'll be.
That's about all I can say without diving into spoiler territory, really, which I'll leave until others have finished the game as well.
The other Kiseki titles are similar but Sen is one that definitely takes the time to introduce the people and each region more in-depth. Crossbell was also kinda of small compared to Liberl and Erebonia so it was a more intimate encounter and a lot of the events were focused on the city itself.
I definitely like the Academy setting in this. It gives the Persona vibe but without being long in the tooth. The NPCs are much more organic and interesting because they have their own little storylines that are happening as time passes. I think that's kind of the biggest and best part of the Academy, it gives a real sense of time progression to the story. It gives the backlash of some of the minor stuff some real weight to it.
If there's anything that Falcom needs to be commended on in the technical areas, it's the sound quality and I guess the design. I don't think I've played a game that's really had this presence when the audio is playing and that's ignoring the composition of the tunes.
I agree definitely that there's more weight to backlash of various events... but... erm.
I don't think I quite realized it until the point I've hit in-game, so it's hard to really explain what I'm meaning without spoilers for it... but I'm sure you'll understand once you've hit that point, because the anticipation, where I am, is at a breaking point now, and it's making the whole game have a delightfully amazing atmospheric unsettled feeling to it. It's incredible writing to pull it off so well.
Nevertheless, if you've already been there, or don't care about spoilers, I'll explain what caused me to see that aspect of the script below:
Lots of chapter 6 spoilers below! (Note, I'm still in chapter 6, so... this is the perspective of someone who's not finished the game yet.)
The best and most "patient" of the anticipation thing I'm mentioning is the old school building. We've spent the whole game wanting to know what's at the bottom of this facility, and even the floors themselves have served as a quasi countdown.
(I hope I'm not the only one who saw the similarity to the arrangement of the numbers on the elevator panel to the teleport screen in 3rd, for example?)
And as you get in deeper, things get more and more foreboading. You hit floor three, and you fight a demon type boss. Floor four has the upper elements. After floor four has The Scene with Rean. You get to five and you have that insane ice boss, and you get to six and see it has a purple'ish haze all through it...
And when you get to the end? The boss was even pretty easy, and- in short- nothing happens. But you KNOW something WILL happen. But the question is WHEN will it happen? It has to, right? It can't be like what happened with the rail artillery at Garelia, right?
...and to make matters worse, they go right back to planning the festival and back to normal- albeit you have the threat of the terrorists on top of this.
And you're back to playing this waiting game. You had a countdown before- 3/31 to 8/31. You had one with the floors 0 through 6. Now? There's no countdown. There's nothing to say 'THIS WILL HAPPEN AT THIS TIME' anymore.
And that anticipation is killer. xD
The whole game has had this going, and in a variety of different ways. And the worst part of the anticipation is going to be leaning on all of the foreboding things seen throughout the game that are call backs to others. ...and then again, all of the single most emotional moments to me have been callbacks to the series as well.
I think someone would have fun with it as a starting title. (Though I can't promise beyond where I am, however. I've heard otherwise for the ending? I don't know for sure since I've not seen it with my own eyes yet- and I've not been told WHAT the ending is.) Would I suggest it as such? Not really to be honest. I've enjoyed this /searching/ for everything as much as the game itself. I think it's a great thing to experience and would hope people would experience it in the same way.
(I apparently got more spammy than I thought! Sorry about that. I've been chewing over this thought for hours now. xD)
The other Kiseki titles are similar but Sen is one that definitely takes the time to introduce the people and each region more in-depth. Crossbell was also kinda of small compared to Liberl and Erebonia so it was a more intimate encounter and a lot of the events were focused on the city itself.
This. It definitely feels a lot like FC in the way it introduces new areas and concepts to the main characters. I was hesitant initially about going the school route, but it actually works in terms of letting the cast (and players) learn about the different parts of Erebonia in a more organic kind of way. They're not super knowledgable on certain areas, so it makes sense that they have to be told things/sent to see it themselves.
Also like FC, it feels like it's building toward something. In Sen's case, we already know it's building toward ZERO/AO SPOILERS
the attack on Crossbell and the subsequent Crossbell/Erebonia conflict
. That lends every chapter this kind of weight that darkens everything that happens. It's really fascinating the way Sen works parallel to Zero/Ao, and I can't wait to go back and play through both of those again when I'm done with Sen.
At this point, I don't think Zero/Ao are absolutely necessary to play before this, but I do think having knowledge of both games adds a LOT of weight to the proceeding events in Sen. That being said, it could be interesting to play Zero and Ao after Sen too.
I'm only in the back half of chapter 5, but everything has been so good thus far. CHAPTER 5 SPOILERS
Meeting Toval for real for the first time, finally seeing a Bracer Guild in Erebonia that's still active, albeit understaffed; in a lot of ways it feels familiar. Like we finally got to the Zemuria we've been familiar with for so long. I felt strangely at home in the guild, which is weird considering this is a video game.
The entirety of Sen has been spent relatively Bracer-less, with characters even going so far as to say that they haven't seen them around in ages. Osborne's immense political power has essentially forced them out of the country, and the only reason Toval still has a job is because Victor is a good man.
Speaking of Victor: he's completely different than what I had imagined the head of the Arseid family would be like. I found myself inexplicably touched when he first sees Laura and just gives her this loving hug. It's no wonder that the people of his area love his family so much. The moment when he grants Rean a duel and proceeds to help him confront his inner demons was super fucking cool too.
Hmm usually it auto updates right? Ill check it again when am back home, but last night that was really bad.
I wonder if the PS3 version is any better since thats what you are running right?
Damned shame since the game looks great and did like what I was playing besides from the loading. No idea how they thought this was ok to release to the public. :/
Hmm usually it auto updates right? Ill check it again when am back home, but last night that was really bad.
I wonder if the PS3 version is any better since thats what you are running right?
Damned shame since the game looks great and did like what I was playing besides from the loading. No idea how they thought this was ok to release to the public. :/
I've never had the Vita ever auto update anything for me, but maybe that's an option in the settings?
No, I'm not playing the PS3 version. Loading is much better than the Vita version pre-update. Vita is closer now, but still not great. Not a deal-breaker for me at this point though.
I've never had the Vita ever auto update anything for me, but maybe that's an option in the settings?
No, I'm not playing the PS3 version. Loading is much better than the Vita version pre-update. Vita is closer now, but still not great. Not a deal-breaker for me at this point though.
I wonder why they seem to have problems with the vita version considering the vita rerelease of zero no kiseki also had a bunch of issues pre-patch, which folks went apeshit over.
Looks like the loading times are slightly better. Will keep fingers crossed that they are going to continue working on fixing this.
Really would hate to have to get the PS3 version also, since this game does most def seem pretty well done besides the loading issue.
Zero Evo wasn't made by Falcom at all. Like... they weren't involved in any way. That's a whole different issue.
Falcom just had to release during Q3, as they always do. It's an investor thing. Also, it's a new engine... and they always seem to botch some little things when they switch over.
They did tweet that they're working on further patches, so let's just look forward to that. You get used to the current issues really fast. The loading became a non-issue in both versions for me. It's the slight stuttering on the PS3 that's upsetting me a bit.
What do you think are the chances of a renkaban for this game? Do vita games need to sell a certain number of copies to be eligible for a best release?
I'm also holding onto dear life in hope that they release a pre-patched best version of zero evo around the time ao evo comes out.
Zero Evo wasn't made by Falcom at all. Like... they weren't involved in any way. That's a whole different issue.
Falcom just had to release during Q3, as they always do. It's an investor thing. Also, it's a new engine... and they always seem to botch some little things when they switch over.
Also, they did tweet that they're working on further patches.
Fantastic thats great news to hear that they are still working on the patches.
Since I dont follow the whole dev side of the thing all that much, interesting to see that it was not developed by them directly. Though you would think that the TRC would have prevented it from even having been released in the initial state pre-patch considering freezes if found is what gets a title tossed back into the submission process. Seeing how many responses about freezes and other what nots there were amazing they got through. Unless sony waived it just to get more titles on the vita at the time. At least post patch seems to have the general approval of folks.
I don't know about the PS3 ver., but the Vita ver. is honestly a bit of a mess. In addition to the load times,
1. 90% of the time where the camera pans over anything during a cutscene, the pan stutters. It's so bizarre and incredibly distracting.
2. Performance issues during certain parts of the game. For some reason, it can't handle the central square in Bareahard (how the 't' became a 'd' I don't know), but the highlands run surprisingly well (although it skips every time the bird cries).
3. Large spell animations tend to skip a little bit.
It really just feels like something that needed more development time.
I actually think the bird crying is a point where the game loads another chunk of the map since it always happens at the same points. Odd how that section of the game seems to run fine.
And yeah, the Vita version has a bunch of little technical problems.
In any case, time to hole up with the game for the next six hours. >.>
I actually think the bird crying is a point where the game loads another chunk of the map since it always happens at the same points. Odd how that section of the game seems to run fine.
And yeah, the Vita version has a bunch of little technical problems.
In any case, time to hole up with the game for the next six hours. >.>
What impressed me was on one side of the camp there are certain types of enemies and on the other side a different set of enemies. Then I realized for a game that is the first full 3D entry in the series the monster variety is pretty surprising. I expected more palette swaps than this.
What impressed me was on one side of the camp there are certain types of enemies and on the other side a different set of enemies. Then I realized for a game that is the first full 3D entry in the series the monster variety is pretty surprising. I expected more palette swaps than this.
I commented to someone earlier saying that I think Sen is "okay" to play if you haven't played the series, so far. However, you will not get the atmospheric "where's that other shoe?" feeling that the game is SO GOOD at giving without that background, I don't think.
Since seeing certain patterns in chapter 4 and knowing other things that have been done in other chapters, the game is fantastic, but it leaves a very unsettled and uncomfortable feeling in the end. And I know that it's COMPLETELY intentional. It's a massive "waiting game" setup. You're waiting for everything to kind of 'happen.'
That's what I was saying. At this point, I'm thinking that what this game is relying on is the anticipation of things to come for its intensity. It's possible to enjoy the game, but you don't get anything NEAR the unsettling aspects that make it show that what things are building isn't good at all.
I think you will get some of the build up, even without familiarity to the series, but anywhere near as intense as I've experienced it? No, not at all.
I think the jury is out on that until more folks finish Magus.
Up until Ch 3 though, no need for knowledge from FC/SC at all. Some knowledge of Zero/Ao will make you appreciate what's going on but at the same time, not knowing some of what goes on actually makes it a little more interesting.
If you've already played FC, why not just finish that story first before diving into another one? I really don't understand why everyone's so desperate to play the latest game instead of just experiencing the whole series.
HAH! I knew Arianrhod was gonna pop up in this dungeon. There was no way she wasn't gonna put in an appearance, though Selina's comment about her not being who she expected was a head scratcher.
Also it's nice to Oroborus finally get name dropped by Sara. Good that at least Rean knows who they are.
HAH! I knew Arianrhod was gonna pop up in this dungeon. There was no way she wasn't gonna put in an appearance, though Selina's comment about her not being who she expected was a head scratcher.
Also it's nice to Oroborus finally get name dropped by Sara. Good that at least Rean knows who they are.
I expected no Ouroboros at all (other than namedropping them) in Sen whatsoever, so that was a nice surprise. And hell yeah Elliot's dad, the complete opposite of what you expect.
I expected no Ouroboros at all (other than namedropping them) in Sen whatsoever, so that was a nice surprise. And hell yeah Elliot's dad, the complete opposite of what you expect.
The moment he first appears and he seems to intense, then suddenly he has this huge shit eating grin on his face before hugging his son. I was dying in bed last night. First Victor, now him? Why are dads so awesome in this game?
So yeah, I think I'm going to shelve this game until I get around to playing zero and ao...
I feel like there are already a ton of things going on that I really should know more about.
This video is a spoiler for the end boss of Chapter 6, but it's easily the most unfortunate loss in a battle ever. I was laughing until I was crying over it. Then I realized I had to do the fight again.
