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Sunday 27 March, 2005
I've just gone through the first few hours of this game. Thoughts:
- If you haven't played Episode I, you're likely to be quite lost. There's a quick synopsis of the story so far available early on, although inattentive players might miss it. However, the setting of the game is so detailed that even the story synopsis isn't going to help matters much. I find Episode II's story a lot less abstruse than I's; this is not to say that it is simple, but rather that it seems more consistent, more significant, and by virtue of these two qualities, more comprehensible.
- The new battle system is fairly involved. I really like it a lot. Basically, it requires you to set up fighting game-esque "combos" across multiple characters in a turn-based format. If you do it right, it's possible to take down even bosses with relative ease. The challenge level seems just about right, leaning a bit towards the easy side.
- Similarly, the gameplay has been streamlined right down to the bone. There are no shops or inns, and you don't get money for killing enemies. Characters cannot use equipment. This simplicity is very, very refreshing (IMO), and doesn't significantly detract from the interest factor of the game - instead, it makes Episode II less of a spreadsheet and more of, you know, a game than its predecessor.
- Once again, "dungeon" sequences in Episode II are an exercise in resource management: conserving your party's MP, HP and items until you make it to the next save point. Good play and a certain amount of risk-taking are rewarded, and mistakes are accordingly punished. It's an old formula, but it works.
Now, on to the down sides:
- Character development has been cut down significantly. The uniqueness of each character is defined by their starting stats and their available attacks - plus a couple of extras in some cases. All characters have access to the same open skill tree, and start out at the same point in skill terms. This is somewhat disappointing, after the fairly robust skill tree of I and innovations in other games such as FFX (which boasts one of the best character-development systems in the genre). The flexibility of the system, however, redeems it almost completely; it's really nice to be able to tailor each character's skill set to your preferences.
- The graphics are better, but the visuals are poorer. Allow me to explain. Most console-RPG fans have already heard about how Episode II uses more "realistic" character models, in contrast to the stereotypically anime-styled models of Ep I. The big problem with this is that the quality of the animation work has not improved. Stilted or jerky motions are often present. Although they were also there in Episode I, the abstractness of the character design in that game meant that they didn't jump out at the player as much. With Episode II's more realistic character designs, it's blindingly obvious when the animators drop the ball - and they do that a lot.
- The one minigame I played in the first few hours is positively dumb. I'm not expecting much, since Episode I's minigames were, for the most part, either pretty poorly done or completely unconnected to the game.
- MOMO's voice still annoys me. It could be worse, true, but I found myself wishing for an option like that one in Growlanser which allowed you to turn off specific characters' voices. A Japanese-language option would have been nice too, although that would probably have inflated the game to 3 discs.
Taken as a package and based on my experiences so far, I'd definitely recommend Episode I and II over, say, the two FFX games. Still, that's not saying a lot considering that (1) I found FFX-2 to be an unfortunately joyless endeavour, despite its designers' best efforts to the contrary, and (2) the Xenosaga series does little to address the more egregious and deep-seated problems of the genre as a whole.
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Oh, I forgot to mention that, since I was expecting people to have played the previous game in the series.
- There are no encounters on the "world map". As a matter of fact, there IS no "world map". Players can re-visit previously explored locations using VR terminals scattered throughout the world.
- Encounters are not random; instead, they're more like Chrono Trigger's style of gameplay. Enemies are situated on the field map, and you can try to maneuver around them. Some of them will chase you. I haven't observed any disadvantage for having your back to an enemy when the encounter starts.
- Some field maps have a "trap" object on them. If you lure an enemy into the trap and then detonate it, the enemy will be frozen, allowing you to escape if necessary. If you do choose to fight the trapped enemy, you will gain a battle advantage (ranging from improved criticals, bonus to boost gauge, etc) during the fight.
In any case, I'd recommend you play Episode I first if you haven't already. (See my first comment.)
Tuesday 29 March, 2005 by Sparrow
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