Lurker > zinformant

Victreebel is sorely, severely, and criminally underrated and always has been, but I'm going with Slowbro. The Shellder symbiosis remains a novel concept.

I feel like most folks are overpowered come that Totem battle, but you really dived into the mechanics of it necessarily. Great fights. Bullet Punch Scizor is serious Diamond and Pearl era vibes.

I love how Bellsprout's canonical strength matches the real tensile strength of every gardener's bane. There is a nasty early animation episode (league scrimmage, actually) where it bodies foes with kicks.

Tag.

Though I chose Parasect, I would like to shout out to Venomoth for those who didn't play Scarlet and Violet. For some reason, they decided to populate the final dungeon with Venomoth, the first time since the very original games where this monster was crawling around the last stage. It was neat to see.

Edit: If you are so moved, consider adding a tag list to the opener so that some of us can reliably vote. I might forget to check daily if not pinged.

comicfire posted...

Alola suffers from not having a definitive edition.

USUM is a significantly better gameplay experience, but drops the ball HARD on the plot.

SM has a much more coherent story, but is probably the worst set of "first-in-the-generation" games in the series gameplay-wise.

Excepting the above which is very accurate, by objective criteria, base Sun and Moon are the best games in the series. They are absolutely must-plays. If you enjoy them, play Ultra later.

Sophie is not classic Atelier--frankly, it's antithetical theretoward--so be careful with that recommendation.

Rika_Furude posted...

So, how forgiving is the time limit really? I guess this is the XCom style time limit where you just game-over when you reach it and need to restart. So Im guessing I should keep some backup saves.

The bad ending is really amusing and should be watched once you finish the game, but I was serious when I said that you have to really squander time. Will you get the Platinum in one playthrough? It's possible but unlikely if you don't have know-how, experience, or follow a guide, but the game gives you plenty of space to fool around and still see much or most of it. In Arland, actions matter. If you go to a field area, you clear it out once and go somewhere next purposefully. That's how tight the time limit is there. You could, by contast, clear Ayesha's main objective within, say, eighteen months and have the rest of the time to kill. It's pretty flexible, and you'll be fine. Good luck.

Rika_Furude posted...

What is so bad about Rorona?

Anyway, seems like I should start with Ayesha. Are the other games stories just not as good as Ayeshas?

The characters are unlikable and exaggerated. The story is virtually nonexistent and otherwise silly. The world and exploration are boring. This was their first foray back into classic Atelier after the PS2 era (where Mana Khemia and Iris are more traditional roleplaying experiences--Iris 2 in particular is very good for whatever that's worth), so it was a transition.

There are some well written personal character arcs across all subseries, but there is just more going on in Dusk than anywhere else due to the end of the world scenario. Arland and Mysterious are generic high fantasy while Ryza has a little more going on with its ruins.

Rika_Furude posted...

another said that ayesha is rough

Ayesha is rough if you enjoy grinding and take many needless actions. Anyone halfway experienced with the genre does not have that experience.

Regarding Mysterious, start with Sophie. Firis or Sophie 2 thereafter doesn't matter, but get to Lydie eventually if you do start since it's the strongest of the set.

Rorona is terrible, but you need a little history to contextualize the overall story. So-called 'classic' Atelier has time-limited gameplay which makes some players anxious with the (rather notable) benefit of tightening the game design. Modern entries without time limitations are relative grind-fests due to freedom to gather and fight whatever, whenever.

Because I cannot recommend Rorona to my worst enemy, the Arland starting point is Totori. The game is a little unforgivingly time-limited (actions cannot be wasted), but it is otherwise a solid adventure relative to its predecessor. The protagonist is as clueless as you regarding any carryover from Rorona. Play new game plus to the true ending (guide recommended) or Meruru afterward.

The Dusk series splits the difference between time-limited gameplay and more standard roleplaying game design but also marks the transition from time limitations to modernity. Ayesha is incredible and highly recommneded. It has the time limitation, but one does not have to so carefully budget actions as in the preceding Arland games. The world is also far more interesting to immerse into. Its sequels, Escha to Logy and Shallie, slowly erode away the time limit until it's gone. Gust was experimenting a bit.

Sophie (Mysterious series) and Ryza (Ryza series) are free of time limitations and are not recommended due to being grindy and otherwise kind of pedestrian. Starting with either is fine provided you understand that there are greener pastures elsewhere. Ayesha is the safest bet.

Edit: Please ask follow-up questions.
Edit 2: editing

Calwings posted...

On the third attempt, I decided to lead with Gastly and immediately used Curse on Lurantis. This time, the Lurantis SOS-called Kecleon first instead of Comfey. I had Gastly use Hypnosis on Kecleon to prevent it from setting up Sunny Day, then Lurantis KO'd Gastly. I sent out Cutiefly, and without the Sun up and with Curse damage adding up, this time Lurantis couldn't out-heal Cutiefly's Bug Buzz damage. Cutiefly KO'd Lurantis while Kecleon stayed asleep, then I brought in Crabrawler to KO Kecleon and finish the battle without the Comfey ever being called in.

That is lowkey an epic way for it to have gone down. Have a Cutiefly.
https://www.pokebeach.com/news/2024/01/78-Cutiefly.jpg

Zeeak4444 posted...

Are they related in any way? I havent played the blade collection but Ive heard they werent (and that the fans were two separate groups with small overlap)

They're related in the same sense that 'saga and 'gears are (dubiously at best) related, if a little less so. Obviously, Abel sharing Fei's visage is profound, and there are other like but incidental carryovers to 'blade games. The general intention and thematic slant that unifies 'Xeno' games persists, as well. The fundamental game design differences are what splinter the fan base.

Calwings posted...

I'll talk about how I'm going to deal with Ultra Necrozma when I get closer to that battle... although someone might be able to guess my plan well before then.

Flail? Poisoning? You certainly won't be brute forcing anything. I am more immediately concerned about Lana's and Mallow's trials, so this will be interesting for sure.

Ever17's 360 release's is powerful.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHIJz0Op6sc

Both Trails Through Daybreak title screens are fantastic with the second being a little stronger.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MtVUbvQ1yDY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f16CNF2vKyI
If you enjoyed the first, there is an official arrangement.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iu6iEP-2Stg

Most know the first Xenoblade's.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=erKkWGfEW9U

Jeanne d'Arc is exciting, as well.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ruXx43I3qU
Ensure that you listen through the two minute mark.

pokedude900 posted...

Also knew one kid who pronounced it "zucchini"

Walking Wake has a new nickname, congratulations.

(Actually, I am unsure if we are permitted to name it now that I think about it.)

Linze posted...

So there are people who like Garbodor?

While I would question it as anyone's favorite, it did recently get a fancy artwork trading card.
https://www.pokebeach.com/news/2023/10/IMG_5859.jpeg
Someone cares.

That speaks more to the fan base than anything else; however, his appearance at the end of Dual Destinies is fairly significant.

Whatever happened to Dead Patient?

More music:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZefXTE_zR_k
The part that everyone remembers from the above is around 3:30.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1-t3mpcEN8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6tpkvSMmzeY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4l4rvTVt8U

Light spoiler:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=myPtCiVr_VY

The games scale experience to the level that they expect you to be, so you know that you are on target when the experience yield is poor. A general rule that works for the early games is to fight every on screen encounter once and move on. Having said that, if you're playing on Nightmare, that all gets jettisoned because early game Nightmare is brutal.

Welcome aboard. You cannot finish that which you never start.

Mind Maze is the correct answer.

One can nitpick that there is a niche release on Steam or a 'Nindie' for some of these, but these have for the most part vanished from the market (some for eons now).

-2D point and click adventures
-3D platformers (for children)
-maze games
-CERO A roleplaying games
-futuristic racing

Trails of Cold Steel II (four and a half minutes to loop):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJhL-QZfZ9M

Atelier Shallie (similar length to above):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BVRi8hI1glw
This one is a masterpiece for very different reasons to the preceding one. It is supposed to evoke a drowning experience through vocals, sound effects, and pauses.

Mega Man ZX Advent:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mrwqWue3cms

Mass Effect 2:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VTsD2FjmLsw

Ys IX:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XFdwttTmK6w

999:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U71iXAp0WRk