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OK, I was browsing the coming soon on Gamefly and came upon this game. I've never heard of it, but it looks very promising to me. Anyone have details, aside from this old preview?
http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/682/682208p1.html
This preview is more recent.
Seems to have gotten a decent review in the latest EGM, B-.
I need to lower my radar. I hadn't noticed that one was out soon. Unfortunately there is no word on a European release :/
(Local stores wouldn't know. They didn't even know they had Shiren the Wanderer on the shelves!)
I'm going to Gamefly it first. This strikes me as the kind of game that could get mixed reviews to the point that I'll have to try it out first either way. But it looks very promising to me. Reminds me a bit of a TBS version of Dragon Force, which is something I've always wanted.
Actually, EGM gave this game a B (or maybe B+). The only real knock on it was the graphics. I'm writing this because someone started another thread asking about it.
Yeah that was me. My search fu must be really weak since I didn't find this thread. A B isn't bad but not entirely sure I'd want to go off of just EGM's opinion.Originally Posted by Robert Sharp
I've played it for a couple hours now, and it's kind of a mixed bag. The story may as well have been ripped straight out of Generic Fantasy Anime #83, right down to the cutscenes, mediocre voice acting, dialogue full of overwrought melodrama, etc.
It looks like there might be some decent depth to the combat system, though. Nowhere near, say, Disgaea's crazy array of options, but there's an emphasis on setting things up for combo attacks in different ways: assists, where you can get a nearby teammate to join in mid-attack; teamwork attacks, which seems to give another teammate an extra turn for the round; and battle formations, where the entire team attacks. The different levels of attacks (light, medium, heavy) can have different effects tied to them, so for example the medium attack might do elemental damage and the heavy attack might knock the enemy back two squares.
There's a bit of a strategic part to it in that there are multiple kingdoms fighting each other over territories on a world map, and you have a friendship rating with each one and can help them attack other kingdoms or just hunt monsters in their lands. I'm not sure if there's any real effect or long-term aspect to it other than just determining which areas of the map you can hunt in, though. You can even work for the 'bad guys' if you want, but again I'm not sure if there's any real consequence to it.
The most annoying things so far are that exp is awarded mainly for kills, so you wind up with certain characters that leap ahead of the others (some exp is awarded for healing and buffing, and there's a bonus exp pool to spend freely, but not nearly as much), and the healer you start out with is a bit tricky to use. Get him close enough to the others to cast, and he often winds up getting swarmed, and he has to stay alive for the combo attacks to work.
It'd probably satisfy you if you're just itching for an SRPG, but it's kind of pricey at the full $60. It just doesn't feel polished enough to sit at that price point unless you're a fanatic.
Edit: Oh, and I haven't run into this myself yet, but I've seen this warning elsewhere: use the save slots liberally, as you may find yourself needing to go back to before a mission. Most of the time you'll be free to take and redo various monster-hunting missions, but if you take a certain one, you'll be forced into doing the next story mission afterwards, even if your party isn't ready for it yet and needs to grind a bit more.
Last edited by Fugitive; 08-03-2008 at 07:50 PM.
This sounds like a definite bargain bin title for me!
Yeah, this is pretty much B-grade filler until the heavier hitters come later this year, IMO. I've played around with it a bit and there is a decent game there under the layers of obtuse UI and PS1 graphics... but it's a pretty repetitive one so far.
Aside from Achievements, I have a hard time justifying why I would possibly play this instead of FF Tactics A2, either of the Disgaea games, or even Wild Arms XF.
There's a Wild Arms SRPG?
Given how badly Spectral Souls turned out, I'm just glad to hear this one is playable.
On the PSP. It has some surprisingly interesting play mechanics, and I can't remember anything about the story (take that as you will).
That's OK. I can't remember the story to any SRPG I've ever played.
Ever played Vandal Hearts? For some reason that story has stuck with me. Especially the very beginning.
Final Fantasy Tactics is very fresh in my mind, but I couldn't believe I was playing a Square game based on the socio-economic consequences of the Hundred Years' War.
Seconded.
I have played Vandal Hearts. I loved that game at the time. But no, I don't remember the story at all. Come to think of it, I don't remember the story for most JRPGs.
I received Spectral Force 3 via GameFly last night. Put it in the 360, played through the first two missions, and while reading the dialog between missions, it locked up my 360 hard. Had to power down and up again.
Anyone had this happen?
So, far not too impressed, either.
Exact same thing happened to me McGlumphy. After I reloaded that mission went fine.
I just decided to pick this up since I was jonesing for a good SRPG. I haven't had any crashes or lock-ups.
The game is decent enough but the story seems like a total rip from Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance.
Nice crafting system, right down to making tech scrolls and spells in addition to weapon upgrades and armors. It does seem to drag a bit at first, though. The game seems to want me to level up on monster hunts before allowing me to jump into the faction wars. I'm not sure if this is a good thing or bad yet. I'm hoping the addiction factor kicks in soon because so far 3 to 4 hours in, I have no problem shutting the game down if favor of logging in to WoW.
This one is pretty cheap now ($20 new) and I may pick it up tonight. How long are the missions, and are you able to save in the middle of a mission? Any more impressions?
Agreed...I still replay the first one every other year or so. The second one is right up there for 'Generic Fantasy story #44' though. :/
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