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So are there any climactic action-oriented portions of the game? Like, does it have a compelling, game-driving story like the FF games or is it more ho-hum in terms of story and all about the gameplay?
I guess what I'm asking is, is it more like Spirited Away or My Neighbor Totoro? :p
The single biggest driving factor Plot wise is Shadar, who does a good job at being threatening.Quote:
Originally Posted by DMKA
But I'd say more Spirited Away then Totoro.
I may just have to check it out then. The reviews I've read have been stellar and I've been looking for a good JRPG to play for quite a while now.Quote:
Originally Posted by NeoCracker
While I think the reviews are way to forgiving of the games flaws, I don't suspect most people going in will be as bothered about some things as I was.
Meowjesty. Hoot. I love those puns.
I do hope the Okami virus will back down soon tough, they don't exactly make you think for yourself in the first hour or 2.
Really? I felt like puns were those that got rejected from Dragon Quest. :p
Hoot! Having a lot of fun with this game. I do have some gripes, but they don't spoil the fun yet. Gotta love the big fat bird familiar. :choc2:
I couldn't resist naming my bonehead Boner. :shifty:
The Purrloiner is one wicked familiar.
Time to list some gripes about this game;
The thing that's bothering me most is that I'm sometimes ahead of the solution to a quest but the game won't let me perform the solution until some event occurred. Like changing the Al Mamoon (SPOILER)fountain milk into cheese; I was at the fountain. I cast the spell. The game says "nothing happens". It only works after pressing x at the fountain and rolling through the dialogue. I chose the same spell! I was in the same location! WHY DO YOU TROLL ME? That stuff is frustrating makes me feel like the game won't let me play it myself.
Closely related but equally flawed game design; the game deliberately hides some solutions from you and even cheats by altering game mechanics for no purpose at all. Like when you try to mend Cowlipha's (SPOILER) broken heart. You start off next to the person you need an emotion from. WHY DOESN'T THE LOCKET GLOW? It should, but the game just denies it. Instead, they make you go through all the shops for a solution the locket should have shown straight up. That's just trolling.
That said, this only seems to happen for the main quest. Which is both a shame and lucky, cause I seem to enjoy the better riddled optional errands and hunts more than the storyline "puzzles".
Nevertheless I still enjoy strolling this happy world. Feels good after spending about 9 months straight in the frightful lands of Dark Souls.
Edit: bottom line; players should not be punished for thinking ahead or trying to be creative but the puzzles do just that.
The events at Hamelin. (SPOILER)What the smurf just happened? I usually don't mind Ghibli's little explanation about weird happenings, but we travelled back in time because of.. mist?
I have played this game a bit, only level 10 now and leaving the first city. So far I love it.
I recently borrowed this game from a friend to play through. I have to say that it has a certain charm that the animations from Studio Ghibli is known for.
The gameplay is passable, to me, even though I dislike the battle system simply because of the story and its presentation.
I am not a fan of creatures, normally, but the design of the first familiar that you receive was so simple and cute that I don't feel bad about using him at all.Quote:
Originally Posted by Pete for President
Finished this yesterday. I have some gripes, but I must say the ending really picked up and made for a very interesting final stretch.
Some gripes:
(SPOILER)Never did Shadar come across as particularly threatening. Sure, there are some brokenhearted lot, but excluding the nightmares the common folk were all easy to fix. I wouldn't think of him as a villain set out for mass destruction, but more of a thief or fraud who's making some people's lives a bit miserable. The villain-laziness is grand in this one; "yes I will finish you later" or "you linger a little longer" until of course it's too late. Shadar is one clumsy villain.
The puzzles; holy Kuni some of them are terribly designed. I hate the fact that the game does not let you think for yourself for just one bit. It suffers heavily from the Okami virus where redundant dialogue ruins every moment where you think you can figure something out by yourself.
And last but not least there is a lot of filler. It took me 45 hours to beat including doing quite a lot of sidequests, but all that redundant dialogue and fetch quests make some parts of the game a real chore. And that is also why the world doesn't feel like it's threatened; people go about their business like there's nothing going on. Someone is supposedly trying to destroy the world but here I am collecting feathers for some lass' swimsuit.
Some props: (SPOILER)Final stretch is epic. Cool plottwists, a hidden villain rises to the stage, some mindgames and a bit of psychedelica make a grand finale. It might be a case of too little too late because some filler parts have little to none value to the story, but having a grand finale is at least something.
Micro managing familiairs and forging weapons is pretty fun. There are a lot of challenges and hidden battles which make exploring worth it.