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Post by Ex on Feb 8, 2022 12:01:54 GMT -5
It sounds like FF8 is even more experimental than I thought it was. Square definitely had big cajones back in the day, to experiment so heavily with their bread 'n' butter franchise. After I finish Dark Souls, Final Fantasy VIII will be my next big long JRPG. I still plan to do Vandal Hearts for this month though. I read the manual for the game yesterday, tonight I plan to actually start playing it. I can probably finish a mission or two before my DS sessions, until I finish DS this month. Then it's VH till it's done (unless the game sucks). Has anyone else around here played through Vandal Hearts?
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Post by Sarge on Feb 8, 2022 14:44:00 GMT -5
Yeah, Square was doing all sorts of nutty stuff back in the day. I was having trouble sleeping last night and decided to listen to some Retronauts, and specifically the SquareSoft non-JRPG episode. Interesting things there. But they were wildly experimental during that phase when they were made out of money, and that at least sort of ended when Spirits Within flopped so hard.
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Post by toei on Feb 8, 2022 15:37:21 GMT -5
Ex I finished Vandal Hearts. Not much to say about it. It's a very standard SRPG. I enjoyed it at first and got bored towards the end because it wasn't hard or strategic enough, but I still finished it. It was more or less a 7/10 to me, at the time. I enjoyed Saiyuki: The Journey West considerably more. Slightly more interesting battle system (you can turn into beasts from Chinese mythology), better pacing (the battles don't drag as much), much more interesting world/setting. But it's longer, according to HowLongToBeat.
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Post by anayo on Feb 8, 2022 15:47:30 GMT -5
If this is normal for the JRPG genre, then JRPGs simply are not for me. Low difficulty is normal for casual JRPGs, which is what FF7 absolutely is. Casual JRPG players enjoy effortlessly grinding through trash mobs and level-beating bosses as some sort of meditative behavior. Nothing against anyone who enjoys doing that, but I don't recall anyone on HRG recommending FF7 to you personally. You're right, I have no one to blame for this except myself. At the end of the day I think my motivations for doing this are similar to that time I recently beat Tomb Raider 2013. It couldn't have been farther from the sort of thing I would want to play for my own enjoyment, but I beat it anyway because I wanted to be more informed about a game that a lot of people like. Sometimes I just play stuff for reasons like that. Thanks for the recommendations. I have: Dark Souls Demon's Souls Vagrant Story I can probably get PSIV working via emulation. Do you have any idea if the Shin Megami Tensei game for Sega Saturn is any good? I've had a weird hankering to play it ever since I saw screenshots online in the early 2000's.
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Post by Sarge on Feb 8, 2022 16:16:27 GMT -5
I don't know how SMT: Devil Summoner is (no English version), but Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers got an English release on 3DS. I enjoyed that one quite a bit, even if it was pretty easy to cheese if you go ham on Nemissa's magic stats.
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Post by Ex on Feb 8, 2022 17:05:54 GMT -5
Do you have any idea if the Shin Megami Tensei game for Sega Saturn is any good? On Saturn there is Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner and Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers. The former has not received an English translation that I know of. The latter received an official English localization by way of a port to 3DS. I beat the 3DS version of Soul Hackers and gave it a 6/10. I do not recommend it unless you're a starving 3DS JRPG hound. The SMT stuff I recommended on PS2 is leagues better.
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Post by Ex on Feb 8, 2022 17:15:01 GMT -5
Saiyuki: The Journey West considerably more That was the first SRPG I considered for this theme. But VH won out because it's half as long, and I'm a bit time constrained for CR games at present. I still plan to play Saiyuki someday though, seems like a cult classic.
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Post by paulofthewest on Feb 9, 2022 18:54:25 GMT -5
I finished Suikoden and I'm going with a 8/10. Definitely a great RPG: fun plot, nice battle system, simple magic system, good lean, and I'm a fan of the graphics.
I have to second the 'wish other RPGs would animate multiple attacks at the same time." Man that sped up the tedious battles (which are in almost all JRPGs.)
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Post by Xeogred on Feb 9, 2022 19:38:50 GMT -5
I finished Suikoden and I'm going with a 8/10. Definitely a great RPG: fun plot, nice battle system, simple magic system, good lean, and I'm a fan of the graphics.
I have to second the 'wish other RPGs would animate multiple attacks at the same time." Man that sped up the tedious battles (which are in almost all JRPGs.)
Definitely hit up 2 sometime. They kind of feel like one huge game in a way honestly. It has better characters, villains, and story I'd say, but the perk to 1 is that it has zero fluff. 2 is twice as long (at least) and does kind of have ups and downs, but I think the peaks outweigh any bad.
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Post by Ex on Feb 9, 2022 21:35:00 GMT -5
I finished Suikoden and I'm going with a 8/10. That's the same rating I gave the game back in 2007 when I finished it. My favorite thing about the original Suikoden is it respects the player's free time. It does what it needs to do, does it succinctly with great pacing, and the battle system is a joy. Good choice for this month man. Definitely hit up 2 sometime. Part two has a sluggish start, so much so that it put me off the game. I'm not saying Suikoden II isn't a good JRPG though, it probably is once you get passed the start.
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