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Post by Yamazaki on Nov 22, 2011 23:38:16 GMT -5
User Name:
Character Name:
HP: EP:
ACV: DCV:
Attributes:
Defects:
Skills:
Items and Companions:
Character info: [appearance, history, and other notes]
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Post by Yamazaki on Nov 21, 2011 12:20:55 GMT -5
It's been a while, proboards... Damn you still suck lol
Oh, someone is actually reading this besides me. Right, I should actually say something...
Welcome to the new Anarchy Plane! A select few of you remember this place, but as for the rest, welcome! I am your admin, and lord and master of this place, Yamazaki. Also known as Max.
Pardon the dust while I continue to clean the forums, as this place is being re-purposed for a new campaign. Or two... Who knows, maybe these forums will truly be revived. I doubt it, but ya never know.
If you need anything, lemme know. Gods know I'm not that busy...
-Yamazaki, admin
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Post by Yamazaki on Nov 21, 2011 11:51:17 GMT -5
While I'm cleaning up everything, feel free to introduce yourself to the your fellow forum mates!
I'll post something for myself here later...
-Locke
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The Lord of Blades
Game Masters
Ero Sennin
Please allow me to introduce myself: I'm a man of wealth and taste
Posts: 1,314
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Post by The Lord of Blades on May 14, 2011 23:26:29 GMT -5
The following review expresses the opinions and positions of the author! It also has a few spoilers, but nothing overly major or identifiable. Regardless, enjoy!
Kingdom Hearts, a series that first saw light in 2002 with its initial installment has since branched out into a total of six main-series games with two more on the way. It started out as a bizarre experiment: the combination of Disney characters and feel with the storytelling and characters of Square-Enix, particularly Final Fantasy. It became an instant hit as people were drawn into the charming aesthetic and exciting action-based gameplay that catered to the beginner and the extreme alike. While some felt out of place playing around with Donald and Goofy or fighting Captain Hook, most found the game refreshingly enjoyable and there were very few complaints against either the first or second installments. What has, however, been a detractor against Kingdom Hearts is the way it has 'evolved', or perhaps 'mutated', over the years. The first game was a light, single-shot experience that worked and stands well enough on its own. With the advent of sequels and spin-offs, the game suddenly had to tackle a much larger universe in which continuity would be a big issue (what with there being a finite number of Disney worlds to incorporate). Combine this with two lackluster titles meant to bridge the gaps between KH1 and KH2 (Chain of Memories and 358/2) and you get a series that is very good in some lights and very lacking in others.
Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep is ultimately the deciding point for whether or not the future of Kingdom Hearts as a series appeals to you. It is a remarkable shame the game was only released on the PSP because, quite frankly, it is not a spin-off title or remotely ignorable to understand KH continuity. They should have dropped the mysterious title and simply called this game what it was: Kingdom Hearts 0. It is literally so integral to the plots of the other games and presumably KH3 on its way that it would be comparable to watching Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi without having seen A New Hope (No, we're not counting the 'new' trilogy).
The story of BBS takes place an undetermined time preceding Kingdom Hearts 1, however, due to the age of the recognizable characters that make appearances it could be inferred to be at least five to ten years. It focuses around three young keyblade-wielders training to become masters: Terra, Aqua, and Ventus. Each is training under Master Eraqus, but it isn't long before the obviously villainous Master Xehanort arrives and then it's off to save the worlds. While there is more detail to be said here, to do so would be an enormous spoiler. Why? Because BBS's job is to tie together everything of the past. Questions like: "Who are Organization XIII? Why can Sora/Riku/Kairi/Mickey all wield keyblades? Why are some Disney Worlds not present in later installments despite their famous nature? Just what the hell is Kingdom Hearts and why does it matter? Where did all the other Keyblade wielders go? What is the origin of Castle Oblivion and numerous other unique things to the KH universe?" and more. It doesn't just set the stage for the third act in the series, it largely defines what the stage is and who all the pieces are. There are dozens of 'big reveals' that any player can see, but there are tons of smaller nuanced ones that will be made if the player attempts to extrapolate what they learn in BBS to other KH games.
The storyline altogether makes it clear that either Tetsuya Nomura is a genius-level intellect writer, had absolutely nothing to do with the writing, or accidentally happened to create a universe that despite being confusing and intentionally vague at times: ultimately works when explained. The one flaw that rears its head in this particular installment, however, is an overly large saturation of Disney content into places it just doesn't fit. Despite this being one of the initial merits to the KH series, it is rapidly outgrowing it and so seeing the plots of things like Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, and Snow White all play out exactly how they do in the movies only in microcosm is tremendously boring and uninteresting when it is forcefully overlapped onto an heart-wrenching conflict of self-discovery and loss. Terra, Ventus, Aqua, Xehanort, Eraqus, and a lot of the other characters that Square invented are the focal point of the story and it shows. The Disney related content, as a result, simply bogs down what is good about the game with the exception of Mickey (who, as a Keyblade wielder, breaks the mold entirely) and Yen Sid who is portrayed as a former Keyblade Master. This is the 'fix' that they should implement more-so with future characters. Give Mulan a keyblade and make her travel the worlds too. Let Tron out of the computer in a weird twist and have him join up. I'm not saying it should replace Donald and Goofy as Sora's partners, but these characters need something to make them have bearing besides a simple moral lesson or for their world to become a random battleground for heartless/unversed/nobodies.
Gripes aside, when the story decides to be about the central elements of Kingdom Hearts, it is remarkable, and when it goes off-track to Disney themes, it is achingly slow and uninteresting. The largest culprit of all is a place titled "Disney Town" that is literally pointless in its entire existence except to establish a single character link for Kingdom Hearts 1 and 2. A point that could've been made without an utterly useless diversion. I can't help but feel this is somehow representative of Square wanting to shirk the Disney part of the game entirely that the place that shares their name is without-doubt the worst part of the game. The story eventually succeeds, but those who find themselves at odds with the amount of Disney in other Kingdom Hearts titles are going to find themselves in a rage over the amount of it being layered over the plot like too much icing on a cake.
Aesthetically, the game is quite pleasing. It has a robust soundtrack that is suitably fitted to each scene of the 'original content', but the Disney element again falls short as the themed songs from each of the Disney Worlds are redundant and boring rehashes of popular movie themes. Graphically, however, the game is astounding. A lot of detail goes into making the Disney worlds feel Disney-like, just as a lot of the Square content is altered to fit into such a universe; though anyone with disdain for Nomura's belt-buckle-and-zipper fetish will find no shortage of them here. The visuals are excellent and more importantly, consistent. Characters look how they should and the new designs are all perfectly in step with the previously established concepts. So much so, that the game even includes a couple of hinting references to the other games in its visual design of certain elements. There is a 'world map', but it has done away with the gummi-ship elements and instead you 'fly around' to each world. Fitting, but utterly pointless since the worlds are literally the only things of color in the world map, so exploring a blank purplish/blue-black expanse doesn't really show off any impressive graphics. Also, while the game's intro is impressively CG, there is a baffling choice to later not use CG in favor of an in-game rendered cutscene that mimics the content of the opening. I'm sorry, what? Did you decide we might enjoy it too much to see it fluidly flow in high definition? Run out of memory space? Whatever the reason, it is wholly unreasonable and unforgivably silly.
There are only two big problems with the game's aesthetic, and they aren't necessarily anything wrong with the visuals, rather, the game itself. The first is the loading times. They are all-pervasive, and the only way to lessen them to a reasonable extent is to not only system-install the game, but to change an option for accelerating disk-read speed and increasing the color to 32-bit that both drain the battery life faster than normal. This is mildly akin to a devil's bargain: you get more playtime and less loading screen time but your battery dies faster OR you get the same playtime and much more loading screen time and your battery dies slower, but the difference is made up for by the loading screen times. It is outright mind-boggling why this is even an option or an issue, but Square will always find something to damage about a game anymore. The second major issue comes up with gameplay. The camera is, simply put, uncooperative. Some moves automatically target based on how your character is facing, some go based off of lock-ons, and the camera is extremely fiddly about tight spaces or even turning in the middle of combat. Throw this in with a gameplay mechanic that causes a visual change that, if the PSP hasn't loaded earlier, will pause you and stand you there for a moment while it loads... only for the enemies to keep moving! This also changes the camera, whether you want it to or not, further cementing the problem as one you have to simply adapt to solve rather than fix it.
Which leads to gameplay itself. Kingdom Hearts familiar action-based combat is back in full force, but gone are the useless allies of Donald and Goofy who explode seconds after they enter any meaningful combat or occasionally throw a heal on you when it doesn't matter. Instead you have a dozen different ways to bring down foes. Simple hack 'n slash with the keyblade of your choice (though the selection of such weapons is surprisingly limited in actual utility); blast the enemy to death with magic using a list of self-assigned spells that you can equip as you get them (up to 8 at a time) and that recharge over time after being used with no magic meter to worry about; to even building up your Command Bar with enough regular slashes to use a finisher. The game also has two additional methods to add some tactical elements to combat beyond simply picking the right skills or magic beforehand. By using the right types of spells/skills to fill the command bar, you can enter a new command style that changes your basic attacks drastically and adds a new finisher once filled. There are quite a few of these, and some even require you to fill the command bar more than once with different elements such as "enter any particular style and then use gravity/magnet related attacks" to enter some really visually impressive and damaging styles. Aside from that, you can also D-Link certain characters to receive an entirely unique skill/magic-set related to them, and a new signature finisher of theirs when you fill the command bar under D-Link. The last of the new elements is the Shotlock, a super attack that requires a few seconds of 'locking on', but once unleashed inflicts enormous damage while rendering you invincible. It can only be used as much as you have Focus gauge, but since the gauge replenishes quickly, it is used in almost every boss fight but the truly fast-paced ones.
The only two conundrums of gameplay is that half of it is utterly irrelevant in how unnecessary most of it is. Any player will find that one particular Command Style is extremely powerful or suits them best, will find the best Shotlock, and will learn the Finisher they want and use only that. This isn't necessarily a problem, but it is a bit disappointing when there's so much effort spent to create so many varied ways of fighting only for one or two them to be all you'll ever need and likely all you'll ever want. The other major problem lies in the characters. Terra, Aqua, and Ventus are not mirrors of each other stats-wise. They all learn different command styles, get different finishers, and level up into different stats. Terra is a heavy-hitter with the best dashes, highest HP, most defense, and most strength in the game. Ventus is a rapid-fire character with a balance in most of his stats and the only one who learns glide. Aqua, on the other hand, is a heavily magic-oriented character who doesn't get her 'glide' equivalent until almost the end of the game, and is the weakest in terms of every stat and her finishers. She's supposed to be the 'mage' type, but it only winds up making her pitifully inept in comparison to the other characters. It makes sense that the game organizes itself to encourage you play her story last, because by then you have enough experience that you won't get thrashed expecting her to be the same strength wise only for her to be awful instead.
All in all, Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep, despite its shortcomings would be a fine game, a wonderful experience on par with what has come to be expected from KH, and a welcome addition to the KH series... were it not for one looming menace. The minigames and extra content in general. Anyone familiar with KH will know that the games have always had a healthy amount of side-quest business to take care of or minigames to be completed for Jimminy's Journal. KHBBS takes this to a terrifyingly awful new level. With three main storylines to play through with three separate characters, bear in mind that everything I'm about to list has to be done in triplicate in order to achieve 100% completion and unlock the 'hidden extra movie' at the end; or you could just play on proud mode, but no one at first thinks the minigame content will be quite so violently bad.
The most mundane of the extra content is how you make additional skills and magic. A simple process called command melding that also can teach abilities like Once More, Leaf Bracer, Thunder Boost, Treasure Magnet, and etc. By itself it is not so bad, and learning the recipes can be done in game with specific items that teach just what combines to what. Add in a command list that tells you if you're still missing any form of ability/skill/item/shotlock/etc. and it's not so bad at all. If that were the only form of additional nonsense, it'd be fine. Unfortunately, there are a slew of other minigames that all need to be completed to unlock new things. The first of these is called "Command Board", a fine game that is essentially monopoly. It is fun and enjoyable at first, until you realize some of the content hinges on capturing specific panels on multiple boards. Imagine having to play Monopoly 7 times and getting Boardwalk and Park Place in each and you'll have a good idea of whether you'll enjoy it past the first character doing so or not. Next, Rumble Racing, essentially a bastardized MarioKart that is neither fun nor enjoyable because to, in any way, compete with the computer AIs you have to take the cheat paths and shortcuts every time. Make more than a few mistakes and you've lost the race for certain without chance of making it up: they are that much faster than you. After that comes Fruitball, a bastardized mix of hockey and volleyball with a terrible immovable camera and utterly random victories and losses completely detached from skill or practice. It is a game that can be beaten by buttonmashing with your toes and doing something else until you win while you do something else, retrying as needed until you succeed. That last bit is actually in Fruitball's favor because the game itself is so bad. The last of the minigames is called Ice Cream Beat, and make no mistake: if you are a fan of beat games, this will be your undoing. The game features remixes of existing songs while you tap beats along to it, but the beats are out of sync with the music. It is a music game that is easier with the PSP muted. Yes, you read that right.
Thankfully, each of these minigames only needs to be completed to a certain extent to count for completion. You don't need specific scores, usually, just a rudimentary 'win' or maybe one or two specific conditions. Unfortunately, as mentioned above, you have to do it three times because you just don't realize how much better a choice Proud Mode is until you've played the minigames and by then you are generally a ways into at least one character whom you'd need to replay from scratch on Proud Mode for it to count. The only other areas of extra content stem from two hidden boss fights after completing the game that are either borderline or well past ridiculous. One is a truly challenging fight, the other is 'make one mistake and you die and you can only win this way.' which is just no fun at all. They both suffer from a flaw that many of the 'super bosses' in the game have, which is: "All of our attacks are combos that reduce you to 1 HP IF you have Second Chance and Once More as abilities." It isn't really fun when you have to spend 15 seconds watching yourself get hit because trying to counter mid-attack guarantees your defeat, you just wait, cure, then go back to dodging; and if you miss a single dodge the cycle repeats. The 'arena' extra content is also replaced with a single set of 13 separate battles (anywhere from 3-8 rounds in length), each one culminating in a single boss at the end, several of which are the same monster, just tougher than before. It is unambitious and monotonous compared to previous KH titles coliseums that had dozens of rounds in each match filled with the characters from the game.
So while Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep excels in most categories, the superfluous Disney and horribly bad triplicate extra content shatter what would otherwise be a thoroughly enjoyable experience. Buy it, play it on proud mode, and do only what the extra content interests you and you'll be fine. Or better yet, borrow a friend's copy, play a little bit of the actual combat, then just watch all the cutscenes with its theater function. Either way, you'll be getting the better part of the experience. All the fun and plot, none of the boring crap that weighs it down so tremendously.
5/10
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Post by joelocaust on Mar 31, 2011 22:47:39 GMT -5
That's a bad sign and I'm not even IN this damn game.
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Post by onigato on Mar 28, 2011 11:03:54 GMT -5
/me wanders in, whistling.
Just wondering when we'll get started. I now return you to your regularly scheduled wait.
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Post by joelocaust on Feb 15, 2011 23:37:07 GMT -5
[ooc]THE RANCOR MADE YOU THINK THIS GAME UPDATED!!! FOOL!!! THE RANCOR PITIES YOU!!![/ooc]
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Post by phulishone on Feb 12, 2011 20:22:58 GMT -5
Now that the good Doc is here, we're just waiting on...
...me. And my life took a turn for the worse. Short version: I need to find a new place to live in less than 15 days. Once that is settled, I'll get to writing the intro.
Keep an eye on your PM boxes. I'll be getting confirmation from each of you regarding your civilization within the coming weeks.
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Post by etherealchaos on Feb 11, 2011 13:13:55 GMT -5
Hi all, you don't know me, but just call me Dr. Chaos. I'm the last player Phul was buying time for. I should be putting the finishing touches on my nation later today... so I look forward to shattering the boundaries of normalcy, sanity, and all around borish-ness. Long is the rule of Jongo, so live long and prosper or live free and die hard, possibly with a vengeance, entirely up to you. Either way I'll loot the spoils left in the wake and use it to fund further dissent, discord, and down-right dastardly deviations, to deflect the denouncement of the demoralized denizens, dying doubled-over to discontent and distortion from delegations to deny (of all things) dry-cleaning, dentistry, and dermatology... Oh my! It makes more sense if you don't think too hard about it, or just hard enough to where you think you understand how to breach the fourth wall from the third dimension, or is it the other way around. Bah, no matter, the point of it all is, I look forward to playing with all of you (and in interpreting what that means I highly suggest going from a Tom Lehrer p.o.v).
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The Lord of Blades
Game Masters
Ero Sennin
Please allow me to introduce myself: I'm a man of wealth and taste
Posts: 1,314
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Post by The Lord of Blades on Feb 8, 2011 21:05:41 GMT -5
Your group returns to the Necropolis and are ushered into a room in which a mirror covers the far wall from the door. The mirror reflects you all and the room until you've entered at which point it changes appearance and reflects a room in which Thanatos stands. "Ah, you're back. We've already reported your success, and now, the book?" He extends a hand that passes through the mirror expectantly awaiting the book. "Take some time," he snaps his fingers, "and spend your reward money. From now on you'll all be working together in a single unit. No more splitting missions up amongst eachother with our limited numbers. When you're ready, return to the meeting room, there are more missions. Loathe as I am to continue working with Vrtra, it seems we must now throw in our lots together to stand a chance with our dwindling numbers." After he receives the book, he dismisses you from his presence and the mirror reverts to normal and now reflects a sack of gold near each of your feet. You've each gained 6.5k gold. When you're ready, post that you return to the meeting room and we'll give you guys your next mission options.
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Post by phulishone on Feb 6, 2011 20:53:51 GMT -5
Wellllllllll Fudge.
I'm glad most of my stuff is saved via Word.
*shakes fist at Proboards*
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The Lord of Blades
Game Masters
Ero Sennin
Please allow me to introduce myself: I'm a man of wealth and taste
Posts: 1,314
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Post by The Lord of Blades on Feb 6, 2011 12:49:44 GMT -5
A heads up, Proboards ate everything we've done since the 27th. Just wanted to let you know that your map was reverted to an older version and the messages you sent out are now gone (or at least mine is).
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Post by onigato on Jan 27, 2011 0:11:04 GMT -5
Feb 2nd is marked on my calender now. Let's get this party started!
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Post by Yamazaki on Jan 26, 2011 12:54:31 GMT -5
[ooc] go on without me guys. Seems that i barely have any free time to do much of anything lately. Its a bummer... [/ooc]
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Post by joelocaust on Jan 26, 2011 10:26:31 GMT -5
[ooc]Raz/Rancor yells, "IT'S BEEN A WEEK!!!"[/ooc]
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