Fun with Three 3DS RPGs

Do you like RPGs? Do you have a 3DS? If the answer to both is "yes," then holy shit, this has been a good spring to you. Between Fire Emblem: Awakening, Etrian Odyssey IV, and now Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers, some high quality titles have come our way in the past few months, and it looks like there's more to come in Project X Zone and Shin Megami Tensei IV. It's a cornucopia, except with out all of the nonsense like tributes and girls named Katniss. (That will be the only Hunger Games reference I consciously make here.)

Fire Emblem: Awakening

I'm a pretty big fan of Fire Emblem. Maybe not as insanely hardcore as some people I could mention, but but pretty damn core, at least And just this past weekend, I finished the story of Fire Emblem: Awakening the first time after logging over seventy-five hours on it. And there are still plenty of things I want to do in it. So it's pretty easy to say that I've really enjoyed it. The story isn't my favorite, but the characters are all really enjoyable, and they made some really fun tweaks to the gameplay this time around with the ability to pair up units and bringing back marriage.

And while the DLC is steep (six bucks a pop for map packs containing three maps each), they're still pretty fun for being able to revisit characters and maps from past games. And also watch long-time western fans writhe at some of the name localizations given to the previously Japan-only portion of the roster. And then you go further down the rabbit hole into all of the location names that have proper localizations now and you realize that cleaning up all of the Fire Emblem-related wiki pages on Giant Bomb is going to be a major pain. And that's on top of cleaning up the ones that were poorly written to begin with. There are some real doozies out there that are like staring into the abyss of death while trying to untangle. (Warning: Wall of text.)

But not to get off track, I'm keeping up with the DLC, even if they've gotten to a point where I am routinely being destroyed, seeing as I haven't even begun to abuse stat growths through re-classing my characters yet. I also need to go back and play the maps that were released as SpotPass DLC to see how they are. But like I said, I still have plenty I want to do.

Etrian Odyssey IV

After capping the story in Fire Emblem, I finally got around to starting up Etrian Odyssey IV, which had been sitting on my shelf since its release. I hadn't had much experience with the series before, aside from a few minutes of Etrian Odyssey III, but I had a pretty good idea of what to expect coming in. A hardcore dungeon crawler light on plot and heavy on the cartography. It took me a few hours to really get into a groove as I learned how the game plays, got a sense of upgrading my characters, avoiding F.O.E.s and drawing good maps, and of course leveling up and equipping weapons and armor so that my party could take on something stronger than a light breeze.

And so far, I'm really liking it. Roaming around labyrinths, charting the landscape and knocking the lights out of a F.O.E. for the first time is pretty exhilarating. And even though the story is light, the localization is filled with color. And colorful language. (I'm pretty sure this is the first game I've ever played where a character referred to her "lady boner" in any context.) I'm still really early on in the game, but it' something that could easily occupy my time for quite a while.

Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers

I just picked up Soul Hackers tonight and took it for a spin. Like most people here, I never played the original version that was released back in the Saturn era. It's also hard to really get a good grip on how the game is from what little I've played so far; a large chunk of the first hour or so is exposition, some basic exploration, and a little combat before things really take off. A remake of a MegaTen game bordering on the days of yore, it's a first-person dungeon crawler, but it feels like it's aged well, and certainly has been improved on since the original release. It also has a pretty unique feel when compared to other games in the wider franchise that have seen western release with its cyberpunk feel. The game is really it's own thing and a nice way to step back into the franchise before Shin Megami Tensei IV comes out this year.

And Other Stuff

It's been a busy week for releases, actually. In addition to Soul Hackers, today was also the release date for Pandora's Tower and Injustice: Gods Among Us. I have my copy of Pandora's Tower secured; it's crazy to think that a fan campaign that asked for three games that seemed to have no chance at U.S. release are suddenly all domestic releases now. I'm really looking forward to having some time to put into it. Even if I don't end up enjoying it as much as Xenoblade Chronicles or The Last Story, the game still has an interesting hook, and I've heard plenty of good things about it. So it should at least be interesting.

And then there's Injustice, I'll also get around to at some point. I can't really say anything about it since I have yet to try it, but before I sign off, I should share my experience in buying it, as it did result in one of my more unusual encounters with a Gamestop clerk. After he found my copy of Soul Hackers and asked if I wanted anything else:

Me: "Do you have Injustice for the Wii U?"

Clerk: "Uh..." *Looks at wall display and games on counter.* "I don't think that's out for a couple of months."

Me: "...Its release date is today."

Clerk: *Begins searching computer as he speaks to another clerk.* "Do we have Injustice for Wii U?"

Clerk 2: *Cocks eyebrow and opens a drawer lined with blue game cases.*

Clerk: "Oh." *Pulls out a copy and shows it to me, then puts it back in the drawer."

Me: "...I wanted to buy it?"

Clerk: "You did?"

Me: "Yes."

Clerk: *Pulls game back out, hesitant as though he's unsure of how this transaction is supposed to go.*

It was like buying a game from a body snatcher. What the hell?

@hailinel: That dude not selling you the game is shady as ffffffffuuuuuuuuuuuck

I'm lucky to have one of the few decent GameStops out there.

Seriously. He should be jumping for joy that someone wants to buy a Wii U game.

Also, if you've really done 75 hours with Awakening then you've played more of it than me, my save file sitting somewhere at a mere 50 or so hours. For as much as I rail against a lot of other SRPGs for being grindy to the point of obnoxiousness, I'm totally fine with powerleveling my death squad to be able to deal with the utterly insane post-game DLC maps. That either implies a double standard or just that grinding in Fire Emblem is far less tedious because I can skip all of the animations. Interested to see what you think of Pandora's Tower, as I have a morbid, inexplicable curiosity about how that game will be received when compared to The Last Story and Xenoblade.

That clerk probably wanted to take the game home. Anyway, I've been playing some Etrian Odyssey IV whenever I can spare some time. 30 hours over about a month. Pretty damn good game, but it's the combat that really pulls it through. I think I'm over-leveled, though, as I just started the third area and I'm already able to kill FOEs with careful playing. I finished the last one with the ability to put every random encounter on Auto.

Also I'm planning on getting one of the other two after school ends - do parts of Soul Hackers feel archaic?

That clerk did ask if you wanted anything else, how strange.

Have you tried Crimson Shroud? That's a pretty dope 3DS JRPG too. Thankfully cheaper than the retail RPG's, and it's going on sale soon! It's been covering my JRPG cravings while I save for Fire Emblem, which isn't even out in AU yet...

That clerk was probably trying to pull a jedi mind trick on you, "this is not the version of the game you are looking for, get it on ps3 or xbox 360."

Yeah, it was really weird.

The one I go to tends to fluctuate, but for reference, it's the same location that Penny Arcade has specifically made fun of, particularly back when Eye of Judgment came out.

@arbitrarywater: I think part of me wanting to grind in the game is just to see some of the support conversations. And I still have yet to marry Olivia with anyone, so there's still one last child character I haven't recruited.

I'll definitely be sharing my thoughts on Pandora's Tower after I have a chance to spend time with it.

It might be in some ways (I need more time with it to get a better feel), but they updated the game in a lot of ways, too. The map on the touch screen is easy to use, and there's also a selection of option "hacks" that can be used at any time to do things like switch the difficulty level, allow the game to ignore alignment, and so on.

Not yet, but I'd definitely like to. It sounds really interesting.

I'll throw in another recommendation for Crimson Shroud. I really enjoyed the short amount of time I spent with it (though there's a greatly expanded new game plus if you're worried about getting your money's worth).

I have a friend who is always trying to get me into MegaTen, but I'm just not into the monster-raising aspects so much. Difficult dungeon crawlers I've had decades to get used to, but I was never a fan of Pokemon, even when it's dressed up with gothic themes of death and corruption. Honestly, I have Nocturne lying around and never beat it, so the day I scrounge up the courage to take down a core entry of that series it'll be there. Waiting.

Project X Zone sounds kind of neat though. I'm sad I never got the chance to play Namco X Capcom. Big fan of the Tales series - which reminds me of another great 3DS RPG for your list: Tales of the Abyss 3D.

Because this reply isn't long enough: Hope you have fun with Pandora's Tower. Its reputation as the weakest of the three Operation Rainfall games isn't entirely unfounded, but it's a great and very strange game all the same.

@hailinel: Man you must shop at the same gamestop I do. Used to be good, then all the people who actually liked games other than CoD quit, got promoted to run different stores, or became the district lead and no longer run a store at all. Glad to see Etrian getting some love, those games art can be.... a little much. But the gameplay, mechanics, etc etc are all top flight. I may try to pick up Soul Hackers today myself.

EOIV is pretty fantastic. It was my introduction into the EO series and its pretty accessible. There's a bunch of post-end content too that I've yet to dive into. Finishing that game up made me really curious to check out the other EO games. Mapping out dungeons is pretty addicting.

Hope you enjoy your time with EOIV!

How's Devil Summoner's story? Never really played a SMT game outside of Persona, and those games spin wicked yarns. Does it get on the same level?

And, no, that is my wife.

@nonused said:

No, that's my wife!

Yeah, that GameStop employee sounds hilarious. It's surprising how few of them are people like you would find on a gaming forum, and are instead, well, idiots. And also seemingly only play games on a single console, and have no personal knowledge of PC games or handheld games.

Yes!

@hailinel said:

Do you have a 3DS? If the answer to both is "yes," then holy shit, this has been a good spring to you.

No. :(

Dammit. This is hitting me right in the poverty.

the Gamespot clerk was probably trying to not sell Injustice so he could hold it for a friend. I've had that happen to me a couple times, and for me a couple times.

@slag said:

The hole in that theory is the idea that any GameStop clerk has a friend who wants a copy of the Wii U version.

A couple years ago I asked a Gamestop clerk for Far Cry 2 and he did the exact same thing. Pulled it out of the drawer thing to show me they had it then just put it back. Had to point out I wanted to buy it too.

Yes, though I've found in my local Gamestop that if I ask for a sealed copy they'll often fish one out for me, so they have sealed copies somewhere.

Just why the fuck any company would want to do this is beyond me. It sounds utterly inefficient and a terrible waste of man-hours.

Rune Factory 4 is coming soon-ish as well.

I Married Tharja as well, gluttons for punishment you and I, it's that husky voice, I just couldn't refuse.

The one closest to me does. They also trash any extra stuff that comes with the game that isn't the manual. My brother got home with his "new" copy of Skyrim a couple years ago and it was missing the premium map it was supposed to come with. I asked a friend of mine who used to work there what was up with that and she said they're supposed to throw away any extra stuff that comes with the games, though she never understood why.

I think Pandora's Tower has gotten the talk that it has mostly out of peoples' mistaken impression that it was another RPG along with Xenoblade/The Last Story, which really isn't true at all. It's really cool seeing what a development house known mostly for Naruto and One Piece games was able to do when given the chance to create an original IP.

Yeah, it's weird how it just sort of fluctuates. It used to be fairly good, then it went really bad. I started going to another Gamestop (back when there was another GS literally across the street from the mall due to the EB/Gamestop merger), and that was great for a while, and then became staffed with airheads. Then the mall Gamestop was good again, so I went back to that.

I guess that comes with the territory in retail. You don't need to know the subject matter so long as you can operate a register and ask people if they want to preorder something.

As for Devil Summoner's story, @nonused, it's pretty interesting. It's a little dated because it was originally written back in the '90s, before the internet became what it is now, so its concepts of high technology and the internet might seem odd to some. But it's still done well enough to create an interesting cyberpunk setting. The core group of characters are a team of hackers, though you only ever play as the protagonist (who you name) and Hitomi (who is possessed by the demon Nemissa within the first hour of the game). The other four party slots are taken up by demons you recruit or fuse.

However, it's still too early for me to say how good the story is over all. I need to get further in before I can say anything definitive about it.

And like I said, she's my wife!

She really has that effect on people.

They call them display copies because they use an emptied case for display in the store. Usually, when you get an opened "new" copy, it's because it was the last one they had in stock.

Oh snap thanks for reminding me about Fire Emblem, I think it's coming out this weekend in Australia

@coakroach: You guys in Europe and Australia are in for a treat. FE: Awakening is an amazing game, and now you guys are finally going to get a chance to play it.

I married Chrom. Accidentally. But we're happy together.

By the way, hoping to hear any further thoughts you have about Soul Hackers. I thoroughly and unexpectedly enjoyed Fire Emblem, and am currently in the thick of Etrian Odyssey 4 (maybe more than halfway through, if past games are any indication), but I didn't pick up Soul Hackers, since it didn't immediately jump out at me. Don't really know much about it, so I'm interesting in hearing... well, anything, really.

While trying to work up my relationships with everyone, I had the unfortunate side effect of becoming overpowered in the story line. Also, now with all the relationships at A or B level, I became frozen not knowing who I should pair up with who. . . The story is decent, but not great and I'm considering just dropping the game altogether as I've got so much other stuff on my plate -_-;; You think I should power through to the end?

I was interested in the Etrian game since I played an earlier one and enjoyed it. I considered trying out this one, but I don't really have the time and don't wanna drop $30~$40 for a game I'll prolly only play for a few hours =P

I'm actually interested in Soul Sacrifice. I've been hearing random things about it but what I've heard is leading me to believe that it's also a crazy time sink. Lately I've been just playing short and sweet games.

Nice write up.

@fobwashed: I think he's actually talking about Soul Hackers for the 3DS, not Soul Sacrifice for the Vita. Both apparently good games, but extremely different.

That is correct.

@fobwashed: If you just got to the second continent, you're a little less than halfway to the end. And that's not counting the Paralogues that unlock as your characters marry and have children.

The next 3 months are going to be pretty great, what with two new SMT games being released.

Soul Hackers is pretty cool. It's obvious that it's a very old game, but the cyberpunk elements are interesting enough that they make up for that. The combat system also seems to have aged well too, though I've only played 2 hours so far so I can't say for sure.

I'm about four hours in and have finished the second dungeon, and now have access to the Goumaden. The combat system really has aged surprisingly well for being a pre-Press Turn title. I also happened to have a full stock of Play Coins when I started playing, so I've already gotten a good head start on evolving Nemechi, as well.

#frontpaged

@marino: Thanks!

I'm only 26 hours into Fire Emblem Awakening and I'm only at chapter 10. I've been trying to level up some of the units that I've ignored and find it to be kind of hard, a couple units are still level 5 while everyone else is level 10 or over

Also you're crazy for having married Tharja! why would any marry that stalker but I'll admit there's something about her that is alluring

That game stop clerk was probably in silent shock that injustice was already out. He was doing some deep thinking like, "damn I want a copy of that," and forgot all about selling it to you. Sadly, he was most likely giving you a hard time. Ah well. Awakening sounds pretty cool, though. All my buddies keep talking about the game like it's some kind of soul mate match maker game. The sissies.

That Gamestop clerk is going to be really confused when you go back there and try to buy Bayonetta 2 when it's released.

Yeah that "lady boner hard as steel" part was...unexpected.

I haven't played the previous Etrian Odyssey's, but have enjoyed my time with 4. Right now I'm some ways into the second area, the part where you get your first 'guest character', but haven't touched it in a while.

This happens to me a lot with rpgs where I play them intensely for a while and then fall off of them suddenly, so it isn't an unexpected development and I currently still have hope that I'll get back into it eventually.

I've also thought about getting Fire Emblem, but I don't feel like I should get it until I've cleared my backlog a little, so it will have to wait.

I loved the hell out of Fire Emblem. I was gonna pick up Etrian Odyssey IV because I loved the demo but I don't know, just kinda lost interest in it. I'll probably pick up Soul Hackers at some point because demons and cyberspace sounds right up my alley but I'm debating on buying it now while it's not a pain in the ass to find.

@jacksukeru: Etrian Odyssey definitely seems like a game that you should take a break from occasionally.

I think you're starting to understand!

One can only imagine. Though I can also imagine a number of customers asking to preorder the game for the PS4 or the Xbox Whatever. So I guess it evens out?

Playing EO and finished Fire Emblem.

Weird that the only one I'm not playing is the only SMT game, seeing as Persona is my favourite series.

@donutfever said:

Not that weird considering Persona 3 and 4 are very different from other SMT games.

Also for everyone playing EOIV, here's a helpful skill builder with actual information on the specific numbers behind each skills. Though not all numbers are accurate it seems.

http://www.crazyuncleivans.com/eo4skillsim/EO4Skillsim.html

@turambar: Is there anywhere that can tell me exactly how to know turn order, so that I can ensure that the guy who uses the Nectar on my dead guy goes before the guy who uses the healing item/skill?

@believer258: Turn order is based on agility and stuff that affects agility such as equipment and skills. The heavier the equipment is (cloth/light/heavy/plate) the greater the speed penalty. Daggers give a speed bonus, as do boots. Shields and helmets on the other hand give a speed penalty. Simply doing a fight with your current party should give you a clear idea of what the order is going to be.

Though it's generally safe to say that your party order is probably going to move like this, from first to last: Night Seeker, Dancer, Sniper, Runemaster, Medic, Landshark, Fortress.

The only reason I bought a 3DS was for all the crazy JRPGs and such. I passed up on Soul Hackers, but SMT IV, EO:IV and PxZone should keep me busy for a loooooong time.

I'm in the third area of EO4 and loving it, but the game is effectively on hold while I play Soul Hackers.

Anyone looking to play it should be warned: this is not a re-imagining, it's a straight remake of a Saturn era Megaten game. I haven't played the original, but I have chatted online with people who have, and they've reiterated the point that not a lot has changed.

What this means to the uninitiated: it's very systems-heavy, complicated, and does not hold your hand for a second. Also, things you might have come to take for granted from newer SMT games can't always be relied on here. Your demons don't level up, for instance, and they have alignments, personalities, and loyalty systems that all play into how they behave in battle, including straight-up refusing to listen to commands.

There are built-in "hacks" available at any time by touching the touch screen that make the game slightly friendlier, but nothing that makes it more accessible to someone who doesn't have at least some experience with SMT.

I would say the game is absolutely totally worth playing: it's a deep, challenging, and rewarding game, and one we've been waiting a long time for in the west (now if only we could get SMT if? to come stateside), but don't make this one your first game in the series.

@hailinel:

Good post! These games are pretty much the reason my 3DS has been my most-played console as of late. (Along with just finishing Luigi's Mansion as well.) One of these days I'll actually finish an RPG after I start it, this tends to happen to me a lot, with this being my favorite genre, but me being a busy adult with not a lot of time.

I have around 45-50 hrs into Fire Emblem, and I'm on story mission 22 at the moment (I think there are 25?), so I'm actually going to end up finishing that one! I'm on the third labyrinth in EO4, really enjoying that as well. Like you, my first experience with EO was a little bit of time with EO3.

Bought Pandora's Tower and Soul Hackers this week, but haven't opened either yet. I get wary about trying to play too many RPGs at once. Think I'll at least finish the story mode of Injustice before I give either of those a spin. Seems like we've been touching on a lot of the same games! :)