@MERG No, the new character has half the level of the retired one. Retirees have extra skill points and better stats than non-retired characters.

?...I have Stratum 1 level 2 mostly mapped out (by successfully avoiding FOEs as they are kicking my a$$ even at level 10). IS it possible to get through level 2 without ever battling a FOE or will I need to battle?

Yeah, every FOE is avoidable except for the bosses. They're the Greedy Lizards, right? They don't chase you, they just go back and forth along a path by one square every time you move. You need to observe their movement pattern and then you'll be able time when you walk by them and you'll avoid them easily.

Yes...Greedy Lizards. I have been avoiding all of them but I have one that I don't seem to be able to get around.

@MERG.... get as close as you can, literally one square from him and go back and forth 1 square until he is right in front of you moving in the direction you want to move and then follow him until you get where you want to go.

Is it the one on the 3rd floor because that's no greedy lizard. You don't want to fight him either but if your careful you can get around him. When he sees you he will chase your ever move. Side step he side steps. Move closer and he does the same. If that the one your talking about just side step all the way to the left and make a break for the door then You will be fine!

That is not the one I was talking about but I did just get to the 3rd floor and saw that glowing red thing...so thanks!

Question...how many floors are in each stratum? Also, if I can't defeat a FOE, can I really hope to beat a boss?

4 floors in this one it was 5 in the other games and the bosses tend to be a little bit easier then some of the foes. I think its because you can't avoid them. The first boss I thought wasn't to bad!

Thanks Tech101.

Hey...sorry for the dumb question but...how many stratums are there?

@MERG Why do you want to know now? The game is about exploration. Find out yourself.

A lot!

do you guys have a favorite Atlus game for the Wii? Baroque is looking pretty interesting to me, how is it?

Baroque is not an Atlus game. It's developed by Spike. In EU/ Aus it was published by Rising Star Games. It's not a Rising Star Game, either.

But to answer your question (as I did in the other thread) it's good if you're a fan of Roguelikes, and hard games (usually the former means the latter anyway). The only difference between this one and most Roguelikes is that it's not turn based, but that doesn't really change much on how you play, to be honest.

Character and setting design is pretty good, too. I dug that.

The game is brutal, you learn the storyline by you deaths and restarting over and over. Just a heads up as its no cakewalk. You should try Shiren the Wanderer, the game is fantastic.

Baroque is great, but really hard. Only get it if you love a really dark, gothic, mindscrewy atmosphere and lots and lots of dungeon crawling, grinding and dying. It was originally a Sega Saturn game which was ported to the PS2 and the Wii.

Trauma Team is a great game. The story is good (if cartoony at points) and the gameplay is rock solid (lol). It's even better 2 player if you have a friend or sibling you can play it with.

If you really want to know where Atlus shines though, you should check out their PS2 and DS catalogue.

@HolyMackerel
everyone keeps stressing that Baroque is hard, which is one of its main appeals for me. I mean, can't even remember the last time I bought a hard game for my Wii or Xbox 360. Games are so easy nowadays its embarrassing.

I don't have a DS, but could you recommend some PS2 titles?

Well, there's hard and then there's punishing. When you die, you lose everything, and I mean everything! And you have to die to progress the story line.

right. but don't you keep whatever spoils you grabbed in the tower?
what do you think of the game, mac? punishing to the point of not fun?

No, you lose everything. You can store some items, but not a lot, only like, 5 or 6. Actually, losing everything is standard for the genre, which is why I've never been a big fan of Rogue-likes. I'd still say the gameplay's fun, but it is difficult, meaning you will die fairly often, especially since it isn't turn-based like most games in the genre, and losing everything every time you die can be a big blow to your moral, as it makes it that much more difficult to get back on your feet. You might enjoy it more than I did, but after the 5th time I died, after having spent over 3 hours leveling my character, I simply couldn't go on.