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I just finished this game the other night. This isn't a thread recommending it to everyone, for the game wasn't special by any means, besides maybe being the first Nintendo DS RPG game. I just thought I'd put some thoughts out about it since it was my latest DS adventure and there might be a few members curious about the game. Maybe even a few members who have played it and might want to discuss it, but I doubt that.
I'll just start off by saying that I doubt many people would enjoy this game. Most would find that the negatives easily outweigh the positives. Without patience and dedication, you won't ever finish it. The game can be fairly difficult at times and leveling up can actually extend many hours of your time. One of the easiest aspects of the game to criticize is how you have to choose between virtue mode and combat mode aka earning Athena Conduct Points (experience points) or gaining items to sell in the store to upgrade your equipment. You kinda have to do both at times and it's a shame you can't simply do both at the same time like the majority of other RPGs. It's as though they expect you to spend twice the amount of time in repetitive battles. You might spend an entire hour earning enough items to sell in the store simply to have whatever it is you buy break during one of the battles! Talk about an annoyance. I don't want my items breaking!
Enemies are incredibly boring and repetitive, too. There didn't seem to be much variety with them and after just a short while the same enemies start to reappear, only as different colors to show that they are supposed to be harder. Yes, this is a standard thing for many games, but it would have been nice to have at least more than, like, 15 different enemies.
Traveling the world is no fun, either. It takes too long to get to where you want to go and it really sucks bumping into repulsive monsters along the way. As I look back in retrospection, it feels as though the entire game was one huge dodge-the-repulsive-monsters tournament. You eventually get a flying contraption called The XR45 Sakura, but that's at the point in the game when you only have one place left to go to! That really ticked me off. The adventure would have gone by much more smoothly and satisfyingly had I been given the flying XR45 Sakura earlier.
It does make use of the innovations of the DS, too, but in irritating ways. Seriously irritating ways. For instance, to escape from a battle you have to blow into the mic. It's sensitive to the point where you can't really be talking/laughing, playing on road trips, or even being able to play it outside! You have no idea how many times the glorious wind tried to save me from battle, only to fail and have the repulsive un-dodged monsters get a bunch of free hits on me and my comrades. Now that was irritating. The stylus is pointless for the buttons can do what it does, which is only switching between virtue mode and combat mode.
The characters were too generic and you never really get comfortable with having any of them around. I spent a long time leveling up and buying items for Lucia Collins, who you start the adventure with along with Jian Campbell, only to have her leave the team a ways into the game and never re-join. I felt as though my time building her up was wasted and I never put trust in any of the other characters that joined along the way. You just never know how much to give without knowing how long they're going to be by your side.
Although Flora Banks was such a sweetheart! She was definitely the nicest character on our team, not to mention an excellent healer. I spoiled her with all kinds of rings and bows. She was just so cute! ^_^
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However bad the game is, I still found myself strangely enjoying it. About mid-way into the game is when I grew accustomed to all the irritating aspects of the game and just somehow convinced myself that it was part of the difficulty of the game. Not being a good game is often a good means to have it conquer someone instead of that someone conquering the game. Think of the worst game you've ever played. Did you ever beat it? The answer is probably no! I know I could never stand to play Dirty Harry for the NES, therefor I never beat it. I wouldn't allow this game to do that to me, though, so I found my motivation and I charged! I was proud of myself when I finally finished it. Proud and relieved. I knew that I overcame it, that I didn't allow it to get the best of me, and somehow through all that I learned to enjoy the game more.
To be perfectly honest, I enjoyed this game more than New Super Mario Bros, strangely enough. Not saying it is a better game, only that I liked it more. I caught myself having a lot of fun at times and there were a few points of great excitement.
It was also my first Lunar experience. Lunar fans keep telling me not to judge the entire series on this game. I don't know much about the Lunar games in the first place. I didn't get this game because I was a fan of previous Lunar adventures, I got it because it was, at the time, the only Nintendo DS RPG and it was totally cheap! I have no regrets for this purchase. I doubt anyone would, really, because it's certainly not an expensive game. I got mine for the low price of around 10 dollars. Happy price.
Well, I'm moving on to my next Nintendo DS adventure, Trace Memory!
Ah, very interesting. I might not pick this game up for a while, not until I take a more indepth look at the series as a whole. Can't beat that price though! Not sure I would like the repetitiveness though. I get bored with that in RPG's quickly, mostly because I like a story that moves at a good pace, rather than being stuck leveling up or whatever until I can get to the next part of the story.
Understandable. Also, there wasn't much of a good story in this game. At least there wasn't one that I cared for. It was fairly clichéd and predictable, without any interesting twists or surprises.
Forget Trace Memory, Dex. Pick up Children of Mana! :D
Also, I doubt I'll get this game. Sorry, say it, but I don't think Flora can outweigh all of those flaws by herself. :( Is it true that you can't choose what monster to attack either?