Tales of Eternia for PSX



This game must be the most underrated Tales game of all time and one of the most underrated RPGs ever. The game was so ahead of it's time.

- Story was very good. All the characters got proper development, even the main villain too!
- Graphics were very good. The team kept the same engine for some of the PS2 Tales games it seems.
- Voice acting! The game had some many voiced lines for an RPG that i was surprised since this was a PSX game.
- Not only you had a boat, not only you had an airship but you also had a...... submarine!
- The game basically had 3 worlds to explore. Infernia, Celestia and the underwater world (though this one was smaller than the other 2)
- Many optional things to do. Extra bosses were quite hard.
- The play ''The Tales of Ultus Veigh'' was a nice extra.

Things i didn't liked

- The ost wasn't so great, at least for my tastes
- cast was small and aside the 4 main characters you couldn't care less for the other 2
- game can get a little annoying because you have to swap between the 2 worlds sometimes and this requires a certain procedure

Something amusing I came across the other day and finally got it working... anybody remember this?



The reason I'm bringing up this ancient game is because apparently there's a group of very dedicated fans who have upgraded this abandonware over the years to include just about every card that's been printed up to last year. It's kind of a pain to get it all patched together, tweak the settings and get it working on a modern system (it was created for DOS), but it's rather nifty that they actually got the AI to understand all these new game mechanics.

I won't link directly to it as there are many different versions available and lots of separate patches to download and overlap depending on what you want out of it, but this is the place to look if you're interested: http://www.slightlymagic.net/forum/viewforum.php?f=76

Stella Glow; 3DS

Odd title. Although there is a fair amount of glowing in it, there are no characters or things by the name “Stella”.
Fire Emblem Fates is still another month away, so I figured this would be a decent gap-filler. Turns out as gap fillers go- this is a pretty good one.

The game has more than a few faults, but they tend to be small and hardly spoil the experience of playing:

• The main story -for one- is very cliché and predictable. It’s a paint-by-numbers JRPG plot with no surprises whatsoever.
  Does any of this sound familiar: tragedy befalls MC’s village; leaves to join a Knight squad to save village; travels around the world, gathering a team of quirky allies; gets betrayed (what a twist(!)); MC’s mysterious past is revealed; enemies become friends; big face-off to save the world against an obnoxiously overpowered final boss…
  The characters go on a hot-spring excursion in the middle of the story. Yes. All the animu clichés come along with it.
  Cliché the main story may be- it does end on a good, bittersweet note; and the general familiarity of it all could also be considered a comfort. You’re playing a JRPG, so you get a JRPG experience, go figure.
  
  
• The battle system takes some getting used to and the earlier battles in particular can be frustratingly slow, because your units with low agility and movement range take too damn long to get into position.
  
  
• There’s no dual audio, unfortunately. The dubbing isn’t so bad, but I did want to mute the sound whenever the character Popo spoke, along with her poorly represented mascot character: Bubu the pig.

Some really good stuff about the game includes:

• Support conversations! Between plot-relevant missions you’re able to spend time with your party members, spending time with them builds your affinity with them, and building your affinity with them grants special abilities and bonuses. Being a Fire Emblem fanboy, this was exactly what I needed.
  
  
• The battle system is ripped straight out of Final Fantasy Tactics (Advance), and that is a good thing. I happen to like the system of positioning units behind an enemy to do extra damage.

It took roughly 50 hours for me to clear the main quest. I’m currently in the middle of a second play through with special bonuses enabled; after 70 hours I’m still enjoying it plenty.

Recommended.

Hmm, that does sound enjoyable. I'll have to consider picking that up sometime.

Dynasty Warriors: Gundam 2

The first in the series I've played, I've gotten quite the nostalgia bomb out of seeing so much of the dub cast reprise their roles (though a noticeable absence is Domon Kashu), and it's kind of fun seeing them all interact.

Still, I seem to keep falling into this pattern of

"I enjoy this, but I rather that..."

Ergo:

"I enjoy having the cast of the various franchises in one place, but given how limited that was going to be, I rather that the official stories had been more interesting, and involved entire plot lines (not just parts of one mission) that deviated from established canon."

"I kind of enjoy the combat... But I rather have a FromSoftware combat system. Instead of this crowded, truncated 2d experience, tied with simple stat bars that you can only improve overtime, I want discretionary loadoats that you can mix-and-match, granular stats you have to balance, and visceral, flowing 3D aerial combat, with ranged weapons that actually leave an impressio---"


...Wait, what do you mean that exists? And includes mecha from other franchises? And gives them involved storylines that go somewhere?

*sigh* Import blocked again...

Alaska Slim wrote:(though a noticeable absence is Domon Kashu)

Game unsold.

I'm trying to beat the Resident Evil: Revelations 2 extra episode The Struggle, and it's like a case study in how to do challenge wrong. It's like the anti Dark Souls.

It's not even the usual case of not fun because fake difficulty, because I really don't think it is (though I think there's a good case there), it's that it's just plain boring. Limited ammo and bullet sponge enemies are a terrible combination. I really don't like it when the most effective tactics are the really boring ones, such as meleeing the big slow enemies to death even though it takes forever because the alternative wastes a ton of ammo.

I've been discovering less time-consuming tactics as I keep playing but the process is not fun and exciting, it's frustrating. Small details and exploits make the difference between success and failure, such that even when I succeed I feel like I'm cheating. For example, your AI partner is extremely stupid and wastes tons of ammo, so I resorted to taking his ammo away and only giving it to him one clip at a time when I need to control him directly so as to minimize the waste when I'm done controlling him.

My complaints are tempered by the fact that I'm not playing on the easiest difficulty. The two options available are "Casual" and "Survival", and I just can't bring myself to bump it down to Casual, less because I'm elitist about the name than because I hate giving up and that's what bumping the difficulty down after trying at it this long would feel like.

...But I do also resent the notion of playing a game at a difficulty marked "Casual".

Edit (the next day): I beat it. I learned from a friend that despite what the game tells you, you can sneak-kill the otherwise invincible enemies in the third stage, a village filled with supplies. That made the difference that allowed me to get the resources I needed to survive the final stage. It was no cakewalk after that, but it made it possible.

Monk Ed wrote:Game unsold.

Well, they did get Master Asia at least, and though I only heard them recently, they also got the full original Mobile Suit Gundam and Zeta/ZZ cast from... 2001? I just know them better as the cast of Zoids: New Century Zero.

Amuro is a man destined to be king.

I don't like Gundam Wing, but I always loved Scott McNeil as Duo. (Note, he's not playable until 3).

Gundam Seed is here too, and God help me... I still can't stand Lacus as a character, and it makes no sense to me that she's an MS pilot here, and Cagali's not, but there's just something about hearing Chantal Strand's voice go "Your being here means everything."


Playing as Kira gets old really fast, but at least there's a bit in his story missions where you get to beat the **** out of Shinn. Incidentally, Shinn's below everyone else on my relationship chart.

I'm trying to beat the Resident Evil: Revelations 2 extra episode The Struggle

Read that as "Resident Evil 2... has content I haven't heard of before". Was disappointed moments later.

Alaska Slim wrote:Read that as "Resident Evil 2... has content I haven't heard of before". Was disappointed moments later.

You know an entire remake of that game is coming, right?

Monk Ed wrote:You know an entire remake of that game is coming, right?

Meh. After how Homeworld was re-done, I'm 50/50 on whether remakes in general are a good thing or not. Adapting older games into newer engines will often provoke a trade-off; that, while improving fidelity, and perhaps fixing some long standing issues, can significantly alter the aesthetic, or even the mechanics. Or as in HW's case, see certain mechanics stop working altogether... Making a game that's kind of like a better-looking, better polished version of what you played before, but... off.

There's even something to be said about why games shouldn't *necessarily* be polished.

But, I'm sure that I'm preaching to the choir here.

Alaska Slim wrote:But, I'm sure that I'm preaching to the choir here.

Who, me? What gave you that idea? I can think of a remake right now that I'm really, really looking forward to.

Revelations 2 is the best RE game after 4. I didn't finished The Struggle because i was disappointed with the presentation (and the difficulty). I was hoping this would be a full episode with story and cutscenes, instead you have Moira saying 2-3 lines before the start of each level. Still, i'll get back to it someday because i plan to platinum the game (i am close, 70%).

Playing all the Kingdom Hearts games, for the first time. Anyone know the order they should be played in?

KH1>KHRe:CoM>KH2>KHDays>KHBBS>KHRe:Coded(optional)>KHDDD>KHX:Unchained (optional)>KH3
I couldn't resist sorry, back to lurking.

Stan wrote:Playing all the Kingdom Hearts games, for the first time. Anyone know the order they should be played in?

The order Rose just listed is the release date order. If you want the chronological order the games take place in I'm pretty sure it's:

KHX: Unchained > KH BBS > KH1 > KH Re: COM > KH 358/2 Days > KH2 > KH: DDD > KH Re: Coded

Re: COM and Days' positions can be swapped if you want since they take place almost simultaneously. Pretty sure Re: Coded tales place after DDD because I remember the Re: Coded cut scene movie having DDD footage in it. Since the games weren't released in chronological order you may be spoiled early on who certain characters are and what they're doing if you play it this way, but I always like doing series playthroughs chronologically myself.

Stan wrote:Playing all the Kingdom Hearts games, for the first time. Anyone know the order they should be played in?

The order of releases. Don't play Birth by Sleep first because it's the prequel (technically Unchained is now the prequel but whatever...). In other words

1. Kingdom Hearts
2. Chain of Memories
3. Kingdom Hearts 2
4. 358/2 Days
5. Birth By Sleep
6. Coded
7. DDD

I also advise you to buy 1.5 HD and 2.5 HD, both for PS3. All the games are available in these two games with the whole content and HD graphics. It also saves you time from playing Coded and 358/2 on DS. DDD will be released for PS4 soon in the 2.8 collection, along 2 games.

After 100 hours play, Stella Glow is now 100% complete. Nice to see an alternate happy-happy ending, although the not-so-happy-happy ending felt more powerful.
I’ll miss playing it regularly. And FE:Fates is still another month away, damn it.

Parascientific Escape: Cruise in the Distant Seas; puzzle visual novel on 3DS.
It involved “escaping” and paranormal abilities, so a part of me hoped it would be something like Virtue’s Last Reward. Sadly, this is very far from it.
Only 5 short chapters including the prologue; barely 5 hours of content depending on your reading speed; puzzles are very simple; nothing remarkable in the presentation – the characters actually appear too high contrast.

I got stuck on an early puzzle in the prologue and had to skip it. There were no existing walk-throughs of this title, and the only hints the game gave me were “Use the Heisei calender to solve this one”. Well, gee, thanks a lot localiszation department.

Wouldn’t recommend this one. Get Virtue's Last Reward instead.

I noticed Fire Emblem: Awakening received a price drop on the Nintendo eShop recently, it only took them… what… 3 years to finally drop the price from £40? So I was about to tell you all there was no excuse not to own it now; but oh, look, the price is already back up. Forchristsake Nintendo.
Why the hell is download software so damned expensive? <grumble>

Monk Ed wrote:Who, me? What gave you that idea? I can think of a remake right now that I'm really, really looking forward to.

Nah, there I was speaking just to the risks that come with adapting a game into a new engine --> you probably know all that. Whether or not that tempers your own enthusiasm for remakes is not what I meant to comment on.

Somewhere in the future, 3.25 million Sims will take the next step into the evolution of Simkind, as fifty Launch Arcos will demonstrate that their resemblance to orbital launchers is absolutely not coincidental and their design is not merely for mitigating biological risks to the 65,000 inhabitants each of them hosts. They will honor their name by being good orbital launchers and blasting off towards the skies all together after a long preparation period, for a journey beyond the stars.

That's right, I'm playing SimCity 2000 (MS-DOS version) and am aiming for the only real "Win" condition the game offers: the Exodus.

38th century and counting.

I was addicted to Civilization V for like a week and then suddenly just lost interest. After the first several runs it got pretty repetitive and the exciting feeling of exploration faded away as I got familiar with the vastness of the game.

I recently managed to regain the rank I first calibrated to (GN2) in CS:GO after plummeting to the Silver tier during the mass deranking. Hopefully I can get up to AK1 at some point, but there's a lot of aspects in my play I need to improve on before thinking about that. Also got assigned an Overwatch position, so I can do something about the hackers and griefers even if it is just a little bit.