Shining the Holy Ark: First impressions

Shining in the Darkness is born again, on the Saturn!

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First impressions

Post by DomingoRules! »

After reaching 12:01 playtime, I decided to throw out a few first impressions I've had so far about this game. Some are good, some are bad, some are just meant to be silly, so here we go. The impressions marked as spoilers are either related to the plot, or things you need to figure out to progress through the game. Also, for the most part, unless memory doesn't serve too well, these will be listed in the order that they came to mind as I was playing the game.

Oh, how I wish I'd gotten to see the opening cinematic back in the day when the Saturn was one of the contending systems. By the standards back then, it would've been epic, as opposed to now where it just looks like crap.
Spoiler
*checks out everybody's starting stats, and notices how much EXP each character needs to level* Well, Forte's not going to be around for long. If there's one thing I've learned from RPGs (amongst the many other things I've learned), it's that characters who need obscene amounts of EXP are always doomed to leave your party, die, or some combination of the two.
Holy crap, the battle music! *head-bangs*
Spoiler
*is visited by the spirits* Ummm... Okay? This story is already gearing itself up to be really strange, and I've only been playing for about 10 minutes.
Llllllaaaaaaggggg (especially before I tweaked my Saturn to run better because of hardware issues, though the problematic lag never completely went away).

Level 1 attack magic sucks.

Yay! Searching for pixies happens automatically when you search an eligible spot! With how pain in the ass some people implied they are to find, I was worried that you'd have to actually click Search each time to actually locate them when searching a spot where they're hiding.

Leprechauns are buff.

Why does the armor shop lady always ask, "Didn't you already buy something?" when I want to buy stuff?

Sleep Level 1 is your best friend.

Searching for pixies in the forest is really annoying. I'm getting tired of random crap popping out and doing nothing. It was neat at first, but it quickly starts becoming obnoxious.
Spoiler
Dammit, Doyle! Stop appearing then disappearing, and join me already!
Dungeons in this game are LOOOONG.

*sees a blue puddle on the ground, and reminisces Shining in the Darkness* Noooo! I don't want to go that way! It's scary!

*continues finding various sorts of pixies* Where the hell are all the succubus ones? It's like those are the only ones I keep missing. I have three or four of the rest, and only two of them. They're also the only list that currently has a gap. PS: Don't tell me where they are. I'm actually enjoying the anticipation of the hunt, searching every suspicious nook and cranny with wonder of whether or not I'll find one.
Spoiler
What the hell am I supposed to do in this damn mansion? Every path is a dead end! I've searched everywhere, and checked everything! Gah! *in a fit of frustration, attempts to ram through one of the broken doors by dashing* ... ... ... Oh, there we go. Never mind.
And yes, that's actually how it happened.
Spoiler
Yay! New party member! And he's... 5 levels behind. Am I really that over leveled?
Spoiler
*fights Time Warrior* Never mind. I take back the over leveled remark. That guy's a beast.
In short, it's a great and exciting game with all sorts of moments along the adventure spanning various emotional levels. In the end, the most upsetting thing about the game is it reminds me of just how horrible modern games have become compared to the gems they used to be.
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Re: First impressions

Post by Prince of Lums »

I'm glad you're enjoying it. And there's so much more to come!

How anyone finds all the pixies without a guide is beyond me, some of the places are quite obscure and not where you'd expect to have to search. I played through and got as many as I could, then went back and got the rest at the end of the game.

Heads up: there's some items that are rare drops off certain enemies. I'll let that fester.
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Re: First impressions

Post by MXC »

Oh yeah, a few pixies are really well hidden but I do believe you can go back and find them all (not 100% sure on that).

First impressions seem to line up with what mine were. This game is awesome.
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Re: First impressions

Post by Prince of Lums »

As far as I'm aware, according to a thread I started a while back (http://forums.shiningforcecentral.com/v ... =9&t=22165" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;) there aren't any pixies that you can't go back and find, just a few items fall into that category, so should be safe when it comes to pixies.
Last edited by Prince of Lums on Sun Aug 03 2014 12:20am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: First impressions

Post by DomingoRules! »

Well I'm not going to obsess over finding all of them. I like to try and complete as much of a game as possible when playing through, but I don't beat myself up over missing things. If I have to backtrack through a dungeon at some point, I might double check some areas as I pass them just in case I overlooked something, but other than that I'll just let things go how they go. Besides, I'm so far doing fine with what I have found, and there's nothing wrong with things being tougher as a result of missing some.
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Re: First impressions

Post by Century »

Just make sure you remember (write down!) where you found those pixies... It'll help a lot if you see a gap and you know where the pixies before and after the missing one were found. You'll probably have a very good idea of where to look...
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Re: First impressions

Post by DomingoRules! »

I would've been if I knew that they were going to be listed in order in the first place. I didn't even notice until about 6+ hours in because I wasn't bothering to look at the list. Since I couldn't view specific details about them, as discovered when I found my first, I didn't see any reason to keep checking the menu. It wasn't until later when I decided to check on a whim that I noticed a couple gaps. I figured they would be listed in the order you got them, not in the order of appearance. Oh well. Maybe someday if I ever revisit the game, I'll know that ahead of time and be sure to keep a written checklist.

Speaking of which, the game really should give you that information. If they're going to even bother listing them in order, you should be able to go into the Pixie menu and highlight the ones you've found to get a listing of which dungeon/town they were found in.

Edit: Oh, I just remembered another thing I'm loving about the game: The perspective. I like how it's first-person only from Arthur's point-of-view, and third-person for the rest of the characters. Especially during battle when you see your party members charging forth to attack, but then when it's your turn to strike the camera zooms in to attack, or you're surrounded by an energy aura as you cast magic. Enemy attacks as well are aimed more to the side when attacking your party members as if attacking past or near you, as opposed to being more centered when Arthur's the target. It really helps create a sense that you are Arthur, unlike totally third-person games where it sometimes feels like you're more of a spectator, or completely first-person games where it's like you're seeing through everybody's eyes at once. That alone is definitely a very rare treat for an RPG, and frankly I don't think I've ever seen or heard of any other that applied the perspective quite the same.
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Re: First impressions

Post by Prince of Lums »

Well, ultimately the pixies are just another collectable (admittedly a very useful one) so they probably didn't think to share that information. Heck, they probably didn't even design the checklist like that on purpose, it's probably just a complete list that changes the visibility to show once you obtain the pixie. It's not a big deal and with the way the game works, you can always go back and explore or use a guide if you want to find them all.

Yeah the perspective is quite a unique experience. It really adds to the immersion and is definitely one of the interesting aspects of the game.
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Re: First impressions

Post by DomingoRules! »

Spoiler
Recent impression: The South Shrine is obnoxious. :p

Also, I give the game +1 awesome for naming one of the pixies Cypress. :thumbsup:
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Re: First impressions

Post by Tatsumakisen »

Glad you're having fun there! Once you find the Fairy Bell thing, don't be too upset when it breaks for the first time (though feel free to do so once it's broken the 3948510 time) haha! :P
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Re: First impressions

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Tatsumakisen wrote:Glad you're having fun there! Once you find the Fairy Bell thing, don't be too upset when it breaks for the first time (though feel free to do so once it's broken the 3948510 time) haha! :P
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Re: First impressions

Post by Tatsumakisen »

When you collect every piskie, leprechaun, faerie, succubus and whatever else they're called in the game, if you go back to one of the forests (I think it's the one leading to the Aborigine Mansion though could be wrong) and in the middle of the lake where the tribute is you'll receive the Fairy Bell. When you start a battle and summon the faeries, every single one of them make a pre-emptive strike - not just those that were previously allocated a particular direction but all of them! It breaks easily though. http://forums.shiningforcecentral.com/v ... php?t=6886" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
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Re: First impressions

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Yikes, that topic went to hell. I forgot about that one. Reading through, I had more patience than I do know. Now I just tell people to go f*ck themselves until a mod tells me to stop.

The monument to pixies is in the forest of confusion, so that you completely forget about it by the the end of the game.
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Re: First impressions

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Rune wrote:Yikes, that topic went to hell. I forgot about that one. Reading through, I had more patience than I do know. Now I just tell people to go f*ck themselves until a mod tells me to stop.

The monument to pixies is in the forest of confusion, so that you completely forget about it by the the end of the game.
I know I did. I figured the only reason it even existed was to hint that there was a pixie hidden on one of the lake's searchable tiles, and never would've thought to go back and check it again if I had found all of them even if I did happen to recall the monument.
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Re: First impressions

Post by Swalchy »

Rune wrote:Yikes, that topic went to hell. I forgot about that one.
I just re-read it myself (I'm bored at work, so...).

Completely forgot that you're the one who made up my name, Rune :p

As for first impressions of STHA. As someone who'd played SiTD prior, STHA pretty much came across as SiTD with a much more developed story, more interesting enemies, and superb extra characters.

If only there'd been another SiTD/STHA Shining game to play since...
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Re: First impressions

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Swalchy wrote:As for first impressions of STHA. As someone who'd played SiTD prior, STHA pretty much came across as SiTD with a much more developed story, more interesting enemies, and superb extra characters.

If only there'd been another SiTD/STHA Shining game to play since...
Yeah, I know. These two games are so good, it's really sad there aren't any more or at least some other developers copying it enough. I mean, the best copy the best. Why hasn't anyone jumped on any of the Camelot Gold?


One first impression that came to mind when reading this topic title again is; The very first introductory sequence, with the heroes arriving. Plus how they act once they arrive on the scene. Man, what an epic start. It still gives me an amazing feeling. Then the first time I arrived at the first town. I was like "Wow, this area is just oozing with atmosphere and lore." Basically the point of no return for me.

It's also worth noting that one of the brothers of Camelot said in an interview that StHA is the game he's most proud of. :)
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Re: First impressions

Post by Evil Gately »

Technically, it's light-years ahead of anything else available at the time on home consoles. I've always loved what developers could get out of the Saturn when they pushed it (my favourite example, look at the Sat version of X-Men Vs. Street Fighter against the stunted PSX release), and Holy Ark certainly helped to show what it was capable of in terms of managing huge 3D environments. I mean, look at how big Aborigine Woods are, how much is going on there and the distinct lack of loading times throughout the area!

Each environment is well-realised with plenty of life, whether it's a town or a dungeon. I think this is what struck me from the start, just how much was going on! The story was great. The characters are all nicely written, the villains are menacing without being cheesey. Elise, Rilix and Panzer are all portrayed as powerful and dangerous foes with very personal motivations for their actions. As SF mentioned above, the introduction at Desire Mines is a great introduction and sets the tone of the game. Melody, Forte and Rodi could have all been entirely 1-dimensional, but the writers avoided relying on cliches. I mean, how many games before (or after) has the amnesiac team member not been the player-character!
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Re: First impressions

Post by MXC »

Swalchy wrote:
Rune wrote:Yikes, that topic went to hell. I forgot about that one.
I just re-read it myself (I'm bored at work, so...).

Completely forgot that you're the one who made up my name, Rune :p

As for first impressions of STHA. As someone who'd played SiTD prior, STHA pretty much came across as SiTD with a much more developed story, more interesting enemies, and superb extra characters.

If only there'd been another SiTD/STHA Shining game to play since...
and General Elliot named his hero Salibu. lol
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