Sabo

1 hour ago, Delita said:

Nah I’m just giving you crap. Disgaea and fire emblem are pretty good. But these are honestly entry level  low tier srpgs in terms of depth. Disgaea is fun. I’ve beaten the first 3. But I would not call it the best of the genre. It’s like calling killer instinct the best fighting game of the gen or something 

I don't follow the genre and have very little experience with it. Disgaea is one of the titles I've seen mentioned a lot though when people talk about SRPGs  so I assumed it was one of the better ones. Like I said earlier, don't really have much options on the PS5 when it comes to this genre so when I saw Disgaea 5 with all DLC for 20 bucks I figured why not. 

If I had a Switch I'd definitely be giving Fire Emblem a try instead though. The latest game appears to be really good, all I see is praise for the game.

I see these games go on sale all the time on the PSN store but I never had a desire to try them out. Mostly for the reason Twinblade mentioned. JRPGs are pretty huge time investments to begin with, the thought of having to play all of the games in the series to get the full story does not seem worth it at all. The way this series is handled just seems like a very stupid design decision.

LOL, seriously. Disgaea is commonly mentioned alongside FFT and FE when it comes to SRPGs...

Just so you don't get your fanboy panties in a bunch any further...I'm on PS5 and my choices for SRPGs isn't exactly broad. Disgaea 5 was basically my only choice.

2 hours ago, Ramza said:

Yeah, true. Havent played the game since 2015 and probably never will again. I still really like that gameplay though regardless, and the art direction was neat too.

I agree to an extent. I really enjoyed my first time with the game but on a attempted second playthrough the flaws are too hard to ignore that I just stopped playing. Game mechanics are still ace though, just a shame the game never really tries to take full advantage of them.

Thanks to VC4 I decided to try out one of the heavyweights of the SRPG genre. Now, I've tried SRPGs before but they've never really clicked with me but it appears VC4 is actually a pretty good gateway into the genre.

I'm playing Disgaea 5 right now and fuck me... This game is bat shit insane with all of it's game systems. I had to ignore some stuff for now because there is just way too much to process, this has to be the most overwhelmed I've ever felt playing a game.

15 hours ago, Ramza said:

Nah you just suck. MGSV gameplay was amazing.

The game mechanics were amazing but the actual gameplay was pretty repetitive and bland. MGSV also has quite possibly the worst mission design in a open world game we've ever seen. Just a constant loop of repeating the same handful of quests. The open world itself was also barren as hell with absolutely nothing of interest to do. 

Not sure if you've tried to replay it recently but I tried last year. I barely played for a couple hours before I turned it off out of sheer boredom. It made me realize MGSV is very much a one and done type of game. The gameplay is too weak to warrant a second playthrough.

Black Desert.

Holy shit this game sucks. No idea why this peice of shit game is popular. 

SNES easily. Arguably the greatest console of all time, it's game library is full of classics that still hold up even today.

On 2020-01-06 at 6:35 PM, JONBpc said:

It started off as such an amazing thing. It still is amazing. Everyone has the ability to use it to become smarter. The answer to every question is 3 seconds away. The knowledge that could be taught to everyone is right there, free.

 

But it has become an extension of peoples personality. Probably in the worst way imaginable. Its become an extension of our existence for the most trivial of reasons. An addiction worse than the hardest drugs out there. A platform for everyone to voice opinions or ideas that should be kept to themselves.

 

Probably the greatest tool to hit humanity, and its used mostly for vanity. A disconnect from reality , it really is a tragedy.

A good post.

Wait... JON?

Jon fuckin' B made this post?

Well I'll be damned.

3 hours ago, Team 2019 said:

 

I like this one better.

1 hour ago, Team 2019 said:

Someone needs to pick up the Alice franchise again

What the hell happened to the recent game they were making? They announced it years ago but haven't heard anything since.

1 hour ago, Twinblade said:

here are some details from resetera

 

 

it's a stealth action adventure. Sounds like Uncharted's mobility and platforming mixed with TLOU's stealth
implied there's no active combat but there is stealth, stealth kills etc. Wouldn't be surprised if this is mixed up somehow
no RPG elements. Gollum/Smeagol have been around for three hundred years, the team felt his skillset/abilities are pretty well locked in
targeting AAA animation quality. Gollum alone has hundreds of animations
seemingly has multiple paths through levels
very narrative driven. Not an open world thing or a big sandbox thing - it's more a tight, nuanced journey through a world
we will be able to engage with characters (from randos trying to escape the prison, to side characters from the novels and some series classics - unsure if we can engage with the latter)
takes place in Sauron's massive underground prison fortress, opens with Gollum trying to escape it. I forget all the names
you have to escape and survive, possibly with the help of other prisoners you encounter
Gollum's character is very important - more importantly the friction between Gollum and Smeagol, who are like two entities in the one body. They will both be talking simultaneously, arguing - and the gameplay, choices and story will reflect how the two of them are in conflict but also symbiotically supporting each other
the game has many "branching points" in the middle of gameplay where there are two options (e.g. ambush an unsuspecting orc or go past him and make a run for it) and the game has some kind of strange QTE minigame where you try to follow either what Gollum would do (predatory/animalistic) or Smeagol would do (cowardly but more human(e)). It's something akin to "drawing a card from a deck, the cards being slid around a table in front of you". This one I'm not sure about.
seems to be split into multiple chapters/acts, each with several big conflicts/tension points

Context:
The article says the game will release on "all relevant systems", according to the devs. In 2021 I believe but I might be misremembering that part. I'd imagine it's current gen as well as next gen, but they speak a bit about next gen impacting the design in some ways, so can't be sure. I'd rather it be next gen exclusive personally.
he Middle Earth IP owners were impressed that the team came to them not with An Orc Slaying Game but with A Cool Story Bro, and this fact alone got their foot in the door. But negotiations still took years
it's a bit of a departure for Daedelic but they've brought a bunch of new staff on board. The article is mostly an interview - they seem very self-assured about the game and their process

Visuals:
visually, it's a new stylistic interpretation of the universe and characters. Not based on the films or cartoons - trying to break free of the film's shackles. It's based on the literature and early post-novel illustrations, combined with modern fantasy art/styl sensibilities
tons of concept art in the article - literally no screens except very rough renders.
They aren't showing off Gollum yet, but say he's not too like the movie and is more recognisably human. Talk about how bizarre he was in the early illustrations because there was no size reference in the books - he could technically be a giant
in terms of next-gen elements, they say it's most exciting in terms of allowing the level designers to keep environments visually open and vertical - no need to funnel players into tiny spaces/roadblocks to load the next area from the HDD

 LOL WTF

I mean, I know it's stupid to write the game off but you're playing as Gollum FFS...

Some of this stuff does sound interesting though but then again PR talk always makes things sound more interesting than they actually are. Put me down in the heavily skeptical camp until I see gameplay.

Still though, never thought I'd see the day where Gollum is the star of a LOTR game. Like what in the actual fuck LOL...

What timeline is this and how do I get back?

This seriously isn't going to be a game where you play as Gollum, right?

Because who the fuck would want that?

That would be a hard sell for even the most die hard LOTR fans.

Really good. Makes me question if the people with suggestions weren't plants though. Another thing that sticks out is the flow, freestyle flows can understandably get a little messy in parts but this was consistently clean throughout the whole thing.

Not really trying to shit on the act because it was really good. I just question how legit it actually is.

9 hours ago, Delita said:

This your first  vc? Literally everything you said has been there since 1. If they haven’t changed it now, I doubt they’re going to change anything.  Well, 2, and 3 had smaller maps which made shock troopers more useful, but then that made scouts pointless.

 

the series just needs a complete overhaul

Yes, it is. Disappointing to hear this is stuff that has always existed.

I wouldn't say it needs a complete overhaul. All of these issues aren't major, they're things that can be easily addressed and fixed since they fall under the balance category. Further tweaks and fine tuning is all that's really needed.

Completed Valkyria Chronicles 4, solid game but I have some issues with it.

-Class balance is a bit out of whack.

Scouts are a little too tanky for having such a large AP pool. They can single handedly clear levels for you.

Troopers range is a bit too short and I feel they need more AP. They're suppose to be the backbone of your squad but they struggle to get in range and move to ideal positions.

Lancers are too specialized and don't have anything else to offer besides Tank slaying.

Engineers feel pretty useless for the most part since armor vehicles have a lot of defense and HP so you rarely need to repair them. Engineers feel like nerfed Scouts.

Snipers are probably the most balanced class. No issues here.

Grenadiers are OP as fuck. Once you get anti armor rounds they make Lancers feel pointless.

-Squad orders are broken. Using only a couple Orders on a unit will allow that unit to finish the level in 1 turn.

-Speaking of turns, having the ranking base itself only on how fast you complete the level paints the game in a very negative light. Playing for rank makes the game extremely shallow and exposed how unbalanced and simple the game really is. I had the most fun with the game when I just completely ignored the ranking system. It's a shame the ranking system doesn't score you on multiple things, feels like a huge oversight.

I have other issues with the game but these were the main things that constantly stuck out to me.

Overall though, despite my issues I still enjoyed the game. I'd give it a 7/ 10. Definitely room for improvement but what's here is solid enough.

I never said the game sucked. My first post in this thread was me DEFENDING the game and saying it was alright for it's time.

I also don't hate the materia system, I think it had a lot of potential but dumb decisions prevent the system from truly shining. The heart breaking part is all the parts ARE there, the game just gives it to you too late.

Finally... been waiting for 3 years. Good thing Sony caught wind of this and helped out on the game. If they didn't then we'd probably have to wait another year or two.

5 hours ago, kaz said:

I'm still drunk and my point stands lol. if you hate ff7 for the sake of it, that's fine, but don't say it's all shiny but no depth. I actually addressed everything you said and I still cringe over the fact you tried to explain different types of materia, as if nobody understands the game concept except yourself. 

 

You clearly hate the game, and I don't like people taking shit out their asses for no reason. 

 

 

 

buuh buuh materia adds nothing to the game... i dont have unlimited combinations at the start of the game buuh. fuck off. You never seen the end of FF7, that's my opinion. 

 

The FFX part makes me even laugh more. absolute plebs. 

How drunk are you? You still don't understand the point I was making. The reason I brought up the different types of materia is because they DIRECTLY CORRELATE to the point I was making, you fuckin' lush... The whole point of everything I was pointing out was how late you are able to experiment with the system. Support materia is limited and can only be found, not bought. It's the main piece required to even do Materia combinations which is why it's called SUPPORT. Do you see the problem with shops not selling Support materia yet?

 The reason you kept bringing up "All" is because it's literally the only Support materia you will have for the majority of Disc 1. You have two chances to grab an "Elemental" on Disc 1 but one of them is easily missed. You have a chance to pick up "Added Effect" in the Cave of Gi but it's only available for a brief moment and also easily missed. If you do miss it, guess what? You don't find another one until halfway through disc 2. "Added Cut"? Don't get that until Great Glacier which is around the mid point of Disc 2. "Magic Counter"? Can't get that until you obtain Omnislash and even then it won't become a Battle Square reward until Disc 2. "Counter"? Guess what, you need at least a Black Chocobo for that one. You aren't breeding one of those until you're deep into Disc 2 because the nuts and grass type required to breed high tier chocobos is locked to late game areas. "Final Attack"? Heh, that one requires a Gold Chocobo (the absolute top tier Chocobo). "MP Absorb", "HP Absorb", "MP Turbo", "Quadra Magic", "Sneak Attack", "Steal as Well"? Yeah, all of those aren't accessible until halfway through disc 2.

For 95% of these, there only exists ONE. Which means if you want more then you get to grind them to Master level. And that takes awhile even with Triple Growth rate applied. You brought up weapon and armor having materia slots. And yeah, that's true. But tell me, what good are those slots when you don't have the required materia for materia combinations? Do you see the problem with the system yet? Do you see how poorly planned out it is, because IT IS poorly planned out. That is not my opinion, that is an objective fact. All the information in the previous paragraph is not my opinion, those are the locations where you can find the much needed Support materia that is required to even do materia combinations. Fact.

Oh, but this game is so.... What were your words? "Perfectly balance" I believe is what you said. Yeah.... riiiiiight. Let's ignore Beta will steamroll everything in disc 1. Let's ignore your characters grossly outlevel enemies on disc 2 because standard enemies give far more XP than they should. Let's ignore the fuckin' Magic Defense stat is bugged and doesn't even work.  

The game clearly wasn't play tested enough because if it was then such a glaringly obvious flaw with the materia system and all the other dumb shit would've been discovered.

Only thing you said that had any value is that you're drunk. Come back when you're sober and actually make sure you're understanding the point I'm making. You literally said nothing that challenged anything I said and jumped to a lot of false assumptions...

7 hours ago, kaz said:

lol sabo, that's your opinion, I get it, but you are really exaggerating. 

 

The materia system in FF7 is as complex as it needed be. They just went from the fixed character tropes to a more open character building approach. I wouldn't call it "poorly planned out" and "ultimately unnecessary".

 

Also the materia system just makes sense because it's a major point of the story, it's like you forgot that or something. And it suits the overall theme and atmosphere.

 

FF7 is an absolute masterpiece, in all aspects. And I like all FF titles. And Lost Odyssey is one of the worst JRPGs I've ever played. The combat puts me to sleep and the story is just rubbish.

 

 

I prefer specific character roles as well, I think it makes for more interesting characters, but I don't dislike a more open approach with materia or sphere thingy from X etc etc

 

 

 

 

One thing I always decided early into the game was who gets the "all" materia, like do i save it for healing or do i use spells with it? That choice is kinda pointless because you can just breeze through right?

 

I don't think so. 

It was poorly planned out in the sense that you don't really get to experiment with more complex combinations until much later in the game. The game should've gave you access to this stuff much sooner. Add in the most useful materia can only be gained once which means if you want more you have to grind a lot just to gain another (master it to spawn a new one). There should've just been more of them to be found or even sold at shops. Instead materia shops are mostly useless because they rarely sell materia you don't already have and they only sell the basic types of materia (Independent and Magic) and never the useful types that are needed for materia combinations (Command and Support). Independent can't be used in materia combinations, hence why it's called Independent, and Magic needs Support materia in order to be used in materia combos. How is this NOT poorly planned out?

Literally have no idea what point you're trying to make with materia's significance to the game world because that has nothing to do with gameplay. You're trying to reach for something though but it's pointless to the topic I'm discussing.

Characters in FFX had roles so I have no idea why you're trying to compare it to FF VII.. Tidus was a Fighter/Time Mage who hard countered agile enemies. Wakka was a Status Effect specialist who hard countered flying enemies. Auron was a Stat Debuffer who hard countered armor enemies. Kimahri was a Blue Mage, Yuna a White Mage/Summoner, Lulu a Black Mage, Rikku a Thief/Alchemist... You CAN alter characters roles but you can't do that until end game so characters each have a purpose for the team. None are useless.

Are you seriously overstating the importance of who gets the All materia and what to combo it with?

Seriously?

Who is the one exaggerating now?

14 minutes ago, Voidler said:

So it’s the best game in the genre then

GoW is not an Action game. It's an Action/Adventure game.

No idea why people still don't see the distinction but I suppose that's why the term Character-Action Game is gaining traction to help differentiate games like NG, DMC and Bayo from stuff like GoW and Darksiders. They are very different types of games.

God, your arguments are childish...

It's a regression because the combat was simplified compared to it's predecessors. FF V had Jobs. FF VI took that a step further and locked characters to a Job but gave them each unique gameplay mechanics. FF VII had none of this character individuality. They were all basically the same character with Limit Breaks being their only defining gameplay feature. FF VII was very much a "Pick 3 and bench the rest" game because characters don't have anything to offer from a gameplay perspective. This lack of character of character individuality limits tactics and strategy greatly and makes combat even more repetitive.

Yes. The Materia system does offer those things but you don't get full access to the interesting stuff until you're HALFWAY through Disc 2. At that point it's far too late because most players have already gotten use to playing with basic combinations. Add in the difficulty of the game is very low to begin with so there really is no need to even experiment with the system. The Materia system had potential but it got nowhere close to achieving it because of poor execution.

19 minutes ago, Remij_ said:

Why does it need to add a specific amazing feature?  Being able to explore environments which weren't flat was an exciting change.  The game improved on an already great battle system, the magic system was interesting, it has a great story, and a great cast of characters.  It just so happened to wrap it all together in the best looking presentation an RPG had ever seen for the time.

 

Because sequels should improve upon and refine. Duh.

FF VII did none of this. FF VII combat wasn't an improvement, it was a regression. Materia system had potential but it was poorly planned out and ultimately unnecessary. Limit Breaks are the perfect example for all flash and no substance. The story is considered by many to be convoluted.

The only thing you said that I agree with is the presentation was good and that's because that is the main thing they focused on.

1 minute ago, Remij_ said:

"no substance"  

What amazing gameplay feature did FF VII add?