Schobeleth
Member
I'm trying to remember - is this one of those JRPGs with dating sim elements in it? If so, I think I'll bite. I love the character designs, gives me so much nostalgia because I grew up with that style of anime as a kid.
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Growlanser IV: Wayfarer of Time - Vita Compatible! |OT|
- Thread starter cj_iwakura
- Start date
Sir_Crocodile
Member
gives one of your characters 100 skill points, or can be sold for 3000ish.
Yup. Fun battle system too.
Augemitbutter
Member
i don't think so. this stuff takes time.
Dark Schala
Eloquent Princess
And I'm done (probably won't go back for a NG+ right now because I'm going to move on to something else). I haven't played the original version of this game, so this was my first outing with it. And I got the D-MD familiar, which was apparently the new one for the PSP game. I liked that one.
I'll keep this short. Too bad GAF doesn't have a User Reviews thread or something otherwise I would've said more.
I think I like GL4 the best out of all of the ones I've played in terms of systems and battle. Maybe GL1 had the better narrative (GL1 and GL4 are kind of similar in terms of narrative sequencing, I feel), which isn't to say that GL4 has poor lore and narrative by comparison; on the contrary, but GL4 is more fun in terms of battling and strategy--especially if you're going for Mission Completes over Clears. GL1 has more of an advantage character-wise, I feel. GL4's way of battling is more fun, and I certainly found it harder than other GL games I've played prior to this one (like, Shouta wasn't kidding about that bridge mission at all; it took me several attempts to get over it). I don't think the game's balancing is cheap at all. Even if you're levelled really high, and have some good armour and have some good abilities, you mightn't be able to win a battle because your strategy isn't very good or you don't have the proper skills equipped.
Missions, quests, and battles offer the player tremendous variety in terms of objectives. From escort missions to the good ol' enemy beatdown, I don't think players would get tired of the game because it doesn't stay stagnant or monotonous in objectives. Once you complete your objectives with a Mission Complete, it feels extremely satisfying. Furlough bits are also fun in that players can choose who to spend time with and bond with in order to work towards a special ending. The game seems packed with content, and I wasn't really following a FAQ/JP Wiki much so I guess I didn't get most of it! Thus the replayability of the game is pretty high, if you wanted to get all the endings and pursue different routes, etc. Like I said, I don't think I'm going to get a NG+ done right now, but I might in the future.
The ability system is different from GL1-3 because you don't level up and get points for skills. Instead, you equip things and learn from them (faster if they're equipped on the right slot). I like how it's handled here better because you probably max things out easier if you wanted to. You don't have to grind and level up for a long time to max things out much. Magic in this game works faster than other GL games, I feel. Ring Weapons seem balanced here. GL2 was where they were super-strong, and it felt lame that they were. Magic seems to matter more because cast speed is fine, spell power is fine, and combinations are fine. Different rings offer stat bonuses, and you can find them from fighting anything.
I was discussing Suikoden and Growlanser a little bit with ULTROS! a few weeks ago, but yes I have to agree, playing this was kind of like playing a Suikoden game again, just with tactical battles instead of turn-based separate-screen battles. The war and political machinations on Noyeval side of the story is something similar to I've been clamouring for the entire generation (and something I'd hoped a potential Suikoden 6 would provide), and I'm glad that GL4 serves that piece of the pie. A lot of the characters have interesting convictions to drive them forward in order to decide what's right for them.
Unfortunately, the audio isn't super-outstanding outside of some of the battle tracks. It's kind of disappointing that the music lowers the volume in anticipation of a voiceover, but to be honest, I kind of forget the music's there sometimes even though it's fitting for various situations.
So I suppose that if you're looking for a really good TRPG, try out GL4. I'm very happy that Atlus decided to localize this in the end. It's one of the more fun games I've ended up playing in bursts and on-the-go. It ends up being pretty addictive too, if you're busy trying to level up slots, abilities, your characters, etc. Honestly, I feel like there's nothing like Growlanser. There's always so much stuff to do in the game requiring you to play the games through a few times, and the deep battle system/ability system truly makes the game worth it.
I'll keep this short. Too bad GAF doesn't have a User Reviews thread or something otherwise I would've said more.
I think I like GL4 the best out of all of the ones I've played in terms of systems and battle. Maybe GL1 had the better narrative (GL1 and GL4 are kind of similar in terms of narrative sequencing, I feel), which isn't to say that GL4 has poor lore and narrative by comparison; on the contrary, but GL4 is more fun in terms of battling and strategy--especially if you're going for Mission Completes over Clears. GL1 has more of an advantage character-wise, I feel. GL4's way of battling is more fun, and I certainly found it harder than other GL games I've played prior to this one (like, Shouta wasn't kidding about that bridge mission at all; it took me several attempts to get over it). I don't think the game's balancing is cheap at all. Even if you're levelled really high, and have some good armour and have some good abilities, you mightn't be able to win a battle because your strategy isn't very good or you don't have the proper skills equipped.
Missions, quests, and battles offer the player tremendous variety in terms of objectives. From escort missions to the good ol' enemy beatdown, I don't think players would get tired of the game because it doesn't stay stagnant or monotonous in objectives. Once you complete your objectives with a Mission Complete, it feels extremely satisfying. Furlough bits are also fun in that players can choose who to spend time with and bond with in order to work towards a special ending. The game seems packed with content, and I wasn't really following a FAQ/JP Wiki much so I guess I didn't get most of it! Thus the replayability of the game is pretty high, if you wanted to get all the endings and pursue different routes, etc. Like I said, I don't think I'm going to get a NG+ done right now, but I might in the future.
The ability system is different from GL1-3 because you don't level up and get points for skills. Instead, you equip things and learn from them (faster if they're equipped on the right slot). I like how it's handled here better because you probably max things out easier if you wanted to. You don't have to grind and level up for a long time to max things out much. Magic in this game works faster than other GL games, I feel. Ring Weapons seem balanced here. GL2 was where they were super-strong, and it felt lame that they were. Magic seems to matter more because cast speed is fine, spell power is fine, and combinations are fine. Different rings offer stat bonuses, and you can find them from fighting anything.
I was discussing Suikoden and Growlanser a little bit with ULTROS! a few weeks ago, but yes I have to agree, playing this was kind of like playing a Suikoden game again, just with tactical battles instead of turn-based separate-screen battles. The war and political machinations on Noyeval side of the story is something similar to I've been clamouring for the entire generation (and something I'd hoped a potential Suikoden 6 would provide), and I'm glad that GL4 serves that piece of the pie. A lot of the characters have interesting convictions to drive them forward in order to decide what's right for them.
Unfortunately, the audio isn't super-outstanding outside of some of the battle tracks. It's kind of disappointing that the music lowers the volume in anticipation of a voiceover, but to be honest, I kind of forget the music's there sometimes even though it's fitting for various situations.
So I suppose that if you're looking for a really good TRPG, try out GL4. I'm very happy that Atlus decided to localize this in the end. It's one of the more fun games I've ended up playing in bursts and on-the-go. It ends up being pretty addictive too, if you're busy trying to level up slots, abilities, your characters, etc. Honestly, I feel like there's nothing like Growlanser. There's always so much stuff to do in the game requiring you to play the games through a few times, and the deep battle system/ability system truly makes the game worth it.
Everytime this thread is updated, I hope to see that it's officially making it to the Vita shop with the next update :/
Been saving money for it, but I might end up spending what I have on PS1-on-vita games, come Tuesday...
Dark Schala, thanks for the review. Suikoden-vibes makes it even harder to wait for the online store release!
Everytime I see Urushihara art, it just makes me want some HD, improved Wolfteam games XD Such a similiar style (believe the artist for El Viento was one of Urushihara's assistants). He still has one of my favorite "anime" styles around.
Been saving money for it, but I might end up spending what I have on PS1-on-vita games, come Tuesday...
Dark Schala, thanks for the review. Suikoden-vibes makes it even harder to wait for the online store release!
Everytime I see Urushihara art, it just makes me want some HD, improved Wolfteam games XD Such a similiar style (believe the artist for El Viento was one of Urushihara's assistants). He still has one of my favorite "anime" styles around.
I just got to the part where
And so
Hien and Leona join the party.
And so
I was told that the party that stays behind can learn from the stones left with Kate, So I was wondering: how quickly do the other people gain skills/knacks/spells? Can the people left behind remain useful? And at this point in the game, who did you select as the 4th character?
Not sure about
how fast non actives gain skills
I'm about 2 hours in. Its pretty good, but doesn't feel as "great" as G2 did. The battles are fun and interesting, but I feel like 2 & 3 blew me away more. The translation here is surprisingly good.
Feels good to finally be playing this though. Hope we get G1 one day.
edit: I haven't played Generations since it came out (broken PS2) so I might be remembering G2&3 through rose-tinted glasses or w/e
Feels good to finally be playing this though. Hope we get G1 one day.
edit: I haven't played Generations since it came out (broken PS2) so I might be remembering G2&3 through rose-tinted glasses or w/e
I currently must have the MC, Frayne and Remus. Yea, Frayne has a ton of MP due to near max MP Up.
With the new characters joining, I decided to take one of them for a spin.
Basileus777
Member
Right now I'm using Crev, Leona, Eliza, and Meline. I took out Remus because a ranged attacker that sucks at magic isn't that great when AOE magic is far more effective at taking out clumps of enemies. Frayne has high ATW, so I ended up replacing her with Meline, but that was something done more on a whim. Eliza is actually a pretty good character, she's versatile and can fill basically and role and has great limits.
Augemitbutter
Member
i used frayne as my main spellcaster most of the game, because i couldn't find a real substitute for her. this changed only when i got
btw, nice reviewing, schala. i agree 100%, especially on the suikoden part.
tricia.
btw, nice reviewing, schala. i agree 100%, especially on the suikoden part.
stephencottontail
Member
Okay, kind of a weird question, but here goes. How do I get, for lack of a better term, "faster" in battle? I failed twice at the battle where you rescue
from the thugs because I couldn't get the target down fast enough, and on the time I did win, the bonus time ran out.
Dr. Lichtmann
Sir_Crocodile
Member
Just completed this for the third time. Definitely my favourite RPG of the year...not that there was any competition for that though.
You don't need to be faster. Stick to the extreme left of the screen as you go down, you should end up close enough when they spot you to be able to take out the target.
To be faster(though I don't recall if this is even doable at the stage you're at, fairly sure it's not):
You don't need to be faster. Stick to the extreme left of the screen as you go down, you should end up close enough when they spot you to be able to take out the target.
To be faster(though I don't recall if this is even doable at the stage you're at, fairly sure it's not):
"Seal dash" spellstone gets you five uses of "dash" which makes you faster, "Mov Up +3" stone gets you dash as a learnable skill so you don't need the spellstone set. "Mov" in your status I think determines your general speed.
Basileus777
Member
Mov determines how quickly characters move across the map, ATW (lower is better) determines how quickly characters get their turns. You can decrease ATW by learning quick attack and using ATW Reduction and Skill Effect+ stones.
RPG conundrum: who to put in my party. I guess the on way is to try the new characters, hopefully playing switcheroo won't put the final party selections to far behind.
The game is great so far, as stated I'm just starting to select party members. I've only had one annoying battle
, and that was mostly annoying because of how far back the last save was to reload and try different things. I wish they allowed more save before boss battles, but then I guess it'd telegraph the next boss battle (which is a sin a lot of RPGs perpetrate).
The game is great so far, as stated I'm just starting to select party members. I've only had one annoying battle
first fight with Bryntir
Basileus777
Member
The sin would be worse in this game because you can buff outside of battle. Actually doing so before major battles robs the game of most of its difficulty.
Which is exactly what I do on all second attempts, if only sometimes to get mission complete instead of clear. Maybe a save anywhere function? That way you don't actually have to place save points in the game at all.
Basileus777
Member
I think giving you the option to save after story battles without backtracking would fix any issues. That way you don't know what is coming but you don't end up having to redo an hour of progress because you died in the 3rd or 4th battle in a long chain of fights. Or simply giving you a retry option if you die would work.
Sir_Crocodile
Member
Yes, but screen speed is what he was asking for - on that mission actually getting there is the hard part first time through.
Basileus777
Member
I finally finished the game. I enjoyed the gameplay, though the difficulty was really uneven. There was a huge difficulty spike mid-game, then it became too easy once you started to get access to the higher tier spell-stones. The non-story battles in this game are worthless filler. I don't think there was a single one where I did more than enable auto-attacks and tap X when I needed Crev to select a new target. The story was serviceable, it's wasn't anything special, but it sufficed to keep me interested enough to keep on playing and not be bored between battles.
There aren't any higher difficulties are there? I'd like to see the alternative path available on new game+, but that is very far into the game. I'm not sure if I want to replay the first 3/4 of the game again if it's just going to be the same thing except now I've got all the best spell-stones from the very beginning.
There aren't any higher difficulties are there? I'd like to see the alternative path available on new game+, but that is very far into the game. I'm not sure if I want to replay the first 3/4 of the game again if it's just going to be the same thing except now I've got all the best spell-stones from the very beginning.
Augemitbutter
Member
i was thinking about going into NG+ right away, but decided against it. don't want to get burned out, even though i had plenty of motivation for the game left.
Q: can you retain your bonus gallery progress, even if you start a fresh game?
Q: can you retain your bonus gallery progress, even if you start a fresh game?
stephencottontail
Member
So does it matter if you get mission completes, clears, or passes beyond the extra EXP and money rewards? Cause that prison mission was a complete train wreck.
cj_iwakura
Member
Thankfully, no.
Thought it was worth noting that Growlanser IV will be available to purchase from Vita Store starting next week (USA)
Argh, spent my promised money on PS1 games... but will still probably be able to squeeze in the GL finally!
(USA)Argh, spent my promised money on PS1 games... but will still probably be able to squeeze in the GL finally!
Augemitbutter
Member
Thought it was worth noting that Growlanser IV will be available to purchase from Vita Store starting next week
Argh, spent my promised money on PS1 games... but will still probably be able to squeeze in the GL finally!
nice. hopefully more people will give it a try, it's pretty damn good.
Came out less than two months ago, $29.99 is not a bad price for a PSP game. And a lot of people enjoy it.
Very worth it. It'll keep you busy for a long time.
It's a good price for a new game. Just a little steep for me for a PSP game
Glad to hear it's fun though. I may pick it up after all. Ragnarock Odessey is taking too long to come out lol.
It's kind of like a simplified RTS. Battles are semi-real time, but you can pause the action to change your team's commands. Story is good, it has a lot of political intrigue along with the usual JRPG staples. Not the greatest story ever, but it's definitely localized well and keeps you guessing. It's a very fun game, IMHO.
soapypanda
Member
Can't continue playing anymore, it's just SLOW and I'm not being given motivation to keep going.
There goes $30...
There goes $30...
cj_iwakura
Member
Phew, just changed
fate without even knowing it was going to be a thing.
Feels good wayfarer.
Muntzer's
Feels good wayfarer.
Thanks ! Have been waiting for an RTS. Too bad it doesn't take advantage of Vita's touchscreen ? Will check it out later.
Koroviev
Member
I don't see how an SRPG would really benefit from touchscreen interaction. Disgaea 3 has some touchscreen features, and based on what I've read, most people just disable them.
cj_iwakura
Member
This game has a much bigger focus on fighting armies than any game in the series I've played, that's for sure. 2 & 3 had some fights like this, but they were more supernatural. 4 is more like all out war.
And the sprites are jaggy, but they have charm.
And the sprites are jaggy, but they have charm.
Koroviev
Member
I like the idea that you can't win by simply grinding. That's how it is in Devil Survivor, particularly with respect to the end-game. Either you have a winning strategy or you get annihilated.
Okay, mostly I'm just a sucker for the art.
Augemitbutter
Member
the sprites are fine. they will only get a bit muddy while zoomed in obviously.
Koroviev
Member
I didn't realize that the game has a zoom feature. I always play Tactics Ogre zoomed out.
Augemitbutter
Member
it doesn't, but sprites will zoom in out throughout the game.
Koroviev
Member
Oh, that's not a big deal. I should resist, but that art (._. )
Augemitbutter
Member
you should not resist. you should buy and start playing asap.
