Pier Solar: Official Thread

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Originally Posted by Zebbe

I won't go ape over some criticism, but I will not agree either :). Asking developers to remove random encounters out of RPGs is like asking rock musicians to remove distorted guitars from their music or the surgeons to remove tits of a female porn star, not good...

You'll get to a point in the game (quite soon) where there are far fewer battles and much more story based progress in the game.

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In many recent RPG reviews, the first complaint that usually comes up is random battles. I don't understand when this became such a huge problem? I have always enjoyed random battles, and if a game chooses to do away with them in lieu of something else, it isn't particularly bothersome but it does not add or take away anything from the gameplay as far as I am concerned.

Dragon Quest IX decided to implement "on screen" battles, but the necessity of grinding means that I just run around looking for enemies to butt heads with anyways. Chrono Trigger as it has been pointed out, many of the battles were necessary to fight through, and though a great deal of them could be avoided, you were much better off if you just bit the bullet and went through with it.

The best mechanic I have found for dealing with this was the moogle charm in Final Fantasy. This way you could run around and explore old areas without the need to fight weak, worthless enemies. It was also useful for low-level runs. Another good mechanic is making the ability to run away from battles automatic. This way you can pick and choose your fights if you wish, rather than wasting turns trying to run away from the weakest enemies in the game,and wasting tons of time doing it if you are just trying to move to the next area.

EDIT: Earthbound was good for this too, how on screen enemies weaker than you would run away, and which you could achieve an instant kill on rather than wasting time in battle.

Random battles don't bother me that much, but I know some people hate them. But I think they've been very upfront that Pier Solar has random battles.

Some of the hidden things in dungeons, are just downright mean almost. Things hidden that well should have been left more as a bonus or extra path not the main path.

Some things you have to do in very specific order, and if you don't it can be confusing. One place I was wandering around for almost a day, reloading my save and trying again until I figured the right order I had to do something.

They also have a tendency to make you go long stretches without letting you fully restore your HP/MP. I can't remember another RPG where I kept my inventory so fully stocked with healing items AT ALL TIMES.

Pier Solar will also almost force you to learn it's battle system. Unlike other RPGs the DEFEND command is actually very useful in battle. Accessories are almost more important than your main armor. If you don't know how to GATHER... most bosses will probably be way too difficult.

With that said, if you do master Pier Solar's battle strategy, you can make it to the end of the game with very minimal forced level grinding. That I REALLY liked about Pier Solar.

For me Pier Solar had more good part than bad parts.Overall I really liked Pier Solar, and I would honestly recommend it to anyone that's a fan of 16-bit RPGs. Pier Solar is not perfect and it didn't surpass my favorite 16-bit RPGs, but it's still a pretty good RPG IMO.

I think when people have a problem with random battles, it's usually not the battles themselves, but how quickly they're generated and how much they interfere with your progress. For example, if the random battle rate is kept at a moderate level with fights that don't last too long, allowing you to concentrate on the layout of the dungeon or puzzle that you're working on, then the enjoyment factor is generally acceptable.

On the other hand, if you're in a dungeon where you can easily become lost and have to turn around a lot (or have stuff HIDDEN FROM YOU, *ahem*), the random battles start to become a nag. Especially long battles. It can get particularly irritating when you get turned around before a random battle pops up, and after it's over, you forget which direction you were going.

And sometimes, it's something as simple as poor level design or play control, where the auto path finder (which you should turn off in Pier Solar) will constantly point you toward a corner or dead-end, even if you're trying to get out. Then, when you finally free yourself, a random battle pops up. That becomes irritating.

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Originally Posted by TV's Mr. Neil

where the auto path finder (which you should turn off in Pier Solar) will constantly point you toward a corner or dead-end, even if you're trying to get out.

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When I start a new Pier Solar game. The very first thing I do is turn auto-run ON and path-finder OFF, the opposite of what they have as default.

Mine was just dropped off...awesome!

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Originally Posted by TV's Mr. Neil

... which basically dedicates its opening pages to explaining to us why the Genesis had the edge all along over the Super Nintendo and treats blast processing as if it actually means something.

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I generally interpret all references to "blast processing" and "mega power" as being tongue-in-cheek since I've been spending time around here. As in, when I see them, I take the entire context a little less seriously.

"Trying too hard to make the graphics like the SNES"?? That's a valid complaint?? Since when has trying to make better looking graphics been viewed as a failure in a game? The graphics and sound are a clear and indisputable 10 for the game. Where criticism can lie is in the controls and game play.

That's why his complaint about the random battles is valid. I don't care much for them either, but I DO recognize that they are as much a part of RPGs as jumping is to a platformer. The game play is fairly standard for an RPG (so far), but I think it's balanced better than most. I'd give it an 8. As to the controls, they are a bit tight, especially around buildings. I give the controls a 7.

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Originally Posted by Chilly Willy

"Trying too hard to make the graphics like the SNES"?? That's a valid complaint?? Since when has trying to make better looking graphics been viewed as a failure in a game? The graphics and sound are a clear and indisputable 10 for the game. Where criticism can lie is in the controls and game play.

That's why his complaint about the random battles is valid. I don't care much for them either, but I DO recognize that they are as much a part of RPGs as jumping is to a platformer. The game play is fairly standard for an RPG (so far), but I think it's balanced better than most. I'd give it an 8. As to the controls, they are a bit tight, especially around buildings. I give the controls a 7.

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I think he was referring to the graphics as a stylistic choice though, and not a technical one. It's a valid complaint from his own opinionated perspective, the fact that stylistically, he does not agree with the choice made. As a technical flaw, definitely not; this game looks better than any other RPG on the system. Just my opinion.

(Also my opinion that I like the style, but that is neither here nor there.)

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Originally Posted by Chilly Willy

"Trying too hard to make the graphics like the SNES"?? That's a valid complaint??

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Yes. I'd rather have graphics that look like this:
http://www.joeredifer.com/crap/bonkt1.gif

Than this:
http://www.joeredifer.com/crap/bonkt2.gif

And there are some parts of the graphics that try to be like the second image. Just because the SNES can do crappy, blocky graphics does not mean that the Genesis should. It tries to do the mosaic feature (ala Super Mario World) at the title screen and whenever you go into a battle. I didn't like that effect on the SNES and I like it even less on the Genesis. The only time I think that effects works is when you get electrically zapped somehow. The game even tries to emulate SNES slowdown when you heal someone. There is even slowdown on the Watermelon logo.

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Originally Posted by Joe Redifer

The game even tries to emulate SNES slowdown when you heal someone.

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And here i thought my copy was glitched. http://www.sega-16.com/forum/images/icons/talking.gif

It's not a glitch. Healing takes time! :p

"There is even slowdown on the Watermelon logo. "
Yes its true, its just doing something awesome at same time displaying 60fps gfx ;)
Double awesome.

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Originally Posted by Joe Redifer

And there are some parts of the graphics that try to be like the second image. Just because the SNES can do crappy, blocky graphics does not mean that the Genesis should.

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Sometimes you need a "harder" outline around a character or object to make them stand out better against the background graphics. That's especially true for top-down games like RPGs and shooters.

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It tries to do the mosaic feature (ala Super Mario World) at the title screen and whenever you go into a battle. I didn't like that effect on the SNES and I like it even less on the Genesis.

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And I think it's Ultra-Mega-Cool! So that cancels out. :D

It's not game-breaking or anything, just something I noticed. I would say the same thing about El Viento, except that game exploits it almost as a feature and has the effect applied to actual enemy sprites whereas PS only does it quickly to the background (or slowly in the title screen because evidently it is synced to the music). I'm not sure where your "harder outline" comment comes from, though.

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Originally Posted by Joe Redifer

I'm not sure where your "harder outline" comment comes from, though.

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The main difference in the two pics you posted was clearly how "bold" the outline around the character was. As someone with an art background, there are a number of reasons one might choose to do such a thing, and one reason is "busy" backgrounds.