How hard is this game?

[Play3GianniGreed]

This is my last game on PS3 (if I don't buy more in the next days) so I want to play it and finish with the console, but I keep to postponing. I bought this game five or six years ago and never started it. 

Now I keep reading that this game is hard, and the battle system is hard to master, but in the trophy guides people says that it's easy to platinum and I see that a good number of people got the platinum. 

So, as the title says, how hard it's really this game? 

I'm a good player of jrpg, playing the genre since the PS1 era, finished all the Final Fantasy series (excluding 15), all the Dragon Quest, Suikoden, Xenoblade, and a great number of minor jrpg. 

I think I can handle it, but I want to know the opinions of people who had played it. 

Edited August 6, 2021 by Play3GianniGreed

[Dr_Mayus]

I had a tough time with it as i didnt really grasp the mechanics.

 

I want to return to it though as i enjoyed what i played...just need to study it more

[Sun_emperor1]

I didn't find it difficult at all, you can generally split up the gameplay in 2's since it changes a lot halfway trough as you get more "hero actions."

 

In the first half you have basic weaponry and ammunitions so its just taking turns chipping at each other in combat, very simple.

 

Once you get more "hero actions" the game become significantly easier since you will just be using them at all times to get more dmg in risk-free.

 

The output of your damage boils down to how you customize your guns and if you're willing to obtain ammunition, ammunition i feel is only mandatory for gonig for post dungeon where you wanna grind a lot of armor penetration, you can easily do main game with proper-crafted guns.

[Baker]

Since the battle system in this game is quite unique it does take a while to get used to. But in my opinion it’s not hard at all. I think the Trophy Guide with a 5/10 difficulty and 75 hours completion time is pretty accurate. 
 

I really enjoyed this game and I definitely recommend playing it.

Edited August 6, 2021 by Baker

[Spike_Hostile17]

I dont think it changed since the xbox 360 version, which i completed 100% in about 60 hours. Like someone said, at first the mechanics and the way to upgrade your weapons may feel odd but nothing too hard. Overall, i would say 4/10. if you check the guide on xbox achievements, you should not be missing anything to get the plat.

[MandA60VISE]

There's a tutorial place within the arena which is right next to the home town on the world map. It is quite a different battle system than usual but if you can grasp all the quirks then it'll be a breeze for the most part. Just having someone dual wield machine guns for most of the game will suffice. Always be sure to rotate weapons between the three party members, editorially Zephyr, so they're all getting levels.

[mecharobot]

I'd also suggest against using the auto-trigger. You will need that accessory slot for status protection and such, so it's better not to get used to the clutch. Getting any status effect is nasty in this game. You'll want to open up the map as much as possible, since you can get bezel shards from doing so (these give you more hero actions). At the end of the game it's very easy to grind in the arena, as you can connect like 4 terminals to it and you'll need to play like 500+ arena battles anyway. For guns, iirc accelaration is better than speed at high levels, but you'll want to have some speed too. Also at least the ps3 version has a money making trick in case you need funds, I think it involved one of the scopes (scope beta?), but you'll have to search for that yourself.

[Play3GianniGreed]

Yeah, I have read something, didn't go to deep, but I have read that sometimes you get stuck with only one or two characters and it's important to keep all leveled and the arena thing. What I didn't understand really well is how the level works. I have read that the levels are tied to the weapons, so you have to keep using the gun to get level in that weapon, and then they sum up with the machine gun level or something like that. 

I guess that I will understand better if I start to play. 

So, from what I have read here , it shouldn't be that hard, with the right preparation. 

The platinum isn't something that is necessary for me, I mean, I will try to get it, but I'm fine with just completing the game. I will try for sure in the next days. 

Thanks everyone. 

 

[Sun_emperor1]

Lvl'ing is tied to 3 categories, gun, machine gun and grenade

dealing damage gives exp equals to the damage you deal, over-damage does not grant exp.

 

Another important part about how damage work which is the bread and butter is the difference in gun versus machinegun.

 

Machinegun does not deal actual damage, but "scratch" damage, this is basically a projected damage that can be cashed in on by gun or grenade usage, scratch damage gets healed over time on enemies rather fast so you got to remember to cash in on the damage with gun or grenade.

 

Gun deals actual damage and cashes in on your scratch damage, gun also segments HP bars of enemies, scratch damage regenerates slower on segmented health bars.

 

The benefit from exp is only HP and maximum weight capacity, so you still need to make sure to mod your guns to actually increase performance.

[punkshepherd]

Actually i've been wondering whether to start this game too. A necessary topic for me too! 

 

Always liked guns in rpgs but i tried this once and it didnt grab me straight up. I feel like this will be a "force myself to play and end up liking it" sort of game. 

[acasser]

The platinum gets grindy.  The game itself has something of a learning curve; it gets easier as you learn the systems and how to exploit them, at least until you hit the mid-to-late-game difficulty spikes.

 

I enjoyed this game tremendously when it came out; I enjoyed this game a healthy amount when it was re-released on PS4.

[Kermamrek]

I'm only just finishing chapter seven right now so I have about halfway left on the game, and I think the game has the potential to be tricky but can also be a breeze if you understand it. In chapter 5 and 6 there were a few optional fights I had to retry up to ten times to get "just right" while using a bunch of healing items and high level grenades, but now my guns are fairly kitted out and I can kill pretty much everything in 1-2 hero actions. I'm sure the game will get harder again especially in post game, but I think my point is that you'll understand the gameplay fairly early on through the amount of battles you do.

 

An important thing to note for new players is that this game has a high initial learning curve but almost nothing after that. It's not a game like some other JRPGs where you continue to get tutorials 20 hours in. You are taught and learn 95% of the games mechanics in the first half hour and the rest of the game is getting good at them. At the beginning you will be kind of confused with tri-attacks, the hero meter, how to do gun customization, etc, but you'll be doing this same battle system for another 70 hours and it doesn't get a whole lot more complex. So yes, I would agree that the battle system is quite tricky, but if you manage to get over that initial hump it will be smooth sailing.

Edited November 18, 2022 by Kermamrek

[Play3GianniGreed]

I still haven't found the courage to start the game, but I'm always thinking about it. The day will come, probably at the start of the new year. 

[wackt1]

Oof, I dont like what im reading here lol. I just bought the game over ebay because i saw i looks cool and wanted to attempt the platinum