If the Seven PC port really sells, we could even see ports of games as obscure as Brandish: The Dark Revenant, or fan favorites like Nayuta. And this ultimately provides another viable option for Zero/Ao, though both of those games have Chinese PC versions with higher-res assets which XSEED will need to get first.
If the Seven PC port really sells, we could even see ports of games as obscure as Brandish: The Dark Revenant, or fan favorites like Nayuta. And this ultimately provides another viable option for Zero/Ao, though both of those games have Chinese PC versions with higher-res assets which XSEED will need to get first.
Amazing, the platinums looked like a pain in the ass to get so I never bothered. In general, my rule with platinums is don't bother unless you're doing a 2nd playthrough a few years later. I need to get through my backlog somehow ;_;
Given how thorough I do my first playthrough, usually the second one is to basically just run the game on Nightmare and do the remaining bonding events since you can't complete all the character profiles on one run. Since it's barebones cleanup, and I can use the handy fast-forward option for cutscenes, going through it a second time is a breeze (though I still stopped for some scenes the second time 'round).
I originally bought both PS3/Vita versions because I actually used the cross-play/cross-save functionality a lot.
I had somehow missed it but I've been listening to We Love Sora No Kiseki, and it's really grown on me. It feels like it does what the Evo soundtracks aimed to do but utterly failed at: 200% over the top arranges that actually work.
Bless Falcom for putting all their stuff on music streaming services.
I had somehow missed it but I've been listening to We Love Sora No Kiseki, and it's really grown on me. It feels like it does what the Evo soundtracks aimed to do but utterly failed at: 200% over the top arranges that actually work.
Bless Falcom for putting all their stuff on music streaming services.
AMEN. They make studying sessions soooooo much more enjoyable. Imma need Square Enix and Shoji Meguro to start putting their music on streaming services too; you know how many times I've wanted to blast "Life Will Change" but it's only available for purchase on ITunes?!
Started Third - the controls feel really weird on Keyboard and Mouse with A being to run, Control being to Close/Open Menu, and Space bar for Okay/Talk. Does anyone have any suggestions for control remapping?
Also, found this to be amusing after finishing up my Persona 5 playthrough earlier this week.
He is fast, really really fast. And his crafts are great and barely have any delay.
With the right setup (and even without it lol) you can just keep spamming them the whole combat. He is easily the most broken character in The 3rd.
He is fast, really really fast. And his crafts are great and barely have any delay.
With the right setup (and even without it lol) you can just keep spamming them the whole combat. He is easily the most broken character in The 3rd.
Started Third - the controls feel really weird on Keyboard and Mouse with A being to run, Control being to Close/Open Menu, and Space bar for Okay/Talk. Does anyone have any suggestions for control remapping?
Also, found this to be amusing after finishing up my Persona 5 playthrough earlier this week.
I have a combined 200 hours in all the TitS games on Steam and I've never even touched the keyboard.
Holding the left mouse button walks, right click for interaction, wheel for camera turning.
Bring the menu up by just moving the mouse in the upper part part of the screen and/or clicking the symbols in the bottom right corner.
Started Third - the controls feel really weird on Keyboard and Mouse with A being to run, Control being to Close/Open Menu, and Space bar for Okay/Talk. Does anyone have any suggestions for control remapping?
Also, found this to be amusing after finishing up my Persona 5 playthrough earlier this week.
http://i.imgur.com/2NQvIAT.jpg?1[img][/QUOTE]
A few things, I would make "Run" default in the config launcher, there's pretty much never any reason to walk in this game. I also rebound my keys so that they did the WASD format. That way your left hand can rest on the keyboard with one finger on ctrl and one on spacebar. Super relaxing.
You can also push your cursor to the top of the screen to bring up the menu. Once you get a hang of it, you'll realize just how efficient it is to play this way; feels great.
A few things, I would make "Run" default in the config launcher, there's pretty much never any reason to walk in this game. I also rebound my keys so that they did the WASD format. That way your left hand can rest on the keyboard with one finger on ctrl and one on spacebar. Super relaxing.
You can also push your cursor to the top of the screen to bring up the menu. Once you get a hang of it, you'll realize just how efficient it is to play this way; feels great.
Yeah, run should be default.
But you can also control run/walk speed with the mouse, by moving it closer or farther away from the character. Like, it's really hard to explain but super intuitive in practice.
Seriously, why the hell would you use a keyboard. Mouse controls are god-like.
Yeah, run should be default.
But you can also control run/walk speed with the mouse, by moving it closer or farther away from the character. Like, it's really hard to explain but super intuitive in practice.
Seriously, why the hell would you use a keyboard. Mouse controls are god-like.
Well, I use both keyboard and mouse...
I use the mouse for scrolling, and to select enemies on the field. And selecting initial battle options. But for confirming multiple choices, talking to NPCs, and running, keyboard is nicer for me.
So I finally beat this damn game (at 300 hours clocked don't ask). I'm thinking of posting my thoughts on the final chapter as a whole because it's a freaking banana's, but I figure i'll just post my review for now:
What I loved
The story: SC has the best Kiseki story I've experienced, straight up. The story was layered and extensive, but also simple and easy to understand. It's not bogged down by unnecessary complexity in a cheap attempt to make things deeper or more exciting. The various twists and plot turns aren't difficult to see coming (except one), but they were undeniably great. The climax in particular is absolutely phenomenal and the ending is extremely satisfying. SC still kept that honey-sweet Saturday morning cartoon vibe from the first game, but bolsters it with some drama and gravitas for excitement, and it effortlessly pulls this off. It somehow balances the carefree "adventure" vibe with intense tension. Yeah the main narrative is a bit slow to start, but once it kicks off around chapter 4, the game's narrative becomes intensely gripping. It was just good ya'll... there honestly wasn't single plot thread I didn't like; the various backstories for each of the main characters were wonderfully executed, and I especially loved the lore behind the final dungeon (which is incidentally, one of the greatest final dungeons, period). Honestly from a story front, this game completely nailed it.
PS:
I teared up during the Joshua / Estelle reunion. Not because of the reunion itself (which was obvious), but Estelle's speech in combination with the music was borderline lethal.
The characters: It's a Kiseki game, so good characters are to be expected, but I didn't expect the characters in this game to step up this badly. FC throws a ton of characters at you, and decently develops them, but they obviously hold a lot back. SC not only completes those character arcs, but it goes in. Characters like Agate and Schera go from being enjoyable mentor-type characters to fully fleshed out characters with their own anxieties and concerns. I mean holy shit, Agate's character is so good he could easily be the main character of his own game. Even characters like Tita and Zin, who aren't the strongest in the characterization department receive enough care and development to feel like existent characters that fulfill a purpose. And I haven't even talked about characters like Olivier and Kloe, who effortlessly reach the end of their arcs in the best way. But the most prominent of them all is Joshua, who fully cashes in on the character build up he had in the first game. It's actually disappointing how people write him off as an edgelord, because he's easily one of Kiseki's strongest and most developed characters. Like damn, Joshua gets some truly amazing characterization in SC.
The Ouroboros enforcers were also fantastic. I thought they were pretty basic at first, but the plot revelations and backstory made them surprisingly nuanced (I've even come around on Bleublanc, who's complete lack of depth actually made him stand apart from the others). Oh and Kevin. KEVIN. If this guy is a commercial for 3rd then consider me fucking sold, because MY GOODNESS. Even the main antagonist, for all his overt evilness has a surprising humanity to him.
That is, his complete inability to grasp the concept of empathy and trust made him a good sociopath.
The side characters are as phenomenal as usual, and we got to see more of them! Remember, Anelace is bae, Maybelle x Lila is 200% canon, Nials is the best reporter alive, and Gilbert is the best trashcan.
Bestelle: Estelle gets her own section, because well... it's Estelle. I mean, I've always been a huge fan of her. A bit wary of the insane amount of hype around her, but always receptive to her because she seemed solid. But Estelle isn't just "solid" and SC makes that explicitly clear. Her growth from naive, reckless ball of energy into a competent, mature bracer who still kicks all sorts of ass was amazing. The word "special" is often used to describe protagonist, usually to a detrimental effect (because it's forced as fuck), but I think that absolutely applies to Estelle. Estelle is special. Both in universe and out. Estelle doesn't have any magical powers, special talents or people telling her she's some chosen one. She's just a driven girl trying to do her best in a hard world, and by the end of the FC/SC duology, she ends up being this incredibly endearing and human character. She's like the personification of the game's thesis. I'll always love Rean, and I think he gets a bad rap, but Estelle is just on a whole other plane. And it's a shame too, that we'll never get another character like Estelle.
Oh last thing, I like how she's much better in SC from a gameplay standpoint. Don't you just love it when the gameplay and story line up?
What I liked
Battle System: Surprisingly, I didn't find the actual battle system to be a complete slog. Since you can effectively choose when to fight, in addition to effortlessly running from battles, you never really needed to grind. Even better, the experience curve made leveling low level characters trivial. The orbment systems open-ended nature made character building fun, but sadly, every character started trending towards the same set of quartz (Action 4, Cast 2, Ep Cut 4, etc). It made me long for Master Quartz and how they mixed up the gameplay and even though they broke the game (which isn't even that big of a problem considering SC was borderline mindless in how easy it was.)
OST: While not on the level of later Kiseki games, SC still has an incredibly solid soundtrack. Retaining all of the best tracks from the previous game, and bringing amazing tracks like the new battle system and songs like Infiltration, Silver Will (Super Arrange) really improved the experience. You can tell that they were right on the precipice of making a huge breakthrough with the soundtrack (something I believe they achieve in 3rd?)
What I disliked
Padding. My God, the biggest issue with this game is not the battle system, but the padding. This game is shameless with its padding. The gameplay flow of sidequests --> main plot was unchanged from FC, but feel like the quest design took a hit in SC. SC is overly reliant on fetch quests, recycling old quests and backtracking. And it's so freaking ruthless about it too. Oftentimes, quests that had you traveling to some far away place (Fort Wolf) or going to several different areas to achieve an objective (Chapter 4, Rolent). The most galling issue is how the game decides to auto-travel you back to the guild only rarely. The game experience seriously could have been improved if every quest gave you the option to fast travel back to the guild after completion, ala CS2. Chapter 7 exacerbates the games padding flaws to a ridiculous degree. While the enforcer confrontations are nice and make the final confrontations oh-so satisfying, the padding was so egregious. I mean doing the same dungeon 4 times without break? My goodness.
Overall
SC is a good RPG carried by its exceptional characters and story, ultimately resulting in a fantastic experience. Its needlessly tedious at times, but that's honestly pretty easy to forgive, because everything else is super good. It's a game that manages to be beautifully tragic, unrelentingly silly, relaxing and fun at the same time. I'm really glad I got to experience the FC/SC duology, and I can't wait to play through 3rd.
It's a real testament to Estelle's character that I don't think I've met anyone who's finished SC, and hasn't at least begrudgingly admitted that she's great. It's rare to see such universal positivity in a fanbase, even if the kiseki fanbase is smaller than most in the west.
I think the moment I was just completely sold on her arc was when she DROP KICKED SOMEONE THROUGH A WINDOW ON THE GLORIOUS. Like, holy cow, what happened, but also wow, this feels completely earned. And I liked her before that anyway.
Anyway, pretty much agree with your review, and I suspect you'll enjoy the third. Have fun with it!
It's a real testament to Estelle's character that I don't think I've met anyone who's finished SC, and hasn't at least begrudgingly admitted that she's great. It's rare to see such universal positivity in a fanbase, even if the kiseki fanbase is smaller than most in the west.
I think the moment I was just completely sold on her arc was when she DROP KICKED SOMEONE THROUGH A WINDOW ON THE GLORIOUS. Like, holy cow, what happened, but also wow, this feels completely earned. And I liked her before that anyway.
Anyway, pretty much agree with your review, and I suspect you'll enjoy the third. Have fun with it!
It's actually disappointing how people write him off as an edgelord, because he's easily one of Kiseki's strongest and most developed characters. Like damn, Joshua gets some truly amazing characterization in SC.
followed the "unassuming guy with dark past needing to atone" template to a T,
but he takes that role and makes it his, dagnabbit.
The characterizations in this series garnered enough goodwill that I can remain optimistic for Rean's potential direction, even though he followed the [CS]
"unassuming guy with special power needing to find his way" template very closely (and the fact that he feels like a discount Joshua sometimes with his whole outsider-who-can't-accept-happiness thing, haha)
Just started playing zero using the BETA patch. I'm midway in chapter 1 and I can say this is my favorite kiseki game so far. Crossbell is really huge and the story and cast is really engaging.
Just started playing zero using the BETA patch. I'm midway in chapter 1 and I can say this is my favorite kiseki game so far. Crossbell is really huge and the story and cast is really engaging.
I posted this in the TC thread, but I'll post it here too since I want opinions/tips:
Anyways, I'm four hours in and already on Chapter 2. The emphasis on characterization is pretty damn good, but I'm not a fan of the essentially "elongated dungeon crawl for the entire game" aspect, and am glad that this was a one-off title in the Kiseki series. It's really good for filling in holes in backstories and setting up plot points for future games, but it (SO FAR) seems kinda meh to me. Feels like a transition game, which I guess it essentially was. Party building is going to be tough though with all the options, especially since the difficulty seems ramped up from FC and SC. Any tips or advice for a normal playthrough?
I posted this in the TC thread, but I'll post it here too since I want opinions/tips:
Anyways, I'm four hours in and already on Chapter 2. The emphasis on characterization is pretty damn good, but I'm not a fan of the essentially "elongated dungeon crawl for the entire game" aspect, and am glad that this was a one-off title in the Kiseki series. It's really good for filling in holes in backstories and setting up plot points for future games, but it (SO FAR) seems kinda meh to me. Feels like a transition game, which I guess it essentially was. Party building is going to be tough though with all the options, especially since the difficulty seems ramped up from FC and SC. Any tips or advice for a normal playthrough?
A few tips off the top of my head:
There will be several points where you'll need to use specific party members/multiple parties due to reasons(tm). You don't necessarily need to keep everyone leveled, but you need to feel confident with some party members potentially carrying others. Fortunately, the game largely handles this with its design, but it's something to keep in mind. Maybe switch up your party every once in a while.
Don't shy away from battles. Not just for experience, but for... various other reasons. You'll be grateful if you get the bulk of the fighting done throughout your playthrough. Trust me.
Insert standard "if a chapter seems relevant to a character, bring them along" kiseki advice here.
The dungeon crawling is definitely a major part of the game compared to other games in the series, but I wouldn't worry too much about it being all there is. Due to reasons. Again.
Don't forget to talk to your party members inbetween major plot events! They're no city of npcs, but they still have new things to say.
No lie, these 30+ minute-long ass doors makes it feel like I'm watching an episode of an anime for the related character(s).
TC, Chapter 4:
Kevin popping his Stigmata and having a complete 180 in his demeanor was cool as hell. Really digging the conflict between Kevin and Ries, too. An interesting parallel to Estelle and Joshua except Ries seems to be tackling it a bit differently than how Estelle did with Joshua.
And speaking of Estelle, she's finally here! I absolutely love how they canonically associate Estelle with the sun; she really does bring a level of energy and positivity to the group when she's around. Joshua acting as a support for Kevin when Ries was out of commission due to their little spat was great especially the little scene where Joshua thanks Kevin despite his intricate planning in SC that exposed a lot of risk to Estelle. But I'm definitely looking forward to seeing how Estelle helps Ries as her support; particularly in her relationship with Kevin. Ries seems pretty stiff with the rest of the group except for Kevin, so I'm curious how Estelle will open her up.
Moon Door 1, Part 2:
Only watched to the point where Erica runs away with Tita at the guild in front of Agate, but
Erica and Agate's interactions are hilarious. It's a wonder how Dan managed to even tame her.
I'm so glad I'm playing EVO because the voice work is killing it.
Moon Door 3:
Good lord, this had to be the longest one so far.
I'm assuming Lechter, Lucy, and Leo will show up more prominently in the Crossbell games. Interesting setup to say the least, though I do like the chemistry Kloe has with Lechter; he pulls her out of her shell more than anyone else so far.
That aside, having all these characters to choose from is a real bummer. I would love to have Olivier in my group at all times because he's a blast to have around, but I have a preference towards Estelle/Joshua since I just finished FC/SC and Agate/Tita since they'll be showing up in CS3. Even then, I'd love to include Olivier/Schera, too. I guess it helps that the optional characters typically don't have lines that differ all that much, but still... decisions, decisions. And lastly, Gilbert's so hilariously pathetic; literally the Team Rocket of the series.
So I picked up FC on sale awhile back and finally feel like dipping my toes in after a lot of GAF recommendations. I know its a slow burn and that's fine. I'm super interested in the world building which people just keep going on about!
I do have some questions.
Any tips before I start playing? Before you say, I do have Cheat Engine on standby
I'm mostly concerned about the missable side quests. I'd like to experience all the world has to offer and learn more about it. Is going out of my way to find all of them worth it?
I'm mostly concerned about the missable side quests. I'd like to experience all the world has to offer and learn more about it. Is going out of my way to find all of them worth it?
Usually, if you really love to engross yourself in a game's world. And I mean you REALLY have to love it because stumbling across hidden quests/events without a guide basically requires you to talk to every available NPC and access every area that isn't part of the main objective, which is incredibly time-consuming. The world's narrative advances after every main story beat so you'll find NPCs having new things to say all the time, and new characters popping up in unexpected places often. AND EVEN THEN, if you don't save frequently (not really an issue on PC thanks to the Auto-save system) you still could end up forfeiting a quest, book or BP because you picked the wrong choice or zigged when you should have zagged. Of course, the downside is you'll really rack up the hours playing this way.
A spoiler-free walkthrough would ensure that at least you'd know ahead of time if there's a chance you'd lose out on potential "events". That being said, if you can accept that you'll sometimes miss out on things playing without a guide is still probably better overall since you can further the narrative at its own pace.
So I picked up FC on sale awhile back and finally feel like dipping my toes in after a lot of GAF recommendations. I know its a slow burn and that's fine. I'm super interested in the world building which people just keep going on about!
I do have some questions.
Any tips before I start playing? Before you say, I do have Cheat Engine on standby
I'm mostly concerned about the missable side quests. I'd like to experience all the world has to offer and learn more about it. Is going out of my way to find all of them worth it?
There's a max BP guide on steam that tells you what to do in every chapter. While the quests aren't that exciting in any trails game, it has some fun dialogue. As SC loads your FC savefile it will also have some unique lines for NPC's in SC if you've done their quests in FC.
Do keep in mind that fast traveling between locations isn't there, so you have to walk a lot between locations. The locations aren't that big, but it can get annoying if you would like to collect books and such.
Some quests have a very limited amount of time and those should be done asap. There's no need to grind in the game. It's enough to just fight until you have seen every creature once in every area.
So I picked up FC on sale awhile back and finally feel like dipping my toes in after a lot of GAF recommendations. I know its a slow burn and that's fine. I'm super interested in the world building which people just keep going on about!
I do have some questions.
Any tips before I start playing? Before you say, I do have Cheat Engine on standby
I'm mostly concerned about the missable side quests. I'd like to experience all the world has to offer and learn more about it. Is going out of my way to find all of them worth it?
I won't repeat what other members have said, but I will add that you should complete sidequests as soon as possible. Some deadlines are deceptively short and you can easily lock yourself out of some quests.
A spoiler-free walkthrough would ensure that at least you'd know ahead of time if there's a chance you'd lose out on potential "events". That being said, if you can accept that you'll sometimes miss out on things playing without a guide is still probably better overall since you can further the narrative at its own pace.
There's a max BP guide on steam that tells you what to do in every chapter. While the quests aren't that exciting in any trails game, it has some fun dialogue. As SC loads your FC savefile it will also have some unique lines for NPC's in SC if you've done their quests in FC.
I won't repeat what other members have said, but I will add that you should complete sidequests as soon as possible. Some deadlines are deceptively short and you can easily lock yourself out of some quests.
Thanks for the advice! I will probably not use a guide. I don't mind missing out on some quests. I like the idea of furthering the narrative at my own pace as Psxphile mentioned.
I hope I end up rushing to buy SC as everyone says will happen when you finish FC.
