(no subject)
The plan to go somewhere today was kind of...forgotten. In the mail arrived my package from kitty, and with it my games. Dissidia! :O
So of course, after getting the game, all I've done is play, play, and play some more. 9+ hours on the clock right now. I didn't even mean to play it yet, or at least much. I just wanted to see the opening vid, maybe try out a battle or two. But then the game sucked me in and I couldn't let it go. ;___; And to be honest, the only reason I stopped now is due to a blister on my thumb (no worries, the other is merely sore). Now that hasn't happened in a while. A clear sign that I haven't been playing enough lately. *amused*
I was wondering how much of the game I'd understand (it being in Japanese) before it arrived, but turns out there's no worries of that. Most of the cutscenes and other dialogue have pretty basic FF stuff, and I don't need to understand the explanation of what an attack does when I can just see the button combo and try it out to find out the effect. It helps that the game has lots of little guides to fall back on. =D
The first thing the game has you do is set your name, play plan (how much you generally play in a day..) and your special day (you get special bonuses on that day). It has this nice little calendar thing and you get different bonuses on different days. And then there's this confusing chocobo thing that's somehow related to the play plan settings, but I haven't quite figured it out yet. But it's giving me items, so all's good.
Then the game instructs you to play through the tutorial. It's only for Warrior of Light, and clearing it unlocks the next stage in the story mode, where you can pick your character. But...continuing the story mode with Warrior of Light before training him a bit? I would't advice it. The very first boss afterwards is level 6, and if you continue straight from the tutorial to that one you'll be max level 2 or 3. I'm not sure if a skilled action-game player could survive it, but I sure as hell can't. >.>' So I spent the next couple hours in Quick Battle mode, trying to get levels and figure out how to play Warrior of Light properly. The problem with him is that while he has tons of Brave attacks, his HP attacks just suck. It's pretty much impossible to kill anything quickly. But he's level...actually, I don't remember his level anymore. But I reached Density Odyssey 1-4 (story mode first actual story arc thing, on Warrior of Light, and fourth part) before switching characters.
(A quick note on HP attacks and Brave attacks....HP attacks naturally damage HP. Brave attacks damage Brave. Both types of attacks give you Brave when they hit. Brave is your attack strength)
You see, got this terrible urge to try out Cecil... =D; He's a lot easier to play than the Warrior. Dark Knight form has good HP attacks and attacks on the ground, while Paladin has good Brave attacks and attacks from the air, and you can swith between during battles.
...the problem, then, appears to be the levels. Some have hardly any ground at all. You try KO'ing an opponent when all you can damage is his Brave, because your only HP attack from the air is really unwieldy to use and gives the opponent plenty of time to dodge it. Not to mention you too often being way too high on the map to reach the opponent with the puny little fly-arc of the Paladin HP attack. I've died more than once due to that, and not being able to lose altitude quick enough to hit the opponent before it hits me, steals all my Brave, and one-hits me. >.> I think a weak Exdeath copy was the most annoying one. It kept blasting me with this really strong attack that threw me against the map's ceiling (and of course, being hit against the ceiling gave extra damage..). And every time I managed to get close to him, I got thrown up again. I did manage to beat that battle though...on the third try. .___.;
The good thing is that to clear Density Odyssey 4 (Cecil's part of the first story arc) you don't need to level at all. As long as you avoid the occasional super-strong extra opponent, you'll be fine. So I went through it, and with the PP I'd gotten from all the battles in it, I unlocked Golbez as a playable character. :P
And..well, I haven't played the other characters yet. Just played against them. The good side at least, the bad guys need to be unlocked to choose them in Quick Battle mode. And may I advice..never try to use Cecil's Paladin form against Cloud for too long. Just kill the dratted thing as fast as you can, or you'll be quite brutally butchered. Tina's quite good at butchering PLD!Cecil, too. D:
Oh, and I wouldn't suggest trying a fight eg Warrior vs Warrior, with equal levels and no handicaps on the CPU (well..unless you're really good, or have lots of expensive equips). The first time I tried Quick Battle mode, I did just that mistake, not bothering to look too closely at the battle customization. I didn't manage to hit the enemy Warrior even once before I died...
First impressions? The game can look quite a pointless fighter (grind, grind, grind...you might get to choose your opponent and handicaps and battle music and battle map, but there's only so many options for that) but it's really addicting. I don't even know why. It sure looks good at least. And I love the voices. (it's really annoying how they keep changing the English voice actors. Pick one and stick with it! D: At least in Japanese, you'll get a sense of continuity instead of being jolted out of the story every time a familiar character opens their mouth) And..you know, OMG fangasm all FF main charas in one game! *___*
I meant to do it by the end of December, but didn't get around to finishing a good enough portion of the guide until now...finally added a section for articles and stuff at waff. The only thing up for now is a half-complete guide to playing FFs in Japanese. I have one other thing half-written and a couple others planned, I just never remember to work on them.
And I should really update other stuff too. I can remember at least several subjects I was in the middle of editing but have never gotten around to finishing. And some choice few sections have nothing up... And come to think of it, I haven't even made pages for the upcoming FF11 expansion packages. @__@
So of course, after getting the game, all I've done is play, play, and play some more. 9+ hours on the clock right now. I didn't even mean to play it yet, or at least much. I just wanted to see the opening vid, maybe try out a battle or two. But then the game sucked me in and I couldn't let it go. ;___; And to be honest, the only reason I stopped now is due to a blister on my thumb (no worries, the other is merely sore). Now that hasn't happened in a while. A clear sign that I haven't been playing enough lately. *amused*
I was wondering how much of the game I'd understand (it being in Japanese) before it arrived, but turns out there's no worries of that. Most of the cutscenes and other dialogue have pretty basic FF stuff, and I don't need to understand the explanation of what an attack does when I can just see the button combo and try it out to find out the effect. It helps that the game has lots of little guides to fall back on. =D
The first thing the game has you do is set your name, play plan (how much you generally play in a day..) and your special day (you get special bonuses on that day). It has this nice little calendar thing and you get different bonuses on different days. And then there's this confusing chocobo thing that's somehow related to the play plan settings, but I haven't quite figured it out yet. But it's giving me items, so all's good.
Then the game instructs you to play through the tutorial. It's only for Warrior of Light, and clearing it unlocks the next stage in the story mode, where you can pick your character. But...continuing the story mode with Warrior of Light before training him a bit? I would't advice it. The very first boss afterwards is level 6, and if you continue straight from the tutorial to that one you'll be max level 2 or 3. I'm not sure if a skilled action-game player could survive it, but I sure as hell can't. >.>' So I spent the next couple hours in Quick Battle mode, trying to get levels and figure out how to play Warrior of Light properly. The problem with him is that while he has tons of Brave attacks, his HP attacks just suck. It's pretty much impossible to kill anything quickly. But he's level...actually, I don't remember his level anymore. But I reached Density Odyssey 1-4 (story mode first actual story arc thing, on Warrior of Light, and fourth part) before switching characters.
(A quick note on HP attacks and Brave attacks....HP attacks naturally damage HP. Brave attacks damage Brave. Both types of attacks give you Brave when they hit. Brave is your attack strength)
You see, got this terrible urge to try out Cecil... =D; He's a lot easier to play than the Warrior. Dark Knight form has good HP attacks and attacks on the ground, while Paladin has good Brave attacks and attacks from the air, and you can swith between during battles.
...the problem, then, appears to be the levels. Some have hardly any ground at all. You try KO'ing an opponent when all you can damage is his Brave, because your only HP attack from the air is really unwieldy to use and gives the opponent plenty of time to dodge it. Not to mention you too often being way too high on the map to reach the opponent with the puny little fly-arc of the Paladin HP attack. I've died more than once due to that, and not being able to lose altitude quick enough to hit the opponent before it hits me, steals all my Brave, and one-hits me. >.> I think a weak Exdeath copy was the most annoying one. It kept blasting me with this really strong attack that threw me against the map's ceiling (and of course, being hit against the ceiling gave extra damage..). And every time I managed to get close to him, I got thrown up again. I did manage to beat that battle though...on the third try. .___.;
The good thing is that to clear Density Odyssey 4 (Cecil's part of the first story arc) you don't need to level at all. As long as you avoid the occasional super-strong extra opponent, you'll be fine. So I went through it, and with the PP I'd gotten from all the battles in it, I unlocked Golbez as a playable character. :P
And..well, I haven't played the other characters yet. Just played against them. The good side at least, the bad guys need to be unlocked to choose them in Quick Battle mode. And may I advice..never try to use Cecil's Paladin form against Cloud for too long. Just kill the dratted thing as fast as you can, or you'll be quite brutally butchered. Tina's quite good at butchering PLD!Cecil, too. D:
Oh, and I wouldn't suggest trying a fight eg Warrior vs Warrior, with equal levels and no handicaps on the CPU (well..unless you're really good, or have lots of expensive equips). The first time I tried Quick Battle mode, I did just that mistake, not bothering to look too closely at the battle customization. I didn't manage to hit the enemy Warrior even once before I died...
First impressions? The game can look quite a pointless fighter (grind, grind, grind...you might get to choose your opponent and handicaps and battle music and battle map, but there's only so many options for that) but it's really addicting. I don't even know why. It sure looks good at least. And I love the voices. (it's really annoying how they keep changing the English voice actors. Pick one and stick with it! D: At least in Japanese, you'll get a sense of continuity instead of being jolted out of the story every time a familiar character opens their mouth) And..you know, OMG fangasm all FF main charas in one game! *___*
I meant to do it by the end of December, but didn't get around to finishing a good enough portion of the guide until now...finally added a section for articles and stuff at waff. The only thing up for now is a half-complete guide to playing FFs in Japanese. I have one other thing half-written and a couple others planned, I just never remember to work on them.
And I should really update other stuff too. I can remember at least several subjects I was in the middle of editing but have never gotten around to finishing. And some choice few sections have nothing up... And come to think of it, I haven't even made pages for the upcoming FF11 expansion packages. @__@