Tag Archives: RPG

Star Ocean The Last Hope International Review

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Star Ocean’s a pretty fun franchise so far. I’ve only played a handful of games in the series but each one has been high quality. This one in particular does take a little while for the story to really get going but by the end it is delivering with the high end/explosive climax that you would expect from the series. The Last Hope is a fairly long game too so that’s enough time to really get used to the characters. Ultimately you’re going to want to pick this one up for sure.

The game starts by introducing us to the state of the world. Earth has developed enough to send ships into space in order to explore the universe. Sort of like Star Trek you are not allowed to have excessive contact which can change the course of a planet’s history. The main character here is Edge who finally gets to be the captain for this mission. He may not have a ton of experience but he is ready to do good. Unfortunately he’s in for an adventure with a lot of hurdles that threaten to shatter his confidence entirely. Will he be able to salvage the operation?

This story definitely gets very dramatic. Get ready for a lot of self doubt here as the characters all wrestle with their dilemmas. There are also a ton of cinematics in this game, more than I have seen for most other titles which is pretty impressive. The game is already super long as it is, throw in all of these cinematics and now the game is that much longer. It’s always good to see of course since cutscenes make a game more immersive but as mentioned earlier, the pacing can be a little slow at first.

I would say there isn’t even really a main villain until you’re fairly deep into the game. Once the villain appears more that makes things a bit more interesting. The character cast will also grow on you as you go through the game. Edge makes for a good main character and his comrades are all fairly solid as well. It’s just a shame his rival/friend couldn’t appear more as that guy was a lot of fun. He felt like he would be the hero in most other adventures. The guy always made the right calls and fought hard. Ultimately I would say that Edge has not caught up to him just yet.

The graphics here are definitely sharp. I wouldn’t call it one of the most high end PS3 games but the levels and character designs are always clear. The space backdrops always look good and the attacks have good animations. I definitely had no issues there. The soundtrack can be a little more bland but there are still good tracks to be had here. I may have gotten a bit too used to the hype rock soundtrack from the PS4 title. Regardless there is enough variety here where you will almost certainly like some of the tracks.

The gameplay here is effectively real time action. You have different attacks and supers that you use as you run across the map. Enemies will try to attack you as well and you want to time your attacks just right. Once you start a combo you have to let it play out so make sure that you actually have an opening because if your opponent blocks then you will be wide open. A lot of the enemies are immune to being stunned as well so they will just launch an attack while you are attacking and then you’ll go down.

Part of the learning curve here is knowing when to attack and when to run. The game can actually be rather difficult as a result and I can safely say that I did lose quite a few times. There were many moments where I had to take a step back and start training/prepping to get stronger before replaying the level. There is a full level up system at least so you can always get stronger if you are stuck. That said, one tip I would give is to make sure to check the shop while you can.

For most of the game there are no shops accessible which can be rough if you need better equipment. It’s the first time that resource has felt so scarce in an RPG before. Because of that I was over leveled but underpowered for a while because I still had the basic equipment. Trust me, you absolutely do not want the basic equipment. Ultimately it evens out by the end since more shops will appear but the middle act will go a lot smoother if you are properly prepared before heading out.

As mentioned the game is long so I would expect you will be here for a minimum of 30 hours and likely more. You can’t ask for much more out of an RPG than this. I always like to say that a game over 10 hours is reasonably long so it goes without saying that 30 is most excellent. It’s one of the biggest benefits of RPGs since you always know that you’re getting a lot of bang for your buck.

Overall, Star Ocean brings another fun installment to the franchise. It may not be the best title in the franchise but not everything needs to be the best. The main important thing here is that its fun so I would say to pick it up while you can. The final boss rush is definitely not for the faint of heart so definitely get some good training in beforehand. Nothing worse than losing in the middle of a rush and then having to start again from scratch. It just reminds you that you weren’t ready for this yet.

Overall 7/10

Ruinverse Stats and Records

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Stats time!

Play Time 23h 25m
PS4 Trophies 35/35 (Platinum achieved!)

Total Steps 560811
Plant Harvests 201
Enemies Defeated 9702
Physical Skills Used 5151
Magic Skills Used 1786
Magic Circles Used 9
Max Hit Count 353
Max Overkills 39
Max Damage in 1 turn 6350339
Subquests Cleared 15/15
Equipment from Enemies 1410
Chests Opened 282/520

Character Stats

Kit Level 444
Allie Level 444
Lexor Level 444
Toto Level 444
Nana Level 444

Asdivine Menace Stats and Records

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Stats time!

PS4 Trophies 3/16
Play Time 16h 27m
Total Steps 250647
Enemies Defeated 2224
Skills Used 1127
Magic Used 703
Unisons Used 1
Max Damage Dealt 438000
Max Damage Received 39921
Max Hit Count 218
Max Overkill 89
Total Gold Spent 1438280
Treasure Chests Opened 129/369
Max weapon synthesis level 102
Weapons dropped by enemies 34

Character Levels (light, Dark, Neutral magic levels)

Noelle Level 190 50 99 99
Izayoi Level 191 50 1 99
Litany Level 192 99 99 50
Ratona Level 188 99 50 99

Knighthood Update

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I’ve finally made it to Level 60! The highest level in the whole game so that’s pretty hype. It’s definitely been a long journey and this has been a fun game to the side of Pokemon Go. Like that game this one has enough content to keep you busy for a while even after you’ve beaten the story. There is a post game story after the story I’m still working through though, even after being max level it’s a bit too difficult to take all of those out yet though so I need better gear.

Crystal Ortha Review

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It’s time for another Kemco RPG but this one is a shared production so it’s a bit different. Most of the mechanics from Asdivine Hearts aren’t here for example and this is a game that’s fairly unique in a lot of respects. For example one big change is that there are no consumable items. Yes that’s right there are no potions, revives, ethers, etc. I don’t think I’ve played an RPG without items before so that was interesting.

The game follows a bounty hunter/treasure hunter of sorts. He used to be a soldier within the government but left that to go free lance. He runs into a lady who is looking for the Crystal Ortha, a lake of unimaginable riches. Most people don’t believe that this thing even exists but she is determined to find it. Our hero is a bit of a softie so he agrees to help for a percentage of the profits which even he doesn’t totally believe in. Together they will find the money and in the meantime they’ll assist in saving the world.

That’s another way in which this game is a bit different. The main characters aren’t a bunch of superheroes trying to make the world a better place or anything like that. They are serving their own interests all the way and just so happen to be helping out in the process. They’re not bad people or anything so they help people out along the way but yeah they’re after the treasure first and foremost. Even at the very end of the game the main heroine uses that as the justification for taking all of the gold from the cave although I’d say none is necessary. If it’s in the cave then it’s finders keepers right?

That said, the main characters are some of the more forgettable ones to be sure. Ross is your classic tough guy with a mysterious past who can fight. It’s a solid character type so he’s good enough as the lead but doesn’t really have anyone to bounce off of. You have the heroine who has her gun and isn’t afraid to use it but there’s not much to her beyond that. Then you have the cowboy who is constantly flirting and making a fool of himself. There’s also a kid in a dragon costume but not much to say about him.

All you need to know about this group of characters is that they all just watch as the main heroine’s corrupt fiancé grabs her and starts to drag her away. They don’t jump up to help out or anything which made them fraudulent to me personally. Still, even without a dynamic cast I would still say that overall the story was good. It kept me engaged the whole time which was the important part and the game is fairly long. I beat it ahead of schedule compared to the play-time length it’s supposed to be but it was still around 15 hours or so. I’m even going for the Platinum which I should have soon.

The Platinum hunting is always a good sign for a game because that means it was fun enough to keep playing to the end like that. At the very least it means I didn’t want to put the game down and that’s definitely accurate. I had a lot of fun with the gameplay. So aside from the items there is another really unique thing about it. Each character has normal attacks and then special attacks. Special attacks take up MP meter which naturally grows in every turn. So you can use a basic super every turn or wait and do more powerful ones.

You unlock new skills are you progress through the story, level up, and some through side quests. The best abilities are naturally near the end but with the meter constantly moving it adds a nice strategy aspect to the title. There are also collectibles scattered throughout the game which are incredibly handy. They boost your stats permanently like “+3% health to the party” and they all stack so getting those collectibles can often be even more important than getting the traditional level ups. Trust me you absolutely need these or you’re going to be in for a very rough time. I ended up grabbing almost all of them in the whole game and the final boss was still extremely difficult. I was also at level 99 with all of the characters.

This game is absolutely difficult and so you really have to plan out your attacks carefully. This is one of those games where your health restores completely after every match though which helps a lot with grinding. If you stayed injured then that would have been more difficult particularly with how frequent the enemy spawn rate is, they probably could have toned that down a bit.

The graphics are pretty solid here. We don’t get the really fun illustrations in the style of Asdivine Hearts but everything still looks solid. Likewise the soundtrack isn’t quite as dynamic but in the end it’s still solid all the way through. There are a good variety of action tunes to enjoy. The game’s length is also good and while the post game isn’t very extensive, there’s enough for about 2-3 hours before you end up Platinuming the game. In part because it can be difficult to find the last skills Ross needs for that final trophy.

Overall, This is a bit of a more low stakes game compared to other RPGs but it’s still fun. At the end of the day the story is good and the gameplay is very solid. When both of those aspects are good then the other parts don’t matter as much. I’d like to see more games try this approach of no items. I would bring money back as the currency instead of using materials though, that was just more on the odd side and made it more difficult to buy everything. Still, this is the kind of experimenting that I enjoy. The gimmicks aren’t bad and you will end up remembering this game very well since it was so unique. I look forward to the next RPG either of these companies churns out.

Overall 7/10

Asdivine Menace Review

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Whenever there is an Asdivine game that is a direct sequel it’s really cool to see. It’s not everyday that you get to see what happens after the heroes have saved the day. It has certainly happened like in Golden Sun but I would argue that it is still more on the rare side. Of course the whole Asdivine series is interconnected by the two goddesses from the first game and it’s cool to wonder where everyone is at these days. We do see a cameo of the cat but since Zack and the heroine took over the roles later on maybe this takes place early in the continuity. It could also be a multiverse setting. Either way that’s not important to this game but it’s fun to think about.

The game starts with Izayoi waking up after the 100 years slumber he had to take from the first game. He saved the universe though so things should be good but unfortunately that isn’t the case when he wakes up. His powers still haven’t fully returned for some reason and the Murk (Shadow energy that corrupts all) is still around. Then a goddess from another universe arrives and explains that things are getting worse across all of the dimensions. Izayoi decides to go and tells the other gods to watch over the universe while he’s gone. This writes out the cast from the first game so don’t expect them to do much aside from quick appearances here and there. Instead the main cast is this goddess, a shrine maiden, and a mysterious little girl who accompany Izayoi. He must check in on all 4 of the universes and take down the main villain.

It’s a pretty fun plot because this was also foreshadowed back in the first game. It had that creepy ending with a girl appearing and she’s the main villain here. Her backstory is also kinda tragic so you can see why she got this demented. Of course it’s another cast of “Sad story but you’re still evil bro” moment but I appreciate the game giving her such a tragic backstory where you can really see why she went the way that she did. It would have been tough to have been on her own for so long. The story evolves quite a lot as you play through it and we have a pretty big cast here. Izayoi is as oblivious as ever and one of the characters is also super oblivious in nature which makes for some fun dialogue. On the whole this game does lean more into the shipping than some of the other Asdivine games but the core story will tide you over. It’s a good premise here and the game takes advantage of the fact that you are playing as a super powerful god this time around. You aren’t going to back down when the villains show up and that’s how it should be.

Of course the whole “I’m depowered!” trope is a bit annoying since at full power this would all be trivial but you do understand why they went in this direction since ordinarily Izayoi could just wipe everyone out. My counter would just be to make the enemies all scale up to gods though. It would be interesting to just make this a big fight between gods of all sorts of dimensions. There is still a human villain here as well but he looks really bad the whole time. Yeah he is being suckered for a good portion of the game but he was suckered too easily and it doesn’t take away from what he was doing. The guy doesn’t have a lot of strength of heart and do I don’t cut him any slack here.

The graphics are really good here as expected. I really like the way that the cosmic realm looks and of course it has one of the best tracks in the game as well. You really feel like this is a big battle to end them all. The fights are also really tough and the game notches the difficulty level a few layers higher to really make the whole thing feel authentic. No expense is spared for this game and you appreciate that. All of the tracks are excellent as you would expect too so the game really has no weak points. You definitely feel like going for the true ending as a result. I went for that right away and even with all of my level ups it wasn’t exactly a walk in the park. I’ll try getting the rest of the true endings at some point.

The length is fairly standard for an Asdivine game at around 15-20 hours. You shouldn’t have a problem really diving through the game and by the time you get the platinum as well we’re definitely looking at closer to 30 hours. It’s a fun experience all the way through and well worth the price. The gameplay is top tier as always with Asdivine. The game doesn’t have some of the quality of life features that the others have but it’s got the ones that matter like battle effects and reducing enemy encounters in the wild. Then when you want to grind you can increase the encounters.

The only mechanic I never really used was Unison here. You could merge magic attacks so you do them all in one turn but then the other characters did not get a turn so I never felt like it was worth it. To me it just seemed like using your normal attacks but with more steps so why would I really need to do that? I’m sure there is some benefit but I couldn’t really figure out what it is. Just focus on leveling up and buying all of the EXP upgrades. Do that and you should be good and ready to take on any challenger. Some bosses may still take you more than one attempt but that’s normal so fight hard and just keep pressing forward!

Overall, Asdivine Menace does a great job of following up Dios and it’s a blast to see the old cast again. It would have been nice if more of the old characters could have participated as well. Maybe in a third game we would get to see the extended cast of both games team up. That would be a blast and to this day I’m waiting for an Asdivine game where the protagonists of all the games get to team up. Now there would be a game for the ages! Trust me, it would be incredible and probably a 9 star game right out of the gate. The longer we wait on doing this, the more leads there will be to crossover so I suppose that’s a plus. I definitely recommend picking up this RPG.

Overall 8/10

Asdivine Cross Review

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Asdivine continues to churn out hit after hit and this is one of the better ones in a while. I thought the characters had a really good dynamic going for the most part and was one of the stronger dynamics since the original Asdivine Hearts which will still go down as one of the best RPGs of all time. This one isn’t quite ready to challenge the original of course but it’s still a very strong game all around. With classic end of the world stakes going on and all of the usual quality of life updates this is a game you don’t want to miss.

The game revolves around a thief named Harvey who is really good at what he does. So good that the son of the leader of the guild wants him out of the way and is always trying to get him captured. This time he succeeds but Harvey is broken out along with a girl who claims to be the princess of the kingdom. Problem is that a shapesifter/look-alike has taken her place so she is not currently wanted at the castle. Harvey will have to help her out since his thieves brigade’s motto is to always protect a lady at any cost. He’s not thrilled about this assignment but will do his best. Along the way the heroes will meet up with some allies and enemies as they get closer to unraveling a giant conspiracy. It wouldn’t be an Asdivine game without some cosmic threats on the way right?

Right off the bat we do have a lot of the usual quality of life features that make the games so much fun. You can reduce enemy encounters, turn off battle effects, and more to make walking around and the villain encounters more fun. Grinding up to the max level just doesn’t feel like a chore this way since you can keep on getting stronger and stronger. There are also a lot of different abilities from unity attacks to skills, magic, etc. So you can have fun building your character in a whole variety of ways until you find the one that really sticks with you. Then once you are strong enough you really feel like you can do anything. It’s one of those games where you really feel your strength as it increases which is nice.

The Asdivine series also has fun experimenting with a bunch of features to keep their games feeling different. For example one had a tree that you would raise to get stats every 8 hours, others have weapon merging to make them stronger, roulettes, combo attacks, etc. They’re always features that you don’t have to use of course but they make the game more balanced overall and I appreciate them being there. Trust me it’s a great thing to have. You’re only going to get one final smash during a battle so you have to decide if you use an offensive one that deals mega damage or a support type that restores everyone’s health and boosts their stats. Personally I really liked the support one for once because restoring everyone’s health is huge.

Grinding to get the levels also benefits you in slowly earning currency that can be used to buy online items or saved to use as an extra life mid battle. I recommend using it to buy all of the EXP upgrades and then after that it’s really up to you. I’ll typically buy other permanent upgrades but I recommend skipping on money since by the end it is inevitable that you will have more than you know what to do with. Don’t make the mistake of of wasting your coins on that since they are tough to come by. Extra lives are also super handy because even at around level 300 I was getting beat by some of the opponents. These games can really be challenging if you don’t have a plan up your sleeve.

So the story was really good and that’s one of the things I really enjoyed about the game. Sometimes these titles will go a bit too far in trying to make all of the characters very quirky and zany but this one was mainly keeping the characters feeling real. There is one that gets to be a bit too tsundere by the end which could make you shake your head a bit but otherwise the cast all interacted well. I enjoyed seeing the stakes get higher and higher as the game went on. I’m sure you will see some of the twists coming before the title ends but maybe not all of them. Either way it still makes for a fun adventure cover to cover.

The graphics here are also very solid. I always enjoy the illustrations used for each character portrait. It would be nice if the game ever went a bit farther to have some kind of cutscene during the game. That would just go a long way to making the game feel a bit more special. It’s not necessary of course but would be really effective since it hasn’t happened before. One of the highlights of the game is the soundtrack as expected. The Asdivine games always have a tremendous ost with a ton of really fast paced tunes and this one is no exception. The tracks really hit you with a lot of power in an instant and it works perfectly. I highly recommend looking up the tracks on Youtube when you finish the game.

The story is a good length at around 15 hours or so and then there is a good amount of replay value in trying to unlock all the endings. My only slight complaint here is that unlike most of the other games where you just keep reloading and fighting the main boss, for this one you actually have to play the whole game again on new game+ mode. I thought that was a bit odd and feels a little forced since it was never like that before. It’s not a big deal because you don’t have to play the game again but it seems like a way to extend the replay value a bit without needing to.

Overall, Asdivine Cross is definitely a great game. It’s an RPG that is a whole lot of fun to play. The aesthetic, combat, and soundtrack are all top notch. Kemco knows how to really get you invested into a game and they spare no expense on the fundamentals. In some ways the game will feel familiar and that just makes it even better since you know that all of the other games you’ve played in this style have been fantastic. So naturally that would be the case for this one as well. Hopefully it gets a sequel like some of the others have at some point because there is definitely a lot more you can do with this cast.

Overall 8/10