Record of Agarest War

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Camille
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Record of Agarest War

#1 Post by Camille »

My brother recently picked up Record of Agarest War Zero (it's a prequel to the first game, which he didn't play) because it just came out and the box art looked interesting. While it doesn't really interest me since it's one of those harem kinds of games where all the girls look like they're about 14, it amazed me to see that the whole game is basically a visual novel. My work computer is in the same room as the TV/PS3, so I've kind of been watching him play the game off and on. Even the battles are visual novel-like and you can "skip" them like you would skip story text. XD I feel like, given infinite time and infinite money, one could probably code a similar game in Ren'Py!

The most interesting thing I've seen in the game is that the sprites in the pure visual novel scenes all move. Not just blinking and lip flapping, they tilt their heads, their chests go up and down when they breathe, etc. It's pretty mesmerizing to watch and so subtle that you almost miss it unless you're looking closely. I wonder how such things are animated in such a fluid way.

So I was just interested to see if anyone else has played games in this series and what they thought about them. :O The story looks kind of trite, but I do like a lot of the features. (might have to borrow that multi-generation feature for a game idea sometime!)

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Re: Record of Agarest War

#2 Post by Riviera »

I've thought about getting it, actually.. but is it only for the xbox 360? I actually don't have that console, as of yet. Well, my fiance does but I'm not sure what he'd think if I asked to play this on it.

... Hmmm, well, it might be a good thing. Maybe? I don't know. :lol:
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Camille
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Re: Record of Agarest War

#3 Post by Camille »

It's also available for the PS3, which is the system we got it for. (:

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Re: Record of Agarest War

#4 Post by ShindoW »

I got the (limited edition of the) first one, but the lack of english dailogue and slow gameplay killed it for me. I played for an hour or so and I didn't get to any dating whatsoever. The box made it seem like a major element, but I think major elements should be introduced quicker. Nonetheless, the pillow case and mouse pad were worth it ;p I would have picked up the new one, just don't have the cash for the LE right now.

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Re: Record of Agarest War

#5 Post by Anima »

I have the European release for the PS3, but I can't really recommend it.
In all fairness, I've only played the beginning of the first generation. Until the audience with the king for those familiar with the game.
But numerous times I had the feeling that large chunks of plot were simply missing, like the end of the siege or the prelude to the audience.
A game shouldn't make the player question if cut-scenes were not displayed.
Add to that moral decisions that seemed completely arbitrary and a ticking turn counter that was there to prevent grinding, something other mechanics actually enforced. There are also too many characters, both to field all of them or to really develop their stories.

The game system itself is pretty arcane with an abundance of stats, resources and skills. Too many stats, resources and skills. The actual combat is made a lot harder by a pretty bad GUI. Mostly placing the characters correctly, a major part of the combat system, can be a nightmare. That counts double if some of your characters actually move during combo execution. The new combo possibilities are simply not shown and a pain to figure out manually. I do think that it's actually pretty fun otherwise, though I have not seen any of the higher level battles. Boss battles can also be pretty hard.

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Re: Record of Agarest War

#6 Post by DaFool »

I played the first one for two generations before getting stuck at a boss battle, then sold it (Ghostlight R2 version). I swore not to buy another Idea Factory game again, until I just had to try Neptunia. When the awesome Aksys collector's edition of Zero came out I just had to buy it, even though I don't think I'll bother to complete the game. The box packaging is just so nice compared to the cheapness of NIS America LE releases.

Regarding elements of the game, you're absolutely correct this is the game to study if you want ideas on how to implement a mostly VN-type game with RPG gameplay. The Motion Portrait[tm] technology, the isometric placement of battles, the way the story spans several generations -- all good points. The problem is that the execution of it mostly sucks, since unlike more engaging RPGs the whole thing still feels like a mishmash of stats with no purpose other than to grind furiously.

My current game project is essentially an even cheaper and lower budget version of the Agarest-style SRPG (which was already cheap and low budget to begin with); my only hope is that Taleweaver's writing contribution will be enough to enhance the story and lift the game from mediocrity.

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Re: Record of Agarest War

#7 Post by Camille »

DaFool wrote:When the awesome Aksys collector's edition of Zero came out I just had to buy it, even though I don't think I'll bother to complete the game. The box packaging is just so nice compared to the cheapness of NIS America LE releases.

Regarding elements of the game, you're absolutely correct this is the game to study if you want ideas on how to implement a mostly VN-type game with RPG gameplay. The Motion Portrait[tm] technology, the isometric placement of battles, the way the story spans several generations -- all good points. The problem is that the execution of it mostly sucks, since unlike more engaging RPGs the whole thing still feels like a mishmash of stats with no purpose other than to grind furiously.
Yeah, my brother got the game just because of the box alone, and I spent a long time staring at it, haha. It really is a very nice looking box, even if that's strange to say.

I think the main problem is that the game rests on its unique features and yet doesn't do anything to integrate these unique features with the rest of the game, or to make a story that is as interesting/unique as the features. A lot of the VN scenes were jarring to me because this one tsundere character would be screaming and yelling but her face stayed neutral pretty much the whole time (though her lips did move in sync 0_o).

Also, there are just too many female characters even in the first generation that it's impossible to give any of them any decent sort of character development. I get that they wanted the MC to have a lot of choices for his ~soul breeding~ thing, but number of characters and amount of decent character development are two things that tend to be inversely proportional to each other. One goes up, the other goes down.

But I guess that's what studying other games is all about. You can see what they did wrong and try to avoid it. I do really like the multi-generational aspect and the motion portraits, though the latter I think is a little bit impractical for indie devs on a small budget. XD Also, the dialogue choices are ridiculous. Every time my brother has to choose, he's like "WTF!" as random girls' points go up and down for seemingly no reason. (at one point he yelled "WHY DID LINDA'S POINTS GO DOWN, SHE'S NOT EVEN HERE!!")

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