Etrian Odyssey IV Demo – Can I have the same game, but without the FOEs?

etrian-odyssey-iv-legends-of-the-titan-demo-impressionsI know that’s like asking for Call of Duty without the guns, but the FOEs are really cramping my style. When I think Etrian Odyssey, I think cutesy art, hand-drawn maps and FOEs, and I really hate the last two. And I knew I’d hate them, that’s why I’ve avoided the Etrian Odyssey series all these years.

Anyway, I don’t know how many hours I spent on Etrian Odyssey IV because it’s a demo, but the bulk of my party reached level 8 and I explored all of Old Forest Mine (killed those filthy Baboon FOEs too) and quite a bit of Lush Woodlands (killed the Cutter dead). My party was made up of a Fortress, a Landshneckt, a Sniper, a Medic and a Runemaster, all girls. I also upgraded my weapons and armor a few times, kidnapped lots of grazing animals from the world map and leveled up a number of skills. Thanks to all that, I think I’ve got a good feel for what the game has to offer.

My verdict: I would gladly play an Etrian Odyssey with auto-drawn maps and no FOEs. In fact I think I did play such a game, and it was called 7th Dragon. It was pretty good, too. For this demo I deliberately picked Casual Mode, which allowed me to experience the game with a minimum of stress, but if they had an Ultra-Casual mode without the FOEs, it would be a definite buy for me. Are the FOEs that much of a dealbreaker? In a word, yes. I can’t relax and enjoy my dungeon-crawlan and grindan when there are implacable homicidal super-mobs lurking around every corner. As if that wasn’t bad enough, Atlus actually expects me to provoke those bloodthirsty nutcases and then run away with their hot breath at my heels in order to progress? How about NO, does NO work for you?

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Aoi Sora no Neosphere (2) – Second half was a chore

neosphere nanoca and crewI forced myself to finish Aoi Sora no Neosphere a few hours ago. 17 hours, 100% reconstructed, nearly every item in the game made. The sheer length of a single playthrough precludes any replays any time soon, so I’m slightly disappointed I didn’t get a better ending. Especially since I finished with 100% of the city reconstructed, I would have expected at least a thank you from the royal palace and a nice CG or two, but nothing. From the FAQs it sounds like I have to visit Wonderland with Elincie if I want to trigger anything other than the Normal ending, but my save files are too close to the final deadline for me to make it.

Still, I’m not going to complain too much this time. Neosphere is one of those games where objectively-speaking I can see the quality, but I can also categorically state that it’s not my kind of game. The visual novel : sim game balance was skewed way too much in favor of the former.

Despite being marketed as a town-building game rather than as a visual novel, Aoi Sora no Neosphere is definitely a game you play for the story and the characters. Any alchemy and sim elements added are just for whiling away the time while waiting for the next bit of story to unlock. I had all segments of the country at 100% by December, and I submitted the necessary papers to the castle to 100% the country shortly afterwards. The remaining 4 months of the game were just torture.

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Aoi Sora no Neosphere (1) – Too much talking!

aoi sora no neosphere_frontI like item crafting games, the more full-bodied, the better. RPGs with crafting are a dime a dozen, but Gust pretty much has the market cornered on “Here, make items for 40 hours” games. I love Gust and all, but it’s nice to see takes on the genre (if you can call it that) from other companies.

Which brings me to Aoi Sora no Neopshere: Nanoca Flanca no Hatsumei Koubouki 2, known in English as Neopshere of the Deep-Blue Sky. Developed by Kogado Software, Kumasan Team and Nippon Ichi Software, Neosphere came out in 2007 as the sequel to Aoi Umi no Tristia, the first game starring Nanoca Flanka and her team.

I tried to play Tristia about 4 or 5 years ago, but the hour-long save-free prologue turned me off entirely. This time the prologue has been divorced from the beginning of the game, meaning you can dive straight into the game and pick up the story as you go. Since I am somewhat enjoying Neosphere, I might go back and play Tristia one day.

So, who is Nanoca Flanka and why do we care about her? She’s the red-haired loli on the cover. That’s probably all some fans needed to see to pick up the game, but we have higher standards than that. Nanoca is the genius alchemist granddaughter of the genius alchemist Prospero Flanka. She has been sent to the floating land of Neosphere to help them recover after a world war. When she gets there, she finds herself caught up in a power struggle between the loli queen and the not-loli-at-all Council of Elders. No points for picking which faction she sides with. Now Nanoca has to rebuild Neosphere with her alchemy while sidestepping political interference and helping put the Council in their place for good.

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Played a little more Final Fantasy Type-0. It’s still a mess.

PIC1Last time I posted I was 5 hours into Final Fantasy Type-0, now I’m at the 10 hour mark. I still don’t know what I’m doing, but whatever it is it’s working, because I’ve completed two more missions. C ranking and pitiful money for both, but completion is completion. A few notes.

– The story is boooriiiing. Nothing’s haaaappeniiiiing! Byakko invaded Suzaku. Suzaku is fighting back. Suzaku has been fighting back for the past 10 hours, with no end in sight. Boring! Move on already!

– Also I hate battles where the boss shows up and we obviously beat him to a pulp, but then he goes flying off while gloating, “Mission Accomplished!” Every RPG is allowed exactly one such scene, and Type-0 just used up its quota.

– For some reason, someone at Square thought it would be a good idea to allow level 99 monsters to wander the world map, just because. I wish I could find that someone and feed them my fist, just because.

– I can’t get the hang of the button presses. I’m supposed to press 0 + Triangle to summon an eidolon, but I press and press and press and nothing happens. Until I press long enough and get lucky, but that’s after like 20 failed presses, nearly getting me killed.

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Kamiyo Gakuen: Makouroku Kurunugia – A terrible rip-off of a terrible rip-off

kamiyo gakuen_frontNot content with merely dreaming up bad ideas, Idea Factory now resorts to stealing them. Far from being shocked or upset, I’m rather pleased to see this side of Idea Factory. Up till now I’d heard the tales of their horribleness, but I’d never personally experienced it for myself. The games I played were either unexpectedly enjoyable (Ore ga Omae wo Mamoru, Wand of Fortune, Motto Nuga-Cel) or so immediately off-putting that I quit within an hour, thus keeping the damage to a minimum (Hiiro no Kakera, Generation of Chaos, Blazing Souls). This is the first time I’ve encountered a bad !f game and stuck it out to the end. It’s been… quite the education.

First off, what is Kamiyo Gakuen ripping off? If you saw “Gakuen” in the title and guessed the Tokyo Majin Gakuen series, you score 5/10 (+1 for even knowing about that series). I’m sure they would have copied Tokyo Majin if they could have, but a company named Asmik Ace beat them to the punch years earlier with Tenshou Gakuen Gensouroku (2004) and Tenshou Gakuen Gekkouroku (2006). The canonicity/otherwise of the various Majin/related games is a little confusing, but I’ll try to sort them out as best as I can.

– Tokyo Majin Gakuen series (1998-2008) – Developed by Shuuho Imai and Shout! Designworks, published by Asmik Ace. Canon.
– Tenshou Gakuen series (2004-2006) – Developed and published by Asmik Ace. Disowned by original creators. Not canon.
– Kowloon (Kuuron) Youma Gakuenki (2004) – Developed by Shuuho Imai and Shout! Designworks, published by Atlus. Canon.
– Tokyo Mono Hara Shi: Karasunomori Gakuen Kitan (2010) – Developed by ??? published by Atlus. Official spin-off (?)
– Kamiyo Gakuen: Makouroku Kurunugia (2008) – LOL Idea Factory.

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