Here's hoping for that HD collection, though!
Oh also the G.S. Campaign in two was awesome and I wish that was in all the games
It has definitely aged.Originally Posted by Del Murder
I only played Episode I. I shall keep it this way.
Your loss, because Episode 3 is great.
I expect Quest 64 to make this.
Is it possible to skip 2 and go straight to 3?Your loss, because Episode 3 is great.
Yeah, they have a database to keep you up to touch with it. Plus like I said, there is little actually story progression in II, but you will miss some backstory with Jr. and Albedo. But again it is in the database if you don't mind reading it
But Episode III really is excellent, I would recommend it
Sure, just watch/read a Let's Play Xenosaga episode 2.Is it possible to skip 2 and go straight to 3?Your loss, because Episode 3 is great.
Pfft. Hello, Wikipedia.
Not even remotely the same for a game in which tone and symbolism are so important.
#9 Thousand Arms
Thousand_Arms.jpg
I wouldn't be surprised if some of you may have heard of this game, but I highly doubt anyone outside of maybe NeoCracker and a select few others have actually played this one. This was a PS1 game that Atlus squeaked in around the time Final Fantasy VIII and Majora's Mask were making headlines in gaming mags. It might be a good thing too because this game wasn't exactly great. I think a few magazines liked its unique gameplay but hindsight shows us that this is not the case.
So waht the hell is Thousand Arms you may be asking? It's probably the first Dating Sim RPG to be released in the West, and usually its failure was cited as a reason why companies didn't bother with bringing the genre over here. You play the lecherous Meis Triumph, heir to a mighty Spirit Blacksmith family who has the power to imbue magic into weapons through the help of Sacred Maidens. He embarks on a journey to improve his ability by awakening the Sacred Flames before the local evil empire uses the Sacred Flame for their own nefarious world dominating purposes. If that plot sounds pretty generic to you, well it is and there are no real major twists or surprises either. About the only saving grace of the plot is how absolutely tongue in cheek it is. It's filled with fourth wall breaking moments and I would almost argue that it borders more on the line of parody of the genre. The game doesn't take itself seriously which is about the only reason why you may find yourself actually finishing it because sadly there is not much else to keep you interested. I am honestly struggling to remember the plot and Wikipedia doesn't seem to want to help me get a refresher.
gfs_28057_2_9.jpg thousandarms-npc.png
So Mei wanders the world, recruits a few guys who are quickly ignored in favor of his harem of cute girls who all fulfill some anime girl cliche and then you date them so they will like you more and unlock new powers and upgrades for the weapons Meis forges. The dating-sim aspect is probably the only decent part of the actual gameplay. Sadly it's a bit simplistic and the only real hard part is the initial trial and error aspect of learning to say the right thing to the girls. Even when you get past that part you quickly learn that the amount of different date dialogue is sadly more limited than a 40+ hour game needed. So you'll quickly start ranking pretty high with the early girl characters due to eventually learning their pattern but then you'll also run out spells they teach.
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Combat is pretty much the main reason why this game is on the list. This game may have one of the worst combat systems I've ever had the misfortune to encounter except for maybe #1 on this list. Your combat party consists of three characters but only one of them actually fights, the other two sit in the back and either perform a special support skill which is rarely useful or you can have them use one of their extremely limited spell or item options. Only the front line fighter can fight, if you have a support character with offensive magic, they can't use it though they can use offensive items. The game never really explains why. This get's especially weird because the enemies you fight often don't have this issue, so some battles feel like one character taking on three enemies of which they can only hit whoever is on the front line while they can all hit them, while the other two party members sit back and cheer them on while they get the ass-kicking of a lifetime. You can switch characters between turns but here's where we get to another issue, most of the party sucks. Meis, is pretty much the dominating character, he gets better weapon and armor options than the other characters, every time he awakens a new Sacred Flame he gets access to a new overpowered summon spells. In fact most boss battles quickly devolve to Meis just summon spamming until he can't anymore and then hoping you took off enough health to finish it off in the next few rounds. The other party members are fun for the novelty but if you want to actually get anywhere in the game you'll probably spend the majority of it using Meis.
Battles are a bit tedious but the game also gets a few cheap difficulty boosts where you start encountering bosses who can perform moves that actually hit your whole party. Did I mention that outside of a very few select spells and one summon you can't actually use healing abilities on your back party? They can only heal the lead character and so you sometime find yourself in situations where a powerful boss may wipe out your support team and you now get to do the fun strategy of healing every other turn you're not attacking. Despite all of this, the game is not terribly difficult but the combat system just feels like it's one arbitrary handicap after another and is the only reason why the game feels tough at times.
thousand_arms_battle2.jpg
Despite being a Steampunk setting the dungeon and world are fairly forgettable though I still feel some of the side characters are fun. The girls get the most development and spotlight with the two male party members getting their initial intro and then shoved aside to make more room for eccentric anime chicks for Meis to totally lech over. It's a quirky PS1 RPG but one that has too many issues and not enough good to make it something I would recommend to anyone accept the person who feels they've played everything and want something new.
Last edited by Wolf Kanno; 01-12-2015 at 07:29 AM.
True beauty exists in things that last only for a moment.
Current Mood: And it's been a long December and there's reason to believe. Maybe this year will be better than the last. I can't remember all the times I tried to tell myself. To hold on to these moments as they pass...
Never heard of it. You knew it was going to happen eventually.
Its a shame it apparently sucks because I really like dating sim RPGs
Honestly, you shoudl still try it, despite the awful gameplay I think the story and characters would save it for you.Its a shame it apparently sucks because I really like dating sim RPGs
True beauty exists in things that last only for a moment.
Current Mood: And it's been a long December and there's reason to believe. Maybe this year will be better than the last. I can't remember all the times I tried to tell myself. To hold on to these moments as they pass...
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