Let's Play Partia 2: I Can't Believe It's Not Fire Emblem!

[Vahne]

And hey, go for it if you get the free time for it. Partia 2 is honestly at the top of the pile in terms of Android strategy games (which says a lot), and it'd be nice to have something else worthwhile out there that isn't freemium garbage.

I assume you mean this in terms of FE type SRPGs or in terms of native Android games since the ports of Idea Factory's SRPGs are pretty good. I speak of the Agarest games and their Neverland series of games like Spectral Souls. They're slightly pricier than the Partia games, though that's a given since they're console ports and actually had a budget of some kind.

Also, did I miss it, or did Erin not get a character ending? Does the game think she's dead?

Also nice that Sigrid's ending references Tatum, who I feel is just as broken as an early game Na'Lat.

Also, according to this page (near the bottom), Thomas, Natalie and Mantel are returning characters from Partia 1. Who would have guessed? The character bios in this game sure are informative!

Haven't gotten far enough to meet (or even at least remember) Natalie and Mantel, but nice to see that it's the same Thomas as Partia 1. And by that, I mean not really. His speed was absolutely awful in the first game...

Edited February 23, 2016 by Vahne

[epilepsyduck]

There's one thing that's I've been wondering about throughout this whole LP: Would parts of the story feel less out of the blue if any of us were actually familiar with the story of the first Partia? (According to a comment on the youtube page you linked to it actually has character bios! What avaricious decadence!)

I took a trip of to the games' webpage, and found this and this

Would've been nice if background stuff like that were mentioned in the actual game, wouldn't it?

Also, according to this page (near the bottom), Thomas, Natalie and Mantel are returning characters from Partia 1. Who would have guessed? The character bios in this game sure are informative!

In hindsight, I probably should've purchased both of the games instead of just the sequel, but I didn't exactly buy Partia 2 with the intention of LPing it, and consensus seemed to be that the second game is the superior one.

There is a walkthrough of the first game that offers some plot details if you're really curious about it. I only gave it a very cursory look, though. Way to do more research than I did in my own LP. I knew those three were returning characters but never found those webpages.

I've played Partia 1, and I was completely lost the first time I played this game.

The only possible connection is that Thomas is the Kain archetype in the first game (I didn't recognise the name because he was Herman-tier and I benched him immediately), so based on his two sprites, I suppose Val is the son of the first MC. The first game ends with

The MC being framed for his brother's (the king) assassination and being forced to flee

so that explains why Val has a big reveal, but there should have been an actual callback to the events of the first game.

I mean, the game does mention the existence of a claimant to the throne long before we meet Val, so that plot point doesn't come totally out of nowhere if you lack knowledge of the original. I think that reveal falls flat mostly because there is absolutely no buildup to it, we're dicking around with various sidequests one moment and suddenly we're starting a civil war.

I assume you mean this in terms of FE type SRPGs or in terms of native Android games since the ports of Idea Factory's SRPGs are pretty good. I speak of the Agarest games and their Neverland series of games like Spectral Souls. They're slightly pricier than the Partia games, though that's a given since they're console ports and actually had a budget of some kind.

Also, did I miss it, or did Erin not get a character ending? Does the game think she's dead?

Also nice that Sigrid's ending references Tatum, who I feel is just as broken as an early game Na'Lat.

Ah, I probably should've clarified that i meant it was better than most SRPGs for Android, not the best. Imagine a world where that was the case and weep.

Yeah, I don't know why Erin lacks an ending. It's especially weird given how important she is. Mantel and James also lack endings, but who gives a fuck about them?

Because I spent most of this LP cutting out any deaths I suffered, we've not seen so much as a single death quote (not to mention having never seen some characters utter a single word). Let's amend such a tragedy with this pointless sideproject I did for no reason!

Death quotes: The life of any game

Given that I did this by using Partia 2's pointless post game features, this feels very appropriate.

Losing blood is apparently a very annoying experience.

Since Serene's ending seems to strongly imply she married Raf, it would've been nice if the only hint that they're an item wasn't her death quote. Then again, given that I seem to have totally misread the Kade-Erin thing, it might be I'm not great at picking up on romantic cues.

I can't agree more. 2 base speed is just a horrible sight.

This is very generic and hard to make fun of. Damn you, Kori, you're mediocre even in death.

The armor knights have a similar problem, actually. This is one of our last posts and it's falling totally flat because of you guys!

I couldn't agree more.

Nan still has the best portrait in the game.

I'm guessing that's a Partia 1 character's name there, but hell if I know why it's the entirety of Petros' death quote.

It's always been Bendt's dream to die in a palace or mansion, somewhere truly grand. Sadly, instead he gets the Arena, because that's all this save can access now.

Kerns tries to look on the bright side of being sacrificed for a pointless post like this one. What a swell guy!

A true tragedy occurs; a fashionable turtleneck dies in the arena, cut down before its time. Some guy wearing it also dies.

Erin doesn't have time to care about dying, she wants someone to turn the AC off.

Erin's apparently a Game Over character, by the way, along with her brother and Kade. Given her general awesomeness, this isn't really an issue.

That is almost the exact same quote as Kade, just with the word "No!" appended to the beginning. This isn't the last time this happens.

Subtle hinting at his royal blood. Damn, we've been missing out on so much foreshadowing and plot details!

Poor Earlin gets a kind of lame line when he dies. He's overshadowed in every possible way it seems!

He just won't.

Alonso must be looking at his bases right now.

I appreciate just how nonchalant these are, so I put them together. Tan in particular just sounds mildly annoyed about dying.

I don't have any sort of comment on this one because I'm the worst.

Um... what?

Keep this one in mind, it's gonna come up again. Not as good as "Uraaagh!"

Is there just one god or several? You've been kind of inconsistent on that.

That seems a more appropriate reaction to dropping something on your foot, not for being stabbed to death.

Once again I have nothing to say, either because comedy is difficult or I'm an utter hack. Maybe both!

That is almost exactly the same thing as Ravn's, just using a synonym for "lance"! Tsk tsk, such laziness.

Sudden Hulk speak in the deathquote for some reason?

Mantel has nothing to say, because all he's got is a placeholder for a death quote instead of an actual one!

To end things on a whimper, Natalie and James are afflicted with the same problem. What a shame.

I'll be collecting my thoughts on this little experience into a post soon-ish. After that I suppose it's time for FEBinary, which will probably be getting its own topic.

Edited February 23, 2016 by whenbananasattack

[Diffuse]

Way to do more research than I did in my own LP. I knew those three were returning characters but never found those webpages.

Doing much more research than I strictly should is kind of an habit of mine. Lord knows how many works I've accidently spoiled for myself that way...

[TheMoniker]

Well, I've certainly enjoyed the LP! Somehow, the way you beat the final chapter was 100% in-character for Partia 2. I'll definitely be reading the FEBinary LP!

Something about totally nonchalant/weak death quotes is just hilarious.

[Ayra]

Thanks for the playthrough! And yes, I do agree with most of your comments... The game is fun for an Android game, but there's some major balancing issue (That happens even if you don't grind the arena at all; the enemies do get weaker as you progress through the game) and the storytelling is a bit questionable (Sidequest, sidequest, hey we started a civil war during a cutscene and we already lost it and have to run away). Still enjoyed it for what it is.

Regarding the next game to be played, I'm going to suggest this one:

http://www.amazon.ca/Kapgain-Enterprises-Sword-Requiem/dp/B007PT5BUS/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1456283235&sr=8-2&keywords=Sword+Requiem​

In my opinion, it's by far the best Fire Emblem-like game on Android. The translation is horrible (I believe the game was originally in Chinese), there's some extremely nasty bugs (For example, trying to check what a stat does crashes the game) , but the game play is actually pretty darn good especially a bit further on. There's multiple great skills that would fit right-in into Fire Emblem, and I'd dare say has more interesting skills than even Fates does. Despite the big issuesI found it a very enjoyable experience... At least until the ******** final boss (two forms) and the slap-in-the-face ending (To the point I'm wondering if I got the bad ending by mistake).

[epilepsyduck]

Doing much more research than I strictly should is kind of an habit of mine. Lord knows how many works I've accidently spoiled for myself that way...

Hey, I'm not complaining. I probably should've done the research myself anyway, it certainly would've added a lot of needed context.

Well, I've certainly enjoyed the LP! Somehow, the way you beat the final chapter was 100% in-character for Partia 2. I'll definitely be reading the FEBinary LP!

Something about totally nonchalant/weak death quotes is just hilarious.

Glad you liked it!

Thanks for the playthrough! And yes, I do agree with most of your comments... The game is fun for an Android game, but there's some major balancing issue (That happens even if you don't grind the arena at all; the enemies do get weaker as you progress through the game) and the storytelling is a bit questionable (Sidequest, sidequest, hey we started a civil war during a cutscene and we already lost it and have to run away). Still enjoyed it for what it is.

Regarding the next game to be played, I'm going to suggest this one:

http://www.amazon.ca/Kapgain-Enterprises-Sword-Requiem/dp/B007PT5BUS/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1456283235&sr=8-2&keywords=Sword+Requiem​

In my opinion, it's by far the best Fire Emblem-like game on Android. The translation is horrible (I believe the game was originally in Chinese), there's some extremely nasty bugs (For example, trying to check what a stat does crashes the game) , but the game play is actually pretty darn good especially a bit further on. There's multiple great skills that would fit right-in into Fire Emblem, and I'd dare say has more interesting skills than even Fates does. Despite the big issuesI found it a very enjoyable experience... At least until the ******** final boss (two forms) and the slap-in-the-face ending (To the point I'm wondering if I got the bad ending by mistake).

I might check that out soon, thanks for the suggestion! The next LP I'll be doing's kinda already been decided though, sorry! Mostly because I've already recorded 2 chapter's worth of footage for it.

Anywho, before we move on into hackier territory, it's time for my 100% factual opinions on this little adventure. Lengthy, directionless rambling ahead:

Final Verdict: Still a better game than Shining Force

Since I've been pretty negative these past few posts, let's begin with the positives. Believe it or not, this will likely take just as long as my less favorable opinions will to write out.

While the game's definitely firmly rooted in Fire Emblem, I appreciate some of the ways in which it messes with the formula. Stuff like the surrounded penalties do help make it more its own thing and less of a clone. I do also like when it takes cues from TearRing Saga (which is highly underappreciated), even if they could've handled it better (losing the +1 move bonus on terrain skills is kind of sad, and the way they handle shields... more on that later).

I especially like how many of the chapters had unique objectives aside from the Seize/Rout/Defeat Boss trifecta, even if these unique objectives weren't always as enjoyable in practice as they were on paper. Stuff like that is always refreshing to see, and makes it more engaging than just dropping me in a series of empty fields and demanding I kill everything in sight.

The randomization does cause some issues (Like Chapter 1 Nal'at or a Chapter 2 Defense Ring), but I think it adds a lot to the replay value of the game. It could probably be balanced better so you're not getting insanely bad items/characters late game or insanely good items/characters early game, but even with those issues I think it adds more to the game than it takes away.

I do also like some of the game's more unique skills, things like Rapid Fire and Risk Taker (though the latter would be more valuable in a game that didn't also have Luna/Soul Attack). Even the oft-maligned-by-me Counter Attacker and Charge could actually be interesting if the bonuses they gave were worth the penalties. There's a few skills that do feel pretty worthless overall (Aim and [element] Magic skills in particular), but the lion's share are interesting or at least functional.

Also, the game's really aesthetically nice. I like the way the little sprites animate, the maps all look distinct and cool (aside from being too large at times), and the portraits are all unique and well designed.

But, as we've all seen through this little LP, there's a number of issues.

For one, the character balance is pretty poor. Not New Mystery levels of poor, but still pretty bad. There's so many units that show up and are immediately outclassed by units of the same or similar classes that do the same thing, but better. The starting cavaliers and caravan lancers are especially bad, but units like Arthur, Mantel and Earlin are also pretty hard to justify using. Even Una, much as I liked her, doesn't really measure up to Rok or Raf.

The armor issue is also pretty aggravating. It boosts the durability of units to irritating degrees but doesn't actually result in them becoming dangerous so much as it just makes them annoying to kill. It also just makes magic incredibly overpowered simply because of how weak everything is to magic while being quite durable against physical attacks; the final boss in particular is borderline immune to weapon strikes, but two casts of Mag Drive can kill him if your mage is sufficiently strong. This problem mainly affects the arena and the final chapters, but its effects can even be felt early on with some of the bosses.

The script also seriously needed some proofreading. I'm not even necessarily bothered by anything in the plot itself, but some of the errors are just embarrassing. The story itself isn't great, but probably would've been better if it simply explained what was going on better. As it stands, a lot of things happen with seemingly no context provided.

The worst bit has to be the bugs, though. Partia 2 has a lot of bugs, and many of them just result in the game being more annoying to play. Things like the magically appearing doors and obstacles in Chapter 15 make me wonder how much playtesting this game went through, and make what should've been an interesting chapter annoying instead. Even little things like the bugginess of the dismount system and the lost allies calculations kind of take away from the experience somewhat.

There's some nitpicks I have too (the interface occasionally felt a little clunky, a lot of classes feel too similar, several bosses lack deathquotes etc.), but those are pretty minor and not worth going into detail on here.

Overall, despite the bad bits, I did enjoy a lot of Partia 2, but I'm disappointed by some of its graver failings. Here's to hoping Partia 3 smooths out some of the rough edges and gives us something good!

Y'all probably don't need to bother reading this. It's pretty shit.

I'll have the next thread up within a couple days, so sit tight for the madhouse that is Fe4 Binary!