/vr/ - Retro Games

[Anonymous No.6383335]

Are BoF III and IV worth playing for anything besides the kino artstyle? Don't get me wrong, I'll probably end up playing them for that alone; there's nothing like beautiful spritework, but I just wanna know if it's an otherwise-generic JRPG or if the gameplay mechanics are actually refreshing compared to its 5th-gen peers.

[Anonymous No.6383350]

Music demake! https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=R2R55vanz-s

[Anonymous No.6383375]

>generic
Ok cope

[Anonymous No.6383384]

>>6383335
IV is fantastic

[Anonymous No.6383420]

>>6383335
BoF 4 has a completely unique aesthetic in JRPGs of the time, or really JRPGs now. They experimented with several gameplay mechanics and decided to add them all. Combos in battle, a back row which can add support to the people fighting, two simultaneous storylines, it's great.

BoF3 is a bit more generic visually and gameplay-wise, but has a weird upbeat jazzy soundtrack I can listen to all day. The fishing minigame is pretty great, and mixing genes to create a unique dragon form is a nice addition to the normal JRPG format, even if there's only six or seven you'll find yourself using. Also, the storyline was written by normal JRPG writers subjected to a bunch of hardcore drugs. Highlights include:
>Fighting a giant chicken
>Taking command of a colony of naked faeries
>Learning devastating magic from a big-tittied snake god gf
>Unicorn mobsters
>A teammate is literally an onion that can't talk
>Grabbing onto the side of a missile just before launch
>Genetic experimentation on coffee
>shooting a computer with magic to make it work
>Getting punched in the head by a lumberjack
>Fighting children
>Interrupting the sex games of the rich and powerful
>truly pathetic ghosts
>40 years in the desert
>spotting Chun-Li in a crowd
>Training a clerk to beat the shit out of a sailor so you can steal his boat

I think the storyline of Breath of Fire 3 must be experienced.

[Anonymous No.6383452]

>>6383350
Nice!

[Anonymous No.6383502]

>>6383420

Appreciate the response, anon. I'll try to play III first but IV is def going on the must-play list for sooner rather than later

[Anonymous No.6383508]

>>6383335
Play them if you want a straightforward RPG in which you can relax and enjoy every other thing besides the gameplay. Just something to pick for an hour or two to progress every day.
Sure, both stories can get depressing real fast, but there's a lot of things to enjoy. Also, you'll make excuses to go fishingwhenever you can.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bNUnGITpcU

[Anonymous No.6383515]

>>6383502
IV >>>>>>> III

[Anonymous No.6383530]

>>6383420
Very intriguing. Is the story self-contained or you need to play previous games?

[Anonymous No.6383541]

>>6383335
I find III a little dry to be honest. The pacing is slow, the characters didn't interest me much, and I found the world rather typical. I think it's a fine game but nothing amazing.

IV suffers low difficulty like III which holds it back but the world and story are far more interesting I feel. I feel IV has genuinely memorable plot points and moments that I still think about well after I played it.

[Anonymous No.6383597]

>>6383420
great post.

[Anonymous No.6383620]

>>6383530
A lot of the same characters. Each has a different world, story, setting. The same characters have different backgrounds like each looney toons episode..

[Anonymous No.6383635]

>>6383530
Self-contained with numerous references and comon elements, just like Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy games. The main characters always have the same names and the protagonist can always turn into a dragon for some reason or other.

[Anonymous No.6383641]

>>6383335
How peculiar and fresh the games are is their main draw, alongside with incredible late Capcom sprite art. For all their flaws, one thing DoF games aren't is generic. In fact, the series ended because BoFV (PS2) was just too crazy. A grim as fuck post-apoc JRPG with XCOM-like combat and Resident Evil style save tokens. Limited saves in a JRPG just to fuck with you, you dig? BoFV was insane.
The main downside is howtedious the games sometimes are. Not always and not insufferably so, but yeah, some parts can be quite tedious and occasionally you will be on the bring of quitting. Then the game will throw something really cool at you and you will be hooked again.

[Anonymous No.6383657]

>>6383620
>>6383635
I see, thanks.
I guess, I will start with the first game just for continuity sake.

[Anonymous No.6383661]

>>6383335
I find 3 a little dull but 4 even though it drags a little in the middle has some great story beats and is probably one of the best jrpgs out there in that regard.

[Anonymous No.6383667]

>>6383657
I don't recommend it. The first two games are really slow and kind of bad. You'll burn yourself out before getting to the good games. I would start with 4 or maybe 3 and if you really like it try out the others.

[Anonymous No.6384175]

>>6383420
Extremely high quality post from one who is simultaneously both a gentleman and a scholar.

[Anonymous No.6384224]

>>6383541
>furfaggot barashit
And that's why I'm not playing this garbo
>you can just bench him!
the simpleton's reasoning

[Anonymous No.6385179]

>>6383420
III is absolute insane kino

[Anonymous No.6385225]

>>6384224
Okay retard.

[Anonymous No.6385671]

>>6383657
I'd say skip one. One is...not great.

[Anonymous No.6386014]

>>6383335
It's the epitome of generic. There's no reason to play it over other rpgs on the system unless you've literally played them all and you're desperate for more of that genre.
>>6383657
Jesus mate, the first 2 are even worse. Why do this to yourself?

[Anonymous No.6386557]

>>6384224

[Anonymous No.6386578]

>>6383657
I never understood people who think it's good to play through every game in a series "to get the continuity". Who the fuck has the time for that? Play the game you want to play in the first place.

Can anyone explain this to me

[Anonymous No.6387180]

>>6386578
In the case of BoF it's pointless, since each game is self-contained, but it absolutely makes sense in a series with overarching stories. You might just be retarded, anon.

>Who the fuck has the time for that?
Right now, literally everyone who isn't an emergency room doctor.

[Anonymous No.6387184]

Holy mother of god

[Anonymous No.6387192]

>>6386578
>I never understood people who think it's good to play through every game in a series "to get the continuity".
It's a fun way to experience video game history and have some perspective. It's when people start to make the "story" argument when things get really stupid. And "you won't get the references" is bottom of the barrel grade nonsense, of course.

[Anonymous No.6387208]

>>6383420
Don't forget the Aussie dolphin.

[Anonymous No.6387217]

>>6387192
>It's when people start to make the "story" argument when things get really stupid
How is it stupid? Would you read the second novel in a series first? Watch the second movie?

[Anonymous No.6387242]

>>6387217
Even among direct sequels, I can't think of even a single game that really depends on the prequel to be enjoyable. Parasite Eve 1 and 2 can be played in any order. All Resident Evils can be played in any order. Few JRPGs are even related, and even when they are, they're still separate stories. Zeldas are interchangeable. Etc. etc. And I'm only listing games with a strong focus on story.

[Anonymous No.6387306]

>>6383350
Awesome

[Anonymous No.6387385]

>>6387242
Then you haven't played many JRPGs. That's fine, but don't pretend that there aren't series that don't have overarching stories.

[Anonymous No.6387397]

>>6387385
Name a couple of games where newer games can't be enjoyed without having played the previous ones.

Here are some examples of series that can be played completely out of order without any loss of meaning or enjoyment:
Dragon Quest
The Broken Mirror
Ys.

[Anonymous No.6387409]

>>6387397
...lol at "Broken Mirror", I meant broken Sword.
Here are some bonus series that can be played absolutely out of order:
Dragon Slayer
Tomb Raider
Even the two Baldur's Gate games are so self-contained and self-explanatory despite being direct sequels that you can easily start with BG2 and miss absolutely nothing.

The only series I can even think of that should be played in order is perhaps the Legacy of Kain.

[Anonymous No.6387469]

>>6387397
>>6387409
Honestly, as far as /vr/ is concerned, you're correct. I was thinking about more modern story-oriented games.

[Anonymous No.6387479]

However, there is the Metal Gear series. Which technically includes Solid.

[Anonymous No.6387591]

>>6383335
No, if you're looking for a complex battle system then BoF3 won't do it for you, it has more or less typical turnbased combat with a blue magic mechanic. A lot of the enjoyment is finding the dragon transformations and trainers outside of battle, and using the latter to customize your party which is a gradual process that you won't feel strongly from battle to battle except when learning the special abilities taught by those trainers.

BoF4 improves it in a couple of major ways, first by letting you switch out your party of 3 to the benched characters during battle, like FFX. The other is a combo ability system that lets you stack spells to make bigger spells, and you get bonus points for inflicting as many hits as possible. Combat in both games is repetitive, but I think a big point in their favour is interesting party members.

[Anonymous No.6387598]

>>6387591
>The other is a combo ability system that lets you stack spells to make bigger spells, and you get bonus points for inflicting as many hits as possible.
This is actually extremely elementary and dumb, and I consider it a negative to the combat system.
>find combo
>spam that forever because duh, why not

[Anonymous No.6388234]

PC version or Emulated PSX version? (for IV)

[Anonymous No.6388395]

>>6388234
Not really any difference between them beside the text font used, the ps1 version looks better.

[Anonymous No.6388418]

>>6383420
They forgot to mention BoF4 has this magical property of taking your feels and absolutely gutting them. It will make you feel like utter shit.

And the bad guy gets away with it.
There's also a manga of it if you're so inclined that is pretty goddamn good.

[Anonymous No.6388431]

>>6383657
The first is goddamn horrific.
The second is ok but has a terrible translation, so if you DO go that route, go with the localization patch.

[Anonymous No.6388665]

>>6387242
Wizardry 6-8 should definitely be played in order, as it forms a coherent story where the succeeding game starts directly after the ending of the previous game, even involving different starting locations in 7 and 8 depending on what you did in 6 and 7.
Wizardry 1-3 also needs to be played in order, as you can't even start with a fresh party in 3, and a level 1 party will get slaughtered in 2.

[Anonymous No.6388674]

>>6388665
Not in the SNES saga, and especially not with the patch it has.

[Anonymous No.6388807]

>>6387184
I find it hilarious how it gave you an option to replay the scene for people who don't speak Australian. I wonder if this was a localized joke where the original had them speaking an obscure dialect of Nip

[Anonymous No.6388835]

>>6383420
>bof III

Good...save for that fucking Orbital Elevator.

[Anonymous No.6388975]

>>6387208
>>6387184
HOW DID I FORGET THE AUSSIE DOLPHIN?!