Do I have to do another run?

[Ivotas]

I started playing this great game about a week ago and enjoying it a lot. However I'm now worried that I've messed up getting the Moon Sword. Because while I do check the basics of a trophy guide before starting a game I never study it thoroughly before my first playthrough because I feel that would ruin my overall first experience. That's usually enough but it appears that only now, when I've reached the Fire Temple I found out about the requirements for the Moon Sword, which are to talk with that one dude at the cave literally everytime, I talk to someone of significance, respectively clearing a dungeon. Well, I haven't done that so I'm quite sure I messed up.

 

So with this long intro out of the way my question is if I would have to do yet another run. I'm still in my first run and will do the FROM and Spelunker runs afterwards. But since I hear that I should be most efficient with me encounters/exploration bits in those two runs, I'm now wondering what would be recommended. Try to get the Moon Sword in either the FROM or Spelunker run, or rather go for a fourth playthrough after (hopefully) having cleared those. Any suggestions on what would be the best approach?

[Pumpkin Head Cthulhu]

do you have an older save? the moon sword is super easyt to miss.

[Ivotas]

9 hours ago, Pumpkin Head Cthulhu said:

do you have an older save? the moon sword is super easyt to miss.

 

Unfortunately not. So I would have to do another run but at this point I think I will pass on the plat. I've platinumed Super Street Fighter IV, WipEout HD Fury, Metal Gear Rising Revengeance, Mirror's Edge and Max Payne 3 and can with full confidence say that 3D Dot Gane heroes to me is harder than all of those games combined.

 

My utmost respect to everybody who completed this game. I personally don't see how I can ever do it with insurmountable issues that I'm having with certain aspects. Really would have been a nice plat to have I this game just makes me feel exhausted with certain aspects it throws at me.

[Pumpkin Head Cthulhu]

The hardest part on this one is the race-mini game, at least to me.

[Ivotas]

1 hour ago, Pumpkin Head Cthulhu said:

The hardest part on this one is the race-mini game, at least to me.

 

I'm not even at the mini-games yet. To me definitely the hardest part will be Spelunker mode. I don't know if my game is actually bugged or not but I just don't see how to do a no hit permadeath run on hardest difficulty when even on the normal run facing obstacles that make me take a hit no matter what I do. Don't get me wrong, there is definitely a skill issue here so I do own up for that. What I'm refering to however are issues that would go beyond the "git gud" part, meaning that even if I would have gitten gud the actual problems would still persist and I don't know how to work around them.

[x410xDragon]

Some of the events in game are time-sensitive so if you missed out on speaking or completing a certain quest for an NPC, and you are past a particular dungeon, for example then you miss out on events; sadly, you will have to do another run as those events are the only way to get the Moon Sword. 

[Ivotas]

7 hours ago, x410xDragon said:

Some of the events in game are time-sensitive so if you missed out on speaking or completing a certain quest for an NPC, and you are past a particular dungeon, for example then you miss out on events; sadly, you will have to do another run as those events are the only way to get the Moon Sword. 

 

Thanks mate, would like to say I wish I'd knew that sooner but at this stage I cannot even bother to finish this game anymore. I don't think I've ever felt this exhausted with a game for it's broken design choices as I do with this. At some point it's better to just take the L and move on. Respect to everyone of you guys who earned the plat in this. You are absolute gaming gods.

[Pumpkin Head Cthulhu]

11 hours ago, Ivotas said:

 

I'm not even at the mini-games yet. To me definitely the hardest part will be Spelunker mode. I don't know if my game is actually bugged or not but I just don't see how to do a no hit permadeath run on hardest difficulty when even on the normal run facing obstacles that make me take a hit no matter what I do. Don't get me wrong, there is definitely a skill issue here so I do own up for that. What I'm refering to however are issues that would go beyond the "git gud" part, meaning that even if I would have gitten gud the actual problems would still persist and I don't know how to work around them.

spelunker mode can be pretty tough. I just kept multiple saves, as I am not that great myself.

[Ivotas]

1 hour ago, Pumpkin Head Cthulhu said:

spelunker mode can be pretty tough. I just kept multiple saves, as I am not that great myself.

 

Not even gonna bother with it as it's physically impossible for me to beat it. By shield often doesn't block otherwise blockable attacks, I get rotated without any reason at all exposing my character to incoming attacks and mages sometimes teleport on top of me making me take a hit. Even with save scumming this is too much of a hassle. Especially since getting hit in a dungeon will have you start from the first room again. There's no way to make it through a dungeon from first room to the teleporter room without getting hit if shit like the stuff I just mentioned happened. Nothing wrong with accepting that I just won't be able to do it. I'd rather move on to a different game than suffer through any more second of taking damage from having a blockable attack not be blocked. Absolutely infuriating stuff.

[x410xDragon]

13 hours ago, Ivotas said:

 

Thanks mate, would like to say I wish I'd knew that sooner but at this stage I cannot even bother to finish this game anymore. I don't think I've ever felt this exhausted with a game for it's broken design choices as I do with this. At some point it's better to just take the L and move on. Respect to everyone of you guys who earned the plat in this. You are absolute gaming gods.

 

I would not give up on the  despite what happened. Were you following the Gamefaqs guide by EgHeadFool while doing this? This is the best guide towards the  as they cover everything.

[Pumpkin Head Cthulhu]

25 minutes ago, x410xDragon said:

 

I would not give up on the  despite what happened. Were you following the Gamefaqs guide by EgHeadFool while doing this? This is the best guide towards the  as they cover everything.

agreed, his guides are great

[Ivotas]

5 hours ago, x410xDragon said:

 

I would not give up on the  despite what happened. Were you following the Gamefaqs guide by EgHeadFool while doing this? This is the best guide towards the  as they cover everything.

 

5 hours ago, Pumpkin Head Cthulhu said:

agreed, his guides are great

 

I haven't been following the guide yet as my I like to be somewhat blind in my first playthrough of a new game. I don't doubt that the guide is amazing as everyone is singing it praises.

 

What I doubt however is that it helps with the issues I specifically have. When a shield doesn't do it's job, the game randomly spins me around to leave me unprotected from incoming attacks, enemies teleport on top of me and blue scorpions seemingly hitting you even if you are half a body lenght away from them, I don't really expect any solution on this at all. Especially since seemingly no one else ever reported these issues.

 

I don't know if it's just bad luck or if my game is actually bugged. But my game does do different things from what seems normal. Just last night I was trying to get the bested Onyx trophy by following the guide. I did the exact same things yet my shield didn't always protect me when it should have. And that's not even mentioning him pulling out attacks out if his bag that the guide neither shows nor mentions.

 

Just want to make clear that this is not a job at players who have created seemingly good guides. It's just that I feel like I actually pulled a dud with this game somehow.

[x410xDragon]

13 hours ago, Ivotas said:

 

 

I haven't been following the guide yet as my I like to be somewhat blind in my first playthrough of a new game. I don't doubt that the guide is amazing as everyone is singing it praises.

 

What I doubt however is that it helps with the issues I specifically have. When a shield doesn't do it's job, the game randomly spins me around to leave me unprotected from incoming attacks, enemies teleport on top of me and blue scorpions seemingly hitting you even if you are half a body lenght away from them, I don't really expect any solution on this at all. Especially since seemingly no one else ever reported these issues.

 

I don't know if it's just bad luck or if my game is actually bugged. But my game does do different things from what seems normal. Just last night I was trying to get the bested Onyx trophy by following the guide. I did the exact same things yet my shield didn't always protect me when it should have. And that's not even mentioning him pulling out attacks out if his bag that the guide neither shows nor mentions.

 

Just want to make clear that this is not a job at players who have created seemingly good guides. It's just that I feel like I actually pulled a dud with this game somehow.

 

Ah okay - no worries. Well, if you ever want to return to the game (which I recommend), then EgHeadFool's guide is the best route to the platinum as they cover everything. As for the shield(s), it varies on the type and the direction you are facing when the attack goes off, plus, the attack itself.

 

For the no-damage trophies, it is recommended to do those last during Spelunker as regardless of what you do, you die in a single hit, however, depending on the version (or region), you can carry over your Swords and easily kill the bosses - at least from what I can recall.

 

Keep at it, man, I know you can do it!

[Ivotas]

9 hours ago, x410xDragon said:

 

Ah okay - no worries. Well, if you ever want to return to the game (which I recommend), then EgHeadFool's guide is the best route to the platinum as they cover everything. As for the shield(s), it varies on the type and the direction you are facing when the attack goes off, plus, the attack itself.

 

Thanks for the support mate. I guess one approach for me is to play this game on the side in small chunks while playing something else and hopefully make progress along the way somehow. The thing is that the things I explained above were really so bad that they ruined my enjoyment of the game completely. My first runs are usually always the "let's enjoy a new game" approach. I am used to be bored by doing tedious tough when when going for specific trophies. I'm not used however to not enjoy a core gameplay experience totally unrelated to trophies but the game itself. So I guess doing little pieces is the way to go IF I can pull myself up to go for this. At the moment I'm just exhausted whatsoever.

 

9 hours ago, x410xDragon said:

 

For the no-damage trophies, it is recommended to do those last during Spelunker as regardless of what you do, you die in a single hit, however, depending on the version (or region), you can carry over your Swords and easily kill the bosses - at least from what I can recall.

 

That's a good suggestion, however I personally like to go for the hardest trophies as soon as I clear the game once. I do that for the simple reason of trying to confirm if a platinum is even possible. Like let's say that I could would never be able to get the hardest trophy in the game but I unlocked everything else. In that case I would feel like I wasted so much time of my life doing trophy related stuff when the plat is out of my reach. Whereas if I play just the campaign and then realize I can't get the hardest trophy done, I at least won't have to waste my time doing stuff like a FROM run or the mini-games. I do this with every game but this is even more important in this game, which I just didn't enjoy playing.

 

9 hours ago, x410xDragon said:

Keep at it, man, I know you can do it!

 

Thanks man. I just want to repeat that I am truly grateful for your and @Pumpkin Head Cthulhu's support. You guys have been nothing but absolute gems with your feedback and words of encouragement. I hope I didn't come across as too ungrateful. I'm truly just disappointed, mostly at myself because I'm sure that if no one else has these issues I have, then I must be doing something wrong I just can't see. But please don't take this disappointment of mine to be a sign of ill will towards you guys. If anything, it's you guys who keep this game still somewhat relevant to me, whether that is a good or a bad thing.^^'

[Pumpkin Head Cthulhu]

not at all, this is a pretty tough game so I can understand it.

[Vulpine9Tails]

On 2/9/2024 at 7:02 PM, Ivotas said:

 

I'm not even at the mini-games yet. To me definitely the hardest part will be Spelunker mode. I don't know if my game is actually bugged or not but I just don't see how to do a no hit permadeath run on hardest difficulty when even on the normal run facing obstacles that make me take a hit no matter what I do. Don't get me wrong, there is definitely a skill issue here so I do own up for that. What I'm refering to however are issues that would go beyond the "git gud" part, meaning that even if I would have gitten gud the actual problems would still persist and I don't know how to work around them.

 

Spelunker mode is actually the easiest part of the game if you save it for last, after you've fully upgraded your sword. You can literally stand in the corner of a room and kill everything without putting yourself at risk. I platinumed this game on an older account and Spelunker mode was honestly like a victory lap after going through everything. There is a great guide here https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/ps3/971481-3d-dot-game-heroes/faqs/59492.

Your first run should always just be for fun, then if you're up for it follow the guide for your From mode playthrough. IIRC that should get you everything you need for a fun last go on Spelunker and the platinum. Though it's been over a decade since I did it and I got bored trying again on this account lol so maybe I'm forgetting something. 

[Ivotas]

8 hours ago, Pumpkin Head Cthulhu said:

not at all, this is a pretty tough game so I can understand it.

 

Thanks mate, much appreciated.

 

6 hours ago, Vulpine9Tails said:

 

Spelunker mode is actually the easiest part of the game if you save it for last, after you've fully upgraded your sword. You can literally stand in the corner of a room and kill everything without putting yourself at risk. I platinumed this game on an older account and Spelunker mode was honestly like a victory lap after going through everything. There is a great guide here https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/ps3/971481-3d-dot-game-heroes/faqs/59492.

Your first run should always just be for fun, then if you're up for it follow the guide for your From mode playthrough. IIRC that should get you everything you need for a fun last go on Spelunker and the platinum. Though it's been over a decade since I did it and I got bored trying again on this account lol so maybe I'm forgetting something. 

 

Haha, thank you very much for the feedback. Much appreciated. The sad thing however is, everything I've discribed having a problem with I am experiencing while wielding a fully upgraded Giga Sword on normal difficulty! I actually had to go out of my way to get it during my first run as I just was fed up with the game destroying me. Turns out that the sword is useless to what I am actually struggling with. The sword has no input on the Hero Shield let attacks through, that I usually can block, it can't help with the game rotating my character randomly, it doesn't hurt the teleport characters that drop on top of me and blue scorpions home in on me as soon as I enter the room before I can even take the necessary step forward to be able to launch an attack. It's an amazing sword but it doesn't help with the things that make this game unplayable for me. At this point I actually think that I must be having a bugged version of the game seeing I seem to be the only one that struggled this much with parts nobody ever seems to mention.🤔

 

Edit:
Thought of a question if I may. Is Spelunker actually a permadeath mode or do you only die at one hit? I've been trying to find information on this but I cannot ever confirm it nor debunk it. It's just always "you get hit you it's game over". But does that mean permadeath and you would have to start the game from scratch if you're not save scumming OR does it just mean respawn from last revive point?

Edited February 12 by Ivotas

[Pumpkin Head Cthulhu]

1 hour ago, Ivotas said:

Thought of a question if I may. Is Spelunker actually a permadeath mode or do you only die at one hit? I've been trying to find information on this but I cannot ever confirm it nor debunk it. It's just always "you get hit you it's game over". But does that mean permadeath and you would have to start the game from scratch if you're not save scumming OR does it just mean respawn from last revive point?

It is 1-hit death, just reload your last save. At least that is how I remember it.

Edited February 12 by Pumpkin Head Cthulhu

[Ivotas]

37 minutes ago, Pumpkin Head Cthulhu said:

It is 1-hit death, just reload your last save. At least that is how I remember it.

 

So permadeath then, eh? I guess if I do this I would have to do at least two back up saves each time in order to not accidentally save a death. Thank you very much for the feedback.

[DeepEyes7]

Didn't read all the answers that people give you but don't fear permadeath too much, you can keep your block swords (I think you can start with the blue big one) that helps a lot until you get the biggest one from the story... since you cant be hit you will always stay on full health so your sword will always be big and can kill enemies from afar, and after 2 runs you know a lot of the patterns of enemies and bosses.

 

I see that you had problems with magis, when you enter a room with them just dont move and use reflect (refresh it if it runs down and there is still magi alive) they will kill themselves, if you start walking around there is 90% chance that you will crash with them and die.

 

I didn't used it too much but you can use the invicibility frames that you get when you start running and hit a wall, I think that you get the death animation but you don't die...

[Ivotas]

16 hours ago, DeepEyes7 said:

I see that you had problems with magis, when you enter a room with them just dont move and use reflect (refresh it if it runs down and there is still magi alive) they will kill themselves, if you start walking around there is 90% chance that you will crash with them and die.

 

That's exactly the thing that didn't work for me. As you say, moving around would make me run into them. So keeping it cool is the way to go. However if I don't take at least one step forward then I cannot attack, even magic doesn't work until I enter the room a bit. And that's the part where they constantly teleport on top of my head. Sure I use the reflect magic but that's useless if they teleport on top of my head and damage me by pure body contact. That's the reason why I keep bringing them up.

16 hours ago, DeepEyes7 said:

 

I didn't used it too much but you can use the invicibility frames that you get when you start running and hit a wall, I think that you get the death animation but you don't die...

 

You know what, I guess that really is a option I should go with. I mean I really feel that the game is screwing me over by being cheap in the situations I've discribed so far. So why not reply in fashion and try such an approach myself? It's a least worth a try I think, so thanks for reminding me of this.^^

[x410xDragon]

On 2/13/2024 at 2:29 AM, Ivotas said:

 

That's exactly the thing that didn't work for me. As you say, moving around would make me run into them. So keeping it cool is the way to go. However if I don't take at least one step forward then I cannot attack, even magic doesn't work until I enter the room a bit. And that's the part where they constantly teleport on top of my head. Sure I use the reflect magic but that's useless if they teleport on top of my head and damage me by pure body contact. That's the reason why I keep bringing them up.

 

You know what, I guess that really is a option I should go with. I mean I really feel that the game is screwing me over by being cheap in the situations I've discribed so far. So why not reply in fashion and try such an approach myself? It's a least worth a try I think, so thanks for reminding me of this.^^

 

The mages (and Dragons) are probably the worst part of Spelunker mode, but I do not recall it being overly difficult, just tedious if anything. Use the Bow to your advantage and keep your distance while fighting enemies. Also, the Reflect spell is based on a percentage chance that it will actually "reflect" magic, not a guarantee. It is still worth using, however, just nothing to rely on 100% of the time if you're swarmed. If my memory serves, you can obtain a shield that basically does the same thing, a mirror shield, without stressing your Mana (magic) and works better than the actual Reflect spell; the issue is you have to face the enemy projectile before it hits you. 

[Ivotas]

4 hours ago, x410xDragon said:

 

The mages (and Dragons) are probably the worst part of Spelunker mode, but I do not recall it being overly difficult, just tedious if anything. Use the Bow to your advantage and keep your distance while fighting enemies. Also, the Reflect spell is based on a percentage chance that it will actually "reflect" magic, not a guarantee. It is still worth using, however, just nothing to rely on 100% of the time if you're swarmed. If my memory serves, you can obtain a shield that basically does the same thing, a mirror shield, without stressing your Mana (magic) and works better than the actual Reflect spell; the issue is you have to face the enemy projectile before it hits you. 

 

Funny of you to say that just now because I just defeated the dragon on Spelunker difficulty and you are 100% right by saying it along with the mages is probably the worst part of Spelunker. It was more horrible than all of the things I mentioned above simply because of the low altitude variation of him flying towards you. It's super hard to properly avoid that. I'm just glad I got this out if the way but worry about our second encounter. I hope that the Giga Sword will make it a but easier.

 

As far as the mages are concerned they unfirtunately continue to teleport on top of my head thus landing a hit neither reflect magic nor the magic shield can protect me from. But at this point I just came to accept this and push through it.

 

The only thing I really am not looking forward while now actually having covered some ground on Spelunker is the Dark Tower. Because I think that not having shortcuts after clearing the bosses on each floor is absolute bad game design. And this is a FromSoft published game we're talking about. It's just bad that ever after you beat a floor boss and die anywhere on the next floor, you will have to run through the entire floor again because you're not allowed to move a block on the stairs room. Imagine any of the Souls-like games denying you a shortcut like this after you practucally earned it.

 

Be that as it may, as you can tell I am actually taking on Spelunker mode for which I want to thank everybody here who's supported me. I wouldn't have tried it without you guys. I just hope to pull through somehow and then never worry about taking a hit again.😅

[x410xDragon]

2 hours ago, Ivotas said:

 

Funny of you to say that just now because I just defeated the dragon on Spelunker difficulty and you are 100% right by saying it along with the mages is probably the worst part of Spelunker. It was more horrible than all of the things I mentioned above simply because of the low altitude variation of him flying towards you. It's super hard to properly avoid that. I'm just glad I got this out if the way but worry about our second encounter. I hope that the Giga Sword will make it a but easier.

 

As far as the mages are concerned they unfirtunately continue to teleport on top of my head thus landing a hit neither reflect magic nor the magic shield can protect me from. But at this point I just came to accept this and push through it.

 

The only thing I really am not looking forward while now actually having covered some ground on Spelunker is the Dark Tower. Because I think that not having shortcuts after clearing the bosses on each floor is absolute bad game design. And this is a FromSoft published game we're talking about. It's just bad that ever after you beat a floor boss and die anywhere on the next floor, you will have to run through the entire floor again because you're not allowed to move a block on the stairs room. Imagine any of the Souls-like games denying you a shortcut like this after you practucally earned it.

 

Be that as it may, as you can tell I am actually taking on Spelunker mode for which I want to thank everybody here who's supported me. I wouldn't have tried it without you guys. I just hope to pull through somehow and then never worry about taking a hit again.😅

 

It is not too bad. Remember how I said Spelunker mode is just tedious? That is just what it is: tedious. The checkpoint system is weird in the Dark Tower, but you can do it!

 

The Giga Sword makes most (if not all) encounters trivial if you spec it correctly. Don't let (multiple) deaths sway you from completing the game; 3DDGH is a brilliant game and was one of my favorite games on the PS3. 

Edited February 17 by x410xDragon
Typo.

[TurtlePM]

I got my Platinum trophy in 2020 after being like 6 years in my backlog. I can't help anyone here with specific details about some sections of the game, but I still remember the moment I decided to give up on the platinum (like some people here) and the moment I decided "This game is amazing, the platinum icon is amazing, I have to get it done". Thankfully, the US version got a patch that carries all weapons to new games, something the EU doesn't (which makes this platinum significantly easier in comparison).

I gave up on the platinum when I was getting all the swords until I noticed I missed some conversations in the cave (like the OP). You must talk to them every time you complete a dungeon.

 

The best suggestion I can give you is to farm some small bricks in the desert in your first playthrough until you get the Giga Sword to the max. Focus on this sword only. Then use the spelunker code to unlock this mode and complete it. Since you can't take damage, your Sword will always be gigantic, killing all enemies easily as soon as you enter a new room. There is a Glitch (only in this mode) that makes you invincible for a short period of time if you run into a wall - this is perfect to strike hard on bosses or to reposition yourself in battle. There are guides online that help you where to go next. For some specific reason I can't recall, I did the "not save the princess" ending. Focus on doing the essential to complete the story as fast as possible.

One thing a lot of people forget about: there is a magic shield that protects you from ALL attacks (making the final boss a joke to kill or add to the bestiary) - I think you get it after saving one of the fairies, still not 100% sure. This one must be collected in all playthrough, even Spelunker. Not all sections have a wall to perform the glitch, so keep your shield up every time you enter a new area.

 

As soon you finish this mode, start FROM mode and focus on 100% completion. Your memory will still fresh with the level design, strategies... Plus you don't die in one hit so this last playthrough should be easier. Take your time and check a guide to confirm you didn't miss anything (like talking with the people inside the cave).

After some weeks playing the game, I knew everything I need to do and where to go, I ended up enjoying the challenge and got my platinum.

 

Don't give up 😀 a vow for the people who got all swords in one single playthrough for the EU version, including more restricted Racing times.