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[Eusis]

It's Amazon being stupid there, not XSEED. And the whole point is that Trails has a combat system that isn't Ys, so that Falcom doesn't produce games with a single kind of combat system.

They did the same thing with Tactics Ogre, saying it was the latest Final Fantasy Tactics game or something. Yeah, I'd go hit the promotional site over Amazon, at least XSEED has more of an interest in correctly describing their game.

 

[Bebpo]

I'm stuck (not really, but don't want to spend any more time just running around to a bunch of maps aimlessly looking for the next story trigger):

Spoiler

I'm at the part after you go to the fort, get oliver, come back to town and he leaves your party, you go see the guild master and mayor and then the game says you should go find the reporter dude and his camerawoman (since they were outside the mayor's house earlier) to see if they have any clues on where to go next in your search.

I can't find the camera guy. I looked all around town and I don't see him anywhere. So I've just been running around the map screens in the surrounding areas but haven't run across him and considering the game has kind of a slow pace already, it'd be nice to know where I'm supposed to be heading right now.

 

[hosannainexcelsis]

I'm stuck (not really, but don't want to spend any more time just running around to a bunch of maps aimlessly looking for the next story trigger):

Spoiler

I'm at the part after you go to the fort, get oliver, come back to town and he leaves your party, you go see the guild master and mayor and then the game says you should go find the reporter dude and his camerawoman (since they were outside the mayor's house earlier) to see if they have any clues on where to go next in your search.

I can't find the camera guy. I looked all around town and I don't see him anywhere. So I've just been running around the map screens in the surrounding areas but haven't run across him and considering the game has kind of a slow pace already, it'd be nice to know where I'm supposed to be heading right now.

A lot of people got stuck there.

Spoiler

He's in the bar, just up the stairs.

 

[LiquidMetal14]

A lot of people got stuck there.

Spoiler

He's in the bar, just up the stairs.

OMG I swear I missed him too and went ALL OVER THE MAP looking for him. I mean back to the beginning and all the buildings only to find out he's right there on the table. I must have spent 2 hours in game looking for him.

 

[SpaceDrake]

Just as a note, Varion, might be worth updating the OP with the fact that the Euro version goes on sale on the 4th (EG this Friday).

 

[iavi]

OMG I swear I missed him too and went ALL OVER THE MAP looking for him. I mean back to the beginning and all the buildings only to find out he's right there on the table. I must have spent 2 hours in game looking for him.

I did the exact same thing. He's especially hard to find because he has his head down, in the back corner of the place. I ran around for so long, I had actually begun to think I hit a glitch.

 

[Edgeward]

Yea, I backtracked and explored every place I could and then of course he was where I first looked at but couldn't see him. -_-

 

[krYlon]

Article on Joystiq about TitS:

http://www.joystiq.com/2011/10/28/the-best-jrpg-you-havent-played-yet/2

 

[mr_toa]

EU release today YEAH!

ready, set, go European Gaffers!

 

[Hours Left]

RPG fans in PAL land. Please enrich your life with this amazing game.

 

[chaosblade]

Thought this came out a while ago. Did Ghostlight translate it? That would be impressive if they got all four languages done in less than a year.

Definitely pick this up though, it's great. Hopefully most of the EU folks interested haven't already imported.

 

[iavi]

I finally finished chapter 3. That was easily the slowest chapter of the game for me. I know they tried to

Spoiler

build the bonds between Tita and crew,

but until the very end

Spoiler

during the parting

it felt all so very silly. I'm just glad chapter 4 looks to be bomb. Shit's hit the fan, and

Spoiler

Oliver's

coming back? Sign me the hell up.

 

[chaosblade]

I finally finished chapter 3. That was easily the slowest chapter of the game for me. I know they tried to

Spoiler

build the bonds between Tita and crew,

but until the very end

Spoiler

during the parting

it felt all so very silly. I'm just glad chapter 4 looks to be bomb. Shit's hit the fan, and

Spoiler

Oliver's

coming back? Sign me the hell up.

Chapter 4 is awesome. I didn't mind chapter 3 either though, in general it felt like the game picked up as it went on until it finally came to a climax and rode that to the end.

 

[SatelliteOfLove]

I finally finished chapter 3. That was easily the slowest chapter of the game for me. I know they tried to

Spoiler

build the bonds between Tita and crew,

but until the very end

Spoiler

during the parting

it felt all so very silly. I'm just glad chapter 4 looks to be bomb. Shit's hit the fan, and

Spoiler

Oliver's

coming back? Sign me the hell up.

Spoiler

Yeah, her and Agate aren't really delved into much, really.

Chapter 4 is awesome. I didn't mind chapter 3 either though, in general it felt like the game picked up as it went on until it finally came to a climax and rode that to the end.

You did the library quest, didn't you?

C3 did have the

Spoiler

hot springs scene

where for once someone flipped the script on that old trope.

 

[Varion]

Just as a note, Varion, might be worth updating the OP with the fact that the Euro version goes on sale on the 4th (EG this Friday).

Delayed reaction but thanks, done now. There doesn't seem to be any sign of a PSN release of a EU regular edition so I've left those off (and Ghostlight's site doesn't seem to list a price in Euros so it's stuck with just pounds)

Thought this came out a while ago. Did Ghostlight translate it? That would be impressive if they got all four languages done in less than a year.

They're using XSEED's English script at least, does the European release have any other languages?

 

[MoogPaul]

I just picked this up the other day. Somewhere in the middle of chapter 1 and I'm currently loving it. I'm excited to see where this goes.

 

[iavi]

Chapter 4 is awesome. I didn't mind chapter 3 either though, in general it felt like the game picked up as it went on until it finally came to a climax and rode that to the end.

Yeah, I'm almost done with Chapter 4 now, I think:

Spoiler

rescuing the Queen

. It's been so much better. Infact, I'd say chapter 4's structure has a cohesiveness to it that the rest of the game hasn't. The

Spoiler

Tourny and sewer training worked pretty well in tandem

Didn't feel like a grind at all.

Spoiler

Yeah, her and Agate aren't really delved into much, really.

I'm noticing that too. My JP is pretty rudimentary atm, so SC is a task I don't think I could handle atm, but the wait for it will kill me, I'm sure. I will play it though, whether it be that my JP skills eventually get up to par, or Xseed manages to come through. I need the rest of this narrative.

Side note: Oliver is a total game maker. He's hilarious in almost every scene. Though,

Spoiler

it seems like his actual 'fleshing out' is getting passed on to SC/TC too. It doesn't seem like there's much time left in this one.

 

[Bebpo]

Glad this thread is bumped. I finally finished up Chapter 1 last night ~14 hours in and while I do like the game, wow is it slow. If I play it at night, I have to worry about falling asleep. I like the dialogue, the characters, the world building, and the little bit of slow story that is there; even the battle system is ok and seems like it could have potential in a grandia-way.

But:
-LOTS of backtracking if you're doing all the sidequests. PLEASE TELL ME LATER GAMES IN THIS SERIES ADD FAST TRAVEL TO PLACES VISITED.
-Because of the camera angle in the psp version, avoiding enemy encounters while running around the paths (which is most of backtracking) is difficult because you don't see them until you hit them. Then you get into a battle against a low-level enemy that gives you nothing and you either kill or escape but it's still, with the loading, more than just a few seconds.
-Just a generally slow pacing, especially when you have 25+ mins of connected cutscenes in a row at times (all the stuff at the lake near the end of chapter 1).

I think I'd like the game better if there were no normal enemy encounters and it was just a visual novel with boss fights. The hard to see encounters, sometimes high encounter rate, load times, and generally slow pace of the normal battles, which usually have no challenge and just waste your time, really drag down everything.

Does the game start to pick up soon? I liked the

Spoiler

Pirate scenes

in chapter 1, but everything else in the chapter was kind of sloooow. Also how much longer is the game? Is it a 25-30 hour game, or a 40-50 hour game? I want to finish this up soon, but I only get in about an hour a day at night.

 

[chaosblade]

Does the game start to pick up soon? I liked the

Spoiler

Pirate scenes

in chapter 1, but everything else in the chapter was kind of sloooow. Also how much longer is the game? Is it a 25-30 hour game, or a 40-50 hour game? I want to finish this up soon, but I only get in about an hour a day at night.

Don't really remember, probably around 70-80+ if you try to do all the optional stuff. If not, it's probably half that. Sidequests are your primary means of earning money though, so there's that incentive to do them.

And most of the game is slow paced. The end of each chapter picks up, but then it slows back down once you start the next one. Most people agree that there is enough story to have you drawn in by about the middle of Chapter 2. Only Chapter 4 is relatively fast paced though, but even it has it's lulls.

I didn't find the pacing to be a problem though, but I still think it's probably the game's biggest weak point because a lot of people probably do find it to be too slow/boring. Especially early on.

And regarding enemy encounters, there is an orbment thing you can use that makes all enemies visible on the map rather than having them fade in as you get closer. I used that for the entire game.

 

[iavi]

And regarding enemy encounters, there is an orbment thing you can use that makes all enemies visible on the map rather than having them fade in as you get closer. I used that for the entire game.

Yep. There's also one that makes you completely invisible to enemies. I haven't tried it, but if you're tired of enemies rushing you on the map that'll help.

 

[krYlon]

Glad this thread is bumped. I finally finished up Chapter 1 last night ~14 hours in and while I do like the game, wow is it slow. If I play it at night, I have to worry about falling asleep. I like the dialogue, the characters, the world building, and the little bit of slow story that is there; even the battle system is ok and seems like it could have potential in a grandia-way.

But:
-LOTS of backtracking if you're doing all the sidequests. PLEASE TELL ME LATER GAMES IN THIS SERIES ADD FAST TRAVEL TO PLACES VISITED.
-Because of the camera angle in the psp version, avoiding enemy encounters while running around the paths (which is most of backtracking) is difficult because you don't see them until you hit them. Then you get into a battle against a low-level enemy that gives you nothing and you either kill or escape but it's still, with the loading, more than just a few seconds.
-Just a generally slow pacing, especially when you have 25+ mins of connected cutscenes in a row at times (all the stuff at the lake near the end of chapter 1).

I think I'd like the game better if there were no normal enemy encounters and it was just a visual novel with boss fights. The hard to see encounters, sometimes high encounter rate, load times, and generally slow pace of the normal battles, which usually have no challenge and just waste your time, really drag down everything.

Does the game start to pick up soon? I liked the

Spoiler

Pirate scenes

in chapter 1, but everything else in the chapter was kind of sloooow. Also how much longer is the game? Is it a 25-30 hour game, or a 40-50 hour game? I want to finish this up soon, but I only get in about an hour a day at night.

You'll get an item early in the game that will make avoiding enemies very easy.
I avoided a lot of battles in the game, especially when backtracking.

The game picks up in a major way later on.

30hrs if you dont do many sidequests. 50hrs if you do.

 

[Bebpo]

How many chapters are there total in the first game?

Also I don't think being able to see enemies will help very much. The problem imo is the camera is zoomed too close and when I'm moving full speed, if something is standing in my way it's going to get bumped and the game likes to spawn enemies right in front of my running path. If the camera was pulled back more I'd be able to see the enemies while running and have a few seconds to move to avoid them.

 

[chaosblade]

How many chapters are there total in the first game?

Also I don't think being able to see enemies will help very much. The problem imo is the camera is zoomed too close and when I'm moving full speed, if something is standing in my way it's going to get bumped and the game likes to spawn enemies right in front of my running path. If the camera was pulled back more I'd be able to see the enemies while running and have a few seconds to move to avoid them.

4 numbered chapters, plus the Prologue is basically a complete chapter.

And with that item they also show up on the minimap all the way out to the edge, so you should be able to use that to avoid them. I don't remember having a problem like that.

 

[iavi]

How many chapters are there total in the first game?

Also I don't think being able to see enemies will help very much. The problem imo is the camera is zoomed too close and when I'm moving full speed, if something is standing in my way it's going to get bumped and the game likes to spawn enemies right in front of my running path. If the camera was pulled back more I'd be able to see the enemies while running and have a few seconds to move to avoid them.

5, including the prologue. And as for seeing the enemies, it helps... if you learn to move by watching the map instead of the actual screen, lol.

 

[Augemitbutter]

i had no problems spotting the enemies on the map. worked great with the item.

 

[Hours Left]

How many chapters are there total in the first game?

Also I don't think being able to see enemies will help very much. The problem imo is the camera is zoomed too close and when I'm moving full speed, if something is standing in my way it's going to get bumped and the game likes to spawn enemies right in front of my running path. If the camera was pulled back more I'd be able to see the enemies while running and have a few seconds to move to avoid them.

Once you can see the enemies on the map, it's extremely easy to avoid any fights you don't want to engage in.

 

[iavi]

Just finished the game. That was good. In the end, I did have many issues with the actual gameplay--artificial padding, slow battles etc--but the story, while slow in moments, was not just engaging overall, but incredibly palatable--The characters playing a big part in that. They're pretty fun.

That trailer for the SC is such a tease.

 

[UberTag]

Memo to JRPG fans in Euro-Land... THIS is the most important gaming purchase you can make this year (presuming you've already bought Xenoblade Chronicles).

 

[clay_ghost]

To those who want to continue the story , the animation for the game is out and start at the end of the 1st game. Think the anima will cover most of the SC story.

Not sure about english sub but there is chinese sub out there.

 

[RyougaSaotome]

To those who want to continue the story , the animation for the game is out and start at the end of the 1st game. Think the anima will cover most of the SC story.

Not sure about english sub but there is chinese sub out there.

There's no way the anime is going to be able to cover the events of SC in any kind of satisfying way. That game was MASSIVE, and based on previews alone, they'll be cutting a huge amount (understandably) to get in the main points.

I definitely don't think it'll serve as any kind of real replacement for the real thing.

 

[clay_ghost]

There's no way the anime is going to be able to cover the events of SC in any kind of satisfying way. That game was MASSIVE, and based on previews alone, they'll be cutting a huge amount (understandably) to get in the main points.

I definitely don't think it'll serve as any kind of real replacement for the real thing.

At least there is something

And its nice to hear them speak plus the animation quality is not too bad.

Edit

They skip a lot :0
But

Spoiler

Hot spring scene! and their reunion is too soon do not think that was what happened in sc.............

Do not like what they do to rin too , no hide and seek
............(how will Estelle and Tita even like her if she only meet her for like 30 mins?)

Hmm.................. please watch only if your play SC. Totally destroy all character development

 

[Bebpo]

Just finished Chapter 2. The last hour or two of Chapter 2 was so good. Very fast paced with non-stop events and only boss battles breaking them up. The

Spoiler

Boat chase was kind of old-school awesome

. Made up for the hour section in the middle of the game WHERE YOU GO TO SCHOOL ARGHHHHHH, I wanted to tear my eyes out for that loooooooooooooooooooooong section of no gameplay and just the most generic filler arc from EVERY ANIME EVER. But all the Chapter 2 stuff until that point was good and post-school was great, so overall I really liked Chapter 2. Was definitely better than Chapter 0/1, though the school stuff will burn my gut for a while.

The music at the start of Chapter 3 in the

Spoiler

Agate vs. Masked Woman

scene was really good Ys-ish quality music. Loved it.

 

[Hours Left]

Just finished Chapter 2. The last hour or two of Chapter 2 was so good. Very fast paced with non-stop events and only boss battles breaking them up. The

Spoiler

Boat chase was kind of old-school awesome

. Made up for the hour section in the middle of the game WHERE YOU GO TO SCHOOL ARGHHHHHH, I wanted to tear my eyes out for that loooooooooooooooooooooong section of no gameplay and just the most generic filler arc from EVERY ANIME EVER. But all the Chapter 2 stuff until that point was good and post-school was great, so overall I really liked Chapter 2. Was definitely better than Chapter 0/1, though the school stuff will burn my gut for a while.

The music at the start of Chapter 3 in the

Spoiler

Agate vs. Masked Woman

scene was really good Ys-ish quality music. Loved it.

You didn't even like the play? I loved the school section, I think it was a really great character building section. (Also, did you do the abandon school house side quest during the school section? You actually get to fight, and there's some fairly tricky enemies in there.)

But now you're at the part where the story really begins to ratchet up and some truly awesome stuff happens. All the build up is now going to start paying off in spades. Enjoy.

 

[Bebpo]

Must have missed that sidequest. Only went there for the story part.

I understand why that section was important from a world building (the play telling a part of important history) and character building (relationship between Estelle and Joshua). But it didn't change that it was just generic anime SCHOOL FESTIVAL which, having grown up on Japanese manga/anime/games is pretty much the most overused event ever in the culture. I prefer my plays like FFVI, a few mins long This was like watching an entire anime episode, was glad to get out of it; tried to do it as fast as possible, which is probably why I missed the sidequest starter.

 

[Hours Left]

Must have missed that sidequest. Only went there for the story part.

I understand why that section was important from a world building (the play telling a part of important history) and character building (relationship between Estelle and Joshua). But it didn't change that it was just generic anime SCHOOL FESTIVAL which, having grown up on Japanese manga/anime/games is pretty much the most overused event ever in the culture. I prefer my plays like FFVI, a few mins long This was like watching an entire anime episode, was glad to get out of it; tried to do it as fast as possible, which is probably why I missed the sidequest starter.

Yeah, I do agree that it's a common troupe, but I think it was handled pretty well here. I actually felt like Estelle and Joshua were helping out and having an actual life experience. (Especially since neither of them went to a traditional school outside of Sunday school and their bracer training.) But maybe I'm just a sucker for those types of scenes. (The school section of Suikoden II is also one of my favorite parts.)

But as I said before, now some crazy stuff that has only been hinted at before is going to start coming into play, and all the seemingly unrelated events will start linking together. It's awesome.

 

[chaosblade]

The music at the start of Chapter 3 in the

Spoiler

Agate vs. Masked Woman

scene was really good Ys-ish quality music. Loved it.

Spoiler

She's a he, that's not hair but part of the helmet.

But yeah, the story is going to start throwing everything together and it's going to get a lot more interesting. Shame the beginning is so slow, I try to warn people about that when I recommend the game, but it's all worth it.

And yeah, that's one of the better songs on the soundtrack. Found it pretty weak overall.

 

[zerokoolpsx]

So I just bought TitS on impulse from amazon. LE was screaming to buy me. Never played The Legend of Heroes or Ys, so I'm practically jumping in blind here. Hopefully I'll like it.

 

[Eusis]

Never played The Legend of Heroes or Ys, so I'm practically jumping in blind here. Hopefully I'll like it.

You're better off this way. Well, and Ys is a very different experience, so while you still oughta check those out it wouldn't indicate much beyond how good the music CAN get.

 

[chaosblade]

So I just bought TitS on impulse from amazon. LE was screaming to buy me. Never played The Legend of Heroes or Ys, so I'm practically jumping in blind here. Hopefully I'll like it.

Yeah, it's probably for the best you didn't play any of the previous English releases. A friend of mine still refuses to buy this game because he's "tired" of the series after playing a couple of the other games.

And Ys is probably about as different from Trails as possible. Trails is a turn based semi-strategy RPG, Ys is a crazy fast paced action RPG. Trails is pretty long with an emphasis on story, characters, and the world, while Ys games are generally shorter and all about the gameplay and music.


I more or less bought the game for a friend yesterday. He's interested in the game (after I got him into Ys/Falcom games) but was totally broke so I loaned him the money to pay back whenever. Must support series!

 

[SpaceDrake]

Trails is once again on sale for Black Friday, by the way. If you haven't gotten it yet, now's a great time!

 

[Splash Wave]

This game is quite dumb, but it also might be my RPG of the year.

Estelle is insufferable, but I love everything else about this game. The quests, cooking, and battle system all cohere into something wonderful. I can't stop playing it (and it's fairly challenging, I've noticed).

edit: and thank god for being able to retry battles.

 

[Link1110]

People complaining about this game's pacing should play Legend of Heroes 2 for PC Engine.

First we get an intro of spacemen on the medieval planet being mistaken for monsters and killed, creating a good premise. Then we get 5 hours of walking around the world where barely anything happens and there's lots of fanservice for the first game (I assume because I've never played it.)

Then stuff starts happening and the game still moves real slow. I stopped at the beginning of the second chapter because of some random encounter enemies I couldn't beat. At least this game starts out with stuff happening.

 

[jorgeton]

everytime I see this thread bumped I check it with hopes of updates on the status of the sequel. always leave disappointed.

anyway, this game gets better as you play it. You get more into the story and characters, so much so it is hard to put down. i found this game very close to reading a good book, with excellent battle and dungeon design. Xseed did a tremendous job translating it, so much so the ending made me T_T -- and i'm dead inside and everything! everyone with a psp and a fondness for ps1-style rpgs needs to play this game.

 

[Easystride]

I got this thanks to the Amazon sale. Should I turn off retry offset?

 

[Splash Wave]

I got this thanks to the Amazon sale. Should I turn off retry offset?

I don't see why you would. It saved my ass a few times.

 

[Bebpo]

Finished Chapter 3 at around 31 hours with all the sidequests (started using a side quest faq to make sure I don't miss any since I let 1 or 2 slip by in each of the previous chapters).

Chapter 3 was a bit dull. Lots of sidequests that involved running around the map. A looooooong build up at the start before anything happens

Spoiler

professor getting kidnapped

and a fairly uneventful finish with no major boss fight. Chapter 2 was much better imo; better paced, better sidequests, way better conclusion. Like always the writing was good and there were some great character parts. The CAVE PENGUIN presented the first tough boss fight, only because he had ridiculous amount of health that you just had to chip down slowly.

Anyhow, going to start Chapter 4 now. Considering it's the final chapter of this game I sure hope it starts to pick up! I like the game, but it feels far far closer to the .hack series of episodic than say, Suikoden 1 -> 2 -> 3. FC so far just feels like an intro to a game stretched out to 40 hours instead of 10. But maybe Chapter 4 will just be so darn good that it will change my mind

 

[Aeana]

Finished Chapter 3 at around 31 hours with all the sidequests (started using a side quest faq to make sure I don't miss any since I let 1 or 2 slip by in each of the previous chapters).

Chapter 3 was a bit dull. Lots of sidequests that involved running around the map. A looooooong build up at the start before anything happens

Spoiler

professor getting kidnapped

and a fairly uneventful finish with no major boss fight. Chapter 2 was much better imo; better paced, better sidequests, way better conclusion. Like always the writing was good and there were some great character parts. The CAVE PENGUIN presented the first tough boss fight, only because he had ridiculous amount of health that you just had to chip down slowly.

Anyhow, going to start Chapter 4 now. Considering it's the final chapter of this game I sure hope it starts to pick up! I like the game, but it feels far far closer to the .hack series of episodic than say, Suikoden 1 -> 2 -> 3. FC so far just feels like an intro to a game stretched out to 40 hours instead of 10. But maybe Chapter 4 will just be so darn good that it will change my mind

But that is actually exactly what it is. The final chapter is where pretty much everything happens, and I guarantee that once it's through you'll want to dive into SC immediately.

 

[hosannainexcelsis]

Finished Chapter 3 at around 31 hours with all the sidequests (started using a side quest faq to make sure I don't miss any since I let 1 or 2 slip by in each of the previous chapters).

Chapter 3 was a bit dull. Lots of sidequests that involved running around the map. A looooooong build up at the start before anything happens

Spoiler

professor getting kidnapped

and a fairly uneventful finish with no major boss fight. Chapter 2 was much better imo; better paced, better sidequests, way better conclusion. Like always the writing was good and there were some great character parts. The CAVE PENGUIN presented the first tough boss fight, only because he had ridiculous amount of health that you just had to chip down slowly.

Anyhow, going to start Chapter 4 now. Considering it's the final chapter of this game I sure hope it starts to pick up! I like the game, but it feels far far closer to the .hack series of episodic than say, Suikoden 1 -> 2 -> 3. FC so far just feels like an intro to a game stretched out to 40 hours instead of 10. But maybe Chapter 4 will just be so darn good that it will change my mind

Chapter 4 is excellent and fast-paced; you shouldn't be disappointed! The overall pacing of Trails is certainly slow, but I like that because it allows the world and characters to be built up very carefully and thoroughly. It's for that reason that I became more invested in them than I do in most game worlds.

Also, it's worth remembering that FC and SC were originally meant to be one game, but were split up once it got too big. So there is truth in saying that FC is just the intro to SC - sort of like the first season of a serial TV show. It's a really good season, but it's going to leave you dying to find out what happens next.

 

[iavi]

Finished Chapter 3 at around 31 hours with all the sidequests (started using a side quest faq to make sure I don't miss any since I let 1 or 2 slip by in each of the previous chapters).

Chapter 3 was a bit dull. Lots of sidequests that involved running around the map. A looooooong build up at the start before anything happens

Spoiler

professor getting kidnapped

and a fairly uneventful finish with no major boss fight. Chapter 2 was much better imo; better paced, better sidequests, way better conclusion. Like always the writing was good and there were some great character parts. The CAVE PENGUIN presented the first tough boss fight, only because he had ridiculous amount of health that you just had to chip down slowly.

Anyhow, going to start Chapter 4 now. Considering it's the final chapter of this game I sure hope it starts to pick up! I like the game, but it feels far far closer to the .hack series of episodic than say, Suikoden 1 -> 2 -> 3. FC so far just feels like an intro to a game stretched out to 40 hours instead of 10. But maybe Chapter 4 will just be so darn good that it will change my mind

I shared your exact sentiment in regards to chapter three. Luckily, chapter four makes up for chapter 3 and more. It's great.

 

[RyougaSaotome]

Finished Chapter 3 at around 31 hours with all the sidequests (started using a side quest faq to make sure I don't miss any since I let 1 or 2 slip by in each of the previous chapters).

Chapter 3 was a bit dull. Lots of sidequests that involved running around the map. A looooooong build up at the start before anything happens

Spoiler

professor getting kidnapped

and a fairly uneventful finish with no major boss fight. Chapter 2 was much better imo; better paced, better sidequests, way better conclusion. Like always the writing was good and there were some great character parts. The CAVE PENGUIN presented the first tough boss fight, only because he had ridiculous amount of health that you just had to chip down slowly.

Anyhow, going to start Chapter 4 now. Considering it's the final chapter of this game I sure hope it starts to pick up! I like the game, but it feels far far closer to the .hack series of episodic than say, Suikoden 1 -> 2 -> 3. FC so far just feels like an intro to a game stretched out to 40 hours instead of 10. But maybe Chapter 4 will just be so darn good that it will change my mind

Chapter 4 is exactly that. I think a lot of the stuff that happens 4 and onward (SC included) has the weight it does because of the amount of time you've spent getting to know characters and the world they live in. A lot of great plot points wouldn't be quite as powerful if you didn't care about them.

Have fun. =)