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Energy Breaker (SNES) and Izuna 2 (DS)
Energy Breaker
Myra doesn't remember her past, but a mysterious woman who may be a goddess seems to think she has a destiny. So she teams up with a crazy inventor and his robot buddy and they go searching for adventure. Isometric tactical adventure, that is, though with the ability to explore the maps and an "energy" system that controls what abilities they can use (similar to Lufia 3's color mechanic, but figuring out how to use it without a guide is maddening).
Made by the folks who made the Lufia series and never released in the US, this recently got a fan translation. (Because apparently there is a limitless collection of SNES rpgs that were never translated.) I suspect I would like the story, but the battle system is painful--like the SNES Tactics Ogre, but possibly worse because there's less help text. It's slow and clunky and requires a lot of button-presses to do very simple things. And in a nod to realism no-one ever asked for, how fast you recover energy in battle (i.e. how much you can move and attack in a given turn) is reduced as you take damage.
There's also a rudimentary keyword/stance system for conversations, in which you can ask about certain topics or adopt a friendly or aggressive attitude. Like the battle system, though, it's clunky and slow and unintuitive.
Overall: I feel like I might not be giving this a fair shake, but my first impression is that it just isn't fun to play. I'd love to read an LP of it to see what happens in the story (especially given that it apparently relates to the Lufia universe), but I'm not feeling the gameplay.
Izuna 2 - The Unemployed Ninja Returns
Izuna and her entourage are visiting a new town for the wedding of their friend Ichika. But after the wedding, Shiro goes missing and several mysteries start to unfurl.
This is a Mysterious Dungeon roguelike, similar in style and execution to the Torneko's Dungeon and Shiren the Wanderer games. But it's even kinder than those, because while dying means you lose your money and items, you keep your levels, and you always have access to a storehouse for money and items. You can also save and exit the dungeon at any stairwell.
Rather than a food meter, you have a "SP" meter that is restored by using "likenesses"; and HP and SP seem to be the only things you need to worry about running out of. The magic system (which I think returns from the first game) revolves around Talismans. For each, you can use them for a one-time effect (costing SP), stick them to your weapons for benefits (which have a limited capacity), or stick them to a staff to give it a repeatable power. Weapons have a (hidden) durability and can crack or break; you can have them repaired at the blacksmith in town, but that gets really expensive if you've attached a lot of Talismans to the weapon.
After the first dungeon, it introduces the "tag" system, which allows you to bring two characters into a dungeon and swap between them. You can continue if one of them dies, and get a meter that charges a special tag attack.
And it actually has a plot, though one that doesn't particularly take itself seriously. It's also larger than the previous game (and most Mysterious Dungeon games) with multiple towns to visit, a dozen characters to play as, and a dozen different dungeons to spelunk in.
Overall: A roguelike for those of us who can't stand to lose all of our progress on every death, but still want the random dungeon/limited inventory/turn-based solo combat style of the genre. At some point, I'll need to compare it against Z.H.P. for the PSP, which is sitting in my queue.
Myra doesn't remember her past, but a mysterious woman who may be a goddess seems to think she has a destiny. So she teams up with a crazy inventor and his robot buddy and they go searching for adventure. Isometric tactical adventure, that is, though with the ability to explore the maps and an "energy" system that controls what abilities they can use (similar to Lufia 3's color mechanic, but figuring out how to use it without a guide is maddening).
Made by the folks who made the Lufia series and never released in the US, this recently got a fan translation. (Because apparently there is a limitless collection of SNES rpgs that were never translated.) I suspect I would like the story, but the battle system is painful--like the SNES Tactics Ogre, but possibly worse because there's less help text. It's slow and clunky and requires a lot of button-presses to do very simple things. And in a nod to realism no-one ever asked for, how fast you recover energy in battle (i.e. how much you can move and attack in a given turn) is reduced as you take damage.
There's also a rudimentary keyword/stance system for conversations, in which you can ask about certain topics or adopt a friendly or aggressive attitude. Like the battle system, though, it's clunky and slow and unintuitive.
Overall: I feel like I might not be giving this a fair shake, but my first impression is that it just isn't fun to play. I'd love to read an LP of it to see what happens in the story (especially given that it apparently relates to the Lufia universe), but I'm not feeling the gameplay.
Izuna 2 - The Unemployed Ninja Returns
Izuna and her entourage are visiting a new town for the wedding of their friend Ichika. But after the wedding, Shiro goes missing and several mysteries start to unfurl.
This is a Mysterious Dungeon roguelike, similar in style and execution to the Torneko's Dungeon and Shiren the Wanderer games. But it's even kinder than those, because while dying means you lose your money and items, you keep your levels, and you always have access to a storehouse for money and items. You can also save and exit the dungeon at any stairwell.
Rather than a food meter, you have a "SP" meter that is restored by using "likenesses"; and HP and SP seem to be the only things you need to worry about running out of. The magic system (which I think returns from the first game) revolves around Talismans. For each, you can use them for a one-time effect (costing SP), stick them to your weapons for benefits (which have a limited capacity), or stick them to a staff to give it a repeatable power. Weapons have a (hidden) durability and can crack or break; you can have them repaired at the blacksmith in town, but that gets really expensive if you've attached a lot of Talismans to the weapon.
After the first dungeon, it introduces the "tag" system, which allows you to bring two characters into a dungeon and swap between them. You can continue if one of them dies, and get a meter that charges a special tag attack.
And it actually has a plot, though one that doesn't particularly take itself seriously. It's also larger than the previous game (and most Mysterious Dungeon games) with multiple towns to visit, a dozen characters to play as, and a dozen different dungeons to spelunk in.
Overall: A roguelike for those of us who can't stand to lose all of our progress on every death, but still want the random dungeon/limited inventory/turn-based solo combat style of the genre. At some point, I'll need to compare it against Z.H.P. for the PSP, which is sitting in my queue.