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| Time Mage 2366th Post
 
Platinum Carpet V.I.P- Board Master
    
    
    
    
    
|  "Re(1):Advice on a good tactical RPG for the P" , posted Mon 3 Apr 20:10
I wouldn't reccomend you Disgaea as a SRPG, really. The battles have the greatest lack of strategy I've experienced in an SRPG (Well, barring that PSX Slayers game, which basically consisted in positioning Lina to unleash a Dragon Slave XD). In Disgaea, "strategy" is substituted by "leveling". I'd call it a LRPG, really.
However, and despite of that, I think it is a good game. The story is hilarious, the characters stereotyped in a good way, the voice acting (the english one, at least), is great, barring Etna's, and, well... I suppose that, if you only complete the main story, the leveling part is not that boring, and you can treat yourself with some pretty effects from spells and attacks. Worth playing, but overrated, in my opinion.
~~~Knowledge is power~~~
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| shin ramberk 251th Post
Copper Customer
| "Re(2):Advice on a good tactical RPG for the P" , posted Mon 3 Apr 20:17
quote:
I wouldn't reccomend you Disgaea as a SRPG, really. The battles have the greatest lack of strategy I've experienced in an SRPG (Well, barring that PSX Slayers game, which basically consisted in positioning Lina to unleash a Dragon Slave XD). In Disgaea, "strategy" is substituted by "leveling". I'd call it a LRPG, really.
However, and despite of that, I think it is a good game. The story is hilarious, the characters stereotyped in a good way, the voice acting (the english one, at least), is great, barring Etna's, and, well... I suppose that, if you only complete the main story, the leveling part is not that boring, and you can treat yourself with some pretty effects from spells and attacks. Worth playing, but overrated, in my opinion.
Interesting reply TM. You've hit upon something that was lingering in the back of my mind. This hasn't been the first time someone has said this about Disgaea but you've really made me think more about this.
What you say is disappointing but so far it looks like Disgaea might be my only option (if I can find a copy at an affordable price that is...)
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| Toxico 4148th Post
Platinum Carpet V.I.P- Board Master
|  "Re(4):Advice on a good tactical RPG for the P" , posted Tue 4 Apr 08:19:
As long as you don't level up obscenely Disgaea has a certain level of strategy; specially on the 'main game'; when you unlock the 'post game' the game becomes a leveling game, apart from certain 'ideas' you have to grasp there is nothing hard to it; just be stronger than them; it's like Dragon Ball Z where power was everything, no one fight with 'technique'.
If you want to 'make a character' the weak point of disgaea is that the game is pretty stern with that; there are 'abilities' and 'magic'; when you create your character it's the weapon that has the abilities and not the character (like in phantom brave) but unlike phantom brave it's pretty rare that someone can steal your weapon; since the weapon gives you the 'abilities' that means that you are usually stuck with the abilities that your can gain from the weapon; switching weapons will make you lose your abilities.
Unlike phantom brave, your 'magic' is from the character alone and no one can take you that; so you can use any weapon and still use magic; the problem is that rods power up magic; so if you want a magic user then they will end up with a rod.
Special characters and beasts have special abilities that are exclusive for them; but for monsters they will lose their abilities if you change classes and you'll have to 'start over'.
To make long story short; in Disgaea everything has levels; your magic, your abilities, your characters, your weapons, your armors; so instead of trying to level up everything you have to stick to what you have till the end; many characters are 'hard' to use becuase of very specific skills and are usually ditched late in the game... The main strong points of disgaea are the designs and the jokes; it's like watching the old kinniku man all over again XD
In robot taisen if you are even thinking about playing then then you are better off playing Super robot Taisen alpha 3 (Dai 3 ji SRT Alpha), it's the longest; it's not as easy as the other ps2 games and has more routes; secrets are huge pain to get; but there are some pretty neat battles; it will be enjoyable as long as you like some of the series that appear on it and you like seeing the signature attack of your favourite robots.
And keep away from Namco cross Capcom, the game has it's decent points and good stages; but now I feel like no one will return those 96 hours of my life.
See??? He is a God...
[this message was edited by Toxico on Tue 4 Apr 08:34] |
| Toxico 4148th Post
Platinum Carpet V.I.P- Board Master
| "SRW A3...." , posted Tue 4 Apr 09:11
quote:
I didn't play SRWA3...it's really good? I enjoyed MX for a while at least.
It's weird, but deep down MX ended for me when the hakkeshu; Zeorymer's villains kicked the can and Zeorymer's main character (Masato) overcame his evil split personality to become a good and decent guy, I loved playing with a character that says 'see the power of the king of hell' or usually says things like 'the farse is over'; a weapon called 'cannon of the king of the underworld' was neat XD
...But in business, SRWA3 was a great improvement over the previous games; there are more routes splits and the events of the series are better portrayed by the game; most character and villains got many new voices added and there are some game play gimmicks that are more usefull this time around; for example status ailments wheren't that neat on MX; but now some weapons can have inflict some really good stats like defense - 30%; and most enemies and bosses could be affected by the stats ailments; also there is the good point that there are many stages where y.o.u. c.a.n. a.c.t.u.a.l.l.y. l.o.s.e. as long as you don't power whore some units like Ideon and it's infinite powers some stages can be challenging + you got the snes trade of 'if you finish the game is less than xxx turns you'll get a different last stage', and that can be challenging.
Even if the game seems easy enough when you clear it you unlock hard mode where the AI is more agressive and has more upgraded mecha, after completing that you get a 'special' mode that is main though for you to have ubber strong units, it's easier than the normal and hard modes.
The 'library' interface improved a lot; you can see a stage route chart showing you what stages have you cleared, a basic description of the stage and what routes splits have you 'missed' so far in the game; there are missions that are 'library menu only' and are played with default units and default upgrades and are only meant to grasp storyline events that wheren't showed in the game at that time; you can also use some units there that aren't available in the normal game.
On your 'first run' you can see 3 endings; on your second run you can see those 3 endings and 2 more endings.
The game finishes up the storyline of PSX SWA and many original villains from that game appear here, so if you liked arrowgaters enemies you should check it out...
Spoiler (Highlight to view) -
The game even finishes up Ingram's storyline
End of Spoiler
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On the bad points we have the usual bad points that SRW have, the whole 'we are the hero' theme of the game can get pretty anoying, specially since I consider myself a villain; there are some overpowered mecha (Ideon actually has infinite energy; when you 'active' ide energy the infinite icon appear on his energy and most of it's attack have 9999 power ratings)... In an all if you can suck up the bad things is a very enjoyable game; the one downside is that there are usally 4 route splits; to see everything you'll have to play 4 times and it can get long, there is the chance that the route split that you choose doesn't has your favourite villains/hero; but at least there is the 'special' mode that can be unlocked when the game becomes easier and re-playing the game gets easier and shorter, so you don't have to eat up 4 times the hard game, if you are bored play the easy route and save some time...
As I said, secrets are also a bother to get; so if you like to unlock everything it can be difficult; in and all if you are the 'casual for fun gamer' that I think you are you can get by the game, have some hard times with it and feel satisfaction when you complete it.
And yes, I don't like short reviews.
See??? He is a God...
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| Pollyanna 1722th Post
Tailored Carpet V.I.P- Platinum Member
| "Re(3):SRW A3...." , posted Wed 5 Apr 03:14
quote:
And would you say Scramble Commander was worth trying? I had completely forgotten about it.
I HIGHLY recommend Scramble Commander. It's my favorite SRW game (even though it's absolutely nothing like the others) and the only one I would consider replaying several times.
(keep in mind that what I say about it may be a little off, though, since I haven't played it in years)
I don't know how much you know about it, but, game itself is fairly simple. You pretty much just give general AI patterns (conserve energy/melee attack, snipe, etc) for your robots to follow, point out where you want them to go, and occassionally tell them to charge up and do a special move (which stops the game to display a cinema, and usually does tremendous damage). It's all real time, and fast enough to make you sweat.
The level designs are absolutely wonderful, though. In the other SRW games, I feel detached from the action and generally annoyed when the enemy recieves reinforcement after reinforcement. There are instances of excitement when I fall into a trap, but that's the exception, not the norm. In Scramble Commander, it's the complete opposite.
Your "field of vision" is fairly limited, so it's highly likely that you're going to get ambushed in any given situation. You have to send "scouts" out (usually Gundams) and be very cautious of where you send what units and in how many numbers. You'll have instances on bosses where you'll damage them somewhat, then they'll retreat into the forest or something, and when you follow, you get ambushed.
So the situations are very believable and involving. Unlike the other SRW games, I felt like a real part of the scenario. There are a lot of missions with fun setups (your Evas going berserk and turning on you suddenly, a long-distance enemy that keeps creating smaller ones, creeping through a maze of skyscrapers while facing an enemy that can blast you with a huge beam when it sees you, etc.)
There are things that aren't great about the game as well...or at least things that may turn off robot fans. There are few units, for example, and you're forced to use them all. When you upgrade or repair a unit, it's out for one mission, so you have to carefully consider which units you're using when. I think this is actually one of the game's strong points, but many people complain about it.
There's also a matter of many robots not being portrayed effectively. Due to the nature of the game, robots may do some move that they aren't supposed to do very often repeatedly. There's also less difference between real and super robots than usual. Real robots tend to be better at sniping and dodging and have more/weaker supers, whereas super robots are slower, better at melee and tend to have devestating supers...but there is a sense of generic tactic between the two.
Also, the AI can get irritating at times, especially because of friendly fire issues. This is nice in that you have to plan when you do a super and can't have 5 robots all doing melee on one small target, but is too unpredictable in many cases. I've set up a breast of fire (Mazinger's super) then had one of my units "dodge" directly into it several times. From time to time, you'll also get a "don't do THAT move, do THAT move" problem. Still, generally speaking, you don't feel out of control.
Regardless of being a little rough around the edges (and relatively short), I think it's a great game for real-time strategy and/or SRW fans to pick up. Ah...and the music is good, too. A notch above other SRW games.
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| Pollyanna 1727th Post
Tailored Carpet V.I.P- Platinum Member
| "Re(7):SRW A3...." , posted Fri 7 Apr 17:53
Brandon: Maybe it's because I write for a living that I don't feel like writing something that needs to be good. Hmm...that's a bad sentence, but my head hurts and that's the best I can do. I hope you understand.
But still, if I get passionate about a game, and Tim doesn't write an article about it, I'll still try to come up with something.
Chazumaru: Well, you can't look at SC like a SRW game. I imagine, in many ways, that it would rub "SRW fans" the wrong way. I am not a "SRW fan". I play the games, but I don't think I have the same sensibilities as SRW fans, because clearly, half of the content/design/everything in each game doesn't appeal to me in the least.
But as a gamer, and someone who likes numerous robot series (though none obsessively) I recommend the game. The "fan" part of me enjoyed the scenarios (in terms of gameplay execution, not plot) and the music. The "gamer" part of me enjoyed the variety in stages and frantic battles.
I mean...it's different...and there are a lot of things that are kind of "rocky" about it, but I still recommend it. It's certainly worth a try out of novelty alone.
It just made me feel more "involved" with the action than the other SRW games. Like I felt I was in a real battle, or like I was a part of some anime.
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| Pollyanna 1731th Post
Tailored Carpet V.I.P- Platinum Member
| "Re(1):SRW OG..." , posted Sun 9 Apr 06:20
quote:
... I wonder if this post express Pollyana's feelings about the games...
Hahaha...well, in a way. If you like retro robots/robot anime in GENERAL, then SRW still works. It's best if you know all the shows and can sing along with the theme songs (and recite the special move dialogues with the characters), but I've still enjoyed a number of characters that are from series I don't know anything about.
I LOVE 70s-80s theme songs, though...so even if I haven't seen a show, the chances are I've heard the song.
But I don't think the story is that important. I've paid attention to the story in every game to a certain extent, but I always become bored with it. Not only because it's repetitive, but it's just "too otaku" for me. You really DO have to know so much just to understand what's going on.
Ah...but I eventually end up getting irritated that characters are misrepresented. Kouji is ALWAYS too nice in SRW. It drives me crazy. I don't remember which game it was (maybe SC), but in one case, he made friends with Shinji, which just seemed ridiculous to me.
To a SRPG fan, I think SRW is excellent because of its large number of characters, animations, length and complexity of system. Really, I haven't played a SRW game that didn't have a good system. MX is my favorite (which also looks the best and has the best cast, in my opinion...or maybe Impact has the best cast...?) Beyond the robots, graphics, music and everything else...the system is good. And when the novelty of the extra stuff wears off, I end up stopping every game because the system is always poorly implemented.
I mean...no matter how much you like the robots, surely you'll turn the animations off EVENTUALLY. You'll get sick of the songs EVENTUALLY. Then, unless you're REALLY into the plot, all you have left is the system. If the levels get too easy, or poorly-designed, then I can't play anymore.
Hmm...but I would recommend a SRW game to someone who knows at least a few robots, likes the "feel" and is willing to use a FAQ for a few things (tech moves) even if they don't know Japanese. If you look at the series and it looks awesome to you, then chances are, you'll enjoy at least one game tremendously.
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| Red Falcon 5658th Post
Platinum Carpet V.I.P- Board Master
| "Re(2):SRW OG..." , posted Sun 9 Apr 11:10
quote:
Ah...but I eventually end up getting irritated that characters are misrepresented. Kouji is ALWAYS too nice in SRW. It drives me crazy. I don't remember which game it was (maybe SC), but in one case, he made friends with Shinji, which just seemed ridiculous to me.
Actually, I think Kouji is generally well done (I am especially pleased he pretty much told Asuka to shut up) and I heartily approve of changes to certain charas I loathe (like Shinji) to make them more palatable. Of course, as a fan, I generally like all of them, and they aren't all so easy (in fact, many of the old Superfami ones are rather difficult) but I don't recommend them for anybody who isn't really... serious about enjoying it for the charas and enemy appearances. They can be a bit tedious at times. Here's to hoping L-Gaim makes a return in one of the 2D ones, and that King Gainer, Getter Robo Go, Gackeen or Galvion finally appear... or Betterman, Grendizer or Acrobunch come back. -_- I also hope they continue to exclude Go Lion and Gold Lightan... Good policies! I should shut up, I could babble on forever about whom I want to appear/go away. Speaking of which, kind of a change of pace, but anyone know anything about the rosters of the upcoming DS one?
Hmm... looking back at that, did anybody notice how many of those series begin with a "g"?
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"Advice on a good tactical RPG for the PS2" , posted Mon 3 Apr 19:46
Z80 AND SH-2 HEART ON FIRE !!
