OGSWAN'S PROFILE

congrats dekar!

really enjoying your game, the story and dungeons have been excellent so far, and it certainly feels like a lufia sequel

i am a little past getting the light spell

really enjoying the game lollo - i just reached chapter 8

very impressed by the plot so far - it's not predictable, and even though new characters show up frequently they all feel interesting and have depth to their backstories

i like the gear diversity, scarcity and synergy from unveil/alter - though

there's a nice mix of mini-games

lots of progressive sidequests that feel rewarding without getting in the way of the main story

branching parties and shifting main party compositions are excellent! in so many games it feels like a chore when forced to split the main party

i'm terrified of missing a shard permanently playing hard :) and appreciate the warnings

there's a nice diversity of rewards from dialogues - it's cool that you can learn different skills from the camp dialogues, get a different doll (mine gives +60 spr and i am curious if the others are better), etc.


thanks!

i got the bug shortly after getting sakuya and using the HRCS item

the NPC is you!! at the base of Tengu mountain - and gives the option to change to multiple speeds, including turbo

Planning on writing a review when I finish, but since I'm not sure how long that will take I will share some of my thoughts so far - I just got to tengu village and am going to spend out some time grinding out money to update my scrolls.

1. Characters - Are really fun. You get to play a lot of them, all of their skills and secondary skills feel unique. The plot does a good job of introducing most of them and making you try them out. Normal physical attacks feel pretty useless a lot of the time, though it looks like a few characters (such as meiling, nitori)seem to have a much better hit rate - Sakuya for example looked like she would be a strong attacker but was having a hard time connecting.
2. The skill scroll upgrade system is fun, I think it works.
3. Equipment is sparse, but distinctive, with powerful effects that nonetheless force strategic trade-offs. Some of the effects are hard to understand - I would have liked it if the 'game info' NPC described some of the them.
4. Difficulty - Regular battles can easily wipe your party. When powerful skills fail to finish off a strong enemy (because of built-in miss rates), it can be punishing. Enemies have a fairly diverse range of skills, and tend to have useful/valuable items to drop or steal. There is sometimes some pretty good loot hidden around field maps but I'm reluctant to fully explore (non-obvious spots) due to high encounter rates - *but I have discovered the method that helps address this later*
5. Economy - Enemies don't drop a lot of gold, and field restoratives (mostly for mp) are expensive. Selling items they drop or have stolen tends to pay a lot better. Merchants and save points are rarely too far. Efficient grinding requires some planning (and investing in spell scrolls) - similarly, it may be prudent to run from enemies a lot in certain areas.
6. Main Storyline - It's easy to get confused about where to go at certain points in the plot. Sometimes a storyline event will reference multiple locations, when you are NOT supposed to visit there (until later) or assume player knowledge the player may not know (I did not realize one character I was supposed to look for was in the human village until I googled it). It would also be nice to review secondary skill mechanics/effects later - as sometime it happens between other events.
7. Side-quests: There seems to be a reasonable amount. I always like running into strong enemies on the world map that I know I won't be able to beat until later. The distribution of dolls seems a bit uneven as after finding 10 or so I have not really seen them since. I'm hoping I can figure out what's going on with the music sheets myself when I fight my way back into the mansion, I kept trying to start this quest earlier, not realizing that I was wasting my time until I got Marisa back. The item conversion / crafting system from Nitori is also a little confusing - I am assuming it will make more sense later.
8. Glitches: Mapping could be improved in a few areas, making some dungeons easier to navigate. It is possible to bypass triggers for important scripted events (such as in the Haunted Forest). I've noticed some other minor glitches and possible bugs that have not had much of an impact on gameplay, including variable walking speed. My current suspected bug: the armor that Marisa receives after traveling through a cave/tunnel and visiting a secret location does not seem to be equip-able by her, but i am not sure if any other characters may be able to wear it.

Overall I am enjoying the game and how it has been designed. I'm sure I will have more questions for you as I continue playing.

Cool. Made it out of eientei, got Sakura as a party member - where I am supposed to go now?

I can fight Alice + Marisa at the shrine, which doesn't seem winnable yet. I thought Sakuya was going to sneak back into eienei but the entrance is guarded.