RPG Progress Report

[Xeogred]

Still sounds like you can burn through it faster on the PSP version. I put in 60 on the SNES one, so kind of close to pierrot. I did some of the big optional dungeon but not nearly all of it. Just enough to get some special spell or something I think.

I think you'll really enjoy Arc the Lad 2.

[Jmustang1968]

That is nothing man. Deep dungeon, 99 battles.

Unfortunately I find the campaign battles to be so banal and repetitive, that I cannot see the appeal in burning many more hours doing optional ones. No offense meant, I know you love Tactics Ogre. But I've learned playing it that you and I have very different tastes in SRPGs.

Perhaps, I really love the story and amount of characters etc. I dont really know of many tactical games that has wide variation in battle types.

[Exhuminator]

I dont really know of many tactical games that has wide variation in battle types.

Tactics Ogre has two: Defeat The Leader or Defeat All Enemies

That's it. I can think of a lot of other options the designers could have put into the game, that I've seen in other games similar to this, and I'll talk about it in the review.

So I got to the fourth battle in the Hanging Gardens. Apparently the path I was on has 10 battles or something absurd like that. At the fourth battle I was already running low on supplies, and since there's no Shop in the Hanging Gardens, there's no way to resupply. Also, just to make things even more wonderful, there's no way to leave the Hanging Gardens area. You simply can't leave, it's a one way entrance. I wonder how many people got screwed by that shit head design? Thankfully I have a save outside the Hanging Gardens. I still lose the three or so hours I spent fighting in there, along with all the experience and loot I gained, but at least I don't have to restart the entire game, to get where I need to actually be, to take on the place successfully. So for now, I'm going to grind in the Phorampa Woods. To gain more experience points and cash for leveling up my units' skills and gear. And this time when I go into the Hanging Gardens, I'll have triple the supplies I had before.

[Jmustang1968]

I dont really know of many tactical games that has wide variation in battle types.

Tactics Ogre has two: Defeat The Leader or Defeat All Enemies

That's it. I can think of a lot of other options the designers could have put into the game, that I've seen in other games similar to this, and I'll talk about it in the review.

So I got to the fourth battle in the Hanging Gardens. Apparently the path I was on has 10 battles or something absurd like that. At the fourth battle I was already running low on supplies, and since there's no Shop in the Hanging Gardens, there's no way to resupply. Also, just to make things even more wonderful, there's no way to leave the Hanging Gardens area. You simply can't leave, it's a one way entrance. I wonder how many people got screwed by that shit head design? Thankfully I have a save outside the Hanging Gardens. I still lose the three or so hours I spent fighting in there, along with all the experience and loot I gained, but at least I don't have to restart the entire game, to get where I need to actually be, to take on the place successfully. So for now, I'm going to grind in the Phorampa Woods. To gain more experience points and cash for leveling up my units' skills and gear. And this time when I go into the Hanging Gardens, I'll have triple the supplies I had before.

I think there is also a save X from dying. Or it is a side objective atleast.

[Exhuminator]

One thing I should point out, is I've been playing through Tactics Ogre without a strategy guide or walkthrough, meaning I'm surely missing out on some non-obvious optimal classes and gear. I think that's what happened when I got to the Hanging Gardens. I'd been blazing through the game until that point, and suddenly my archers were doing 1-3 hp damage, and enemies were taking 2/3rds my life off with special attacks I didn't know existed. Not the best balancing I've ever seen, but I'll muddle through it yet.

[Jmustang1968]

One thing I should point out, is I've been playing through Tactics Ogre without a strategy guide or walkthrough, meaning I'm surely missing out on some non-obvious optimal classes and gear. I think that's what happened when I got to the Hanging Gardens. I'd been blazing through the game until that point, and suddenly my archers were doing 1-3 hp damage, and enemies were taking 2/3rds my life off with special attacks I didn't know existed. Not the best balancing I've ever seen, but I'll muddle through it yet.

Something is wrong then. Archers can easily be OP, especially if you make Canopus an archer. You must be missing some sort of optimization. It is fairly easy to make the game trivial in difficulty if you know what you are doing.

[Exhuminator]

Before I walked into the Hanging Gardens, my archers were doing 80-120hp a pop on enemies in other missions. But the beasts in the Hanging Gardens, like cyclops, griffins, muscle rock monsters and such, only take 1-3hp damage. I don't know what's going on.

[pierrot]

Is your party under level 30? I don't know how it is in the PSP version, but I found that even a difference of one or two levels between my characters and the enemies made a huge difference in damage dealt. I abandoned my archers in chapter 4, though, since the arrow trajectories are infuriating. Also a Gunner, two mages, and Habolim with Warp Boots, and Petro-cloud was pretty devastating.

Duuuuuuuude lemme know how you feel about this one upon completion. I just got the PCE original and I'm excited to try it when I get a chance. Looks intriguing.

I'm about half way through it now, I think. It's--, weird. I'm seriously concerned about Olga. I think she needs some serious help, as she's begun molesting the little mage girl in my party now, too. I'm a little averse to staying at any more inns, for fear that she might try to molest one of them again.

The world is pretty small, and the story is trying to play its cards very close to the vest. I have an idea of where it's going, but I'm not too sure what the deal is with most of the baddies, yet. The combat is kind of like the Tales games, but completely turn based, and stat growth appears to be almost exactly like Final Fantasy II. Every enemy encounter is 100% scripted, though; There are no random battles. Music's a little bland, and I hate the horns that they used.

I kind of like the game, but it's strange.

[noiseredux]

hey so guess what? Divinity: Original Sin is really really good.

[Exhuminator]

Is your party under level 30? I don't know how it is in the PSP version, but I found that even a difference of one or two levels between my characters and the enemies made a huge difference in damage dealt.

That's gotta be the problem; levels. I blazed through TO so quickly my levels never got very high. When I reached the Hanging Gardens* my party members averaged level 20. Gonna have to sink some hours into grinding ( ) and return afterwards.


* What the area is called in the USA PSP localization.