So, last month Square-Enix released a game from their new series (a very short one, I hope) called Lord of Arcana. To most people, it's considered a Monster Hunter rip-off. I see some MH elements in the game, for sure, but... Monster Hunter wasn't the first game to involve crafting equipment, multiplayer, real time action gameplay, etc. They've been spread through hundreds, maybe thousands, of games long before MH existed. Some people fail to realize that for some reason, but I digress. Anyway, I bought the game off the PSN once I received an email from Sony saying it was added and figured I'd give it a try. I played the Japanese and American demos (only through the introduction dungeon, mind) and figured it would improve later on, so why not give the full game a try? In the end, I decided the game shouldn't have been worth more than 5 bucks... and that's me being generous.
Note: In this "review," I do not plan to compare this to Monster Hunter. This is an entirely new game from Square-Enix and I'm grading it on its own. This is also me just letting off some steam after wasting my time with the game, so don't expect anything "professional-like."
So, the story. You have amnesia. You slay monsters to get magic. That's it, really. After finishing Chapter 1, I stopped caring for the story. It's not impressive unlike SE's many other games. Maybe I missed something by not finishing Chapter 6 (when I finally quit)? Even so, it couldn't have been amazing. This coming from someone with an open mind.
The gameplay, it's your typical hack and slash. No big, I love swinging giant weapons at monsters. Square to attack, Triangle for specials, you eventually get magic. Smells like a JARPG. Well, it's worse than the usual. The lock-on system hurt me a lot more than help. "Look at me locking on to the monster, ready to dash attack it! Oh, look... I somehow completely missed my attack and moved ahead of the bugger. Thanks, lock-on system!" Lock-on is necessary to do finishing blows to monsters and melee duels (I THINK that was the term for the mid-fight button mashing) on bosses, too. I noticed they gave a much better chance of dropping items when you do them, so you have to suffer through the awful thing to save yourself some farming. That's only a small issue, though. It takes absolutely no skill to kill anything in the game, but it takes an awfully long time to.
You fight monsters by getting into encounters with them like almost any RPG. You're thrown into a battlefield with one or so baddies, you kill them for items. You spam basic attacks, throw in battle arts, maybe some magic, they're dead, you pick up your loot, you move on. Attacks are INCREDIBLY slow/clunky and the damage you cause will always be poor. It shouldn't take 3 full, slow strings of combos to kill an enemy I fought at level 1 while I'm level 16. Who wants to waste their time fighting minions when there's a boss at the end of the dungeon waiting to be slain? Oh, about "wasting time," there's a time limit with each dungeon run. Reasonable time limit until you realize the game bullshits you at bosses. Let's explain that now.
Bosses: big baddies with lots of health that can hurt you. A lot. Typical. Lord of Arcana goes too far with this. My very first boss (past the intro dungeon) was a pushover. His attacks were slow, incredibly predictable, and nothing impressive. The problem? I was doing next to NO damage to him with each attack. Square-Enix basically added in artificial difficulty by giving the bosses absurd health/defenses and us shitty weapons. There was absolutely nothing for me to craft in the weapon/armor shop, so I was literally stuck spamming 4 damage with each hit on the boss. How dull. His weak point takes more damage (not by much), but you can't lock on to it without a certain ability I didn't find necessary. Why? There were much better abilities to pick from. I probably would have taken just as long without my attack boosts. Thanks for making me waste most of my time pressing square three times, then triangle, dodging, and repeating for an awesome 20 damage total, Square-Enix. When a boss is ready to die, you're forced through a string of QTEs (quick time events; think half of God of War's content) where you press certain buttons before the time is up. If you fail, you need to hurt the boss more and then try again. If you succeed, the boss is dead, you take their loot, you strut your shit, and then repeat everything all over again.
The boss problem never changes. As I mentioned earlier, I quit at Chapter 6. I fought plenty of bosses in that time and they never got better. Health was still an issue, my damage was still an issue, but eventually they added something much more annoying; the mini status you see in most Final Fantasy games. It was a great way to burn through several minutes in a fight either trying to recover from the status by chasing a moving sphere thing while running slower than a tortoise or being a man and fighting... doing 1 damage in the process. The game's story was definitely made with a full 4-person party in mind. I never had a chance to play through the multiplayer because I couldn't stand it after finding the only other person in the world to get it. Obvious exaggeration, but the lack of infrastructure online play means you're stuck convincing people to buy this awful game or finding them over Adhoc Party/Xlink Kai. I couldn't do that to my friends.
The visuals of the game aren't bad. It's obvious Square-Enix tried making a "dark" atmosphere. For the PSP, the graphics are amazing (until you get into fights; the monsters don't look impressive). Not much else to say here, really.
The leveling and crafting system. Leveling is your basic kill monster, get EXP, level up, repeat. You can also level weapon proficiency to learn more skills and whatnot. There are 5 or 6 (derp) weapons to pick from. All of them clunky as hell (you can test each one when making your character). I like the weapon prof idea. The tutorial dungeon had you pimped out in levels and equipment. After that, you lose everything. I couldn't wait until I had everything again. Then I realized that weapon proficiency caps out per chapter. If you're having trouble on a boss or just want to suck less, too bad. You need to progress through the story with complete shit for abilities before you can get good ones. I don't mind it too much considering the more you progress through boss-like monsters, the more experience you should have. It makes sense, in a way. But at the same time, I find it completely stupid that I'm eventually gaining nothing from monster encounters. Base levels seem like nothing more than for show, so that was all I had convincing me my character was really sucking less when leveling up. As for crafting, it's nothing special. You have the materials for an upgrade, piece of armor, etc.? Cool. Use them to make whatever it is you wanted. Don't know where to get an item, but notice you need one or two more of it to make something? Look it up; the game doesn't help with that. It also doesn't prepare you for future upgrades because it doesn't even tell you they exist until you already have the major materials for it. This would be fine if weapon upgrading (not just making) didn't suffer from this also. Then again, why does it matter if you already don't have the major item? Ah well.
This was less of a review and more of me bashing the game, but it deserved it, honestly. It's bad. If you like this game, you're a bad person. I hate you. /sarcasm
But really, I couldn't find a single thing I liked about this game after I started playing. There was no difficulty, the crafting system was lacking in content (yeah, you can't make much), the battles didn't feel smooth at all, boss design was incredibly lacking (slow moving, same basic attacks performed repeatedly, stupid), music was average, visuals could have been better where it mattered... I regret buying this game 100%. It was nothing but Square-Enix's poor attempt at a new series. Maybe later games will fix all of the problems I had with it, but I sincerely doubt it. If there are people out there that really enjoy this game, good for you. You're doing what I couldn't, and I SERIOUSLY tried to enjoy this.
They do get points for adding a guild lady with cleavage. Flat, pixelated cleavage.
Anyway, that's it. I obviously don't like the game. I don't think adding a rating would mean much as it's fairly obvious it would be incredibly low. I will not check this for grammar or spelling errors, but I might come back and add in pretty pictures if I care enough to.
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Grand Chase
I haven't updated in a loooooong time, so I figured I should do so involving a game I'm currently playing often. And that game is Grand Chase, a side scrolling MMORPG fighting game... yes, an MMO. It's takin' my soul, but I must admit that with friends, I really enjoy the game.
So, Loli Fighter 3000--err--Grand Chase is, as mentioned above, a sexy MMORPG fighting game. Hack, slash, hack, slash, level up, etc. It has its ups, it has its downs, but I still love it as long as I'm not playing it alone. Like most/all MMOs, it's more party oriented than anything, so doing everything solo is practically a chore. Anyways, back to the content of the game.
Basically some evil dude causing havoc, heroes wanna save the day, etc. The usual cliched story. I've never actually read the conversations going on after the newb areas. Games starts off with a swordsman named Elesis, a mage named Arme, and an archer names Lire, all lolis--er--jailbait--er--girls, which is oddly enough a major problem to new people. Instead of making your characters, you pick one to use from the storyline, so many males(I didn't. >:|) complain about why they're female and bash the game and leave. Hilarious stuff. You start with the aforementioned three and unlock more as you progress and do their quests. There are a total of 7 characters currently with an 8th on the way. The other charactes are Ronan the magic swordsman, Lass the thief/assassin, Ryan the druid, and Amy the... dancer, I guess. The upcoming character's name is Jin, I believe. His role is a monk(FF style with the fists and the claws and the punching and the etc.). My personal favorite is Ronan. Why? Aegis Knight. Fucking awesome. When used by the right person, you can block damn near any attack. Screw you nubs with your Lass. Assassins are over rated.
Each character has at least one extra class to upgrade to via missions. Elesis and Lire have their 4th in already. I want more Ronan love, but since he loses his shield as the new Abyss Knight... I don't think I'll ever use it. Ever.
So, gameplay. Simple. When you're doing jack shit, you're on a map with all dungeons you currently have unlocked. Pick one, go there, kick some ass, reach the boss, kick more ass, claim your loot. Simple stuff. Not going into detail about the combat because it would take time I don't wanna use for it, but I guess a little info would be nice. Basically spam attacks while each hit recovers MP. Your MP bar as 3 sections. 1st is 1st level skill, 2nd is 2nd, 3rd is 3rd. They each have their strengths and weaknesses. Holding the attack button will highlight your MP bar and slowly rise to the maximum current MP you have. Letting it go shortly before the 1st bar's limit(or a while before the 2nd) will execute your 1st skill. The rest is pretty straightforward from there. When using most skills, you're invincible while they are being used. Using level 1 skills helps when you're about to be attacked with something that would lead to your death. Anyways, that's pretty much all there is to it when it comes to combat. Back attacks and aerial attacks deal double damage, and... that's really it.
PvP is awesome. Why? Aegis Knight(again). Again, you Lass nubs can't take my Ronan. "Block, block, block, block, block, DIVINE SLAM." On a more serious note, the PvP in Grand Chase is fun. Teams of 3 or free for alls of up to 6 people, several maps(a couple that blow like hell)... it would be great if it wasn't so... unbalanced at times. Mostly because of Lass, surprisingly. For those people that either waste their lives or money(I'll elaborate on the money part later) on getting to Dark Assassin, they break PvP with cheap strategies. One of their skills allows them to be insivible. While in PvP and you're not being attacked, your HP regenerates. See where I'm going with this? Most... nay, ALL Dark Assassins I have encounted would do hit and runs to heal. The skill is also a level 1 skill, and since MP regens WITH HP... yeah... they can spam it like there's no tomorrow. It's irrititating seeing yourself do so well against a DA just to see them use their skill(I think it's called Invisible Step) and hide in a corner or run around the map. At least winning is much more satisfying when they DO do that. Again, "block, block, block."
Now, about wasting money... it seems Ntreev favors donators over anything. You pay with cash, you get better shit early on. Those of us that are cheap can get the items from quests, but they only last a certain amount of time. Yes, they get deleted after a while. My Ronan lost a weapon that gave 130+ attack after having it for 15 days, and because his level is too low to use higher tier equips, I'm stuck with something that obviously gives 130+ less attack. Huge mistake on Ntreev's part. I think this is one of the reasons why the game isn't widely popular. Pretty much makes you wanna donate. Oh, and using cash also saves several painful hours of work to change classes or unlock characters. They even let you get special skills and pets you can't get elsewhere. If this games wasn't so addictive and fun, I would stop playing for this very reason. Basically, anyone who donates and goes to PvP will dominate the place unless someone else does the same. Their more exclusive pets make things unfair. If you don't donate, you can only get a Slime as a pet. If you do, you can get shit like some blue fairy that can freeze you and give you a major advantage with your skills. Very fair, amirite?
Lesse... what haven't I discussed... oh, the community sucks. I've seen maybe 4 competent people there outside of friends. The rest of the population consists of complete idiots or ignorant nubs. But once you ignore them, you'll have fun. Trust me, it isn't hard to do. Even with the lack of GM activity.
The music is great. Srsly. Maybe not the login music for when you pick servers or the waiting room in PvP... but everything else is. Just felt like bringing that up.
Anyways, I think all I've done was advertise the game... eh, and I got a little rant in there. I'd suggest at least trying it as it doesn't take up too much memory and it's a nice time killer for those of you with time to kill. That and I need more people to play with. Phanir needz frendz pl0x.
I guess that's it for now. And just a heads up, I'm not proofreading this. Any grammatical errors in here will stay that way. I'm tired as I type this. Very, very tired. REVIVAL OF MY BLOG IS COMPLETE.
So, Loli Fighter 3000--err--Grand Chase is, as mentioned above, a sexy MMORPG fighting game. Hack, slash, hack, slash, level up, etc. It has its ups, it has its downs, but I still love it as long as I'm not playing it alone. Like most/all MMOs, it's more party oriented than anything, so doing everything solo is practically a chore. Anyways, back to the content of the game.
Basically some evil dude causing havoc, heroes wanna save the day, etc. The usual cliched story. I've never actually read the conversations going on after the newb areas. Games starts off with a swordsman named Elesis, a mage named Arme, and an archer names Lire, all lolis--er--jailbait--er--girls, which is oddly enough a major problem to new people. Instead of making your characters, you pick one to use from the storyline, so many males(I didn't. >:|) complain about why they're female and bash the game and leave. Hilarious stuff. You start with the aforementioned three and unlock more as you progress and do their quests. There are a total of 7 characters currently with an 8th on the way. The other charactes are Ronan the magic swordsman, Lass the thief/assassin, Ryan the druid, and Amy the... dancer, I guess. The upcoming character's name is Jin, I believe. His role is a monk(FF style with the fists and the claws and the punching and the etc.). My personal favorite is Ronan. Why? Aegis Knight. Fucking awesome. When used by the right person, you can block damn near any attack. Screw you nubs with your Lass. Assassins are over rated.
Each character has at least one extra class to upgrade to via missions. Elesis and Lire have their 4th in already. I want more Ronan love, but since he loses his shield as the new Abyss Knight... I don't think I'll ever use it. Ever.
So, gameplay. Simple. When you're doing jack shit, you're on a map with all dungeons you currently have unlocked. Pick one, go there, kick some ass, reach the boss, kick more ass, claim your loot. Simple stuff. Not going into detail about the combat because it would take time I don't wanna use for it, but I guess a little info would be nice. Basically spam attacks while each hit recovers MP. Your MP bar as 3 sections. 1st is 1st level skill, 2nd is 2nd, 3rd is 3rd. They each have their strengths and weaknesses. Holding the attack button will highlight your MP bar and slowly rise to the maximum current MP you have. Letting it go shortly before the 1st bar's limit(or a while before the 2nd) will execute your 1st skill. The rest is pretty straightforward from there. When using most skills, you're invincible while they are being used. Using level 1 skills helps when you're about to be attacked with something that would lead to your death. Anyways, that's pretty much all there is to it when it comes to combat. Back attacks and aerial attacks deal double damage, and... that's really it.
PvP is awesome. Why? Aegis Knight(again). Again, you Lass nubs can't take my Ronan. "Block, block, block, block, block, DIVINE SLAM." On a more serious note, the PvP in Grand Chase is fun. Teams of 3 or free for alls of up to 6 people, several maps(a couple that blow like hell)... it would be great if it wasn't so... unbalanced at times. Mostly because of Lass, surprisingly. For those people that either waste their lives or money(I'll elaborate on the money part later) on getting to Dark Assassin, they break PvP with cheap strategies. One of their skills allows them to be insivible. While in PvP and you're not being attacked, your HP regenerates. See where I'm going with this? Most... nay, ALL Dark Assassins I have encounted would do hit and runs to heal. The skill is also a level 1 skill, and since MP regens WITH HP... yeah... they can spam it like there's no tomorrow. It's irrititating seeing yourself do so well against a DA just to see them use their skill(I think it's called Invisible Step) and hide in a corner or run around the map. At least winning is much more satisfying when they DO do that. Again, "block, block, block."
Now, about wasting money... it seems Ntreev favors donators over anything. You pay with cash, you get better shit early on. Those of us that are cheap can get the items from quests, but they only last a certain amount of time. Yes, they get deleted after a while. My Ronan lost a weapon that gave 130+ attack after having it for 15 days, and because his level is too low to use higher tier equips, I'm stuck with something that obviously gives 130+ less attack. Huge mistake on Ntreev's part. I think this is one of the reasons why the game isn't widely popular. Pretty much makes you wanna donate. Oh, and using cash also saves several painful hours of work to change classes or unlock characters. They even let you get special skills and pets you can't get elsewhere. If this games wasn't so addictive and fun, I would stop playing for this very reason. Basically, anyone who donates and goes to PvP will dominate the place unless someone else does the same. Their more exclusive pets make things unfair. If you don't donate, you can only get a Slime as a pet. If you do, you can get shit like some blue fairy that can freeze you and give you a major advantage with your skills. Very fair, amirite?
Lesse... what haven't I discussed... oh, the community sucks. I've seen maybe 4 competent people there outside of friends. The rest of the population consists of complete idiots or ignorant nubs. But once you ignore them, you'll have fun. Trust me, it isn't hard to do. Even with the lack of GM activity.
The music is great. Srsly. Maybe not the login music for when you pick servers or the waiting room in PvP... but everything else is. Just felt like bringing that up.
Anyways, I think all I've done was advertise the game... eh, and I got a little rant in there. I'd suggest at least trying it as it doesn't take up too much memory and it's a nice time killer for those of you with time to kill. That and I need more people to play with. Phanir needz frendz pl0x.
I guess that's it for now. And just a heads up, I'm not proofreading this. Any grammatical errors in here will stay that way. I'm tired as I type this. Very, very tired. REVIVAL OF MY BLOG IS COMPLETE.
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Animal Crossing: City Folk
Animal Crossing, Animal Crossing, why are you so fun?
Seriously, why? I love Wild World, amazingly, and never had the chance of playing the GameCube game. I was addicted for 3 years. Never caught all the bugs, but did everything else at least. I enjoyed the Wi-Fi/DS-to-DS with friends, the fishing, and everything else. I even enjoyed working to pay off my debts! If only it were that easy in real life. And then news about Animal Crossing Wii(City Folk) comes around, and the first thought to come to mind was, "zomg, improvements, amirite?" Sadly, I was mistaken... for the most part.
Let's talk about the good. REAL HOLIDAYS ARE BACK! Yay. Now I don't need to look forward to holidays like "Bright Lights" where people have lights on their houses. <_< And then we have the newest addition to the series: the city! Well, it's not really a city... it's like a small plaza with a few shops that I, personally, shall hardly ever visit. Oh, and a guy that's into making children happy... really into it... huh... moving on.
Okay, so much for the good. Time to rant about this new game:
the city is nothing but a small plaza, Nook closes earlier(and even EARLIER with the final upgrade), the house is smaller, Nook never sells a slingshot or axe(personal experience), the town starts off with cramped/annoying trees, the city is called "the city" and yet has no hookers, the fish are far more retarded in this version, and that's all I can come up with at the moment... unless I should bring up the Wi-Fi wasn't improved(i.e. no easy/quick way to find people to add other than knowing them in person or chatting on the intarwebz).
The plaza is a drag. A few shops, shoe shine guy, hair salon(that I'll personally never visit, at least on my main character), fortune teller... eh. The only kewl thing about it is the free gifts from the MJ Furry and the Silver Shovel. :C
Nook... closes at 10. Not 11 now, but 10(p.m. obviously). But wait, with the final shop upgrade, he closes at 9! Makes me wonder... what happens to those people that are busy from when he opens to when he closes? Will they have to play the game with the time set differently than it really is? I find that unfair/uncool. Luckily, I'm not so busy yet.
Smaller house; what the hell? Main room, 2nd floor, basement. What happened to the side and back rooms that were in Wild World? It SOUNDS as if the house is smaller, but once I get all the upgrades, I'll know for sure. And possibly weep and not having as many themed rooms as I used to have.
Slingshots and axes are scarce when you start. At least to me. And with those cramped trees I mentioned AND the occasional balloon-riding present in the sky, I needs me some hacking and shooting.
No. Hookers. What kind of city has no hookers? I wouldn't mind a random furry asking me for a good time, you know. I'd feel disgusted, but it would give me the city feel. I guess I can have my neighbors ask that when they ask for new greetings... especially the giant male furry ones... for the uber disgusting feel.
The fish seem to headbutt the ground more often, swim backwards, and even swim to their "death" off of the newly added waterfall(the second waterfall, obviously). It's funny and lame at times... Speaking of second waterfalls, having the cliffs added to the game is rather annoying as well. At least when you first start playing and they get in your way ALL of the time. After a while, it becomes a second nature to go around them. Again, my opinion on this. Personal experience. Not trying to state this as a fact, just how I feel about it.
Wi-Fi... no, Nintendo. Don't make it easier for us to make friends. We wouldn't mind lobbies of some sort to meet other people. Have us LOOK for them. But still, I guess it's a great way to know who exactly is in your town. I know I wouldn't want some stranger going through my house... online and off.
I honestly can't think of anything that makes this worth more of my time than Wild World... except for the fact I got tired of Wild World after 3 years and would like to try something new. I'm looking foward to the new items(Hero's clothing and Samus gear for the win) and whatever other new content pops out of nowhere. Will this last longer than Wild World? To me, not likely, but I do plan on playing this for at the very least a year and a half. Animal Crossing is still awesome to me and always will be. It's great to move away from the RPGs and Action games I normally play for something I could just sit back and relax playing with friends over Wi-Fi. The only problem now is the Wi-Fi. My next task is to get a Wii LAN Adapter. Wi-Fi, we shall be reunited soon! :ahoy: (lol, no smiley)
For those that would like to add me once I have Wi-Fi again, drop a comment here or on Backloggery(you'll have better luck with the latter). I shall bring fruits, bells, and women.
Seriously, why? I love Wild World, amazingly, and never had the chance of playing the GameCube game. I was addicted for 3 years. Never caught all the bugs, but did everything else at least. I enjoyed the Wi-Fi/DS-to-DS with friends, the fishing, and everything else. I even enjoyed working to pay off my debts! If only it were that easy in real life. And then news about Animal Crossing Wii(City Folk) comes around, and the first thought to come to mind was, "zomg, improvements, amirite?" Sadly, I was mistaken... for the most part.
Let's talk about the good. REAL HOLIDAYS ARE BACK! Yay. Now I don't need to look forward to holidays like "Bright Lights" where people have lights on their houses. <_< And then we have the newest addition to the series: the city! Well, it's not really a city... it's like a small plaza with a few shops that I, personally, shall hardly ever visit. Oh, and a guy that's into making children happy... really into it... huh... moving on.
Okay, so much for the good. Time to rant about this new game:
the city is nothing but a small plaza, Nook closes earlier(and even EARLIER with the final upgrade), the house is smaller, Nook never sells a slingshot or axe(personal experience), the town starts off with cramped/annoying trees, the city is called "the city" and yet has no hookers, the fish are far more retarded in this version, and that's all I can come up with at the moment... unless I should bring up the Wi-Fi wasn't improved(i.e. no easy/quick way to find people to add other than knowing them in person or chatting on the intarwebz).
The plaza is a drag. A few shops, shoe shine guy, hair salon(that I'll personally never visit, at least on my main character), fortune teller... eh. The only kewl thing about it is the free gifts from the MJ Furry and the Silver Shovel. :C
Nook... closes at 10. Not 11 now, but 10(p.m. obviously). But wait, with the final shop upgrade, he closes at 9! Makes me wonder... what happens to those people that are busy from when he opens to when he closes? Will they have to play the game with the time set differently than it really is? I find that unfair/uncool. Luckily, I'm not so busy yet.
Smaller house; what the hell? Main room, 2nd floor, basement. What happened to the side and back rooms that were in Wild World? It SOUNDS as if the house is smaller, but once I get all the upgrades, I'll know for sure. And possibly weep and not having as many themed rooms as I used to have.
Slingshots and axes are scarce when you start. At least to me. And with those cramped trees I mentioned AND the occasional balloon-riding present in the sky, I needs me some hacking and shooting.
No. Hookers. What kind of city has no hookers? I wouldn't mind a random furry asking me for a good time, you know. I'd feel disgusted, but it would give me the city feel. I guess I can have my neighbors ask that when they ask for new greetings... especially the giant male furry ones... for the uber disgusting feel.
The fish seem to headbutt the ground more often, swim backwards, and even swim to their "death" off of the newly added waterfall(the second waterfall, obviously). It's funny and lame at times... Speaking of second waterfalls, having the cliffs added to the game is rather annoying as well. At least when you first start playing and they get in your way ALL of the time. After a while, it becomes a second nature to go around them. Again, my opinion on this. Personal experience. Not trying to state this as a fact, just how I feel about it.
Wi-Fi... no, Nintendo. Don't make it easier for us to make friends. We wouldn't mind lobbies of some sort to meet other people. Have us LOOK for them. But still, I guess it's a great way to know who exactly is in your town. I know I wouldn't want some stranger going through my house... online and off.
I honestly can't think of anything that makes this worth more of my time than Wild World... except for the fact I got tired of Wild World after 3 years and would like to try something new. I'm looking foward to the new items(Hero's clothing and Samus gear for the win) and whatever other new content pops out of nowhere. Will this last longer than Wild World? To me, not likely, but I do plan on playing this for at the very least a year and a half. Animal Crossing is still awesome to me and always will be. It's great to move away from the RPGs and Action games I normally play for something I could just sit back and relax playing with friends over Wi-Fi. The only problem now is the Wi-Fi. My next task is to get a Wii LAN Adapter. Wi-Fi, we shall be reunited soon! :ahoy: (lol, no smiley)
For those that would like to add me once I have Wi-Fi again, drop a comment here or on Backloggery(you'll have better luck with the latter). I shall bring fruits, bells, and women.
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World
*might contain possible spoilers*
The "Tales of" series. I remember the good times... Phantasia, Destiny, Eternia, etc... with their latest(to ME, so screw Vesperia) being Innocence, which srlsy needs a U.S. release. After playing Innocence, even after knowing it was going to be a sequel, I still looked forward to Symphonia 2. I was hoping Symphonia 2 would have some Innocence elements to it. The first Symphonia game... I've beaten at most 10 times. I never really did the side quests, but I enjoyed it still. Decent story, decent gameplay, extremely easy... lame characters... and now I'm wondering why the hell I liked the Symphonia "series."
Symphonia on the Wii so far has me disappointed. The protagonist, Emil, has got to be as annoying as Lloyd and Colette from the first game. I hated them with a passion and Emil is making things worse. He's nothing but a pussy until a "demon lord" controls him in battle. Having to swap from a pussy little boy outside of battles to a "badass" in battles is rather annoying. And to make things ever better, he dresses like a woman. So now we get to have a tranny be the protagonist. Let's see, Emil is a giant pussy, he dresses like a woman, he's nervous around a girl that freaking loves him, and always thinks about a man he met in the beginning of the game(well, some things he said, but him nonetheless). Chapter 1 of the game is already pissing me off... that isn't a good sign.
Why keep playing? I honestly only have two reasons to torture myself with these annoying characters: the story and gameplay. The story actually has me wondering what's been going on since the first game. A problem between the two worlds' citizens, a liberation front, "Lloyd the Great," etc. I think they added too much "mystery" in the beginning of the game. There is a LOT going on with no answers. And just when you thought they were hiding enough info, the next place you visit has more. I'm only really concerned with the background involving old characters and the current status of the world. And because I'm not lame enough to just read up on it on the intarwebz, I shall play through. If anything, the gameplay will keep me sane.
The battles are MUCH better in this game than the first Symphonia. Free roam and difficulty; a nice challenge. The only game in the "Tales of" series I remember with free roam was Innocence(if Vesperia has it, good for it, don't really care), so to my knowledge they actually used an element of it. Just adding that made the gameplay better than most of the "Tales of" games I've played. And this game, even on Normal mode, is actually a challenge. I'm kinda excited about playing on Mania mode if I ever play through again(I still have a LONG ways to go). I've found it so far to be difficult enough to provide a nice challenge, but not so much as to require pointless grinding. If the battles had any flaw, it's the new Unison Attack and the ability to... capture... monsters.
The Unison Attacks... damn it to hell. Okay, it really isn't a flaw, it's more of the fact that I have NO idea how they work in this game. But at the moment I can say they suck. Hard. I've never done more damage than 2 physical attacks yet. Even when those rare chances of my TEAM GETTING IN THE UNISON ATTACK also cause damage. Yes, it's called a "Unison" Attack when nearly all the time, I see only Emil doing something for shit damage. If you're reading this from Backloggery and have the solution to my problems, leave a comment and halp me. <_<
And now, capturing monsters. I thought I stopped playing Pokemon and whatnot back in about... August or July(Platinum import doesn't really count to me). Using monsters on your team could be a "nifty" idea, it just sucks when one of them outlevels me quickly and makes me feel really weak. I caught some weak monster at a very low level with low stats and minutes later, he had double my HP AND level. A nice tank, but man... makes me feel like a pussy... oh, wait, I WAS using Emil. But seriously, adding this to the series... just seems odd. To redeem itself, I'm hoping for one thing and one thing only; I WANT A FUCKING SWORD DANCER ON MY TEAM.
My rant on Symphonia 2. In the end, I wish I had rented the game. You don't want to know what I did to get this. You really don't. <_<
The "Tales of" series. I remember the good times... Phantasia, Destiny, Eternia, etc... with their latest(to ME, so screw Vesperia) being Innocence, which srlsy needs a U.S. release. After playing Innocence, even after knowing it was going to be a sequel, I still looked forward to Symphonia 2. I was hoping Symphonia 2 would have some Innocence elements to it. The first Symphonia game... I've beaten at most 10 times. I never really did the side quests, but I enjoyed it still. Decent story, decent gameplay, extremely easy... lame characters... and now I'm wondering why the hell I liked the Symphonia "series."
Symphonia on the Wii so far has me disappointed. The protagonist, Emil, has got to be as annoying as Lloyd and Colette from the first game. I hated them with a passion and Emil is making things worse. He's nothing but a pussy until a "demon lord" controls him in battle. Having to swap from a pussy little boy outside of battles to a "badass" in battles is rather annoying. And to make things ever better, he dresses like a woman. So now we get to have a tranny be the protagonist. Let's see, Emil is a giant pussy, he dresses like a woman, he's nervous around a girl that freaking loves him, and always thinks about a man he met in the beginning of the game(well, some things he said, but him nonetheless). Chapter 1 of the game is already pissing me off... that isn't a good sign.
Why keep playing? I honestly only have two reasons to torture myself with these annoying characters: the story and gameplay. The story actually has me wondering what's been going on since the first game. A problem between the two worlds' citizens, a liberation front, "Lloyd the Great," etc. I think they added too much "mystery" in the beginning of the game. There is a LOT going on with no answers. And just when you thought they were hiding enough info, the next place you visit has more. I'm only really concerned with the background involving old characters and the current status of the world. And because I'm not lame enough to just read up on it on the intarwebz, I shall play through. If anything, the gameplay will keep me sane.
The battles are MUCH better in this game than the first Symphonia. Free roam and difficulty; a nice challenge. The only game in the "Tales of" series I remember with free roam was Innocence(if Vesperia has it, good for it, don't really care), so to my knowledge they actually used an element of it. Just adding that made the gameplay better than most of the "Tales of" games I've played. And this game, even on Normal mode, is actually a challenge. I'm kinda excited about playing on Mania mode if I ever play through again(I still have a LONG ways to go). I've found it so far to be difficult enough to provide a nice challenge, but not so much as to require pointless grinding. If the battles had any flaw, it's the new Unison Attack and the ability to... capture... monsters.
The Unison Attacks... damn it to hell. Okay, it really isn't a flaw, it's more of the fact that I have NO idea how they work in this game. But at the moment I can say they suck. Hard. I've never done more damage than 2 physical attacks yet. Even when those rare chances of my TEAM GETTING IN THE UNISON ATTACK also cause damage. Yes, it's called a "Unison" Attack when nearly all the time, I see only Emil doing something for shit damage. If you're reading this from Backloggery and have the solution to my problems, leave a comment and halp me. <_<
And now, capturing monsters. I thought I stopped playing Pokemon and whatnot back in about... August or July(Platinum import doesn't really count to me). Using monsters on your team could be a "nifty" idea, it just sucks when one of them outlevels me quickly and makes me feel really weak. I caught some weak monster at a very low level with low stats and minutes later, he had double my HP AND level. A nice tank, but man... makes me feel like a pussy... oh, wait, I WAS using Emil. But seriously, adding this to the series... just seems odd. To redeem itself, I'm hoping for one thing and one thing only; I WANT A FUCKING SWORD DANCER ON MY TEAM.
My rant on Symphonia 2. In the end, I wish I had rented the game. You don't want to know what I did to get this. You really don't. <_<
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
The Move and More
My first blog. Yay? Nay? Figured I could start using this since I have lots of time to kill.
Let's get the boring stuff over with... like my sudden absence. D:
Simply put, I was moving. Twice. Left the apartment with my mother, her husband, and my cat to their new house. It's a saucy place. Too bad the people living nearby suck. Hard. Nothing but bratty little kids and old people. The upside is that there's a skatepark nearby. And the police department looks like a grocery store from the wild west. <_<
I mentioned moving twice, amirite? The second time was out of the Golden State(California) to Ohio. I r livin' wit Sir Deficit. He sucks. :D (hope you're reading this, har har har) But srsly, the only thing that sucks is that I can't find a job. At all. And I'm not exactly rockin' a lot of cash. Still need to pick between Mario Kart Wii or Guitar Hero World Tour(Wii version)... and a new DS. My L-button is broken so I can't play much. :C
So, what have I been doing here so far? Gaming. Gaming. And a little bit more gaming. Currently playing Disgaea DS. Hooked. I played the PS2 version years back, but didn't get far. Continuing on the DS is awesome... other than the fact my DS battery life lasts about 3 hours. ;_;
I'm stopping here. The DS problem breaks my heart. <_<
Oh, and I'll perty up this place some other time.
Let's get the boring stuff over with... like my sudden absence. D:
Simply put, I was moving. Twice. Left the apartment with my mother, her husband, and my cat to their new house. It's a saucy place. Too bad the people living nearby suck. Hard. Nothing but bratty little kids and old people. The upside is that there's a skatepark nearby. And the police department looks like a grocery store from the wild west. <_<
I mentioned moving twice, amirite? The second time was out of the Golden State(California) to Ohio. I r livin' wit Sir Deficit. He sucks. :D (hope you're reading this, har har har) But srsly, the only thing that sucks is that I can't find a job. At all. And I'm not exactly rockin' a lot of cash. Still need to pick between Mario Kart Wii or Guitar Hero World Tour(Wii version)... and a new DS. My L-button is broken so I can't play much. :C
So, what have I been doing here so far? Gaming. Gaming. And a little bit more gaming. Currently playing Disgaea DS. Hooked. I played the PS2 version years back, but didn't get far. Continuing on the DS is awesome... other than the fact my DS battery life lasts about 3 hours. ;_;
I'm stopping here. The DS problem breaks my heart. <_<
Oh, and I'll perty up this place some other time.
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