I don’t often replay games, but after a recent string of disappointments I wanted to play something I knew I’d like. And I almost had it right with La Corda d’Oro too. The gameplay is still as involving as ever and I love classical music as much as ever. I just made a slight mistake in choosing the romantic interest this time. I wasn’t interested in Shimizu when I first played two years ago and time has changed none of that lack of interest. The dull-eyed, sleepy slacker is always my least favorite character in any kind of media. Okay second least favorite, after the playboy. Do please go on, this is most interesting
Dropped Dragon Shadow Spell. Life is too short.
Just posting this for closure so no one asks me for a Dragon Shadow Spell update. I reached the 20-hour mark after spending the past two days playing DSS exclusively, but it still didn’t rock my world. If anything it turned into a drag, and for someone like me with a tendency to stick with SRPGs no matter how bad they are, that was a sign to get out immediately.
The final straw was a boss battle that forced me to use a character I had benched long ago and another character I had only just gotten and hadn’t had time to train. It was a tough battle that dragged on way longer than it needed to until I just turned the PS2 off and went to bed. DSS is so stingy with both money and EXP that grinding will be a further waste of time, plus who knows when the next crappy boss battle is coming up? Nope, I’m done.
My overall opinion of Dragon Shadow Spell is that it didn’t completely suck but came close enough to sucking that it might as well have sucked. At least then it would be memorable. The graphics were really nice (I especially liked the character designs), bright happy colors, the system was interesting at least on paper and the ‘Chosen One’ premise is like *shrug* I might as well stop playing RPGs if I start objecting to that one.
The problem is there were just too many factions on and off-screen doing this or that or the other that I lost interest in the story pretty quickly. That’s just a personal thing, of course. There are probably plenty of players who would like it for just that reason because they’re sick of most games just being “The good guys vs. the bad guys” with nothing in between. All good and nice, but I found it boring sitting through one too many skit featuring random bad/sorta bad/dunno-if-bad guys who my party hadn’t even met at that point and who kept tossing strange terms and jargon around without explanation, etc etc. Too much of a good thing, you know?
I’ve also documented the problems with the combat in previous posts, so I won’t go over it again. So you take an SRPG, ruin the battles and mess up the story and what do you have left? I don’t know, but it’s nothing I’d want to play. Enough already, I’m moving on. But moving on to what? I still can’t find the 3DS. I almost want to cry now ;__________; At least my PSP and DS are still around. Hey maybe they know something about the mysterious disappearance of the new handheld “haha you want to replace us, not a chance, now die” etc etc… I need a nap…
Dragon Shadow Spell update
I was supposed to be playing Rune Factory 4 now but, uhh, I lost the 3DS. Now now don’t panic, it’s in this house somewhere. I just don’t know exactly where. I started some impromptu spring cleaning in hopes of finding it… and unearthed my PS2 instead. So that’s where I stashed it. So, uh, well, it sure would be nice if I found that 3DS someday. In the meantime, on with Dragon Shadow Spell!
Unfortunately there’s not much going on with DSS, even after 16 hours. It’s still as mediocre as ever in terms of gameplay. Character MP is still so limited and MP refill items are still so expensive that I just whack everything with physical attacks instead of going for flashier (but not that much more powerful) magic attacks. Due the way the game world works, every character uses the same weapon throughout the game and they all have access to the same pool of special attacks, which means even the usual fun of equipping party members or training characters isn’t there. It’s not a bad game, but it doesn’t really set my heart on fire. I’m playing it more out of a sense of duty right now than anything else.
Story-wise no progress has been made towards finding the magical door that everyone’s trying to get their hands on. Oh okay, the dangerous forbidden technique Kaito wasn’t supposed to use was revealed to be not so dangerous or forbidden after all. In fact he’s supposed to use it a lot so he can get used to it then he’ll be fine. Also the pet dragon came out of the bag but no one really cared and that was that. So they made progress on that score, but that’s about it.
On the negative side, the writers made the mistake of thinking more characters = more epic story, so they just keep introducing more and more people in every chapter while previously important characters vanish for so long that when they show up you’re like “…Who?” And since I can only field 6 characters in battle it’s kind of a bother when they throw all these new members at me with nothing to distinguish them except raw stats. I prefer fixed parties for more limited games like this.
Another flaw: they also talk so much that they make me sleepy. A slow story + a lot of dialogue that does nothing to further the story is a killer combination. What’s worse, today I was almost late for an appointment because first a battle just wouldn’t end and then they just kept talking and talking using voice acting that was supposed to be good but wasn’t in a skit that was supposed to be funny but wasn’t. I almost quit the game right there and then.
I feel sorry for Flight Plan because I can tell they put a lot of money and effort into this game, but Dragon Shadow Spell just isn’t a very good game. It’s not bad enough to be classic either. It’s just kinda there. I’m not even sure I’ll finish it at this point. It all depends on whether I can find that 3DS or not. *sigh* Where did I put that thing? 7th Dragon III is coming out soon… 🙁
Issho ni Gohan. – No thanks, I’m full
Issho ni Gohan. Portable – Apartment Dinner Show (lit. Let’s Eat Together) is a forgettable otome game about the relationship between a bunch of college students and their female dorm manager, more or less. They’re all studying at a college of nutrition and food sciences or something like that so a lot of their interactions revolve around dinners, parties and other food-related events.
Issho ni Gohan. was originally a drama CD series which got adapted into a video game and a manga which I should have read instead and saved myself the time. With most otome games I like to clear at least one route so I can have something more concrete to write about, but at last in my old age I’ve finally learned to cut my losses and quit games while I’m ahead. I haven’t learned to keep my explanations short and to the point yet, but I’ll try to be less wordy while I explain why I dropped this. Do please go on, this is most interesting
Little Witch Parfait – Didn’t really enjoy it
Little Witch Parfait: Kuroneko Mahouten Monogatari is an alchemy/shop/relationship simulator about student magician named Parfait whose mother dies leaving her with a magic shop that is 1,000,000g in debt. To work her way out of this hole, Parfait has to drop out of school and devote her days to producing and selling enough magical goods to pay off her debt before the entire shop is repossessed.
Since she’s still a student magician she doesn’t know that many recipes, so in the early stages of the game you’ll have to divide your time between studying at home/the library, foraging in the wild and making stuff to sell in the store. Do please go on, this is most interesting