by VanEinstein » Wed Mar 31, 2010 4:00 am
My weigh in on this topic comes vastly late, but having played both #1 and 2, and a portion of the first part of the Orbs of Magic Trilogy, I feel that the series got better with age.
In the first game the characters, world design, and overall story progression were rather flat, and dull. The balance also seemed to be missing. In fights you were either vastly overpowered, or vastly underpowered. There was no middle ground. I also despised the lack of real individuality with characters. There was never any reason to use Galahad or the Pirate for example. Neither of them brought anything unique to the table over any other character. A simple melee attack was the limit of their use, and as such could be discounted.
The second in the series seemed to imrove(at first) with the inclusion of slightly more interesting story concept, and characters with a reletively interesting class feature between Ean and Iya. I cant deny the amusement I had when I first disovered that I'd be able to shapeshift into various forms, and as such have access to different skills by form. Unfortunately, reality sank in as I accessed each new form. No form ever felt more useful and well timed than the very first one (granting a much needed ability to attack all enemies on screen, although it eventually outwore its usefulness). Nothing any other form ever granted (aside from the Griffon forms ability to cause confusion in a target) was ever as useful(unless you can argue a case for the Vampire's ability to curse a target). As for Iya, both her basic spells and the ones granted by guilds felt vastly underpowered. The guild spells were MP hogs for what they did, and the Necromancer Guild could be discounted as useful at all, unless perhaps you were crazy enough to steal from the donation boxes, thus robbbing yourself of the 10 Karma for the ever amazing Phoenix Orb(which finally made Iya worthy). After that, only Gavin and Nicholas had any unique abilties to bring to the table(and dont say Jack, because his Stealing was pointless). While Ava was interesting, she had nothing to make her useful. Despite all this, the story felt a bit more compelling than that of the first, and the soundtrack was also miles ahead. I wont deny that a good soundtrack can sometimes push me a little more to keep playing an otherwise flawed game(to a point- I have limits, you know). Lets also not forget that sadly, the balance finds itself in the same predicament as the first game. You either beat the crap out of encounters, or you're vastly underpowered. There was never any middleground.
So far, of what I've seen from "Lord of Twilight", the character developement has gotten vastly better, as has the dialogue, and overall fleshing out of the world design. The same goes for music improvements yet again. The fashion in which the story is told has also taken leaps and bounds. I cant speak entirely for combat, because I've only had access to a limited array of characters for a short duration, but so far It's looking promising. This could change. I have to admit I was discouraged by the protagonist being a Thief style character. Jack from Ahrimans Prophecy and Aveyond 2 really had me worried. He was nothing special beyond being able to unlock chests. This was mildly alieviated when I learned that Mel would have access to a variety of skills learned from 'Intelligence Agencies', and that I wouldnt be forced to choose which one she learned from, unlike the prior system of Mages and their being forced to choose a single Guild. Te'ijal had an improvment on her ability to bite her victims compared to Aveyond. Back then, all she did was take a vastly tiny portion of health, and potentialy put an enemy to sleep, which by the way, made the final encounter a joke. Now she actually takes as much health as she needs from an enemy to fill her health, up to the amount a foe has(ie: if the foe only has 40 health, she can only take that much, even if she needs 100 health to reach her maximum). She can also cause a status effect with a 2nd ability (which I havent tried yet, but plan to). Neither Galahad nor Edward have anything special yet(unless you count the ability to change Edwards weapon with gems), but heres hoping I see something. I cant speak for any other characters though. Being so early in the game, I also cant comment on wether or not the combat balance gets better or not. I can only hope and wait to see.
In light of what I've said so far, it could be said that despite being only a short distance into the Orbs of Magic Trilogy, I'd say that so far it's shaping up to be my favorite of the Aveyond series. What's that you say? I havent mentioned what I think of Ahrimans Prophecy? This is true. However, the mechanics of Ahrimans Prophecy were vastly different from that of a standard RPG, and the age... well, let's just say I dont feel it's right to put it up to the same expectations. I wouldnt say I enjoyed it though. I completed it prior to playing Aveyond purely because I have this completionist issue. I felt like somehow I owed it to myself if I was going to be put into contact with elements from Aveyond that related back to Ahrimans Prophecy(I'll leave out those details in case I'd be spoiling something for anyone).
[Going a bit off topic a moment, if I may]:
In regards to my time spent playing Laxius Force, I had the same issue(need for completion). As soon as I disovered that a prequel had been made, I jumped on board with 3 Stars of Destiny. Unfortunately this had a repercussion for me. I was stuck wanting more of those characters and their adventures, but left only with the inferior Laxius Power games to fill the gap. That's not to say that they werent great for their time. I just had a hard time playing them after getting a taste of superior dialogue and character developement from 3 Stars of Destiny. Of course there was so much more that was superior over the LP Trilogy, but the dialogue and character developement were those two defining features that really troubled me when I went to play Laxius Power. It was like day and night. It's obvious why, of course. They were made in different times. I get that. But it cant stop me from dropping my jaw when I read the dialogue and find that Random and the rest of the cast come across in a fashion completely unlike that of their personality in 3 Stars, or even the brief stint I had with Laxius Force. I felt like the characters I knew and loved were being butchered before my very eyes. This would probably be a good time to ask Indinera/Damien (if he sees this topic), if he ever has plans to continue the 3 Stars of Destiny prequel branch into other games(which in some sense would be like re-writing Laxius Power)? I can only hope so. I know he has a lot on his plate, but honestly, I'd be thrilled to no end to experience more adventures with Random and his crew in an updated fashion filled with that same style of personality and plot/character developement that 3 Stars had. I'd go so far as to throw myself at his feet and grovel until he did it, even if it wasnt going to be for a few years.
[Okay, end of my off topic stuff]
So uhh... wall of text, huh?
Exit, stage right! ^^;
I actually started with Aveyond (Rhen's Quest) as my very first rpg game and have been playing all the Aveyond series since then. The story line may be simple sigh...and young, but I needed to start on a simple game that has progressed with the newer game-making programs. Besides, I'm an all thumbs player so this is right up my alley and I'm not stopping now 
There was a twist at the very beginning that I never expected 
