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tenshinoakuma) wrote2011-12-07 12:00 am
tenshinoakuma) wrote2011-12-07 12:00 am
Entry tags:
DDS game-blog
Oh my goodness how did Atlus manage to make a game about cannibals so adorable?
I'm not sure just what it is about this game that makes me so interested in the characters and the world. Maybe it's because I already know some spoilers, or that I've sort of taken an active interest in wringing as much information out of the game since I've apparently decided to RP Serph based on 20 hours of the game.
Anyway, what I thought was pretty cool is that (almost) all of the NPCs will say different things once a plot event occurs (like Persona, except this is for almost every plot event), so I actually make the effort to go around to the various locations and talk to everyone. You can learn a little extra world building from them, but you can also see how the various NPCs regard Serph. He's very loved by his Tribe ; A; What I find interesting is that all the other Tribes have some kind of motif in regards to their appearance:
Yet, Embryon does not have any apparent motif like the other Tribes. It's also interesting both seeing how the Embryon members treat Serph and how the other absorbed Tribe members treat him. It's also pretty cool how there's an in game explanation of why there are still enemies in certain locations even after you're done with them.
Gameplay-wise, gosh where to begin. The battle system is really hard to describe in words, so I'm not even going to attempt doing so. Sometimes I get a little cocky and the game likes to remind me that carelessness results in you getting eaten. Battle can easily go from being a walk in the park to nightmarish, causing me to retreat from battle. I have escaped by the skin of my teeth a depressing number of times. And my skin of my teeth I mean 2/3 characters dead and the last one at under 10 HP. Yet this is still all very exciting!
Boss fights so far have very little to do with levels and more what group of skills you have set on your characters right now. Boss battles have gone from really difficult to a breeze just by shuffling some skills around. Unfortunately, that means it's difficult to properly prepare for battle if I don't know what I need to bring to the battle. I thought that spell combos wouldn't have much use since they require multiple characters (and thus, consume multiple turn icons), but their true strength is allowing access to higher level spells before you can get the mantras for them.
Which basically meant I had access to Debilitate at level 30. Yep.
I'm also assigning Heat debuff spells (maybe Hama/Mudo as well), since those aren't reliant on the magic stat and they make him useful when he can't just claw things. I'm pretty amused at Agni's animation when he gets critted, since he pretty much flips out and pounds the ground before scrambling back up. Ughhh everyone's animations are so good, though I find Vayu's animation so weird, man.
It's pretty interesting that the end of battle song is called "Relief". It's a very stark contrast to other games where a battle ending is a victory fanfare, so having the 'victory' theme being called relief reinforces the idea that battling and overcoming your enemies isn't a victory; it's only temporary relief from the party's hunger ;;;;;;;;;;;
What I thought was also cool is that if you get a dialogue choice in the middle of a cutscene, sometimes the following cutscene will change slightly. Usually it's something pretty slight, a changed line of dialogue and a small change in the cutscene, but one of the dialogue choices at Coordinate 136 will change how the following battle will take place.
Some other notes:
I'm not sure just what it is about this game that makes me so interested in the characters and the world. Maybe it's because I already know some spoilers, or that I've sort of taken an active interest in wringing as much information out of the game since I've apparently decided to RP Serph based on 20 hours of the game.
Anyway, what I thought was pretty cool is that (almost) all of the NPCs will say different things once a plot event occurs (like Persona, except this is for almost every plot event), so I actually make the effort to go around to the various locations and talk to everyone. You can learn a little extra world building from them, but you can also see how the various NPCs regard Serph. He's very loved by his Tribe ; A; What I find interesting is that all the other Tribes have some kind of motif in regards to their appearance:
- The Vanguards are dressed like people living in the desert.
- The Maribels are dressed like... like... punks? I am not sure.
- The Solids are rappers ffa;sdkfhg
- The Brutes remind me of media portrayals of the American army.
- The Wolves would be native Americans.
Yet, Embryon does not have any apparent motif like the other Tribes. It's also interesting both seeing how the Embryon members treat Serph and how the other absorbed Tribe members treat him. It's also pretty cool how there's an in game explanation of why there are still enemies in certain locations even after you're done with them.
Gameplay-wise, gosh where to begin. The battle system is really hard to describe in words, so I'm not even going to attempt doing so. Sometimes I get a little cocky and the game likes to remind me that carelessness results in you getting eaten. Battle can easily go from being a walk in the park to nightmarish, causing me to retreat from battle. I have escaped by the skin of my teeth a depressing number of times. And my skin of my teeth I mean 2/3 characters dead and the last one at under 10 HP. Yet this is still all very exciting!
Boss fights so far have very little to do with levels and more what group of skills you have set on your characters right now. Boss battles have gone from really difficult to a breeze just by shuffling some skills around. Unfortunately, that means it's difficult to properly prepare for battle if I don't know what I need to bring to the battle. I thought that spell combos wouldn't have much use since they require multiple characters (and thus, consume multiple turn icons), but their true strength is allowing access to higher level spells before you can get the mantras for them.
Which basically meant I had access to Debilitate at level 30. Yep.
I'm also assigning Heat debuff spells (maybe Hama/Mudo as well), since those aren't reliant on the magic stat and they make him useful when he can't just claw things. I'm pretty amused at Agni's animation when he gets critted, since he pretty much flips out and pounds the ground before scrambling back up. Ughhh everyone's animations are so good, though I find Vayu's animation so weird, man.
It's pretty interesting that the end of battle song is called "Relief". It's a very stark contrast to other games where a battle ending is a victory fanfare, so having the 'victory' theme being called relief reinforces the idea that battling and overcoming your enemies isn't a victory; it's only temporary relief from the party's hunger ;;;;;;;;;;;
What I thought was also cool is that if you get a dialogue choice in the middle of a cutscene, sometimes the following cutscene will change slightly. Usually it's something pretty slight, a changed line of dialogue and a small change in the cutscene, but one of the dialogue choices at Coordinate 136 will change how the following battle will take place.
Some other notes:
- People who die rise to the clouds and become rain.
- They don't seem to have any concept of eating normally. Eat and devour seem to be interchangeable. I would surmise that rations are less food and more something that aids the healing process.
- Every Tribe base that gets taken over by the Embryon gets a flag with a streak of orange paint. However, they still get to keep their original Tribe colours with stuff like their lights and such. I should probably check if ex-Tribe NPCs change the colours of what they're wearing to orange (I think they do?).
- Cielo describes the way Heat devours his enemy post-battles as really messy and gross. Somehow I am not surprised.
- Serph gets some surprisingly derpy dialogue choices. Though his speech flips between using contractions and not using them. I guess I should pay more attention to when he swaps.
- Embryon have moved base at least once before settling into Muladhara.