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Official Brave Story: New Traveler thread
- Thread starter May16
- Start date
Diseased Yak
Gold Member
Well I put in around 4 hours last night, got up this morning and did another hour before heading off to work. I'm hooked! This might possibly be the most polished PSP game that I've played, or at least the one where the attention to detail really stood out to me.
First of all, the graphics are outstanding. I have yet to see a seam between polygons, which has always been a problem on the PSP imo. The loading, my god, the loading! Or should I say lack-there-of. Others need to look at this as an example of what can be done if a game is properly programmed on the PSP.
So far, this game lives up to its promise and is, again imo, without a doubt the best rpg on the PSP, and certainly the best original rpg on the platform. I guess if I had to levy one complaint it would be that the main protag is over-the-top cute looking, in a bad way. Sheesh. At least Yuno is easy on the eyes...
First of all, the graphics are outstanding. I have yet to see a seam between polygons, which has always been a problem on the PSP imo. The loading, my god, the loading! Or should I say lack-there-of. Others need to look at this as an example of what can be done if a game is properly programmed on the PSP.
So far, this game lives up to its promise and is, again imo, without a doubt the best rpg on the PSP, and certainly the best original rpg on the platform. I guess if I had to levy one complaint it would be that the main protag is over-the-top cute looking, in a bad way. Sheesh. At least Yuno is easy on the eyes...
LiquidMetal14
hide your water-based mammals
Anyone know where to find the soundtrack to this game?
Been playing it for a few hours now, music is great, who's the composer anyway...'cause sometimes it sounds very Sakuraba, other times Sakimoto. But I assume it's someone else entirely. 
Moving on...I like some parts, other parts not so much where I'm at. The battle system is nice, very fast and the BP system is a nice change from the usual MP. I'm someone who just can't stand slow-paced traditional battle systems in JRPGs (that's why the Blue Dragon demo really turned me off, for example), which makes me appreciate Brave Story all the more. Unity attacks are also cool.
Graphics ranges from awesome to good, characters look great, environments look good but too blurry up-close. Reminds me of MGS: PO in that regard actually, but with more interesting environments obviously. Character animations aren't as hot unfortunately, but maybe I'm asking for too much.
But the game's really polished, and it avoids many of the small problems that manages to bother me in similar games (character runs too slow, too much loading between battles etc etc).
I hate slow tutorials though, where they explain stuff with long, rambling messages that I have to skip through. Especially for a game like this...since I've played a lot of RPGs in my days, most of the things they explain are so obvious it's just frustrating having to go through it all.
Thankfully, I seem to be past the tutorial part now. Another thing that bothers me is that I have yet to become interested in the story and characters. I find the "other" world premise kind of interesting, but that's about it so far. Characters feel too cliché, but I haven't played that much so we'll see.
Still, my overall impression so far is: thumbs up.
Moving on...I like some parts, other parts not so much where I'm at. The battle system is nice, very fast and the BP system is a nice change from the usual MP. I'm someone who just can't stand slow-paced traditional battle systems in JRPGs (that's why the Blue Dragon demo really turned me off, for example), which makes me appreciate Brave Story all the more. Unity attacks are also cool.
Graphics ranges from awesome to good, characters look great, environments look good but too blurry up-close. Reminds me of MGS: PO in that regard actually, but with more interesting environments obviously. Character animations aren't as hot unfortunately, but maybe I'm asking for too much.
But the game's really polished, and it avoids many of the small problems that manages to bother me in similar games (character runs too slow, too much loading between battles etc etc).
I hate slow tutorials though, where they explain stuff with long, rambling messages that I have to skip through. Especially for a game like this...since I've played a lot of RPGs in my days, most of the things they explain are so obvious it's just frustrating having to go through it all.
Thankfully, I seem to be past the tutorial part now. Another thing that bothers me is that I have yet to become interested in the story and characters. I find the "other" world premise kind of interesting, but that's about it so far. Characters feel too cliché, but I haven't played that much so we'll see.
Still, my overall impression so far is: thumbs up.
Diseased Yak
Gold Member
I agree, the story is a little thin so far. It follows the standard jrpg convention of someone doing something extraordinary with little regard to how it changes their life. In Brave Story, this kid is basically ignoring what we are assuming to be his girlfriend, or at least a friend who's a girl, and then the girl collapses for no good reason, and suddenly a magical door appears and the kid hears a voice telling him to walk through it into another land in order to journey to see this mystical being who will grant him a wish.
Hmm, Ok sounds like a plan! I do, however, like the hinted-at plot device of the "bad" Traveler who preceded you by a few days (it seems). I'm not spoiling anything here, the tutorial people refer to him, even the cockfighting tutorial guy does. It'll be interesting to see where that goes.
Hmm, Ok sounds like a plan! I do, however, like the hinted-at plot device of the "bad" Traveler who preceded you by a few days (it seems). I'm not spoiling anything here, the tutorial people refer to him, even the cockfighting tutorial guy does. It'll be interesting to see where that goes.
I've clocked 7 hours on this game now (basically didn't do anything else since I bought it). This has the potential to be my favorite PSP game so far, and my favorite portable RPG -- the latter of which isn't saying that much considering the average quality of those.
I'm really impressed by the technical achievement on display here: significantly above average (by PSP standards) graphics combined with a complete absence of loading times can't be too easy to pull off. The most impressive aspect are the character models and their animations -- after seeing them in this game I don't have any doubt at all that S-E can pull off FF7:CC exactly as presented so far. Really, I'm not easy to impress when it comes to the programming side of things but this is a very polished piece of software.
Of course, it also helps that I really love the art style and how they translated it to realtime graphics. It's quite different from generic anime while retaining what I like about that. Another awesome part of the package is the localization: I like the flow of most of the text translations, and the humor is appreciated if slightly overdone at times. Also, the multi-language option for the battle phrases is good to have. The only jarring part are some of the voices (especially the narrator and the "goddess" (?)) during the few voiced cutscenes, but I can live with that.
There are a few things I don't like -- random encounters for one. However, the game has quite a few mitigating factors for those: the complete lack of loading times and the fast-paced battle system, as well as the quite easy to regenerate BP make the random battles much less of a chore than they could be. Also, the possibility of enraged (was that the word?) enemies adds a very welcome, unpredictable and sometimes dangerous, factor to these encounters. Another minor complaint would be the lack of an in-game map in the larger dungeons, but those are linear enough to make that not really necessary.
I want to get back to the game now, but here's one final hint for my fellow GAF'ers. If you use a unity skill, all characters lose the BP required for it, but only the one character that started it receives BP for it (quite often a significant amount, maybe even more than it required to use the skill). Knowing this makes it easier to manage BP for unity skills, which in turn makes the battles even faster
I'm really impressed by the technical achievement on display here: significantly above average (by PSP standards) graphics combined with a complete absence of loading times can't be too easy to pull off. The most impressive aspect are the character models and their animations -- after seeing them in this game I don't have any doubt at all that S-E can pull off FF7:CC exactly as presented so far. Really, I'm not easy to impress when it comes to the programming side of things but this is a very polished piece of software.
Of course, it also helps that I really love the art style and how they translated it to realtime graphics. It's quite different from generic anime while retaining what I like about that. Another awesome part of the package is the localization: I like the flow of most of the text translations, and the humor is appreciated if slightly overdone at times. Also, the multi-language option for the battle phrases is good to have. The only jarring part are some of the voices (especially the narrator and the "goddess" (?)) during the few voiced cutscenes, but I can live with that.
There are a few things I don't like -- random encounters for one. However, the game has quite a few mitigating factors for those: the complete lack of loading times and the fast-paced battle system, as well as the quite easy to regenerate BP make the random battles much less of a chore than they could be. Also, the possibility of enraged (was that the word?) enemies adds a very welcome, unpredictable and sometimes dangerous, factor to these encounters. Another minor complaint would be the lack of an in-game map in the larger dungeons, but those are linear enough to make that not really necessary.
I want to get back to the game now, but here's one final hint for my fellow GAF'ers. If you use a unity skill, all characters lose the BP required for it, but only the one character that started it receives BP for it (quite often a significant amount, maybe even more than it required to use the skill). Knowing this makes it easier to manage BP for unity skills, which in turn makes the battles even faster
nincompoop
Banned
Jesus Christ the dialog here is insufferable, and the fact that the coversations drag on way longer than they need to makes it worse. Back into the pile you go!
You don't play many JRPGs (or even western RPGs for that matter) do you?nincompoop said:
If you can read faster than the fastest setting for text display (I certainly can) then you can make it display the complete text immediately by pressing the circle button. Very useful. Anyway, I don't think the dialog is insufferable at all, I'd even go so far as to say that it's entertaining at times! But that's subjective -- objectively I can say that it certainly isn't (way) long by RPG standards.
nincompoop
Banned
Sorry, the dialog is much, much, much worse than any JRPG I've played recently (if not ever). I haven't played too many other games whose dialog actually made me physically ill. And yes, it seems like every single conversation piece is reiterated at least twice within the same conversation, so the conversations drag on around 3x as long as they need to.
Shouta
Member
arias said:
Yep. The book is about a 10 year-old originally so it makes sense that the age is the same for the game. The only iteration of Brave Story that has a different age range for the characters is the Brave Story ~Shinsetsu~ manga where they're 14-15 and the designs are significantly different.
devilscallmedad
Banned
WHAT THE FU** IS THE PROBLEM WITH JAP DEVELOPERS, WHY THE FU** DO GAMES STILL HAVE RANDOM ******* BATTLES, I HOPE ALL THE DEVS WHO PUT RANDOM BATTLES INTO GAMES GET RANDOMLY ASS RAPED AFTER EVERY TWO MINUTES.
Otherwise solid game.
Otherwise solid game.
nincompoop said:
Strange, I have played 7 hours and yet didn't notice either of the 2 points you mention (dialogue being particularly bad or repetitive).
I wondered if I was just too charmed by the art and presentation (I admit I'm a bit of a graphics whore) so I checked the first 7 reviews linked on game rankings. Of those, 5 don't mention dialogue at all. Two do, and this is what they had to say:
RPGamer said:
Please note that the second one is by 1UP of all sites.1UP said:
Basically, it's just you, and you're wrong
nincompoop said:
Meh. Legend of Heroes 1, 2 and 3 had insufferable dialog. The translation here is quite well done I'd say. It certainly won't appeal to everyone, but I've caught myself grinning plenty. If you can't stand it just spam through with the circle button. Worse case there's no way that the dialog can make the game not worth playing in my eyes, and I hate typical Japanese stuff.
Splash Wave
Member
Can someone speak for the quality of the story later in the game?
EDIT: And can you not save on the world map?
I just got the spleens for the Highlanders in the beginning of the game and so far the story has been pretty dull. They don't give any real reason why Sogreth joins you. Isn't he supposed to be an over-protective father? He saves his son, then is like "See ya!"
EDIT: And can you not save on the world map?
DXMachina said:
Supposedly it's because he owes you one. Also, the elder suggests that his son is stronger than he thinks and can take care of himself or something
And no, you can't save in the overworld. Blue thingies and inns only, along with a few story places that give you the chance.
One thing that I (as the admitted full-time graphics whore) found slightly annoying about this game prior to its release is the relative scarcity of good screenshots. Basically, most sites reused the same 3 low-quality scans I had already seen before. Now, most "professional" reviews on the web again use those very same shots. Well, I'm not that cheap. I gushed about the graphics before, so here are some images.
First, a few exploration shots:
Nice texture variation and environment modelling.
A few character model closeups:
Of course, it's only by pure chance that both are catgirls.
There's also quite a variety of nice battle backgrounds:
Note the 3D grass () and non-circular enemy shadows:
There is a boss in the game that is based on actual historical battles. The modelling/texturing on this one really impressed me.
Some more awesome battle shots. The effects are sometimes overdone, but look really nice in motion - though lens flare is a bit last-gen :
The IMHO greatest shot out of the 300 or so I took:
Looks better than many a PS2 game.
First, a few exploration shots:
Nice texture variation and environment modelling.
A few character model closeups:
Of course, it's only by pure chance that both are catgirls.
There's also quite a variety of nice battle backgrounds:
Note the 3D grass (
) and non-circular enemy shadows:
There is a boss in the game that is based on actual historical battles. The modelling/texturing on this one really impressed me.
Some more awesome battle shots. The effects are sometimes overdone, but look really nice in motion - though lens flare is a bit last-gen
:
The IMHO greatest shot out of the 300 or so I took:
Looks better than many a PS2 game.
Durante said:
Oh, for ****'s sake, man, get off it. Brave Story is awesome, but please stop acting like it's an epiphany. Portable RPGs have been out of the ghetto, and have been great, for a long while. Stop trolling them every chance you get.
Durante said:
Excellent screens. Thanks.
nincompoop said:
Shame you don't like it, I l reckon the dialogue is terrific. It never sounds like broken English, and the majority of the non-tutorial talking is genuinely entertaining. It's an RPG don't forget, not a Metal Gear codec chat.
And that jumping spin kick the Rabbys do, :lol
I agree with Durante btw, this game really is that much more polished than all the other RPG remakes that have been landing on the PSP lately. It's hard to understand why IGN rated Tales higher than this, Tales is good, but this is so much better.
rollingstart
Banned
I just picked up the game, I didnt play it yet, I wanna try ripping it to my PSP, but how do you do that?
and the box is still awesome, even the manual look awesome, even the UMD looks awesome!
and the box is still awesome, even the manual look awesome, even the UMD looks awesome!
Wow, those screens are really nice -- how did you take them? I realize it can be time-consuming to take your own screens, but I really wish the big sites would at least request original shots from the publishers. It's really annoying to see every site using the exact same screenshots in their previews and reviews.Durante said:One thing that I (as the admitted full-time graphics whore) found slightly annoying about this game prior to its release is the relative scarcity of good screenshots. Basically, most sites reused the same 3 low-quality scans I had already seen before. Now, most "professional" reviews on the web again use those very same shots. Well, I'm not that cheap. I gushed about the graphics before, so here are some images.
First, a few exploration shots:
Nice texture variation and environment modelling.
A few character model closeups:
Of course, it's only by pure chance that both are catgirls.
There's also quite a variety of nice battle backgrounds:
Note the 3D grass (
There is a boss in the game that is based on actual historical battles. The modelling/texturing on this one really impressed me.
Some more awesome battle shots. The effects are sometimes overdone, but look really nice in motion - though lens flare is a bit last-gen
The IMHO greatest shot out of the 300 or so I took:
Looks better than many a PS2 game.
I love this game's character art. The box art looks really nice IMO -- what don't you like about it?Mejilan said:
captain wow
Member
Right, is this worth importing? I need a good rpg and am willing to pay that bit extra for one if so.
LiquidMetal14
hide your water-based mammals
From my 2 hour playtime, H-E DOUBLE HOCKEY STICKS YES!!captain wow said:
Screens on the PSP are REALLY easy to take with a homebrew plugin. I can shit out a few hundred if you really want me to.
Oh, I like the character designs, I just think that the generic way they're lined up, the skewed/sideways perspective, and the nasty way the logo is just smashed in there all contribute to a thoroughly hideous boxart. It doesn't even look like the characters are actually standing anywhere on that generic/empty grassy backdrop, clearly photoshopped in and floating. It's more of a design/layout thing than art style.
Too soon to say if it's worth the import. I guess it depends on how much money it'd cost. It's certainly solid, so far. The gameplay vaguely reminds me of Dragon Quest-style traditional JRPG yumminess.
Oy at Yuno's combat English VA though. Horrible. :/
Oh, I like the character designs, I just think that the generic way they're lined up, the skewed/sideways perspective, and the nasty way the logo is just smashed in there all contribute to a thoroughly hideous boxart. It doesn't even look like the characters are actually standing anywhere on that generic/empty grassy backdrop, clearly photoshopped in and floating. It's more of a design/layout thing than art style.
Too soon to say if it's worth the import. I guess it depends on how much money it'd cost. It's certainly solid, so far. The gameplay vaguely reminds me of Dragon Quest-style traditional JRPG yumminess.
Oy at Yuno's combat English VA though. Horrible. :/
captain wow
Member
LiquidMetal14 said:
Well i may aswell get it, at the very least it looks very nice!
Some Bastard member at Gamespot rated it 2.8 at the user reviews.
http://www.gamespot.com/psp/rpg/bravestory/player_review.html?id=481288
http://www.gamespot.com/psp/rpg/bravestory/player_review.html?id=481288
MickeyKnox
Member
Picked this up today and you know what, **** the haters. This is has a strange nostalgic charm to it that lets me get past whatever nitpicks I have. It's like a great PS1 era RPG that never was, but delivers the same kind of visual impact on the psp that something like FF8 did on the PS1. Not only is it really good looking but I can't stress enough how great the load times are.
rollingstart
Banned
Mejilan said:
how do you rip games to the memory stick?
nincompoop
Banned
There was one that was past a passage that was somewhat obscured by the camera, in the first area, you have to go to the path that was blocked off by the branch at first and turn left and then down. Did you miss that one?Mejilan said:
Link, I'm pretty sure this isn't the first time you ask me how I rip my PSP games. So once again, DAX UMD Dumper Beta v0.2.
Yeah, I got that chest. The one where you go left and then down through a mostly narrow path that opens up into a clearing with a chest?
Yeah, I got that chest. The one where you go left and then down through a mostly narrow path that opens up into a clearing with a chest?
SVCapture - http://pspupdates.qj.net/index.php?pg=49&aid=72532john tv said:
Some others out there too. Pluigins that tend to use the music button to cap vids and pics. I used it briefly some time back, but not sure if it's still compatible with the latest firmwares. PEACE.
rollingstart
Banned
Mejilan said:
yeah, I tried to find the other thread that I asked that while back, but I couldent find it in my post history, but thanks.