Fired up the game and it instantly stole 45 minutes from my life. As in, started playing, looked down at my watch at it was 45 minutes later. Whoever said they were bored by this must have the attention span of a flea. Just from the get-go you get personalities, hints at back-stories, a tragic death, and plenty of motivation to go forward. Even the freaking store has personality. And I love the Gene system -- it actually encourages you to fight similar enemies in order to gain more abilities. I've been picking up a number PS1 classic RPGs for the PSP recently -- Lunar, Grandia, Wild ARMS, among others -- and none has grabbed as quickly as this game has. It remains to be seen how well it keeps my interest over the long haul, but so far I'm very, very impressed.
Are you the type of person who likes these kind of RPGs (FF, Suikoden) or are you pretty new to the japanese RPG genre?
Hey, I'm with you on that one. Especially when it comes to RPGs: even with Chaos Rings, the genre is still in its infancy on this platform. (Actually, to be fair, with CR it's now walking, but still wearing diapers ).
There are different levels of weapon, armor, and jewels you can equip. Not a huge amount, but I probably got about 7 or 8 better versions of each my first trip through. Your avatar doesn't change to reflect you holding different weapons, at least that I could notice. The offensive customization really lies more in the magic mechanic (called gene plates). You earn a gene plate from the different creatures you defeat. Dragon, fish, monkey, deer are examples of the different genes. Each one starts off with just one function, but through repeated use more abilities unlock within each gene (up to 7 I think). You can have 4 genes equipped at once (but really 3 since 1 slot must be your human gene) and I've come across at least 15-20 different types of genes so far. In the upper right corner there's a tiny menu button, and inside the far left option is a circle with ENC in the middle.
I wouldn't say new, but only certain turn-based RPGs seemed amazing.. I never really liked FF or Suikoden, but I loved Chronotrigger. I also played a ton of Legend of Dragoon (best Turn-Based ever). I just hope it is a game that "grabs" me. I just couldn't find what was so great about the original FFs.
I certainly don't wanna see Escher wandering around in a s tight top and mini skirt, so thank you S/E for not making character customization But seriously, I can't recall the last time S/E allows players to change characters' costumes based on weapons and equipments. They spent quite a bit of time designing the clothes to suit the characters. Cloud won't be Cloud if he's holding a nunchaku
After beating the dogs a few time you will get there skill to turn off skill encounters IF you have their gene plate equipped Actually this game is AMAZING. Really the battles are intense... since your hp goes back to full after each battle, the enemies can hit HARD and OFTEN. I have died 3 times (playing on harder mode ^^) and its just... fun, because i know i died because i did not have the right equipment and strategies. It really is amazing and BRILLIANT. Everyone should buy this! To those who didn't like final fantasy but liked legend of the dragoon, i can almost guarantee this game will QUENCH your thirst for a MEATY and FUN game. This games combat really is amazing, and for me it really rivals legend of the dragoon since you arent just pressing ATTACK every round, instead you gotta choose whether to pair up or be single, and it really is a big choice. It changes everything within the battle and it really is scary to think about the depth of the game!!! I LOVE IT
Oh man, I just got home from a movie and saw this was out. Now all I can do is watch the little blue bar crawl across the screen......
One word.....WOW loving this!!! I love FF and turned based RPGs in general and I'm blown away with this. Awsome game!
I think this game is stunning. I love everything about it, the controls, graphics and music are top notch.
i'm on the fence in getting this game, not because i'm a cheap bastard but cuz i'm developing a backlog of iphone games now :O. Never thought i'd develop a backlog on this platform. I guess these prices spoil me compared to buying full DS and PSP JRPG's. That's how good the Iphone is slowly improving in RPG's
I mean that if you're holding out and don't want a reason to spend the money, reading the review may thwart your plans.
Reaches the heights of Chrono Trigger? Good ol' STP. Well opinions are opinions I suppose, but I'll have to disagree there.
just checked Phil store and its out but why the heck is it $16.99..?? oh well i just clicked the buy button.. downloading NOW... been saving for this game since last month... thank God i have i job... lol
Really? I've had two people now ask about how to turn off random battles. I don't for the life of me remember being told that I'd gained that as a skill, I could swear it was like that all along. Even when I started a new game as a new team, I could toggle them on and off right away. I'm confused now and hope I wasn't being too terribly misleading saying you could turn them off.
