Finally finished Final Fantasy Type-0 (spoiling like no tomorrow)

rem-is-dead-hahaThis is the post I started out writing:

I can’t finish the game, so I quit. -_- I’m a little sorry to drop out after 38 hours of hard work, but this is as far as I go. Final Fantasy Type-0 has just become the latest in a long line of Square-Enix games that I’ve dropped in the final dungeon. Other alumni include FF3, FF4, FF5, FF6, FF7, DQVI and DQIX, so rest assured that it is in very good company.

As for why I dropped it, it’s for petty endgame-related reasons. On the first playthrough, you have access to the human ending and the l’Cie ending. The l’Cie ending turns all of Class Zero into l’Cies so they can fight endless waves of those Lulusath enemies that appeared out of nowhere. I made it to fifth or sixth wave before my party members all dropped like flies, leaving me alone. The problem is that apart from King and Cater, everyone else is like 15 levels behind, so they can’t even take a single hit from a level 52 Lulusath, much less three of them. After all, the game just tells you you’re l’Cies, but it doesn’t actually give you any new powers. A possible solution would be to redo earlier, beefed up missions until at least half my players are strong enough to do the deed, but who has time for that?

Do please go on, this is most interesting →

Ace Attorney: Dual Destinies – Capcom has redeemed itself just a little bit

Phoenix_wright_ace_attorney_dual_destinies_screenshotYay, finished! For once the final case didn’t drag on forever and ever until I was sick of it. And so, for once, I’m not going to spoil the end of the game. You’ll have to play it yourself to see the final, shocking conclusion. And I do recommend it to anyone who likes the Ace Attorney series even a little bit. It doesn’t fix everything wrong with the series (lying witnesses, for example, are a series staple), but it’s miles better than Apollo Justice and much better paced than AA3 and Investigations.

Overall Dual Destinies is quite good, but like all the other games, the cases vary in quality. Case 1 is okay. Cases 2 and 3 generally suck, but not too terribly. If you can make your way through them, Cases 4 and 5 – 5 in particular – are very interesting. It helps that they’re the only ones where it isn’t blatantly clear who the culprit is. But if I talk too much, there’s a chance I’ll end up spoiling something, so I’ll keep the rest of this post short. Do please go on, this is most interesting →

Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Dual Guesswork and Speculation (spoilers)

Ace_Attorney_5_coverI’d forgotten how long and boring the cases could be. I’ve finished three episodes, but now I’m taking a break. A loooooong break.

Apart from the second Investigations game, I’ve played all the Ace Attorney games to date. Some I really liked (1, 2), some I didn’t care for so much (3, AJ, Investigations). When I heard a new one was coming out, my wishlist was very small.

1.Give the defense more of a backbone.

2. Make the cases shorter, more precise and less nonsensical.

With regards to the first point, I suppose it can’t be helped since the main characters this time are a pair of rookies and their cheerless mentor. But it still bugs me the way they react with shock and awe every time the prosecutor does anything remotely threatening or points out the slightest contradiction. Their every 5th line or so is “Aagh!” “Aagh!” “Aagh!” Grow some balls already. Yes, even you Athena.

On the second point, I’m taking a break because episodes 2 and 3 were so long. That means the last two cases are going to be interminable. I hope at least that they don’t make the killer so obvious in the last two episodes. It’s really painful chasing red herrings for hours when you already know whodunnit and how but the game just won’t let you prove it.

Do please go on, this is most interesting →

Final Fantasy Type-0 – Final push!

fftype zero eminaFinal Fantasy Type-0 is still a mess, but it’s an enjoyable one now that I’ve gotten the hang of the battle system. I’d even be done by now, but the final mission needs me to be level 36 IIRC, and everyone apart from King is 30-31. A word of advice to anyone thinking of playing this game: don’t try to level everyone equally. Spend the first few hours trying them all out, then focus on two or three, but no more than five, that you’re confident you can control in a pinch. Stick with those guys and use them all the time. If things are bad enough that all five of your controllables can’t survive, abort the mission and start again.

If you follow my advice, with any luck you won’t end up like me, having to spend hours running around slooowly grinding up levels just so I can finish the game without trouble. It is utterly ridiculous how slowly the levels rise in this game, even when you’re fighting enemies out of your league. In most games, you take down eight lv. 39 mobs with three lv. 30 characters and you expect a level up, right? Or at least half of one, if the game is really stingy. In this game it barely makes a blip on your EXP meter. Ridiculous! So start the process early by cutting your party down to size.

Back to what I said at first: I really have figured out the battle system. Shoot, shoot, roll, roll, shoot, shoot, roll, roll. If an enemy gets too close, smash it with a Blizzaga Bomb. If a Kill site shows up, hit it. Map a good healing item to the Select button and use it if your usually-trusty party members aren’t fast enough with the Curaga. That’s the strategy I’ve been using with King and Cater, my two mains, and that’s what I’m planning to finish with. For support I’ll be taking Rem along with her high MP pool and her reraise spell. I hope that works well as a final party, because I absolutely do not have the energy to level anyone else up.

(Btw, I figured out the button presses too. You don’t hold triangle then add circle. You press down on both of them at exactly the same time. It’s easier than it sounds and works pretty well. But I haven’t used eidolons since I was forced to summon Ifrit early on, because things are working out too well.)

I can’t comment too much on the story, because knowing Square-Enix they’re saving all the twists for the endgame. In any case, it all seems linked to the Fabula Nova Crystalis world they created with FFXIII and its sequels, and since I haven’t played those, I’ve been foundering in the darkness the whole time. Despite the copious notes and glossary in the library, the game doesn’t explain a whole lot about how the world works. It took me a while to figure out l’Cie and what was so special about them (I actually had to look it up on the net), and that’s just for starters.

I have plenty more to say about Type-0, both good and bad, but since I’m so close to the end I’m going to just finish it. Then we’ll talk.

Etrian Odyssey IV Demo – Can I have the same game, but without the FOEs?

etrian-odyssey-iv-legends-of-the-titan-demo-impressionsI know that’s like asking for Call of Duty without the guns, but the FOEs are really cramping my style. When I think Etrian Odyssey, I think cutesy art, hand-drawn maps and FOEs, and I really hate the last two. And I knew I’d hate them, that’s why I’ve avoided the Etrian Odyssey series all these years.

Anyway, I don’t know how many hours I spent on Etrian Odyssey IV because it’s a demo, but the bulk of my party reached level 8 and I explored all of Old Forest Mine (killed those filthy Baboon FOEs too) and quite a bit of Lush Woodlands (killed the Cutter dead). My party was made up of a Fortress, a Landshneckt, a Sniper, a Medic and a Runemaster, all girls. I also upgraded my weapons and armor a few times, kidnapped lots of grazing animals from the world map and leveled up a number of skills. Thanks to all that, I think I’ve got a good feel for what the game has to offer.

My verdict: I would gladly play an Etrian Odyssey with auto-drawn maps and no FOEs. In fact I think I did play such a game, and it was called 7th Dragon. It was pretty good, too. For this demo I deliberately picked Casual Mode, which allowed me to experience the game with a minimum of stress, but if they had an Ultra-Casual mode without the FOEs, it would be a definite buy for me. Are the FOEs that much of a dealbreaker? In a word, yes. I can’t relax and enjoy my dungeon-crawlan and grindan when there are implacable homicidal super-mobs lurking around every corner. As if that wasn’t bad enough, Atlus actually expects me to provoke those bloodthirsty nutcases and then run away with their hot breath at my heels in order to progress? How about NO, does NO work for you?

Do please go on, this is most interesting →