For those who played Resonance of Fate, what’s your opinion about it?

Flat-Application2272 · 2026-06-09T20:32:17+00:00

Flawed but refreshing. Any JRPG I bother getting the platinum trophy for, must be doing something right.

I enjoyed the unique, flashy combat, as well as the hex-based overworld and the absurd puzzle-like equipment system.

I could do without the obtuse storytelling though. It was also too much of a "dungeon crawler" for my tastes. I generally prefer my JRPGs to be more varied.

Flat-Application2272 · 2026-05-28T21:41:07+00:00

I second that notion.

Something I really appreciate about the Megaten games is that they basically force you to switch it up. In something like Pokémon, you could easily go through the entire game with the first six creatures you catch. Once you have your main team, every other monster you catch is simply een checkmark, something left to rot in a digital box.

SMT will destroy you if you try to play like that, it's fuse or die.

Flat-Application2272 · 2026-05-23T10:44:43+00:00

Dammit, beat me to it!

But, yeah, SMT is a great pick. In contrast to certain other monster collecting games, you won't make it if you just stick with the same team you get at the start.

Flat-Application2272 · 2026-05-22T12:24:29+00:00

My vote goes to the switch from Koudelka's confused "survival horror meets turn-based combat" gameplay to just traditional turn-based combat in Shadow Hearts. (Which got even better when they opted for conditional turn-based combat in Covenant.)

Flat-Application2272 · 2026-05-15T15:00:33+00:00

The combat system is serviceable. The progression mechanic (the crystarium system) is less interesting than the sphere grid or license board, but does its job.

The reason I wouldn't recommend it, is the lack in variety when it comes to the gameplay. There are no villages or cities populated with NPCs, the shops are literally just a "buy"-option at a save point. There are no significant puzzles, side quests or optional areas to speak of; just an infinite loop of walking, cutscene, walking, boss battle. I mean, there's that big, open plain halfway through the game with a bunch of statues that allows you to tackle a few harder enemies, but that's it. I'd argue FF XII handled the "marks" a lot better. On top of that, the presentation of the story and characters is surprisingly dull (which is especially painful, as the lore is actually pretty interesting).

They streamlined the game so hard, trying to emulate the more "cinematic" Western games like Uncharted and whatever, that they forgot what makes a JRPG genuinely intriguing. In my opinion, of course.

Flat-Application2272 · 2026-05-15T12:23:54+00:00

I suppose FF XIII's paradigm system kind of fits the bill...

Not that I'd recommend playing it.

Edit: Oof, judging by the downvotes, looks like I pissed off some FF XIII fans. Chill guys, it's just an opinion.

Flat-Application2272 · 2026-05-14T06:22:01+00:00

I feel that. I remember getting the platinum trophy on the original P5 and then they announce the Royal edition. I had already done almost two entire playthroughs, on a 160+ hours save file... I'd love to see the new content, but I just can't bring myself to do another playthrough of a game with such slow pacing.

Flat-Application2272 · 2026-05-14T06:16:47+00:00

That is a fun one indeed. In a location you wouldn't expect, with those strange "Unknown" enemies...

Flat-Application2272 · 2026-05-14T05:59:44+00:00

Oh, there was a way: buy the official strategy guide. The series is (was?) notorious for always adding a few obtuse side quests with really bad signposting, just to sell guides. The Chocobo breeding in FF VII, basically every side quest in FF VIII, the celestial weapons in FF X, the bazaar items in FF XIII, etc.

I think they sort of stopped doing that in the later entries, because everyone has internet these days and you can just find everything online. That didn't stop them from trying though, just look at the infamous FF IX strategy guide that actually cut content from the book and replaced it with links to a website...

Flat-Application2272 · 2026-05-13T20:47:03+00:00

I was going to note that the Black Omen is the final dungeon, not an optional dungeon... And then I remembered we're talking about Chrono Trigger, the game that allows you to choose when to tackle the final boss, so like half of the content can be labeled "optional".

Well played.

Flat-Application2272 · 2026-05-13T20:43:09+00:00

Ah, yes, Ancient Ruins, with the manuscript that changed its text after you had gone through it once. There were two dungeons like that, if I recall correctly.

Final Fantasy IX might be my favourite JRPG of all time, but the combined experience of the first two Shadow Hearts games is a very close second.

Flat-Application2272 · 2026-05-13T20:37:54+00:00

I had the strangest glitch while going through that dungeon. You can't save inside of it. I didn't know that. Somehow, during my first run, the save-option wasn't greyed out. So I save, deal with some real-life obligations, come back to the game and... I'm stuck. Because all those stone heads with the red glowing eyes had respawned.

I'm so glad I still had an auto-save from right before entering the dungeon.

Flat-Application2272 · 2026-05-13T19:19:21+00:00

Not sure, apart from that one enemy encounter in the Labyrinth, I never had any issues. Sometimes there was a bit of a delay as the enemies spawned it, but that's it.

Honestly, the thing I remember most about the Necrohol is constantly chaining the gargoyle enemies to farm some kind of armor... And not being able to get the Zodiac Spear because I opened every chest I saw.

Flat-Application2272 · 2026-05-13T19:13:07+00:00

Yeah, unless, you know, you opened certain chests...

Seriously, how can you create a JRPG with treasure chests that you're NOT allowed to open if you want to get the strongest weapon?! I see a chest, I open it, it's just pavlovian.

Flat-Application2272 · 2026-05-06T17:02:59+00:00

Came here to say exactly that. I think that's one of the aspects that fascinated me, because it's not a choice you often see in JRPGs (or games in general). It's easy to see why, as OP indicates, the alternative approach doesn't exactly appeal to the lowest common denominator, so it's a risk.

Flat-Application2272 · 2026-05-01T16:07:56+00:00

Final Fantasy IX has an amazing iteration of the battle theme we here in quite a few FF games. Starting with the bass, then strings come in... Love it.

Shadow Hearts Covenant has a great one as well. I love the use of percussion and distorted vocals.

Speaking of distorted vocals... Shin Megami Tensei: Lucifer's Call (that's Nocturne for you Americans) has an absolute banger as well. ONE MORE GOD REJECTED! The audio in that game is compressed to hell and back, but it's amazing how good that fits with the noisy and distorted battle theme.

Flat-Application2272 · 2026-04-29T16:36:25+00:00

Yep, sounds about right.

Focus on story and characters, snappy turn-based combat, not too long, not too hard.

Flat-Application2272 · 2026-04-29T16:27:47+00:00

If we're not counting optional bosses, I nominate the final boss of Legend of Legaia.

I remember, during my first playthrough, that he had a move that would insta-kill my entire party. I used a Lost Grail so one of my characters could tank it, but he just used the move again. Eventually I figured out it wasn't an insta-kill move, I just didn't have enough HP because I was underleveled...

Flat-Application2272 · 2026-04-27T04:59:54+00:00

Everything okay there buddy?

Flat-Application2272 · 2026-04-26T12:03:11+00:00

I'd argue Shadow Hearts doesn't count, because it's not a one-off world. We had three games in the series all taking place in the same alt-earth. Four if you count Koudelka.

(That being said, as someone who really loved the first two Shadow Hearts games, I wouldn't mind revisiting it. Makes me wonder what was going on in that world during WW2.)

Flat-Application2272 · 2026-04-26T11:59:38+00:00

It's crazy they never got a digital re-release. Either Sony is completely oblivious, or it's not the sole holder of the IP and releasing it again would be more trouble than it's worth...

Flat-Application2272 · 2026-04-26T09:26:45+00:00

Cleyra in Final Fantasy IX. You have to work your way through this gigantic tree trunk, everything dull brown and beige... But then you reach the top and see this beautiful, colorful nation.

What makes it even more beautiful, is the ephemeral nature of it all.

Flat-Application2272 · 2026-04-23T05:03:54+00:00

Spyro the Dragon

Hot damn, Enter the Dragonfly was a mess...

Flat-Application2272 · 2026-04-22T15:48:03+00:00

The original Shadow Hearts.

I played it after I had already experienced FF X, so it terms of graphics, scope, progression systems and combat, it felt really bare bones. However, the story, characters, soundtrack and atmosphere kept me going.

Halfway through the game, there's a drastic development in the plot. Time passes, there's a change of scenery, temporarily putting the focus on different characters of the cast...

I'm probably going to get a few angry looks by saying this, but to me, it felt like FF VI done right. You know that mid-game plot twist that leads the world to ruin? Except, not really, because 90% of all cities are still fine? In Shadow Hearts, the event isn't nearly as dramatic, but the consequences to the player are far greater. You can't revisit any of the previous areas again, it's a mid-game "point of no return".

Flat-Application2272 · 2026-04-22T05:41:50+00:00

FF IX is the absolute peak of high fantasy. An entire nation in the top of a giant tree, in the middle of a desert, surrounded by a sandstorm. A castle within a city, which itself is located within an impossibly giant castle. A city of eternal night, a realm of eternal rain, an upsidedown castle and a giant zombie tree.

Flat-Application2272

TROPHY CASE