GAF Plays Rogue Galaxy

[Mejilan]

Or Rouge Galaxy, to you fools.
Yeah, I know. Mej. Level 5. Not a great mix. Looking through my post history, you'd probably catch hints that my love affair with Level 5 typically begins and ends with Dragon Quest VIII (and potentially, IX!)

I loathed Dark Cloud and gave up on it after about 10 hours.
Despite playing through all of Dark Cloud 2 (100+ hours!), I was left feeling rather cold on the game.
And my only real experience with Rogue Galaxy was the demo, which left me feeling very apathetic towards the full game (which I then went ahead and bought, only to throw on my PS2 shelf.)

Well, here I am, starting up a file. I'm this little runt, Jaster-with-a-shitty-name enjoying the awesome music in this besieged desert town, now infested by all kinds of beasties. So far, I'm enjoying myself much like I was in the beginning of Dark Cloud 2. I don't know if I'll be able to stick through it, ala DC2, or give up party way, ala DC1, but... wish me luck! Who's with me? Who wants to join in?

Also, I believe I read long ago that the US version had content added over the JP game, and possibly a bit of rebalancing here and there. Anyone have the details?

Edit - I imagine that the story summary that plays during that initial save game load is supposed to hide the load time, but is there any way to skip it? I've got the game installed on my PS2's HDD, so the load usually before the first paragraph is done displaying...

Edit - Gotta give it to Level 5, though. They make the PS2 look good. Really effin' nice presentation.

[INDIGO_CYCLOPS]

I'm currently playing it. Well, it's been on hold for a few weeks but I recently grabbed this from Gamestop to check it out. Of what I played, I enjoyed. There were some things about it that absolutely pissed me off. One thing is those fucking mimic treasure chests. Watch out for them seriously because they are an insant death wish basically.

[Mejilan]

Bah, they can't be as bad as Dragon Quest's faux chests!

[Aeana]

I've always meant to give it another shot... I'd jump in, except I'm already doing FF10-2 for the other thread. :\ Good luck.

[MoxManiac]

i might join in. I bought this on the cheap awhile ago but never got to it. I really liked the concept of the game as i'm a sucker for space travel, so we'll see...

[john tv]

New content for US version, from Wikipedia:

Localization Improvements Due to its success in Japan, Level-5 opted not only to localize Rogue Galaxy for North America and Europe, but to add a significant amount of new features and content, and address any complaints concerning the original version. These improvements, which feature in both the North American and European versions of the game, and the Japanese Director's Cut, include:[2] * The game now uses a dual-layer 8.5GB DVD to play instead of a standard 4.7GB DVD the Japanese version used. This allowed smoother, better looking graphics and additional data to be added into the game. * A fifth planet, the water world of Alistia. While it is separate from the main story arc, the planet includes its own sidequests and special items, and helps flesh out some of the characters. However, it is only available after obtaining a key item in Chapter 8. * Toady's Analysis of weapons, which became much simpler to use. * The Burning Strike system. Players now collect Burning Chips during battle, which allows them to store power and execute their Burning Strike when they want to. * The layout and visual design of several dungeons and planets was altered and improved, making them more visually appealing. Affected areas include Rosencaster Prison, the Gladius Towers, the Daytron factory, Rosa's desert town, and Rosa's Labyrinth. * Additional content within the Insectron Tournament sidequest. Main difference is that two species of Insectrons, the Bomber Snail and the Spidan, have been added, each with 8 types of Insectrons per species. * Each character (except Jaster) has two new types of weapons, thus increasing the number of weapons in the game by 140. * Each character has 5 bonus costumes, except for Kisala and Simon, who gets 6. The difference in defense is small, but each character's clothing changes according to the costume they wear, even in cutscenes and in battle (except during the pre-rendered cinematics and when onboard the Dorgenark). * Improved and expanded battle animations. * Over 2000 lines of additional voiced dialogue. * Making it easier to damage enemies, as the formula for attacking has been modified. * Every character gets three extra abilities to their Revelation Flow, except for Lilika, who has 4. Some characters also come with abilities that only work if certain characters are in the main party with them. For example, Lilika and Kisala have an combination ability called "Star-Linked Venus", and Jupis and Steve get a combination ability called "Black Hole". Jaster has two called "Supernova", which works when he, Kisala and Zegram make up the party, and "Fated Passion", which is for Jaster and Kisala and is considered the ability born from their love for each other.

[Bebpo]

Would be nice if WKS got that much new content for the US version as well.

[Teasel]

Bah, they can't be as bad as Dragon Quest's faux chests!

if i remember correctly those faux chests also holds some very cool item... anyway i liked the game a lot at first but the more you get near the end,the worse it get... battles become just a matter of spamming your best "destroy all" super moves and the plot takes a twist for the retarded

only thing i can say,the factory minigame was awesome :O

[jeremy1456]

I would totally be in on this, however, I don't have a means to play the game right now.

[TouchMyBox]

How can you talk about Level 5 as a company yet only mention Dragon Quest and Dark Cloud?

<3 Jeanne D'Arc and Professor Layton

I would start this back up again, if I were not currently obsessed with the persona games. I just finished the second world in my save game.

[Syril]

Kudos to you if you can make it through the "quest for the mystical MacGuffins while we put the story on hold" part.

[Mejilan]

How can you talk about Level 5 as a company yet only mention Dragon Quest and Dark Cloud? <3 Jeanne D'Arc and Professor Layton I would start this back up again, if I were not currently obsessed with the persona games. I just finished the second world in my save game.

I'm about halfway through Layton. It's charming, but as an adventure game, rather lacking. I definitely preferred the Phoenix Wright games, Hotel Dusk, etc. I like my adventure games to play more like adventure games, and less like SAT training. :)

Jeanne d'Arc is another I've been meaning to give a second shot, but what I did play felt more like a poor man's Tactics Ogre. Or Tactics Ogre for 8 year olds!

Neither are even remotely similar to DC/RG, so I didn't bother to rope them in.

I've always meant to give it another shot... I'd jump in, except I'm already doing FF10-2 for the other thread. :\ Good luck.

Join us later, then! :)

[Linkzg]

I might join in

[TouchMyBox]

Jeanne d'Arc is another I've been meaning to give a second shot, but what I did play felt more like a poor man's Tactics Ogre. Or Tactics Ogre for 8 year olds!

You have officially broken my heart :(

To people who've finished RG, Does the game actually get better after the second planet? The game for me was compelling enough to keep playing (although I put it on hiatus due to fall rush) but it didn't exactly grab me.

[Mejilan]

Jeanne d'Arc is really pretty, though!
Another knock against, however, is that I typically don't like playing fantasy games that destroy actual history. If you're gonna go fantasy, go all the way, I say!

[Mejilan]

New content for US version, from Wikipedia:

Thank you. IIRC your company localized it, yeah? I had a feeling you might pop in. My bad if I'm thinking of another GAFfer...

[bcn-ron]

Hey I finished this in December. How can I best provide my services to this fine thread?

Like:
*everything fast, seamless, convenient, avoids pissing away the player's time
*battle system; the suggestions, the throwing stuff around, the chips, the jumping, the combination of ranged and melee, the recharging mechanic, the block breakers, everything
*pretty smart (even though simple/obvious in retrospect) how they solved the issue of NPCs appearing in combat zones
*revelation board, and what it means for the flow of the game: it makes grinding in one place ineffective, as it should be, but without ever being punishing or taking away things the player earned
*the crafting
*most of the optional distractions are solid and give good rewards
*the story stuff doesn't get in the way, cutscenes are rare and short and sweet and can all be skipped/paused etc
*it looks pretty

Dislike:
*too large; game could be more interesting if every area were reduced to half the size
*too easy overall
*the story itself ... it really is going places, but many of them are so stupid
*barrier break shot, ugh
*power cords, really?
*final hour+ stretch WITH NO SAVE POINT FUCK YOU


It's very gamey. Few RPGs are. I like that.

[DarknessTear]

I said "Why?" out loud. Unfortunately, I quit early on.. I might give it another try... maybe?

[larvi]

How much manual dexterity is required for combat? I typically detest action oriented RPGs (and suck at them besides) but I did manage to make my way through and enjoy Mass Effect and Oblivion on the 360.

[Mejilan]

There's a nice mix of melee and ranged, but it's no Devil May Cry. Also, if you need a breather, you can quickly hit Triangle to bring up the battle menu, which effectively pauses the game while still letting you see most of the action.

[Die Squirrel Die]

Would be nice if WKS got that much new content for the US version as well.

Doesn't the DLC they're doing kinda render additional content for the US/Euro obsolete?

[Mejilan]

Apparently, the additions/improvements added to the US version of RG went well beyond the capacity of most DLC. Hell, they had to throw the game onto a dual layer DVD! Not to mention the gameplay changes, improved graphics, retooled (existing) dungeons, etc!

[MoxManiac]

Hey I finished this in December. How can I best provide my services to this fine thread? Like: *everything fast, seamless, convenient, avoids pissing away the player's time *battle system; the suggestions, the throwing stuff around, the chips, the jumping, the combination of ranged and melee, the recharging mechanic, the block breakers, everything *pretty smart (even though simple/obvious in retrospect) how they solved the issue of NPCs appearing in combat zones *revelation board, and what it means for the flow of the game: it makes grinding in one place ineffective, as it should be, but without ever being punishing or taking away things the player earned *the crafting *most of the optional distractions are solid and give good rewards *the story stuff doesn't get in the way, cutscenes are rare and short and sweet and can all be skipped/paused etc *it looks pretty Dislike: *too large; game could be more interesting if every area were reduced to half the size *too easy overall *the story itself ... it really is going places, but many of them are so stupid *barrier break shot, ugh *power cords, really? *final hour+ stretch WITH NO SAVE POINT FUCK YOU It's very gamey. Few RPGs are. I like that.

You make it sound really good! Hmmm

[Mejilan]

Go go go! [/Red Scarlet]

[john tv]

Thank you. IIRC your company localized it, yeah? I had a feeling you might pop in. My bad if I'm thinking of another GAFfer...

Yeah we did. I personally really enjoyed the game, but not for its story (story is pretty forgettable IMO). But the battle system was fast and fun, weapon synthesizing and character skill growth (revelation flow) was really addictive, and there was just a lot of adventure/exploration. Huge levels, beautiful graphics, no loading...I think in the end I spent around 120 hours on the final version of the game. One of the few games I kept on playing even after we were finished working on it.

Jeanne d'Arc was great BTW. Give it more time!

[Mejilan]

I will, when I have some time. Right now my PSP time is dominated by Chrono Cross, another game I've disliked for years and vowed to give another chance some day. That "some day" came when I finished Chrono Trigger DS.

I'm LOVING the revelation chart so far. I'm just farming monster hunts and their drops in order to power up Jaster's, Simon's, and Steve's charts and cash in for hunter points. On that note, is there any reason to NOT cash in the hunter points ASAP?

[DevelopmentArrested]

I don't have time to play it again but I fucking loved it when I originally played it.

[Haeleos]

All I remember is having to pause a lot to use potions and not getting very far in the game. I might try it again, but I just committed to the FFX-2 thread...

[Die Squirrel Die]

The Revelation Flow was definitely an interesting system, particularly when you had 3 people with possible skills and only one item.

The weapon synthing though, that got incredibly tedious. They really should have had some skills that increased the rate at which weapons maxed out in there, double it, then quadruple it, the octuple it. Having to fight endless battle with a crappy sword, just to get it to the point you could synth it was a total chore.

[ICallItFutile]

I was excited for this game since Level 5 made it...but then the reviews came out and were pretty mild.

[juicyfruitas]

First 15-20 hours was rather Godly on the PS2. Almost felt 'next-gen' at times. Presentation is superb, well paced and combat was always interesting.

After 20 hours or so tedium will become a major factor, which is why i ultimately stopped playing at the 60+ hour mark.

[Mejilan]

I'm concerned about the tedium/grinding/synthesizing fatigue as well. It eventually hit me with DC2, though I managed to plow on through and complete the story mode. I did give up at the bonus chapter though. Sword + Magic >>>>>>> Wrench + Robot. When Sword + Magic left the equation, so did I leave the game!

We'll see.

[LittleTokyo]

First 15-20 hours was rather Godly on the PS2. Almost felt 'next-gen' at times. Presentation is superb, well paced and combat was always interesting. After 20 hours or so tedium will become a major factor, which is why i ultimately stopped playing at the 60+ hour mark.

This. There were times when playing this game that I thought it may be the best RPG on the PS2. Then, it just started to become a pain to play and it was kind of a mix between the storyline getting uninteresting and the gameplay not being able to withstand 40+ hours of play before getting old. Still, my buddy currently picked this up which has made me think about going back and finishing it out.

[DKnight]

Jeanne d'Arc is another I've been meaning to give a second shot, but what I did play felt more like a poor man's Tactics Ogre. Or Tactics Ogre for 8 year olds!

You're not that far off... I'd say it's only redeeming quality is the unintentional(?) comedy. I got a good share of laughter at the anime rendition of the Hundred Years' War, full with monsters and Sailor Moon-esque transformations

[Mejilan]

Yeah, some of JdA is downright cringe-worthy. :/

Like the little nods to the lazy gamers. If you've acquired new loot that pertains to someone's revelation chart, then the revelations selection in the menu will glow a bit. If it's not glowing, then there's nothing worth checking yourself! Excellent.

[Kagari]

Would be nice if WKS got that much new content for the US version as well.

Could possibly happen since they have put out a listing of what they're working on patching into the JPN version.

I would play again, but I'm currently playing White Knight ;D

[Sallokin]

I've been playing this game on and off since it came out. I quit playing about 2/3rds of the way through. Think I'll pick it back up and push through til the end. The game itself was actually really good so I don't know why I never finished it.

[Mejilan]

One can easily become fatigued by this kind of game, particularly when it's a 100+ hour adventure (to do almost everything) versus the 25-40 hours most ARPGs take up.

[SuperSonic1305]

I did give up at the bonus chapter though. Sword + Magic >>>>>>> Wrench + Robot. When Sword + Magic left the equation, so did I leave the game!

You get Monica back after a few floors

[MoxManiac]

Just started it and i like it so far. I can see how it could be potentially long in the tooth, though.

[Mejilan]

A few floors too late, for me!

[Mejilan]

Oh dear, perhaps starting this game was a mistake.
I've got 2:30 hours on the clock, and I haven't even bothered to leave the starting dungeon/area and take out the first boss. I got to that first shop, and promptly decided to farm money until I cleared him out of all of his non-infinity inventory. This included 5x each of 4 different weapon types.

While I had all of those spare weapons, I figured I'd skill-max all of them, in case I'd be opening up weapon synthesis sometime in the near future. Also, since I already have the Battle Recorder, I decided to clear off the 7 available hunts, each dedicated to one of the monster types that frequent this area. Sadly, some of these bastards are quite a bit rarer than others, and having to farm 20-30 of 'em... Yeah, it took a while. Thankfully, the last of these hunts ended around the same time I finished skill-maxing the 20 purchased weapons (and whatever weapons I started with/found up to this point.)

In the process, I also managed to MASTER two weapons accidentally. I imagine this means that I not only skill-maxed them, but also maxed out all of their elemental attributes! Wow!

So yeah. Woops.

[Chaz Ashley]

Don't hesitate to give the PS2 full control over your party-members. On that setting their AI is actually pretty sensible and balanced that it felt the best for me. In comparable games your AI-controlled party members tend to be overpowered or have to be babysit, in Rogue Galaxy you still feel like you're winning the fights and you colleagues help you out when necessary.

Oh and remember, items are there to be used, just restock whatever the AI chooses. Kingdom Hearts had me burned in that matter with it's horrible item-management so it took some time to trust the RG-AI, but once I did I enjoyed the game way more.

[Mejilan]

Boss went down in like 4 hits, once I opened up his weak spot!

[bcn-ron]

I'm concerned about the tedium/grinding/synthesizing fatigue as well.

Don't be! There's a reward for "completing" the synthesis list (MIO's completion check), but it's a lie in this case. You don't have to make every combination in the list, but only a certain number. 100? 50? I forgot. It's far less than the full thing though. You can almost do it by accident while playing through the game.

Crafting makes your weapons better, duh (it even warns you in the few cases where it doesn't), so you'll want to do it anyway whenever you get the chance, not just to fill out that pesky list.

[Mejilan]

Thanks, but I did finish most of DC2, so I know more or less about the synthesis. :)

[Dragona Akehi]

Oh dear, perhaps starting this game was a mistake. I've got 2:30 hours on the clock, and I haven't even bothered to leave the starting dungeon/area and take out the first boss. I got to that first shop, and promptly decided to farm money until I cleared him out of all of his non-infinity inventory. This included 5x each of 4 different weapon types. While I had all of those spare weapons, I figured I'd skill-max all of them, in case I'd be opening up weapon synthesis sometime in the near future. Also, since I already have the Battle Recorder, I decided to clear off the 7 available hunts, each dedicated to one of the monster types that frequent this area. Sadly, some of these bastards are quite a bit rarer than others, and having to farm 20-30 of 'em... Yeah, it took a while. Thankfully, the last of these hunts ended around the same time I finished skill-maxing the 20 purchased weapons (and whatever weapons I started with/found up to this point.) In the process, I also managed to MASTER two weapons accidentally. I imagine this means that I not only skill-maxed them, but also maxed out all of their elemental attributes! Wow! So yeah. Woops.

You are so, so weird.

[Mejilan]

You are so, so weird.

Well, now I'm in a quandary. I've found a shop that sells an infinite amount of some weapons!

[Woo-Fu]

My save game for RG is over 200 hours. Of course large chunks of that were with my two analog sticks tied together. I'd find a good area to farm easy mobs to level up weapons and just tie the sticks together and then go to bed for the evening.

[Mejilan]

I'll cheat for real before I ever go through THAT particular hassle.