Sane

1 hour ago, BadgerFarmer said:

I'm not keen on the idea that hey it's a JRPG so what do you expect from the story/characters. The best classic JRPGs might've been daft, but they were full of original ideas in that respect. That was always a big part of their appeal, and an area where BD2 could do so much more.

Yeah exactly, it's just a shame that somehow we've all come to accept that it's OK to just use generic plotlines in these games. It's not just that the writing isn't great, it's that there's not a single original idea to be found. It feels like the developers have some set idea of what an RPG story should be. Hero with amnesia? Check. Princes with gruff mercenary protector? Check. Magic crystals? Check. Why not hire an actual writer? Come up with some interesting ideas for a plot and build the game around that. It just makes the game as a whole so much more entertaining.

As it is I just skip all of it and focus on the gameplay. Which can work well enough, but there's potential for so much more.

Some more positive impressions:

I do like the job system a lot. It gives a lot of scope for interesting party setups (you level up a main job and can equip that job then as a sub job, giving you acces to all the skills and spells). I heard some of the bosses are brutal so I hopefully it's possible to use the system to beat them rather than grind for levels. 

I also like the quality of life stuff they put in: being able to fast forward battles is very nice. Weapon swapping in the middle of battle is also appreciated. 

I gotta say this game doesn't make a great first impression. Technically it's a mess: the graphics are basic and in some ways downright ugly, they forgot to turn on AA and on top of that it runs like crap and drains my battery like no other game. Also the 'story'  is generic rubbish, but I guess that's a given. I do like the battle system though and the first boss fight was pretty challenging.

I'll give it a few more hours but at the moment it feels like I would be better off spending my time with other games .

The solution is to not use the store at all. Just use something like dekudeals. 

7 minutes ago, Pob said:

It might just be a case of adjusting your expectations as to the kind of show it is. Also if you’re six in you’ve just watched the three dodgy eps back to back. I was feeling the same as you when I was at that point, but the last two eps of season 1 turn things around. 

Thanks, that's what I was hoping to hear. 

I guess my post kind of invited that response. I guess I'm just disappointed because everyone seems to love it and I'm not feeling it. Genuinely looking for opinions, if it gets better if I will stick with it. 

I've watched 6 episodes of this and so far I feel like I'm wasting my time. It's predictable and boring. There must be more to it right? Should I keep watching? 

5 hours ago, StoooTube said:

Performance mode, I assume, gives you a solid(ish) 60fps while the other mode is shinier but has a less stable frame rate. I’ve only played it on shiny mode and it’s been fine as far as I’m concerned.

 

Classic reticle seems to be favoured by some Youtube reviewers. I opted for it purely because I’ve been playing the Saturn games since around 1995/96.

 

My personal recommendation is to set the aiming sensitivity to around 60% as I found the default setting to be unplayable. I also opted for tradition / Saturn controls rather than the new controls option. 

I will try this. The default setup feels horrible.

Zwei is amazing, I hope they won't mess with the colour palette and atmosphere. 

I was considering buying this in the sale, glad to hear it was a good decision not to . 

It is valuable to read these negative impressions since most of the official reviews I read paint a much more positive image. I think because this is the type of game you really want to like. 

It seems these offers are locked by region, my kindle is connected to the US store and it doesn't let me buy from other regions. Can I just change my region without any problems? And back again? 

Oooh nice! Ghost 'n Goblins too! 

On 22/12/2020 at 11:58, hazeredmist said:

- Progear coming, that's big news! Another Cave game on Switch. Dreading the price as it's in a 10-pack.

Is there more info in this? I can't really find anything about it.

I guess then I have to. I actually bought the game at launch, played it for a few hours but really wasn't in the right mood for it back then. Time to head back to Ivalice! 

Collection of Mana is a good suggestion. I never played SD3 more than a few hours and SoM has been so long I can't really remember anything about it.

FF XII too, it's been on my wish list for ages but I never get around to buying it. Maybe now is the time...

I love Tales of Vesperia, I played it on the 360. I'd actually like to play it again but with limited time I prefer to play new games over ones I already know. 

Ah Grandia is a good call! I played and loved Grandia 2 on the DC back in the day but never played part 1. It's not on sale sadly, maybe I'll just wait for that and play Ys Viii in the meantime. 

Tokyo Mirage I played on the Wii U, great game too. 

Yeah I played Dragon Quest, one of my favourite games of the last few years. 

I don't have much time to play games these days so I want to play something that's really going to captivate me from start to finish. The exact mechanics don't matter too much (although I do like turn based and it's suitability for handheld gaming). 

I have Ys Viii actually, but drifted away from it when I played it last. Maybe I should give it another go. 

I'm in the mood for a classic JRPG. I have my eye on Ys Origin and Star Ocean First Departure R. Any opinions on these games?

Yeah that's a good policy, although I always feel the lure of newer, shinier games that have 25% or 30% off. 

I'm going to buy ZeroRanger and nothing else this sale. There are several other games on my wishlist I do actually want (and a ton I'm really not bothered about) but I know I'm not going to get around to actually playing them. So one game this year and I'm going to actually play it . 

Ozric Tentacles - Waterfall Cities

The Black Heart Procession - Three. Beautiful and melancholic . 

Bob Dylan - Modern Times. I love this album, very bluesy with Dylan's raspy old man's voice giving it a unique feel. 

Kenny Dorham - Una Mas