Anyone diving into Dragon's Dogma this week?

[evil_ash_xero]

I went ahead and ordered it. I hope I like it.

[kid aphex]

(Edit--- wrong thread)

[evil_ash_xero]

Well, I gave it a shot, and it's not for me.

I'll list my pros and cons. There's not much discussion going on about this game here, but hell why not?

OK, the fatal flaw with the game is the traveling. And I don't mean fast travel either. Just sort of ALL travel. I knew I couldn't get into it, when I had went down a dungeon in Gran Soren(sp?), and somehow totally missed an item. And when I realized I had to go back...I just groaned. I knew right then. lol
OK, the dungeon was basically just a spiral staircase, with a few places where it had some passages. Anyway, going down this staircase was SO boring. If it wasn't so slow, it wouldn't have been a big deal, but...I mean, you move really slow across HUGE sections of land in this game. And your stamina bar drains really fast, and then putt putts all the way back. It's like twice as slow as Dark Souls. And then you actually hunker over and start gasping for breath for a few seconds if you don't slow down before the meter runs out, just to make things even slower. I have no idea what Capcom was thinking with this design choice.
So, that's why I can't get into the game. That ruined it for me.

Now, it has some pluses. It has fun combat, and the world is big...not really that interesting or anything(the Souls games kill it in terms of design). I didn't even mind the goony side quests(kill so and so rabbits), since I'm used to that in RPGs(well, newer ones). The game just needed to be tightened up a bit, and they should have let you run free! lol It's just such a weird design choice. It's like "hey, this game is kind of fun...let's do something about that!".

I don't have much to say about the story, because I didn't get far enough in it. I like how the Dragon was talking in some weird language though.

But I do appreciate the "yeas", since I always appreciate feedback from actual gamers. But this one just didn't click with me. Sorry Capcom!

Despite people complaining about the Pawns(they are kind of dumb), I had fun with them.

[Opa Opa]

Well, I gave it a shot, and it's not for me.

I'll list my pros and cons. There's not much discussion going on about this game here, but hell why not?

OK, the fatal flaw with the game is the traveling. And I don't mean fast travel either. Just sort of ALL travel. I knew I couldn't get into it, when I had went down a dungeon in Gran Soren(sp?), and somehow totally missed an item. And when I realized I had to go back...I just groaned. I knew right then. lol
OK, the dungeon was basically just a spiral staircase, with a few places where it had some passages. Anyway, going down this staircase was SO boring. If it wasn't so slow, it wouldn't have been a big deal, but...I mean, you move really slow across HUGE sections of land in this game. And your stamina bar drains really fast, and then putt putts all the way back. It's like twice as slow as Dark Souls. And then you actually hunker over and start gasping for breath for a few seconds if you don't slow down before the meter runs out, just to make things even slower. I have no idea what Capcom was thinking with this design choice.
So, that's why I can't get into the game. That ruined it for me.

Now, it has some pluses. It has fun combat, and the world is big...not really that interesting or anything(the Souls games kill it in terms of design). I didn't even mind the goony side quests(kill so and so rabbits), since I'm used to that in RPGs(well, newer ones). The game just needed to be tightened up a bit, and they should have let you run free! lol It's just such a weird design choice. It's like "hey, this game is kind of fun...let's do something about that!".

I don't have much to say about the story, because I didn't get far enough in it. I like how the Dragon was talking in some weird language though.

But I do appreciate the "yeas", since I always appreciate feedback from actual gamers. But this one just didn't click with me. Sorry Capcom!

Despite people complaining about the Pawns(they are kind of dumb), I had fun with them.

Well that kind of sucks that you didn't like it all that much. I really enjoyed it.

While I don't agree that the Souls games "kill it in terms of design", you're absolutely right about the traveling. It takes forever to get anywhere.

[evil_ash_xero]

Yeah, it bummed me out too. I was kinda digging it, and then I was like...ARGH! I can see people looking past it, but I just hated that part so much that it killed it. I mean, I felt like that's almost all I was doing in the game.

It's quite rare that one single thing messes up a game for me. I'm not like that usually.

[Weak Boson]

Oh man that spiral dungeon was a huge pain the ass, you're not wrong there. That stuff didn't bother me nearly enough to give up on the game -the fact that you could take a few different routes through most areas helped- but I guess if it's a problem for you then at least now you know.

One thing I've realized about Dragon's Dogma is that it really wasn't what I expected it to be. I think I was a long way into the game before I got a clear picture of what I thought it actually was. The thing is that somewhere in this discovery process I found I was really appreciating it. I just don't think there's anything quite like it, at least not that I've played.

[Obiwanshinobi]

This thread gave me the kind of vibe that usually leads to a valuable gaming experience, so I picked up Dark Arisen disk for PS3, willing to bear its creaky technology because who knows when I get a new PC to play it there.

One thing I've realized about Dragon's Dogma is that it really wasn't what I expected it to be. I think I was a long way into the game before I got a clear picture of what I thought it actually was. The thing is that somewhere in this discovery process I found I was really appreciating it. I just don't think there's anything quite like it, at least not that I've played.

Reminds me of Breath of Fire V: Dragon Quarter (not gameplay, obviously), so Makoto Ikehara's involvement doesn't come as a surprise. EXCEPT such oddball games don't usually sport this level of detail and polish. So this one's got bad rep for the story, and Xenoblade Chronicles hasn't? Seems a bit like Nier to me, i.e. a game quite unlike anything else indeed.
Considering what undertaking it must have been for Capcom, I recognise their mojo from PS2 era.

Some pros and a con I've yet to see mentioned:
+ the animations (where Capcom's PS2 glory days are most obviously not over),
+ the character models (or editor, already acknowledged) - sure with style this realistic, uncanny valley couldn't be completely avoided, but the entire last generation of games suffered from that all alike (and current one seems to follow in its footsteps so far),
+ the lighting - enough said.
Last but not least:
- You can only dash while keeping L3 pressed down, which reportedly may damage a controller (heard so about Blood Will Tell, where thankfully double tap is the alternate way - no such luck here).

Some framerates nearly shocking first, bearable after a while.

[Wooph]

I would recommend anyone who plays this game for the first time to play the more recent PC version but I guess it's too late for that. The console version's framerate can be truly abysmal at times. If you find this game really enjoyable despite the technical shortcomings, it's absolutely worth playing it again on the PC when you have the hardware.

Also, you don't need to keep the left stick pressed to sprint. Just click it once to toggle sprint.

[Ed Oscuro]

I've got a fair amount of progress on the 360 version and learned to live with the framerate.

I got the 30% off coupon from the recent Capcom Humble Bundle, but I'm honestly considering giving it away. The PC version looks nice but I'm not so sure I would want to slog through the game again just to get where I'm at (partway into the Dark Arisen content, exactly how far I can't say).

[Obiwanshinobi]

I would recommend anyone who plays this game for the first time to play the more recent PC version but I guess it's too late for that. The console version's framerate can be truly abysmal at times. If you find this game really enjoyable despite the technical shortcomings, it's absolutely worth playing it again on the PC when you have the hardware.

It was awful when played soon after Ninja Gaiden Sigma, but this time I was taking a break from extensive King's Bounty: The Legend sessions (where framerate on my senior machine is no stranger to single digits), so we have come to terms.

Also, you don't need to keep the left stick pressed to sprint. Just click it once to toggle sprint.

Silly me! Thank you so much.

The thing that interests me the most is the character editor. I think it was over at Tim Buckley's site where I read about it. It seems that you can't just create a variety of the usual adventurer stereotypes, but also "normal" looking people las well as grotesque mis-shaped ones. It sounds really intriguing.

This alone warrants at least rental (if it's not already in demo). I found it therapeutic after Demon's Souls editor.

And I can't praise the light sourcing enough. While some of it (lens flare) just looks pretty, the night looks as near my way of seeing it in real life as I've seen in a video game. Daylight also looks more "organic" than your average DX9 fare.
When "HDR" was the buzzword of that 3D accelerators gen, I found it looking a bit tacky in the first "hardware DX9" game I saw running in real time (Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory PC demo that was). Not much has changed in this regard really, at least judging by screenshots I see nowadays. Usually the lighting looks a bit too "disco" for my liking.

Another angle to approach the topic is pointing at MOST costume films (most, really) - lit and filmed largely the way we already saw those very same actors in contemporary settings just a moment ago, and we are supposed to assume it's happening in some epoque long gone out of a sudden.
So when sword & sorcery-themed games are rendered like glitzy tech demos, all the cast Hollywood-pretty and easy to have it off with, I find their source of antibiotics and pill missing from the picture.

[Mischief Maker]

What is with all the negativity in this thread? I just got this game on GOG and it's amazing. The Devil May Cry people said to the Elder Scrolls people, "Step aside, we'll show you how it's done!"

Now granted combat didn't get all that flashy (aside from the Shadow of the Colossus climbing) until I started getting the advanced versions of moves, but still!

Dragon's Dogma is to Elder's Scrolls what Saint's Row 3 is to GTA.

[Obiwanshinobi]

I keep waiting for someone who played both Dragon's Dogma and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild to share their impressions (not of the "which is better" kind; rather, whether if you like one, can you not like the other sort).

By the way, revisited it on PS3 the other day myself, but alas - I'm in no mood for exploring such breadth right now. When it's not serviceable in one hour-sized sessions, my will to play the thing wanes.

[dreadnought]

Dragon's Dogma is to Elder's Scrolls what Saint's Row 3 is to GTA.

I`m not quite sure it was your intended meaning but you`re right, TES is about million times better than DD :D

I get it that people will go to any lengths to stick it to Bethsoft and it's quite often hilarious to watch. In reality though, DD just simply doesn`t cut it, never even mind it's more in the style of the 3rd Witcher than TES games (one "open world" =/= another "open world"). The pawn system is a major PITA, like someone said upthread they`re just a bunch of "bumbling fools". Combat is at best serviceable, at worst another PITA factor (thanks to dem fools). Then you have the massive but mostly empty environs - fancy running around a huge castle that has about 5 NPCs in it? - and lots of grinding. No, thanks.

I love Japanese games but this is just to weak to sink endless hours into. There are some lovely interior environs and perhaps online play can be a saving grace - heard good things about it - but as a SP game it just falls flat.

[Sumez]

I personally liked Dragon's Dogma a lot better than Skyrim. A lot.
It's a "rough" game with some flaws, but the game itself is much more exciting and entertaining. The story itself it pointless (even if the whole missable sub-story with the duke and the duchess was dark AF, and kicked ass), but the gameplay and the game world is excellently crafted. Only thing I really missed from the game was a more open world with more places to go.

I keep waiting for someone who played both Dragon's Dogma and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild to share their impressions (not of the "which is better" kind; rather, whether if you like one, can you not like the other sort).

They are extremely different. BotW is essentially a sandbox game in a huge open-ended world. Dragon's Dogma is much more set in where you can and can't go, and the world in general is kinda cramped.
I couldn't tell you whether you'd like one based on what you thought of the other, but both are excellent games in very different ways. Zelda obviously being the much more polished and detailed game.

BotW is difficult to dislike, but Dragon's Dogma deserves way more love than it's gotten.