But you need Salt Swords to kill giant slugs! It's GGT #58!

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[quote name='The Mana Knight']I disagree. I thought Xenosaga had one of the best storylines ever in a series, and it's extremely emotional. The first Episode isn't suppose to be complete since it was intended to be a six part series. It has the deepest character development I've ever seen in a series (first RPG I grew deeply attached to every character, since I grew to knew them all throughout the series). I found the battles in Episode I to be awesome (Episode II's battles weren't too good though), once you upgraded your tech attacks to do them as a 2nd attack. I found Xenosaga to have one of the more enjoyable battle systems since I love the button presses. Soundtrack rocked. Tons of memorable cutscenes which I re-watch over and over again with my Xenosaga Episode I DVD. It was my favorite game last gen until Kingdom Hearts II/Xenosaga Episode III came around.[/quote]
Alright, I'll go more in-depth with my problems with the game:

The first episode was incomplete and I mean that in every sense. I understand that it was a multi-part series, but usually they have some ending that feels a bit concrete. It practically screamed "It doesn't matter how far you get with me, you know you're going to have to buy the next game." On the other hand, a series like Star Wars or Harry Potter, each movie / book had a satisfying ending with just a few cliffhangers. In Empire, Han gets frozen, Luke gets his ass kicked, but you just received the answers to many questions, with so few waiting.

Next would be the storytelling. I absolutely despise a lot of anime/RPG storytelling, because of the way they like to reveal plot points. They have a bunch of people standing there talking about stuff you don't understand or referencing "The thing" or "That event" that caused catastrophes galore. It's stupid. The motivation behind a story should be to learn more about it, not to confuse someone and reveal stuff later.

The pacing is atrocious too. People like to talk about 2-hour long cutscenes. I didn't mind that. What I did mind was the 2-hour dungeon that followed. You get injected with story, then some boring dungeon crawling, then story, etc. It should be interweaved.

The only thing I remember about the Battle System is that there were almost no uses for AGWS and the stat level up system was so confusing.
 
kain has some good points... I can definitely understand where he's coming from. I, personally, loved the series, but yeah, those complaints were legitimate enough to not deserve the inevitable rant.

It's annoying though, usually Xenosaga rants are like "I haet movies fuck you and fuck Konami (despite that they had nothing to do with the game)."
 
I'm neutral about the game. Thought it was alright. I'm easy to please though.

You know what is good though?

Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater
 
Yeah, that's true about MGS3.

Crysis is also good. It's still disappointing that the graphics are merely "great" with a real world computer, but w/e... the gameplay is freakin' legit.
 
[quote name='Rei no Otaku']Anyone else getting Trauma Center 2 this week? I feel like I'm the only one...[/QUOTE]

Oh shit, I forgot it was this week. I'll be picking it up, unless it's just a DS port of New Blood... it's not, right?

I'm a huge TC whore.
 
[quote name='Rei no Otaku']No, it's a completely new game.[/QUOTE]

Cool, that's what I thought.

Meaning I got some new victims to dice up!
 
I went back and beat Super Mario Galaxy again. This time in a single segment, just under six hours (including a stoppage to switch batteries). This was also coinciding with that Mario Marathon. I raced them, and I won. This is the second marathon team I've raced and won. The Zelda guys were closer, but I started a good 10 minutes behind 'em.

Anyway, Mario Galaxy is still the best game of 2007, and the generation thus far (yes, it even beats Metal Gear Solid 4. Sorry MGS fans, it just does)
 
As a stand alone game, I will agree that gameplay wise, Super Mario Galaxy wins my heart over MGS4. But as a gaming fan, MGS4 delivers and touches me more than Super Mario Galaxy ever will.

Especially since I loved Metal Gear Solid 1-3. It just delivers. To me at least. I'm easy to please though, as I've said time and time again :x

I know a lot of people are tired of the Zelda games using the same basic formula time and time again. But I totally dig/welcome each iteration. I'm sure if they came out like once or twice a year, I'd be sick of it... But Nintendo paces their game releases well, so it's not that much of an issue for me.

I'll tell you what though. 2008 and 2009. Fighting games. FO REAL.
 
Picked up Street Fighter Alpha 3 Max for the PSP when I got Oblivion, and it is fucking awesome. If only I had someone to play against... :whistle2:( Also, has anybody played Space Invaders Extreme on the PSP? I'm thinking about getting it soon.
 
[quote name='MarkMan']As a stand alone game, I will agree that gameplay wise, Super Mario Galaxy wins my heart over MGS4. But as a gaming fan, MGS4 delivers and touches me more than Super Mario Galaxy ever will.

Especially since I loved Metal Gear Solid 1-3. It just delivers. To me at least. I'm easy to please though, as I've said time and time again :x

I know a lot of people are tired of the Zelda games using the same basic formula time and time again. But I totally dig/welcome each iteration. I'm sure if they came out like once or twice a year, I'd be sick of it... But Nintendo paces their game releases well, so it's not that much of an issue for me.

I'll tell you what though. 2008 and 2009. Fighting games. FO REAL.[/quote]

I loved Metal Gear Solid 4, and for a while, I thought it was better than Galaxy. But after playing through Galaxy again, looking at the gameplay, the design, the feel, it just felt like a better experience. Sure, Metal Gear Solid 4 has some of the most mindblowing things I've ever seen in a game, but in the end, it comes down to Happy versus Sad. And in the end, happy won.

I totally agree with you on Zelda. I play each Zelda game with more anticipation than the last, but I really want a new formula. Nintendo has probably the best level designers in the world IMO. Everything's just crafted so knowingly of what the player will feel in each area. It's just...different than what other developers give you. With Zelda however, I feel that sense has been fading away for a while now.
 
[quote name='Rei no Otaku']Anyone else getting Trauma Center 2 this week? I feel like I'm the only one...[/quote]
I pre-ordered it on Amazon a while ago. But I might end up canceling it since my parents are getting a little annoyed at the number of packages I have been receiving lately... damn J-list orders.
 
IDK, I'm kinda disappointed in what's been shown for Diablo 3 so far. So far, it just looks TOO much like Diablo 2. I was really hoping for more camera options. The zoom-in they showed was nice, but I was hoping for a little more 3D. I just hope they don't charge you to play via battle.net, or hit us with a bunch of micro-transactions like many of the Diablo-clones that have popped up over the last few years.

I really wish Blizzard would make something for the current-gen consoles instead of focusing on the PC market. I really don't see why they don't get back to work on SC: Ghost and just make it for the Wii. I thought it was close to being finished anyway, and alot of the vids I watched made it look very interesting. Nothing mind-blowingly spectacular, but it looked like fun.

As for Zelda, I hope they go in a very different direction for the next game. Like, Zelda in space or a Zelda steampunk or something. I really think they need to leave the fantasy Hyrule era and move the setting forward. That or make it with more RPG elements like Oblivion or Mass Effect.

Gonna try and beat Persona 3 (The Journey) today or tomorrow. Just gotta focus on grinding up a few levels and powering up some Personas and then I'll be all set.
 
[quote name='Krymner']Gonna try and beat Persona 3 (The Journey) today or tomorrow. Just gotta focus on grinding up a few levels and powering up some Personas and then I'll be all set.[/QUOTE]
Don't go unprepared. It's a looooong fight.

I played some drunk Singstar Friday night. Pretty fun, but man, that is one thin song list on the disc.
 
[quote name='kainzero']Next would be the storytelling. I absolutely despise a lot of anime/RPG storytelling, because of the way they like to reveal plot points. They have a bunch of people standing there talking about stuff you don't understand or referencing "The thing" or "That event" that caused catastrophes galore. It's stupid. The motivation behind a story should be to learn more about it, not to confuse someone and reveal stuff later.[/quote]You just lost any respect I had in your opinions, once you admitted you despise a lot of anime/RPG storytelling. That's what I like most (since I'm VERY big into anime/RPG storyline).

The pacing is atrocious too. People like to talk about 2-hour long cutscenes. I didn't mind that. What I did mind was the 2-hour dungeon that followed. You get injected with story, then some boring dungeon crawling, then story, etc. It should be interweaved.
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That's about the type of pacing I like. I like a 2 hour long cutscene along with a long dungeon. I actually felt the dungeons in Xenosaga were quite enjoyable. I especially like the tower around the Song of Nephilim. And I'll still never forget the very emotional cutscene relating to the Commander.

The only thing I remember about the Battle System is that there were almost no uses for AGWS and the stat level up system was so confusing.
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AGWS were pretty good once you upgraded them properly. I mostly only used them for a few boss fights and regular battles. They weren't bad at all, but traditional combat was more fun. Xenosaga Episodes II and III improves them and makes the battles quite a lot of fun (especially Episode III).

I'm still really angry at Nintendo buying Monolith Soft since I wanted to see some sort of Xenosaga in HD. The only thing I dislike about Xenosaga now are the graphics, it REALLY needs better graphics (which PS3/360 could provide).

I will not deny, I still prefer Xenogears over any RPG that isn't FFVII. Xenosaga Episode I is still one of the best last gen games, but Episode III is just much better. Episode II was fine everywhere except Monolith Soft messed with the battle system too much (where it took a while to eliminate all enemies; however, the addition of the Double Attacks is one of my soft spots for an RPG, so I love that).

Images I took (my game):
XS56.jpg


Image from one of my favorite cutscene (no spoilers):
XS13.jpg


Another thing I liked about battles was the boosting:
XS9.jpg


Too bad I cannot bring in one of my very best online friends, who is very big into Xenosaga himself. He'd have a lot more things to share.
 
[quote name='The Mana Knight']You just lost any respect I had in your opinions, once you admitted you despise a lot of anime/RPG storytelling. That's what I like most (since I'm VERY big into anime/RPG storyline).[/quote]
That's a little much. I like the mystery, but I can certainly understand why it would turn people off.


AGWS were pretty good once you upgraded them properly.
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No. AGWS were never better than what you could do on foot. Fun as a novelty yes, but it was almost never advantageous to use them.

I'm still really angry at Nintendo buying Monolith Soft since I wanted to see some sort of Xenosaga in HD. The only thing I dislike about Xenosaga now are the graphics, it REALLY needs better graphics (which PS3/360 could provide).
Click to expand...

It was very likely never going to happen anyway, especially since MLSI has been working on Disaster: Day of Crisis and Soma Bringer for years now.

Yes kain the points/upgrade system was complicated. I could wrap my head around it though, and I loved it.
 
GGT, I know there's some cool anime out there that doesn't fall into the goofy Dragon Ball Z stereotypes. Any recommendations for something to watch, preferbly something with a shortish run?

Just looking for a good story maybe told in a different way than movies are normally...
 
[quote name='daroga']GGT, I know there's some cool anime out there that doesn't fall into the goofy Dragon Ball Z stereotypes. Any recommendations for something to watch, preferbly something with a shortish run?

Just looking for a good story maybe told in a different way than movies are normally...[/QUOTE]
What kind of shows do you like? There's anime for every genre. In fact most of it isn't like DBZ.
 
[quote name='Rei no Otaku']What kind of shows do you like? There's anime for every genre. In fact most of it isn't like DBZ.[/QUOTE]

More importantly, some shows are called Berserk and are the best thing there is.

But yeah, Rei's right... the problem with anime is that almost everything they show on like Cartoon Network and shit is terrible. There's some good stuff they'll show here and there, but it's mostly crap that makes the whole thing look bad.
 
I don't watch much anime, but I do watch some from time to time. I just finished with Saiyuki (the first series) and enjoyed it. I'm hesitant to continue with Reload and Gunlock since I've heard it goes downhill. But then, I think a lot of anime series I have watched has started out okay, gotten pretty good, and then just dove off a cliff into a big pile of crap. My favorites are probably Azumanga Dioh and Excel Saga.

I was watching some of the gameplay vids for Tales of Symphonia 2 which was just released in Japan a couple days ago. The original ToS was such an awesome RPG, and I am seriously thinking about getting a Wii just to play this sequel.
 
[quote name='Krymner']

I was watching some of the gameplay vids for Tales of Symphonia 2 which was just released in Japan a couple days ago. The original ToS was such an awesome RPG, and I am seriously thinking about getting a Wii just to play this sequel.[/QUOTE]
I did buy a Wii just for that game. That game and NMH. Probably going to get rid of it after I finish ToS2. Wii is basically just collecting dust.

[quote name='SpikeJonez']also wtf is wrong with my xbox.

it said I played this game in 1752?

IMG_0013.jpg
[/QUOTE]
It's about to go extinct for its sins.
 
A friend of mine was playing blue dragon one day and apparently found this save glitch that made the file say he had been playing for over 2000 hours. XD
 
[quote name='daroga']GGT, I know there's some cool anime out there that doesn't fall into the goofy Dragon Ball Z stereotypes. Any recommendations for something to watch, preferbly something with a shortish run?

Just looking for a good story maybe told in a different way than movies are normally...[/QUOTE]

I recommend Golden Boy ;)

also, Berserk and GTO are tops in my book.
 
Yeah Rei. I don't know about getting a Wii. I've really never owned more than one current-gen console. I went NES, SNES, PS1, GC, and now PS3. (I did get a Genesis towards the end of the 16-bit era tho.)

I think I'll just buy one, play ToS2, and return it. There's really nothing else that has motivated me to own the waggle system.
 
I love how Kotaku lies in their subject lines. The article says "360 dev kit on Kojima's desk?" then in the actual article they change it to "Why, that looks like an Xbox 360 devkit on someone's desk at Kojima Productions!"

Not to mention it's not a dev kit.
 
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