If you want Nocturne you need to buy through Ebay, pretty much. This is a rare game and copies can cost something like 60-70$.
Received my copy a few days ago.
I have pre-emptive buyer’s remorse where I start regretting my purchase while I am still in the store. As a result, I went cheap:
Fire Emblem: PoR [New] $14.99
Dragon Quarter [Used] $7.99
DQ has no manual. Is that gonna be a problem?
Thanks for all the help and suggestions. I hope to work my way around to trying many of them as funds allow.
Holey moley! Yes, it’s going to be a problem that that there was no manual for Dragon Quarter! Go read a FAQ or look up a past thread here to explain it to you, because the gameplay is waaaaay out there. There may be a high chance you won’t get it without a manual, unless you seek outside help.
-Kitsune
Well, poop. I hate used games. I’ll figure something out.
My manual and game were in Japanese (it was new for about $2 so I couldn’t pass it up) and I got by ok with help from gamefaqs.
Dragon Quest 8 is like going to your shitty factory assembly line job on a Monday morning everytime you fire up the PS2. I don’t ever want to have that feeling again.
Nonsense. Baten Kaitos is one of the best RPG’s this gen. The game is nice and long, the soundtrack is probably Sakuraba’s best work, and the battle and deck system keep things really exciting. Getting cards as rewards for battles keeps you motivated to keep fighting and stops things from turning into a grind. Building your own 60-card deck is fun and gives you a constant sense of change and improvement. And the battles themselves are fast and frantic. The only problem is that the game does take a few hours to get interesting.
The original is superior to the sequel, but if you like the first, you should definitely pick up the second after it. Still, if you can only find the second one, it’s still worth a shot. The Baten Kaitos games are interesting, unique RPG’s and I really hope the series continues.
Man, you played a different DQ8 than I did.
With all due respect, sir, you can never regret picking up Path of Radiance for fifteen measly dollars.
The DQ8 opinions certainly starkly contrast.
I wonder why the RPG genre does that so often. Is it because they have so much stuff jammed into them, there is something just as likely to completely irritate someone as enthrall them?
Hrmmm…
I totally understand people bagging on DQ8, I generally dislike JRPGs myself. I can’t really explain why I liked it so much, in theory it didn’t do much different than the others. It still had random battles, the combat was simplistic as well as the leveling up, though at least you got to assign some points to different skills. I didn’t like the graphics outside of the freedom they granted you yet I still had a blast playing the game.
/shrug
Gratz on FE:PoR, as long as you stick it out till you get the base I can’t see you regreting the purchase if you like any SRPG.
Some people just can’t stand game styles that aren’t “new” or “different” I think. Dragon Quest VIII is very much about tradition. If you don’t like that tradition, then you’re going to hate DQVIII.
Shadow Hearts: Covenant
and maybe FF12
DQ8 sort of makes me think of all those times people say “they should remake Master of Magic/Xcom/System Shock/etc. Don’t change the gameplay at all, just give it some whizbang graphics.” That’s sorta what they did with DQ8.
There are minor tweaks and system changes, and the graphics really add an immense amount to the game’s charm, but the only real major gameplay change from the earlier games is that the world is now free-roaming. The combat system got a bit of an overhaul, but at heart it’s not really different from the battles in DQ3. It’s still a game where you fight lots of random battles, go into dungeons to fight a boss, rinse, repeat.
This thread’s been great for me because I’ve really been on the fence about console RPG’s. On the one hand, I kinda dug the RPG gloss they put on Marvel: Ultimate Alliance and Champions of Norrath, and the occasional bit of RPG-ness I would run across on the sampler discs (I was kinda enthralled by the Front Mission 4 demo even though I totally sucked at it). On the other, the few times I’ve tried 'em (Xenosaga I, a rental of Kingdom Hearts II, a bit of Final Fantasy X-2), I wanted to gouge out my own eyes with rusty spoons after approx. 45 mins.
So I just ordered Dragon Quest VIII. I figure if I don’t like it, I can safely conclude that I just don’t like the genre and can safely stick to twitchy beat-'em-ups with RPG-lite glosses…
This is wrong. KH is a great game. The sequel isn’t as good, IMO, but is still pretty good. I thouht I would hate the Disney/Square mesh, but I don’t. Fantastic series, and not for girls.
However, if you hate the “childishness” or “whimsy” of JRPGs, as some do, then it’s not a game you will enjoy, most likely. If you like that, get it.
[quote=The Other Guy]On the one hand, I kinda dug the RPG gloss they put on Marvel: Ultimate Alliance and Champions of Norrath, and the occasional bit of RPG-ness I would run across on the sampler discs (I was kinda enthralled by the Front Mission 4 demo even though I totally sucked at it). On the other, the few times I’ve tried 'em (Xenosaga I, a rental of Kingdom Hearts II, a bit of Final Fantasy X-2), I wanted to gouge out my own eyes with rusty spoons after approx. 45 mins./quote]
Front Mission is closer to the Fire Emblem/FFT style strategy RPGs than it is to a pure JRPG, so that might be why.
BoF:Dragon Quarter also gets my first recommendation. It can be a bit disorienting learning the nuances, but it’s a real gem.
FFXII and DQ8 both lasted me over 100 hours each. Adored each of them enough to conquer nearly every last little secret and inch of game pressed on their respective discs. Both are beautiful, massive epics with a streamlined learning curve and comforting progression flow that will keep you engaged without breaking your brain. They only really suffer from combat repetiton, but there is enough content to keep you occupied despite.
Digital Devil Saga has a lightning paced combat system with plenty of tactical synergy, and the plot is pure insanity. The dungeons are huge and the combat constant. Not the safest bet if you’re more about the talky-questy stuff, but still a good one.
Started in on Fire Emblem and I am digging it. Are there new features that come to light later or is it, basically, the original with Gamecube graphics? Not a bad thing at all, just curious.
There is just enough story to loosely connect the battles and that is fine by me. Where is my patience of a decade ago where I could involve myself in console RPGs? Maybe it is my limited time to play games that has me itching to skip the story and get to the gameplay. Or maybe I just need a little more depth and cohesion in my storytelling. I dunno. I would loke to get into FF or DQ, eventually, but I fear I will be rushing through it to make progress before I have to get sleep or turn the TV back over to my 5-year-old.
Still need to figure out if I want to return BoF and find one with a manual or not be a baby and use gamefaqs and the like.
I consider my mint, complete Dragon Quarter a highlight of the games I own just because it’s so dang awesome. I probably would’ve searched out a complete one so you should too. :D
As for Fire Emblem, I really get wrapped up in the characters and their stories. Take the time to follow their interaction. If you do, it’ll be all the more meaningful when you screw up later on and one of them dies…for good.
Then keep on playing and lament their loss. You get out of a game’s story what you’re willing to put into it.