What happened to beat em' ups?

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Exhuminator
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Re: What happened to beat em' ups?

Post by Exhuminator »

BoneSnapDeez wrote:It's not horrible, but it isn't good. Probably on par with the likes of Vay and Cosmic Fantasy 2.
Yeesh, glad I didn't shell out for that one then. :|

Hopefully their new beat 'em up will fair better.
PLAY KING'S FIELD.
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Sarge
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Re: What happened to beat em' ups?

Post by Sarge »

Aw, man, it's better than those games, come on. :P

It goes on sale on GOG from time to time for like $3, so pick it up then and if you don't like it, well, you're not out a ton of money. I got the cart, and I greatly enjoyed it.
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BoneSnapDeez
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Re: What happened to beat em' ups?

Post by BoneSnapDeez »

Yeah I got it on GOG.com, on sale. It's the only version I've played.

I'm pretty easygoing and forgiving when it comes to JRPGs, and have a soft spot for the weird nontraditional ones (ie: The 7th Saga). But Pier Solar really rubbed me the wrong way. I do think there are modern Western "JRPGs" that did it much better (ie: Black Sigil).
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Jmustang1968
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Re: What happened to beat em' ups?

Post by Jmustang1968 »

What is this Vay bashing? I like Vay.
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Sarge
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Re: What happened to beat em' ups?

Post by Sarge »

See, I love Black Sigil, but I think it's even more poorly balanced. I really, really need to dig into DS hacking and fix the issues with that game. It's so, so close to an absolute classic.

(Among other things, the battle rate needs to be fixed, the EXP changed to compensate, I know there are a few crash bugs and broken triggers, and one of your summons never gets added to your list.)

I think the secret to enjoying Pier Solar is realizing that the super-cheap elemental guards are the most important accessories in the game. Do not pass them up.

(This is probably where I also point out that I actually played through Star Odyssey...)
Jmustang1968 wrote:What is this Vay bashing? I like Vay.
Vay is a'ight. I like the music a lot. I think it's aping Dragon Slayer: The Legend of Heroes, something I didn't recognize until Bone recently played it.
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BoneSnapDeez
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Re: What happened to beat em' ups?

Post by BoneSnapDeez »

I did not "bash" Vay. I think it's undeniably a C-list JRPG though. Significantly worse than The Legend of Heroes, which it indeed imitates. Wow, this beat 'em up thread got derailed. :lol:
Tanooki
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Re: What happened to beat em' ups?

Post by Tanooki »

Oy Vay. ;)

Anyway, very nice set of links on Pier Solar. I stand on where I nicked it in short and still feel the only good price on that mess is a good 75% off GoG sale where it's like what $2.50-5? I forget what they retail it at. The game has so many problems with it you really do need a guide I think to really enjoy it and get the value, problem is they seem to have clamped down on the guide and charge a heap for it yet no one has bothered to make a PDF scan of it which is amazing.

For all those ramblings that guy did about Pier Solar, that first link, a few paragraphs in, this covers the game entirely very short and sweet with humor: "I do not see any way I can reapproach Pier Solar that destupids the dialogue, lets me fight more than two enemy configurations in a given area, and makes the story move faster than a beached whale with another, heavier beached whale on top of it, aside from playing the game completely smashed."
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alienjesus
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Re: What happened to beat em' ups?

Post by alienjesus »

BoneSnapDeez wrote:
Exhuminator wrote:
BoneSnapDeez wrote:Pier Solar was substantially worse than most any "random" old 16-bit JRPG.
Huh? I thought everybody loved it. What was so bad about it specifically?
Long, wretchedly slow, terrible dungeons, terrible dialogue. What pushed it over the edge for me were the cornball anti-SNES "console war" "jokes" that would have sounded dated and cringey 20 years ago. It's doubly dumb/hilarious when one considers the fact that the developers were essentially aping SNES RPG design.

It's not horrible, but it isn't good. Probably on par with the likes of Vay and Cosmic Fantasy 2.

Here's a fantastic critique of the game if you have some time to kill:
http://www.codiekitty.com/File/PierSolar/index.htm
http://www.codiekitty.com/MOREC/piersolarmisc.htm
http://www.codiekitty.com/MOREC/piersolar.htm
Those were fun reads, but I will say that based on their opinion on an lot of other games that I love, I feel like taking that review with several large scoops of salt is probably a good idea.

1/5 on Gunstar Heroes? This person is crazy :wink: :lol:
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Sarge
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Re: What happened to beat em' ups?

Post by Sarge »

Did that guy run down Lufia II in that review? Seriously?

I think some of the criticisms are absolutely valid. Do they make it the complete trash pile that he makes it out to be? Nope. Of course, opinions are opinions, so if he hates it, 'tis all good.

Also, the 16-bit war humor doesn't bother me. It's like watching Game Sack, and Joe is taking his shots while Dave is constantly sticking up for Nintendo. It's not something I take seriously anymore, and neither should anyone else. At this point, it's all in good fun.
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Xeogred
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Re: What happened to beat em' ups?

Post by Xeogred »

Joe's Sega fanboyism is amazing.
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