I liked this game a lot and have been meaning to revisit it. I do remember the dodges being finicky, but I chalked that up to my timing. I always found the legion summon as a much more reliable parry anyway. I found the combo system and things you could do with the legions quite unique and fun for my entire playthrough, although I didn't know about how busted some of these skills were since I didn't explore too much on them, or things like the dog's auto dodging while riding. And judging from how harshly you criticized those things being sorta game breaking, it seems like I was better off for ignoring them lol 😅
@@Stringblazer yea I'd admit I'm veeeery picky on dodges. That's definitely an understatement haha but there's just some lil interactions w enemy atks I wish were still around. Skills are fun but I think they should have counters from enemies. Okok hear me out bc I was thinking about the howl. What if enemies had helmets to avoid the stun n we need to break it w head atks either w aerial slams or headshots. Only then can they opened up for that skill. I'm coming at it w dmc1 enemy design in mind how they would put up an actual defense against us n it was up to the player to overcome that in interesting ways like the critical kills for ex. Im just looking for enemies to have that oooone extra layer of planning. Like maybe slow would drop flying enemies to the ground or wrapping the legs of giant enemies would trip them or you could reflect projectiles w a timed shield from axe legion. Hifi somewhat does this how their skills counter certain atks/enemies but not ALL of em which is a good thing. They're more designed like classic acrion game subweapons where ea had their niche role to help bypass our blindspots. Just wanna interact w enemies in ways that encourage smart play is all. It'll make things that much more earned n satisfying bc right now the skills have waaay to much freedom
I always chose to play close and personal while determining what is and isn't worth dodging/running from. In a lot of ways I kept being hard on myself for struggling this much on pulling off well timed dodges or counters but I didn't know it was a problem with the game itself. I still remember my friend from school had this back in the day too and he always favored ranged despite him favoring a play style like me but I never really thought too much on it.
So glad that this video echoed most of my sentiments towards AC while highlighting a couple things I didn't put as much thought into. One thing that kept bugging me on top of the limited player ability was the level design having so many places clearly signposted to have you return later in the Story with a later Legion while not having a version of these locations that doesn't go through the motions of the plot all over again. Feels vindicating to have Devastation, HFR, W101, and Bayo 3/Origins used as better examples of Platinum doing similar things since I love all those games. That said, my biggest issue with Bayo 3 is just that Slaves are scored like Weaves without any diminishing returns that I noticed so scoring is just not well balanced. I wish the game have you score incentive to queue up moves and attack as Bayo while both are active.
The fact that this channel is as small as it is confounds me. This format is such a sick and idea and im genuinely suprised you dont at the very least have 50k+ subs. Keep up the good work chief
Hilarious, I was just replaying this a few hours ago, haven't touched it since 2022. Some of the PT missions were hilarious hard, but I love the combat. Dodge was very weird, especially against the GS Chimera.
@@d3bugged I think it's bc of the skills. They are Reeeeally strong haha once you find that loop it's pretty solved. I didn't mess w the chips much but my Legions weren't built for late game stuff im sure but those cooldowns can carry you a loooong way
@@o_uwu_o Yeah I remember eventually I used the same skills and same strat for the Post game mission, making them easier. It was always Slow Shot, Unchained sword legion, GS Legion bomb, and lots of riding on the beast legion. So much of my strat was skill spam, didn't really rely on perfect calls and dodge offset.
@@DT25659 I think kingdom hearts 1 is extremely underrated here. Bc it's defense game gives player so many options. The classic dodge roll to escape atks or projectiles but you can time your guard to stagger enemies for a fllw up or reflect projectiles too but what makes its fun is how commital the game is so it rewards you for playing smart n learning enemy patterns/timings. Then the clash parry can interact w enemies the same way as guard but it's more of an aggressive option instead. Which means it'll reward atking w a purpose instead of mashing. So there's tiers to its options that players of all skill lvls can learn n master the more they get familiar w the game. Cool thing is none of em are made irrelevant or redundant by ea other bc they all have their own strengths n weaknesses. Just alot of room to grow n form your own strategies for certain enemies/bosses/groupings
I haven't heard of this game before, but despite some of the flaws, it looks pretty fun. I've been binge watching your videos since today, and i really appreciate how honest and chill they are. You just gained a subscriber my G🙏
@@nerooyeye2196 I appreciate that! Truthfully I feel like my honesty can be delivered less HEAVY handed tho. It probably comes from me being disappointed i guess that a game I was Really looking forward wasn't what I expected. It''s just something I need to work on
@o_uwu_o Well, I can understand how some things you say in some videos might come off as harsh to some people, so if you want to work on that, then I wish you luck. Anyway, keep doing what you do bro, and I hope this channel gets really big
Yeah it has it's flaws but it's really fun once you dive deep into the mechanics and experience file 12 (the game's post game content which has like 70 missions) some are ridiculously hard from what ive heard. I'm on like mission 20
@sultanhayabusa2779 sounds like something I could really dig into. Although I heard that the game is only on Nintendo, which is unfortunate, but I might still try to get the game tho. I just hope it's worth it
Final game in the theme of summoner action games? If Folklore may count, then you may not be out of the fairy woods just yet, friend :P Kidding aside, haven't watched the video properly yet but i'll do it right after this comment. I'm interested in the "now" and curious for what comes next. Also, if I had a nickel for every time a character action game with a big blue color motif, extradimensional ghostly horrors, special creatures known as "chimera", a colossal sword for one of the weapons, and a player character that consists of two characters working in unison working for a safety enforcement organization came around... i'd be able to buy a cheap strawberry ice cream.
@@o_uwu_o Oh shoot, good luck on surviving the summer heat! Hope there will be good ways of staying cool, and that more managable weather will come around soon.
Yo cool review as usual. Btw it looks like your rankings changed a bit especially at the top end, was Furi bumped out of the S tier? I gotta say, sometimes design decisions that seem "wrong" or even "right", that moment you play some other games and then come back, the recontextualizing can be refreshing. That's what's happening to me with Wo Long currently, and I'm not as sour on it anymore. That could happen for you with Astral Chain some day, as well. So many enjoyable games regardless, even if some are much better than others.
@@orangemegaslide yuuup some changes happened since last time. So what made me want to move things around was bc of the other games in both S n A. As much as I like hifi rush, transformers deva, ronin, furi, etc. I just dooooont feel right they're on the same lvl as dmc, ngb, warlords, kh1/2. So the games I moved up are not only golden standards at what they do but are very important to forming the 3D action genre as we know it. But don't worry don't worry haha I'm still very selective on what goes on S n it still maintains that balanced bell curve shape N I get where you're coming from about how there's not wrong n right design choices n it's more about how there's multiple ways to approach things. For ex having commital or non commital atks. I like both alot n they have their own strengths. But w astral chain. They only took away from you without giving something in return. Dmc3 roll for ex is pretty forgettable but we're given an improved jump compared to 1, clash parries are back, royal guard, n trickster are added w styles. So we lost something but are given tools w their own skill set to learn. While astral presented us a worse roll n gave us an auto dodging legion that needs no skill from us in return. Now that right there kinda doesn't sit well w me since we dont have learn anything or interact w enemies in engaging ways
@@jurtheorc8117 It would be a very long explanation, I'm just going to be brief as I can for now though. How familiar or acquainted are you, with high level skill play(not just RPG brute forcing and/or build crafting btw), in any previous Team Ninja game? Pick one(cause the details in itself aren't as important, just that you are familiar with nuances in at least one). I'm asking, because there's esoteric details and nuances, that you would of course pick up on in that journey, regardless of game. And with that would come an understanding, of where some parts of gameplay can become inevitably degenerative, cause that just how any game can be at times. Nioh 2 for example, has an issue of essentially turning off enemy interaction, even with a level 1 character in DotN/Underworld Depths. Team Ninja basically addresses things like that, in their followups even of a different title. Whether successfully or otherwise(because new "issues" appear when things change). Wo Long though, is even more interesting, because it's almost like an inversed emphasis where wizardy is the Star and the weapons based part is the Co-Star. The wizardry has the fundamental crowd control, hit stun/flinch potentials, coverage, mobility etc., all packed within the stability of a skill tree that all encounter design can be derived. Team Ninja's other games don't emphasize this the same way, or as heavily, so Wo Long has its own place among all their games and stays being worth a play, just like the others. While Wo Long is not my favorite of all of TN's games, far from it... But preferences aside, I enjoy the game a lot, and more thoroughly respect its place more than I did before. I won't get into complexity or depth for now. So while trying to make this reply less of a "nothing burger", and not have my personal preferences as being 'right', and what I don't prefer as being 'wrong', I'll say this about what I think are the two biggest issues with Wo Long: One, the lack of encounter variety, given the length of the game. I think what could've helped here, is if there were more enemies packed together and in more various compositions and combinations(encounter variety). The amount of enemy types compounded the issue, or highlighted it. Two, the Hidden Tomes. They should not have been boss RNG drops, and instead been an extended addition to the wizardry skill trees, for fundamental stability. Putting them as boss RNG drops I feel, actively hurt the game, as many of the new tomes emphasized the game's strengths in the best ways. Wo Long put too much of its complexity and depth, behind chance drops instead of on stable ground. Nioh 2 also had boss drops, but they were more complementary to the firm stability the game's options already have, so the game continued to open up its bag naturally. Wo Long was starving for more complexity to bring out the flavor of its depth, and the game eventually delivered, but put most of its best behind RNG drops stranglehold.
@@o_uwu_o I appreciate the reply. And yeah, about Astral Chain, I see what you mean and understand a lot more. I'm not as intimately familiar with Astral Chain as you are, as I have yet to even finish the game, I keep putting it off and then when I come back I feel like I have to start over from the beginning. There's just sooo many of these games to choose from, and you want to give them some reverence and attention to what's inside. What I find especially cool from you though, is your readiness to revise and reassess. As well as, when you speak your opinions you make it easy to digest where your point of view is, and your willingness to have another look. I mean who knows, your opinion of Astral Chain might change in the future, and I think that's one of the most valuable outlooks to have when playing games like these, honestly, games in general.
@@orangemegaslide Thank you very much for taking the time to write such an in-depth reply! I'm afraid i won't be of great use in replying in an as in-depth way as possible due to lack of comprehension and direct experience with most of the games you mention, but I want to let you know that I did read it through all the way and am trying to take it in as best as I can. Don't worry about being a "nothing burger", i didn't get that impression at all. I am not directly experienced with *any* Team Ninja game even though I've looked fairly extensively into the NG trilogy and its rereleases throughout the years to see what makes them tick. Been learning a bit more about Nioh too recently, mainly Nioh 2 with a bird enemy that may as well be a boss. Has amongst its options canceling heavy attack combos in lighter attack combos (and reverse), and dropping pools of debuffing fluid which it can explode, but if you have a special Yokai form you can detonate them yourself if i'm not mistaken. (I'd say the most challenging character action games i've played would be Soulstice and Lords of Shadow 1 and 2. Dante's Inferno could get tough too, but that... feels different. I want to replay Darksiders 2 with deliberately underleveled gear to force myself to truly play with the moveset and magic rather than numbers. Though I am fond of the random effects of the GNoMAD scythes, and for what little armor i try to wear, i want emphasis on resistance against being knocked out of my combos and animations) From the point of view where the wizardry and magic playstyles is concerned... that does sound quite unique for a CAG! Often it's weapons and physical abilities that are the star, even in the game franchise with the literal überwitch for a protagonist. (come to think of it, Kratos uses a lot of different magical abilities in the Greek games as well. If not outright as a spell, like Atlas Quake and Cronos' Rage in 2, then as relics, like the Eye of Atlantis and the Gorgon heads. Not really a point to this, just something I noticed) Can very much understand the encounter variety and RNG drop issues even if I don't fully understand what the Tomes are. (i suspect significant new moves from a magical point of view). On one hand, with the RNG Tome drops I can see it be argued that it would feel *really* significant to receive such a new addition to your arsenal, but on the other hand, I can see the argument for "then why not make it a guaranteed drop?" For enemies, one would probably ideally want a good variety in the roster and the enemies' purposes, or concentrate the enemies more but make them more capable on covering different areas of combat in their own ways. Like i said, i'm not directly experienced with any Team Ninja game but I feel like I understand most of what you mean. Thank you very much for your time to write this out and explain yourself to a stranger on the internet :)
@@rockman642 just liiiiitle fixes. Sucks that's the case for alot of games too bc they 1s I get overly upset about have REALLY awesome ideas but just one or two changes can make it an amazing combat sys
I agree that cooldown legion attacks are OP and it's an easy cheese strat but isn't that the same for most action games? I mean in NG2 master ninja mode (one of the hardest I've ever experienced) you can just get the Lunar and 360 UT most of the game with it lol just makes it trivial really. Even in chapter 5 you can dual sword UT every werewolf encounter, basically turns them fights into easy mode. Just get in space and hold Y 😅 I'm doing a no item platinum run on Astral Chain and even with cooldowns, the lack of healing items does make parts of the game challenging. I'm on file 06 and it's really fun. Regarding the dodge, I've honestly not had a problem with it, in fact I really love the evasion system in this game. You have to look for space to evade into and not entirely rely on s. I approach fights head on with a very aggressive playstyle and can dodge without getting clipped much. Watch some high level play and you'll see some of the most insane shit you can pull off in this game. Here's one of them: ruclips.net/video/agHGpPspNeA/видео.htmlsi…
To date, Astral Chain is one single Platinum game i couldn't even bring to finish. Wonkyness of basic fundamentals (non canceling dodge is genuine deal breaker) and time-wasting nature of campaign just crushed my will to play. I occasionally see people doing some kind of combo video with this game and feel like i missed something.
@@azekeprofit Shouldnt beat yourself up about it too much. I wanted it to be different too but just went a different direction is all. N about those videos - ppl make combo showcases for dmc2 but doesn't mean it's a good combat sys. Pretty harsh comparison but just bc it's possible doesn't mean there's flaws everywhere else yknow like enemy design for example. But yea I think you'll be just fine if you nvr finish it yourself. Could skim through a playthrough n get a better idea on what happens later on to really make sure tho
If this game get a PC release and they did a patch where they fix the defensive issues and maybe some new enemy placements on higher difficulties, would you raise the rank of the game?
@@heavyc4450 of course! but don't take my tierstuff too seriously. I know I'm very blunt when things don't go to my liking but we all have different preferences. N I can admit I'm very picky for certain things it seems haha!
@@extremegamer7890 it's a different exp than what you'd expect that's for sure. Definitely skim through someone's playthrough n see if it catches your eye bc who knows it just might be what you're in the mood for right now
Watched it through in full now, and read the comments. You bring up that you are quite picky on things or would like to come across as less heavy handed. I want to ask: Do time and interest, for you, allow for seeking out people who may have a lot of experience with a game you are playing, to ask about their own experiences? It may allow for discovering things you have missed out on, or a different angle on a particular mechanic or aspect of the game. Get a more full picture, of the ways people may or may not enjoy a game, a combat system as a whole or individual elements of it. Naturally, for certain games that's a lot easier said than done. You'll be hard-pressed to find a more thriving community about the tech in Knight's Contract for example compared to the ever-very-popular titles, even the ones that spark more heated debate such as Bayonetta 3 and the Norse GOWs.' But games like these can often have a lot of tricks or potential that even experienced folks may not discover on their first or second go around compared to people who have a lot of love for such games, however flawed the games and divergent folks' skill levels may be. Either way, the vid proved interesting. Hope you take good breaks in-between making them and whatever else may be requiring your attention in life.
@@jurtheorc8117 my pickyness think comes naturally after playing so many games I guess. So it's a double edge sword where I get to play aaaall these awesome games that do something I REALLY like but when I play a potentially amazing game have that ooooone or two things off from making it very interesting to play is whats upsetting to see bc I know how other games approached this same design choice. So it gets me pretty Passionate to put it nicely haha Just wanna see games be fun is all but I know thats very different from person to person That'll be a very ambitious thing to do. For ME it is anyways since I'm just some dude but that idea to talk to long time fans will nvr hurt. It'll only bring understanding to both sides which is always a good thing. But still, feel like ill be waaaay out of my reach or element to do that sorta thing right now I appreciate that I really do. As of late I've been taking my time w ea video now to not put too much on my plate which has been nice but there's some days where I can't HELP but work on stuff bc it's just something I can't put down. Should make a community post soon but I plan to cover kunitsu gami next so I'll have a good break til that comes out. Just gotta see what new capcom has in store for us
@@o_uwu_o Thank you very much for replying! I think i can see where you're coming from in terms of the mental comparisons to make when you play. You wrote "Passionate" with a capital P, so that's testament to the intensity of your emotions :P Very fair. Like i said in the previous comment, that may take a long time but also require a good bit of mental attention to look out more contacts and individual folks who just so happen to be super-knowledgable about the games you're making videos for. As it stands, i'm glad that people can give their own inputs on videos like these and can (hopefully politely) explain their disagreements and cast a different view on how stuff works. Understanding, time to hear someone out and try to see things from other perspectives, and willingness to meet halfway or agree to disagree can go a *long* way. You're most welcome, man. I've got my disagreements or bits in some videos i'm a bit critical on, even if i've never played a game in question (so i have to be critical of myself too) but i'd be a short-sighted fool to let that keep me from enjoying the vids as is. Not many people that have a long-term projects like this, and your passion for the genre is very clear. You've upped the quality and grown ever since i discovered you via the Darksiders 2 video. Doing well and I'll be sure to keep my eye out for future vids. (And that's not only for Soulstice and Clash: AoC, or possibly Cookie Cutter, Immortal: And the Death that Follows, Kings of Hell, Kya: Dark Lineage etc. either) Good to read you're taking some time where needed, and quite fun to hear that you've got a motivation bomb like that sometimes :P I'd be up for some of that as well, especially during the Art Fight month. Oh, Kunitsu Gami is Path of the Godess, right? I've been seeing some stuff about that. Artistically very interesting, but haven't looked very deep into it aside from that. Hope it may prove a fun time!
@@lancergt1000 dem I have no clue actually. Now that you mention it I didn't even know it finally released. I proooobably won't play it bc it can go through so many changes to really keep up but its artstyle looks pretty good tho
@@o_uwu_o Mihoyo's games never get any system changes until multiple years in, for the first year its just new characters (and there's already a roadmap for the next 2 months)
yeah LMAO. personally I think it's really cool how they recontextualize stuff like the summon counter to a character switch counter that is: a) resource limited b) doubles as a character switch c) leads into a unique attack that plays off of the switched in characters' unique passive mechanic honestly pretty cool how ZZZ basically steals so much from other games (especially platinum ones) yet at the same time does stuff to makes it its' own.
@@Bakino0 NOOOO haha but yea I've seen a clip or 2 of those games. From what I know they are liked for the VERY out there story but gameplay is pretty meh. Someday someday I'll see for myself
@@o_uwu_o Yeahhh, Drakengard 1 is very insanity inducing because of gameplay and music but was really endearing to me for some reason. But Drakengard 3 was wayyyy easier to stomach just had bad frame rate, I think it has a 60fps mod now. you do have to get all weapons for the last ending in both but 3 was easier to do than 1 (I used a save to get all the weapons in Drakengard 1 lmao)
@@d3bugged ooooh that's an amazing idea - you're definitely on to something! I thiiink wonderful 101 let you recruit those lil bad guys during fights but imagine recruiting an entire 15ftsomething tall monster for a bit? Now THAT would’ve been Perfect here. Fingers crossed for a sequel bc I wanna see what they can really do w the Legion idea. We had a good amount of time w their summoner games so they should really up the difficulty on things bc we can handle the extra challenge now that's for sure
That would be much easier said than done. If Chimeras are made into collectable "weapons"/legions, the designers would have to think about how their movesets would function in both instances: As both an enemy, and as a legion. And make those *work* together too, avoiding being either too easy or too frustrating. I feel such a change would be quite a fundamental change to the combat, compared to a smaller number of legions to flesh out movesets for. To clarify a bit where I'm coming from: I've recently been reading up a bit more about DMC1 and how people are generally quite positive on DMC1's enemy roster as a whole. Marionettes, Fetishes, its versions of the Scissors and Frosts and stuff. There was something with... data limitations, if i remember correctly, that made it hard for two different enemy types to be on screen at the same time. So, all enemies would need to be able to cover different grounds in their own ways. Melee, ranged attacks, grab attacks, AoE and the like. Here's another thing to consider. DMC1 doesn't have as many different options in weaponry as its followups (DMC2 aside). I feel like this smaller scope of weaponry, and by extent moveset options, makes it more managable for designers to think of the many ways players *could* and *would* use the moveset. With a smaller scope of options it's more managable to balance mechanics between player options and enemy options. Essence of what I mean: Limitation can breed creativity, and it's important to keep in mind how a change to a system will affect the rest of the system.
@@MikeyFADE it's definitely a pretty jarring start to a platinum game. Wish it was different but its just not for me which is perfectly fine. Well now that Nintendo owns the ip lets see what they next!
I liked this game a lot and have been meaning to revisit it. I do remember the dodges being finicky, but I chalked that up to my timing. I always found the legion summon as a much more reliable parry anyway.
I found the combo system and things you could do with the legions quite unique and fun for my entire playthrough, although I didn't know about how busted some of these skills were since I didn't explore too much on them, or things like the dog's auto dodging while riding. And judging from how harshly you criticized those things being sorta game breaking, it seems like I was better off for ignoring them lol 😅
@@Stringblazer yea I'd admit I'm veeeery picky on dodges. That's definitely an understatement haha but there's just some lil interactions w enemy atks I wish were still around. Skills are fun but I think they should have counters from enemies. Okok hear me out bc I was thinking about the howl. What if enemies had helmets to avoid the stun n we need to break it w head atks either w aerial slams or headshots. Only then can they opened up for that skill. I'm coming at it w dmc1 enemy design in mind how they would put up an actual defense against us n it was up to the player to overcome that in interesting ways like the critical kills for ex. Im just looking for enemies to have that oooone extra layer of planning. Like maybe slow would drop flying enemies to the ground or wrapping the legs of giant enemies would trip them or you could reflect projectiles w a timed shield from axe legion. Hifi somewhat does this how their skills counter certain atks/enemies but not ALL of em which is a good thing. They're more designed like classic acrion game subweapons where ea had their niche role to help bypass our blindspots. Just wanna interact w enemies in ways that encourage smart play is all. It'll make things that much more earned n satisfying bc right now the skills have waaay to much freedom
I always chose to play close and personal while determining what is and isn't worth dodging/running from. In a lot of ways I kept being hard on myself for struggling this much on pulling off well timed dodges or counters but I didn't know it was a problem with the game itself. I still remember my friend from school had this back in the day too and he always favored ranged despite him favoring a play style like me but I never really thought too much on it.
So glad that this video echoed most of my sentiments towards AC while highlighting a couple things I didn't put as much thought into. One thing that kept bugging me on top of the limited player ability was the level design having so many places clearly signposted to have you return later in the Story with a later Legion while not having a version of these locations that doesn't go through the motions of the plot all over again.
Feels vindicating to have Devastation, HFR, W101, and Bayo 3/Origins used as better examples of Platinum doing similar things since I love all those games. That said, my biggest issue with Bayo 3 is just that Slaves are scored like Weaves without any diminishing returns that I noticed so scoring is just not well balanced. I wish the game have you score incentive to queue up moves and attack as Bayo while both are active.
The fact that this channel is as small as it is confounds me. This format is such a sick and idea and im genuinely suprised you dont at the very least have 50k+ subs. Keep up the good work chief
Hilarious, I was just replaying this a few hours ago, haven't touched it since 2022. Some of the PT missions were hilarious hard, but I love the combat. Dodge was very weird, especially against the GS Chimera.
@@d3bugged I think it's bc of the skills. They are Reeeeally strong haha once you find that loop it's pretty solved. I didn't mess w the chips much but my Legions weren't built for late game stuff im sure but those cooldowns can carry you a loooong way
@@o_uwu_o Yeah I remember eventually I used the same skills and same strat for the Post game mission, making them easier. It was always Slow Shot, Unchained sword legion, GS Legion bomb, and lots of riding on the beast legion. So much of my strat was skill spam, didn't really rely on perfect calls and dodge offset.
What game that you played so far has your favorite defense? Things such as dodging, combat roll, parry, counter, jumping etc?
@@DT25659 I think kingdom hearts 1 is extremely underrated here. Bc it's defense game gives player so many options. The classic dodge roll to escape atks or projectiles but you can time your guard to stagger enemies for a fllw up or reflect projectiles too but what makes its fun is how commital the game is so it rewards you for playing smart n learning enemy patterns/timings. Then the clash parry can interact w enemies the same way as guard but it's more of an aggressive option instead. Which means it'll reward atking w a purpose instead of mashing. So there's tiers to its options that players of all skill lvls can learn n master the more they get familiar w the game. Cool thing is none of em are made irrelevant or redundant by ea other bc they all have their own strengths n weaknesses. Just alot of room to grow n form your own strategies for certain enemies/bosses/groupings
I haven't heard of this game before, but despite some of the flaws, it looks pretty fun. I've been binge watching your videos since today, and i really appreciate how honest and chill they are. You just gained a subscriber my G🙏
@@nerooyeye2196 I appreciate that! Truthfully I feel like my honesty can be delivered less HEAVY handed tho. It probably comes from me being disappointed i guess that a game I was Really looking forward wasn't what I expected. It''s just something I need to work on
@o_uwu_o Well, I can understand how some things you say in some videos might come off as harsh to some people, so if you want to work on that, then I wish you luck. Anyway, keep doing what you do bro, and I hope this channel gets really big
Yeah it has it's flaws but it's really fun once you dive deep into the mechanics and experience file 12 (the game's post game content which has like 70 missions) some are ridiculously hard from what ive heard. I'm on like mission 20
@sultanhayabusa2779 sounds like something I could really dig into. Although I heard that the game is only on Nintendo, which is unfortunate, but I might still try to get the game tho. I just hope it's worth it
@@nerooyeye2196 If i may ask, are there currently any other high-action games on your radar? Be they older, quite recent or yet to come out.
Final game in the theme of summoner action games? If Folklore may count, then you may not be out of the fairy woods just yet, friend :P
Kidding aside, haven't watched the video properly yet but i'll do it right after this comment. I'm interested in the "now" and curious for what comes next.
Also, if I had a nickel for every time a character action game with a big blue color motif, extradimensional ghostly horrors, special creatures known as "chimera", a colossal sword for one of the weapons, and a player character that consists of two characters working in unison working for a safety enforcement organization came around... i'd be able to buy a cheap strawberry ice cream.
@@jurtheorc8117 you know what? That sounds reeeeally good right now haha This summer heat is TOO much
@@o_uwu_o Oh shoot, good luck on surviving the summer heat! Hope there will be good ways of staying cool, and that more managable weather will come around soon.
Love this channel
Bruh in the thumbnail resembles zetman nvm great content
Yo cool review as usual. Btw it looks like your rankings changed a bit especially at the top end, was Furi bumped out of the S tier?
I gotta say, sometimes design decisions that seem "wrong" or even "right", that moment you play some other games and then come back, the recontextualizing can be refreshing. That's what's happening to me with Wo Long currently, and I'm not as sour on it anymore. That could happen for you with Astral Chain some day, as well.
So many enjoyable games regardless, even if some are much better than others.
What happened with Wo Long for you to be such a refreshing recontextualization, if i may ask?
@@orangemegaslide yuuup some changes happened since last time. So what made me want to move things around was bc of the other games in both S n A. As much as I like hifi rush, transformers deva, ronin, furi, etc. I just dooooont feel right they're on the same lvl as dmc, ngb, warlords, kh1/2. So the games I moved up are not only golden standards at what they do but are very important to forming the 3D action genre as we know it.
But don't worry don't worry haha I'm still very selective on what goes on S n it still maintains that balanced bell curve shape
N I get where you're coming from about how there's not wrong n right design choices n it's more about how there's multiple ways to approach things. For ex having commital or non commital atks. I like both alot n they have their own strengths. But w astral chain. They only took away from you without giving something in return. Dmc3 roll for ex is pretty forgettable but we're given an improved jump compared to 1, clash parries are back, royal guard, n trickster are added w styles. So we lost something but are given tools w their own skill set to learn. While astral presented us a worse roll n gave us an auto dodging legion that needs no skill from us in return. Now that right there kinda doesn't sit well w me since we dont have learn anything or interact w enemies in engaging ways
@@jurtheorc8117 It would be a very long explanation, I'm just going to be brief as I can for now though.
How familiar or acquainted are you, with high level skill play(not just RPG brute forcing and/or build crafting btw), in any previous Team Ninja game? Pick one(cause the details in itself aren't as important, just that you are familiar with nuances in at least one). I'm asking, because there's esoteric details and nuances, that you would of course pick up on in that journey, regardless of game. And with that would come an understanding, of where some parts of gameplay can become inevitably degenerative, cause that just how any game can be at times. Nioh 2 for example, has an issue of essentially turning off enemy interaction, even with a level 1 character in DotN/Underworld Depths.
Team Ninja basically addresses things like that, in their followups even of a different title. Whether successfully or otherwise(because new "issues" appear when things change). Wo Long though, is even more interesting, because it's almost like an inversed emphasis where wizardy is the Star and the weapons based part is the Co-Star. The wizardry has the fundamental crowd control, hit stun/flinch potentials, coverage, mobility etc., all packed within the stability of a skill tree that all encounter design can be derived. Team Ninja's other games don't emphasize this the same way, or as heavily, so Wo Long has its own place among all their games and stays being worth a play, just like the others.
While Wo Long is not my favorite of all of TN's games, far from it... But preferences aside, I enjoy the game a lot, and more thoroughly respect its place more than I did before.
I won't get into complexity or depth for now.
So while trying to make this reply less of a "nothing burger", and not have my personal preferences as being 'right', and what I don't prefer as being 'wrong', I'll say this about what I think are the two biggest issues with Wo Long:
One, the lack of encounter variety, given the length of the game. I think what could've helped here, is if there were more enemies packed together and in more various compositions and combinations(encounter variety). The amount of enemy types compounded the issue, or highlighted it.
Two, the Hidden Tomes. They should not have been boss RNG drops, and instead been an extended addition to the wizardry skill trees, for fundamental stability. Putting them as boss RNG drops I feel, actively hurt the game, as many of the new tomes emphasized the game's strengths in the best ways. Wo Long put too much of its complexity and depth, behind chance drops instead of on stable ground. Nioh 2 also had boss drops, but they were more complementary to the firm stability the game's options already have, so the game continued to open up its bag naturally. Wo Long was starving for more complexity to bring out the flavor of its depth, and the game eventually delivered, but put most of its best behind RNG drops stranglehold.
@@o_uwu_o I appreciate the reply.
And yeah, about Astral Chain, I see what you mean and understand a lot more. I'm not as intimately familiar with Astral Chain as you are, as I have yet to even finish the game, I keep putting it off and then when I come back I feel like I have to start over from the beginning. There's just sooo many of these games to choose from, and you want to give them some reverence and attention to what's inside.
What I find especially cool from you though, is your readiness to revise and reassess. As well as, when you speak your opinions you make it easy to digest where your point of view is, and your willingness to have another look.
I mean who knows, your opinion of Astral Chain might change in the future, and I think that's one of the most valuable outlooks to have when playing games like these, honestly, games in general.
@@orangemegaslide Thank you very much for taking the time to write such an in-depth reply! I'm afraid i won't be of great use in replying in an as in-depth way as possible due to lack of comprehension and direct experience with most of the games you mention, but I want to let you know that I did read it through all the way and am trying to take it in as best as I can.
Don't worry about being a "nothing burger", i didn't get that impression at all.
I am not directly experienced with *any* Team Ninja game even though I've looked fairly extensively into the NG trilogy and its rereleases throughout the years to see what makes them tick.
Been learning a bit more about Nioh too recently, mainly Nioh 2 with a bird enemy that may as well be a boss. Has amongst its options canceling heavy attack combos in lighter attack combos (and reverse), and dropping pools of debuffing fluid which it can explode, but if you have a special Yokai form you can detonate them yourself if i'm not mistaken.
(I'd say the most challenging character action games i've played would be Soulstice and Lords of Shadow 1 and 2. Dante's Inferno could get tough too, but that... feels different.
I want to replay Darksiders 2 with deliberately underleveled gear to force myself to truly play with the moveset and magic rather than numbers. Though I am fond of the random effects of the GNoMAD scythes, and for what little armor i try to wear, i want emphasis on resistance against being knocked out of my combos and animations)
From the point of view where the wizardry and magic playstyles is concerned... that does sound quite unique for a CAG! Often it's weapons and physical abilities that are the star, even in the game franchise with the literal überwitch for a protagonist.
(come to think of it, Kratos uses a lot of different magical abilities in the Greek games as well. If not outright as a spell, like Atlas Quake and Cronos' Rage in 2, then as relics, like the Eye of Atlantis and the Gorgon heads.
Not really a point to this, just something I noticed)
Can very much understand the encounter variety and RNG drop issues even if I don't fully understand what the Tomes are. (i suspect significant new moves from a magical point of view).
On one hand, with the RNG Tome drops I can see it be argued that it would feel *really* significant to receive such a new addition to your arsenal, but on the other hand, I can see the argument for "then why not make it a guaranteed drop?"
For enemies, one would probably ideally want a good variety in the roster and the enemies' purposes, or concentrate the enemies more but make them more capable on covering different areas of combat in their own ways.
Like i said, i'm not directly experienced with any Team Ninja game but I feel like I understand most of what you mean. Thank you very much for your time to write this out and explain yourself to a stranger on the internet :)
If they fixed the roll and balance your powers this could’ve easily been one of there best
@@rockman642 just liiiiitle fixes. Sucks that's the case for alot of games too bc they 1s I get overly upset about have REALLY awesome ideas but just one or two changes can make it an amazing combat sys
Cool channel 👍
I'll definitely check out your other videos
Loved this game!
I agree that cooldown legion attacks are OP and it's an easy cheese strat but isn't that the same for most action games? I mean in NG2 master ninja mode (one of the hardest I've ever experienced) you can just get the Lunar and 360 UT most of the game with it lol just makes it trivial really. Even in chapter 5 you can dual sword UT every werewolf encounter, basically turns them fights into easy mode. Just get in space and hold Y 😅
I'm doing a no item platinum run on Astral Chain and even with cooldowns, the lack of healing items does make parts of the game challenging. I'm on file 06 and it's really fun.
Regarding the dodge, I've honestly not had a problem with it, in fact I really love the evasion system in this game. You have to look for space to evade into and not entirely rely on s.
I approach fights head on with a very aggressive playstyle and can dodge without getting clipped much.
Watch some high level play and you'll see some of the most insane shit you can pull off in this game.
Here's one of them:
ruclips.net/video/agHGpPspNeA/видео.htmlsi…
To date, Astral Chain is one single Platinum game i couldn't even bring to finish.
Wonkyness of basic fundamentals (non canceling dodge is genuine deal breaker) and time-wasting nature of campaign just crushed my will to play.
I occasionally see people doing some kind of combo video with this game and feel like i missed something.
@@azekeprofit Shouldnt beat yourself up about it too much. I wanted it to be different too but just went a different direction is all. N about those videos - ppl make combo showcases for dmc2 but doesn't mean it's a good combat sys. Pretty harsh comparison but just bc it's possible doesn't mean there's flaws everywhere else yknow like enemy design for example. But yea I think you'll be just fine if you nvr finish it yourself. Could skim through a playthrough n get a better idea on what happens later on to really make sure tho
Based Chad putting strangers in S. game slams
If this game get a PC release and they did a patch where they fix the defensive issues and maybe some new enemy placements on higher difficulties, would you raise the rank of the game?
@@heavyc4450 of course! but don't take my tierstuff too seriously. I know I'm very blunt when things don't go to my liking but we all have different preferences. N I can admit I'm very picky for certain things it seems haha!
Will yiu be doing a review of stellar blade? No one really goes in depth with the gameplay
Meant to buy Astral Chain when it released, but I haven’t had a chance to buy it to this day 😅
@@extremegamer7890 it's a different exp than what you'd expect that's for sure. Definitely skim through someone's playthrough n see if it catches your eye bc who knows it just might be what you're in the mood for right now
It’s still on the eShop, though. Unless you mean physical, in which case I completely understand.
Watched it through in full now, and read the comments. You bring up that you are quite picky on things or would like to come across as less heavy handed.
I want to ask: Do time and interest, for you, allow for seeking out people who may have a lot of experience with a game you are playing, to ask about their own experiences? It may allow for discovering things you have missed out on, or a different angle on a particular mechanic or aspect of the game.
Get a more full picture, of the ways people may or may not enjoy a game, a combat system as a whole or individual elements of it.
Naturally, for certain games that's a lot easier said than done. You'll be hard-pressed to find a more thriving community about the tech in Knight's Contract for example compared to the ever-very-popular titles, even the ones that spark more heated debate such as Bayonetta 3 and the Norse GOWs.'
But games like these can often have a lot of tricks or potential that even experienced folks may not discover on their first or second go around compared to people who have a lot of love for such games, however flawed the games and divergent folks' skill levels may be.
Either way, the vid proved interesting. Hope you take good breaks in-between making them and whatever else may be requiring your attention in life.
@@jurtheorc8117 my pickyness think comes naturally after playing so many games I guess. So it's a double edge sword where I get to play aaaall these awesome games that do something I REALLY like but when I play a potentially amazing game have that ooooone or two things off from making it very interesting to play is whats upsetting to see bc I know how other games approached this same design choice. So it gets me pretty Passionate to put it nicely haha
Just wanna see games be fun is all but I know thats very different from person to person
That'll be a very ambitious thing to do. For ME it is anyways since I'm just some dude but that idea to talk to long time fans will nvr hurt. It'll only bring understanding to both sides which is always a good thing. But still, feel like ill be waaaay out of my reach or element to do that sorta thing right now
I appreciate that I really do. As of late I've been taking my time w ea video now to not put too much on my plate which has been nice
but there's some days where I can't HELP but work on stuff bc it's just something I can't put down. Should make a community post soon but I plan to cover kunitsu gami next so I'll have a good break til that comes out. Just gotta see what new capcom has in store for us
@@o_uwu_o Thank you very much for replying! I think i can see where you're coming from in terms of the mental comparisons to make when you play.
You wrote "Passionate" with a capital P, so that's testament to the intensity of your emotions :P
Very fair. Like i said in the previous comment, that may take a long time but also require a good bit of mental attention to look out more contacts and individual folks who just so happen to be super-knowledgable about the games you're making videos for.
As it stands, i'm glad that people can give their own inputs on videos like these and can (hopefully politely) explain their disagreements and cast a different view on how stuff works.
Understanding, time to hear someone out and try to see things from other perspectives, and willingness to meet halfway or agree to disagree can go a *long* way.
You're most welcome, man. I've got my disagreements or bits in some videos i'm a bit critical on, even if i've never played a game in question (so i have to be critical of myself too) but i'd be a short-sighted fool to let that keep me from enjoying the vids as is. Not many people that have a long-term projects like this, and your passion for the genre is very clear.
You've upped the quality and grown ever since i discovered you via the Darksiders 2 video. Doing well and I'll be sure to keep my eye out for future vids.
(And that's not only for Soulstice and Clash: AoC, or possibly Cookie Cutter, Immortal: And the Death that Follows, Kings of Hell, Kya: Dark Lineage etc. either)
Good to read you're taking some time where needed, and quite fun to hear that you've got a motivation bomb like that sometimes :P I'd be up for some of that as well, especially during the Art Fight month.
Oh, Kunitsu Gami is Path of the Godess, right? I've been seeing some stuff about that. Artistically very interesting, but haven't looked very deep into it aside from that. Hope it may prove a fun time!
Sequel when?????
Hey wait a minute, aren't most of these mechanics in Zenless Zone Zero
@@lancergt1000 dem I have no clue actually. Now that you mention it I didn't even know it finally released. I proooobably won't play it bc it can go through so many changes to really keep up but its artstyle looks pretty good tho
@@o_uwu_o Mihoyo's games never get any system changes until multiple years in, for the first year its just new characters (and there's already a roadmap for the next 2 months)
yeah LMAO. personally I think it's really cool how they recontextualize stuff like the summon counter to a character switch counter that is: a) resource limited b) doubles as a character switch c) leads into a unique attack that plays off of the switched in characters' unique passive mechanic
honestly pretty cool how ZZZ basically steals so much from other games (especially platinum ones) yet at the same time does stuff to makes it its' own.
Someone get this man to play drakengard 1 or 3! I want him to know paaaiiiinnnnnn
@@Bakino0 NOOOO haha but yea I've seen a clip or 2 of those games. From what I know they are liked for the VERY out there story but gameplay is pretty meh. Someday someday I'll see for myself
@@o_uwu_o Yeahhh, Drakengard 1 is very insanity inducing because of gameplay and music but was really endearing to me for some reason. But Drakengard 3 was wayyyy easier to stomach just had bad frame rate, I think it has a 60fps mod now. you do have to get all weapons for the last ending in both but 3 was easier to do than 1 (I used a save to get all the weapons in Drakengard 1 lmao)
Making the roll as useless as it would be in real life is hilarious lmao
Biggest issue with this game is not being able to capture chimeras and turn them into legions.
@@d3bugged ooooh that's an amazing idea - you're definitely on to something! I thiiink wonderful 101 let you recruit those lil bad guys during fights but imagine recruiting an entire 15ftsomething tall monster for a bit? Now THAT would’ve been Perfect here. Fingers crossed for a sequel bc I wanna see what they can really do w the Legion idea. We had a good amount of time w their summoner games so they should really up the difficulty on things bc we can handle the extra challenge now that's for sure
That would be much easier said than done. If Chimeras are made into collectable "weapons"/legions, the designers would have to think about how their movesets would function in both instances: As both an enemy, and as a legion. And make those *work* together too, avoiding being either too easy or too frustrating.
I feel such a change would be quite a fundamental change to the combat, compared to a smaller number of legions to flesh out movesets for.
To clarify a bit where I'm coming from: I've recently been reading up a bit more about DMC1 and how people are generally quite positive on DMC1's enemy roster as a whole.
Marionettes, Fetishes, its versions of the Scissors and Frosts and stuff. There was something with... data limitations, if i remember correctly, that made it hard for two different enemy types to be on screen at the same time.
So, all enemies would need to be able to cover different grounds in their own ways. Melee, ranged attacks, grab attacks, AoE and the like.
Here's another thing to consider. DMC1 doesn't have as many different options in weaponry as its followups (DMC2 aside). I feel like this smaller scope of weaponry, and by extent moveset options, makes it more managable for designers to think of the many ways players *could* and *would* use the moveset.
With a smaller scope of options it's more managable to balance mechanics between player options and enemy options.
Essence of what I mean: Limitation can breed creativity, and it's important to keep in mind how a change to a system will affect the rest of the system.
@@jurtheorc8117also, in-universe, the Legions were already based off of Chimeras.
It was originally planned, but got scrapped.
I remember trying this game out and dropping it immediately when you have to run around and investigate...looks like I didn't miss anything lmao
@@MikeyFADE it's definitely a pretty jarring start to a platinum game. Wish it was different but its just not for me which is perfectly fine. Well now that Nintendo owns the ip lets see what they next!