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Official Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep (PSP) Import thread of Convoluted Nonsense
- Thread starter Bebpo
- Start date
Peff said:So glad to hear thatWho are you playing with first?
I'm going to "recommended" Terra -> Ventus -> Aqua route, because I think it'll be best for my sanity. If I start with Ventus, I'll have terrible Roxas flashbacks (I hate him) and it'll impact my first impressions of the game, and if I start with Aqua first I fear I will ruin the pace of the game because I'm sure she's the best character and the has the best campaign. :lol
Once again, the Command Board is -insane-. I don't think anyone has any idea of what Nomura has done here, but I'm just going to say that I have never seen a "minigame" like this in a RPG since Xenocard in Xenosaga Ep1. It's not just a distraction, it feels like a complete game in itself. Crazy!
badcrumble
Member
What's the Command Board like, exactly? Videos have been... unhelpful... but it looks pretty cool, and I haven't been able to get a sensible description out of any reviews.
badcrumble said:
The Command Board is a board game. There are different boards for the different worlds, with different rivals to play with. The Land of Departure board is played against the other two leads, while the Castle of Dreams board is played against Cinderella. Those are the only two I've unlocked so far.
The boards are laid out like say, Monopoly, with each square being either an empty square you can "buy" or an various sorts of event squares which either give bonuses or penalties. Unlike Monopoly, you can move in different directions along the board (ie: at a crossroad you can either go left or down).
There are checkpoint squares around the board which give you BP (like money in Monopoly) when you hit them, and when you hit all the checkpoints (each is a different color) and get back to the starting keyhole, you get a huge bonus for completing a "lap".
At the start of a Command Board session, you can pick how much BP you want to be the winning condition. So if you pick say, 5000 BP, the first player to hit 5000 total accumulated BP wins.
As for how the Command Board is used to benefit you in gameplay, well let's just say there's also a card system within the Command Board which allows you to either place abilities and skills you have onto empty squares when you buy them to gain exp and level up, or even draw cards of new abilities you didn't have before.
It's hard to explain, but it's REALLY fun, and not only does it suck time away, it also makes you stronger in the actual game. :lol
Early Game Impressions
Battles are REALLY fun, and there are a shitload of little mini-systems within the combat. It's actually quite overwhelming at first, but once you figure out the different aspects, there are tons of options during combat. Style Change, D-Link and Shoot Lock are powers which Sora can't remotely compare with. It's clear that this game wants to showcase what it is like to play as Keyblade masters who have actual training and in a time where there are still people who know how to use keyblades to their fullest potential. It's a lot like KotOR and the Star Wars prequels in that sense. Both the story and gameplay conveys the point across very well.
badcrumble
Member
dear god.
Wow, I just noticed the game has options I've never seen before in other games in the Config menu. You can set the color depth from 16-bit to 32-bit (I see no difference on my PSP-1000, so it's probably for PSP-3000 screens or something) and you can actually select between 222mhz and 333mhz for clockspeed. There's a warning that says for 333mhz you might want to play with the AC adapter plugged in, and apparently it doesn't affect the Mirage Arena (multiplayer), probably because 333mhz + wireless + multiplayer might be too much for the game to handle.
Pureauthor
Member
Well, sounds pretty nice. Thanks as always for the impressions.
Kingsora said:
The camera is pretty good. You can turn it left or right with L/R, and you lock on by tapping the other button while holding one. Holding both L and R at the same time activates the Shoot Lock mechanic. The game is pretty fast paced (as fast as KH2 or faster most of the time) and you only have one character to worry about (no partners like in KH and KH2) so you generally only have to be concerned about your immediate surroundings while in combat.
Attacking in a single direction, and then using the lock-on to instantly home on the next enemy when there's nothing left on the current camera angle works pretty well. For bosses you just have to know when you turn off lock on so you can dash or jump out of the way of some attacks, then you lock on again to reposition the camera for offense when the attack pattern is done.
Pureauthor
Member
Deadly said:
Nomura is pretty bad about killing off characters for real in Kingdom Hearts. I can't think of one time when he didn't leave a potential 'out' for him to bring someone back if he wants to for whatever reason.
Spoilers for whole series:
Xehanort's Heartless proclaims that his 'darkness' lingers on within Riku.
A Nobody whose Heartess dies before him will become a Somebody again when he dies, which means potentially all of Org. XIII could come back A-OK.
Xion, Roxas and Namine get reabsorbed into their various sources, but cutscenes go out of way to assure us that their consciousness is still around. Do they just hang out on those stain-glass platforms or something?
Terra gets absorbed by Master Xehanort, but lives on as a suit of armour.
And so on and so on.
A Nobody whose Heartess dies before him will become a Somebody again when he dies, which means potentially all of Org. XIII could come back A-OK.
Xion, Roxas and Namine get reabsorbed into their various sources, but cutscenes go out of way to assure us that their consciousness is still around. Do they just hang out on those stain-glass platforms or something?
Terra gets absorbed by Master Xehanort, but lives on as a suit of armour.
And so on and so on.
Pureauthor
Member
Oh, sure and then they hadduckroll said:
Dr. Facilier step on Ray! I LIKED RAY YOU HEARTLESS MONSTERS
WrenchNinja
Member
Are the load times really bad or are they tolerable?duckroll said:
Crewnh said:
They're pretty normal. It's actually pretty fast when moving around between areas. The longer load times are usually for cutscenes. I guess that kinda makes sense. The loading is definitely faster than the Peace Walker demo, which is pretty awful in terms of load times considering it's entirely running off the mem stick.
WrenchNinja
Member
That's good to know. I was kind of dreading getting the UMD version of this game cause PSP load times are usually a bitch. Still sucks that Disney won't have a downloadable version of the game.duckroll said:
brucewaynegretzky
Member
Is it official BBS isn't coming to the PSN?
BlazingDarkness
Member
Well the game is released and there's no word of PSN release, so...brucewaynegretzky said:
Anyway, thanks for the impressions duck! keep 'em coming
My copy was shipped this morning, hopefully i will have it wednesday
Fimbulvetr
Member
Spoiled myself on the rest of the game.
But the story is dumb anyway, the most important thing is that it seems battles will require actual strategy again.
I was surprised to find out that Aqua was the game's real main character. I thought in the beginning that Ven(as yet another Sora clone) or Terra(who's body belongs to Xehanort) would have stolen the spotlight, but in the end the final storyline is about her. Plus she beats Ven/Vanitas in her normal ending AND Terra/Xehanort in her true ending, officially the most powerful of the three?
But the story is dumb anyway, the most important thing is that it seems battles will require actual strategy again.
Stumpokapow
listen to the mad man
duckroll said:
Has the game been hacked to run on CFW yet and if so what's loading time like with the game installed and the PSP running a 333mhz?
Stumpokapow said:
I don't think it will be hacked to work on CFW. From what I heard, this might be like Crisis Core, where it actually needs firmware 6.xx to run properly. If that's the case, then since GEN is too crap to ever have actual 6.xx CFW, this might be the end of the road for CFW in general.
Goddamn, Terra needs to stop being so retarded! >_<
I'm actually enjoying the story a lot more than KH2, surprisingly. The way events unfold seem a lot more like KH1, with a brand new cast and a nice balance between Disney stuff and original Nomura stuff.
The gameplay is really outstanding, and it's easily the best action game I've played on the PSP. The speed, animations, variety of attacks, etc are really good. The Command Board is hopelessly addictive, and I can't stop myself from taking breaks from the game just to play it. -_-
Please Terra, STOP BEING DUMB! I want to love you, but you're just so STOOPID! :lol
I'm actually enjoying the story a lot more than KH2, surprisingly. The way events unfold seem a lot more like KH1, with a brand new cast and a nice balance between Disney stuff and original Nomura stuff.
The gameplay is really outstanding, and it's easily the best action game I've played on the PSP. The speed, animations, variety of attacks, etc are really good. The Command Board is hopelessly addictive, and I can't stop myself from taking breaks from the game just to play it. -_-
Please Terra, STOP BEING DUMB! I want to love you, but you're just so STOOPID! :lol
bcn-ron said:
Sure.
You move with the analog pad. Duh.
O is the normal attack, you swing the keyblade and pressing it multiple times will result in a combo.
As you pull off regular attacks and abilities (rather, as long as you're attacking enemies successfully) the Command gauge will build up. When the Command gauge is full, O changes from a normal attack to a Finisher move.
When you gain Style Modes, then if you fill the Command gauge using a certain type of ability associated with the Style (for example Blizzard type attacks for Diamond Dust), then there's a good chance that when you fill the Command gauge up, instead of a Finisher move, you change into that Style instead.
When in this mode, it is sorta similar to when Sora is in a special "form" - your O attack is Blitz instead of attack, which is a much more aggressive and faster form of a regular attack, and the end of each combo string will have additional attack properties attached. As you blitz, you will fill up the Style gauge which has replaced the Command gauge. When this maxes out, O will pull off the Style's finishing move
X is jump. Yup, that's it. Jump.
[] is an action command, depending on what you have equipped as action abilities. For Terra right now, if you pretty [] on its own you guard, but if you press [] + direction, you do a dash in that direction. I can also air dash now from a jump.
/\ is the deck command button, and it uses the currently selected ability on the deck menu in the bottom left corner. You can scroll through the deck menu with the d-pad, but it also automatically selects the next available ready command once you use one.
The commands available on the deck are set in the camp menu. You start off with 3 slots, and get more as you progress in the game. Usable items are also considered deck abilities, so if you want to be able to use potions for example you will have one less combat command available. The game does not use MP, so you're free to use abilities and spells over and over, except each deck command has a cool down time after you use it, so it has to refill before it can be used again. Good balance. Items have no cool down time, but they're limited of course.
L and R are used to pan the camera left and right, pressing both together once will lock on to the nearest enemy. When locked on, pressing left and right will scroll the lock through available targets.
Holding L and R together will begin aiming the Shoot Lock ability, and it drains you Focus gauge as long as both buttons are held down. Think of it as multi missile lock-on ala Panzer Dragoon or ZoE2, and you can press O at any time to activate the attack when you either have the max number of locks, or you just want to start the attack before you waste more of your Focus gauge.
Up and Down on the d-pad scrolls through the Deck menu, and left and right on the d-pad shifts between the Deck menu and the D-Link menu. The D-Link menu allows you to initiate a Dimensional Link with a character you have earned a D-Link with (story based) if your D-Link gauge is full. While in a D-Link, the D-Link gauge slowly drains. You can either exit out of the link manually, or keep using it until it runs out. The purpose of a D-Link is that it replaces your entire Deck menu with a special set of abilities that character's D-Link offers, allowing you to use attacks you either do not have, or do not want to equip on your own deck.
Select puts the game in first person mode for you to look around.
Start goes into the camp menu.
SecretBonusPoint
Banned
duckroll said:
wait what ;____;
SecretBonusPoint said:
Hm, from what I've read, it isn't so much the firmware but the actual game itself that has a lot of little checks to see if it's running off the UMD or a Memory Stick, in which case it just stops working. Some people say the UMD does work on CFW. Anyways, 2ch are trying to hack the protections and though it isn't playable yet it's gone from unplayable to reaching the title screen, so there's hope
Peff said:Hm, from what I've read, it isn't so much the firmware but the actual game itself that has a lot of little checks to see if it's running off the UMD or a Memory Stick, in which case it just stops working. Some people say the UMD does work on CFW. Anyways, 2ch are trying to hack the protections and though it isn't playable yet it's gone from unplayable to reaching the title screen, so there's hope
Didn't they go through this with Crisis Core too? In the end the game would run regardless of firmware, but it would freeze or crash at certain points if the firmware isn't actually up to date right?
SecretBonusPoint
Banned
So wait, have SE made a game specifically that can't be run from memory stick, thus no digital release ever? Thats some dumb shit. Okay theyve done that with Japan where its not so much an issue, but will they do the same over here? Forcing the UMD issue seems really weird at this point. The PSPGo Owner apocalypse over this will be one of 2010's funnest threads :lol
SecretBonusPoint said:
I don't think the two matters are entirely related, but since Disney does not want a digital release for the game to begin with, there's no reason why the retail game should not have extra strong copy protection. It's certainly not a bad thing, and doesn't affect consumers in any way.
duckroll said:
European Dissidia definitely had something like that, it required 5.55 and it wasn't until some time later that the UMD could run, but I honestly can't remember if CC had it or not, so it's possible. I do recall there being a lot of... "shady reviews" :lol at the time of the Japanese release, so I guess it could at least be played.
badcrumble
Member
So how many gauges are you filling up during combat again? :lol This sounds awesome and fun and probably flashy as hell.
I'm happy to hear that it's more like KH1 - I think KH2:FM+ showed that Nomura was pretty aware of a lot of the criticism of KH2, and both 358/2 days (in its relatively straightforward storytelling, despite the trademark KH absurdity) and BBS have continued to show a willingness to get things right even if it means walking back a few things from KH2.duckroll said:
Lord Phol said:
If you plan on playing Kingdom Hearts, you don't want to get a Go. :lol
badcrumble said:
Well, you're only filling up the Command gauge in combat. That's the interesting thing about the game's systems. It sounds really complex, and it's overwhelming at first, but it's not that confusing once you start playing and get familiar with it. The only gauge you "fill" by active action is the Command gauge. The other gauges should all start out full in most battles, and only when you use them, do they need to be replenished. Think of it as the game having a bunch of optional assist systems which you can tap into when the going gets rough.
Lord Phol said:Was gonna ask why the mighty neogaf gods felt it necessary to laugh at a poor unelighted follower such as me
But after a quick google search I see thy reasoning, thus my faith is restored!
A 3000 it is then, by the gods!
Well, I'm not being mean, it was just talked about in the posts right before yours...
Lord Phol
Member
duckroll said:Well, I'm not being mean, it was just talked about in the posts right before yours...
No harm done ^^, after all, I'll be able to sit down this weekend with unsurpassed nonsenses and awesome gameplay that is kingdom hearts. Instead of frantically chasing for nowhere-to-be-found games on the PSNstore!
I am enlightened!
Pureauthor
Member
Stumbled upon this picture in GameFAQS that illuminates the relation between Master Xehanort, Terra, Ansem the Wise, and Riku is a (relatively?) simplified format.
Obviously, spoilers.
Obviously, spoilers.
badcrumble
Member
That doesn't fully incorporate Vanitas into the picture as he relates to Riku, though, does it? Or is the similarity in appearance between Vanitas and Dark Riku a red herring?
Bel Marduk
Banned
badcrumble said:
The outfit seems to be a mark of Xehanort's apprentice. Vanitas was MX's apprentice so he got the outfit. Ansem was controlling Riku and made him kinda like an apprentice since he was on Ansem's side for a while so he got the outfit.
Edit: Otherwise they have no similarity.
badcrumble
Member
Gotcha.
I'm also surprised that
At any rate, which significant loose ends remain at the end of the game? By my count, there's
I'm still hoping that KH3 has Sora/Riku/Kairi as your main party rather than Sora/Donald/Goofy but it doesn't look like that will be the case - too bad.
I'm also surprised that
Ansem the Wise still seems to be around, inexplicably wearing one of the black raincoats, after the events of KH2 or something. Or is that flashback from the secret ending from before he became DiZ in order to guide Sora?
At any rate, which significant loose ends remain at the end of the game? By my count, there's
Aqua and Terra still kicking around in one form or another, as well as Master Erauqs; Master Xehanort could have re-formed somehow, who the heck knows; but the main thing is that Sora seems determined to go out and rescue/restore the characters from BBS at the end.
I'm still hoping that KH3 has Sora/Riku/Kairi as your main party rather than Sora/Donald/Goofy but it doesn't look like that will be the case - too bad.
badcrumble
Member
Wouldn't it be more fun for us to just make things up - as nonsensical as possible - and see if you can tell whether they're real spoilers or not?duckroll said:You know, just saying, since I'm actually playing the game now, I'll appreciate it if spoilers pertaining to BbS itself specifically are at least marked.
e.g. I can't believe Aqua turned into Mickey's raincoat at the end!
Bel Marduk
Banned
badcrumble said:
Ansem the Wise seems to be alive because
Otherwise the game seems to have sealed the loose ends though
Unversed