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| wizardry: tale of the forsaken land; woo | |
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| Topic Started: Dec 16 2006, 12:43 AM (282 Views) | |
| sharc | Dec 16 2006, 12:43 AM Post #1 |
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wandering slacker
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it's a bit late, so please forgive the rambling, buti really wasn't getting into this game for quite a while there. hitting the end of the first floor (i think?) seems to be about where its depth starts appearing. the undead are pretty intimidating, so i have to decide whether to grab an evil sorceror that clashes with the rest of my party or to hope dispel works really, really well. i can tell allied actions are going to make this game! even the first few abilities i got were some solid stuff, using the front lien of the party as a defensive wall or assigning people to interrupt enemy attacks to defend an ally. it's amazing how much difference a new idea can make even in a traditional turn based system. that alignment system is a bitch - i started as good and i'm already evil because i keep accidentally clicking through the pre-battle messages too fast and wind up fighting friendly monsters. i'm hoping somethign other than that determines your moral standing in this game, like saving some poor bastard from poison in a cutscene. i really dig the encounters you run into in the labyrinth. it's great to see that yes, there actually are other adventurers exploring the dungeons. and they don't just appear to get a story scene and join your party, then go off and do their own thing instead of existing solely to benefit you. it is kind of a pity that the folks i recruit at the bar don't seem to get any story at all, because this is some damn nice writing all around. lord, though, what a clunky interface. navigating store menus takes about twice as long as it should, since you have to confirm through each comment the storkeeper makes whenenver you do anything. and unless you eventually use allied actions 90% of the time then defaulting to the allied action or individual action menu is a nuisance. i'd have rather the select button called up allied actions, but i hate to see buttons go unused. |
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| Carbunkle Flux | Dec 16 2006, 02:30 AM Post #2 |
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Abyssian Legend
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it's a bit late, so please forgive the rambling, buti really wasn't getting into this game for quite a while there. hitting the end of the first floor (i think?) seems to be about where its depth starts appearing. the undead are pretty intimidating, so i have to decide whether to grab an evil sorceror that clashes with the rest of my party or to hope dispel works really, really well. You're gonna be fighting a whooole lot of undead until at least floor 4 (and even then, undead will still be quite a threat). You're gonna want somebody in your party that can deal with them. Especially when you start fighting zombie dragons. i can tell allied actions are going to make this game! even the first few abilities i got were some solid stuff, using the front lien of the party as a defensive wall or assigning people to interrupt enemy attacks to defend an ally. it's amazing how much difference a new idea can make even in a traditional turn based system. I love allied actions. Tales of the Forsaken Land is literally the only balanced Wizardry game in the bunch and it's thanks to those skills. Anything and everything the enemy does, you can totally do something about it. No more arbitrary instagibs by ninja that you're helpless to watch XD. A lot of people don't like aspects of TOFL like it's sudden downgrade to a system more akin to the older Wizardries but I thought it was novel. It's like they tried to combine aspects from the original trilogy with 6-8 and it so far seems to have succeeded. I only wish they'd have rounded up TOFL with its own trilogy to keep the trend going. They were up to two games then this sidestory was never heard from again ;_;. i really dig the encounters you run into in the labyrinth. it's great to see that yes, there actually are other adventurers exploring the dungeons. and they don't just appear to get a story scene and join your party, then go off and do their own thing instead of existing solely to benefit you. it is kind of a pity that the folks i recruit at the bar don't seem to get any story at all, because this is some damn nice writing all around. The writing is fantastic; and it stays that way the whole game ^_^. I'm actually tempted to suggest you keep the NPCs around, because they have scenes where they actually react to what's going on in the plot at given points. Also, Helga is awesome. You will see why. Although sadly she isn't recruitable ;_;. She's one character I'd have loved in my party. lord, though, what a clunky interface. navigating store menus takes about twice as long as it should, since you have to confirm through each comment the storkeeper makes whenenver you do anything. and unless you eventually use allied actions 90% of the time then defaulting to the allied action or individual action menu is a nuisance. i'd have rather the select button called up allied actions, but i hate to see buttons go unused. Yeah. That's probably my only complaint about TOFL as well. |
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| Pervan | Dec 16 2006, 12:18 PM Post #3 |
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Genetic Failure
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Every time I try to pick up TOFL, I get distracted by another game, but I plan to get through it some day. I love the atmosphere and writing, though I really, really wish it had tried to emulate 6-8 in its class system :\ |
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| sharc | Dec 16 2006, 02:06 PM Post #4 |
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wandering slacker
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why, what's different about those titles? tale of the forsaken land is my first wizardry title so i'm new to all this. |
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| Carbunkle Flux | Dec 16 2006, 05:03 PM Post #5 |
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Abyssian Legend
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There's a mountain of difference between TOFL and the last few Wizardry games. I know this is entirely too large a post, but here's a comparison to give you an idea: Old Trilogy: >Turn based combat exactly like what you see in TOFL. Party order determines likelihood of enemy targeting that character. >Game consists of two locales: A town, where you create your characters and buy stuff and a dungeon, where the gameplay begins and ends. >No races. >Classes: Fighter, Mage, Priest, Thief, Ninja, Bishop, Lord. >Spells were divided into two groups: Mage and Priest. They were named in a funky language. Bishops got spells from both groups, Lord got spells from the Priest group. New Trilogy: >Turn based combat in 6 and 7 with your party order playing a vital role. You have 3 'lines'; a front-line, a middle line and a back line consisting of two characters each. Weapons can only damage up to certain 'lines' (IE- sword can only damage the current front line, slings and such can damage any line, etc). When characters die, the 'line' behind them becomes compromised and starts being able to take damage from short-range weaponry. It works like this for both character and enemy parties. In 8, it has a more dynamic system where you set up a formation and enemies can hit characters based on weapon AND specific location on the battlefield. The way 8 did it was cool but also kinda broken since enemies surrounded you very easily. TOFL used Wizardry 1-3's party order system, but made row important by making it play a large role in performing your allied actions. It ends up working very well, IMO. >Races, which were also included in TOFL. >Original Classes plus many others like Bard, Valkyrie, Monk, etc. TOFL took some of the advanced classes like Samurai from later Wizardries but largely kept the original group. >Magic was done differently; no longer are the spells divided into two groups but now they're divided into elemental schools with different classes drawing from different schools. Magic could also be powered up and cast at each corresponding power level. TOFL divides them into mage and priest ala 1-3, but takes the aspect of powering your magic up from 6-8. However, in TOFL you can only cast the strongest version you have of any given spell. >Skills and equipment/spell proficiencies. Each class got unique ones and you could improve your skills/proficiencies by doing and also by spending points on level up. I'm kind of sad that this was left out of TOFL, but it still works. >Progression is dynamic; you go from location to location in a linear fashion through a connected world. In 6 the locales were all in a dungeon, but in 7 and 8 it took a typical RPG 'overworld, town, dungeon' sort of thing. A lot of people love all the different races, classes and proficiencies you get in Wizardry 6-8 and I'm no exception; so they get fairly disappointed playing TOFL after playing, say, Wizardry 8. I think that it worked out well, though. If the system overall had a chance to evolve I think it could rival Wizardry 8 in terms of available strategies and tactics. And that'd be WITH the inherent balance TOFL has over every other Wizardry. It'd freaking rock ;_;. After you play TOFL, I totally recommend getting the Ultimate Wizardry Archives. It has Wizardry 1-7 all in one package. And then search out Wizardry 8. They're all fantastic games and if you enjoy TOFL to the end, you're very likely to enjoy them. |
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| Darkstalker | Dec 22 2006, 10:44 AM Post #6 |
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~ The QUEEN ~
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ToFL I think does have some balance issues. Specifically, AA based. I mean, the first few ones are going to last you a long, LONG time. Even the ones you get later seem to pale in comparison compared to the simple effectiveness of the early AAs. I refrain from naming them because I can't remember their names. Basically, the double hit, the block a rush of attacks, the spell cancel are all BnBs for any party. |
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| Carbunkle Flux | Dec 22 2006, 04:29 PM Post #7 |
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Abyssian Legend
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ToFL I think does have some balance issues. Specifically, AA based. I mean, the first few ones are going to last you a long, LONG time. Even the ones you get later seem to pale in comparison compared to the simple effectiveness of the early AAs. I refrain from naming them because I can't remember their names. Basically, the double hit, the block a rush of attacks, the spell cancel are all BnBs for any party. Yes, indeed. However, those AAs make your party effectively able to counter anything the enemy does. The annoying arbitrariness from all of the previous Wizardries is pretty much eliminated at least 95%. |
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| sharc | Dec 22 2006, 04:54 PM Post #8 |
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wandering slacker
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yeah, i enjoy the strategic potential of allied actions, but it seems mostly theoretical at this point in the game. is there any way to predict when a rush is coming, or are you just supposed to use that front line guard skill every turn when there's a full line of enemies? i was impressed at how that skeleton on the first floor turned out to be someone a team member knew, and assumed that if i didn't have them in my team i would have never known there was a story behind it. now every time i see some random item with a description i assume there's a similar backstory to it, but i don't have that character in my party. do you get different party members at the start of the game based on your alignment? because that would be pretty swank. |
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| Carbunkle Flux | Dec 22 2006, 05:25 PM Post #9 |
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Abyssian Legend
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It tends to get pretty obvious when a group of enemies is capable of rushing you. You pretty much have to rely on prediction and hope you're right, just like with that Dragon Breath guard. If you can't kill everything in a turn, you've gotta go on a defensive. However, the tactics of Allied Actions do have much substance. I relied on Allied Actions hugely during the mid-to-end game and ESPECIALLY on the final boss. There is no fight in the game where Allied Actions aren't useful; and that's what I like about them. Also, there is one thing in TOFL that is fairly rare in other RPGs. Starting on floor 5, you get to encounter very difficult enemies that give piddly amounts of exp and money. It's actually more beneficial to flee them and save your energy than to waste your time fighting them and risk having to go back to town early. You have to actually start picking your fights wisely to conserve resources while still fighting enough to keep your party strong.
Unfortunately you do not, but there is a lot of attention to detail in the items/scenery like that. You'll be surprised how big the first floor alone actually is. |
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| Darkstalker | Dec 22 2006, 08:05 PM Post #10 |
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~ The QUEEN ~
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Please note that some of the characters are pretty obscure. But don't worry, most of them suck anyway.
Yes, you have to pick your fights later on. And you'll start loving some of the rushing enemies (free EXP). |
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| Carbunkle Flux | Dec 23 2006, 07:15 PM Post #11 |
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Abyssian Legend
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Please note that some of the characters are pretty obscure. But don't worry, most of them suck anyway. tongue.gif Yes, you have to pick your fights later on. And you'll start loving some of the rushing enemies (free EXP). But I kept my starter party mostly to the end and I did great ;_;. I liked them. |
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| Darkstalker | Dec 23 2006, 07:35 PM Post #12 |
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~ The QUEEN ~
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The starter party is one of the best. I mean, an early ninja and a deecnt warrior? Kick ass! I was talking about a thief, though. |
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| Carbunkle Flux | Dec 23 2006, 11:11 PM Post #13 |
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Abyssian Legend
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I think I just lost track of what you were trying to say in the first place now :P. |
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