c/nintendos’s Official Head of VNs
As for starting from 3rd EO game, I’ll probably find it difficult to do. Have this weird need to start from the earliest game, at least when it’s playable on current systems.
EO1 is still good, just much simpler/basic.
And while we are on the topic, I got Vaporum on last sale, it has been on my wishlist for quite a while, have you played that?
No, I had not, and it looks great! Added to my wishlist.
I have never played Etrian Odyssey, the collection is on my wishlist though, have heard a lot about them.
EO is the GOAT among DRPGs. Though I’d recommend picking up only EO3 instead of the whole bundle if you’re new to the genre, the first two games are good but considerably more dated, so I’d only recommend them for more hardcore fans.
Map drawing in the HD versions is awkward compared to the touchscreen in the DS (though I hear it works well in handheld mode if you get a stylus), but it still has some of the best dungeons, party building and customization in the genre. And insane Yuzo Koshiro OSTs.
Really wish we get a 4/5/Nexus pack sometime in the future, EO3 is amazing but I think EO5 is still the best one.
Playing Super Robot Wars Y Anniversary Expansion Pack!
According to the Akurasu wiki I’m ~60% done.
Story-wise the DLC is an alternate final chapter for the game where a new enemy shows up and completely changes the power balance between the different groups, with both heroes and villains scrambling to adjust their plans. The game is really hyping this new group of antagonists, there was a chapter with the main game final boss absolutely terrified of them - so I’m curious if the eventual battle against them will live up to this hype.
It also feels like a “here’s all the stuff people kept asking for us to add” batch, with Witch From Mercury S2 content, more participation of DLC characters in the storyline, and even a bunch of new combination attacks mixing mechs from different franchies.
Playing Etrian Odyssey 3 HD!
This is one of my all-time favorite Dungeon Crawlers and I’ve beaten it way back in the the DS, but I have an ongoing save in the remastered version that I boot from time to time to continue.
I’ve reached the 3rd Stratum and spent some time figuring out which subclasses to use. I’m trying some different builds and classes so let’s see if it’ll work out.
Finally, I’ve started testing demos for some upcoming JRPGs.
I’m loving the first hour of Final Fantasy Resonance (Switch 1, Switch 2) and have Another Eden Begins queued up next (Switch 1, Switch 2).
Also a game that’s notoriously difficult in the western release due to huge nerfs applied to character stats in this version.
It’s fairly easy to get OP in OT2.
Game is very open and rewards exploration, you can grind enemies 10 levels higher if you’re careful (treat them like mini-bosses), and it’s not hard to reach cities with higher-level gear early (and money is plentiful if you keep stealing stuff from NPCs). Also has many easy-to-reach chests in higher level dungeons with good gear.
Late game you also have this trick I showed in the video - an expensive to hire NPC that can get you 100x EXP or 100x JP bonuses if you’re lucky, but you can ensure you get max value with some save scumming. Gear matter far more than levels in this game, so this feels like a bonus the developers threw in case you need to catch-up some characters or just want to power-level a bit.
Sad to see this go, it was my favorite interface to use CR, IIRC I got more than 1k hours of use of this app over the years.
But with the Switch 2 not supporting any video apps at all it was obvious this wouldn’t last long.
Finished Octopath Traveler II!
It was very nice of the developers to give us a good “power leveling” option late game, which also led to some rather amusing moments like this (no significant spoilers in the video). Anyway, I quickly ended up very overleveled and the last few chapters were a breeze, I beat Agnea’s final boss in two attacks. 😀
Awesome final chapter and epilogue, I really wish future games lean more on moments like that with the whole party. Definitely going to pick up OT0, and may even give OT1 another chance after this.
Playing Super Robot Wars Y Anniversary Expansion Pack!
Back to this but only did one more mission. Looks like we’re getting the Witch From Mercury S2 content.
Playing Octopath Traveler II!
Lots of progress. I’m working the final chapter for each of the protagonists, finished Scholar and Thief yesterday and will do Cleric next. I’m rather overleved/overgeared since I did a LOT of exploration, so I didn’t have any trouble at all with the bosses so far.
It’s a “TP-less” system using a new resource called CC (“Chain Capacity”).
Different attacks or skills use different amounts of CC, and it recharges naturally after standing still or blocking for a short time. However… there’s different actions that also recharge CC such as sidestepping enemy attacks, meaning that if you’re playing properly you get the chance to attack again faster or extend your combo. The combo system is also more flexible with less strict ordering of skills, you can even chain combos into spells to reduce casting time. Overall it feels more like a traditional fighting game than your usual Tales battle system.
Also, there’s some very unique characters to play. Like Pascal, which is a mage with a gun-staff with most of her spells being AOE around her. Combos with her involve melee into ranged, into dashing and casting short-range spells. If you don’t mind spoilers here’s a video showing a complex late-game combo using her: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WtfWlLga20k
One important thing to mention is that the game has a very slow start, the first couple hours have you play an extended prologue of sorts during the main cast’s childhood, and the battle system only starts unlocking past that.
I still have a few Tales games to play before Aris
My usual recommendation for Tales games is Graces F. Story is standard “power of friendship”, but has the best battle gameplay in the series and a great cast with hilarious interactions (in particular in the “Lineage & Legacies” extended epilogue).
I also have to include some praise for Berseria, the gameplay is not as good (very “button mashy”) but the cast is amazing, honestly one of the all-time best “band of misfits” teams in gaming.
Some of my friends (not big JRPG fans) had issues with pacing in the second half of the game, and ended up dropping the game.
I’m a both a JRPG fan and and huge Tales fanboy (played all games, even the ones that never got officially localized) and I agree 100%. Game starts great but loses a lot of steam midway, plus it has the fairly common Tales issue of a rushed final act where you see obvious cuts due to time or budget constraints.
Also has one of the most boring final dungeons in recent JRPG history with a ton of incredibly annoying damage sponge enemies.
so maybe it’s just me who has changed.
Always possible, but a lot of friends of mine said similar things about RDR2.
Playing Octopath Traveler II!
Played a lot of this game and the main conclusion is that I absolutely love the exploration and combat, but don’t care much about the story.
I spent most of the week going around the world, opening new paths, killing monsters, unlocking jobs and robbing people of their belongings. Only started moving with the plot again yesterday and I’m massively overleveled (30-40 when the current story quests are 15-18), which helps make these parts go fast.
Also did my first few “Crossed Paths” chapters, and they’re quite good, but it’s sad they only cover 4 “pairs” of characters. Would definitely enjoy seeing more combinations in future games.
And it felt like 8 solo adventures, instead of a single campaign.
The main stories are still like this, though now we have additional stories called “Crossed Paths” focused on pairs of characters to give them more interaction. I also heard the final chapter has the stories coming together decently, but I’m still very far from that so I’ll comment when I’m done with the game.
Not sure if that’s enough to get you interested but it’s a nice improvement.
I’ve only played it on PC and Switch, but Into the Breach is one of my favorite strategy games and the interface is excellent on touch. The randomized campaigns of short turn-based maps is excellent for short play sessions, and has a ton of replayability with a lot of unlockable squads.
Sadly AFAIK it’s only available in mobile for Netflix subscribers. But if you are one it’s free.
Finished Opus: Echo of Starsong !
Fantastic atmosphere and worldbuilding, strong start and a decent ending, but gets held back by its weak and repetitive middle and very limited exploration/resource management gameplay.
Playing Octopath Traveler II!
When I played the first Octopath game I was really enjoying the general gameplay, but gave up midway because it was just too goddamn grindy.
After a lot of research I decided to give the second game a shot, and so far it’s much better. Very similar in structure and gameplay to the first game, but the non-boss battles are easier and quicker, money isn’t as much of an issue, and the cast is more enjoyable.
Hoping it stays this way till the end. I’ve recruited 5/8 charaters and I’m now working on getting the full party before proceeeding.
Playing Super Robot Wars Y Anniversary Expansion Pack!
Yay, one final DLC pack for this one. English trailer is here, looks like this time we’re getting “Witch from Mercury” Season 2 units and what appears to be an alternate version of Chapter 7.
They also brought back Crow and the Librasta, one of my favorite protagonists in the series! It’s obviously to draw hype for the SRWZ2 remake they just announced, but I’m happy to see him again.
Got my first Switch 2 game (Star Fox), now I just need the console. 😆 Should be getting it in a week or two.
Finished Majogami!
The “post-game” ending was a lot more satisfying. If you play this game make sure to go through the “Encore” chapter and the extra boss. Overall a fine, 7/10 game. Nothing amazing, but I had a good time.
Playing Opus: Echo of Starsong !
A story-focused game with an odd mix of gameplay elements, combining point-and-click adventure with space exploration and resource management. But I think the gameplay parts are rather basic leaving most of the focus on the story, so it’s best to approach this one as a “visual novel with more interactive elements”.
And… the story has been underwhelming so far. Maybe because I’ve seen so much praise for this game before and I came with high hopes, but I’m really getting annoyed on how “static” the main cast is - Jun gets some strong development early on, but after that it doesn’t feel like the characters are changing at all, their behavior (including some very annoying issues) is the same even after several adventures and even a time skip of a few years.
But one thing I’m loving is the worldbuilding. There’s a lot of backstory for the “Thousand Peaks” star system, both in the ancient ruins left by a long-lost ancient civilization and the constant tension between the different groups due to the scars left by a war only a few years back.
I don’t think I have much left on this one, will probably finish it over the weekend.
What are your overall thoughts on Majogami? Or is that for next week when you have fully finished it?
Honest review: “It’s OK”. 😆
Bosses are good, stages could use more variety. Overall there’s nothing really bad in the package, but also nothing that makes me say “this is awesome”.
AWS having issues + the billion dollar company pushing for a digital-only future not knowing concepts like “cloud redundancy”.
Hilarious timing for a 6h+ downtime/instability, with all the controversy about them killing physical games and lack of response from Sony.
Double posting, but since you asked about it: I finished both demos, both fairly long at ~4h each.
FF Resonance: Extremely impressed with the demo. They’re doing some really cool stuff with the HD-2D engine, the opening scenes are a good example. I can’t find good words to describe it, but the mix of more realistic images with pixel art looks very unique. Gameplay is great, with a lot of customization options, and quite balanced in a way that is challenging without being too overwhelming. It’s a Day 1 purchase for me now.
Another Eden: Writing and gameplay is very basic, it’s ridiculously easy, and I wasn’t into the toy-like (mobile-like?) visuals for the characters at first… but the game grew up on me as I played, and I’m very curious where the plot will go. Will probably get it if I can find a good price (MSRP being $40 helps).