Question About Jojo's Bizzare Adventure series for PS2

[Siren2011]

Do either of these cel shaded beat-em-ups come with selectable difficulty options? I have looked all over the internet and found no answer (Even in walkthroughs!), so I decided a forum would be the next logical place to go.

Thanks.

[Op Intensify]

No one knows, man. You'd have to ask the Japanese internet, I reckon.

I have been thinking about tracking down the Phantom Blood game myself, though.

[shmuppyLove]

There are two selectable difficulties:

ZA WARUDO, and
WRYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY

[drauch]

Gah, I could have told you if I ever bought the damned things like I told myself however many years ago. You might ask this guy, though:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WIwa2ZU2ev4

[Mortificator]

I haven't played the game, but the Phantom Blood FAQ on GameFAQs seems pretty comprehensive, and it doesn't make any mention of traditional difficulty levels.

[Siren2011]

In the options menu of Ougon no Kaze, the first option highlighted for changing is a three part setting, with the middle katakana word highlighted by default, which I can only guess means "normal", while the words to its sides are "easy" and "hard."

-First impression-
But no matter, this game is essentially one giant mediocre boss rush with enough intriguing ideas involved to make me continue on through the swamp that is this game's core battle system; which had potential to be a lot better than what it is, as I'll explain shortly.

I chose what I think is hard mode and all it does is make the enemies take longer to kill. All attacks minus the special move with your stand are executed by simply mashing one button...that's it. I'm about six battles in, and so far one thing has been consistent: there is no strategy besides dodge the attack unique to the particular boss, which is varied from boss to boss making each battle somewhat fresh. But once you finally get all up in a boss' face and start wailing on him (if it wasn't for their tendencies to get knocked back with the last and most powerful move of your combo, requiring you to close the distance before attacking again, you could literally win half the fights in the game with your eyes closed and your avatar standing in one place punching.), you can easily and tediously shave half of his or her health bar. Because this takes a long time, I found myself wondering, "Is the character I'm using a guy or a girl? Why the fuck do Oregonians call potato wedges Jojos? How many better games out there could I be playing and enjoying more than this one?"

What is needed above all else here is more varied attack patterns for bosses, tighter defense on the CPU's part instead of turning themselves into sacrificial lambs when I get close enough to attack, and a secondary attack button (giving you a weak/strong attack option) that deals more damage than the one the player is given. You DO have a stand, which is a phantom that hovers before you and assumes your attack role, meaning the attack button makes IT attack instead of you. But this is almost completely negligible, since it barely gets your opponent's health down any faster than if you were attacking without it. If you want a good example of what a 3D action game should play like, look at the battle with Gene against Azel in God Hand.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QtEtCZfmZTA

^THAT is an epic battle. Notice the player's ability and practically flawless utilization of not only dodge but evade (you can only dodge roll in Kaze); the total maliciousness of the enemy that requires the knowledge and proper utilization of a wide variety of attacks to merely keep up with the boss with minimal health lost, let alone to tame him; the fact that both opponents can guard break each other (you can't break a guard in Kaze, only wait until it is down to resume attacking with the same goddamn button ); nuances such as the timing of your punch right before Azel makes fist contact with your face can not only nullify his attack, but do more damage than a regular punch, which is a shining example of a good risk/reward mechanic --one must wait until it is most dangerous to act and reap a fine reward. This is why anyone who says anything along the lines of "complexity and difficulty are not the most important things in games" (See: dat dumbfuck Drum) should never be taken seriously in discussions of games in general. This game has phenomenal graphics AND sound and it STILL sucks because it's SIMPLE. What does that tell you???

The stand/phantom concept is not new, and it has been done much better in games, particularly 2D and 3D fighters. Bal-Bados from Virtual On: Oratorio Tangram, for example, has projectile-shooting arms that he can detach from himself and send after the enemy by using a certain twinstick button combination. Not only does it create a diversion by giving your opponent an additional something to deal with while you go after him yourself, but if he is unsuccessful in evading its beams, he is hit with a decent percentage of damage, as opposed to the negligible amount that even your stand's special attack inflicts in this JBA game.

That is not to say that this game doesn't get some things right. It has some of the best cel shading graphics I've seen on the PS2, and the memorable soundtrack fits the game's theme and will stay stuck in your head for weeks.

Perhaps the most noteworthy thing about the game that gives it any chance of being remembered decades down the road is not it's combat mechanics, but the scenarios that frame the battles themselves. Almost every enemy adds something that changes the dynamic of the fight. For example, the second dude you fight can magically turn you into the size of a toy temporarily, and you can even use this power against him! You can even send a toy fighter plane stand after his tiny ass to shoot him town (doing not much more damage than your normal attack, but it's the concept that intrigues me). The game then becomes Shadow of the Colossus as you dodge his attempts to stomp on you one moment (which inflicts hardcore damage on you if successful), and a few fights later you and your stand are separated; him in a mirror world, and your main avatar in a black and white bizarro world where your movements on the analog stick are inverted like crazy, thus requiring you to survive long enough on your own in spite of this vertigo until the opponent decides he's injured enough to go inside a mirror to re-cooperate in the mirror world. Unluckily for him, that's when you control your stand from the bizarro world to beat the living piss out of him. All these little unique and refreshing moments make this game tolerable to play through once. But sadly, it's not enough to elevate it to "classic" status.

Now, I am not expecting this game to be exactly like God Hand, but for crying out loud, at least give the player more options and the NEED to use them, instead of having the difficulty so low that one attack will suffice, and thus additional moves would be unneeded complexity. It's ok for a designer to give a boss a bitch-ton of health (as seen in the Azel fight above), but let the journey of depleting it be something to look forward to with enthusiasm, not dismay. At no time did I feel satisfaction in Kaze's battles, even when I was winning, much like martial arts sparing with four year olds in a dojo does not give someone who is used to heated tournaments much accomplishment. And for those that argue that staying at a white belt is good enough, nay, BETTER than aiming for the top, I ask these people: did your mommies have to bed your teachers all the way up through high school in order for you to get a passing grade? Go out and accomplish something.

As for this game, it introduces the player to a world of potential while letting him down shortly after he realizes that the fighting had very little thought put into it. Coming from Capcom, this is a disappointment indeed. But practically every disappointment has at least one positive aspect if one is willing to adopt a loftier outlook...

[shmuppyLove]

TL;DR: Everyone should play more God Hand.

[Op Intensify]

It's too bad that God Hand has some massive technical oversights that undermine the challenge, though. They clearly didn't playtest it enough. Game could have used a Special Edition like DMC3 to iron out the flaws while adding some extra content (playable Azel?). But I guess Clover Studio was already in the process of being dissolved.

- You can immediately get your TP to max with Chain Yanker stun + Yes Man Kablamm cancels
- You can infinitely Left Side Kick male enemies against walls
- Drunken Twist canceling is an inescapable infinite for nearly every enemy
- Palm Smash, enough said
- The trident demon, obviously intended to be the strongest demon enemy, is a complete pushover if you keep jabbing him in the middle of his combo
- Need money? Just bet the max on Lucky Clover in the chihuahua races every time

The first of these is inapplicable if you're doing a Kick Me Sign run.

I also would have preferred that Hard Mode retained the dynamic rank system of the other difficulties, instead of simply locking you at Level DIE.

[Siren2011]

Very interesting, Op Intensify. I never realized any of those factors.

- You can infinitely Left Side Kick male enemies against walls

Do all "male" enemies apply to this trick? It's been forever since I beat the game, so I don't remember. Though I wonder, how is this detrimental to the game's difficulty?

- You can immediately get your TP to max with Chain Yanker stun + Yes Man Kablamm cancels.

If this is true, then that light/slow punch which fills the meter in smaller increments (I forgot what it's called.) would be rendered obsolete...I can imagine how much easier the game becomes if your special attack is activated at the drop of a hat thanks to the abuse of the combo above. But the player can theoretically choose to refrain from it's uses for the sake of challenge. The game has MORE than enough non-special/normal moves for the player to get by. They can make some positive difference in the gimped challenge. The game is still at fault though, even if a work around is possible.

[CMoon]

It's too bad that God Hand has some massive technical oversights that undermine the challenge, though. They clearly didn't playtest it enough. Game could have used a Special Edition like DMC3 to iron out the flaws while adding some extra content (playable Azel?). But I guess Clover Studio was already in the process of being dissolved.

I think about half those things you mentioned are intentional and some of them become almost necessary at high level play. Drunken Twist probably is the worst offender and I wonder if they meant for it to be cancelled or not. Chain Yanker combo involves using a low damage roulette move to get the god hand--which is still cheap, but the roulette move is hidden, and honestly having 10 exploding robot women coming at you in DIE mode is also cheap. I think they wanted at least a few exploits in the game.

Betting on the Lucky Clover dog is definitely on purpose!

[Op Intensify]

Do all "male" enemies apply to this trick?

All except for the megaton bosses that can't be flung into walls, though I can't remember if it works on Azel. Much like Drunken Twist, it renders a good number of otherwise tough encounters inconsequential, including the demons. It's harder to send enemies flying on Level DIE, though.

The fact that it only applies to male enemies is what tells me that it wasn't intentional, there's something particular to the frame data of the falling animation of females that renders them immune. There's no way that something as broken as Drunken Twist canceling was intentional either.

The Chain Yanker + YMK trick requires you to trade a roulette orb for a full TP meter, so I guess that's what balances it. God Hand is definitely one of those games that gets progressively easier as it goes on, since the pace of your acquiring upgrades and more powerful moves outpaces that of the enemies. Especially since the overpowered moves and chihuahua races aren't available until much later on.

[shmuppyLove]

In a similar vein, I just played MadWorld for the first time.

Wow, this was a Wii exclusive?? It's fucking awesome!

[Op Intensify]

fireyanger's site begs to differ.

[BrianC]

fireyanger's site begs to differ.

The review uses the word "obfuscating". Is that even a real word?









points if you get the reference

[Op Intensify]

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/obfuscate?s=t

[BrianC]

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/obfuscate?s=t

I guess you didn't notice the tiny text? I made a reference to Franklin and Bash. There was an episode where one of the characters said, "is obfuscate even a real word?". I didn't mean for my post to be taken seriously.

[Op Intensify]

Your tiny text was too tiny. It didn't even show up on my display.

[BrianC]

Your tiny text was too tiny. It didn't even show up on my display.

doh. It said "points if you get the reference". I guess I'll just use a smiley or make it slightly bigger next time I try to be cute.