Well Dice, ya got me.....

After the PS1 post over yonder in "single player" I had a BOF3 itch.... reading your progress sent me over the edge... I was really widdling away at my backlog whilst enjoying Agarest 2 via a neat and tidy game schedule.... and now I just had to add BOF3 into the equation and start a new game in it today.... so much for my neat and tidy gaming routine... looks like Hyperdimension MK2 and Earthbound are gonna be waiting a lil' bit longer to get any more attention from me.... and I think Dragons Dogma just totally fell off the radar... Classic gaming and backlog weekends have now just become in honor of the Dragon Clan for me...

Curse you Dice! Curse you for enticing me to indulge this ooey-gooey morsel of classic gaming goodness!.... This is all in jest by the way... this game totally kicks ass, thanks for sending me over the edge on this one :)

Just something quick to note.... (while I already posted it in the ps1 thread, I thought I would share here....) after a side by side comparison this afternoon of the first hour or so of BOF3 PSP upscaled on tv vs. the original ps1 smoothed out running on the ps3, the psp variety is totally the way to go.... way brighter visuals, better sound quality and most importantly the controls are far more responsive in regard to moving your beyond-awesome-old-school-sprites around....

EDIT:...... Ok..... so I went a nice 5-6 mile jog to think things over and I've come to my senses..... I must be disciplined... Breath of Fire has to wait until at least I finish Earthbound.... So don't worry guys.... Catastrophe averted....  I swear some days I feel as though I'm gonna explode from my excitement to delve into a new title (or old one or that matter....)....

Gotta retract one of my earlier statements..... for anyone wondering the European PSP incarnation of breath of fire 3 looks (and feels) MUCH better upscaled on a TV as opposed to the original ps1 incarnation run via the ps3 with smoothing.... I just did side by side comparisons this afternoon to decide which I wanted to play (always wanted to do that-lol) and there is no contest here.... PSP Pal version is definately the way to go....

I had mentioned I ordered BOF3 to play smoothed on the ps3 in my earlier post  about backward compatability.... and let me tell you I feel like a fool now....that was totally 60 bucks that could have been better spent..... so for anyone else torn on how to indulge this classic, let my error save you some trouble... PSP upscaled is without a doubt the way to go (and cheaper)

You can say that again... I just totally went waaay out of my way on my playthrough for a sterk ending and ended up with cordelia... I was sure I met all the requirements... I honestly don't know how it happened... well actually yea i do..... I didn't use a guide... thats what happened-LoL

I have the 60gb launch model PS3 for backwards compatability myself. The 60gb launch model and 80gb models are the only ones that are ps2 backward compatable.

On that note, should you have that model, whenever you are playing a ps1 or 2 game, hit the PS3 button on your controller and go to "other settings" and set smoothing to "on".... the games will look 100x better than they do even with the best hdmi cables money can buy... they look so much better in fact I just bought breath of fire 3 to play on the ps3 this way, even though I own the psp european version.... it makes THAT much of a difference visually.  This "smoothing" option, may or may not be available on newer ps3's... I couldn't really tell you as I've no experience with them.

IMPORTANT NOTE: backward compatability is waaaay better with the 60gb model vs the 80gb to my understanding as well due to the fact that the 60 gb has different hardware to support the BC whereas the 80 just uses some cheap-o emulation chip. This is apparent when using the smoothing option as the visuals are enhanced notably better with the 60gb vs. the 80

Sick as it sounds, I actually have contrived "gaming schedules" to cope with such conundrums.... I have 2 current gen titles I switch between on weekdays depending on what I am feeling and usually 1 backlog or 1 classic I play starting friday til sunday. I actually just completed my 108 star playthrough of suikoden 1 via a month or so of "Suikoden Saturday's and Sunday's"-LoL

I find its sometimes hard to tear myself away from a title for a day or two to allow time for the other, but my completion rate has been much better gaming this way. If I plug away at one title long enough I find myself usually "just playing it to finish it" by the end....

While now that you all know how sick Klyde actually is, I dare someone to inquire about how I micromanage the rest of my time.... I'm so routine in the interest of productivity it is quite disgusting actually.....

Well I certainly wouldn't go so far as to say that.... as I said, this is without question a cut above their other titles.... there is some definitive evolution to bear witness to here.... Most of IF's other titles I felt were borderline torture unless you were (as I am) part of that niche' demographic they are catering to.... I actually feel this ALMOST transcends that and stands on its own two feet as a really decent SRPG... Mind you I said almost.... The flaws do hold it back, to the point of failure...? No, I don't think so..... It has inherent IF flaws, but it has enough going for it that, unlike most other titles they have produced, these flaws are the type of thing that make you frustrated at points but not enough to quit playing....

So flawed yes, failed (in my opinion) no.

I actually feel if this is any indication of whats to come out of IF in the future they may prove to have some seriously decent games someday.....

Nah, I'll never forget Disgaea 4 :) I've been itching to get the post game content actually because its the only Disgaea title I didn't pour 100 of hours in after finishing the main story....

Anyhow back to more impressions of Agarest here....

A few more hours in and I am afraid to report things are becoming a bit stale... To expand upon my last post I'll get into gameplay a bit here....

I was mistaken.... it isn't that the systems are terribly complex or overwhelming... it is just that they are presented as such... the game does a horrible job of making things seem waaaay more complex then they need be... Now that I have the hang of it though, battles are getting a bit old (while still real pretty to look at). It seems each encounter is solved with the same repetitive strategy of combo attacks followed up by ultimate attacks... Just pay attention to the wait gauge, build up an ultimate/limit break styled move, let her rip and thats that.... Sort of is becoming "lather rinse repeat" a bit. I tend to think this may change more as the difficulty increases as I progress but we will see...

Now as for the skills and equipment systems.... The game once again bombards you with a 101 tutorials making things very complex to digest.... however much like the battle system it doesn't seem that trying once you get some hands on experience with it. Problem is, these tutorials come at the onset of the game and its literally hours before you get to actually put any of said instruction into application.... This left me feeling confused and baffled for no reason really. They make a souped up pseudo-materia system seem like quantum physics here.... at least that was the impression I initially got..

So another big con I feel need be reported in my humble opinion is how your introduced to everything within the first few hours... I can see it REALLY turning off gamers fast.... Coupled with the fact that first few hours are LONG.... you don't get your feet wet too quick in this title, let me tell you what.... in fact a few hours in and your still in the introductory phases, yet its still a good while before that which was introduced to you has any application.

So is this a perfect game? No, not by any stretch.... Is it an upgrade from the past Agarests? I would say without a doubt!.... I'll close now with this. I am actually pretty surprised with the quality displayed here by compile hearts and idea factory... I am a fan, but I'm the first to admit its because of my particular subjective tastes that I have appreciated their titles.  They have, however, definately stepped things up in a number of respects... I feel like if they knock up the gameplay a notch along with the production value they have going here we'd really see something stellar.... The long and the short of it..... Agarest Wars 2 will certainly be enough to tide me over til Growlanser IV, but I highly doubt its gonna prove something I feel a pressing need to burn through despite the decent narrative and eye candy.

But once again, these are initial impressions.... another week or so with the title and I think I'll really know where I stand with it.

Ok, I am not far enough in yet to give a relevant report but I will detail my first impressions...

Let me just start by saying this game is freakin' gorgeous.... by far the most stunning anime-based visual direction I think I've ever seen in a game... katsuyuki's character art coupled with most visually appealing sprites I've seen in a current gen title equates to godiva quality eye candy here... couple that with the lush backdrops and let me say, for a game of its style, its visual impact is no less then amazing.

The soundtrack is great, very appropriate and mood enhancing. I am actually really disapointed the LE didn't include it.

The narrative a few hours in is really shining as well. This surprisingly well written script, while containing some pretty cliche elements that wouldn't normally hold my attention, has proven pretty grand so far. It's serious and gripping with great dialogue without becoming too windy for its own good if you know what I mean..... I hate feeling overwhelmed with information on the world I'm trying to immerse myself in.... worse yet is when the volumes of said info is necessary for the narrative within said world to make sense.... that is not a problem here. The scope of things feels grand, and pressing. The characters have personality. The cliches are easily overlooked in light of those two facts alone.

That so far has been its strongest points for me...

Another major pro however has been the battle system. I'm enjoying it thus far.... I'm enjoying it alot actually. However there is just a bit much to comprehend here. I'll need to give it some more time to fully understand the mechanics of it. Given that I'm a few hours in and still feel unfamiliar with it though is sort of odd.... then again I am not familiar with cross edge at all and from what I understand this sort of mirrors that a bit, so I suppose some will feel right at home here.

I can't comment  much of the gameplay elements yet actually... I just don't feel comfortable enough to say one way or the other....

On another note I will also say this.... I couldn't decide what difficulty to play on, given how tough Agarest Zero was.... yet I was afraid not playing on hard would prevent me from reaping the benefit of some content, as that was an unfortunate fact of other Agarest titles if I'm not mistaken... so after playing on normal for a few hours, it got to me and I restarted on hard. Let me just say, this game is MUCH more forgiving than the other Agarest titles. Hard has not felt dwarfing in any sense thus far. In fact, it seems to be just right I would say..... Also on that subject... I scoured the internet for info on whether or not there was much to be missed by not playing on hard and could find nothing.... The lack of info on this game is pretty astounding to me even given the fact that is a new title.

The cons so far
-No english voice acting (may or may not be a con to some)
-The gorgeous visuals can suffer a bit from lag here and there... this doesn't bother me at all, but I know it irks some people something fierce...
-Its so cool to get to walk around in real time on the world map that I feel towns could have proven alot more enjoyable if you could navigate them in the same manner.
-Character creation (much as in Agarest Zero) seems to make absolutely no freakin' sense what-so-ever.

So while my jury is still out on the meet and potatos of this one, what I have experienced thus far is golden. One more thing I would like to say, if anyone is considerring this but has been turned off by its predecessors, this is without a doubt a whole different experience than Agarest or Agarest Zero. In my opinion it is a VAST improvement on all fronts, but in some respects its way too much of a departure to even compare if you ask me.

I'll post more impressions about the gameplay and whatnot tomarrow after some more time with it.

I've played through 6 enough times to know that bad translation like the lyrics to a top twenties 90's tune that never made it off the radio once it fell off the charts... Is the the GBA translation improved enough to give it a whirl? It is the only incarnation of the game I haven't played through...

wow.... I never thought about that.... dating sims that would allow you to choose your sexual preference that is... has that ever been done?

In any event, on that note, supposedly in this installment you can choose to "force" whomever to be your mate to the detriment of your offsprings stats if your given choice isn't fond of you.... something tells me this game is gonna come under scrutiny no matter how good it is, as the self-righteous who need something to bitch about take these things completely  out of context...

Between this and Mugen Souls I can't wait to here how offended parents of gamer-kiddies get this year whilst completely over looking the fact that for years they have been allowing their child the virtual freedom of shooting their neighbors and friends in modern and realistic settings...

Before kicking this one off I just want to preface this with an apology for not continuing my last Agarest 2 thread... That thread was primarily about/focused on the LE goodies and we all know where that discussion went.... I didn't want to revive it because I felt we needed a thread about the game and not gender exploitation or discrimination or whatever the hell happened to that one.... I'm not gonna go back and check because I recall it got too out of sorts for me while it was still kicking and I figure best leave that one burried.

So any-hoo.... Who hear is as stoked as I am about this one!!? I purposely held off on Gungnir and have been finishing backlogged titles for the last 3 weeks to make sure nothing compromised immersing myself in this come wednesday morning! I really liked Agarest Zero but ruined it on myself with DLC (never ever again will I get equipment and money DLC packs.... even if they are free....).... So as such, and seeing as how this looks to be a 100% improved departure from AW0, I can't contain myself... I really feel like this is gonna be a stellar title.

If I'm not mistaken the narrative is also a completely fresh invention with nothing to do with the Ag0 and Ag1 universes, which just compounds my excitement further! Aside from that the free-roam overworld map and switch to cross-edge styled battles (much shorter than the Ag0 and Ag1 battles) has me beyond sold. So yea.... I'm going into this one with some expectations but I really don't see myself being let down here..... and if I am oh well... it still kept me focused enough this month to finish FF 4 Complete Collection, Suikoden 1 and Atelier Rorona.

I typically won't restart an RPG til it is old enough to be new to me again-LoL.... There are SOME exceptions however.... I played through FF6 enough times to literally recall parts of the script verbatim... heck, I could probably draw maps of the dungeons from memory... Most of those play-through's were in my childhood though.

The stuff I replay now is all, as was stated by a few others, in the interest of nostalgia coupled with the fact that some older titles just have no equal in my mind. I did however go through a period of my life where I was so inebriated I can't remember anything of the games I played.... some of those have demanded my attention again over the course of the last 5 years or so since becoming sober.... sad as that may be.

Though my recall of the few aforementioned titles is pretty fuzzy as well, I do recall liking but not finishing LoL or BtB for some reason... What I do remember is really not digging the limited cast in LoL.... In either event, neither were stellar enough to demand my attention again later in life...

I'll tell you what is demanding my attention as a result of this thread is Breath of Fire... I've been itching for another run through of 3 in the worst way... I think that is going to be my next "classic" to pop in once I finished my Earthbound play-through.

Also, to the original poster, good move picking up Suikoden man, you won't regret it :) Dare I say, you may even feel enclined to shell out the bucks for 2 (as I did) after giving it a go.

Yea, I'm drawing and tattooing for anywhere from 8-12 hours a day.... anything that eases the strain on my eyeballs is worth it...


To be honest, aside from a few streetpass perks I haven't downloaded much of anything... even my 2 Ps3's are both almost completely void of online purchases, save DLC for the games I own hard copies of.... I've always been one to enjoy owning to physical game/disc/cartridge/hardware et cetera... my entire PS1 collection is all original disc based retail purchases, not a single digital... though I must admit, most of them were purchased before they were up on the network and I could have definately saved a buck or two had I waited (suikoden and arc the lad collection which I purchased in mint condition come to mind....)

Thanks for the heads up on Queens blade.... you guys saved me a good hour or two of dissapointment tonite...

On the other hand I found ikkitousen to be really enjoyable for some reason... but I went into that one a pretty big fan of the battle vixens manga so I was relatively bias...

Well, while waiting for Fate/Stay I think tonite I'll check out The Familiar of Zero... I'm just not feeling any more Dream Eater Merry right now and Now and There is my daytime anime... yes I have anime viewing schedules set up for myself.... I also have game-playing schedules set up to juggle my various backlogs whilst acomadating new titles..... is this strange?