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[Robert at Zeboyd Games]

Arc The Lad is easily one of the last bastions of classic jrpgs I've never develed into, I hope to fix that soon.

Just realized I've never played Lunar or Arc the Lad games, and I'm in the middle of my very first Suikoden V playthrough

Arc the Lad 2 & 3 are great SRPGs. Arc the Lad 1 is kind of so-so, but it's a direct prequel to Arc 2 and it's only like 10-15 hours long (unless you do the uber optional dungeon) so it's probably worth playing anyway. Arc the Lad 2 is HUGE and great if you want a massive game for your Vita (1-3 are all on the PSN for dirt cheap and playable on Vita/PS3/PSP). Arc 3 is probably my favorite in the series - it's more set up like a traditional RPG with a smaller cast.

There's also the PS2 games - Twilight of the Spirits is okay, though not as good as the PS1 games (it has a neat dual scenario system where you play as two separate groups before combining later on). I've heard End of Darkness is a rather mediocre Action/RPG but I haven't played it.

 

[jorgeton]

I'm still verrry early in this game (Just into Chapter 1), but a couple of music tracks have really blown me away. The theme of the last Prologue dungeon plus that boss music. Love the saturated electric guitar. Very Ys-like. I was playing through the early game thinking "huh, soundtrack's not really doing it for me" then bam, awesome boss and dungeon music.

I also really like the combat system. I haven't played anything turn-based in a while, but this game does a great job of getting your brain involved even during random encounters. Normal mode so far has been just right. Challenging but fair. It shows how good a well-tuned turned based battle system can be.

This game really does feel like a PS1 Jrpg on steroids. The devs have clearly done their due diligence on the history of the genre, so they throw in little wrinkles that surprise me

Spoiler

like the night vision section. that was cool/

.

I guess the only negative so far is that there isn't any kind of data log on characters or plot from FC. I haven't played FC since the PSP release so I forgot a loooot of things. Characters are popping in and I have no idea who they are.

 

[Tenebrous]

Finished chapter 6...

Spoiler

I wasn't sold on the Estelle/Joshua romance by the end of FC, and I'm still not sold on it now. I thought the brother/sister dynamic was a lot more interesting, and I don't see why that sibling-like bond couldn't achieve Joshua accepting that he's not a broken puppet, but instead a young man with repressed emotions.

Still, every JRPG needs to have a romance, I suppose.

 

[coredecepts]

I'm still in Chapter 1 of Trails SC, about 10 hours in (I'm taking my time. Don't rush me!) and loving every second. Revisiting these places, seeing what's changed and what's stayed the same, saying hi to NPCs from FC...it's a great feeling. The first few hours really hooked me, and I can't wait for the story to start picking up. The music is an improvement, though I already liked FC's soundtrack, so these new tracks are just icing. The enhancements to the battle system are very cool, and I want to see where they go with the Chain system.

Knowing that we definitely have Cold Steel 1 and 2 coming in the span of about a year is just so, so awesome.

I'm not about to go on twitter and start demanding anything from XSEED, but I will be gutted if we don't get Zero and Ao (and 3rd! Kevin is a wonderful goofball.) in some official capacity. Those games look like too much fun, and I want to get over that barrier!

But until such time, I'm just happy we're getting Trails SC and Cold Steel 1 and 2.

 

[Kensuke]

Woah, just managed to beat 2 shining poms in chapter 2. Almost killed a third, but I got a bit too impatient and didn't wait for the proper S-break. Still,

Spoiler

Tita

got 5000+ experience and leveled up like 5 times. Others got 1600 XP. Sooooo good.

 

[ricen-beans]

Woah, just managed to beat 2 shining poms in chapter 2. Almost killed a third, but I got a bit too impatient and didn't wait for the proper S-break. Still,

Spoiler

Tita

got 5000+ experience and leveled up like 5 times. Others got 1600 XP. Sooooo good.

What's the best way to beat these shining poms?

I was never able to do it, even in FC

 

[Tenebrous]

What's the best way to beat these shining poms?

I was never able to do it, even in FC

S-Breaks do the job. Who's in your party?

Spoiler

Agate's Wild Rage > S-Break does it for me.

 

[ColossalLazy]

Completed Chapter 3.

Spoiler

Olivier dialogue with Mueller is hilarious as ever. The tank battle was kinda of a pain. I was already suspicious of Renne but did not expect her to be the one pulling the strings herself and to have a goddamn mecha. Cant wait to meet more Enforcers, the ones met so far are very interesting.

 

[Kensuke]

What's the best way to beat these shining poms?

I was never able to do it, even in FC

I killed those 2 with S-Crafts. Used them as S-Break to get one on a increased strength icon and another one on a critical icon. I'm not sure if they would have died otherwise. If you can use S-Crafts your only option is pretty much Shadow Spear, which can kill them instantly (20% chance of activating).

 

[Shake Appeal]

Yeah, the trick is to build all your party members up to 200 CP before hitting a poms fight, then just unload on them. You will sometimes get lucky with Shadow Spear, too. I think Time/Space arts can hurt them slightly, but basic attacks and elemental Arts seem to do nothing or effectively nothing.

 

[SatelliteOfLove]

For those of you still asking, Trails is Suikoden x Lunar.

Spoiler

As far as Olivier goes, I think you'll be a little satisfied on that front more fully by the end of the next act's beginning, ironically. The writers know what they need to address, and when.

And yeah, let's not worry about sales volume for a few weeks yet, at least. Hell: I don't even think we've gotten a single major review yet, have we?

My major review: Awesome/10 for what its worth.

 

[slayn]

The best way to kill poms is the food items that you throw because they can't miss.

I managed to kill like 4-5 in one fight shortly after getting tita who was like 10 levels below the rest of my team and went to go make a sandwich while Tita's level counted up.

 

[ricen-beans]

Thanks guys

 

[BassForever]

The best way to kill poms is the food items that you throw because they can't miss.

I managed to kill like 4-5 in one fight shortly after getting tita who was like 10 levels below the rest of my team and went to go make a sandwich while Tita's level counted up.

Oh? That's cool to know thanks

 

[Dragoon En Regalia]

Cross-posting Kotaku's feature on Trails SC's localization for posterity.

I just use abuse Agate (with high dexterity stats) and space Arts like Dark Matter to kill my Poms when I don't have offensive food/S-Crafts.

The special fights in this game are so fun, even though most have been easy-ish after my usual half-grind when exploring new dungeons (I do this when fishing too, so I'm low on bait). Seeing

Spoiler

Rolent

swarming with tough baddies going down the highway is bizarre, yet not unexpected, and I love how the quest monsters always put themselves in the most inconvenient locations for travelers to circumvent. Honestly I'm surprised you're given so much time for hunting them down, lol.

 

[Hatsuu]

I'm not about to go on twitter and start demanding anything from XSEED, but I will be gutted if we don't get Zero and Ao (and 3rd! Kevin is a wonderful goofball.) in some official capacity. Those games look like too much fun, and I want to get over that barrier!

You're preaching to the choir. I'd give anything to work on them. They're my dream titles.

 

[Tenebrous]

Chapter 7.

Spoiler

I've bested Bleublanc & Walter in what can only be described as walkover fights. I've seriously struggled more with some of the Bracer guild extermination requests, but hey, that's probably becaause these guys have run away... There better not be a damn boss rush at the end of this game!

 

[Vylash]

Boy does Olivier know how to make an entrance

love is eternal

 

[Dragoon En Regalia]

love is eternal

Love is

Spoiler

an absolute

!

I will never get tired of that debate, especially since Olivier definitively comes across as sincere.

 

[wrowa]

this. need to know.

Hatsuu posted about it on the weekend, I doubt there'll be new news already.

(...)
For Europe PSN, we don't predict launch will be that far off. Definitely within the year, and that's a generous window (time to knock on wood since the Curse of Kiseki is always active).
(...)

 

[Tenebrous]

But until such time, I'm just happy we're getting Trails SC and Cold Steel 1 and 2.

Are these confirmed for PC, by the way?

 

[Pellegri Testament]

Are these confirmed for PC, by the way?

Vita and PS3 only, neither Falcom or Xseed have the means to port them elsewhere for the time being.

 

[Shake Appeal]

Are these confirmed for PC, by the way?

Edit: My bad, not for PC.

 

[Tenebrous]

Vita and PS3 only, neither Falcom or Xseed have the means to port them elsewhere for the time being.

Yup. First one is coming soon, I think. Like 2015 soon.

Hmmm, haha. Picking up my third Vita to replace the two I've sold wouldn't be a bad idea considering my return to JRPGs, but hopefully Shake is right.

 

[Dragon1893]

Yup. First one is coming soon, I think. Like 2015 soon.

On PC? Nope.

 

[wrowa]

Are these confirmed for PC, by the way?

No, PS Vita and PS3 only. Falcom has recently acknowledged its new-found success on Steam, but so far there are no signs that they might plan to develop games for PC again, so I wouldn't get my hopes up that there is anything coming.

Yes, the Trails situation is all around far from ideal.

 

[Tenebrous]

Well, as long as they get an EU release, I'll dig out an old PS3 and give them all a go!

 

[Finalow]

having a completed FC save file was worth it, really liking the recurring npcs dialogues when they remember what Estelle did for them or who she is.
there are some enjoyable new sidequests too. hilarious how (chapter 2 sidequest)

Spoiler

Cid threw at me some huge art which almost wiped out the whole party, spammed impede after that. if you win the fight they even comment "wow those arts, are you for realz" or something.

Is Olivier's just really bad as his did zero damage?

for some reason Olivier S-craft is garbage, hoping that he unlocks a new one by levelling up. one of Agate S-craft is pretty much identical but does more damage.

not to mention that Olivier doesn't have the huge EP pool he had in FC, no one else does, actually. it sucks especially if you consider how much they nerfed some spells, Earth Wall now costs SEVENTY EP. road to get EP CUT 4 is long

The best way to kill poms is the food items that you throw because they can't miss.

nice, going to try this. it sucks how they changed the shining poms encounters from FC, in this game they may give more exp but farming sepith seems way way slower, I probably won't ever bother.

 

[Shake Appeal]

There are PC version of Zero/Ao, though, right? I thought I read they were considering doing those.

 

[Pellegri Testament]

There are PC version of Zero/Ao, though, right? I thought I read they were considering doing those.

"If" sales show continuing the series is viable, even then they would have to jump through hoops to get those versions of the games, 3rd would also have to be done before them. Nothing has been confirmed so far, no matter how much some of their employees have stated they'd like to continue on with the series.

 

[StarCreator]

There are PC version of Zero/Ao, though, right? I thought I read they were considering doing those.

PC ports done by a Chinese company exist. The Chinese Zero port was furthermore re-localized into Japanese at some point.

It's quite a bit too early to know if anything can be done with that, or if it's even in good enough shape to be worth bothering with.

 

[coredecepts]

There are PC version of Zero/Ao, though, right? I thought I read they were considering doing those.

There are PC versions of Zero and Ao. There are also PSP and Vita versions of Zero and Ao, though each one is kind of special in its own way.

 

[BassForever]

having a completed FC save file was worth it, really liking the recurring npcs dialogues when they remember what Estelle did for them or who she is.
there are some enjoyable new sidequests too. hilarious how (chapter 2 sidequest)

Spoiler

Cid threw at me some huge art which almost wiped out the whole party, spammed impede after that. if you win the fight they even comment "wow those arts, are you for realz" or something.

for some reason Olivier S-craft is garbage, hoping that he unlocks a new one by levelling up. one of Agate S-craft is pretty much identical but does more damage.

not to mention that Olivier doesn't have the huge EP pool he had in FC, no one else does, actually. it sucks especially if you consider how much they nerfed some spells, Earth Wall now costs SEVENTY EP. road to get EP CUT 4 is long


nice, going to try this. it sucks how they changed the shining poms encounters from FC, in this game they may give more exp but farming sepith seems way way slower, I probably won't ever bother.

You are upgrading slots right? Thats how you get more ep

 

[zakujanai]

Woah, just managed to beat 2 shining poms in chapter 2. Almost killed a third, but I got a bit too impatient and didn't wait for the proper S-break. Still,

Spoiler

Tita

got 5000+ experience and leveled up like 5 times. Others got 1600 XP. Sooooo good.

My first fight with them was a shining pom, got 7 levels just from that one.

Finished up chapter 2 and I'm incredibly disappointed. The mystery

Spoiler

turning out to be a wacky villain toying with us

worked well in chapter 1, but to use the exact same idea (in a far less interesting @ and more predictable manner) is a huge let down. The monster of the week stuff feels like padding for the real story, something the slow chapters of FC never actually did. I'm sure it'll heat up soon but I don't know whether I can face chapter 3 if I have to replay the exact same scenario again.

 

[Sitrus]

There are PC version of Zero/Ao, though, right? I thought I read they were considering doing those.

There are Chinese ports of Zero and Ao. The Zero port was then relocalized to Japanese. No Japanese PC ports of Ao. The DRM are really aggressive though.

 

[Finalow]

You are upgrading slots right? Thats how you get more ep

of course, doesn't make that much of a difference. Olivier had some huge 500+ EP pool with no quartz in FC, here I can barely hit 200 with 2-3 slots upgraded.
maybe you can upgrade the slots a third time at some point? Not really helpful if you can do that only in the last part of the game though.

 

[Eusis]

I kind of suspect/fear those two will be the lost entries. At best Falcom has a PC version of Ao left unreleased for an Azure localization, but I'm not optimistic there.

 

[Pellegri Testament]

I kind of suspect/fear those two will be the lost entries. At best Falcom has a PC version of Ao left unreleased for an Azure localization, but I'm not optimistic there.

I'd say "those 3" would be more accurate since it's an all or nothing type of thing. With 3rd tying into the next 2, there's no reason to work on it if Zero/Ao weren't both being considered as well, Tom has even said as much.

 

[Tenebrous]

What the flying fuck at the

Spoiler

Renne

fight?!?

Spoiler

Party gets one shot... Like, totally one shot from full HP. No chance to respond. I'm thinking ahh, it's one of those fights... But nope, Game Over, Retry/Title screen. Wouldn't mind but 3 of my party members have over 7k HP.

Surely this isn't right...

Spoiler

Even with the prevent deathblow accessory I've little chance because it's a Surprise Attack.

 

[twentytwo22]

What the flying fuck at the

Spoiler

Renne

fight?!?

Spoiler

Party gets one shot... Like, totally one shot from full HP. No chance to respond. I'm thinking ahh, it's one of those fights... But nope, Game Over, Retry/Title screen. Wouldn't mind but 3 of my party members have over 7k HP.

Surely this isn't right...

Spoiler

Even with the prevent deathblow accessory I've little chance because it's a Surprise Attack.

Spoiler

It's been a few years since I played the game, but you should have various options for guarding 1-3 hits. I think one character has an S-Craft, and there are Arts, as well. I think Renne usually uses the ability at a specific HP range. Again, it's been a while, so I might be a bit off on the details.

 

[FLD]

Man, I should probably stay away from this thread for now. I'm only just starting Chapter 2 and seeing all those spoiler tags for later chapters is kinda bumming me out.

I'm only like 15 hours in and the pacing is already way more engaging than in FC. I really wish I could take like a week or even a few days to just binge on the game because I'm seriously loving the hell out of it so far.

 

[Tenebrous]

Spoiler

It's been a few years since I played the game, but you should have various options for guarding 1-3 hits. I think one character has an S-Craft, and there are Arts, as well. I think Renne usually uses the ability at a specific HP range. Again, it's been a while, so I might be a bit off on the details.

Spoiler

Before I get a chance to attack (without using my own S-crafts), I'm attacked at least 11 times, and that's with the speed quartz. I don't have Father Kevin in the party to absord the first hit, so that's out the window.

I've equipped everyone with anti deathblow & anti petrify, and I just about killed Renne with one party member left. After that, I lucked out and started throwing Celestial Balms about... Very, very fortunate to get through this fight (if I somehow do manage it).

The other 3 were so damn easy. This one really just took me by surprise... I still don't think it's right. It's truly ridiculous compared to the other 3.

 

[SatelliteOfLove]

The best way to kill poms is the food items that you throw because they can't miss.

I managed to kill like 4-5 in one fight shortly after getting tita who was like 10 levels below the rest of my team and went to go make a sandwich while Tita's level counted up.

:O

Time to bake me some more hardtack; this is some MMO shit.

My first fight with them was a shining pom, got 7 levels just from that one.

Finished up chapter 2 and I'm incredibly disappointed. The mystery

Spoiler

turning out to be a wacky villain toying with us

worked well in chapter 1, but to use the exact same idea (in a far less interesting @ and more predictable manner) is a huge let down. The monster of the week stuff feels like padding for the real story, something the slow chapters of FC never actually did. I'm sure it'll heat up soon but I don't know whether I can face chapter 3 if I have to replay the exact same scenario again.

Spoiler

They were mentioning that they had a real good clue that this was going to happen (remember the "man in shades" bit?) I quite like the "THIS EARTHQUAKE MUST BE THE WORK OF AN ENEMY STAND!" thing going on with this deal.

 

[Finalow]

the music is so good in this game, especially the battle tracks.

Spoiler

fix your ears if you don't agree

 

[desmax]

What the flying fuck at the

Spoiler

Renne

fight?!?

Spoiler

Party gets one shot... Like, totally one shot from full HP. No chance to respond. I'm thinking ahh, it's one of those fights... But nope, Game Over, Retry/Title screen. Wouldn't mind but 3 of my party members have over 7k HP.

Surely this isn't right...

Spoiler

Even with the prevent deathblow accessory I've little chance because it's a Surprise Attack.

Spoiler

Use Kevin S-Craft right at the start; it will cast Earth Guard on everyone.
EDIT: Oh, didn't read the other post

 

[Tenebrous]

Spoiler

Use Kevin S-Craft right at the start; it will cast Earth Guard on everyone.
EDIT: Oh, didn't read the other post

Spoiler

Just beat the fight without it.

Earth Guard would protect from Renne's S-craft only. After that it's still a bit luck dependant to live through the 10-12 attacks from the little robots that fire penetrate beams.

Ridiculous "difficulty" spike.

 

[Se7enSword]

Wooo!

Almost done with Chapter 2! Just one final side quest left and then back to plot.

The side quest about

Spoiler

hotsprings

was good. Too bad I didn't have an all female team. Heard it's even better if you can do that.

 

[Dragoon En Regalia]

My first fight with them was a shining pom, got 7 levels just from that one.

Finished up chapter 2 and I'm incredibly disappointed. The mystery

Spoiler

turning out to be a wacky villain toying with us

worked well in chapter 1, but to use the exact same idea (in a far less interesting @ and more predictable manner) is a huge let down. The monster of the week stuff feels like padding for the real story, something the slow chapters of FC never actually did. I'm sure it'll heat up soon but I don't know whether I can face chapter 3 if I have to replay the exact same scenario again.

Spoiler

I don't think Walter meant for the Bracers to find him and his experiment, but the encounter gave him a good excuse to test the boss enemies and then make Estelle and crew feel powerless. Bleublanc, meanwhile, is more of a joker who gives them chances to prove themselves, not an outright killer

. There's also more action in Chapter 2 overall; the dynamic between Zane and

Spoiler

Walter

is more disturbing than Olivier and

Spoiler

Bleublanc

. Overall both Chapters are good, but 3 is definitely more interesting for having Grancel Harbor and ambiguity over who's the antagonist.

 

[coredecepts]

Fix that spoiler tag, mang.

edit: You're quick!

 

[Dragoon En Regalia]

Working from my phone, no worries.

I've got some screenshots for posting later too.