FALCOM Thread

[soprano1]

Thanks for the list, CIT. Might come in handy someday.

[CIT]

I'd say they are separate series, as Legend of Heroes is a much more broad term covering several different "subseries", and starting with the sixth(!) Dragon Slayer game in '89.
Honestly, there's no real reason for the Kiseki series to be a part of LoH, but I guess it's a sort of umbrella term for Falcom's turn based RPGs

Well, "Legend of Heroes" is still part of the title, so they're definitely part of the series — it's just that it has evolved in different ways and as you say several subseries have spun out of it. So it started as part of Dragon Slayer, then went and did it's own thing as Legend of Heroes, then morphed into Kiseki.

The closest analogy I can think of is how Wonderboy went from a platformer to an Action-RPG, then became Monster World, then replaced the boy with a girl, while the platformer evolved into Adventure Island.

[gameoverDude]

Getting ready to nab Ys Seven from GOG once it goes up.
TBH I don't think Celceta is much further away from a PC release. With the translation being done, I think all that's left is porting.

[soprano1]

Finished the first dungeon of Cold Steel on PC. Very fun game.

[FinalBaton]

Getting ready to nab Ys Seven from GOG once it goes up.
TBH I don't think Celceta is much further away from a PC release. With the translation being done, I think all that's left is porting.

Hmmm... maybe I'll pick it up too. My PSP is broken so I can't finish the game I started awhile back. That PC version might just be my ticket.

[FinalBaton]

Physical PS4 copies(including mine <3 ) of Ys Origins just shipped from Play-Asia today

[Sumez]

Mine too. Ordered from LRG too. Will probably wait and see which gets stuck in customs (probably Play-Asia) and let that one get returned. :\

[soprano1]

http://www.siliconera.com/2017/08/30/ys ... -versions/
Damn, the music in the video sounds delicious.

[FinalBaton]

Mine too. Ordered from LRG too. Will probably wait and see which gets stuck in customs (probably Play-Asia) and let that one get returned. :\

Never had problems with Play-Asia. I have seen a few people complain about that though. Hopefully they have become more reliable

I might give in and order from Limited Scam Games in the future, if there's a game I really can't live without. But if the game is available elsewhere? yeah no way I stay up at night to try to get a copy from them

[Sumez]

I have never ever ordered a single game from Play-Asia that didn't get stuck in customs.

[Durandal]

Ys Seven is out
http://store.steampowered.com/app/587100/Ys_SEVEN/
https://www.gog.com/index.php/game/ys_seven

[FinalBaton]

I have never ever ordered a single game from Play-Asia that didn't get stuck in customs.

damn, that's disapointing indeed.

did some eventually made it out of customs after a while and reached you? or did none ever made it's way to your door?

[soprano1]

Ys Seven is out
http://store.steampowered.com/app/587100/Ys_SEVEN/
https://www.gog.com/index.php/game/ys_seven

Nice.

[Mischief Maker]

I loved Oath and I thought Origin played even better despite being inferior in a number of ways. I especially liked how the big bosses in Origin all involved platforming onto them at various points.

But I did not like Ark. The controls were so stiff in comparison.

So how is Seven compared to those three?

[Obscura]

Seven is a bit of a different beast than any of them (different engine, party system), but I'd say that overall it's probably closest to a cross between all three games on the Napishtim/Felghana/Oath engine. A little less clunky and grindy than Napishtim; not quite as smooth as Oath and Origin; overworld structure more like Napishtim; boss fights are probably most like Oath; increased emphasis on "magic"/skills is more like Origin, but even moreso.

Personally, I like Seven more than Napishtim, less than Origin, and probably about on par with Oath.

It's easier than any of the Napishtim/Felghana/Oath trilogy, though, so put the difficulty up.

[FinalBaton]

I loved Oath and I thought Origin played even better despite being inferior in a number of ways. I especially liked how the big bosses in Origin all involved platforming onto them at various points.

But I did not like Ark. The controls were so stiff in comparison.

So how is Seven compared to those three?

Combat in Seven is quite different than in Oath and Origin and Ark. It's in a different style of gameplay along with MoC and VIII, where you cary 3 characters at once and they each have a different weapon type.

monsters' defenses are either weak, strong or neutral against each weapon type.

So when encountering say a pack of monsters made out of 2 different enemy types that have different weaknesses, you'll be chasing 1 enemy type with say your sword user and the other with say your spear user. Using a character for a small amount of time and then switching back is often beneficial. You don't wanna use solely the sword user in the scenario above : you wanna switch back and forth between him and the spear user every few seconds to ensure that as many hits as possible are being delivered on enemies that are weak against each character's weapon type (can't have the AI handle that! gotta trash monsters yourself )

You also get a nice risk/reward toy with the Flash Guard (and the additional Flash Move in MoC and VIII). Parry at the last second(or at the right moment, I should say) and get a momentary boost in attack!

Another difference : each character can learn a whole bunch of skills(which level up the more you use them) and equip 4 at a time. Those require skill points to use, and you get those by landing normal attacks on enemies or by landing a charge attack(hold attack button). The charge attack gives out more points(another risk/reward mechanic)

Using skills fill up the meter of your Super Move, a truly devastating attack, which also levels up the more you use it.


I personally love the combat in Seven/Celceta/VIII a lot. just as much as Napishtim/Felghana actually. Maybe even more. Pondering and chosing which 4 skills to equip is great fun to me, as is the split second switching of characters. But then again I seem to be in the minority, so take my input with a grain of salt.

HAven't completed Seven but it seemed quite fun, although I found Moc to be like a better take on Seven. Much better in fact.

[Obscura]

One thing to note about the "party" system in Seven is that "skill charge" is shared between characters, and fast attackers tend to build it up faster than slow/heavy hitters; however, the slow/heavy hitters tend to do more damage with their big skills. So, the general flow in absence elemental types is to use your fast character's basic attack to build your charge, switch to the heavy hitter, and then unleash with a skill. It's a neat flow once you get into it.

[drunkninja24]

Finally finished Trails of Cold Steel 1 today

Pretty good game, but man, it sure leaves you on a Cliffhanger note, much moreso than Trails in the Sky FC did

but now I just gotta decide if I want to continue on with Cold Steel II on my Vita or wait for the PC port, considering I bought both Vita versions of I and II like a week before the PC ports were announced so held off on playing them

[soprano1]

Pretty good game, but man, it sure leaves you on a Cliffhanger note, much moreso than Trails in the Sky FC did

Ugh, that's kinda annoying. Oh well.

[Immryr]

anyone played the ys 8 demo yet? I downloaded it but haven't had the chance to play it yet. What's the consensus?

[Sumez]

did some eventually made it out of customs after a while and reached you? or did none ever made it's way to your door?

Sure, after paying a massive fee. I don't mind the customs/taxes itself as much as the ridiculously huge fee they charge for charging you money.

Pretty good game, but man, it sure leaves you on a Cliffhanger note, much moreso than Trails in the Sky FC did

I don't feel like FC had a cliffhanger at all?
It's more along the lines of "man I love these characters so much, and now they are going on new adventures that will allow me to explore more of their stories, I can't wait to do that!"

[FinalBaton]

Sure, after paying a massive fee. I don't mind the customs/taxes itself as much as the ridiculously huge fee they charge for charging you money.

That sucks
I don't get extra customs fees ever when ordering Play-Asia stuff here. Is it something that happens often to you whenever you order stuff? Or just with Play-Asia?

[Sumez]

Technically anything I buy from outside EU that costs more than $13.

Realistically it only happens to larger parcels, express mail or couriers (ironic since the customs don't mind delaying stuff for up to three weeks) and most packages with tracking, providing the sender didn't mark a lower value on the package.

[soprano1]

Finished the first dungeon of Cold Steel on PC. Very fun game.

Sorry if it sounds like a personal blog, just another comment on the game: Second day in Celdic, and these kids already look more interesting as a class than your regular school fantasy/high school romcom archetypes. I had similar feelings from Estelle and Joshua in TiTS, so it's a good thing.

[KAI]

FINALLY!! finished the Sky/Sora trilogy!!! Every one of these games was so damn good, I can recommend them enough. Loved the Crossbell and Erebonia teasers on The 3rd.


I'm resuming Zero no Kiseki right now, dropped it 2 months ago as soon as I found I was about to get some spoilers from the last part of Sky. Hope the Ao patch is ready once I finish that game (currently at 50% afaik).

[FinalBaton]

Does the Sky sub series have sim stuff?

And how much dialogue is there (a lot? a ton?)


I legit know nothing about this seies and would like to know if it's for me

[CIT]

Congrats @KAI! Wanna get into Trails in the Sky sooner than later too. I'm still working my way through Legend of Heroes IV though (having cleared I and III not too long ago), and I tend to get distracted by Falcom's more action oriented titles. What's next for you? Are you moving on to ToCS now?

I like it. With it taking place in Tokyo, keeping the Japanese voiceovers for TX does kind of add to the atmosphere. Though no Ys, it's still darn good and JDK delivers as always.

I'm in the second-to-last chapter of Tokyo Xanadu now and like it a lot more. Chaining through dungeons is super fun and makes the game a kind of cross between Ys and Dodonpachi.

Decided to skip a lot of the dialogue and I don't appear to be missing much. Although I acknowledge Falcom's excellent world building as per usual.

[KAI]

Does the Sky sub series have sim stuff?
And how much dialogue is there (a lot? a ton?)

It's a traditional RPG similar to Grandia with TONS of dialogues (Trails in the Sky SC and Trails of Zero are known for being the games with the biggest scripts ever), but the story and characters are so cool and charming you never get tired of their chatting.
They don't have sim elements at all, just battles, quests and story segments.

What's next for you? Are you moving on to ToCS now?

I would like to finish the Crossbell Arc first (Zero and Ao), since ToCS3's trailer introduced a lot of characters from the previous Trails games, and I've heard ToCS2's ending spoils the entire story of Ao no Kiseki.

[FinalBaton]

They don't have sim elements at all, just battles, quests and story segments.

Ah gotcha. I think I might have assumed there was sim mechanics after seeing a students/school setting in Cold Steel

Thanks for the write up!

[Durandal]

Ys VIII also coming to GOG