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Post by Xeogred on Sept 4, 2018 11:40:41 GMT -5
However, in full Shadow Hearts fashion, the good ending is not canonical. And if you want to take down the optional boss just put a tank in the front while the magic users take the boss stats down with spells. Farming scrolls in the library helps, too. Wait... the good ending for Shadow Hearts isn't the canon one?
Your second point makes me curious, I'm guessing there's certain monster spawns in specific rooms?
I actually lost a bit of progress last night when I first started it. I forgot how to save in the temporary save rooms, hit the menu button when the (S) pops up in those rooms. But I couldn't figure that out and reset, thinking my gamepad had some buttons not configured. And of course on this first run I got some FireDef armor piece that I never got again when I reset haha. Oh well, hasn't been an issue so far.
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Post by Xeogred on Sept 4, 2018 17:21:12 GMT -5
Hit Disc 2, 3 hours in. For some reason Koudelka has a -1 to her VIT stat (second column I think?)... I don't really know what that means. EDIT: I guess it was a negative from the pistol I had equipped on her.
Inventory management is definitely weird, everything new you pickup just goes straight to the bottom... but nothing is organized by type whatsoever. And this is a game that throws stuff like "Listel" at you for MP recovery, or how about "Whiskey" for reviving someone? So it's kind of a headache to navigate the list. The memory cursor is also pretty silly, whatever spell/action you do for James, it will land on that same spell for Koudelka's turn. I don't know if I've ever seen that before. Small nitpicks but yeah, weird to see even less customization and configurations for a late PSX title. Oh... and I wish it had a map button!
Still loving it though.
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Post by Ex on Sept 4, 2018 20:12:51 GMT -5
I wish it had a map button You can find a map in the game, accessible in the menu. It's missable though.
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Post by Xeogred on Sept 4, 2018 20:36:15 GMT -5
Oh yeah, I use it all the time. Just wish it was a single button instead of having to go into the menu to access it. Not a huge deal though.
Cool seeing some Shadow Hearts monsters returning... deturning? Like the hanging guy with the three heads and a pistol.
The in game cutscenes seem like they're FMV's with the character models thrown in on top. Is that possible? I wonder if that's why the game is four discs despite only being 10 hours or so. I love the look of these scenes, it's so smooth, realistic, and cool. Never really see that style much. The voice overs also have a distinctively classic vibe to them too, like a bit of an echo.
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Post by Ex on Sept 4, 2018 20:46:21 GMT -5
Yes this would have been a single disc game if the cutscenes had been rendered in realtime. But it's all pre-rendered CG, and there's a lot of cutscenes.
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Post by Xeogred on Sept 4, 2018 21:13:48 GMT -5
You can easily tell this series was a passion project. I love that they went all the way with things like that. Disc space and costs be damned! I'd also say at about 4 hours in now, this and Shadow Hearts easily feel like the same universe in an amazing way. So yeah I can see why you and other fans stress that Koudelka is a must play and vice versa. I'm disappointed you didn't like the music though! I love it, though it's not Hiroki Kikuta's best work nor is it as good as Shadow Hearts' music. But at least there's no stinkers like this one, WTF were they thinking: London:
That track stuck out so much in a bad way haha... there were some goofy tracks and dark humor sprinkled throughout the game, but for another town theme I don't know what they were thinking with the placement of this one.
This is Shadow Hearts:
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Post by Ex on Sept 4, 2018 21:26:59 GMT -5
I can see why you and other fans stress that Koudelka is a must play and vice versa. In general I would never play a JRPG series out of order, especially one that has a sequential story like the Koudelka/Shadow Hearts games do. (Shadow Hearts itself was a stealth sequel to Koudelka.)
I'm glad you're enjoying this game. I'm looking forward to your opinion of how the plot resolves and the final boss.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 5, 2018 2:08:09 GMT -5
I'd say music is one of the series' strong suits. Covenant had a pretty great score itself:
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Post by Sarge on Sept 5, 2018 13:19:30 GMT -5
I'm actually very tempted to go for Koudelka instead of Shadow Hearts if I can set aside my modern retro RPGs right now ( Octopath/DQXI). I actually wasn't feeling it last night on either.
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Post by nullPointer on Sept 5, 2018 13:32:19 GMT -5
Dangit, I'm hoping to get going with Koudelka soon! The whirlwind that is my life recently has suddenly taken a decidedly unfavorable twist in terms of my available gaming time. I'm really hoping to sneak in at least a bit of time though! It looks like a really cool game (and Xeogred has certainly has a great knack for description). Atmosphere for days!
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