[Darkmakaimura]

America needs games like this so bad. What's the closest we currently have or are getting? Darksiders II maybe?

[Aeana]

Man. The first quest you do introduces cooking, and the food gives EXP.
That's not doing a very good job of convincing me that this didn't used to be a Zwei game.

[Dark Schala]

Impressions sound good so far. :)

Too bad about the dungeon and ease of the first boss, but that's just for Chapter 1 I guess.

The Noi accessory system really surprised me, since I expected only int+ items for here. It's much more than that. Her "head" and "accessory" slot are basically for items with different effects, like "increased drop of collection items" or the items reducing certain types of damage mentioned earlier.

This sounds interesting. So Noi's accessories could be used for her stats or party/item effects stuff, then.

A friend of mine gave me the PSN points necessary to buy it as an early birthday present. Does this still count as staying strong? (._. ) It's not downloading fast enough!

Guess you couldn't resist! :lol Are you playing the DD version on Vita or PSP? If Vita, how does it look/feel on there?

Man. The first quest you do introduces cooking, and the food gives EXP.

I hope that isn't the only method of getting XP.

[Aeana]

I've tried it on both. I think it looks a lot better on the PSP Go, but it does look great on the Vita, text aside. The iffy antialiasing on the font is really amplified at the higher resolution. The controls feel better on the Vita, though, so I dunno which I'll stick with.

Looking through the game files while making dinner now, it looks like this game uses the Ys 7 engine. File formats are the same, and the tools I made for Ys 7 work with this after some minor modifications.

[Disgaeamad]

This sounds interesting. So Noi's accessories could be used for her stats or party/item effects stuff, then.

It's more like she has an equipment slot (body) that seems to be solely used to increase her INT, and then 2 other slots (head and accessory) for the party effects etc. Of course, since her appearance changes based on her equipment, I need to fight the urge to keep her better looking equipment on even if the stats/effects aren't as good ;_;. This is why I prefer set appearances!

Stopping for the night a bit into chapter 2. Looking forward to actually getting some decent sleep and then powering through more tomorrow.

[Reluctant-Hero]

I know it's early days for Nayuta, but is there any word from the Falcom fan base about English walk through being made for the Japanese illiterate?

[Darkmakaimura]

I know it's early days for Nayuta, but is there any word from the Falcom fan base about English walk through being made for the Japanese illiterate?

Good luck with that. I don't even think there's any done for the Kiseki titles.

[Reluctant-Hero]

Good luck with that. I don't even think there's any done for the Kiseki titles.

Well the main line Kiseki titles are so text heavy, so I understand why there isn't. With Nayuta being more in line with Ys, I figured there may be a better chance.

[Aeana]

I know it's early days for Nayuta, but is there any word from the Falcom fan base about English walk through being made for the Japanese illiterate?

I could try it... but making walkthroughs is a lot of work. (._. )
This game has plenty of text so far too though.

[Aeana]

I finished the prologue.

Current thoughts: this is a Kiseki game. Absolutely. I understand exactly what Kondo meant when he said that fans of the Kiseki series would feel right at home.

The game is really quite a great-looking game. I would say it is one of the best, if not the best-looking games Falcom has ever made, and that's even considering Zwei 2. On the other hand, it's hard not to notice the influence of Zwei 2 on this game's visual style. Particularly in the character shading style.

My only major gripe so far is with the combat. I've only done a very quick dungeon so far, no boss or anything, but while the combat is certainly swift enough - glad that's the case, it was a major worry - it doesn't feel as tight as an Ys game. I think one of the things that feels the most off about it is that there is no downward thrust at all; jumping into the air and only being able to attack air just feels odd. On the other hand, the combo system is interesting, granting you bonuses as your combo count increases. You get a strength bonus at, I think 25 hits, then further bonuses after that. I don't think I necessarily prefer it to the system introduced in YsF, but it does at least make combat more compelling.

We'll see how things go, though. I've only just begun.

Oh yeah, and the amount of voice so far is kinda lame. A couple of lines are voiced, in each scene, the rest aren't. It's a bit more than we got in Ao, but not much.

[Darkmakaimura]

I finished the prologue. Current thoughts: this is a Kiseki game. Absolutely. I understand exactly what Kondo meant when he said that fans of the Kiseki series would feel right at home.

In your opinion, what makes it like a Kiseki game? Unless of course it is a major spoiler or whatnot.

[Aeana]

In your opinion, what makes it like a Kiseki game? Unless of course it is a major spoiler or whatnot.

It's not really something I can quantify. So much about it just feels like a Kiseki game. And of course it helps that they use the same units of measure, same currency and stuff, but it's also in the writing and the storytelling.

[Hasemo]

I think one of the things that feels the most off about it is that there is no downward thrust at all;

There is a downward thrust, you just don't have it at the beginning. ;)
Remember that you unlock new attacks by getting rating stars and showing the card to your master. Judging by the number of cards, you'll have tons of attacks later on.

[Aeana]

There is a downward thrust, you just don't have it at the beginning. ;) Remember that you unlock new attacks by getting rating stars and showing the card to your master. Judging by the number of cards, you'll have tons of attacks later on.

Well, I just completed the prologue, so I didn't even know you unlocked new attacks that way. It wasn't mentioned! But that's great to hear.

[Hasemo]

Well, I just completed the prologue, so I didn't even know you unlocked new attacks that way. It wasn't mentioned! But that's great to hear.

I've got 2 new attacks so far and the downward thrust is awesome - huge damage and small aoe. The first unlockable attack on the other hand, not so much.

[Darkmakaimura]

It's not really something I can quantify. So much about it just feels like a Kiseki game. And of course it helps that they use the same units of measure, same currency and stuff, but it's also in the writing and the storytelling.

Well, that's good news. I'm really curious, like so many others, if this will actually reference any of the Gagharv/Trails games as it gets going other than Poms and Mishie.

[Reluctant-Hero]

I could try it... but making walkthroughs is a lot of work. (._. ) This game has plenty of text so far too though.

I'd kickstart a walk through. Not even joking.

[Darkmakaimura]

I'd kickstart a walk through. Not even joking.

I don't think that would be necessary considering it really wouldn't cost anyone anything other than time to make a translated walkthrough. It really just comes down to the person's skill in translating the text and the time it will take. In fact, there's already a walkthrough of Nayuta no Kiseki in progress on YouTube but of course, it's not translated.

[encephalon]

I finished the prologue. Current thoughts: this is a Kiseki game. Absolutely. I understand exactly what Kondo meant when he said that fans of the Kiseki series would feel right at home. The game is really quite a great-looking game. I would say it is one of the best, if not the best-looking games Falcom has ever made, and that's even considering Zwei 2. On the other hand, it's hard not to notice the influence of Zwei 2 on this game's visual style. Particularly in the character shading style. My only major gripe so far is with the combat. I've only done a very quick dungeon so far, no boss or anything, but while the combat is certainly swift enough - glad that's the case, it was a major worry - it doesn't feel as tight as an Ys game. I think one of the things that feels the most off about it is that there is no downward thrust at all; jumping into the air and only being able to attack air just feels odd. On the other hand, the combo system is interesting, granting you bonuses as your combo count increases. You get a strength bonus at, I think 25 hits, then further bonuses after that. I don't think I necessarily prefer it to the system introduced in YsF, but it does at least make combat more compelling. We'll see how things go, though. I've only just begun. Oh yeah, and the amount of voice so far is kinda lame. A couple of lines are voiced, in each scene, the rest aren't. It's a bit more than we got in Ao, but not much.

I'm not sure how I feel about a fully voiced Ao. Every time Kia opens her mouth I have to turn the volume down.

The Lloyd/Kia Lloyd/Tio hints are insanely creepy.

[Aeana]

I don't think that would be necessary considering it really wouldn't cost anyone anything other than time to make a translated walkthrough. It really just comes down to the person's skill in translating the text and the time it will take. In fact, there's already a walkthrough of Nayuta no Kiseki in progress on YouTube but of course, it's not translated.

Well, you shouldn't sell the amount of time required to do it short. I worked on my DQ5 guide for several months and only made it up to the wedding. It requires lots of playing and replaying as well as translating, and fact checking.

[Darkmakaimura]

Well, you shouldn't sell the amount of time required to do it short. I worked on my DQ5 guide for several months and only made it up to the wedding. It requires lots of playing and replaying as well as translating, and fact checking.

How is the amount of dialogue in the game, btw? Is it comparable to the Trails series?

Anyways, I'm not against someone setting up some kind of donation or whatnot to do it. I just don't know if a Kickstarter would be necessary or if it would even entail something like a "walkthrough" as it's mainly meant for indie movie and game developers? I know it's surely not an easy thing. I already see multiple translations of characters in the game alone (Selam or Serum or Seram, etc.) so yeah it would take someone who could invest the time and have the interest and skills, such as maybe you and Floofy to really pull it off.

[Aeana]

How is the amount of dialogue in the game, btw? Is it comparable to the Trails series? Anyways, I'm not against someone setting up some kind of donation or whatnot to do it. I just don't know if a Kickstarter would be necessary or if it would even entail something like a "walkthrough" as it's mainly meant for indie movie and game developers? I know it's surely not an easy thing. I already see multiple translations of characters in the game alone (Selam or Serum or Seram, etc.) so yeah it would take someone who could invest the time and have the interest and skills, such as maybe you and Floofy to really pull it off.

I'm not saying anybody should start a Kickstarter, that's certainly not necessary. It just sounded like you were making it sound like it would be easy to do. ( ._.)

There's a lot of dialog in the game; definitely comparable to the other Kiseki games.
As for that character, Falcom's "official" version is Caelum.

[Aeana]

Getting tired so I'll have to stop for tonight. I did the two quests available from the start in chapter 1, learned the first move from the trainer, which reminds me of a move from Ys 6, and the next stop is the temple... in the morning. The quest design in the game is pretty much exactly like the other Kiseki games, for better or for worse, but so far there at least seems to be fewer of them. Perhaps that won't be the case later. The busywork quests in the other Kiseki games eventually got on my nerves, but I always did every quest just because there was always a chance you'd miss some extra character development if you didn't do them.

The game is super super easy on normal so far; I hope it gets a little more difficult. The ranking in the levels is also much simpler than I expected. You just get a star for completing the mission assigned to the area (which so far has been as simple as "collect x crystals" or "break x objects"), finding all of the items, and simply completing the level. I think that means it's not possible to get 0 stars.



Also, totally found Mishie just chillin' in town.

And Nayuta got a doggie, Nora!



Nora gives collector materials for the museum which is pretty useful; I even got an emerald once, which went for 800 mira.

[RyougaSaotome]

This is definitely a Kiseki game. I'm only two hours in, but I totally get what Kondo was saying. It's kind of hard to put into words, but the atmosphere, characters, dialogue and general feel of the adventure all strikes me as very Kiseki-esque.

And man this game just looks fantastic. It's just so freakin' colorful. I'm also a big fan of how Nayuta and Noi's character models change based on the equipment you give them. They had said way back that equipment would be visible and such, but it's still cool to see.

There's more voice than I was expecting given Falcom's track record. Still not much, but that's not really a big deal to me.

[Darkmakaimura]

How much is that Mishie in the window?

Too bad doggy is not a dachshund. Don't know how popular that breed is in Japan, although.

Even with the "cons" mentioned (slight as they may be) game sounds and looks good.

Such a shame we may never see these on our shores.

[Hasemo]

Impressions from chapter 2 and a few interesting things that I've noticed.
The dungeons in the second zone feel much more "open" - they're made of bigger areas connected with corridors now.
You don't have to do all the 3 things (items, mission and clearing the quest) at once if you want to get all 3 stars. You can do the mission first and come back after you get a skill necessary to get to a chest etc. later and ignore the mission. This is because you get the yellow stars required from unlocking skills only once anyway.
It's possible to grind Noi's magic in a few minutes by entering a level, using all the charges, exiting to the map and repeating the process. Also, the maximum magic level is 5.
The guard move is in the game. The order in which you unlock skills is kind of weird to me, but well, that's what you call a design choice.

[Disgaeamad]

I finished the prologue. Current thoughts: this is a Kiseki game. Absolutely. I understand exactly what Kondo meant when he said that fans of the Kiseki series would feel right at home. My only major gripe so far is with the combat. I've only done a very quick dungeon so far, no boss or anything, but while the combat is certainly swift enough - glad that's the case, it was a major worry - it doesn't feel as tight as an Ys game. I think one of the things that feels the most off about it is that there is no downward thrust at all; jumping into the air and only being able to attack air just feels odd. On the other hand, the combo system is interesting, granting you bonuses as your combo count increases. You get a strength bonus at, I think 25 hits, then further bonuses after that. I don't think I necessarily prefer it to the system introduced in YsF, but it does at least make combat more compelling.

Basically sums up how I feel for most part as well. The combat is fun so far, but it could definitely be better - and I fully expect it to get better as it goes on. And I think it's actually rather easy to get the Kiseki feel from it because there's a surprising amount of similarities to 3rd in it. When you first go to Terra and that music kicks in and you check the area out I immediately thought I was in 3rd's hub world.

And fuck yeah Nora. Made sure to buy a kennel for it immediately and it's already paid for itself many times over.

[Parakeetman]

Hey Aeana how are you taking screenshots btw?

---

Am digging the game so far but only been about an hour in.

[RyougaSaotome]

Oh god, I'm running around talking to everyone after every single minor event.

Why do I do this to myself? OTL

[Hasemo]

Oh god, I'm running around talking to everyone after every single minor event. Why do I do this to myself? OTL

At least you won't miss EASY TO MISS EVENTS, or whatever they were called on the back of that guide you bought.

[RyougaSaotome]

At least you won't miss EASY TO MISS EVENTS, or whatever they were called on the back of that guide you bought.

After missing some REALLY cool stuff in Ao no Kiseki, I won't make that mistake again.

Fortunately the town is much smaller than Crossbell City and its massive population. It won't take me an hour and some change every time I want to talk to everybody... probably.

[Disgaeamad]

Finished off chapter 2 and am a bit into 3 now, glad to see that the areas did indeed open up more. Gameplay's getting better as more things unlock as well. Regarding chapter 2's boss: as soon as I finished the first half of it and then it ripped your platform right out of the stage and onto the waterway right down the tower I was just like WOAH. Too bad the framerate during that section got pretty bad to the point of getting in the way of the fight a bit.

[Hasemo]

Finished off chapter 2 and am a bit into 3 now, glad to see that the areas did indeed open up more. Gameplay's getting better as more things unlock as well. Regarding chapter 2's boss: as soon as I finished the first half of it and then it ripped your platform right out of the stage and onto the waterway right down the tower I was just like WOAH. Too bad the framerate during that section got pretty bad to the point of getting in the way of the fight a bit.

Are you playing it on the Vita? I think I've had maybe one slowdown so far and I'm about as far as you.

[Disgaeamad]

Are you playing it on the Vita? I think I've had maybe one slowdown so far and I'm about as far as you.

Nope, playing on a PSP-2000, and that's pretty much the only section where I've had any (noticeable) slowdown.

[Aeana]

I settled on playing on my PSP Go so I could take screenshots and I have had a small amount of slowdown when there have been 4+ enemies on the screen. It's very slight, but noticeable for me.

The game looks pretty great via TV out and controls well with a Dual Shock 3, btw~

[Disgaeamad]

controls well with a Dual Shock 3, btw~

Curse you, that right there is the reason I wish I'd grabbed a Go after my first PSP broke. Need to take a break every so often because of the sheer pain the PSP causes my hands.

[Hasemo]

So far the one mechanic that I don't like is gear hold introduced in chapter 3. I can't get a grasp of it when precision is required.
On the other hand I love how the stores don't get better lineup automatically when the game progresses and you have to deliver materials to the NPC to be able to buy better items. Makes much more sense.

[Aeana]

So far the one mechanic that I don't like is gear hold introduced in chapter 3. I can't get a grasp of it when precision is required. On the other hand I love how the stores don't get better lineup automatically when the game progresses and you have to deliver materials to the NPC to be able to buy better items. Makes much more sense.

I don't care for it, personally. It's one step closer to being like Tales of Xillia's shop build system.
On the other hand, it's not like it's Falcom's first time doing it. Getting the ore from the mine in Ys 2 to upgrade the weapon shop offerings comes to mind.

[Aeana]

I just got stuck in the floor in a dungeon. Super rad. I had to exit and lose all of my progress.

[Hasemo]

I just got stuck in the floor in a dungeon. Super rad. I had to exit and lose all of my progress.

Uh, that sucks. At least you still get xp/mira/xp for Noi's spells even if you exit to the world map.

[Aeana]

Yeah, it was here:



Those blocks drop when you land on them, and I got stuck at the edge I guess. Couldn't move, couldn't jump, couldn't roll out or anything.

[Dark Schala]

I know duckroll earlier in the thread brought up the idea that the dungeons' paths were constructed to allow for platforming in order to get those crystal thingies. Is that the case, or you can wander around with more freedom?

The game looks pretty great via TV out and controls well with a Dual Shock 3, btw~

That sounds good. I like playing on TV out when I get the chance.

I don't care for it, personally. It's one step closer to being like Tales of Xillia's shop build system.

So you can get better gear earlier on in the game if you grind for drops or something? The shops probably don't gain levels like they do in Xillia, but that's what it sounds like here. So if you grind for drops and if the game is easy like Disgaeamad is saying, you could make the game really easy by bringing drops to NPCs for better stuff?

[Aeana]

I know duckroll earlier in the thread brought up the idea that the dungeons' paths were constructed to allow for platforming in order to get those crystal thingies. Is that the case, or you can wander around with more freedom? That sounds good. I like playing on TV out when I get the chance. So you can get better gear earlier on in the game if you grind for drops or something? The shops probably don't gain levels like they do in Xillia, but that's what it sounds like here. So if you grind for drops and if the game is easy like Disgaeamad is saying, you could make the game really easy by bringing drops to NPCs for better stuff?

No, you bring ore to the shop and they add new stuff. It's not like you have to have 903250325 things just to get a new thing to appear in the shop. And it's not like you can get ore from just anywhere.

As for the stages, well that's pretty much how it's been so far but I'm really early on. Others said that it opens up more later on.

[Aeana]

I finished chapter 1. Current thought: that boss was stupid. Ys boss design definitely is not in effect here, at least not so far. If they actually focused on the bosses more than other games, the first boss makes that seem pretty sad.

EDIT: Here's someone else's video of the fight, for those curious: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4eJKT...e_gdata_player

Stupid, repetitive design. It's just very boring. No Ys boss would have that much dead time between opportunities to do damage. They'd always have you dodging or other things if you couldn't do damage. Here, you just have to stand and wait.

[Hasemo]

It's almost 4AM here but I've finally completed chapter 3. Will continue playing tomorrow.
As for the impressions so far, I really didn't expect to be sucked in to this extent. The biggest reason for that is the overall feeling of the game. Fighting isn't as satisfying as in Ys 7/Felghana (haven't played the others beside Origins) and I think I'm a bit OP right now.

Since I'm 3-staring every mission and gave Noi an accessory for higher collection items drop rate I've gather quite a lot of money and was able to buy the equip after the 1st weapon/armor shop upgrade quite fast. I don't know if it was because of that, but the boss of the 3rd chapter dealt 1 damage with each attack so I didn't even have to dodge.

Or maybe being 2 levels above the suggested one was the reason, I don't know.
One thing I don't like that much is the food system. Specifically, the amount of exp which you get from certain (rarer) dishes feels like a bit too much. I have a feeling that with a few smart runs it's really easy to break the game difficulty-wise. Of course leveling through killing monsters is still a viable option and enemies are the main source of xp, but I think it would be better if food didn't give experience at all.

Also, it's too bad that most of the new spells for Noi are much stronger than the previous ones. Since you can get them all to level 5, I was expecting more scaling with Int and selecting your favorite ones rather than "being stuck" with the new ones.

It may seem that I'm complaining a lot, but I actually enjoy the game a lot. The atmosphere, the characters and the quests all hit the right spots for me. Can't wait until I'll be able to play some more tomorrow! And I'm sure I'll come back to Sora no Kiseki FC right after I finish Nayuta and Ys 7.

[Darkmakaimura]

I finished chapter 1. Current thought: that boss was stupid. Ys boss design definitely is not in effect here, at least not so far. If they actually focused on the bosses more than other games, the first boss makes that seem pretty sad. EDIT: Here's someone else's video of the fight, for those curious: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4eJKT...e_gdata_player Stupid, repetitive design. It's just very boring. No Ys boss would have that much dead time between opportunities to do damage. They'd always have you dodging or other things if you couldn't do damage. Here, you just have to stand and wait.

Hope I'm not reading into this wrong, but it seems you're not really too happy with the game. So far as you've been playing, would you say it's average at best? Maybe the bosses will get better. That first one does look a bit "slow".

Some things I've noticed, neither pro or con.

- Game seems a bit short from what I've seen/heard.

- Looks like it's mostly Nayuta and Noi throughout the adventure except for the beginning

- Fish boss battle reminds me of Gears of War 2

[Disgaeamad]

Even if you didn't have all the broken equipment (which really is way too easy to get because the Mira income is crazy), chapter 3's boss is just so ridiculously easy that it doesn't matter anyway. Feeling really let down in that regard because they hyped the bosses up so much I expected awesome fight after awesome fight, but so far none of them've been that great. Hopefully Nightmare (which seems like it'll be there if the achievements list is anything to go by) can fix this.

[Aeana]

Hope I'm not reading into this wrong, but it seems you're not really too happy with the game. So far as you've been playing, would you say it's average at best? Maybe the bosses will get better. That first one does look a bit "slow".

i have yet to form a full opinion on the game - it's far too early for that.

[RyougaSaotome]

Finished chapter 2. Really like how the levels seem to open up more. Hell, I somehow managed to briefly get lost at one point (lol wut).

The bosses haven't given me a hard time, but I'm looking forward to playing again on nightmare mode.

Been really enjoying everything else so far though. Ended up getting to sleep last night at 3 and as soon as I woke up today started playing again.

[Aeana]

As I was doing the first area of Rizveld just now, I had a sudden rush of nostalgia for PSX platformers and action RPGs. In particular, I was reminded very heavily of Klonoa, Dew Prism and Brave Fencer Musashi all kinda simultaneously. Even though I find the action and boss design in the game so far to be fairly disappointing, I can't help but like the game for reasons I'm not really able to quantify entirely at this point.