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Post by dsparil on Feb 11, 2023 6:34:59 GMT -5
Which ones have you done? I think the parts that get unlocked at the end are actually the best part.
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Post by jackcaeylin on Feb 11, 2023 9:52:09 GMT -5
Route order really depends on what you seek in a JRPG. Some prefer the math stuff and some only care about stories. I don't know the modifications in the remake version, thus my order is from the experience of the SNES-version.
That would be my order recommendation:
1. Caveman: Because, it has the typical JRPG shenanigans. It helps to get a classic nes/snes jrpg experience, which is nice, if you haven't played one in a while.
*2. Future: Maybe, you want to have a break from combat and you want to have a story-focused experience, thus use it as the 2nd is not a bad idea. Although, if you like combat you can do the Arcade or put it as one of the last chapters. Future chapter is tough to put in a certain chronological order.
3. China-setting: It doesn't have weird mazes, thus it is also great for an early approach. It is also a combat-focused one.
4. Cowboy/Wyoming: It is the shortest, thus I put it in the middle. It can be difficult, thus it can also be used one of the last chapters.
5. Wrestling: It is a bosh rush, after the first 4 chapters, you have found experience regarding combat, thus it is kinda perfect to put it in the middle somewhere. It is also a very unconventional chapter, thus it could be refreshing, if it is played in the middle.
6. Akira: I mostly put it at 6, because in the SNES-version the structure and the "rpg math stuff" wasn't optimized. I mostly put it at 6, because it is kinda the weakest chapter and it can be felt as a "boring version" of the caveman chapter, thus the chasm would help to give enough time to have an identity and to recover. Due to its structure, I think it is even the longest chapter, but I am not quite sure on that.
7. Tokugawa era: It is an unconventional chapter, due to stealth mechanics, thus it would also work a as recovery from the Akira chapter.
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Post by dsparil on Feb 11, 2023 10:45:51 GMT -5
Somehow by total coincidence, I played them in that exact order last year! These are my notes from then: Pogo (prehistoric) - This is my least favorite. There’s a lot of really sophomoric humor, and the gameplay gimmicks are so-so. The major one is that you can sniff out random encounters, but that doesn’t get much interesting use. The other main one is the crafting system, but the best weapon can be made from the first few materials you can get and there isn’t much to it.
Cube (future) - Pretty much combat free minus an optional element and the final boss. You play as a robot and it’s sort of an adventure game which Square did have a smidge of experience with, but it’s mostly an interactive movie. As such, it gets the most mileage of the new presentation since the voice acting and cinematic camera angles in some of the cutscenes give it more heft than in the original.
Earthen Heart Shifu (Imperial China) - Basically a three act kung-fu movie about an old martial arts master and his new students. It’s roughly movie length too, but it doesn’t feel compressed.
Sundown (old west) - A mini-game wrapped in a framing where you find trap materials to stop a bandit gang and have the townspeople set up the traps within a time limit. This is also benefits from the new presentation since a huge portion is cutscene.
Masaru (present) - Street Fighter if it were an RPG more or less. You only start out with two moves and each opponent has certain moves you can learn after they’re used on you. In terms of gameplay, this might be the most tweaked as opponents seem much more likely to use their learnable moves on you compared to the original.
Akira (near future) - The main character has psychic abilities which really only takes the form of being able to read minds. Obviously from the character’s default name, this is inspired by Akira, but that didn’t have to include a bunch of combat that takes up most of the play time. Unlike some of the other chapters, the concept could easily have sustained a full length game and the narrative does suffer from the compressed length. Total side note, but I wonder why the second half of the Akira manga never got adapted into a movie.
Oboromaru (19th century Japan) - A stealth focused chapter about a shinobi that needs to rescue a prisoner from an enemy castle. The major gimmick is that you get bonuses depending on whether you don’t kill anyone or not, but I wouldn’t recommend trying to go for that on a first playthrough. You end up missing a lot of things, and it’s also very easy to unintentionally mess up sometimes without knowing it.
Oersted (medieval) - Maybe it was just my imagination, but this unlocked eight part got disproportionate focus in the marketing. It’s only gimmick is that it’s a regular RPG, but it’s also the best one out of the main eight. It does feel like a condensed RPG, but in a way that isn’t jarring unlike Akira’s.
I’ll skip the final chapter, but I will say that it has a whole lot of gameplay content although most of it is technically optional. I spent five hours on this alone, but doing everything might be closer to eight or more even.
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Post by excelsior on Feb 12, 2023 3:37:48 GMT -5
Thanks. So I've gone in blind to this point and in this order: Present/Wrestling - Enjoyed Prehistoric/Caveman - Didn't care for it for the most part Edo Japan/Tokugawa - Didn't care for it mostly but it grew on me towards the end Imperial China - Currently on this chapter. Enjoying this so far.
So I guess I can decide the res upon when I want to break from the combat. Probably would have been after Prehistoric, but too late for that. Never mind.
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Post by retr0gamer on Feb 12, 2023 7:03:49 GMT -5
The Akira one is the only one I outright didn't enjoy. The western one was my favourite.
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Post by lurker on Feb 12, 2023 16:15:06 GMT -5
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Post by spanky on Feb 13, 2023 8:47:02 GMT -5
Wasn't expecting a Super Show reference. I still have zero interest in the movie but my kid is begging me take him to see it...
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Post by 🧀Son of Suzy Creamcheese🧀 on Feb 13, 2023 12:11:06 GMT -5
Wasn't expecting a Super Show reference. I still have zero interest in the movie but my kid is begging me take him to see it... Oh, you'll end up seeing it. And your kid will drag you to the inevitable sequel(s) too. I had no interest in it until the first trailers/teasers started coming out. The whole idea of a Mario movie and the ridiculous cast they announced (still not sold on Pratt as Mario) didn't get me into it, but the actual footage so far looks good, and I'm too much of a Mario nerd not to get excited about all the little references and background details.
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Post by Snake on Feb 13, 2023 17:57:06 GMT -5
Haha, so cheesy. What a classic song. RIP Captain Lou. I think I'll wait for streaming. I don't have any urgent need to watch on opening week, unless some friends drag me along for company.
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Post by retr0gamer on Feb 14, 2023 4:30:59 GMT -5
Crash bandicoot 3 finished. It was a lot less obnoxious than crash 2. It's a bit more refined and less mean especially when it comes to getting the all crates objectives. The new moves they added feel like the break the game but at least it means the slide jump that barely worked in crash 2 becomes obsolete. The biggest issue though is that at it's core crash bandicoot just isn't a great platformer. The vehicle sections, particularly the bike ones felt like filler and weren't fun.
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Post by dsparil on Feb 16, 2023 8:56:08 GMT -5
I just saw that ININ is releasing two Ninja JaJaMaru collections plus a new game in about a week. The shocking thing is that they're not absolutely price gouging for once! $15 for the five platformers and $12 for first time localizations of the two RPGs. The new game, The Great Battle +Hell, looks a little junky though.
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Post by retr0gamer on Feb 16, 2023 9:43:09 GMT -5
Started deus ex invisible war and even from the tutorial section it's very obvious the game was compromised for consoles. I think I'll enjoy it all the same.
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Post by kaoru on Feb 17, 2023 2:33:48 GMT -5
Finished up Signalis, which was a neat little sad game. More of a mood piece, really. I wonder if people were expecting more from the storyline from all the cutcenes being super vague and arthousy. Especially all the ones at the fake out ending that boots you back to the menu suggest that there might be big new revelations coming up when you jump back into the game for the final part. But it just keeps going into the direction you already knew it would . The style's cool, the game's just a lot more straight forward and less deep than one might expect from them.
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Post by retr0gamer on Feb 17, 2023 5:29:56 GMT -5
I can see why there were complaints about Invisible War on release but on the other hand I think there's enough Deus Ex...iness that it stands on its own. The opening area is a lot of fun and I've 10 concurrent missions going on, all of which seem like a lot of fun. Plenty of scope for multiple approaches to problems despite the smaller level size and I do like how the biomods force you to make some big choices on the mods you can use.
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Post by excelsior on Feb 20, 2023 5:48:38 GMT -5
Hit a softlock in the final chapter of Live a Live with my save right before the boss Jaggedy Jack who I'm just not strong enough to beat at this point. Very annoying. I've spent a few hours on this chapter already. Guess I'll have to start the chapter again. Ahhh......
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