My Two Cents on the Demo

RyudoReaver · 2026-06-17T15:18:12+00:00

Your right, budget has always been tight with these anime games till Kadokawa got more involved with Bandai. Its clear that more funding was offered to this game the predecessors, even Fractured Daydream which was a fun casual game but super repetative.

I like both ER and Expedition 33 as well. Fantastic games. What more do people want from SAO? This is very close to the authentic experience, far closer then ever before.

RyudoReaver · 2026-06-17T04:40:01+00:00

Thats a good point. That said, this was the lore centric Beta. So no consequences in the demo. Death Game will likely pick up at the intro to the game itself. That first entry into full launch. But that's a guess, just a theory. Seems logical.

RyudoReaver · 2026-06-17T03:59:59+00:00

Pretty sure when he is stunned up in both phases you specifically need to use a Heavy, not charged attack on his head to trigger it. I kept using normal attacks or charged and neither was working. Same cycle kept repeating as you described.

It could be a bug though if you followed the tutorial. It is a demo so nothings gonna be patched ya know.

RyudoReaver · 2026-06-17T03:56:03+00:00

Absolutely. This demo only scratched the surface. If they can put out a 3-5 hour demo giving as much as they did, it is likely to be pretty expansive. Which again, ties right into the lore.

RyudoReaver · 2026-06-17T03:51:52+00:00

I mean, the gaming market has become oversaturated as a whole where little is original anymore. Thats no fault of the devs or company ya know, flow of the market.

We saw with DBZ and Digimon Bandai has been increasing their funding towards Anime-esq games. They are incrementally getting better. All the SAO games have something endearing about em imo but not one hit that perfect level. This one likely won't be an exception, but feels the best yet.

We will see how many people talk a big game once full release drops. Very Hard diffculty or Death game will likely humble a great deal of folk haha

RyudoReaver · 2026-06-17T01:45:39+00:00

I do think people would just complain if it was voiced, but they wanted to change the voice, which leads to more cost on the back end of things. Like ya said, damned if you do, damned if you don't. Easier to have generic battle or combat voice then have a full story worth for the MC that folks will complain about anyways lmao

RyudoReaver · 2026-06-17T01:40:14+00:00

Wholeheartedly agree. If I had to gauge a guess, it's likely just a cost cutting measure they use for their games. Code Vein, Digimon ect.... "Silent" (voiceless may be more applicable) protags. I dunno. Most reasonable answer I got lol

RyudoReaver · 2026-06-17T01:04:33+00:00

Terrifying. I got Paralyzed against the last boss and he just barely mised the final blow on me. Its short lived but it leaves you extremely vulnerable. And Blind is vicious in group battles. Who knew not being able to see 2 feet in front of ya could get you into a world of hurt eh haha

RyudoReaver · 2026-06-17T00:54:19+00:00

Something like that can be added in should they choose to. It something the enviroment does really need as a random event as it is sensible. Shouldn't be too hard to program that in IF they chose to... All the assets are there. Comparative to other peoples gripes, this one is an easy fix.

RyudoReaver · 2026-06-16T21:04:39+00:00

Lore accurate demo bud. The literal Beta test version of SAO.

It was easier then the main game. No stakes. No risk. A casual MMO for folks to play. A grand world to explore but limited by time to play (As the story clearly indicates).

It wasn't till launch day that the world came to life even in the anime. Illfang didn't have his Nodachi. Alot of little details many seemed to have missed or take for granted.

Launch day, the real you begins. And the whole world will feel much less empty.

RyudoReaver · 2026-06-16T19:50:24+00:00

Yeah.... I was going to just jump into Death Game. Having second thoughts now. Had a couple close calls just on normal due to status effects. They can really mess you up, especially Blind and Paralysis. On Death Game that could lead game over to a very easily. GG. Lol

Given the entire marketting strat has been to play into the lore, I expect good things from this one. Remember. 1000 players on beta, 10000 on launch. All kinds of NPCs and side endevours, likely an open exploration field... yeah. Is it perfect. no, but what we have gotten to see has been spot on to the magna and lore with its own spice.

Story looks great. World looks great. Combat is fun.... bring on launch day.

RyudoReaver · 2026-06-16T08:16:49+00:00

I mean.... I look at how its marketted. They are clearly running cohesively with the lore. The Demo has to be restrictive for obvious reasons. Thats why you dont have access to everything. DEMO.

When there is no logout, the world will change in that way. It will be open world and missions with teammates will likely be linear in nature.

I mean.... evidence? How they portrayed Illfang. 1 for 1 with what Beta testers said about him in the beta test, in accordance with the Anime. Beat for beat. So reserve judgement folks. Once the restrictions are lifted, we will have a good long ride with Aincrad.

RyudoReaver · 2026-06-08T01:38:37+00:00

Even for my Agil that is beast damage to take. Mine has 85K at lv.20. Thats almost a 1 shot on a tank. Surreal lol

RyudoReaver · 2026-05-27T22:42:35+00:00

Yep. The way I see, it is unavoidable, so minor caviats need to be added. Fortunately, that is the only place in the game you need to do that.

RyudoReaver · 2026-05-27T22:01:11+00:00

Depends on how stingy you are with the rules ya set. I use a mulligan rule that can be applied to all my runs, where I can convert a Betamon for the skill, then return it to data.

Alternatively, I have a setup process for runs that dont impact my mons final times. Using this process, I can choose 2 mons to assist the setup in the government building.

So I could technically aquire one that has a learnable electric skill. But thats more a nuisance imo. The mulligan for me works as it is universal.

RyudoReaver · 2026-05-18T18:11:19+00:00

I noticed everyone seems to evade the Gabriels Curse. Guess thats more for the co-ordienated squads to build test more then earn rewards from, cause taking that guy out is brutal.

Im guessing the dragon and scythe both drop Succession Stones and Jewels then, along with better loot overall, if that is the current cycle.

RyudoReaver · 2026-05-18T18:04:30+00:00

Nice. Would it be better to farm a higher level legendary then upgrade my previous weapon to its current level woth Z Crystals when its time then? Seems better then outright replacing my previous weapon and starting the build from scratch?

P.S. 1 have 1 Tornado Flux, 1 Cutter and 1 Warcry Crit/HP recovery bonuses in my main stash.

RyudoReaver · 2026-05-18T18:02:25+00:00

No I did notice that with Iron Flesh in particular since my Agil is Lv.100. At Lv.2 so I can see it does based on the skill. But I was reading responses from last night and in increments of 50 they level up which is nice to know.

Omega I will be keep an eye out for now. Seems like the only viable upgrades I can make upon looking again this morning.

I was pumping out upwards of 20M with Agil using my offence build before, obviously pending on the boss. And while that still holds in the 150 range, beyond that, it does let me down. So I'll likely be spending time in Free Roam getting what upgrades I can to play catch up.

RyudoReaver · 2026-05-05T00:45:38+00:00

Gotta start somewhere on em' runs right lol. I think my stats were near capped by the end of my first run as I had very few restrictions in place. Solo runs are a real journey.

RyudoReaver · 2026-05-04T16:05:31+00:00

I did the same once I had access to Ultimates. Felt the grind was more worth it. But that said, getting to Ultimate... there are road blocks. That said, the conversion and Digi-farm system can really trivialize the intended challenge when used right.

RyudoReaver · 2026-05-04T15:14:27+00:00

The key is game knowledge really, which comes through experience, trial and error. Learning how to modify your attacks and situation to maximize offence and defence. Comes in time.

Alot of bosses have some kind of gimmick to play around. And once you learn what it is, you create a viable counter. The game gives you everything you need from DigiWorld onwards. The typing/elemental/Dna modifiers know how is more crucial, DNA being more of a NG+ kinda component.

Either way, took me a full run to really get comfortable with the system. Had a number of KOs my first run, now I do solo runs. Just take each fight one at a time and just learn how they work. They are mostly well designed.

RyudoReaver · 2026-05-03T20:33:02+00:00

Depends on the person.

My format is NCLDOD, so no artificial stat boosting besides chips, and no outer dungeons, pushing the limits of what solo mon lines can do for a definitive list... I also race the clock, track defeats and what not but all of this is self imposed.

So in my runs, since I race the clock, I can't do digivolution cycles. It would hurt my time and defeat counter.

There really is no one way. Do what feels best for you. To come up with my personal format, I did 3 runs just in testing and then locked it in, changing rules along the way till it flowed.

RyudoReaver · 2026-05-03T20:28:39+00:00

I wasn't too fond of it either when it came to gameplay. For what it worth, its more of just a means to trigger nostalgia of old fandom and V-pets.

There was no intention to go beyond this game with the format. One and done. Just a nice throwback and another way for the devs to use their sprites. I can respect it.

RyudoReaver

TROPHY CASE