Lunar Threads

There's a spoiler tag [ spoiler ] you can use for things like that. But that isn't really a spoiler, since it's stated all over the place that III takes place before I and II. Also, I still haven't gotten around to it, but there's a little more to the summoning than that; you can only summon those whose endings you got in II. Which is, in fact, why I haven't really started III yet, because I need to get all the II endings yet and I'm taking a very long time with this.

I played some Panzer Dragoon Saga this past weekend with my former housemate. We tried it back in 2003, which was actually the last time we got to hang out and play games, but didn't get too far. This time we got farther. Unfortunately, I didn't realize until far too late that the battery was dead, and so we had to redo the first disc entirely. I think without that we might have finished it during his visit. Maybe not, though; I was having enough nausea from motion sickness that I ended up throwing up. Though that might be nearly as much from the constant stomachache I've had for the last week and the consequent inability to eat much. Anyway, we'll probably get back to it sometime next year. I was able to copy the saves onto my Action Replay 4 in 1 cart so we should be able to pick up where we left off. Hopefully my stomach will be hardier then.

Kobalt wrote:After beating Growlanser III, wait for the credits to roll by and see a scene that reveals that the events in Grow III actually lead up to how Grow II starts.

One neat thing about that scene is that its setting is very similar to that of the introductory scene of Growlanser I (for instance, you can see the same peak in the background).

Anyways, I haven't been doing much gaming lately, what with final exams and all, but I recently picked up a copy of Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter and I plan to start soon.

-Mario Kart DS (occasionally, mostly for Wi-Fi battles)
-Animal Crossing: Wild World
-Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney (second play-through)

I was playing Lunar: Dragon Song for a while but I got mighty tired of it before I got especially far into the game.

On the GameCube I have recently picked up DDR: Mario Mix but I haven't had the chance to play it since my GCN's lent out to a friend right now.

I have an enormous backlog, but right now I'm working through Lunar: Dragon Song off and on as well as Wild Arms: Alter Code F.

Dragonmaster Lou wrote: as well as Wild Arms: Alter Code F.

How is that? I'm hearing a mixed bag of feelings on it. Having played the original right before FF 7 came out, I've been toying with the idea of giving it a try.


>checks to see how many days he has left before he can open his copy of DQ VIII<

The last two days I've been furious that my copy of Freedom Fighters (for the Cube) hasn't arrived in the mail from the Wal-Mart store in Dallas I ordered it from. Today is the last day of the arriving range that it should get here, and I swear to Frig' if I don't get it today after work I'm going to raise freakin' hell!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Playing through all the old classic Working Designs games right now. Also I'm pretty big into PC games like Dawn of War: Winter Assault, and Quake4 at the moment. The fact that Q4 has no bots for practice has got me playing Q3 again too. I'm also trying to work on PDZ and COD2 on the 360 when I have time....

I'm also trying to work on PDZ

How is it? This is the sole reason I want a 360. Me and my friends had a huge blast with the original on the N64, and if it's anything like that, I'll be hooked. Honestly, I was looking forward to PDZ far more than any Halo title the past 2 years.

GhaleonOne wrote:

I'm also trying to work on PDZ

How is it? This is the sole reason I want a 360. Me and my friends had a huge blast with the original on the N64, and if it's anything like that, I'll be hooked. Honestly, I was looking forward to PDZ far more than any Halo title the past 2 years.

It seems like a really solid game. Sure, the texture resolution could be higher, but it doesn't make the game any less playable and it still looks great on my 36" direct-view HDTV.
PDZ is worth a look for sure, but I don't know if it's really worth a whole system purchase....I suppose that's up to you. Personally I'm glad I own it.

Wooooooo I'm playing Magna Carta, Mario Kart DS, and Animal Crossing DS =D

otakujohn wrote:It seems like a really solid game. Sure, the texture resolution could be higher, but it doesn't make the game any less playable and it still looks great on my 36" direct-view HDTV.
PDZ is worth a look for sure, but I don't know if it's really worth a whole system purchase....I suppose that's up to you. Personally I'm glad I own it.

Oh, I certainly wouldn't buy a 400+ dollar system for one game, but if I do get a 360, that would be the first game I'd pick up.

Roas Atrades wrote:

Dragonmaster Lou wrote: as well as Wild Arms: Alter Code F.

How is that? I'm hearing a mixed bag of feelings on it. Having played the original right before FF 7 came out, I've been toying with the idea of giving it a try.

I'm thoroughly enjoying it and I personally feel it's excellent. I am probably about 2/3 of the way into the game, 50 hours or so (yes, it's that huge, especially if you try to do the optional quests and all that), so you really do get your money's worth as far as play time.

I love the music, included the remixed versions of the original track. There's also like a dozen different battle themes, depending on the situation, who's in your party, who you're fighting (all the major bosses get their own battle music, for example), etc., which I think is a really nice touch.

The graphics, while looking good, aren't jaw-dropping stupendous. They get the job done, though.

That said, if you're a fan of the original, you'll love it. If you're a general RPG fan who likes a good story, you should also like it, though maybe not as much. Admittedly, I am a big fan of the original, so that biases my review a bit.

+Xenosaga II (E)
+Sly 3 (E)
+Fire Emblem The Sacred Stones (U)
+Final Fantasy IV Advance (J)

lunar sssc

soul calibur III

and Mario and Luigi: P in T

those are the best games

Dragonmaster Lou wrote:That said, if you're a fan of the original, you'll love it. If you're a general RPG fan who likes a good story, you should also like it, though maybe not as much. Admittedly, I am a big fan of the original, so that biases my review a bit.

What if you didn't like the original but are wondering if you should give the remake a try? ^^; I found the graphics horrendously off-putting in the original (and that probably is likely solved) and the story didn't really grab me, but there aren't any other RPGs out there in a Western setting so I'm wondering if I should give it a go. If the story got overhauled, I might consider picking it up.

Oh, and did they fix the mistransliteration of Jack's last name? It's a niggling matter, but when I found out he was supposed to be named after a piece of armor the Van Burace thing just told me that the translator had no idea what a vambrace was. It's just one of those things that shouldn't have been a big deal that ended up irritating me through the rest of the game. ^^;

This is the first chance I've had in nearly two months to really play some new games.

Sonic Advance 2 (GC)
Mario Kart DS
Sonic Rush (DS)
Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow

I'd like to say that the above three DS games are really awesome. Castlevania: DS has already been discussed here, but Sonic Rush is probably the best Sonic game since the Genesis ones (imho) and Mario Kart DS is visually a lot more impressive than I'd thought (although I haven't had the chance to try out the online play yet.)

Rune Lai wrote:What if you didn't like the original but are wondering if you should give the remake a try? ^^; I found the graphics horrendously off-putting in the original (and that probably is likely solved) and the story didn't really grab me, but there aren't any other RPGs out there in a Western setting so I'm wondering if I should give it a go. If the story got overhauled, I might consider picking it up.

Oh, and did they fix the mistransliteration of Jack's last name? It's a niggling matter, but when I found out he was supposed to be named after a piece of armor the Van Burace thing just told me that the translator had no idea what a vambrace was. It's just one of those things that shouldn't have been a big deal that ended up irritating me through the rest of the game. ^^;

If you weren't a fan of the original, I suggest maybe a rental might be in order before your buy it, if possible. The graphics are much improved (well, they'd better be by running on the PS2) -- they in-game polygon models now resemble the anime artwork in the intro and the box -- no more super deformed stuff.

The story, while modified, isn't exactly overhauled. It's mostly the same story, with a few changes here and there, but nothing major.

They also did keep Jack's last name as "Van Burace" -- not sure if it's because the translator this time had no idea what a vambrace was (heck, I don't know either), or if they were trying to keep it consistent with the original.

I STILL have to finish Silent Hill 4 and Shadow Hearts: Covenant. I really like those games, I don't know what the heck is holding me back

Otherwise, I've been playing Mario Kart DS...

Dragonmaster Lou wrote:They also did keep Jack's last name as "Van Burace" -- not sure if it's because the translator this time had no idea what a vambrace was (heck, I don't know either), or if they were trying to keep it consistent with the original.

It's the piece of armor that goes around the forearm in a suit of armor. It's not a common word, even among fantasy gamers, but since Jack was part of a group of knights that were all named after pieces of armor it just seems surprising to me that the translator didn't look at his name and at least try to find a piece of armor that matched it. It was one of those things where I was reading the conversation where the lady (Harken?) was explaining how she was named after the sword and I started wondering what part of the armor the Van Burace was. And then I realized, oh, it must be the vambrace.

Rune Lai wrote:

Dragonmaster Lou wrote:They also did keep Jack's last name as "Van Burace" -- not sure if it's because the translator this time had no idea what a vambrace was (heck, I don't know either), or if they were trying to keep it consistent with the original.

It's the piece of armor that goes around the forearm in a suit of armor. It's not a common word, even among fantasy gamers, but since Jack was part of a group of knights that were all named after pieces of armor it just seems surprising to me that the translator didn't look at his name and at least try to find a piece of armor that matched it. It was one of those things where I was reading the conversation where the lady (Harken?) was explaining how she was named after the sword and I started wondering what part of the armor the Van Burace was. And then I realized, oh, it must be the vambrace.

While I don't remember what happened in the original Wild Arms that well, they did mention the part Jack was named after in the remake. They specifically mentioned that Jack was the "Gauntlet," which I guess is similar to a vambrace, at least to a non-expert in armor like myself. Makes me think if they intended "Van Burace" as a pun or not, or maybe if it accidentally came out as such.