Operation Abyss: Yes or No!??

[DawnrazorDCLXVI]

Cyberpunk blogging, plus DNA splicing. No classes.

I am intrigued already. Hate anime tropes and shytt dialogue, but as we all know, the Japanese bought out Wizardry long ago, so if you can stand Etrian Odyssey, this might show promise.

Makers of Demon Gaze. Not sure how that turned out, Codex input greatly appreciated.

 

[Zetor]

I posted about this in another thread, but this is basically a modern remake of the late 2000s PC Generation XTH trilogy (in one game). I played through / LP'd the first game of that series, and it was pretty fun -- probably the best non-Wizardry blobber I've played.

From what I've read, the content in the new Vita version is very close to the original trilogy, but some themes have been made a bit more palatable (Nono and the 'Nipple Bits' have been changed to some generic cyberpunk enemy and support robots) The classless thing is new, but it's par for the course considering the first game had a strict Wizardry-like class system with FFXIV-style multilevelling, the second game had a dual-class system, and I have no idea what the third game had.

See the thread here for more info.

 

[Zetor]

So there's a new trailer, and it seems like they added a few things like bounties and 'continuous encounters' (~FOE from Etrian Odyssey). I'm not sure about the scope of the game, though -- until now I thought it was supposed to be the remake of the entire trilogy (or at least the first two games), but all the gameplay clips seem to be from the first game?



e: also, delayed until june 2015 apparently.

 

[grudgebringer]

Is it Vita only or PC too?

 

[Zetor]

Vita only, for now. Well, you can play the original games on PC, but only the first one is translated...

 

[DawnrazorDCLXVI]

Is it just me, or do all the level maps seem *very* simplistic and overly-symmetrical??

 

[Zetor]

Which maps do you mean? Some of the early ones are simplistic*, but stuff like Babel level 2+ feature some of the most brutal map design I've seen in a dungeon crawler.

* Come to think of it, even some of the early maps are much more complicated than they appear... like the Morimoto Building with all the hidden ladders up/down and the similar-looking-yet-different layouts of each level that require you to traverse them in a certain way to get to the heart of the lowest level. I'd say it's on par with the Rattkin Ruins in Wizardry 7, though less obnoxious.

 

[DawnrazorDCLXVI]

Which maps do you mean? Some of the early ones are simplistic*, but stuff like Babel level 2+ feature some of the most brutal map design I've seen in a dungeon crawler.

* Come to think of it, even some of the early maps are much more complicated than they appear... like the Morimoto Building with all the hidden ladders up/down and the similar-looking-yet-different layouts of each level that require you to traverse them in a certain way to get to the heart of the lowest level. I'd say it's on par with the Rattkin Ruins in Wizardry 7, though less obnoxious.

I'm actually glad to hear this. I'm basing my opinions on maps present in gameplay videos so far, as I've seen nothing else of the gameplay available on this coast.

 

[Zetor]

Felipepepe posted some of the more interesting maps in the original game here.

one of the story dungeons

maps of the optional dungeon Babel

 

[DawnrazorDCLXVI]

Felipepepe posted some of the more interesting maps in the original game here.

one of the story dungeons

maps of the optional dungeon Babel

Perfect. Bought!

 

[Zetor]

So this one is apparently out. Anyone pick it up yet?

Specific question for those that did: is class switching still a thing? It was pretty important in GXTH to build casters properly, but Gamefaqs people are claiming that it either doesn't exist or it has been gimped (ie. if your mage gets a cleric level and switches back to mage, he will no longer have access to the cleric spells). OTOH... well, it's gamefaqs. Ya know.

 

[Siveon]

Bull. It ain't out yet. On the NIS page it even says it: June 9th.

http://nisamerica.com/games/operation-abyss-new-tokyo-legacy/main.php

I pre-ordered the damn thing, damn VG Journalists.

 

[Zetor]

It's been out in the EU since the 5th I think... which is just weird, usually we are the ones getting screwed by release schedules.

Very interested in impressions, in either case!

 

[Latro]

wait for pc port, or jump into translation? OP Abyss got anything over the translated vers?

 

[Siveon]

wait for pc port

Unlikely. After that failure of CladunX2 I think NISA will stay away from the PC for a bit. Plus NISA is only working on Vita/PS4 so assume it's the same for them too.

The one definite thing we know about this Abyss is that it combines two older abyss games into one, so you should have twice as much content as the single translated game on PC. There's probably a bit more polish in there too.

 

[victim]

I got tired of Code Hazard after a while. The crafting did very little in practice and inundated you with mostly worthless junk that you had to have the Bishop character Identify -- and keep removing his Fear status

 

[Siveon]

Alright finally got the damn game and putting Etrian Odyssey on standby to give proper first impressions.

 

[Siveon]

Well, it's certainly the remake of the first game. I would have to beat this part to see anything further, but most of the stuff was lifted from the regular game. The dialogue, the avatars ("classic" gives you the old art for the characters while "basic" gives you the new art. However, basic does not show what armor is equipped), even the art for the 'Bloods' is exactly the same.

The dungeons are slightly arranged, they seem smaller but that may be because the movement speed was turned up a bit in this game. I haven't played either game until now (playing them side by side), but this Abyss seems to have a built in automap while the original just has the small one. As for the class switching, yes you can switch Bloods. But, I think GameFAQ's was correct: It does not seem like you can keep your magic levels. I just spent a good thirty minutes grinding characters I didn't care about to check that. I think in the future you'll get a definite answer, but as far as I can tell, they removed it.

The game also seems to be a bit easier, but I think that was to be expected. I sort of gunned through the first part so I can give you a few answers, but as for right now take my first impressions with a grain of salt.

EDIT: Oh, and from various sources I can tell that the second game is in here. It's just labeled as the "second term". Why there was no footage of it is beyond me, but I guess they didn't want to spoil anything? I dunno.

 

[Zetor]

Good stuff, thanks! Sorry about the grind thing.. forgot to mention that just creating a level 1 char with the stats to qualify for two caster classes would've been fine (think healer and scholar are close-ish, maybe mage too if using the elegant type?), then just switch to the other class right away, rest, and check the spellbook.

I'll say that the dumbing-down of class-changing is pretty sad tbh... it was the only feature in the original game that made character and party development interesting. Now 4 party members are basically fixed (a paladin + one of each caster) and the only flexibility is selecting two damage-dealer classes for the last slots. Bonus: the new classes unlocked during the game have to be leveled from 1, and at the cost of removing an established party member... which either makes them useless, or necessitates more grinding.

Oh, NISA.

 

[DawnrazorDCLXVI]

Keep us updated. Interested to see how this project turned out. Maybe a pre-review before the NA release?

 

[Siveon]

Keep us updated. Interested to see how this project turned out. Maybe a pre-review before the NA release?

It's already released in NA, my friend.

Good stuff, thanks! Sorry about the grind thing.. forgot to mention that just creating a level 1 char with the stats to qualify for two caster classes would've been fine (think healer and scholar are close-ish, maybe mage too if using the elegant type?), then just switch to the other class right away, rest, and check the spellbook.

I'll say that the dumbing-down of class-changing is pretty sad tbh... it was the only feature in the original game that made character and party development interesting. Now 4 party members are basically fixed (a paladin + one of each caster) and the only flexibility is selecting two damage-dealer classes for the last slots. Bonus: the new classes unlocked during the game have to be leveled from 1, and at the cost of removing an established party member... which either makes them useless, or necessitates more grinding.

Oh, NISA.

Hm, to be fair I think this was actually the dev's decision. Or at least the Japanese publishers decision. NISA is just a localization company, I doubt they would have much contact or influence on the final product, all they really do is put English in a game and sometimes dub it. Experience Inc. , the one and only developer in the Generation Xth series, seemed to make this decision themselves. Of course I don't speak Japanese and haven't read any blogs or interviews with them stating that, but call it an assumption. I'm pretty miffed about an excluded feature too, but at the very least I supported the Generation Xth series (I even bought Demon Gaze as well), so perhaps we'll get a few more incline dungeon crawlers our way. The box is also pretty nice on my shelf.

As an addendum, I've read that it's pretty easy to play catch-up with some level 1's by the time you unlock new classes. Since the monsters will distribute more XP, the guy would level in only a few battles.

 

[victim]

Lvl 1s don't level that fast by the time you get the new class. I think mine was level 5 when the others were lvl 9. Which wouldn't be so bad except that the big advantage of each level is HP growth (and secondarily, what weapons you can equip). At that point in the game a level 5 doesn't have enough HP to survive on the front line.

 

[Zetor]

Hm, to be fair I think this was actually the dev's decision. Or at least the Japanese publishers decision. NISA is just a localization company, I doubt they would have much contact or influence on the final product, all they really do is put English in a game and sometimes dub it. Experience Inc. , the one and only developer in the Generation Xth series, seemed to make this decision themselves. Of course I don't speak Japanese and haven't read any blogs or interviews with them stating that, but call it an assumption. I'm pretty miffed about an excluded feature too, but at the very least I supported the Generation Xth series (I even bought Demon Gaze as well), so perhaps we'll get a few more incline dungeon crawlers our way. The box is also pretty nice on my shelf.

Yeah, it was probably a decision by EXP to dumb down streamline the game for the masses. It's basically a slightly more convoluted Demon Gaze class system, and that makes me sadface.

I'm definitely buying the game once I get back from vacation... if only because I want to see all the new stuff from the second game. Plus I really want to see them port their newer games (Op Babel, Cross Blood) since those have much better character systems!

 

[Siveon]

Yeah, it's still a good deal even with the simplified character system.

Oh, and no nipple bits. rip.

 

[Goliath]

Just got the game.. already disappointed. First I admit I only bought this because I read it was made by the same people who made Demon Gaze and that game was fantastic. I have only done the first three missions of this one so I cannot say much yet except

- Thus far the story / characters have failed to grab me. The game uses an artstyle similar to that of the Persona games.. which I find extremely off-putting. The words "gay" and "neurotic" come to mind. However they do not use that artstyle everywhere which brings me to..

- They recycled the monster sprites from Demon Gaze! I paid full price for this game and feel cheated because of this. Also the goofy medieval-ish monster sprites which made sense in goofy medieval-ish Demon Gaze really do not fit in with the new horror-ish Gaysona modern city art. This point alone is reason enough not to buy this game at full price at least.

- The dungeon crawler part of the engine was largely recycled too it seems. However they managed to make the interface aggressively worse. Also the combat animations are.. barely there.. an ordinary hit looks like nothing. Oh and the monster sprites a smaller compared to Demon Gaze.. which makes them look.. just tiny.

On the positive side, I am still somewhat entertained. And if I had more time on my hands I would continue playing. But my time is fucking limited right now and so I put the game back into the box for now.