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Denver, 4:10 PM
Tue Dec 1
65 posts in the last 24 hours
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11/30/09
So I tried the demo and felt that the battle system was just as bad as it looked, but then something compelled me at the time to go ahead and buy it anyway. The demo and videos didn't do the game justice.
It's really boring near the beginning when you don't really have many party members, because the battle system doesn't scale down to that few members in an entertaining way. You really get this feeling that the game is playing itself and you wonder why you're even bothering to play.
As you progress though, more people join your party and the battle system gets a bit more exciting. I realized that it requires a bit of a different perspective, where in previous games each party member would be an individual and could hold their own, they are now organized in groups and you can then treat each group as a single party member.
Thinking about it that way, my aversion to the group party style disappeared and I really began to enjoy the game. Even their health is displayed pooled together, so it's like you're taking all of the traits and abilities of each character and finding the most survivable/powerful mixture of them for each group. You still have a fun time going up against tough bosses, tweaking your groupings and battle choices to survive the encounter.
The leaders do still have these limit-break type abilities, so in a sense some aspects of the individual can outshine the group in a time of need. While it would have been more comfortable if the battle system was the same old stuff, I think the game was more enjoyable this way.
If they could recreate the same experience on the PS3 that you could get on the PC, it would definitely be worth releasing it. However, it sounds like it may be too late for them to bother investing resources into releasing a PS3 version.
11/30/09
PS3 doesn't have enough JRPGs yet, and I'm not too difficult when it comes to games.
A game doesn't have to be a perfect 9+/10 for me to enjoy it.
Hopefully if it does come out for PS3 they'll fix what's wrong with the game, but if not, I'm pretty sure I could still get some enjoyment out of the game.
11/30/09
Had they been able to get the game to run better for it's initial release it would have been much better received. Still it's too bad Square pretty much abandoned the game on PS3. Once again, had they been able to get performance under wraps, the game probably would have sold well.
11/30/09
Bad game design often makes a bad game, and this is one such case. Mediocrity left its stench all over this game.
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11/30/09
Especially not that the PS3 is starting to really hit it's stride. I've never seen my gamestop sell as many PS3's as we have over the past 3 months. Even when the system first came out.
11/30/09
The wii is selling better than the PS3 though so why not go there instead if sales and 'older fanbase' is what matters? It's also doing better in Japan and in even more need for good JRPG so I can imagine Wii would be an even better option. Just saying this isn't some console war PS fanclub company, it's a dev that moved to the 360 to try and get it popular (so they then would have two popular consoles to sell games on). All businesses take risks and this was one of SE's, they can't just port all the exclusives as then what they worked for would be nulled as you'd be able to get them on PS3 making them no longer exclusive. Sure they'd get a fraction more sales (as we've seen there is no JRPG on PS3 that has sold so wildly it proves there needs to be more JRPG on PS3 than 360) but they'd waste the stategy they're implementing.
11/30/09
I do understand the risk side and why they did it. That's why I'm saying they now need to move back to the PS3 and see if they can reconnect with that audience. Their starting it with SO4 onto the PS3 (watch, I bet that will sell a lot better then the 360 version both their and here) and then continuing it with FF versus 13 (so far) remaining a PS3 exclusive.
11/30/09
I'd find it cooler if they supported all systems too but I think they should stick with supporting 360 more, just to help it out in Japan where it gets ignored a lot.
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11/30/09
Being a fan of something doesn't mean you'll take any crap you're given and put on a big ol' grin while eating shit.
11/30/09
No but it does mean you can appreciate them and like them more than others. So naturally I would be more likely to play the less crticially acclaimed ones and appreciate there good aspects. It's like when PS3 was struggling for games and it mostly had Lair and the short (and not to my taste) Heavenly sword. I still enjoyed it as those games had things to offer regardless of not being the best. Should I have not bothered with the PS3 cos it was 'shit'?
11/30/09
The PS3 was never 'shit' unless you considered it purely from the number of games released. At release it was simultaneously the cheapest and best BluRay player on the market and quickly became the centre of my entertainment...centre. Hah. Uncharted was out shortly after Lair btw, and around the same time as Ratchet and Clank: Tools of Destruction. It didn't have tonnes of exclusives, but it did have enough good ones to keep a working gamer busy. That's not counting multiplat releases, some of which were decidedly good (The Darkness, Army of Two if you have a buddy to play with, Burnout Paradise, etc). It was basically what the N64 was, only the PS3 grew up.
01:59 AM
Still from a gaming point (which is what I was arguing) it hadn't got the games and I don't think watching blue ray movies would really comfort me from not having the games I want. I'm sure it was but until Uncharted 2 it was a short and single player only experience. Which isn' t too bad but it means it's limited in how much you can replay it and enjoy it (especially when the 6 or 7 hours gameplay could be memorized in probably the second playthrough). I'm not actually insulting the lineup though so lets make that clear, I was trying to make a point that just because something isn't as good as others (and judged by how it compares to others) doesn't mean it's bad. Hell some games will get bad reviews just because they don't appeal to the majority of western taste but for JRPG fans it might be just fine.
And I did forget to mention Blue dragon actually which was good. It got a metacritic of 79 which means it's not great but still good.
10:58 AM
Likewise, I remember every magazine and their kid sister falling over themselves to give Xenogears a bad review back in 1998 and that didn't make it anything less than brilliant.
12:27 PM
I know they get things wrong so that's why people should just play what they want and naturally as a fan of the series I'd want to try more of these games.
01:08 PM
Force yourself through them. Pretend that you're a kid and these are the only rentals you could afford for the week. The lesson will be difficult, and you may end up crying tears of blood, but it will be well worth it.
This will teach you that not every game, JRPG or not, should be played. Some things, like heroin, should remain untouched. I mean, sure, it feels good at first and makes you feel 'hardcore'... but later when you're lying in a pool of your own drool and urine and your everything aches, you realise it was a fucking bad idea.
01:14 PM
I'm not saying they should all be played, just that your method of avoiding all but the critically acclaimed, fan acclaimed and blockbusters is a bit outward to me.
01:57 PM
As for PS1, Final Fantasy 8 is simultaneously great and horrible. Jade Cocoon was pretty meh. Beyond The Beyond was such a pile of suck that even on the internet I've yet to find someone who loves it. Actually, I think I'll go google that...
Question: When did you develop this fantasy that I have a "method of avoiding all but the critically acclaimed, fan acclaimed and blockbusters"? Obviously I don't drop 60$+ on a game if I don't know what the hell it is, but I don't remember ever claiming to have such a method.
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02:23 PM
I actually liked FF8 a lot, it was my second favourite FF. I'll try Jade cocoon though.
Answer: Roughly when you said all the 360 JRPG were mediocre, to which I cited there was Lost odyssey and Blue dragon along with the ones that hadn't been ported at that point and you still seemed to think it was better to stick with the console that didn't have the games they wanted.
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11/30/09
I don't know what the hell SE's problem is this gen. They constantly lie, and on the matter of multiplatform that they're so adamant about, they've been piss poor on. Hell, FFXIII will be the PS3's first retail release from them and that was announced ages ago as an exclusive, which it's now not. Last Remnant, announced multiplatform and as their serious venture into the multiplatform realm, was stripped. Then there is the whole Nier thing with them having 2 versions in JP, one for each console, but in the West, they're going to port the 360 version over to the PS3 instead of using the version designed for the PS3 from the get go.
11/30/09
11/30/09
The magazine asked Saito, "Are there any differences between Gestalt and the overseas version of the game?" To this, Saito responded, "In the framework of the worldwide version, the 360 version is the exact same as what will be released overseas. This is something that will be decided from here on out, so I can't say for sure, but we're also thinking about keeping the difficulty that best fits overseas players."
Responding to a question on why Replicant and Gestalt ended up being two different products, Saito said that the changes were made with sales considerations. "Overseas, there are many players who think that a thin character can't wield a massive sword and engage in flashy combat, and regardless of how interesting the product is, they won't even pick it up." This is not something that game makers want, explained Saito, and thus the Nier characters ended up as they are.
Gestalt's form was decided by discussing with overseas staff what direction should be taken for overseas sales. Replicant's form was decided by Square Enix and Cavia discussing, as a Japanese publisher and Japanese developer, what character image and world setting would most fit Japan.
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11/30/09
Giving small teams of fighters vague squad based commands, which they execute based on their assigned abilities and formation was some solid small team tactical gameplay. Obtuse? Sure. But that's not what killed it for me.
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I feel for the PlayStation users, I really do.
11/30/09
We also have marginally decent White Knight Chronicles on the way.. which i'm pleased with.
Yakuza 3 will end the sadness..
11/30/09
11/30/09
I'm still waiting on ToV for the PS3 and other exclusives will fill the void pretty quick.
S.E is doing us favors to not releasing the game for the PS3 (I guess they can in Japan if they choose to) since it'll be out shadowed by other titles from their own and other publishers (it'll save SE money).
11/30/09
11/30/09
kidding..
I don't have any friends.
11/30/09
11/30/09
For every one person i know that liked the show, there are at least 3 people who despise it... myself included...
11/30/09
The show itself is quite excruciating though..
11/30/09
Seinfeld, rofl.
Fortunately, I could tolerate this game, whereas Seinfeld, my ears bleed.
11/30/09
...
*twiddles thumbs*
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11/30/09
Games look, run and control better on a PS3.. Microsoft are a bunch of money-hungry hungry hippo's and green is a terrible color.. It's not even a real color.. it's just blue and yellow.
Fuck green!
11/30/09
Oh and I played on the PC. :P
11/30/09
11/30/09
Not really, no... No more than usual..I'm a lively character though..