Let's finish this...

Alright, due to work and school joining forces to destroy my free time I've decided to finally get back to work on a few games I've started and yet to finish. Course, this turned out to be a much longer list than I expected so its up you EoFF to give advice as to where my most precious commodity, my time, should be wasted on. The list is mostly comprised of games I've started and have yet to finish because starting something new is dangerous for me, especially since midterms start this week. I play games obsessively and I'm really bad at multi-task gameplay (By that I mean I don't do well playing multiple games at once, one always proves to garner my interest over the other) so no go on trying to tackle more than one.

FFXII: Revenant Wings - I really don't like this game, the gameplay and some of the weapon building is fun if a bit underwhelming but the sheer butchery of one of my favorite casts of characters trapped in a plot that feels like Motomu's Greatest Hit collection has really made me not like this game at all. The thing is, I'm at the last boss and the super challenges. I just can't bring myself to play anymore and I actually took a year off from the game to get back to it recently but now the game elicit my nerd rage so much that I fear for my DS' safety.

Atelier Iris: Eternal Mana - Once again, the alchemy side of the game is awesome, its everything else that's the problem. The cast is boring the combat is even worse and the story takes forever to get to the bloody point. If memory serves me correct, the party had just arrived in the ruins of the great alchemist that they have been talking about visiting for 20 hours now and when we finally got there I realized I seriously didn't give a damn anymore. This is a game I'm borrowing from a friend, so I've had it for several years now and well... he has my copy of Secret of Mana held ransom... You can see where this is going.

Dragon Quest VIII - I actually like this game out of the bunch so far, my only problem is that I'm easily distracted by what I feel are better games and the more I play it the more I feel like playing DQVII instead. The other issue is that I have a major disconnect when playing DQ. the games actually use a ton of elements I really hate but I never seem to care when I'm playing the games its only when I stop playing that they begin to nag at me and make me have second thoughts on going back to old saves.

Sword of Mana - This game just doesn't want to end, everytime I think I'm at the end, the game somehow manages to force me to go back to a previous area and find a new dungeon. I like this game as well but I played it til I was burnt out. Not to mention it has the same issue as DQVIII and the more I play the more I want to play the other entries instead...

Arc The Lad 3 - I blame part of my problem on Arc the Lad 2 being massive and incredibly tedious at the end. I blame the other problem being that some games have spoiled me and there is crap I don't like to do anymore in RPGs the major one being a worldwide fetch quest. Yes, for those of you who have played and beaten this game, I left off on the quest to build a new Ark which is going to involve me wandering the world and talking to everyone (most likely returning characters) until I get the quest needed that will most likely involve long dungeons (it is Arc the Lad after all) until I obtain one of seven or eight useless items to build the Ark which will most likely be stolen by the evil powers that be who I was fighting during the collection faze, which will involv me breaking into their evil headquarters only to have the Ark stolen by the true villain of the game which will involve me going to an even longer dungeon to fight a boss who is probably more ridiculous than the one in AtL2. You can see my conundrum...

Golden Sun - I will never understand the appeal of this game. I'm not sure if I just missed something cause I didn't play it back in 2001 or if I'm missing something entirely. The thing is, I find this game incredibly boring. Its world and story feel like cheap knockoffs from the Mana and Lufia games but ditches
many of the elements that made their stories good and while the puzzles are nice, I still feel Wild Arms and Lufia did puzzles better. I am playing this game on my GF's behalf cause she loves this game. I can't fathom the appeal and I've been playing it on and off for a year waiting for the game to finally snag my interest. So far I've been struggling to get through dungeons. I just finished the dungeon in the village that was buried under water.

I might find more and I'm kinda not adding in certain console entries because I'm not far into them so its the equivalent of playing the game from scratch.

I vote Atelier Iris, you've had it for years and if you're twenty hours in you should be near the end, the games not that long.

I'm not sure what other people's appeal to the Golden Sun series is, other than a nostalgic throw-back to elder era jRPGs. For me and a lot of fans however, its that they are the spiritual successors to the Shining franchise. Which themselves were insanely generic and had a tendency to be boring. But if you were captured by their magic, for some reason those issues didn't become a problem. That was me. I can fully admit their faults. And I don't blame anyone for not getting attached. You're really not missing much. They're not epic. We just consider them fun and nostalgic

I can't really help otherwise as I haven't played any of the other games on the list. So I'm just letting you know its probably okay that you don't like the game. I think most people prefer the second one anyway. And it doesn't sound like your interest will be piqued enough to play through both lol

Dragon Quest VIII has my vote.

...YOu know Wolf, sometimes your thoughts on games make me look at you like you are out of your freakin' mind. :p

Just finish VIII and Atelier. As said with Atelier, you should be near the end, and VIII's probably the best game on your list.

Dragon Quest VIII is the best on that list by far, though Golden Sun is a terrific RPG in its own right.

Revenant Wings is garbage and the Atelier games are about as basic as basic goes. I'd recommend not even wasting your time on those. Sword of Mana can be fun, but there is no reason to even consider it when you have Golden Sun sitting there.

DQ8 is a pretty relaxing, nice and slow game. I guess that makes it fun to most people. There's always a lot to explore so I'd vote for that.

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Originally Posted by NeoCracker

...YOu know Wolf, sometimes your thoughts on games make me look at you like you are out of your freakin' mind. :p

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I could say the same of your tastes :p

So which "thoughts" got your silk panties in a knot? ;)

Based on your list there, I would also highly recommend Persona 3 and 4 as well as Valkyria Chronicles if you have not already delved into their awesomeness.

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Originally Posted by Wolf Kanno

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Originally Posted by NeoCracker

...YOu know Wolf, sometimes your thoughts on games make me look at you like you are out of your freakin' mind. :p

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I could say the same of your tastes :p

So which "thoughts" got your silk panties in a knot? ;)

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Atelier and Golden son, but you already know my thoughts on your thoughts of Atelier. :p

In case of Golden sun, no, it's not as good as Wild Arms or Lufia. Those games are freaking awesome. I think it did enough different, and the story and characters were fun.

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Originally Posted by Kenshin IV

Based on your list there, I would also highly recommend Persona 3 and 4 as well as Valkyria Chronicles if you have not already delved into their awesomeness.

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Check the links on my sig, I've been spreading the love of Persona on this forum for years. ;)

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Originally Posted by NeoCracker

Atelier and Golden son, but you already know my thoughts on your thoughts of Atelier. :p

In case of Golden sun, no, it's not as good as Wild Arms or Lufia. Those games are freaking awesome. I think it did enough different, and the story and characters were fun.

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Atelier is boring. Beyond its awesome alchemy system the actual gameplay is boring and the cast and story feel like a one shot, low budget anime that only people who need a serious fix would enjoy. I was able to predict most of the games major plot points before they happen which really depressed my friend who lent it to me cause I figured out much of the story in the first few hours.

Golden Sun is also just boring. The premise is interesting and their are elements to the battle system/customization system that are pretty sweet but the story gets bogged down too quickly with generic old school RPG cliches and the puzzles are not as clever as Wild ARMS or Lufia which makes dungeons feel more like chores than diversions. The cast is also fairly generic and I can't really get past how archaic the game feels and plays.

I'd say DQVIII too. Now that you mentioned that game I also forgot that I was working on getting every one of the Dragon items before my PS2 died.

We can scratch Atelier Iris off the list. No I didn't beat it but apparently I erased my save file years ago, probably so I could play Lupin or Front Mission 4. I don't plan on starting a new file. :p

Damn, Wolf, you were considering finishing a game who's save file and, subsequently, last time playing was years ago? Don't let games like that guilt trip you!

I gotta give it up to DQ VIII for the same reasons as others - it's the best one on your list, but also you don't seem to hate it insanely even if you do want to play VII instead. Take your time with it and don't get too wrapped up in it.

Also I wouldn't worry about Revenant Wings - it seems like you've kinda beaten it already, but if you still have the last boss, do that so you can see the "magical" ending and all that jaz.

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Originally Posted by Vyk

For me and a lot of fans however, its that they are the spiritual successors to the Shining franchise. Which themselves were insanely generic and had a tendency to be boring.

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Smurf you.

I have started back up on VIII. Just met Angelo in fact. Luckily VIII already uses the best part of Atelier Iris which was its nifty alchemy system.

I may finish Revenant Wings eventually. I acquired Gilgamesh which was more of a pain in the ass then I wanted to be but I seriously don't want to grind to complete the missions for Bahamut and Zodiark which require me to be 20 levels higher (dear god the level jump in the last chapter is insane) but I came close to finishing the game I just lost at the last moment cause I miscalculated and didn't notice Penelo got taken out and he started spamming his Death Star beam attack and summoning Bahamut which took out the rest of my party rather quickly without her...

Golden Sun. That game is awesome. Gameplay alone is incredible, since it is one of the only games to make successful dynamic character changes mid fight. It was able to tie all your abilities and stats together. It basically succeeds at the part of gameplay that FFVIII failed at. An amazing level of customization and flexibility.

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Originally Posted by Wolf Kanno

I have started back up on VIII. Just met Angelo in fact. Luckily VIII already uses the best part of Atelier Iris which was its nifty alchemy system.

I may finish Revenant Wings eventually. I acquired Gilgamesh which was more of a pain in the ass then I wanted to be but I seriously don't want to grind to complete the missions for Bahamut and Zodiark which require me to be 20 levels higher (dear god the level jump in the last chapter is insane) but I came close to finishing the game I just lost at the last moment cause I miscalculated and didn't notice Penelo got taken out and he started spamming his Death Star beam attack and summoning Bahamut which took out the rest of my party rather quickly without her...

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WTF you've barely scratched the surface of DQVIII!!! Well, you may just be in for about 100 hours more of... more of the same, but the story is a classic DQ tale and you've just begun, so enjoy :)

I'd take Golden Sun and Revenant Wings off of the list. If you don't like them now you won't like them any more when you finish them. Plus I heard RW was a completely different game that they slapped FFXII stuff on about two thirds into production.

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Originally Posted by Bolivar

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Originally Posted by Vyk

For me and a lot of fans however, its that they are the spiritual successors to the Shining franchise. Which themselves were insanely generic and had a tendency to be boring.

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Smurf you.

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:P

I'm a huge fan of the original Shining franchise (Shining in the Darkness up until Shining Force 3). But they did things I forgave and loved that other people would hate. And I get that. Their loss really. The magic worked on me. But I know it doesn't work on a lot of people. They're not very deep games. And they don't push a lot of boundaries in story or gameplay. They do a lot of cliche things and the characters are really 2-dimensional. But I love them regardless. So I wasn't really dogging on the games. Just accepting that they're not for a lot of people. They're really niche games

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Originally Posted by Vyk

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Originally Posted by Bolivar

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Originally Posted by Vyk

For me and a lot of fans however, its that they are the spiritual successors to the Shining franchise. Which themselves were insanely generic and had a tendency to be boring.

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Smurf you.

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:P

I'm a huge fan of the original Shining franchise (Shining in the Darkness up until Shining Force 3). But they did things I forgave and loved that other people would hate. And I get that. Their loss really. The magic worked on me. But I know it doesn't work on a lot of people. They're not very deep games. And they don't push a lot of boundaries in story or gameplay. They do a lot of cliche things and the characters are really 2-dimensional. But I love them regardless. So I wasn't really dogging on the games. Just accepting that they're not for a lot of people. They're really niche games

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haha, nah i was joking man, I got that from your post that you were a big fan.

As big of a fan I am of the series, especially replaying 2 again last year, I'm totally with you. The stories are indeed generic and the gameplay not very deep, but what really stood out in that era of gaming to me was the art style and the music. Having the actual battle turn screens drawn in near-illustrated manner made it very special, the use of color was nearly perfect in that game. Also, the music is great not just because of the ingenuity, but the way it sounded. There was something unique in that as well.

And it sounds just as good as ever today with the new releases and collections.

In DQVIII, I learned that I am apparently not only really over-leveled but thanks to my OCD experimentation with Alchemy, better equipped than I should be. My party was ten levels higher than poor Angelo when he finally joined me so now I have to farm Metal Slimes to get him up to par.

As for Golden Sun, I just got to Colosso and frankly the ship part was one of the more obnoxious things I had to deal with. I know its done that way to unlock a side quest but did they really have to have such a long intro for starting the ship to move and was it really necessary to make the player watch it every time you had to replace an oarsmen?!

I'm not feeling the combat system, mostly cause I've yet to find a combination beyond keeping the characters within their own elements that benefit the characters very well. It feels like half the time that in order to make two characters extra powerful I have to sacrifice the quality of the other two. Let's throw in the fact the summon system is overpowered and abusive as all hell, I sometimes wonder what the point in playing with the class system does for me. :mad2:

>>> Finish your homework..:luca:

Why would anyone play a game they don't like? They'd rather waste $50 and 10, 20, 30 hours than just $50?

Mostly cause I don't have another $50 waste on another game I can learn to hate so I need to make do with my back stock.

Wouldn't you rather just not play a game than play a game you don't enjoy? Or just play something you've already played and you like?

Why would you spend your free time doing something that doesn't make you happy and doesn't earn you anything?

Well to be fair, the only game I don't like I'm not playing. I actually like DQVIII it just got overshadowed by other games I wanted to play more of. The only reason why I'm playing through Golden Sun is because my GF is making me do it and part of me is still waiting to get to the part where this game deserves the praise it gets.

I was only going to finish RW and Atelier Iris cause I happen to be at the end of both games (til I discovered I erased my AI file but that's hardly a loss) so it just seemed silly to stop playing when I'm literally ten minutes away from beating it.

I mostly mentioned Atelier Iris cause I forgot I had it and I like bad mouthing it to piss off NeoCracker cause he knows its my twisted way of showing affection to him. Golden Sun was more of a clever way to rant about it without actually having to make a new thread.

I actually like the rest of the games on my list, my issue is that I'm trying to pull myself away from games I've beaten a hundred times. I need some new games under my belt and I've got a whole stack of games I want to get through but all of these were titles I started and never finished. My OCD demands closure! :mad2:

Golden sun gets awesome as soon as you turn it on. You might not be awesome enough to take it all in, though.

If Golden Sun is suppose to be awesome from the moment its turn on, then I have truly found myself in a world where the best I can hope for is mediocrity.

Stop being so jaded Wolfo:nonono:

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Originally Posted by Wolf Kanno

If Golden Sun is suppose to be awesome from the moment its turn on, then I have truly found myself in a world where the best I can hope for is mediocrity.

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Yeah, that's totally what you should take away from that.

;)