THE BORE

General => Video Game Bored => Topic started by: Himu on August 29, 2007, 08:47:19 PM

Title: Wild Arms 5 is pretty good
Post by: Himu on August 29, 2007, 08:47:19 PM: I'm having a bit of trouble getting used to random battles again, because it's been a long time since I played a new rpg that has them, but at least you can turn them off with Sol Niggers (I kid you not).

Word around the streets is that the game is like Skies of Arcadia, and I'm just past the intro part it seems and I'm already feelin' that. It's similar in that it's a happy go lucky story, with tons of comedy and shonen bits thrown in. Like Drinky said before, the main leads are strikingly similar to Skies' 3 leads, and are all appealing so far. I'm surprised the game is actually funny at times. It's like watching a cartoon (erm...anime?) sometimes. Overall, the visual flare of the cutscenes is A+, would watch again.

+ Hex battle system - HEXES!!!

+ The hex battle system (I haven't played WA4 unfortunately) is pretty neat. All actions occur within their own hex (which could be interchangable with tiles if this were an srpg I guess). If you've got multiple party members on one hex, a healing spell or item will heal all of them instead of just one individual character. Likewise, if you want to hit multiple enemies at once they have to be all on the same hex. I like the system so far, but I can see these rules totally breaking the gameplay. Hopefully that's not the case. So basically, you've got an srpg battle system in a traditional rpg. Dragon Quarter fans probably salivate at this. :)

+ The cutscenes are extremely well made and fun. This game ain't meant to be taken seriously, and that's a great thing. I like it when Japanese rpgs aren't so serious and the characters are always having a blast no matter what. Shounen syndrome I guess.

+ If I bring up the cutscenes, I have gotta bring up the graphics. The in game graphics are okay technically, but man are they fun to look at. They remind me of Kingdom Hearts II's graphics, and that's a great thing. Art style in general is neat.

+ The world map. The game still has that lame ass trademark Wild Arms "search" thing (if you've played an WA you know what I'm talking about), but it seems the overworld has been fleshed out and had an overhaul. It actually reminds me of Dragon Quest VIII's. MMMMMM DQVIII.

+ The dungeons. Thus far, they seem pretty fun, but keep in mind this is pretty early in. The puzzles are pretty basic shit, but still fun. They've got some platforming elements, kickin' shit, and block puzzles. The dungeons are very puzzle centric thus far. Fun stuff, and yet another similarity to Skies.

+ The story. Thank God for a jrpg that doesn't take itself seriously. DQVIII was the last one I played that was like that. Cliche' shounen stuff at work. Blah blah, I wanna be the best blah blah. It works, it's fun, it remembers it's a game and it doesn't really give a shit.

- Interface sucks. Jesus Christ, who decided to not put in a auto center camera button?

- Random battles :'( Oh 50 hours of MegaTen goodness, what have you wrought?

- Battle system seems pretty simplistic thus far, but hey, this is early in. Are there any abilities and shit in this or only the default attack?

Good stuff.
Title: Re: Wild Arms 5 is pretty good
Post by: Junpei the Tracer! on August 29, 2007, 08:56:07 PM: Yeah impressions thread!
Title: Re: Wild Arms 5 is pretty good
Post by: Himu on August 29, 2007, 09:07:33 PM: i want a gif of dean jumping over that fire with his shovel and going HOT HOT HOT
Title: Re: Wild Arms 5 is pretty good
Post by: Ichirou on August 29, 2007, 09:32:39 PM: Waitwaitwait...what's this...Sol N*ggers? FOR REALS?
Title: Re: Wild Arms 5 is pretty good
Post by: MrAngryFace on August 29, 2007, 10:53:24 PM: Hex system still has the flaw of LOL JUST BAD LUCK WITH PLACEMENT LOL deaths, but you get to continue any battle after you die, plus you heal naturally after a battle. The previous Hex system was fine except for winning strategies being built entirely around raquel.

Encounter rate seems to be up a bit, and the map system is MEH. Overall I like it a lot so far. The characters are a lot of fun, the visuals are neat, and the Hex System is cool, but early on, like WA4, the battles dont really force you to work the Hex.
Title: Re: Wild Arms 5 is pretty good
Post by: Ichirou on August 30, 2007, 12:18:13 AM: How's the translation? Please say it's better than Alter Code F's.
Title: Re: Wild Arms 5 is pretty good
Post by: MrAngryFace on August 30, 2007, 12:18:48 AM: seems great to me, good dub too.
Title: Re: Wild Arms 5 is pretty good
Post by: Error2k4 on August 30, 2007, 12:41:26 AM: it was handled by Johntv's 8-4 company, they usually do great translations.
Title: Re: Wild Arms 5 is pretty good
Post by: Ichirou on August 30, 2007, 01:03:48 AM: What else has 8-4 done?
Title: Re: Wild Arms 5 is pretty good
Post by: demi on August 30, 2007, 01:26:41 AM: Lunar Knights (DS)
Brave Story (PSP)
Title: Re: Wild Arms 5 is pretty good
Post by: MrAngryFace on August 30, 2007, 01:28:14 AM: Two Worlds?

Brave Story does have a good translation too. Did you end up beating it Demi? I got to the part where:

spoiler (click to show/hide)
Im supposed to find all the weapons or go to the next fight but all of it sounded fuck boring so I shelved it.
[close]
Title: Re: Wild Arms 5 is pretty good
Post by: demi on August 30, 2007, 01:29:19 AM: I'm at that island in the middle of the map, Del Bruhi or something. I haven't touched PSP in a while, I am too enamored with Two Worlds (not to be mistaken with the better Warhawk), and Bru Doragon should arrive at my doorstep tomorrow.
Title: Re: Wild Arms 5 is pretty good
Post by: Smooth Groove on August 30, 2007, 01:31:28 AM: Quote from: demi on August 30, 2007, 01:29:19 AM
I am too enamored with Two Worlds (not to be mistaken with the better Warhawk)
:lol Warhawk is that damn good, eh?
Title: Re: Wild Arms 5 is pretty good
Post by: demi on August 30, 2007, 01:34:23 AM: That's what it says on the box
Title: Re: Wild Arms 5 is pretty good
Post by: Mondain on August 30, 2007, 02:16:32 AM: OMG, it's an 8-4 game! it's not just mundane english, no no: that automatically makes the game so much better than most any other translated japanese console game out there! there are so few translation companies with high english standards nowadays!

8-4 also took care of Xenosaga Episode 3, and the text reads like... shocker... proper, ordinary english!
Title: Re: Wild Arms 5 is pretty good
Post by: Ichirou on August 30, 2007, 02:20:02 AM: Anyone got an example of an 8-4 game I've actually played? :( Were they responsible for Phoenix Wright or anything like that?
Title: Re: Wild Arms 5 is pretty good
Post by: Himu on August 30, 2007, 10:09:30 AM: Okay, once you break this game in it starts to get pretty damn good.

You have things called mediums. They're very similar to GFs in terms of use. You equip a medium, and it has set skills that you can learn, from jump (the ability to place anyone who is on your hex to any other hex on the battlefield that is not occupied by an enemy) to physical attacks and magic attacks, buffs and debuffs. You can learn any medium at any time but you have to have enough points to learn them. The cool thing about mediums is that in order to learn a skill, you have to use gc points. GC points themselves aren't what's interesting, but the fact that the more gc's a skill requires, the more hp the skill needs in order to be learned. Learning a skill decreases your hp for that time. You can learn multiple skills at once, but that means you'll have considerably less hp.

Now, this wouldn't really matter if the game didn't have such a strategic battle system. As I said before, your guys get placed on hexes. If you or the enemy are on the same hex, you all get attacked, and the damage is usually higher than normal in this case. Thing is, enemies will jump you and pincer attack you and fuck you in the ass. Avril's hp on my game right now is around 500. Most attacks from the monsters on the field take up 200-300 damage now. With one or two attacks, she'll be KO'd. So awesome.

Enemies will use skills will force your whole team on the same hex, and then they'll move on to the same hex and rape you. The game's AI can be brutal sometimes depending on the enemy type, and it's fun. It's to your advantage to spread your team mates out and force enemies into their own hex, but that can also have its drawbacks: 1. you can't use a combo if your characters are spread out, 2. Your enemies will be able to heal all of eachother using one item, so it's best to decide whether you force your enemies on the same hex or let them use seperate hexes. What ever is to your advantage. But to reiterate, do not lower your hp to disastrous levels or you will find your characters dying in one turn. So awesome.

One thing that factors fun into this are Force Points. FP is kind of like a super meter bar for a fighting game. It gauges what type of attacks you can do and when. You gain force points by doing practically any action whether it's attacking, guarding, or being hit by an enemy. I said before that enemies will rape you if you are on the same hex, but the flip side to that is that you typically gain more force points in those situations. Force points allow you to do multiple things. They can let you Jump your characters across the battlefield to another hex, they allow certain other abilities, but best of all they allow combos. But the game doesn't stop there. This battle system (so far) is pretty damn balanced. The enemies can use FP too, and they will rape you once more if they have enough FP.

The combos in the game own. Any Chrono Trigger fan should see the combos in this game. *wipes tear*

I don't even know what creates combos but they're awesome and can really turn the tide of battle.

Further still, the game offers even more customization. When you get certain items, you can customize your ARMs at save points and invest your points into three seperate attributes.

Once the game introduced all of these elements, the game kicked it into high gear. I'm very impressed. The battle system is pretty balanced so far, and actually strategic. Much like other srpg + traditional hybrid rpgs, the battle system makes my pants hot. It would make Dragon Quarter and Valkyrie Profile 2 proud. :) Not to mention, the game has HEXES. Hexes are awesome and infinitely superior to tiles. Hexes are awesome.

I've actually died a few times from NORMAL battles. Outside of SMT and a few other jrpgs that is unheard of. BRAVO! For people scared of games that have (awesome) cheap deaths, you don't get a game over if you lose a battle, you have the option of starting the battle over and retooling your strategy.

This is worth checking out. If you like Wild Arms, western settings, or jrpgs with non conventional battle systems, you should probably check it out. It's got a traditional story, but traditional's not bad if done right. It has a lot going for it. Between this and Persona 3, and (hopefully) Growlanser V next week, ps2 pretty much ended on a high note. ps2 <3

I wouldn't say the encounter rate is high. On the world map, sometimes, but in dungeons you can go walking 30-40 seconds without a battle.
Title: Re: Wild Arms 5 is pretty good
Post by: MrAngryFace on August 30, 2007, 10:36:58 AM: Encounter rate IS kinda high compared to WA4, 30-40 seconds would be bliss. Most of the time in the first dungeon we're talking 10 seconds at best, with the aggrivating 3 second gap between battles when I was lost. However drinky says you can turn off the encounters completely after you defeat the dungeons boss.

You should really play WA4, some of the hex crap near the end of it was pretty devious.
Title: Re: Wild Arms 5 is pretty good
Post by: Himu on August 30, 2007, 10:40:46 AM: Well, not the dungeon boss I don't think, but sol nigers. You have to find this orb that's dark. When you find one you can fight the monster in it, and after defeating it, you basically cleanse the area. Then you have the option of turning off random battles.
Title: Re: Wild Arms 5 is pretty good
Post by: MrAngryFace on August 30, 2007, 10:41:51 AM: Yeah same as 4 then iirc. The map system is also crap. Whoever designed it needs to be shot. It made 0 sense in the first dungeon.
Title: Re: Wild Arms 5 is pretty good
Post by: Himu on August 30, 2007, 10:44:55 AM: Yeah the map sucks
Title: Re: Wild Arms 5 is pretty good
Post by: Himu on August 30, 2007, 09:17:09 PM: this game is good but the flaws it has really puts a damper on the experience.

- The dungeons all look alike. I've beaten 4 dungeons now and they all feature similar puzzles, and all have the same tint. They even have the same angle when you walk into them, with similar stair cases. Yawn. Boring.

- The enemy variety sucks balls. I'm like up to the 3rd or 4th town and I'm fighting the same enemies I was fighting at the beginning of the game. Jesus Christ.

- Why does the random battle screen look so ugly?

- Why does it take like 10 seconds for me to leave the level up/status screen? I should be able to press x, and see if they leveled up and then get out of that shit asap.

- Oh, so I CAN'T learn the skills in any order I want? Basically, you learn skills depending on level. So you'll pool your shit into a skill thinking you're actually learning it, but nope. You're learning all the other skills along the way, and you can only learn that skill if you're a certain level. Lame as shit. This makes customization seem non exesistent. I just don't get why they went with this instead of a "every character is different and has different skills" thing, because that would make the game far more interesting.
Title: Re: Wild Arms 5 is pretty good
Post by: MrAngryFace on August 30, 2007, 09:46:27 PM: Stick to Solitaire
Title: Re: Wild Arms 5 is pretty good
Post by: Himu on August 31, 2007, 05:01:16 PM: Hmmm. Now that Greg is out of my party I can customize my characters more. I got Dean the sword medium, so he can dash (go to any hex on the battlefield), counter, and other stuffs. Avril's my mage, so she's got my offensive magic. Rebecca is an attacker but she's got the medium that lets you heal and stuff.

Hopefully the story goes beyond "lol johnny appleseed" soon.

back to persona 3 goty
Title: Re: Wild Arms 5 is pretty good
Post by: demi on August 31, 2007, 05:02:36 PM: Buy blue dragon and experience a real next-generation role-playing game.
Title: Re: Wild Arms 5 is pretty good
Post by: MrAngryFace on August 31, 2007, 05:03:10 PM: Persona 3 is for total chumps.
Title: Re: Wild Arms 5 is pretty good
Post by: Himu on August 31, 2007, 05:04:43 PM: who needs next gen rpg gaming when you have persona 3? tsk tsk. it's better than all of those next gen rpgs most likely.
Title: Re: Wild Arms 5 is pretty good
Post by: Van Cruncheon on August 31, 2007, 05:08:17 PM: no, not likely

credit where credit is due, though: persona 3 is the best activity scheduling simulator out there. if they'd added in a few gannt charts and maybe a heat map or two, it'd be the goat's knickers! it's like MS Project gone animu!
Title: Re: Wild Arms 5 is pretty good
Post by: hyp on August 31, 2007, 05:28:40 PM: i might have to pass on this one. way too many fucking games to play right now. i think blue dragon will be enough rpg for me after persona 3.