Dropped Dragon Shadow Spell. Life is too short.

dragon_shadow_spell_wall_6Just posting this for closure so no one asks me for a Dragon Shadow Spell update. I reached the 20-hour mark after spending the past two days playing DSS exclusively, but it still didn’t rock my world. If anything it turned into a drag, and for someone like me with a tendency to stick with SRPGs no matter how bad they are, that was a sign to get out immediately.

The final straw was a boss battle that forced me to use a character I had benched long ago and another character I had only just gotten and hadn’t had time to train. It was a tough battle that dragged on way longer than it needed to until I just turned the PS2 off and went to bed. DSS is so stingy with both money and EXP that grinding will be a further waste of time, plus who knows when the next crappy boss battle is coming up? Nope, I’m done.

dragon shadow spell storeMy overall opinion of Dragon Shadow Spell is that it didn’t completely suck but came close enough to sucking that it might as well have sucked. At least then it would be memorable. The graphics were really nice (I especially liked the character designs), bright happy colors, the system was interesting at least on paper and the ‘Chosen One’ premise is like *shrug* I might as well stop playing RPGs if I start objecting to that one.

dragon shadow spell helma and purinveilThe problem is there were just too many factions on and off-screen doing this or that or the other that I lost interest in the story pretty quickly. That’s just a personal thing, of course. There are probably plenty of players who would like it for just that reason because they’re sick of most games just being “The good guys vs. the bad guys” with nothing in between. All good and nice, but I found it boring sitting through one too many skit featuring random bad/sorta bad/dunno-if-bad guys who my party hadn’t even met at that point and who kept tossing strange terms and jargon around without explanation, etc etc. Too much of a good thing, you know?

I’ve also documented the problems with the combat in previous posts, so I won’t go over it again. So you take an SRPG, ruin the battles and mess up the story and what do you have left? I don’t know, but it’s nothing I’d want to play. Enough already, I’m moving on. But moving on to what? I still can’t find the 3DS. I almost want to cry now ;__________; At least my PSP and DS are still around. Hey maybe they know something about the mysterious disappearance of the new handheld “haha you want to replace us, not a chance, now die” etc etc… I need a nap…

Dragon Shadow Spell update

2426_dragon-shadow-spell-prevI was supposed to be playing Rune Factory 4 now but, uhh, I lost the 3DS. Now now don’t panic, it’s in this house somewhere. I just don’t know exactly where. I started some impromptu spring cleaning in hopes of finding it… and unearthed my PS2 instead. So that’s where I stashed it. So, uh, well, it sure would be nice if I found that 3DS someday. In the meantime, on with Dragon Shadow Spell!

Unfortunately there’s not much going on with DSS, even after 16 hours. It’s still as mediocre as ever in terms of gameplay. Character MP is still so limited and MP refill items are still so expensive that I just whack everything with physical attacks instead of going for flashier (but not that much more powerful) magic attacks. Due the way the game world works, every character uses the same weapon throughout the game and they all have access to the same pool of special attacks, which means even the usual fun of equipping party members or training characters isn’t there. It’s not a bad game, but it doesn’t really set my heart on fire. I’m playing it more out of a sense of duty right now than anything else.

Story-wise no progress has been made towards finding the magical door that everyone’s trying to get their hands on. Oh okay, the dangerous forbidden technique Kaito wasn’t supposed to use was revealed to be not so dangerous or forbidden after all. In fact he’s supposed to use it a lot so he can get used to it then he’ll be fine. Also the pet dragon came out of the bag but no one really cared and that was that. So they made progress on that score, but that’s about it.

On the negative side, the writers made the mistake of thinking more characters = more epic story, so they just keep introducing more and more people in every chapter while previously important characters vanish for so long that when they show up you’re like “…Who?” And since I can only field 6 characters in battle it’s kind of a bother when they throw all these new members at me with nothing to distinguish them except raw stats. I prefer fixed parties for more limited games like this.

Another flaw: they also talk so much that they make me sleepy. A slow story + a lot of dialogue that does nothing to further the story is a killer combination. What’s worse, today I was almost late for an appointment because first a battle just wouldn’t end and then they just kept talking and talking using voice acting that was supposed to be good but wasn’t in a skit that was supposed to be funny but wasn’t. I almost quit the game right there and then.

I feel sorry for Flight Plan because I can tell they put a lot of money and effort into this game, but Dragon Shadow Spell just isn’t a very good game. It’s not bad enough to be classic either. It’s just kinda there. I’m not even sure I’ll finish it at this point. It all depends on whether I can find that 3DS or not. *sigh* Where did I put that thing? 7th Dragon III is coming out soon… 🙁

 

Issho ni Gohan. – No thanks, I’m full

issho ni gohan. front coverIssho ni Gohan. Portable – Apartment Dinner Show (lit. Let’s Eat Together) is a forgettable otome game about the relationship between a bunch of college students and their female dorm manager, more or less. They’re all studying at a college of nutrition and food sciences or something like that so a lot of their interactions revolve around dinners, parties and other food-related events.

Issho ni Gohan. was originally a drama CD series which got adapted into a video game and a manga which I should have read instead and saved myself the time. With most otome games I like to clear at least one route so I can have something more concrete to write about, but at last in my old age I’ve finally learned to cut my losses and quit games while I’m ahead. I haven’t learned to keep my explanations short and to the point yet, but I’ll try to be less wordy while I explain why I dropped this. Do please go on, this is most interesting →

Little Witch Parfait – Didn’t really enjoy it

little witch parfaitLittle Witch Parfait: Kuroneko Mahouten Monogatari is an alchemy/shop/relationship simulator about student magician named Parfait whose mother dies leaving her with a magic shop that is 1,000,000g in debt. To work her way out of this hole, Parfait has to drop out of school and devote her days to producing and selling enough magical goods to pay off her debt before the entire shop is repossessed.

Since she’s still a student magician she doesn’t know that many recipes, so in the early stages of the game you’ll have to divide your time between studying at home/the library, foraging in the wild and making stuff to sell in the store. Do please go on, this is most interesting →

Nothing to report

littlewitch parfait cityI haven’t started anything new, and I haven’t played much of the few games I’m currently working on. Unless you want a long post filled with Ring Dream, Rakuen Seikatsu Hitsuji mura and Candy Crush Soda updates, that is. I’m guessing you don’t.

I said last time that I would write about Littlewitch Parfait this time, so in preparation for that post I actually started reading all those long, pointless conversations the characters kept having and you know, it’s not so boring after all. I mean it’s still completely useless as an alchemy/shop management simulation, but it’s a pretty passable “cute girls doing cute stuff” game. Plus I’m on the verge of hooking Parfait up with the reasonably good-looking prince of the kingdom so I’m getting my otome game fix on at the same time.

In other news, I’m slowly beginning to understand why mobile games took over Japan so easily. On my part at least, a lot of it has to do with physical and mental inertia. Before you pick up a controller or a handheld you have to switch into gaming mode and get a certain “Okay I’m going to drop everything and play some video games now” mindset going on. With a smartphone on the other hand, you’re just checking your emails, making a few calls, then you slide easily into a gaming app or two and back out again without having to think about it too much. Less mode switching, more game playing.

The only catch is I haven’t found any non-crappy mobile RPGs yet (I haven’t really looked, to be honest) but the same principle applies to browser games. Just tab into a game, fight a few battles, water a few plants and get back to work. I complained before about having to wait hours to play a few minutes of a browser game, but when you’re busy working it’s not like you’re just sitting around waiting for that stamina bar to fill. You’re getting your work done and getting a little game on the side, versus interrupting your work for a gaming break which is a lot harder to justify. Unfortunately the catch again is I haven’t found any satisfying browser RPGs. I’m 100% sure they don’t exist because the freemium gaming model doesn’t exactly encourage gamer satisfaction. In fact I’m not even going to bother to look.

If you’re wondering what the point of all this is, it’s all just to say I’m really busy these days and every time I think I can carve out a chunk of time for some serious gaming, something or someone always crops up. So if I don’t post as often as I used to it’s because I’m busy playing Ring Dream, Hitsuji mura and Candy Crush Soda instead. So there.

P.S. But we’re still on for 7th Dragon III later this year. My body is ready.