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[Elementary]

It’s a shame really. I thought the expanded 3DS versions of Radiant Historia, Devil Survivor and especially Etrian Odyssey 1/2 all added welcome new stuff to the games. But Strange Journey was the one I wanted and it’s largely ‘isn’t our new character cool, powerful and mysterious, follow her for the best ending’ which kills the delicate, carefully-crafted social balance and fractured friendships between the international crew of the ship.

I actually ended up disliking the Radiant Historia expansion content. A bunch of it was really cool conceptually especially in the first half, and then it explains the background behind the desertification and it's just so trite. Plus the final final dungeon is just remixes of other maps with teleporter pads. Huge disappointment.

Meanwhile the New endings in Redux were really cool because you see Zelenin and Jimenez snap out of the monomania and create alignment endings that embody the good things about the alignments, while respecting human free will, plus your crew don't get brainwashed in the process. And then in New Neutral you just turn into Doomguy and that's sick.

 

[PixelKnight]

I actually ended up disliking the Radiant Historia expansion content. A bunch of it was really cool conceptually especially in the first half, and then it explains the background behind the desertification and it's just so trite. Plus the final final dungeon is just remixes of other maps with teleporter pads. Huge disappointment.

Meanwhile the New endings in Redux were really cool because you see Zelenin and Jimenez snap out of the monomania and create alignment endings that embody the good things about the alignments, while respecting human free will, plus your crew don't get brainwashed in the process. And then in New Neutral you just turn into Doomguy and that's sick.

I think I just preferred the original slide into ‘every path is horrific’ as it matched the sci-fi/horror tone, rather than ‘every path has plus points or you can choose the super special one that surpasses all others and makes the choice pointless’. Redux’s changes felt like they lost a lot of the horror and unease of the fractured relationships in the endgame to me, and I also just dislike ‘golden paths’ that stroke the player ego and reassure them that ‘you did the right thing and have 100% completed the story, everyone is happy and you are a superhero’.

Still, subjective and all that! It’s still a wonderful game with great dungeons and combat (although the original final boss was just brutal).

 

[SammyJ9]

I think I just preferred the original slide into ‘every path is horrific’ as it matched the sci-fi/horror tone, rather than ‘every path has plus points or you can choose the super special one that surpasses all others and makes the choice pointless’. Redux’s changes felt like they lost a lot of the horror and unease of the fractured relationships in the endgame to me, and I also just dislike ‘golden paths’ that stroke the player ego and reassure them that ‘you did the right thing and have 100% completed the story, everyone is happy and you are a superhero’.

Still, subjective and all that! It’s still a wonderful game with great dungeons and combat (although the original final boss was just brutal).

The new character does stick out a bit versus the rest of the game's content, but the new dungeon is fun despite being pretty convoluted. I actually never beat the final boss in Redux (or I guess maybe not the final, final boss? The original game's final boss) because IMO it's actually kind of bullshit what it does to the game's combat mechanics and at that point I kind of just decided I had had enough of the game rather than rework things enough for it to be doable. Strange Journey is a game I liked a lot but had enough little annoyances that I didn't like it as much as the mainline games.

 

[PixelKnight]

The new character does stick out a bit versus the rest of the game's content, but the new dungeon is fun despite being pretty convoluted. I actually never beat the final boss in Redux (or I guess maybe not the final, final boss? The original game's final boss) because IMO it's actually kind of bullshit what it does to the game's combat mechanics and at that point I kind of just decided I had had enough of the game rather than rework things enough for it to be doable. Strange Journey is a game I liked a lot but had enough little annoyances that I didn't like it as much as the mainline games.

That’s fair enough. I played it before I played any of the other SMT games so to me it was kinda ‘cool sci-fi Etrian Odyssey’

 

[SammyJ9]

That’s fair enough. I played it before I played any of the other SMT games so to me it was kinda ‘cool sci-fi Etrian Odyssey’

That makes a lot of sense! I had come to SJ after pretty recently playing and loving SMT4, so I think I was coming at it with some expectations of that going in.

The atmosphere, exploration, and gameplay loop in Strange Journey are all excellent. My biggest issue was the battle system just doesn't feel as good as the SMT press-turn system like in SMT 3-5, and some of the music doesn't really do it for me - especially the main battle theme. But again, that could be mostly since I was coming fairly recently off of SMT4 and had that in my head.

 

[Leica]

I've been trying to replay (for the 3rd time actually) FF9 and the combat being so slow is finally starting to bother me a little, even with boosters which feel like a bandaid. The combination of how slow it is + the lack of meaningful decisions being made in combat because the game is on the really easy side (you can mostly just kind of press attack/heal/magic if you want to sit through the animation) is pretty brutal.

Still think everything else is excellent, ATE's especially being the best thing a FF ever added and never went back to, but I had it as my favorite Final Fantasy for years and I think I might bump it down to like #3 after VI and VII. I hope the remake is real and makes the fights way snappier.

 

[Elementary]

every path has plus points or you can choose the super special one that surpasses all others and makes the choice pointless

That's... not what happens in the SJR endings at all? In fact that's a better description of the original endings. Like, in the base game neutral was far and away the "best" ending, despite the warning that humanity might fail to improve itself, and the alignment endings being obvious extremes where 99% of the population dies out. Then SJR reveals that chaos's actual objective is humanity's complete extermination, so there's ultimately nothing that humanity can do to prevent another Schwarzveldt. One of the factions HAS to win to end the cycle. Chaos Redux and Law Redux create a place for humanity within their order, but Neutral Redux has you decide to head the Schwarzveldt's formation off... forever. That's not anyone's idea of a best ending, even if it is metal as hell.

 

[Weiss]

That's... not what happens in the SJR endings at all? In fact that's a better description of the original endings. Like, in the base game neutral was far and away the "best" ending, despite the warning that humanity might fail to improve itself, and the alignment endings being obvious extremes where 99% of the population dies out. Then SJR reveals that chaos's actual objective is humanity's complete extermination, so there's ultimately nothing that humanity can do to prevent another Schwarzveldt. One of the factions HAS to win to end the cycle. Chaos Redux and Law Redux create a place for humanity within their order, but Neutral Redux has you decide to head the Schwarzveldt's formation off... forever. That's not anyone's idea of a best ending, even if it is metal as hell.

This is a total misunderstanding of what Strange Journey is about.

Neutral is not the "best" ending, it's the ending where humanity is given a second chance to redeem itself lest the Schwarzvelt reappear. It resembles a crowd pleasing happy ending but by doing so you've put humanity on the path to being wiped out yet again unless you convince the whole world it has to change.

Chaos and Law are extreme, permanent solutions that preserve humanity forever at the cost of what makes them human. You, the player, are declaring humanity incapable of salvation and robbing them of free will in order to save them from the destruction of the Schwarzvelt for all eternity.

It's not a crowd pleasing happy ending but Strange Journey isn’t aiming for one, because it's about gambling on humanity's future or declaring them incapable of change and protecting them when they're helpless to do so.

 

[Elementary]

This is a total misunderstanding of what Strange Journey is about.

Neutral is not the "best" ending, it's the ending where humanity is given a second chance to redeem itself lest the Schwarzvelt reappear. It resembles a crowd pleasing happy ending but by doing so you've put humanity on the path to being wiped out yet again unless you convince the whole world it has to change.

Chaos and Law are extreme, permanent solutions that preserve humanity forever at the cost of what makes them human. You, the player, are declaring humanity incapable of salvation and robbing them of free will in order to save them from the destruction of the Schwarzvelt for all eternity.

It's not a crowd pleasing happy ending but Strange Journey isn’t aiming for one, because it's about gambling on humanity's future or declaring them incapable of change and protecting them when they're helpless to do so.

That's... what I said? The original tenor of the neutral ending was ultimately much more hopeful than either of the alignment ends, since there's every reason to believe that humanity has a chance to succeed there.

What SJR did was point out that the chaos faction in particular had malicious intent towards humanity so even if they cleaned up their act the Schwarzveldt would return eventually. Meanwhile the extreme routes invariably see humanity driven to extinction by its new masters, either directly (chaos, we see what happens when demons and unaugmented humans fight the whole game) or indirectly (law, can't do a lot of procreating when you're praising god 24/7, also everyone who resists the brainwashing is killed).

 

[Weiss]

That's... what I said? The original tenor of the neutral ending was ultimately much more hopeful than either of the alignment ends, since there's every reason to believe that humanity has a chance to succeed there.

What SJR did was point out that the chaos faction in particular had malicious intent towards humanity so even if they cleaned up their act the Schwarzveldt would return eventually. Meanwhile the extreme routes invariably see humanity driven to extinction by its new masters, either directly (chaos, we see what happens when demons and unaugmented humans fight the whole game) or indirectly (law, can't do a lot of procreating when you're praising god 24/7, also everyone who resists the brainwashing is killed).

The Neutral ending is "more hopeful" in the sense that you’re given the impossible task of changing human civilization. It's the best ending until you think about it and realize you don't really have a hope in hell of accomplishing your goal and inevitably humanity will be exterminated.

Strange Journey's endings aren't "hopeful" because it's a sci-fi horror game about humanity's role in climate change. It's not interested in telling you things will work out thanks to the actions of a few.

I don't care what Redux added and it's completely irrelevant when talking about the original game.

 

[PixelKnight]

That's... what I said? The original tenor of the neutral ending was ultimately much more hopeful than either of the alignment ends, since there's every reason to believe that humanity has a chance to succeed there.

What SJR did was point out that the chaos faction in particular had malicious intent towards humanity so even if they cleaned up their act the Schwarzveldt would return eventually. Meanwhile the extreme routes invariably see humanity driven to extinction by its new masters, either directly (chaos) or indirectly (law).

To me that chance seems quite unlikely, so it’s a case of, while it’s a chance of survival, it’s also a good chance of just putting off the problem for a few years until it returns and humanity gets wiped out anyway, without the exploration team able to buy them time next time around. So it’s a case of a reprieve that is extremely short and ominous vs two endings where humanity is changed forever. Obviously the reprieve is better than either of the others, but it’s still a short term solution that has a good chance to lead to destruction anyway.

But then Redux reframes it into the law and chaos endings being much more acceptable, which then makes the neutral ending even more acceptable, and the usual Atlus ’golden route’ making them all irrevelant as the superhero manages to resolve absolutely everything rather than making a choice, even though those choices are now even better than they were.

It’s a case of, if you enjoy the darkness of the original story where the neutral way out for humanity is slim and a reprieve at best, (where even the most optimistic take on humanity is unlikely to think humanity will grow to avoid it’s own selfishness and avarice forever, stopping the schwarzvelt ever reappearing), you might think the new lighter faction endings, that then reframe the neutral ending, plus the new ‘solve everything!’ ending remove the horror of the original scenario.

I don’t think the new endings improve the game one bit, as while they stop law and chaos being depicted as such extremes, and thus stop your teammates going off the deep end, it means there’s basically three ‘it’s not so bad’ endings based on preference and one superhero ‘solve everything alongside new character!’ one. As opposed to two terrifyingly awful ones and one uneasy short-term reprieve as the best option. It seems like the latter is more a case of how much faith you have in humanity to change given what you’ve seen depicted in the story. I have little, which makes the original SJ extremely dark, and Redux brightly coloured in comparison.

 

[PixelKnight]

Back to Tokyo Mirage Sessions. Finished chapter 2 but the intermission and the sheer amount of sidequests available has had me spending hours doing those. It’s fun the way the game keeps opening up though!

The chapter boss fights definitely feel like big difficulty spikes- I went into the chapter one boss and got blindsided by a boss session attack that KO’d a character. In chapter 2, it was the boss getting multiple attacks plus supports that made it really hard to recover from losing someone. Still, I like the general gameplay loop and am starting to enjoy the way it encourages you to take a break from the dungeon and go power up your weapons and Unity skills. At first I was like ‘it’s just a weapon upgrade, why can’t I just choose it from a menu’. But now I think it’s more of a pacing thing, to encourage you not to just mainline a samey dungeon, to break it up and go do something else.

 

[SammyJ9]

This entire desert shark sequence in Eiyuden is peak JRPG nonsense and I love it

 

[PixelKnight]

This entire desert shark sequence in Eiyuden is peak JRPG nonsense and I love it

I mean, I’m not sure what my window is for peak JRPG nonsense any more given that I’ve just played a section in TMS where one character is learning how to be more appealing in a soft drink commercial by chasing a cat. But I’m down with sand monsters after a summer spent battling a giant sand whale in a ship in Monster Hunter Tri!

 

[SammyJ9]

I mean, I’m not sure what my window is for peak JRPG nonsense any more given that I’ve just played a section in TMS where one character is learning how to be more appealing in a soft drink commercial by chasing a cat. But I’m down with sand monsters after a summer spent battling a giant sand whale in a ship in Monster Hunter Tri!

That is a pretty strong contender, but I’ll elaborate about the one in Eiyuden:

So in order to recruit help for your rebel army you travel to a town of anthropomorphic sharks except they live in the desert and hate water and getting wet. You ask them to join you in your war against the Empire and they look like they’re about to sound the alarm and kick you out of town, except they suddenly break out into a choreographed song about the glory of battle and sharkdom. Then to prove your might you have to beat them… in a sand ship race. Did I mention they’re pirate-coded and sail on sand ships? And afterward their strongest warrior joins you who is named Yuferius VII. And he wields a giant spiked ball-and-chain.

Oh, and a shark in the shark town (morbidly?) gives you the recipe for shark fin soup without explanation of where the shark fins come from.

 

[Mandos]

That is a pretty strong contender, but I’ll elaborate about the one in Eiyuden:

So in order to recruit help for your rebel army you travel to a town of anthropomorphic sharks except they live in the desert and hate water and getting wet. You ask them to join you in your war against the Empire and they look like they’re about to sound the alarm and kick you out of town, except they suddenly break out into a choreographed song about the glory of battle and sharkdom. Then to prove your might you have to beat them… in a sand ship race. Did I mention they’re pirate-coded and sail on sand ships? And afterward their strongest warrior joins you who is named Yuferius VII. And he wields a giant spiked ball-and-chain.

Oh, and a shark in the shark town (morbidly?) gives you the recipe for shark fin soup without explanation of where the shark fins come from.

Aren’t there magical girls in this one too? You run into those yet?

 

[SammyJ9]

Aren’t there magical girls in this one too? You run into those yet?

One of the first characters you get is a magical girl! And the main character has to do the whole “love and justice!!!” speech with her as you fight a giant monster mole

 

[EvilChameleon]

I didn't know there wasn't a limit to the amount of enemies you could "run through" with Emblem Sigurd in FE: Engage. Ran through and killed a line of at least six enemies yesterday and it's the coolest thing I've ever done in the Fire Emblem franchise.

 

[PixelKnight]

I didn't know there wasn't a limit to the amount of enemies you could "run through" with Emblem Sigurd in FE: Engage. Ran through and killed a line of at least six enemies yesterday and it's the coolest thing I've ever done in the Fire Emblem franchise.

Yeah that was cool. Reminded me of a DS SRPG called Rondo of Swords, that had a wild movement/combat system where you attacked all enemies on your path.

 

[SirArthur]

Yeah that was cool. Reminded me of a DS SRPG called Rondo of Swords, that had a wild movement/combat system where you attacked all enemies on your path.

That game is fantastic. Serdic is still a name I use in player-creation games . One of the coolest strategy games ever.

 

[SirArthur]

I finished Diofield a couple of days ago and did the extra content today. This game is confusing, it has a fun battle system that I wished used more that 4 characters but its storytelling falls flat. Overall I liked it but it has major problems.

Outside of the combat I have questions about this game. Lets start with the story, I dont want to blame it all on Yuu Oshima, the scenario writer, but the story is tries to spin a gran tale but it comes of as overly simply warfare with samey looking enemies that I dont know if I the person I am talking to the person I just killed. Which is another thing, the names are out there lol, I like their nicknames, Rickles is the best, but it was all starting to blend together.

So this game has "plot twist", my issue is not how predictable they are (they are ok) is how they are presented, like a normal conversation, no build up. This also affects the characters, some are pretty interesting, Waltaquin and Isca are great, you see them somewhat change based on how the war is progressing, but then they waste them. Fred becomes boring and Rias is blander than bread.

I think the game tried to juggle too many things, like the ending lacked the impact because of how it was told. Cant say if its a cliffhanger, we sure arent getting a sequel. But outside of all my issues, the combat is super fun, I am not an rts person but this games mechanics were fun and addictive, would have love using more than 4 members (5) and a better leveling up system.

 

[PixelKnight]

Up to the chapter 4 dungeon on TMS. The second floor of the EX (dlc?) dungeon opened up, with Tiki suggesting I should go look in new treasure chests. In one was a fashion show and new outfits for 3 of the girls, being sexy Santa, sexy nurse and sexy maid. Not sure what I expected but it wasn’t ‘someone’s barely disguised fetish’. Shame really, I’ve quite enjoyed the general upbeat poppy atmosphere otherwise

 

[Mandos]

Hmmm, trying to decide on what rpg to focus on, I can’t do any of my cartridge rpgs right now cause Kamiwaza is taking up that slot(finally restarted it yesterday, it’s great). And I was taking a break before FFX anyways. So as for RPGs on my switch the options are;
Ryza
.hack gu V1
Oh and Neo TWEWY I guess

Tho with Neo TWEWY it’s been a while since I played TWEWY so I’ll probably watch the anime as a refresher

 

[xghost777]

Up to the chapter 4 dungeon on TMS. The second floor of the EX (dlc?) dungeon opened up, with Tiki suggesting I should go look in new treasure chests. In one was a fashion show and new outfits for 3 of the girls, being sexy Santa, sexy nurse and sexy maid. Not sure what I expected but it wasn’t ‘someone’s barely disguised fetish’. Shame really, I’ve quite enjoyed the general upbeat poppy atmosphere otherwise

Yeah I believe that was added for the Switch version. It’s largely throwaway except iirc eventually there is some story attached to the end of it. I think that’s where the one new song is.

Hmmm, trying to decide on what rpg to focus on, I can’t do any of my cartridge rpgs right now cause Kamiwaza is taking up that slot(finally restarted it yesterday, it’s great). And I was taking a break before FFX anyways. So as for RPGs on my switch the options are;
Ryza
.hack gu V1
Oh and Neo TWEWY I guess

Tho with Neo TWEWY it’s been a while since I played TWEWY so I’ll probably watch the anime as a refresher

Neo rules! Play Neo

 

[SammyJ9]

Looks like a pretty beefy overview for SMTV:V is coming tomorrow:

 

[meatbag]

Tho with Neo TWEWY it’s been a while since I played TWEWY so I’ll probably watch the anime as a refresher

The anime is not that good but I guess it's fine as a refresher. The important part is that you feel comfortable playing NEO, because NEO is great.

 

[Mandos]

Well wound up deciding for the moment, jumped back into Ryza and decided to mess around in alchemy after hitting a combat wall last time I played. Managed to upgrade my weapons a little. Really enjoy the alchemy side. Guess it’s time to go back to the mission, and at least get some more materials

 

[SirArthur]

Its been out on PC for a bit, but now has a date for console, August 29th. Here is a trailer with the mechanics

 

[PixelKnight]

Yeah I believe that was added for the Switch version. It’s largely throwaway except iirc eventually there is some story attached to the end of it. I think that’s where the one new song is.

Neo rules! Play Neo

Just finished chapter 4, and that douchebag guy joined the party. He may be a pop star but he won’t be getting much screen time with me Plus he’s a swordmaster type with counter- I’m not really sure counter abilities work too well for a party rpg like this where you burn your turn to set it up then the enemy attacks someone else, it needs to work alongside ‘cover’ and ‘taunt’ abilities. Still, presumably those are hidden in his weapon upgrades.

Last dungeon was fun, enjoyed that. The side stories continue to be weird, cheesy and enjoyable. The amount of ‘I want to be a performer but can only understand the most basic concepts of acting by running around town, fighting for my life or with a trite pep talk from my ally who has no discernible talent other than being generic leader teen boy guy’ is hilarious.

 

[xghost777]

Just finished chapter 4, and that douchebag guy joined the party. He may be a pop star but he won’t be getting much screen time with me Plus he’s a swordmaster type with counter- I’m not really sure counter abilities work too well for a party rpg like this where you burn your turn to set it up then the enemy attacks someone else, it needs to work alongside ‘cover’ and ‘taunt’ abilities. Still, presumably those are hidden in his weapon upgrades.

Last dungeon was fun, enjoyed that. The side stories continue to be weird, cheesy and enjoyable. The amount of ‘I want to be a performer but can only understand the most basic concepts of acting by running around town, fighting for my life or with a trite pep talk from my ally who has no discernible talent other than being generic leader teen boy guy’ is hilarious.

The side stories attached to characters were my favorite part of the game! Glad you are enjoying them! I think from your description you just got Yashiro which I think ditched him in combat too, but definitely do his side story. I remember at least part of it being very fun

 

[PixelKnight]

The side stories attached to characters were my favorite part of the game! Glad you are enjoying them! I think from your description you just got Yashiro which I think ditched him in combat too, but definitely do his side story. I remember at least part of it being very fun

It reminds me of Trails of Cold Steel with the ‘you are teenagers working for a secret organisation but your boss is a slightly older drunk woman’ trope. What a weird cliche

 

[xghost777]

This is such an odd thing, Furyu’s new RPG is crossing over with NEO The World Ends With You. Better explains the April Fools thing they did prior.



Even as a huge fan of NEO, I’m not sure this moves the needle too much for me where I’m just waiting for reviews. The reveal trailer and premise didn’t grab me.

 

[shoptroll]

Even as a huge fan of NEO, I’m not sure this moves the needle too much for me where I’m just waiting for reviews. The reveal trailer and premise didn’t grab me.

As much as people pointed to VS XIII when Reynatis was announced, there was a hefty TWEWY influence in the character design and combat too. So it’s cool they’re doing this but it feels more like FuRyu brokered a deal with Square to avoid getting sued or something.

Game continues to look janky and a guilty pleasure to fish out of the bargain bin 6 months after launch.

 

[SammyJ9]

Tons of really cool new features here, and the team skills and individual skills will have a big impact on team building. Really getting excited for this game.

 

[Irene]

Blue Reflection leaves a great first impression. Lovely atmosphere and it has both wholesome and melancholic vibes. It's more Persona-like than I expected, which is a cool and welcome surprise. I'm not exactly waiting to get to know the deepest and most profound characters ever, but I feel really compelled to spend more time in this world.

The battles feel severely undercooked though, almost as if someone in the board room was like "um, we're gonna need some gameplay too, any ideas?", but for now, I can bear with it.

 

[Tailzo]

I finished Persona 3 Reload. Awesome game, and a nice 3rd (or 4th?) Playthrough of Persona 3.

 

[PixelKnight]

Tons of really cool new features here, and the team skills and individual skills will have a big impact on team building. Really getting excited for this game.

Yeah that’s a wild amount of new features. Love the themed team skills

 

[saintsflow20]

I bought that trilogy on Steam in early 2017. I was all ready to set my self in for a nice, fun, "moe" series...

3 hours in to Rebirth 1 I drop the whole series and never go back ...

That all said... I really... kinda... wanna... import this.... A box set with three separate cases is just.......

In the time since this post I've gotten a Steam Deck and have once again begun an attempt at the Neptunia series.

There's my save file from 2017 where I abandoned the game...

Spoiler: Save File Image

I started a new game though. I think I'm enjoying this quite a bit more than back then. One problem was probably that I was still pretty new to JRPGs at the time (could probably weigh my JRPG experience since then in the weight of a planet), so I don't think this was a good fit for "that" me

Now, even though I'm way more accustomed to this, I do think the battles aren't very satisfying, but they are over pretty quick. Pretty much, it's just a game where you want to see the next scene rather than want to "play" it, so we'll see if I make it through.

Spoiler: Neptunia Falcom Character

Another thing making this way more digestible now is that I now actually understand the game industry jokes lol. I don't think I even knew what Falcom was when I tried this in 2017, or at least only heard the name in slight passing.

Having it on Steam Deck is helping too, it's great to just pull it out and play away at a JRPG for a little bit then back to sleep mode. I would probably never commit to this game at my desktop.

 

[EvilChameleon]

I am now one whole chapter further in FE: Engage than I was in my second playthrough. Just beat chapter 16. I understand chapter 17 is a real doozy, but as long as I lure out Griss and smoke him first, I should be fine?

 

[Tailzo]

I just finished the best rpg of the sixth console generation. I had a big smile on my face while playing. I guess no other rpg has such strong positive energy like it. I remember thinking back in the day that this was only the beginning, we would get even better games in this style.

But, it was never surpassed.

Still, I loved this replay. Played it handheld only this time. Thanks to emulation. I wish it would get a remaster.

 

[PixelKnight]

I just finished the best rpg of the sixth console generation. I had a big smile on my face while playing. I guess no other rpg has such strong positive energy like it. I remember thinking back in the day that this was only the beginning, we would get even better games in this style.

But, it was never surpassed.

Still, I loved this replay. Played it handheld only this time. Thanks to emulation. I wish it would get a remaster.

…Skies of Arcadia?

 

[Tailzo]

…Skies of Arcadia?

Yes! I would like to give you a hundred "yeah!" for your answer

 

[Mandos]

So I’m finally back working on Atelier Ryza, but it’s been a bit so any tips in general? Plus for combat in particular since that seems to mess with me

 

[ermitron2]

So I’m finally back working on Atelier Ryza, but it’s been a bit so any tips in general? Plus for combat in particular since that seems to mess with me

Ryza 1 is really begginner friendly there's not so much you can't mess. The most important thing (like most ateliers) is the alchemy so focus on synthesizing and gathering materials. Always make the best gathering tools you can at the moment since those will give you better access to higher quality materials which means better items

As for battle it's a long time since I played 1 , but I don't remember being complex, it's just a matter to learn it's rythm and use the CC items. One advantage from previous Atelier games is that the CC items will refill themselves so you don't have to worry about wasting them. Also level really doesn't matter here, it's always the equipment quality that will give you the upper hand

 

[Mandos]

Ryza 1 is really begginner friendly there's not so much you can't mess. The most important thing (like most ateliers) is the alchemy so focus on synthesizing and gathering materials. Always make the best gathering tools you can at the moment since those will give you better access to higher quality materials which means better items

As for battle it's a long time since I played 1 , but I don't remember being complex, it's just a matter to learn it's rythm and use the CC items. One advantage from previous Atelier games is that the CC items will refill themselves so you don't have to worry about wasting them. Also level really doesn't matter here, it's always the equipment quality that will give you the upper hand

I just upgraded all my weapons by making new ones(same types but I hadn’t replaced them at all). Have all the current gathering tools I can make but I’m short some critical supplies so I kinda need to go back to the mission area to get more cause it’s not town stuff(like fragrant wood I think). Currently in the training challenge of the tunnel to the tower I think

 

[ermitron2]

I just upgraded all my weapons by making new ones(same types but I hadn’t replaced them at all). Have all the current gathering tools I can make but I’m short some critical supplies so I kinda need to go back to the mission area to get more cause it’s not town stuff(like fragrant wood I think). Currently in the training challenge of the tunnel to the tower I think

The best option for weapons and armor is always start at the lower tier and synthetize the upgrade it with the recipe morph. You will get the stats of the lower item and the one you are currently getting

 

[Mandos]

The best option for weapons and armor is always start at the lower tier and synthetize the upgrade it with the recipe morph. You will get the stats of the lower item and the one you are currently getting

Not quite high enough level for that yet and need better materials. Guess it’s time for some multitasking grinding!

 

[ermitron2]

Not quite high enough level for that yet and need better materials. Guess it’s time for some multitasking grinding!

Yeah Ryza 1 has the slowest build up story and alchemy wise, so just keep going with the story for now, there will be a point where you can see you really need to start upgrading everything. As long as you have decent items it shouldn't be a problem

 

[Mandos]

Yeah Ryza 1 has the slowest build up story and alchemy wise, so just keep going with the story for now, there will be a point where you can see you really need to start upgrading everything. As long as you have decent items it shouldn't be a problem

Guess that’s the cost of no time limit XD. Thanks for the tips

 

[spacecompound]

So I’m finally back working on Atelier Ryza, but it’s been a bit so any tips in general? Plus for combat in particular since that seems to mess with me

Never focus on grinding for battle levels. Your best friend is making items & equipment. Also the game opens up to a lot of its crafting & battle gameplay features as soon as you build the Secret Hideout. You will be staring at "material loops" very frequently, especially with how the game tells you to make items. Keep in mind that sometimes the game refers to "Recipe Morph" as "Envision Recipe" due to translation errors (which are prevalent with Atelier games since the people handling the translation normally don't have context of what is happening within gameplay)

Recipe Morph is your best friend with learning how deep Ryza 1's crafting system can get (But the game generally does not require you to use it so much if you're playing on Very Easy/Easy/Normal/Hard difficulty options. It's more useful with Very Hard/Charismatic/Legendary).

The early game is a slow burn for immersion reasons. The developers wanted players to experience how Ryza herself feels with her life in Kurken being slow, boring, ordinary and see the progression from an ordinary life to something mildly extraordinary. It's best to rush through the early game (meaning the portion of the game before getting the Secret Hideout) to get access to the Fast Travel function (the bulletin board is better for fast traveling within Kurken Island landmarks though)