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[jshackles]

It's been nearly a year since I pre-ordered (and paid for!) the physical Switch version... still nothing. Their site still says "pre-order".

Their production schedule page still says "In Progress" and the expected release is "Q3 2023" - but literally everything on that page say "Q3 2023"

Release Progress

Products currently in stock can be found here.We are in the process of confirming final delivery dates and shipping schedules. We expect to begin shipping one or two new titles in April/May, with additional releases to follow shortly thereafter. The exact order of release will depend on several...

firstpressgames.com

Starting to feel like I got suckered

 

[bigedole]

Was a really fun game. Hope you get your money back if you don't get the release.

 

[TexMex]

It's been nearly a year since I pre-ordered (and paid for!) the physical Switch version... still nothing. Their site still says "pre-order".

Their production schedule page still says "In Progress" and the expected release is "Q3 2023" - but literally everything on that page say "Q3 2023"

Release Progress

Products currently in stock can be found here.We are in the process of confirming final delivery dates and shipping schedules. We expect to begin shipping one or two new titles in April/May, with additional releases to follow shortly thereafter. The exact order of release will depend on several...

firstpressgames.com

Starting to feel like I got suckered

These boutique physical release outlets are just insanely poorly managed. Shit takes forever. People wait literal years sometimes from LRG for example, and there's no acceptable production woes to account for that, it's just incompetence.

 

[Shake Your Rump]

Completed it. 90 hours.

Well, my interest in the game has vaporized. Why do developers act as though we spend our lives only playing their single game.

edit: The official website claims "30 - 40 hours of play time", so I'll just assume Fuz is an outlier.

 

[Interfectum]

Well, my interest in the game has vaporized. Why do developers act as though we spend our lives only playing their single game.

It doesn't take 90 hours to beat the game.

Also, this is the best 'JRPG' to come out in years, well worth the time.

 

[Zheph]

Well, my interest in the game has vaporized. Why do developers act as though we spend our lives only playing their single game.

30/35h is fine for it if you don't want to do 100%

 

[Fools idol]

It's been nearly a year since I pre-ordered (and paid for!) the physical Switch version... still nothing. Their site still says "pre-order".

Their production schedule page still says "In Progress" and the expected release is "Q3 2023" - but literally everything on that page say "Q3 2023"

Release Progress

Products currently in stock can be found here.We are in the process of confirming final delivery dates and shipping schedules. We expect to begin shipping one or two new titles in April/May, with additional releases to follow shortly thereafter. The exact order of release will depend on several...

firstpressgames.com

Starting to feel like I got suckered

cancelled mine, dont think it is ever coming. I had to chargeback through my CC company lol.

 

[Shake Your Rump]

30/35h is fine for it if you don't want to do 100%

The dude that posted the 90 hour comment said he didn't 100%.

 

[Interfectum]

The dude that posted the 90 hour comment said he didn't 100%.

I beat the game in ~35 hours and I took my time. Not sure what he was doing for 90 hours.

How long is Chained Echoes? | HowLongToBeat

How long is Chained Echoes? HowLongToBeat has the answer. Create a backlog, submit your game times and compete with your friends!

howlongtobeat.com

 

[Shake Your Rump]

It doesn't take 90 hours to beat the game.

Also, this is the best 'JRPG' to come out in years, well worth the time.

Alright, I'll keep Chained Echoes on my wish list, but it is now farther down.

 

[Interfectum]

Alright, I'll keep Chained Echoes on my wish list, but it is now farther down.

Play Sea of Stars first because Chained Echoes is better. You'll enjoy this one more without having to make the comparison.

 

[Shake Your Rump]

I beat the game in ~35 hours and I took my time.

Fuz said "How the hell some of you guys completed it in 40? Did you just burn through the main quest ignoring everything else?"

Who is telling the truth here?

(I see he is now banned)

 

[Interfectum]

Fuz said "How the hell some of you guys completed it in 40? Did you just burn through the main quest ignoring everything else?"

Who is telling the truth here?

(I see he is now banned)

I am.

How long is Chained Echoes? | HowLongToBeat

How long is Chained Echoes? HowLongToBeat has the answer. Create a backlog, submit your game times and compete with your friends!

howlongtobeat.com

 

[Zheph]

The dude that posted the 90 hour comment said he didn't 100%.

There is a lot you can do but I think it is doable in 60/70h but maybe he enjoyed it so much he kept playing

Sea of Stars is around 30h too btw
Just my opinion but Chained Echoes > Sea of Stars (I completed both almost 100%)

 

[Shake Your Rump]

I am about 10 hours into Sea of Stars.

I see the official website claims "30 - 40 hours of play time", so I'll go with that. Thanks for all the insight!

 

[Plies]

cancelled mine, dont think it is ever coming. I had to chargeback through my CC company lol.

Wow, I was planning to pick up the physical edition later, so it looks like I'll have to go the eBay route.

 

[Duchess]

Chained Echoes was such a breath of fresh air. Some random difficulty spikes, but otherwise I absolutely loved the game.

I see the official website claims "30 - 40 hours of play time", so I'll go with that. Thanks for all the insight!

Easy Allies suggested Sea of Stars was 40 hours in their review, too.

 

[jorgejjvr]

Play Sea of Stars first because Chained Echoes is better. You'll enjoy this one more without having to make the comparison.

No way chained echoes is better, sea of stars is a masterpiece

 

[StereoVsn]

I beat the game in ~35 hours and I took my time. Not sure what he was doing for 90 hours.

How long is Chained Echoes? | HowLongToBeat

How long is Chained Echoes? HowLongToBeat has the answer. Create a backlog, submit your game times and compete with your friends!

howlongtobeat.com

Yeah, 30-40 hours sounds about right. I think I was around 35 as well.

Not sure what the heck do you do in the game for 90 hours.

And I liked it better vs Sea of Stars. Latter is good, but attack variety is very much lacking.

 

[amigastar]

I would love to try it out but my backcatalogue is big as it is (finish BG3, Starfield, Cyberpunk 2077 etc.)

 

[Fbh]

I'm almost done with Sea of Stars and I agree with others here that Chained Echoes is better.
Better story and characters, better combat, better world design and better side content. Sea of Stars has arguably better visuals , better music and IMO the actual dungeons are better too.

It's still crazy to me that Chained Echoes was primarily done by 1 dude. I hope someone with money took notice and offered him a nice deal to work on a sequel or new IP.

 

[Interfectum]

No way chained echoes is better, sea of stars is a masterpiece

Sea of Stars is great but it doesn't touch Chained Echoes imo. The only thing Sea of Stars has on it is production value. Give the guy who made CH a budget and a team... boy oh boy.

 

[NeoIkaruGAF]

No way chained echoes is better, sea of stars is a masterpiece

Sea of Stars is amateurish at its best. It's very obvious how budget and lack of experience reined in the enthusiasm of the devs. Nothing in the game is better than what you'd find in most run-of-the-mill JRPGs from the 90s.
The difficulty in Chained Echoes is oddly balanced and prevented me from enjoying the game as I would have liked. Overall though, the game is so much better than SoS that it's not a contest.

 

[TexMex]

I liked Chained Echoes, but Sea of Stars is better in every way and it isn't even close.

 

[Zheph]

I liked Chained Echoes, but Sea of Stars is better in every way and it isn't even close.

in every way, really?

 

[Shifty1897]

According to my Switch, I played Chained Echoes for 65 hours. I 100%'ed it, it was great. Definitely the best indie JRPG style game I've ever played.

Can't wait to play Sea of Stars and compare them.

 

[Yumi]

Damn, now I have to finish Sea of Stars. Loved Chained echoes beginning to end. Bounced off Sea of Stars after only 3 hours.

 

[Zheph]

Damn, now I have to finish Sea of Stars. Loved Chained echoes beginning to end. Bounced off Sea of Stars after only 3 hours.

The story gets much better at midpoint imo and I enjoyed the mini game in SoS but I can understand I was close to drop it too

 

[Shake Your Rump]

Overall though, the game is so much better than SoS that it's not a contest.

I liked Chained Echoes, but Sea of Stars is better in every way and it isn't even close.

Sometimes I think you guys do this shit intentionally.

 

[Roberts]

I have a feeling it will leave Game Pass at the end of the year so I jumped into it mostly because of good impressions here. It took a while to get going but I like it. I'm not very familiar with jrpgs but overdrive mechanic seems fresh. I think the best thing about the game is that it is made by one person and therefor kind of unfiltered and idiosyncratic especially when it comes to all kind of tonal shifts and weird jokey moments.

 

[TheSHEEEP]

Chained Echoes is probably the best jRPG of the classic style (turn based, 2D) I have played in 20 years.
Was hooked from the first minute - while other jRPGs I tried in the last 10 years or so just bored me very quickly.

That said, I haven't played SoS. Yet.

 

[Thick Thighs Save Lives]

Update on Chained Echoes physical release:

 

[Plies]

It feels like we're having a jrpg Renaissance and I'm loving it!

 

[Northeastmonk]

I own this on Steam. I should keep playing it. I tried Sea of Stars and the art style wasn't doing it for me. Not Japanese enough.

 

[Fbh]

Man, 4 years into this gen this is still my runner up for game of the gen (after Elden Ring)

Update on Chained Echoes physical release:

Damn if I had more expendable income I'd be all over this

 

[Rocinante618]

I didn't like it at all. Refunded it. The "overdrive" system kinda ruined it for me. Should have been an option. Give me an option of a simple system where I can spam the best attacks and be done with the battles. I did like that everything gets replenished after a battle ends.

I'm not a JRPG/turn based fan but I got intrigued by this. The art and characters reminded me of Chrono Trigger/Golden Sun which I had played in my childhood. Didn't complete though lol.

The only turn based games I have completed are Pokémon Emerald and Diamond. Emerald will always be in my heart, that game was and is so special.

 

[saintjules]

I own this on Steam. I should keep playing it. I tried Sea of Stars and the art style wasn't doing it for me. Not Japanese enough.

Does art style really supersede gameplay and story?

 

[Northeastmonk]

Does art style really supersede gameplay and story?

Gameplay is good with Sea of Stars. It's just how the characters are drawn/animate. It reminds me of a particular art style I wasn't fond of years ago. I might go back to it. I wouldn't take my reason for dropping it for a while as a reason to not play it.

Chained Echoes reminds me of classic JRPGs while Sea of Stars reminds me of how cartoons went with this particular style in the last decade. I am currently playing more Chained Echoes.

 

[jshackles]

Update on Chained Echoes physical release:

I even wrote my post at the top of this page almost a year ago...

 

[Filben]

Update on Chained Echoes physical release:

This is going to be my last limited run/first press/whatever these companies call themselves game.

It takes way too long and there's a risk a game is going to be released physically by someone else as it happend in the past. Then there's Special Reserve Games/Digital Devolver who didn't ship my Cult of the Lamb and stopped responding to my mails altogether. Than there's all the Limited Run controversy. I don't trust any of them companies anymore.

I hope everyone get their copies and I'm glad if you guys have had a good customer experience. But I'm done with this.

I've finished the game over a year ago. It was an epic story and a fantastic experience.

 

[UltimaKilo]

Gameplay is good with Sea of Stars. It's just how the characters are drawn/animate. It reminds me of a particular art style I wasn't fond of years ago. I might go back to it. I wouldn't take my reason for dropping it for a while as a reason to not play it.

Chained Echoes reminds me of classic JRPGs while Sea of Stars reminds me of how cartoons went with this particular style in the last decade. I am currently playing more Chained Echoes.

Both are decent, but they certainly don't come close to Xeno games. Sea of Stars could have been, had the story not been so weak.

 

[Duchess]

The "overdrive" system kinda ruined it for me. Should have been an option.

Shame you didn't like it, as the overdrive system is what makes the battles in the game so unique.

The fact that you CAN'T simply keep spamming attack and magic, and actually have to consider what you're doing, makes everything so much more tactical.

In the easier battles, you can mostly ignore it. But it really comes into play during the boss encounters.

 

[Northeastmonk]

Both are decent, but they certainly don't come close to Xeno games. Sea of Stars could have been, had the story not been so weak.

Only Xeno game I ever got into was Xenogears. While there may be no correlation beyond the Xeno; I have owned the Xenosaga and Xenoblade games. Xenogears hits on a whole other level.

 

[Interfectum]

Both are decent, but they certainly don't come close to Xeno games. Sea of Stars could have been, had the story not been so weak.

I would say Chained Echoes is better than decent. It trades blows with the greats (CT and FF6) at points in the game, though never surpasses them. Sea of Stars is held back by a story that goes nowhere.

 

[Filben]

Shame you didn't like it, as the overdrive system is what makes the battles in the game so unique.

The fact that you CAN'T simply keep spamming attack and magic, and actually have to consider what you're doing, makes everything so much more tactical.

In the easier battles, you can mostly ignore it. But it really comes into play during the boss encounters.

Second this. Most of the time the Overdrive frame is really forgiving and most early and mid game fights are fairly easy (except for a very few you're supposed to beat later on). There's even a difficulty option to make the system even more accessible and, what I always like, general combat difficulty can be changed independently of overdrive difficulty IIRC.

I'd advise anyone interested in the game to give it a chance again.

 

[NeoIkaruGAF]

Only Xeno game I ever got into was Xenogears. While there may be no correlation beyond the Xeno; I have owned the Xenosaga and Xenoblade games. Xenogears hits on a whole other level.

The story in Xenogears shits on 95% of game stories from a very high place. It was an incredibly mature game with very few concessions to the anime aesthetics and tropes that would come to dominate the genre just a few years later. The characters are relatable and believable, the story pulls no punches from the very beginning. There's very few games as accomplished as Xenogears in the plot department.

Sea of Stars doesn't even deserve to be in the same conversation. Despite being a western game, it manages to out-Japanese the Japanese in abusing tropes. The story has a couple of good moments, but nothing that can rival the JRPG classics.

 

[jshackles]

This is going to be my last limited run/first press/whatever these companies call themselves game.

It takes way too long and there's a risk a game is going to be released physically by someone else as it happend in the past. Then there's Special Reserve Games/Digital Devolver who didn't ship my Cult of the Lamb and stopped responding to my mails altogether. Than there's all the Limited Run controversy. I don't trust any of them companies anymore.

I hope everyone get their copies and I'm glad if you guys have had a good customer experience. But I'm done with this.

I've finished the game over a year ago. It was an epic story and a fantastic experience.

Same here, this was the game that broke me. I love physical games and will always try to seek them out in lieu of digital ones, but for the past few years I've stuck to games that are actually in someone's hands and can be shipped to me. If a game like this releases, and I'm interested in it, I'll usually hold off buying it if they announce a "down the road" physical version. Nine times out of ten so far, I just end up buying a digital copy of said game for -50% or more before the physical game even releases. I would have done the same with this game too (it was $16 during the latest Steam sale), if I hadn't already paid about $65 two years ago to buy the physical release.

 

[Plies]

It's been nearly a year since I pre-ordered (and paid for!) the physical Switch version... still nothing. Their site still says "pre-order".

Their production schedule page still says "In Progress" and the expected release is "Q3 2023" - but literally everything on that page say "Q3 2023"

Release Progress

Products currently in stock can be found here.We are in the process of confirming final delivery dates and shipping schedules. We expect to begin shipping one or two new titles in April/May, with additional releases to follow shortly thereafter. The exact order of release will depend on several...

firstpressgames.com

Starting to feel like I got suckered

What's the update on this?

Did you ever receive your copy?

 

[jshackles]

What's the update on this?

Did you ever receive your copy?

See this post from Thick Thighs Save Lives

Update on Chained Echoes physical release:

They are "almost done" making the PS4 version. Once that's done, they'll move on to the PC version then the Switch version (the one I ordered).

Honestly, I'll be surprised if I get this game at all - and if I do it'll probably be another year from now.

 

[Plies]

See this post from Thick Thighs Save Lives

They are "almost done" making the PS4 version. Once that's done, they'll move on to the PC version then the Switch version (the one I ordered).

Honestly, I'll be surprised if I get this game at all - and if I do it'll probably be another year from now.

This is absolute insanity.

edit - I was thinking about placing a PC pre-order, but now... nah.