[Jigsaw]

Man, I want to play this game so bad. You guys have really sold me on it! Too bad I'd need to spend an arm and a leg importing the PS3 version to play it. :/ Doing a quick look the other day I wasn't able to find any place that sold it for less than $60, and then you'd likely to have to add shipping, import tax and/or the shop not shipping here in the first place. I don't think I'll be able to play this anytime soon. :(

[Jigsaw]

Japanese text is not a great concern for me, but still, that's good to know. My google research had in fact led me to believe that the Asian version did have English text.

[Jigsaw]

Hrm, that's not a half bad price actually. That almost makes me sorta kinda consider trying to get this.

[Jigsaw]

just bought this :x

[Jigsaw]

Yeah, I got the Asian PS3 version off eBay for $45. I should be getting it within two weeks or so, so we'll see how it works out.

I'm pretty excited, guys!

[Jigsaw]

My copy just arrived. :) The box said the voices would be in Japanese, which kind of startled me a little, but thankfully that doesn't seem to be the case. The text seems perfectly legible on my SDTV, too!

I probably won't have too much time to devote to this until after the weekend, but who knows. I'm quite excited to play it anyway. :)

[Jigsaw]

OK, so I started playing tonight anyway. First impression: the music is pretty damn great! The controls feel a little... dated, I suppose, but nothing you can't get used to.

I'm only on chapter 2 so far, but York talking to himself about DVD special features means the dialogue is already more brilliant than just about anything I've played in recent times. I shouldn't say I'm completely hooked on the game quite yet, but I'm very curious to see what's in store. :)

[Jigsaw]

Well Sketch, I'm doing perfectly fine so far (Chapter 4), but keep in mind that I'm somewhat proficient in Japanese - not fluent by any means, but I get by - so I'm not sure if my progress is necessarily an ideal gauge of how playable the game is for people with no Japanese knowledge at all. Instinctively I would say it would be a little difficult to play (or at least fully enjoy) without at least some understanding of Japanese, but then again I also have non-Japanese speaking friends who routinely play through Super Robot Taisen games and even RPGs in Japanese, so your milage may vary, I guess.

To give you a better picture I can try to explain more of what it's like, I suppose. Basically, the voices are all in English, and some parts of the interface, weapon names and menus and such, are as well. Pretty much everything else is in Japanese, and that includes subtitles, item/weapon/trading card descriptions, mission/side mission briefings, character names, non-voiced dialogue and more. I suppose a lot of that information could either be superfluous (if entertaining, interesting and/or enhancing the mood) or easily obtainable via some sort of guide or asking people here, but the biggest issue would be the dialogue. Most of the dialogue is voiced, or the important stuff is, I should say. From what I can tell so far, pretty much everything that has anything to do with the progression of the plot is told in voiced cutscenes, whereas less important conversations are text only. It's not quite like the Ryu ga Gotoku games, there's definitely more voice here. So far the only non-voiced dialogues I've encountered have been really minor stuff, but since they're occasionally coupled with a degree of interactivity ("Do you want to have lunch together? Y/N" or the like) it's at least nice to be able to understand them. As far as the mission briefing kind of stuff goes, so far the (voiced) dialogue itself has made it totally clear what you're supposed to do, even for the one or two side missions I've done, so that shouldn't really be a problem.

I would say that without any understanding of Japanese you're definitely going to miss out on some things, but based on what I've seen so far I would definitely not say that it's unplayable or anything like that. My impression so far is that the dialogue and interaction between characters is the most enjoyable part of the game anyway, so in that sense playing the game in Japanese might not be that big of a problem. That's my impression so far anyway, but I'm only in the very beginning of the game so maybe things'll change a bit later on, I dunno. But I'll keep you posted.

[Jigsaw]

Well, I wouldn't say it's like a morning paper, but there is quite a lot of kanji and no furigana. Of course, with the game being set in an English-speaking country naturally a lot of things like people's and places' names, as well as some items and such, are in katakana, but that doesn't really make the actual text in the game much easier to understand. Still, despite the text being kind of advanced at times, I'd say a lot of things are made easier to understand by the liberal use of icons and symbols. Whenever you browse your inventory, organize your toolbox, shop, or pretty much do anything that involves weapons or items, everything is represented with big icons that make everything fairly self-explanatory. When you go to the gas station for example, you can choose between a gas pump icon and a clean, shiny car icon, so that's not really all that confusing. Phones (save points), toolboxes, suitcases, trading cards, shops, the police station, and pretty much every point of interest is marked both on the map and in the game world with helpful icons as well, and shops etc will also have a little sign that says (in English) whether the place is open or closed.

[Jigsaw]

man, chapter 5 was pretty intense!

[Jigsaw]

OK, so partly because I really want to listen to the DP episode of WAHP without it spoiling everything (but also because I'm kinda dying to see what's going to happen), I figured I'd kind of race through the story without spending much if any time on side missions and exploration - but before I do that, I just thought I'd ask if there are any side missions or anything that I really should make sure to do so I don't miss out on some sort of items or bonuses that would be a lot of help later, or something. Right now I'm on Episode 2 (part 1): Chapter 9, and I've only done a handful of side missions, but I'm still racking up quite the playtime and I'm a little concerned that if I continue in this pace it'll take me the entire summer to beat the thing.

This might've been answered earlier in the thread, but I'm kinda wary of spoilers so I didn't want to stumble upon something I didn't want to read. If this has already been discussed feel free to direct me to the relevant posts. Thanks.

[Jigsaw]

... Bones? I don't think I've ever seen any of those. Do they only appear later or am I just blind?

I've done a few of the General's quests, and I got the first spiritual map. I made an attempt to beat the first one but it seemed a little too tough, knowing I'll get an infinite SMG out of it I suppose it may be worth spending some weapons and medkits to actually complete it. I don't think I'd ever have thought to visit those guys at home at night (at least not specifically during the rain) so thanks for the heads up on those missions. I definitely wouldn't mind doing a few side missions to flesh out the story and see more of the more central characters, I just don't particularly want to spend weeks of in-game time fine combing the town to find side missions not knowing which ones are fun and which ones are just a waste of time. This gives me a pretty good idea of what I should tackle before going too far in the story. Thanks!

[Jigsaw]

I got the infinite revolver and SMG earlier today, and I'm literally in the process of handing over the bones to Brian, so no problem there. I realised I've been missing out on a lot of side missions though (only now did I realise you can actually see on the map whose side missions you can currently activate - that certainly makes them easier to find!), so when I finish the chapter I'm on now (12), I think I might actually go back and do some of those, especially Emily's and Becky's.

[Jigsaw]

Kaysen doesn't show up until like chapter 7 or something. Somewhere around the end of Episode 1 I think.

[Jigsaw]

Well, I've paid him three or four times, and each time he's basically only told me about side missions I'd already done. "I hear Wesley the gunsmith likes trading cards...", stuff like that. It's a little annoying to pay for information you can't understand I guess, but if you're gettings tips from people here, or even just fuck around a bit on your own, I don't think you're missing out on much, if anything.

[Jigsaw]

Well, I never intended to, as it'd give me a Trophy (not to mention I want to see everything in the game anyway!). I did in fact give him his last benjamins just a while ago, and I'm currently waiting for my reward. Sketch, in case you're wondering, the side mission ends with a bit of voiced dialogue, so I can confirm that you won't be missing out.

Currently doing Keith's second spirit challenge room thing. It's way too long and tedious. :/ Even with the .357 it's a total chore, I've gone through something like 8 rooms now and I sure hope it's over soon...


On another note I just couldn't help myself so I've more or less been grinding side missions while slowly advancing the plot... to the point where I've done almost all of them except for Emily's. :/ I really want to do them, but with the lack of saving it can be a bit of a pain to do side missions while replaying old chapters. I'll probably try to do them before beating the game, but we'll see (I'm on chapter 14 now, so it's too late to do her missions in the main game).

[Jigsaw]

Yeah. Just beat it, but it was probably the least fun combat segment so far. The reward seems like it might've been worth it, though!

[Jigsaw]

The combat isn't absolutely terrible, outside of the occasional situation where you can get sort of stuck between a wall and an enemy with very little means of escaping or killing them before dying, there's not a whole lot about it to get pissed at or anything. It's just kind of boring and somewhat tedious, but having the infinite .357 helps ALOT. I do wish I would've played on Easy though, the higher difficulties really don't add any (fun) challenge, it just makes combat more drawn out.


As for the whole playing in Japanese thing, yeah, rudimentary understand of Japanese and/or ability to read katakana will make things infinitely easier, as I imagine it's a little difficult to keep track of where you're supposed to go otherwise. There is some information that is sorta-kinda important (a couple of side missions, the occasional puzzle in the main story) that is only conveyed through text, but otherwise I honestly don't think you're missing out on too much. Especially as you get used to hearing the voiced dialogue, and kind of get to know the characters, so to speak, the written dialogue just doesn't feel as interesting or well-written. Granted my Japanese comprehension isn't at 100%, and it's not like the written dialogue is super awful or anything, but personally I don't really feel that nearly as much character comes through in the written bits... they just feel somewhat plain, and as such I tend to not pay too much attention to it. The English translation of the voices is so great that the Japanese bits almost come across as a little awkward (and from what I hear the text in the US version is not particularly great either). It's occasionally somewhat amusing, and of course some of the non-voiced dialogues you'll have during side missions (or just talking to the townsfolk in general) do flesh out the characters a bit, I would say that for all intents and purposes, the meat and potatoes of the game is the voiced dialogue. The characters are all, really, really interesting, and the stuff you might miss out on by not being able to read the text is pretty much just a drop in the ocean as far as the characterisation of these guys go. You might need a little help with a few things, but the more I play this game the more I'm convinced that it's something you have to experience whether you can understand any Japanese at all or not.

[Jigsaw]

HOLY SHIT chapter 21

seriously you guys

[Jigsaw]

Man, this game is just unrelenting in its amazingness. Just finished Episode 4, and I REALLY don't want to put it down, but I kinda have to if I'm going to get to bed in any reasonable time. :S

[Jigsaw]

Just finished the last couple of episodes in one sitting. Wow! I kind of feel like I need to meditate for a few days for everything to sink in so I can form a real opinion on this game.

In any event, I want to extend my heartfelt thanks to selectbutton for introducing me to this game. If it weren't for you guys I probably wouldn't have heard of this game, let alone felt compelled to import it. I'm really glad I did though, as it was easily the most involving gaming experience I've had in years. So, um, thanks!

[Jigsaw]

Speaking of guides - got any that explains how to complete Emily's first sidemission? I looked up the only guide I could find on GameFAQs to get some more info on when certain missions were available, and how to find a few other things, but it's seriously lacking in instructions on how to actually complete the sidemissions; it mostly just seemed to repeat the information you get in the game itself.

[Jigsaw]

Oh, OK. Yeah, I figured the cheese might be what I was supposed to give her, but I guess I didn't have one in my inventory when I first got to the mission, and I was never able to get into her house afterwards. Thanks for the heads-up about the actual explanations, I just skipped straight to the sidemission info when I looked, as I hadn't beaten the game yet.

[Jigsaw]

Rumor has it SCEA were against the $20 price point, but I am sure if, how or why that would affect the European release (provided there is any truth to it to begin with - but knowing how boneheaded they can be it doesn't sound farfetched).

I'm curious if the PAL release will be any different from the US one in terms of localisation. I've only ever played the Japanese one myself, but from the WAHP guys it sounded like the translated text in the US version was a little lacklustre. In any event, this is excellent, excellent news, as I can now force every 360 owner I know to play this game, and no longer feel like I'm the only person on the continent who's played it.

[Jigsaw]

You don't know half of it! If you're liking it already you're in for a hell of a ride once the game actually starts to get really good. :)

[Jigsaw]

You don't have to worry about missing sidequests from "wasting time" fucking around - although the game never really tells you, you can progress in the main plot at whatever pace you'd like. Missing an engagement for a story mission has no worse consequences than simply making you wait until the next day to be able to do mission in question. In fact you're definitely better off doing what you are, since NOT fucking around is just about the only way you're guaranteed to miss out on side quests. Do note though that you can look up side quest information in the pause menu, and even quests you haven't gotten yet will be listed, along with the timeframe within which they can be attempted. You can also go back to any previously finished chapter and do any of its side quests (though I would recommend doing as many as possible during your playthrough, I kinda wish I hadn't missed as many as I did).

[Jigsaw]

The voices are in English, but all the text is in Japanese. This includes menus, item/quest descriptions, flavour text for whenever York examines something, non-essential dialogue (ie not directly related to the advancement of the main quest), and a few puzzles. If you can read katakana then you can probably navigate menus etc well enough for the game to be playable, strictly speaking, but there is most definitely a language barrier to get over.

[Jigsaw]