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Radiant Historia

Started by Fierce Deity, March 06, 2011, 07:50:48 PM

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Fierce Deity

I've been getting into some niche RPGs lately, and a lot of them have been on handheld systems. The most recent one that I've been looking at is Radiant Historia. The story is rather unique. You play the role of a mercenary by the name of Stocke. He is given a book that is called the White Chronicle. When Stocke finds himself in a rather dire situation, he finds out that the book can help him go back in time to correct his mistakes.

If it weren't for the fact that this is an Atlus game, I would swear that they were turning The Butterfly Effect into a game. But even then, it would retain more charm than the movie, because Ashton Kutcher wouldn't be in it. I might be picking this game up soon, because the time-traveling system is what caught my attention initially.

Check it out:

http://www.atlus.com/radianthistoria/home.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radiant_Historia
Freudian Slip - "When you say one thing, but mean your mother."

wilco64256

I'm definitely buying this game - I think I actually even have it pre-ordered but I never pick things up right away any more these days.  It looks and sound really intriguing to me and I hope it's a worthwhile play.
Weldon Hathaway

Fierce Deity

The only other RPG that I still need to play on my DS is Golden Sun: Dark Dawn. I own it, but I haven't had a chance to play it. But once I finish Birth by Sleep, Golden Sun will be the next in line. Radiant Historia just seems like a game that will last me a while, and even when I finish it, I could play through it again to understand the flow of the timeline. I'm a sucker for a good time-traveling story.
Freudian Slip - "When you say one thing, but mean your mother."

LadyTerra

I haven't played this game yet, but my sweetie has it, and he gushes over it.  He talked about wanting a game where you could travel back and forth through time with your actions affecting later dates, and he says that Radiant Historia was exactly what he was looking for.
I have my cake and eat it too, until it's gone.  Then I can't do either.


Aww!  You have the Sword of Hugging +3!  All of your attacks deal affectionate damage!

Fierce Deity

Quote from: LadyTerra on March 06, 2011, 11:59:57 PM
I haven't played this game yet, but my sweetie has it, and he gushes over it.  He talked about wanting a game where you could travel back and forth through time with your actions affecting later dates, and he says that Radiant Historia was exactly what he was looking for.

That's good to hear. I've heard nothing but good things, but I've also heard it's addicting for completionists. Which is me all over. I can never finish a game without finishing every side quest, killing every boss, and get the best equipment. Eh, it's a curse.  :-\
Freudian Slip - "When you say one thing, but mean your mother."

drunkenmonkey

The main reason I bought a DS was because of the exclusive selection of RPG titles. Especially Suikoden Tierkreis, being a big Suikoden fan. I overlooked the DS for a long time because of its many casual games, but I just pretend they don't exist anymore.;D I'm looking forward to the 3DS, Kid Icarus will be my top buy. I'll have t wait and see about new games being introduced.

Baggins

I'm interested in it, except for the fact, I'm not too fond of the Atlus RPG battle systems...
Well, ya, King's Quest is on Earth. Daventry is very old city from a long time ago. It's in ruins now and people aren't quite sure exactly where it used to be. There are some archaeologists searching through the ruins, they think they know its Daventry. But its somewhere on Earth."-Roberta Williams http://kingsquest.wikia.com/wiki/File:Daventryisearth.ogg

Fierce Deity

Quote from: drunkenmonkey on March 07, 2011, 07:44:23 AM
The main reason I bought a DS was because of the exclusive selection of RPG titles. Especially Suikoden Tierkreis, being a big Suikoden fan. I overlooked the DS for a long time because of its many casual games, but I just pretend they don't exist anymore.;D I'm looking forward to the 3DS, Kid Icarus will be my top buy. I'll have t wait and see about new games being introduced.

I liked Suikoden Tierkreis,  except I can never play Suikoden on my own. I always have to have a recruitment walkthrough next to me to make sure I don't miss any characters. But over all, the game was fun, and may be the best Suikoden yet, in my opinion.

Quote from: Baggins on March 07, 2011, 07:46:17 AM
I'm interested in it, except for the fact, I'm not too fond of the Atlus RPG battle systems...

It can be a mixed bag of nuts. They can be really good, or very unorthodox, but as long as you can grasp an idea of the battle system, it won't be all bad. In Radiant Historia, there's a 3x3 grid for where the enemies stand, and your team has to push them around the grid with special attacks, so when an ally attacks a specific square, he actually attacks all the enemies simultaneously. Otherwise, it seems like you can just attacks the enemies individually, like any other turn-based RPG. But generally, I would agree with you. I avoided many Atlus RPGs due to the strange ideas that break the game, rather than make the game.
Freudian Slip - "When you say one thing, but mean your mother."

Baggins

#8
So is it something closer to say, Lunar series battle system? I could stomach that.

I'm not so much of a fan of the Tacticle RPG combat systems though. I hate having to chase around enemies around a map.

QuoteI liked Suikoden Tierkreis,  except I can never play Suikoden on my own. I always have to have a recruitment walkthrough next to me to make sure I don't miss any characters. But over all, the game was fun, and may be the best Suikoden yet, in my opinion
I'm enjoying Tierkreis as well, and I'm the same way about the Suikoden series. I usually use a walkthrough for the games.
Well, ya, King's Quest is on Earth. Daventry is very old city from a long time ago. It's in ruins now and people aren't quite sure exactly where it used to be. There are some archaeologists searching through the ruins, they think they know its Daventry. But its somewhere on Earth."-Roberta Williams http://kingsquest.wikia.com/wiki/File:Daventryisearth.ogg

Fierce Deity

Quote from: Baggins on March 07, 2011, 11:08:49 AM
So is it something closer to say, Lunar series battle system? I could stomach that.

I'm not so much of a fan of the Tacticle RPG combat systems though. I hate having to chase around enemies around a map.

I wouldn't compare it to a Tactical RPG, as the grid is not that big. Only 9 squares total make up the enemy grid. The group that you play as is not on the grid, they are on the side. The grid only determines whether multiple enemies will take damage. So the best tactic with the battle system is to use the special attacks to push all of the enemies into one square and then have your players attack that one square. Thus all the enemies will share the damage that is made. I'll post a video off Youtube to help illustrate the battle system. It's too confusing for words.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b6Tl8tWjUjE

I think the system is quaint. It's not too complex. Also, the video doesn't point this out, but during battles, the top screen of the DS will show the turns of the battle. So you'll know who in your party will attack first, and when the enemy will get to attack.
Freudian Slip - "When you say one thing, but mean your mother."

Baggins

#10
Hmm, it does look roughly like Lunar's battle system in the PSX/GBA versions, in that your characters remain in one place, and enemies can move around in a limited range. The main difference appears that the enemies can't get behind your characters (if I recall things correctly)!

I'm absolutely fine with that style, it maintains traditional RPG combat, but with a slightly more action-packed twist.

Even Chrono Trigger, allowed enemies to move around a bit, between attacks, while your characters remained in place. So i'm fine with this.

I think its definitely now moved up my list of must-haves!
Well, ya, King's Quest is on Earth. Daventry is very old city from a long time ago. It's in ruins now and people aren't quite sure exactly where it used to be. There are some archaeologists searching through the ruins, they think they know its Daventry. But its somewhere on Earth."-Roberta Williams http://kingsquest.wikia.com/wiki/File:Daventryisearth.ogg

Fierce Deity

I was feeling impulsive this morning and decided to pick the game up, but I have so many games to finish before I can even touch it. I'm just glad I got it before it became hard-to-come-by. Such is the fate of most Atlus games.
Freudian Slip - "When you say one thing, but mean your mother."

Baggins

Found a copy, the last one in a nearby Gamestop. Will play it when I get the time.
Well, ya, King's Quest is on Earth. Daventry is very old city from a long time ago. It's in ruins now and people aren't quite sure exactly where it used to be. There are some archaeologists searching through the ruins, they think they know its Daventry. But its somewhere on Earth."-Roberta Williams http://kingsquest.wikia.com/wiki/File:Daventryisearth.ogg

Fierce Deity

Quote from: Baggins on March 10, 2011, 11:07:48 PM
Found a copy, the last one in a nearby Gamestop. Will play it when I get the time.

That's cool. It's a shame that Atlus games are in such short supply. They normally don't get the attention they deserve, and in turn, not many people can get a chance to play them. The only games that I've seen reach marginal familiarity is Persona 3 and 4.

Whenever I get around to playing the game, I'll discuss the game in depth in this thread. But for now, I am distracted with other games.  ::)
Freudian Slip - "When you say one thing, but mean your mother."

Baggins

Well I'm about 43 hours into Suikoden Tierkreis... Very long game for a DS game, great story (the whole parallel worlds roughly reminds me of Chrono Cross in some ways). Not sure how much longer I have to go...

But when I finish it, I'll start up on Radiant Historia!
Well, ya, King's Quest is on Earth. Daventry is very old city from a long time ago. It's in ruins now and people aren't quite sure exactly where it used to be. There are some archaeologists searching through the ruins, they think they know its Daventry. But its somewhere on Earth."-Roberta Williams http://kingsquest.wikia.com/wiki/File:Daventryisearth.ogg

Fierce Deity

Quote from: Baggins on March 25, 2011, 08:45:27 PM
Well I'm about 43 hours into Suikoden Tierkreis... Very long game for a DS game, great story (the whole parallel worlds roughly reminds me of Chrono Cross in some ways). Not sure how much longer I have to go...

But when I finish it, I'll start up on Radiant Historia!

I liked Suikoden Tierkreis a lot, but the strange events annoyed me a little.

For instance:

[spoiler]When the world started to change, the Hero would be like "Wasn't there a town here before?" Then the supporting cast would say "No, this vastly bare desert of nothingness was always here." It drove me nuts till the story started to unfold. Maybe it was just me, but the way they introduced the parallel worlds was off-putting.[/spoiler]

I will probably start Radiant Historia myself sometime soon. I want to play it, but I'm so far behind on games. I might just bump it up in my queue of games to play it sooner.  :-\
Freudian Slip - "When you say one thing, but mean your mother."

drunkenmonkey

I'm playing 'So Blonde: Back to the Island' on the DS, right now. I was going to play 9 hours 9 persons 9 doors after that, but I think I'll play Radiant Historia then.

LadyTerra

My sweetie let me borrow the game!  I've only played a few hours, so I'm not that far into it.

The time travel feature is interesting.  It's sort of the opposite of Dr. Who event changing, where you can only change certain points instead of changing everything but certain points.  It actually encourages you to try different options and experiment.  The problem with that is having to see conversations repeatedly, but you can fast forward through them by holding down the X button, which is really nice.

The only problem I've had with the game so far is talking to NPCs.  I have to get into the right position, and to talk to the person again, I have to move slightly.
I have my cake and eat it too, until it's gone.  Then I can't do either.


Aww!  You have the Sword of Hugging +3!  All of your attacks deal affectionate damage!

drunkenmonkey

I played for a bit myself. The story is a bit confusing, allot of stuff happening behind the scenes. Battle system is kind of unique. One thing I found frustrating was that choosing a path means your character has memory of that path so choosing the other path after will give some different dialogue than if you had chosen the second path first. Confusing, I know.

Fierce Deity

Quote from: drunkenmonkey on March 31, 2011, 11:29:54 PM
I played for a bit myself. The story is a bit confusing, allot of stuff happening behind the scenes. Battle system is kind of unique. One thing I found frustrating was that choosing a path means your character has memory of that path so choosing the other path after will give some different dialogue than if you had chosen the second path first. Confusing, I know.

I can understand where you are coming from, but I'm a big fan of time-traveling plots and it isn't that confusing to me. Maybe cause I'm open-minded to the confusion.  :P

If the main character has the ability to travel through time and is aware of his power, I can fathom him being aware of his past mistakes (thus the reason he needs to change the flow of time). Maybe it's just me. I think I'm going to bury my head into a Stephen Hawking book now.  ;)
Freudian Slip - "When you say one thing, but mean your mother."