I figure NichM is reading this, so I wanted to point out how great the localization is. There's a few typos here and there (I was very puzzled when Naomi used "nis" instead of "is" and was curious what nippon ichi had to do with anything), but the voice acting and dialogue does its best with the script.
Truly commendable. No other Japanese localizer goes as far as Atlus does with voice acting and it should absolutely be said again and again that they are the best at it.
Ok so I read the spoilers from Second Opinion that Ookami posted earlier in the thread.
That's all that's tieing SO to Trauma Team? Does SO give
Naomi some kind of character exposition that would necessitate me playing it or is it just as simple as what Ookami said? Are there any other characters that show up in both SO and TT?
Its not a money issue of getting SO, its only $15 at Gamestop. Its just that I have a massive backlog (like most of you guys) to work through and I'd want to play through SO before TT.
Do that! And tell them to make a whole game around Naomis forensics stuff. Preferably with a similar style and production values, and just as dark, on 3DS.
Ok so I read the spoilers from Second Opinion that Ookami posted earlier in the thread.
That's all that's tieing SO to Trauma Team? Does SO give
Naomi some kind of character exposition that would necessitate me playing it or is it just as simple as what Ookami said? Are there any other characters that show up in both SO and TT?
Its not a money issue of getting SO, its only $15 at Gamestop. Its just that I have a massive backlog (like most of you guys) to work through and I'd want to play through SO before TT.
Well, aside from knowing Naomi's past, knowing Little Guy, and knowing her "connection" with Derek and his appearances in this game, yeah those are the only things important. In the grand scheme of things it's just roughly 10% of SO.
The game pretty much amazed me aside from a small bit of low points.
First, the low point.
Endoscopy. Gahhhhhhhhhh I am not a fan of endoscopy, like a good bit of people. I think it was just too annoying compared to some. I think if there was a button or something to move forward and backward instead of the pushing/pulling of the Wiimote, then I'd probably tolerate it a ton more. (I played this some before bed, and this took the most effort, compared to ease with diagnostics/forensics, and only quick wrist movements with the other three) I get the whole realistic-esque part of the actual profession, it just didn't seem enjoyable in execution. For what it was, it wasn't awful as I felt about it, it just didn't feel as exciting as all the other doctor's professions.
Onto the good!
The other parts of gameplay were fantastic. I loved the classic style of Trauma Team gameplay with the regular operations. I felt like a handyman with the huge amount of tools you make use of in orthopedics. The first response parts were very intense and I'm not sure I could handle them on the Specialist difficulty! Diagnostics and forensics were a nice break from the action of the other three professions, and include something I found incredibly entertaining which I'll mention later. The variety in the gameplay gave the series a fresh breath of air that it needed after all the previous games focusing on one profession. It was much more immersive to see the cases go from diagnosis, then go to surgery, and all that.
The story/content of the game was above average to interesting at least. The story was pretty by the book in terms of premise and results (knowing the Trauma Center games' usual ideas), but some of the side things made it interesting and also amazed how the game might not have gotten a higher rating (I know it doesn't show anything really bad, but just the idea of some things were very unsettling. Examples: (Only look if you finished forensics prior to the final chapter):
A bomb exploding and nearly ending a child's life, the girl trying to claw her way out of her room and leaving blood and scratches on her door, a woman going crazy and dressing up as a beast to end the lives of her family and 'save' them.
and (diagnostics and endgame related spoilers)
the girl Hank helped being shot and seeming to die when her arm went limp, the sight of all the people suffering on the ground in different areas, the army soldier basically getting worse and worse before your eyes as you diagnose him, and then prior to the 'final battle' when she was coughing blood and shaking on the ground.
A lot of it was just "Well...damn" when it first happens.
The music for the most part was cool to pretty good. Going back and listening to stuff on YouTube made me appreciate it much more, because for some reason I didn't even notice the music much during the actual operations (like this one), only noticed the repeated themes. I'm not sure if they released/plan on releasing an official OST though.
The characters obviously could be described easily: rebellious girl who works alone, strong guy that aims to help people, etc. They learn their life lessons related to their issues (why do they save people, why can't they accept help, and such. The designs are appealing (aside from Hank never opening his eyes :lol) and they all standout with their own style of dress. If a bit typical to expect certain things from the characters, they weren't grating or anything after the time I spent with the game.
But where's that fine polish we all come to love? The localization, of course! All the characters stuck with their personalities, showed strength, showed weakness, and it was an excellent VA job when it came to the serious parts of the game. I think the voice actors really enjoyed their parts (and even had some fun in the extras you can listen to post-game). The banter between Gabe/RONI and Natalie/Little Guy almost made the game by itself for me. Aside from the obvious oddness of a doctor and a machine talking and the relation of Natalie/Little Guy, the conversations were a gem and they seemed to play off each other well. Of course, the other characters played their parts well, but the two doctors with partners were the best when it comes to good dialogue.
This is a title on the Wii which really deserves some attention, one of the best this year and a great improvement over the previous TT titles, and Atlus USA deserves some big props for putting in the work they did on both the localization and promotion of it with all the featurettes which really helped understand how the development of the title went along.
Again, bravo. I hope it gets the attention it deserves.
I reached the GOLDEN LOCKER with the first 4 characters. It is about operation #7 for all of them. Could you tell me what is my approximate % before beating the game?
I would it hold over forever.
Endoscopy. Gahhhhhhhhhh I am not a fan of endoscopy, like a good bit of people. I think it was just too annoying compared to some. I think if there was a button or something to move forward and backward instead of the pushing/pulling of the Wiimote, then I'd probably tolerate it a ton more. (I played this some before bed, and this took the most effort, compared to ease with diagnostics/forensics, and only quick wrist movements with the other three) I get the whole realistic-esque part of the actual profession, it just didn't seem enjoyable in execution. For what it was, it wasn't awful as I felt about it, it just didn't feel as exciting as all the other doctor's professions.
I havent gotten to this cause of Galaxy 2, RDR, L4D and a replay of Galaxy and ToEE. And I have to choose between it, Alpha Protocol and Miles Edgeworth...
I havent gotten to this cause of Galaxy 2, RDR, L4D and a replay of Galaxy and ToEE. And I have to choose between it, Alpha Protocol and Miles Edgeworth...
More approachable and varied than previous Trauma Center games. But it's also less intense. It's less action-puzzler and more medical simulation.
If you thought that the Trauma Center series needed a shot in the arm of something different, or you thought the previous games were too hard, you'll like Trauma Team.
If you played the Trauma Center games mostly for the difficult and intense virus battles, you'll be disappointed.
I havent gotten to this cause of Galaxy 2, RDR, L4D and a replay of Galaxy and ToEE. And I have to choose between it, Alpha Protocol and Miles Edgeworth...
More approachable and varied than previous Trauma Center games. But it's also less intense. It's less action-puzzler and more medical simulation.
If you thought that the Trauma Center series needed a shot in the arm of something different, or you thought the previous games were too hard, you'll like Trauma Team.
If you played the Trauma Center games mostly for the difficult and intense virus battles, you'll be disappointed.
Again, Gabe/Naomi's sections aren't bad. But I'm not really fond of them. I rather do endoscopy/ortho/first-response/ops over these. So doing those others and then coming back to these in the timeline (don't want to skip ahead) is kinda depressing/jarring for me.
Also I dig how the characters have different end sayings for the different ranks.
S-rank "Damn, now I can see why you're called a specialist" for instance.
C-rank "Sorry, I could probably do a little better."
"It's okay, you saved the patients life, that's what matters!"
The tool selection still annoys me to this day. First Response and Surgery don't do the C/tool/C selection that Endoscopy and Ortho (IIRC) do. Which I prefer, but man... the C-tool-C is annoying.
Also fuck that bone-saw bit from the Orthopedic's fourth mission. I don't know how the hell you're supposed to NOT stop on that if you want to get a high cool rank, but man I just can't continue on that, I have to stop, breaking my 1000-2000 chain because I don't want to hit the guide line.
However, that red dot in the U of the saw is what counts as "hitting the guideline, easier, but it isn't really "realistic" IMO
If you played the Trauma Center games mostly for the difficult and intense virus battles, you'll be disappointed.
I'm not disappointed, I do think Trauma Team is good. However, I am disappointed that the hardness + less focus on operations is there. I really hope there is an Under the Knife 3 (coming back to the DS, please)/New Blood 2 and Trauma Team/Center can coexist. I'm all for buying both.
Started playing this and it seems slower aced than previous games but I'm still enjoying it.
I was doing the first act for the white haired chick last night and it reminded me of Ace Attorney, cool stuff.
Again, Gabe/Naomi's sections aren't bad. But I'm not really fond of them. I rather do endoscopy/ortho/first-response/ops over these. So doing those others and then coming back to these in the timeline (don't want to skip ahead) is kinda depressing/jarring for me.
Yeah same with me, although I did the surgery ones first and now have 4 of Gabe's and 6 of Naomi's left to do :/ Just means that I can take my time with the game now and play one of their missions in between other games. I've really enjoyed this though, it's just weird to have some slower missions
Seriously. Nice to have some different styles of gameplay rather than "Do it do it do it DO IT NOW OR THEY DIE" In forensics, you don't have to worry about that!
^Heh, excellent. Wonder how that programmer feels about his cameo in the game. xD
And I really enjoyed the Diagonistics/Forensics sections, even though I am a big fan of the intense surgeries of previous games. Banter between Little Guy/Naomi, Roni/Gabe (for example especially during
diagnosis of the soldier - put that "to hell with it!" algorithm to use, Roni!
) was really fun. Though I do agree that I'd prefer for Atlus to continue the series in both directions - with the more varied style of Trauma Team and the challenging gameplay of TCs past.
I don't hate forensics, but I think there's just too much of it compared to the other parts of the game. You spend like a third of the game in Forensics when you should spend about a sixth of the game in it. I think I would have preferred if they cut out a mission or two, probably
the insane beast woman and the first forensics mission in the end game, with the autopsy
. Also there's some unnecessary filler when you're in those missions, like the
multiple entrance/exit wound cards in the last mission.