This is the game that never ends
It just goes on and on my friends
Some people started playing it, not knowing what it was
And they’ll continue playing it forever just because
This is the game that never ends…

…Actually Zero no Kiseki was ‘only’ 60 hours long, but it felt like an eternity. You can’t see it right now, but I’ve packed up my PSP and shut it away in my desk. I don’t even want to look at it for a while.

The last time I wrote about the game, I gloried in the fact that there was no main baddy and no real story. Of course I wasn’t naive enough to think I’d get through the whole game without one. However I never expected there to be game developers who, knowing they had a 20-hour long story to tell, would waste the first 40 hours on absolutely nothing and only then get around to their main point. I’m more exhausted than mad at this point though, so I’ll just scribble some stuff and walk away.

What was okay

1. At least it wasn’t Fails in the Sky.

2. It doesn’t end with a brother tongue-kissing his sister and then running away in a fit of teenage angst.

3. Cassius Bright doesn’t show up. We do have two obligatory “I wanna have Cassie’s babies” scenes, though.

4. Battles are mostly fast-paced and fun. The enemies also start out closer to your party so you don’t need a passport and visa to reach them any more. The battle system just needed an auto-battle option and an animation skip button for magic and joint attacks to be near-perfect.

5. Weak enemies will run from you. They can also be whacked for quick Sepith.

6. I liked my party, there were some interesting NPCs, and even the last boss was more funny than evil. Lloyd is a terrible but typical main character, but the other characters make up for him.

7. It ended well. There are a few unanswered questions, but I’m satisfied enough that I’m not going to bother playing Ao no Kiseki.

What sucked

1. 60 hours of BS, of which only 10 was indispensable. Way too long game was waaaaay too long.

2. Some of the jobs/sidequests were really boring. I know it’s the S.S.S.’s job to do minor tasks like finding kitties, but it got old after the first few.

3. Too many references to Snails in the Sky. Some were references to SC and TC, which I haven’t played. What’s worse, those foul, disgusting Bright kids showed up again and even had the nerve to *vomits* join my final party.

4. Too many rescues of my party, too much kill-stealing. I know we’re supposed to be rookies but every other boss battle ends with someone jumping in to save our hides or even the odds. Thanks but GTFO.

5. Too much talking. The party members take turns repeating answers and facts just to pad out the text. Or maybe it was a misguided attempt to ‘flesh out their characters.’ “He must have gone out.” “You mean he’s gone out?” “But how did he go out?” “Yeah, we didn’t see him go.” “Yeah, he must have gone when we weren’t looking.” “Yeah, that must be it.” etc etc etc.

6. It’s a story about a corrupt city with two rival mafia groups. Mafia that never kill or even hurt anyone. Mafia that the story somehow still tries to present as a threat to Crossbell’s stability, even though they never actually do anything to threaten said stability. Not until the last 10 hours, anyway.

7. Magic is useless for most of the game until the final boss. Then suddenly it’s uber-useful. Also there are way too many useless items and accessories.

8. Wasn’t good enough to justify being 60 hours long. Wasn’t Good Enough, period.

That’s it. That’s enough. No more Legend of the Heroes games for me. I still have Ys DS left to try before I give up on Falcom entirely, but I’m not expecting much.

In other gaming news, I’ve hit the 75 hour mark with Xenoblade Chronicles. I need to stop exploring and move on with the game, but exploration is just so much fun! I also started Date ni Gametsui wake ja ne: Dungeon Maker Girl’s Type on the DS. Gameplay-wise it’s exactly the same as Master of the Monster Lair, but the story and characters are completely different so it’s been good so far. Since the year’s almost over those will probably be the last two games I play till 2013.