For the past month and a half, i have been playing many games off and on. I buy a game, play it for a bit, and then stop playing it and then i'll pick it up a few months later. Its a never ending process for me, and i wish i could stop but i just love having such a large collection of video games. The latest game i have been playing though is Resonance of Fate, which in it self is an unique game that did some interesting things to the RPG Genre. On top of that, i have been playing Dragon Quest 9, Persona 3 Portable, Vagrant Story, and Persona 4. The only bad thing is that all of these games are RPGs, which is kind of making me hate the genre currently.
Resonance of Fate Impression (13-14 hours in)
Resonance of Fate is developed by Tri-ace, the company who does the Star Ocean series and made the cult classic Valkyrie Profile. Resonance of Fate takes a turn in the RPG genre by combining turn based and real time battle system mechanics. During a battle you can decide to do a "hero action" by using up a hero bar segment and this allows you to run to a point in the arena. During this time you can shoot, and jump; You are able to knock foes up the air and then do a smack down on them by jumping and shooting them down. The battle system is really quite fun and is the highlight of the game.
The story on the other hand though, is a different story. In the 13 to 14 hours i have played this game it is nearly non-existent. You merely play as 3 different mercenaries taking missions. The environment in the game is pretty neat though; it takes place in a post apocalyptic world where man now lives on a giant machine. Other than that, all i know is that the Old man Vashyron is a perv, the teen-aged Zephyr is a typical pissed off loner who hates the world, and Leanne is a ditsy young lady.
I just hope the game will get in to the story so i have an incentive to play it other than the battle system...
Dragon Quest 9 (40 hours in)
Dragon quest 9 is a traditional turn based RPG is has not changed from the roots at all. That's what i like about the Dragon Quest games, they haven't really experimented or deterred from their formula at all. This game is very similar to Dragon Quest 8 which is probably one of my all time favorite RPGs. One unique thing about this game though is that you can play with 3 other people and it doesn't detract from the game at all. Multi-player turn based RPGs usually do not work well since the second player is usually just sitting there 2/3 of the time and is only involved in the battles. The multi player in this though allows all the players to be where they want, and only participate in battles if they encounter one when they are all together, or if one chooses to jump in and help. It works surprisingly well and makes the game much more enjoyable.
There is not much to say about the battle system, except that you are able to unlock and change classes to get new abilities and such. As you level you get skill points where you can put them in to 5 different skills, the skills vary from class to class but the weapon ones usually are shared between multiple classes. This is what makes the game so addicting, because some of the skills carry over to other classes and the stat bonuses you receive also carry over.
The story in the game is quite basic, and isn't mind blowing at all. It does its job and moves the game through, but the dialogue can be and is very goofy which makes the game quite light hearted. In dragon quest 9, you play as a Celestrian, which are guardians of man kind. Each one is given a city to protect and the main character ends up being the guardian of Angel Falls. After being a guardian for awhile you received enough "Benevolessence" to give to the guardian tree of Yggdrasil in the observatory. The tree then bears the legendary fyggs, but before they could give these to the almighty the Observatory gets attacked, the fyggs became scattered, and you lost your wings. The story sets off with the main character trying to find the legendary fruit to give to the almighty.
So far, Dragon Quest 9 is probably one of the best games on DS competing with Pokemon for me. It has tons of extras in it, it is quite addicting, and it really is a well polished game.
Persona 3 Portable (15 hours in)
Persona 3 Portable is a port of an excellent RPG to the PSP. I loved the Shin Megami Tensei series and i own every single one that has come out on the ps2, DS, and PSP. Persona 3 Portable takes place in modern day japan and you play as a junior in high school. The neat thing about this version of the game is that you get to choose your gender, which actually changes some things about the game. If you play as a female you hang out with different people, the HUD and menus are all pink and yellow, instead of blue and yellow, and the music is different. It creates a whole new experience with the game that actually makes me want to play through the game again.
The latest Persona games use an unique system for the game. You have to hang out with people to be able to create more powerful personae. Its neat because it doesn't feel like its tacked on like some certain aspects in some games. But it has a nice polished feel, and its a good way to develop the main characters more as well.
As all Shin Megami Tensei games, this one uses the element system as well. In this one it is more laid back compared to the other games (nocturne and digital devil saga, you make one mistake you pretty much just lost the battle) and it saves all the enemies weaknesses if you scan them. Persona 3 uses a traditional turn based system but the characters abilities are determined by their persona. The Main Character is the jack of all trades being able to use any persona, while the supporting characters are stuck with one. The main highlight for P3P is that you can actually command your entire party, which is a nice change because the AI is not all that great and can be very frustrating.
The story is the same as Persona 3. You join the group S.E.E.S. which tries to eliminate shadows whom are slowly destroying the world by taking people's souls essentially. Each month their have been giant shadows attacking the city and you must stop them so the citizens will not wake up to a destroyed part caused by an anomaly. The story is much deeper but i do not want to spoil it or anything, since it really is an excellent story with a few twists.
I'll get to the other 2 video games later when i play a bit more of Vagrant Story. Other than that, i am currently pleased with all the games i have been playing.
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