Good stuff, viren! Thank you for posting it. A small suggestion if I may… consider breaking it up into Spoiler blocks by topic? Other than that it looks good. I had no idea your character name influenced starting info like that.
can’t you steal burning oils from hellhounds as well?
I also run with type F thief so expect fuckery from me if you’re on psn ( I wish they could have went about that shit a different way, but that’s like 15 year old salt)
You can get Larger Burning oils and if you are filled up they give you 2000xp each time. Easy as pie.
I’ll try to add more content, maybe go into greater detail on things. Gonna try to post by tomorrow morning in time for the weekend (sadly, I really don’t see this type of game lasting more than 2 weeks.) All I ask is that you take my advice with a grain of salt as these are based on my own personal experience and playstlye. Also please feel free to share info, even if you believe a certain trick or tactic is widely known or old as I’m still learning this game as well. Maybe ppl can provide more info on the other classes.
Red Rick Dias: I agree.
SixMachine: Ah, thanks for reminding me. There are more iframe moves, I’ll try to list them later.
Type F, the Ring of Spell Turning? I understand that it negates some spells but because it’s a ring it’s breakable. Most players will lose that ring at the War Machine and even after the only spells you have to worry about are Lightning Bolt and Petrify from the Man Scorpions, both of which are an easy dodge. Now if it protects against Dark Warrior 1’s lightning attacks then I can understand, if not then the only use I can think of would be the Fire Ball casters during the Harpy stage. I just don’t understand why you’d pass up a defense boost (type C, also unbreakable) when you’re playing a character that’s on the bottom half of the tier list when it comes to constitution. Not trying to call you out or anything it’s just that maybe you know something I don’t, if so please elaborate. Also, what do you find so disappointing about the game and how would you change things? Sorry for the questions just curious is all.
The Alpha Anthology and Vampire Collection team wanted to show Iron Galaxy how it was done.
In regard to these games “not lasting long”… sadly, that is the nature of the beast. Co-op brawlers are something you play in short bursts when you want a game that is easy for everyone to agree on. It’s kind of like when you and your friends want to go get some food, but you can’t agree on where to go. So someone pipes up “…McDonalds?” and that mostly works because chances are everyone will at least tolerate it.
I see these kind of games in the same way. It’s true they cannot foster the sort of replayability inherent to a competitive game and they aren’t long enough to be a weekend project. Yet they are very easy to learn how to play, immediately satisfying, and let everyone get in on the fun without being a massive time commitment. In this sense they are the ‘fast food’ of gaming, though admittedly more likely to form fonder memories and better friendships than the term suggests. Or, as these games tend to do… they might test your friendships, because one good way to measure how well you get along with someone is to see how much crap they’ll put up with in-game before they hit you with a chair in real life.
This is totally fine by me. A pair of good brawlers for $15 that I can play with friends whenever we’re bored and want something to do? That’s great! I will definitely get my money’s worth out of the purchase, much as I did with The Simpsons, Final Fight/Magic Sword, TMNT Arcade, and X-Men. I may only play them once every few months or so, but when the need is there… they fill it extremely well.
[details=Spoiler]Yep, It’s just the name preference. When I was a little nigga and people were telling me how the name worked I picked the name “Asura!” because the consensus around the group of jackasses where the amount of letters determined your stats and equipment, People were like if you pick a name with the max amount of space you get the goods, so I did this and there was never any REAL stats but because I hinged upon older kids words like the bible I was convinced I had the best name,
Years went by and I learned that I was a dumbass for thinking like them, and then the Bias against Thief started. I play mage too but I was all like" fuck that shit man I likes da hoes" and I kept playing thief and then that’s when niggas stopped fucking with me all together in SOM and I had to do runs by myself cause niggas refused to team with me cause"thief was dead weight" and “skilled” niggas ran with two clerics. So when ever I got on I would, take 4 bucks worth of coins and go as far as it could take me.
Nowadays I’m one of those fuck boys that does things for challenge like re knife runs or, low life badge runs in paper mario ( terribly masochistic) [/details]
TL;DR I’m a stubborn low tier warrior with a thing for masochism
anyone on the 360 version?
You mean besides my dumb ass?
^Made all the better because of that avatar. Not that there’s anything wrong with 360 but I’m starting to feel like if it’s on Steam you should get it on Steam.
I figured I should do a write up on the remaining classes. I don’t consider myself an expert… I still rely on certain items/strategies and screw up from time to time. All info comes from my experience playing the game. There are more effective strategies but these have worked pretty well for me as a single credit player. Any thoughts and additional information–or any corrections that need to be made–are welcome.
Character Guides
Elf
[details=Spoiler]Considered a hybrid of the fighter and m.user, she does not particularly excel in either fighting or spell casting. She has a decent bnb but does not share the dmg, reach, and comboability of the fighter. While technically considered a “magic user”, her spell library is inferior to that of the actual m.user in both variety and amount. Her spell casting should be used more for assisting in killing bosses rather than for raw dmg output.
Equipment
I’d recommend starting with H-type for earrings to boost offensive magic dmg. For hands I suggest rod of cold to boost ice storm, then switching to ring of fire resistance if you plan to fight the Red Dragon and have trouble avoiding his flame pillars, then switching to rod of lightning during the latter part of the game to boost lightning bolt dmg for Ezerhorden and a chance to perform lightning bolt critical on Synn. If you have a thief in the party have her steal a circlet from sword dark elves or a tiara from the Yellow Ogre Brother. You should also make it a priority to snatch up the eye of beholder to get the levitation boots to rapid shot the Lich to death(see misc tricks.)
Elf as a fighter
Despite her low hp, she’s actually a pretty decent fighter… just don’t get mobbed or hit by booby traps/projectiles.
bnb combos:
- atk, f+atk, qcf+atk, dash into them, dash atk, qcf+atk
^Easy to pull off and you can even cancel into rapid arrow shot after any atk to finish enemies off. You can even start by dashing into them; as long as you can dash into them at some point, you can continue comboing. Once you get a good feel for it, you can really improv your own combos.
She also has the added perk of unlimited normal arrows and the ability to shoot in the air, both come in handy during a few parts in the game:
- shoot War Machine to slow down, making it easier to get behind and dispatch goblins(unlike the thief her arrows won’t collide with goblins)
- shoot Harpy down from the air
- dmg and keep Green/Black Dragon across the screen with jump shots
- assist during Manticore fight by firing arrows from afar
- rapid shot the Lich to death(see misc tricks)
** Elf as a magic user**
She comes off more as a lesser m.user to me. With less spells than the m.user, it’s likely you will never find yourself with enough to contribute substantial dmg to a boss… at some point you’re gonna have to get in there and get your hands dirty. Spell casting perks(i.e., invincibility frames, the ability to cancel enemy magic, generating a safe knockdown) are truly handy for setting up melee dmg opportunities and should weigh heavily when considering when to cast. If you aim to use spells effectively its imperative you understand how the game handles spell usage.
Spell usage amount
Unlike most old jrpg games, there is no mp meter for spell usage. Spells are categorized by levels(i.e., magic missile is a lvl.1 spell, invicibilty is a lvl.2 spell, ice storm and polymorph others are lvl.4 spells.) Each spell level has its own predetermined use amount which may increase as the character levels up when certain points in the game are reached. Spells of the same level share use amount(if you have two lvl.4 spells you can perform ice storm x 2, polymorph others x 2, or x 1 of each.)
Spell recovery
Magic using classes will recover their spell use amounts when certain points in the game are reached. These spell recovery points vary from class to class. It’s a good idea to know exactly when your class will have their spells replenished, that way you can spam any leftover spells with confidence you will gain them all back shortly after. These spell recovery points are also the points your character may level up, meaning a possible increase in use amounts for spell casters. You can even go beyond your use amount–to acquire a max amount of 9 spells–by collecting additional spells from chests or by killing ghouls/gargoyles for their spell drops. If you collect enough spells to go beyond a spell levels use amount, when a recovery point is reached, you will keep the excess; spell levels which have fallen below their use amount will simply be restored.
Elf spell recovery points and spell level use amounts
The elf has a total of 7 spell recovery points and will go through 3 level ups. Her spell use amounts will no longer increase beyond her third level up, from that point onward, she will always receive 5 x lvl.1 spells, 4 x lvl.2 spells, 3 x lvl.3 spells, 2 x lvl.4 spells, and 1 x lvl.5 spells during recovery points.
Game Start, elf is level 8:
| lvl.1=4 | lvl.2=3 | lvl.3=2 | lvl.4=2 |
After Dark Warrior/Man Scorpion/Beholder, elf will be level 9:
| lvl.1=4 | lvl.2=4 | lvl.3=3 | lvl.4=2 | lvl.5=1 |
After Ogre Master/Beholder/Green Dragon, elf will be level 10:
| lvl.1=5 | lvl.2=4 | lvl.3=3 | lvl.4=2 | lvl.5=1 |
After Displacer Beast, no level up
| lvl.1=5 | lvl.2=4 | lvl.3=3 | lvl.4=2 | lvl.5=1 |
After Red Dragon, no level up
| lvl.1=5 | lvl.2=4 | lvl.3=3 | lvl.4=2 | lvl.5=1 |
After Ezerhorden, no level up
| lvl.1=5 | lvl.2=4 | lvl.3=3 | lvl.4=2 | lvl.5=1 |
After Nagpa, no level up
| lvl.1=5 | lvl.2=4 | lvl.3=3 | lvl.4=2 | lvl.5=1 |
Elf spells
Level 1 spells:
- Magic Missile(MM): I personally try and save these up to avoid Synn’s boulder atk as you will definitely need a lot of spells if you fail LB crit or LBO. I only use MM if I run out of knockdown spells or if I need to negate enemy spells.
Level 2 spells:
- Invisibility(I): You can use this on yourself or a friend to avoid unwanted attention from enemies/bosses; useful for buying spell casters enough time to set their spell menus mid battle, as well as to help a fellow player low on health. It’s the only spell of it’s level so you’re likely to find yourself with some; feel free to invizo yourself and knockdown bosses if you are playing alone–nobody else to aggro boss–in the event you run out of spells. Take note, you are not completely undetectable; enemies/bosses tend to react if you continue to hover too close to them.
Level 3 spells:
- Fireball(FB): I only use this for Dark Warrior I because he’s immune to lightning dmg, otherwise I always go with LB instead.
- Lightning Bolt(LB): Use this to take out the Green Man Scorpion, Ezerhorden, and to try for LB crit on Dragons. I will also use this to knockdown bosses if I want to save IS and in rare cases I use it when the screen becomes too congested with enemies and my party is having trouble.
- Haste(H): Increases mov.spd and atk.spd(think autofire) for the entire party. If you press fast enough, sometimes certain bosses cannot counter you after blocking atks. You can potentially do more dmg repeatedly melee atking a boss with H instead of using a lvl.3 offensive spell. I also use H in tandem with the boots of levitation and a silver arrow to easily kill the Lich(see misc tricks.)
Level 4 spells:
- Ice Storm(IS): Good AoE spell, should be used as your all purpose knockdown to set up for oil tossing or for your melee party members to position themselves over the body to atk. Also useful to knock Harpy and Man Scorpion from the air.
- Polymorph Others(PO): I don’t think you can actually PO any bosses–except for a certain troll in ToD–so I wouldn’t use this.
Level 5 spells:
- Conjure Elemental(CE): Good AoE spell, facing left=air/facing right=earth. Pretty much can be used in the same manner as IS.
Misc Tricks
-
f+atk, double tap use button
^Fastest way to rapid fire with bow from neutral(basically buffer use x 2 within f+atk.) If you want to combo into rapid shot, just buffer a double tap use in any cancelable move (i.e., atk, slide, backhop for thief/m.user, etc) -
rapid shot Lich trick
^Make sure you take the Forest of Despair path to grab the eye from the Beholder(changes into boots of levitation if you click on the shopkeeper’s head after the stage) as well as to open(as the elf) one of the chests found in one of the longer cave rooms for a single silver arrow. Before fighting the Lich make sure you set your item menu to silver arrow then your magic menu to haste. Once in the boss room, align yourself with where the Lich will spawn by walking till you reach the top of the stage then walk about a characters shadow length down while facing right. Once aligned, bring up your magic menu and immediately cast haste then double tap jump to levitate as well as switch to your item menu to immediately select silver arrow then begin firing away. The fact she does not waste arrows when fired in the air coupled with the speed increase from haste, should allow you to lock and kill the Lich with infinite silver arrows![/details]
Thief
[details=Spoiler]Basically a fighter minus the shield and inf combos. While she does have the added benefit of stealing from enemies/bosses, double/wall jumping, detecting traps, opening locked treasures, and slinging rocks; she does not have the ability to guard(her greatest disadvantage.) Thief players should learn how to use her backhop effectively to dodge atks… she has one of the best backhops as well as u,d+atk and qcf+atk in the game!
Equipment
I’d recommend starting with C-type for character cap to boost def. For hands I suggest rod of fire to boost oil dmg which may include the LBO used in her desperation atk and u,d+atk(not sure if the rod boost only applies to fire spells or if fire dmg from items like oil are included as well.) You can steal a magical hat from spear elves to take advantage of the thief/m.user invincibility bug(see misc tricks.) You should also make it a priority to snatch up the skin of displacer beast to get the cloak of displacement(renders you impervious to all projectile atks from enemies.)
Melee Combat
bnb combos:
-
atk, f+atk, qcf+atk x n
^On certain enemies/bosses you can get up to 4 qcf+atks if you quickly input them one after another for great dmg. -
atk, f+atk, qcf+atk, dash into them, dash atk, qcf+atk x n
^Basic combo involving a steal attempt. Instead of qcf+atk x n you can go for a single qcf+atk then dash into them again to continue comboing.You can even start by dashing into them; as long as you can dash into them at some point, you can continue comboing. Once you get a good feel for it, you can really improv your own combos. -
d,u+atk, oil toss
^If you’re soloing, this is your free knockdown for certain bosses(i.e., Dark Warrior I/II, Man Scorpion, Tel’ Arin, Manticore, Chimera, Displacer Beast… basically most if not all non-flying/floating bosses.) Simply walk over to where they will spawn and mash atk and down up so you will execute a d,u+atk the instant the battle starts. The boss may block the upward slash but will not block the LBO thrown downward which will net you a knockdown into oil toss opportunity.
She also has the added perk of unlimited sling use and the ability to sling shot in the air, both come in handy during a few parts in the game:
- sling shot War Machine to slow down, making it easier to get behind and dispatch goblins(unlike the elf her rocks will collide with goblins)
- sling shot Harpy down from the air
- dmg and keep Green/Black Dragon across the screen with jump sling shot
- assist during Manticore fight by slinging rocks from afar
Stealing
inf combos for stealing(enemies must be against a wall):
-
dash into them, f+atk, repeat
^Fastest method for stealing from enemies but will also kill them faster so less opportunities to steal. Useful for speed runs or for when you party with impatient players aiming to kill every enemy in sight. -
dash into them, hold atk for the kick, repeat
^Slower but will do little dmg to enemies. I use this when I solo or party with a friend to insure I get the drop.
Most notable items to steal would be:
- burning oil from axe gnolls (to use on Dark Warrior I /Man Scorpion)
- large burning oil/flame shield from hell hounds (if you need more large burning oils/don’t wanna wait till Land of Fire to get the shield)
- circlet from sword shadow elves (character cap for elf)
- magical hat from spear shadow elves (character cap for m.user or for doing m.user/thief invincibility bug, see misc tricks)
- earring from gargoyles (offensive magic boost for spell casters)
- tiara from Yellow Ogre Brother (better character cap for elf)
- battle helmet from Green Ogre Brother (character cap for fighter/dwarf)
Misc Tricks
-
f+atk, double tap use button
^Fastest way to rapid fire with sling from neutral(basically buffer use x 2 within f+atk.) If you want to combo into rapid shot, just buffer a double tap use in any cancelable move (i.e., atk, slide, backhop for thief/m.user, etc) -
otg desperation move
^Works much in the same manner as oil tossing. If can spare the health, you can do some decent dmg on a downed opponent–provided all explosions from her desperation move hit. On some bosses you can get two otg desperation moves before they recover. -
double jump, hit and hold the opposite direction you were facing+atk
^This is a long range floating jump to traverse from one screen side to the other, useful to quickly get away from mobs/bosses or get treasures behind firewalls–if you don’t prefer backhopping. All characters can do this but since the thief can double jump, she can get the best height thus float a farther distance. You can also hold diagonal down opposite direction+atk. -
thief/m.user invincibility bug
^If the thief wears a m.user hat and vice versa they will become invincible to most atks, when brought down to a sliver of health. Only bite atks, thrown chests, petrification, or Red Dragon breath will kill.[/details]
Fighter
[details=Spoiler]Simple melee fighting class, easy to pick up yet challenging to master. His long reach, high health, and lack of spell management, make him a great pick for inexperienced players; his ability to touch of death combo certain enemies/bosses will leave even seasoned veterens with something to explore and master. Out of all the classes I play, the fighter is the one I know the least about. For combos, I can only list his basic practical juggles, not his more complex combos you see the hardcore autofire D&D players use involving his 5hit backhop.
Equipment
I’d recommend starting with C-type for character cap to boost def. For hands I suggest rod of fire to boost oil dmg(not sure if the rod boost only applies to fire spells or if fire dmg from items like oil are included as well.) You can also switch to ring of fire resistance if you plan to fight the Red Dragon and have trouble avoiding his flame pillars. If you have a thief in the party have her steal a battle helmet from the Green Ogre Brother.
Melee Combat
bnb combos:
-
atk, qcf+atk, dash into them, dash atk, qcf+atk, dash into them, etc
^Your basic combo you can use to break mobs apart. You can even start by dashing into them; as long as you can dash into them at some point, you can continue comboing. Once you get a good feel for it, you can really improv your own combos. -
atk, qcf+atk, u,d+atk x n
^Practical juggle combo. He can juggle enemies and certain bosses(Dark Warrior I/II, Harpy) with a well timed d,u+atk. You really need to get a feel for the timing of the juggle… sometimes you will need to slide then d,u+atk; or backhop then d,u+atk; or slide away, then qcf+atk back toward the enemy, then u,d+atk; or even simply walk a few steps then u,d+atk. Like most characters, once you get a feel for the juggle system you can pretty much improv your own combos. It gets more difficult to juggle bosses because the fall timing seems to speed up when you bring ‘em to a wall… it’s also a good idea to first stun them with a hammer once the battle starts.
Misc Tricks
- backhop, j.atk, j.d+atk, j.atk, j.d+atk, j.atk
^The moment you are airborne during a backhop alternate between atk and d+atk(start with atk first); if you are quick enough–using autofire–you can get up to 5 consecutive hits. It’s pretty difficult to get all hits, I was only able to get 3 max using a stick–not consistently mind you. Though all characters who perform a slight backhop for double tapping jump can do it, I’ve only ever witnessed skilled fighters totally wreck bosses with it.[/details]
Sry guys, it’s taking me longer than I thought (wanted to add a boss section.) Will try to post as soon as I can, might take a while tho.
I agree, these games are indeed simple and instantly gratifying (they simply have to be in order to survive under an arcade business model), however, I disagree with your fast food analogy. Now I’m not here to advocate how you should spend your money, whether or not you got your moneys worth really depends on your intentions. If your goal was to take a nostalgia trip with friends for a couple hours and find that $15 is a justifiable price then so be it. If you decide to burn through the stages in order to see the ending of a 17 year old game is worth it, that’s your choice. It’s never my intent to tell ppl how to enjoy themselves, so long as s/he is satisfied in the end that’s all that matters right? It’s just that the best way to enjoy these types of games is to avoid credit feeding.
I know you’ve probably heard this before but doing so is to experience the way the game was designed to be played. What is the point of the Magic User class, a class with a plethora of offensive spells, even having low vitality in the first place if there is no penalty for dying? What is the point of offering players potions during every shop if your survival is guaranteed? Not saying you have to actually beat the game in one credit, or even have it on the highest difficulty (factory settings is fine), all I’m saying is at least attempt to do so, maybe see how far you can get. You can even impose a limited number of credits for your playthroughs, maybe that’s more to your liking? By doing that you are at least being appreciative of the developers vision.
As for replayability, the whole concept is subjective. If I buy a competitive game like SFIV or Mortal Kombat and feel it’s not my cup of tea and end up returning it then I’m not getting any more replay value outta that game. It doesn’t matter how many extras or features a game has, if the player chooses to stop playing then replayability ceases to exist. Even if you have a game that has no extra features, if you find another way to enjoy that game then that particular game will have more replay value. That is precisely why there are such strong communities of D&D players in China, Korea, and Japan. For them it isn’t even about the 1cc anymore because everybody can do it. Now it’s about running the weakest classes through all the hardest paths. As far as I’m concerned if you can’t pass the game in 1 credit you shouldn’t be complaining about replayability.
Please don’t misunderstand, I’m not harping on about how “old school games” are better because they’re harder, I’m smart enough to leave the nostalgia goggles alone. With outdated graphics and it’s antiquated gameplay it’s certainly not worth more than $15, there’s no denying that. Also, I’m not saying you shouldn’t credit feed, if that is how you want to enjoy your investment I don’t see a problem. All I’m saying is that you should really try some 1cc attempts, maybe you won’t have a McDonald’s experience.
No I haven’t done a RE4 knife run but I’ve sat through a friends, closest thing I’ve done was a pistol only S rank in RE5 on the hardest difficulty (ended up stopping half way because another game came out and I lost interest) but I digress. I understand completely, sometimes I run type I (Bracelet) even though those are common just so I can have Ragnar/Tulkas as my Dwarf names (dunno just really like those names.) When you play a game, a name on the screen and the character you play can be all a person remembers you by, in those cases it becomes your brand. Some people don’t mind being called “A1bundy” or “Loser,” different strokes for different folks I guess, but for some it’s much more important. Judging by your post I think you made the right choice, if that name and character have significant value to you it’s not worth compromising, instead I’d learn to how to deal.
By running Thief you run the risk of being a liability to your party (something you never want to be), You don’t fight as well as the Fighter and Dwarf, and you don’t have the healing and offensive spells of the Cleric or M.User. You can probably out fight an Elf but when things go awry during a boss fight I’m gonna favor those 2 Ice Storms of hers for a free reset. Only option is to simply be better than everybody else. That said here is my advice to you: At the village of Trinton (stage after the first) there is a hidden room located in a small dip in the cliff overlooking the roof of a house. In that room you’ll see treasure, being a Thief you have the ability to open them all. The treasure located closest to the wall contains a Ring of Protection, pick that up instead, it’ll break eventually but you can use the def. boost. An even better option is to trick a party member with type E (pay attention to the class types at the naming screen) into picking up the ring instead. If they do they’ll drop their Ring of Fire Resistance, you want to pick that up. Just know that because you are immune to fire attacks it’s your job to get rid of the goblins pushing the War Machine.
If I put the ps3 version of this on a memory stick would I be able to play it on a friends console or is importing the disk version my best option for couch co-op at a mates.
Yeah it’s the first secret location you find right? I think the other one is in the town you find at sunset/night and you can proceed throught the upper door, I remember there being something of worth there, but I forget what’s in there lol. those are the only two vollage secret areas I rememeber most of the spots, but i think I never really get much lol. most of what i get is off knolls and the little rat niggas.
Sure, and you raise a lot of good points. I probably will try to improve my play at this game at some point, it’s why I’ve taken an interest in the advice you and others have shared in this thread. Here’s the thing though, from my play perspective… good luck convincing a lot of my friends to agree. They’re going to reply with “This game again? Come the hell on, man; between us we’ve got access to hundreds of titles. Let’s play something different!”
From that perspective, treating these games as “play, forget for a few months, come back to them again on a slow day” makes a lot of sense. Sure, I’ll look into improving my play some but I have a lot of other things I need to do too, so pursuing mastery of Shadow Over Mystara as a long-term goal is not going to fit into my schedule. None of that invalidates this particular game having more depth to it than the likes of Final Fight 1, Simpsons, X-Men, and so on, mind you. If people truly are pursuing mastery of this game and finding increasingly cool ways to do it, that’s great! I like that, I’ll applaud them being able to wring so much fun out of a ‘quarter muncher’, and they are absolutely having GoodRightFun.
For the majority of players though, treating this as a ‘fast food meal, but a very tasty and enjoyable one’ will be GoodRightFun too though. I’m mostly in that camp, even as I acknowledge you’re showing off a lot of great things about Shadow Over Mystara and I will at least give it a try. Chronicles Of Mystara is still on my hard drive, I still plan to play it every so often, and trying various challenge runs and improving my Elf combos might be a fun way to spend a few evenings. I admire the game in a different way than you do, but we share a love for it nonetheless; I was among those regularly contacting Capcom, Wizards of the Coast, and Hasbro to help play ‘corporate matchmaker’ and get them to agree to do this re-release, after all!
So I do understand, and am not upset by your defense of the game or disagreement with my assessment. It’s an extremely deep skill-building exercise to you, while it’s an easily learned yet delightful choice to play with friends once every few months for me. The game fills different roles in our lives, but that’s fine. That it ably serves in both capacities says a lot in its favor too; it offers enough fun toys that even casual play has more depth than just “mash Attack a lot” yet has so many ways to use them that it’s viable to become genuinely good at this. Pretty neat!
By the way, a bump for a most likely dumb question but this has been confusing me… about the Elf’s basic combo. In Tower of Doom, I can press Attack, Attack, Attack, Attack and get a 4 hit basic combo. Same as any other character and it works fine.
In Shadow Over Mystara, despite the help file implying I can press it six times to get a six hit combo… the Elf does no such thing. Instead, she does a single sword-slash and then a backflip kick, ending the combo at two hits. Why is this, and how can I get her basic combo to be at least TOD length if not longer? Sure, I know how to build some better combos involving shield-bashes and the up-down-attack autocombo, but sometimes I just want the simplest thing possible that still does decent damage.
Pretty sure thats her hold atck move, the same as the item/magic button when set to empty.
I’m glad you understand. I agree that some ppl just find enjoyment in different ways. I respect the hell outta DoDonPachi players that go for the high score. Watching their superplays is always amazing, however I simply do not care to pursue such a level of skill in that particular game. Fans can tell me that it’s an awesome game, Cave’s definitive danmaku shump title, or how the scoring system is extremely complex and deep but ultimately if I’m not interested I’m not gonna invest any of my time in a goal that will likely take weeks if not months of dedication + multiple savestates if I don’t think I’ll find the process enjoyable. Nothing wrong with DoDonpachi, I just usually find controlling ships boring. I’d rather choose a game like Guwange or the ESP series where I control a character instead, dunno…just the way I am. It may be a simple cosmetic difference but it tends to matter to me…but I digress. I will always suggest for ppl to play a beat’em up game with 1 credit, if they don’t want to then I’m cool with that. I’m not gonna argue with ppl and force any of my beliefs, sometimes the best way to convince someone is to present your case and evidence, then let them arrive to a conclusion on their own.
My problem is usually when a re-release of a beat’em up like this occurs the 1 credit style of play is often over looked because of the readily availabe ability to credit-feed. That’s why the majority of players instinctively burn credits through each playthrough and proceed to have this “McDonalds experience.” It just perpetuates the whole shallow arcade button-masher stigma. Now to suggest that they take that option away entirely is just selfish. Catering to only the hardcore minority will not contribute anything to the longevity of the game and if pandering to casual gamers will allow a larger demographic to enjoy the game then so be it. Maybe if the developers would have added a reward for completing the hard mode 1cc achievement like in Guardian Heroes where you get an avatar clothing item (xbox360), that would entice players to give it a shot. Maybe handle it like Hard Corps Uprising where initally the player is forced to play with a limited number of credits but as the player loses the game grants them extra credits (after enough loses the player can amass up to 500+ credits.) In the case of D&D: Chronicles of Mystara, I just wish there was an incentive to try both methods of play out and see which you prefer, that’s all I want.
Lastly, let me express my gratitude and appreciation for your efforts in taking the time to contact Capcom, Wizards, and Hasbro. It’s ppl like you who are the real fans that deserve to be recognized. It does not matter how skilled you are at a game if you do not contribute anything of value.
Btw, I edited my post on the previous page by adding a couple more tips and some character specific info, prob gonna with-hold on adding a boss section unless the thread becomes active again as atm interest seems to be dying down. Also, if anybody wants to play, GT=CA viren, just know that I usually exit the room if I lose so others can join the party, though I prefer not to continue please feel free to do so if that’s how you usually roll. If there’s anybody interested in going for a ToD one credit run lemme know as I have yet to pass that game. Farthest I’ve gotten was the Beholder/Flame Wing (don’t usually make it pass the dark elf tho.)
Angelpalm: Yeah, that’s what it turned out to be. Weird thing though, I wasn’t holding the button. Apparently I just needed to be faster between button presses. No idea why the timing works like that, but okay. Now I have my two-hit flipkick combo and a more standard six-hitter. Thank you!
Viren: For what it’s worth, I tried a few 1-Credit runs today. Did not get very far, but part of that was my own dumb fault for taking the River-Rafting stage when I don’t know the layout. At the very least I know full-well the game has to offer defenses against most of the stuff I got hit by. May try again a little more when I’m properly alert/awake. Kind of fun in any case.
So I may get this on psn. Is it worth the $15?