Ubisoft's new JRPG "Child of Light"

So, pretty meh game unfortunately. At least it was cheap.

I continue to like this game.

Does this game fall under Critical Dissonance? Critics loved it, while I've seen it take quite a huge amount of flak from the public opinion. It looks good though, I may want to DL it onto my PC.

Example: here

edited 2nd May '14 2:52:48 PM by ironcommando

I think it's a decent enough game, other than the flaws I've already mentioned, specifically shallow side characters and poorly thought out game design on hard mode. Exploration works competently and while there are very few abilities in combat each of them is useful (although it's not clear to me why Aurora has two lines of light damage spells). Art looks nice other than a recurring bug where the game fails to load Aurora's hair in battle, presumably because her hair has its own separate graphics engine. Plot is straightforward and simple, but that fits the fairy tale imagery they seem to be going for.

Well, Light Ray is somewhat different; it costs more, but it's go more damage and that insta-kill chance on it.

I realize that (although I think casting speed is probably more important than MP cost), but I just think it's a bit redundant to have two subtly different variations on light magic in a game which otherwise limits its characters to very few spells. It just makes the main character less versatile. She doesn't even get any status effects or healing, so she's pigeon-holed into "damage".

edited 2nd May '14 3:02:29 PM by Clarste

She can do well in both physical and magic damage.

The dorf, OTOH, can only do magical and he has two fully develop all of his trees to keep up, and since he is the only one that deals elemental types, you must develop all of skills trees.

Also, having enemies that counter the interrupt is pretty much a necessity, otherwise boss fights would just be a one-side mudfight.

The interrupt should not be more threatening than the boss's attacks are. Since interrupts push them less far back that also means they get more turns when you interrupt them. If you wanted to make it impossible to cheese bosses, just let them cast anti-interrupt on themselves. This is basically the worst possible solution.

edited 2nd May '14 8:31:07 PM by Clarste

Most of the time, they aren't.

The normally use Lull All or Haste All, if they aren't, they are using a skill they normally also use outside of the interrupt.

edited 2nd May '14 8:53:22 PM by SiennaCiShan

Lull All is ridiculously bad. So's haste. Those are game-changers. I've also fought a boss who healed more than most of my attacks could to him. That doesn't change the point though: they make interrupting the boss a bad thing, since they get a free action and their next turn comes sooner. It is never a good thing to interrupt a boss who has one of those. I mean, why would you want to? Which makes the whole interrupt system a joke.

I think you being all to cheese every one on one fight would make it worse.

Just make them immune to interrupt, like I said. Or make the only interrupt counter be anti-interrupt for 4 turns or whatever. Use some creativity. I thought of that in 2 seconds so why should the devs get slack for making a poor decision? Anything is better than making interrupting bad because then suddenly your entire battle system is pointless and the player is punished for things they have no control over.

edited 2nd May '14 9:25:15 PM by Clarste

That just means you need to use timing, speed manipulation, and Igniculus differently, rather than not at all, yes? I haven't run into these bosses yet (only counters I've seen have been of the "counter physical" sort), so perhaps I don't have the full picture, but it sounds like more of a shift in goals than making the system pointless.

Why is a poor decision?

That just means that you have to think where everyone stands on the timeline and not just hold the enemy down forever.

You can't hold down the enemy forever in any case. Interrupts simply don't push them back as far as you.

Because it means I never want to interrupt the enemy. You're changing it from "always interrupt" to "never interrupt" which is exactly as bad. To add insult to injury, the fact that interruption is sometimes unavoidable due to the whims of fate means I'm arbitrarily punished for no reason.

Plus enemies on hard are fast enough that you wouldn't be able to lock them down anyway. They're more likely to lock you down.

edited 2nd May '14 9:39:15 PM by Clarste

Also you're continuing to completely ignore the option of just making them immune to interrupts instead of punishing you for it, that I've mentioned several times. Makes me feel like you're arguing in bad faith.

Yes, I try to slow them down do they don't get the start attacking before the attack goes off. I still think it's stupid to punish the player for interrupting.

edited 2nd May '14 9:40:31 PM by Clarste

Boss strategy: if possible, kill the minions first. Often times bosses will buff up their minions to whittle you down. Once the minions are taken care of, the boss itself goes down quickly.

Although I did have an instance where I had a boss that kept reviving their minions on me, but that probably wasn't as annoying as that "heal all with each interrupt" one.

I beat the game!

Just beat the game. Pretty good game overall with awesome art.

I didn't find much problems with the "boss interrupt abilities", though- there are ways around it by slowing/paralyzing the boss or using Igniculus to make sure they're within blue range when you hit them.

The main problem I had was checking an enemy's resistances- it's hard to tell if the enemy is physically or magically resistant until you hit it with their resistance. They'll usually counter if you hit them with the resisted attack type.

Just beat it too.

I… was not expecting the ending to go by that quickly. I mean, I blinked after her second transformation, and suddenly I found myself in the last boss fight, and then I blinked again, and there were credits. Unless there's something I'm missing with any post-game stuff, which I'll be looking at later (still had a mission or two that I left hanging anyway).

edited 4th May '14 5:40:39 PM by NaomiHansen

I'm wondering whether it's possible to not recruit the other party members and how it would affect the story. All of them except Norah who leaves anyway are missable by either not talking to them or failing to do their "loyalty missions".