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Ishmael

2597th Post

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"FF:DoC Mutterings" , posted Thu 24 Aug 09:43

I managed to give Final Fantasy: Dirge of Cerberus a whirl recently so I thought I would treat this place like it's my blog and post a few random thoughts on the game.

From what I've read it sounds like there were a number of changes made to the US release that were not in the original Japanese version. I'd be curious to hear what someone who has played both versions thinks of the differences. Although I am happy that Squenix went through the trouble of fixing faults in the game I do wonder why these changes weren't made during the year or two this game was in pre-production.

Since the camera now stays zoomed out when you draw your weapon the game doesn't feel like the FPS the early previews of the game were scaring people into thinking it was going to be. Instead it's more of an action game that puts me in mind of the leisurely killing and deliberate pace of the first Gungrave game. Since that's the sort of game that makes for a nice rental I was quite happy about it although I'm sure some FFVII die-hards want to vomit blood at the thought of another non-RPG game featuring the cast.

The one thing that did surprise me about the game was how many false endings were in it. Not only did the final assult on the bad guys go on forever but whenever I thought I had beaten the final boss Vincent would trot off to fight somebody else. By the end the whole thing had become as cosmic and huge as any RPG [why do so many RPG's feel the need to get so grandiose?] as Vincent was gunning it out to save the world yet again. Considering Vincent has saved the world's bacon twice you would think somebody would at least be nice enough to get the guy a better place to live than the little loft apartment he was slumped in at the start of the story.

I'm not sure what the appeal of all the extra missions are but after I had to shoot some big bull thing dozens of times before it finally died I'm not sure I can be bothered to find out.

At what point did Yuffie go from annoying sneak thief to absurd sidekick? I'm not sure, but she seems to work better when she's spouting heroic platitudes and trailing around behind Vincent. It's a shame that Yuffie the Girl Wonder wasn't playable even for a few side missions.

Replies:

Iggy

7866th Post

Platinum Carpet V.I.P- Board Master

"Re(1):FF:DoC Mutterings" , posted Thu 24 Aug 18:18

Random blogs are awesome.

Pollyanna

1963th Post

Gold Carpet V.I.P- Platinum Executive

"Re(1):FF:DoC Mutterings" , posted Thu 24 Aug 19:13

I suppose they "fixed" the "faults". The camera changes weren't really an improvement, and the double jump is completely unecessary, but the roll(dash?) makes a big difference? Do you use it a lot? I've only -seen- both versions, though...I haven't -played- the American one.

If the game was changed in any way to be more like Gungrave, then as far as I'm concerned, that's a bad thing. In the original DoC, it was almost always better to snipe, and good aim was essential for success. Since neither sniping nor aiming are even possible in Gungrave, I don't see the comparison, unless the game was drastically changed. I mean...well...I suppose you have "leisurely killing" in both, but it's more like "systematically picking off" in DoC, whereas it's "pressing a button repeatedly until everything is dead" in Gungrave.

But you know...we may be having a miscommunication here. When I read about the changes made to the American version, they all sounded fairly positive, or at least "non harmful".

The "false endings" were just...I dunno...irritating after a while, because the plot was SO BAD. Terrible characters (although I do like Reeve), predictable dialogue, forced drama and meaningless plot twists. Buuut...at least the FMV was impressive.

I think I would have liked the game more if there was more variety in enemies. You fight the same guys for essentially the entire game...and while the game isn't especially long, it's too much time to spend killing the same guy over and over again.

I like 3rd person shooters every once in a while, instead of the usual "3D action".

Ishmael

2598th Post

Platinum Carpet V.I.P- Board Master

"Re(2):FF:DoC Mutterings" , posted Thu 24 Aug 23:57

Hmm, I think I didn't make my thoughts as clear as I should have when it comes to that Gungrave comparison. The game mechanics aren't like Gungrave where the game centered around trying to get Grave's creaky frame to keep pace with where the enemies were. With DoC sniping and deliberate aiming are still vital for getting through the game. I think that comparison came more from the definate track both games force you to follow and a vague, undefined feeling I received from playing both games that wasn't tied to any specific part of the game playing experience.

Although the double jump wasn't necessary at any point in navigating through the game I still found I liked having it. It was particularly helpful in putting distance between me and the lower to the ground enemies such as those ankle biting orange robots. Also being able to get off a shot in mid-air was nice at points when I was getting swarmed.

The dash seemed limited in it's use. It never went as far as I hoped it would and there seemed to be a slight lag at the end of it. It was better than not having it but I kept wishing it was more useful.

The limit breaker option, however, was very nice. Not only did it boost Vincent's stats but the refill of health was also helpful. I did find it curious that the option to switch out of the Limit Break early was still in the game even though in the US version there doesn't seem to be a down side to using it.

I agree that the lack of variety in enemies was a bad move. The only enemies I had to use different strategies for were those clowns with the bullet-proof shields and they were more annoying than anything.

Even with the game's faults I still enjoyed playing it. Then again, my lenient take on the game comes partly from only paying a rental fee on it instead of the full retail price. Although that's one of those things that doesn't hinge on the gameplay when it comes to deciding on how much I liked a game those mitigating factors -such as being able to play the game with a character I like instead of having to drag Cloud's sorry ass through yet another game- do factor into my overall impression. That, and it's been so long since Square has tried something other than RPG's it felt like an interesting change of pace.

Pollyanna

1966th Post

Gold Carpet V.I.P- Platinum Executive

"Re(3):FF:DoC Mutterings" , posted Fri 25 Aug 11:52

quote:

The limit breaker option, however, was very nice. Not only did it boost Vincent's stats but the refill of health was also helpful. I did find it curious that the option to switch out of the Limit Break early was still in the game even though in the US version there doesn't seem to be a down side to using it.

Even with the game's faults I still enjoyed playing it. Then again, my lenient take on the game comes partly from only paying a rental fee on it instead of the full retail price.

Yeah, I think I pulled out of the limit break early every time. I ONLY used it as a healing technique. I think that and the "magic shots" could have been managed a bit better.

But yeah, it's a fantastic rental game. I would recommend that anyone who likes 3rd person shooters or Final Fantasy 7 to try it out. I rather dislike FF7 and I still had a good time with it.

People keep saying it's a piece of trash because it gets "rotten" review scores. I guess, since magazine scores tend to be high, anything under 8/80 is viewed as a waste of time. I would give the game at least 65, which makes it more than good enough to play for a weekend.

I wonder what the online version was like...could you use different characters? If so, it's a shame they didn't port that. (unless you can in some of the missions?)