by littlebro » Wed Apr 11, 2018 7:52 am
Your opinion about Eldan?
I loved the way he dealt with the other characters, slightly sarcastic but never cruel. His skills were very helpful, especially the ‘all-enemy’ ones, and I liked the way they varied depending on the type of terrain. I’m going to be very careful about spoilers here, so I will just say that I was taken by surprise by him, but it all fitted him and the other character, so was completely coherent.
Your opinion about Dathan?
I thought he was so believable, in his attitudes, assumptions and development. The comments on the mirrors were so funny! I played him as Bard and his healing and buffing skills were excellent. I particularly liked the fact that some of the more common skills (healing & curing) were combined into one, but only used the MP for curing if it was needed. That saved a turn in battle for other things. And his autoheal for the whole party was awesome. Combining his DEF buffs with Eva’s ‘Deadly Defense’ produced some amazing results! Is that skill of hers just a tad OP?
Your opinion about Eva?
I played her as Warrior. Nice to have a female badass fighter with a lot of power. A bit po-faced at first – I thought Granny’s description of her as “bearing a sword and a stern face” summed it up well. But she lightened up a lot. It was good, imo, that she stayed true to her village and their needs, as well as her development so that she wasn’t dependent on other peoples’ respect any more. Loved her skills, and I allocated her Points to include a fair bit of AGI so that she got her damage in quickly.
Your opinion about Kris?
So believable and funny. I took him out of the party when the last character joined, and his remarks about not being in the party any more were priceless. Good attention to detail there. With the skills that he was able to learn from enemies as well as his own, a great asset in a variety of battles. I can see how being skinny and not having a body strong enough to hold a deep magical charge went together. So again skills and character went together well.
Your opinion about the story and dialogs?
Excellent, simply that. Well written, each character having their own distinct personality, with developments that were believable. The range of relationships between the party made for a lot of depth. The twists and turns of the story were often surprising (again I’m being very careful about spoilers) but the foreshadowing of events through the main dialogue and the ‘Elsewhere’ scenes meant that none of the twists seemed out of place.
Your opinion about the battles?
Great. Very nice graphics for the enemies, with lots of interesting animations and poses. Great variations in the skills of both the party and the enemies. Ran smoothly and with plenty of opportunities for strategic play which could turn the battle.
Your opinion about the game's title screen and music?
I thought that the title screen went well with the theme of the story. I’ve seen particles used before, but having them as skulls and daggers made all the difference. Nice that the character art was added as the people joined the party, the same as The Tale of a Common Man. Like most players, I suspect, I normally only hear the first part of the title music because I move on to loading the game quite quickly, so using it for the trailer meant that I heard all of it, which made me appreciate it more in-game. Very well written, imo.
What was your favorite moment and why?
To be honest, it’s difficult to single out one moment as my favourite, there are so many to choose from. The cutscenes were very well done; lots of emotional moments, funny moments, visually stunning moments, exciting battles, etc. I can’t choose between so many contenders.
How did you like the ending? Any twist you particularly enjoyed?
I thought the ending was brilliant. The final twist was particularly good and brought so many of the threads together. I’m not saying any more of the details because I’d like people to come to it unaware of what’s going to happen. And the final moment after the final battle and before the ‘wrap-up’ scenes with the 2 characters walking off together was very touching.
What's the game's best/strongest sides?
How to choose when there are, imo, no weak sides? Mapping, music, battles, story, lighting effects, all so good. Great, too, to have Points to allocate so that I could get my own build of the characters, and having some choice about classes and upgrades meant that I could tailor all this to suit my own playing style. If I’m only allowed one, then I suppose I would have to say the story/characters.
Have you played other Aldorlea "collaboration" games (Sylia, Opaline, Undefeated, The Tale of a Common Man, The King's Heroes) and if so, how does this one compare?
Best of the lot. No more to say.
Well done, a truly excellent game.