MAF's RPG Double Header - Grandia III & Wild Arms 4

[MrAngryFace]

I recently set up a 'PS2 Station' at my desk to play in the later hours of the night I usually spend just insulting people in chat rooms. I've collected a few RPGS of note and have started picking at them as I love to do. I don't usually hardcore RPGs anymore.




Wild Arms 4:

I bought Wild Arms 3 (again) recently because its fuck awesome, but I forgot about the lame tutorial levels and I got pissed off because cross-dressing indian guy couldnt find something and the random encounters brought up enemies with insane hitpoints while he does so little damage. It ended up being pretty tedious. I started Wild Arms 4 on recommendation and so far have had a blast.

First off, the hex system for all it is, is broken. It may seem more 'complicated' than what was in WA3, but its not. Racquel is a beast and once she's level 14 you just start forming all battle strategies around her. With intrude omg omg. Anyway, the ley hex's do add SOME strategy to the affair but since placement is random you CAN get fucked early on in the battle when everyone is stuck in the same hex against fast enemies. Everyone in that hex will probably get hit with each turn, ouch.

I do like the fact that you are almost always getting items from battles from the random hex item event. If one of your characters are on a hex that has a treasure chest appear at the end of a fight WOO item, if not, lol no item.

The dungeons are a lot of fun, and I approve of the side-scrolling elements/puzzles put into the game. The isometric view in WA3 honestly drove me batty sometimes, whether it was the ps2 d-pad (diagonals are cry) or just the way the dungeons were built, I did have many moments of profanity.

I think the encounter rate is pretty bad tho, and since placement in the hex is also random, there are many chances for you to die to chump enemies because you got a raw deal. Save points are placed intelligently however, so in the event I do get screwed, the taste isnt TOO bitter.

The hardest fights, like WA3 are still the boss fights. Bosses, and hell most of the normal enemies, thrive on status effect attacks so you do devote one character to getting rid of those effects. Hell the first hour of the game my healer character spent the most time healing herself, which was great ;p

The characters are a lot of fun and they are quick to get you into a full party. The main character's wide-eyed kid attitude towards the world and his friends offers the most entertainment. The voice clips during battle are also pretty funny and clever. The main story however reads like a Gundam manga with many cyclical debates on the nature of war.

Im currently near the end of the orphanage (early in yup) and I think I have to fight a pretty hard boss next so im grinding near a save point. Classic RPG tactic ftw


Grandia III

Started this one last night. First off, Miranda looks 12, she is not his mom. Her character is pretty funny and does have that 'old' attitude going on but I honestly cant believe it. Couldnt they have modeled her taller or something? If anything its his sister, and the game does joke about him calling her sister but wtf. She's also stupid, hiding it in the kitchen? come on.

Then there's the fact that Yuki calls her Miranda and not mom, also the fact that while YUKI who lives in a HOUSE WITH MIRANDA was talking to a townsperson about where they saw Miranda go, the townsperson says she want to HER house. Come on, Yuki lives there too, he's her "SON" so WHY THE FUCK DOESNT THE PERSON SAY 'YOUR HOUSE'. I mean apparently Yuki cooks the meals so he's like a maid I guess.

The Grandia battle system is still one of the best in the genre and offers me the most fun. The story, like Wild Arms 4's, is fairly cliche, but the complete (and extremely competent) voice work is welcome, and the characters are likable and get into many wacky and entertaining anime mishaps. The blossoming love story is sorta obnoxious at times, I think ive always preferred Skies of Arcadia's policy of keeping the REAL love to the grown ups and the dedicated friendship to the kids.

I also think its funny that half of Yuki's (main character) portraits look fucking evil, like he's gonna go kill babies haha.

Im only two hours into this one but I love it. Its a great contrast to Wild Arms 4.

I've also picked up Suikoden V (might play this beside Beyond Good and Evil)
Radiata Stories (again)
Wild Arms 3 (gotta get past cross-dressing indians thing)
DARK CLOUD 2 lolz

But that's all for a later date of course. 2 at a time plus all my other gaming on the side is all I can handle.

Aside from the battlesystem this game is a very by the number RPGs hidden behind insane layers of polish and proper direction.

[demi]

[MrAngryFace]

Yeah I know, Shadow Hearts games are expensive even used tho. Maybe next month when I hit Frys

[BlueTsunami]

MAFs love of Wild Arms4 gives me a warm fuzzy feeling

[MrAngryFace]

I like it for story and characters, the battle system is pretty broken haha.

[demi]

Wait until you get to the final boss, that's the best part

[MrAngryFace]

Wild Arms 4

Well I just beat chaingun guy again, but then there was this creepy cultist cut-scene. Where is this story going haha. One of the Brionic or whatever generals is a vampire and his girlfriend is a willing victim? Pretty sick shit. lolz.

[Mondain]

[MrAngryFace]

Get that trash out of here.

I've seen all the cutscenes provided by a person online and the story isn't even better than the original, which just boiled down to SOYLENT GREEN IS PEOPLE so wtf ever.

The battle system looked crap too (also included in the videos)

[Mondain]

[Van Cruncheon]

Xenosaga isn't a game, anyhow. It's 25 hours of bad anime fanfic made into a game and raped with acronyms.

[MrAngryFace]

looooooolz im an rpg snob

[MrAngryFace]

Wild Arms 4:

lol I beat up vampire guy. I dont get why he was so easy, the chaingun guy was way worth. I wish everyone would get together and call aAruenend a big fat NERD so he cries somewhere. NEEEEEERRRD

[demi]

The whole theme of the game is growing up, so it's full of sap bullshit.

It pretty much turns into a big quivering pussy at the very end.

rofl

[MrAngryFace]

Haha, yeah the holding hands bit was hilarious, what a wuss.

[demi]

The epilogue is hilarious, I couldn't help but laugh at it. You'll see if you get that far

[MrAngryFace]

im gonna beat it, just cause I GOTTA, but yeah the sappy crap is piled on pretty thick haha

[BlueTsunami]

I want to play the original Wild Arms now :/

[MrAngryFace]

I didnt like Wild Arms till 3 sadly. Legend of Legia or whatever was the RPG on PSOne I liked a little TOO much

[BlueTsunami]

I like the original (my favorite), disliked 2, and I loved 3

[demi]

Legend of Legaia is pimp

If you want to play Wild ARMs just get Alter Code F

[BlueTsunami]

Legend of Legaia is pimp

If you want to play Wild ARMs just get Alter Code F

I heard Alter Code F raped the original feel of the game. I DON'T WANT TO BE RAPED!

[Van Cruncheon]

The "original feel" of Wild Arms 1 was neither "original" nor a "feel". Alter Code F is a pretty healthy improvement all around unless you have a sprite fetish.

[MrAngryFace]

No its hardcore to play w/ bad 3D lolz

[MrAngryFace]

Grandia III Update:

Well I didnt think it could happen but im starting to BELIEVE that Miranda is his mom. Its mostly the charactarization, there's just enough cheesy mom sayings and crap and anger towards grown men acting stupid coming from her mouth to almost overcome the dumb character model they gave her.

I just got the captain guy, he rox cause he reminds me of Gilder from Skies of Arcadia, who also rocked. Im starting to get the hang of the battle system more and more every hour. I still tend to pick the 'suggested' moves because they honestly can save your ass.

I think aside from the battle systems in the Grandia games my favorite part has always been the 'meal time' and 'camp fire' settings in which everyone just sits around and chats. Its usually pretty funny and laid back, and a nice change of pace from OMG MONSTERS! OMG BOSS CHARACTERS!

Back to Wild Arms 4 tonight, gonna beat up that space/time bitch.

[DarienA]

I enjoyed WA4 though I thought sword-wielding chick made most battles too easy(I guess the balance trying to be that she was the slowest character). Most boss fights were over once it got to her turn due to the meter being full, her hitting hard as hell and her repeat attack ability.

Grandia III on the otherhand while I think it's a beautiful looking game I'm REALLY struggling keeping interest to finish it. I'm pretty far in... 3/4's of the way through, and it's just boring me to tears... The Grandia battle engine still rocks, but my biggest beef at this point in the game is that even with ini's in the high 60's EVERY boss character and some regular characters makes my characters look they are running backwards in terms of how quickly their initiative comes back around.

It's annoying as hell.

[MrAngryFace]

Racquel is the slowest but then she has intrude which gets her two attacks haha.

Yeah she breaks the game, but in the same way that Seth broke Fire Emblem Sacred Stones

As far as Grandia III goes, I was told I need to spend time at some point in the game grinding 5 or more levels for each character cause there's an evil boss.

[DarienA]

There are a few annoying bosses for sure. You'll definitely want to spend some time around a restore point grinding, fortunately there are a few of those spots along the way.

[MrAngryFace]

how far into the game is the first annoying boss? Im just at the island with the lum fruit or whatever.

[Van Cruncheon]

The one I'm thinking of is in the air castle, in the last fifth or so of the game. It's some sort of wacky transforming boss -- you'll know it when you get there, since you fight it almost as soon as you enter the sky castle.

[MrAngryFace]

Eyeball boss in II almost made me spit blood I was so angry haha

[cloudwalking]

This thread has made me decide to pick up Grandia as soon as I get my paycheck in the bank. I need a good RPG to hold me over for a while.

[MrAngryFace]

Grandia III is a lot of fun, and the characters are fun too.

[DarienA]

The one I'm thinking of is in the air castle, in the last fifth or so of the game. It's some sort of wacky transforming boss -- you'll know it when you get there, since you fight it almost as soon as you enter the sky castle.

Yeah that boss is a pain in the ass because of how FAST he is... pro tip... when he transforms, you're better off just blocking IMO, he hits hard as hell however that form doesn't last long IIRC. I thought there was one before him that pissed me off but I can't remember now... None of the Humanoid boss fights are any problem that's for sure...

[MrAngryFace]

Wild Arms 4 Update:

I finally got through that sub-space section, and man that boss took some work. The first time I just didnt know her patterns, but once I started using racquels intrude and the dual strike with her and whatshisfacemaincharacter on the boss bitch with Fragile and Slow on her hex she dropped.

What made me mad was when I had to fight her again and she shoved racquel into a subspace pocket and I lost I had to continue, the second time she shoved a character into a pocket but they came back within two turns thankfully. It was just a drain on my items. Im through it tho and pressing on!

Tonight is GRANDIA III, gotta catch up with time spent in WA4.

It was pretty funny, last night I had just escaped the subspace area and it had put me on this tropical island, and this guy shows up cause he's hungry for the food at my campfire or whatever, but then suddenly I get the Grandia III story and Wild Arms 4 story mixed up in my head cause im on tropical islands in both right now. So I thought the guy who shows up in WA4 ont he island was the sky captain but then im thinking wait a second when did I get here I was just on subspace and there was that airship but I had to come to this island to get fruits for that sky captain guy GHGHGHAHAHAHAAH


DarA: when Drinky told me about that boss I had violent flashbacks to EYEBALL BOSS

[DarienA]

Yeah subspace was a pain in the butt. I'm not much of a fan of "mazes" in my RPGs anyway...

I don't even remember the eyeball boss in II.. hell I don't even remember II...

[MrAngryFace]

Well its weird I didnt really get lost at all, just took the best paths naturally. I wish I had the same luck in texas hold em

Eyeball boss made me mad cause all those little eyeballs constantly cancelled me ROAR. I remember MOST of two, I played it back to back with Skies of Arcadia.

[MrAngryFace]

Wild Arms 4 Update:



I've made it to Platapana Corridor, which begins right away with a boss fight. Which is cool, Raquel is completely overpowered starting at level 14 with a good sword, so I made short work of it.

The rest of the dungeon was sadly like pulling teeth, between the insane encounter rate, stupid puzzles. I had to lug some pot with fire in it across moving platforms while manipulating space/time.

I also cant figure out why they made it so objects can break. I mean what's the benefit of having the player backtrack to get an item that broke because you accidently swung it near a solid wall.

The random encouners were chock full of mobs forcing my characters to share hexes almost all the time, and suffer rounds and rounds of fire spells. Wild Arms 4 is fun, but god damn this is one of the most obnoxious dungeons ever. Without the strategy guide I woulda gone nutballs. NUTBALLS.

Oh, and I tried the Arena right away, thats called a MISTAKE. One hit and my party was gone and I was short 5000 haha. Good thing I saved right before


Grandia III Update:



Well I made it to the port town where Sky Captain Schmidt lived, but thanks to the short whiskey binge I ended up having to save right when I got to town. Starting it up again last night I spent 10 minutes figuring what the hell was going on by wandering town and talking to the NPCs.

It is then I realized that a large portion of the NPC interactions were far more creative than the dialogue that carries the main story. The main story is really obsessed with 'spreading wings' and 'warm' which is all well and good but wtfffffffffff. SPREAD WINGSSSSSSSSS STAY WARRRRRRRRRMMM lol.

ANYWAY so I find the sky captain, and he's a rude bastard. But he gives me a plane, which my main character promptly crashes into the ground. What a dumb.

I do like the way the game handles skills and magic, and the extraction options from skill books and mana eggs is awesome. I have to play another round of this to catch up to my Wild Arms 4 progress, but so far I am enjoying Grandia III a bit more. There's a lot to be said for being able to see your enemies.

[DarienA]

Hey MAF just checking in to see how you're doing with Grandia III, I finished it over the weekend... the final boss while it took a long time to beat him because he has so many f'n hitpoints... actually isn't that hard because even though he's got good speed he only attacks once a "round"... my team stomped the sh*t out of him and was never really in trouble. I think everyone was somewhere between level 58-60 when we got to him... yeah I grind... there are some good grinding spots in this game.

[MrAngryFace]

Ill post an update soon

[MrAngryFace]

Ok, these updates taken from earlier threads:


09.06.06
Disgaea 2 - Grandia III - Wild Arms 4 - The RPG Marathon Continues



Disgaea 2

I promised myself I wouldnt buy another NIS game. Aside from La Pucelle, I had bought every ps2 NIS game and ended up playing at most halfway through and then promptly quitting. However as two of my friends bombarded me with all the cool stuff in Disgaea 2, I quickly broke down, trading in a few games and walking away with NIS game. Damnit.

My shame aside, its an awesome game. Its more of what I loved with what I believe to be a tighter story laced together with a hilarious mythos generated by both the original Disgaea and Makai Kingdom. All the cameos are entertaining, but the game never depends on them to present snappy dialogue and a fun story.

The battle-system is great, as usual. I would have probably preferred Phantom Braves battle system. While Phantom Brave's story is utter sappy trash, the battle system was something to conquer.

I'm only a few hours in, I plan to play this one all throughout the RPG marathon which I have just recently begun. I have no other RPG like it so it shouldnt conflict if I play every third spot.



Wild Arms 4

About halfway through this game. Some of the boss battles have actually required some thought. Some were downright cheesy, but in all, Raquel prevails. I dunno what the deal is with her character, I mean they had to have run this game through some sort of balance testing. She's insane. I mean there was this one boss where my entire party was dead, Raquel was down to 200 hp, and the boss had half a life bar. I figured I had lost, and was just pressing the x button while I looked over at my other monitor, and I look back and the boss is fucking dead. I couldnt believe it.

I mean she crits for 12000 damage, can CHAIN intrude, which so far i've maxed at 3 intrudes which gets her 5 turns to whack things with her sword, its insane. What's hilarious are her special moves dont do nearly the damage her normal sword attack does.

The characters make this game. The story is Gundam Wing Endless Waltz Redux with some kids thrown into the mix. How can you have peace without war, that usual crap. There's a lot going on in the background and a lot of political talk but most of it is pretty basic and as a result may be relevant, but not incredibly interesting. The characters on the other hand are charming, for the most part. There are a few reallllly sappy parts, but most of the time its good time fun. Still a ways to go before the end, but I think this one should wrap up pretty easy.

Also, this game has a TOWER dungeon, and you guys all know how well that turns out haha. I was spitting blood at this platforming sequence. I would have broke the disc in half if they were stupid enough to put random encounters in the demanding platform areas, but they didnt. Phew.



Grandia III

This game has grown on me, lots. The story is rehash anime japanese 'warmth' 'spread wings' all that bullshit, but like WA4 its saved by charactarization and unlike WA4, one of the best battle systems around. Grinding has never been so fun, making new mana eggs, juggling spells and skills, upgrading your special attacks, orchestrating combo attacks mid battle, its all there, and its fuck awesome. I still can't fathom why people hate Grandia III so much. Its EASILY better than Grandia II, and the sacred cow of the original Grandia is largely propped up by this insane nostalgia for the old school.

While the story is rehash, it has proven more compelling than Wild Arms 4 simply because it has that tinge of the epic which everyone wants these days. Everything seems dire and rushed and we're all running around to save something bigger than ourselves. It actually provides a nice contrast to WA4's story where the goals of the characters are much more focused on the characters themselves. In Grandia III they just sorta seem to be carried by the world events.

All of that being said this game offers some of the more stunning RPG visuals on the ol PS2, and until I see VP: Silmera running on my system at the end of this month I doubt this opinion will change. Im well into disc 2 now and grinding away to make sure the bosses dont catch me off guard again.

I do recommend if you get into this game you find a spot and grind, cause you'll need it. The boss fights that ARE in this game are a challenge. Additionally you will want the practice with the battle system. Maximizing Special Attacks, Timing, and the various combos is essential to win. Levels dont get you everything.

Next in the RPG Queue:
Suikoden V
Atelier Iris 2



09.11.06
Disgaea 2 does not have bad voice acting!




Quick recap, playing through a crapload of RPGs, a new mission, fight for future etc etc...

I am about three hours from completing Wild Arms 4, I just need to make it to town to buy Raquel her best weapon and then im ready to roll. As long as Raquel can keep crit-ing over 13000 I am pretty sure the last boss will be a cake-walk. Grandia III is not going as well, the Silver Stream in Verse World is a bitch. The enemies keep layer bomb traps and the stupid Verse Shrooms have a ton of hit points and cast a quake that destroys. I am going to head back tomorrow night with a crapload of earth rings equipped and teach them the meaning of pain. However I think this is really just an indication that I need to grind some levels.

Now on to my main issue, people bitching about Disgaea 2's VA. WHAT exactly is wrong with it? I even recognize a few of the actors from professional dubs for popular dubbed anime (rozlin is martina from Slayers Next for example). The point is I remember Makai Kingdom's voice acting very well and if anything MK's voice work hams it up way more, so if either game should get VA bitching it would be MK, but even then it wasnt BAD.



So it boils down to a very simple fact. Etna's VA was changed. This bothers people, why I cannot begin to fathom. Her VA has changed, but the style in the way she talks fits her character, and the delivery isnt bad. What we have here is a case of nerds not being able to let go. Who the hell cares if Etna's VA changed if its still good. IM SORRY YOUR IMAGINARY DEMON GIRLFRIEND ISNT WHAT YOU REMEMBER, but some things gotta change you stupid bastards. Just worship the shrine in your closets until Disgaea PSP hits the states.


Update 09.15.06
I HATE U VERSE REALM!

Playing Grandia III on Sunday and finishing Wild Arms 4 that day as well. Im pretty sure Grandia III just needs some grind time to make the verse stuff easier. Did the verse enemies ever get easier? Or do layered bomb traps just always get ya? I wonder how hard the boss is in relation to the normal verse enemies. The worst fights are when 2 verse shrooms back up those white little paper enemy things that layer bomb traps

Also Disgaea 2 is so amazing. Already at 20 hours

[DarienA]

Make sure have the Verse Hunter skill equipped that helps. You know I forgot about that damn tower in WA4, I hate that.. absolutely f*ckin HATED that....

[MrAngryFace]

Where did you get the verse hunter skill. need so bad.

The tower made me mad for a little while. The jumping on the bouncing things was way harder than the puzzle side of the tower.

[The Fake Shemp]

I can't believe you have betrayed Mega Man for a game where there are dungeons in items!

[MrAngryFace]

I really dont think you understand what kind of PULL Disgaea games can have.

I will play MMZX this weekend, im going out drinking in 30 minutes tho so that probably means any gaming afterwards will need to be slow and lacking in paralax or ill be vomiting lol

[The Fake Shemp]

Also, I will never play another game after Grandia II, which after playing Skies of Arcadia, was like boredom defined

[MrAngryFace]

Haha I played them back to back. I honestly only play grandia games for the battle system which is why I snagged Grandia Xtreme

[DarienA]

Sorry MAF I don't remember where I picked that skill up. I think it was extracted from skill books but I can't remember exactly. Also make sure if you haven't that you give Yuki and Ulf the Beserker Skill. I've had boss fights go quick as shit(that bone dragon fight comes to mind, the 1st time... 2nd time was a bit more annoying but still not bad), because they both had that skill and then I Flashed Yuki and Shadow Warrior'd Ulf... lots of hits.... loooots of hits.

[MrAngryFace]

Im so close to the end of WA4 but there's ONE MORE stupid POTS ON FIRE DUNGEON! NOOOO! The crystal wonder thing pisses me off cause it doesnt show the radius of its explosion. So im disgaea-ing till wednesday when I try again. Grandia III gets exclusive marathon time this coming sunday tho.