Favorite In-Game Moment (explain why):
Can't say; I can't really pinpoint one. Can't explain why; I just can't find a moment that really stands out. \=
What did you think about the story?
The story itself... is fairly compelling. More thoughts below. (And yes, I have played the previous 3 episodes, just an FYI.)
Marine is a character we want to follow; strong-willed, driven, and willing to do what it takes to achieve her goal. Some of her actions and behaviors seem somewhat reckless and maybe a bit unrealistic at times, but that's when I remember that's she's only 15, so it's understandable.
The other characters are a mixed bag. Some are interesting, with fairly well defined personalities, such as Benoit, Merline, Jack, Bodken, Abu, Old Suzuki, (who I hope stays around a while longer,) and to extents, Hirado, and Karine. (Yes, I know she's not in this one, but I'm counting her anyway.) Bear's alright too; we haven't seen too much of his character yet, but he only showed up late in 4, and then once he was recruited, we didn't see anything else of him. So, here's hoping 5 shows more of him.
The rest of the playable cast though, kind of falls flat. Jezable, Mom, Jake, Salome, Dee, and Wolfgang, (
especially Wolfgang,) aren't as well defined. They aren't all that fleshed out, and we don't know them so well as people. To use an example, when I'm using Dee, I don't think of her as a character; I think of her as my Magic Nuke, and
only as my Magic Nuke, because there isn't any other reason to think otherwise of her. Hirado, and Karine could use a bit of work as well, but they don't feel like major players, nor were they characters that stuck with you for a while, so they're more excusable. Now, this wouldn't be so much of a deal, but I've also played other games of yours, Laxius Force for one, and some of the character work was certainly better there. I just feel that you could be doing a better job with some of these characters (Salome and Wolfgang are practically blank slates,); flesh them out, show other sides of their personalities, define them, make them unique and memorable. But before everyone flames me, remember that it's just my opinion, and that there are characters that
are fleshed out and developed, like I've mentioned.
And I suppose I should also give a word to our antagonists. Lord Dragon is portrayed fairly nicely; he isn't really a tyrant, per say, as he's actually a decent ruler, who's loyal to his home, and is respectable, courteous, and never plays dirty. True, the countryside is in shambles, but it's been like that for ages. Dragon was likely born into that state of affairs, and feels that that's just the way things are. Now, if he was a truly great ruler, he'd try to do something about it, but as it is, the land could certainly be worse off. No, Dragon isn't our villain here people.
Borgon, on the other hand, is. From the beginning of the series, we see that he's a self-centered man who only cares about himself, and is willing to do just about anything to stay in power in Mystrok, shown literally, from both sending the earlier spy/assassin out, and by his actions late in 4. He doesn't care one whit about the peasants, and shows no respect to them, even those to who his Lord Dragon does. In fact, he only shows respect to Dragon because he's his superior, and if he tried anything, such as what he did in 4, he'd likely lose his position and all of his power, as with what nearly happened here. Overall, I'd bet that if our heroes start actually winning a good portion of their fights, that Borgon is going to get quite desperate... (I also think that if he could, he'd take over the position of 'Lord' in a heartbeat...)
I can't say much about the martial artists at this point, but I will say that they look like fairly interesting opponents, and should make for some good fights when the time comes.
And finally, I should actually talk about the plotline. There wasn't a ton of it, in comparison to the large amount of dungeon crawling that was present, but it was definitely there. Depending on where it was at, it could get depressing, inspiring, exciting, somber, etc., and was pretty well-plotted, and the series of events and actions made sense; nothing really stood out to me as 'BS', which was good. The whole scene with the Bear was probably the best part of this Episode, though I also rather liked the earlier bit with Bodken. And the end, starting with the crew being locked outside of Mystrock, to the credits, was exciting, and while I knew they would probably get in, there was a small part of me that felt, 'Maybe they
won't get in.' And the final scene gave a cue(yes, not clue, I really mean 'cue',) of some of what's to come. All in all, good plot, decent antagonists, a nice heroine, but the rest of the characters are a mixed lot.
Oh, and the dialogue, while overall serviceable, could use some touching up.
What did you think about Marine?
I've already talked about her.
What did you think about Lord Dragon?
Him too.
What did you think about the music?
Pretty nice. Not the most memorable or striking tracks I've ever heard, but they fit where they were, and never made my ears bleed.
All in all, a pretty decent soundtrack, with some tracks being a cut above others.
What did you think about the artworks?
Pretty good. It's drawn well, and it all fits. Certainly some of the better artwork to be seen in a RPGM game. I'd just wish the artwork better matched up with the character sprites. (Or vice-versa.)
Your opinion about the game's ending (from the moment they go the Mystrock to register the last warrior)?
I already talked about.it Maybe it could have used a bit more ''oomph' at the end, but I'm not exactly sure what.
What's the game's best/strongest sides?
The whole scene with The Bear, and and the ending sequence(s).
What was your biggest surprise in this game?
The fact that Marine's Mom was still alive and not a ghost, but an actual playable character, if only briefly. That, and that a character that was previously just a random NPC (Bodken,) turned out to actually be a somewhat major character.
Have you played Millennium 1-2-3 and if so, how does this one compare?
Yes, I've played them, and I'd say that the biggest difference is actually the gameplay. It's not as good; since you made just about everyone use Barehand, they can't use their magic or weapons, and so they lose all of their buffs, debuffs, offensive spells, etc. I know that the characters had to try and train in the martial arts, but getting rid of those abilities wasn't the way to do it, from a gameplay perspective. I do hope we get them back by the end of 5.
Who would win a female Beauty Contest: Marine, Karine, Jezabel, Salome, Claryssa (Mom)?
Marine, Karine, or Salome.
Who would win a male Beauty Contest: Benoit, Hirado, Abu, Jack, James, Bokden, Wolfgang, The Bear, Suzuki?
Bodken, Jack, or Hirado.
Who is the funniest character and why?
Old Suzuki.
Are you looking forward MM5 and if so, what would you like to see in this game?
For one, I'd like to see all the spells and skills returned by the end. But aside from that... I think that just having The Showdown would be a bit unsatisfactory, because we've expecting it from the beginning. I'm not saying it shouldn't be there at all, but that it'd also be nice to see something unexpected occur as well. Something that really throws you a curve ball...
So yeah, that's all I have to say. Peace out.