Awful piece of crap
I'm slowly going through all the from software translated games and here we are, with the first non PS1 game, hurray.
I checked a bit online about this one and found a translation and the fact that it's a bit (a lot) like virtual on, so I played the first 2 virtual on games (great games) and then I played this one, which I must say it's a pretty great way to expand the formula to a single player campaign among other things, the gameplay is simple but it's building virtual on in the direction of Armored Core, you build you mech, you choose the parts and then you do the mission, but this game introduces a crafting element that works decently well in the gameplay loop and actually makes you wanna play better for its sake.
The game is short, really short, but virtual on has always been short so this isn't a surprise, it flows well and the difficulty ramps up decently, the IA is not the best but it's decent enough and the gameplay is solid, and I think it moves forward this style in a great way.
Not the best from software game but a solid entry in their catalogue.
I checked a bit online about this one and found a translation and the fact that it's a bit (a lot) like virtual on, so I played the first 2 virtual on games (great games) and then I played this one, which I must say it's a pretty great way to expand the formula to a single player campaign among other things, the gameplay is simple but it's building virtual on in the direction of Armored Core, you build you mech, you choose the parts and then you do the mission, but this game introduces a crafting element that works decently well in the gameplay loop and actually makes you wanna play better for its sake.
The game is short, really short, but virtual on has always been short so this isn't a surprise, it flows well and the difficulty ramps up decently, the IA is not the best but it's decent enough and the gameplay is solid, and I think it moves forward this style in a great way.
Not the best from software game but a solid entry in their catalogue.
Before releasing their PSX swansong Echo Night 2, From released this interesting little gem on the ill-fated Dreamcast. It follows the 'spiritual series' rule that King's Field did with Shadow Tower, and the Souls games would do in the future, in that Frame Gride is clearly derivative of Armored Core.
What we have here is Armored Core adapted into an arena fighting game in a medieval fantasy setting. The aesthetic is compelling, but unfortunately the game isn't as fleshed out as it should be. Opening and closing narration is pretty much all the story there is.
The single-player consists of a ten mandatory fights, with plenty of optional fights for grinding resources. The resource requirements for attaining new equipment are too stringent for the brief runtime, giving less room for experimentation than it should have; I started as a medium mech and ended the same, as the resource cost for switching to light or heavy never seemed worth the risk.
So there's not much here, but what's here is mostly enjoyable. A fighting game built around mech customisation rather than set characters is unique, and though the gameplay has its own problems there's a satisfaction to its methodological approach, with heavy energy management and plenty of options for zoning and arena control.
A cool little game that could have been great with more fleshing out. This world/aesthetic is something From should revisit if they ever want to truly go down that "Armored Souls" route many speculated Armored Core VI would, it would be a perfect fit.
What we have here is Armored Core adapted into an arena fighting game in a medieval fantasy setting. The aesthetic is compelling, but unfortunately the game isn't as fleshed out as it should be. Opening and closing narration is pretty much all the story there is.
The single-player consists of a ten mandatory fights, with plenty of optional fights for grinding resources. The resource requirements for attaining new equipment are too stringent for the brief runtime, giving less room for experimentation than it should have; I started as a medium mech and ended the same, as the resource cost for switching to light or heavy never seemed worth the risk.
So there's not much here, but what's here is mostly enjoyable. A fighting game built around mech customisation rather than set characters is unique, and though the gameplay has its own problems there's a satisfaction to its methodological approach, with heavy energy management and plenty of options for zoning and arena control.
A cool little game that could have been great with more fleshing out. This world/aesthetic is something From should revisit if they ever want to truly go down that "Armored Souls" route many speculated Armored Core VI would, it would be a perfect fit.
Hidden Gem do dreamcast e ate mesmo da propria line da From Software, com uma gameplay interessante e mecanicas inteligentes (mal explicadas) ele encanta muito com seu setting e vibe sendo um Fighting game de mechas medieval! Defeito é ser curto
If you're a fan of Armored Core, then I strongly recommend you check this game out! I played it via a fan-translated reproduction disc on my Dreamcast and I was immediately hooked on it. What this essentially is, is a Fighting Game/Third Person Shooter hybrid, featuring awesome mech designs with fun, albeit somewhat dated, combat in a fantasy setting. That alone makes this standout from not only the crowd, but also from even the Armored Core franchise. However I think there's alot here for Armored Core fans to love, since the game shares alot of the mech customization elements with those games, letting you pick between different cores, each representing a different build style, then customizing on top of that with different custom parts to best suit your playstyle. FromSoftware sure knows how to craft a unique experience! The only things keeping this from ranking higher, are that the controls are pretty odd and somewhat dated (this could REALLY benefit from a modern dual stick controlled remaster) and that the game is very short, you can beat it in just a few hours, but thankfully thanks to the "arcadey" nature of it, it does have tons of replay value, especially to try different builds!
It's like Armored Core if it controlled well - compared to the PS1 Armored Core games this thing controls like a dream, but the movement can be a little janky sometimes, leading your mech to aim at weird places. Aiming is generally pretty iffy in the game, actually.
Anyways, beyond control improvements and caveats, one thing I thought this game did poorly was mech customization. In Armored Core you have a whole host of different options for your mech, and most of them feel like they make substantial changes to your playstyle and abilities. This does, of course, lead to imbalance, but that's all part of the fun. Here in Frame Gride, however, most body parts feel samey. They have stat differences, sure, but they're mostly minimal, and you'll quickly find that only a few stats actually matter, at least in singleplayer. Weapons are the only things that will massively change your playstyle here, and even then your melee weapon doesn't feel like it changes all that much.
All this talk of customization brings up another topic: the way you obtain gear. This game has a Gem system, where instead of using currency to buy gear and having it be sellable, you combine gems you pick up in battle in specific ways to create different weapons. It's a cool idea, but farming for these gems is a pain, and you're going to need to do it if you want to try out all of the gear in the game. A lot of it. You can't sell or dissemble gear you don't want to use anymore, either, so you're forced into a situation of pseudo-trial-and-error, where some parts actually suck, and you just have to deal with the lost gems. Not fun.
The singleplayer of the game is quite simple and short. This might not have been as bad back in the day, since this game used to have netplay support. I'm guessing that was the real main attraction of the game on release, since the Dreamcast was still pretty new, and online gaming on consoles was extremely novel. These modes are now offline, so there's not much to be done there. It's disappointing. I feel like multiplayer would really make this game, but I'm not going to have a couch versus session of goddamn Frame Gride for Sega Dreamcast any time soon. Wish I could though.
There's one more thing that stops this game from being as great as it could have been, in my opinion, and it's the largest deviation it makes from Armored Core. The Squire system. Squires are summonable AI buddies that will fight for you, and there are 32 to choose from. None of them are especially busted, but a lot of them suck. I feel they take away from the fun of 1v1 mech battles in the game, being more annoyances than threats. The most they'll do is stun you mid-melee combo most of the time, and that's really not fun.
The aesthetics of the game are great, there's some good music, and it's like Armored Core from another dimension. Not a terrible game, not an amazing game, but a pretty fun four or five hours from start to finish in singleplayer. The final boss is a little unfair, but the boss room is so cool-looking that you probably won't care.
Cool game. Probably not gonna play it again any time soon, unless somebody miraculously wants to go head-to-head and has save files with 100% of the mech parts unlocked for us to create our mechs with. Until then, goodbye, and I'll see you next time in the Forgotten Temple (忘れ去られた神殿).
Anyways, beyond control improvements and caveats, one thing I thought this game did poorly was mech customization. In Armored Core you have a whole host of different options for your mech, and most of them feel like they make substantial changes to your playstyle and abilities. This does, of course, lead to imbalance, but that's all part of the fun. Here in Frame Gride, however, most body parts feel samey. They have stat differences, sure, but they're mostly minimal, and you'll quickly find that only a few stats actually matter, at least in singleplayer. Weapons are the only things that will massively change your playstyle here, and even then your melee weapon doesn't feel like it changes all that much.
All this talk of customization brings up another topic: the way you obtain gear. This game has a Gem system, where instead of using currency to buy gear and having it be sellable, you combine gems you pick up in battle in specific ways to create different weapons. It's a cool idea, but farming for these gems is a pain, and you're going to need to do it if you want to try out all of the gear in the game. A lot of it. You can't sell or dissemble gear you don't want to use anymore, either, so you're forced into a situation of pseudo-trial-and-error, where some parts actually suck, and you just have to deal with the lost gems. Not fun.
The singleplayer of the game is quite simple and short. This might not have been as bad back in the day, since this game used to have netplay support. I'm guessing that was the real main attraction of the game on release, since the Dreamcast was still pretty new, and online gaming on consoles was extremely novel. These modes are now offline, so there's not much to be done there. It's disappointing. I feel like multiplayer would really make this game, but I'm not going to have a couch versus session of goddamn Frame Gride for Sega Dreamcast any time soon. Wish I could though.
There's one more thing that stops this game from being as great as it could have been, in my opinion, and it's the largest deviation it makes from Armored Core. The Squire system. Squires are summonable AI buddies that will fight for you, and there are 32 to choose from. None of them are especially busted, but a lot of them suck. I feel they take away from the fun of 1v1 mech battles in the game, being more annoyances than threats. The most they'll do is stun you mid-melee combo most of the time, and that's really not fun.
The aesthetics of the game are great, there's some good music, and it's like Armored Core from another dimension. Not a terrible game, not an amazing game, but a pretty fun four or five hours from start to finish in singleplayer. The final boss is a little unfair, but the boss room is so cool-looking that you probably won't care.
Cool game. Probably not gonna play it again any time soon, unless somebody miraculously wants to go head-to-head and has save files with 100% of the mech parts unlocked for us to create our mechs with. Until then, goodbye, and I'll see you next time in the Forgotten Temple (忘れ去られた神殿).
The concept of the game is great, and with the limitations of the dreamcast, plays servicebly well. However it is pretty short in terms of gameplay.
It has a fun VS mode where you can play with a buddy, but in this scenario I would probably rather want to play a later Armored Core game that has a bit more meat to its bone.
It has a fun VS mode where you can play with a buddy, but in this scenario I would probably rather want to play a later Armored Core game that has a bit more meat to its bone.
Cool concept for an arena battler: mecha knights who can cast magic and summon helpers to fight alongside them. Very much held back by how clunky the controls feel and how the single-player campaign is so short since we no longer have the blessing of laggy Dreamcast netplay on dial-up. I'd be absolutely down if FromSoft tried this concept again, though.
from software really just came up with a cool ass setting and then made a half-assed 1 hour long shitty game around it
this is basically armored core stripped of anything that makes armored core fun to play, then to top it all off there are only 10 fights and that's it. the final boss looks cool and has a cool arena but the actual fight is a goddamn slog. i do like the squire gameplay mechanic tho.
man, now i want frame gride's setting and shit but as a good game
this is basically armored core stripped of anything that makes armored core fun to play, then to top it all off there are only 10 fights and that's it. the final boss looks cool and has a cool arena but the actual fight is a goddamn slog. i do like the squire gameplay mechanic tho.
man, now i want frame gride's setting and shit but as a good game
This is really cool but unrefined.
What if Armored Core but arcadey and cool techno-fantasy combination setting. There's a total of, like, 5 unique, required fights or something, with the last one being a badass snake boss. If Armored Core's mecha fantasy is based around the limitations of a mech's movements and these clunky, chaotic battles, a shitton of missiles flying by at all times and all that, Frame Gride's mecha fantasy is about the dynamic gamefeel, where the technology feels perfected. That's because the mechs are more so knights... with guns.
This is one of those games where you are supposed to read the manual. It contains the descriptions of button combinations required to pull off certain moves. You have your standard mecha guns, melee and special laser/missile launcher in the form of, like, a spell. But the moveset also changes depending on the distance, for example the button you use for shooting turns into a punching button which breaks a shield stance, something the melee weapon cannot do. By holding both triggers, typically reserved for strafing, the player can combo or unlock special properties of his guns. It's honestly a very fun, exciting and snappy risk-reward system.
The final boss is tough as nails. You gotta figure out ways to dodge his attacks rather than tank his hits like you usually could with FromSoft's other mecha games. It's a boss formula that is much closer to their post-AC games, and it's very fun once you get a hold of it! I think this, more so than anything I played of Armored Core so far (the PS1 titles and Armored Core 2) will be what the series look like from 6 onward. The melee-gun balance works perfectly, and the battle tempo is excellent as well.
Losing so much against the final boss made me explore other parts, of course. It's very, very far from being as expansive as Armored Core, but they differ signficantly, which is more than enough for the length of the game. Some parts change how you need to position yourself, or when you can pull off a big move. Also, whenever you lose, a part gets removed and you have to make a new one before heading out. If you can't, you're screwed.
At the beginning of the game you answer a few questions, giving you parts that you might not know anything about, but they're all relatively simple and intuitive to use. If you played Armored Core that is. Otherwise, the manual is once again your best friend. You obtain other parts by combining crystals you obtain from winning fights. You can refight previous fights at any point in time to obtain more gems. Enemies, and you also, can spawn "squires" which are these smaller enemies. If you defeat them and subsequently destroy their bodies, you can get another gem. Another cool risk-reward factor, as the enemy can deal a lot of damage while you focus on their minions.
Really enjoyed this game. Ideal length (around 4 hours) for a retrospective, obscure title. Great game feel for a short, evening playthrough. Might replay down the line.
This is one of those games where you are supposed to read the manual. It contains the descriptions of button combinations required to pull off certain moves. You have your standard mecha guns, melee and special laser/missile launcher in the form of, like, a spell. But the moveset also changes depending on the distance, for example the button you use for shooting turns into a punching button which breaks a shield stance, something the melee weapon cannot do. By holding both triggers, typically reserved for strafing, the player can combo or unlock special properties of his guns. It's honestly a very fun, exciting and snappy risk-reward system.
The final boss is tough as nails. You gotta figure out ways to dodge his attacks rather than tank his hits like you usually could with FromSoft's other mecha games. It's a boss formula that is much closer to their post-AC games, and it's very fun once you get a hold of it! I think this, more so than anything I played of Armored Core so far (the PS1 titles and Armored Core 2) will be what the series look like from 6 onward. The melee-gun balance works perfectly, and the battle tempo is excellent as well.
Losing so much against the final boss made me explore other parts, of course. It's very, very far from being as expansive as Armored Core, but they differ signficantly, which is more than enough for the length of the game. Some parts change how you need to position yourself, or when you can pull off a big move. Also, whenever you lose, a part gets removed and you have to make a new one before heading out. If you can't, you're screwed.
At the beginning of the game you answer a few questions, giving you parts that you might not know anything about, but they're all relatively simple and intuitive to use. If you played Armored Core that is. Otherwise, the manual is once again your best friend. You obtain other parts by combining crystals you obtain from winning fights. You can refight previous fights at any point in time to obtain more gems. Enemies, and you also, can spawn "squires" which are these smaller enemies. If you defeat them and subsequently destroy their bodies, you can get another gem. Another cool risk-reward factor, as the enemy can deal a lot of damage while you focus on their minions.
Really enjoyed this game. Ideal length (around 4 hours) for a retrospective, obscure title. Great game feel for a short, evening playthrough. Might replay down the line.