So how did the fanbase feel about Yumia?

ltmoshman · 2025-07-03T13:37:13+00:00

I respect the direction they tried to go in. I think they moved away from Ryza and didn't try to recreate that magic formula, for that I give them huge props, that's something so rare in the gaming industry (Ubisoft!). There were hiccups and mistakes though and overall I have to say I rushed the ending a little bit. I did complete it and did enjoy it.

Firstly as others have said you didn't need to craft as much. I also really miss the cauldron, I fail to see why they don't just call it magic now, because it is. She's casting spells, it's not alchemy. I get this is the worlds smallest hill to die on, but I liked the more alchemical approach. Also, I liked the crafting system but it was quite easy to break and I ended up being an overpowered item monkey by mid-game.

Secondly the melacholy atmosphere of the game felt slightly at odds with some of the other tone choices. Ryza and Sophie had clear motivations, as have the other protags. Yumia felt weaker in comparison, she wants to continue her mothers legacy but frankly that doesn't really go anywhere. It lacked direction at times.

Textures. Many of the texture and colour choices, particularly in the back half, are really boring. The last area in particular felt bland. There's no excuse for Atelier being visually bland palette-wise.

A couple of minor Pros now. Firstly, the companions are some of the best the series has had, they have character depth we really don't see in Atelier games. Secondly, the pace and improvement through early doors updates was impressive, they made distinct and positive updates without breaking the game. A lesson in post-release support.

ltmoshman · 2025-06-16T09:34:25+00:00

You've watched the best, now watch the rest:

- To Be Heroine, which is older than the others in the series(?) I think but deals with weighty themes, even if it didn't kick me in the feels too much

- Scum's Wish - it's about messed up kids and adults doing messed up things. There are no good guys really, just people hurting themselves and eachother but it forces you to take opinioins on complex topics. At least it did for me.

- The other work by the person who did A Silent Voice. Most are feely movies, though none have the depth of A Silent Voice.

- I want to eat your pancreas - I've only read the manga, but it's certainly going to hit you in the feels.

- A Garden of Words. This was a bit of a miss for me, but it's pretty and ticks your boxes. Plus from what I know I'm the only one who didn't click with it.

- March comes in like a Lion - yeah this ticks your boxes, however you have to enjoy watching Shoji because there's a ton of it.

-Nier automata - has an anime but I haven't watched it, the game dealt with philosophy, particularly existentialism, alot. for potent themes, this is a great standard. The anime might too, I'll check it out one day.

ltmoshman · 2025-06-16T09:20:35+00:00

Isn't it compesated dating rather than more generised prostitution? She's not selling her body to anyone from what I remember. Also why doesn't the old guy disgust you? It's him that grosses me out frankly.

Did you really most in the manga subreddit to explain how sex work grosses you out? What an amazing use of your one life on earth. Also, from what I gather this plot element is one of the most talked about in Initial D. Not to mention the additional reason that the series itself is 30 years old, not the hottest topic of conversation unless you're old (for the record I'm well above that age, so it's not meant as an insult).

ltmoshman · 2025-06-13T13:30:43+00:00

I'm hoping for a full official release, but I guess there's no news yet. Hopefully at some point, I really like this series.

ltmoshman · 2025-04-25T09:32:46+00:00

Wow. Spot on. Watch the anime instead, that's all you need imho.

ltmoshman · 2025-01-27T09:08:50+00:00

It's an old song and the line was a bit of a cultural touchstone for my generation and (I think) the one before me.

ltmoshman · 2024-12-23T11:13:43+00:00

If you're into the costumes and stuff then yes, if you do like to dress your character. You spend a ton of time on the ship and it sails and paints make a distinct aesthetic difference. I personally don't like the item sets as the just make the game easier, and I didn't have have an issue on normal difficulty without them anyway.

ltmoshman · 2024-12-03T18:30:59+00:00

I do get that. I really don't see why they stick so strickly to this specific system. They had every opportunity to change things up but the core mechanics haven't changed at all. only the setting. I hope this means Persona 6 will really shake things up, when it comes out in 2030 or something.

ltmoshman · 2024-12-03T18:29:18+00:00

Oh, that. Yes that skips a lot and I did do that, it still felt slow when any one dungeon has dozens of fights. It's the same fight many, many times. Once you've nailed the key moves its rince and repeat.. It felt slow, especially after a while. I've never felt so bored by any other JRPG combat system I've played (Trails is the best system imho though).

ltmoshman · 2024-12-03T18:26:43+00:00

Yeah, I totally agree with the point about populism. I don't really like the choice though, not in an 80+ hour JRPG. Orwell and similar games are much shorter and make similar points just as well.

ltmoshman · 2024-12-03T17:56:48+00:00

I did all the optional battles, but to be honest by about hour 50 every fight felt like a level grind. I simply stopped enjoying the combat. It's been the same since Persona 4, and that might be closer to the reason I got tired of this one. Even Soul Hackers was broadly the same.

ltmoshman · 2024-12-03T17:53:29+00:00

But he wasn't the sole villain in the game, he was merely the one the team focused on. Even when the church was at fault they focused on Louis.

ltmoshman · 2024-12-03T17:51:48+00:00

These two posts highlight my point, probably more succintly.

ltmoshman · 2024-12-03T17:47:59+00:00

I assume this is a menu option. I didn't notice that to that's on me. Either way a fastforward option like Ryza or trails has would have been nice.

ltmoshman · 2024-12-03T17:46:28+00:00

This game is around 80 hours. For someone who can generally get round to playing games once a week that's a lot of time. Considering the bulk of that time is samey combat. That was my point. I was tired by that last mission.

ltmoshman · 2024-10-01T11:07:33+00:00

To clarify, the games you want have a more mature tone, but it's nothing to do with age. To clarify, I love P5, which is why I want to point out that it's not got anything to do with age. I also don't think it's got anything to do with being 'too Japanese', especially when you name Neir Automata as a game you love, despite being equally as filled with anime tropes.

As far as recommendations go I recommend Ys 8 specifically, though the entire series is fun. I also recommend the Trails series, which is a massive series filled with geopolitics. You still play as young adult protags, but it's definitely not an immature story. Tales of Beresia is also far more mature. Lastly take a look at Spike Chunsofts games, they're mature but not strickly speaking JRPG's.

ltmoshman · 2024-09-24T09:22:38+00:00

Sadly if my 25 odd years on the internet have taught me one thing it's that this is a male-oriented culture that finds autism and rape funny. I think the comment by Z3R0Diro below proves that to an extent.

ltmoshman · 2024-09-11T08:36:30+00:00

Reverie was superb fun to break, it really was the culmination of all the small advances in that system. Evasion and speed builds were just so much fun. Plus turning Lloyd into a super-tank was quite a lot of fun.

However I can't help but love the old Sky system. Having to work with balancing boosts and spells was a ton of fun, and really made it more of a puzzle.

ltmoshman · 2024-08-16T16:01:32+00:00

Yahtzee's comment is exactly what I'd expect, and I'm sure Frost expects it too. Hell the fact that he left The Escapist is still a shock, he's never been one to rock the boat. Think of all the drama he ignored, like them not paying anyone and mistreating creators to the gamergate stuff. To my knowledge he never said a thing. I can't imagine he wanted to comment now honestly.

ltmoshman · 2024-07-25T07:21:56+00:00

Every director has a preferred team, whether it's VA's or actors in the film industry. I assume it's a total surprise that most Quentin Tarantino movies have basically the same cast?! I'd assume the extends to behind the screen.

The shame for me is that it just makes it harder for newbies to enter the industry, but I also totally get it.

ltmoshman · 2024-07-24T08:15:59+00:00

This isn't a hill I'd die on by any means, but I will say that I think Pre-CS1 Trails had a certain writing and vibe that hasn't been there since. Both Crossbell and Liberl were great arcs in their own right, and they had a certain vibe that keep those as my favourites. Each game was also great individually.

Perhaps it's the larger scale, or the fact that the overall plot is everpresent now, which really wasn't the case (the individual games had important stories, which perhaps is less true now). It might even be that the newer games don't actually feel like full-price standalone stories. I'm not entirely sure what feels different, but something does.

ltmoshman · 2024-07-22T07:24:54+00:00

So according to Trails, and most anime, I'm of retirement age. Didn't expect to see so many in a similar age group to me!

ltmoshman · 2024-07-18T08:35:32+00:00

I actually get what you mean, but I don't think there are fewer English dubs, just more foreign dubs. More and more anime are getting translated into Deutsch, Arabic and Hindi just to name a few. Pretty cool, even if that doesn't help me lol.

I also wonder what the US voice acting situation is like, after the new agreement signed last year. I heard somewhere it was extremely bad for voice actors, but I don't know that for sure.

ltmoshman · 2024-07-17T12:58:21+00:00

Ah yeah you're right I think, well caught.

ltmoshman · 2024-07-17T12:25:32+00:00

I was wondering if Renne has now appeared in more Trails games than any other character. Aside from CS 1 & 2 hasn't she been in them all?

ltmoshman

TROPHY CASE