Fate/Extra

[Commander Jubby Shepard]

That.  And even the limited edition version is only $40.  I don't know where Aeolus got $50 from...

His ass?

So how do abilities work in this game? Also, what is everyone's favored Servant?

[Cyril]

I've spent a bit more time with it now.  I quite honestly think this is going to eventually become somewhat tedious but I'm also enjoying it a lot more than I thought I would. Your mileage may vary.

The problem lies with that the game requires a type of "luck-based memorization."
In my previous post about the battle system I mentioned you and your opponent are given 6 attacks each round.  When you first encounter an enemy, you're only shown one of these attacks. As you continually fight them (one enemy per battle) you're eventually shown more.  But you're only shown more after every 5-10 battles with them, so until you've already fought a ton of them, you're going to be relying on luck.  I don't like this aspect one bit.

Now, admittedly, it does work well on some enemies.  For example, there's a really strong normal enemy in the first floor of the first dungeon. When you first fight him, you will either die, or take a pretty harsh beating. Until you realize he never defends. That cuts off one or your attack options (you don't need to use "Break") which improves your chances drastically.  Another enemy loves to defend - so you're risking a lot by just trying to use the normal "Attack" command.

The problem is these type of enemies are few. Most of them use all three attack types and until you've fought quite a few of them, you're going to be relying on luck or you must write their attack pattern down.  Since there are multiple enemy types in every dungeon, and each enemy has multiple patterns, you're not going to squeak by without having to write if you want to be in the dungeon for a prolonged period of time.  It does become easier once you've killed 10+ of each enemy, but by that point you're ready to move on to the next floor, where different enemies await you.

Oh, and another note. People like to compare the time-passing system of this game to Persona 3.  I would compare it to Mana Khemia.  You can explore and do whatever you want for as long as you want as long as you don't enter the dungeon (or, for the Mana Khemia comparison, do your assignment).

I think I've rambled enough, but if you'd like I can also elaborate on the information gathering, which is story related.

[Bytor]

I was already sold, now I'm doubly sold, Mana Khemia and Persona "clone"...gotta have it!

[Cyril]

Haha, don't get too excited. There's not a whole lot to do when you're not in the dungeon. Namely, investigate (this is pretty much the secondary goal of the game and ties in with the primary goal) and talk to people.  Talking to people is interesting, though, since it really gives you a sense of the tension and atmosphere.  NPCs change in attitude throughout the game, are killed off, and give helpful hints. So far, my particular favorites are one guy in your classroom, and a certain duo on 1F.  I actually was quite sad when one of my favorite NPCs mysteriously disappeared once day. . .

I was mostly trying to reference that unlike Personas 3 and 4, you can do all of the events and talk to all of the people without the "day" passing. There is a minor "time limit" in that sense as well.  You can enter the dungeon 7 times before each story event - more than enough, mind you, you should be able to finish everything in 3-4 trips.  If this worries you - don't let it. If you play on Easy Mode there are Healing Fountains on every floor, but even they're not really necessary (I play on Normal).

I think so far, other than the luck-based battle system, my biggest gripe is that I'm not seeing any Quick Save function.  I don't want to explore a dungeon for an hour then suddenly an emergency comes up and I can't save my game.

For all I rant though, the story is quite fascinating (as it should be, to keep your interest as a VN) and other than a few typos and grammar errors, Aksys did a very good job localizing the game.

[Yggdrasil]

Who's buying the sequel?

Siliconera link

[TiamatNM]

For all I rant though, the story is quite fascinating (as it should be, to keep your interest as a VN) and other than a few typos and grammar errors, Aksys did a very good job localizing the game.

I'm really liking the story too.  The combat isn't as bad as I thought either, at least the music is good and the fights are fun to watch.  Makes up for the overly simplistic battle system a bit imo

[Cyril]

In case anyone's still looking for opinions and information, I'm about 3/4 through the game now. The game is 20-25 total hours running through at a normal pace.

What I said above posts still holds true. Battles remain luck-based during your first 5-10 battles with the enemy even as you progress through the game.  This is, in my opinion, the battle system's greatest flaw.  Even if you've fought through the area for a half hour, you can get an instant game-over if you're unlucky.
There are two remedies:
1. Write down attack patterns or look at the Japanese wiki for them.
2. Kill more enemies.  This is a bit of an annoyance, since you're only on a level for 3 days and will have probably finished everything on the level by the second day (unless there's a story event that prevents earlier completion, ala Week 5). So basically, by the time you're adequate at fighting them without luck, you've already moved on to the next level.

A third semi-remedy exists.  There's an ability on the "Shockwave" armor that you can use in the Field screen that paralyzes your enemy.  Use this to gain 1-2 free attacks at no threat whatsoever.  The higher the ability level the more turns Paralyzed.  Even the second level ability (2 turns) will allow for an easier battle.

More importantly:
Treat the game like a dungeon crawler.
Expect to spend the majority of the game in the dungeon.  Though there is the school area to run around, with NPCs, events, and a shop, there's not a whole lot to do in it.  A friend of mine said he found the dungeons tedious, so do be warned that you might as well.  I'd say this is one of those games better played over an extended period of time (a couple of hours each day, a few times a week) as to not get burnt out by it if you're not fond of spending a lot of time in very similar dungeons.

Another complaint:
Dungeons and non-boss enemies are all reskins of each other.  There are some ~10 enemy types total that are constantly reused.  You've seen them all by the Third week.

[TiamatNM]

I think the ratio of dungeon time to town/cutscene time is pretty balanced.  This may be more difficult with other servants but with Saber most encounters don't last more than 1 or 2 turns (been jacking strength the most followed by endurance).  I find that if given the opportunity to explore a dungeon floor uninterrupted by story scenes (like encountering enemy servant) I can generally map a whole floor in 1 "day."  Almost every week (currently on week 5) I actually throw the last day's dungeon crawling by entering the arena and then leaving immediately to make the day end.  

edit:  harsh review!  http://www.rpgfan.com/reviews/Fate_Extra/index.html  XD

I'm glad I got it though cause for whatever reason the dungeons and combat aren't bothering me as much as they probably should be.  It's probably cause my expectations were so low from the start.

[Dincrest]

Obviously, I did not enjoy this game.  Luck based combat is just plain stupid and the dungeons were lame.  The visual novel elements were good though.  Bottom line, solid visual novel, crap RPG.  Buy 999 instead.  Or To The Moon.  THAT game is fan-freaking-tastic!

EDIT: I don't think my review was *that* harsh.  I mean, I spent half of it talking about the visual novel elements, which were good.  I think my Monster Kingdom: Jewel Summoner review is far more harsh. 

[Alisha]

i picked this game up but have been too busy to play it -_-

[greg]

Hi, I'm brand new here and this is my first post. It's definitely different from the anime. This new Saber is boastful and arrogant, and is very different from the kind, noble Saber from the anime. The premise is slightly different; the Holy Grail War still remains, and it's still a cross between Pokemon and Battle Royale. This time, though, the game takes place in a constructed virtual world, consisting of only the high school.

The battle system is essentially rock/paper/scissors. Certain enemies will consistently use repeating attack patterns, so this will take some initial guessing and then rote memorization after that. That might not be the most exciting for many, but so far the originality hasn't worn off. You go around the high school and collect information, talking to other students, etc. Then when you enter the virtual dungeon, this is where combat takes place. Confronting other students inside the dungeon is supposed to be prohibited, but this seems inevitable as the story goes along.

I've only played up to and defeated the first boss, and I'm starting on the second "week" in the game. The enemies so far tend to choose between two different attack patterns so far. I was hoping that the dungeons would be a Roguelike-style randomized dungeon setup. However, I do understand that many Western gamers hate the premise of a randomized dungeon, such as Evolution, Izuna, and Mystery Dungeon, even though Roguelike was originally a Western game. With this virtual constructed dungeon premise of the game, a Roguelike randomized setup would have worked perfectly and made the dungeon exploring parts more interesting. Oh well.

[Dincrest]

You know, randomized dungeons would have been a shot in the arm the dungeons needed.  I'm not the biggest fan of Rougelikes, but a Roguelike dungeon mechanic would have worked well in this game. 

And, yes, the game takes place in a parallel universe from the anime and older Fate/ visual novels, so...

[TiamatNM]

Dincrest - I'm mostly talking about the score.  I know you'll say the text of the review is what matters but I feel that it deserves at least a 70 because the story is good.  I agree the combat/dungeons suck but it's broken up often by town/cutscenes so it's not as horrible as it could be.  Basically, 62 on this site is really really bad lol

Greg & Dincrest -  Random dungeons would be nice if the combat was good but since it's not I'd say its actually better with the static dungeons because it lets you finish them easier and get back to other things.  I have nothing against random dungeons (I love Evolution) but in a game with cruddy combat and limited customization it just wouldn't feel fun/rewarding enough.  

[FlamingR1ft]

Dincrest - I'm mostly talking about the score.  I know you'll say the text of the review is what matters but I feel that it deserves at least a 70 because the story is good.  I agree the combat/dungeons suck but it's broken up often by town/cutscenes so it's not as horrible as it could be.  Basically, 62 on this site is really really bad lol

Haven't you just described it as a good book but a bad game?

If it was purely a visual novel, then (at least for me) I'd give a higher weighting to the story category. But it has a substantial amount of gameplay too.

[Eusis]

Dincrest - I'm mostly talking about the score.  I know you'll say the text of the review is what matters but I feel that it deserves at least a 70 because the story is good.  I agree the combat/dungeons suck but it's broken up often by town/cutscenes so it's not as horrible as it could be.  Basically, 62 on this site is really really bad lol

Except it's still held back by a gameplay barrier. I have to admit, I grabbed it because of the Nesuverse fandom and being curious about it without resorting to anime adaptions or seedier routes, and I've liked it more than expected, gameplay included, but I still think he made the right call. There are lots of little things too that could've been added that'd make gameplay less of an issue, like making death more trivial via retaining progress or simply letting you retry a battle until you won, showing through icons or whatever which moves enemies did so it's easier to track, or simply include more options like being able to run away. If a game wants to focus more on story than gameplay then it should make the gameplay either compliment the story or as reasonably unobtrusive as possible, and Fate/EXTRA failing to do that means it definitely deserves to be penalized for it.