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Some quick babble.
Still playing through WA3. I'm still in the second "chapter" of the story, but some quick thoughts:
-If y'all didn't know already, the makers of the series finally threw us Westeners a bone, and now the theme songs of the game (opening movie, closing bit for when you stop playing, and the ending theme) finally have a singer, just like the Japanese versions. As for how the singer in the NA release fares in the opening theme: she's not bad at all, though I don't like her voice in certain parts of the song (or maybe I'm just too used to how the Japanese singer does it). I think she does better in the closing bit for when you quit the game, though.
-As for the opening movie, I've already seen 3 out of the 5 variants of it. I had already downloaded them online, but seeing them on the TV = yay! I like them. ^^
-The colorful cel shading of the graphics aren't bad at all. I actually rather like it, though I can see there being some people who'll hate it.
-Gameplay's actually *gasp!* got a fair balance thus far. I find myself using Arcana (what magic's called in WA3) frequently (particularly with Gallows, since his attack power and accuracy tends to suck - you can tell he's the designated magician of the group XD), and my Force abilities sparingly (since you need FP for magic as well).
-Gella is a bit hard to come by at the start, so you won't be upgrading/modifying your ARMs too often (money's better spent on status-healing items first), and you'll have to do it judiciously. My opinion: prioritize certain charas over others - personal preference thus far is Clive and Jet first (since they're the primary attackers and hit for the most damage), then Virginia, and Gallows last (since he's usually casting magic more anyway, plus his ARM's base stats are the suckiest of all - like I said, designated magician ^^).
-Speaking of status items, be sure to keep a good stock of them, because the monsters DO actually cast status ailments frequently, and the traveling salesman you get them from actually DOES travel around (meaning sometimes when you're in between dungeons and come back to a town to rest, he's already moved on).
-Also, while we're on the subject of items, try to use the Heal Berries sparingly (and try to only use them with Virginia's Mystic ability), since you can't buy them anywhere (and I have no idea how much further do I have to go before I find that girl with the garden you can grow them in). Again, Gallows + Water Medium (which has the Heal spell) = GOOD.
As for plot and characters:
-There's a LOT more references to the original Wild Arms than I expected, which makes me a happy happy fangirl. But the WA2 fans can be happy, since Marivel has a cute cameo as a children's storybook chara (there was also a description of Luceid in it!). XD
-Virginia's a bit genkier/cuter-acting than I expected, but in a nice way. I like her. ^^ It also looks like the stuff about her father (and how he ties in to Jet and the prophets) will be interesting, so yay!
-Gallows was NOTHING like what I expected, and for this, I'm actually quite happy. What better for such a serious and noble tribe as the Baskar to finally show us they actually do have rebellious slackers? XD
-Speaking of which, I actually think Gallows is a fairly attractive man, even though his lips are a bit too thick even for my taste (and I happen to like thick, pouty lips ^^;).
-Clive and Jet are more or less what I expected them to be like. They're quite alright, though. ^^
-Speaking of Clive, it amuses me how a calm, scholarly sort like himself's got the strongest attack power of the group (and has some pretty good all-around stats on top of that - well, save for speed, he's quite slow and often enemies go before him), just like Gallows amuses me by being the one magician with the most HP I've EVER seen. XD
-Clive's wife and child are rather cute, btw (Figures a sweet and pretty hot guy like him would be taken.).
-Speaking of other unexpected stuff, the Schroedinger family has thus far been NOTHING like what I was thinking they'd be - they've actually been fairly serious (if a bit eccentric-looking) thus far, instead of being the comedy relief I expected. Then again, maybe I should've known - I did always think their theme music sounded pretty heroic/serious rather than silly. (Then again, Todd's afro and Shady Thousand's mere appearance is probably all the silly they'll ever need. Oh, and Alfred has a panda-head backpack to keep his homemade bombs in! Aww! XD)
-Janus (or Janearth to those of you used to the Japanese version - not that it matters, we can all just call him Janey either way XD) seems to be a bit of a wild card, even for the bad guys. Odd jerk, that guy.
-In case anyone's wondering about character relationships, I have to say that thus far this is probably the most definitely het game I've played in a while: I'm starting to see some very subtle shades of Jet x Virginia (they do contrast each other fairly well thus far), then there's Clive and his wife (duh), and sometimes I think Gallows might find Virginia to be rather cute (he does consider traveling across the wasteland with her as the leader to be fun, at least). I can also picture some slight Janus x Virginia (though from Janus' part, since she obviously thinks he's a bastard), as freaky/scary as that might sound. ^^; Other than that, I haven't seen anything else yet, so nope, no yaoi or yuri here.
(Well, maybe if you stretched it you might be able to slash Gallows with his younger brother Shane, or Virginia with Maya Schroedinger, but those are pretty big "if's" [especially the former]. ^^;;)
And that's it for Auntie Rora's (Amazingly Spoilerless!) Preliminary WA3 Thoughts. You can expect journal to be updated with real-life blahs..... eventually. ^^;
[EDIT: I take it back, the Schroedingers ARE comedy relief after all (just not quite as hyper and out there as say, Zed from the first game). Well, Maya is, at least with her Mahou Tsukai Tai!-style costume, heh.]
-If y'all didn't know already, the makers of the series finally threw us Westeners a bone, and now the theme songs of the game (opening movie, closing bit for when you stop playing, and the ending theme) finally have a singer, just like the Japanese versions. As for how the singer in the NA release fares in the opening theme: she's not bad at all, though I don't like her voice in certain parts of the song (or maybe I'm just too used to how the Japanese singer does it). I think she does better in the closing bit for when you quit the game, though.
-As for the opening movie, I've already seen 3 out of the 5 variants of it. I had already downloaded them online, but seeing them on the TV = yay! I like them. ^^
-The colorful cel shading of the graphics aren't bad at all. I actually rather like it, though I can see there being some people who'll hate it.
-Gameplay's actually *gasp!* got a fair balance thus far. I find myself using Arcana (what magic's called in WA3) frequently (particularly with Gallows, since his attack power and accuracy tends to suck - you can tell he's the designated magician of the group XD), and my Force abilities sparingly (since you need FP for magic as well).
-Gella is a bit hard to come by at the start, so you won't be upgrading/modifying your ARMs too often (money's better spent on status-healing items first), and you'll have to do it judiciously. My opinion: prioritize certain charas over others - personal preference thus far is Clive and Jet first (since they're the primary attackers and hit for the most damage), then Virginia, and Gallows last (since he's usually casting magic more anyway, plus his ARM's base stats are the suckiest of all - like I said, designated magician ^^).
-Speaking of status items, be sure to keep a good stock of them, because the monsters DO actually cast status ailments frequently, and the traveling salesman you get them from actually DOES travel around (meaning sometimes when you're in between dungeons and come back to a town to rest, he's already moved on).
-Also, while we're on the subject of items, try to use the Heal Berries sparingly (and try to only use them with Virginia's Mystic ability), since you can't buy them anywhere (and I have no idea how much further do I have to go before I find that girl with the garden you can grow them in). Again, Gallows + Water Medium (which has the Heal spell) = GOOD.
As for plot and characters:
-There's a LOT more references to the original Wild Arms than I expected, which makes me a happy happy fangirl. But the WA2 fans can be happy, since Marivel has a cute cameo as a children's storybook chara (there was also a description of Luceid in it!). XD
-Virginia's a bit genkier/cuter-acting than I expected, but in a nice way. I like her. ^^ It also looks like the stuff about her father (and how he ties in to Jet and the prophets) will be interesting, so yay!
-Gallows was NOTHING like what I expected, and for this, I'm actually quite happy. What better for such a serious and noble tribe as the Baskar to finally show us they actually do have rebellious slackers? XD
-Speaking of which, I actually think Gallows is a fairly attractive man, even though his lips are a bit too thick even for my taste (and I happen to like thick, pouty lips ^^;).
-Clive and Jet are more or less what I expected them to be like. They're quite alright, though. ^^
-Speaking of Clive, it amuses me how a calm, scholarly sort like himself's got the strongest attack power of the group (and has some pretty good all-around stats on top of that - well, save for speed, he's quite slow and often enemies go before him), just like Gallows amuses me by being the one magician with the most HP I've EVER seen. XD
-Clive's wife and child are rather cute, btw (Figures a sweet and pretty hot guy like him would be taken.).
-Speaking of other unexpected stuff, the Schroedinger family has thus far been NOTHING like what I was thinking they'd be - they've actually been fairly serious (if a bit eccentric-looking) thus far, instead of being the comedy relief I expected. Then again, maybe I should've known - I did always think their theme music sounded pretty heroic/serious rather than silly. (Then again, Todd's afro and Shady Thousand's mere appearance is probably all the silly they'll ever need. Oh, and Alfred has a panda-head backpack to keep his homemade bombs in! Aww! XD)
-Janus (or Janearth to those of you used to the Japanese version - not that it matters, we can all just call him Janey either way XD) seems to be a bit of a wild card, even for the bad guys. Odd jerk, that guy.
-In case anyone's wondering about character relationships, I have to say that thus far this is probably the most definitely het game I've played in a while: I'm starting to see some very subtle shades of Jet x Virginia (they do contrast each other fairly well thus far), then there's Clive and his wife (duh), and sometimes I think Gallows might find Virginia to be rather cute (he does consider traveling across the wasteland with her as the leader to be fun, at least). I can also picture some slight Janus x Virginia (though from Janus' part, since she obviously thinks he's a bastard), as freaky/scary as that might sound. ^^; Other than that, I haven't seen anything else yet, so nope, no yaoi or yuri here.
(Well, maybe if you stretched it you might be able to slash Gallows with his younger brother Shane, or Virginia with Maya Schroedinger, but those are pretty big "if's" [especially the former]. ^^;;)
And that's it for Auntie Rora's (Amazingly Spoilerless!) Preliminary WA3 Thoughts. You can expect journal to be updated with real-life blahs..... eventually. ^^;
[EDIT: I take it back, the Schroedingers ARE comedy relief after all (just not quite as hyper and out there as say, Zed from the first game). Well, Maya is, at least with her Mahou Tsukai Tai!-style costume, heh.]