trpginger
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โคLv. 32 Redhead โ๏ธ Loves all things gaming, anime, & adorable ๐งโโ๏ธ Dabbling in game design ๐งน He/Him ๐
โคLv. 32 Redhead โ๏ธ Loves all things gaming, anime, & adorable ๐งโโ๏ธ Dabbling in game design ๐งน He/Him ๐
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A very small expansion for its price tag, but "The Pale Reach" delivers more of what we've come to love in Dredge.
Plot-wise, it does not impact the game in any way and is not necessary to enjoying the overall mystery.
Gameplay-wise, it offers a new island to explore, new creatures to bring up from the depths, and some more gear for your ship specifically tailored to dealing with the new environment.
Plot-wise, it does not impact the game in any way and is not necessary to enjoying the overall mystery.
Gameplay-wise, it offers a new island to explore, new creatures to bring up from the depths, and some more gear for your ship specifically tailored to dealing with the new environment.
Let me preface this review by saying the only thing that detracted from my experience of this where "The Stick of Truth" did not was the simple fact that I like high fantasy more than superhero storytelling.
Aside from that, this felt like a perfect evolution of the game from its predecessor. Combat was far more strategic and having an ever-expanding hoard of abilities to switch between at any time really helped create a unique experience for each of the two playthroughs I went through to get all achievements (though Blaster/Plantmancer became my overpowered build).
The story once again felt like a multi-part South Park episode, up to the very abrupt ending reminiscent of the older episodes of the show. It succeeds in mimicking/mocking modern Marvel films in an increasingly convoluted plot in a way we've come to expect from South Park's writers.
If I had to make one light complaint about the game, it's that the game becomes heavily reliant on your companion's exploration abilities. While they are all pretty funny, having to repeat their specific button commands so often made me wish it was just a matter of summoning the right buddy and watching the outcome unfold. They were, however, short enough to warrant a mild annoyance at most, and didn't detract heavily from the overall experience.
Definitely play "The Stick of Truth" before tackling this one. Not only does the first game's plot play a part in this sequel's story, but it will also get you warmed up for this particularly fun style of turn-based RPG.
Aside from that, this felt like a perfect evolution of the game from its predecessor. Combat was far more strategic and having an ever-expanding hoard of abilities to switch between at any time really helped create a unique experience for each of the two playthroughs I went through to get all achievements (though Blaster/Plantmancer became my overpowered build).
The story once again felt like a multi-part South Park episode, up to the very abrupt ending reminiscent of the older episodes of the show. It succeeds in mimicking/mocking modern Marvel films in an increasingly convoluted plot in a way we've come to expect from South Park's writers.
If I had to make one light complaint about the game, it's that the game becomes heavily reliant on your companion's exploration abilities. While they are all pretty funny, having to repeat their specific button commands so often made me wish it was just a matter of summoning the right buddy and watching the outcome unfold. They were, however, short enough to warrant a mild annoyance at most, and didn't detract heavily from the overall experience.
Definitely play "The Stick of Truth" before tackling this one. Not only does the first game's plot play a part in this sequel's story, but it will also get you warmed up for this particularly fun style of turn-based RPG.
This review contains spoilers
This is the game where I really began to see the start of everything we've come to expect from generic JRPG's. Young adventurers embracing the light to fight the forces darkness threatening to shroud all existence. It's your typical fare.
Coming from Final Fantasy II's "build-your-own-hero" system to this far more limiting "Jobs System" was a real let-down, but the Jobs introduced are a fun idea. There are 22 jobs to choose from, but it seems that by the end of the game only about 5-7 are worth investing levels into. Many are simply upgraded versions of prior Jobs, which only makes it feel less worthwhile that you've leveled up an all-powerful Black Mage only to need to start back at Job Level 1 when you unlock Magus near the end of the game.
Of the first three installments, this was by far the grindiest of the series. There are two moments throughout the game where the XP gain jumps tremendously, but the first one doesn't happen until about 1/3rd of the way through the journey. This means you'll be grinding for small percentages each fight just to make yourself strong enough to take on some decently-challenging bosses. This wouldn't have been as much of an issue, however, if the game didn't have some mind-numbingly frustrating design choices. Not the least of which is how you restore your party's HP and MP...
In the prior Final Fantasy games, you can rest at Inns in towns, often for a small price. This feature is also present in this game. When out in the wilds, though, you needed the "tent" or "cottage" items to act as portable Inns. They came with a hefty price, but were well worth it to spare you having to march all the way back to a distant town just to rest up and potentially lose HP and MP getting back to where you were. These items are removed from Final Fantasy III, and it makes every single time you need to heal a headache until you eventually (about 90% of the way through the game) get a semi-permanent cottage.
On my quest to complete all the offline games in this franchise, this is the first that's truly hard to recommend. If you're like me and want to see the evolution of THE core JRPG series that defined role-playing video games, then you won't want to pass this one up.
You might want to stay away from the Nintendo DS port (which is also now on PC), though. Everything good stays the same, but everything bad only gets worse in that messy remake.
Coming from Final Fantasy II's "build-your-own-hero" system to this far more limiting "Jobs System" was a real let-down, but the Jobs introduced are a fun idea. There are 22 jobs to choose from, but it seems that by the end of the game only about 5-7 are worth investing levels into. Many are simply upgraded versions of prior Jobs, which only makes it feel less worthwhile that you've leveled up an all-powerful Black Mage only to need to start back at Job Level 1 when you unlock Magus near the end of the game.
Of the first three installments, this was by far the grindiest of the series. There are two moments throughout the game where the XP gain jumps tremendously, but the first one doesn't happen until about 1/3rd of the way through the journey. This means you'll be grinding for small percentages each fight just to make yourself strong enough to take on some decently-challenging bosses. This wouldn't have been as much of an issue, however, if the game didn't have some mind-numbingly frustrating design choices. Not the least of which is how you restore your party's HP and MP...
In the prior Final Fantasy games, you can rest at Inns in towns, often for a small price. This feature is also present in this game. When out in the wilds, though, you needed the "tent" or "cottage" items to act as portable Inns. They came with a hefty price, but were well worth it to spare you having to march all the way back to a distant town just to rest up and potentially lose HP and MP getting back to where you were. These items are removed from Final Fantasy III, and it makes every single time you need to heal a headache until you eventually (about 90% of the way through the game) get a semi-permanent cottage.
On my quest to complete all the offline games in this franchise, this is the first that's truly hard to recommend. If you're like me and want to see the evolution of THE core JRPG series that defined role-playing video games, then you won't want to pass this one up.
You might want to stay away from the Nintendo DS port (which is also now on PC), though. Everything good stays the same, but everything bad only gets worse in that messy remake.