Empty Space

Well, finally got myself a proper blog through blogger.

 

 

 

Signing out...

Whoa, been a long time since I've updated, and chances are I probably won't be updating this space for long.

 

The new Windows Live doesn't have a convenient way to go back and update your Space or whatnot. Besides, this doesn't even receive much attention.

 

So, if by any chance I bother to get myself a blog through another site, I'll indicate the URL in this post... If this post is even being read in the first place.

 

Signing off...

...

 

 

Eh?

 

 

Watching the countdown. It's clearly over by now, anyway.

 

 

1024x768, as usual.

 

*beat*

 

Okay, I'm kidding, but do we really have to set a resolution each year? Because with the passing of time it appears that we eventually forget these resolutions.

 

 

Look at my last to-do list and see how much I've actually accomplished.

 

 

...Still, I think the resolution's a little redundant considering the fact that we hardly remind ourselves of it frequently to remember to actually put an effort to achieving it.

 

 

Right then, for the New Year I resolve to give my studies more attention than what I've been giving for the past few years.

 

 

Still, accomplishing this seems easier said than done...

Hmm, I've been doing quite little lately.

 

 

Sure I do.

 

Little Busters... 100% completion

RnR3... 100% completion

Clear Normal SA... Not yet

Cosplay... Working on it

Clear "holiday homework"... Halfway through

Improve on drawing... Not yet

Finish watching all obtained anime... Working on it

 

 

Somehow, I can't properly motivate myself...

So, yeah. Having completed the main plot of Ryuusei no Rockman 3, I've decided to do some sort of review on this game.

 

Between RnR 3 and its previous incarnations, they sure have changed a fair amount. But where shall I start...

 

Ah, yes. The folder building system. It has allowed up to 5 copies of a single Standard Battle Card instead of the usual 3 we were all used to. Granted, it was really helpful. 5 Invisibles in a folder make a pretty good defense, provided you know how to time their use well. It has also traded out the Favourites from previous games, and re-introduced the Regular System, sans the MB capacity from the EXE series. While taking out the Favourites does hurt, as it slows down the folder a bit, the Regular System makes up for it, guaranteeing the Regular'd card to always appear on the opening draw. Our replacement for the Favourites are now "White Cards", which are fixed sets of 4 cards that are downloaded from Wave Stations, and appear as an add-on to your folder.

 

Now, the battle system. This time, you have the Side Select which you lacked normally in the previous games. An obvious boon, as we now have up to 3 cards to select per turn, excluding White cards, and you don't need any transformation or Ability Wave to invoke it. However, the game also introduces Support classes, where some of your cards will fade out, requiring them to be touched. The Support cards have 2 options - either use it as a Support (though can be selected from anywhere), or use it as the only card you'll use this turn. Different cards have different support effects, depending on their element, but it really sucks when four out of six cards are rendered unusable for the turn. I suppose this balances out for the innate Side Select you have now. Other than this, the battle system is more or less the same, until we come to...

 

The Noise Gauge. You receive this after a certain plot point, and if you install it it becomes an important part of battling and folder construction. In virus battles, your Noise Gauge increases by the same amount of damage which you overkill a virus, using a non-dimming elementless card. In boss battles, it increases by half the damage dealt to the boss during the battle. You normally begin at 0% noise (50% if you finished a previous battle with over 100% noise), and it maxes at 999.9% noise.

 

So, why worry about the Noise? It's linked to two other aspects of the game - your Noise Change and the battle data. Noise Changes are like a mesh of Styles and Souls from the EXE games - you can only hold one, you will start the battle in that Noise Change, and it has its own special abilities as you go to 50% noise and above. If you do exceed 200% noise, you can use Finalised Noise - your most powerful transformation, which comes with a pretty awesome folder itself. To make things short, if you know what you're doing, by the time you Finalise Noise you'll pwn whatever you're fighting within a few turns before it even expires.

 

Next, finishing a battle with over 100% Noise changes the data you get at the end of the battle. That includes powerful secret cards, especially Battle Cards from previous instalments of the series. So to achieve such a high level, you'll find yourself stocking with elementless, strong, single-hit cards, and exploiting Lock On quite a number of times (at least I did). Heh, they've even got Ability Waves that change how your Lock On behaves, and taking up only a small Link Power capacity, too.

 

Boss battles can get pretty challenging, and recurring bosses do get a few new tricks up their sleeve compared to before. They've even got a boss who can (and will) unleash Battle Cards on you in succession, in addition to having his own unique attacks. That's an awesome break from the simple bosses we've faced who are only capable of 3-4 attacks or so. Boss hunting can be a pain, though, as you can encounter any v3 boss anywhere. The game backs up for this with its generosity in Search Eyes, though.

 

Travelling around also has become a little more convenient. You can Wave in and out anywhere in the real world, and there are several alternate paths linking to the same destination. For example, you can get to Shisaa Island from Kodama Town through train, Noise Wave, or Cosmo Wave. I'll let you play through the game to see how it works out, if you can. Hidden waveholes also have been replaced with "access ports", where you can move up to them and tap the Access button to enter the computers. Naturally, some cannot be entered until you gain access keys from different points in the plot.

 

As for story, I can't say much. I didn't understand over half the cutscenes I was watching because I was paying more attention to what to do next to advance the plot. The music doesn't exactly stand out so much, unlike the Boss Battle theme from RnR 2 and RnR 1's theme, for examples.

 

So, between this and its previous incarnations, RnR 3 certainly has done plenty of revamps and improvements. The double-damage idea certainly has been balanced out, considering how broken Tribe King was back in RnR 2. It's also got plenty of references back to the previous two games (with Key Words explaining backstory if you didn't play them), and kinda ties up several plot ends from there. Ah, and the final boss battle is pretty awesome, and must be played out if you want to fully experience its awesomeness. Definitely fitting for the "ultimate climax", as described.

 

Of course, there's plenty more to see and do in the game - I've only gone through part of it. It's worth getting, but with 2 major drawbacks. It's currently released in Japanese, and the English version is declared to be out by June 2009. It's up to you if you are willing to guess what to do next within the Japanese characters, or if you're patient enough to wait the 6-7 months for the English release.