Got the new game trial of Sonic Frontiers for PS4 and just finished my playtime a few minutes ago. As someone who has played a ton of the modern games (If they are even called that anymore cause most of them are over a decade old), this was much different. I played the dinky 15 minute demo version on Switch. I didn’t get past the intro bit and into the open world, despite skipping all cutscenes and blasting through the digital levels. So when I noticed an hour long trial for this game popped up on PS, I gave it a whirl. It wasn’t off to the best start. I skipped the intro scenes and blazed past 1-1 Green Hill. And then came the Data Copy. I didn’t know if I was supposed to download the dlc for an hour long trial game beforehand or not, so I let the Data Copy burn through my time. By the time the game actually started, I had between 40-35 minutes remaining. That was probably my fault. Since I did the intro part on the Switch demo before, I got through quite fast. By the time I got to the open world, I had just under 25 minutes remaining. I dunno what the heck happened with that Azura boss thing, but that took me so long. I couldn’t properly lock on even after continuing pressing square while the prompt was up. I just kept going into the sky and falling back down. I finally got to work but then was killed, so I restarted that fight. I got the first arm down, but the other two took stupid amounts of time. I had 10 minutes left by the time that thing was dead. Really clunky bossfight. Then I ran around a bit, fiddled with the Jukebox (which is a sick update by the way, planet wisp rules) and found Amy. Got her out of the prison thing, and was told to grab the heart things. Went after that giant titan thinking a big fight would happen and got sent flying. Then the trial expired. Maybe I just suck, but I wasn’t a huge fan of that demo. Does the game get better or something?
Wait, why do we need a signature? Eh, I don’t know. Here’s your signature.
@TheBigBlue You don't suck. Asura is, for my money, one of the worst Guardians in the game. It's a lovely idea, but isn't implemented all that well, and is a mistake to feature so prominently early on. It handed me my butt multiple times across two successive playthroughs, and I'd only now tackle it with confidence (although reaching the top of its last arm is still a crapshoot, as is staying up top in general).
Even when you know what's what, the first hour is clunky, and very stop-start as it tries to lay enough tutorial groundwork so that you can (finally!) cut loose and explore in relative peace. The core gameplay loop of wandering around a given island, blasting through its Cyber Space stages, and building towards a showdown with a looming Titan is superb, if a lil' rough and ready in places. Ironically enough for a character based around supersonic speed, Frontiers really shines when you're not against the clock, and left to go at your own pace. It becomes this brilliant blend of calm, compelling map-tidying with occasional spikes of adrenaline-fuelled mayhem. You just have to be allowed to get there, s'all.
If you're still wary about dropping cash on a copy, see if a friend will let you try the demo again on their PSN account. With more time (and a bit of foreknowledge) I'm sure you'd get a better idea of what's what.
"We want different things, Crosshair. That doesn't mean that we have to be enemies."
@RogerRoger yeah, I wondered because the game had great reviews across the board. I’m a sucker for Sonic games, I’ll play a lot of them from the best like Generations and the genesis trilogy to the downright mediocre like 06 and Forces. So I was confused as to why the first bit of Frontiers was kind of a drag. But if the rest of the game is as good as it looks and sounds, the money is still on the table for purchasing this, when the sales are just low enough. Thanks again for the reassurance!
Wait, why do we need a signature? Eh, I don’t know. Here’s your signature.
@TheBigBlue Yeah, I'd describe Frontiers as "imperfectly perfect" and hope that you understand, given your history with the Sonic series. Even the very best Sonic game has its scrappy moments, but there's always enough charm and goodwill to compensate. You'll find other things in Frontiers that'll make you rage (other Guardians, a few wonky camera angles, and a pair of really, really weird late-game decisions) but equally, everything in between those brief bits is a blast. I hope you enjoy, as and when!
"We want different things, Crosshair. That doesn't mean that we have to be enemies."
I've nearly finished Disc 1 in The Legend Of Dragoon having got past the return to Hellena Prison and I'm now at Kazas & fighting my way through the Black Castle to fight Emperor Doel.
Took me a little longer then I would've liked to get this far thanks to the rather limited free time I've had. But still a rather snappy 13 hours compared to most JRPG's and SO much has happened in that run time that it's kind of insane.
I'm really going to try to use everyone in the party this time around rather then falling back on Dart (whom you annoyingly can't take out the party), Rose (My favourite character) and the energetic Meru.
Dart, Lavitz, Rose and Haschel are going well at the moment but Shana... Ugh Shana.
She's really annoying thanks to a combination of her being rather squishy with low hp & defense. An absolutely pathetic attack stat & no additions which gimp her physical capabilities even further.
Plus with most of your magic being items in an inventory with only 32 slots it only makes her even less viable to use early game. Doubly so when Rose has a really impressive magic stat at the beginning (Though Shana will vastly overtake her in due time!).
Doesn't help matters that Shana temporarily leaves the party early on too and is several levels below the rest of the team when returning (Bosses in LoD are the only fights that give worthwhile experience points).
Thankfully with one single boss I managed to jump her up 3 levels and reach where everyone else is!
As for more overall thoughts the translation is worse then I remember it being and the overworld models can be a bit rough. Especially with NPC's.
The pre-rendered backgrounds are utterly sublime though and the soundtrack is top notch!
Maybe I should upload a few screenshots to the thread but it's a bit hard to get some real nice shots out a PS1 RPG
@HallowMoonshadow I always find it difficult to break habits when it comes to party members. There are poor, neglected characters in every Mass Effect and Dragon Age with whom I have no issue, and I'd love to spend more time with them, but I just love others more. Of course, there's also the occasional Shana who I'm more than happy to sideline, too! Bravo on making the effort, at least!
You mention the translation being rough; is it an unintentionally funny "all your base are belong to us" kinda rough, or just bad and annoying, and therefore distracting?
"We want different things, Crosshair. That doesn't mean that we have to be enemies."
I'm also one of those people who generally likes everyone in the party to be around the same level @RogerRoger so it's kinda annoying when Dart can't be taken out and will be vastly overlevelled to the rest of the cast.
Sooooo... I kinda had to kill him in order for Shana to get ALL the exp (As EXP is a shared pool dived between the three party members rather then everyone getting the full amount) to mass level her
Apparently Shana's the character to use for speedrunning though because of her ridiculous magic stat and thanks to magic being very viable in LoD compared to other RPG's.
... Also I might be being rather thorough and using all the characters for impressions/review purposes? Not promising anything but who knows?
As for the translation? It can be a little Google translate if you know what I mean with it being robotic and literal. Sentences can run over with a lack of syntax and all that jazz too.
So it can be a bit hit and miss on whether meaning or character's and personality is lost/muddied. There were defintely better translations/localisations at the time.
The voice acting meanwhile (Yes this PS1 JRPG game has some limited voice acting) is amazing. Whilst there is actually a decent voice or two... It's terrible otherwise but in THE best way possible
Previously known as Foxy-Goddess-Scotchy
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"You don't have to save the world to find meaning in life. Sometimes all you need is something simple, like someone to take care of"
@HallowMoonshadow Urgh. I also hate not being able to keep everybody at the same level. Especially when you know a game's gonna lock you into using specific people at specific points. The fact that you had to kill one character to bring another up to speed, though...?!
Oh sweet, a full review would be real interesting! Although no pressure, of course!
And I do love me some "so bad it's good" voice acting! That'd more than make up for any shortcomings in the script, methinks. I'm definitely surprised that there's even any voice acting to speak of, and can only imagine that its rarity at the time added to the unintentional hilarity!
"We want different things, Crosshair. That doesn't mean that we have to be enemies."
And I do love me some "so bad it's good" voice acting! That'd more than make up for any shortcomings in the script, methinks. I'm definitely surprised that there's even any voice acting to speak of, and can only imagine that its rarity at the time added to the unintentional hilarity!
The VA is only in the CGI cutscenes and for attack call outs.
They call out the additions (your main attack in battles) when you sucessfully complete them. I was gonna link a video yesterday showcasing this (and I heard the Japanese versions for the first time which were equally amazing) but it did have spoilers in so I'll see about finding something.
I'll at least do an impressions piece after finishing off disc one and plop something showcasing the VA in there
Previously known as Foxy-Goddess-Scotchy
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"You don't have to save the world to find meaning in life. Sometimes all you need is something simple, like someone to take care of"
Just finished Resident Evil 4 Remake. The original one was a masterpiece and this one is masterpiece as well.
I played it on a PS4 Pro. Yes, the graphics are downgraded compared to the PS5/PC but it was so enjoyable to play on performance settings. I had no issues at all! No slowdowns or crashes! No updates either, played it only from the disc installation!
I’ve been playing Valkyria Chronicles, The Messenger & still efootball.
I’m terrible at Valkyria Chronicles. The missions are rather long & even if it looks like you’re doing alright everything can change in one bad turn. Also when playing the map first time there’s no way of telling when an ‘event’ is triggered & completely changes the battlefield.
The Messenger is stunning. I’m only a couple of hours in, but I can see this game being one of my favourites for the year.
Efootball at this point will probably be my most played game of all time. Been playing it everyday for about a month now.
Even though I’ve completed the regular pass (100 matches) weeks ago I log in, get the bonus & play a couple of matches if no events are on.
It literally has me going through the motions as I’m eagerly awaiting for the next division & the new passes to refresh.
Lives, Lived, Will Live.
Dies, Died, Will Die.
If we could perceive time for what it really was,
What reason would Grammar Professors have to get out of bed?- Robert & Rosalind Lutece
Gone back to finish off Far Cry: New Dawn this week, after playing around 5 hours a few years back. I’ve always quite liked Far Cry games but I remember not feeling this one too much back in 2020 due to the RPG-lite elements in terms of levelled enemies. I don’t know if it’s just getting back into a Far Cry for the first time in three years, or if the whole levelled enemies thing wasn’t that bad in the first place but I’ve enjoyed it. Finished off the story and most of the side stuff this last couple of days… just a little mopping up left.
Valkyria chronicles is in backlog and has been for a few years, I really should get round to it.
I will remember to use Alicia. 😃
@colonelkilgore I've always liked the Far cry games and did enjoy New Dawn, I think fc5 is my favourite mainly due to the planes. I've yet to play Fc6.
@CaptD yeah I loved 5 too, definitely my favourite of the series… though I would add the the level 3 expeditions in New Dawn have been awesome too. Funny you should mention 6, the only reason I’ve gone back to finish of New Dawn is as I’ve really wanted to get into 6 but not before I’ve taken care of unfinished business. I’ll be well up for some co-op on 6 as and when… if you’re keen 👍
@colonelkilgore Definitely up for that, with Ubisoft games I normally wait for the Gold edition and did actually see a Amazon Germany deal today on a deals website for £20, however with PS++ I'm waiting for it to appear on there as Ubisoft did state that they were going to dump a load of titles on the service.
@Ralizah Yes I’ve found out that out now. It’s a bit annoying because I try to save everyone regardless.
I know that this game is beloved, but it seems like the series has fallen off now. Any reason why? The art style is charming & the gameplay is challenging but fair.
Lives, Lived, Will Live.
Dies, Died, Will Die.
If we could perceive time for what it really was,
What reason would Grammar Professors have to get out of bed?- Robert & Rosalind Lutece
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