I ended up buying the game launch week, but I was one of those people who was rubbed the wrong way by the crossover, in particular the FE crossover. I expressed a lot of disgust at this game both here on GAF and elsewhere. I saw the game as pushing the FE brand even further into perverted fluff fiction and also pushing the new Akaneia 'saga' at the expensive of better FE sagas. It was pushing everything I hate about new FE in the package of what sounded like a dream project: a turn-based FE JRPG.
I bought the game out of morbid curiosity and I am very glad I did, but it bore out my preconceptions as to the nature of the cross-over and moreover executed it very poorly. The worst chapters of the story are those when FE takes center stage and the mirages are barely involved or explored throughout the entire thing. I've only played a couple hours of Nocturne, but it also seems to me that the game is more of a pseudo-Persona than an SMT and imo it fails to deliver there too, having incredibly weak side stories for the cast and only flirting insincerely with the dark side of the idol industry.
That said, I think the game has a more charming, amusing, and passable story/setting/characters than I expected. I am moderately fond of them.
Where the game does deliver is in its gameplay, systems, and dungeons. I think the former two peak midway through the game with sessions becoming more just a (lengthy) matter of course by the end rather than exciting and modestly strategic system, for which you are developing a network. Boss fights are good throughout, presenting interesting tactical situations and the dungeons are solid to the end.
Endgame (towards secret boss) is just bad and is begging for the (bad) DLC.
...
But yes, it is sad that the game sold so poorly. I'd take a sequel that preserved many of the flaws of the original but a sequel is also an opportunity to build on this foundation and I think that could go towards a truly great game.
Give me a less pop-fluff game with a more 'serious' story and art style together with a Jugdral or Tellius cross-over and build on the combat systems of this game and I'd be extraordinarily enthused. But again, I'd settle for something closer to TMS.
I bought the game out of morbid curiosity and I am very glad I did, but it bore out my preconceptions as to the nature of the cross-over and moreover executed it very poorly. The worst chapters of the story are those when FE takes center stage and the mirages are barely involved or explored throughout the entire thing. I've only played a couple hours of Nocturne, but it also seems to me that the game is more of a pseudo-Persona than an SMT and imo it fails to deliver there too, having incredibly weak side stories for the cast and only flirting insincerely with the dark side of the idol industry.
That said, I think the game has a more charming, amusing, and passable story/setting/characters than I expected. I am moderately fond of them.
Where the game does deliver is in its gameplay, systems, and dungeons. I think the former two peak midway through the game with sessions becoming more just a (lengthy) matter of course by the end rather than exciting and modestly strategic system, for which you are developing a network. Boss fights are good throughout, presenting interesting tactical situations and the dungeons are solid to the end.
Endgame (towards secret boss) is just bad and is begging for the (bad) DLC.
...
But yes, it is sad that the game sold so poorly. I'd take a sequel that preserved many of the flaws of the original but a sequel is also an opportunity to build on this foundation and I think that could go towards a truly great game.
Give me a less pop-fluff game with a more 'serious' story and art style together with a Jugdral or Tellius cross-over and build on the combat systems of this game and I'd be extraordinarily enthused. But again, I'd settle for something closer to TMS.