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Robo
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 Posted: Mon Oct 04, 2010 5:22 pm Post subject: |
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I have cleared the Journey in Persona 3 
Anyway I picked it up on my birthday to continue playing, wasn't expecting the last month to be as long as it was.
Anyway story time about the last month, 1st the music playing while I was taking care of links, it felt so lonely and desolate making me feel like I was the only one with a bit off hope remaining slowly getting diminished.
The cult was also bad all those flyers it truly is amazing, how easy I felt alone at these stages. My social links were mainly good ended up getting 3 reversed Fortune (never went past lv 1  ) Justice and Fuka's yeah dating can throw you off easy. Maxed the ones I wanted to Akinari  .
Spoilers from here
I went toe to toe with Nyx about 7 times till I actually pulled off the win.
In the last 3 battles it was like crazy criticals everywhere on both sides, exploits of each others weaknesses, getting poisoned  and Yukari either being a legend or causing us all to curse her. The battle where I won had like a Miracle for me it went like this Night Queen then critical almighty attack, Mitsuro and MC are barely alive Yukari and Akhiko dead. Get up and Nyx use Bufudyne on Mitsuro and then actually waits  .
My turn paralysed with fear and Mitsuro Bufu'd Moonless Gown  . Just when I think the battle is over Nyx doesn't attack but insteads buffs and removes moonless gown.
Time to heal and shortly after Victory 
The final scenes are so tear jerking but I loved Tanaka's response "Why on Earth did I think of You at a time like this" .
Then the seal battle was amazing all the party members yelling out to reach you willing to risk their life, it just made me so emotional.
Then the resolution of all the max social links, poor Maya san and Aigis shedding tears as everyone remembers what they accomplished.
The music was just brilliant the whole way Thank you Shouji Meguro.
Can't wait for Persona 3 Portable to arrive
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admeister
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| Posted: Mon Oct 04, 2010 5:25 pm Post subject: |
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| Robo wrote: |
I went toe to toe with Nyx about 7 times till I actually pulled off the win.
In the last 3 battles it was like crazy criticals everywhere on both sides, exploits of each others weaknesses, getting poisoned and Yukari either being a legend or causing us all to curse her. The battle where I won had like a Miracle for me it went like this Night Queen then critical almighty attack, Mitsuro and MC are barely alive Yukari and Akhiko dead. Get up and Nyx use Bufudyne on Mitsuro and then actually waits .
My turn paralysed with fear and Mitsuro Bufu'd Moonless Gown . Just when I think the battle is over Nyx doesn't attack but insteads buffs and removes moonless gown.
Time to heal and shortly after Victory
The final scenes are so tear jerking but I loved Tanaka's response "Why on Earth did I think of You at a time like this" .
Then the seal battle was amazing all the party members yelling out to reach you willing to risk their life, it just made me so emotional.
Then the resolution of all the max social links, poor Maya san and Aigis shedding tears as everyone remembers what they accomplished.
The music was just brilliant the whole way Thank you Shouji Meguro. |
Here we see the Emoticon constellation, which has guided forumers for many ages.
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UWSguy
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| Posted: Tue Oct 05, 2010 9:14 am Post subject: |
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| Pagan's Mind wrote: | I just finished Dragon Quest IX, clocked in at 48 hours (slow I know ). Did I enjoy it? Yup, but it didn't come close to DQVIII in my opinion. I think that's mostly because of the limitations of the DS and I really liked the characters and character development in VIII.
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Yeah I see a lot of people on other message boards say 'This game is by far the best in the series' and I think 'Really?' then I scroll down through their message and always, without fail, see 'I skipped DQVIII'.
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Kyle Clarthy
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| Posted: Tue Oct 05, 2010 11:14 am Post subject: |
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| Pagan's Mind wrote: |
Now I can't wait to get stuck into the end game content. The main quest really feels like I've only touched the surface of the game so far. I've got over a hundred quests left to do, areas I couldn't get to until now, grottos, and leveling up my vocations. This is a huge game. |
Yeah ... it sure is. It would be cool to be able to play co op with some of you, though ...
Ah well.
Oh, and yes, I agree with everything you've said, pretty much.
But you think that's slow?! I had double that amount, so it's no wonder I took a break from it!
I only completed one grotto during the playthrough ... and wow, while the enemies were a pushover, the boss was not ... nearly wiped the floor with everyone. Luckily I had a 100 tension on my main character at the very end, and if he wasn't able to pull it off, it would have been game over (in the DQ sense.)
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Pagan's Mind
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| Posted: Tue Oct 05, 2010 5:03 pm Post subject: |
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| Kyle Clarthy wrote: | Yeah ... it sure is. It would be cool to be able to play co op with some of you, though ...
Ah well.
Oh, and yes, I agree with everything you've said, pretty much.
But you think that's slow?! I had double that amount, so it's no wonder I took a break from it!
I only completed one grotto during the playthrough ... and wow, while the enemies were a pushover, the boss was not ... nearly wiped the floor with everyone. Luckily I had a 100 tension on my main character at the very end, and if he wasn't able to pull it off, it would have been game over (in the DQ sense.) |
If we weren't all over Australia then we could have had a meet up, Dragon Quest style
I thought 48 hours was pretty slow but I have no idea how it took you 90 hours Kyle! Although I really didn't do many quests or explore the field that much other than going from town to town. I was also pretty underleveled by the end (I was around level 37 at the final boss). A lot of my time was spent talking to all the NPCs.
I actually got wiped out on my first grotto too, I believe the boss was called Equinox.
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lapzod
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| Posted: Tue Oct 05, 2010 5:29 pm Post subject: |
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| Pagan's Mind wrote: | | I thought 48 hours was pretty slow but I have no idea how it took you 90 hours Kyle! Although I really didn't do many quests or explore the field that much other than going from town to town. I was also pretty underleveled by the end (I was around level 37 at the final boss). A lot of my time was spent talking to all the NPCs. |
I'm level 28, and I'm heading in to end game now...is this a stupid thing to do? I think I have another level worth of enemies to fight on my way there...
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Pagan's Mind
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| Posted: Tue Oct 05, 2010 7:52 pm Post subject: |
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| lapzod wrote: | | I'm level 28, and I'm heading in to end game now...is this a stupid thing to do? I think I have another level worth of enemies to fight on my way there... |
If you've made it this far then you should be fine, the final boss isn't that much harder than the bosses coming up to it. A good tip that helped me a lot is to make your entire party guard after the boss heals himself as you'll always get hit by something that does at least 180 damage to everyone. Also having a priest use multiheal every turn helps a lot but I don't think they get that until about level 38.
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OropherX
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| Posted: Tue Oct 05, 2010 11:26 pm Post subject: |
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I'm somewhat offended by IGN's Atelier Rorona review and what he insinuates about people playing JRPGs like these - http://au.ps3.ign.com/articles/112/1124895p1.html seems that its more of a cultural mismatch with the reviewer than a fault in the game. Probably evident that the review was aimed away from the awesome niche community we have in this thread who gives all JRPGs a chance and more towards someone looking to take a break from MW2 sessions and try a JRPG =P Are we allowed to openly discuss reviews from other websites in here?
edit: ah someone in the comments mentioned that the reviewer is in middle school, all is acceptable now =)
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admeister
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| Posted: Tue Oct 05, 2010 11:35 pm Post subject: |
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| OropherX wrote: | | Are we allowed to openly discuss reviews from other websites in here? |
I don't see why not. Personally, I think that is one of the worst reviews I've ever read. It's short, rude and the writing is rather unprofessional. Seriously, IGN has really gone down the toilet in recent years, to the point where they pass off rubbish like that as a review. Blech. I just ignore them most of the time.
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OropherX
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| Posted: Tue Oct 05, 2010 11:40 pm Post subject: |
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It just annoys me because it can be seen as bad marketing incentives, we're trying to see more localised JRPGs and this can't happen if publisher eventually see a lack of market for the genre. I don't always agree with Ryan Clements of IGN but at least I appreciate that he sees a JRPG from both perspectives and therefore they should had just let him do the JRPGs that the rest of the IGN crew clearly do not. The main problem with that review is that it doesn't tell you enough about the game to justify the scores, but as I said since the reviewer is in middle school I don't have to take the review seriously, its just a shame that IGN is employing people from that age group o_O
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Kyle Clarthy
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| Posted: Wed Oct 06, 2010 9:26 am Post subject: |
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Wow, that's almost comical ... in a way.
It's almost as if the guy is trolling through a review. I doubt anyone who knows enough about the game would take him seriously, but for those who follow reviews and believe they're the bees knees or something, then sure, they would probably avoid the game after reading that. I think I'm going to do the opposite and avoid IGN. I haven't been there for quite a while.
| Quote: | | I love an inappropriate, flirtatious RPG starring underage girls with huge racks as much as the next guy. |
After reading the first line, it's hard to take the entire review seriously, even if the game does have suggestive dialogue. I doubt it's anything different from what we've all seen in other games before. It really sounds as if the reviewer is pretty immature, even if he is still in school. I mean, I don't play a game to giggle at sexual content or anything like that. When it happens to be in a game, and in a comical manner, it might make me smile, but I'm not fixated on it.
And he basically sums up a game in roughly five paragraphs ... I'm sure that gives the game justice. Most of what he describes is sex, boobs, and other typical childish things.
We've all played Atelier games/Ar Tonelico games before, so sure, they do have this sort of content to differing degrees, but that's not all the game happens to showcase.
I think you just need to shake this off, Oropher. I can see where you're coming from, not as many console RPGs are coming out anymore, other than portable titles, and they need all the help they can get ... but anyone who takes that review seriously needs their head checked (and I mean that in the nicest way possible ...).
And I agree: they should use RPG players to review RPGs ... or at least have someone who can see both sides fairly.
Also, what is "creeper"?
| Quote: | | It does make the game one of those titles that cause your friends to worry you've gone all creeper, though, so it's got that going for it. |
Is it some newfangled term kids are using these days or something? Or is it meant to be "creepier"? I know that sometimes my sentences could do with a bit of tweaking, but that final sentence is ridiculous. I think he needs to attend a few more English classes instead of wagging school to play with suggestive material.
Read more: http://au.ps3.ign.com/articles/112/1124895p1.html#ixzz11Wg27Qp4
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I'm having a bit of a break from RPGs, and I just finished Ratchet and Clank: Quest for Booty. I finished it yesterday, actually ... and felt like I didn't really need to change my sig to announce I was playing it as it was over a couple of short hours later.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining about it being short. I was aware of that.
Now it's time for Uncharted: Drake's Fortune.
And I think my next console RPG will be Ar Tonelico 2.
I will probably post more about it at another time, but I have played about six hours of it so far ... and I'm just not feeling it as much as I did with the first game. I don't particularly like the characters at all. Croix is a weiner, and seriously reminds me of a middle aged woman when he is wearing his "comfort wear". The other characters aren't nearly as interesting as Aurica or Misha or Jack. I'm guessing it will eventually change as I spend more time with the characters, but yeah ...
I also feel as if the game has taken a couple of steps backward. Like, only being able to synthesize in select locations ... and even then only able to make specific items depending on where you are. That seems pretty lame to me.
Also, the presentation just seems a little off to me ... but I can't really explain how. Character portraits seem squat or something.
One change that I love is the battle system. It's quite a lot of fun. It's pretty dynamic now and the battles don't seem to take forever. I know the battles change yet again for the next game, but I really am enjoying beating up monsters.
I'll post some more about it at some point.
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Vervain
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| Posted: Wed Oct 06, 2010 9:34 am Post subject: |
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| Kyle Clarthy wrote: |
| Quote: | | It does make the game one of those titles that cause your friends to worry you've gone all creeper, though, so it's got that going for it. |
Is it some newfangled term kids are using these days or something? Or is it meant to be "creepier"? I know that sometimes my sentences could do with a bit of tweaking, but that final sentence is ridiculous. I think he needs to attend a few more English classes instead of wagging school to play with suggestive material.
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Basically he's implying that by playing this game you're making your friends think you've become a sexual predator.
Yeah, I laughed at that review... If you could even call it a review. It was 600 words of insults, childish taunting and basically no actual information on anything within the game. I'm tempted to buy it earlier than I planned now, just so I can make sure there are more proper reviews on the game. As opposed to that utter tripe.
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lexielab
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| Posted: Wed Oct 06, 2010 10:40 am Post subject: |
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The picture caption probably sums up the review/reviewer best: "This is the manliest guy in the game. I know, right?"
Some of the writing in that review is very poor, for example the sentence: "Most of the game is voice acted, so some of the funniest lines in the game get butchered by annoying voices." He unintentionally implies that all voice acting is terrible simply by the structure of this sentence. I hesitate to criticise IGN here, but a more professional operation wouldn't let that kind of sloppiness fly.
However, I think the reviewer's biggest sin is not understanding his audience. Most people interested in reading the review have an interest in JRPGs and some inherent understanding of the style and conventions used in the genre, including creepy jokes and breasted females. Poking a bit of fun in that direction is fine, but readers want information as well. Some people reading the review will feel insulted by the tone, if not the words, which is a silly thing to do if you want people to continue reading your work. This is a review, not an opinion column.
And that is my review of a review. Damn, that's not a good thing to do.
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OropherX
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| Posted: Wed Oct 06, 2010 2:26 pm Post subject: |
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Good timing Kyle, my Ar Tonelico 2 copy arrived at my doorstep a few minutes ago. Thank youuuuu Italians for still selling these rare jrpgs ^_^ waiting for 1 now. By the way I'm only planning on playing on Atelier Iris game - the first one and one mana khemia game - also the first one. Is that the right choice or is the second Atelier Iris and Khemia better?
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Kyle Clarthy
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| Posted: Wed Oct 06, 2010 3:38 pm Post subject: |
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Haha, great minds think alike ... or something ... right? I'm glad that you're giving the series a whirl, and I know Ad will be, too. There were a couple of people playing the first game (UWS and spensa, I think) and they haven't said anything about it since, which seems to suggest they weren't fans ... or they're too busy to be diving into some lady's mind. Make sure when you start playing you actually let us know how you go, okay?
As for this:
| Quote: | | By the way I'm only planning on playing on Atelier Iris game - the first one and one mana khemia game - also the first one. Is that the right choice or is the second Atelier Iris and Khemia better? |
I find this really hard to answer!
I'd definitely recommend Mana Khemia, as it's meant to be quite polished and has a lot of fans, but having said that, I haven't gotten around to playing it yet.
The tough part of your question is in regards to Atelier Iris.
I've played all three, and all three are in no means perfect. They all have a lot of shortcomings, and it seems like something will be fixed for a sequel, but then something else may be broken as a result and just requires unnecessary work for the player. The main issue that I can see playing one over the other is the fact that if you happen to like one of the Atelier Iris games and want to play the others, it might be a step backwards in gameplay if you happened to play 2 or 3 before the first title. However, the first title has the potential to turn people off the series, too, depending on how you like your games and your RPGs. I posted my thoughts about all three games in this topic if you want to do some digging ... but I'll try to sum it up.
If you have any interest in the series and you know that you'll enjoy it, I recommend playing it from the first Atelier Iris. It's interesting enough, but just let me warn you about Norn, one of the worst characters ever invented. You'll be cheering for her to die. ... and the fact that you can only carry nine of every alchemy item, and the whole alchemy process is so long and dull that it can really get annoying and tedious. There's no teleporting or warping, so you're forced to travel an old school world map to go everywhere.
AI2 is probably my favourite for a number of reasons. It's a lot easier to alchemise things and you can carry 99 of any item ... and create in bulk, the story is kind of interesting, you switch between two characters and it just seems like a more enjoyable experience overall. It has a world map that you just point and click to get to the specific areas you want to go. I think it's a better way to handle the world map for this type of game. AI2 is a prequel to 1, so it explains a lot of what happened in the distant past.
AI3 is basically what Mana Khemia is based on. The third title in the Iris games isn't connected in any way to the other two Iris games, and the game is really quite different in a number of ways. It's more mission based, taking jobs of all sorts off a messageboard, tracking down the person who requested your help and then performing the job they want you to do. I felt that the alchemy side of things is a step backwards in this game from AI2. Plus you only get three characters, but the catch is there's a simple class based system for two of them.
I hope this helps a little.
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OropherX
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| Posted: Wed Oct 06, 2010 3:47 pm Post subject: |
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So 2 has the best story? I want to play the one with the best story =P
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Jessara
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| Posted: Wed Oct 06, 2010 5:46 pm Post subject: |
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| Kyle Clarthy wrote: | Here's a bit of insight into Z.H.P: Unlosing Ranger VS Darkdeath Evilman which I thought I'd share. It sounds like a wacky game, that's for sure.
Matt Furtado
Video Game Examiner wrote: |
NISAmerica has been doing well with their recent RPG releases on the PSP. Each year the lineup has gotten stronger and the games have been more unique than the ones before it. Just recently, NIS America released Cladun: This is an RPG on the PSP and it offers an experience unlike any other RPG on the Sony handheld. The creative minds behind the Disgaea series have come up with something new and it contains all the charm and humor of Disgaea, but offers a lot of new game elements that will make the wait for Disgaea 4 all the more painful. ZHP: Unlosing Ranger vs Darkdeath Evilman is the latest game from the team behind Disgaea and it looks and feels just like a Disgaea game, but delivers a more refined experience.
ZHP is highly addictive, a ton of fun, and a game that has great humor. For the most part, the first thing you'll come to realize is that the game controls and plays just like a Disgaea game, but the action is a bit quicker and dungeon exploration is conducted in a slightly different manner. Aside from slight gameplay differences, the game's graphics, menu system, and humor are all straight from Disgaea, which will make the transition to this series easier for NIS faithful.
The game's story is quite comical and something you should take in for yourself, so we won't spoil it or go into too many details here. The game starts off with the Unlosing Ranger set to do battle with Darkdeath Evilman at a planned location and timed event. Darkdeath Evilman plans to defeat the prophesied 'Super Baby' -- the savior of the world -- and then destroy the world. It's up to the Unlosing Ranger to put a halt in his evil plans. On the way to the 'Battle for the World' the Unlosing Ranger is struck by a car driven by two hipsters, thus forcing him to pass on his super-powers to a commoner -- you! Having no powers yet, your character will battle Darkdeath and be defeated instantly. Upon defeat, the Unlosing Ranger and your character will find themselves in Bizarro Earth, a location that will allow you to train and gain the power necessary to defeat Darkdeath Evilman and become a true Unlosing Ranger.
Much like Disgaea, the main appeal of ZHP will be the battle system. ZHP uses a real-time-battle system, though it still shares elements to the turn-based Disgaea titles. Exploration is still done via a grid-system, but you can move around freely without movement restraints. To enter battle, youâll need to enter the vision of an enemy or attack them from behind to make your presence known. This will allow you to strategically avoid enemies in a dungeon or gain the upper-hand. Movement and attacking require energy and youâll need to refill your characterâs stomach by eating huge slabs of meat. If you run out of energy while exploring, your HP will dwindle as a result, but if you have energy and take damage in battle, your HP will be replenished as you explore. A dungeon is completed either by defeating a boss or reaching a certain floor level. Itâs possible to clear a dungeon without doing battle, but that would be counter-productive.
ZHP dungeon exploration is solely constructed around the idea of getting your character stronger. Whether you succeed in completing the dungeon or not, your character base stats will increase. However, if you are defeated in a dungeon, youâll lose all the weapons and equipment you collected. Each time you enter a dungeon youâll enter it at the starting point of Level 1. Youâll level-up fairly fast and have plenty of power to take on the dungeon dwelling enemies, but youâll need to monitor your equipment carefully. Weapons and armor can only take so much damage and abuse before they become useless. You can repair them at the armory while on the hub-world or, later in the game, set a caravan party of helpers to arrive on a certain floor where you can get a quick repair in before jumping back into the dungeon. Though failure is an option here, you want to keep as much money, weapons, and equipment as you can to make progression a bit simpler.
The humor of the game is great and there are a number of puns made throughout. The game doesnât hesitate to make fun of itself, gamers, or even public officials. One of the cleverest uses of humor is how the battle screen with Darkdeath Evilman changes based on your strength. Itâll start off as an 8-bit battle screen, and then evolve into a 16-bit version, and so on. There is a lot of humor to be found in the game and itâs definitely one of the gameâs strongest appeals.
ZHP: The Unlosing Ranger vs Darkdeath Evilman is shaping up to be another great title from the minds that brought us Disgaea. After releasing several killer titles on the PSP this year, ZHP is the perfect way to end 2010. ZHP will be NISâ crowing PSP achievement for 2010. |
I already preordered this game, as it just seems like a fun little portable title. |
I just pre-ordered this awesome game as well from Play Asia which will be one of the funniest PSP games I've seen so far. Also got Disgaea 2 coming from Ebay for the PSP. I'm really enjoying playing with my PSP of late, it's a great little console and this is the best time to own one
I hope there are other people here besides Kyle and I picking up ZHP
EDIT: I was looking around for more info on ZHP and found this (though it's a few weeks old):
WARNING....Long post...
| Quote: | Although most people instantly think of Disgaea when they think of Nippon Ichi, lately, theyâve really been branching out from the usual SRPG games they put out. Thereâs Cladun, an excellent action RPG, Disgaea Infinite, a weird little game in Last Rebellion, and a platformer in Prinny: Can I Really Be the Hero. They even brought over Sakura Wars V and have started their own little anime business with titles like Persona: Trinity Soul and Toradora. With their latest title, ZHP: Unlosing Ranger vs Darkdeath Evilman, the minds behind the original Disgaea reunite to bring us, not another SRPG as you might expect, but a roguelike.
For those that are unaware, Roguelikes are a combination of SPRG and Turn-Based RPGs in which your character moves a single square or takes a single action and then so does every monster in the game. This means even the slightest movement takes on a lot more importance and roguelikes are very much akin to playing a game of chess. As well, the dungeons are randomly generated which means each time you go in, you have no idea what is in store for you. Finally, most roguelikes also force you to start all the way back down at level one each time you enter a dungeon, meaning that these games are generally amongst the hardest subgenre in the RPG world. Although the most successful roguelike in North America has been the Pokemon Mystery Dungeon series, even that hasnât been that successful. For some reason, roguelikes just havenât taken off in the States. Other titles that have made it to the US and have had mediocre sales and reviews include Chocoboâs Dungeon, Izuna 2, Adventures 2 Go, and Baroque.
I have a feeling most of you reading this havenât heard of these titles and fewer yet will have played them. Even on staff, this subgenre is pretty much only played by Mark B. and myself, both of whom adore them. Iâm really hoping that Z.H.P. finds an audience because after finishing the first two chapters of this game, I can honestly say itâs almost as good as Azure Dreams, which nearly every fan of the genre considered to be best roguelike ever made. By the time Iâm done beating this game, it just may have ended Azure Dreamâs 12 year reign as the best weâre ever seen from this style of RPG.
The key point here is the story itself. This game takes place in the near future in a fantastical city known as Tokyo. Darkdeath Evilman, the most powerful supervillain in all the world has kidnapped Super Baby, a child born on the 6th hour of the 6th day of the 6th month, who is prophesied to save the world and lead it into a new golden age. In order to stop Darkdeath Evilman, the Absolute Victory Unlosing Ranger has challenged him to a showdown. The fate of the entire world rests on the result of this ultimate battle where two undefeated beings will clash for the first and final time. Unfortunately the Unlosing Ranger is hit by a car on his way to the big fight and is killed since he didnât have his super powers activated. Whoops.
A bigger whoops comes into play when the Unlosing Rangerâs dying act is to bequeath his powers and responsibility on to you, the main characterâŠwho is a scrawny nerd in a track suit. You get to name your character whatever you want. I named mine Lord Bravery. I wanted to go with Lord Smoked Meats & Fishes but there wasnât enough room for that many characters. Thankfully no one has asked my protagonist for a muffin or a scone yet. Anyway, your protagonist goes into the final battle between good or evilâŠand is slaughtered like a cow in an abattoir. Evil wins. And thatâs just the start of the game!
Milliseconds before you die, your character is whisked off to Bizzaro Earth (not to be confused with Bizzaro World from DC comics) which is a mirror of our world except instead of people itâs populated with dwarves, catfolk, mummy men, and the like. Here your character trains to be a true warrior and to properly carry out the name of the Absolute Victory Undying Ranger. Once trained you return to Earth only seconds after Darkdeath Evilman thought he had killed you to show humanity why one should never give up, even in the face of adversity. Then Darkdeath Evilman kills you again. This processes repeats until you are finally strong enough to defeat Evilman and save Super Baby from his clutches. Or you know, you might just keep dying forever or until Super Baby grows up into adulthood. I mean, Iâm only two chapters in after all.
Each chapter involves going through a set of dungeons. Each dungeon could be a single level deep, while others could be multiple, or even dozens, of levels deep. Your goal is to complete each dungeon and gain experience and stat boots. Or to die and try again. Whichever works out best for you. Thereâs also a storyline goal for you to enter these dungeons besides training. For example in Chapter 1 you enter, âA Dungeon So Easy, Monkeys Could Beat It,â in order to save the life of Bizzaro Earth resident Jose Gaspacho because the real Earth version of Jose died of shock from how badly you were massacred by Darkdeath Evilman. The dungeon is actually two different dungeons of five levels each â the end of which involves a boss fight with a creepy Jack-In-The Box.
Itâs important to note that like in most roguelikes, you have to worry about both health and hunger. Your hunger is designated by an energy meter in this game. When energy drops to 0, you start losing hit points with each action or step you take. As such, youâll want to make sure you eat food that you find in dungeons along the way. Weapons and armour also deteriorate with use, so youâll want to replace those frequently with new ones you find along your journey. You can either save worn items to be repaired at a blacksmith, chuck them at enemies for distance based damage or simply discard them. You can only carry ten items at a time, so youâll have to decide whatâs worth keeping and what is expendable.
Besides dungeons and the blacksmith that weâve already covered, thereâs also the general store where you can buy healing items. Food items can only be found in dungeons, which adds even more challenge to this game. Youâll also have options like visiting your home where your wife (who is a Prinny, dood) and your obnoxious daughter live or visiting a crazy doctor who will turn items you find in the dungeon into chips to give you bionic energy. For example a dagger can be turned into a chip that gives you a permanent +1 bonus to your speed and permanent additional bonuses each time you level up. These bonuses stick with you even after you leave a dungeon, and so your eventual base stats will rise beyond the piddling jobber your main character was actually meant to be.
Itâs amazing how much customization there is in this game, and how hard itâs been for me to put this down. The plot is hilarious, the characters are adorable, and the gameplay is pretty intense. I noticed that money is exceedingly rare and everything is pretty expensive so you really work for everything you get. As well, the game is pretty unforgiving. Although I havenât experienced this personally, the game does tell you that if you restart the game in the middle of a battle or you hit the power button to pause the game since youâre on a metro or getting tired or something, the game will remember that you did this ala Animal Crossing and consider you as having lost that battle/dungeon, forcing you to start over. Now this may be a little too much for some people, as this is a portable game after all, but as the game says, âThereâs no pause/reset button in real life. Why should you get one here?â Ouch. I love it, but some gamers are going to blanch at this.
Z.H.P.: Unlosing Ranger vs. Darkdeath Evilman comes out for the PSP in UMD and digital download on 10/26/2010. Weâll definitely have a full review of this title up before then here at Diehard GameFAN. Come check back and see if Z.H.P is as good at first impressions show it to be! |
Source: http://diehardgamefan.com/2010/09/16/hands-on-preview-zhp-unlosing-ranger-vs-darkdeath-evilman-sony-psp/
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Last edited by Jessara on Wed Oct 06, 2010 6:50 pm, edited 1 time in total
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admeister
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| Posted: Wed Oct 06, 2010 6:42 pm Post subject: |
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No doubt, it's a day 1 purchase for me! Also, people are playing Ar Tonelico 2, I am pleased. I think it will start to grow on you Kyle!
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OropherX
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| Posted: Wed Oct 06, 2010 7:56 pm Post subject: |
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to the people who have finished Ar Tonelico 1 and 2, what were your finishing times for each? I plan to get started on them when I finish the stuff on my signature so am planning my time. I hope they don't exceed the 80 hour mark each <_>
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lexielab
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| Posted: Wed Oct 06, 2010 8:17 pm Post subject: |
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I've been playing a bit of Devil Survivor lately. I hit a wall a couple of times, most notably in the battle against Beliah. After rearranging my demons and skills however, it was laughably easy, which was almost more frustrating than getting beaten in the first place.
Continuing on from the theme of great music in games, this does have a pretty good soundtrack, much, much too good for my DSL's speakers. It's stunning the difference in quality you get using headphones, even more than most DS games.
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admeister
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| Posted: Wed Oct 06, 2010 8:51 pm Post subject: |
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| OropherX wrote: | | I hope they don't exceed the 80 hour mark each <_> |
They definitely shouldn't, I think I would have spent around 40-50 hours on each one.
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OropherX
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| Posted: Wed Oct 06, 2010 8:58 pm Post subject: |
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excellent, I can only spare 80+ hours to a Tales of, Tri-Ace or Persona game.
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Bish
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| Posted: Fri Oct 08, 2010 1:39 pm Post subject: |
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GUYS
BLURRY SMALL PIC AWESOMENESS
HELLO WEEKEND
Maybe I'll be at the second stratum by Monday!
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Pagan's Mind
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| Posted: Fri Oct 08, 2010 4:03 pm Post subject: |
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My copy hasn't even arrived yet and it's been 2 weeks now
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Bish
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| Posted: Fri Oct 08, 2010 10:54 pm Post subject: |
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Yeah, what's up with that? Stupid continent of North America! *shakes fist*
Came from the regular mailman so I'm lucky it wasn't held up a day longer in a processing facility, else I'd have to wait for Monday. :s
Also, for any of you who are like "Etrian Odyssey? What 'dis, yo?" (because apparently you are a 'gangsta'? Man, I don't even know what happened there), let me direct you to the Penny Arcade EO3 thread. A choice opening, if I may:
| Quote: | So whatâs this game, then?
If youâve never heard of the sublime greatness of Etrian Odyssey, then I suppose I shall have to educate you on its wonders.
Etrian Odyssey is a game where badasses like this:
And this:
get their shit absolutely ruined by things like this:
And this:
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I think any EO veteran will agree that this is an effective and accurate summary.
I urge you to read the rest of the post, just because it's funny.
(Oh, the topic also has help with stuff like conditional drops down the page, once you get your copy and start playing)
I took some shots of the purty artbook if anyone wants a glance. Not the best I've seen (I care not for pre-rendered artwork; I like sketches as a sort of journey from conceptualisation to final result) but not the worst; and I do love scenery pieces. I picked out a few pieces (apologies for the lighting, the camera flash decided to be stupid):
Artbook cover
The back
Group artwork
Protector
Gunner
Missy (Boobies!)
Scenery from EO 2
Comic #1 (Hah, Etrian Odyssey 1.5. It's true, but it's not like it was a lesser game for it )
Comic #2 (Probably funnier if you've seen the other comics where the Teacher Protector teaches them the basics of EO)
And now I will crawl into my bed, get my charged DS out, enter the labyrinth, die within a minute and rage and repeat this process for the next 60 hours.
GUYS THIS IS GOING TO BE A BLAST
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