Record of Agarest War 2 Review
This is nothing more than a bargin-bin piece of trash.
Record of Agarest War 2
Players: 1 Offline Player
Publisher: Aksys
Genres: RPG
Publisher: Aksys
Genres: RPG
Release Date: June 26, 2012
Developer: Idea Factory
MSRP: $49.99
Developer: Idea Factory
MSRP: $49.99
Sometime after the events of the Day of Light, a young man by the name of Weiss, who had lost all memory of himself, encounters an enigmatic woman named Eva, who introduces herself as an Agent of the Divine. It is from her that Weiss learns that he has committed the grievous sin of deicide, and that in order for him to atone for his crime he is to become the "Vessel" in which the power of the divinity he had slaughtered will be stored. For it will be that power that will be used to resurrect the one whose life he stole.
Sage Reviews: Record of Agarest War 2
Posted By Bennett The Sage about 10 months, 2 weeks ago
Sage Reviews: Record of Agarest War 2, 
One of the most depressingly awful games I’ve ever played.
Follow me on Twitter at BennettTheSage
Sage Reviews: Record of Agarest War 2
One of the most depressingly awful games I've ever played.
Record of Agarest War 2 Review
This is nothing more than a bargin-bin piece of trash.
Record of Agarest War 2 LE Comes with Blow-Up Doll
“One related achievement is called Ecstasy Time.” – ESRB
Record of Agarest War 2 LE Comes with Blow-Up Doll
“One related achievement is called Ecstasy Time.” – ESRB
Record of Agarest War 2 Review
Posted By Robert G. about 10 months, 1 week ago
Record of Agarest War 2 Review
Sage Reviews: Record of Agarest War 2, 
For a few days now I have been dreading the completion of this review. It was a struggle to go through, not because of the contents of the title at hand, but because of the difficulty in portraying said contents in the correct manner. I would love to save a lot of time in this review and just come out and say Record of Agarest War 2 is a horrific mess of a game. Hell, I don’t even want to bury the lead here, I just want to warn fans of RPGs to stay away from this title to the best of their abilities. It’s not even worth the over 1800 words of typed out here. But I have to be professional.
So believe me when I say that I resisted the temptation to make this a one sentence review. Draw your own conclusions on that comment.
| PROS | Interesting story idea, character portraits well drawn, adequate music. |
| CONS | A clusterf*ck of mechanics, excessive fan-service, inexcusable graphical setup. |
| WTF?! | Bathhouse mini-games with a move controller… obviously that was the focus, right there! |
Right off the bat, the game throws at you several instances of torture for your retinas. From the opening movie scene to the criminally short and incoherent prologue, we see this mish-mash of ideas compiled into a compacted heap of a game. For those new to the Agarest War series, the game is essentially an RPG on a timer, where one of the main sub-quests is that the protagonist needs to enter a relationship with a female partner in order to proceed to the next generation. In theory, the concept is a marvelous one, as it has a continuing storyline that can be shaped by your actions and the connections you make with your party members.
In practice, it becomes an exercise of repetition and regurgitated banality. It also doesn’t help matters that the characterization in Argarest War 2 is lacking in some cases; granted the storyline also suffers from its own trivial clichés. Agarest War 2 stars Weiss, a swordsman with amnesia who apparently killed a god out of some form of revenge. The death of this god created an event known as the “Day of Light,” which enveloped the world in a blinding flash and then unleashed a horde of monsters and demons from its wake. After being told of this by an agent of the divine named Eva, Weiss is tasked with fulfilling his new destiny: to become the “Vessel” of the power of the god he murdered to atone for his actions.
I fully admit, the plot is not the most original idea in the world, but it does bring up some very powerful and interesting theological themes and questions, something that few games even attempt to do without being too self-referential. That said, Agarest War 2’s execution of this story is mishandled severely. It is mostly due to the dialogue delivery; while it is a subtitled Japanese game, the actual subtitles and translation is fairly poor, with all of the dialouge being clunky in terms of “speech patterns” and having this tendency for explaining things out for the player, rather than just showing it. It also doesn’t help that almost all of the characters never get a feeling of growth or really convey any sort of emotion at all due to their rather one-note personalities, which makes reading the game akin to a poorly written fantasy novel above all else. It also bogs the story down to a sluggish crawl due to the taxing cutscenes that play out.
There is no subtlety in the combat here. It’s a button mash bonanza baby!
The actual combat is also a mixed bag because of the unnecessary complexity it brings to the table. Instead of following the more traditional, six men on the field tactical-style combat that was akin to a Growlanser type of game, Agarest War 2 has decided to scale back the unnecessary movements, borrowing elements of the combat found in Cross Edge. Attacks are now button combos that do different amounts of damage, and field movement is now no longer a feature. Most combat situations will have you attack with one of the four field characters at a time, effortlessly mowing down mooks and mobs with ease or little thinking, making this more of an action-RPG than anything else out there.
But where it gets confusing is the whole skill system that is set up in-game. The skill system is divided into four sub-categories for each button on the PS3 controller, and to unlock special moves or skills you need to essentially grind, and combine skills with other characters to achieve them. So to set up characters, you need to level up and add skills based on the characters proficiency with skills, a total of twelve extra attributes to pay attention to as you grind it out. Add to this a unnecessary skill learning system that throws even more wrinkles into character growth and optimization, and you have one of the most broken, unorthodox and downright bloated character progression trees I have ever seen.
And that is just one aspect of the whole “role-playing” part of the experience. Formations give benefits to attacks, and allow for combo attacks between two or more characters on the field, while “overwaiting” the clock in battle reduces wait-times for attacking. Original skills are special moves activated by the L and R buttons to do massive damage when they become available. The list of features in what should have been a simpler combat system is pretty much endless. All of this is unnecessary too, as all of these features of the combat system basically amount to little to no use for a majority of the game. Even in some boss battles there is no need to go in-depth with the combat mechanics, because it’s just easier to mash a button with two-three characters attacking at a time. And the sad thing is, I doubt even fans of Agarest War or Zero will even appreciate the changes made, which makes the combat aspect an even bigger quagmire of feature creep.
2/10
Sage Reviews: Record of Agarest War 2
One of the most depressingly awful games I've ever played. Record of Agarest War 2 Review
This is nothing more than a bargin-bin piece of trash.-
July 19, 2012 at 09:21pm
I gotta say, there is a lot of hate being thrown around.
We got:
-hate for the game
-hate for the reviewer
-hate for people who like the game
-hate for all RPG’s from Japan from the hate for this game
-hate for other games unrelated to this game
-hate for simply disagreeing with someone, regardless of which side you’re on
-hate for the website
-hate for all the reviewers in this website
-hate for anything fanservice-y, the sexial kind, in generalI really hope this doesn’t occur too often. I came here and signed up because I saw there were a couple of interesting topics with good conversations on them.
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July 18, 2012 at 01:12pm
This kind of game really makes me sad. Not because of its dating sim features and moe art style, but the fact that the game is relying on fan services and sexual innuendos.
Dating sim can have awesome stories and characters, and while it is true that moe pictures are drawn to attract male audience, a lot of them are far far more conservative than most of western RPG characters with bikini armors. Aside from the cat girl and Valkyrie warrior chick I think the character designs are appropriate in this game.
But this kind of game wastes those potentials. If the game’s selling points are the characters and dating sim feature, why not flesh them both out? If we want porn we don’t want this barely average game that doesn’t even have nudity in it. Even moe otakus have better taste than that. The dev team clearly don’t give a dam except for cashing in
My point is though, JRPGs have fallen low. As if attractive girls are the only thing we need in the genre. Don’t get me wrong, I like moe characters, but to see them in this kind of form really depresses me. Since the NES era, Japanese game industry has been revolutionizing gaming experience. But now gamers don’t care about them anymore outside of the country.
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July 15, 2012 at 10:31am
There was a lot that I liked about the previous two games, enough where I would call them good and I had fun playing them but this one is just awful so far. Terrible boring combat, worse characters, time limits on things, and the stupid move support.
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July 15, 2012 at 12:39am
Want something good from Idea Factory then simply go with their otome game lineup. Hakuoki was really good, so are its spinoffs from what I’ve heard, and there’s Wand of Fortune 1 and 2:
http://vndb.org/v1874
http://vndb.org/v4542
And many more…
http://vndb.org/p589 -
July 14, 2012 at 07:12am
Wow, so this is the second review I have seen for Record of Agarast War 2 that makes me out to be a pedophile who needs to be jailed. I understand and deeply respect differences of opinion but, ouch. At least this one wasn’t straight out insulting me for even buying the game.
I haven’t played the game yet but I still plan on doing so. I was able to play the past Agarest games for the plot and character interactions so I shouldn’t have a problem with the game. I also like what I see with the new battle system. It looks similar to what was in Cross Edge, which is my favorite PS3 game. I never really understood the complaint on graphics with sprites, I find the new sprites to be very nicely detailed so I’m looking foward to that.
Also, isn’t a 2/10 unfair? A 2/10 means the game is a broken mess that should not even be playable. I’ve seen borderline unplayable games get higher scores that what this game is getting here. In truth, I don’t see these as actual reviews. Reviews would involve talking about the good and bad aspects of a game regardless of if the reviewer likes the game or not. This is more of a rant, telling everyone of how terrible it is and how everyone should stay far away from it.
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July 14, 2012 at 08:50am
I did my best to be fair. Sorry if it didn’t seem that way, but there was very little good for me to find.
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July 14, 2012 at 12:26pm
To be honest, I was having more of an issue on how you presented your dislike for the game. I was getting the vibe that you were borderline insulting people who do like the game by focusing on certain aspects, the fanservice expecially.
Like I said before, it’s fine to not like game. Fanservice aside, certain aspects of a game are seen as negative to some and positive to others. That’s why I didn’t want to attack you for it, I just tried to voice my distaste for it. If I came across as such… I’m sorry.
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July 15, 2012 at 09:04am
Calling people who like Compile Heart/Gust/etc games pedophiles is one of the requirements to be a contributor on this site. They’re mandated to do it.
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July 15, 2012 at 10:36am
Er…. they gave Hyperdimension Neptunia mk2 and Atelier Meruru a 7 and I think that the first has a lot of fanservice too and the second one is very girly looking (but a very good game).
I like this site because they tend to be very fair with jRPGs but with this one they were way too harsh, but this game being objective is a 5/10 at best.
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December 31, 2012 at 10:44am
I wish I saw this review sooner. I bought this game and was sadly disappointed in Idea Factory. Thank you for warning people, I thought I was the only one that found this game a bad addition to the series.
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July 14, 2012 at 12:04am
I borrowed this game off of my roommate and I am glad I did not spend $60 on this. There are so many more JRPG’s out there that are far more worth your money, especially considering Nppon Ichi has announced some new titles and The Last Story is coming soon.
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July 13, 2012 at 08:59pm
I used to like JRPGs a lot more, frankly I don’t know if I’ve become more jaded or the quality in the games have dropped off. You remember when people would laugh at poorly translated games like a joke? All your base are belong to us! Now it just seems lazy and unprofessional.
I really gotta agree with Rob and Sage, these games are an interesting idea that’s just poorly executed. They change the combat system instead of focusing on what they really need to make work, the story and romances. I mean they really need to make the individual story arcs longer so you get to know the characters, otherwise you’re basically just picking the stats you want for the next generation and guessing what answers you think the person would like. Flesh out the dating sim features, add idle conversations, stuff like that.
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July 13, 2012 at 06:33am
Thankfully, there are much better alternatives for people who want a good JRPG today. My top recommendations: Xenoblade Chronicles and the recent PSN port of Persona 3 FES. Both are FAR superior to this mess.
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July 12, 2012 at 10:15pm
O_O Dis page…
Wow, those are a lot of conflicting and…angry? comments below -_- Haven’t seen this much debate in a while…Especially over a relatively unknown and lesser topic in the grand scheme of things. I mean let’s face it, this isn’t a high budget title like ME or FF…That it warrants such discussion is a pleasing facet I’d like to see more of on RPGs.
Never played the first one, though it’s on the list of games I’d like to eventually play but will probably never find the free time to. I suppose this will just end on that same list but even so, I’ll probably get to them eventually…hopefully >_< I'm an RPG junkie, who knows, maybe when I get it the price will be a lot more worth my time.
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July 13, 2012 at 07:39am
A lot of hostility is coming from the pretty severe hyperbole that the reviewers are throwing at it. Really, tossing it in with Superman 64? It may not be a masterpiece and considering how much underutilized “stuff” is in it it has obvious shortcomings, but it’s at least functional and playable; something you can’t say out of stuff in Superman 64s league. According to Robert and Sage, this game is the worst thing since the Super Devil.
I imagine that all this pretty unwarranted hate is being lauded upon it because, well, it is “bad” and bad for the same reasons I think FF13 is bad.. which means some reviewers on this site think it’s a 9/10.. but they aren’t reviewing it, so anyway. But, beyond that, we’ve probably reached a tipping point for the JRPG where this breed of JRPG is all we’re going to be getting stateside until places like Square and Namco start pulling their heads out of their asses a bit more frequently and this game being mediocre at best doesn’t really help the issue.
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July 12, 2012 at 10:03pm
I like visual novel type games, and I’m having fun with this one.
The reviews are accurate, avoid if all you want is a good jrpg. If you want fan service though, or just something to read for however many hours then you’ll probably enjoy Agarest War 2.
Also, it helps if you are fluent with Japanese, as the translation is mostly pretty poor, and also that way you can look away from the screen if you get tired of staring at text and the purple haired jiggly boobed lady.
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July 12, 2012 at 09:51pm
A clusterfuck of mechanics? That’s an Idea Factory game for you! XP
“If you really want the god’s honest truth, Record of Agarest War 2 is perhaps in my personal top ten of the worst games I have ever played, right next to Superman 64 and Limbo of the Lost.”
I dunno about that, I’ve seen the same thing leveled at other IF games (like the former games in this series for one) and really I don’t think they are that bad.
Heck, Hyperdemension Neptunia got HORRIBLE reviews, they completely trashed that game and I got it and it was a blast.
I want to get this game but I have yet to beat either of its predecessors.
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July 12, 2012 at 07:34pm
Well… I’m playing the game right now and I think is mediocre, not bad and not good either.
I don’t agree about the Battle system being a mutton masher fest, you can build up pretty decent combos and has some complexity. Yeah, you can pass the battles only pressing buttons but try to do the same thing on hard. In my opinion, the battle system is a huge improvement over the two past game.
The history is there, nothing new but nothing horrible.
Where the game is really lackluster is in the appearance. The graphics are very poor (PS1ish) and there is constant lag and FPS drops. This game should have been released at 30 UDS and not at 50.
I hate the stupid bath minigame (and is required for the true ending!) and excessive fan-service too (I like fan-service, but in this game is way too much, like the stupid strip system in Ar Tonelico 3).
So in the end, I’m just like halfway on the game but I would give it a 5/10. The game is not for everyone but is not the “worst game ever made” like the two reviews on this site says so far.
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July 12, 2012 at 07:32pm
Titles with fanservice can still be good. They just need something ELSE than just fanservice.
Take Endless Frontier (and EXCEED the sequel) for example: jiggling breasts as far as the eye can see and the plot is mostly an excuse, but the characters are fun, the writing is witty and amusing, and the combat system is interesting and neither banal nor tiring. Overall, really cool game.
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July 12, 2012 at 05:55pm
Well, at least he didn’t call me a sex offender for buying it like some other reviewers would. While I may not necessarily agree with this assessment, I appreciate someone taking the “I get why you like it, but I don’t” approach instead of taking some sanctimonious standpoint and peppering the reader/viewer with personal attacks.
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July 12, 2012 at 06:05pm
When it comes down to it all reviews are opinions. It’s obvious that he doesn’t like these games so I wish he would stop playing them. That way we don’t have to deal with these kind of reviews. These games are just like marmite. You either love it or you hate it.
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July 12, 2012 at 06:13pm
Well you’re being excessively negative. And please leave the moral “fan service” out of a review. Sure you can mention it but I don’t think it should impact on the score.
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July 12, 2012 at 06:19pm
It’s all your opinion anyway. But 2/10. This game is average, it does not deserve such a low score. But like I said, opinions.
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July 12, 2012 at 06:23pm
your review is on par with what Sage said about this game as well. So I do not think it’s you but the fans being upset you’re giving a game they think is good a bad grade.
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July 12, 2012 at 06:27pm
what so you want something that is in the game not to affect a review? This is the same crap annoying anime fans talk about.
Stuff like this is annoying and should be pointed out. It hinders a game/anime and makes it very immature and childish when the people who create these games do stuff like that.
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July 12, 2012 at 06:34pm
Oh yes aren’t we mightier than thou. It’s only annoying to you and others who think like you. The people this game targets, that niche, doesn’t think that at all. This is a game targeting a very specific niche who may like fan-service or are looking for a game like this.
JUST BECAUSE YOU DO NOT LIKE SOMETHING DOESN’T MEAN IT SHOULD NOT EXIST. Don’t be massive dick just because you find something annoying. I don’t like COD and I find military FPS games to be annoying because that’s all companies make now. However just because I don’t like it doesn’t mean it shouldn’t exist. People buy them and people like them and more power to them.
Now I do not like over-excessive fan-service however I don’t think this game is bad for it. Because the fan-service is central to the theme of this product. Fan-service is a taste and just because you don’t like it doesn’t make the product bad.
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July 12, 2012 at 06:58pm
Fan-Service isnt about taste at all. It’s a cheap ploy to gain a audience and that all it is. Go ahead and justify it all you want. It’s the same argument and fans say about moe in anime.
By definition Fan Service is meant to service the fan base. Majority of the time it is there to get a cheap thrill, so please explain to me how that actually makes for a better story and improves the game play of this game?
If you are trying to say I am better then you then you completely missed the point in what I was saying in the first place.
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July 12, 2012 at 07:27pm
now now people its just a game not reason to be incivile about this
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July 12, 2012 at 07:54pm
I think the point he is trying to make (and legitimately so) is this: You’re playing a game that is very blatant with its fan-service/pervertedness, yet you still act like you are surprised when you see so much of it? It’s like going to a gay bar and being surprised that its filled with homosexuals (no offense meant just making a point).
If you don’t like it then oh well, but if that’s one of your arguments as to why the game sucks, then yes, you are being pretty stupid. You can’t be in excess of something when that something is one of your goals in the creation process. The record of agarest war games are over-sexualized, why? because that was their intent all along! Don’t act like you are surprised every time you see an ecchi scene or implied sexual context, because it was put there on purpose, it wasn’t an “accident” left there in production.
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July 13, 2012 at 07:49am
I have no issue with sex or sexuality in a game at all. I’m perfectly fine with that, it’s when it’s used and done so poorly. This kind of stuff is a huge problem in anime. It stupid, childish and way over used at this point.
Look if it was done something similar to Witcher 2 then it would not even be a issue at all, but cheap thrills just take away from this already bland story. So again how does fan service actually make this better? no one has yet to answer that.
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July 13, 2012 at 08:37am
Why is this even an issue? Fan service is what this series is about. It’s the whole point of it. It’s a collection of attractive women and the goal is to bed them and move on to the next generation. The previous games did it? Why do you care? It’s not like this effecting other RPG’s. Xenoblade, Last story had no fan service. There are still great games out there it’s not like fan service is killing the industry. It’s not even killing the anime industry, there are quite a few non fan service filled series each season.
Sex sells and there is nothing you can do about it. Whining like a little girl about this isn’t going to do you any good.
Also to answer your question. It doesn’t make it any better, but it doesn’t make it any worse. It’s part of the series and what makes Agarest, Agarest.
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July 13, 2012 at 10:32am
To be honest, it becomes an issue not because people don’t know its not there, but because it becomes the sole crux of buying a game it ruins the point, to make a game.
I can likely download a visual novel that does the same cheap thrills for half of the cost, and then ignore the terrible mechanics. Sex may sell, but it sells better with context to it. Agarest has no context, has no point but to be pandering from what I played.
I say that’s a waste of time. Like I said, I get people like that. I just don’t understand why, and maybe I never will. But that doesn’t matter.
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July 12, 2012 at 06:14pm
But I like RPGs, is it wrong to be fair to them when they are bad?
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July 12, 2012 at 07:35pm
I don’t know why you even reply. It just gives them more word fuel to respond to.
Honestly it IS your opinion. I quite love these games and I liked this one, because I am a sucker for cheesy storylines for some reason. Just like I am a sucker for Final Fantasy and almost disagree with most of what Spoony gave hate for FF8. Honestly I never really listen to reviewers. That is only because in the end I ever really trust my own opinion because I could miss out on something I like because someone else thought it was crap. Every game but superman 64 appeals to someone. Agarest games appeal to me, dunno why they just do.
I don’t really agree with anything you wrote, but hey thats your own thoughts, not mine. They don’t impact me on liking a game. Hell I don’t even look at Sage’a reviews because he sounds so damn bored when he reviews games lol. I only look at reviews just to see how other people thought it. Either way in the end its my own opinion that makes a decision, not BT, or any other reviewer. Just because just about every reviewer called FF13 crap, did not stop me from liking it.
At least you didn’t call out people for liking/hating the game like some “other” people do >_>
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July 13, 2012 at 08:14pm
I can name quite a few eroge that do this better, want some recommendations?
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July 12, 2012 at 07:49pm
Did it ever occur to you that he might have liked the others a little or heard good things about the previous ones? So he decided on his own to try this out? I don’t see how anyone would waste their money on games they know they will hate, just to review them to see if others will rage.
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July 12, 2012 at 07:58pm
Not that I’m accusing Robert of this, but trolling and rage = hits = advertising revenue. There’s plenty of people out there who have the singular purpose of stirring shit up.
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July 12, 2012 at 07:57pm
I want to see countering opinions though. I think its important to see how people on the other side of the fence view the stuff I like. Like I said though, just because they don’t like it doesn’t mean >I< should be attacked because I do like it. I'm not saying that attacking the game is attacking me, I'm talking when Sage says stuff like "An amber alert should go off every time someone buys this." Now, when a game is criticized for fanservice… when a major point of the game is wooing then humping the girl of your choosing, it's kinda like complaining a shooter has guns in it.
I also have the capacity to admit if a game is bad but I like it anyway despite it being "bad." Fun/entertaining/interesting (take your pick) and bad are not mutually exclusive qualities.
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July 12, 2012 at 07:44pm
Most reviewers here on BT are more civil with their reviews even if they get very bad scores, which is nice. Though some people need to stop believing reviews as facts and take them as a thought. If a game looks interesting, try it out. If you think you may want a game, research about it, bot reviews but see if the style and how the game plays. Ask a close friends their thoughts as they would know you. Rent it if possible. But so many people find a review and thats all they need as fact. They can continue to give sports games and COD 9/10 — 10/10 but I will never really regard them as that good EVER. It all comes down to personal preference and people should not get angry about a review or what someone else thinks about a video game of all things
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July 12, 2012 at 05:45pm
Excessive fan-service, yeah that’s a bad thing. What are we 12? “Oooh I saw boobies, girls have cooties.”
/obvious sarcasmSeriously that was a joke.
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July 12, 2012 at 05:27pm
Ouch, one of the worst games you’ve ever played huh?
I was thinking I might pick it up if it ever got real cheap like the first games did, I recently picked them up new for about 12 bucks each. But maybe not.
Have you played the first two games? How would they compare? I would have to assume much better.
Hmm, the fact you can use the Move for some parts, might explain why it’s PS3 only, when the first two games were both 360 and PS3.
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July 12, 2012 at 05:30pm
For comparison, we gave Record of Agarest War Zero a 7/10: http://www.blisteredthumbs.net/2011/06/agarestwarreview/
Well I like it:J)
I like it and that’s all that matters to me.
Fantastic work sage turning the entire comment section into an argument on whether or not the JRPG or RPG genre is dying. The quality of the review or the actual advice being given is swallowed by the reaction to a single line that would obviously be a caustic thing to say to the primary audience who would research this type of game.
I remember gameinformer giving out series of bar graphs on how well every genre has been doing the last couple of years. RPGS were low but the lowest was driving games. Driving games have twice as much chance as dying than the RPG genre. But I don’t hear too many eulogies about them now do I? Probably because RPGS and JPRGS are still being made and thus seeing them alive makes you think they are dead or dying.
Sort of like with arcades.
It’s okay that you didn’t like this game sage but wow. You said you usually find the good in every game you play. When did you become Mark Bussler of Classic game room HD? That man. Finds enjoyment out of almost everything. You’re like. A robot compared to him.
JRPGs were my favorite type of game as a kid too, the genre has gone to shit IMO. I look forward very much to Persona 5 and I’m always happy to see classics rereleased on PSN, other than that I have zero interest in the genre anymore.
The Agarest war series isn’t JRPG, it’s a dating sim with rpg elements. If you want a JRPG look at Xenoblade or Tales of Graces f.
I like both Agarest war games I’ve tried, though the combat in both is pretty bad. But I’m a huge Visual Novel fan, so I don’t really care much about the combat.
And the west is pretty starved for visual novels (at least on console), so we have to take what we get.
“The Agarest war series isn’t JRPG, it’s a dating sim with rpg elements.”
No, it’s not. I’ve played most of the first game (got to the fifth generation before finally quitting), and it’s hardly a dating sim. The advertisements for the game make it seem like it’s a huge element of the game, and it also advertises how much fanservice is in the game, but it’s not like that on both counts.
A majority of the game (like 70-75% of the game) is just fighting in the god awful horribly boring combat system. I initially had fun with it, but after about 300+ fights, it becomes a freaking chore.
The story is bad, and the ONLY redeeming factor to the game is that I actually like the characters (the protagonist to the third generation especially), and that’s only because I played the game for like 50~ hours to get where I was.
I think it would be ridiculous to say that JRPGs are a dying genre based on this game alone. I’m actually pretty shocked Sage didn’t review Xenoblade or Tales of Graces f, and decided to review this instead. RoAW2 is just a bad game, not a prime example of the genre.
Look at the list of upcoming titles: The Last Story, Kingdom Hearts 3D, Tales of Xillia, Ni no Kuni, Versus XIII (maybe?), Persona 4 Golden, Atelier Ayesha, Mugen Souls, The Witch and the Hundred Knights. I’d say the genre is in pretty good shape =)
You also forgot the success of Monster Hunter, the Souls series and Dragons Dogma. So it’s likely the genre will be ok.
While those are technically RPGs developed in Japan, I’m mainly referring to the style of JRPG associated with games like Final Fantasy and the Tales series.
The games you mentioned are definitely great though.
Don’t forget Radiant Historia, that game mad more than top ten list last year and was a great game. Devil Survivor 2 was also pretty solid
I find the state of the JRPG genre depressing because I have never been able to enjoy a Western RPG. Compare FF XIII-2′s live trigger with Dragon Age (or Mass Effect’s) conversation system. DA/ ME both employ the same logic; players will be either this or that with virtually no room for nuance. Consequently, I’m consistently left with a ton of choices I don’t want. XIII-2, however, used the Live Trigger to provide choices which are from the character’s point of view, and consistently offered me at least one choice I wanted. Often it gave me several options I wanted to explore, but I could only choose one at that moment.
Basically, it’s much better to remove choice than to handle it poorly. I found Mass Effect unplayable as far back as the first game because I was consciously aware the game designers were driving me toward their predesigned ends. It didn’t really matter what the result was; it wouldn’t be my ending. I’d rather play a JRPG because, when matters get important, they remove the illusion of choice by providing you with a character who will make the plot-needed choices for me. It just feels natural.
Which is why seeing the JRPG genre in this state is so distressing. I don’t think the genre is “dying,” but I do think that it was a fad back in the day and Western Sandbox/ fake choice RPGs are the fad right now. Eventually the market will find room for both sorts of games, but it won’t for a while yet.
Quite frankly the JRPG genre is a mixed bag ATM, you do have really good games getting released (Like Xenoblade, Last Story, the DQ games), but you have your fair share of “WE just copy everyone and dump in anime tropes, we’re so pr0!” games. I’m not the type to just cry “THIS GENRE IS DYING!!!!”, because frankly that’s not useful at all and makes you sound like a twat, but we do have more crap games getting made now since making games has become much more profitable and simple.
First thought: “Record of Lodoss War?” Ohoho, Sage would hate Lodoss Island…So cutesy.
Man I remember when Jrpg’s were like the COD/Battlefield of the gaming world. From the release of FF7 to about midway through the ps2 era these games were king. I remember the release of just about any JRPG came with insane fan fare. Heck when ff10 came out it was like the biggest deal of that year, the game that would make you buy a ps2 big. Now it’s just some small niche market that, unless you follow the genre, you never hear about (final fantasies aside). It’s to bad, they pretty much defined the PS1. Almost my whole ps1 library was JRPGS.
Oh JRPG’s. Actually, no, RPG’s in general.
I’d say JRPG’s need to be less grindy and more not-grindy, but I spend more time putzing around in western RPG’s than I do completing anything storyline related (See: Every sandbox game since that became a buzzword) that its to the point where lines are far more blurred than a lot of people want to give credit. Gameplay across EVERY rpg is suffering.
I compare things like FF13 to Red Dead Redemption, for instance, and realize that the one of those I will ever play again is the one I wrote many a scathing reviews on after playing it the first time (because CORRIDORS EVERYWHERE FOREVER), and looking at my shelves of games, this isnt a new trend.
RPG’s have always had a helping of terrible titles, of games that play exactly like some other game (Quick, name me a PS2 era RPG that had you alchemize your weapons into new weapons using components you had to grind for hours/days/weeks to get. It shouldnt be hard, I can see at least 5 of them from here), and even some of the better offerings are just slightly tweaked versions of other games.
The JRPG genre will be fine. Companies like NiS have thrown out crap titles regularly for a few platforms now (Can you honestly defend things like Cross X and about half the Atelier or Khemia series as shining examples of innovative thought in gameplay?) in-between their more quality games, and we get other solid offerings thrown in there from other companies.
Valkyria Chronicles (and its little brother on the PsP) earned a spot on my favorite games list. No western RPG in the last few years has managed that one.
There is a problem with console RPG’s right now, and its not limited to just the JRPG. Then again, I’m also of the opinion the TRPG should by this time be firmly established as its own true genre, so what do I know.
Cross Edge innovative? No, a fun ass cross-over with hilarious dialogue and dozens of hours of game-play? Yes. Until Hyperdimension Neptunia Mk.2, Cross Edge was my favorite game for my PS3, next to Bayonetta.
People beg for innovation, then they don’t buy it cause it’s too different. Frankly, I wish everyone would cram the “It’s not innovative so it sucks” excuse cause you KNOW its the same people who say that who are slobbering all over the next COD game BECAUSE it hasn’t changed anything major.
Yeah I second the feeling on Cross Edge and Hyperdimension. They really poked fun at themselves and they had fun with what they had. They made you laugh and didn’t take themselves too seriously so they made for a good departure from the routine drama/seriousness of most rpg plots. While I didn’t find the gameplay ground-breaking, it was the characters, dialog, and the interactions that kept me coming back for more.
And on the topic of innovation? Most people ask for it but hate it when they get it. Prime example I remember when Knights in the nightmare came out for the ds and it was a unique game mixing strategy rpg and bullet hell game genres together. However, when I checked around, a lot of people hated it because the difficulty curve was high (I personally didn’t find it overly challenging) and they complained the story was too confusing (or something along those lines). The game wasn’t perfect, but people seem to always nitpick; rather than cherishing and relishing on the good points, they focus on the negatives.
I would get Cross Edge and Hyperdimension this very instant. I am serious, I would go out and buy them RIGHT NOW if I could.
But I can’t, because the industry hates PCs. Japan also hates PCs, yes, Japan hates PC users and will do everything in its power to make them miserable. Don’t believe me? Go read the reasons Capcom spat out as a pathetic excuse for why Dragon Dogma on PC would be “impossible”.
Go google, that, I’ll wait. Meanwhile all this money to fund innovation will stay in my wallet because someone high enough in the ranks of the videogame industry thinks I am a pirate and not worth the trouble, and keep missing all the potential this console gen can only dream of.
It’s not just JRPGs but Japan as a whole its on its way OUT. You can beat your chests and write all the 20-pages essays you want,but that fact isn’t going to change.
Now I see why Sage doesn’t play Visual Novel’s or Eroge..
“The characters standing still not showing much emotion”
sums it all up.
One more thing, this is to Sage and to anyone who wants to see a tactical JRPG with multiple heroines that the main character can romance done the right, try out Aselia the Eternal: Spirit of Eternity Sword. It has a very good and much more serious and darker story, the characters are all well written and developed over the course of the game, the battle system is easy to learn and while it gets challenging you can keep up with it as it gets more complex, and the voice acting and music are very good. Also it isn’t an eroge so anyone can play this. I posted an impression of the game itself a while back, here’s the link:
http://www.blisteredthumbs.net/forums/entry.php?620-Game-Impression-Aselia-the-Eternal
And if you’re having trouble taking my word for it, then look at these reviews:
http://www.rpgfan.com/reviews/Aselia_the_Eternal/index.html
http://www.rpgamer.com/games/other/multi/aselia/reviews/aseliastrev1.html
http://www.fandompost.com/2012/01/09/aselia-the-eternal-pc-game-review/
I actually own this game already though it’s going to be a while till I play it since I still need to finish the prequels.
Still, I have to say I find it pretty disheartening how so many people are willing to take a dump on the entire JRPG genre just because of one game. There’s still quite a few good ones out on this generation’s consoles and still coming out, let me name some:
Yakuza 3 and 4
Tales of Vesperia
Tales of Graces f
Diagaea 3 and 4
Nier
Valkyria Chronicles
Lost Odyssey
Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess and Skyward Sword
Xenoblade
The Harvest Moon series
The Pokemon series
The Persona series
The Ys series
Shin Megami Tensei Devil Survivor 1 and 2 and Strange Journey
Fate/Extra
Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together
Radiant Historia
Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky
Ni no Kuni
The Last Story
Tales of Xillia
Growlanser 4
My point in listing all these is that yes, the JRPG is niche, but it’s hardly as bad as people seem to be making out to be now and not as one note or stagnant as people are making it out to be.
Sadly, people tend to ignore the litany of great stuff on the DS or PSP. I’ve got almost as many PSP JRPGs as I do PS2.. and I don’t even have all the ones I want yet. My list of “to buy” for the DS is even bigger.
The reason these are such hard times for JRPGs is because they are comprised entirely of outmoded gameplay and nothing has truly revolutionized the games in 20 years. Not saying that the Japanese need to make more stuff like Skyrim or Dragons Dogma, but they need to do a departure that radical and pull those kind of sales numbers. Or at best, JRPGs will be devolved into low budget flash games for pretentious fans, aka dead.
I think Dragon’s Dogma WAS made by the Japanese. Made and published by Capcom. So yeah. There’s that.
That’s not the reason that JRPGs have taken a nosedive.
Or let’s put it like this. If JRPGs have become so “stale” and need to do something “radical” to “revolutionize” the genre, then why is it that the best-selling JRPG series in Japan is also the most traditional?
And by that I’m talking about Dragon Quest. DQ is pretty much the RPG equivalent of Call of Duty in Japan. And furthermore it’s also one of the few JRPGs to adhere to its roots and not deviate from them.
Compare that series with Final Fantasy as it is now. With Final Fantasy X the series took a huge turn to becoming linear cutscene-fests with awful voice acting and meh storylines. 12 might have been interesting but the key developer got fed up with Square-Enix and left the company, and the developers that inherited it put in Penelo and Vaan, who are totally unnecessary to the plot and between him and Tidus helped to affirm the effeminate JRPG male stereotype.
And then of course 13 was 10 jacked up to 11, and pretty much torched whatever faith and goodwill that fans of FF had left. When 13-2 gets released the game gets outsold by a Tales of game that isn’t even that great.
The problem with JRPGs is that the wrong things get focused on in their design and the things actually matter, like what the player can do, get ignored. DQ is successful because it focuses on what the player can do. Actually, if you think about it, it shouldn’t come as a shock that DQ9–the best-selling game in the series–very closely emulates the original Final Fantasy in several ways. One in that the game allows you to create and customize not only your avatar but your entire party–much like the original FF. You have the job system–like the original FF. The game isn’t about “characters” or “narrative” but simply going out and saving the world and setting things right.
This is a formula that has been done right from the very first Dragon Quest but the game expands upon everything the player can do and even for a handheld gives them a huge world to explore that can seem to go on forever, and there’s nothing pretentious about it. And this simplicity and focus on the player is what is sorely absent in most JRPGs today, and probably why you have seen this conflict between WRPGs and JRPGs manifest when it really didn’t seem to be an issue before, because the WRPG design will usually focus on what the player can do.
The problem though is that back in the day FF7 was huge and for many people was their first RPG (which would include me). But I didn’t just stick to FF, but thanks to my friends I’d move on to other games like Dragon Quest, Lunar, Suikoden (DIE PIG DIE!), and SMT. FF7 created RPG fans which then carried over to other games of the genre. Today, however, Final Fantasy is the shining example of everything that has poisoned those games, and it winds up killing mainstream interest in those games for the most part.
DQ isn’t as big here as it is in Japan (despite Nintendo trying to push the games here), so I’m not sure if anybody is going to be able to salvage the genre anytime soon, but if anybody does, it will be by going back to the roots of the original JRPGs, rather than focusing on what they have become today.
God that got wordy.
JRPGs have been a niche genre for awhile now, alot of people either play nothing but grimderp shooters or sports games now, I do agree that the DQ series is awesome (I loved 9), they don’t try to cram in some complicated story that you need to read a novel’s worth of in-game text to understand. Most DQ plots boil down to “there’s an evil king/wizard/dragon thing, you need to go kill it!”, which is fine, the characters tend to be a bit stock BUT they do get enough quirks and oddities to set them apart. The gameplay is the focus as it should be and the skill system let’s you customize things nicely and the fights tend to be challenging and enjoyable.
To say it’s a dying breed when we have excellent games like Xenoblade (Which has taken in influences from western RPGs) coming out which does prove that eastern developers CAN be really successful if they stuck out their necks once in a while.
I’m always confused by this argument because.. its not like the “old RPGs” that didn’t follow the anime fanservice tropes still even exist. The evaporated the instant the PS3/Xbox360 came out. Where’s Suikoden, Saga Frontier, Breath of Fire, Grandia, .hack, Shadow Hearts, Valkyrie Profile? They’re gone, not getting localized, on handhelds, or more than one of the above. Besides the FF series, Star Ocean was the last “Big name” JRPG series to get a modern console release, and that was such a catastrophe they axed that series to.
I gotta say it’s sad to see how far JRPGs have fallen, I’ve always played both WRPGs and JRPGs and there was a time when WRPGs felt mostly stagnant (somewhere between 1993-1998) but eventually, with the help of games like Baldur’s Gate, Fallout and Deus Ex a new life was bred into the genre.
But now it’s the JRPG that keeps sinking more and more. This isn’t to say I hated every JRPG from this generation, I like Lost Odyssey for example, but really, most JRPG’s I’ve played this generation have been disappointing at best, Eternal Sonata was boring, the story made no sense and the characters were annoying.
Resonance of fate had fun characters, but combat dragged on for too long making random encounters a chore.
Blue Dragon and Infinite Undiscovery were god awful in every way
on the PS3 side, I was never a fan of the tales games, for that matter, I was never a fan of the whole “a bunch of 12 year olds get together and save the world” thing, which is basically the “ar” and the “atelier” games in a nutshell
I have no intentions of playing Neptunia
really, the only games I liked on the PS3 side were the Disgaea games because the gameplay was so addicting (though I had to ignore the character’s ages)
I’m sure this comment will get plenty of thumbs down, but in the end, for most people JRPGs feel stagnant in their gameplay and worse: The stories, story telling and characters are becoming more nonsensical, non-relatable and/or just downright annoying.
If only the JRPG had more giant dudes in power armor saying “Fuck” constantly, then it would be totally relatable. I miss the good old days when the main characters were mute warriors or ex-military guys with amnesia, personality disorders, and magic powers, just like you and me.
Though I do like your “A bunch of 12yr olds get together and save the world” comment about the Atelier and Ar Tonelico series.. telling me you’ve never played either and are just parroting “Generic JRPG hater comment #63.” Or at least it sounds that way. Let’s disregard the Persona games in that comment.. who are actually about high/middle school kids saving the world.. cause those games are more well received and thus exempt… or Pokemon.
But hey, there’s FF13-3 to look forward to, right? I can’t wait for the cliffhanger that’ll lead into FF13-4.
“If only the JRPG had more giant dudes in power armor saying “Fuck” constantly, then it would be totally relatable. I miss the good old days when the main characters were mute warriors or ex-military guys with amnesia, personality disorders, and magic powers, just like you and me.”
huh? what in the world are you talking about? I don’t know about you, but personally I miss when characters relatable, but at the same time they were treated in adult manner. Remember Terra from Final Fantasy 6? I’ve yet to see a JRPG handle characters in such an adult fashion as they did in that game.
“Though I do like your “A bunch of 12yr olds get together and save the world” comment about the Atelier and Ar Tonelico series.. telling me you’ve never played either and are just parroting “Generic JRPG hater comment #63.” Or at least it sounds that way. Let’s disregard the Persona games in that comment.. who are actually about high/middle school kids saving the world.. cause those games are more well received and thus exempt… or Pokemon.”
I didn’t mention Persona or Pokemon because I never played those series.
As for Ar tonelico I’m guessing you’re the one who’s never played the games, I don’t know if you noticed, but the character’s ages are changed for a western release, but in the end they still look and act like early teenagers
here’s an example from Ar Tonelico 3:
Tatsumi (JP) : 15 years old
Tatsumi (US) : 18 years old
Saki (JP) : 15 years old
Saki (US) : 16 years old
sorry, but I find it hard to believe that a bunch of 15 year olds are out to save the world
“Remember Terra from Final Fantasy 6? I’ve yet to see a JRPG handle characters in such an adult fashion as they did in that game.”
Yeah, you haven’t played any Shin Megami Tensei game, let alone Persona.
Also Trails in the Sky was a good JRPG. Dragon Quest has always been good. There are allot of great JRPGs out this generation.
Idea Factory however makes games that even JRPG lovers don’t enjoy. But I find something at least interesting in each game.
Relm, Yuffie, Selphie, Rydia, Hope, Vanille, Vaan, Penello, all 4 of the characters from the FF3DS… Shall I continue listing members of the FF Jail-bait squad? And again.. you’re choosing to ignore whole other series that are based on high-schoolers (or younger) saving the world cause you haven’t played them. And you never played Pokemon but you’ve played AT3.. Yeah.. I call bullshit so high I can see it from space. So yeah, keep parroting generic JRPG hater comment #63 along with your obvious ignorance of the thing you seem to take so much objection to.
If you’re gonna shit on the genre while feigning that you’re coming from a place of familiarity, do it better. You didn’t even recognize reference to Cloud ffs.
Also, my comment is literally right above you. You don’t need to quote it to make your argument look longer.
The JRPG’s cure is the same prescribed for Old Yeller. But don’t tell ughhhh… anime fans that. They’ll still dress its rotting carcass in pink dresses and ponytails and ask it to pass the tea.
Japanese games (which are 70% or more of the JRPG variety) are dead. They have always sucked, in mhy opinion, and they keep sucking more and more evey year. One of the main reasons, I think, is that they main target users in Japan, which are absolute nerds (as far as I can see here in Japan, where I live), will buy whatever piece of junk they find that looks and reminds them of the games they have played so far. Innovation is shunned because of the same thing that happens in Europe and the States with 1st person shooters: if a formula works, in terms of sales, do not innovate. The problem is that in Japan, not only the artwork and programming are mostly stuck in 2006, it is also gaming itself and the stories told in games, that are the same thing they have been throwing at the players for over 25 years. They have chosen not to innovate, so they will die.
Times are hard for us JRPG fanatics and thus we have to take what we get. Besides this can’t be worse than FF13 now can’t it.
Wow, we’re setting the bar that low, eh? Times are rough.
I think I will get it when it comes out here. Great review!
I just got the first two games new off Newegg for about 12 bucks each during a sale.
Course since this one is PS3 only, it will never go under 30 bucks I bet. PS3 only RPGS never seen to get cheap for some reason. I wonder why this is only on PS3? When the first two were on both?
I know people generally hate idea factory games (like Hyperdemension Neptunia and this game) but I like them in a way.
I’ll be getting the game despite poor reviews.
See people? That’s how you disagree without being an ass about it.
Why do people seem to get so personally insulted whenever someone doesn’t like something they do?
This review makes me regret signing up for this site.
Its not only full of generalizations, lies, and false information. The reviewer obviously didnt play more than 1 hour of the game.
I guess because japanese rpgs are so strong, it makes them easy prey for insecurity
This comment makes me regret reading it.
It’s not only full of generalizations, lies, and false information, but the writer obviously didn’t watch more than 1 minute of the review.
I guess because Sage’s review are so strong, it makes them easy prey for insecurity.
The guy you’re replying to is actually an idiot. But you’re not any better, you’re a massive prick. I’m just glad that you’re not spouting your feminist-wannabe mouth over the fan-service.
Wow, I don’t know what’s worse about this comment: the fact that it’s referencing a minor conversation we must have had months ago, or the seething disgust you seem to have for those who dislike needless pandering in certain games. You’re a sad man, Reikshiryo.
I do have seething disgust for you. It’s not because you dislike it, which you’re entitled to. It’s because you define the people who enjoy it and the developers as “ruining the industry”. If you just said “I don’t like this so I won’t play it” I’d be fine. I’m not a sad man really, the only sad one here is you. Did your mother not love you enough as a child or something? Is that why you’re so extraordinary bitter towards anything to do with the other sex?
@Reik
Hmm, well there seem to be a few holes in your comment. You say you don’t have a problem with my views, but with my conjecture about the industry. Yet, you make a claim about me being bitter towards the opposite sex. Now, considering your extremely limited knowledge of me, the only real way you could have come to the conclusion that I’m “bitter” about the opposite sex is based upon my views of fan service, since it’s a very sexual specific conclusion to draw. Now, considering that you clearly wanted that comment to be perceived as an insult, you essentially contradict your own statement. Your previous comment had similar types of insults as well. This quickly leads one to the conclusion that, to deflect the fact that you just don’t like me because I don’t like what you like, you make it seem as though my claim about the effects on the industry is the root of your hatred.
Now, breaking your comment down even further, even if your claim was true, it’s still ridiculous. Is me thinking that awkwardly working in fan service is bad for the industry really basis for seething disgust? Only a blind, ignorant fanboy would be so enraged by such a view. It’s no different than me saying I think that the oversaturation of FPS titles and the people who thoughtlessly buy them up are bad for the industry, and you then you decrying, “that’s disgusting, you massive prick, how dare you come to that conclusion! You’re not allowed to have thoughts about what’s good or bad for the industry and who’s affecting what! Not while I like the things you don’t!”
Finally, the very idea that someone would be “bitter” towards woman because they don’t like to see their boobs flopping about at totally inappropriate times just proves how deranged your perspective is. Remember, I’d said it before and I’ll say it again: there is a time and a place for fan service. People can and should enjoy what they want. I just don’t like to see it get constantly worked into things where it feels out of place just to appeal to the lowest common denominator. That might boost sales in the short term, but can ultimately sully the whole genre. What’s more, it can leave a bad taste in some people’s mouths and feels limiting when it’s everywhere. If that somehow equates to “bitter towards woman” to you, then you need to get some help.
But I can see why wrpg fans are bitter, all there games are basically the same and at this e3 a US conference, it was jrpg dominated
we get growlanser IV, and KH DDD AND last story this month AND ff dimensions
I mean its domination
Stop spamming please, its not necessary and you can say everything in one post.
Fair warning.
Oh god, you’re not Stealth2k are you? The person who trolls Gameinformer.com whenever they review a JRPG? You really are everywhere.
Ah the, “I disagree with you there for you are wrong”, argument.
fact says hes wrong.
There have been more japanese rpgs, on more systems this gen
thats a fact
wow i feel stupider just reading your comments
Jrpgs ruled this years rpgs
gungir, agarest, 13-2, graces f, xenoblade, and more
There is a reason this site is ignored
Hey stealth, could you do us all a favor and stop spamming the comments section like a troll? That would be much appreciated.
The console jrpg is dying and niche?
Less frequence? there are more
this review is bullshit, i wont even finish
As a fan of JRPG myself just looking at the box art would let me know i don’t have to buy the game, that box art reminds me of why i don’t watch that much anime anymore
There’s a reason even I’m not interested in the Agarest War series and Sage, being who he is, pretty much expressed it. I shouldn’t be surprised he tortured himself with this game. After all, he also played Ar Tonelico 3.
I’ll stick to less male testosterone, hetero harem and rape filled games like Mugen Souls thank you very much.
Ugh, stupid JRPGs and their refusal to evolve.
At least we have the Operation Rainfall games, 2 of which we now have, and only one left to go. (Yeah I know, as of writing this comment, Last Story is not out yet, but let’s face it, we have it. XD)
I know Pandora’s Tower isn’t necessarily a JRPG, but considering it has certain elements of one in it (Anime-like visuals, a character that you control instead of create, a dungeon crawl system), I’ll take whatever I can fit into this poor genre of stagnation.
I mean Jesus guys, if you’re gonna get one thing right, can you at least make the story engaging? Remember the times when you played JRPGs BECAUSE of the story? Ugh…
JRPGs refusal to evolve eh? In what way could you possibly mean? You want them to become more like all the boring open-world snore-fests that are western rpgs, or you want them to look more realistic, or do you want them to have older protagonists, different settings, maybe less romance?
It’s great that you say they refuse to evolve when they have greatly done so over the years and they still remain enjoyable and entertaining, they still have diverse characters and settings, and the stories can be either complex or simple. The JRPG realm is not limited to just games like these (Agarest) yet all you seem to pick out is the bad and never bother to look at the good.
I guess I’m the only one that finds Sage’s reviews to be hate-filled tirades of games he didn’t like from first glance? He clearly has a very one-sided view for this game not even bothering to try and give it a chance… he did the same BS with Ar Tonelico 3. It is fine that he doesn’t like this game, I’m not asking him to, but he should leave his “review” as more of a rant because I’m not seeing the critiquing aspect that comes with something being labelled as a review. Please Sage if you do read this… stick to your anime videos; they are entertaining, funny, and wholly enjoyable. Even when I don’t agree with your views in them I find myself enjoying the videos, but your game reviews seem to be mostly one-sided hate-filled tirades on games you loathe.
But alas, I know I will be the only one with this view and it is probably pointless for me to write this response… but if there is one thing I am, it is stubborn.
You will not like my written review of the game then…fair warning when it is released.
Oh, they’re evolving… in exactly the wrong ways. My main beef with JRPG’s these days is that they routinely feature scantily clad women who look like they’re barely past puberty, and this game looks like it’s no exception. “But that’s just a different culture!” you say. No, that’s poor localization. Make the effing loli characters adults. It’s not like they have full 3D models that would take a month to design, and to hell with anyone who’s into that stuff anyway.
And really, dude, look at the game. What is there about it that couldn’t have been done on the PS2, or even PS1? Don’t you dare say presentation doesn’t matter. It does, and besides, if you’re going to cheap out on visuals then you have no right to charge a premium price. Make it $20 at most and release it on PSN.
Finally, Sage wasn’t reviewing JRPG’s in general, though he did comment on their decline. He was reviewing THIS SPECIFIC game. His reasons for it were quite specific: boring plot, boring characters, boring combat, no exploration. Do you actually want to debate him on any of those points or just lecture him on being hateful?
Yeah I’m bringing the idea that he hates JRPGs into the arguement of his “reasons” for hating this game. He doesn’t like the tropes and ideas that are present so he is going to be unfairly biased against the game before even delving into it. I might be able to agree with some people that the combat isn’t the most appealing part of the game, but its not boring. In fact they changed up the combat from the first two games to give it a little more fresh feel, something similar to how cross-edge was set up (and that game was a blast). The plot is pretty interesting especially if you are invested in the lore like I am from playing Agarest 1 and Agarest Zero.
Third, since when is a lack of exploration for these games anything new?? Agarest 1 you were on a strict time limit so you could really only “explore” the dungeons/quest-areas which weren’t all that huge and Agarest Zero and even less exploration than the first one did. Which is funny cause Agarest 2 has more exploration than both of them combined, and yet he still says no exploration? Sage probably just doesn’t like being guided along a directed storyline and finds that to be a negative instead of a neutral or positive.
Finally, the characters are boring?? Yeah, maybe if you are Sage they are boring. But seriously, these characters are great, especially the comic relief side-kick that constantly says/does things to get his ass kicked by the females.
The visuals look perfectly fine for what they have been doing for these games which is the visual novel feel. The presentation DOES matter and it presents itself well for what it is and what it is trying to get across. Oh and your precious tirade on loli characters? Seriously did you give any time with the game? If you proceed further the characters actually grow up with passing generations. And I really don’t see how you think most of the women are barely past puberty? You have some coned vision there. Short, slim, small breasted women =/= under aged. Also, the “scantily clad women” aspect is occuring less frequently in JRPGs than you think. In that same token, I don’t understand why having attractive women in a game automatically makes it a terrible game?? But why should I bother trying to make points with someone who clearly hates the culture and views that made the game?
This game is NOT for everyone, and it doesn’t bother me that a lot of people don’t like it. I just dislike the fact that people like Sage spout their hate for the game and/or games like it and pass it off as a “review” that has merit.
The fact is everyone is entitled to their own opinion whether you like it or not. Sage has every right to give a review of this game for all of the negatives and positives it has, and he has demonstrated that he did spend enough time with the game in order to give a proper review. Just because you disagree with this review does not mean it is without merit, and it has merit as long as it was thought out and researched. For example, I disagreed with his reviews of Dead Space 2 and BF3, yet I thought he had made his points and argued them well and this is why I considered those to have merit.
Sage hates the current age of JRPGs, regardless of how good or fun they may be for those of us who like or don’t mind visual novel/anime/fanservicey aspects that have become more prevalent, he’s going to hate them for the same reasons because that isn’t what he thinks the genre should be. He’s made that abundantly apparent since BT launched.
Frankly, its not worth the effort trying to argue your point because there’s no need or possibly resolution. You’re arguing with something that’s been written in stone.
Call him biased and call him on his double standard on how sexuality (actual or perceived) in games makes everyone a rapist but mass murder is totally okay (Since everyone’s hopping on that bandwagon these days), and then proceed to ignore what he says and judge it on your own terms.
I actually like Sage’s reviews now.. despite never even watching them, because I know when he shits on a game like this, it’s something right up my alley.
If the level of quality of this game, visually or otherwise, is good enough for you then you must think dishwater is the nectar of the gods.
Also, my problem isn’t attractive women, or even scantily clad women (thanks for putting words in my mouth, though), but UNDERAGED ONES. No lolis? There’s one right on the damn cover! Stop trotting out that “hate” strawman, dude. There’s a serious problem with JRPG’s these days and this game just happens to be a prime example of them.
I see by your avatar you have great taste in jrpgs. But considering that gem was released in 1995, and in my opinion no better game has come out since then, its easy to see how one could say the genre is dying. The PS1 had some good jrpgs, but the PS2 had much fewer, and I’m hard pressed to find one to play in this generation.
This is supposed to be a reply to Sylveria, but it wouldn’t let me? oh well. Thanks for the view Sylveria, I never though about it like that. I’ll have to keep that in mind anytime he does a game review, cause that’s usually the case, the game is right up my alley. Plus I’m probably one of the only people who still buys/plays/loves pretty much every jrpg that makes it stateside now. I still find it hard to see that it is a “dying” breed, but meh whatever; I’ll enjoy my games, you people enjoy yours =).
Great review sage. although I could have warned you about this series easily since I played the first and saw the second I know its a snore feast. boring combat, stock characters and plot, and bad music was all the first game was and it just sad that the one behind Blazblue one of my favorite fighting game could shit out a turd this bad. I really is a punch in the gut when I see the JRPG genre today and how it falling even more so. hopefully Persona 5 will help give the market a good boost when it hits shelves, til then keep up the good work dude!
and now they just need to make an actually NEW blazblue game
the jrpg genre this year has risen to amazing heights
Arc Systems Works was not behind the Record of Agarest War series. The developer for this game was Idea Factory. Aksys Games, the people who published and localized BlazBlue in North America, just happened to also be the localization company behind the Agarest games too.
Well, this is my first post over here.
I feel kinda the same as Sage, the jRPGs were one of my favorites kind of game when I was a Kid since the SNES.
I bought Agarest 2 and like the battle system, but I’m just at the start of the game and the game is indeed very outdated and is even laggish despite of the PS1 graphics and I couldn’t care less of the sim date simulator. The game is indeed mediocre at best but this kind of games are my guilty pleasure, so I ended buying it regardless.
The problem that I see in jRPG in this generation is that actually mostly low budget companies are producing this kind of games, like Compile hearts, Idea factory, Nippon ichi or Gust (but at least Gust games now looks and plays a lot better than their first games on the PS3) and the way of lowering cost is to use that visual novel style of cutscene that I hate too, is cheap and unappealing. The last jRPG that I played and didn’t have that type of cutscene was Tales of Graces F (well, outside the skits, a very good game aside the story), but almost all the jRPGs on the PS3 has that visual novel cheapness.
It’s sad that the only jRPGs that I really enjoyed in this generation I can count them with one hand (and mostly on the 360 and Wii), versus the PS2, PS1 or SNES where I have a lot of favorite games.
Weird. When Sage made the comment about the dating sim feature and how JRPGs have lowered themselves by including it, immediately I thought about the Mass Effect games.
I guess it can be pulled off correctly by having likable characters and by NOT having a system that says “RANK UP!” for any of the character’s affection for you (for some weird reason I go crazy whenever I see a “character disapproves” thing for whatever choice I make).
I believe that Dragon Age: Origins did a very similar thing with it’s “affection system” or whatever you want to call it. Though technically, I didn’t like Dragon Age as much as Mass Effect, and I don’t know what the relationship thing was like in the second game.
I guess what I’m trying to get at is that it can be done well (Mass Effect) and it can be done really haphazardly and contrived (Record of Agarest War 2). I guess that the only reason that they included this visual novel romance is to get hormonally supercharged teens more reason to buy this game (with the chance to see an ecchi wedding and what have you).
That’s just what it seems like to me, though. I haven’t played the game at all. I’m just going by what Sage has showed me.
No matter what you say the JRPG fanboys will buy this regardless.
Sage, have you ever played a Visual Novel before? I just wondered because the presentation of the cutscenes is just like a Visual novel.
Also you stated that the inclusion of dating sim reminds you of how the JRPG has fallen. You make that point and fail to explain it. Errm, why? Is there a reason you have? You can’t just say something and not back it up. Especially in a review.
I haven’t played this series yet but I might give it a try. Need to play Atelier Totori-Memeru and Ar tonelico 3 before I’ll go onto these games.
It might have felt to him like a desperate ploy to lure in customers with the promise of dirty pictures. And it probably is, to be frank.
Sage should try out the persona games. They have semi-dating sim elements and the game has no fan service. Plus it has an amazing storyline.
Sage hating on a anime/ecchi JRPG? Stop the fucking presses. Where’s the part where he calls Homeland Security on the people who say they like it?
Of course. Surely you know the term “grognard” – some people use it as an insult, others wear it proudly as a title. One way or the other, it applies to Sage very much.
Oh boy Agarest War, I remember playing the first one and looking at the 2nd one here I have to say this one is actually an improvement over the first one. Not because it’s actually good but because the Agarest 1 is even worse, especially the combat which was painfully slow. But that said I don’t think the genre is dying Xenoblade Chronicles and Last Story are really damn good and Pandoras Tower is at least decent. There might be light on the end of the tunnel. Developers just have to get off their ass and do something new instead of relying on old cliches and tropes over and over again.
So Sage have you played any of the recent Atelier games?
As far as I know, the only real appeal of the Agarest War series is deciding which of the pretty girls you want to bear your offspring and see a softcore ecchi wedding… and if that’s it, I’ll just watch the uploaded videos on Youtube instead of slogging through a mediocre RPG to reach those points.