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La Pucelle Rated, Disgaea Guided, Phantom Brave Announced
Thanks to IGN PS2 for its review of PlayStation 2 SRPG La Pucelle Tactics, commenting on the "spiritual prequel to Disgaea", as they suggest the Mastiff-published title, previously mentioned for censorship issues, is "very much a powerful gaming experience and serves as a terrific companion piece to Hour of Darkness." Elsewhere, Double Jump Books has released a PDF version of their official Disgaea strategy guide for free (registration/checkout required), and GamerFeed discusses the announcement of Phantom Brave from Disgaea/La Pucelle developer Nippon Ichi and publisher Atlus, which "continues the intriguing game play of Disgaea while adding an immense number of new graphical and game play features."
I've come to trust PA for game review and commentary, so here is a link to their review of the game here.
Gabe makes a point to say that it will be hard to find in stores. I do remember people complaining that Disgea was impossible to find. I haven't been to a game store since its release, so I'm curious to know if he is right. Has anyone been able, or not been able to find it?
In a gaming world filled with (at least Stateside) FPSes, RTSes, and the occasional big name title, Tactical RPGs (RPGs that focus almost solely on the battle aspect of the game, usually on an isometric board - the best known TRPG in the U.S. is probably Final Fantasy Tactics /FFT Advance) are a godsend for more cerebral players. They are something like deliberately paced RTSes (in which you take turns and are not, thus, real time). Instead of twitch action, these games focus more on thinking and strategy (hence the genres other name, strategy RPGs). The player moves a small army of RPG characters across the board, defeating enemies while gaining levels for their characters. The gameplay owes a lot to games like Nethack and D&D, obviously, though they are, more or less, directly descended from Japanese RPGs.
Nippon Ichi has made a niche for themselves with these games (first in Japan and now here) because of some great artwork (Disgaea and Phantom Brave are adorable!) and intriguing anime style plots. Instead of treating the genre as sacred, they've certainly pulled its boundaries, with somewhat silly, but imaginative and fun additions (like being able to throw other characters in Disgaea). More power to them - I hope to see more of their stuff stateside.
TRPGs are some of the most popular games in Japan, but few of them come over stateside. The original Final Fantasy Tactic's successes started a small trickle and Disgaea's popularity seems to be helping a small boon. Maybe we'll see things like Robot Wars over here (which combines the mechs from anime like Gundam, Big O, Evangalion, Mazinger Z, and other, in a semi original TRPG story), but probably not.
If you're all about the FPSes and RTSes, maybe giving one of these games a try will open your eyes to some new gaming experiences.
"There is no time, sir, at which ties do not matter," Jeeves, (Jeeves and the Impending Doom)
The thing I hate about every review of Disgaea and La Pucelle I have seen is they nock them down for graphics. Just because they use sprites (which all Tactical RPG's to my knowledge do) doesn't mean they don't look good. Personally I prefer sprites in some cases to polygons. Sprites lend more to the anime feel they gave the game and I believe that they had some of the most stylish graphics of any game to date.
So to reiterate, sprites != bad graphics.
Tactical RPGs, or simply turn-based strategy games, aren't exactly mainstream with people either complaining about its difficulty (Fire Emblem), its complexity (FF Tactics), or its shallow gameplay and/or storyline (FF Tactics Advance). (Along with simply poor games such as Onimusha Tactics and lackluster sales of games such as Korsen Pocket and Moonbase Commander though these last two are admittedly not RPGs.)
Okay, I'm only about six hours in, but so far I've had nothing but fun with the game. The combat system is great - it's not like Final Fantasy Tactics where you feel like you're fighting the system and you win every fight by the skin of your teeth. Instead, if you stay together, use good formations and use your specials effectively, you'll always come out on top, which is great.
Plus, the story so far has been fantastic - I just finished chapter two (got the good ending), and I cannot wait to find out what happens next. The writing and voice acting are top-notch and the characters are great.
While I haven't finished the game and therefore cannot guarantee that it doesn't crap out further down, based on what I've played so far, I can't help but say that if you like tactical combat games, you MUST have this game. Even if you DON'T like them, you may still want to give it a try, since it's much more engaging and playable than most tactical combat games.
Now I just need to get it beat before Front Mission 4 comes out...
I only bought it after Gabe and Tycho raved about how fantastic it was. And even then, I mulled the purchase for months. But man, do I regret waiting so long... let me sum up the main characters.
Laharl is a complete self-centered jerk who hates everything that is good, and is a truly sadistic bastard. It's all about him or nothing.
Etna is on crack. I simply think it's the best way to describe her, and everyone I believe will agree with me. She's evil and has a few screws loose, and that's the way I like her.
Flonne is... ditzy, though I guess she adds to the story.
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I'm only about 9 chapters in, but this game has already entered my hall of fame not too far off from my #1 spot that is River City Ransom (which I got about 15 years ago!). The story is completely off the wall. It's the Monty Python rendition of Final Fantasy Tactics.
The item world is cool. Little specialists live inside every item you can get. If you want to make your item stronger, you can go into the item to attempt to subdue them (to gain bonuses), or just to level up the item. The deeper you go, the harder stuff is, to the point where shit gets insanely hard. You can move the specialists between items. Rarer items can hold more specialists, and are harder to delve deeper into. Item Kings and Item Gods are effin huge.
The Dark Assembly is the netherworld's version of congress. In order to gain new benefits in the evil democracy, you need to get bills passed. Want stronger items in the shop? Try to put it by the Assembly. Senator not leaning your way? Bribe them. You fail to get it passed? Sure you can leave, but you can also opt to subdue all the senators, so the bill passes after you kick all of congress's ass.
Level 99 in a Square RPG? Too simple. Disgaea lets you level to 9999, in multiple classes, PER character. You can have an assload of characters, with nearly 100 classes aside from the main characters. You need to sometimes too, for side quests. Ever fight guys with millions of HP? I have. Emerald Weapon would get his ass whipped in this game.
The story? I've fallen out of my furniture of choice at times. Two words that I'm sure everyone will remember and chuckle at: Prism Rangers. I'm sorry, that cutscene made me bust out into hysterics practically. Very sharp, brutal storyline at times. It gets a bit slow and soft once in a while, but this shit is funny.
And tie it up with anime-style graphics, ridiculous special moves bordering on overkill, combos, the geo symbols, and exploding sub-ordinate penguins that speak l33t, and you get the idea of where this game is going. Just buy it. If you can't find it, Amazon or eBay it. It's worth every fucking cent and thensome.
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I just picked up La Pucelle. Certainly Prier is no Etna, but it's amusing at times. I miss Lift/Throw, and it's a lot tougher to really use the Dark Symbols/Portals effectively, and combat does take longer (Disgaea is generally more refined), but I'm pretty pleased with it.
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You just can't go too wrong with these games folks. If you're a bit hesitant, get Disgaea first. If you like that, pick up La Pucelle.
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I don't know if this is any indication of how hard it will be to find, but this weekend I hunted down La Pucelle Tactics with the following results: No copies at Media Play, Best Buy, and an EB Games. I finally found a single copy at another EB Games. So, I highly recommend getting this game sooner rather than later if it is a title you are interested in ...