indigozeal (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
indigozeal) wrote2012-01-16 09:27 pm
indigozeal) wrote2012-01-16 09:27 pm
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And my entire game is utterly blown: Neo Angelique playlog pt. 14
So I had a bad experience in Neo Ange that led me to power through to the end of the game. It's all over now, but I'll devote a few posts to the postmortem.
Thing went south actually before I started up the game. I'd gone online to research where the missing Guardstone of Light could be found, and sure enough, it appears in an area that hadn't opened to me yet. In my research, however, I discovered that there was an extra Guardstone that could be accessed only in a second runthrough, without which all the others were worthless. In other words, in your first game, this entire subplot is for naught.
One of the two missions I fulfilled upon firing up the game, though, allowed me to access this final area, allowing me to complete my (first-time-round) Guardstone collection just in case there was indeed any effect. I also was able to fill out the special row on J.D.'s second Bingo Talk card, which, according to the manual, was supposed to take Ange & him to something like a "going steady" status where the other Aube Hunters would no longer compete for your affections. This didn't happen, though, and the special date I got following the Bingo Talk victory was sweet but rather nondescript.
Nonetheless, events seemed to continue apace. The Jinx defeat at the Orb mine led to us cutting to a sooper-seekrit meeting where Jorgo decided to resort to the shadowy "Project Ultima," which was remarkable in that I didn't think we were allowed vantage points beyond Ange's in this game. The incidental banter between J.D. and Ange was getting more flirtatious and loving, so their relationship seemed to be in good shape.
Now, before I went on the two Aube Hunter commissions, I got a chatty letter from Ange's friend Hannah that offered some nonspecific reassurance and support regarding Ange's ongoing fight. I recalled from J.D.'s new Bingo Talk card that to get one crucial keyword, I had to Kozu after "receiving something" that I think was supposed to be from J.D.'s father. Hannah had mentioned yachting, though, and there was a port near Kozu, so I figured it might be worthwhile to take a trip down there, anyhow. I put off doing so until after fulfilling the commissions, upon which my Global Happiness Meter had jumped far more than should have happened post-mission - about 60 points, to 933.
I sped to Kozu but was relieved to find nothing going on. J.D. pointed out the LoveLove fortuneteller again, and I thought, eh, why not - she'll give me the clue as to the next step I need to take with J.D. I ask after him, and:
"The die is cast.
He is not for you. Your fate lies with another."
.........
I don't know where I went I wrong here. I visited Kozu quite often - I think the last time, in fact, was just before I did last time's big boss battle. Was it because I let the Happiness Meter advance too far? Was it because I didn't respond immediately or appropriately to Hannah's letter? I do know, however, that at that point I had invested 17 hours in the game, and now it was all for naught. I thought Maren was being unfair in allowing only one outcome in your first run-through, but apparently it just made official what is a practical reality in the genre.
The game's a paradox in that it's sweet, flowery, and laid-back yet demands exacting perfection in its area of focus, the romance, lest you face complete, irrevocable failure. My only recourse is to start the game over, at least from an earlier save - and yet, why? I have a stack of other games waiting, and the game pulling the rug out from under me killed all my enthusiasm for it. I mean, 17 hours - I could've finished FF4 in that time, Shiny Happy Best ending guaranteed. There's a design lesson in this: don't have ridiculously strict failure conditions if the rest of your game isn't at Mega Man 1 levels of difficulty.
Rayne Engrish Watch: oh who cares
Thing went south actually before I started up the game. I'd gone online to research where the missing Guardstone of Light could be found, and sure enough, it appears in an area that hadn't opened to me yet. In my research, however, I discovered that there was an extra Guardstone that could be accessed only in a second runthrough, without which all the others were worthless. In other words, in your first game, this entire subplot is for naught.
One of the two missions I fulfilled upon firing up the game, though, allowed me to access this final area, allowing me to complete my (first-time-round) Guardstone collection just in case there was indeed any effect. I also was able to fill out the special row on J.D.'s second Bingo Talk card, which, according to the manual, was supposed to take Ange & him to something like a "going steady" status where the other Aube Hunters would no longer compete for your affections. This didn't happen, though, and the special date I got following the Bingo Talk victory was sweet but rather nondescript.
Nonetheless, events seemed to continue apace. The Jinx defeat at the Orb mine led to us cutting to a sooper-seekrit meeting where Jorgo decided to resort to the shadowy "Project Ultima," which was remarkable in that I didn't think we were allowed vantage points beyond Ange's in this game. The incidental banter between J.D. and Ange was getting more flirtatious and loving, so their relationship seemed to be in good shape.
Now, before I went on the two Aube Hunter commissions, I got a chatty letter from Ange's friend Hannah that offered some nonspecific reassurance and support regarding Ange's ongoing fight. I recalled from J.D.'s new Bingo Talk card that to get one crucial keyword, I had to Kozu after "receiving something" that I think was supposed to be from J.D.'s father. Hannah had mentioned yachting, though, and there was a port near Kozu, so I figured it might be worthwhile to take a trip down there, anyhow. I put off doing so until after fulfilling the commissions, upon which my Global Happiness Meter had jumped far more than should have happened post-mission - about 60 points, to 933.
I sped to Kozu but was relieved to find nothing going on. J.D. pointed out the LoveLove fortuneteller again, and I thought, eh, why not - she'll give me the clue as to the next step I need to take with J.D. I ask after him, and:
"The die is cast.
He is not for you. Your fate lies with another."
.........
I don't know where I went I wrong here. I visited Kozu quite often - I think the last time, in fact, was just before I did last time's big boss battle. Was it because I let the Happiness Meter advance too far? Was it because I didn't respond immediately or appropriately to Hannah's letter? I do know, however, that at that point I had invested 17 hours in the game, and now it was all for naught. I thought Maren was being unfair in allowing only one outcome in your first run-through, but apparently it just made official what is a practical reality in the genre.
The game's a paradox in that it's sweet, flowery, and laid-back yet demands exacting perfection in its area of focus, the romance, lest you face complete, irrevocable failure. My only recourse is to start the game over, at least from an earlier save - and yet, why? I have a stack of other games waiting, and the game pulling the rug out from under me killed all my enthusiasm for it. I mean, 17 hours - I could've finished FF4 in that time, Shiny Happy Best ending guaranteed. There's a design lesson in this: don't have ridiculously strict failure conditions if the rest of your game isn't at Mega Man 1 levels of difficulty.
Rayne Engrish Watch: oh who cares