Together RPG - JRPG - Phantasy Star 2 - 7/11 -> 9/11

[Jmustang1968]

I need to get back on this, you guys are way ahead of me.

[BoneSnapDeez]

Finished the control tower and now I'm working on those damn dams. In the yellow dam right now. It's weird to play a JRPG with so few bosses. I'm so used to the 'boss at the end of every dungeon' Final Fantasy style of gameplay.

[sonic2041]

Finished the control tower and now I'm working on those damn dams. In the yellow dam right now. It's weird to play a JRPG with so few bosses. I'm so used to the 'boss at the end of every dungeon' Final Fantasy style of gameplay.

Yeah, the lack of bosses is interesting. Usually its how you tell you have finished a dungeon. But in this game, you usually just pick up an item that will let you get past a road block.

[pierrot]

If this game had bosses at the end of every dungeon, I'd probably slit my wrists before getting through it.

Honestly, the townspeople say such mundane bullshit that I don't even bother to talk to them. One town is full of guys that just say "What?"

I know exactly what you're talking about.

So, I got to Zema and Quaris, and aside from the old men and Motavians in those towns, most townspeople give me useful information. So far, everything I've needed to know has been spelled out pretty clearly by townspeople. Although, back to the point about recruiting characters: I'm less certain that the guy outside the main character's house mentions it, or if I had just read about it in the manual, where it's mentioned twice.

I have to go back to all the warnings about this game being cryptic: Is the localization so bad that the game is made confusing? Compared to the original Phantasy Star, I feel like I'm being handed a book on what to do at every stage of the game so far.


Anyway, my next stop is Loron, and while I feel direction is pretty clear, there are some battle mechanics that are really bothering me. While I like the early auto-battle, even though I'd like some less cumbersome input for influencing my characters when the need arises, the battle system feels otherwise scrap-worthy. Some of the external job/equipment stuff is pretty nice, but internal battle mechanics are weird, and feel unbalanced/unfair. Where are criticals? Why can't I get an extra turn on enemies when they so often surprise me for an extra turn? What is up with the accuracy rates: I start missing weak enemies, yet I've not seen an enemy miss an attack once, aside from status effecting attacks. When all of these things combine in a single battle, I feel like hurling the controller through a window.

Despite this, I keep feeling the urge to play. Kind of baffling, but it seems to have a bit of the Dragon Quest stimulus, making me want to plug on through; see what's ahead; explore the rest of the game; beef up my characters a bit more. I'll be happy when I finish this one and move on to the rest of the series, though.

[sonic2041]

Yeah, I don't find the game too confusing on where to go, cause there really is only one place to go at a time. The guide is nice to follow so you kind of have a clue which path to take since the maps are very maze like and if you make too many wrong turns you will waste a lot of health. I can see that it would be frustrating to figure some things out, but there are certainly more confusing RPGs out there.

I just finished up the Bio-Systems Lab, and made it to Zema. I almost trapped myself in the basement of the Lab, because I did not bring enough Dimates, or an Escapipe, and used all my TP healing so I couldn't use Hinas. Luckily I picked up the Star Mist earlier in the dungeon, otherwise I would have never made it out, seeing that I used a save point inside the dungeon. I guess I will have to remember to use a different file for my save points because I would hate to start over.

[pierrot]

I can understand wanting a guide for the dungeons. If they get much longer than the bio lab later on, I'll probably give in and start using maps, too.

Save point inside the dungeon?

[BoneSnapDeez]

Save point inside the dungeon?

I'm guessing visiphone or a port of the game that allows you to use save states (PS2, PSP, PS3, Xbox 360).

I'm using the visiphone and save states. Saves backed up with other saves! (can you tell I'm paranoid?)

[BoneSnapDeez]

If this game had bosses at the end of every dungeon, I'd probably slit my wrists before getting through it.

Truth. I came staggering out of the yellow dam with two dead characters.

Despite this, I keep feeling the urge to play. Kind of baffling, but it seems to have a bit of the Dragon Quest stimulus, making me want to plug on through; see what's ahead; explore the rest of the game; beef up my characters a bit more. I'll be happy when I finish this one and move on to the rest of the series, though.

If a game was released today that was as cryptic and grindy as PSII I probably would have little desire to play it. But I am drawn to these old titles. The gameplay may be deeply flawed, but they get by on atmosphere and charm and "nostalgia."

I actually like the third game better than this one. That's an extremely unpopular opinion apparently.

I've never finished IV (plan to soon), but it still strikes me as the best in the series. If I had to rank them I'd say:
IV
I
III
II

So yeah, I'd call this the "worst" one - but as I said, I still dig it.

[prfsnl_gmr]

I guess I will have to remember to use a different file for my save points because I would hate to start over.

PRO-TIP - You should definitely rotate your save files. I do this in every RPG.

PRO-TIP #2 - If you call up the menu, then your characters may take one step without being attacked. This is a very slow way to progress through the dungeons, but it can be useful for salavaging your game if you are in a bad situation.

[pierrot]

I actually like the third game better than this one. That's an extremely unpopular opinion apparently.

From what I know about III it seems like it would be quite a bit better than II. I can only imagine that the dislike of III is more from people who started the series with II, and were upset that it didn't keep with the futuristic setting. I'll be interested in finding out how I really feel about III after finishing it, and if there's more to the detractors' opinions, or not.

For now, I've got Mt Uzo to worry about in II. I really like the BGM for Uzo, and I'm hopeful there are some more 'outdoor' dungeons after this.

Question: Is the Visiphone a one-time steal (ie missable) or can I potentially steal one at any point in the game?