It's been a while, and I'm not sure what I've said before, but I'm going over a few games I've played recently here.
This is definitely disjointed. I'm just writing down whatever comes to mind. Probably a few spoilers in here also.
Xenosaga Series
- Finished. It's been a while now, so I don't remember everything that happened.
I stuck with the same team in all three games.
Jr/MOMO/chaos.
Jr. Was solid in the first game, though having only physical damage sucked at some points, but was great at others (Those magic absorbing, flying...
things.) He was average in the second and third games, though not bad in either.
MOMO was mediocre in the first game, her HP was way too low. She was very good in the second game! She dealt lots of damage. The third game she was,
again, pretty good. I honestly remember the least about the battles in the third game, even though I remember thinking they weren't bad. I guess they were just forgettable.
chaos was OK in the first game, though I never got all his techs because come on. He was the knocker-downer in the second game, and... Probably... Did something in the third.
Battle System wise...
- The first game was a bit repetitive, but not bad. It was slow, but I remember the battles more. The hardest part in the game (Actually, all three games) was the... Song of Nephilim, I think it was called? The one with the flamethrower soldier randoms. Those were the toughest enemies in the game. I think that was the only time in any of the games I felt like I just needed more HP, so I had to grind.
- Second game... It seemed like it would be good if you played it "right." I don't think I did it completely wrong, my team was luckily enough to not
overlap on elements, and I only had one down/air-er. I did eventually get the hang of it, and didn't think most of the boss fights were too bad. Hated the randoms though. Just seemed stupidly durable. And I weep for someone with a, say, Shion/chaos/Ziggy team.
- Third game had a simple, easy battle system. It was nice to be... Well, simple and easy, after the last game. I remember enjoying it, but I don't actually remember any fights.
Storywise, it just seemed like there were way too many characters. And they introduced more every game, and never gave any of them enough screentime. I was satisfied with the game after beating Dmitri, though the after that stuff was a bit... odder. I've got a pretty open mind though, and it was at least pretty and flashy.
I'm not sure exactly how I would rate them. I enjoyed them, but I hadn't played an RPG in a while.
Anyway, on to .Hack GU
Team, when they were all available, was Haseo/Sakubo/Antares. Swapped Antares out for Yata at the end.
Switched between pretty much all the weapnos for Haseo. Big sword was best in the first game. Enjoyed guarding to cancel my lag, it made me feel like a pro. Twin swords got way better in game two. Scythe took some getting used to but might have been the weapon I used most, Heavenly Wheel is great. Guns are solid as well, but you get them pretty late so it's tough to judge.
Plotwise/Pacingwise, I always felt in each game that they started out decently enough, got slow during the middle, and picked up near the end. Leveling up too much seemed to make the bosses too easy, so after a while I tried to stay underleveled.
The toughest fight I remember was against Kite and friends on the third game. I ended up just grinding out a few levels, though I might have been able to do it otherwise... Which of course made them too easy, as well as the last boss. Oh well.
Oh and Sakaki fails. Atoli screeching all the time in the fight against her avatar was pretty... funny, too.
I liked the avatar battles... Except the last one. That one was just really repetitive. I mean, they were easy, but I liked the change of pace.
Probably liked these more than Xenosaga. Haven't played the originals, but they look pretty different.
Also played Fate/Extra, Archer servant. Liked this game a lot, though I am a Type Moon fan. Rin Route. Lost once against Caster due to stunlock. Died to randoms about... three times? All were my own fault, though, for not paying enough attention, or leaving myself open for too long without throwing a skill or heal inbetween.
It seemed like the big secret to the game was "Heal even when you aren't hurt. And if you're making three blind guesses in a row, throw a skill in there." That pretty much worked most of the time.
Also died twice against Berserker, and twice to Saber (just because of NP, though I Rho Aias'd it afterwards.)
Last boss was a joke. Elixir/Fake Spiral Sword spam = Win. Actually that pretty much beat Saber to, I just got cocky and walked into an instakill.
Plot was good! ...Well, it kind of lost me at the end. But I was into talking to all the NPCs and seeing their updated text and such every round, so it must have done something to keep my interest. Probably the game I've liked the most of those I've played recently.
Also playing Wild ARMs 5. I'm at the four towers. I had been plodding along right now, but a lot of sidequests are open to me now, and I went up one of the towers with some difficulty, and ran into a huge Save Point Unlock guy that took forever to kill (Though I wasn't actually in any danger), and tried Persephone once or twice, realized if I could win I would exhaust all my resources, and climbed down.
Basically I need to either grind or do sidequests. What sidequests would be the easiest/most helpful? Or easy to get good badges and such.
Team is usually Chuck/Carol/Avril. Chuck = Moon, Carol = Sea, Avril = Sky. Though I do switch the others in when needed.
That's mostly it. I'm probably forgetting some stuff. I'll post more eventually when I think of it/play something exciting.