Agarest Wars 2..A thread about the game and NOT the fanservice this time....

[Dincrest]

There isn't really manual movement or formation creation like in a SRPG.  Choosing which of the four active party members is acting leader is what changes the formations. 

It's simpler in practice than it is in explanation.  That's how a lot of !F games are.  The mechanics are less complicated than they're made out to be, and some of them do feel a bit arbitrary. 

[Klyde Chroma]

Let me preface this post by saying this is in no way intended to kiss Dincrest's ass.... with that said, let me also state his ass deserves a smooch for that stellar review!

Why do I say stellar? Well because someone FINALLY gave a fair review of the title.... and let me explain myself further, I say "fair" because some other reviews I've read have left me wondering if the authors even played the game or simply derived their entire opinion based on the fact that "Idea Factory" and "Compile Hearts" were on the box.... and that is of course if it even got reviewed.... some major publications have yet to even touch it (if I'm not mistaken "Game Informer" didn't even review it..).

Now with all that said I simply want to highlight some of the finer points of the majesty that is Dincrest's symphomy of truth amidst a score of bias and lies.....

Enter Record of Agarest War 2. Forget about its fanservice, its silly limited edition pack-ins, and the poor reputation preceding it thanks to prior Agarest War games. Slough off that nonsense, open your mind, and give the game a shot. Perhaps you will then see as I do that Record of Agarest War 2 is actually a decent JRPG capable of standing up on its own merits without any need for gimmicks and baubles.

I feel like everyone should read that.... like it should be on the back of the freakin' box-LoL

plot direction is sometimes vague and there are a few occasions where it is far too easy to skip over vital plot points and events. For example, had I not been severely underleveled for a certain boss fight, I would not have revisited a previously completed area, stumbling upon a major chunk of plot and a key playable character!

Couldn't agree more.... as far as the games problem go, this was the biggest IMO... I actually had a similar experiences more then once and I am not yet through the title.

Despite reminding me of Valkyrie Profile, I actually found myself approaching battles like a Megami Tensei game where the key to victory lies in exploiting enemy weaknesses with various party members' strengths. Therefore, the swap-out command during battles will become your greatest ally. It is best to select the right party for the situation rather than play favorites.

Proof that (unlike other reviews floating around on the internet) Dincrest actually played through the title!! I love the (many) review authors who wrote this off as a "button masher"..... Mashing will get you NOWHERE after endeavoring a good leg into the first generation..... forget about anything beyond that.

This leads me to the best part of Agarest 2 – the music! Seriously, the music in this game is excellent across the board. Idea Factory's soundtracks can be hit or miss, but this one nailed it. I enjoyed the rocking combat music (particularly the Gai Desert battle theme), the standard opening vocal song, the "dance pop" vocal song following the prologue, the other "Easter egg" vocal songs peppered throughout the game, the shimmering save/load music, all of it.

... the biggest tragedy here is that the game didn't come with a soundtrack!... To make matters worse, I can't find it available to buy either... This needs to be on my MP3 player to jog to damnit...

it shows that Idea Factory has the potential to create good stuff.


My favorite line on the review and an appropriate way to close...

So with all that, kudos Dincrest! I have never had a "favorite game review author" but I now do :)

[Dincrest]

Wow... I don't know what to say.  

I just hope others decide to at least give the game a rental and try it out.  

And, yes, the limited edition should have come with a soundtrack instead of a stupid blow up doll thing. 

[Embryon]

Neal's got groupies, Neal's got groupies~

Hey, let me get your autograph while I still have the chance! ;3

[Dincrest]

I have nothing funny to say. 

[Klyde Chroma]

Neal's got groupies, Neal's got groupies~

Hey, let me get your autograph while I still have the chance! ;3

Haha thats right he does! In fact, I'm stealing that as my status for a moment if you don't mind.... LoL

[Kratoscar2008]

The game looks quite generic appart from the generation thing, and having played Ar tonelico 2 i can say that fanservice wont motivate me at all to purchase it.

[Dincrest]

And I could say that you're judging the book by its cover.  Yes it's Idea Factory and yes it has fanservice, but the game is surprisingly good in spite of it and I rather liked the narrative.  I've played a lot of RPGs, and Agarest 2 actually felt kinda fresh and sexy.  Not an "ugh, THIS again?!?!?!"  

Give it a rental on GameFly or something and try it for yourself.  You might be as surprised as I was.  Take away the fanservice (which you do have to hunt for, it's not all gimme) and there is a solid game there.   

[Aurian]

Ah, derp. I saw some Agarest games at my local game shop and picked up what I thought was Agarest Wars 2. It was Zero. And it was.... underwhelming.

[Dincrest]

Agarest 1 and Zero were both bad.  Not fun to play at all. 

[Kratoscar2008]

And I could say that you're judging the book by its cover.  Yes it's Idea Factory and yes it has fanservice, but the game is surprisingly good in spite of it and I rather liked the narrative.  I've played a lot of RPGs, and Agarest 2 actually felt kinda fresh and sexy.  Not an "ugh, THIS again?!?!?!"  

Give it a rental on GameFly or something and try it for yourself.  You might be as surprised as I was.  Take away the fanservice (which you do have to hunt for, it's not all gimme) and there is a solid game there.   

Doesnt that had to do with the date sim elements? From what i had read that is important to go trough the game (As AT2 is necessary for the reyvatiels to take a bath to level up and advance the game) for that generation thing.

[Klyde Chroma]

And I could say that you're judging the book by its cover.  Yes it's Idea Factory and yes it has fanservice, but the game is surprisingly good in spite of it and I rather liked the narrative.  I've played a lot of RPGs, and Agarest 2 actually felt kinda fresh and sexy.  Not an "ugh, THIS again?!?!?!"  

Give it a rental on GameFly or something and try it for yourself.  You might be as surprised as I was.  Take away the fanservice (which you do have to hunt for, it's not all gimme) and there is a solid game there.   

Doesnt that had to do with the date sim elements? From what i had read that is important to go trough the game (As AT2 is necessary for the reyvatiels to take a bath to level up and advance the game) for that generation thing.

You had to give reyvetails dozens and dozens of baths throughout AT2.... it was a necessary and constrant mechanic throughout the game that was quite unrelated to its function making it... well... just odd (what I mean is, who the hell decided to correlate bathing with become a more formidable combatant....?)..... additionally the bathing has nothing to do with the narrative advancing (aside from the fact that you will not get very far in the game without keeping your girls squeaky clean....)

The generation advancing in Agarest 2 only happens twice, it is necessarily tied to the narrative and does serve only to advance things in a logical fashion.... that is, due to reasons expressed within the games narrative you must choose a mate to ensure a generation beyond your current MC can carry on your duty/purpose. The generation advancing can be given a great deal of attention or be an afterthought depending on how you play. You can practically ignore the whole concept altogeather, and just simply reach the point in the narrative where the generation advances, pick and chick and keep on keeping on if you prefer.....

In other words, the biggest difference here is AT2 baths serve as a necessary (and IMO illogical) game mechanic for character growth throughout the entire game whereas generation advancing in Agarest is a narrative necessity (that makes much more sense) and only happens at story-specific points throughout the title. To be honest, there is really no similarity in the two that I can see.

[Alisha]

klyde it is probally for the best that game informer didnt review it. pretty sure some years back a staffer was caught saying they review games from the perspective of fps playing fratboys.

[Royal]

I started to play this but two things frustrates me:
- game is sometimes very choppy - I do not know if there is problem with my DVD drive, but I have no such issue in other games.
- very often, it is extremely hard to determine what is next step in storyline - where to go next. No journal, nothing. Maybe I should go further study paper manual.

[Zendervai]

Yeah, the CG animation needs work.

The setup of where to go and all that is kind of a pain. I just used this guide: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/lv?key=0Aqs_mBqhdLO1dDJDTkZiMXVtZlQ1dXlpbV9Zd2pGRkE&toomany=true

No spoilers, but it tells you where to go and all that.