Dark Savior
Dec 17, 2008 11:44:54 GMT
Post by grolt on Dec 17, 2008 11:44:54 GMT
There's been plenty of praise posted for this little game in other threads, but I figured I'd create a single thread to dedicate all discussion.
I finally finished it (or so I thought), today, after logging what it says is 7:48 hours, but it was much more than that with all the retries and such. The game strikes a very nice balance between story, action and puzzle solving. It always seemed that once you got sick of exposition you got to try and figure out climbing beams in a room...and then once you got sick of that you could just button mash your way through a one on one duel. The fighting certainly isn't deep, but hey, it wins points for originality, and it even has some Pokemon style capturing going on.
The story is pretty good, and there's definitely no shortage of chatty characters. You can spend ages just talking to everyone (even the dead folks!). I liked having the bird as a side kick, since Garian wasn't just talking to himself that way. They also did a great job with the menu system, and how no matter how lost you are, you can always ask the bird and he will provide a pertinent quip. I used to always hate that in RPGs...putting the game down for a few weeks and then not having a clue on how to start up again.
The Model 7 style camera was a nice touch too, although it certainly wasn't flawless. A lot of times it wouldn't go quite as far as it needed to, and when you zoom out there's often some massive slowdown. Still, it adds a depth above your typical isometric game (which is already good enough!). The control got on my nerves a bit, since you couldn't go diagonal and a lot of parts almost demand it. Once you figure it out though, it's easier.
Bar none the greatest part of the game, though, are the parallel stories. The whole timed starting sequence weighs on the rest of the game, and for once these aren't just small superficial changes. The story becomes completely different. You often traverse the same environments, but all the characters have different motivations and many times you're exploring new rooms or solving puzzles you couldn't get to in the other versions.
I finished Parallel I and decided just to get to II just to see the initial difference. Once I played through a few minutes though, I was really impressed by just how different each parallel is. It really is five different games in one. I love me my RPGs like PDS, FFVII, Zelda 64 and Golden Axe Warrior, but this one wins hands down for replay value. I'm definitely going to try and finish all the stories before finally laying this game to rest. Again though, I need to stress how truly awesome these alternate stories are. Climax put a ton of effort into making this more than just a single play RPG, and at the same time they managed to walk a tight rope of making the parallel both easy to understand the first go through and fresh enough that it wouldn't be repetitious after a previous parallel was finished.
This is an innovation I'd always wanted to see more of (where your choices actually have some real repercussions). It's because of this that I can say that this is definitely one of the most organic RPGs I've played yet.
I'm loving it, and I'm hell bent on getting all the stars so I can keep that save file on display until my backup cartridge bites the dust.
I'm on Parallel III right now, and, okay, that mine sequence is driving me crazy! I mentioned the bizarre camera...well this one takes the cake. The mine is sooooooooooo long, and the camera is always swooping for cinematic purposes, all the while obstructing any practicality. Honestly, for several chunks of the ride you can't even see the missing track coming up (regardless of the view point). You literally just have to memorize timings and even then hope for several lucky breaks. I've probably played it about 80 times today...what a pain.
But just ignore me, this game is great and one of the most rewarding surprises I've yet found on the Saturn. I know there are some other big fans of the game, so speak up, and hopefully this gets some new blood to finally bite as well. For RPG fans, this game is your savior!
I finally finished it (or so I thought), today, after logging what it says is 7:48 hours, but it was much more than that with all the retries and such. The game strikes a very nice balance between story, action and puzzle solving. It always seemed that once you got sick of exposition you got to try and figure out climbing beams in a room...and then once you got sick of that you could just button mash your way through a one on one duel. The fighting certainly isn't deep, but hey, it wins points for originality, and it even has some Pokemon style capturing going on.
The story is pretty good, and there's definitely no shortage of chatty characters. You can spend ages just talking to everyone (even the dead folks!). I liked having the bird as a side kick, since Garian wasn't just talking to himself that way. They also did a great job with the menu system, and how no matter how lost you are, you can always ask the bird and he will provide a pertinent quip. I used to always hate that in RPGs...putting the game down for a few weeks and then not having a clue on how to start up again.
The Model 7 style camera was a nice touch too, although it certainly wasn't flawless. A lot of times it wouldn't go quite as far as it needed to, and when you zoom out there's often some massive slowdown. Still, it adds a depth above your typical isometric game (which is already good enough!). The control got on my nerves a bit, since you couldn't go diagonal and a lot of parts almost demand it. Once you figure it out though, it's easier.
Bar none the greatest part of the game, though, are the parallel stories. The whole timed starting sequence weighs on the rest of the game, and for once these aren't just small superficial changes. The story becomes completely different. You often traverse the same environments, but all the characters have different motivations and many times you're exploring new rooms or solving puzzles you couldn't get to in the other versions.
I finished Parallel I and decided just to get to II just to see the initial difference. Once I played through a few minutes though, I was really impressed by just how different each parallel is. It really is five different games in one. I love me my RPGs like PDS, FFVII, Zelda 64 and Golden Axe Warrior, but this one wins hands down for replay value. I'm definitely going to try and finish all the stories before finally laying this game to rest. Again though, I need to stress how truly awesome these alternate stories are. Climax put a ton of effort into making this more than just a single play RPG, and at the same time they managed to walk a tight rope of making the parallel both easy to understand the first go through and fresh enough that it wouldn't be repetitious after a previous parallel was finished.
This is an innovation I'd always wanted to see more of (where your choices actually have some real repercussions). It's because of this that I can say that this is definitely one of the most organic RPGs I've played yet.
I'm loving it, and I'm hell bent on getting all the stars so I can keep that save file on display until my backup cartridge bites the dust.
I'm on Parallel III right now, and, okay, that mine sequence is driving me crazy! I mentioned the bizarre camera...well this one takes the cake. The mine is sooooooooooo long, and the camera is always swooping for cinematic purposes, all the while obstructing any practicality. Honestly, for several chunks of the ride you can't even see the missing track coming up (regardless of the view point). You literally just have to memorize timings and even then hope for several lucky breaks. I've probably played it about 80 times today...what a pain.
But just ignore me, this game is great and one of the most rewarding surprises I've yet found on the Saturn. I know there are some other big fans of the game, so speak up, and hopefully this gets some new blood to finally bite as well. For RPG fans, this game is your savior!