Fate Extra

[greg]

I preordered this game on Amazon, and I've been playing it a bit. I'm nearly to the first boss level.

It's definitely different from the anime. This new Saber is boastful and arrogant, and is very different from the kind, noble Saber from the anime. The premise is slightly different; the Holy Grail War still remains, and it's still a cross between Pokemon and Battle Royale. This time, though, the game takes place in a constructed virtual world, consisting of only the high school. Some have compared the game to be somewhat like Mana Khemia and Persona (neither of which I have played).

The battle system is essentially rock/paper/scissors. Certain enemies will consistently use repeating attack patterns, so this will take some initial guessing and then rote memorization after that. That might not be the most exciting for many, but so far the originality hasn't worn off. You go around the high school and collect information, talking to other students, etc. Then when you enter the virtual dungeon, this is where combat takes place. Confronting other students inside the dungeon is supposed to be prohibited, but this seems inevitable as the story goes along.

Is anyone else playing this game?

[NesimLE]

I was actually thinking about picking up the limited edition of this game at a GameStop or something since I have some money to burn...is it worth it?

[greg]

This game is an RPG; that's why I had posted this thread in the RPG section. Why the heck was this post moved to another forum? Do the mods here get bored easily?

EDIT: Nevermind. Looks like my post was just merged with another one. That would explain why I didn't see any other threads on this game. It's an RPG, but whatever.

I was actually thinking about picking up the limited edition of this game at a GameStop or something since I have some money to burn...is it worth it?

I didn't bother to get the LE myself. The Japanese LE came with the cool Figma figure of Saber Extra. The North American LE just comes with some book, and for the number of pages and the amount of artwork in it, it doesn't seem like it's worth it.

EDIT:

I'm not sure I get what's "LOL" about it being on PSP?

You asked why we weren't talking about it. And the other person said "it's on PSP." So I'm like... "Yes, exactly!" Because the PSP is dead

Yeah, my Neo Geo Pocket Color is dead, so's my SNES, my Genesis, Gamecube, Dreamcast, PC Engine, etc. That's why I come to this forum. Why would you complain about a "dead" system? Especially one with so many great RPGs and remakes of classics?

[noiseredux]

greg, so cool to hear about it firsthand. Yr description of Pokemon meets Battle Royale is intriguing. I think I may add this to my Xmas list... BTW, I thought the LE came with a soundtrack, no? If no then I'd rather just get the standard release myself.

[greg]

greg, so cool to hear about it firsthand. Yr description of Pokemon meets Battle Royale is intriguing. I think I may add this to my Xmas list... BTW, I thought the LE came with a soundtrack, no? If no then I'd rather just get the standard release myself.

Ah yes, it does. I just didn't care much to get a soundtrack for a game I'd never played before. The music is pretty cool jazz, though, and rather unique for a JRPG.

So yeah, watching the Fate/Stay Night anime won't be necessary at all to understand this game. The anime is weird. I have the original digital novel for the PS2 (Realta Nua), but the level of Japanese reading ability is beyond me for now. The character designs is what sold me on this show. The actual plot is odd, and it is basically a blood splattery version of Pokemon. However in the show, once the warrior is defeated, the master is out of the contest for the Holy Grail. Murdering the master was completely not optional, thus the friendship that is formed between Rin and Shiro. However in this game, once a master is defeated, they are also killed by their opponent's warrior. Thus the comparison to Battle Royale. (I refuse to watch those movies though. Too gruesome and disturbing.)

On top of this, the player is in like a virtual reality version of the school, kinda like The Matrix. I've no idea if the game will ever bother explain how this came to be, nor if it will say if the user is killed in the virtual world, if they will be killed in real life (as in The Matrix). But you know, it is a JRPG after all, so the suspension of disbelief must be maintained. At least it's not ridiculous like every Final Fantasy game since 7.

In the game, you can choose boy or girl character. The character you start out playing as, the school's newspaper reporter, is not the one you'll be playing with during the game (how weird is that?). I don't think that it really matters if you choose a boy or girl, but perhaps it might change the plot of the story. You choose your servant warrior, either Saber, Archer, or Caster. Caster looks totally different in this game and is a different character altogether. She's like a supposedly cute-looking fox chick and looks dumb, but apparently her design is more to impress Japanese otaku types than anybody else.

So yeah, you go around talking to students and such in the school, research in the library, etc. It's established that not everybody in the school is an actual person, and that they are actually computer-controlled NPCs.

Once you enter the dungeon, this is where battle begins. It's comprised of transparent, Tron-like corridors with weird scenery in the background (shipwrecks, fish swimming around... but maybe that's only for the first level). You must explore each level of the dungeon to get a key, and you will need to obtain a key for each level before your face off against another master/servant combo at the end of the week. So far, the dungeon is just two levels, but I'm sure it will become more complex as the story progresses, after I defeat the first master (who's a total douche). I don't know how it will go if I have to fight against somebody pleasant, or a hot piece of ass like Rin Tousaka.

So anyhow, I was hoping that the dungeons would be a Roguelike-style randomized dungeon setup. However, I do understand that many Western gamers hate the premise of a randomized dungeon, such as Evolution, Izuna, and Mystery Dungeon, even though Roguelike was originally a Western game. With this virtual constructed dungeon premise of the game, a Roguelike randomized setup would have worked perfectly. Who knows? Maybe it will become randomized in later stages.

Anyhow, don't get discouraged if you think comparing the combat to rock/paper/scissors sounds boring. It's just as strategic as anything else, once you understand the attack patterns and know how to overcome them. Some of the enemies' commands will be shown to you, and the more you fight that type of enemy, the more of their commands will be revealed to you.

[noiseredux]

sounds realy interesting, Greg. I'll probably ask my wife for the LE, since I love game soundtracks.

You're description (kids in school, battling in virtual reality, Pokemon-esque but darker) reminds me a bit of DemiKids. Have you played those? They were Shin Megami Tensei games for GBA.

[greg]

No, I've never played any game in the Shin Megami Tensei line at all. I played a tiny bit of Majin Tensei for the SFC for my 2nd 100 SFC games in 10 minutes video, but that's the closest I've gotten to the series. I've heard that the Persona games are excellent, so eventually I'll get those for the PSP and DS.