Messages

101

Podcast Discussion / Re: RFN RetroActive #16 Discussion - Ogre Battle 64: Person of Lo(u)rdly Caliber(re)

« on: February 22, 2011, 10:10:30 PM »

I'm getting towards the end.  I feel like I'm going to get a 'bad' end because no one has joined my party lately and a lot of characters seem to be dying. 

Despite that I got this super bad ass bow that petrifies seemingly 100% of the time.  Freaken domination with that unit.

102

Podcast Discussion / Re: RFN RetroActive #16 Discussion - Ogre Battle 64: Person of Lo(u)rdly Caliber(re)

« on: February 07, 2011, 11:50:13 PM »

I'm now onto chapter 4.  My characters are kinda falling into place.  Take a lawful character from this unit, promote it and switch with another unit.  Most of my characters are promoted and I think I only have a couple of soldiers left in units.  Kinda like with most SRPGs, I seem to be spending a lot of battles trying to get my lower level units exp.  But it's totally worth it when you get the promotions.

103

Podcast Discussion / Re: RFN RetroActive #16 Discussion - Ogre Battle 64: Person of Lo(u)rdly Caliber(re)

« on: February 07, 2011, 02:02:23 PM »

I cannot state enough just how much I hate cockatrices.  They are so freaken overpowered.  The chances of getting petrified seems to be like 75%.

*nods solemnly*

I'm also annoyed with the alignment system right now.  I have a handful of characters that can be promoted if their alignment was only a few notches over. 

URN OF CHAOS


Who the hell would make an item called "The Urn of Chaos," specifically designed to make someone more murderous? It seems like a pretty terrible decision.

That item might be useful if it moved alignment more than one tiny notch.  They let you buy the equipment required to promote, it'd be easier if they did the same with alignment.  Money doesn't seem to be an issue in the game, so let me spend it on changing my characters alignment.

104

Podcast Discussion / Re: RFN RetroActive #16 Discussion - Ogre Battle 64: Person of Lo(u)rdly Caliber(re)

« on: February 07, 2011, 09:40:24 AM »

The people saying this game looks good must be playing on VC.  It's not so pretty on my n64 hooked up to my plasma with composite cables.

105

Podcast Discussion / Re: RFN RetroActive #16 Discussion - Ogre Battle 64: Person of Lo(u)rdly Caliber(re)

« on: February 06, 2011, 11:54:53 AM »

I had a character turn into a zombie and recruited a skeleton.  But I lost both due to holy attacks.

I cannot state enough just how much I hate cockatrices.  They are so freaken overpowered.  The chances of getting petrified seems to be like 75%. 

I'm also annoyed with the alignment system right now.  I have a handful of characters that can be promoted if their alignment was only a few notches over. 

106

Podcast Discussion / Re: RFN RetroActive #16 Discussion - Ogre Battle 64: Person of Lo(u)rdly Caliber(re)

« on: February 02, 2011, 11:19:02 PM »

So I was just checking out Amazon to see what this game is going for.  And then I noticed a little note at the top telling me I've already purchased the game June 13th, 2003.  So I've only had the game for almost 8 years before I put some meaningful time into it.  :p 

I also noticed that this game came out in late 2000.  A year before the GameCube came out.  And reading IGN's review saying the n64 has finally gotten its' true RPG is kinda sad the genre was so neglected on the system. 

Also I just had a funny engagement I thought I would share.  So I was tracking down some enemy unit.  I recently got a golem so my unit had him, a doll master, a cleric and a hawk guy.  Anyway the unit I chasing had to camp so I took them on while they were asleep.  The hawk guy hits a witch and takes her health down.  She then wakes up only to see a jester doll right in her face.  Boom.  Dead.  I lol'd.  I was just imagining a character running for their life until they couldn't stay awake anymore only to wake up to a jester doll right in front of them.  Then they die.

107

Podcast Discussion / Re: RFN RetroActive #16 Discussion - Ogre Battle 64: Person of Lo(u)rdly Caliber(re)

« on: February 01, 2011, 11:04:47 PM »

I have a unit with a beast master, a hellhound, a priestess, and a fighter that is the likely candidate. That said, it's a terrible formation but they seem to manage quite well for themselves in fights.

My unit of a beast master and hellhound was one of my strongest.  The beast master already moved up in class, I could even make him a black knight if I wanted.  The hellhound evolved too.  Now my beast tamer/cerberus unit is quite deadly.

It's funny, after that one battle with the cockatrices I've resumed my dominance over the enemy.  And I finished Chapter 2 with out issue.  Then all of a sudden I have legions.  No introduction or anything, the option is just there.  The info in game didn't really help me understand how to use them so I went to gamefaqs.  It sounds like they're basically worthless?

I've also tried out the training for the first time.  I wanted to play more game, but didn't want to get sucked into a two hour battle.  It reminds me somewhat of the bonus exp system in the most recent Fire Emblem games.  Basically it seems to be a method to raise the levels of characters outside of battle.  I guess it has some other functions too, like finding more Elem Petras.  But I haven't done that yet.

108

Podcast Discussion / Re: Episode 229: Unicron-Approved

« on: February 01, 2011, 06:56:01 PM »

I'm not much of a shooter fan, but I loved Transformers.  I played through the story mode and even Primed in the online mode.  The reason I really got into online had a lot to do with the multiplayer only demo that came out before the game released.  It had a team king of the hill type mode.  Which was somewhat similar to the old king of the hill matches I used to play in Perfect Dark.  For one since it's a team game, not everyone is out to get you.  Also having some direction of where to go and what to do helped since I never played any shooter online before. 

Power Struggle is the name of the mode in War for Cybertron I almost exclusively played.  There's another one I can't recall the name of that's also king of the hill style, but somewhat different.  So if a new player were interested in trying out online, I'd suggest trying there first.  Although I don't know how many people are playing these days.  Back when it came out it seemed most people were playing deathmatch and team deathmatch.

109

TalkBack / Re: 3DS eShop Not Available Anywhere Until May

« on: January 31, 2011, 08:38:11 PM »

Between a few purchases and my Gamefly subscription, I'll have plenty of games to play before May.  But I guess whoever I'm going to pass my DSi onto is going to have to wait a bit.  I have a handful of DSiware games I'm going to want to transfer first. 

110

Podcast Discussion / Re: RFN RetroActive #16 Discussion - Ogre Battle 64: Person of Lo(u)rdly Caliber(re)

« on: January 31, 2011, 02:00:35 PM »

I'm almost halfway through the game and I have yet to really struggle against enemies.

Most impressive.  Are you sure you're halfway there already?  It's a deceptively long game marathon; I've already started getting the highest class units (Paladins, Priests, Sirens, etc.) and I'm less than halfway through myself...

From what I can tell I'm 2 or 3 scenes from the end of the second chapter.  And as soon as I post that I haven't been having much trouble, I hit some of those high level units.  However, after I thought the battle was all but lost I almost had that chapter beat when some enemy sneaked to my base and I got a game over.  I usually keep some characters there, but I thought I had cleared out the enemies and I needed the units.  The whole zombie thing has made me paranoid about losing units and I was moving some to a Witch's Den.  Ugh.

111

Podcast Discussion / Re: RFN RetroActive #16 Discussion - Ogre Battle 64: Person of Lo(u)rdly Caliber(re)

« on: January 31, 2011, 09:47:20 AM »

A few questions:

• What is the use of the soldiers you win after every battle?  Can they be upgraded at a certain point, or are they just cheap substitution for the other units?
• Is there anywhere you can purchase items other than the default ones?  I haven't found any weapons/armor other than what drops in battle
• What should the priority be for class upgrades?

Soldiers eventually evolve into a 'real' character (either an Amazon or a Fighter).  So I find it good to always have them in units.  Until then they are mostly fodder. 

Mostly you have to find a town with a store to purchase new items.  Some items are dropped after battles and some are found as you explore maps.  You can also buy sets of items on the organize screen.  But it's only the basic items for each class you've unlocked.  I found that useful to upgrade the equipment on my lower level Clerics after I had the Priest.

I'm not sure what you mean by priority.  Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but unlike a lot of other SRPGs there isn't necessarily a progression to classes.  For example, you don't need to be a Cleric before you can become a Priest.  If you have the stats and alignment, you can change to that class.   

112

Podcast Discussion / Re: RFN RetroActive #16 Discussion - Ogre Battle 64: Person of Lo(u)rdly Caliber(re)

« on: January 31, 2011, 12:57:31 AM »

I think Ogre Battle actually isn't as inaccessible now that I've given the game some time.  I don't feel like I play the game much differently than I play Fire Emblem.  It's just that the movement and combat in OB is just so unique to the other strategy RPGs I've played (Shining Force, Fire Emblem, Final Fantasy Tactics and even Tactics Ogre).  And the game does kinda throw you in the deep end right off the bat.  But it's not hard at the beginning, and you'll learn stuff along the way.

It kinda feels like I'm bumbling in the dark sometimes, but then you discover something new and it's kinda rewarding.  Starting with soldiers all of a sudden evolving.  Or out of nowhere two characters combining their magical attacks.  Or even stupid stuff like I just realized that you could change the class of the leaders, but you have to remove their leadership first. 

I'm almost halfway through the game and I have yet to really struggle against enemies.  So I guess I'm doing something right, even if I don't know what that is.  The class system?  I don't know how exactly it works, I just check to see if any of my characters can be promoted.  The Chaos Frame?  I'm not even going to bother with that one.  It's like EV training in Pokemon, just leave it to super fans.

The one thing that still irks me are the battles and the whole priority setup. 

113

Podcast Discussion / Re: RFN RetroActive #16 Discussion - Ogre Battle 64: Person of Lo(u)rdly Caliber(re)

« on: January 27, 2011, 11:44:45 PM »

I had a character turn into a zombie.  That was unexpected.  Another thing I realized when reading what the deal with zombies was is that magic targets the rear first.  I think that came into the confusion of attack order for me as well.  I ended up just setting it to let the computer decide and they usually do a better job than any of the other settings.

114

Podcast Discussion / Re: RFN RetroActive #16 Discussion - Ogre Battle 64: Person of Lo(u)rdly Caliber(re)

« on: January 24, 2011, 09:23:07 PM »

There are still some aspects of fighting that bother me.  There was this one group I was fighting where "attack the weakest" and "attack the strongest" resulted in attacking the exact same enemy. 

Check the post I made explaining the importance of what column/row the character is in: some of your characters may not have the choice to attack the weakest/strongest enemy, so they focus on a different foe.  Alternatively, the strongest/weakest enemy may be changing as the battle goes on, since "strongest" and "weakest" refer to remaining HP, not combat strength.

I thought about your post when I was having that battle, and the enemy was in the middle so I don't think it was the position thing.  It was probably the enemies HP.

115

Podcast Discussion / Re: RFN RetroActive #16 Discussion - Ogre Battle 64: Person of Lo(u)rdly Caliber(re)

« on: January 24, 2011, 07:05:07 PM »

I've owned this game for a very long time but never really played it.  I put in a couple of hours back when I first got the game, but never understood how the battles really functioned.  The whole deal with the fight ending after a few hits threw me off.  So the first thing I did (after dusting off my N64) was sit through the hour or so it took to go through the training.  Yeah it was a crap ton of information upfront before even starting the game, but it definitely helped me. 

Now I'm over eight hours in and enjoying it for the most part.  There are still some aspects of fighting that bother me.  There was this one group I was fighting where "attack the weakest" and "attack the strongest" resulted in attacking the exact same enemy.  Or when you and an enemy are basically stuck next to each other resulting in several consecutive fights.  But for the most part I find the battles pretty fun.  And I guess I answered well, because my starting groups were all pretty useful.

116

TalkBack / Re: Nintendo 3DS Impressions

« on: January 21, 2011, 01:08:45 AM »

The top half is slightly larger than the bottom (which is two toned).  If you look at some pictures of the 3DS closed you'll see what they mean. 

And I think you misread what was said about seeing the 3d pictures.  Basically you can only see the 3d pictures on the 3DS.  It was just worded differently.

117

TalkBack / Re: The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening DX Impressions

« on: January 21, 2011, 12:57:35 AM »

This is my favorite Zelda game and since my copy of Link's Awakening DX has gone missing I may have to pick this up.

118

Podcast Discussion / Re: RFN RetroActive #16 Poll - Second Chance Edition!

« on: January 13, 2011, 10:43:57 PM »

It seems like a lot of these games are the ones I voted for the first time around.  So which to vote for?  Wario Land 3 - I could be the only dissenter and talk about all the problems I have with the game.  Perfect Dark - one of the few FPSs I really enjoy.  Mario Tennis and Hotel Dusk - haven't played either, wouldn't mind trying them.  But I'm going to vote for Ogre Battle for the same reason as I did before.  I need to get this game off my Lindy List.  I bought the game years ago and I've technically played it, but only maybe an hour or so.

119

TalkBack / Re: Pokémon Black and White Release Date Announced 

« on: December 27, 2010, 11:47:11 PM »

I don't think Okamiden would be a factor for Nintendo.

I don't think it's a factor for Nintendo either.  But I'm sure they let Capcom know when the 3DS is coming out and they would choose a release date with that in mind.

120

TalkBack / Re: Pokémon Black and White Release Date Announced 

« on: December 27, 2010, 01:37:36 PM »

First Dragon Quest VI in February and now Pokemon in early March.  With Okamiden also coming in March I'd say 3DS is probably coming the very end of March or in April.

121

TalkBack / Re: RFN: Doin' It Live... for the Kids!

« on: December 05, 2010, 11:03:40 AM »

Unfortunately I missed the show due to work.  But I did get a contribution in the day before.      Hopefully the recording works out because it sounds like it was a great show!

122

Nintendo Gaming / Re: NBA JAM - BOOOOOOM-SHAKA-LAKA - He's... stopped, dropped and rolled!!!!!

« on: October 11, 2010, 10:17:01 AM »

Eh, not like Remix Tour is all that great anyway.  I've been renting the game and I've pretty just played it all weekend.  Classic mode is just like the NBA Jam I remember from my youth.  But Remix Tour is basically a playground for the game's cheap AI.

123

Podcast Discussion / Re: RetroActive #14: Yoshi's Story -- Official Discussion Thread

« on: October 03, 2010, 04:27:19 PM »

How do you access the border controls? I would like to shrink it if possible -- the ring of fruit around the screen is very distracting.

Zr on the classic controller turns it off.  I don't know what button that is on the n64 controller if you're playing on that.

I was a huge fan of Yoshi's Island.  Huge.  It is still one of my favorite games.  So Yoshi's Story was such a let down.  To this day Yoshi's Story immediately pops into mind whenever there's any conversation about disappointing games. 

Having only rented the game back on N64, I never really delved too deeply into the game.  However, once the game was released on the Wii VC I decided to give the game another shot.  The game looks pretty good, especially the canvas stage.  The music ranges from decent to annoying.  But worst of all, the controls are very loose.  Despite the game's relative lack of difficulty, I've never beaten it until my current play through for this feature.  It wasn't too hard to get to the final level with all Yoshis, but the bad controls usually got the better of me and I tended to lose them all falling down some hole or another.  Beating levels by eating a certain number of fruit lead to either beating a level half way through or aimless wandering.  Also something I never liked was the necessity to play through the game several times to unlock all levels.

On the bright side, if you unlock those extra levels or attempt all melon runs, the game can be more interesting and challenging.  There are some unique experiences that can be found in there.  Unfortunately none of that fixes the controls. Even with all that, the game just doesn't compare to Yoshi's Island which was just a much more tight and structured experience.

124

TalkBack / Re: 3DS Will Feature Handheld Virtual Console

« on: September 30, 2010, 12:49:08 AM »

Consoles for 3DS virtual console:
 

Atari Lynx

Stun Runner 3D = mind blown

125

Podcast Discussion / Re: Episode 80: Fishing for Puns

« on: September 27, 2010, 12:10:24 PM »

I happened to play the sequel first, and remember it having a new suit and an expanded story mode. You could also do massive charge shots with the new suit. Other than that, it wasn't all that different.

I'll have to look into the 2 player mode, though.

I'm actually a huge fan of Battle Clash and Metal Combat.  The sequel is much better than the first game because of the expanded story mode and the added variety of the second mech.  The final boss is also one of my favorites in gaming. 

Also I've always though the name Metal Combat was to try to get sales off of people who think it's actually a Mortal Kombat game.