Okay, so I've spent a considerable more time playing Etrian Odyssey III, and I can honestly say that I'm loving it. I can't remember the last time I was this drawn into an RPG. Maybe back when I was playing Final Fantasy X-2, Final Fantasy Tactics Advance, Golden Sun: The Lost Age, or Pokemon Gold? As you can see, I'm a much bigger fan of RPGs on handheld systems versus consoles, even with less cutscenes and nice graphics.
I've come to realize drawing the map is much more interesting than I originally thought. By giving the player the map right off the bat, the player would already know where to go to find the staircase, boss, event, etc. But by not giving the player the map, the development team created an old school dungeon crawler, which is extremely rare to find these days. I'm talking about games like Phantasy Star, Shining in the Darkness, and others just like them. I'm betting two guys from the development staff sat down a decade ago thinking, man, I think it's about time the dungeon crawler came back, or better yet, the text adventure! But the other guy said, "Guys, no one wants to play those games, because they're too hard. Who wants to get frustrated trying to figure their way around a dungeon, the whole time also trying to remember the whole dungeon layout?" They all agreed that the smartest players would draw the map out on paper, space for space, and the same thing with text adventures with each "room". So the game never got made. In 2006, the DS came out, and it had a touch screen. At that point, I bet it hit those developers hard, the possibilites of having a bottom screen which could be drawn upon. The dungeon crawler was reborn, and as bonus, they added plenty of text adventure flavor to it as well. I love randomly coming across a plot point, asking if I want to do something or not, with having an outcome to either my characters or the story. As an example, I've been helping a kid (although I think he's a kid...) through the floors, and he's been happy for it. The past time I ran into him, he wanted me to help him defeat the boss of the first stratum, but unfortunately I was not prepared yet for that battle, so I turned down his offer. He didn't seem very happy, but I was being honest, and knew that if I tried to help him and failed, it might have an effect on the game. Being honest can really have an effect on the gameplay, which is really cool. Maybe not that situation, but I played it as though it did. Not many games can get me to role-play along with them. I know I'll see that kid later.
My characters are leveling up nicely by the way. I spent quite a bit of time grinding yesterday, because that boss was hard. I felt GREAT after I beat that boss. It was the same feeling that one gets after beating a tough final boss of a video game, except that it's actually the first boss of the game. Like a friend told me, the game is tough, but it's not unfair. I lost the first time I fought the boss, but I learned what my mistakes were, and what I needed to do to defeat it. I leveled up each character about 3-5 levels, gained some important abilities (revive being one of them), and brought along a TON of items. My Wildling summoned the insect, and while it didn't hit poison very often, it took quite a few hits instead of my other characters, which was nice. All my others just became more powerful, thanks to buying all the best weapons and armor. As for my "idea" of how to break the game, it's pretty simple. My hoplite has learned an ability called provoke, which draws all enemy attacks to him for three turns. He's also learning two other moves, which may nullify all physical and elemental damage... if those passive abilities work while having all attacks aimed at him, then my team will be a force to be reckoned with. We'll be untouchable, depending on those abilities working. And then I'll have a subclass to add onto the Hoplite. Right now I'm thinking Buccaneer, though that could change. With Buccaneer abilities, I could have my Hoplite hitting enemies multiple times on one turn. I'll have to research all classes though, to decide what's the most appropriate.
I'll also say that I'm on the 6th floor, halfway through the second stratum. I'm really enjoying the second stratum, with the water currents pushing in different directions. It gives a new level of thought and difficulty to the game, just like mud did in the first stratum. Enemies are also considerably more difficult, but that's not surprising. Finally, I've spent a bunch of time sailing on the ocean, and I'm very happy they added that to the game. It's a nice sidequest kind of idea, and it brings in quite a bit of money. I'll blog more as I get further, though I doubt they'll be this long.
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Monday, September 27, 2010
Etrian Odyssey III
So thanks to a mishap with a friend's game (wasn't the first time, unfortunately), I came into possession of Etrian Odyssey III. While his game was probably worth more than $10 (just the cartridge), he was "kind" enough to "make" me buy Etrian Odyssey III, and giving me $10. So instead of paying him around $20 for the other game, I "had" to buy EO3, basically so I would play with him, and I might enjoy it as well.
Turns out that I love the game. It's been quite a long time since I've become this engrossed with an RPG. I really enjoy being able to customize each character, even if there really aren't that many abilities. RPGs in the Final Fantasy series, along with others I've played, offer many more abilities to many more varieties of classes, but none of them feel like they have as much of an impact on the gameplay. What I mean is that in most RPGs I play, I really don't care about protective abilities, like reflecting magic, powering up agility, defense, power, etc, and basically all non-attacking abilities. Those abilities are neat, but honestly aren't needed much, or are only needed in like one or two battles in the game. They feel tacked on, because the developers know that they need to put those abilities in the game. The original Final Fantasy games made sure those moves were useful, and needed to be a smart player. I feel like since then, they've just been adding those abilities in just for the sake of being a Final Fantasy game (or other RPG game, following the trend).
The map making in the game is nothing of what I expected. What I had originally imagined was something along the lines of a game where you physically make the map, deciding where certain map "pieces" go. It sounds bizarre unless you've played Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories... which means I'm one of the few people in this country who understands what I'm talking about. Kingdom Hearts deserves its own post, not now. The level is already laid out, except the game doesn't give you a map. I like having to draw where all the walls are and where certain events and enemies appear. Sure Atlus could have given the gamer the map, and the gameplay wouldn't change a ton, but it wouldn't feel as involved. I dunno, I don't know how to explain the feeling.
But back to the abilities, and the fighting alongside them. The fighting to me isn't that revolutionary, it comes across as many other dungeon crawlers do. It feels different though, and I think it's because of what I mentioned before, the abilities. Right now I'm fighting with a Hoplite (Kyle), Monk (Lucca), Buccaneer (Marle), Arbalist (Nate) and Wildling (Rahil). Yes, the names come from friends and game characters. It will remain that way with new characters as well. Now that I'm nearing the end of the first stratum, my team is starting to come together. I'm beginning to learn how to use moves in conjunction with each other, and how characters can help each other out. It reminds me of games like Chrono Trigger, how characters can use moves together. However in this game, they do not have team up abilities (discounting Limits), but have moves that change with how other characters fight. I love it, and I feel like it makes sense, that finally a developer figured out how a battle should work, and how characters should team up and change tactics according to how others fight in battle.
As far as leveling up goes, I've begun to look down the line to what abilities I want my characters to have, and it's looking bright. Most characters are leveling up nicely, and my Wildling is finally becoming a force to be reckoned with. I never summoned creatures with him because in the first two floors, I never came across battles that would last long enough to summon the creature and do enough damage to be worth the TP. But now that I'm on the third and fourth floors, I'm coming across some more difficult enemies in packs, leading to longer battles. I love my insect. It only does about 1-2 damage per hit, but the physical attack is not what the summons are for. Three quarters of the time the hit will also land poison on the enemy, and on average the poison does 86 damage to that enemy at the end of each turn. That's quite a bit of damage per turn, not even including the Wildling itself doing 60 damage a turn, and the insect taking damage instead of my other characters. And this is an insect that's level 3/10. I can't wait to gain other summon abilities, specifically the lion, which is what I'm aiming for. Once the lion wakes up, it stuns and paralyzes the enemy. That sounds fantastic for bosses. I should also mention that one of my five characters will be breaking the game in about 15 levels or so. If my thinking is correct, I'll have one character who will have abilities that will basically break the game, potentially making tough battles a breeze. And then I'll be able to add a subclass to this character, which makes my head spin with the possibilities to how powerful this character could be. Unfortunately I can't post what I plan to do, because I don't know if it will work, and don't want to sound like a fool getting my hopes up. Oh who am I fooling, I'm definitely getting my hopes up and excited to where this game is headed.
Turns out that I love the game. It's been quite a long time since I've become this engrossed with an RPG. I really enjoy being able to customize each character, even if there really aren't that many abilities. RPGs in the Final Fantasy series, along with others I've played, offer many more abilities to many more varieties of classes, but none of them feel like they have as much of an impact on the gameplay. What I mean is that in most RPGs I play, I really don't care about protective abilities, like reflecting magic, powering up agility, defense, power, etc, and basically all non-attacking abilities. Those abilities are neat, but honestly aren't needed much, or are only needed in like one or two battles in the game. They feel tacked on, because the developers know that they need to put those abilities in the game. The original Final Fantasy games made sure those moves were useful, and needed to be a smart player. I feel like since then, they've just been adding those abilities in just for the sake of being a Final Fantasy game (or other RPG game, following the trend).
The map making in the game is nothing of what I expected. What I had originally imagined was something along the lines of a game where you physically make the map, deciding where certain map "pieces" go. It sounds bizarre unless you've played Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories... which means I'm one of the few people in this country who understands what I'm talking about. Kingdom Hearts deserves its own post, not now. The level is already laid out, except the game doesn't give you a map. I like having to draw where all the walls are and where certain events and enemies appear. Sure Atlus could have given the gamer the map, and the gameplay wouldn't change a ton, but it wouldn't feel as involved. I dunno, I don't know how to explain the feeling.
But back to the abilities, and the fighting alongside them. The fighting to me isn't that revolutionary, it comes across as many other dungeon crawlers do. It feels different though, and I think it's because of what I mentioned before, the abilities. Right now I'm fighting with a Hoplite (Kyle), Monk (Lucca), Buccaneer (Marle), Arbalist (Nate) and Wildling (Rahil). Yes, the names come from friends and game characters. It will remain that way with new characters as well. Now that I'm nearing the end of the first stratum, my team is starting to come together. I'm beginning to learn how to use moves in conjunction with each other, and how characters can help each other out. It reminds me of games like Chrono Trigger, how characters can use moves together. However in this game, they do not have team up abilities (discounting Limits), but have moves that change with how other characters fight. I love it, and I feel like it makes sense, that finally a developer figured out how a battle should work, and how characters should team up and change tactics according to how others fight in battle.
As far as leveling up goes, I've begun to look down the line to what abilities I want my characters to have, and it's looking bright. Most characters are leveling up nicely, and my Wildling is finally becoming a force to be reckoned with. I never summoned creatures with him because in the first two floors, I never came across battles that would last long enough to summon the creature and do enough damage to be worth the TP. But now that I'm on the third and fourth floors, I'm coming across some more difficult enemies in packs, leading to longer battles. I love my insect. It only does about 1-2 damage per hit, but the physical attack is not what the summons are for. Three quarters of the time the hit will also land poison on the enemy, and on average the poison does 86 damage to that enemy at the end of each turn. That's quite a bit of damage per turn, not even including the Wildling itself doing 60 damage a turn, and the insect taking damage instead of my other characters. And this is an insect that's level 3/10. I can't wait to gain other summon abilities, specifically the lion, which is what I'm aiming for. Once the lion wakes up, it stuns and paralyzes the enemy. That sounds fantastic for bosses. I should also mention that one of my five characters will be breaking the game in about 15 levels or so. If my thinking is correct, I'll have one character who will have abilities that will basically break the game, potentially making tough battles a breeze. And then I'll be able to add a subclass to this character, which makes my head spin with the possibilities to how powerful this character could be. Unfortunately I can't post what I plan to do, because I don't know if it will work, and don't want to sound like a fool getting my hopes up. Oh who am I fooling, I'm definitely getting my hopes up and excited to where this game is headed.
Monday, September 6, 2010
Metroid: Other M, Completion
So I finally finished Metroid: Other M a few nights ago. I waited a couple of days to spend some time gathering my thoughts on what to make of the game. This was not a typical Metroid game, but it definitely had the Metroid charm still intact. I also had to keep thinking about how I could even write this blog, avoiding all spoilers.
Unlike many reviews out there, I found the story to be quite interesting. If there are any problems with it, I would say it's that I'm still not a big fan of making Samus look weak and fragile, and that some of the cutscenes are a little lengthy. I like the cutscenes, as they add depth to the story, it's just that it can be a bit odd setting down the controller in my lap to watch a five or so minute scene, after an intense battle.
And boy were some of those battles intense. The developers did a great job with spacing out the battles, and boss battles came as a surprise. In other Metroid games, you knew when a boss battle was about to begin, after entering a rather large room with low music. But many times in Other M, you could enter a giant room only to find it empty with a few common enemies, only to enter a much smaller room not much further on containing a boss/mini boss. Boss battles also aren't rewarding, like other Nintendo games. There usually aren't health, weapon or suit upgrades after battles, which I think is awesome. It's pretty much like saying that the enemy just fought was just part of the game, and nothing more. Why should a larger enemy be so much more special than the common enemy just before it?
That's not to say that the developers did not value the boss battles. Let's just say one battle later in the game is probably one of my top five favorite boss battles in all the Metroid games I've played. They played out that scene perfectly. The atmosphere, cutscene, music, and a very fun battle all combined to form something awesome. It also wasn't until I was later viewing the artwork gallery (common with all recent Metroid games after completion) that I found that a later boss was big fanservice, bringing back a less common boss from a previous Metroid game. Was it the same boss? Of course not, the two bosses had totally different attacks, but unless I'm mistaken, their design is eerily similar.
Oh, and to the reviewer who said that the story was very predictable? I disagree. I kept trying to guess what was going to happen throughout the whole game. The game actually forces the player to do so, with one part of the story arc. On one hand, I was right with how the game ended. On the other hand, I was way off, and the developers did a fantastic job throwing in some twists. One twist I will fondly remember, and it makes me smile every time I think about it.
Overall, I would give the game anywhere from a 8.5 to a 9.0. Yes, my scores went up a little bit as a finished the game. Was it still brutally difficult? Definitely, but the game is really about figuring about the enemy's pattern, and perfecting Samus's attacking forms. That doesn't mean I'm about to start playing Hard Mode. No thanks, I'll pass, unless it unlocks more cutscenes (very doubtful). And to the developer who said about a month ago that even the hardcore gamers wouldn't find more than 30% of the items in the first playthrough? I finished at 100%, so don't go thinking that the items are THAT hard to find, because they aren't. I would say every Metroid game, besides Corruption, have harder items to find, so chew on that.
Finally, thanks to dialogue, I learned that Aran is actually pronounced like the name Aaron/Erin. Even more surprising, Zebes is not pronounced like "Zeebs" as I originally thought. It is pronounced more like Crevice...I was way off.
Unlike many reviews out there, I found the story to be quite interesting. If there are any problems with it, I would say it's that I'm still not a big fan of making Samus look weak and fragile, and that some of the cutscenes are a little lengthy. I like the cutscenes, as they add depth to the story, it's just that it can be a bit odd setting down the controller in my lap to watch a five or so minute scene, after an intense battle.
And boy were some of those battles intense. The developers did a great job with spacing out the battles, and boss battles came as a surprise. In other Metroid games, you knew when a boss battle was about to begin, after entering a rather large room with low music. But many times in Other M, you could enter a giant room only to find it empty with a few common enemies, only to enter a much smaller room not much further on containing a boss/mini boss. Boss battles also aren't rewarding, like other Nintendo games. There usually aren't health, weapon or suit upgrades after battles, which I think is awesome. It's pretty much like saying that the enemy just fought was just part of the game, and nothing more. Why should a larger enemy be so much more special than the common enemy just before it?
That's not to say that the developers did not value the boss battles. Let's just say one battle later in the game is probably one of my top five favorite boss battles in all the Metroid games I've played. They played out that scene perfectly. The atmosphere, cutscene, music, and a very fun battle all combined to form something awesome. It also wasn't until I was later viewing the artwork gallery (common with all recent Metroid games after completion) that I found that a later boss was big fanservice, bringing back a less common boss from a previous Metroid game. Was it the same boss? Of course not, the two bosses had totally different attacks, but unless I'm mistaken, their design is eerily similar.
Oh, and to the reviewer who said that the story was very predictable? I disagree. I kept trying to guess what was going to happen throughout the whole game. The game actually forces the player to do so, with one part of the story arc. On one hand, I was right with how the game ended. On the other hand, I was way off, and the developers did a fantastic job throwing in some twists. One twist I will fondly remember, and it makes me smile every time I think about it.
Overall, I would give the game anywhere from a 8.5 to a 9.0. Yes, my scores went up a little bit as a finished the game. Was it still brutally difficult? Definitely, but the game is really about figuring about the enemy's pattern, and perfecting Samus's attacking forms. That doesn't mean I'm about to start playing Hard Mode. No thanks, I'll pass, unless it unlocks more cutscenes (very doubtful). And to the developer who said about a month ago that even the hardcore gamers wouldn't find more than 30% of the items in the first playthrough? I finished at 100%, so don't go thinking that the items are THAT hard to find, because they aren't. I would say every Metroid game, besides Corruption, have harder items to find, so chew on that.
Finally, thanks to dialogue, I learned that Aran is actually pronounced like the name Aaron/Erin. Even more surprising, Zebes is not pronounced like "Zeebs" as I originally thought. It is pronounced more like Crevice...I was way off.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)