I haven't died yet. I'm playing on Easy though, so I won't be losing my items anyway.
Anyway, I beat the first dungeon and boss. Good so far, though the graphics look a bit strange to me. Some of the non-prerendered cutscene animations are jerky, and it just doesn't look as pretty as other Wii games I've seen. I think it would have looked way better in 2D, but heck, it's fine as it is. Another small issue is that you walk kind of slow compared to the DS one - is there anyway to walk faster besides running?
So ends a saga older than time itself. The World's oldest and fiercest army has been led to victory, and a lost generation is delivered from its fear of extinction. As the sun sets over the field of conflict the dinosaurs disperse, hoping never to set foot in this place a...
I'm loving it so far. I beat Centipede easily, but managing your items can be difficult. "Do I want to get rid of a riceball or healing herb? Should I hold on to this sword or take this scroll?" There's a lot of thinking ahead involved. Thank heaven for Holding Jars.
@mnementh: I prefer the text to VO, actually. The dialog is really good too, by the way. Sensei is a badass.
Another question for those of you with the game: Sometimes when I read a barrier scroll, instead of doing what it is supposed to do, it tries to refill my character's health instead. Is there any way to predict when it will do this? They are sort of hard to come by, and I hate to waste them. Seems like half of my barrier scrolls have malfunctioned thus.
When they do work it's great, though. I just leveled up a Polearm by 10 in one dragon orb. That'll come in handy.
Huh, I haven't found a barrier scroll yet. I'll let you know when I do. I just beat the catfish in a rather tight battle. Yeah yeah, he wasn't tough, but my healing items were well nigh exhausted when I finally reached it.
I played the game for several hours tonight and finally built up a good inventory. All weapons leveled up a lot, and starting to level up shields. I decided to take a break and try out the Portal dungeon since I hadn't played it but once early on when there were only five levels. Well, for some reason I thought that the Portal had no bearing on the main game -- i.e. you don't lose items or money. I mean, your level resets temporarily for it and your allies disappear, so I can see why I'd have thought that it was something separate. Sigh.
I think I answered my own questions though during this playthrough. Asuka's two-handed weapons sometimes have a secondary effect of adding a couple points to defense as if they were shields, too. Still doesn't seem worth it to me. Also, about barrier scrolls, I think the dragon orb has to have one square of space around it on all sides, meaning it can't be adjacent to a wall or other dragon orb when you use the scroll. Should have realized that earlier.
I'm less annoyed this time because I just realized the Portal dungeon is a much better way to grind for money and equipment, anyway. This way it basically feels like I'm playing Shiren DS on a big screenn, which makes it more fun instead of playing as awkwardly overleveled, underequipped, unmanageable parties in early levels that are much too easy but much too slow.
Due to the random nature of the game, it is hard to pinpoint one great experience. Every time you play, the levels are different, and there's always this sense of danger that makes you weigh each step carefully. But if I had to pinpoint one moment, it would have to be a recent one. I was dropped into a monster house, which for the uninitiated is a randomly-occurring room that surrounds you with strong monsters (but also treasure!), and made it out by the skin of my teeth after using almost all my items. Even if it weren't for all the treasure in there, it would have been so satisfying just to have succeeded against the odds.
Have you played a Mystery Dungeon game before? If not, this would be a great way to start, as the Easy mode really eases you in, focusing more on the story and gradual progress like a Japanese RPG, whereas the typical dungeon crawler is a merciless game of strategy and luck. If you've played Shiren or other Mystery Dungeons before, this is the best one I've played yet.
If you're still on the fence but have a DS, you can find a remake of the original Shiren for like $10 usually. It's quite fun but with a much steeper difficulty curve.
I've reached the Mansion. Haven't entered it yet, though. I'm curious to see what happens after I beat it, though I have an idea what does. Dungeons are getting increasingly difficult (and more enjoyable), though the bosses are still pushovers. Of course, that may be due to my superior item management skills.
Edit @Adam: I'm beginning to agree. Sensei is a self-centered b@stard.
Sounds great, thanks for sharing that experience. I have played a pokemon dungeon game, liked the gameplay but I'm not a big fan of pokemon, to me shiren the wanderer's setting and characters are more appealing. I am going to buy this game on monday. Looking forward to playing it and sharing my experiences with you guys.
Well, I beat it! The post-game is weird. You are not directly told about any of the new dungeons. You are only told about the tournament. Almost all the dungeons seem inaccessible now. The levels of the first four bosses, and the previous levels are open, as well as a few in the past.
The only thing you're told is that there is a tournament you're invited to (well, aside from the fact that the Portal is now open to level 99). I went to the tourney, and lost promptly in the first round to Carl, who is an eagle. He is the brother of Johnny. Johnny is apparently the name of the eagle boss in the main story, haha. As you can tell, the post-game has a markedly different tone; it's great.
I wandered around town and found that at the Wanderer Information desk you have access to two new dungeons. Both are solo only, but you begin post-game without allies anyway. I haven't tried these yet.
I went on Gamefaqs message boards and didn't find out much else. I know there is a Bufu dungeon past the temple ruins, but I can't get to it yet and there is no clear consensus on how it is made accessible. There are also two other dungeons I can't get to yet and don't know how to, one of which is a Dragon Orb dungeon that is supposed to be easy No one seems to know how to get to the 1,000 floor dungeon, sadly, or at least has not said so.
This is all disappointingly vague, and I hate that I still have to keep "unlocking" stuff. I don't understand why I can't play what I want. $50 apparently is not enough for Chunsoft, they want my humiliation, too, brought to them at the hands... er, wings... of Carl.
BUT! Not to be a downer. It's pretty exciting to be done with the story and not have the constant threat of item loss looming over my head. The tournament fortunately does not punish you if you lose, even on normal. I think I'll go try to beat Carl again. Have at you, Carl!
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