RPG Progress Report

[Stark]

Question: How playable is Black/Matrix to a non-Japanese speaker. I mean, I gather that I will not be able to follow the story. But as far as just playing the battles and all... would I be able to get through it or would the menus be too much?

I thought it was in English?

[BoneSnapDeez]

Question: How playable is Black/Matrix to a non-Japanese speaker. I mean, I gather that I will not be able to follow the story. But as far as just playing the battles and all... would I be able to get through it or would the menus be too much?

I haven't played the game so I can't comment, but this kind of thing varies wildly among JRPGs.

Take something like the Ys games - the menus and item names are in English. But the dialogue is of course Japanese. Which means all the "go here next...." and other clues would be lost on someone who can't understand the language.

There are other games where everything is Japanese.

I'd watch a bit of a YouTube playthrough to see where this game falls.

@Ack
In that case..... I highly recommend Breath of Fire II. Huge improvement over the first game.

[Ack]

@Ack
In that case..... I highly recommend Breath of Fire II. Huge improvement over the first game.

Yeah, I've been kicking around the thought of jumping into that one for a few months now, so I suppose it will be a good time to give it a try, especially since I beat the first one almost a year ago.

[ZenErik]

Eternal Sonata.. Heh. Stand as far away as possible with the archer and kill every boss in a few hits. It was alright.

Not quite as easy as that in the PS3 version. Viola is still pretty awesome, but she's not godmode.

I played the PS3 version. She does like 90% of all damage if you use her right.

[MrPopo]

Definitely go BoF II. The improvement in the technical quality of the game isn't quite as drastic as Lufia->Lufia 2, but it's still pretty damn impressive. And there's no horrible "let's have the fish grind money while he's underleveled and underpowered" section.

[noiseredux]

Take something like the Ys games - the menus and item names are in English. But the dialogue is of course Japanese. Which means all the "go here next...." and other clues would be lost on someone who can't understand the language.

yeah exactly. Because it's a strategy game though, I'm hoping there is no "go here next," just a series of battles. If that's the case then it comes down to menus, and how elaborate they are as a deterring factor. Probably YT will be my best bet.

EDIT: Actually, this short FAQ seems to hint that it's pretty playable w/o knowing Japanese- http://www.gamefaqs.com/dreamcast/57604 ... /faqs/6887

[dunpeal2064]

Shadow Hearts II:

Finally found Roger Bacon!



He is much different from the first game.

... and he is a real person! Or, at least, a representation of one. The real Roger Bacon was a scientist, just as he is in the game. However, in the game he is also a magician, and over 700 years old.

Maybe there was more to this Roger Bacon fellow than meets the eye!

Oh, and the game is still amazing. Combat is still fun, the soundtrack keeps delivering, Yuri is still a hilarious asshole, and there are new characters left and right.

... in fact, after rescuing Roger and learning some nice nuggets of info about the main story, I am now in control of a little girl named Anastasia that I have never seen, and have no idea what is going on!

[Ben]

Take something like the Ys games - the menus and item names are in English. But the dialogue is of course Japanese. Which means all the "go here next...." and other clues would be lost on someone who can't understand the language.

yeah exactly. Because it's a strategy game though, I'm hoping there is no "go here next," just a series of battles. If that's the case then it comes down to menus, and how elaborate they are as a deterring factor. Probably YT will be my best bet.

EDIT: Actually, this short FAQ seems to hint that it's pretty playable w/o knowing Japanese- http://www.gamefaqs.com/dreamcast/57604 ... /faqs/6887

You're talking the Dreamcast remake right, noiseredux? Or the PSX/Saturn version? Anyway, I've played the DC version, but it was years ago. From what I remember though, it had almost no English text except for the cutscenes, so it would be tough. However, the battle system is pretty simple, so if you just memorize the controls and use that FAQ I don't think it would be monstrously hard. The only issue I could forsee is that this is a game that requires you to contantly re-equip your characters and use the right equipment combos particularly later on, but if you just find a guide that lists the kanji for your best equipment you should be good to go.

[Sload Soap]

Got up to Galuda in FFXII before it promptly kicked my ass. How I love a gimmick boss. This is becoming a bit of a theme: easy battles out on the overworld followed by a fast and powerful boss with gimmicky moves who decimates my party and requires a restart. Very unbalanced. Saves are way too far apart for a game that models itself on a MMO.

Still undecided on combat. On the one hand, I like not having to load battle screens and what not as it keeps the game flowing nicely. On the other, Fran actually stood still and got killed because I don't yet have a gambit that instructs her to not be a moron. It also has the problem I encountered with Xenoblade, in that you can attract too many monsters at once sometimes and be swarmed. One or two cockatrice? Fine. Six+ and two more spawning in? Fuck dat. Say what you will of random battles, but that is not a issue there. I also don't like how blocking is random and you can't defend. I tried moving Vaan in front of a Penelo who had low health to absorb an attack but it went straight through him. But generally it's ok.

Other thing: Ashe's clothes make no sense and I assume were only designed that way to fuck with cosplayers. Or to fuck cosplayers.

[alienjesus]

Played quite a lot of Atelier Totori Plus last night.


I'm now an Iron rank adventurer, and am near the end of the first year. My party is Totori, Gino, Melvia and Mimi. Gino seems to be the worst of the 3 team mates so far, so I'm rocking an all girl party right now. Some of the areas are too tough without Mel, as shes an absolute tank.

It's weird that my main character is so....crap. I'm used to your main character in most RPGs being a consistent and reasonably bulky damage dealer, and on a rare occassion a badass mage who can nuke everything. Totori has the lowest stats in everything but MP - which she uses to make items. She has no spells, she does tiny amounts of damage, and in most battles she's a liability. However, shes the only character who can use items, which is my only way of healing. It's an odd dynamic.

The story is pretty light and fluffy, but fun. It's made me laugh a few times. The game has it's fan service moments, but they're pretty light and not as off-putting as in a lot of modern JRPGs. The battle system is incredibly basic, but somehow still fun. Same goes for basically all the game mechanics really - there's nothing much original or special here, but it's all charming and it all works well. I certainly am enjoying this more than Final Fantasy 7.