[Post Mortem] Dragon Force II

I’ve owned Dragon Force II for nearly twenty years, and after aeons of struggling on and off with various characters over the past decade or two, I finally finished Bozack’s campaign.

I should precursor this with a known fact: Dragon Force is the greatest SRPG ever made.

It was like nothing else for the Saturn, or any system of the era… or ever, for that matter. Massive armies of 200+ troops ducking it out in real time, with strategies that you can change on the fly, with a wide range of charismatic generals to use them with, all kinds of devastating magics and abilities, and best of all, eight totally unique campaigns with their own troop specializations, stories, and even strategies.

Fandaria Empire has the strongest batch in the entire game, but no faction will ever join you. Tradnor Kingdom has the weakest, but everyone will join you without complaint. Of course, this means Fandaria becomes one of the most battle hardened factions, while Tradnor becomes one of the weakest.

In short, the game has hundreds of hours of replay value, especially if you take on self-imposed challenges such as using only the core generals, not recruiting, using default troops, etc.

So… Dragon Force II was given a tough act to follow. Sadly, even when I first played it, I knew I was dealing with an inferior product.

Dragon Force II uses a drab color palette, lacking the bright Sega Blue Skies aesthetic of the original. It adds in a neat idea of using dual troops, so a general could command, say, a front line of archers with a back line of cavalry. Unfortunately, in execution, this still winds up being frustrating. In the original Dragon Force, when you told your troops to stand by, they stayed put. Not so in DFII. The moment enemies approach, they break formation and start attacking. This is devastating for any ranged troop, as archers and mages are known to be ripped apart in a melee.

Another noteworthy change is on the world map. In the original, whenever an attacking army wasn’t quite finished off or retreated(which was often), you could easily catch them with a swift dispatch of a pursuing army to put them down once and for all(or more likely, recruit them or toss them into the dungeon).

Not so in Dragon Force 2. No matter how quick you dispatch an army, a retreating force will always manage to escape. This means they have an opportunity to get back to a home castle, restock their troops, and maybe even their HP. While this might sound like a welcome challenge on paper(and even makes for a fun challenge route in the original), in practice, it drags out an invasion, and makes the game tedious.

What about the story? Surely that improves on the original in some way?

Nope. SPOILERS AHEAD!

Dragon Force II laughs at the legacy of the original. After all they struggled through, the original Dragon Force all succumbed to ignoble deaths, one after the other, creating a seal to hold back the “Dark Dragon Force”, leaving only the immortal Teiris alive, who comes back to help the modern Dragon Force finish off the forces of evil once and for all.

Well, except there no longer IS a Dragon Force… so they kind of just band together for reasons.

I might sound like I’m being overly harsh on the game, but there is some positives. There are some great new characters, like this goddess in my playthrough:

As shown in her literal towering over the competition, some of the new sprites and generals are great, and have a lot of personality in their design. While the overall aesthetics of DFII pale to the original, some of the sprite work still shines through.

They also do get some neat features, like having aerial specific attacks when enemy troops are attacking from the air, and even getting to take out multiple troops in one hit. Unfortunately, the aforementioned Standby tactic, where you could just have a Mage or Archer literally sit still and lay waste to an enemy general, is rendered useless thanks to their new melee AI mentality.

Another major flaw is the massive presence of Demon Castles, castles manned by the immortal Dark Dragon Force faction, aka the Dark Elves, usually staffed by generic demons with 100 strong demon forces, making a pain to take out at best, dangerous at worst.

One thing that is beyond reproach, though: the fan translation quality. All the generals and dialogue were given a loving amount of polish, most likely because each campaign had its own writer, and ensured that each was given a special amount of TLC. It really shines through, and the team deserve all the praise I can muster.

Purists may balk at some of the slang, but when a game has as much text as Dragon Force II, as Victor Ireland would surely agree, you need to make it fun to read.

So is it worth a playthrough? If you’ve played the original countless times and want a new challenge, sure.

If you’re new to the series? No. GOD NO. Play the original now, thank me later.

Just don’t play as Highland.

Tell them Junon sent you.

[Post-Mortem] Death Come True

I love FMV games. Been playing them since the ancient times of Night Trap and Sewer Shark and well into the modern FMV renaissance, from high production value gems like Late Shift to no-budget schlock like Press X To Die.

It’s about time Japan threw their hat into the ring.

https://www.nintendo.com/games/detail/death-come-true-switch/

As has probably been known, this quirky experiment was written by Kazutaka Kodaka, the lunatic behind the Danganronpa games, a weird VN/murder mystery series known for having the characters die in elaborate ways while trying to solve an elaborate mystery.

Death Come True is basically that, except the protagonist is the one doing (most of) the dying.

Makoto Kuraki wakes up in a hotel with no idea of who he is, what he’s doing there, why he keeps dying, or why everyone thinks he’s… a killer!?

Like most FMV games, Death Come True boils down to making choices… and, uh, that’s literally about it.

I finished the game in about two hours, give or take. It’s VERY short, and far as I can tell, there’s not a whole lot of replay value. It has a few neat twists and turns, high production values, and good acting, but nothing too shocking. In fact, it’s a little predicable, knowing what the writer’s penchant for certain types of tropes and storytelling swerves.

I still had a fun time with Death Come True, but I would suggest waiting til it hits the $10ish mark for maximum enjoy. It’s nice to see FMV games from Japan, especially with a budget and big names thrown at it, just hopefully next time it’s something a bit meatier.

Post-Mortem: Akiba’sTrip

 

Akiba’s Strip is a weird game. I should preface this by stating that if you’re expecting high octane fan service, look elsewhere. I’d liken this game more to Yakuza if it was set in Akibahara and involved stripping random people and taking their stuff.

Sure, there’s moments of cheesecake if you’re into that, I suppose,  but the real meat of the game is how painstakingly accurate the recreation of Akihabara is.

I was fortunate enough to visit the real deal in 2014, and I recognized several businesses’ actual location, right down to the layout of the staircases. It’s clear the devs did their homework.

Gameplay? Oh, right.

Akiba’sTrip is basically a simple beat’em’up. Use Triangle/Square/Circle as high/med/low attacks to take out a target’s garments one at a time until all three are gone, and they disappear. This is in between just wandering Akihabra, buying cool stuff, and taking in the sights.

With all the real world arcades, you’d think they’d let you actually play arcade games much like Yakuza did, but it likely wasn’t in Acquire’s budget or even possible since they aren’t owned by a company that has several arcade game rights just waiting in a dusty closet somewhere.

So what salvages this romp through Akihabara from mediocrity?

XSeed.

They gave what was clearly a run-of-the-mill plot utterly hilarious dialogue, and a high polished script. I enjoyed all the random interactions with NPCs and the not-twitter app just to see what random insanity would get said next.

Did I mention that Nana is awesome? I lost count of brother puns about halfway through the game, broseph.

So yeah, if you can get the game for ~$5(digital) like I did, it’s well worth the trip. Just don’t take it too seriously.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Post-Mortem: Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse

 

 

I love SMT, a lot. I’ve played, *deep breath*, I, II, III, Raidou 1 &2, Devil Summoner, Soul Hackers, DemiKids Red & Black, Imagine(far more than anyone should and than I dare admit), Strange Journey, you get the idea.

So of course I hit the ground running when Apocalypse came out.

Where does it stand in the pantheon, though?

Apocalypse has great IDEAS. The theme of a Polytheist alliance banding together to tell Lucifer and YHVH to go kick rocks? Brilliant.

The execution, not so much. The protagonist was deliberately given a younger appearance to lure in… you guessed it, the casuals. In addition, the theme of the POWER OF FRIENDSHIP permeates the entire game. You keep expecting a Social Link… Go? prompt to appear halfway through the game, it’s that blatant.

I’ll give Atlus credit, though. IV:A doesn’t rest on that theme too heavily. Some nasty, nasty things go down in this game. People die in horrifying ways. Tokyo is a twisted place.

Merkabah is a DICK. But it just gives the whole experience constant tonality shifts. Someone dies brutally, but your best friend is totally there with you! Your friends are with you, but Merkabah slaughtered every hunter in range of him with one swing of his Hama-wielding hand.

You get the idea.

Oh, and the DLC…

Let’s not go there. Apocalypse is a great game, and unlike its predecessor, rarely loses its fangs. It just every so often, sadly, reminds us of what could have and should have been had it committed to the full nine of a proper warring gods SMT experience.

Bears noting: the music is as good as ever. This is now my ringtone.

It may remain as such for months to come.

[Post Mortem] Summon Night 5

I have a friend who describes disappointing or mediocre films as ‘cute’. Probably the only time I’ve heard the word used in a derogatory sense.  Still, it caught on with me. Whenever I play something that I enjoyed, but fell short of being really memorable or gripping, I define it as ‘cute’.

Summon Night 5 is a quintessential cute RPG.

There’s nothing inherently wrong with the game. Working Designs’ Victor Ireland handled the localization, so of course the writing is on point. All the characters have great, clearly defined personalities, and witty, enjoyable dialogue.

The problem is they’re in kind of a boring, empty world.

Sure, it’s a well realized world, but there’s not much happening there. A gang is running around kidnapping spirits, and eventually evil nasty critters show up. They die, you go back to your happy life.

What I WILL say in the game’s favor is that it is not easy. Don’t think you can just rush in and steamroll enemies. They have that trademark ‘move too far and everyone blitzes you’ AI. It’s hardly innovative, but it means you won’t be plowing through the game.
The late game in particular, with nigh endless respawning enemies and bosses with massive HP, was incredibly frustrating. If it wasn’t for careful strategy, lots of grinding, and a dash of sheer dumb luck(the weakest character in my team punching the final boss in the face for the killing blow), I’d probably still be playing it.

Let me be clear: Summon Night 5’s a fun world to play around in. It’s just after you visit, you can’t really think of a reason to go back, apart from seeing the other protagonist’s story. The male and female leads are each well fleshed out and have clearly defined personalities as well(always a plus), but again, there isn’t much for them to do besides be the generic anime hero.

There’s nothing wrong with the standard shounen anime, mind you, but wouldn’t you rather be watching something like Fate/Zero instead?

Oh, and by the way:

Best. Fishing game. Ever.

Post-Mortem: Tokyo Twilight Ghost Hunters

This was a fascinating little game. Sadly it’s also very experimental, and part visual novel, meaning it’s going to get overlooked by reviewers and gamers alike.

TTGH is difficult to classify. It has elements of SRPGs, VNs, and modern occultism.

The big appeal here is the story, because I love modern day plots and the occult, and TTGH has plenty of both.

Aksys’ localization team again prove their work to be some of the best in the industry. Every character’s personality comes through with wit and charisma, and even the less likable characters(Mifune starts out as a total bitch) still come across as fleshed out and well developed.

Sadly, due to the episodic nature of the game, a lot of the more interesting characters wind up resigned to being important in a single chapter, but at least you get to hang out with them at the HQ.

What really brings the game down is the obtuse battle system.

While it makes sense that fighting ghosts should be a difficult venture and they should not be easy to confront, the implementation of it just feels kind of haphazard.

Battles are somewhat like SRPGs such as Eternal Poison and Fire Emblem… in theory.

Movement occurs on the grid, then the actual attacking gets displayed in 3D visualizations.

TTGH uses a very unique graphical style with hand-drawn art animated into short scenes, and it really makes the visuals pop.

It’s just a damn shame that most of the battles boil down to guess work. Maybe the ghost will be there when you attack it, or maybe it’ll move right past you and run into you, negating your turn altogether.

It makes the battles thrilling when your attacks do connect, but insanely frustrating when they don’t. It becomes less about strategy and more about guess work.

Of course, you can easily break the game when you unlock skills like Eagle Eye and buffing, which instantly show you ghosts and let you boost your ATK through the roof, but someone’s bound to get frustrated long before those skills come into play.

If you can adjust to that glaring flaw, then you’re in for one hell of a ghost hunting occult tale, one well worth experiencing again in the future. I can’t say I’ve ever played a game like it, which is usually the highest praise I can offer.

As an aside, although I happen to be straight, I couldn’t help but think that the two gay characters who appear in the game are borderline offensive. They’re caricatures at best, insulting at worst.

Maybe the community wouldn’t take offense by it, but I feel developers can do better than falling into gay stereotypes.

Post-Mortem: Deus Ex – Human Revolution

I didn’t ask for this.

Yeah, Jensen, I know.

Deus Ex HR had a pretty steep climb awaiting it from the get-go. Not only is it the prequel to one of the most beloved(and replayed) PC RPGs of all time(of which I’ll share my thoughts one day), it also follows on the heels of a sequel that was widely disliked at best; more commonly considered an insult to the franchise.

Where Infinity War went wrong(focusing more on action over being an open-ended RPG), HR seeks to stay true to the original. It certainly succeeds. Each level has a wide variety of objectives and methods in which to complete them.

Want to stay unseen, and only crack skulls when absolutely necessary? Adam’s your man.

Want to turn into a mass-murdering vigilante, blowing apart and skewering anyone who dares to cross you? He can do that too.

Apart from getting a little tedious, the gameplay stays enjoyable all the way through. Even the controversial boss fights, while quite difficult, are nothing the protagonist can’t handle without some quick movement and thinking. Well, being armed to the teeth helps as well, but that’s never difficult.

Where HR really shines is, thankfully, the story. As good as the original game’s mechanics were, it was really the story and characters that people often remember. Choices mattered, relationships could change based on how the protagonist acted. The world was believable and thought-provoking.

Human Revolution delivers on all this, too. Where the original game was in a cyberpunk-styled world already sinking into disrepair and ruin, HR takes place in a civilization at the peak of innovation.

There’s chaos on the horizon, though, and it’s clear the utopia isn’t going to last much longer.

The game really glows through character interactions, especially as the protagonist engages in debates with key figures. These verbal conflicts are often more engaging(and challenging) than any of the boss fights, and easily the highlight of an already great game.

Sure, you can augment the protagonist to get additional insight into their minds so you can know how to respond, but where’s the fun in that? (It’s actually quite fun.)

HR was a big success critically and financially, so even though the ending ties smoothly into the original game, hopefully the team at Eidos Montreal find a way to build on the foundation they’ve created.

He might not ask for it, but I will.

Post-Mortem: Demon Gaze

I really wanted to like this game. It had a lot going for it. Developed by Experience Inc., the sadists behind everyone’s favorite cyberpunk dungeon crawling(DC) RPG, Generation Xth: Code Hazard.

It’s not even a bad game! It has good combat, great music, an ‘okay’ story, and a lot of innovative steps for a DC.

What brings it down, you ask?

Tripe like that. Let’s be real: it’s fricking creepy. If a game is on a handheld, odds are, I’m playing it in public. More likely still, I’m playing it at work.

Would you want to see someone wondering why a half-naked girl is plastered all over your screen? Then you best not play Demon Gaze out in the open, because you’ll get a LOT of that.

It’s not just Ms. Underwear Fanatic there, either. Frequently throughout the game there’s lots of awkward content. Barely-dressed hotel managers lounging around in come-hither poses, mercenaries who wear next to nothing, even a basement-dwelling mortician who wears little more than a hoodie and undergarments.

Though in Prometh’s defense, she at least gets some of the most hilarious dialogue in the game, such as her deadpan ‘I’m so excited’ when you bring her quest items.

Fanservice gripes aside, Demon Gaze is a solid DC. Battles are lightning fast, the dungeons have a lot of colorful variety, and best of all, they get music. That might seem like a no-brainer, but a lot of DCs outside of Etrian Odyssey overlook the most important of features. If you’re gonna spend hours in a dungeon, at least have good music. Hell, have SOME music. (Looking at you, Class of Heroes.)

Also, the post-game and end-game bosses are the stuff of nightmares. So the game is worth a shot for the gameplay, if nothing else.

Just play it at home whenever a story beat hits.

Post-Mortem: Drakengard 3

A flower that sings of the end.

Drakengard is a very divisive series. The first game is considered at once one of the most unbearable games ever made as well as an essential experience due to its one-of-a-kind twisted story and atmosphere.

Post-Mortem: Deception IV: Blood Ties / Kagero: Darkside Princess

I love Deception.

A lot.

Little wonder I was incredibly hyped for the fifth game.