Rogue Galaxy: What I Think Thus Far.

[schild]

So Rogue Galaxy dropped this week for the PS2. Reviews across the board have been middling at best. Many of the reviews mention things like "Level 5 did such great work on Dragon Quest VIII that Rogue Galaxy simply pales in comparison." Bullshit. Dragon Quest VIII, while expertly constructed, was terribly slow and boring. You ran too slow, the game progressed too slowly, fights took too long, unlocking everything took way too long (goddamn metal BS), and it looked like Dragon Ball. Ok, that last part is a bit of a copout on my part. I can't be bothered to think very hard right now. But I've put a few hours into Rogue Galaxy and I can honestly say that I'm enjoying it.

Loot. There's a hell of a lot. I like loot, I mean, who doesn't? Eight million people can't be wrong. As far as I'm concerned, short of Diablo, Rogue Galaxy does loot right. Also, you're a fucking space pirate. You hunt monsters, get treasure, and fly around space. That's pretty awesome, right? Yea, it is. But I'll tell you, there's something that really eats at me. Double Jump did the strategy guide. At first I was stoked because I'm a big Disgaea fan. But Rogue Galaxy is nothing like Disgaea. And yet, it still seems to have an unbelievable amount of "content." That's in quotes since there's more optional content than real storyline content. That doesn't really bother me. What bothers me is what I've looked at thus far in the book. If you're like me, you read strategy guides an area back. After you finish an area and move away from it, you read it for what you might have missed. Well, in the first area, it looks like I have to come back and farm the shit out of it later in my quest to 100% the game. Ugh. I'll do it, the combat is actually pretty fun (I like it more than say, Devil Summoner), but I can't say I'll enjoy it. However! There's no question that the sum of the game will be better than it's parts (especially the part I just mentioned). It's very well constructed and the pacing, thus far, seems spot on.

The other thing I feel compelled to mention is the revelation flow chart. It seems Level 5 wanted to create a skill system that was the bastard child of Final Fantasy XII and Digital Devil Saga. The biggest difference is each character has it's own set of skills and the entire thing is based around gathering items. I can't complain about this, I knew going in that Level 5 made Dark Cloud 2 and it's fairly obvious that they're obsessed with collection games. Anyway, you get items and place them into this big flow chart and each time you fill in a little section you unlock a new skill. It's actually a really cool system, short of the fact it's a total timesink. There's no doubt going to be a need to farm enemies all throughout the game to get rare drops to fill up the better skillsets. Being obsessive about treasure hunting in video games, I'll have no problem with this, but for some it could be a major turnoff. Proceed with caution, YMMV, etc.

I don't feel comfortable reviewing this yet simply because I haven't played nearly enough of the main storyline, the minigames, or optional content. But thus far it's grabbed me by the balls pretty good. Which is a shame, since I was well on my way to 100 hours in Disgaea 2. Ok, I'm done now, and I'm pretty sure I've said a lot of nothing. I feel pretty compelled to say that if you like traveling around exotic worlds gathering treasures, slaying named monsters, meeting a new version of C-3PO and R2-D2, and like Space Pirates that you really can't go wrong. Or at least, that's what I think thus far.

[stray]

Explaine the minigames more if you can. After FF12, I'm really missing something like that.

Also, are the pirates as cool as this guy?

[schild]

Harlock? Yes. But there's a cat too.

[Trippy]

Umm...what kind of game is this (for those of us too lazy to look it up)?

[schild]

Action RPG.

[squirrel]

Ya know if this and FF were PS3 titles I'd likely buy one. As it is I'm seriously considering buying a PS2 since mine's long gone.

[schild]

My avatar and your avatar are about to fight out on the playground.

[squirrel]

3 o'clock behind the portables! Mine has a skull!!!

But yours has blood. Tough call. I beat Oscar De Lahoya once - does that count? (my 360 died shortly after and is still in shipping...)

[Soln]

Explaine the minigames more if you can. After FF12, I'm really missing something like that.

Also, are the pirates as cool as this guy?

Harlock

best anime evah.

[Riggswolfe]

This looks interesting. However, considering I enjoyed the hell out of Dragon Quest VIII and you didn't, I'm worried I'll be more like those reviewers than you. Still...space pirates.

[Riggswolfe]

Ok, I read the IGN and Gamespot reviews and it sounds like a fun game. I think some of the character design sounds almost too quirky for my tastes but I still think it sounds fun. (yes, I know, I'm one of those American consumers who just doesn't "get" quirky stuff. Sorry.)

[Nebu]

I feel pretty compelled to say that if you like traveling around exotic worlds gathering treasures, slaying named monsters, meeting a new version of C-3PO and R2-D2, and like Space Pirates that you really can't go wrong. Or at least, that's what I think thus far.

Sounds pretty good to me.  Thanks for the note!

[stray]

minigames

Put more time in them yet, Schild? :)

I'm kind of curious about weapon fusion in particular.


Anyways, I never finished either Dark Cloud 1 or 2 (and am still sitting on them), but I have to give this a chance. I'm looking forward to White Knight as well, but I can't say whether I'm really a Factor 5 fan or not yet (I just don't know). From all the descriptions though, it seems to be a checklist of every feature I'd want out of an rpg (space pirates, obscene amout content and minigames, KH like combat).

[schild]

I'm at work. I'm gonna play the fuck outta this tonight.

[Calantus]

I'm fine with quirky, but childish is something I have a lot of difficulty with. Not in the "X game is a kiddie game", but in the story. Dark Cloud 2 nearly killed me all the way through because it was obviously a story made for 4 year olds (and DID kill me when I beat the last boss, jesus). It's not like that is it?

[schild]

No. This, thus far, is a story about mistaken identity. Guy on planet has sword. Robot pirates mistake him for famous pirate. Famous pirate joins pirate crew on GIANT space ship. Pirate falls in love with girl. Pirate somehow saves world (hey, it's a video game). That's how I see it at least. The R2 and C3 stuff grates on me the most obviously, but for the most part, it's more than passable as far as stories go.

[stray]

First impressions: So far this game is pretty neat. I might be getting ahead of myself, but this seems like a better action rpg blend than anything I've played before it. And yet, it doesn't sacrifice depth in doing it.

Think a better Kingdom Hearts + some similarity to their artwork and scripting in DQVIII + Space Pirates

Funny writing so far too.

[Mazakiel]

I just arrived at the first planet, and so far I'm loving the game.  Very nicely done.  The revelation system will take a bit getting used to, though. 

[Riggswolfe]

So how actiony is it? I never played Kingdom Hearts, so umm..is it say, Zelda type action?

[stray]

Short of being a full blown beat em up (it resembles one at first glance). Even has an homage to Devil May Cry, with the reckless gun firing (well...not exactly as reckless as DMC. There's an "Action Point"/Mana type system in place).

And yeah, more action like than Zelda (not necessarily better mind you...just faster, and with more enemies).

If you haven't played Kingdom Hearts, then the next comparison I'd make is the X-Men/UA games, but with more traditional beat em up mechanics (like jump attacks and the like). It's also deeper than that game. It's not shallow by any means -- in that respect, it resembles DQ8.

Hell, even the first boss isn't a traditional "stack shitloads of HP" RPG type of boss. It's more like something out of a SotC or God of War (as much as an RPG can be at least). There's even a little platforming involved.

[Riggswolfe]

fuck you schild and fuck you stray. I'm going to have to stop on my way home and pick this bitch up. I hope you two are happy! I was trying to resist but you battered my weak defenses down. You're the PK to my willpower's carebear.

[Nebu]

fuck you schild and fuck you stray. I'm going to have to stop on my way home and pick this bitch up. I hope you two are happy! I was trying to resist but you battered my weak defenses down. You're the PK to my willpower's carebear.

I hate them too.  The more they write, the more I'm willing to overlook the girlish graphics and buy this.  Schild is getting good at making me buy things... damnit.

[Strazos]

I'm waiting for him to make someone buy a transvestite hooker. He almost made Morgan do it.

[schild]

So. Difficulty Curve. Kinda broken. Not game-breakingly though.

[Viin]

Sounds like fun, too bad it's on PS2 only.

Edit: bad umm words

[CmdrSlack]

So, basically, if I'm a sucker for action RPGs in general, I should avoid this until AFTER all of my obligations for the month are taken care of?

[stray]

So, basically, if I'm a sucker for action RPGs in general, I should avoid this until AFTER all of my obligations for the month are taken care of?

It's a mega long game, so even if you did get it now, you shouldn't or couldn't or wouldn't want to rush through it anyways. The box says 100 hours, which may be a bit of a stretch...But still, that should indicate something.

[EDIT]

"A lot of guys get messed up in the Insectron....Takes over their lives."

Heh.


This game is just ridiculously solid. And varied. I don't expect that much these days. The only thing it's missing is a full color 80 page manual.

[Phildo]

From someone who played every INCH of Dragon Quest VIII, and enjoyed it for the most part, this game looks to be ten times the fun from a pacing standpoint alone.  I actually went out and bought it before I finished the other game I was working on.  And has anyone mentioned how fantastic the art is yet?

[schild]

Stray: There IS a good 300-400 page full color strat guide from Double Jump/Hardcore Gamer Magazine. Worth every penny for the art alone.. OK, and the spreadsheets in the back.

[stray]

Yeah, I might get it. Though my main point was more pointing to how good the game is: The main thing it's lacking is a good manual (I don't have DQ anymore, but recall it being generous in that dept.). I'm not finding much to be disappointed about (well....there's the cameras, I guess)

Strat guide would be pretty helpful for more info on the fusion stuff though (also, best intro to a crafting mechanic ever).

[schild]

Oh, hell yea, frog log in the hizzouse. The strat guide is worth every penny just for the factory layout. I don't want to say more, but you'll thank me if you get it. Double Jump can be masters of efficiency when they try.

[Calantus]

For the PAL version:

availability: Due for release on 09/03/2007

Hmmmmm... at first I thought it must surely be March (in Aus we do DD/MM/YYYY, which is logical if you think about it, the only more logical format is YYYY/MM/DD) because a September release is surely rediculous. But then I checked an Australian site and nope... it releases in September for PAL territories. That's fucking disgusting, and I'm soo tired of being a second class citizen. Just going to order a PS2, FFXII, and RG from gamestop since I've heard you guys talk about it a fair bit. There's other games I've wanted for a while that will never hit PAL, but that'll do for a start.

Or not because gamestop wont take my order. /sigh I'll get back to this when I'm not as mad.

[schild]

Buy an American PS3. You can play the American PS2 games and any PS3 games. Probably the best way to go.

[Calantus]

Yeah I could do that, if I had a place that accepted my details. :P

Any recommendations? Just any place that sells USA games/hardware online and will ship overseas. I know gamestop/EB Games and Amazon, but one wont take my details and the other wont ship NTSC items outside of the USA.

[Strazos]

Don't you have to have a NTSC TV as well?

Must suck.

But I do have an Idea. You wire me money, I send you things. Hell, I can even use my store discount on the software.