RPG Progress Report

[CavZee]

You kill Ozma already?

I've never bothered to do it myself despite having played the game many times. Idk, I just seem to stay away from most of those end-game post final boss secret ultra boss fights of many RPGs. Guess I'm not too much of a completionist.

[alienjesus]

You kill Ozma already?

I've never bothered to do it myself despite having played the game many times. Idk, I just seem to stay away from most of those end-game post final boss secret ultra boss fights of many RPGs. Guess I'm not too much of a completionist.

The problem for me is that Ozma is so ridiculously tough that you need to grind like an extra 20-30 levels to fight him. Fuck that.

Superbosses should be tough, but not require loads of extra grinding imo.

[dunpeal2064]

Whaa? That is what superbosses are all about though! Lots of grinding, pushing the game further than it really should go. VIII is the only one that has a superboss that doesn't require grinding... but VIII is a pretty broken game. (Well, not counting VI, since he was removed and added back in for releases I haven't played). I guess you could tackle V's superbosses without "grinding", since you could just farm for weapons... but really its the same thing.

I agree that Ozma is a cheap bastard though, probably the worst superboss. He can just kill you if he feels like it. Feels more like a SMT boss than a FF one. I don't know how you could play IX and not fight him though, that would just feel wrong to me. Plus, he drops Pumice!

[alienjesus]

Whaa? That is what superbosses are all about though! Lots of grinding, pushing the game further than it really should go.

That's why they're boring as hell

I like an extra challenge in a game, but I feel most superbosses in RPGs are more about wasting 30 hours of your time fighting the same enemies over and over rather than any sense of satisfying strategy

[BoneSnapDeez]

I've always ignored those FF superbosses. They just feel like padding.

[dunpeal2064]

Thats a fair complaint, the grinding itself is not quite fun, its just work so that you can take on the extra challenge. I don't love the grinding, but I usually feel it was worth it in the end.

Two things though:

1. 30 hours? No way! FFX probably has the largest gap between final boss and superboss requirements, but with efficient grinding you can be ready to fight Nemesis (Or even Penance if you are feeling cheeky) within a few hours.

2. Ozma is actually one of the superbosses that doesn't require any grinding. Whether you are at lvl 60 or 99, you have the same chances to defeat him )or, more like you have the same chance of him deciding to kill you). You can do max damage pretty early on, so the fight becomes more about your pre-combat setup. (Hint, Vivi should be your healer in this fight, not Dagger)

Bone too? It is padding, certainly, but it is also a good way to challenge a player in an otherwise easy game. While you CAN grind out to the point where they are easy, a lot of the superbosses can actually put your knowledge of game mechanics to the test.

I only played FFXII to fight Yiazmat.

[CavZee]

Yeah I did do it in VIII though since it's so easy to exploit the Junction system. But for the most part I have no motivation to want to beat said "ultra bosses".

They're a nice challenge I guess, but I've never really been attracted to RPGs to challenge myself like that. There are a few exceptions but I usually just play through the story and see the credits and that's it.

[dunpeal2064]

It'd be interesting to see exactly why people play Jrpgs. I've been thinking about it since the Chrono Trigger thread.

For me, I'd feel like I left the game undone. But, I play rpgs for the mechanics, so not taking the ultimate mechanics challenge would just be silly for me.

If you played for the story, atmosphere, character development, etc, then I'd imagine the superbosses would appear really lame, since... well, the story is over.


Sorry, I don't want to take another thread way off topic, as I tend to do, so...




Here, an RPG Progress Report!:

Shadow Hearts II:

I'm about 7 hours in so far, and this game is already trumping the first (which is one of my favorite ps2 rpgs, of the ones I've played).

The game keeps some of the eerie vibes of the first game, but where the first game tries to mostly rely on that, this game also has very calm, relaxing town moments, and very ridiculous, over-the-top comedy moments. The characters are pretty much just thrown into your party, so there is little attachment to them at first, but they are quite quirky and zany characters, so as the game goes on I am starting to enjoy them more and more. I would compare the feeling to that of meeting Quina.

The graphics in this game are a huge step up from the first. Not only are they technically better, but the design is just fantastic. I have laughed out loud several times upon seeing different enemy designs. From simple things like a slug using a skull as a shell, to a... dude... with a scorpion body for a head... doing a handstand... with mouths on his ankles... fuck, I don't even know how to describe it. Very SMT.

The mechanics are where this game shines bright though. The judgement ring is back, but with more customize options. There is now a combo mechanic, where you can chain basic attacks together. It sounds simple, but there are actually 4 different kinds of basic attacks, and chaining different kinds together can have varying affects. You can also finish combos with magic spells, so that your combo chain shoots the damage through the roof. This doesn't make the game a cakewalk though, as enemies can also combo, and even some small enemies can get really nasty if they chain the right moves together. On top of all this, you now have the ability to equip characters (Other than Yuri) with crests to give them access to different magics. Yuri, of course, fuses with demons again, but right off the bat it feels like there are 3 times as many demons in this game, and they have their own growth mechanics completely separate from your characters.

The game isn't without flaws so far. Your female companion spouts some of the dumbest, sex-based shit I've heard. "Don't underestimate me because I'm a woman", or "You'd better not have torn any of my clothes". Also, while the characters are entertaining, the main story moves very slowly, and more focus is put on the events of the first game than what is currently happening.

So, yeah, I'm really enjoying this game. No idea why I've waited so long to play it.

I know that ended up more like a mini review, I guess I should check in more often than every 7 hours.

[CavZee]

^The Shadow Hearts series has always looked really appealing to me. Just one of the many PS2 RPGs I'd love to play sometime.

I'm 9 hours into Bravely Default. It's quite good so far. Playing around with the job system is sweet and the battle system adds a nice layer to the strategy of typical turn based combat. The artwork in the game is really, really nice but the dungeon designs are all extremely bland so far in comparison.

[dunpeal2064]

Its a great series, definitely check it out. If you only play one of em, play 2.

So, I just came across a giant pink cat boss. Strange enough already, but of course, Yuri has to follow this up by saying (voice acted and all), "That is one giant pussy"

I fucking love Yuri. Such a horndog, and such an asshole.

Edit: Oh yeah, and the pink cat's name... is Andre