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[Mejilan]

I'm sure some of us are aware of the up and coming Nightmare of Druaga for the PS2, being brought here next month by Namco. If not, please feel free to read IGN's hands on preview for more info.

All this brings to mind a PSOne game I bought about a year and a half ago but never got around to playing. The Dragon Warrior spin off, Torneko - The Last Great Hope.

So... was it any good?

 

[BobbyRobby]

The game is for masochists.

I liked it, though many others did not.

 

[Mejilan]

I'm generally a fan of the Nethacks, Angbands, and ADOMs of the world.

Why is this one for masochists?

 

[jooey]

I'm generally a fan of the Nethacks, Angbands, and ADOMs of the world.

Why is this one for masochists?

because he liked it, many others did not.

btw there's no "great" in the name.

 

[BobbyRobby]

The game feels broken at times. You'll go many floors down with relative ease, then get your ass promptly handed to you.

Plus, Every time you start a dungeon you're level 1, and every time you die you go back to level 1. So its possible, and likely, that you'll spend a lot of time leveling up, only to be killed with nothing to show for your work.

If nothing else, It definitely adds a lot of suspense, and excitement to the game.

 

[Mejilan]

Ugh. So there's no sense of progression then? If you always restart at level 1. That's what I hated about Azure Dreams.

 

[Soul4ger]

I still have a sealed copy of Torneko for PSone if anyone's interested.

 

[radios shipping overview]

The feeling of progression is conveyed in the changes you make to your hometown, just like in Azure Dreams. There are also multiple dungeons to travel through. Starting at level 1 at the beginning of each dungeon venture is intended to have the same feeling as making multiple runs at a game like Nethack or Rogue. Instead of keeping the game structure as a single straight-through instant-death dungeon crawl, console roguelikes build a game around the instant-death dungeon crawl and give you a way to progress within the game. It tends to be more satisfying for more casual players than simply building up your own knowledge and experience with each run like in ADOM or Nethack.

Most who hated Torneko had never played a roguelike and as such were completely unprepared for something like that. They will also hate Nightmare of Druaga, mark my words.

 

[freaky zeeky]

Plus, Every time you start a dungeon you're level 1, and every time you die you go back to level 1. So its possible, and likely, that you'll spend a lot of time leveling up, only to be killed with nothing to show for your work.

doesn't that defeat the purpose of an rpg? so, what exactly is so gratifying about trudging through an rpg that doesn't show anything for it, especially when the story is already revealed to be rather threadbare? releasing this seems to be a rather unwise decision on namco's part.

 

[Pellham]

doesn't that defeat the purpose of an rpg? so, what exactly is so gratifying about trudging through an rpg that doesn't show anything for it, especially when the story is already revealed to be rather threadbare? releasing this seems to be a rather unwise decision on namco's part.

Who said it was an RPG? Torneko, much like many other games, is simply a dungeon hack game, a console version of Nethack/Rogue-like games. It's really fun if you're into those sort of games, but THEY ARE NOT RPGS, don't expect to get attached to your character's stats!

The games have devoted followings in Japan, but it's not surprising that they weren't accepted over here.

 

[TheGreenGiant]

Ugh. I hated chocobo dungeon. Did finish it but URGGH wanted to kill my psone. inventory resets and back to lvl 1 = ass.

 

[Mejilan]

You reset back to level 1 in Druaga too?

 

[radios shipping overview]

You reset back to level 1 in Druaga too?

I haven't played Nightmare, but since it's a hybrid between the original Tower of Druaga and the Mysterious Dungeon design, I'd assume that it uses the same town-building/multi-trip-dungeon setup.