Shallow RPG engine with a sugarcoated presentation that drives the idea that the Wii is for kids. Epic fail ;) .
No. :P
Don't take my word for it. Look around, because forum fanboys and overpaid, overrated editors are full of credibility and are in no way angsty or bitter! ;) :D
Title: Re: Opoona
Post by: Bloodworth on May 01, 2008, 01:10:57 AM
Another game that I want to confirm is awesome. Yes I gave it a 6.9 for being downright dull at times, but at the same time I think players with a bit more patience will find plenty to love.
Title: Re: Opoona
Post by: DAaaMan64 on May 01, 2008, 01:23:11 AM
I want this game, I was hoping someone around here would review it. :/
Title: Re: Opoona
Post by: Kairon on May 01, 2008, 09:55:03 PM
Haven't...had...time to...play it yet... GAH!!! Between school and work and more school...
But you know what. Bloodworth may have given it a 6.9, but I'll put that to the test. I am going to play this game TONIGHT, TOMORROW, and THIS WEEKEND. I'll keep you posted DAaaman64!
Title: Re: Opoona
Post by: DAaaMan64 on May 01, 2008, 10:24:15 PM
Thanks and hilarious avatar btw.
Title: Re: Opoona
Post by: Kairon on May 01, 2008, 10:29:12 PM
Thanks. As they say, a picture's worth a thousand words.
Title: Re: Opoona
Post by: Kairon on May 02, 2008, 03:02:43 PM
The battle system is sort of awesome.
RPGs always need a good battle system, and Opoona's is already surprisingly deep, yet simple to control and understand, all while having fights not take a lot of time or have a lot of overhead. Most of the battles I've been in during the beginning of the game seem to take just 15 seconds, yet crammed in that 15 seconds is a load of tactical decisions. It's the first RPG battle system I've seen to quickly and intuitively incorporate actual 3D spatial thinking into the gameplay. It's really quite genius.
I'm just in the beginning of the game, but basically you do all your fighting with your "bon-bon" (your energy ball basically). You don't attack by pressing a button, but by pulling the analog stick in one direction, holding it for a long or short period of time, and releasing it. This sends your attack flying in any of four different arcs depending on which direction you held the analog stick in, and the attack will be strong or weak, fly quickly or slowly depending on how long you charged it up. Since the game is real time, the time you spend charging up an attack, and the resulting speed of the attack, are critical factors in landing attacks before enemies land theirs. Since you need to recharge to 100% readiness (energy) before attacking again, charging up too much can leave long stretches where you can't attack again and thus are somewhat open. But don't charge up long enough, and your energy ball will fly so slowly that you'll lose too much anyways.
Once again, I'm amazed at how this game came up with such a simple battle mechanic, one that's easy to control yet incorporates so many factors. For instance, enemies are situated at different distances, so sending a slow attack to an enemy far away will seem wasteful whereas an enemy right in front of you might not require a really fast-moving attack since the time-savings are negligible for him. And since enemies are situated in 3D space, the arc of your attack(forward, arcing in from above, curving from the left or right) can actually result in your attack hitting another enemy instead of your chosen target. Well-timed attacks can even interrupt enemies moving in to make their attacks, making handling your timing, and thus attack strength and speed, all integral.
I've only just started the game and already I've been in fights with as many as 10 enemies and had to strategize accordingly (which enemies do the most damage? Which can I take down in one hit? Do I spam slow attacks that recharge quickly, or charge up for strong attacks after which I can't attack for awhile?). These such attacks go down in such a furious flurry of action that even though they may last less than 30 seconds, they feel like they contain an immense amount of activity. Some enemies also exhibit characteristics which defend them from certain attack directions, meaning if I attack from the sides, they have armor that reduces damage. Some are floating, so I suspect that attacking with the overhead lob has a greater probability of hitting them.
And this is only with one character, with two special abilities/magic/forces, and limited items. I had a blast, and am now enamored with the battle system.
Title: Re: Opoona
Post by: DAaaMan64 on May 02, 2008, 03:46:17 PM
Thank you Kairon, good impressions. Really makes this game look cool.
Title: Re: Opoona
Post by: GoldenPhoenix on May 02, 2008, 03:47:37 PM
Thank you Kairon, good impressions. Really makes this game look cool.
Sounds like what I said previously ;).
Hey the more impressions the better.
Title: Re: Opoona
Post by: Kairon on May 02, 2008, 04:04:23 PM
I was both happily surprised and a little disappointed with the presentation in the game.
On the one hand, it really exceeded my expectations with the original story set up. Don't let the non-edgy graphical style fool you, this game somehow manages to feel epic. The story starts with the history of landroll, a star (err...planet) that was hit by a comet composed of evil dark energy. Since then, the human who live there have been struggling in an eternal struggle to save the half of their world that hadn't been consumed by darkness and evil monsters. This is far away from the Tizians, who are the traditional enemies of this dark energy, but apparently Opoona's parents were on some sort of secret mission, because why else would they take a family vacation to landroll?
Then your spaceship gets shot out of the sky, and you're loaded into escape pods in something that looks vaguely like a revolver's loading mechanism...
And later on, on the planet, you find that everyone's forced to live in domes, safe from the monsters outside, and the only way to get our is to take the "exit ride" which is a platform that zooms along a long tunnel, the single point of entry to the dangerous outside (which strangely enough is a friendly looking forest... but it's early in the game.). And the people of Landroll have a completely sectioned society in which evedryone is trained to a specifric job/role so that they can contribute and so that their society can continue to survive on the half-the-planet they live on. The game has a lot of undercurrents that make the game epic if you leave yourself open to the implications of some of the subtle suggestions they make.
BUT THE GRAPHICS!
Don't expect much. You've seen the screenshots. It basically feels a lot like a dreamcast game, and the rooms in the world are spacious but sparse, with seemingly little detailed care to give each nook and cranny individuality. Also, once I got out into the monster area, my camera was locked so that I could only rotate it up and down. I was still in a 3D world, but it had been created in an almost 2D linear path sort... I haven't gotten to the next level though, maybe the level design in the wilderness will open up.
Oh, and the music sounds pretty good so far. I detected hints of John Williamesque Star Wars like themes in the opening, which is always welcome.
Title: Re: Opoona
Post by: Maverick on May 02, 2008, 06:31:38 PM
All I knew about this game before reading the impressions in this thread was that I hated the title.
But it seems actually kind of interesting now. Then again, I could just be starved for an RPG at this point. I keep telling myself to hold off until FF XIII but I'm starting to think Duke Nukem Forever is a safer bet to wait for.
Title: Re: Opoona
Post by: Kairon on May 02, 2008, 06:41:45 PM
All I knew about this game before reading the impressions in this thread was that I hated the title.
Yeah they should've just dropped the o and the a and called it a day.
Title: Re: Opoona
Post by: Kairon on May 06, 2008, 10:00:29 PM
Done played 7 straight hours of this from 10pm Saturday to 5am Sunday. Anyone looking for an rpg experience, this'll satisfy ya.
Oh yeah, got a second character in my party. That adds even more dynamics to the handling of the speed/delays in standard attacks because while a ball is flying, I can't execute any new commands. I need to learn to use items and forces faster because whereas in the beginning, forces are wholly unnecessaty, my second party member has weaker attacks and stronger spells, and the enemy difficulty is ramping up.
