A to Z JRPG Platinum Challenge

[faint-magician2]

On 4/2/2021 at 11:03 AM, Dr_Mayus said:

I am for any things to do with Platting the Alphabet.

I already started my own platting the alphabet. I already got several games off of my list and just got the "D" platinum for Dragon Quest Builders 2.

 

Great idea for a challenge. I might look into finding games I like and doing another Platinum Alphabet. Not just RPGs but all games which have a good letter scheme. Of course a few might be easy games but those are mostly my only options as the others would frustrate me a lot.

Edited April 12, 2021 by faint-magician2

[Dr_Mayus]

6 minutes ago, faint-magician2 said:

I already started my own platting the alphabet. I already got several games off of my list and just got the "D" platinum for Dragon Quest Builders 2.

 

Great idea for a challenge. I might look into finding games I like and doing another Platinum Alphabet. Not just RPGs but all games which have a good letter scheme. Of course a few might be easy games but those are mostly my only options as the others would frustrate me a lot.

Well for 2 different challenges there is Alpha Plat Rain where you plat the whole alphabet in 1 day. There is also the Ultra Plat Rain challenge where you only platinum ultra rare games

[Mesopithecus]

This is a wonderful idea and I've followed the thread to see any updates and your thoughts on the games.

 

I have been looking at playing Ar Nosurge through PSNow so I'm definitely interested in how your experience with that game has been

[MyNameIs_Rainman]

1 hour ago, Mesopithecus said:

This is a wonderful idea and I've followed the thread to see any updates and your thoughts on the games.

 

I have been looking at playing Ar Nosurge through PSNow so I'm definitely interested in how your experience with that game has been

It seems to be running fine, although the game is very dated so at times I'm not sure if its my connection or if the game is just extra janky.

 

I havent put as much progress into this yet because I had a few games I was playing and I wanted to finish them up and make room for new games, so to speak, so I've just been chipping away little by little at A through C. When I get a bit more substantial progress I'll provide some better updates!

[MyNameIs_Rainman]

14 hours ago, Dr_Mayus said:

Well for 2 different challenges there is Alpha Plat Rain where you plat the whole alphabet in 1 day. There is also the Ultra Plat Rain challenge where you only platinum ultra rare games

those sound intense!

 

I did try to find a few URs within the games I currently own, hoping to add them little by little to my A to Z 2.0 List. Since I plan on making Legend Of Mana my 200th and I'm already working on platinum 195 and up, I'll have to more than likely get to 199 and then make progress in some games and maybe have a little Mini Rain, a little Platinum Drizzle after 200 ?

@Mesopithecus I think PS Now is definitely the way to go cause I see them super expensive everywhere and I was gonna try to nab a physical copy on Ebay but it shot up to 80+ dollars for the NA version.

Ar Tonelico on the other hand seems to stay at a reasonable price, might pick that up eventually to do as well if I enjoy this one by the end.

14 hours ago, faint-magician2 said:

I already started my own platting the alphabet. I already got several games off of my list and just got the "D" platinum for Dragon Quest Builders 2.

 

Great idea for a challenge. I might look into finding games I like and doing another Platinum Alphabet. Not just RPGs but all games which have a good letter scheme. Of course a few might be easy games but those are mostly my only options as the others would frustrate me a lot.

Qs and X, Y Z are the hard ones.

 

Js were hard for JRPGs, go figure lol there's some games but nothing that I would classify as a JRPG. Maybe down the road I'll do a broad RPG one, but we will see cause this list will take me a while

[Dr_Mayus]

3 hours ago, MyNameIs_Rainman said:

those sound intense!

 

I did try to find a few URs within the games I currently own, hoping to add them little by little to my A to Z 2.0 List. Since I plan on making Legend Of Mana my 200th and I'm already working on platinum 195 and up, I'll have to more than likely get to 199 and then make progress in some games and maybe have a little Mini Rain, a little Platinum Drizzle after 200 

@Mesopithecus I think PS Now is definitely the way to go cause I see them super expensive everywhere and I was gonna try to nab a physical copy on Ebay but it shot up to 80+ dollars for the NA version.

Ar Tonelico on the other hand seems to stay at a reasonable price, might pick that up eventually to do as well if I enjoy this one by the end.

Qs and X, Y Z are the hard ones.

 

Js were hard for JRPGs, go figure lol there's some games but nothing that I would classify as a JRPG. Maybe down the road I'll do a broad RPG one, but we will see cause this list will take me a while

The alpha plat rain was almost a full year undertaking. It was a lot of fun doing it.

[MyNameIs_Rainman]

7 minutes ago, Dr_Mayus said:

The alpha plat rain was almost a full year undertaking. It was a lot of fun doing it.

 

I literally get anxiety just thinking about how that was set up, but that must've been insanely satisfying watching them all pop off one after another lol I think the most I've had were like 3 in one day. I mean I could always do the same for this one, ill have to get close to the platinum for the first few and see if I should do that cause that would be pretty cool to do one after the other, I just probably wont be able to do it in one day though

[Dr_Mayus]

19 minutes ago, MyNameIs_Rainman said:

 

I literally get anxiety just thinking about how that was set up, but that must've been insanely satisfying watching them all pop off one after another lol I think the most I've had were like 3 in one day. I mean I could always do the same for this one, ill have to get close to the platinum for the first few and see if I should do that cause that would be pretty cool to do one after the other, I just probably wont be able to do it in one day though

The uber stressful part was i wanted an ultra rare for 250 so i needed an ultra rare A game

[MyNameIs_Rainman]

1 hour ago, Dr_Mayus said:

The uber stressful part was i wanted an ultra rare for 250 so i needed an ultra rare A game

I tried making up a list of ultra rares, but 9/10 times they were games I wasn't really too interested in so idk, I don't mind getting some, but theres like one, Dynasty Warriors Gundam 2, that is a game I would enjoy, so if ever do an Ultra Rare challenge, it wont be an extensive list

[Dr_Mayus]

13 minutes ago, MyNameIs_Rainman said:

I tried making up a list of ultra rares, but 9/10 times they were games I wasn't really too interested in so idk, I don't mind getting some, but theres like one, Dynasty Warriors Gundam 2, that is a game I would enjoy, so if ever do an Ultra Rare challenge, it wont be an extensive list

Well platting the Ultra Rare alphabet is pretty tough as only Quantum Theory can be done for Q and that is a PS3 game with lots of online trophies

[MyNameIs_Rainman]

UPDATE: 

 

Progress for Ar Nosurge has been coming a bit slower than I anticipated, and it's not due to the game, it's just I've been enjoying Battle Chasers and Crystar more. I know Ar Nosurge isn't a tough plat so I'm not worried about it, I'll hop in and chip away here and there, but right now while I'm in the zone, I'll keep knocking out progress in Battle Chasers. I got up to the part where I switch to Ion and Earthes for the first time, and made sure to get the first missable trophy. I've been following this game exactly to a guide, since I would rather not play these old jankier games more times than I need to. Will keep you posted once I make a bigger dent in Nosurge.

 

Battle Chasers doesn't reinvent the wheel, but it also doesn't bog you down. Utilizing skills and building up overcharge is really a simple system that you can vary between using basic attacks and abilities, in a way to really avoid using MP. Battling at first felt very slow, but now that I've landed some great weapons and rounded out my perks much more, I'm more confident in even attempting Legendary difficulty. I was able to knock it out on my most recent dungeon, and that was the first run..so I'll see if I can keep that momentum going. 

The story isn't overly exciting, but that's okay. I actually enjoy the banter between the heroes more, with their "we are stuck on this shit island so let's do what we gotta do and go" mood, but then stepping up when things are not what they seem. Again, nothing new, but it works with the personalities of the heroes. I also like that things like hunts, fishing and bestiary are just self explanatory. Just toss the lure, move the analog stick and catch the fish. Accept a hunt..go there..kill it. Fight some waves in the arena, win, that's it. I can appreciate the brevity and simplicity. My only gripe is that the movement in the game feels very slow, so it makes dungeon traversing feel longer than it should. It also makes walking around feel like a chore on the map. Battle speed felt very slow at first but now that my characters have more strength it doesn't feel as bad.

 

Crystar is an odd one. It's very emotion driven..literally. it feels quite linear, my biggest gripe really is the lack of enemy variety so far. Purgatory, Souls, Revenants, Crying, Guardians? Idk wtf is going on really but I will give it time to see if everything meshes together well. But I think the game itself is a unique story being told, or at least a unique way of the character empowering herself. I still haven't formed much of an opinion of it as it's still too early, but the game seems like it has some potential 

 

PROGRESS:

Ar Nosurge: Ode To An Unborn Star - 7%

Battle Chasers: Nightwar - 23%

Crystar - 16%

[MyNameIs_Rainman]

Letter "A" Annihilated!

Ar nosurge: Ode To An Unborn Star 

Completed : 4/23/2021

 

Rainman's Ratings & Review

How JP is this RPG? : 7/10

Story/Plot : 5/10

Gameplay: 3/10

Music : 7/10

Time To Platinum : ~40 Hours

I feel like I was off to a rough start with this challenge, with Brigandine giving me issues and swapping to Battle Chasers. It doesn't help that I already had a few games on my plate so I felt like I was just slowly chipping away on everything. I found myself playing Battle Chasers and Crystar more than this one, and I decided to just hammer through it since its honestly not a hard platinum..it's just the game is pretty dated. 

Although I seen this game in stores when I was younger and thought the title was weird, I did always have a desire to play it..it just never came around to that or I'd end up leaving GameStop with a different purchase and forget all about it. Coming into this without never experiencing any other game in the series made it feel like the game was slow in the beginning, but it just took me a bit to get my bearings and at least understand the gist of what was going on. 

How JP is this RPG? : 7/10

Spoiler

Oh it's up there. Songs that are magical? Check. Purification to improve the bonds with your partner AKA sitting in a spring/hot tub while the female partner is wearing the tiniest bathing suit? Check. Doofy male MC who is oblivious to the feelings of his female counterpart? Check. Fan servicey images with blatantly obvious upskirt shots or highly suggestive positions? Check. Atelier-like crafting with ridiculous nonsensical items being created? Check. Silly dancing scene when crafting those pointless items? Check. Souls being fused into a godlike being and then killing said god? Check.

Story/Plot : 5/10

Spoiler

So Humans and Sharl, these fairly like creatures live on what is essentially an ark or floating space ship that is supposed to be a planet, or "grow" into a planet. Both sides are conflicting, humans getting kidnapped as part of some scheme to purify their souls when, gasp, its all a load of shit. Some character wants to go home so I guess that warrants killing 100,000+ people and using their spirit energy to do so? your characters are two duos who have interesting dynamics, dumb guy and grumpy girl, and then robot 4th wall breaking dude and innocent seeming but definitely a dominatrix behind closed doors female character. their bonds power their "song magic" which apparently singing does all sorts of cool stuff, and not gonna lie some of the songs were actually good to listen to. The rest of the story gets convoluted because 1) I never played the prior games 2) the storytelling in general was awful 3) dialogue and script felt so inundated with pointless shit that the important stuff was easy to miss or ignore. Things happen, blah blah we make a new world for all live to live happy ever after, the end.

Gameplay: 3/10

Spoiler

Combat felt a bit confusing to me at first, but once I grew in strength and had a good selection of equippable items then it all began to make sense. Essentially you fight enemies in waves, in a typical turn based format. You attack, they attack, rinse and repeat. Your male character does all the fighting while the female is weaving their song magic, which at different levels of strength can provide various bonuses depending on the equipped items. Speaking of items, I found it odd that you get no new weapons, just attachments basically to add to your current gear that bolster stats or increase attack counts, break damage, etc. Odd, since..You know, I'm something of a weapons collector myself". Anyways, so combat is essentially you are breaking enemies to prevent them from acting, and as you act you build up a burst percentage. The higher the number, the more damage you do with the song at the end. It becomes an endless combat loop of ATTACK - BUILD UP GAUGE - USE SONG MAGIC - BATTLE END. Pretty much like that the entire game. I found leveling to be easy, and never had an issue with any fights and only used stat boosting items on the final bosses just to expedite the platinum. Also..the crafting/synthesis dances..WTF? The first time I saw it I was like what on earth am I watching? the most odd, ridiculous thing. Funny the first time, but just gets weird and pointless afterwards.

Spoiler

Purification felt awkward as its just the male character and female sitting in water while shes half naked, talking about random stuff. like just hanging out there in water talking about feelings. Diving was..odd..as it was essentially like the manifestations of emotions in their minds that created what were called Soulscapes, and you had to solve the issue of that particular one to get parameter boosting crystals, and ultimately a new song magic. There was a lot of potential for this, but 99% of the time, it was just awkward and cringey to go about it, I found myself skipping through a lot of it just to get to actually playing the game.

Music : 7/10

Hands down the best part of the game was the music. The battle themes were spunky and had some sass to them, and it sort of made sense given the game and its theme of songs having power. The songs that the heroines sing at various parts of the game were great too. I only wish that the rest of the game had remotely the same amount of charm as the soundtrack did.

Verdict:

I can see the Atelier vibes here from Gust's other series, and if you enjoy those you will most likely enjoy this odd JRPG. I think I would have appreciated it more if I played the previous games, but ultimately its still a weird and unique game that maybe might get more love and following had the DX versions on the PS4 made it elsewhere. If you want a silly JRPG, this is a good choice. If you are looking for something ground breaking or revolutionary, go over there please, it's not here. Also, NA copies seem to have skyrocketed in price and it sure as hell isnt worth the price..I streamed it via PS Now.

 

 

 

 

 

 

PROGRESS:

Ar Nosurge: Ode To An Unborn Star - 100% 

Battle Chasers: Nightwar - 47%

Crystar - 48%

 

[TiagoViola10]

Good luck to anyone trying this, looks fun and challenging!

[MyNameIs_Rainman]

17 minutes ago, TiagoViola10 said:

Good luck to anyone trying this, looks fun and challenging!

Thanks! I think the biggest hurdle was just pushing myself to go through Ar nosurge..I just found myself not enjoying it as much. Letters B and C are much better so far, but for the next month or two ill be making mostly progress in some of these games but holding off on the plat since I wanted to make Legend Of Mana my 200th and I'm already real close.

[Dr_Mayus]

Good job on the plat ?

[MyNameIs_Rainman]

Just now, Dr_Mayus said:

Good job on the plat

1 down..the rest of the alphabet to go ? ?

[Dr_Mayus]

You can do it ?

[Burgins]

Crystar is pretty cool. You've got a solid list to work with here, though I don't envy that you'll be playing through YIIK lol

[Mesopithecus]

Congrats on the platinum, was interesting to read your thoughts on Ar Nosurge  

[MyNameIs_Rainman]

15 minutes ago, Burgins said:

Crystar is pretty cool. You've got a solid list to work with here, though I don't envy that you'll be playing through YIIK lol

Crystar is good, I'm enjoying it so far plus its pretty linear for the most part so its a nice break from constantly staring into guides and walkthroughs.

 

is YIIK that bad? lol At least I have plenty of time till then to build up my patience for a sub par experience ?

[Lavenza]

7 minutes ago, MyNameIs_Rainman said:

Crystar is good, I'm enjoying it so far plus its pretty linear for the most part so its a nice break from constantly staring into guides and walkthroughs.

 

is YIIK that bad? lol At least I have plenty of time till then to build up my patience for a sub par experience ?

Wait till you have to collect all the Memoirs.... 

 

I just recently platted and found that / getting to level 99 to be a bit of a snore due to the combat system, but damn the story was enjoyable

[MyNameIs_Rainman]

18 minutes ago, Mesopithecus said:

Congrats on the platinum, was interesting to read your thoughts on Ar Nosurge  

It was a mixed bag, but I think it was enjoyable enough to at least push through and finish. I'm not big on crafting games (even though I played atelier ryza 1 and 2 but they are pretty cutesy and charming), and it plays more like a VN at times. But overall it's decent. Glad I finally played it though

[MyNameIs_Rainman]

31 minutes ago, Lavenza said:

Wait till you have to collect all the Memoirs.... 

 

I just recently platted and found that / getting to level 99 to be a bit of a snore due to the combat system, but damn the story was enjoyable

I think right now im like 13% completed on memoirs, doesnt the dlc supposedly make it easier to do so?

 

I agree, there has been a time or two where I was playing late night and found myself burned through my consumables because i dozed off mid combat and auto used all my healing lol but the story is pretty interesting so far

[Lavenza]

5 hours ago, MyNameIs_Rainman said:

I think right now im like 13% completed on memoirs, doesnt the dlc supposedly make it easier to do so?

 

I agree, there has been a time or two where I was playing late night and found myself burned through my consumables because i dozed off mid combat and auto used all my healing lol but the story is pretty interesting so far

Possibly? I can't recall tbh haha. What I can tell you there are points you gonna have to go to the same level / area at least 3 times to collect the remnant's memoirs from bosses. Then some are random rare spawns in areas.

 

Yeah that happens too haha, auto pilot fighting and using the resources. Than get to a boss and be like aww shiet.

[MyNameIs_Rainman]

34 minutes ago, Lavenza said:

Possibly? I can't recall tbh haha. What I can tell you there are points you gonna have to go to the same level / area at least 3 times to collect the remnant's memoirs from bosses. Then some are random rare spawns in areas.

 

Yeah that happens too haha, auto pilot fighting and using the resources. Than get to a boss and be like aww shiet.

So Far it feels like bosses are just damage sponges, but hopefully they vary more in tactics and difficulty to make things interesting.