3D Dot Game Heroes

[Yegolev]

I can summarize 3D Dot Game Heroes just by saying that if you played Legend of Zelda, Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest when they were new, you will enjoy this game immensely.

The music, for starters, is an homage to the Zelda theme.  Even the intro scene is pretty much a redrawn Zelda parchment introduction.  You slash grass to get money.

OK, so a redone Zelda?  Not exactly.  It's a tribute to all of the early JRPGS.  There are also the jokes.  Summoned by the King, you are asked to find the legendary sword and are given the classic YES/NO menu.  There are a few of these.  Picking NO in one of them had the king say "But that doesn't advance the story!".  Inevitably choosing YES for the initial assignment, he tells me that is is dangerous to go alone, TAKE THIS... and so I get a sword and shield.  I found a blue slime that really wants to be a human.  Some guy gave me a "secret hint" where the letters of the words were backwards.  Several Demon's Souls jokes are in there as well.  There is a "From Cave" in which I found a Hero Soul on a dead body, and Sticky White Stuff on the floor in front of a girl who just says "It's all in my hair!" or something similar.

I found a chicken wandering around and town and I knew exactly what to do, and what would happen.  I wasn't disappointed.

This game was made by and for the JRPG Original Ganstas out there.  If that is you, get it.  I stayed up well past the point of exhaustion playing through the first temple.

[Yegolev]

I don't usually make my own shots because they look like shit, however this game made me turn thirteen again.

Screen 1

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[Dtrain]

Do want. 

[Segoris]

I'm waiting for my copy right now, and it should be here today, but your write-up is just making me want to take the second half of the day off even more.

For character creation trading, there's a Hall of Heroes. It's not too populated now, but I'm guessing within the week there should be some cool shit there.


Also: http://forums.f13.net/index.php?topic=17692.0

[Yegolev]

Also: http://forums.f13.net/index.php?topic=17692.0

Yes, well... I'll say that was the hype thread and this is the gameplay thread.  I'm having a hard time right now.

[Segoris]

Sounds good to me, I just wasn't sure if you saw it or not.

Screen 4

 

[Cadaverine]

   I've been waiting for this game for way too long.  Good to know I won't be disappointed.

[ffc]

My old enemy is in this game.  The bottomless well.  Accompanied by a cryptic message taunting me for 20G to have a chance at a mysterious item in exchange.  I was able to resist its siren's call at first, but when a nearby villager mentioned the well, I had to go back.  As it knew I would.

20G in, 1G in return.
20G in, a sack in return.
20G in, 5G in return.
I have no more money.  

I hate you well.

[Jerrith]

I finally finished the game (first time, normal difficulty) this weekend.  It was quite a bit of fun.  I didn't complete every side quest / obtain every item, etc, but I did quite a bit.  Has anyone done the harder modes?  Is there a solution to "I go up or down a staircase and in the new room, a monster spawns next to me, hitting me almost instantly"?  It seemed like that happened a few times where there was really nothing you could do about it...  If that happened in the one hit = death mode, it would be rather frustrating...

Great game, I had lots of fun playing through it, highly recommended. :)

One interesting story...

[Nerf]

Gamestop has this for $25 with a $10 giftcard right now, worth biting the bullet if you're on the fence and want to play it.

http://www.gamestop.com/Catalog/ProductDetails.aspx?Product_ID=76341(GameStopBase)&affID=77777&sourceID=lw9MynSeamY-pxhJNLjO6ZnglH8Jw5q3XQ

Apply coupons NEW15 and Saver

[Trippy]

Can you turn off the depth of field effect?

[Morfiend]

Gamestop has this for $25 with a $10 giftcard right now, worth biting the bullet if you're on the fence and want to play it.

http://www.gamestop.com/Catalog/ProductDetails.aspx?Product_ID=76341(GameStopBase)&affID=77777&sourceID=lw9MynSeamY-pxhJNLjO6ZnglH8Jw5q3XQ

Apply coupons NEW15 and Saver

Damn, backordered.

[rrazcueta]

Can you turn off the depth of field effect?

Why would you want to?

[Trippy]

Cause depth of field effects in video games fucking suck?

The practical reason is, being very nearsighted, when I see something blurry I instinctively try to refocus my eyes to make it sharper. When the blurriness is "artificial" this fucks up my eyes.

[ffc]

Changing the camera view to B or C for a better angle (to match default angle in dungeons) is a necessity.   The blurry backgrounds were bugging me and
I couldn't tell where I was going because the camera was so close.   You can also turn off the tip bar on the bottom right of the screen, and can make the menu text less jaggy.

[rrazcueta]

Cause depth of field effects in video games fucking suck?

The practical reason is, being very nearsighted, when I see something blurry I instinctively try to refocus my eyes to make it sharper. When the blurriness is "artificial" this fucks up my eyes.

That's begging the question.

It's also pretty silly.

Also you're not the only one.

Also wtf. Is that really what you have to say about this game?

[rrazcueta]

Anyone who has played Demon's Souls and thought DS was the next evolution of Zelda owes it to themselves to play this game. It out-Zeldas old school Zeldas by a mile. There's no lore of any significance. It's just dungeons and puzzles separated by an overworld that is a joy to explore. And the efficient nature of DS is tightened up to the 2D-ith degree. If these guys don't announce DS2 at E3 I'm going to be shocked.

[Hawkbit]

My issue with 3D Dot Game Heroes was that it tried too hard (imo, of course) to be retro.  I get the nods to all the old broken game stuff and the poor translations.  But that was part of the charm that I remember about those games from my childhood. 

Having the technology to create beautiful, fun games then wasting it trying to tell a joke that was funny 20 years ago simply doesn't sit well with me. 

[Trippy]

Cause depth of field effects in video games fucking suck?

The practical reason is, being very nearsighted, when I see something blurry I instinctively try to refocus my eyes to make it sharper. When the blurriness is "artificial" this fucks up my eyes.

That's begging the question.

It's also pretty silly.

Also you're not the only one.

Also wtf. Is that really what you have to say about this game?

How is my statement begging the question? I was asked why I wanted to turn off depth of field effects. I said cause it fucks up my eyes. There's no circular reasoning there. Also I wasn't saying anything about the game overall since I haven't played it. So I don't know WTF you are talking about.

[ffc]

Part of me wishes this game tried to recapture the feeling I had during Zelda ALTTP's intro, but this is still a heavenly combination of the old Zeldas.

I spent way too much time in its character editor and I ended up making a pretty good Maiden in Black (scholar class, naturally) with the Monumental as her "Hurray" model. 






If interested just download this zip file, extract the folder and put it the PS3/SAVEDATA folder path on the root of a USB stick or sdcard, then through the XMB copy the file to the Saved Data Utility folder.  I submitted it to the official site under the upload name of "the Old One" for extra giggles but I think it's against their TOS so it won't be accepted.

[rrazcueta]

Great idea! If you want a place to put up copyrighted sprite remakes try this forum:
http://www.thegeorama.com/3ddotgameheroes/viewforum.php?f=12

I just got myself stuck on the 5th level's boss. It is not making me exactly happy. Also, I found the programmer's room! There was supposed to be a level editor! But it got canned! Whaaat? That was very disappointing.

[Samwise]

I can see why Trippy would want to turn off the depth of field.  That picture made my eyes hurt.

[rrazcueta]

You're spoiled. The depth of field is 3D's way of limiting what the player can see. Things are blurred because you're not supposed to see them as if they were out of frame. It's actually a pretty genius way of forcing the player to focus on relevant game objects as opposed to taking advantage of 3D and looking where he shouldn't.

[Azazel]

I can see why Trippy would want to turn off the depth of field.  That picture made my eyes hurt.

Gotta agree there.

You're spoiled. The depth of field is 3D's way of limiting what the player can see. Things are blurred because you're not supposed to see them as if they were out of frame. It's actually a pretty genius way of forcing the player to focus on relevant game objects as opposed to taking advantage of 3D and looking where he shouldn't.

 

[Cyrrex]

I can see why Trippy would want to turn off the depth of field.  That picture made my eyes hurt.

In practice, it works okay.  I mean, I would prefer it wasn't blurry like that, but it's no deal breaker.

[rrazcueta]

Cyrrex has it right.

It'd be like asking for kb/m and a FP mode in Metal Gear Solid. It changes the game. Right now there's a radius around the player character in which things are easily visible. Everything that's too far away is blurred. It makes players interact with what's in front of them instead of gaming the system and peeking at what's out of reach.

[Segoris]

Having the technology to create beautiful, fun games then wasting it trying to tell a joke that was funny 20 years ago simply doesn't sit well with me. 

I the opposite of that opinion as I respect that they did this. I don't think that everything has to be bleeding edge just because they can do it. Your comment, to me anyways, is like saying a professional artist shouldn't draw a doodle for fun, or a musician shouldn't do a cover of a song that is more "simple" then the music that they write even though that song had influenced them. I also think that I can respect their game a little more since they sold it at $40 brand new on release day. It's obvious they weren't trying to push evolution of gaming here, and they didn't do a full on money grab like I imagine many other companies would have. Kudos to From/Atlus/Sony (whoever made that decision of a lower price tag appropriately).

[Samwise]

Cyrrex has it right.

It'd be like asking for kb/m and a FP mode in Metal Gear Solid. It changes the game. Right now there's a radius around the player character in which things are easily visible. Everything that's too far away is blurred. It makes players interact with what's in front of them instead of gaming the system and peeking at what's out of reach.

I would suggest that if being able to see the background somehow breaks your gameplay maybe you shouldn't have a background.  Or for that matter maybe you shouldn't be using a 3D view in the first place.   

[ffc]

Changing the camera to B or C expands the playable field of view and makes the blur less obnoxious such that I don't notice it anymore.  The default camera so close to the player was more problematic than the blur for me.  Camera B solves both issues.

Default blur/zoom:




Camera B:

[Sheepherder]

That bothers me.

[rrazcueta]

Cyrrex has it right.

It'd be like asking for kb/m and a FP mode in Metal Gear Solid. It changes the game. Right now there's a radius around the player character in which things are easily visible. Everything that's too far away is blurred. It makes players interact with what's in front of them instead of gaming the system and peeking at what's out of reach.

I would suggest that if being able to see the background somehow breaks your gameplay maybe you shouldn't have a background.  Or for that matter maybe you shouldn't be using a 3D view in the first place.   

Are you serious?

[Hawkbit]

I the opposite of that opinion as I respect that they did this. I don't think that everything has to be bleeding edge just because they can do it. Your comment, to me anyways, is like saying a professional artist shouldn't draw a doodle for fun, or a musician shouldn't do a cover of a song that is more "simple" then the music that they write even though that song had influenced them. I also think that I can respect their game a little more since they sold it at $40 brand new on release day. It's obvious they weren't trying to push evolution of gaming here, and they didn't do a full on money grab like I imagine many other companies would have. Kudos to From/Atlus/Sony (whoever made that decision of a lower price tag appropriately).

How likely are you to buy that artist's doodle, though?  How relevant is it to the work he became 'professional' for?  Atlus isn't exactly the Picasso of the game world.

I see your point, though I simply feel they tried too hard to make the game a retro experience when they could have likely spent the same amount of time generating a story that was more genuine.  To each his own.

[Samwise]

Cyrrex has it right.

It'd be like asking for kb/m and a FP mode in Metal Gear Solid. It changes the game. Right now there's a radius around the player character in which things are easily visible. Everything that's too far away is blurred. It makes players interact with what's in front of them instead of gaming the system and peeking at what's out of reach.

I would suggest that if being able to see the background somehow breaks your gameplay maybe you shouldn't have a background.  Or for that matter maybe you shouldn't be using a 3D view in the first place.   

Are you serious?

I was going to ask you the same question.  I almost thought you were doing some sort of parody performance art, but you didn't say anything about how fun it is to pound nails into your dick so the sarcasm might have been too subtle for me.

[schild]

Atlus isn't exactly the Picasso of the game world.

You're wrong. They're major in-house artist is Kazuko Kaneko, who is one of the more notable artists in the gaming industry.

This is Kaneko:
http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/2004/screen0/582958_20040402_screen029.jpg
http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/megamitensei/images/thumb/d/d6/KazumaKaneko-Matador.jpg/300px-KazumaKaneko-Matador.jpg

Atlus is probably the industry's stylized Picasso to Square's technically-perfect da Vinci.

Anyway, Atlus has nothing to do with Demon's Souls and 3D Dot Heroes, they didn't even do the localization on the former. An SCEE studio in Britain did. Atlus merely polished a tiny bit of obfuscated text.

[Segoris]

How likely are you to buy that artist's doodle, though?  How relevant is it to the work he became 'professional' for?  Atlus isn't exactly the Picasso of the game world.

I see your point, though I simply feel they tried too hard to make the game a retro experience when they could have likely spent the same amount of time generating a story that was more genuine.  To each his own.

Depends on the artist and if I'm a fan of the work and/or the inspiration. In this case, I was a big enough fan of the inspiration to buy a Zelda/8bit RPG/dungeon crawler type tribute/remake as long as it was pretty well done overall. The fact that it was made by From would be equal to a pretty nice frame for the doodle.

As for the story,that was part of the charm for me. If they put any real effort into the story that would have just made this game pile of crap with weird graphics and possibly a decent story. Instead, it's a tribute with an interesting way to honor the 8bit graphics, and they walked a fine line there making the game what it is. Agreed though, as per usual, to each their own.