Random thoughts on whatever JRPG you're currently playing?

[AdamReith]

Attempting to get into non-persona SMT again. This time with a fan patched GBA version of SMT 1.

Have to say, it plays very smoothly and the first few hours have been a joy. The colour correction in the emulator I'm using (the one recommended in the emulation thread here) makes a huge difference.

 

[Puukko]

Attempting to get into non-persona SMT again. This time with a fan patched GBA version of SMT 1.

Have to say, it plays very smoothly and the first few hours have been a joy. The colour correction in the emulator I'm using (the one recommended in the emulation thread here) makes a huge difference.

Any reason you picked 1? This isn't really a series you play in order.

 

[AdamReith]

Attempting to get into non-persona SMT again. This time with a fan patched GBA version of SMT 1.

Have to say, it plays very smoothly and the first few hours have been a joy. The colour correction in the emulator I'm using (the one recommended in the emulation thread here) makes a huge difference.

Any reason you picked 1? This isn't really a series you play in order.

I played a bit of 3 and 4 so I was curious what the mechanics of the first one were like.

Is there a reason to not start with the first one? Is it very difficult? I definitely prefer the wizardry style of exploration over 3D.

 

[Lyre Mors]

Is there a reason to not start with the first one? Is it very difficult? I definitely prefer the wizardry style of exploration over 3D.

First one is great. No reason at all not to play it.

 

[Puukko]

I found having played newer titles first helped as I already knew the mechanics, spell names, demons and so on so their rather obtuse nature and the general lack of presented information wasn't as big of an issue. I'd never say the older titles aren't worth it, but I'd always personally recommend people to get their bearings with newer ones first. Unless you happen to live and breathe old console RPGs I suppose.

I haven't previously been terribly interested in playing 1, but I have recently been considering checking out one of the untranslated ports via the use of overlay translation. The Sega CD port has some unique art and a great rendition of the OST.

 

[j2alg]

Played more Cirnozardry since it's in English now. It's a pretty fun first person dungeon crawler. I love that cheering sound effect

 

[Carpincho Pampeano]

Played more Cirnozardry since it's in English now. It's a pretty fun first person dungeon crawler. I love that cheering sound effect

Did you get it from the /drpg/ thread from /vrpg/? I was looking for it online but couldn't find it, might play the jp version

I became interested in a now defunct company called Imagepooch, the company lasted only 10 years 2005-2015. I become interested in them because in those years even if they didn't develop really outstanding games, many of them can be considered cult classics like Luminous Arc, Arc Rise Fantasia or Sands of Destruction. I started to play their games in chronological order starting from the first Luminous Arc. How is wii emulation now a days? Don't feel like buying one only for Arc Rise Fantasia.

 

[flyingjohn]

Did you get it from the /drpg/ thread from /vrpg/? I was looking for it online but couldn't find it, might play the jp version

https://boards.4channel.org/vrpg/thread/2247253#p2269407

Arc Rise Fantasia or Sands of Destruction

Not really,they are interesting games but no cult classics.

How is wii emulation now a days?

Arc should be playable without any problems on most hardware.

 

[lightbane]

I got in the mood to Play Mother 2/Earthbound again, using the Deluxe mod to spice things up as well as enjoy a proper translation. Some QoL changes are nice, although there was supposed to be a "run" button that I can't find. The increased difficulty is a mixed bag, as you start with only the MC and yet you can be swarmed by early enemies quite easily, which didn't happen in the original game. Some of the changes to increase difficulty are questionable, like giving all of the bosses proper AI that will turn you to dust if you're not always at top form every time.

Has anyone played this to completion? Or should I switch to using a regular better translation mod?

 

[AdamReith]

Emulator crashed with SMT 1 producing the most downright demonic noise imaginable.

Fantastic game but the risk of that happening again is at least ten times as terrifying as Silent Hill which is too much for me.

 

[Ravielsk]

I am trying to get through the Shadow Hearts trilogy and one thing that just struck me as odd is how hard the second game is trying to be silly compared to the first. There is nothing wrong with a joke here and there, Shadow Hearts 1 is a testament to that but Shadow Hearts 2 just takes it way beyond any reasonable level. I am literary supposed to be fighting the manifestations of Gods rage but at the same time I am supposed to regularly visit a (totally not) gay indian wrestler so that my (totally not) gay vampire can learn some wrestling moves. It goes so far that well over half the cast feels like its made up of genuinely retarded people and what is worse is that I am playing the undub so I cannot even blame it on crappy localisation.

 

[Carpincho Pampeano]

JUST finished SMT V some minutes ago, what a great ride. I'll try to not say the same as every other reviewer or whatever they are called now, the game is possibly the greatest Shin Megami Tensei game today, the amount of customisation in every aspect is amazing but at the same time the game is well balanced. Something i haven't read in any review is the amount of Etrian Odyssey mechanics they implemented, we now have ailment chasers, str based physical attacks, heals that overheal like in EO and the puzzles in the last dungeon were clearly inspired by the FOE puzzles in EO, Yamai isn't afraid to show were he comes from and i'm glad that even if EO is dead, some of it's mechanics still live on also i must be the dumbest person in the world because only at the last dungeon i realised that the treasure chest are the same as the ones from EO.

Will probably replay this game in a year or so because i want to fill the compendium like i did in every other SMT, hope that others enjoyed the game as much as i did and to survive to see another mainline release, i know some people that didn't made it.

 

[mediocrepoet]

I am trying to get through the Shadow Hearts trilogy and one thing that just struck me as odd is how hard the second game is trying to be silly compared to the first. There is nothing wrong with a joke here and there, Shadow Hearts 1 is a testament to that but Shadow Hearts 2 just takes it way beyond any reasonable level. I am literary supposed to be fighting the manifestations of Gods rage but at the same time I am supposed to regularly visit a (totally not) gay indian wrestler so that my (totally not) gay vampire can learn some wrestling moves. It goes so far that well over half the cast feels like its made up of genuinely retarded people and what is worse is that I am playing the undub so I cannot even blame it on crappy localisation.

Wait til you meet the cast of From the New World.

 

[Ravielsk]

I am trying to get through the Shadow Hearts trilogy and one thing that just struck me as odd is how hard the second game is trying to be silly compared to the first. There is nothing wrong with a joke here and there, Shadow Hearts 1 is a testament to that but Shadow Hearts 2 just takes it way beyond any reasonable level. I am literary supposed to be fighting the manifestations of Gods rage but at the same time I am supposed to regularly visit a (totally not) gay indian wrestler so that my (totally not) gay vampire can learn some wrestling moves. It goes so far that well over half the cast feels like its made up of genuinely retarded people and what is worse is that I am playing the undub so I cannot even blame it on crappy localisation.

Wait til you meet the cast of From the New World.

Thing is, I know about new world being a bit more out there. That game is not trying to hide its quirks but SH2 just flip flops between serious Gothic horror and dumb slapstick. The fact that the production quality does not change between these two modes alone makes it all the more confusing.

 

[Hobo Elf]

I am trying to get through the Shadow Hearts trilogy and one thing that just struck me as odd is how hard the second game is trying to be silly compared to the first. There is nothing wrong with a joke here and there, Shadow Hearts 1 is a testament to that but Shadow Hearts 2 just takes it way beyond any reasonable level. I am literary supposed to be fighting the manifestations of Gods rage but at the same time I am supposed to regularly visit a (totally not) gay indian wrestler so that my (totally not) gay vampire can learn some wrestling moves. It goes so far that well over half the cast feels like its made up of genuinely retarded people and what is worse is that I am playing the undub so I cannot even blame it on crappy localisation.

Wait til you meet the cast of From the New World.

Thing is, I know about new world being a bit more out there. That game is not trying to hide its quirks but SH2 just flip flops between serious Gothic horror and dumb slapstick. The fact that the production quality does not change between these two modes alone makes it all the more confusing.

Did you play Koudelka, the real first game in the series? The descent into oddball humor is even stranger that way.

 

[AdamReith]

I am trying to get through the Shadow Hearts trilogy and one thing that just struck me as odd is how hard the second game is trying to be silly compared to the first. There is nothing wrong with a joke here and there, Shadow Hearts 1 is a testament to that but Shadow Hearts 2 just takes it way beyond any reasonable level. I am literary supposed to be fighting the manifestations of Gods rage but at the same time I am supposed to regularly visit a (totally not) gay indian wrestler so that my (totally not) gay vampire can learn some wrestling moves. It goes so far that well over half the cast feels like its made up of genuinely retarded people and what is worse is that I am playing the undub so I cannot even blame it on crappy localisation.

Wait til you meet the cast of From the New World.

Thing is, I know about new world being a bit more out there. That game is not trying to hide its quirks but SH2 just flip flops between serious Gothic horror and dumb slapstick. The fact that the production quality does not change between these two modes alone makes it all the more confusing.

Did you play Koudelka, the real first game in the series? The descent into oddball humor is even stranger that way.

A fully fledged JRPG with the tone and quality of Koudelka's story would have been amazing.

The cutscene with Koudelka getting shitfaced on whiskey and bitching about her gypsy upbringing was classic.

 

[Exhuminator]

So finally a decade after the game originally released, I've bothered to get around to playing Dark Souls. Yes for the first time, via the PS4 "Remastered" edition. I don't know much about this game (other than its status) and I'm not using a walkthrough or strategy guide because I'm not a wussy pussy. I have previously beaten the PS3 version of Demon's Souls back in 2017, and greatly enjoyed it. So far Dark Souls seems quite good, although it also seems noticeably easier than Demon's Souls was. I'm playing as a warrior class focusing on swords/melee. Ranged magic is easy mode, no thanks.

 

[Maxie]

After the amazingly annoying ant levels in the 3rd stratum of Etrian 1 Untold I'm in the water levels below, the FOE slowly approaching you through the water gimmick is very crafty

 

[Falksi]

So finally a decade after the game originally released, I've bothered to get around to playing Dark Souls. Yes for the first time, via the PS4 "Remastered" edition. I don't know much about this game (other than its status) and I'm not using a walkthrough or strategy guide because I'm not a wussy pussy. I have previously beaten the PS3 version of Demon's Souls back in 2017, and greatly enjoyed it. So far Dark Souls seems quite good, although it also seems noticeably easier than Demon's Souls was. I'm playing as a warrior class focusing on swords/melee. Ranged magic is easy mode, no thanks.

You ever played "The Immortal"?

 

[Exhuminator]

You ever played "The Immortal"?

If you mean this game:

Yes. I owned the Genesis version back in 1993, and beat it after much arduousness. The puzzles were sometimes overtly byzantine, but I much appreciated the strong atmosphere, outstanding animation, and brutal death scenes when you killed your enemies in battle.

 

[spekkio]

BROs, my week-long break from FE is finally over!

No Anon this time, 'cuz pronouns are important!

Only 2 genders? Reported for sexism!

Let's get over the tutorial quickly, and...

Oh...

 

[Endemic]

You got wiped on H1? Pfft

 

[Falksi]

You ever played "The Immortal"?

If you mean this game:

Yes. I owned the Genesis version back in 1993, and beat it after much arduousness. The puzzles were sometimes overtly byzantine, but I much appreciated the strong atmosphere, outstanding animation, and brutal death scenes when you killed your enemies in battle.

Now I know you're someone who's serious about gaming challenges.

You got wiped on H1? Pfft

Funnily enough I just tried playing two of the SNES entries in this series (Mystery and Geneology), and thought they were severely lacking games, especially Mystery.

Both had a nice foundation and some great elements, but fuckinghell both were incredibly slow-paced affairs too. Not helped by the weird biblical style obsession with family in every other conversation.

Someone told me these were up there with the Shining Force games, but - despite some decent tactical depth and ideas - the ones I played were implemented in such a way that they fucking dragged, and IMO couldn't touch Shining Force 2. Nowhere near.

How do the latter entries compare to the SNES games?

 

[spekkio]

incredibly slow-paced affairs

?

they fucking dragged

?

Shining Force games

Different strokes for different folks, I guess. Personally, I've given up on SF2 during first mission, when I relized it uses the "seqence-based" system (you can't choose which fag acts when), instead of the "turn-based" system (both sides have their turns, during which they can give orders to all their units).

The only games with this system that I can stomach are Tactics Ogre games (TO - LUCT, FFT & TO-KOL) & Devil Survivor. But it's IMO inferior to the turn-based system (Fire Emblem, Front Mission, etc.).

IMO Shining Force games are inferior to Fire Emblem games in terms of graphics, interface & complexity (I can be wrong here, since I haven't played them).

But if this shit doesn't drag, then I don't know what does:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6YnxuDwMUlw&t=2m10s

 

[flyingjohn]

Different strokes for different folkes, I guess. Personall, I've given up on SF2 during first mission, when I relized it uses the "seqence-based" system (you can't choose which fag acts when), instead of the "turn-based" system (both sides have their turns, during which they can give orders to all their units"

Add to this,a very easy difficulty and you have problems.
The games are only worth playing with extreme difficulty mods for a challenge.