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So, I just started playing this a couple of nights ago and I'm really enjoying it. It's cute, very simple, but it just strikes a chord with me. It kind of reminds me of a cross between Earthbound and Evolution. If you're looking for something cute, fun, and definitely old school, I'd recommend this one! It's also one of the less ugly 3Dish games for DS.

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Chewbekah ^_^

Currently Playing: Final Fantasy XIV: ARR, Attack of the Firday Monsters, Animal Crossing: A New Leaf, Lego City Undercover, Kingdom Hearts 1.5 Remix

Recently Finished: Fire Emblem: Awakening

Favorite Game: Suikoden III

It certainly does live up to its name -- it's only until later in the game y'realize nostalgia alone isn't enough to elevate a game beyond the norm. Still, I have more positives than negatives to talk about, and the game does have a quirky kind of charm, maybe because, instead of fighting King Zxyborg on Planet 9, you're flying around in steampunky airships on good ol' Earth. The amount of airship battles chafed after awhile, though. >={

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It's gonna be a glorious day
I feel my luck can change

Quote (Shotgunnova @ 14th June 2011 12:28)

It certainly does live up to its name -- it's only until later in the game y'realize nostalgia alone isn't enough to elevate a game beyond the norm. Still, I have more positives than negatives to talk about, and the game does have a quirky kind of charm, maybe because, instead of fighting King Zxyborg on Planet 9, you're flying around in steampunky airships on good ol' Earth. The amount of airship battles chafed after awhile, though. >={

Admittedly the airship battles do get old after a while, especially if you know exactly where you're headed and just want to get there. I'm not very far in the game but so far I think it's one the better purchases I've made in the last month.

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Chewbekah ^_^

Currently Playing: Final Fantasy XIV: ARR, Attack of the Firday Monsters, Animal Crossing: A New Leaf, Lego City Undercover, Kingdom Hearts 1.5 Remix

Recently Finished: Fire Emblem: Awakening

Favorite Game: Suikoden III

I had purchased it shortly after it came out. I enjoyed the first 10 hours or so. I can't remember how long I played it now. Shortly after I got access to the entire world, the game got set aside and I never picked it back up until I took it into Gamestop.

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"And that, my liege, is how we know the Earth to be banana-shaped” -Sir Bedevere the Wise

Oh, this game definitely evoked a sense of discovery and adventure that one could say was lacking in my drought of not having a good solid classic-style JRPG.

The 3D characters, while not too detailed, are definitely quite cute. In fact, I find myself sometimes remarking that this game is what Final Fantasy VII would have hoped to be, with a much more polished script and use of 3D effects.

Haven't finished it yet. Am currently at a certain point where there are some missable enemies. Just haven't gotten around to doing it yet.

I REALLY LOVE the skill advancing system. I always felt annoyed that in the FF games you basically forgot about Fire 1, Ice 1, and Lit 1 by the endgame. This game lets you advance those spells--and it's even better than Etrian Odyssey because it gradually reduces the MP cost, rather than increasing it. And then you get to unlock new skills with it. I'd love to see this system be used in other games.

The music is quite good! In fact, the London theme was very fitting in making me enthused about the prospect of adventuring and going out to see the world. It's one of the best first-town themes I've ever heard, ranking up there with CT's Peaceful Days and the New Bark Town theme from Pokémon GSC.

I like the Adventurer's Logbook quite a lot. I'm a big fan of these setting-detail features--I also love Metroid Prime's scan logs. I've actually taken the time to read the commentary on every item and monster that I've seen. (For better or for worse it also tells you about how far you are into completing the game.)

As Chewbekah noted, the one drawback about this game is the airship battles. The enemies tend to have a lot of HP, and especially when you first encounter them, you'd better deal with them like bosses. And their large HP counts are quite tedious to whittle down--and they're also hard to run from. Flying Rod/Quetzacoatl are annoying because they love to dodge physical attacks. Nidhogg Class and Neo Nidhogg have craptons of HP (2000 and 1800 respectively). Thank goodness for Support Shot--which requires you to use a physical attack, but at least hits those things that dodge normal physical attacks! (Also, after a while, you realize that you can sometimes get Pad to use an item and not cancel Support Shot on his turn, saving you MP.)

I was actually surprised that the opening dungeon--the Tower of Babel--was accessible in mid-game. This was a refreshing twist.

Unfortunately, game balance is a bit off. With the frequency of random battles and the fetch-quests making you retread dungeons, your team ends up pretty much invincible--even getting KO'd is rare; bosses up through halfway through the game all seem underleveled compared to you (especially if you spend your first turn prepping support abilities). On the other hand, airship battles remain difficult and tedious.

As a sidenote, some enemies appear both in dungeons and in the air. They actually have different stats, even though the logbook doesn't show that. Pegasus enemies have about 10-15 HP (albeit high evade and defense) in the air; they have far more HP in dungeons.

Also, it would be nice if World Treasure locations got marked on your map or something.

This post has been edited by Glenn Magus Harvey on 21st June 2011 19:14

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Check the "What games are you playing at the moment?" thread for updates on what I've been playing.

You can find me on the Fediverse! I use Mastodon, where I am @[email protected] ( https://sakurajima.moe/@glennmagusharvey )