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[Ilvocare]

Figured my progress report on the game was kinda due, after staying quiet on it for like... 3 days? I think?

Regardless, beat chapter 36 so far.

Good news: The overall pacing of the second half of the game is much improved from PXZ1's. OVERALL, at least.

Bad news: Marvel Land...

Spoiler

Both of them.

Represents the overall problem with PXZ map design in general, which is making SRW-size maps for characters with FE-size movement and, in some cases, impassable terrain. (In SRW like 90% of units can fly, making terrain only relevant for combative purposes, not traversal.) Make no mistake, the VAST majority of PXZ2's maps are much improved. But there's moments where it feels like the whole game originally intended for its units to have like, 2 whole spaces of movement more. Across everyone. There's chests every once in a while that I have to force myself to get to, ignoring murdering absolutely everything on the map immediately for the sake of grabbing the last remaining trinket. Some scenarios are set up where there's traps up ahead that you'll never reach because all the enemies come to you anyways, or they're set off around the perimeter of the map but not at the actual battle zone.

I can say, without a doubt, that maps that have you moving your group from one end of the map to the other tend to be the universal "problem child" maps in the series. Because of your 4-space movement units who move slow as molasses and don't have routes to the objective designed for them!

...Regardless, the game has a sense of build-up that the first game never had, which I REALLY appreciate. Can't wait to see what happens next... although... [plot spoilers]

Spoiler

Since Team Shinra has their hands on the Golden Seed now, what's stopping them from abusing all this unlimited MacGuffin power and just getting it unsealed by Valkyrie and Otohime, and just wishing the whole problem away? Is that explained soon? Because that's going to be THE sticking point moving forward, unless it gets resolved. And fast. Only thing I can think of is that Kamuz or someone is stalking them the whole time and just waiting for the team to unseal it for them, only to swoop in and swipe it at the last moment.

 

[Boss Doggie]

Did Ryo ever said something about Segata resembling his father?

Because Fujioka apparently voiced his dad!

 

[Loona]

Did Ryo ever said something about Segata resembling his father?

Because Fujioka apparently voiced his dad!

Not that I've seen.

Not have I seen a reference to the fact that both Segata and Captain Commando started out as advertising mascots.

On the other hand, we do get a lot of subtle nods for people in the know, like when talking about Bison, Segata warning about not mistaking dangerous psychopaths for Santa Claus just because their all dressed in red.


BTW, there's an official stream about the game in an hour or so at https://www.twitch.tv/bandainamcous
Apparently they'll be covering mid-game stuff and challenge stages, who knows what else.

 

[Zonic]

*starts Ch. 31*

Oh snap, new character, & it's

Spoiler

Tarosuke from Yokai Dochuki!

Now I can't wait to see if they'll do any more references from the game or there'll be music.

Edit: OMG, THIS CHAPTER JUST CONTINUES TO GET MORE AMAZING.

 

[Ilvocare]

Finished with Chapter 38. Threads are resolving, which is good because I'm really raring for the game to wrap itself up. A LOT of unique equipment to be found in this level, too...

Also noticing that the game REALLY wants all my units to be at least level 30. Which is weird: I'm not used to seeing units hit endgame without six castable skills.

I'm circumventing plot stuff because it's both lategame and also about what you'd expect. Dialogue's stayed at a very solid level throughout, so I don't wanna spoil anything. That being said...

Spoiler

Ogami managing to get out of the hot spring episode as a winner while having done everything wrong is hilarious in such a bullshit way. Not even Yu Narukami could get away with that shit!

Also the game answered my question with "They're just gonna send the seed back and not use it at all." *sigh* Unless the seed is consumed when used (which I have no reason to believe is the case considering the history), the game's gonna last like a full 5 chapters more than it needs to. That being said, killing Bison was really hype. More custom defeat animations for bosses, please.

*starts Ch. 31*

Oh snap, new character, & it's

Spoiler

Tarosuke from Yokai Dochuki!

Now I can't wait to see if they'll do any more references from the game or there'll be music.

Edit: OMG, THIS CHAPTER JUST CONTINUES TO GET MORE AMAZING.

That chapter was really short for me, surprisingly, since

Spoiler

there's no mid-chapter reinforcements at all

, but I feel like it dropped the ball with

Spoiler

Edgeworth's appearance. He shows up but doesn't get to do anything because the whole situation just sort of... resolves itself.

 

[CragMan241]

Doing some of the challenge maps.

Spoiler

Fuck the Boss Rush. This is some PXZ1 levels of drag.

Did Ryo ever said something about Segata resembling his father?

Because Fujioka apparently voiced his dad!

Nope. He does mention to Ryu that he looks like his father when he was younger.

 

[Zonic]

That chapter was really short for me, surprisingly, since

Spoiler

there's no mid-chapter reinforcements at all

, but I feel like it dropped the ball with

Spoiler

Edgeworth's appearance. He shows up but doesn't get to do anything because the whole situation just sort of... resolves itself.

Yeah, that WAS kind of a bummer. It was basically

Spoiler

HI EDGEWORTH.....BYE EDGEWORTH. At least Ada felt like she had an actual presence.

Playing Ch. 32, this is probably the first chapter I feel like is kind of dragging, mainly due to the stage gimmicks.

 

[Ilvocare]

Yeah, that WAS kind of a bummer. It was basically

Spoiler

HI EDGEWORTH.....BYE EDGEWORTH. At least Ada felt like she had an actual presence.

Playing Ch. 32, this is probably the first chapter I feel like is kind of dragging, mainly due to the stage gimmicks.

Refer to the post I made after I got past 36. Chapters where you have to move in a line towards an objective tend to be the worst ones in PXZ2. Not even covering the gimmicks.

EDIT: Might as well mention it here, but I'm about to start chapter 40 right about now, beat 39 last night. I suddenly realized something about the sudden orgasm of unique equipment being thrown at me ever since I started 38...

Spoiler

Like 90% of this equipment is from PXZ1!!! More specifically, the vast majority of it is NG+ exclusive equips, too. Granted, the actual effects of each piece are drastically changed to gel with 2's newer mechanics, but I recognize a LOT of these names... Silence Stone, Bashishi Marker, Sheonite, Divine Implements, fucking Mei-Mei's Charm... And that's not even the whole list! Interesting why they'd bring these back like this. Maybe because they assumed like less than 0.1% of people would have gotten to see those pieces of gear in PXZ1 so they could just stuff them into the endgame of the sequel?

 

[Zonic]

There we go, finally learning the 5th move for characters. Though it's a pain trying to equally level everyone up, especially when you're restricted as to how many pairs you can bring for each stage.

Also cool, I now know the Namco number is 765, similar to Konami's 573.

 

[Ilvocare]

Oh shit level

Spoiler

30

isn't the end of the leveling curve, there's still shit that unlocks at

Spoiler

33

.

 

[Boss Doggie]

Oh shit level

Spoiler

30

isn't the end of the leveling curve, there's still shit that unlocks at

Spoiler

33

.

And you need Chrom/Lucina's and Reiji/Xiaomu's with Ulala to break this game.

 

[Ilvocare]

And you need Chrom/Lucina's and Reiji/Xiaomu's with Ulala to break this game.

But the game's easy enough to feel like it was broken from the get-go: how much harder can I go?

EDIT: For that matter, it's crazy that the general level of what fucking feels like the final chapter is at

Spoiler

35

when the game's level cap is 99, as evidenced by the training dummy options. I can only assume that was the case for PXZ1 too, which is ridiculous. How is ANY unit supposed to hit that cap?

 

[Boss Doggie]

Special Challenges man

 

[Loona]

But the game's easy enough to feel like it was broken from the get-go: how much harder can I go?

EDIT: For that matter, it's crazy that the general level of what fucking feels like the final chapter is at

Spoiler

35

when the game's level cap is 99, as evidenced by the training dummy options. I can only assume that was the case for PXZ1 too, which is ridiculous. How is ANY unit supposed to hit that cap?

Use SP gain loops with the units that allow that to use Exp gain skills repeatedly on other units that can apply them to allies?
Sounds doable, if pretty monotonous, and at that point you might want to use attack-raising skills instead... I do wonder if any have a cap like the movement skills do, since it's 2 uses at most per character in my experience.
The VF and Tales teams at this point are doing so much damage it's ridiculous, I figure if there's a damage cap per hit they'd be good units to test that with.

I reached the final level (looks like those trap-ignoring skills aren't as useless as I thought, when they're so easy to avoid in most levels) and I'm skill unlocking skills in the high 30s with some units.

I do wish it were simpler to check if a pair unit and its companion solo unit had any overlapping skills - I think that was easier to see in PXZ1 (which I think also had little description of items or skills other than stats that didn't carry over to PXZ2?...).


Little oddities about the final level:

Spoiler

Felicia mentioned the incident from 10 years ago when referring to the NxC events, while in a previous scene when Reiji referred to 10 years ago he referred to the Saya incident when his father died... maybe Felicia's working outside that time scale or the writers slipped and mistook real time with the setting's time?...

The new grunt mobs from this game, named after numbers (a likely reference to NxC's 99) haven't shown up in the final level yet, if they do at all... I don't mind since I'm not fond of their design, and true to Banpresto originals tradition, their color schemes are all over the place. Still, it's pretty weird how many of the villains from the source games in the final stage are from Capcom games...

I expected a 4th skill slot to open before the final level, but I guess maybe in New Game +?
If so, does it ever become possible to assign all the skills?...

 

[STHX]

I expected a 4th skill slot to open before the final level, but I guess maybe in New Game +?
If so, does it ever become possible to assign all the skills?...

Every unit gains an additional skill slot in NG+. I think you can also get one more additional skill slot if you finish NG+ (so in NG++)

 

[Ilvocare]

Use SP gain loops with the units that allow that to use Exp gain skills repeatedly on other units that can apply them to allies?
Sounds doable, if pretty monotonous, and at that point you might want to use attack-raising skills instead... I do wonder if any have a cap like the movement skills do, since it's 2 uses at most per character in my experience.
The VF and Tales teams at this point are doing so much damage it's ridiculous, I figure if there's a damage cap per hit they'd be good units to test that with.

[...]

I expected a 4th skill slot to open before the final level, but I guess maybe in New Game +?
If so, does it ever become possible to assign all the skills?...

1. There's a cap to all the benefits of quantity-based skills. Check the Skill Effect pane if you're ever curious. The maximum movement range for any allied unit is 7. Meaning you can use movement-boosting skills on 4-movement slowpokes 3 times if you want. But yeah, every percentage-based-skill has a cap, normally 100% to 200% max of your original stat. Except for Mirage Cancelling: the discount caps off at 30%.

2. Without even knowing about other skill slot unlocks, I think the answer is "no", since Yuri and Flynn have 6 skills right now to equip for me. Odd how they were the only team in the game to obtain a passive skill through just playing through the story...

Also jeez Namco really wanted this game to be the forever-game, huh? The amount of carrots being dangled in front of people who finish the game is ludicrous.

Notes about the final chapter of the game, which I'm starting for real this time:

Spoiler

I was actually so enamored by the fact the game sorted all the reps for each company on one side that I went as far as possible and tried to shore up everyone from one company with everyone else from that same company.

Which kinda slapped me in the face with the fact that the split for companies isn't QUITE as even as 6/6/6/1.

Pair Units:
Capcpom: 6 pairs followed by 1 pair with a Sega peep, still led by Capcom. 6.5 units, then?
Seeeegaaaaa: 5 pairs total, 2 of which are dedicated to the absurd representation that Sakura Wars has in this series. Hotsuma is the other half of the Hiryu-led unit, mind. So that's 5.5.
Bamco: 5 true pairs total, with a hybrid unit between KOS-MOS and Fiora. Another 5.5 units.
Ninty: Awakening and Fiora chime in for the remaining 1.5 units.

From this I assumed that maybe the other companies (Sega and Namco) made up for it in solo units.Turns out:
C:6 solos
S:7 solos
N:6 solos

So in actuality NAMCO has the least representation among the main three in this cast. Which makes sense when the story centers around the OC crew. That being said, for some reason I still feel like Sega got the short end of the repping stick... don't know why.

POST-EDIT: Isn't the 5th skill slot trapped behind SP Advance Mode? Which is DLC, of all things? Also, is disabling Block Crush ever a useful skill???

 

[Boss Doggie]

You forgot Chun x Xiao

 

[Ilvocare]

You forgot Chun x Xiao

SHIT MY BALLS JUST GOT EXPOSED

That readjusts the ratio to 6/5.5/6 on pairs, which makes the extra Solo unit Sega has make sense. Which means... everyone's even? Huh.

Except Ninty but that's fine because they were guests anyways. Damn the ratio basically WAS 6/6/6/1 all along...

 

[Loona]

SHIT MY BALLS JUST GOT EXPOSED

That readjusts the ratio to 6/5.5/6 on pairs, which makes the extra Solo unit Sega has make sense. Which means... everyone's even? Huh.

Except Ninty but that's fine because they were guests anyways. Damn the ratio basically WAS 6/6/6/1 all along...

If you want to make the math harder you can always take into account story-only NPCs whose games have no other gameplay effect (Tarosuke, Otohime - Namco), shopkeepers (Sylphie's Capcom, Miyuki's Namco) and games represented only through a stage, stage mechanics or music (Burning Rangers, Marvel Land).

 

[Boss Doggie]

I find it weird though that Capcom didn't have their "retro reference stage". PxZ only had Sega with Gain Ground, PxZ2 had two (the ones you mentioned).

 

[Ilvocare]

If you want to make the math harder you can always take into account story-only NPCs whose games have no other gameplay effect (Tarosuke, Otohime - Namco), shopkeepers (Sylphie's Capcom, Miyuki's Namco) and games represented only through a stage, stage mechanics or music (Burning Rangers, Marvel Land).

But then I'd have to crunch the math for enemy representation, and with the number of enemies re-named while possessing the EXACT same sprites... just no, man.

I find it weird though that Capcom didn't have their "retro reference stage". PxZ only had Sega with Gain Ground, PxZ2 had two (the ones you mentioned).

Closest thing Capcom has to something like that was what happened in Sword Canyon with

Spoiler

Violent Ken and that music that overrode that stage. Still don't know what that's from but I can ONLY assume it's Street Fighter-related. It's fucking dope though.

 

[CragMan241]

I find it weird though that Capcom didn't have their "retro reference stage". PxZ only had Sega with Gain Ground, PxZ2 had two (the ones you mentioned).

There are Darkstalkers stages!

Closest thing Capcom has to something like that was what happened in Sword Canyon with

Spoiler

Violent Ken and that music that overrode that stage. Still don't know what that's from but I can ONLY assume it's Street Fighter-related. It's fucking dope though.

The Japanese version of Street Fighter II The Movie.

I'm really glad the game kept all the music this time around.

 

[Ilvocare]

WOO! With that, final boss is kill. Arguably more complicated than PXZ1's, and yet easier somehow.

Spoiler

Good thing I noticed that Super Back Attack buff, otherwise someone may have ended up getting KO'd.

Time to watch the ending and eventually pull up my final clear time. Hint: I play these games slow as fuck, so in all likelihood I'll end up having more hours on my runthrough than anyone else here. Who's currently holding the longest playthrough time?

 

[ArclightBorealis]

WOO! With that, final boss is kill. Arguably more complicated than PXZ1's, and yet easier somehow.

Spoiler

Good thing I noticed that Super Back Attack buff, otherwise someone may have ended up getting KO'd.

Time to watch the ending and eventually pull up my final clear time. Hint: I play these games slow as fuck, so in all likelihood I'll end up having more hours on my runthrough than anyone else here. Who's currently holding the longest playthrough time?

I know mine was around 49 and a half hours, which is definitely longer than the usual ~40 hours I've seen from everyone else.

 

[Boss Doggie]

It's much easier because you don't have bulletsponge enemies hanging around, it spawns easy to kill enemies to replenish XP, and the enemy doesn't require your character to have range 3.

 

[Loona]

I find it weird though that Capcom didn't have their "retro reference stage". PxZ only had Sega with Gain Ground, PxZ2 had two (the ones you mentioned).

PXZ1 had another Sega-themed stage, based on Crackdown - and in PXZ2 Segata carries around the explosives from that game, used on the Balrog from Strider.

Finished the game today - the previous stage prepares you for the final one, and in a way gives characters that move at different paces different things to do, which I'm not entirely sure is on purpose but was still nice.

Loved the burn Xiaomu dropped on Ingrid by the time character were preparing to return to their own worlds, and in a later sequence I couldn't help but wonder if the fighter character were referencing only Capcom's Versus games through a mention of themes of 3, or if someone in the game's staff was acknowledging SNK's KoF... I'd love that...

I still think Segata could have been more of a "Sega Jesus" figure, but he still had a lot of fantastic lines and moments, so no big deal.

My grand total was nearly 90 hours because I left the game on on quite a few occasions like between switching trains on my commute or taking near-unexpected breaks for stuff around the house, time spend reading everything on the Crosspedia and checking for new stuff, comparing gear stats, stopping a cutscene to show some funny line to my GF, etc.

I'm curious about the New Game +, but I think next i'll try and hunt for a physical version and see if the save works across formats on the same 3DS - if not, oh well, the game deserves my money and I'll gladly help to fund a sequel. So many things about this game feel like small miracles that the sheer concentration of those really should be rewarded.

 

[Ilvocare]

PXZ1 had another Sega-themed stage, based on Crackdown - and in PXZ2 Segata carries around the explosives from that game, used on the Balrog from Strider.

Finished the game today - the previous stage prepares you for the final one, and in a way gives characters that move at different paces different things to do, which I'm not entirely sure is on purpose but was still nice.

Loved the burn Xiaomu dropped on Ingrid by the time character were preparing to return to their own worlds, and in a later sequence I couldn't help but wonder if the fighter character were referencing only Capcom's Versus games through a mention of themes of 3, or if someone in the game's staff was acknowledging SNK's KoF... I'd love that...

I still think Segata could have been more of a "Sega Jesus" figure, but he still had a lot of fantastic lines and moments, so no big deal.

My grand total was nearly 90 hours because I left the game on on quite a few occasions like between switching trains on my commute or taking near-unexpected breaks for stuff around the house, time spend reading everything on the Crosspedia and checking for new stuff, comparing gear stats, stopping a cutscene to show some funny line to my GF, etc.

I'm curious about the New Game +, but I think next i'll try and hunt for a physical version and see if the save works across formats on the same 3DS - if not, oh well, the game deserves my money and I'll gladly help to fund a sequel. So many things about this game feel like small miracles that the sheer concentration of those really should be rewarded.

And with that, my first playthrough is complete. ...At 66 hours. I'd regularly close my 3DS whenever thinking, but a lot of time was spent browsing the Crosspedia, mulling over replacing equipment, and generally managing the leveling curve and hand-picking solo unit set-ups each and every single chapter I could. Lot more micromanaging done than I needed to, but that's how I play these games anyways.

For comparison, both runs of PXZ1 took me 100 hours, and doing FE:Awakening on Classic Hard took me 80 hours.

...This is a trend.

EDIT: END GAME SPOILERS:

Spoiler

I found it weird that Urashima said there were 60 people riding on the Dragonturtle by the end. Like, there's 57 playable units, and adding herself and Maya only brings that total up to 59. Who did I forget???

Everything in that party was fucking incredible, and a way better ending than PXZ1's.

Also WHAT THE FUCK REIJI AND XIAOMU ARE FINALLY TYING THE KNOT

Like if this game was the only game I had seen these two in, there'd be absolutely no build-up to this moment at all and it'd feel super forced. But I've played at least 3 full games with these chucklefucks' banter and flirting, and to see the game end on THIS... I may have lost my shit a little. More than I probably should have.

In conclusion, even though the gameplay isn't up to everyone's tastes, this series represents something fucking MAGICAL in the games industry that I can't find anywhere else. I whole-heartedly support whatever happens next in this series, and pray for the continued uptick of quality. That being said, if so much is hidden behind NG+, maybe it's not necessary to have the main game be so long? If there's an option to essentially stuff content (possibly understood as filler, possibly not) in a menu option, then perhaps future games can take the streamlining of the pacing even further! Because even though this felt like lightning compared to the first game, I cannot, in all good conscience, recommend this game to other people who are otherwise sour on the concept or see ill will in this series. Because this game doesn't 100% fix the issues those people have with the games.

 

[Kaleo]

Finished the game around 50 hours, now I'm with 77h total (the time counter adds up to the 50h from the first save) playing on New Game+, at Advanced SP difficulty mode and trying the Challenges alongside the main game.
At the endgame, my former team were around LV35-37. Now I have 10 chapters until the end on NG+ and X & Zero are already at LV51! (besides other pairs around LV47, 48...)

Spoiler

And still, I can't surpass Challenge 5, holy hell. It's basically a Boss Rush Mode, but with everyone stupidly overlevel

:|

Despite that, I'm still having so much fun with this game. The interactions between many different franchises are the charm, for me... and the pacing is so much improved, in comparison with PXZ1 (I didn't finish this one, dropped around Chapter 26, IIRC).

 

[Ilvocare]

Finished the game around 50 hours, now I'm with 77h total (the time counter adds up to the 50h from the first save) playing on New Game+, at Advanced SP difficulty mode and trying the Challenges alongside the main game.
At the endgame, my former team were around LV35-37. Now I have 10 chapters until the end on NG+ and X & Zero are already at LV51! (besides other pairs around LV47, 48...)

Spoiler

And still, I can't surpass Challenge 5, holy hell. It's basically a Boss Rush Mode, but with everyone stupidly overlevel

:|

Despite that, I'm still having so much fun with this game. The interactions between many different franchises are the charm, for me... and the pacing is so much improved, in comparison with PXZ1 (I didn't finish this one, dropped around Chapter 26, IIRC).

You have SP Advanced mode? Is it just Advanced Mode with a higher experience curve or is the enemy even more powerful than in Advanced Mode? A good way to check is to, without saving, check Challenge Map 01 with the various modes toggled to see how the enemy changes its strength and level.

EDIT: Figured I'd post my thoughts here regarding several characters that show up in this game.

Things like "Is Heihachi even a villain at this point anymore?" Because if you just look at the PXZs (which is my full experience with the character outside of TTT2), he just seems like a dude who's living up his eternal youth with a big smile on his face and occasionally laughing and grinning evilly, but I haven't actually seen him do anything... villainous. Like, it's IMPLIED he's always plotting to get more power, but he doesn't seem to have any real plans for it besides just... doing what he always does? It's weird.

He's great, and I kinda feel like that's not entirely by intention...

 

[Loona]

In NxC there was a level where you fought clones that Heihachi had made of Tekken's Ogre, so the villain side was more visible there, not to mention he was emplying Dr Bomb, the villain from Bravoman.
On the other hand, at a different point of the same game he basically acted as a delivery boy to goddess Ishtar to give the Golden Seed to Valkyrie and he didn't keep it. (I liked how PXZ2 had nods to Kazuya having stolen the Seed in that game as his devil self though).

Maybe if more PXZ games brcome common they can start doing the SRW thing where certain antagonists can be recruited if specific requirements are met, it's the kind of role Heihachi could play well.

 

[Zonic]

"Great Teacher Valkizuka!"

omg I can't believe they're still dropping the references this late into the game. At ch. 34 right now.

Also, I can't help but feel like they're referencing

Spoiler

Mega Man X6

with the fact

Spoiler

Zero has been affected by this virus, similar to what happened to him in X6. Hell, I keep expecting Nightmare Zero to happen sooner or later, but then again, we didn't get Violent Ken when Ken was controlled by Bison.

Edit: LOL Segata & that Spring Yard Zone name drop.

 

[Loona]

Also, I can't help but feel like they're referencing

Spoiler

Mega Man X6

with the fact

Spoiler

Zero has been affected by this virus, similar to what happened to him in X6. Hell, I keep expecting Nightmare Zero to happen sooner or later, but then again, we didn't get Violent Ken when Ken was controlled by Bison.

They give Ken purple effects on his attacks instead of regular flame colors, like he had as Violent Ken in SvC: https://youtu.be/2R8xhVsSKxY?t=112 and as far as I know he never got that sort of effect in the Capcom games.

Think of the final stage, I wonder if the term

Spoiler

Song of Rifts

ever comes up in the SRW games, considering how some of those dabble in a multiverse too - I think that term only got used in PXZ2 final stage by the final boss, but given the SRW ties between Endless Frontier and PXZ1, who knows if there's a history there... it would seem a bit random to just come up with the term out of nowhere...

 

[Kaleo]

You have SP Advanced mode? Is it just Advanced Mode with a higher experience curve or is the enemy even more powerful than in Advanced Mode? A good way to check is to, without saving, check Challenge Map 01 with the various modes toggled to see how the enemy changes its strength and level.

Did that, actually there's no difference between Advanced and SP Advanced: the enemy level is exactly the same on these two, but already higher than "Normal" (Off) settings. Here's two screens from it, "Off" on the left and "Advanced" on the right:

Since yesterday, finished Challenges 5 ( X& Zero already at LV64!) and 6 (this one was relatively easy)... but I can't see myself surpassing Challenge 7 so soon.

Spoiler

Kurohagane clones will summon that damned flying beasts, and the original will replicate himself in eight - although these replicas have lower HP but same attack power from the original - one turn after being attacked

D:

 

[Loona]

Saves from the digital version don't transfer to the physical version. Yes I bought the game a second time, going to use the code for the challenge stage from the digital purchase on the physical version, likely remaining DLC too, the sequel won't fund itself.

 

[Kaleo]

Saves from the digital version don't transfer to the physical version. Yes I bought the game a second time, going to use the code for the challenge stage from the digital purchase on the physical version, likely remaining DLC too, the sequel won't fund itself.

Game saves can only be transferred physical > digital, unless you use homebrew to do the reverse way... About the DLC, since they're stored on the 3DS itself, I think you can access them with either versions of PXZ2

At least I remember a similar case with Fire Emblem Awakening - I bought the digital game + DLC, and when a friend with the physical version used their game on my 3DS, he had access to all my DLC maps (although he never bought any maps on their system).

 

[Zonic]

*starts ch. 37*

lol, Ogami scoring points with the ladies & Reiji being all "nobody wants to see us guys bathing. & if they do, tough luck"

Edit: Ugh, even on a New 3DS, this chapter is making the framerate drop during the second half when I'm moving units around.

 

[Ilvocare]

Did that, actually there's no difference between Advanced and SP Advanced: the enemy level is exactly the same on these two, but already higher than "Normal" (Off) settings. Here's two screens from it, "Off" on the left and "Advanced" on the right:

Figured. Then that clinches it: the DLC is purely a pay-to-win crutch. Thankfully the main game is super easy and not balanced around the DLC so it's inoffensive, at the least.

*starts ch. 37*

lol, Ogami scoring points with the ladies & Reiji being all "nobody wants to see us guys bathing. & if they do, tough luck"

Edit: Ugh, even on a New 3DS, this chapter is making the framerate drop during the second half when I'm moving units around.

Weird, don't recall the framerate dipping in that chapter. That being said... no wait, that's the

Spoiler

Marvel Land PXZ1 map redux,

isn't it? How's the framerate shitting the bed there?

 

[Zonic]

It's when you

Spoiler

activate the magic circle after moving 8 units into smaller circle& it's glowing all while you're trying to fight Metal Face & such again

. Thankfully it doesn't affect battles & it seems to not be as bad when you move away from it.

 

[L.O.R.D]

Can anyone tell what the name of xenoblade chronicles is played during chapter 29 or 30?
Edit: found it, it's "engage the enemy"

 

[Loona]

Just got all the DLC for the game, including SP Advanced mode - considering this will basically be a new playtrough with no CP already assinged to moves, how viable is it to succeed?...
The bonus CP gains look tempting...

 

[Zonic]

Finished Ch. 39. I'd say the pacing is still much better than the first game (that feeling when you take down a boss unit with 100k HP with one character in one turn), but it also relies on the "SURPRISE, THERE'S EVEN MORE UNITS" a bit too much.

 

[RangerBAD]

Finished Ch. 39. I'd say the pacing is still much better than the first game (that feeling when you take down a boss unit with 100k HP with one character in one turn), but it also relies on the "SURPRISE, THERE'S EVEN MORE UNITS" a bit too much.

It's the SRW trope.

 

[Ilvocare]

So a couple of things in my postgame adventures:

-Managed to clear Challenge Map 1 as early as post-Chapter 6. Pretty sure that you can beat it by Chapter 5 if you REALLY tried. The secret is that

Spoiler

poison is godlike and handles 80% of the boss's health when handled proper. Also Aty's group heal is a godsend combined with the ability to nullify CAs.

I'll probably take care of Challenge Map 2 after Chapter 7 as well. First run looked REALLY promising.

-Despite the game saying Quicksaving during Challenge Maps is disabled, I seemed to be able to do so perfectly fine during Map 1, at least. I'll check 2 next, but it'd be so weird if that was just a blatant lie.
FAKE EDIT: Just checked, and quicksaving works fine. The hell was the game saying?

-Speaking of blatant lies, I went through the music player to look at all the names. Everything seems to be in order EXCEPT for the Ninty crew's song names. "You Will Know Our Names" is titled correctly, but "Engage the Enemy" became "Standoff with the Enemy", "Conquest (Ablaze)" became "Expedition - Flame", and "Divine Decree (Ablaze)" became simply "Fate - Flame". What happened? Why re-localize these song names?

Just some stuff I saw.

 

[Loona]

Holy damn, the combined CP bonuses from using the full DLC bundle let me max out an entire attack as soon as upgrading those becomes possible.

 

[Boss Doggie]

I haven't touched the challenge maps yet, are they doable from just finishing chapter 1

 

[Ilvocare]

I haven't touched the challenge maps yet, are they doable from just finishing chapter 1

No. You need to get a bit in there, first.

 

[STHX]

I haven't touched the challenge maps yet, are they doable from just finishing chapter 1

100% impossible. In the first challenge map alone you have to fight a 300000+ HP enemy with buffed stats, and if you don't beat it in 3 turns it gets buffed even more. You also can't bring items in Challenges and after chapter 1 you only have Reiji/Xiaomu and Chris/Jill and they definitely aren't at a high enough level to have an healing skill.

 

[Boss Doggie]

So it's more when you get to the 30's then?

 

[STHX]

So it's more when you get to the 30's then?

With the right strategy I think it's possible to beat the first set of challenge stages after Chapter 7, and the first can be cleared as soon as Chapter 4 (so you can have Aty with an healing skill as well a poisoning auto-skill). I said chapter 7 mostly because Cpt. Commando has a very powerful but cheap healing skill that's perfect for the 2nd challenge (you can only deploy a single unit, so you need to have a way to heal it).

Remember that unlike normal chapters, challenge stages can be replayed endlessly, meaning that, with a bit of dedication, it's possibile to grind with them, especially the 2nd one (at least until level 20).

 

[L.O.R.D]

shtrom , every time i try to read it, i spell it "shit storm"