17.03.12 / Action RPG, Sega, Sony PSP, Video game / Author: Kina / Comments: (4)
Tags: phantasy star portable
I thought I would have quit by now. I wasn’t expecting to be still playing this game after 5 hours and three story missions, and I certainly didn’t think I’d be enjoying myself. Proof, if any were needed, that I am a seriously poor judge of my own tastes.
Phantasy Star Portable is billed as an Action RPG. It’s 95% action, 5% RPG, and I’m not even sure about that bit. There’s a story in there somewhere, and you level up and you do play a role as a newly-qualified guardian, but most games have that kind of framing device. This is very close to a pure action game. You show up, they give you your mission, you kill random monsters for 30 minutes, beat the boss, clear the mission, go back for more.
On a normal day I wouldn’t even think twice about tossing this aside. I play video games to relax and unwind, not to stress myself out. And yet somehow PSP is one of the most relaxing games I’ve played all year. It’s the right game at the right time. After playing several talk-fests in a row, there’s something oddly therapeutic about just running around mashing buttons blindly without anyone getting on my case. And a simple story about a terrorist on the loose and a KOS-MOS clone that wants to know what love is is just what I needed after all those “deep” and “clever” stories.
Plus the game is easy, too. I told myself I’d quit when I saw my first game-over screen, but I haven’t even come close to being wiped out yet. I haven’t had to grind either; it seems just doing all the missions as and when they become available is enough to keep you properly leveled so you can progress. I’ve also got more weapons and healing items than I know what to do with right now. The game is a completionist’s wet drea, with what seem to be hundreds of weapons and items and arts to be collected, but I’m getting by just fine with my basic human fighmaster and his dinky little swords. I’ll still quit if I get wiped out, but it’s looking less and less likely with every passing mission.
Real men fight with meat!
All isn’t rosy in paradise, though. I have a problem with the story. Yes, it’s refreshingly straightforward and concise, but there are two things that are bothering me.
1. The Stranger’s Family Reunion issue again. Apparently this is a spin-off of a PS2 game called Phantasy Star Universe, so they throw around terms and make reference to events and characters like I should know them all already. Instead of explaining thing properly, the game just expects me to be familiar with the Gurhal system, the species/races in the system and their mutual relations, whatever SEED are, whoever the Alliance Military are, whoever Captain Curtz is, and so on and so forth. And they have these “emotional” scenes and stuff, featuring people I’ve never even seen before. I feel bad telling them I don’t care, but… I DON’T CARE!!!
2. Visual novel-like choices along the way. The KOS-MOS clone I mentioned is a robot (CAST) named Vivienne, and you’re supposed to help her develop emotionally by making the right conversation choices. Only they don’t tell you what’s right and what’s wrong, or give you any hints so you can figure out what she wants to hear. So far the prevailing wisdom seems to be “Don’t be a douchebag,” but if I get to end and find out I got a bad ending because I picked “Don’t agree” instead of “Agree” at some point, I’m going to be pissed.
So far, so good. I’m still ready to quit at any time if the game gets too hard, but otherwise I’ll keep playing PSP in small doses and report back when I’m done.
25.07.11 / Action RPG, Nintendo DS, Square-Enix, Video game / Author: Kina / Comments: (0)
Tags: the world ends with you
I’m a casual RPG gamer. I can’t deal with all this mindless dashing about, running all over the screen with one hand, using pins to slash and stab enemies with the other hand, controlling your partner on the top screen with your third hand, reaching for a rope to hang yourself with your fourth hand…
1. I don’t like Action RPGs. And this has an exceptionally hectic and confusing battle system. I just poked and slashed at random until something died, which worked for Days 1 and 2 but would have caught up to me eventually.
2. Every mission seemingly consists of “Erase the Noise.” Wanna walk through the park? Erase the Noise. Wanna scratch your nose? Erase the Noise. Wanna take a shit? Erase the Noise.
3. Amnesia protagonist. Seriously. He doesn’t help his case by being an unpleasant little twerp.
4. Characters I don’t care about. “We’re trapped in Shibuya and we have to fight to get out!” Yeah, uhh, good luck with that.
5. Story I don’t care about. Reapers, Noise, battles, sulky teenagers… what part of this am I supposed to give a damn about? The game is all “funky” and “cool”, I get that, I just don’t get the “likeable” and “relatable” part.
6. I spoke to the friend who recommended the game so strongly and it turns out…he hasn’t finished it either! And what he liked about it the most was not the story or the gameplay, but…the SOUNDTRACK. As a matter of fact TWEWY been on his “Keep meaning to finish” list for almost 3 years, he can’t even remember where he got to, and yet he keeps pushing it on other people. Why am I friends with him again?
Phew, that’s a weight off my chest. I was on the verge of repeating my Saigo no Yakusoku no Monogatari mistake, where I kept plugging away at a game that was making me suffer, even as other games were waiting to be played. Not saying it’s a bad game – for the right kind of gamer – but it’s definitely not for me.
So, that’s a third item struck off my Half-year resolution list. Unfortunately I probably won’t be able to play Summon Night 3 this year because my PS2 is, uhh, indisposed. I need to have it fixed, but things are, uhh, complicated so I can’t do that for a while. As for last two items on that list, Nora to Toki no Koubou is out! I’m struggling with whether to buy it or just pirate it, which is why I haven’t said anything so far. I’ll wait and see a couple of reviews first. I started Persona on the PSP the other day. Whew, old school is OLD. But not bad, I guess.
I’ve also been testing various other games and gotten pretty far in some of them, but that’s all stuff for another post, another day.
16.07.11 / Action RPG, Nintendo DS, Otome game, PS2, RPG, Simulation game, Sony PSP, Strategy RPG, Video game, Visual novel / Author: Kina / Comments: (0)
Tags: allison & lillia, astonishia story, Berwick Saga: Tear Ring Saga, breath toiki wa akaneiro, destiny links, harvest moon, hiiro no kakera, hoshigami remix, houkago shounen, inugami, Legend of Heroes, mimana iyar chronicle, remindelight, the world ends with you
I play a lot of games from start to finish. I play even more from start to whenever-I-get-tired-of-it. However every once in a while (…actually pretty darn often) there’s a game that I try to play only to give up very quickly for one reason or another. I usually don’t even mention them here firstly because I have nothing to say, and secondly because I have better games to write about, but I’ll list a few recent victims of this practice here.
Remindelight (DS) – Long intro, cliched story about rescuing sister from forces of evil, meh graphics, massively squashed-up text that’s incredibly difficult to read, terrible battle system that consists of slashing randomly at the screen, etc. I don’t think I got even an hour into this one.
Houkago Shounen (DS) – One of the games you have to be Japanese to appreciate, I guess. It follows the life of a little boy in 80s Japan as he goes to school, comes home, plays with his friends and tries to avoid moving away with his family at the end of summer. It was heartwarming but, frankly, extremely dull, and none of the mini-games he plays seemed like any fun. Instead of me playing a game about him, he needs to play the game about my childhood.
Astonishia Story (PSP) – I played about an hour last week, and it reminded me of Tactical Guild in terms of sheer terribleness. Even the samey-looking bad guys, walk-up-and-attack battle system, forced humor and paper-thin characters are similar. I could grow to love this game, I know I could. But I’ve already played one so-bad-its-good game this year, so AS will have to wait till at least 2012 to get its turn. If ever.
Inugami DS, Allison & Lillia DS – Not games, just books put on the DS by publishers out to make a few extra bucks. I thought reading light novels on the DS might be more fun than reading scanned copies on the screen (Buy? what is this “Buy” you speak of?), but this probably only applies to books that are worth reading in the first place, i.e. NOT Inugami.
Destiny Links (DS) – Shame, it’s a really promising game. Destiny Links had lots of elements I love in an RPG (quests, item crafting, world exploration, multiple character scenarios to play through), but I just couldn’t get past the pure action RPG battle system. I can handle ARPGs with level ups because then I can just grind till I’m strong enough, but systems that require me to actually show some skill and dexterity are a no-go. I managed to finish the first island, then threw my hands up after that. The tiny characters and the mostly-hiragana text didn’t help either.
Mimana Iyar Chronicle (PSP) – Plays like Tales of the Tempest, feels like a Grandia II rip-off. If I had a dollar for every grumpy mercenary with a chip on his shoulder… I made it to the first boss, who promptly wiped me out. Now I either have to grind or actually get the hang of the battle system, neither of which appeals to me right now. Dumped until further notice.
The World Ends With You (DS) – I’m giving it my best shot, I really am, but… It’s not doing anything for me. I’m just getting more and more stressed by the moment. Not only is the “story” not going anywhere I care to follow but also the battle system is all over the place. Which part of this is supposed to be fun? If it’s the 7-day Lockdown in Tokyo thing, I already did that in Devil Survivor, thank you. And can I get another couple of dollars in here for the “Everybody just leave me alone” protagonist? I haven’t thrown in the towel yet, but…
Hoshigami Remix (DS) – From the makers of my beloved Stella Deus, but this one is a wash. The battle screens make me claustrophic and the battle pace is downright catatonic. The characters on the screen are tiny (I complain about tiny characters because I have bad eyes, true story), the character designs are fuzzy and awful, the story is boring, the music is unremarkable, etc. Basically everything that can be wrong with a game is wrong with Hoshigami Remix. But I like SRPGs enough that I’ll probably play it on and off for a while to come. I especially like the Tower of Trial being unlocked right at the beginning. Maybe I’ll even finish it, eventually.
Harvest Moon Boy & Girl + Hero of Leaf Valley (PSP) – I shouldn’t have to repeat how much I love Harvest Moon games, but both original versions on the PS2 were a bit of a failure for me (I liked Innocent Life though, for some strange reason). I don’t know what I expected from the PSP remakes, but what I got was a whole lot of nothing. Hero of Leaf Valley seems to have a bit of potential – I did play quite a bit of Save the Homeland – but Boy & Girl is definitely out.
Breath – Toiki wa Akaneiro (DS) – I probably haven’t mentioned this before, but I don’t really like visual novels. Every couple of months I give one a shot just to see what’s going on, but it never works out. Breath would have been bad enough on its own, but the existence of several stupidly irritating games that force you to blow into the DS mic repeatedly was the last straw.
Hiiro no Kakera (DS) – Like I said, I don’t like visual novels. I gave this a shot because it’s one of the few otome ‘games’ for the DS, but I sorely regretted it. None of the male character designs appealed to me. The main character was whiny, ungrateful, stubborn, bitchy and mean. My dream was to lead her to a painful, ugly death, but I quit long before I got the chance. The story seemed to have potential, but every single scene, no matter how petty, dragged on for ages and ages so I gave up. This is a feature of all visual novels, btw, which is part of the reason why I don’t like them.
Berwick Saga: Tear Ring Saga series (PS2) – Gave up right in the middle of the first mission. I love SRPGs, but the hexagonal model was too confusing and the battles were hard. It would probably have turned out well if I’d pushed through to the end, but it came at a time when I was up to my nose in other SRPGs, so it just couldn’t compare. I looked around to see if it had gotten stellar reviews or anything, but “meh” seemed to be the general response so I dumped it.
Legend of Heroes I & II (PSP) – Nothing wrong with them, they’re just boring. I should have played them 15 years ago along with BoFII and Lufia I, then they’d have fit right in. I tried both LoH I & II in turn, but I think I’m going to have to save them for when I’ve run out of other PSP RPGs to play. Gotta say, I love Falcom’s character designs though.
Now back to the stuff that is working out. I really need to get off my butt and just finish Saigo no Yakusoku no Monogatari and three or four other games I’m almost done with but never got round to posting about.
04.06.11 / Action RPG, Nintendo DS, PS2, RPG, Sony PSP, Strategy RPG, Summon Night, Video game / Author: Kina / Comments: (2)
Tags: jeanne d'arc, nora to toki no koubou, persona, shining force feather, summon night 3, the world ends with you, tokimeki memorial 4, unchainblades rexx
I forgot to make New Year’s gaming resolutions this January, but better late than never. Last time I made them I managed to play all those games before the year was out, so I’m hoping I’ll have the same luck/leisure this time round. There are only six months left till 2012 (where does the time go?) so I’ll limit the list to six items for simplicity.
1. Nora to Toki no Koubou (DS): I’ve stopped following the news on this. Apart from cancellation there’s nothing they can say or do that would stop me from playing it. Even if they come out tomorrow and announce it’s now an FPS, I’m still going to play it.
2. Jeanne d’Arc (PSP): I hear it’s an excellent SRPG, and that’s all I need to hear. To be blunt, I don’t know anything about it except that, but there’s no way on earth it could be worse than, say, Tactical Guild, so I’m going to play it, and soon.
3. Tokimeki Memorial 4 (PSP): I love the Girls’ Side games, but apart from the first TM game on the SNES, the others haven’t done anything for me. It’s not that I don’t enjoy chasing girls, just that TM2 and 3 looked and felt clumsy so I’ve never played more than a few “days” of each. Maybe the 4th time is the charm.
4. Summon Night 3 (PS2): It’s been over a year since I played Summon Night 2 (which cooled my Summon Night ardor for a while) so I’m ready to jump back in the fray. With a few exceptions I’ve gotten used to playing my SRPGs on handhelds so it’ll be a bit of an adjustment to make, but I’ll get used to it soon enough. I just hope my old PS2 can take it.
5. Persona (PSP): I seriously overdosed on Shin Megami Tensei and related games in 2009 and 2010, which is why I haven’t even looked at one so far this year. I was going to play Devil Survivor 2 instead, but I just can’t work up the enthusiasm. The lame-ass ending I got (Gin route) in the last game still rankles a bit, plus I want to get it in English if possible so I’ll add that to my 2012 list.
6. The World Ends With You (DS): To be honest, I don’t really want to play this. Nothing I’ve ever seen or heard about it even remotely implies that it’s something I’d enjoy. But someone’s been nagging me for years to give it a shot, so I’m going to do it just to get it over with. If I get a pleasant surprise, cool, but I’m not holding my breath.
I’ll fit other games in there when I get the chance, like the upcoming UnchainBlades Rexx which I’m more than a little excited about. The main character’s design looks more than a little “inspired” by Jin from Shining Force Feather.
I was going to say Sega should totally sue but it turns out they have the same (evidently unimaginative) character designer. One more reason to look forward to it.
