(no subject)

[pyrephox]

Visited with a friend last night. We went out, ate at a Chinese buffet, then went back to his place to watch 'Miracles'. I had forgotten just how damned /disturbing/ that show is, which is why I was up most of the night, tossing and turning and thinking strange thoughts. But that's okay, for there's a virtue in strange thoughts, no matter how dark.

Less so in the persistent image of a strange, distorted face following me into sleep. Rrr.

Happy St. Pat's Day to all! How's the Friday treating you?

Comments

[pyrephox.livejournal.com]

As long as we still have a turn-based option, I'm happy. I do not play RPGs to work out my reflexes! Because I have no reflexes. In non-turn based combat, I get creamed. :D

Oh! Hey, have you played Atelier Iris? If not, I highly recommend it. Very excellent game!

[fadedstarx.livejournal.com]

Well, even the RPGs that have spoiled me on their battle systems are still turn-based: Grandia, Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter, Valkyrie Profile, Shadow Hearts, and Paper Mario, just to name a few. The only ones really twitch-oriented that I'm aware of currently are Star Ocean and Namco's Tales -- and they are quite a mess in a populated battle.

I really do want to play Ateller Iris. I'll keep your recommendation in mind next time I see it and have money. What did you like about it?

[pyrephox.livejournal.com]

What I like about Ateller Iris:

1. Role Reversal: The male main character is the fragile healer/magician type, and the main female character is the kick-ass warrior. It makes me the happy.

2. Tactical but Intuitive Combat: You have various moves, some of which take two rounds to power up, some of which are area effect (and you get to see the area before you choose it, allowing you to play with different tactics), different kinds of damage, and all of that...but it all makes /sense/.

3. Cut-scene Tutorials: You can choose to skip them, but whenever you get a new ability or discover a new power, you get the option for a tutorial that explains exactly what it can do and how to use it. The tutorials are also /funny/.

4. Do-It-Yourself Enchantment: You buy or find base weapons, and then using alchemy, can refine elemental crystals, combine them, and then forge them into the weapon to give it all sorts of different powers. You can compensate for characters' specific weak spots by custom designing a weapon just for them. And the weapons aren't set in stone, either. If you want to remove enchantments from one weapon, you can, and then can use that enchantment for another. Also, your main character is an alchemist: he can make healing potions and attack items on the fly, and use them in battle without expending MP. Or, if he really needs one, he can make the same items /in/ battle, although it costs more.

5. Fun, fun characters. Aside from the obligatory cutesy cat-girl, none of the characters are generic or same old same old. (They're still archetypes, but they interact in fun ways.) There's also a fair amount of in-game character interaction, giving you a real sense of who they are, without bogging the game down in constant cut scenes. And NPCs can elicit real sympathy, outrage, or amusement.

6. Difficulty: The difficulty of the game is challenging, but not frustrating, and as far into it as I've played there haven't been any battles that rely on cheese procedures that you can only learn from a strategy guide or playing the same battle five hundred times until you hit the esoteric combination or correct moves.

7. Sense of Humor: Although there are certainly serious parts within the plot, the characters retain a sense of humor, both IC, and occassionally in breaking the fourth wall. That kind of occassional metahumor amuses me.

[fadedstarx.livejournal.com]

That's all good by me.