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Z.H.P. Unlosing Ranger vs Darkdeath Evilman |OT| -- Lose Until You Win
- Thread starter Volcynika
- Start date
ToastyFrog
Inexplicable Treasure Hate
No need for alarm. You can put the system to sleep and you'll be fine. If you turn the system all the way off, yeah, you'll lose your progress. But my PSP-3000 didn't have any trouble at all retaining my current dungeon position on a UMD-based review build. There's even a loading screen when you wake up; I think putting the system to sleep causes the game to save a temporary state to memory stick, which it reads upon waking.depward said:
However, you are limited in how you can leave a map once you enter: die, win, or meet with the caravan on a prearranged floor. I can see where that might not be the most popular design, but the dungeons are small enough (and most items trivial enough) that it's not a game-breaker by any means.
Reviews... Well, something to read until we can play the game 
http://www.pixelperfectgaming.com/pixelperfectgaming/?p=9787
http://www.siliconera.com/2010/10/19/z-h-p-unlosing-ranger-vs-darkdeath-evilman-playtest-lets-save-super-baby/
http://www.psillustrated.com/psillustrated/soft_rev.php/5182/zhp-unlosing-ranger-vs-darkdeath-evilman-psp.html
http://gameinterface.net/?p=12928
http://digitalchumps.com/game-reviews/37-psp/6300-zhp-unlosing-ranger-vs-darkdeath-evilman.html
http://www.roboawesome.com/?p=14779
http://www.justpushstart.com/2010/10/18/z-h-p-unlosing-ranger-vs-darkdeath-evilman-review/
http://www.pixelperfectgaming.com/pixelperfectgaming/?p=9787
http://www.siliconera.com/2010/10/19/z-h-p-unlosing-ranger-vs-darkdeath-evilman-playtest-lets-save-super-baby/
http://www.psillustrated.com/psillustrated/soft_rev.php/5182/zhp-unlosing-ranger-vs-darkdeath-evilman-psp.html
http://gameinterface.net/?p=12928
http://digitalchumps.com/game-reviews/37-psp/6300-zhp-unlosing-ranger-vs-darkdeath-evilman.html
http://www.roboawesome.com/?p=14779
http://www.justpushstart.com/2010/10/18/z-h-p-unlosing-ranger-vs-darkdeath-evilman-review/
That's what I thought about the sleep save state. Thought that was weird, seeing as how I'd never heard about a game doing that.
Unfortunately, I have to wait until Z.H.P. is up to get an online game code via Amazon. Cladun was pretty quick to get up there so I'm hoping ZHP is too
Unfortunately, I have to wait until Z.H.P. is up to get an online game code via Amazon. Cladun was pretty quick to get up there so I'm hoping ZHP is too
rainking187
Member
My NISA order shipped, should get here before the end of the week.
ohhthegore
Member
n3ss said:
you don't have psp media manager on your computer?? its soo much quicker for full game downloads
rainking187
Member
So awesome, checked my tracking info this morning and it's listed as missent. It was processed through the post office near my house then sent to a whole different city before someone went "Oops.". Now instead of potentially getting it today I have no idea when I'm going to get it.
AkumaHokoru
Member
this game ROCKS.
Take a rougelike
add N-1 Flair. Hell Hell.
Take a rougelike
add N-1 Flair. Hell Hell.
jaundicejuice
Member
So it's a slightly less masochistic rogue-like (you get improved stats with each death), color me interested. NISA has done a pretty horrible job at selling this game though as it looks like I'm going to have a hell of a time landing a physical copy here in Canada. I've gone through the websites of so many retailers and not one has this game in their system.
Just Amazon.ca and Videogameplus.ca have this game it seems.
Just Amazon.ca and Videogameplus.ca have this game it seems.
AkumaHokoru
Member
Just because your stats improve per death...dont think it isnt masochistic...oh good lord...the things I've seen so far. the first real boss fight is a mindfuck...and thats just the first one...just you wait. Shit gets real. Real Fast.jaundicejuice said:
Knux-Future
Banned
Gamefly did not fail me this time. now watch it not get here until next week....oh that plus finally getting RDR means I should be in for some awesome gaming.
Can't wait.
Can't wait.
Just ran through the intro, pretty cool! And the intro being fully voiced is always good. I'm amused at both the random name generator ("Milf" wut) and how some of the jokes are ("Brick Oldllama").
Great music too. Only ran through the very first tutorial but this looks pretty cool from a very early first impression. I enjoy the roguelike setup.
Though voices seem really low, even after maxing out the volume on them , still had to turn up my PSP a good bit.
Great music too. Only ran through the very first tutorial but this looks pretty cool from a very early first impression. I enjoy the roguelike setup.
Though voices seem really low, even after maxing out the volume on them , still had to turn up my PSP a good bit.
Lance Bone Path
Member
I managed to beat the boss in the first level without grinding level 1-1. (I repeated the tutorial levels to see if the items could be picked up again.
)
As far as taking out the first boss,
As far as general strategy goes...
It's not really a spoiler since the title itself should make it clear, but the story so far has more of a Disgaea 2 vibe to it, which is somewhat unfortunate since that was my least favorite of the series.
The answer is no.
As far as taking out the first boss,
it pretty much comes down to taking advantage of the plethora of items that are lying around (Don't waste them on the small fry). The three pillows are all it should take to kill the boss, as long as you're waking it up with a high powered special move (I was unable to use any specials on it while it was awake). Use a healing item prior to the special attack, if your health gets low, but note that sleep only lasts a few turns.
As far as general strategy goes...
It's crazy expensive to repair equipment!
After the first boss, I ended up deciding to grind a bit to get to the point where having only broken equipment wouldn't get me killed. I haven't gotten killed in a dungeon yet, but I probably should try it to see what happens.
My preferred strategy at this point is to walk into a dungeon empty-handed and naked, pick up/equip everything as I go on, sell almost everything aside from meat whenever I hit a store, and kill everything.
I'm only at story level 2.
After the first boss, I ended up deciding to grind a bit to get to the point where having only broken equipment wouldn't get me killed. I haven't gotten killed in a dungeon yet, but I probably should try it to see what happens.
My preferred strategy at this point is to walk into a dungeon empty-handed and naked, pick up/equip everything as I go on, sell almost everything aside from meat whenever I hit a store, and kill everything.
I'm only at story level 2.
It's not really a spoiler since the title itself should make it clear, but the story so far has more of a Disgaea 2 vibe to it, which is somewhat unfortunate since that was my least favorite of the series.
Pinko Marx
Banned
Lance Bone Path said:
Is that the boss everyone is having problems with? I took him out pretty easy. Dual-Wielding Daggers.
Volcynika said:
No, not just you. I'm really loving the writing in this one.
So, some impressions. Actually, I went to bed a while ago, but the stupid CO alarm went off because its batteries died. ARGH. So now I'm awake, and I'll leave some impressions.
I'm on the second chapter/arc/story-thing? And this game is really good. It's exactly like if you took Disgaea and mashed it in with a rogue-like. You can throw enemies/items, movement is grid-based, but not turn-based (in Disgaea fashion), but in traditional rogue-like style, every 'step' you take, the enemy (if it is moving, or if it has spotted you) will move one step as well. Actions you take also burn a step, so I can see that later on, it will take some smart maneuvering to positions enemies as you want them (for special attacks, to avoid being ganged up on because enemies will help each other out or notice you if other enemies die/cry out within their sight range, etc). For the whole first story arc though, it was only somewhat necessary, as the enemies were easy enough. I'm hoping things get much harder later on.
The game is fast paced enough to make "grinding" painless. (You don't actually have to grind at all, so far, though. With some clever maneuvering/tactics, you can beat the first
real
I've only seen a small set of different items and weapons so far, but it looks like it will be varied enough to keep it interesting. Since everything is very expensive, and equipment wears out pretty fast, you have to learn to use what you pick up or live without. I'm hoping that the synthesizing that's available through the blacksmith opens up more soon, because so far, synthesizing has yielded very few benefits for so much money. The variety in weapons and parts I have seen though looks like it has the potential to get pretty deep, as there are many different stats to chase. And that doesn't even count the body modifications, which I haven't got deep into yet, and I'm still missing three or so more buildings, which I assume will show up after more story events.
That's about it. It's a relatively traditional rogue-like (compared to Cladun, anyway) and while I think Cladun has it beat in terms of creativity and originality, ZHP blows Cladun out of the water with plain old playability. Cladun had a great idea, but I personally think it was marred by a few design decisions (the combat didn't feel right/wasn't varied enough, and the main vs sub stat leveling thing was just annoying and self-defeating). ZHP promises to be much more straightforward and rewarding for anyone just looking for a modern rogue-like with plenty of dungeon-crawling.
Oh, one more quick note about the story. The writing really is superb, and (since I'm now comparing things to Cladun), the story is more tangible. Both games have this wacky, zany randomness to them, but Cladun is far more removed from a coherent plot than ZHP is, which makes the story in ZHP a larger motivator to moving forward and doing stuff. Cladun created a strange setting and a reason for many different characters, mashed it all together, and told you to go into dungeons for the hell of it (and only leave when/if you felt like it for the boss). ZHP has a beginning, middle, and end
several ends, actually
Just my opinion, and I might be back with more impressions later, if anything changes.
Edit: Oh yeah, three more things.
The music is good.
And I can see this "knowing when you power-off in a dungeon thing" can make some people upset, but only because they don't realize that the point isn't to survive, the point is that it's okay to die. You just get back up and do it again. As far as I can tell (and I might be wrong), the only penalty for dying in a dungeon (I did it once to see what would happen) is that you lose all your items. You de-level back to 1 when you finish a dungeon anyway, and items at this stage of the game aren't super rare, and it takes one or two more playthroughs through a dungeon to get just as many items you had before. Moreover, items barely last as it is, so it is unlikely that the items you died with and lost were necessarily going to make or break the game for you (though I guess it could be painful if you had dumped a lot of money into synthesizing, but thems the breaks!), and dungeons aren't super long affairs. I can run through 1-1 now in two minutes or so. So yeah, some people might see it as a problem, but I don't think it's as game-breakingly stupid as some reviewers made it out to be.
There are two "levels" in this game. There is your "level" when you're inside a dungeon, and your "total level". Whenever you go back out to your home base, you're back at level 1. And re-entering a dungeon will allow you to level back up, until you die or finish the dungeon, and you'll be back at level 1. However, the real way to get better and progress is that as you finish a dungeon, the level you got up to will be continually added to a running "total level", which confers stat boosts as you level up to your level-1 self. So each time you go back into a dungeon, you're a stronger you than you were last time you started a dungeon. It's actually kinda neat, and still gives a real sense of progress without making subsequent playthroughs of lower-end dungeons completely pointless because they aren't giving enough experience. The harder the dungeon, the faster you'll level up. So if you're really having trouble progressing in the later levels, you can drop back levels and still raise your total level to improve yourself (even if it won't confer progress quite as fast as the latest levels). At least, that's how it seems to work.
Anyway, loving the game.
ElectricThunder
Member
Go Amazon, actually got my copy in yesterday despite a free super saver shipping option on the pre-order! :lol
Glad to see the impressions are good overall and hopefully the game is very successful.
Glad to see the impressions are good overall and hopefully the game is very successful.
semiconscious
Member
loving the game, but what the hell am i not getting afa implants & chips? managed to implant one, but can't seem to implant any more? does it have to do with the chips having to match colors or something?...
AkumaHokoru
Member
With the exception of the initial mod area you must have chips completely filling the space that the mod will take up (you dont lose the chips the mod is just on top of them the bonus they provide however isnt active while the mod is covering the chips)semiconscious said:
semiconscious said:
I finally sat down and stared at the modifications stuff till I understood it. All the boxes that are gray with a white line through them, you haven't unlocked yet. You can't until you get farther in the story, and then you get unlock points every so many levels to uncover more of those squares. Any "blank" spot, you can put the Ld, La, Sd, Sa, etc (chips) on. I find it best to use 0% COND items for that (they are in red) because they still give the same bonus for modifications, but are useless as items. When you buy booster devices from the nurse, you can then overlay the colorful chips under them, providing another layer of bonuses. Unless the booster device specifies, I don't think it has any relation to the chips under it. Basically, you can lay any number of chips on the board, as long as you have space/items to use, and as long as they are all in some way connected to the center heart (ie, not isolated in a island). Then you place booster devices on top, as efficiently as possible to maximize the number you can place down.
Then you can manipulate the red flow coming out of the heart to go to a particular booster device (and you can see you will unlock later red flow sources), so you can further provide a boost in the way you want.
Chips provide a bonus when you level up when in the dungeon, but make no difference to your "total level" stat increases. They're very useful, as if you lay out the max number you possibly have space for, you will be pretty damn powerful after leveling a couple of times in a dungeon. Most of the time, I'm overpowered by the time I level up to 3 or 4, and most enemies will miss me or do 0 damage. (I've been grinding because the Disgaea love in makes me want to min/max though.) Booster devices increase the power/stat increases of the items you equip (among other types of bonuses, such as increasing inventory space, etc).
You can only place booster devices on a complete bed of chips/gray non-locked out spots. So there are basically three (or four) kinds of spots on the board: open spots (on which chips can be placed), gray default spots (which can't be unlocked, can't have chips put on them, but can have a booster device on top of them), and gray white line through them locked out spots, which you will need to unlock later as you level your total level.
Also note that when putting a booster device on top of chips, the booster device nullifies the bonus of the chips under it (but it needs chips under it to be placed). So it's very much a balancing act of deciding which is more important: equipment passive boosts, or a bigger stat increase when you level up in the dungeon.
My personal experience says that level up bonuses are far more important. In fact, the only booster devices I am using are the inventory increase ones, so I can carry more out of the dungeon.
semiconscious
Member
jiien said:
excellent! - thanks very much for all the info (which neither the manual or tutorial really explain)...
so, having only finished the monkey dungeon, i'm guessing i've only unlocked one square, as all the rest have a slash through them. i can live with that...
AkumaHokoru
Member
you have to kill them. you get a exp bonus for doing so after you kill enough (the game will tell you when you got over your phobia)Volcynika said:
semiconscious said:
Heh, yeah. I hope everything I said is close to accurate, because yeah, the directions in game aren't that helpful and the manual doesn't help at all. I had to try and figure it out.
To add to information dump up above, to enable the red energy flow things from the other body parts, you need to connect to them with chips.
Freyjadour
Member
Been seeing quite a bit of love for this game in numerous places. Ordered from Amazon.
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