curse
Recent Activity
curse
commented on
curse's
review of
Etrian Odyssey
@poyfuh
I really liked those too. my only issue there was that they seem to really thin out the further in you get. I could totally be wrong here but I feel like the first stratum has the most? but yeah, I really hope they get expanded on (or not expanded, cos like you said I like them being what they currently are) cos they're delightful for sure. I poked around on the first floor of EO2 today and there was a bunch and I could read them literally forever
& agree on that story beat, especially how matter of fact it is. very dry Jobs-a-Job stuff, which makes a lot of sense considering everything that you did leading up to that point. always felt the default mode of blobber parties was especially sinister so it's real interesting to see some strong reactions from people who really thought they were swinging a sword and having good clean fun UNTIL.... (also enjoyed seeing the classic blobber twist show up near the end cos it rules every time)
maybe I really fucked up not doing more of the quests tho. will remedy that in future games cos I like what I'm hearing from you and blazingwaters. sometimes I get too mathbrained and it's a shameful quality
I really liked those too. my only issue there was that they seem to really thin out the further in you get. I could totally be wrong here but I feel like the first stratum has the most? but yeah, I really hope they get expanded on (or not expanded, cos like you said I like them being what they currently are) cos they're delightful for sure. I poked around on the first floor of EO2 today and there was a bunch and I could read them literally forever
& agree on that story beat, especially how matter of fact it is. very dry Jobs-a-Job stuff, which makes a lot of sense considering everything that you did leading up to that point. always felt the default mode of blobber parties was especially sinister so it's real interesting to see some strong reactions from people who really thought they were swinging a sword and having good clean fun UNTIL.... (also enjoyed seeing the classic blobber twist show up near the end cos it rules every time)
maybe I really fucked up not doing more of the quests tho. will remedy that in future games cos I like what I'm hearing from you and blazingwaters. sometimes I get too mathbrained and it's a shameful quality
3 hrs ago
curse
commented on
curse's
review of
Etrian Odyssey
@blazingwaters
yeah untold is a different game at that point even on classic mode. thanks for the link, the hd collection seems solid (maybe even ideal?) at first glance but I'm real curious to see all the specific changes in detail
yeah untold is a different game at that point even on classic mode. thanks for the link, the hd collection seems solid (maybe even ideal?) at first glance but I'm real curious to see all the specific changes in detail
8 hrs ago
curse
commented on
curse's
review of
Etrian Odyssey
re: quests
I stopped doing them when the rewards started getting dramatically outpaced by general exploration but maybe I should've stuck with them more. the only unique scenarios I had were like basic mobs roaming on floors they didn't belong or FOEs that only come out under specific circumstances and I didn't think they were worth the time
I stopped doing them when the rewards started getting dramatically outpaced by general exploration but maybe I should've stuck with them more. the only unique scenarios I had were like basic mobs roaming on floors they didn't belong or FOEs that only come out under specific circumstances and I didn't think they were worth the time
8 hrs ago
curse
commented on
curse's
review of
Etrian Odyssey
@blazingwaters
the hazard tiles are a cool inclusion but yeah they're mostly trivial. the damage is tuned so low and you probably have good heals and TP by then that it's kinda whatever. once the kits open up you really see the limits of a system where so much leverage is granted to the player: difficult encounters are given ample warning, there're no round trips, easy fast travel, free heals in the middle of every stratum, etc. really hard to thread the attrition needle when everything outside of the maze design works against it imo
no idea what the hd changes are overall (easier? harder?) but the original's balance is all over the place. somehow I hear EO2's is even more unhinged which is just wild when EO1 has immunize, allslash, and the entire survivalist class
the hazard tiles are a cool inclusion but yeah they're mostly trivial. the damage is tuned so low and you probably have good heals and TP by then that it's kinda whatever. once the kits open up you really see the limits of a system where so much leverage is granted to the player: difficult encounters are given ample warning, there're no round trips, easy fast travel, free heals in the middle of every stratum, etc. really hard to thread the attrition needle when everything outside of the maze design works against it imo
no idea what the hd changes are overall (easier? harder?) but the original's balance is all over the place. somehow I hear EO2's is even more unhinged which is just wild when EO1 has immunize, allslash, and the entire survivalist class
8 hrs ago
curse
finished
Etrian Odyssey
I'm in love with the way EO leverages the DS to digitize manual mapping. absolutely wonderful, beautiful stuff that captures the spirit of the genre a billion million zillion times better than any automap ever could. in a perfect world this would've heralded imitative ports of every drpg under the sun, and all of them would've been strong contenders for the best versions by default. unfortunately we live in the eternal piss and shit dimension so I'm doomed to pout about the missed opportunity for the rest of my life
as for the rest: game's like one of those images where either you see the old crone or the smokin hot babe; the lamp or the smoking hot babe; the white and gold dress or the smokin hot babe. you know?
from what I gather if you're coming at it from an EO perspective this thing feels like it was coded straight into zhoukoudian limestone by the peking man. folks act like it's the dustiest, crustiest, most satanic verses ass antipathetic crawler ever made. they're out here throwing blankets over their ds at night like a furby to stop it from talking backwards and shit
but if you're coming at it from a broader drpg ("blobbers" if ya nasty) perspective it's almost the complete opposite: decidedly modern, breezy, and accommodating; its push toward transparency, telegraphs, and convenience at odds with the core tension loop pre-bradley wizardry clones fundamentally rely on
I fall into the second category and found most of this to be pretty dry. by the time I hit the 5th Stratum I was approaching vegetative status, zoning out and mashing A with one hand while reading scandalous celebrity gossip on my phone in the other. hovering out of body, well above the dungeon rather than being subsumed by it; existing outside of stress, anxiety, and uneasy decision making. EO just doesn't got the stomach to wrench your guts around, put you on the perpetual backstep, or fill the role of derelict steward the way the most successful clones do
which is fine! I like most of the experimentation here in isolation; there's a dialogue happening that's a lot more interesting than reheating 1980-1988 endlessly. the deterministic angle opens up a lot of unique design avenues; character building could easily swerve toward embracing shortform tactics over longform attrition; and moments like B20F show that FOEs can be more than softball fodder goin woop woop woop in a 3x3 grid. there's a lot to be excited about, it just needs to be contextualized in ways that flatter rather than compromise
more than anything EO needs to stop being uncomfortable in borrowed skin and start being comfortable in its own. no reason to be another mediocre wizardry when it could be a great etrian odyssey 🌈 ⭐❤️
as for the rest: game's like one of those images where either you see the old crone or the smokin hot babe; the lamp or the smoking hot babe; the white and gold dress or the smokin hot babe. you know?
from what I gather if you're coming at it from an EO perspective this thing feels like it was coded straight into zhoukoudian limestone by the peking man. folks act like it's the dustiest, crustiest, most satanic verses ass antipathetic crawler ever made. they're out here throwing blankets over their ds at night like a furby to stop it from talking backwards and shit
but if you're coming at it from a broader drpg ("blobbers" if ya nasty) perspective it's almost the complete opposite: decidedly modern, breezy, and accommodating; its push toward transparency, telegraphs, and convenience at odds with the core tension loop pre-bradley wizardry clones fundamentally rely on
I fall into the second category and found most of this to be pretty dry. by the time I hit the 5th Stratum I was approaching vegetative status, zoning out and mashing A with one hand while reading scandalous celebrity gossip on my phone in the other. hovering out of body, well above the dungeon rather than being subsumed by it; existing outside of stress, anxiety, and uneasy decision making. EO just doesn't got the stomach to wrench your guts around, put you on the perpetual backstep, or fill the role of derelict steward the way the most successful clones do
which is fine! I like most of the experimentation here in isolation; there's a dialogue happening that's a lot more interesting than reheating 1980-1988 endlessly. the deterministic angle opens up a lot of unique design avenues; character building could easily swerve toward embracing shortform tactics over longform attrition; and moments like B20F show that FOEs can be more than softball fodder goin woop woop woop in a 3x3 grid. there's a lot to be excited about, it just needs to be contextualized in ways that flatter rather than compromise
more than anything EO needs to stop being uncomfortable in borrowed skin and start being comfortable in its own. no reason to be another mediocre wizardry when it could be a great etrian odyssey 🌈 ⭐❤️
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curse
commented on
DeemonAndGames's
review of
The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening
never too late to play the best zelda (any version of link's awakening)
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