JRPG Catch-All

bobbywatson wrote:
garion333 wrote:

A couple reviews are coming in for The Witch and the Hundred Knight and they're saying what I've been saying about NIS for the past few games: QUIT TALKING SO MUCH.

To be fair, a lot of developers have that problem. I stopped playing Golden Sun on the GBA pretty much for that reason alone. I was in a waiting room at some point, playing it, and I almost started yelling 'Shut the f*** up' at my screen at some point.

I stopped playing Golden Sun because I found myself woefully underpowered at the final boss battle after making it through there just fine. I didn't want to grind for a few hours to beat the game, so out of the DS it went.

I think I'm still bitter.

Atelier Ayesha: The Alchemist of Dusk is up on the AUS (EUR) store if anyone is interested.....

It's not a Japanese RPG, but followers of this thread should definitely take a look at the new South Park game, The Stick of Truth.

The writing and story have been very good, but I have been pleasantly surprised by all of that other stuff that usually suffers terribly in these licensed games. The pacing, combat, world-building, and exploration elements are all very well implemented.

I was trying to think of something to compare it to, but the only game I can come up with that felt remotely similar to Stick of Truth is Costume Quest. That seems like an odd comparison to make considering I became bored of Costume Quest about 90 minutes in (Clock isn't the only one that gets to hate fun things), but something about the feel of exploration in the world reminds me of that game. Otherwise, I can't think of any other RPG that gives a similar vibe. It's fresh and fun.

If you think you wouldn't like the game because you don't like South Park's brand of comedy, you are probably right. This does not censor material any more than the show. Some of the stuff that happens in the story is [color=blue]RIDICULOUS[/color] in the best/worst possible way. It was written by Matt Stone and Trey Parker, the two creators of the show, and it looks and feels like you are playing through a brand new season of South Park.

If you find the show even mildly amusing, this game is worth checking out at some point. You absolutely do not need to be a super-fan to enjoy it, so don't let the South Park trappings scare you off.

Dyni, have you played any of the various Mario RPGs? Costume Quest was pretty obviously inspired by them, and what I've heard of South Park makes me think it was, too.

ClockworkHouse wrote:

Dyni, have you played any of the various Mario RPGs? Costume Quest was pretty obviously inspired by them, and what I've heard of South Park makes me think it was, too.

Yeah, I have played all but Super Paper Mario and the most recent Mario and Luigi game. The combat is definitely inspired by those games, as nearly every action you can perform outside of using consumables has an interactive requirement to achieve maximum effectiveness.

On paper, I think there are a lot of similarities you can draw between Stick of Truth and the Paper Mario games, but those games didn't cross my mind once while playing outside of combat. That could be due to the fact that it has been nearly 10 years since I have played a Paper Mario besides Sticker Star, which doesn't really fit the same mold, or the similarities don't manifest in a way that produces a comparable vibe.

Dyni wrote:

I was trying to think of something to compare it to, but the only game I can come up with that felt remotely similar to Stick of Truth is Costume Quest.

Sold.

Honestly, I kind of wish they had an optional censorship button in the American version. But then again, I also imagine Matt and Trey would rather make fun of those people.

gravity wrote:
Dyni wrote:

I was trying to think of something to compare it to, but the only game I can come up with that felt remotely similar to Stick of Truth is Costume Quest.

Sold.

Yeah. It really is good. Costume Quest. Paper Mario. Mario and Luigi. Those would be the analogues. Closer to Costume Quest conceptually, though. i.e. The whole thing about how kids see themselves.

ccesarano wrote:

Honestly, I kind of wish they had an optional censorship button in the American version. But then again, I also imagine Matt and Trey would rather make fun of those people.

I think you can still allow for the option in-character. I really liked the way Brütal Legend did it.

IMAGE(http://static.giantbomb.com/uploads/original/6/63119/2444937-bl-censored.jpg)

ccesarano wrote:

Honestly, I kind of wish they had an optional censorship button in the American version. But then again, I also imagine Matt and Trey would rather make fun of those people.

Having just finished it yesterday, I will say they did not hold anything back. If you have been offended or upset by some of the content on the show, you will probably find something to be offended by in this game. South Park humor is in full force.

It is also worth noting that I completed the main story and all of the side quests in 12-13 hours. Quite short by RPG standards, but very little filler content and no grinding necessary.

Minarchist wrote:
ccesarano wrote:

Honestly, I kind of wish they had an optional censorship button in the American version. But then again, I also imagine Matt and Trey would rather make fun of those people.

I think you can still allow for the option in-character. I really liked the way Brütal Legend did it.

IMAGE(http://static.giantbomb.com/uploads/original/6/63119/2444937-bl-censored.jpg)

...which is great, because honestly, sometimes it is funnier. I remember numerous scenes from Arrested Development where they had a lot of fun with the required censorship.

On the other hand, I don't know if that would work with South Park?... I was a huge fan of the original "Christmas Card" and the first couple of seasons, and a big part of the humor was the cavalcade of offensiveness that would pile up. But eventually it dried up for me as you can only one-up yourself to a certain point. (And some of it got Family Guy-ish where it was crossing the line from tongue-in-cheek offensive to actual offensive-to-minorities, making me uncomfortable.) Anybody who is a South Park fan at this point clearly has a different sense of humor than I do.

I don't mean to get all PC here; I know I am not the world's final arbiter of taste.

Earthlok gives me a bit of a Ni no Kuni vibe and it seems the game is a JRPG without specifically mentioning JRPGs. Link is to their Kickstarter.

IMAGE(https://s3.amazonaws.com/ksr/assets/001/648/542/28c7bdb90784c7bac26c5089e04844fb_large.png)

Finished Persona 4 Golden (80 hours). Awesome game, of course. I have a lot of thoughts about it but one thing is that, if, like me, you have trouble staying monogamous in the game, the new Valentines content is absolutely brutal.

Mr GT Chris wrote:

Finished Persona 4 Golden (80 hours). Awesome game, of course. I have a lot of thoughts about it but one thing is that, if, like me, you have trouble staying monogamous in the game, the new Valentines content is absolutely brutal.

Interesting. Maybe I don't play enough (any) visual novels, but it's kind of interesting to see how one reacts to multiple monogamous women throwing themselves at you. At least, as a heterosexual male who has (like most) not generally had multiple women throwing themselves at me. Take your time? Hook up right away then regret it? Hook up right away but stay happy? Become an incorrigible philanderer? I wonder if anybody ever just stays chaste... And do you make these decisions "in character" or do they reflect your personal desires?

I'm the type I always pick one and stick with them. Mirror's my life as well. The only time in my life(college) when I had multiple options in women I ended up losing them all so I tend to do the same in video games. In my mind a 'hero' is a morally honest person so they're the same in the relationships as well. For the record I chose Amagi, only had a moment or two where I considered Chie and never once considered any of the other ladies.

beeporama wrote:
Mr GT Chris wrote:

Finished Persona 4 Golden (80 hours). Awesome game, of course. I have a lot of thoughts about it but one thing is that, if, like me, you have trouble staying monogamous in the game, the new Valentines content is absolutely brutal.

Interesting. Maybe I don't play enough (any) visual novels, but it's kind of interesting to see how one reacts to multiple monogamous women throwing themselves at you. At least, as a heterosexual male who has (like most) not generally had multiple women throwing themselves at me. Take your time? Hook up right away then regret it? Hook up right away but stay happy? Become an incorrigible philanderer? I wonder if anybody ever just stays chaste... And do you make these decisions "in character" or do they reflect your personal desires?

The guys who made Persona 4 also thought that was a really interesting question.

As a video game player, I always treated it as seeing all the content in the game. Same way as I played the Dragon Age games, for example. This is the first Persona game to actually make me regret it. Some humourous needling early on that I quite enjoyed but then really sticking in the knife at the end. Enough such that I will most likely do a monogamous playthrough next time.

Hats off to Atlus I think.

b12n11w00t wrote:

For the record I chose Amagi, only had a moment or two where I considered Chie and never once considered any of the other ladies.

Rise > Chie > Naoto > Yukiko. IMHO of course :).

IMAGE(http://i.imgur.com/ZgUD6Zg.jpg)

Minarchist wrote:

IMAGE(http://i.imgur.com/ZgUD6Zg.jpg)

Best. Idea. Ever.

I thought I you might appreciate that.

P3P>FES>P3. Just for Minarchist :p.

Hey, everyone's entitled to his or her incredibly wrong and misinformed opinion.

Haha indeed.

Minarchist wrote:

I thought I you might appreciate that.

Definitely in my top three inside jokes of the night.

As I've mentioned, like, eleventy times in the forum, I'm making a JRPG-styled game right now. And I am knee-deep in figuring out how best to handle the tasks that are normally in a cumbersome, modal, generally-not-that-interesting place: the menus. I like JRPGs, but man, do I hate menus, both with a keyboard/mouse or a gamepad. They're at best a necessary evil for me. So I wanted to farm out to the hivemind a question: what JRPGs have done non-combat interfaces (whether they're modal "menus" or not) the best and why? Character equipment setups, inventory management (which I intend to largely avoid, but as an example), shops, that sort of thing.

(I have my own feelings here, but I don't want to color any responses. Yet. Heh heh.)

ClockworkHouse wrote:
Minarchist wrote:

I thought I you might appreciate that.

Definitely in my top three inside jokes of the night.

[Inception sound]

Ed Ropple wrote:

As I've mentioned, like, eleventy times in the forum, I'm making a JRPG-styled game right now. And I am knee-deep in figuring out how best to handle the tasks that are normally in a cumbersome, modal, generally-not-that-interesting place: the menus. I like JRPGs, but man, do I hate menus, both with a keyboard/mouse or a gamepad. They're at best a necessary evil for me. So I wanted to farm out to the hivemind a question: what JRPGs have done non-combat interfaces (whether they're modal "menus" or not) the best and why? Character equipment setups, inventory management (which I intend to largely avoid, but as an example), shops, that sort of thing.

Although not really a JRPG, I still think Catherine has the best-executed menus of any game I've ever seen. They're slick, they're thematic to the point where you don't even think of them as menus, they just plain work.

I'll throw Final Fantasy 13 in as a second choice. The fonts are legible, they look nice, info is right at your fingertips, things are sorted logically and you can navigate sideways (up and down through menus and "left and right" between characters), and the little 1-second animations you get in the background of each screen really add a level of polish that makes them feel high-class.

Ed Ropple wrote:

As I've mentioned, like, eleventy times in the forum, I'm making a JRPG-styled game right now. And I am knee-deep in figuring out how best to handle the tasks that are normally in a cumbersome, modal, generally-not-that-interesting place: the menus. I like JRPGs, but man, do I hate menus, both with a keyboard/mouse or a gamepad. They're at best a necessary evil for me. So I wanted to farm out to the hivemind a question: what JRPGs have done non-combat interfaces (whether they're modal "menus" or not) the best and why? Character equipment setups, inventory management (which I intend to largely avoid, but as an example), shops, that sort of thing.

(I have my own feelings here, but I don't want to color any responses. Yet. Heh heh.)

I've always been partial to Final Fantasy's menus, at least the SNES/PSX era games. I think the main reason is that they're prioritize Items, Magic, Equipment to the top of the menu since healing and equpping characters is usually the most frequent tasks you'll do. Although I think in some games (like V) the character customization option is first because you'll be visiting that screen a lot.

Save menu should be at the bottom or accessible via a hotkey.

I having a hard time coming up with great interfaces, and keep thinking of interfaces I didn't like. I think this is probably because good and decent menus are ones I just accept and they don't leave a lasting mark on me, they are organized so I don't have to put a lot of effort into finding the menu items I'm looking for. Departures form the usual menu system tend to annoy me, as they introduce a learning curve that often takes me out of the game I'm there to play.

Organization of the items is probably the biggest thing in the traditional menus. A favorite of mine lately, Bravely Default, annoys me with it's split menu system. You have a menu that is brought up with the Y button and you have a menu that is on the 3DS touch screen. Drove me crazy that the save option was only on the bottom screen, rather than in the button menu. Even after 130 hours I find my self bringing up the wrong menu to save. Then there's that the game's social features and the game settings are lumped together under the same category in the menu.