JRPG general discussion

Xenji

Hopefully we will see Trails in the Sky the 3rd, although with the length of time need to translate everything it will probably be late 2017 or 2018.

Retr0gamer

Not sure xseed is ready to dedicate itself to another project like that! The localiser on the ATB podcast seemed very burned out. I'd love to see it myself but I hear the second game wraps everything up and the third is more of a side story.

I'd really like to see the games between trails in the sky and cold steel. It's a pity they are being skipped over because Japanese gamers hold those games up with trails in the sky as some of the greatest games ever made.

Trails in the sky though is a remarkable game. It's slow but rewarding, very traditional but modern at the same time and has so much heart, it's a real tear jerker. I really love how it doesn't pander to anime tropes as well with characters like Estelle actively subverting them.

Retr0gamer

Beat SMT Nocturne finally. Superb game up there with Persona 3 and 4 as the best RPG on the PS2.

K.O.Kiki

Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen runs really well on my laptop.

See you guys in 2 months, Gransys awaits.

johnny_ultimate

Well Xenoblade Chronicles X has the worst opening few hours I've played through in a long time. Such an immense amount of tedious exposition and clunky world-building and very little in the way of letting you know how to actually play the damn thing. Throw in the amnesia-riddled protagonist for good measure too.

I'm looking forward to finally being let free into that grand, lush landscape, but those opening chapters are everything JRPGs are mocked for.

Retr0gamer

The secret to enjoying Xenoblade Chronicles X is to RTFM (Read the f***ing manual). The tutorials are very poor and even the manual can be hard to follow so it's worth looking up how some of the mechanics work. Once you get over that go out and explore. Unlike the first Xenoblade the story isn't all that great but just enjoying the world is the real fun.

As for the amnesia riddled protagonist, it's actually handled well in the game. It's not because of some stupid big plot development well into the game. It's because the MC is a faceless cipher you put yourself into. Elma is the real protagonist and you are just following her around on her adventure.

Retr0gamer

So while I wait for the weekend so I can finally get my WiiU back from my parents place and play more Xenoblade I've dived back into Final Fantasy V.

I think I've been spoiled by Shin Megami Tensei games. Playing a Final Fantasy battle system right after Nocturne really puts into perspective how poor the ATB systems are in comparison. Even though FFV has a relatively fast battle system compared to the absolute slogs on the PS1 with their loading times it still feels incredibly slow. I'd kill for an auto battle command to get through easy enemy encounters. Also enemies pose absolutely no threat and I'm in no danger of running out of MP for healing or spells meaning battles are just a matter of going through the same motions. In SMT the changing state of your party as they struggle through a dungeon and the fact that enemies can surprise you with attacks that can leave the party in a very precarious position at any time makes battles interesting and dynamic. You just don't get that from Final Fantasy ATB.

Sieghardt

Valkyria Chronicles Remastered is coming west

$30 Physical release with all the DLC and comes in a steelbook, not bad. Doesnt look like there'll be a demo for Azure Revolution though which is slightly ominous

valkyria.sega.com

Xenji

Breath of Fire III is getting a Vita release next month.

K.O.Kiki

Sieghardt wrote: »

Valkyria Chronicles Remastered is coming west

$30 Physical release with all the DLC and comes in a steelbook, not bad. Doesnt look like there'll be a demo for Azure Revolution though which is slightly ominous

valkyria.sega.com

So, pretty much the Steam release ported to PS4.

Retr0gamer

Xenji wrote: »

Breath of Fire III is getting a Vita release next month.

It's the PSP version though with the dodgy stretched aspect ratio and pants load times.

Sieghardt

Retr0gamer wrote: »

It's the PSP version though with the dodgy stretched aspect ratio and pants load times.

the load times shouldnt be an issue as a download game, that was a UMD problem. Mana Khemia, one of my favourite games, had the same problem

Xenji

Did anyone pick up Final Fantasy Explorers?

penev10

Not liking the new Fire Emblem's business model. You can choose your path through the game but only if you buy more versions of the game, hmmm.

http://www.gamesradar.com/fire-emblem-fates-too-big-one-game-what-you-need-get-full-story/

Maybe all 3 release will only have minor differences ala Pokemon but if its which side of a war you are on it doesn't sound minor to me?

Xenji

penev10 wrote: »

Not liking the new Fire Emblem's business model. You can choose your path through the game but only if you buy more versions of the game, hmmm.

http://www.gamesradar.com/fire-emblem-fates-too-big-one-game-what-you-need-get-full-story/

Maybe all 3 release will only have minor differences ala Pokemon but if its which side of a war you are on it doesn't sound minor to me?

I am just going to pick up the special edition, it has all 3 routes and comes with an artbook.

Everything is the same with all 3 releases up till chapter 6 and then you go the route of the game you bought, if you have the digital version though you get to pick which route you want to take and then the other route is locked till you pay for it.

The Nohr route was designed for fans of the Fire Emblem series before Awakening. The difficulty is brutal, with varied objectives and no opportunities to grind between chapters. The types of units you'll have control of will also be more familiar to fans of past games (knights, cavaliers, wyvern riders, etc).

The Hoshido route was designed for fans of the previous title, Fire Emblem: Awakening. In this route, you choose to side with the nation of Hoshido in defense against the invasion of Nohr. The difficulty is generally easier than the other routes (Although note that the Normal, Hard, and Lunatic difficulty settings from previous titles have been retained, along with Awakening's casual mode, and can be chosen regardless of your chosen path). If you find yourself having trouble, you can always earn experience and gold by participating in skirmishes between chapters, just like in Awakening. Birthright also boasts an army comprised of new Japan-inspired unit types never-before seen in the Fire Emblem franchise, such as Ninjas and Samurai.

Retr0gamer

penev10 wrote: »

Not liking the new Fire Emblem's business model. You can choose your path through the game but only if you buy more versions of the game, hmmm.

http://www.gamesradar.com/fire-emblem-fates-too-big-one-game-what-you-need-get-full-story/

Maybe all 3 release will only have minor differences ala Pokemon but if its which side of a war you are on it doesn't sound minor to me?

Each story is basically a completely different,other than the beginning, full fledged fire emblem game so you are getting three full fire emblems released. I'm picking up the special edition myself.

Word of warning about the special edition, pre order it the minute it is available. I missed my chance with the US version and copies are selling for 250 euros and it's not even released yet. The eu version isn't available for preorder yet but do it immediately!

Sieghardt

Retr0gamer wrote: »

Each story is basically a completely different,other than the beginning, full fledged fire emblem game so you are getting three full fire emblems released. I'm picking up the special edition myself.

Not quite true, the third route is pretty much just a retread of maps from the other two routes and only has one unique character I think. The story is great but it has very little unique content.

Probably also worth noting that the localisation is supposed to be terrible, near 4kids quality. Characters personalities have been entirely changed. Scenes have been cut and half of the characters names have been changed for no reason with their meaning and signifigance lost.

Retr0gamer

Has anyone else checked out the latest FF15 combat trailer? Have to say it's looking very interesting. It shows off stealth combat and actual combat. It reminds me of Last Story which had a very interesting combat system while the battles with bigger enemies seem to take a leaf out of Xenoblade Chonicles X's book with you able to target and destroy specific body parts to negatively affect the enemy. Other than that the other take away is the lighting engine is gorgeous.

I just hope they cut down on the fast enemies like the dogs in the demo that were an absolute pain to keep a bead on.

Retr0gamer

Retr0gamer wrote: »

Has anyone else checked out the latest FF15 combat trailer? Have to say it's looking very interesting. It shows off stealth combat and actual combat. It reminds me of Last Story which had a very interesting combat system while the battles with bigger enemies seem to take a leaf out of Xenoblade Chonicles X's book with you able to target and destroy specific body parts to negatively affect the enemy. Other than that the other take away is the lighting engine is gorgeous.

I just hope they cut down on the fast enemies like the dogs in the demo that were an absolute pain to keep a bead on.

I was watching some the stream they did yesterday, have to say I did get a chuckle about there being a release date for the release date

Seems to have come on a bit from what I played last year in the demo/beta. Ticking a few boxes for me, but stream the footage and commentary was in Japanese so will have to have a look now and see if theres more detail about what they spoke about

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_0dG47wJpY

Retr0gamer

FF13 had a release date for an announcement of the release date video as well It was around March as well I believe and the game came about a year later.

elekid

They patched the FF15 demo so that the dogs stagger when first hit, giving you a chance to attack them properly. I played through it after the update and it was a lot less annoying. I'm really looking forward to the game based on the demo.

Retr0gamer

I'm a bit excited about it now. They really are taking on player feedback and Tabata is a proven game director especially when it comes to real time battle systems. Even if the story is the usual FF rubbish it just looks like a heap of fun, the best of FF12, Xenoblade and Last Story mixed together,

Sephiroth_dude

Ohhh i cant wait till we get a release date

Retr0gamer

Rpgamer.com's 2015 awards are out. Not many surprises but nice that there is at least somewhere that gave Atelier Shallie and the Legend of Heroes games the recognition they deserve.

http://www.rpgamer.com/awards/2015/index.html

Sieghardt

Nice, I have the lionheart edition sitting on my desk, but I only just finished FC

That ending man ;_;

in FF15 I think the enemies should have a longer respawn time, it's way too fast atm and you just get constantly mobbed, it makes exploring less enjoyable

super_furry

Dived back into Dragon Quest IX on the DS and am absolutely loving it. It's such a well crafted story and every side mission and quest feels worthwhile. Surprisingly good looking too for such an old handheld.

More and more I'm playing JRPGs exclusively on the go. Picked up Tales of Heart R in the Vita sale for a stupidly good price and tempted to get Dungeon Travellers 2 - anyone played it?

Retr0gamer

I put in about 200 hours into Dragon Quest 9. I got heavily addicted to the post game power levelling my party using those king metal slime only dungeons which were an ordeal to get. I finally gave up when I realised how much more hours I could put into it but I enjoyed every minute of it.

Dragon Quest always has really great stories but found DQ9 to be the weakest of them even if it was a step above the usual JRPG nonsense.

If you want a really good Dragon Quest story I'd recommend the DS version of DQ5 which is a good shout for best JRPG of all time.

K.O.Kiki

Disgaea PC (Steam + limited edition disc) announced:

http://store.nisamerica.com/disgaea-pc-deluxe-dood-edition

-Updated UI and textures
-Keyboard/Mouse and controller support
-Includes all content from Disgaea: Afternoon of Darkness
-New Steam features, such as Achievements, Cloud Saves, Badges, and Trading Cards

Deluxe disc:
-Etna and Flonne's Netherworld Guide - 44pg. hardcover art book (5.353" x 7.497")
-Disgaea PC Original Soundtrack - 32 tracks, jewel case (View Full Track List)
-Collector's Box
-Digital copy of Disgaea PC including digital art book and soundtrack - redeemable through Steam (emailed)

megaten

7th Dragon III got announced for America yesterday. I hope it comes over here since it looks interesting.

Xenji

The release date of Final Fantasy XV will be announced on the 30th of March.

Also people should steer clear of the Tales of Symphonia PC port for the moment, it is a real mess.