Author Topic: Video game purchasing dilemma...  (Read 4647 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Offline Radien

  • Bunnygirl
  • *****
  • Posts: 1324
Video game purchasing dilemma...
« on: September 12, 2005, 04:30:11 am »
I have a little dilemma here. I won an XBox game in the SC2 tournament at Kumori Con.  'Thing is, I don't have an XBox (and no, I'm NOT getting one), but I can exchange it unopened at a local store for other game titles.

I have it narrowed down to two likely possibilities. The game is worth $40 of trade-in. I can get:

Katamari Damacy ($18 ) AND Tales of Symphonia ($20)

...OR...

Atelier Iris ($50).

Now, Katamari is lots of fun, but the sequel is coming out soon. I've heard it's mostly an improved version with more levels and stuff, and it'll only cost a little more than the first one does right now ($18 for the original, $30 for the sequel). My sister is interested in Tales of Symphonia, and I want to play it too, but I've never been as interested in the Tales games as I have been Star Ocean. I didn't like the Tales of Phantasia battle system very much... but... that was released ages ago; I'm not sure how much it's been improved/changed. :P

Now Atelier Iris... well, I've been wanting to play an Atelier game for a LONG time. But this is the first time any of them has actually made it to the U.S. :) I've heard it's very good, and it looks not only well-designed by just generally my "style" of game, at least aesthetically.

But then, it does cost 50 bucks.

Has anybody played any of these games who could offer an opinion?
Well...I don't really need an opinion on Katamari Damacy. But if you played We Love Katamari (which is the sequel) at the convention, it'd be cool to hear a few words about that.
A member of Eugene Cosplayers. Come hang out with us.

Kumori Con 2010 Cosplays:

Link (The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess)
Apollo Justice

Offline mightycrouton

  • Sailor Scout
  • **
  • Posts: 93
    • http://myspace.com/jolivet
Video game purchasing dilemma...
« Reply #1 on: September 12, 2005, 07:50:09 am »
Get the two games, and then wait until the third goes down in price.

Personally, I think games are ridiculously overpriced on opening, but that's just me.

I like to think of all the times I could just KICK myself everytime I bought a new Final Fantasy for '60 dollars'

And then now I can buy the entire series for roughly the same amount u_u

Offline Sinaj

  • Chibi
  • ***
  • Posts: 218
Video game purchasing dilemma...
« Reply #2 on: September 12, 2005, 08:20:08 am »
Don't forget to look in the used game sections of store like EBX and Gamestop too.

Offline guspasho

  • Bunnygirl
  • *****
  • Posts: 1033
Video game purchasing dilemma...
« Reply #3 on: September 12, 2005, 10:17:59 am »
Get the cheaper two and rent the third for a few weeks. Used copies of brand new games aren't necessarily a good deal. I just saw a used copy of God of War for $45. You might as well buy it new for full price.
2008 Facilities Liaison

Offline Negima

  • Bunnygirl
  • *****
  • Posts: 1932
Video game purchasing dilemma...
« Reply #4 on: September 12, 2005, 11:09:47 am »
Played and beat ToS so I guess I can give you my opinion on it.

The battle system is the Action/Roleplay system as in you can move around, avoid the attacks, run up to enemies, distance yourself from enemies, give commands, use items when you pause it, and hit points and magic points are still involved.  I just remembered they also adjusted the battle field a little.  I think in the past the battle field was a 2D horizontal playing field where if you wanted to get to the other side you had to jump over enemies to do so, right?  This time they gave it a little more depth and made it 3D so there is more movement.

Overall the story was good, the characters were good, and I would recommend it.  There were some times when I was lost but it didn't take long to get back on track with the storyline.  I believe the game also has a unique way for battles from other games; when walking around the field, you can see dark shapes which represent enemies.  If you touch one, then you enter a battle.  If you don't want to battle, then you can try to avoid it.

There are some minor predictable RPG details in it but those are easy to ignore.  (Guess how the main character is first shown?)

That's all I can remember from it.

Offline Radien

  • Bunnygirl
  • *****
  • Posts: 1324
Video game purchasing dilemma...
« Reply #5 on: September 14, 2005, 03:53:38 am »
Quote from: "mightycrouton"
I like to think of all the times I could just KICK myself everytime I bought a new Final Fantasy for '60 dollars'

And then now I can buy the entire series for roughly the same amount u_u

Yeah, but that was Square, and thanks to Square's popularity they always release their major titles for 20 bucks after they've been out for awhile. :P

Here's a counter example: I bought Suikoden 2 (by Konami) for $40 the day it was released. It had a short production run. Several years later, it has jumped from price up to 130 dollars. :shock: Yes, a single eBay auction funded my entire trip to Sakura Con 2005. ;)

Anyway, if its American release is anything like its European release, Atelier Iris might end up being hard to find. It probably won't triple in price like Suikoden 2 did, but its price might increase a little.

Quote from: "Sinaj"
Don't forget to look in the used game sections of store like EBX and Gamestop too.

No can do. Specialty game stores don't take unopened exchanges without a receipt. I am limited to Wal Mart and Target. I'm going with Wal Mart because they gave me a gift card that can be used online (I only did it because Wal Mart is not getting any cash out of the exchange).

guspasho:

I very rarely rent games anymore, because RPGs are too long to complete in 5 days, and I can usually tell whether I will like it if I hear enough opinions from other people. Failing that, reselling the game on eBay usually gets back most of the money I spent.


Quote from: "Negima"
I think in the past the battle field was a 2D horizontal playing field where if you wanted to get to the other side you had to jump over enemies to do so, right?  This time they gave it a little more depth and made it 3D so there is more movement.

Yes, it was 2D side-view, where you controlled only the main character and the others did ranged attacks and magic support. You could walk by enemies, but you wouldn't want to unless you were running away.

What bothered me the most was their attack system, where you'd press the attack button and your character would run up, attack, and then run BACK to where he was before.... whereas if you moved left and right manually, he would walk in that direction, at a snail's pace compared to his "attack" run. :P

From what you say, though, it sounds like a big improvement. :) The Tales series often imitates the Star Ocean series (and vice-versa), because the two series have shared a lot of the same designers. So if more of Star Ocean's good points are carrying over, then I will be much happier. :D

I think I may go with the two cheap games. Thanks for the info. :)

Say, anybody play the two Katamari games, at or before the convention?...
A member of Eugene Cosplayers. Come hang out with us.

Kumori Con 2010 Cosplays:

Link (The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess)
Apollo Justice

Offline guspasho

  • Bunnygirl
  • *****
  • Posts: 1033
Video game purchasing dilemma...
« Reply #6 on: September 14, 2005, 07:49:26 am »
I didn't get to play the sequel at the con (so sad...) but I own Katamari Damacy and got a solid 2-4 of months of gameplay out of it. And we haven't even tried any multi-player yet. (I just last week finally got a second PS2 controller.)

I haven't tried their new policy with games but with movies I can stretch that 5 days to 3 weeks with Blockbuster.
2008 Facilities Liaison

Offline Negima

  • Bunnygirl
  • *****
  • Posts: 1932
Video game purchasing dilemma...
« Reply #7 on: September 14, 2005, 08:37:08 pm »
Quote from: "Radien"
What bothered me the most was their attack system, where you'd press the attack button and your character would run up, attack, and then run BACK to where he was before.... whereas if you moved left and right manually, he would walk in that direction, at a snail's pace compared to his "attack" run.

Well, it's been over a year since I last played it, but I do believe they fixed that problem (the running back after attacking thing).  Also, you can actually run when you move the joy-stick.

Anonymous

  • Guest
Video game purchasing dilemma...
« Reply #8 on: September 14, 2005, 10:53:24 pm »
KD2 was on my machine.  It rocks, completely blows the first one out of the water.  I'd wait for that instead of getting KD.  Then again KD would be nice to just keep around for collection.

If you liked SO3, you might want to try Radiata Stories... its by Tri-Ace.  It's pretty cool, gets a bit tedious (I felt that way about SO3 near the end) but the system is stylish and a bit better battle system than SO3. Has some shitty parts like NewGame+ being a waste of time, and no multiplayer.

ToS is a pretty good game in its own right.  Has more of a SO3 style battel system, pretty simple as well.  And it can be played with multiple people, making the game a bit more appealing.

Offline HellSap

  • Sailor Scout
  • **
  • Posts: 112
Video game purchasing dilemma...
« Reply #9 on: September 14, 2005, 10:54:39 pm »
^^^ blasted non-logged in posts... oh well
Oh yeah, does anyone have any pics of me cosplaying as Yamazaki? I still havent found one... a pic of me headbutting the Dan cosplayer repeatedly would be cool.
Always and forever... Conspiring with the devil, Conquering together.
D/L Star Control 2 - Ur-Quan Masters here http://sourceforge.net/projects/sc2/ !
PSU Video Game Club - http://randomselect.groups.pdx.edu/