by Mikodesu » Aug 31, 2018 1:09 pm
Ronin19 wrote:Mikodesu wrote:Edit: Out of curiosity, how do you trigger travel banter with 3 characters? Only seen one (tonight) and I'm curious - plus it might be nice to know for somebody else.
I think they need to be either in your party or present in the bar. There are some party banters with 4 characters; I've had one with Therion, Cyrus, Alfyn, and Olberic.
Oh yeeah, I didn't think about them standing around the bar! Good point.
That's probably part of why they're there.
Edit: Just got that one.
That's exactly why travel banter is one of the best parts of the game. <3
Edit 2:
Completed! (Save for the true ending - I need a long break.)
Tldr: Really glad I ended the game with Tressa's story. It wasn't a good final boss (story wise) but I enjoyed the end to her story. It felt very...canon?
Overall I'd say good game with some glaring flaws.
Part of it is mechanically, though I think I could have looked past the mechanics if the stories were stronger. They started out strong but I could really see the writers struggle as the chapters went on. I really think that's too much to ask out of a writing team for a $60 game. There was a ton of flavor text on top of seven completely separate stories.
I'd like to see a sequel, but one that progresses the concept rather than just a copy/paste.
[quote="Ronin19"][quote="Mikodesu"]Edit: Out of curiosity, how do you trigger travel banter with 3 characters? Only seen one (tonight) and I'm curious - plus it might be nice to know for somebody else.[/quote]
I think they need to be either in your party or present in the bar. There are some party banters with 4 characters; I've had one with Therion, Cyrus, Alfyn, and Olberic.[/quote]
Oh yeeah, I didn't think about them standing around the bar! Good point. :) That's probably part of why they're there.
Edit: Just got that one. :lol: That's exactly why travel banter is one of the best parts of the game. <3
Edit 2: [b]Completed![/b] (Save for the true ending - I need a long break.)
Tldr: Really glad I ended the game with Tressa's story. It wasn't a good final boss (story wise) but I enjoyed the end to her story. It felt very...canon?
Overall I'd say good game with some glaring flaws.
Part of it is mechanically, though I think I could have looked past the mechanics if the stories were stronger. They started out strong but I could really see the writers struggle as the chapters went on. I really think that's too much to ask out of a writing team for a $60 game. There was a ton of flavor text on top of seven completely separate stories.
I'd like to see a sequel, but one that progresses the concept rather than just a copy/paste.
[spoiler]My not-personal gripes in no particular order...[b][i]Second story bullet point contains a spoiler.[/i][/b]
Story
- Character development is relegated to travel banter that many players could miss.
- Plot holes (there were a number but for example:) Olbreic Ch 4. Why wouldn't resistance fighters carry shields with their swords? It's absurd for an entire party to be wiped out because they didn't bring shields.
Mechanical
- The run button frequently bugs out after another action like opening a chest, forcing me to press the button twice after another action.
- Items and spells sporadically target allies that don't need them. Only healing is consistent.
- Blocking story areas of the world map off with signs that cause your character to turn back breaks immersion and forgoes player freedom.
- Invisible paths behind invisible holes in invisible walls are not puzzle mechanics. Nobody enjoyed going through the Rock Tunnel in the dark - why would they enjoy this now?
- Balancing issues. There are some very clear difficulty spikes that would have to be worked out.
- Grinding. There's an absolute overflowing overabundance of money in the game, why couldn't that be used for something? "Level Nuts" instead of "Stat Nuts". And why don't quests give experience?
- Locking a character into your party - this is unnecessary, the story isn't interconnected in ANY way that requires it.
Ironically, as much as I disliked their stories I genuinely love these characters. Even the vanilla beans Ophilia and Cyrus had some clever travel banter that endeared them to me. The care put into crafting them shows that their stories could have been better!
On the positive side, the world itself is undeniably beautiful and cleverly manufactured. Sprite work had me sitting in boss battles looking at their animations. Most of the bosses themselves could be cheesed fairly easily but they were varied and overall pretty fun and consistently challenging.
Overall I enjoyed my time with the game. I see more flaws in it than I do in my favorite games but I have no issues criticizing those either. Criticism, not complaints, are the only way we can improve. This game could have been better - and I'd like to believe a sequel will be.[/spoiler]