My copy should be coming today, but I've heard it's more of a 3D castlevania than a traditional JRPG.
You might not be wrong with comparison. The game does remind me more of Portrait of Ruin or Ecclesia (the only modern Castlevanias I've played) than it does a Tales of... or SMT.
Argh I need to stop ordering stuff on the Saturday after it comes out, longest postage wait ever.
My copy should be coming today, but I've heard it's more of a 3D castlevania than a traditional JRPG.
You might not be wrong with comparison. The game does remind me more of Portrait of Ruin or Ecclesia (the only modern Castlevanias I've played) than it does a Tales of... or SMT.
Argh I need to stop ordering stuff on the Saturday after it comes out, longest postage wait ever.
I'm not saying this game is as good as Castlevania, though.
Huzzah, postman brought my copy while I was at work.
Pretty great for only a fiver more than the normal version.
Only got past the treetop tower, but seems awesome so far. I thought the chain controls might be a bit annoying having to work them into the combat, but it works really well.
Chain gauge seems to increase faster the longer you hold it if the first boss was anything to go by.
Also should I be selling any flesh I come across that I don't immediately need for Elena?
Also should I be selling any flesh I come across that I don't immediately need for Elena?
Yep. Flesh doesn't restore a set amount, it restores up to a certain point.
Flesh in the Observatory also spoils over time, making it a lot less effective. So just sell it to Mavda before it becomes effectively useless.
If you must, you can always make a quick trip to the Treetop Tower. If you chain their torsos, those long-armed brutes drop beast flesh and sometimes dripping flesh. If you got the time to reach them, those large pod-like plants are likely to drop dripping flesh or quivering flesh. All of which is way, way better than whatever rotting leftover flesh you haven't sold.
So this is pretty good. It's arguably more like 3D castlevania than any of the actual efforts we've had in that direction (not that I disliked Lords of Shadow, or anything) and there's more than a touch of Shadow of the Colossus.
Hell of a weird choice for the Wii swansong, though. I'm amazed we got anything this backwards-insane at all, never mind promoted by Nintendo.
Yeah, I'm really enjoying this. Although one of the bosses really annoyed me.
(Not really a spoiler, just tagging it for anyone particularly sensitive.)
The boss in the second leafy tower goes to this beam of sunlight to photosynthesise and recover from your attacks. I was struggling so I thought "Right, I'll go back, have a sleep and try again at night, when it's dark and there's no sun." I do this and return to the boss in the middle of the night. There's still a massive beam of sunlight striking the boss arena, and the boss still goes into the sunlight to heal. At night.
Just beat the fifth boss. He was actually pretty fun.
He's completely invulnerable until he overheats and he mostly generates heat by attacking. So instead of staying away from him like a sensible person would do when faced with a killing machine, you have to goad him into attacking you and then dodging whatever he throws at you until he's forced to power down.
Hmm. I keep hearing good things about this. Maybe I should import it?
Well, I'm obviously loving it, but I have a hard time recommending this game without caveats.
It's Castlevania-like, it's Zelda-ish and it's got some light dating sim elements. It doesn't tell its story in a particularly straightforward manner and it doesn't shy away from being gross or disturbing, though it doesn't really push it into your face either (well, except for all those (skipable) cutscenes of Elena eating monster flesh). And there's a time limit hanging over your head like a disgusting Sword of Damocles. A time limit that either drives you to finds those short-cuts quickly and get things done right away or just annoys you because it's constantly forcing you cut your dungeon exploration short and head back to base - it all depends on how much you can sympathise with Elena. Oh, and the main character is pretty dull.
I will say it's better than The Last Story, though.
Perhaps they should have put something into place that when you finished off a master the tower they were inhabiting no longer counts down the clock when you're in it. Or instead of giving you a game over the longer it takes to get master flesh the lower rating you get with Elena when you give it to her, but you can again use servant flesh to bring it back up.
Anyway, when you use a shard of divinity is it just a one way trip back to the observatory?
I've only got the sword and twin blades right now, but I don't really want to spend the materials to upgrade the twin blades to my sword level unless it's really worth it.
Have you used em much Wotan? I've ran a couple of the earlier towers with em but it seems more difficult to dodge out of any combo attacks, think it's because the animation lasts longer but the dodge doesn't cancel it.
I haven't used the twin blades much at all either, to be honest. The sword was good enough for me.
And then I got the scythe (in the fifth Tower, I believe). If the sword is average and the twin blades are weak but quick, then the scythe is strong but slow. I like the scythe. I've been using it a lot.
I finally got my copy in the mail and I made it past the first boss. I am enjoying it so far. I suspect that the protagonist messing around with something that is supposed to keep a chasm from spreading is not going to bode well. Also, I wonder what happened to all of the military people checking the place out. The curse perhaps?
I like that the gifts seem to enhance the observatory. I suspect it will be blinged out by the end of the game.
I like that the gifts seem to enhance the observatory. I suspect it will be blinged out by the end of the game.
Blinged out is, perhaps, going a little far.
Though I do like that Elena will change rugs and tablecloths and bedsheets and whatnot as time passes (and sometimes you'll even spot them hanging from the laundry line). On the one hand, this means the Observatory looks a bit more like Elena's living in it and keeping it clean. On the other hand, you won't be able to stop her putting down rugs you think look pretty bad.
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Werewolf2000adSuckers, I know exactly what went wrong.Registered Userregular
I like that the gifts seem to enhance the observatory. I suspect it will be blinged out by the end of the game.
Blinged out is, perhaps, going a little far.
Though I do like that Elena will change rugs and tablecloths and bedsheets and whatnot as time passes (and sometimes you'll even spot them hanging from the laundry line). On the one hand, this means the Observatory looks a bit more like Elena's living in it and keeping it clean. On the other hand, you won't be able to stop her putting down rugs you think look pretty bad.
Yeah, and she does the same with stuff you get for her to wear, as well. It's a nice little touch of realism I don't think I've ever seen in a game before. In fact I initially thought it was some sort of bug where the game had forgotten what items I'd bought before I realised what was happening.
EVERYBODY WANTS TO SIT IN THE BIG CHAIR, MEG!
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turtleantGunpla Dadis the best.Registered Userregular
Any word on this coming state side? Looks like a lot of fun.
I finished this today, overall I thought it was very good. Consistently enjoyable, no major flaws, no annoying difficulty spikes or anything like that. The low-ish Metacritic score baffles me to be honest.
The low-ish Metacritic score baffles me to be honest.
In all fairness, there are no outright negative reviews.
Still... Ganbarion is a minor studio who's only made One Piece games before this and on top of that Pandora's Tower is part dating sim and has a time limit.
Since Ganbarion isn't and doesn't have a Big Name and probably couldn't afford to buy reviews, it's no wonder the average score is kinda low-ish.
For all you completionists, interior decorators and fashionistas out there...
You're probably aware that Mavda hands out free items if you bring her a lot of flesh. For every Tower, Mavda has three items to give and in order to get them, you have to sell her an amount of flesh worth X Leots all in one go. For example, if you harvest flesh worth 150 Leots at once and sell it to her, she'll give you Mercury. 300 will get you a Power Stone and 600 will give you a Shield Talisman. Unfortunately, if you sell her, say, 100 Leots' of flesh and then, after another run through the tower, sell her another 60 Leots' of flesh, she won't give you the Mercury. But if you sell her 600 Leots' worth of flesh straight away, she'll give you all three at once, which is nice.
Of course, what's really nice are the unique items for the tower and the gifts for Elena. Here's a complete list:
Treetop Tower:
150 - Mercury
300 - Power Stone
600 - Shield Talisman
For all you completionists, interior decorators and fashionistas out there...
You're probably aware that Mavda hands out free items if you bring her a lot of flesh. For every Tower, Mavda has three items to give and in order to get them, you have to sell her an amount of flesh worth X Leots all in one go. For example, if you harvest flesh worth 150 Leots at once and sell it to her, she'll give you Mercury. 300 will get you a Power Stone and 600 will give you a Shield Talisman. Unfortunately, if you sell her, say, 100 Leots' of flesh and then, after another run through the tower, sell her another 60 Leots' of flesh, she won't give you the Mercury. But if you sell her 600 Leots' worth of flesh straight away, she'll give you all three at once, which is nice.
Of course, what's really nice are the unique items for the tower and the gifts for Elena. Here's a complete list:
Treetop Tower:
150 - Mercury
300 - Power Stone
600 - Shield Talisman
Dawn/Dusk Tower:
500 - Spirit Silver
1000 - Orb of Opposites
1500 - Promise Ring
So if you want your Observatory as pretty as it can be, I guess you'd better get grinding.
Post-game spoiler:
Most of those items also become available to buy on New Game+. Plus there's at least one extra gift I've found behind one of the locked red doors, which you can open in NG+.
And done. After roughly 45 hours, I've finished the game. Which is longer than average, I've been given to understand, but I enjoyed grinding and faffing about. And also cut my dungeon exploration short to make sure I got back to Elena in time (only had to use a Divine Shard once).
So yeah. Awesome game. The chain mechanic was done pretty well and the bosses were varied enough that it never felt that repetitive. Story was pretty decent, too.
I do appreciate that they made Elena seriously gross in monster form. Adds a little extra incentive to get back in time. Get your slime away from the bedcovers! I paid good money for those!
I do appreciate that they made Elena seriously gross in monster form. Adds a little extra incentive to get back in time. Get your slime away from the bedcovers! I paid good money for those!
After you've completed about half of the adventure, you want her to stay in good health because the expensive gifts you bought her will break if you don't.
And believe you me you'll curse yourself for missing the deadline when that White Gold Ring needs to be repaired.
Alright and in this next scene all the animals have AIDS.
I do appreciate that they made Elena seriously gross in monster form. Adds a little extra incentive to get back in time. Get your slime away from the bedcovers! I paid good money for those!
After you've completed about half of the adventure, you want her to stay in good health because the expensive gifts you bought her will break if you don't.
And believe you me you'll curse yourself for missing the deadline when that White Gold Ring needs to be repaired.
Only the gifts Elena wears - dresses, bracelets, necklaces, that kind of thing. The carpets, for example, are safe.
I do appreciate that they made Elena seriously gross in monster form. Adds a little extra incentive to get back in time. Get your slime away from the bedcovers! I paid good money for those!
After you've completed about half of the adventure, you want her to stay in good health because the expensive gifts you bought her will break if you don't.
And believe you me you'll curse yourself for missing the deadline when that White Gold Ring needs to be repaired.
Only the gifts Elena wears - dresses, bracelets, necklaces, that kind of thing. The carpets, for example, are safe.
Dripping with purple ooze, but safe.
Considering she's got like half an hour of gameplay time before she starts turning into a slug again, she puts an amazing amount of effort into cleaning up the house!
Alright and in this next scene all the animals have AIDS.
Also, I'm pretty sure some of the flowers and greenery you buy for her wilt and die when she passes a certain transformation threshold. The flowers she planted from seeds in the garden certainly do, I'm not 100% on the potted plants you can get for her.
I think she might even circulate the potted greenery in the same way as accessories, though.
Alright and in this next scene all the animals have AIDS.
Wow, this game is really really awesome. Jesus, seeing that poor girl have to eat that gross out tumour-meat was incredibly effective. I really wanna save her now.
Also, Mavda is the coolest fucking character I've seen in years. Good god she is just too too creepy.
Posts
Argh I need to stop ordering stuff on the Saturday after it comes out, longest postage wait ever.
I'm not saying this game is as good as Castlevania, though.
I approve! More of this, chef.
Pretty great for only a fiver more than the normal version.
Only got past the treetop tower, but seems awesome so far. I thought the chain controls might be a bit annoying having to work them into the combat, but it works really well.
Chain gauge seems to increase faster the longer you hold it if the first boss was anything to go by.
Also should I be selling any flesh I come across that I don't immediately need for Elena?
Yep. Flesh doesn't restore a set amount, it restores up to a certain point.
Flesh in the Observatory also spoils over time, making it a lot less effective. So just sell it to Mavda before it becomes effectively useless.
If you must, you can always make a quick trip to the Treetop Tower. If you chain their torsos, those long-armed brutes drop beast flesh and sometimes dripping flesh. If you got the time to reach them, those large pod-like plants are likely to drop dripping flesh or quivering flesh. All of which is way, way better than whatever rotting leftover flesh you haven't sold.
Hell of a weird choice for the Wii swansong, though. I'm amazed we got anything this backwards-insane at all, never mind promoted by Nintendo.
(Not really a spoiler, just tagging it for anyone particularly sensitive.)
The description says it extends the bag, but I have no more than the usual 30 slots.
Am I missing something?
Apparently, Aeron can't sew or stitch worth a damn.
Just sew this onto my bag whenever you're not turning into a gross monster thanks.
Well, I'm obviously loving it, but I have a hard time recommending this game without caveats.
It's Castlevania-like, it's Zelda-ish and it's got some light dating sim elements. It doesn't tell its story in a particularly straightforward manner and it doesn't shy away from being gross or disturbing, though it doesn't really push it into your face either (well, except for all those (skipable) cutscenes of Elena eating monster flesh). And there's a time limit hanging over your head like a disgusting Sword of Damocles. A time limit that either drives you to finds those short-cuts quickly and get things done right away or just annoys you because it's constantly forcing you cut your dungeon exploration short and head back to base - it all depends on how much you can sympathise with Elena. Oh, and the main character is pretty dull.
I will say it's better than The Last Story, though.
Perhaps they should have put something into place that when you finished off a master the tower they were inhabiting no longer counts down the clock when you're in it. Or instead of giving you a game over the longer it takes to get master flesh the lower rating you get with Elena when you give it to her, but you can again use servant flesh to bring it back up.
Anyway, when you use a shard of divinity is it just a one way trip back to the observatory?
Yeah, pretty much.
And the written review.
Have you used em much Wotan? I've ran a couple of the earlier towers with em but it seems more difficult to dodge out of any combo attacks, think it's because the animation lasts longer but the dodge doesn't cancel it.
And then I got the scythe (in the fifth Tower, I believe). If the sword is average and the twin blades are weak but quick, then the scythe is strong but slow. I like the scythe. I've been using it a lot.
I like that the gifts seem to enhance the observatory. I suspect it will be blinged out by the end of the game.
Blinged out is, perhaps, going a little far.
EVERYBODY WANTS TO SIT IN THE BIG CHAIR, MEG!
In all fairness, there are no outright negative reviews.
Still... Ganbarion is a minor studio who's only made One Piece games before this and on top of that Pandora's Tower is part dating sim and has a time limit.
Since Ganbarion isn't and doesn't have a Big Name and probably couldn't afford to buy reviews, it's no wonder the average score is kinda low-ish.
You're probably aware that Mavda hands out free items if you bring her a lot of flesh. For every Tower, Mavda has three items to give and in order to get them, you have to sell her an amount of flesh worth X Leots all in one go. For example, if you harvest flesh worth 150 Leots at once and sell it to her, she'll give you Mercury. 300 will get you a Power Stone and 600 will give you a Shield Talisman. Unfortunately, if you sell her, say, 100 Leots' of flesh and then, after another run through the tower, sell her another 60 Leots' of flesh, she won't give you the Mercury. But if you sell her 600 Leots' worth of flesh straight away, she'll give you all three at once, which is nice.
Of course, what's really nice are the unique items for the tower and the gifts for Elena. Here's a complete list:
150 - Mercury
300 - Power Stone
600 - Shield Talisman
Sheerdrop Spire:
200 - Potted Dryad
400 - Panacea
800 - Bronze Mirror
Wellspring Steeple:
100 - Quality Metal
250 - Sage Stone
500 - Certan Tome
Crimson Keep:
100 - Guard Stone
250 - Ambrosia
500 - Music Box
Ironclad Turret:
100 - Certan Rug
250 - Skill Band
500 - Glass Vase
Arcadian Tower:
250 - White Rug
500 - Pure Band
1000 - Ancient Clock
Rockshard Rampart:
250 - Tactical Manual
500 - Okanos Stone
1000 - Knight Storybook
Torrent Peak:
150 - Rainbow Scale
300 - Farsight Band
600 - Aios Pendant
Blazing Citadel:
150 - Red Rug
300 - Phoenix Stone
600 - Formal Dress
Truegold Tower:
200 - Aegis Steel
400 - Rustic Painting
800 - Noble Garb
Dawn/Dusk Tower:
500 - Spirit Silver
1000 - Orb of Opposites
1500 - Promise Ring
So if you want your Observatory as pretty as it can be, I guess you'd better get grinding.
Post-game spoiler:
EVERYBODY WANTS TO SIT IN THE BIG CHAIR, MEG!
So yeah. Awesome game. The chain mechanic was done pretty well and the bosses were varied enough that it never felt that repetitive. Story was pretty decent, too.
Might decide to go for the other endings next.
I do appreciate that they made Elena seriously gross in monster form. Adds a little extra incentive to get back in time. Get your slime away from the bedcovers! I paid good money for those!
After you've completed about half of the adventure, you want her to stay in good health because the expensive gifts you bought her will break if you don't.
And believe you me you'll curse yourself for missing the deadline when that White Gold Ring needs to be repaired.
I got a little excited when I saw your ship.
Think I got to tower 4/5 before I got dragged away. Ditto for Xenoblade too and I haven't even started The Last Story yet : /
Nintendo have confirmed that they're sending me the coin collection though, coming in October.
Only the gifts Elena wears - dresses, bracelets, necklaces, that kind of thing. The carpets, for example, are safe.
Dripping with purple ooze, but safe.
Considering she's got like half an hour of gameplay time before she starts turning into a slug again, she puts an amazing amount of effort into cleaning up the house!
I got a little excited when I saw your ship.
I think she might even circulate the potted greenery in the same way as accessories, though.
I got a little excited when I saw your ship.
Not really.
Being away so long that Elena slowly starts mutating into a horrible monstrosity does lower affinity.
Also, Mavda is the coolest fucking character I've seen in years. Good god she is just too too creepy.