...anyway. I'm at about 2:30 now. A little disappointed that I've come up kinda empty-handed as far as new memories on my way to the next area. Found a few, but not nearly as many as I'd hoped. There was still some neat stuff to see and story to be had.
I'm astonished at his suggested 6-hour playtime. I'm on twice that, and I've hardly been dawdling too much. I can only assume he ran past every enemy and somehow didn't get lost once.
I'm astonished at his suggested 6-hour playtime. I'm on twice that, and I've hardly been dawdling too much. I can only assume he ran past every enemy and somehow didn't get lost once.
45 minutes of that was apparently spent in chasing down
Crow
(that's next on my plate), and another indeterminately long amount of time spent doing another thing that took someone else in this thread 10 minutes to do.
Wanted to toss out a brief opinion on combat a sec, too. I haven't seen a huge variety of enemies yet, but I have really not been having any appreciable problems with it. I wouldn't give it any awards, mind, but I don't get "shitty." I've never once felt frustrated with it, something I've wanted to do in at least a few other games.
Maybe it just clicks with me, but, shrug. Unless it ramps up into something completely other (I'm currently wielding the
butterfly net
), I just don't see it becoming an obstacle.
Question, though. How the heck do you use the cat toy? They either ignore me or run between my legs and away from me.
Wait? This game just came out? I remember hearing about this back in Gamespot a long time ago. I just assumed it came out and bombed like 85% of Wii games.
Combat gets a bit better towards the end, I think. It's just a bit sluggish and tedious for the most part, and enemies take too big a chunk of energy off. Half the time, it's tempting to just run past them all, but then there are some you can't do that with, and if you do avoid enemies you'll be underlevelled for the boss fights.
For all that the fetch-quests are irritating and the combat rudimentary, I was compelled to play to the finish, and that's a testament to the remarkable game world and the moving stories it tells. And the music...dear sweet Lord, it's beautiful.
Only played for 40 minutes, but those 40 minutes were great. Fought the first enemies, and, well, combat isnt spectacular, but it´s also not bad or broken. will write more later.
Anyway, I played Fragile for almost 4 hours now.
It´s great. It´s like the Japanese pendant to Silent Hill: Shattered Memories, though, of course, less scary (but not that much ).
Controls work great. Combat feels very stiff, but is not "bad". Just...gets its job done. Enemy design is great, really freaky. Seto doesnt cannot really take a lot of hits, but enemies also won´t hit you that easy if you don´t stupidly wait for an attack.
What could have been better is interaction with the environment. That´s where Silent Hill spoiled me. I´d like to climb over small obstacles, but that´s not possible.
Where the game absolutely takes the cake is creating mood and a rich atmosphere. I assumed it from watching trailers, but now I can confirm: This game features EXACTLY the same kind of atmosphere that the (not so) recent Casshern Sin-anime featured. An empty, broken world, isolation, meeting strange "persons" (or should I say freaks), and dealing with their problems. That´s what I liked especially in the last part I just did: The game isn´t about fighting, it also offers different approaches to progress the story.
I suppose I finished the first two chapters now (there´s no "chapter x" displayed, but I guess you can divide the game into clear chapters, considering how you progress), and I only stopped playing because I don´t want to rush though the game in one sitting. This is another great third-party "hardcore" offering, and if it doesn´t suddenly turn into a mess, anyone that complains about the Wii´s lineup should get it.
PS: I suppose I just played the part where Cassamassina complained about chasing someone for 45 minutes. That makes it sound as if you stupidly chase someone but cannot catch him due to bad gameplay. That´s not the case. You chase someone, but it´s neither hard, nor is it without context. Stupid complaint.
PPS: And oh my, the last scene just now was quite mind-fucking, though unrelated to the story
WTF, "I read in a book that friends are supposed to kiss each other", and there that boy kisses Seto. DAMN.
PPPS: Graphics are really good. I was surprised how good the game look on my HDTV.
. So far I'm really enjoying the game. My impressions:
Like everyone's saying, the atomosphere in the game is incredible. The music and art style really do manage to convey they feeling of being alone in an after-the-end world.
I don't know yet exactly why all the other people are gone, but from what the memories say, it sounds like people knew the end was comming. Interesting.
IMO, the combat isn't that bad. It is simplistic, mostly just strafing to avoid being hit and pressing A to whack back. While this can get repetitive, especially since enemies re-spawn whenever you leave an area and come back, the game does keep stuff semi-interesting with enemy variety and placement. And yes, it can be a little difficult to tell how close you are to some enemies, especially the semi-transparent ones, but eventually you get the hang of judging the distances.
The voice acting is ok, but the main character has way too many...pauses...in his speech.
Visit Fragile's world if you can't tear away from the enchanting visuals, or if you've been caught by the bittersweet theme song you hear in the trailer (the entire soundtrack in general is very good), but this is one flawed gem of an adventure that perhaps only the most patient of us can enjoy.
/C+
. So far I'm really enjoying the game. My impressions:
Like everyone's saying, the atomosphere in the game is incredible. The music and art style really do manage to convey they feeling of being alone in an after-the-end world.
I don't know yet exactly why all the other people are gone, but from what the memories say, it sounds like people knew the end was comming. Interesting.
IMO, the combat isn't that bad. It is simplistic, mostly just strafing to avoid being hit and pressing A to whack back. While this can get repetitive, especially since enemies re-spawn whenever you leave an area and come back, the game does keep stuff semi-interesting with enemy variety and placement. And yes, it can be a little difficult to tell how close you are to some enemies, especially the semi-transparent ones, but eventually you get the hang of judging the distances.
The voice acting is ok, but the main character has way too many...pauses...in his speech.
Okay I know next to nothing about this game, except I LOVE games that thrive off mood, atmosphere, soundtrack and story-telling. This is why I liked Heavy Rain. And the movie 5 Centimeters Per Second. Am I the kind of person that would enjoy this?
Okay I know next to nothing about this game, except I LOVE games that thrive off mood, atmosphere, soundtrack and story-telling. This is why I liked Heavy Rain. And the movie 5 Centimeters Per Second. Am I the kind of person that would enjoy this?
Well, I haven't played/seen either of those so I can't compare, but Fragile is a game that's all about the atmosphere. Exploration is a huge part of the game and combat is very secondary, so if you're the kind of person who likes to check every corner before going to the next area, you'll probably like the game.
Well, I was having problems with the cam, specifically the direction where the character was facing, the solution is simply take out the pointer controls by not pointing at the screen, that way the game enter in a classical control method, in which every movement is handled by the control stick and the Z button (to recenter).
In fact it was made on porpouse, the pointer can dissapear quickly during gameplay if it is not pointing at the screen, instead keep stand-by at the border. It's different during the main screen, the pointer will keep in the border waiting for the Wiimote returning at the screen.
It's pretty convenient in narrow halways where the character view got crazy very often if you don't take enough care where point the flashlight.
Since the flashlight pointing only help to view surroundings, you can easily switch between both methods without affect gameplay. Granted it's not the most elegant way.
The game is pretty, the atmosphere is superb, the music is hearthbreaking and the Wiimote speak use very innovative IMO, all convey in a envolving game experience, the story unfolds during gameplay fragments with a good pace, it really make you wish progress to now more about other people and know the "how" and "why" Seto circunstances.
For me, the flashlight is the solution. The complaints were making me think of the one game that did tick me off recently with control issuesCrystal Bearersand I thought that compared to the constant camera management required in that game, Fragile was doing a pretty good job of letting me keep my view where I wanted it to be via the flashlight.
My earlier mention of sort-of strafing around a pack of dogs is a great example. I didn't lock on to anyone, I just did what I would do in real life: walk to the right while looking at an angle off to my left.
I just purchased the game this morning and hopefully will find time to play this weekend. I just want to send XSeed some more praise for their amazing box presentation. I buy games that sell 20 times as much as Fragile will but still have small and/or black and white manuals. I don't really read video game instruction manuals but I'll glance through them if they are pretty enough. Their reversible cover art is amazing and something other publishers really should take note of. I have over 25 wii games and Little King's Story and Fragile's disc art just put the rest to shame. Keep doing what you're doing, XSeed.
The room where you were first taught about breaking boxes
Finished the game some hours ago. A bit over 12 hours. It really was a beautiful experience. And it really hit the nail with its themes. Telling several small stories that bear some relevance for the main plot. Freaky characters that really make this game different. And a soundtrack beyond greatness. I had nonstop goose bumps when the ending theme played. Damn, so good.
In terms of gameplay, I´d say that this is one level below Silent Hill:Shattered Memories. The camera is vertically fixed and you really can´t interact with the environment. Textures are great, but not as great as in SH:SM. The game also has some sort of twist, but it´s not a sudden twist like in SH:SM.
Still, Fragile is great, it just suffers from some old-fashioned design choices. But definitely nothing off-putting or even game-breaking. The back-tracking that Matt Cassamassina mentioned in his review is totally not critic-worthy, as well as the complaints about the locations of the end part of the game. You travel along awe-inspiring environments, never experience any kind of copy-and-paste design. It´s all unique. Oh, and combat is totally not a problem. You occasionally have to fight some enemies, but mostly, you can run past them, and I´d say those who fight every enemy are doing it wrong. Seto isnt a fighter. And there´s really no need to grind. Oh, and except for the jellyfish-like ghosts, I never had problems with hitting enemies.
And I´ll search google for it later, because after having finished the game, the similarity in terms of atmosphere of Fragile and the Casshern Sins-anime is almost uncanny. Either Fragile took inspiration from that anime, or the development team was supported by the CS-production team.
Btw, the game is really not for kids. The whole game is like super depressive, and many of the memories you collect are disturbingly depressiv and harsh, like
some girl telling you how she´s right to make fun of her dead sisters. Or other people talking about how it´s better to be dead, and so on
. Another example of "anime doesn´t equal "for kids"".
I´ll replay the game at some point in the future. Missed several memories and there were paths that I didn´t explore because I accidentally chose the "correct" path without knowing which was which. Wonder if there´s alternate ways. Also, english dub is good, but japanese is, of course, leagues better.
I recommend the game to everyone that liked Silent Hill:SM and doesn´t hate anime. Great game that suffers from lack of hype. "Wii has no games", and such...
The room where you were first taught about breaking boxes
Finished the game some hours ago. A bit over 12 hours. It really was a beautiful experience. And it really hit the nail with its themes. Telling several small stories that bear some relevance for the main plot. Freaky characters that really make this game different. And a soundtrack beyond greatness. I had nonstop goose bumps when the ending theme played. Damn, so good.
In terms of gameplay, I´d say that this is one level below Silent Hill:Shattered Memories. The camera is vertically fixed and you really can´t interact with the environment. Textures are great, but not as great as in SH:SM. The game also has some sort of twist, but it´s not a sudden twist like in SH:SM.
Still, Fragile is great, it just suffers from some old-fashioned design choices. But definitely nothing off-putting or even game-breaking. The back-tracking that Matt Cassamassina mentioned in his review is totally not critic-worthy, as well as the complaints about the locations of the end part of the game. You travel along awe-inspiring environments, never experience any kind of copy-and-paste design. It´s all unique. Oh, and combat is totally not a problem. You occasionally have to fight some enemies, but mostly, you can run past them, and I´d say those who fight every enemy are doing it wrong. Seto isnt a fighter. And there´s really no need to grind. Oh, and except for the jellyfish-like ghosts, I never had problems with hitting enemies.
And I´ll search google for it later, because after having finished the game, the similarity in terms of atmosphere of Fragile and the Casshern Sins-anime is almost uncanny. Either Fragile took inspiration from that anime, or the development team was supported by the CS-production team.
Btw, the game is really not for kids. The whole game is like super depressive, and many of the memories you collect are disturbingly depressiv and harsh, like
some girl telling you how she´s right to make fun of her dead sisters. Or other people talking about how it´s better to be dead, and so on
. Another example of "anime doesn´t equal "for kids"".
I´ll replay the game at some point in the future. Missed several memories and there were paths that I didn´t explore because I accidentally chose the "correct" path without knowing which was which. Wonder if there´s alternate ways. Also, english dub is good, but japanese is, of course, leagues better.
I recommend the game to everyone that liked Silent Hill:SM and doesn´t hate anime. Great game that suffers from lack of hype. "Wii has no games", and such...
How many of the items did you get? There's a series of letters about a girl and the boy she's in love with who's into botany.
Then, right near the end, you get a letter from the boy - now a grown man - expressing deep regret that he ignored her at the time. Really quite moving.
Weirdly, the bit that got to me most was
when PK's battery was running down. Kind of caught me off-guard a bit.
How many of the items did you get? There's a series of letters about a girl and the boy she's in love with who's into botany.
Then, right near the end, you get a letter from the boy - now a grown man - expressing deep regret that he ignored her at the time. Really quite moving.
Ah,
I only got the memory where SHE expresses deep regret, and talks about how both of them now have their own life
Weirdly, the bit that got to me most was
when PK's battery was running down. Kind of caught me off-guard a bit.
Was that PC´s (or PK in your version) voice at the and, where you climbed the tower? I was a bit disappointed that "she" wasnt mentioned anymore. I actually always assumed that you would get a battery at some point and could "revive" her.
Though, I didn´t get the bit about the robots. So Shin used the glas cage to free humans from their bodies, alright. But what about Crow...and I guess PC/PK, too. Ah, wait, didn´t Shin mention something about an K.i./A.I.? So the robots were experiments where human minds/hearts were turned into soft- and hardware?
Haha, but the whole part about robots that have feelings and the talk about "the reign of mankind is over", really made me think of Casshern Sins.
Was that PC´s (or PK in your version) voice at the and, where you climbed the tower? I was a bit disappointed that "she" wasnt mentioned anymore. I actually always assumed that you would get a battery at some point and could "revive" her.
Ah, wait, didn´t Shin mention something about an K.i./A.I.? So the robots were experiments where human minds/hearts were turned into soft- and hardware?
I think so, yeah. That was never made entirely clear. The one thing which didn't really make sense to me was
all the items you pick up suggested people were ready for the end. Which doesn't really tally with Sai's story about everyone falling asleep when Glass Cage was activated and never waking up.
Played through the whole game this weekend, took me around 11 hours. Overall I thought it was pretty good, the story is nothing special, but exploring the various environments was enjoyable. I was worried going in about the combat, but I didn't have any issues with it. All of the enemies have easily predictable attacks so at the very least it is easy to avoid them if you don't want to bother killing them. It was nice to see that after beating the game
it lets you view the cutscenes again if you wish. I don't think I'll bother, but it seems like a simple feature that I wish more games would add.
What level did others finish the game at? I was 23, I fought pretty much everything until the very last sections where I avoided what enemies I could.
I found it annoying more than anything. I just kept thinking he was an irritating prick constantly wandering off. It was exacerbated by the fact I seemed to keep wandering off to the wrong area before finding him again. And that sort-of-stealth minigame bit is just awful.
It's easily the worst bit of the game, though. The music's just gorgeous and the art is very, very good, too.
I found it annoying more than anything. I just kept thinking he was an irritating prick constantly wandering off. It was exacerbated by the fact I seemed to keep wandering off to the wrong area before finding him again. And that sort-of-stealth minigame bit is just awful.
It's easily the worst bit of the game, though. The music's just gorgeous and the art is very, very good, too.
Hated that part as well, even though I was doing it right it still took me forever to sneak up on that prick without getting noticed. Finished it last night at around 14hrs playtime and thought it was a good game overall but not something I would play again, just found it too depressing along with some frustrating moments with the IR control and some levels that felt like they where unnecessarily too long.
I didn't think it was depressing, I thought it found beauty and humanity in amongst the bleakness. Particularly if you find some of the detritus and read the stories behind them.
It's the kind of game you like more and more the further away you get from having played it. I'll likely have quite fond memories of it come the end of the year, yet at times I really had to force myself to get through it.
It IS nice to be able to watch all the cutscenes at the end; lovely touch. And nota bene, Sega - English and Japanese voice overs, switchable at any time during play.
Yeah, I moved on to the next bit, Matt's other complaint, and "fetch quest" or no, I'm enjoying myself again.
What is
Crow
supposed to be, anyway? He's not
a ghost
, is he? He has no
aura
, yet he
survived that fall
. Well, don't tell me if I'm going to find out later. But I'm curious. The
kiss
was pretty hilarious, though. Fun character, even if his segment wasn't so great.
On a completely different tack, ranged weaponry is worthless. I think I'll get through the entire game maybe killing one or two birds. I actually came close to death for the first time trying to pick off some of the crows on the hotel roof.
Dineren said:
You just equip it, look at a cat and press A repeatedly until a cutscene plays, then the cat will follow you around when you come near it.
I'll give it a shot, thanks! See, my real-life cats take flying leaps at me when I even suggest that I have a toy, so I was all "why isn't this stupid thing working"
- I'm still not too big a fan of the two main character designs (effeminate boys and half naked adolescent girls aren't my cup of tea), but I like the other three characters thus far.
The
kiss
caught me off guard, but makes complete sense since the game shows that
Crow takes everything out of Pirate Isle, and that's a story with a male and female characters.
-I was a bit annoyed with the
PF since it was so damn talky, but when it died it was shockingly affecting, with Seto saving the screw.
-There is no disputing that gameplay is the weakest link of the package. But while combat is simple, it fits within the flow of the game, and is by no means game-breaking.
Things that stand out:
-Music (even the absence of it works) and Visuals (there is a ton of subtle detail that I appreciate)
-The use of objects as memories of people past. Very haunting and effective.
-The map with all the scribbles and mistakes is absolutely adorable.
-The cutscenes in between the chapters are amazing in style.
The superb presentation really captures the feel of what a post-apocalyptic world should look like to me. If the game can maintain the same level of quality all the way through, it's a definite keeper, and I don't keep too many games.
You could almost argue that, and to be perfectly honest, I think it would have been an overall better experience had they went that route altogether. I ended up zipping past every single enemy I could by about the halfway mark, as combat was just painful for me. But I really enjoyed the exploration (in spite of the camera locking when you move the remote too quickly to the edge of the screen), and the memories (from the trinkets you find) were pure poetry.
The game is art -- I won't accept an argument otherwise from anyone -- but as an actual game...well, it ain't actually all that great. There's enough here to muddle through in terms of combat, and some of the adventure elements, as well as the inventory construction, I think are great. What the game ultimately needed, though (in my opinion), was less.
You could almost argue that, and to be perfectly honest, I think it would have been an overall better experience had they went that route altogether. I ended up zipping past every single enemy I could by about the halfway mark, as combat was just painful for me. But I really enjoyed the exploration (in spite of the camera locking when you move the remote too quickly to the edge of the screen), and the memories (from the trinkets you find) were pure poetry.
The game is art -- I won't accept an argument otherwise from anyone -- but as an actual game...well, it ain't actually all that great. There's enough here to muddle through in terms of combat, and some of the adventure elements, as well as the inventory construction, I think are great. What the game ultimately needed, though (in my opinion), was less.
I almost compare it to something like Hotel Dusk, where the art, music, and story carry the experience much more so than the mediocre gameplay. Come to think about it, Fragile would work very well as an interactive novel.
Unfortunately, the 2nd half of the game, after the
hotel
faltered significantly for me. The settings turned extremely monotonous and repetitive, with the
looooong tunnel and ladder climb down the dam
being the biggest offenders. If you don't have the content, don't half-ass it and make the player do minutes of continuous running or climbing down stuff. What is this, the Super Paper Mario school of game design?
The plot also turned completely nonsensical. It was more than great when it was about Seto trying to find another person in this empty world because that goal was simple and stunningly effective. But then it turned to
evil/misguided emo scientist wanting to destroy all remaining life for some retarded reason
, which is a major turn-off since it's so ridiculously cliched.
There are genuinely awesome moments sprinkled in the second half,
with the merchant reveal, Crow's death, and Sai's affections towards Seto, and the brilliantly written memories
, but man it could have been so much better. Maybe I'm expecting too much, but the first half was so damn great that the direction they went in disappointed me greatly.
Finally decided to order the game off Amazon. It really seems like a polarizing game and I always feel the need to try those for myself. It sounds like the gameplay is crap while the atmosphere is good. Many games like that have kept my interest until the end so I might as well give it a shot.
I finally finished it last night. I had put it down for a little while near the end of the game to do other things. I'm still sorting my thoughts out for my (slightly late) review planned for next week, but my net feelings are positive and I imagine someday I'll want to revisit this game.
I do have a question for others who have finished it, though. There are a number of questions seemingly left unanswered; such as
who was Seto's grandfather? What's so special about his locket that makes characters take note of it? How did Glass Cage play out? How did we end up with so many people knowing they were going to die if they, as Sai was saying, went to sleep and didn't wake up?
Is it possible for me to get answers to these questions by finding something I missed? My inventory was rather full; I was quite intent on tracking down all the memory items.
Love the extras that get unlocked at the end, by the way. Replay every scene in the entire game? Heck yeah.
I finished the game about a week ago and still have it on my mind. Fragile Dreams is such a beautiful arrangement of music, story telling and adventure. I am grateful to have been able to play such an amazing game with with my initial expectations being as insecure as they were.
Fragile Dreams definitely shines as one of my favorite adventure games to date. I have beaten the tar out of many smirking ghost jellyfish, laughing ghost legs and demonic ghost dogs with the help of flimsy golf clubs and butterfly nets but I would be a fool to define the game simply by scenes of combat. Exploring the deserted ruins of humanity fifteen years in the making can be such a fulfilling experience without ever having to rely on battle. I was surprised by how entertained I could be by just walking down a straight corridor and admiring old movie posters and drawings strewn across the walls.
The story certainly helped make the progression through the ruins even more satisfying. There are few video game stories that have remained engraved in my brain the way Fragile has. The cast of characters is full of lovable freaks. The calamity which wiped out the vast majority of humanity and the effects it has on the main protagonist and antagonist are fascinating. The various memories of people taken by
glass cage
are just as captivating.
The combat portions weren't bad but clearly they weren't much to write home about either. It may have been too simple but its simplicity didn't really rub me the wrong way. My big complaint was the glaring lack of difficulty. I enjoyed a few random ghost beatings and the boss battles but those with short fuse intention spans would certainly just want to avoid fighting for the most part. Fortunately, you can avoid fighting most of the time.
I am sure there are plenty of people who didn't enjoy the game as much as I did and I can actually understand. I am happy I could appreciate the uniqueness of the game without being brought down by its flaws.
BorkBork said:
The plot also turned completely nonsensical. It was more than great when it was about Seto trying to find another person in this empty world because that goal was simple and stunningly effective. But then it turned to
evil/misguided emo scientist wanting to destroy all remaining life for some retarded reason
, which is a major turn-off since it's so ridiculously cliched.
I really don't think any part of the story is something I would call nonsensical.
Maybe the villain destroying all of humanity is somewhat cliche but I thought Shin's story was still interesting. Glass Cage was designed due to desperation bred from war. As Sai explained, people were wide eyed and optimistic for such an amazing technology that could reawaken the human ability to empathize with one another without speech. People could understand each other and prevent more futile tragedies like war. Surely Shin felt the same way. What about his new ability to empathize with others caused his hatred toward humanity and the way they expressed each other? As soon as he could see into the true thoughts of others, he discovered just how people betrayed their honest feelings and masked them with deceitful words. Only through his ability did he see how his colleagues resented him and how his own parents hated him. Maybe his actions seemed too extreme but the betrayal and loneliness he felt were because of this so called miracle technology. Instead of allowing someone to more easily co-exist with others, it made Shin despise others for their shrouded feelings of resent and envy toward each other.
I believe he was a researcher for glass cage. He blames himself for the glass cage tragedy and gives Seto a crystal which I believe was part of the crystal processor Shin used to control glass cage. Beyond that, he doesn't have a specific identity.
zigg said:
How did we end up with so many people knowing they were going to die if they, as Sai was saying, went to sleep and didn't wake up?[/spoiler]
They knew they were going to die in their sleep before they went to sleep. There are actually newspapers in various parts of the game hanging on walls that show headlines announcing the catastrophic effect of glass cage. I think the fact everybody was going to die was made public. In one of the memories, you can see how glass cage affected two brothers. The older brother likes to go exploring and the younger brother insists he come along. The older brother complains about him wanting to give up once they start out but allows him to come anyway. He makes a comment like "I can tell you're really serious this time. Wait, how do I know that?" With glass cage activated, the older was able to read the younger brother's intentions to an extent. They both eventually make it to the older brother's secret place. The younger brother was tired from the trek and falls asleep and dies
I made this post longer than I thought I would. I guess if you're going to bump a thread, it doesn't hurt to have a lot to say
