The Last To Post Wins!

[Acacia Sgt]

35 minutes ago, Armagon said:

RESCUE TEAM REMAKE YOOOOOOOO, LET'S GOOOOOOOOO

The Pokemon Direct could've ended there and it would've been perfect.

 

AHAHAHAHA, I know! That's great!

... though I still don't have a Switch. Pft...

[Caster]

Play Oldschool Runescape with me guys
I'm exposing myself as a Runescape player

Kmon

[Acacia Sgt]

Man, haven't played that since like... when was it again? 2010, 2011... somewhen like it.

[Armagon]

Haha whoops. I have made a grave error. I mixed up the schedule for my classes. Originally, i thought i had Art History 2 on Tuesdays and Humanities on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Turns out it's the other way around. Well, at least it was only just the first day.

[DragonFlames]

This is why I like Uzume:

Now for extra hilarity, read these lines in Celica's voice. They were voiced by the same person in the English version, after all.

14 minutes ago, Armagon said:

Haha whoops. I have made a grave error. I mixed up the schedule for my classes. Originally, i thought i had Art History 2 on Tuesdays and Humanities on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Turns out it's the other way around. Well, at least it was only just the first day.

Eh, it happens all the time. Especially on a first week.
In my university, whenever a new semester starts, it takes at least two weeks until they have all the rooms figured out. XD

[DragonFlames]

So, I've downloaded the demo for Pokémon Mystery Dungeon Rescue Team DX and played about 35 minutes of it. Here are some observations and thoughts (spoilered in case you don't wish to see them).
Know that this is coming from someone who played Blue Rescue Team on release back in the day and was absolutely in love with that game from start to finish. It's also one of the few games I've ever played to 100% completion.

• Graphically, the game is pretty, but it's not much different from the 3DS Mystery Dungeons. I do like the picture book-esque aesthetic they went with, even if that makes the game look like an upscaled version of the DS original at times, particularly in the dungeons.
• The music sounds nearly exactly the same as it did back then. It's still good music, don't get me wrong, but I had hoped for orchestrated remixes of my favorite themes
• Picking a starter is made easier than it was in the original game. You still get the survey and it still gives you a Pokémon, but you can pick one if you don't like what the game gave you.
• You can pick your partner's gender this time around.
• As before, you can't pick a partner that has the same type as your starter.
• You start out with some very busted moves: Squirtle knows Brick Break and Bite in addition to Tackle and Water Gun, Chikorita comes with Grass Knot and Ancient Power in addition to Razor Leaf and Tackle. This might be demo exclusive, I don't know.
• There is an auto-walk function. Seems pointless, honestly.
• EXP gains have been nerfed from the original. In the first dungeon, the Exeggcute only give 11 EXP a pop as opposed to 45 like they did in the original.
• Hit rates are garbage, just like the 3DS games, so the biggest hurdle will be keeping up your PP. Doubly so, because they removed the "standard" attack that didn't take any PP upon usage. Pressing A makes you do one of your four moves at random. I'll be honest: This SUCKS. Because not having that standard attack means the 99 floor dungeons in the postgame will be a royal pain. Even moreso than they were in the original.
• Ranking up attacks is back from the 3DS games, meaning it becomes pointless to learn new attacks, because by the time you get the new attack, your old attack will be stronger due to having gained a few levels.
• Some attacks have had their properties changed. Water Gun, for example, is now a ranged attack, as opposed to only hitting the enemy right next to you.
• There is a Speed stat. I have no clue what it does.
• IQ skills seem to have been removed.
• Attack animations and sound effects lack impact. This is the same problem that the 3DS Mystery Dungeon titles had. The originals and the Explorer games had more 'oomph' to them when it came to the Pokémon attacks.
• Other than that, the game is pretty much unchanged from what the DS game was. Meaning there's little point in buying the remake if you still have the DS (or GBA) original in a working condition (or on an emulator).
  

In addition, here are some screenshots I took while playing.
Meeting your partner:

Dungeon crawling!

Your home:

The town, Pokémon Plaza

'Member back when Persian was still an awesome Pokémon and not... whatever abomination that Alolan form was? I 'member.

And last but not least, a shot of the ocean:

[Shrimpica]

Stats of my current Broken Lions

Spoiler

 

1 hour ago, DragonFlames said:

Now for extra hilarity, read these lines in Celica's voice.

Redhead powah!

[DragonFlames]

1 minute ago, Shrimperor said:

Stats of my current Broken Lions

  Reveal hidden contents

 

Those are some mighty units right there.

Ashe with his 37 Dex would explain the 86 hit at 6-range situation you described to me earlier.

2 minutes ago, Shrimperor said:

Redhead powah!

Indeed!

[Shrimpica]

11 minutes ago, DragonFlames said:

Those are some mighty units right there.

Especially Dimitri

Spoiler

The Ghosts he sees must've made him strong for him to get those stats xD

 

[DragonFlames]

1 minute ago, Shrimperor said:

Especially Dimitri

  Reveal hidden contents

The Ghosts he sees must've made him strong for him to get those stats xD

 

 

They most certainly did.

[Shadow Mir]

On 1/6/2020 at 10:46 PM, Armagon said:

I'm not one to complain about localization changes but Manster -> Meath is just.......not very good. The Meath arc doesn't roll off the tongue as well.

 

Might be a mistranslation. Loptyr became Loptous in Heroes, which.... to say the least, I'm baffled by.

On 1/7/2020 at 12:02 PM, Acacia Sgt said:

Not really. Only other option is take Rolf at face value; but then that just means it's either "Rolf taught himself, or Boyd is right and someone, who is all but stated to be Shinon, taught him". It's a nice balance between the answer being spoon-fed to you and you having to figure it out.

Someone already familiar with FE would know to commit it to memory. Or write it down. Someone new... well, there is a chance they still might. I know I would. In any case, even on the chance a player doesn't remember... well, there's the little reminder of Shinon going into specific denial about Rolf talking to him. This is the only thing you could have a point with, that the reminder hint could be vague or not easy to get since it involves talking to Shinon with a different character... but you can't say the game doesn't tell you. It does. It just doesn't spoon-fed you the answer... and that's okay.

I still think it's unnecessarily obtuse to the point of being Thracia-level cryptic. And the way I see it, having the only real hints either be easy to miss, given after the fact, in a completely different game, or far enough back that they might have been forgotten is shitty design. At least the game was kind enough to give a hint to Stefan's existence right before the map where you could get him, even if it didn't tell you how to get him. Long story short, this sounds like the type of crap that someone playing for the first time would likely need to be tipped off, consult a guide, or Google it to find out.

15 hours ago, Shrimperor said:

Deadeye doesn't improve hit rate xD

So if we take range penalty, that's -80 hit at 6 range... and he still had 86 xD

What were you attacking again? And what battalion was he using? Because I have a hard time seeing Deadeye getting that accurate without Edmund Troops or something.

On 1/7/2020 at 12:02 PM, Acacia Sgt said:

Not really. Only other option is take Rolf at face value; but then that just means it's either "Rolf taught himself, or Boyd is right and someone, who is all but stated to be Shinon, taught him". It's a nice balance between the answer being spoon-fed to you and you having to figure it out.

Someone already familiar with FE would know to commit it to memory. Or write it down. Someone new... well, there is a chance they still might. I know I would. In any case, even on the chance a player doesn't remember... well, there's the little reminder of Shinon going into specific denial about Rolf talking to him. This is the only thing you could have a point with, that the reminder hint could be vague or not easy to get since it involves talking to Shinon with a different character... but you can't say the game doesn't tell you. It does. It just doesn't spoon-fed you the answer... and that's okay.

I dunno about you, but I honestly felt Volug starts struggling to pull his weight by the time you get into late part 1. Having to wait 6 turns for him to go online is way too much, especially when he doesn't even fight that much better than human units as to be worth the wait. Of course, that's a problem I find laguz in general to suffer from in Radiant Dawn. I've also heard Sothe starts falling off at this point. All this said, I'd still urge newcomers to this series to avoid Radiant Dawn. It's just too punishing to be a good entry point into the series from my point of view.

EDIT: How the...?!? 

Edited January 9, 2020 by Shadow Mir

[Acacia Sgt]

14 minutes ago, Shadow Mir said:

I still think it's unnecessarily obtuse to the point of being Thracia-level cryptic. And the way I see it, having the only real hints either be easy to miss, given after the fact, in a completely different game, or far enough back that they might have been forgotten is shitty design. At least the game was kind enough to give a hint to Stefan's existence right before the map where you could get him, even if it didn't tell you how to get him. Long story short, this sounds like the type of crap that someone playing for the first time would likely need to be tipped off, consult a guide, or Google it to find out.

It ain't Thracia-level cryptic, though. If that can even be in the first place.

The thing is... getting Shinon back ain't that overly critical. That's why his rerecruitment requirement isn't parroted to you every five minutes (or just plain mandatory). It's there; but not on your face. At some point it is more the player's responsibility than the game's. It's pretty much a hardwired lesson of life that many things, no matter how minor, will have more relevance later on. It's not something that exclusive to video games. Always gotta keep an eye open.

17 minutes ago, Shadow Mir said:

I dunno about you, but I honestly felt Volug starts struggling to pull his weight by the time you get into late part 1. Having to wait 6 turns for him to go online is way too much, especially when he doesn't even fight that much better than human units as to be worth the wait. Of course, that's a problem I find laguz in general to suffer from in Radiant Dawn. I've also heard Sothe starts falling off at this point. All this said, I'd still urge newcomers to this series to avoid Radiant Dawn. It's just too punishing to be a good entry point into the series from my point of view.

EDIT: How the...?!? 

That's because Halfshift is holding him back, so by late Part 1 it's made clear it needs to go. Hence why you can remove it come Part 3.

In a way, that's certainly true. Radiant Dawn wasn't made to be one's first entry into the series. Not the way a game like Blazing Sword or Awakening was at least.

[Lightcosmo]

Alrighty, I'm taking a break from Xenoblade 2 dlc. After enough grinding, dying, mostly dying, I need a break from it. Getting the aux cores/outfits is going to take very long.

[Armagon]

@DragonFlames @Shrimperor

New Neptunia game looking good.

We all know it's only a matter of time before Stadia is an actual Neptunia character.

 

6 hours ago, DragonFlames said:

EXP gains have been nerfed from the original. In the first dungeon, the Exeggcute only give 11 EXP a pop as opposed to 45 like they did in the original.

Kinda surprised you remember a little thing like this.

6 hours ago, DragonFlames said:

Doubly so, because they removed the "standard" attack that didn't take any PP upon usage. Pressing A makes you do one of your four moves at random. I'll be honest: This SUCKS. Because not having that standard attack means the 99 floor dungeons in the postgame will be a royal pain. Even moreso than they were in the original.

The 99 floors isn't even the bigger issue. The bigger issue is that hunger is in the game and iirc, using moves uses up hunger.

________

I probably will get Rescue Team DX even if it does just end up being a 1:1 remake if only because it's been so damn long since the last good Pokemon Mystery Dungeon. I enjoyed Blue Rescue Team, i'll probably enjoy this and i can't wait for the inevitable Explorers remake. Despite March's stacked release schedule (what is it about March that has every game dev so horny this year), i don't have a PS4 so there isn't much for me to get that month. The only other Nintendo release that month is Animal Crossing and that series sucks.

 

[Acacia Sgt]

I can only imagine how tougher must be to obtain Celebi...

Which reminds me... I've never managed to.

[Armagon]

17 minutes ago, Acacia Sgt said:

I can only imagine how tougher must be to obtain Celebi...

Which reminds me... I've never managed to.

Yeah a lot of the Legends in Blue Rescue Team, i never managed to get. As for the ones in Explorers of Sky, i uh.....cheated. Basically i used the quest generator tool (that may not work anymore since Nintendo shut down Nintendo Wi-Fi) and made super-easy quests that rewarded me with rare items and Pokemon.

Edited January 10, 2020 by Armagon

[Acacia Sgt]

Just now, Armagon said:

Yeah a lot of the Legends in Blue Rescue Team, i never managed to get. As for the one in Explorers of Sky, i uh.....cheated. Basically i used the quest generator tool (that may not work anymore since Nintendo shut down Nintendo Wi-Fi) and made super-easy quests that rewarded me with rare items and Pokemon.

Considering the Explorer games are in the eShop, perhaps you can still do it?

Haven't played the Explorer games. Not yet at least. I bought Sky from the eShop. I decided to do a run of Rescue Team first, so until I finish that one, I will move on to EoS.

[DragonFlames]

28 minutes ago, Armagon said:

@DragonFlames @Shrimperor

New Neptunia game looking good.

We all know it's only a matter of time before Stadia is an actual Neptunia character.

XD

If Stadia was a Neptunia character, she'd probably be a character that thinks of herself as the best thing ever, only to fail at nearly everything.

Real talk: I have no clue how a potential next mainline game would be like at this point. Megadimension was so good and had a rather conclusive ending that I feel like it's hard to make a follow-up on that. I also don't know how they'd top Dark CPU battles. I'd want a new mainline game to bring back Bigger Neptune, Uzume, the NEXT Forms (they could have the candidates get one, as well, now that I think about it) and said Datk CPU battles.

29 minutes ago, Armagon said:

Kinda surprised you remember a little thing like this.

Goes to show how often I've played the original game.
But I remember this one in particular because back then, it was an easy source for EXP that allowed for some extra level ups that I used to make life a little easier for me.

31 minutes ago, Armagon said:

The 99 floors isn't even the bigger issue. The bigger issue is that hunger is in the game and iirc, using moves uses up hunger.

That has not been changed from past entries. Hunger is still very much present in this one.
And yes, it can make life difficult. Especially in dungeons where you're only allowed to bring a limited amount of items or even none at all.

The dungeon where you fight Deoxys comes to mind as being especially painful in that regard: 20 floors, each one having only one enemy in it (an illusion of one of Deoxys' forms) and you have to defeat said enemy for the stairs to appear. You're not allowed to bring any partner Pokémon, the dungeon is dark, meaning you only see like three spaces in front of you. And you're only allowed to bring 3 items (the trick is to bring only Reviver Seeds) plus one equipped item (I recommend X-Ray Specs that show you item and enemy locations on each floor. This makes the hunt for Deoxys' illusions a hell of a lot easier).

The "best" part about this is that the dungeon only unlocks after you've recruited Lugia, who waits at the end of a 99-floor dungeon with giant Monster Houses every 10 or so floors, meaning if you don't have Heatwave, Powder Snow or use a Petrify Orb, you're screwed.

32 minutes ago, Armagon said:

I probably will get Rescue Team DX even if it does just end up being a 1:1 remake if only because it's been so damn long since the last good Pokemon Mystery Dungeon. I enjoyed Blue Rescue Team, i'll probably enjoy this and i can't wait for the inevitable Explorers remake.

It's still the gameplay you're used to, so I don't think this will be a game deserving of "durr, dIz GAeM iz BaAaAaD!". At least it didn't hide content that should have been there from the start behind a $30 paywall.
I was just offering my personal thoughts of what I saw in the demo and tried to draw comparisons to the original game. I wasn't trying to deter anyone from buying the game, however.

31 minutes ago, Acacia Sgt said:

I can only imagine how tougher must be to obtain Celebi...

Which reminds me... I've never managed to.

I managed to do it exactly once by nothing more than dumb luck. That dungeon will forever haunt my nightmares.
Using a Charizard helps, because you start with Heatwave, which instantly deletes Monster Houses, but that's about the only actual strategy I can recommend to you.

18 minutes ago, Armagon said:

Yeah a lot of the Legends in Blue Rescue Team, i never managed to get. As for the ones in Explorers of Sky, i uh.....cheated. Basically i used the quest generator tool (that may not work anymore since Nintendo shut down Nintendo Wi-Fi) and made super-easy quests that rewarded me with rare items and Pokemon.

I did that too on second and third playthroughs. It's hilarious to wander around early dungeons with stuff like Blastoise or Garchomp. I think these tools still work, but I'm not too sure of it.

[Acacia Sgt]

I remember the farthest I ever reached with Purity Forest was... I believe somewhere between the late 70's and early 80's floor.

That time I got really lucky and found a Tight Belt in like, the first five floors. Which helped to squeeze as much EXP as I could per floor.

[DragonFlames]

1 minute ago, Acacia Sgt said:

I remember the farthest I ever reached with Purity Forest was... I believe somewhere between the late 70's and early 80's floor.

That time I got really lucky and found a Tight Belt in like, the first five floors. Which helped to squeeze as much EXP as I could per floor.

I remember it took me many days (and retries) to get through that thing. I believe getting through it is purely luck-based. Like in your example, finding an item that negates hunger makes getting EXP a lot easier.

About the only sliver of light is that you don't actually have to fight Celebi. Unlike a certain other "Mew-type" at the end of a 99-floor-I'll-reset-your-level-because-I-am-effing-evil dungeon.

[Acacia Sgt]

At least you could bring items to Wish Cave.

[DragonFlames]

2 minutes ago, Acacia Sgt said:

At least you could bring items to Wish Cave.

And partners, all of which helps out a ton.

[Armagon]

27 minutes ago, DragonFlames said:

Real talk: I have no clue how a potential next mainline game would be like at this point. Megadimension was so good and had a rather conclusive ending that I feel like it's hard to make a follow-up on that.

Eh, it's not like timeline matters in this series. ReBirth 3 also had a conclusive ending. They'll come up something once they take a break from spin-offs.  Since the series is a parody, there isn't really a shortage of what they could. 

Like they could have Noire start cracking down on games in reference to Sony's recent censorship policies of any games remotely anime. 

28 minutes ago, DragonFlames said:

I also don't know how they'd top Dark CPU battles.

I personally wouldn't mind if Dark CPU battles were a thing that just appear in Megadimension tbh. It made sense for the game and, similar to child characters in Fates, may feel forced if done in the next game without the reason as to why it was there. Megadimension is great but i'm not gonna lose sleep if the next mainline game doesn't top it and i think that's the best outlook. All that matters if it's good.

Though i will say i do have a fear of Uzume not being in the next mainline Neptunia game given the same thing happened to Plutia even though there was no reason for her to not be in Megadimension.

1 hour ago, Acacia Sgt said:

Considering the Explorer games are in the eShop, perhaps you can still do it?

I don't think DS games that are in the eShop have their Wi-Fi connectivity intact. Maybe they do though, i'm not sure.

 

[Acacia Sgt]

1 minute ago, Armagon said:

I don't think DS games that are in the eShop have their Wi-Fi connectivity intact. Maybe they do though, i'm not sure.

If I recall correctly, Shadow Dragon had its Wi-Fi shop made available "offline" at all times (though the items on sale would still vary depending on the day of the month), so perhaps something similar was done with Explorers? Perhaps I can look that up since I do have Sky; but likely not tonight.

[Shrimpica]

Can someone please explain this

Spoiler

So fucking broken xD

And 7 Range, 86 hit ayy

Spoiler

 

7 hours ago, Shadow Mir said:

What were you attacking again? And what battalion was he using? Because I have a hard time seeing Deadeye getting that accurate without Edmund Troops or something.

 

Some D rank Archer battalion or something. Ashe has like 40 Dex, so...

180 Hit ahoy xD

1 hour ago, Armagon said:

We all know it's only a matter of time before Stadia is an actual Neptunia character.

Soon ™️

54 minutes ago, DragonFlames said:

Megadimension was so good and had a rather conclusive ending that I feel like it's hard to make a follow-up on that. I also don't know how they'd top Dark CPU battles. I'd want a new mainline game to bring back Bigger Neptune, Uzume, the NEXT Forms (they could have the candidates get one, as well, now that I think about it) and said Datk CPU battles.

Maybe that's why we are waiting now? Hopefully the next one, whever we get it, is really goooooooooood!

 

Edited January 10, 2020 by Shrimperor