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Rogue Galaxy, Hands On n' Stuff
etoychest
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
OK, as I continue to wade through games and such, yesterday I cracked into the latest English build of Level-5 and Sony's Rogue Galaxy for the PS2. I have a hands on preview up on our site that you are welcome to check out, but the gist is that it's a fun, but somewhat button mashy RPG. It's certainly not an action RPG, but it also exists outside the normal sphere of traditional role-playing as far as mechanics. I immediately noticed this the first time I realized that there was a jump button. There's no jumping in RPGs, right? Also, combat is real-time, so you are jumping about, firing off rockets, and slicing and dicing your opponents....it's an odd sensation for an RPG, but it really works rather well.
So, some highlights for my time with the game:
- No noticeable load times/screens
- typical, yet refined Level-5 visual style
- Decent, yet sometimes annoying voice work (characters will talk amongst themselves at random)
- a quasi-Gambit system that lets you be rather hands off with your part members in combat (though it does not seem as robust as that of FF12)
Anyway, are people excited about this one? Also, if I didn't touch on anything here or in my preview, ask. I deliberately didn't talk about the story because I didn't feel it was justified given that we were only given a few areas of the game to play in.
So, some highlights for my time with the game:
- No noticeable load times/screens
- typical, yet refined Level-5 visual style
- Decent, yet sometimes annoying voice work (characters will talk amongst themselves at random)
- a quasi-Gambit system that lets you be rather hands off with your part members in combat (though it does not seem as robust as that of FF12)
Anyway, are people excited about this one? Also, if I didn't touch on anything here or in my preview, ask. I deliberately didn't talk about the story because I didn't feel it was justified given that we were only given a few areas of the game to play in.
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I've been waiting for this for awhile, so I'm glad to hear that it's pretty nifty.
I still kind of miss traditional turn-based RPGs, but i miss them less and less lately.
Thanks for the heads up etoy.
Level 5 really won my heart with DQ8, and I haven't heard much about this game but it seems intriguing; reading your impression, though, it does give me the feeling that a lot of people are going to think, "I liked this the first time ... when it was called Final Fantasy 12."
So with the battles, is there any penalty to button-mashing attacks? Are you supposed to wait for a battle meter or anything, or is it just "XXXX SQUARE XXX"?
Yea there is a meter, though it fills up so quickly that you hardly notice it. We were not furnished with an instruction book, so I'm actually guessing as to its real purpose, but everyone who played it here just mashed buttons and wailed on enemies until they got an on-screen message that said "Wait"...2 seconds later they could mash again.
Oblivion had this.. and it's pretty much regarded as nothing but a joke.
Overheard in the Oblivion Tavern:
Patron #1, "So, have you heard about all them little goblin thingies whatever?"
Patron #2, "What do you want?!"
Patron #1, "Yes, they can be quite troublesome."
Patron #2, "Stop talking to me!"
Not to mention the father and dear son who talked to eachother like they were total strangers. The NPCs in Oblivion would be more believable if they just stood around in one spot 24/7 and had one line each.
etoychest, is it so different from DQ8 or XII as to be difficult to compare to other games in the genre? As opposed to many here that love the traditional trappings of RPGs, I find myself more thoroughly enjoying things that break from the mold. [With the exception of DQ8, which was so brilliant I didn't care if it was old-school.]
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It's very far removed from DQ8, which was decidedly old school in its approach. This feels like a newer breed of role-playing game. I'm going to snap some video to drive some of my points home, but it feels like FF12, but as if those mechanics were pulled into a more arcadey style..far less tactical. Granted however, this is a preview build...a snapshot of the game...so it may get more in depth. If my wife has not sworn off translating RPGs I'd import it, but I dont wanna sleep on the couch (long story).
It's not a traditional action RPG, but rather an RPG with elements that are normally found in action RPGs. combat is real time, but also self contained within random encounters...like the Tales series, for instance. As said, I'll snap some video and put it up on my site today...that will probably drive the nail home.
This and Persona 3 will probably be the last PS2 games I buy.
Ah, so combat takes place on a seperate screen? It always looked like it was on the same screen to me, but it's been a while since I've seen any videos.
Yeah, I'd definitely appreciate some user-created vids of the battle system especially. I've seen some stuff before where the characters were running through a large city (which did, thinking back on it, seem similar to XII), but the fact that it's an action RPG with jumping and the like makes it sound pretty far removed from XII in terms of gameplay.
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As you wander about, you will come upagainst random encounters. When you do, a bit WARNING lable will appear on the screen, and then a bunch of menus and such will appear letting you know that hey, I'm in a combat. So it's in the same screen, but you are encapsulated in this combat mold until the figt is done. It's all very seamless with the rest of the non combat elements.
I totally have to own it.
Why, god, why?!
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Preliminary opinions of this game can be a bit off. Most people love the game to begin with, but start to feel more negative towards it after they've gotten farther into the game when you run into dungeons that are extremely long and repetitive. Still a great game if you can stomach that though.
And by the quasi-Gambit system, I assume he's talking about how your party member will make suggestions on the fly on abilities they want to use and you can press a button to give them the go-ahead, otherwise they won't use them. It's a pretty neat system.
On a final note, I assume that by saying "typical, yet refined Level-5" for the graphics, he meant to say "quite possibly the best graphics in any PS2 game ever." At least that was my impression of the game's graphics.
Steam ID : rwb36, Twitter : Werezompire,
I'd have to experience it, but that sounds less useful than the Gambit system from XII. I could be wrong though, but I'm willing to explore it once it's released.
You're saying it's better looking than XII?
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"Dark Cloud 3! Now with more plot and no town building!"
Is this anywhere close to accurate?
Yes. Indeed. There are games out there better than FF12. Be shocked and amazed! ::flails arms::
I was speaking graphically. I didn't pass judgement on the game otherwise, only curious whether it does, in fact, look better than FF XII -- considering I thought most of us agreed that XII had some of the best (if not the best) graphics the system has ever pushed.
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From what I have read, the people that think it looks better, think it is better in a stylistic kind of way, not necessarily a technical way.
That's awesome then. I liked DQ8's art style immensely. Just wanted to clarify my position since it was obviously being mistaken as me being a hopeless FF XII fanboy.
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Exactly. Final Fantasy XII might be somewhat better from a technical perspective (I don't know, I haven't done a side by side comparison), but I like the art style of Rogue Galaxy a ton more than FFXII. As far as cel shaded graphics go, it's really hard to find a better looking game than Rogue Galaxy.
Steam ID : rwb36, Twitter : Werezompire,
From what reviewers have played, yes, Random.
One example I remember was that there was a problem with the dungeons. Can't for the life of me remember what it was.
Can someone help me out here?
Or maybe provide a list of what has been upgraded/changed?
Yep random. There are also some wacky challenges that pop up. Like a random battle will start, but you'll get a message that says "beat all of these giant gorillas with just X character."
Um .... is there some sort of context as to why only one character is fighting these gorillas? Or is it just an arbitrary requirement?
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I can't freaking wait for Rogue Galaxy (and Jeanne d'Arc for that matter).